Anam Cara AF April

[treegirl]

Morning all - (and I often forget how many people 'all' encompasses...). I truly didn't mean to start any big thing about AA; I know it has worked for many people. I'm supportive of whatever it takes for people to be free from AL's horrible yoke; it's all good. Pauly, there are women-only meetings, and a group called Women for Sobriety, if you are interested. Dill, I hear ya on that experience. Samstone, I love that wording! I just tell people that 'I don't drink', but describing oneself as a 'non-drinker' sounds much more active and purposeful - I'll be using that from now on!

Wishing all a great Thursday...

[Lavande]

Good Thursday morning friends!

On the AA topic - my only experience was attending a meeting as a college student because it was a requirement for a Health Ed course. I went with another student & we both felt odd & uncomfortable. It was a truly depressing experience, the people there were pretty dark & gloomy. BUT we left feeling that if it worked for the regular attendees that was fine. I never considered going for myself decades later when I was feeling out of control. I was already as depressed & didn't want to feel worse. I feel so fortunate to have found this community, this is exactly what I needed :hug:
I also do not label myself alcoholic. It was never about AL for me. It was desperation for emotional pain relief. I searched for & found new & effective coping mechanisms, ghank goodness. Eliminating AL from my life has been a small price to pay forcall I have gained.

Hello to Dill, Cyn, Star, Pauly & anyone dropping in today.
I am at my granddaughter's house today for a fun day.

[dill]

sneaking out of the house so you don't drink, there's an ironic twist!

Sam, HA! I never once saw the humor in that until now! Thanks so much! That’s the kind of feedback that makes me so glad to be a part of MWO. Support comes in many forms and humor is one of the best!

Cyn, please don’t apologize for the topic! Sharing thoughts and experiences related to our journeys is important and even at this point I am still coming to understand about what I learned from my brief foray into AA and it was 7 years ago!. I thank you for the topic.

Lav, we all got started with al for different reasons. I just started out drinking for the fun. Then I drank to calm my nerves at the end of a hectic day. After things progressed I drank habitually every day but didn't see it as a problem. Finally, when I was drinking too much every night and decided to cut back, I found out it was in control of me more than I was in control of it!

Pauly, When you tried AA was it your own choice or did others suggest it to you? I made the choice on my own, but of course it was short lived! I can relate to how uncomfortable you felt. I didn't want even to talk to anyone I felt so uncomfortable! Again, I think it was more me than them tho.

Star, MWO is perfect for me at this point. As is abstinence.

Early morning for me tomorrow because of the volunteering. Let's all have a peaceful AF Thursday evening.

[SnoopyC]

Great discussion friends.

I have been to AA meetings in the past, voluntarily, both positive and negative meetings. I don't like the label either, don't find it helpful, for me. However, the AA program has helped lots of people so if you like it, go for it. I just think there are lots of ways to do things, and if they work, they are all great.

Yay, it is Friday! No plans here and I don't want any plans, just to chill out and relax. Oh, and it is cold, windchills in the teens. Darn it.

Have a good one.

[Lavande]

Good morning friends, happy Friday!

Sunny & 41 degrees at the moment, not exactly spring but what can you do?
I had a nice day yesterday, long but nice. Got my granddaughter out on her scooter between rain storms for some fresh air & exercise. I can't stand sitting in the house all day.

I hope your volunteer day is going well Dill.

No plans this weekend for me either Star & that's perfectly OK, Lol
We seem to do everything last minute anyway.

Cyn, I hope you are seeing some sunshine too

Pauly, how's it going?

Ok, I need to get myself to Curves then see what happens.
Have a wonderful AF day everyone!

Lav

[treegirl]

Morning all -

Dill - thinking of you at your volunteer job this morning. Good for you!

Lav - you have identified and overcome so many obstacles, you are a model. I do agree - though AL has its own grip on us, it is often the underlying issues that have to be dealt with. What a journey, right? I hope you had a fun day with granddaughter --

Star - sorry about the cold temps! So glad you don't have too busy of a weekend planned; I hope you can take some Star-time...

Pauly - thanks for sharing your experiences with us! It's a sometimes bumpy road, but we get there with one foot after another... take care of yourself!

It was endless downpours yesterday... I'm looking forward to seeing some sun. HB was released from his work today and tomorrow, so decided to come home. He's on the train right now. I will be glad to see him, but have to say that it will be a different weekend from what I had planned for myself, so it's back to balancing the seesaw! Life lessons....

Wishing all a great AF Friday ---
PS Lav; cooking question. Do use use your coffee grinder for making almond and sunflower butter? Do you toast the nuts ahead? HB bought me a little fancy-shmancy Cuisinart grinder, but it didn't make a smooth sunflower butter. Could be operator error, of course, but I'd rather just have the coffee grinder, if that works... thx!

[Lavande]

Hi Cyn!
I use my food processor for making nut butters. I do roast the sunflower seeds (325 degrees for about 10-12 minutes), brings out the flavor & gives them some color. I toss them in my Cuisinart & let them process until the texture looks very smooth. Takes quite a while, up to 15 minutes. But the result is awesome. My favorite recipe lately is on the: www.ohsheglows.com website
I hope your weekend works out OK. Having them at home isn't always fabulous, ha ha!!
I saw some peeks of sun today, yay!!

[SnoopyC]

Good morning...

Lots to do today around the house and getting my hair done. Tomorrow having the family over for dinner. Fun.

Hope you are all doing well. Have a great Saturday.

