Newbies Nest

[Lavande]

Re: Newbies Nest

Greetings Nesters,

Nice weather here but boy do we have pollen!! I stood out on the deck & washed a few windows that were covered with pollen & have been a lethargic mess all afternoon, Lol
I thought the 3+ inches of rain we had last week took care of the pollen issues but apparently not.

Wags, I like the 10 things idea. Unloading unused stuff always makes me feel better. I will get started tomorrow

G, good to hear you are at the controls of your life too!!!

Slo, I’m happy to hear you enjoyed your day with Mabel. She will be keeping you on your toes this coming year, for sure.
I really do miss my mom terribly & often wonder how different my life would have been if she had stayed here longer. I sure wouldn’t have turned into a wine-o-holic. It’s so good that you & your sister are close to your mom & can help her out.

Hello to the rest of the nesters & wishing a safe night in the nest for all!

Lav

[available]

Re: Newbies Nest

Evening nesters

Welcome Peanut and great work on your days thus far. i took valium for the first few days and was a 2 plus bottle of wine drinker a day. I can promise that in time, you will learn to hate alcohol.

Well i am home from my trip away and exhausted. 14 hours of driving over two days and just me driving. it was lovely to see the family and Jasper. He is not doing too well at the moment but each day is different, he just so struggles to breathe poor little boy. Each visit is precious. Mum was good and she seems to not be as angry which makes life quite pleasant. Tomorrow is going to be a nothing day. I dont go back to work until Tuesday so a few days rest which is good.

G, glad you finally got back on again.

Slo, I cant believe Mabel is 1 already, time flies.

Pav, i hope you back feels better soon. I have to go for a nerve test on my hands on tuesday, looks like i have carpal tunnel. My right hand is killing me after driving, hopefully it will settle down in the next few days. I have to make an appointment for physio as i have something the matter with my right leg, some muscle. its never ending now.

Wags, i like that idea of 10 things a day. i have been procrastinating about cleaning my garage so i think i will do the 10 item rule and not feel so pressured to feel i have to get in and just do it, which of course will take hours/days.

The fur babies were so happy to see me which is always nice. cant wait to get out for a walk tomorrow and move instead of sitting.

take care xx

[Slo]

Re: Newbies Nest

I saw my 13-year-old nephew last weekend, and was surprised at how much taller he is now. But, he’s still slightly shorter than me; and I also (used to be!) 5’6”. He takes after my dad a lot, and is shaped like he was; so he will probably end up at 6 feet to 6 feet 1 inch like my dad was.

I’m trying to arrange my morning something like G’s, with a little stretching and some inspiration. Don’t have it quite down yet though.

I have had to dial down exercise into bite-sized chunks lately too.

Ava, that sounds exhausting. And I wish little Jasper could live and heal. Definitely need a do-nothing day to recover from all that travel!

I have taken on board all that you all said, and it’s true that I’m only 50% responsible for the breakdown of this marriage. And we BOTH hurt each other.
So I NEED to let this go and move on. I’m not helping anything or anyone by dwelling on it.

I received word on Wednesday night that the closing date for my condo will likely be on May 31st. It is pretty much done, other than fixing dings, waiting on the inspector, and waiting on the cleanup crew to clean up after construction. It looks great!

Stick with us, Peanut! I too wonder how Lifechange and J-Vo are doing.

[Lavande]

Re: Newbies Nest

Greetings Nesters,

Clouds & sun going back & forth all day but no rain. Staying busy enough but not too crazy. Today was snake day, ugh! Walked into the chicken house to collect eggs & the first thing I saw was a huge black snake crawling up the wall. I will never get used to those things never. Fortunately the resident snake handler was home so he got rid of it right away, Lol

Ava, glad you’re home safe & sound after such a long drive. Rest for a few days is a good idea.
Sorry little Jasper struggles so much, it must be heartbreaking to see :hug:
Say Hi to your chooks for me

Slo, your new home will be like heaven for you. A place to relax & heal & start on your new journey.
Letting go of the old & keeping yourself open for a new & better future is wonderful. We all wantto see you thrive.

Hello to all & wishing everyone a safe night in the nest!

Lav

[wagmor]

Re: Newbies Nest

G - love those morning options, thanks for sharing the ideas

Ava - glad you're home safe. I hope the 10 Things idea helps you too -- it's been really effective for me.

