Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

[little beagle]

SL that dieting link is so good. You could just substitute drinkimg for eating.
Narilly glad you had a good Canada Day. I hope the job hunting goes well for you.
Jane I'm glad your making time for yourself to destress. I think self care for us is one of our top priorities.
NS that's a lot of sugar. Wow. I was so mad at myself bbecause I gave in to hubby's chocolate cake this weekend.
But reading that Maria Shriver link has helped.

[jane27]

The name of the game has been ice cream in these lands. Last night, I bought chocolate & peanutbutter covered oreos and nutter butters...I'm having them for breakfast. We are driving home tonight :woohoo2: 1 day early, but I think everyone (including me) had a good time, and I'm glad we did it. :flower: Today we'll go for one last walk on the beach, and then we are going to visit a Lavender farm. Looking forward to that. The landscaping here is beautiful. Lots of things I haven't seen at home but plan to research when we get home.

Nar, happy belated Canada day. This morning while I was sleeping hubs scored tix for us to go see Russell Peters in September. Really excited. Wishing everyone a nice day. xoxo

[jane27]

Some photos of the flora and landscaping in the area we are visiting.







and a pretty pic of some clouds in the sky last night

[Rusty]

NS- Cherry Garcia is my favorite, too...although I added Atkins' M & M to mine!! Hahaha. Single serving of CG...YES!!!!

[narilly]

Hello Rusty, we didn't get Ben and Jerrys up here in Canada until the past 10 years so I really didn't eat it that much...I am sure it would have been a fave though. We have local home made Gelato and Ice Cream which is yummers.

Well, you all sound pretty darn good these days. Glad you are doing well SL. I am curious, after the drinks you had do you find yourself craving to drink? Is it harder to abstain now? I am just curious. They say it is harder to stay sober after a slip...I believe that and am wondering how it is for you.

LilB, a little chocolate cake? Don't worry about it
Hey, I am Un Hung, day after Canada Day and sitting on my balcony enjoying a coffee with hubby. We are both Un Hung and Un employed! Oh well, things will turn around soon and it's a beautiful day here, really really nice. We pay penance all winter just for these beautiful summer days which are lovely.
NS, ha, the sugar thing is just mind boggling. We hardly have any processed foods but still love our ice cream. My hubby always had a shake when we went to the local burger place where my son works. he was shocked to find out there were 28t of sugar in a medium shake. Holy crapsky!

https://intensivedietarymanagement.com/nutritionisms-great-blunder/

Check it out! I love this guy, Dr Jason Fung.

Mariane

[scottish lass]

Hi - good morning - car in for a service, lets hope there is no bad news!
Under 100 degrees today.

I got home (after dinner last night) and hit a container of dark chocolate gelato - YUM!!! Was restrained and just had a wee bowl...
I am an ice-cream lover, I have started freezing Greek yogurt and it is hard to eat, which slows me down as I have to chip away, but it seems to work for me and by the time I get through it has done the trick.

Narilly - interesting question....I really did not drink a lot when I took my week "off" - only one night was what I felt excessive, and still less than a couple years back. Last night dinner was at a wine bar, with a great selection and a neat feature of half glasses, and flights of wine - and I was intrigued but not tempted. they were "out" of sparkling water and I drank tonic water, with no pangs - even with comments of the half glasses being 3oz and that would not hurt. For some reason, so far this is being easy. Goodness knows why - I miss what is likely the romanticized thoughts of a glass of wine after work, on Fridays as the weekend starts - I have longings for a life that is truly a pipe-dream, no cravings and a real sense of ease about not drinking - it truly is different than the way i felt most of the AF year proceeding this. I have read everyone saying it gets harder each time, and I am sure that it maybe, but that has not happened for me, nor did it happen in the year prior to being AF when I drank infrequently. I am not sure if it is a frame of mind, quite what - but just now I do keep waiting for the other shoe to drop and it isn't....I am quietly content and trying extremely hard to accept it and not overthink...

