af Sunday 1 September

[treetops]

MAE locust eaters and abstainers all over.
Mystery solved! So the bloody thing is a fake – even its botanical name says so. See:
Robinia pseudoacacia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

At least it gave me and my partner something to ponder last night. We even were worried that there was a plague of locusts descending on the States - a new take on Middle East Foreign Policy? (don't worry we don't discuss MWO at all – but sometimes mention non-AL things like locusts, weed eaters – the usual sort of thing).

But Mick, NZ is a land of weed eaters. See:
Weed Eater

Not because we grow lots of the naughty weed (but I don’t!) or because weeds flourish here but cos our gardens, farms etc are often very hilly, on uneven terrain, etc and weed eaters do the trick much better than lawn mowers. Trouble is weedeaters – break down a lot and they are so noisy. Also If you go to a village in the idyllic Pacific Islands, you are likely to be greeted by the din of weed-eaters (also called line trimmers). And chainsaws.

Oh yes this is an AB thread. :H
Bear – no locust boards or weed eaters for you! Well done on racking up the AF days and keep posting
Mick -I see that a car the Queen once drove (a Daimler) has been sold - under the ad, 'tidy lady driver'. Heard that on the Beeb.
PPQP and SF – I am not bothered by Miley Cyrus. Lots of teenagers couldn't give a toss. And Elvis was considered much more of a sexual and moral threat to Western civilization with his form of twerking. And Madonna’s early 1990 videos were banned by many churches.
Cinders – good luck with the job hunt and you just rant away. Hope you and the other American MWO-ers are enjoying a sober Labor Day (and thats you too Pauly!!!) . Ours is held in October. Start of spring and summer here – its magic today but nobody is going swimming. How is the armadillo (or was that Lav?)

Greetings to all others - Det, Blondie, Samstone and YahYah and others - catch you later. I have a Fathers' Day Breakfast to prepare.
:banana:

[Mick]

af Sunday 1 September

morning all ...cept upside down people when its good evening to you..just waiting for my lift.Its 5.40 am..hope all is well for everyone on this the 1st of Sober September (white rabbits)have a great day.

[TheSunFlower]

af Sunday 1 September

Gosh...this night owl stuff...is pretty dang cool. Its the only time I get true peace and quiet.

Cindi....Finding good jobs these days are tough. Do you want to move?

Lav....I used to fall asleep at all the kids movies....because I was hungover Smurfs got put off until later today...

PPQ...glad you are taking a break. Our minds need it. I think it is great that you go see your Dad every week. I really did not watch the Miley thing until I saw a spoof on it....then like a car wreck....I had to see it. The whole thing was creepy.

Det....people keep talking about Breaking Bad....I watched it once....but, I think I have to start from the beginning to really get into it. The Breaking Bad Miley thing was pretty funny though.

TT...yes, I agree with the Miley and Madonna stuff. Who can get the most press is the game. Not sure how its going to work out for this generation of shock artists. Your partner must be fascinated by the topics you come up with...."so what do you think about the Locusts?".

I used to hate church up North....because it was very churchy. Since moving to "Music City"....its a bit like going to a concert with a message. Jeans and flip flops are normal attire. The message is pretty contemporary and related to real world today. All this being "saved" stuff is kinda behind the scenes. The kids enjoy what they are learning....and the church is focused on helping kids make good decisions at this time in their life. Actually, I prefer to watch the service on-line....I can always see, adjust the volume, skip parts and rewind if needed I really go in person for the kids.

The recovery group is much like the church service. Great service, great message....and then we break into small groups depending on the issue. Issues can go from depression, OCD, eating disorders and actually us chemically dependent are a small group. Its not uncommon to see people overcoming several issues in their lives. If anything....both the service and the recovery group are uplifting.

Anyways....headed off. We have decided to skip church today because of the holiday and the kids favorite teacher is out of town. So its the pool and The Smurfs.

[Lavande]

af Sunday 1 September

Good morning Abbers & WHITE RABBIT!

TT, did you notice the lady in the ad is not wearing protective eye gear? That's a big NO NO!
We call those things weed whackers :H
I think it's likely that the Amish sawmill will never get around to cutting the locust for us Honestly, they have no sense of time & just don't seem to give a damn that you want to give them your business.

Thanks for the coffee Mick & I hope you are having a nice day doing whatever you do :H

SF, I wasn't even drinking back when the kids were young. Rarely ever went out & never drank at home. That was I habit I fell into after they were grown, fortunately.
I truly hope you enjoy the Smurfs today :H

OK, gotta get going. I have a guy coming today to coat the driveway with sealer - haven't had it done for a few years. Fun Fun!!!

Have a great AF Sunday!

Lav

[bear73]

af Sunday 1 September

i am so frustrated with myself - started eve v diet coke then let myself have the ' just one' bs debate,and 'just have a few'. I had 5-6 drinks and same number of fags and now feel pants/wasted day.

I am losing faith that i can make changes - how do you believe that you can change after so many lapses?