Slo - your new place will give you a place to heal and move forward.


Hope the week wraps up well for all of you!

[Slo]

Re: Newbies Nest

Good morning!

It was so hot yesterday that the air conditioner had to be put on! So we had 2-3 days of Spring weather to enjoy in between cold Winter and hot Summer.

I could never get used to those snakes, Lav. Maybe better that it was on the wall rather than coiled in a chicken bed? Good thing you have a resident snake handler!

I picked up Mabel & Beckett’s snotty cold. Dang! Hopefully will be short-lived.
I biked for 24 minutes on my stationary bike yesterday! But it strained the ligaments around the artificial knee too much, so will need to back down to 20 minutes or less. And this is one reason why I can only exercise in sound bytes now, Wags. And you all have your similar reasons too.

For awhile I would de-clutter for 10 minutes a day. When I am in my condo, I think I will try the at least 10-item approach per day, since it will be emotional stuff that I will be combing through -so expecting more than that per day might stop me cold.

That’s too bad about the carpal tunnel, Ava. Are you getting nerve testing done right there in your neurology department?

Young daughter is coming “home” today from college!

I guess [MENTION=16180]BelleGirl[/MENTION] must be crazy busy. I miss her check-ins.

[Pavati]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hi, All:

Thanks for the motivation, Wags. I am going to start the 10 things today. I have been adding exercise to my days slowly. I promised myself two yoga or stretch sessions in the mornings before work, and two more major activities on the weekends. Yesterday I brought my walking clothes to work and just headed out when I was done. When I get home it is so hard to go back out again, but I had a lovely, mind clearing hike in the hills above my work. I still need motivation though - I'll think about the # thing for exercise as well. Thanks also to you, Mr. G. Sounds like a great morning.

Nice of you to babysit so much, Slo. Your daughters are lucky to have you!

I went to see one of my favorite bands live last night - the first time I had seen them totally sober. It was SO SO SO good, and so energizing. Live music is a wonderful, happy, community experience that gives me hope and optimism. I had my mask on, but very few people did - it was probably a superspreader event - we'll see.

I took the day off just for some R and R. I will now be taking at least 10 items to the Good Will!

Happy SOBER Friday - the 13th!

Pav

[Lavande]

Re: Newbies Nest

Happy Friday the 13th Nesters,

I hope everyone had a good day
We continue with the clouds, some sun breaks & a few quick rain showers so it’s been more of an indoor kind of day. Getting stuff done so that’s oK.

Wags, hope your weekend is nice & relaxing

Slo, I’ve become ‘accustomed’ to the snake arrival every spring but I’ll never feel totally comfortable around them. I surely will find one or two coiled up in the nest boxes as the weeks go on, yuck.
Sorry about the cold symptoms, kids are such cootie carriers. Between your knee & my achy feet we have a hard time with exercise. I have to do something to keep the B/P happy so I switch back &forth between walking & the bike. I’m getting better at paying attention to what hurts & stopping before I totally crap out. Do what you can when you can.

Pav, hiking before going home sounds pretty cool. Glad you got to enjoy some live music, that’s fun.
Enjoy the rest of your day, whatever you decide to do!

Hello to G & everyone & wishing a safe night in the nest for all!

Lav

[BelleGirl]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hi everyone,
I have been AWOL for a while and I apologize. I am definitely still AF and finally (it took a long time, this time around) to "hit my stride" and have days where I don't even think about AL. If I do I ask myself "what is AL going to do for me", and the answers are always negative.

Yes, [MENTION=19596]Slo[/MENTION], (thanks for thinking of me) I have been crazy busy since April 1 when my boss made me come back to working in the office. Yes, it wasn't what I thought I wanted, but it is what I needed. I now feel like I have a life and am able to get a lot of things done. I had to make THREE trips to bring my daughter and her stuff home from college (fortunately it is in DC which is less than a hour's drive if I go after rush hour). The final trip was...April 25? I think, and her "stuff" has been spread out all over the family room. Our house is not big enough for that so today we are going to finish packing up bins and rent a small storage facility for the summer. My son came home yesterday, but he stores his stuff at a facility near his college in PA. Daughter has started her "behind the wheel" class with an instructor as we wanted a second opinion and lessons that we might not have thought of for her. After 7 50 minute lessons, if she does well and passes, she will get a certificate that is essentially her drivers license (she has to go into dmv to get the real thing).