Tomorrow is a holiday (as the 4th lands during the weekend) so today feels like Friday - have a great day dear friends

[scottish lass]

PS - Hi Rusty - hang around why don't you:welldone: Good to 'see' you here!

[NoSugar]

NS- Cherry Garcia is my favorite, too...although I added Atkins' M & M to mine!! Hahaha. Single serving of CG...YES!!!!

Those M and M's are funny - kind of like having a diet coke along with a McDonald's Big Value meal :wink:.

NS, ha, the sugar thing is just mind boggling. We hardly have any processed foods but still love our ice cream. My hubby always had a shake when we went to the local burger place where my son works. he was shocked to find out there were 28t of sugar in a medium shake. Holy crapsky!

https://intensivedietarymanagement.com/nutritionisms-great-blunder/

Check it out! I love this guy, Dr Jason Fung.

I really like him, too. I've watched all of his YouTube videos, I think. He is effectively reversing type 2 diabetes in his patients - something that most say can't be done. But it can!
Given that current recommendations are to limit added sugar to a max of 6 tsp/day, that shake covers almost the whole work-week! No wonder our bodies (and minds) are so confused. That would be so little Cherry Garcia ice cream (with no wiggle room the rest of the day), I'm happier having none. Sometimes I think it would be nice not to be an 'all or nothing' sort of person... but, at least I understand it (and its consequences) better now.

I have read everyone saying it gets harder each time, and I am sure that it maybe, but that has not happened for me, nor did it happen in the year prior to being AF when I drank infrequently. I am not sure if it is a frame of mind, quite what - but just now I do keep waiting for the other shoe to drop and it isn't....I am quietly content and trying extremely hard to accept it and not overthink...

Hey, we're all different, SL, and I'd say you're lucky to be you! You needed to do the experiment and answer the question for yourself. Maybe it is your science background - you ran the test, got the results, and made the appropriate choice given the data you obtained. Now that you've answered the "what if" question, there's nothing to debate about anymore. I don't think any shoes are going to be dropping on your head :hug:.

[treetops]

Hi there folks - home now and I haven't really been able to catch upon all the back postings, so forgive me. I will stay out of the sugar debate because my home seems to be awash with chocolate at the moment. Although the family says that quality Belgium chocolate tastes less sweeter and syrupy than the standard Cadburys or Whittakers stuff (nobody I know here likes Hersheys).
I will also be guarded in what I say about relapse - because I tend to agree with SL that one size doesn't fit all. I had drunk very heavily much of my adult life and I didn't find the times I quit and relapsed to have a cumulative negative affect at all. if anything, each sober period taught me new skills to be sober. For me it was a battle between that rational side and what I see now as my addictive voice. But it wasn't linear, or a downward slide into hell, much more of a zig-zag. My capacity to deal with drinking and sobriety clearly also related to other factors in my life and my overall health, financial status, confidence, etc. Having said that I know I have to stay sober - and I think most of us here do too.
When I was flying back from Hong Kong the smell red wine on the plane was sickening. The crew were serving up very large glasses (once I would have been delighted at this) although no one seemed obviously drunk. I had absolutely no desire - but wished the cloying smell of wine was not so heavy in the air.

Its cold here but not arctic temperatures where I live. In fact yesterday the temps were the same as when I was in Belgium for part of the time. But I feel for you ladies melting in the heat.

I have my co-worker's funeral on Monday. I will be speaking at it. Today I am going, along with another colleague/friend, to view his body in the funeral place. I don't always do this but the mutual friend I am taking really needs my support I think.

[scottish lass]

Ugg - car service call - "well, I have news" - I need new brakes :egad::cuss: I drive a good car as I drive so much for work (it is only 5 years old and has 159,000 miles) - so nothing is cheap - moving $3,000 from my getting healthy savings account to my checking, and now not so healthy in my savings:sad::sad: This would have been a 'good' excuse to drink....oh well....bummer!

Welcome home TT - hope Monday will not be too sad...nor today - It is so great when people are able to celebrate a good life, but that is not always possible..

Well, wonder where my daughter stashed the chocolate gelato!

