Genuine January, 2016

[SnoopyC]

Good morning...

Lav and Cyn, it is an interesting chapter in my life right now! My son will find a job and will find it easier once he is settled here. I know how hard it is to travel back and forth; you feel unsettled. The weather here is really treacherous, we slid all the way to the workout place yesterday. Really cold and icy and more snow is expected. Winter is officially here.

Lav, with my good friend gone, I have been thinking more about purpose, unfinished business, etc. This year I want to take care of some things. An unplanned grandkid day sounds so fun.

Cyn, I love Jon Kabat-Zinn, read The Full Catastrophe and believe in his program. You will feel better within in week. Let us know. I am excited for you.

Hello to Dill and Pauly. Have a great Monday.

[Lavande]

Good morning friends!

Below freezing here but it's dry outside!

Star, I know there's still things I want to do in my life but I wouldn't call any of them 'necessary'. I need to sort all that stuff out in my head, sooner or later.
I have been fairly content in just sitting back & letting events unfold naturally.

Just heard the news of David Bowie's passing, RIP.
He was such a talented & unique individual.

Hello to Dill, Cyn & Pauly.
Have a great Mindful AF day everyone

Lav

[treegirl]

Hi all - Just a quick note; girl dog had a terrible thing yesterday (Sunday) evening - gastric torsion (bloat) and her stomach turned nearly 275 degrees. It took 2 trips to 2 separate emergency hospitals and multiple xrays, etc. surgery and a hotel stay - going to bed at 5 AM this morning for a few hours. She made it through surgery and is remarkably doing OK, for having been in terrible distress for so many hours. Lots of dogs don't make it through bloat - she is one strong pup. So, will catch up with everyone tomorrow - thanks for your patience.

Hope everyone is doing OK -- here's wishing you all a great AF Tuesday --

[SnoopyC]

Good morning...

Cyn, so sorry about your doggie, but so great he made it through and is healing. Take care of yourself, it is exhausting when a loved one/pet is ill.

Lav, from my perspective, your life is purposeful in many ways. You first of all have been taking care of yourself for the last seven years. You are AF and NF, which is huge and a complete turnaround of lifestyle. Then, you were so patient with YB when he did not know how to handle the changes. I remember how strong you were when he left and then also when he came back. You are a rock for your kids and grandkids. They must feel comfortable at your house because they come over so often. So, I see purpose as self-care, marriage, and family. Relationship with self and others. Pretty great way to live. I also love your journey into health and nutrition. Figuring out what foods are good for your, which ones to discard, new recipes, etc. That is huge too. Anyway, I was just thinking about it and wanted to share. Hey, any snow yet? We are getting blasted again, so the ride to work will be slow. I am glad to get out of the house when it is like this, I get cabin fever.

Have a good one.

[Lavande]

Good Tuesday morning friends!

It's cloudy & a balmy 25 degrees here - Brrr!
Looks like we will be seeing a bit of snow this evening, not much though.

Cyn, I am so sorry about your girl dog. I am aware of that condition & have been on the lookout for it these past 12 years with our Swiss Mountain dog. Some breeds are prone, some are not. I hope you are both OK :hug:

Star, I do seem to have my hands full with family & my small business. I am grateful for everything, I really am although the learning curve was a bit steep. Sometimes I just can't believe all I have been through the past 20+ years but here I am.
I honestly had no idea that the universe would take me on such a wild ride
I am a believer now in staying open to new ideas & opportunities, you just never know what's around the corner. Stay safe out there on your snowy roads!

Hello to Dill. I hope you are having a good week.

Hey there Pauly!

Have a great AF day everyone!

Lav

[dill]

Hello friends, I'm ready to get back to "normal" and will start by posting! We took my daughter and her family to the airport late afternoon, yesterday. We had such a wonderful visit, full of family time, love and laughter. I am so grateful to have had the time and will keep the memories to cherish. What a gift to have it all clearly in my mind with no impaired perceptions and memories because of alcohol! I have so many moments to warm my heart and smile over. I think the best gift was seeing the excitement of my 4yo grandson from New Orleans when granddaughter woke him up to tell him there was snow! We woke to snow on Sunday morning. For him, it wouldn't have been Christmas in Ohio without it. LOL!