Two weeks ago we went up to my son's college for their annual spring fashion show. Husband and I rented a hotel so we could take son out to dinner afterwards and not have to deal with the 3 hr drive home at night. After the show, a representative from NY Fashion Week wanted to speak with him, and on Mother's Day son told me he was officially invited to show a collection of 6 of his designs at NY fashion week! This is huuuugge for him and I am so proud. At the same time I am nervous about him being able to make all 6 of his designs over the summer. He told me "Mom, I don't want you worrying about this...I got it". But of course I will worry, I'm a mom. and idk if I get to go, where to stay and whatever. It is in mid September and a big event.

Daughter who had a rough first semester due to all the difficulties at her school, rebounded spring semester with all A's and 1B. Proud of her too! I know it was a struggle, but when I let go of all the issues she was having and let her deal with them, it worked out and saved my mental health.

I've also been in charge of finding a new dentist and new eye doctor for the family. Hubs' insurance changed and old dentist who we have been with for ages is not in network. I need a crown, and the new dentist listed all the issues with my teeth (none are as urgent as the crown) and it looks like a long rap sheet. but I like the new dentist and staff and they are about 5 minutes away from us.

I have to read back on many posts that I missed. I know I need to stay connected. I do hope everyone is well. I caught a little bit about Lav's snake....ewwwww. We had a raccoon on our deck a few nights ago and I woke up to foxes screaming (if you never hear a fox scream it sounds like a woman screaming) because the raccoon was in-between them and their babies in the den under our shed. My husband tried a couple of times to get the raccoon to go, and finally it waddled off on our neighbor's fence.

And I should add...the longer I am AF, I think the hubs works harder to throw me off. He left a wine bottle on the counter with one glass taken out of it. Guess what...I poured it down the sink and put bottle in recycling. He also left his bottle of gin out for a couple of days. lol, I saw where he drew a line on the bottle so he could see if I drank any. But I guess he doesn't know that us sneaky AL'ers know that you just add water! But I am not falling for his bait. AND on Mother's Day he was so stressed out with having his mother here, he acted like an ass to my daughter and me. He even gaslighted me by making up stuff I never said. Either he is seriously trying to run me off the rails, or he has some serious mental health problems, most likely both. So it has not been fun being home with him. Another positive for me going to the office. But all of this combined is making my fibromyalgia flare like never before.

Have a happy AF weekend all! and always ask "what is AL going to do for me"...I doubt you'll ever get a positive answer.

[Peanut]

Re: Newbies Nest

Dang - I wrote a nice message to everyone and by the time I went to post it, I had been logged out and I lost it. I seem to get logged out really quickly for some reason.
Anyway, I shall make a short re-post here to say I made it through a full week. On day 8, and it hasn't been easy but I did it. Last night the usual Friday night exhausted from work and hurting in my knees and just sat and smoked and drank...... water, and more water and more water...... Holy - I think I put my electrolytes out of whack and felt totally messed up. Anyway, it has not been easy dealing with the thoughts, but I am doing it! And Lav - you are right - drink tracker not necessary when the aim is to simply stop!!!!
(I guess my next quit will be cigs)

My daughter is full of self pity at the moment at her own nasty hangover and is envious of my lack of hangover. Ha!!! Oh the positive things of today!!! A walk in already and now to do some yard work!!! Feeling good!
I hope the weekend is wonderful for all of you and I will keep checking back in!
xoxo Peanut



I am trying the 10 things a day thing now! Although since I have the adult boomerang-ing kids, I have to do way more than 10 to dig through this mess. The next time I have to rearrange beds, I will scream!
Also, I think it is Mr G who has the morning routine that I am aiming for. Once I get my sleep in order and can stop waking at 4am, at which time I stay awake until 6, and then fall asleep and can't wake up again. I aim to wake at 7, go for a walk with some good self reflection, before showering and getting ready for work. Gotta work on my sleep hygiene as I'm used to fallimg asleep with wine - not sure how to do that without it.

[Peanut]

Re: Newbies Nest

My paragraphs got mixed up

[Lavande]

Re: Newbies Nest

Saturday evening greetings Nesters,

Rain off & on all day so no outside work done but also no snake sightings
Trying to think of some new things for my next craft fair appearance in the middle of July. I always come up with something.

