Absolutely AF August

[Stargazerlily]

Absolutely AF August

Good morning to all...

Up early, have a breakfast to attend, so just wanted to check in.

Hope all goes well for everyone today.

[Lavande]

Absolutely AF August

Good morning Star & everyone & Happy Hump day

I am meeting my old work friends for lunch today. It will be a nice distraction!
One of them is dealing with a recent hip injury. She was knocked down by someone uncontrollably tumbling through the waves at the beach two weeks ago. My friend was literally standing in inches of water watching the huge waves created by the tropical storm, Bertha
She had no fractures but still a lot of pain & discomfort. Ugh!

Hope your breakfast meeting went well Star!

Greetings to Dill, Papmom & Cyn!
Wishing everyone a great AF Wednesday!!

Lav

[dill]

Absolutely AF August

Greetings,

Star I hope your breakfast meeting went well!

Lav, I got confused on the days, sorry! When will you get to hear about the results of the MRI? Wow! That was wild about your friend! BTW, I cannot believe you are coming up to day 2000! That calls for celebration to be sure! What is the date of your 2000th day?

I really don't have much to report from here. Just crocheting, listening to an epi of The Bubble Hour on the topic of being of Service to Others. All is going well and another AF day is done and dusted!

[cyntree]

Absolutely AF August

My goodness, everyone - what a couple of weeks I had to miss!

Star - way to go on the move! So happy for you, and also very happy that you like being in an apartment. I felt the same way - loved the simplicity of it all. I'm looking forward to hearing more about your new job - and yes, it seems good that someone else is starting there too.

Lav - I'm anxious to hear the results of the MRI - this has been going on way too long! And what a sad story about your move 11 years ago. You are much much more than a survivor - you have created a thriving life, and have helped so many others to walk in the pathway. Thanks always.

Dill - wow, what a lot of kid time! I'm sure it will take you a while to get your energy back, but what great memories you and your gkids will have of each other.

Pap - congrats on the raise, and on keeping your sites on a new job. Excellent

I arrived home at 1:20 AM this morning; friends were staying with the dogs, so that was good that I didn't have to obsess about how they were. All went well, but it turned out to be even more of a race to the finish than I had feared. Oh well, it's over now. In fact, I've worked more than full time on this for months now, so today it felt very strange to not be 'under the gun' or on a deadline. It will take me some time to get my brain to settle down, but I did manage a little nap this afternoon. I want to make decisions now to build a new work relationship in the world, so I must be careful, aware, and strong.

Take care all - Lav, can't wait for your 2000th day!

[Lavande]

Absolutely AF August

Welcome back home Cyn
You have been missed! Time for you to get settled in & settled down too. Do you have some ideas about what you want to do - workwise? I hope you can do less traveling, take it a bit easier

Greetings Dill, glad you day went well.

Looks like 9/16 is my day 2000 (provided nothing trips me up between now & then). I'm fairly certain I'm safe :H
No news on the MRI yet, maybe tomorrow. Ho hum.
I had a nice visit with my friends - good people!
I'm actually watching Little League championship games on ESPN. The Philly team has an awesome 13 year old girl pitcher

[Stargazerlily]

Absolutely AF August

Morning...

My breakfast meeting went well, I am still adjusting to the new job, with all the changes in the past several weeks. Yesterday I was so tired, and fell asleep soon after I came home! I feel pretty good today, so hope I have more energy for a longer time.

Cyn, glad to have you back. I understand about having to adjust to everything, I am trying to do that right now. My experience is that it is taking time to find the new normal. I love the apartment, it is awesome to not have to think about repairs, yard work, etc. And I am not. Did you have fun at the festival or was it all work? I always found to come back to the green of the east/midwest after the desert very peaceful and soothing to the eyes and body. Do you find that too? Enjoy a little peace and down time.

Lav, hope you are doing well, 2000 days, wow. Love how you ahve taken control of your life and moved towards all good things. We can't control what happens, just our response and attitude. You are a great example.

Dill, is this the second year of not having to go back to school? How does that feel? I have to admit, working full time again(it hasn't even been a week) is already a huge adjustment. In the beginning a new situation is kind of overwhelming in the beginning. It is probably nice to just relax and get on with your life. I know that last year was not the relaxed retirement you had envisioned, so hope this fall is better.