Cyn, I am so sorry to hear of the distress your girl dog suffered and the emotional strain for you! I hope she recovers quickly.

Star, I am happy to hear that your son is moving closer. I know your relationship is not smooth and that he is very high maintenance but it is nice that he wants to be close.

Lav, there are things I'd like to do in my life too. I guess it's called the bucket list, eh? But if I never get to do them, I don't think I will feel for a minute like I have missed out on the important things, and I know you won't have either.

Hello Pauly, I wish I was out there in Las Vegas, assuming that is that you are not being hit by this polar vortex!

Have a great AF Tuesday everyone.

[treegirl]

Morning all -

Star, what a great condensation of what we are all about! I am interested that you did the MBSR course - did you just do it on your own with the book and the CDs? Already I feel that I am noticing so many things and getting joy out of the smallest things that I see.

Lav - I've lived all my life with breeds 'prone' to torsion, but never experienced it all these years. At least I was able to identify the signs and we got her to emergency in time... by all accounts, she should not have made it, and there should have been a lot of damage to the internal tissues, but remarkably none of that occurred. It made me feel better about the choice to go ahead with surgery, that was a tough decision. It was great to hear from the vet this morning that she is 'ahead of the curve' in terms of her recovery.

Dill - I hope you are enjoying your daughter's stay!

Pauly - I hope you are getting some rest!

Take care all. It seems like the light of day is getting noticeably stronger and longer each day -- To the Light!

[dill]

Cyn, you must have missed seeing my previous post. It mentions that my daughter left yesterday and that you have my concern and sympathy for your girl dog. It looks like she is pulling thru tho! Yay!

[Lavande]

Dill, so glad to hear that you had a great family visit!
I imagine the snow was a huge hit with your grandson - that's just great!
Yep, the bucket list stuff is just stuff & if doesn't happen it's no big deal. Why stress out about dumb stuff like that, right?

Cyn, glad your doggie is doing better.
A little knowledge can go a long way in health prevention, don't you think?

Still haven't seen any snow yet - maybe it got lost??

Peace to everyone tonight!

[SnoopyC]

Good morning...

Cyn, so good to hear that your dog is healing! About the Kabat Zinn thing. I read the book, found CDs and practiced on my own. However, I had read and studied about it, so knew how much it helps in all kinds of ways. The practices are now evidenced based, which means they are used to help people with PTSD and other mental health issues, besides physical problems. I was having a hard time sleeping and did not want to take pills so used the body scan and other practices to get to sleep on my own. I used it last night, waking up at 4 am which was way too early, I did the body scan and fell back asleep. I know others use it for various reasons. It works and facilitates change in the way we view our environment. Whew, that is alot for this early.

Lav, we got more snow, blowing, and below 0 wind chills. But, it is January, so I am wearing my warmest clothes, two pairs of socks, boots, and drinking hot tea at work. Good to hear your small business is going well. Keeps you busy and out of trouble.

Dill, so happy you had such a great visit. Lovely. I agree, alcohol would have ruined your visit, or made it less clear, pleasant, not feeling well, etc. Good for you. Interesting comments about my son, and so true. I realized that I am part of the solution, so vowed to be kind, calm, and supportive. It has been hard work, and except for one period of time, I have been able to stick to my commitment. He has an interview today, then is going up north to pack and will move next week, then look full time for a job. So, having our own space will help. It has been a positive experience though. I am so proud he earned a Bachelor's degree, at one time it was not even a possibility. He is a hard worker, won't give up, and is a fighter for what he wants. All good stuff. Your son is too. It is better to face things AF than drown/numb difficult feelings. But it is not always easy.

Pauly, hope you are doing well.

Have a great Hump Day ladies.

[Lavande]

Good Wednesday morning friends, happy Hump day

18 degrees but sunny & we never got a single snowflake last night. Not sure where it went, ha ha!
I was up at 4 am with my older dog & never really back to sleep after that

Star, I hope your son finds the job of his dreams very soon.
My son-in-law may be looking for another job soon. He has been working as a contractor at a large company for well over a year. They were supposed to offer him regular full time employment at the end of the year but they did not do that. Apparently the wheels of motion are moving way too slowly.
Stay warm today!!

