Daring December

[treegirl]

Wishing all a good NewYear's Eve!

I feel so strange that our Xmas celebration was so short - I just managed to get the lights on the tree when SD arrived on the 24th, we had just a half-day together on Christmas Day, then the next day we left. I'm all for celebrating all 12 days of Xmas, but I think we will have missed that too by the time we get home! Ah well, changes.

I am thanking you all for being such good friends, and for making a warm, light-centered place to come visit, no matter what the weather is outside. A safe haven.

Lav, I hope you can avoid the crowds now; the soup sounded delicious!
Dill - so very sorry that this has landed in your lap once again... I am sending you some peace of mind, I hope it helps.
Pauly - hope you feel better today! And ps, I plan to leave some lights up... there's no rule about taking them down, right?
Star - congrats on all the decluttering! And congrats on the ultimate decluttering that you have done this past year - remaining AF...
Liz - I hope that you feel better today, with no dizziness. 2017 will be a wonderful year to look forward to for you!

Wishing all a great day, and a sparkling evening...
May we be well ---

[Lavande]

Just a few hours left in 2016 & that's OK with me. I have to admit I am looking forward to 2017 with hope of better things for all of us :hug:

Dill, one day at a time is all you can do, right? Please don't stress yourself & know that you are providing the best love & care possible for the grandkids.
How is Mr D holding up with all this? I hope you two can work together to make things easier for everyone.

Star, I played around with a recipe I found today & made it into something I could eat. It's a vegan deep dish pizza with black eyed peas & tofu thyme ricotta. I don't eat tofu so I replaced it with the cashew ricotta I make for other dishes. I made my own marinara to keep it low sodium. I am putting a picture of the finished product on FB. I used sautéed mushrooms & spinach as toppers along with some vegan mozzarella cheese. It was delicious
Can you use tofu? I found the recipe on Vegan Richa - Vegan Recipes By Richa Hingle. Indian Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian, Eggless, Dairy-free. Most Gluten-free , Soy-free. Vegan Food Blog , food photography. Eating Plants till we Photosynthesize

Pauly, I was awakened at 2:30 am by my old, confused dog. She decided to go outside. I got her back in but couldn't go back to sleep until sometime after 4:30 this morning. What are you gonna do? Sleep is so elusive, for one reason or another.

Liz, glad you are on the mend. Maybe the dizziness was caused by a bit of dehydration. Take care of yourself & rehydrate yourself!

Cyn, I have a small artificial tree in the corner of my kitchen. I think I am just going to leave it up for a while. It's not bothering anyone & the lights make me happy. Why not, right?

Wishing everyone a peaceful night & a very happy & healthy 2017

Lav

[Snoopy56]

Happy New Year, 2017!!!!!!!!!!

Dill, you and I must have posted at the same time again, and I missed your post. You are in a really tough situation, the same thing happened to my good friend, with both her son and DIL having addiction issues and raising their grandson. The energy level to raise kids is just not there as we get older, so self-care is key. Do you have a support system in your area? It's not fair and it is so tough, we are here for you when you have time to post. It's OK to feel angry about it, and all the associated feelings of grief surrounding mental health and addiction. I got in an argument with my son yesterday, he was being very negative about many things, and I told him to leave my house, after asking him to knock it off. Then he kept calling me to apologize, kindof, and I would not answer the phone for hours, as I am just sick and tired of the drama. I realize this is not the same as your situation, but the inability to take responsibility for their own lives and figure things out is the same. It is wearing.

Lav, I saw the pic of your lasagna/pizza on FB and it looked delicious. I love tofu and have prepared it in the past. Last night I bought a pizza the stores were truly a madhouse. I waited in line for checkout for 25 minutes, could not get the fish as there were such crowds, and it was nuts. You were right and I was appreciative that you had warned me. I reread my journal for 2016 and realized it was a tough year in many ways, but also a good year too. Staying AF was easy last night, it is no longer in my radar to even drink ever again, but I am always watchful and on guard. When my son left in a huff my first thought was, I feel like drinking, but then I thought oh that would be really helpful, in a sarcastic way. So it was not going to happen. Reading my journal and reliving the agony I put myself though was therapeutic for me, I was in agony and will not let that happen again. Lavanitude right?

Pauly, so sorry you did not sleep well, that make it so hard to have a good day. Hope your NYE was peaceful.

Cyn, did you get any time to relax and have a little fun? Hope so, sounds like you were in a warmer climate and that is always good at this time of year. The yoga event yesterday with neon theme was so fun, it was challenging and exhausting, but energizing at the same time. I would definitely do it again ad plan to get into yoga more in the new year. I am thankful for your friendship and all the people on this thread too. No one knows how hard it is to be AF and the hardship involved in drinking in an unhealthy way unless they have been in it. The support and encouragement is so great.

Lizann, feel better you poor thing. Yuck, I hate the stomach flu the most. Hopefully it is over now and you feel better. Any plans for today? I am having family over, lots of food again, and then down with the Christmas tree tonight. Back to work on Tuesday.

Happy AF New Year!

[paulywogg]

Morning friends,Star,my NYE was peaceful cuz I was asleep haha,I can't run of less than 6 hours sleep I've realized, the kids tease me for being such a party pooper but its not them who hafta feel like a zombie the next day,that yoga class looked cool when you shared it on Facebook Dill,I didn't realize that you had your granbaby full time,even in my early 40's I don't have the energy for little ones like I should, I can't believe that Tori Spelling is my age and pregnant with her fifth child!!!!! I really must have messed up my body with al and cigs cuz there's no way I could do that! Lav,that pic you posted looks good but seems like a lot of work, probably not for you cuz you probably have all those ingredients already,Cyn,that was a quick celebration!only a day and a half,maybe next year you can get together for a few days more,I feel like Christmas flew by and its my own fault for being so hum-buggy the first few weeks, I shoulda savoured it,instead of flipping off the Christmas music channel immediately, turning x-mas movies to something else,etc,don't let me be like that next year please stop me in my tracks and remind me haha,wishing everyone a great New Year I just realized there's a new thread,grr,I'm not typing it again, much love friends