Have a good day, August is moving along.

[Stargazerlily]

Absolutely AF August

Morning...

My breakfast meeting went well, I am still adjusting to the new job, with all the changes in the past several weeks. Yesterday I was so tired, and fell asleep soon after I came home! I feel pretty good today, so hope I have more energy for a longer time.

Cyn, glad to have you back. I understand about having to adjust to everything, I am trying to do that right now. My experience is that it is taking time to find the new normal. I love the apartment, it is awesome to not have to think about repairs, yard work, etc. And I am not. Did you have fun at the festival or was it all work? I always found to come back to the green of the east/midwest after the desert very peaceful and soothing to the eyes and body. Do you find that too? Enjoy a little peace and down time.

Lav, hope you are doing well, 2000 days, wow. Love how you ahve taken control of your life and moved towards all good things. We can't control what happens, just our response and attitude. You are a great example.

Dill, is this the second year of not having to go back to school? How does that feel? I have to admit, working full time again(it hasn't even been a week) is already a huge adjustment. In the beginning a new situation is kind of overwhelming in the beginning. It is probably nice to just relax and get on with your life. I know that last year was not the relaxed retirement you had envisioned, so hope this fall is better.

Have a good day, August is moving along.

[Lavande]

Absolutely AF August

Good morning friends,

Heat & humidity have returned. I was enjoying the cooler weather & feeling spoiled

I think the combination of new & recent stressors in my life are hitting me in the form of more hot flashes & crappy sleep. Plus I haven't been able to exercise
Really looking forward to getting this stuff resolved - soon!!!

Star, sounds like you are doing just fine - knew you would

Hello to Dill, Papmom & Cyn!
Have a great AF Thursday one & all.
I'll be in the kitchen this afternoon cooking down another 15 lbs of tomatoes. That brings the total to 45 lbs so far :H

Lav

[dill]

Absolutely AF August

Evening check in for me. It's been a wet day all day but finally the sun is breaking thru the clouds and the light is just a touch of gold as we approach sunset. Everything is glistening. So peaceful and wondrous! I'm grateful to be present and aware.

Cyn, glad you are back and that your dogs are good and your trip/project successful. I can relate to the let down feelings you must be having after such a high intensity couple of weeks. Hopefully by now you have decompressed and are back to smelling the herbs and watching the birds.

Lav, what's the word on the MRI? Anything yet? I am sorry to hear you are having more hotflashes. I simply don't have those anymore and haven't for years. Why do they plague you still? I thought of you today when my panicked neighbor called. Two stray dogs had just been in her yard and mercilessly attacked her laying hens and meat chickens. They ran from one to the next killing them in rapid succession. All in all they killed 18 meat chickens and 12 layers! She couldn't shoo them off and she had her toddler and infant to protect. Her mother bravely tried to catch up the hens and put them in their pen but the dogs ripped them out of her hands!!! Isn't that awful?!! I encouraged her to call the sheriff and make a report. If the dogs owners are ever tracked down she can press charges. We had the dogs here too and we were very concerned that they would go after our calves but fortunately they left the calves alone.

Star, yes this is my second year of retirement and it feels much better than the first! :H How kind of you to remember how my retirement dreams were turned upside down when the familly situation came up! We had to cancel our long awaited trip to Alaska, too. I don't know if we'll ever fulfill that dream. That money is long gone now and our retirement income is no match for what we used to bring in. I'm not complaining tho. We would do the same thing if we had it to do all over again. You are in the midst of such great changes now, especially getting up to speed at a new job. Hang in there and you will be just fine. I know it.

Hey Papmom.

[Stargazerlily]

Absolutely AF August

Good morning...

I have to go to work and it's Friday! What is up with that? I seriously like my new job so much right now, I don't even mind, but it IS an adjustment. I have let the eating and exercising get out of control, too much eating no exercise, so need to get a plan and implement it, right away, today in fact.