I need to 'play tape to end' and not get into bs debates - it's a huge energy drain.

[Cinders]

af Sunday 1 September

MAE abbers,

Not so quiet Sunday in my household. Two little ones, a preteen and soon to be three more teenagers (not to add their never-grown-up-dad) here.

All in all 10 of us.

Pulled pork, barbecued chicken drumsticks, two barbecue sauces (on sugar free for hubby and me), steamed veggies and pasta salad, plus some cookies for dessert. Easy peasy.

I really want hubby to bring the picnic table off of the deck onto back porch, where I can pressure wash it so children can eat outside. They are messy no matter what. Hopefully my son or eldest grandson wake up early enough to do that so I have time to do the cleaning.

Daughter's husband is sick, so won't be here. I am looking forward to some time with her when he is not around. She always gets torn between trying to please him and the rest of the family. He hasn't quite learned how to be comfortable around all of us. I can say more about him but won't. Just trust there are some issues there I can't get around.

Bear, You still have plenty of time to stay sober before your next doctor visit. But, truth of the matter is, if you leave any room in your mind for having a drink over the next few weeks, you will drink. It is that simple. To succeed, you must feel that a drink is simply not an option. It is that simple and, of course, that difficult.

TT, I hate weed eating. I always hit my ankles with the darned thing. Weed eaters, mandolins, peelers, etc, always lurk around my house waiting to get me. :H:H

In all seriousness, when a friend of my son got shot in a eye with a BB, yes it really does happen, the ER doctor told us that the #1 injury to eyes is weed eater thread. BBs don't even make the list these days.

Lav, I had to admit this but the very oily smell of that sealer has always appealed to me. I know it is very toxic. I also like the smell of WD-40.

SF, Your church sounds awesome. I am looking for one in this area but keep putting it off because my husband won't go and will whine if I make him go.

Mick, How's the eye?

Waves and wishes for a Sober Sunday to all Abbers wide and far.

Love,
Cindi

[YoungAtHeart]

af Sunday 1 September

MAE Fabbies, and to the Upside Downers for whom it is likely Monday already!

Thanks for getting us started, TT! I hope your Father's Day breakfast was a hit! I am happy for you that you are now headed into spring and longer days, etc. Enjoy.

My take on Miley Cyrus--if you're going to do it, be good at it. She was not good at it. Robin Thicke looked befuddled. Neither of them looked sexy. Just my 2 cents.

Love your cartoons today, Mick. :H Is your eye all healed now? Hope so!

SunFlower, I am glad that you have a church experience that is good for you and that suits your children. It is so important to have a good feeling if you are going to be a member of a church community.

Lav, I hope the Amish do get around to cutting your boards. I imagine that I might be the only one that knew what you were talking about. Maybe Sam knew too. Is Stella going to be dispatched with the rest of the biddies? Have you told her?

bear, sometimes staying sober doesn't take faith; it takes pure stubborness. I certainly know that I didn't always have faith. Some days it is just putting one foot in front of the other in what feels like a cold rain. It helps if you do as Cinders says and do not consider drinking an option and realize that when you start thinking about "just one", it is your drinking brain trying to seduce you and derail you. I'm not a big AA person at all, but our addiction is Cunning, Baffling, and Powerful. It takes effort to stay on top of it. I have slipped so many times in the process of getting sober that it's not funny. Just keep trying.

Cinders, what time is dinner? I hope you have time for a nice talk with your daughter.

I had a mishap while tubing on the Potomac with Maddie yesterday. To make a long story short, I ended up riding some rapids while hanging on to my tube instead of riding on my tube. I got rather banged up and was very frightened after being tumbled several times in the rapids. I did manage to get to a small rock and get back in my tube before the next set of (gentler) rapids. It scared the crap out of me, and I must confess, my only thought was, "You are not allowed to die in front of your daughter, so get to work, babe!" I ache all over today, but I feel very grateful that I didn't hit my head and that we were required to wear life jackets on this particular trip. Maddie was very nurturing to me afterwards, and I let her be for a while.:l So I am very grateful to be here today. I am not a good judge of how much danger I was truly in, but it was enough to scare me out of my wits. I guess my story wasn't so short after all.

Anyway, I really have to do some paperwork today, but it sure is nice not to have to worry about work for a few days.

Have a good rest of the weekend for all to come!

:l
YahYah

[Determinator]

af Sunday 1 September

Super Wonder AFers..... Activate!

I have a particularly 'crappy' memory of my first time using a weed whacker. I was holding it up on edge to trim a sidewalk and drug it across a fresh dog poop and it sprayed right across my face/eyes and open mouth. aaaaaaaaaaaagh! not happy with that.

Cindi, sounds like a great feast. I made very garlicky lamb/pork meatballs last night with red sauce and instead of pasta, used crispy fried eggplant. it was super good and I slept like a rock. this morning I felt amazingly good and zapped out a personal best on the weight bench. yay! I'm in town this week so intend to keep up this behavior.