Hello to Dill, Cyn & Pauly. I hope we all have a fantabulous day

Lav

[paulywogg]

Morning friends, Star I'm doing ok,thanks for thinking of me I've just been a grump lately and I do not want to bring the thread down by.having a negative vibe,I get tired of people who always complain and here I am acting like that,Lav,sorry about the lack of sleep,what was your dog doing? Dill,great you had a nice visit,I think Louie would flip over snow in real life,we could drive to the mountain but I get too cold,Cyn,glad your dogis pulling tthrough, I'm stealing to the light for my real life quote,these short days are a toughie,I guess I was too intoxicated to realize how much short days affect basically everything, maybe in the past I was like,cool its dark time to drink,I dunno,sounds like everyone is a-ok,have a wonderful Wednesday

[dill]

Hello All,

I guess I was too intoxicated to realize how much short days affect basically everything, maybe in the past I was like,cool its dark time to drink,I dunno

Pauly, HA! I used to love the short days of winter for exactly that reason! It was hard to break that pattern. We all on this thread have talked at one time or another about how the changing of seasons became a trigger, too. Heck, after all the years of drinking I did, I'd built up quite a reservoir of triggers!

Cyn, I got the Royal Affair DVD several days ago while my company was here so I didn't get a chance to watch it until last night. Both Mr. D and I enjoyed it immensely! What a story. And to think it was all true history! Thanks for the hat tip.

Star, you definitely should be proud of your son. It sounds like he is tenacious, that's for sure. And he values family. I hope he finds something he can sink his teeth into and that life begins to come a bit easier to him. The discussion between you and Cyn about the Kabat-Zinn meditations is reminding me that I have a set of his for dealing with depression. I think I will dig those out and put them on my ipod for the middle of the night wakefulness. I've been experiencing that recently for some reason. Perhaps I'm just not getting enough exercise during the day.

Lav, what is on your bucket list? I'd love to go to Ireland, Jerusalem, Alaska and Hawaii. Heck, I'd even like just to get out to the southwest and the northwest of the USA!

Happy af hump day everyone!

[treegirl]

Hello all - happy end of Hump Day.

Just got home with our little girl and got settled in. The surgeon is very pleased with her progress this far, so it's up to us to continue now. It's SO much easier to bring a dog home that has had a couple of days of observation - she's not totally drugged, fresh out of surgery -- I'm grateful that she's more stable - I even think it is worth the extra $$$! Thanks everyone for the support.

Dill - sorry that I did not see your post! You write so beautifully about the visit - I'm so glad that it has given you great memories. Also glad that you liked that movie!

Star - that's interesting about the Kabat-Zinn book and CDs - that's exactly what I'm going to do - just keep at it myself. I will make the 45 minutes a day commitment --- I usually wake up early anyway, so that time will be put to good use. Good luck with your son - you have been a great role model for him, obviously.

Pauly - the light is coming on stronger -- hang in there! You'll find a way to beat the blues.

Lav - so sorry about your SIL's job. I think since '08, companies have just gotten used to having people work full time with no benefits, and they don't want to go back to the full staffing that they had before. Greed, sigh. I hope that they wake up soon and realize that a fully trained, bright worker will strengthen their company. Will your daughter be looking for a position in her field soon, or is she already in her dream job?

Hope all are well - so happy to be here in a solid AF group! Wishing all a wonderful evening.

[Lavande]

Just jumping back in for a minute
I'll be up & out tomorrow morning at 6:15 am - ugh. My daughter is doing a clinical rotation this semester, she has to leave home by 7:30 am to get there on time.
I haven't had a full night's sleep since probably late November or early December. I am not sure why because I do watch the caffeine & certain foods. My dog is suffering old lady bladder & a bit of dementia I think, poor thing!

Pauly, be sure you observe the mood swings & don't fall victim to 'thoughts'. I can get any number of negative thoughts in a day's time but I just push them out of my head. I am not going there again!!!

Dill, I have done a fair bit of travelling with my daughter & friends. The things on my bucket list would require an interested spouse & he isn't interested
That's why I am just letting that stuff go, not much else I can do.

Cyn, my daughter's program goes straight thru until August then she will be looking for a job. She's getting a full dose of dealing with fresh postop joint replacement patients this week!!! Oh boy!!!!

Peace to everyone tonight!
You certainly are gaining experience in taking care of needy animals!!!