Belle, very nice to see you & hear your good AF news!!!
You have been a busy person, for sure! Glad the kids are done for the semester despite all the baggage laying around. Your son must be thrilled to receive such a wonderful invitation to show his designs. Back away & let him handle the details, he’s sounds very smart & capable.
Sorry your husband is behaving so badly, sounds a bit familiar. Do they do this because they’re bored or what? Once I became aware of those behaviors I told mine to go live in the garage until his behavior improved, haha!! Stay on. Your course, you’re doing wonderfully, be proud!

Peanut, when you logon remember to check the ‘Remember me’ box so you don’t get throw off so quickly. I had to learn that the hard way too.
I’m glad you’re feeling better & getting. Those AF days under your belt. I’m sure your daughter is sorry for her hangover, I would be too. I got around 2-3 AF months in when I decided to quit smoking too. I felt like it was a good time since I was strong in the quitting mode - good luck

Hello to all & wishing everyone a safe night in the nest!

Lav

[available]

Re: Newbies Nest

evening nesters

Belle, lovely to see you are doing so well and life is busy but good. i have to start going back into work 2 days a week, i dont want to but i am sure i will enjoy it once i get settled. Our health system atm is in crisis so work is just insane. That is a great achievement for your son, good on him. Hubs sounds like he is being a dick, as Lav says put him in the shed lol.

Slo, not long till you move and settle in. i hope you are feeling better and the cold has found somewhere else to live! Yes i am getting my nerve test done at work, a bonus of working in the hospital and i used to work at the front desk there for ten years. My right hand is killing me atm, a sharp pain on the right side. it detracts from my other pains ha ha.

Peanut, great work on drinking the water. i could not sleep either for a few months but it settled down eventually. i still dont sleep well but i think thats menopause. Took me 5 years to give up the fags after i stopped drinking, i still miss it but like alcohol, i cant have just one. My kids get hangovers and pretend they are fine, i have a slight chuckle at that. i do not envy them at all, i was so unmotivated when i drank.

Its great to be home, i am finally not feeling so tired. today i cleaned the chook pen and moved their little house to another grassy patch, did some vege gardening, did washing as it was finally sunny and windy and shampooed my carpets. Throw in a nap and my day was done! I did make some delicious tomato soup so put some in the freezer and dinner. I go back to work tuesday and am tempted to look at my emails tomorrow but wont. Will just enjoy the day before the madness begins. The friend of my daughters who looked after my house while we went away tested positive for covid today so fingers crossed.

Take care xx

[KENSHO]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hi Nest. Dropping in while I have a moment. I was fighting some virus last week and was terribly fatigued and lethargic. Still fighting with headaches... I had a negative home test for covid, but wonder if I was fighting it as I got an exposure notification on my phone. Maybe it was pollen LAV? I didn't think of that. Yuck to the snakes!

Love the morning routine ideas - thanks to all. I feel so much better when I do at least some breathing thing like a 10 min. yoga, and then set intentions. All the ideas were great.

Belle, SO UNCOOL that your husband may be deliberately tempting you. You don't deserve that, but way to stay strong.

AVA, hope the covid stays far away from you!

My husband and I celebrated our anniversary last night. We are hanging in there. As long as he still acknowledges his behaviors and keeps trying to grow, I'll be happy. There's much to love about this man. At dinner, I ordered a mocktail, and then the server brought two shots to us, complimentary for our anniversary. Strange that she didn't pick up on my not drinking. I smelled it, and though it was familiar, I had no desire to drink it. My husband got two, which he enjoyed.

The birds are calling me out to water the flowers. Hi to everyone!

[Guitarista]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hola nester's,

Happy anniversary friend Kensho! I remember getting 2 'complimentary' shots too when out to dinner with a lady awhile ago. Yep, she got 2!

Hi Belle. Wowza! Congrat's to your son for snagging that nooo yaawk fashion show gig. From way over here, and i'm sure in the USA, any such gig is a ripper, but especially uuuuuge in NY. He'll have a blast doing what he loves. It's mostly down to him having a legend for a mom.

Have a good week back at the madhouse Ava.

Big waves to evabody. Surf's up!