[little beagle]

TT glad you made it home safe. Belgium chocolate. Yum.
SL sorry about your car.
Jane the pictures were beautiful. Glad you had a good time.
I'm just being a bit frustrated tonight with hubby. Sorry for being short everyone. This too shall pass though.
Narilly your summer sounds wonderful. Our has been so wet here. My back yard is very swampy. And I'm terrified I'm going to find a snake in that mess. Yuck! The grass grows faster then we can keep it mowed.

[treetops]

LB - sorry that you are having difficulties with hubby. We are here for you. As for snakes in the grass??? No snakes (of the snake variety just the human kind) in New Zealand.
SL - car problems you do not need. Sadly the colleague who died was only 38 years. Too young. It will be a very sad funeral.
Daughter said she was eating chocolate to stay awake last night to get an assignment done. I ventured that caffeine is a better stimulant - i.e. less fattening. Not the best advice I know. She now has 2 weeks school holidays and will be spending most of it doing assignments. Sigh. At least tonight she has a sleep-over at a friend's place. Hence she is napping now (its late afternoon). Not much logic here is there?

[Pavati]

Please don't tell me anything bad about ice cream...

Not much to report. I had a nice day with some good friends. Family over for the weekend which means lots of laughs and good food, if a couple of annoying moments.

Happy Thursday.

xo
Pav

[narilly]

Thanks for the feedback SL, TT, it is good to know.

NS, I have watched all of Dr Fung's videos too. He is amazing. I love tha calcium talk he gives, so imterestong.
The Statin Nation videos ar good too, amazing really.

Jane, your landscape pics were very nice

Hang in there with hubs Lil B.
Well, sleep time for me. Hugs Pav.

[jane27]

Ice cream was my life raft this week. Even the darn McDonald's Vanilla sundae with chocolate syrup. We are home a day early. SL, I have also discovered car troubles- at a minimum need a new battery, not sure what else may be involved. A *bird of nests* :happy2: has settled into to the attic vent just above our bedroom ceiling. Thought we had gotten that taken care of with the installation of our new gutters 2 weeks ago, but apparently they won't take no for an answer. This is what it sounds like: CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP. Very high pitched. Its starting to get difficult to not think that this house has some sort of a message for us. I don't think its an evil house, but my GOD, it wont let up.

I feel weird- unsure of my footing, dizzy, like how it feels weird when you get off a boat. I'm aware that my feelings on vaca were emotional- when I pair how uncomfortable I felt this week, with the fact of feeling like a hotel clerk at the Marriot over here, I realize that something is going on/has been going on for enough time that it needs to be looked at, because its not going to change on its own, and happiness isn't going to knock on the door and say "I'm here!" What makes this phase feel worthy of airtime is that I do see a direct connection with the different phases the boys are in and evolving towards. They are good boys and I want all the best things for them. Hubs and I have our work cut out for us with regard to gaining at better understanding & acceptance of the different phases in life we and they are each at.

I felt depressed while away and still do. Cried over the thought of having to resort to go back to drinking in order to make life easier, and everyone happier. Looked for comfort of some kind in identifying suicide as a possible exit- but have no intentions of that at all. (What really suicidal person goes to the trouble of factoring in a head to toe neoprene surfing suit when considering the jumping off the bridge option). So I still have my humor, and I know where I stand- wobbly, sad, determined, tired, grateful as hell, and ready to roll my sleeves up to turn this situation around. I don't think I had enough data points until recently to understand how the boys ages are changing the family dynamic n the house.

I know you guys may feel shocked or off put by this post because it wont translate perfectly. Its good that I know how I'm feeling, and that there is a problem. Its bad that Ive felt a pull here and there to just numb out- cut my emotions off. That has to be as unacceptable as alcohol- because the clock will start ticking the instant I start to play that game- anger and resentment will build, and before long I'll be a different person. Sober Jane27 will have left the house. So thank you for indulging me by reading what I've put out there. Its the only way I know to move through my feelings. If not with you guys, then with who?

Love you all. Special hugs to you Lil B. Been watching Deadliest Catch. Its pretty good. xoxo