Lav, I did not sleep well last night, know it was my diet and lack of exercise. I was thinking of doing another detox tomorrow, when I am babysitting my beautiful, darling grandson. Yep, they are dropping him off about 1 and I get him all day and evening. Looking forward to it. I wonder if my daughter will survive being away from him that long. I feel great that she trusts me to take care of him. I remember feeling nervous when I had my first and not really wanting to let anyone take over. So, no rest for me tomorrow.

Dill, what a horrible story about those savage dogs. Hope they find them so others are safe. As for the trip to Alaska, maybe someday, you just never know. Of course you son and grandkids came first. Those are the values we all share on this thread. Family is so important, and our adult kids need us. I know you are so happy to have been able to be there for all of them. I think when we get older, we will all be happy that we put relationships before anything else.

Looking forward to hearing more from Cyn, and Pap. Have a great day all.

[Lavande]

Absolutely AF August

Good morning friends & Happy Friday!

We had some thunderstorms roll thru last night. Hope it was enough to break up the hair frizzing humidity we've had the past few days :H

Dill, how sad about those dogs!!!
I can't imagine keeping a dog capable of doing something like that
I've had a few chickens picked off by flying predators, it is sad when you lose them like that. Keep the faith about the trip to Alaska ~ you never know what may happen

I believe I was cursed or something in the hot flash/hormone department :H :H
They started when I was 40-41 & we all know that was 20 years ago!! I've taken the HRT, made many major lifestyle changes, done everything that was suggested & more & still...........
I'm really kind of pissed off about it right now because I have a plan in place to wean off the HRT starting in about a month. Crap.

Star, great to hear you are enjoying your new job!
Awesome you get to be Grandma all day tomorrow - enjoy every moment!
And just remember that a year from now he will have you running & chasing him & that will be exhausting :H

Greetings to Papmom & Cyn! I hope everyone has a great AF day.
I need to make some calls since I haven't heard anything about my MRI yet.

Lav

[Lavande]

Absolutely AF August

Yay!
Just talked to the Podiatrist, turns out all I have is a stress fracture & likely the dog did it :H
I'm going to pick up a walking boot Monday. Nothing else to do for a stress fracture but wait it out.
Thankful no surgery involved

[dill]

Absolutely AF August

Hurray, Lav! That's great news! You will be back to 100% before you know it! I think it's good that you will wean off of HRT. I have always suspected it as being a possible contributor to extending menopausal symptoms after a certain point. I think early on it helps many people tho. Of course I am no expert. It's just my opinion.

Star, have a wonderful day as grandmother! It is wonderful that you can help your daughter in this way. I remember when my babies came along I had a difficult time leaving them with anyone, but the one person I trusted was my MIL. I would leave them with her only! I would have left them with my mother, but she lived in Florida at that time.

Today is my dear mother's birthday. She has been on my mind all day. She was a wonderful mother and showed me thru example how to make my way in this world. She never acted like or tried to be my friend but always my mother.

Farmer's Almanac came out on Wednesday and it says we are heading into another colder than usual winter. Ugh! Get ready to bundle up!

[cyntree]

Absolutely AF August

Hey all! Happy Friday evening -

Sorry I missed posting yesterday - I am so used to working every available minute that I just got stuck in the work groove, and looked up and it was midnight. Crazy. As you can tell, I'm having trouble trying to find a different way forward...I'll get it eventually. Dill, this immense pressure has really been for over a year, so I'm not expecting things to turn around right away.

You all have made such tremendous strides in your lives! Star - what a huge change you've been through, and how happy you sound now. Dill - I remember well how your retirement plans were thrown to the winds - I'm so happy for you now! Alaska may still happen. Lav - when I hear of all the things that have happened in your life, and how you've risen above them, I realize again what a bright light you are. Pap - your medical emergency has really informed your life since then, hasn't it? And what changes you've made. And none of this is even about the AF part of our journeys...

Dill, thanks for mentioning your Mom. I think I am finally having time to grieve the loss of mine; or maybe it just won't wait any longer. Star, to answer your question, no I wasn't in the desert, I was working at a music festival in the western mountains, by a beautiful lake. I never put a toe in the lake or had a hike - the 3 weeks of work were far too intense for that, so I was kind of sad about it, but at least I was in beautiful surroundings. In the last week though my thoughts about losing my Mom became very strong, and I was quite weepy in the mornings. Most probably it was simply exhaustion. But also the matriarch of the family (99) died the Monday of the last week, and there was no way that I could get back for the funeral, which made me very sad...so, Dill thanks for your words. Your Mother must have been something to have had you as a daughter!