Bear, this only stops when it's no longer worth it to you. Hope you find your bottom sooner than later.

Dx and I are looking at a hike today which sounds grand. I'm so glad she's decided to be AF with me, it really is nice.

be well everyone and all to come

[treetops]

af Sunday 1 September

Quick one here for Bear - although maybe its too late UK time.

Bear - try to stop thinking of lapses or relapses. The terms open up room for debate in your mind. You have decided to go AF for a while. This has to be your No. 1 mission- with no wriggle-room. Its not going to be fun at first giving up AL - as you well know. I have truckloads of hypno tapes,books, supplements - in my house - but to quit I had to declare a personal war on AL. You have done heaps of prep for quitting -now its time to commit yourself 100 per cent - if that is what you want. Det mentions reaching your 'bottom' but I sincerely hope its not as horrible as it is for so many folk with AL addiction.
This is really worth it and you are worth it and it should make a huge difference to your anxiety - but only giving yourself a big stretch AF will allow you (and your therapist) to assess the anxiety.

All said with lots of love (a bit tough I know ) :h

[paulywogg]

af Sunday 1 September

mae everybody,didnt mean to be missing out for a bit,just the stress of my life recently has been overwhelming,mother in law is gonna pass away,its only a matter of time,she is in the hospice now,they took out the feeding tube so shes basically gonna be gone forom us,its very hard to take,so i dumbly drank just to forget,i have money probs too,not used to dealing with that,just overall pretty down i refrained from posting,just cuz i respect all of you lovely people who finally have it together,wish i did darn it

[treetops]

af Sunday 1 September

Pauly - we don't all have it together - we are huge messes at times too.

You take care of yourself sister and try not to drown the stress away. I know thats easier said than done. Others will be here to tell you (better than me) that AL will not solve these issues in the long run.
Lots of hugs TT :h

[YoungAtHeart]

af Sunday 1 September

sending hugs, Pauly.....death and finances are big triggers for me. hang in there and keep trying...

[blondie]

af Sunday 1 September

mae abbers

Pauly - sorry to hear about your mother-in-law. It is good to see you still here posting.
TT - we call them whipper snippers. Can't stand the noise of the weed blowers and having a long-running "debate" with my partner about getting a petrol mower vs a push mower (I prefer the latter - heck, I even picked up 3 of them from the verge collection for free!!):H Hope exams all went well; is your daughter finished school now?

YaH - great news about your new job with the group practise. Not so great about the tubing though. It's funny how some things seem a great idea at the time...Glad you came out OK though; perhaps stick to the dancing
Cindi - Hope you had a great day with all the kiddies! I have a running battle with vacuum cleaners - every one I've owned has "attacked" me in some way - usually ramming the back of my heels!

Mick - missed the bit about your eye, but hope it's on the mend.
PPQ - Are you getting your thinking cap back on for the week ahead? Or just leave it off, sometimes it's better to not think! Glad your dad's doing well. How are the gardens going? Watched Billy Connoly's trip through the NW passage and thought about you (OK probably nowhere near you, but it's close enough for my geographically-challenged brain!)

Hi Det - another one exuding positivity!
Bear - don't give up; it will stick.
Sunflower - online church sounds great. Pool (with additives!) - not so much:H

Still a bit chesty and hoarse, etc from our trip, just can't seem to shake it. Think the house renos may be finished soon, but have to get some painting and flooring sorted - what an eye-opener that is! Having a disagreement with online uni who want to charge me over $3k for withdrawing from a unit, as I was late (but according to the actual uni I am studying with, I wasn't late). So it's very frustrating and annoying. As I said to my partner, I'm glad I'm not a drinker or I'd be pssed by now :H

Well, have a great day/night in abland..

[Lavande]

af Sunday 1 September

I'm sorry about your mother-in-law pauly but know that hospice care is the best choice. She will be as comfortable as possible & be sure to take up their offers for bereavement counseling.
You know that drinking won't make anything better so try to stay away from AL. We'll be here.

YahYah, my goodness woman - rapids?? You are a much braver soul than this granny :H
Glad you are safe, geez!

Cindi, the driveway cologne gives me a damn headache :H
But the job is done & it looks a lot better. Hope your day went well

Blondie, I hope you got your money situation straightened out!
Sounds like you need a vacation again

bear, if I may say something.....
Stop overthinking everything, you are driving yourself nuts!
If you truly want to stop drinking you will. You absolutely have to adopt a zero tolerance policy. No AL - period!!!!! Nothing to think about, just don't drink.

Det, SF, PQ & everyone, hope you had a good day.
Tomorrow is BBQ day - yay excepts that I've changed plans & will be cooking inside. 80% chance of rain convinced me!

[Determinator]

af Sunday 1 September

Paulywogg, so sorry to hear of your pain. hang in there xxxxx

YAH, Blondie, Lav good to see you

enjoying a nice Indonesian-inspired stir fry.... yummy