[dill]

Good morning, Friends,
Sorry for my absence yesterday. I got out of the house too early to post and never really got time for it later in the day. We had a late lunch and then went out shopping for a new laptop. So far, just looking. I am in over my head with technology and am lucky that Mr. D understands it and enjoys the whole process. I get overwhelmed the moment I step into the Best Buy store! LOL

Star, Have a great day getting your hair done and getting ready for your visitors. Fun with family is the best! I'll have the grandkids over today for our weekly overnight. I got an old Benji movie from the library so we shall see how that goes.

Lav, I woke up to blizzard conditions today! Strong wind and snow. Where did spring go?!!!

Cyn, enjoy your time with Mr. Tree! I know what you mean about adjusting to a change in plans tho. It's hard to disrupt our plans even for good reasons like Mr. T's sudden time off. We are such creatures of habit. I haven't heard you mention your meditation lately. Are you still doing it?

Pauly, hello and hope you're over that bug you had!

Let's all have a great AF Saturday.

[Lavande]

Good morning friends, happy Saturday!

Just rain here so far but may see some snow later. Who ordered this nonsense? Ha ha!!!

Have a fun family day tomorrow Star!

Dill, we are both in the market for new laptops here & had been considering switching to MacBooks but probably won't. I am looking for one laptop that will do everything I do now with two desktops & one laptop - it's a tall order but doable. I'm not rushing the search but I need to get it done at some point if I want to keep my business running & my sanity intact
Good luck on your search too & have fun with the kids.

Cyn, looks like there will be no gardening activities this weekend so I am going to stay in & try a new soup recipe - creamy chicken & quinoa, non-dairy of course. I hope your weekend is good.

Pauly, how are you?

Wishing everyone a wonderful AF day!

Lav

[paulywogg]

Morning friends,rain here too Lav really don'tfeel like working today,rain tends to make me lazy haha,tomorrow hubs wants to take a ride to Boulder City,we'll hafta see how Louie's feeling before deciding for sure,his tummy is still on the mend poor thing,hello Dill,Cyn,Star,I hope we all have a great Saturday

[treegirl]

Hi all -

Well, I kept to my schedule yesterday, and though Mr T wasn't entirely pleased, got 'rational' about it and understood that I can't just drop everything because he has a day off! We made a nice supper and watched some TV, so all turned out well.

Lav, I've been out bush-whacking for hours yesterday and today -- it is so therapeutic for me. I've made great strides on the front where I'm tearing out all the ancient Honeysuckles; there's big piles of everything that I've pulled out -- the lawn care guys will come and pick it up, which will be $$$, but I'm not up for loading all this on the car and taking it away. I'm too scared to do a 'controlled burn', so there you go. I'm still fantasizing about a mulcher/chipper; having something that could chip all these small branches would be great -- and then I'd have mulch! Does anyone have any experience with something like that?

Star - hope you are enjoying your family dinner -- what did you make? (PS - Lav, I love 'ohsheglows' - I hope your soup turned out well.)

Dill - how did 'Benji' go over? I didn't realize that you are keeping the kids overnight once a week - what a nice gift for your son. I am still meditating and doing home-yoga - every day! Usually I do it first thing, when the dogs wake me up. But today I slept in - up too late watching TV - too stimulating for me! I hope to get a session in now before we head out to a movie (the new one with Helen Mirren).

Pauly - are you getting some rain there? When I lived in the desert I was always so excited when in rained. I hope everybody feels well enough to go on your trip to Boulder City -- sometimes a change of scenery is just the ticket.

Wishing all a great AF Saturday night!

[SnoopyC]

Good morning...

Slept pretty well, fun day ahead to look forward to.

Dill, I am making roast beef, green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, request from my husband. It is an old company dinner that I can do without worrying about messing up. Then I bought a dessert. I was going to make a fancy tiramasu but then decided it would stress me out to much, so ready made is OK too. We did not get snow yesterday, thank goodness, just windy and chilly. This week is supposed to be warmer, lets hope so. Have fun with the grandkids, I love that you are showing them older movies. I had taped Alice in Wonderland for my grandson, and he loved it, the colors, music, it was pretty special.

Lav, you soup sounds so good. I made a really tasty clam chowder last night, it was soooo good on a colder night. My computer is about three to four years old and going strong. I would love a new one though, and I am sure that when the time comes, it will be so sophisticated I will use it for much more.

Pauly, hope you can go on your road trip, sounds fun.

Cyn, yard work sounds satisfying, I have none in this new yard. It will look so good when you are finished and spring actuall comes. Good to hear you are practicing your meditation and yoga daily, I am still trying to get into a routine with it.

Let's have a great AF Sunday.

[Lavande]

Good morning friends, happy Sunday!

Chilly but sunny here, still waiting for spring!

I ended up with my grandson here so I changed my dinner plans to suit him. The soup is on hold for a few days, ha ha.
I actually need to go wake him so I can get him ready for Sunday school.

Hello to Star, Dill, Cyn & Pauly.
I will try to check in later.
Have a great AF day everyone.

Lav

[paulywogg]

Morning friends,Star,what time should Ibe there for dinner? Hahahaha,sounds absolutely delicious rained most of the day yesterday and hailed! I got a video but it was on Snapchat to Bobbi and I didn't think to save it,hubs and Brady took videos of all the flooded streets and storm channels,pretty crazy,just reflecting on what my sobriety means to me and how much I DO cherish it but posted on the daily thread that I feel mentally blocked,almost like an amnesia came over me before I drank last month, I can'trremember the day leading up to what made me decide to drink,there were no triggers,it was so weird,that sounds nuts when I read it! Anyways,thank you ladies for being here,I always mean to say it but I don't enough,Dill,Star,Cyn and Lav I hope you all have a special AF Sunday