Lav, yes I have a clear idea of my work going forward - I'll share as I go along --

Cheers all, and have a great night and a happy tomorrow (Star especially!)

[papmom3]

Absolutely AF August

Happy Happy Friday everyone! Finally the week is over!!

Cyn! You're home! We've missed you so much! i'm sorry you weren't able to enjoy your beautiful setting during the festival. I think we owe it to ourselves and our loved ones to set aside at least a half hour every day to do something just for us. Walk, read, meditate, whatever floats your boat. At this point in my life I don't care how busy things get-it can become a matter of life or death. I am really anxious to here what new invention for work you are coming up with. You have so many talents and skill and are lucky to be able to choose and create. I want to be your grasshopper!! Enjoy the comparative peace and the time to get out and walk or garden and be with your dogs. I'm sorry to hear about the family matriarch. Your family knows you were there in spirit. :l

Star-so happy for you that the new job is going well. May it keep that way for as long as you want it too! Have fun with baby boy tomorrow. Doesn't the ability to do this make everything you went through worth while? Please get back to the eating and exercising as quickly as possible. From experience I can tell you that a new job, no matter how much we like it can derail us from healthy habits. I had made a pledge to myself when I started mine in Jan 2013 that I was going to turn things around. I got so caught up that I didn't (obviously). Yes, my HA was a huge wakeup call. It could just as easily been a funeral.

Dill-has it really been a year already? So great that you have gotten through this first tough year or non retirement retirement with so much grace and love. Talk about service to others!! I echo everyone else-don't give up on the Alaskan Trip- you just never know what is just around the corner!!
Can't believe that story about the dogs! How absolutely horrible adn to think the kids saw the whole thing!! Sure hope they find the owners soon. I'll probably have nightmares tonite!!

Lav-thank god its only a stress fracture!! Whew! I think the walking boot will really help with the pain and the healing. I too was so sad to read what happened 11 years ago. I'm so sorry. I have no doubt that nothing will keep you from reaching 2000 days of being AF!! You are going through a tough spot right now but you've been through tougher. Try going to curves and doing some of the none weight bearing machines. If they have a bike that the handles also move, you can do that instead of the pedals. I know you will do whatever you need to do to keep your sobriety. Love ya!!

Well, it's been an absolutely horrid boring week at work. My boss refuses to delegate anything to me. She starts to explain things then just ends up doing it herself when I don't get it right away or if I don't do it totally right the first time. She's got 10 years of this stuff behind her. I've got zilch. Very frustrating. There are some big changes coming too-not to our department but to another in our division. It will be interesting for sure. I wonder if the changes will measure up to her expectations. I just don't get her passion for all this crap. I know I should be doing something else but can't for the life of me figure out what it is. It may be the UMass job but that isn't for another year. Universe-talk to me!!

I've got 2 sick dogs here at home. DD has had a flare up. I came home to shit all over my bed on Wed nite. I'm not joking either. I thought he was over it after 2 days of special food but no. Although he didn't mess his crate (he's not allowed out of it when I'm away now until he gets better), I let him be free when I got home and he shit all over the other room and got sick as well. Poor guy.
LM managed to rub his chin bleeding raw. He's in a cone and in a crate during the day. In order for it to get better I have to be vigilant and not let him figure out how to rub it through the cone. I can't even try to put a bandage on it because he'll use it to rub. Might have to give in an take both to the vet tomorrow. There goes my 2 new tires and transmission flush. Sigh.
Last nite I did water aerobics/boot camp. It was fun but I thought too easy. apparently not because I was up all night in great pain all over my body. Just couldn't get comfy. Probably dehydrated myself but don't see how-I drink tons of water. Feel better today but didn't work out. :upset: I'm going to really make an effort to run in the morning, sans DD. I know I can do it. Just gotta make it a priority.
Sunday I work then go to neph's bday party. Then back to more boredom for 7.5 hours. Sigh.
Wish I had more positive things to talk about!!