Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

[Eloise]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

Thanks NS.
I hope I wake up headache free too.
Terrible to have these things. Stressful days

[Eloise]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

New idea: i added it to my reading list in my iPad.

[little beagle]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

Whew. I got the bank thing straight.
Sorry you're sick LC.

[j-vo]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

LB,
Glad you got the bank stuff fixed!

Giraffe, congratulations on a big 300! Wow, incredible! How can you compare/contrast yourself now to the Giraffe pre-300? Make a T chart first, then please give us at least five differences. Five paragraphs, good grammar/conventions, and please, a great hook statement! Oh, sorry. Just warming up for my classes. Anyhow, congratulations!!!!!

[Dottie Belle]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

Got a few things done today. Dh decided he wanted to clean the hot tub and it was only 93 degree F out today.....now it wont start back up...will call an electrician tomorrow.
Tried a new class at the gym and I was way over my head. I survived 30 minutes but was sweating profusely.....so will look for something else to supplement the other training....I must be crazy.

[little beagle]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

Good luck Dottie.
J-vo good luck meeting the new students tomorrow. Have fun.
I got a big surprise tonight. We went to clean the office. Where my purse was stolen last week. They all chipped in, got us a thank you card and a cash present. A nice present. They said they all felt bad for my purse being stolen. I felt really appreciated. And better.

[narilly]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

That is so nice lil b. You are appreciated.

I am pooped tonight so I am going to sleep. Talk to you girls soon.

[wagmore]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

little beagle;1698550 wrote: Good luck Dottie.
J-vo good luck meeting the new students tomorrow. Have fun.
I got a big surprise tonight. We went to clean the office. Where my purse was stolen last week. They all chipped in, got us a thank you card and a cash present. A nice present. They said they all felt bad for my purse being stolen. I felt really appreciated. And better.

Awesome LB - that was really nice of them! You're very appreciated on many fronts I'm sure, including here

[Pavati]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

Hi, Everyone:

LB - glad your banking got worked out and glad that you have clients like that. Very nice to be appreciated.

Dottie - So happy you stopped by! You, too, G.

LC - Hope you feel better soon.

Giraffe - LUCKY with the strapless and unfettered new look. You'll be the hit of the party.

Off to bed after another long day. I listened to a good Bubble Hour about living with a partner who is drinking while quitting. A lot to think about, including remembering to say no thanks. I still feel that it will be awkward or I will be deemed "less fun" sometimes if I say no because I don't want to go bar hopping or out drinking until 2. I need to remember that I can say no for myself, and my real friends will love me anyway. Part of my insecurity I guess. I'm so tentative about being "out" - I guess I STILL feel ashamed that I "let" this happen to me, even though I know all the reasons why that isn't true. I feel it less and less, but dang if that part of this isn't taking a long time to let go.

Good night, gloamers. Off to bed.

xo
Pav

[giraffe1234]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

Hi everyone

J-vo, like a good girl and fellow educator I was just about to start the T-bar thing when I realised you were kidding - duh me. ha ha. However, I believe it will be useful tool to provide insight and perspective. Absolutely going to do that.

LB: I am really glad that your dramas with the stolen purse, bank etc seem to be abating. It never rains hey. Good luck, and I believe that this was the end of the bad spate, and you are on the up curve now.

Nice day all!

[little beagle]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

Thanks everyone. These things do pass. And it's so good to have people to share them with to help make it easier to bear.
Pav I feel a bit of an odd duck now myself. But I have decided to make the image of not drinking attractive. To look like I feel, like I am having the time of my life. I think being af makes me glow. I am so much happier now and people are attracted to that. In my life I do see people struggling with addiction. At work, friends of my daughter, my daughter is starting to. Thats difficult. And I can't scare her away by being preachy. Just showing that beating this thing is doable and enjoyable at the same time. Well it just seems to give a deeper purpose to staying af and a deeper dedication on my part. Hope that makes sense. Changing the way the world views addiction. Hubby is wonderful at this. He's so open and honest about it, shares with everyone and so unselfconscious about it. I get a bit envious.

[lifechange]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

Hello dear Gloamers!

After 11 hours of sleep last night I felt a bit better this morning.. Went to work and my stomach is still a little woozy but my mind feels clear-- no more headache! I think I had a migraine.. ended up taking around 1200mg of Ibuprofen during the day 'cause I was dying!!
Thanks for your well wishes..:l

LB, I am so glad that your bank stuff got worked out-- and how nice of your clients to pull together for you. Don't hear of such gestures so often, I'm afraid. I liked what you said about showing on the outside how you're feeling on the inside.. being a positive example of what "not drinking" can look like. Not like missing out on life, but being able to enjoy the fullness of life, everything it has to offer. I have to say I am also envious of people like your husband who can lay it out on the table and be proud of what they've overcome. I really hope to be at that point someday. We'll see!!

J-vo, you scared me with all your talk of T charts!! I hope Giraffe will give us an example of one as she seems to have a lot of experience with such things.. Today is your first day back to school!! Yayyy... I hope it proves to be a nice day and that you have at least a couple of students who you can bond with.. I like how you made a good situation out of a stressful/anxious one. Getting on the sports shoes and heading outside is almost always a positive experience--for me it's getting the shoes on that takes the effort!

NS, thanks for that link-- I'm looking forward to reading it this evening. I am so happy to have tomorrow and Friday free--time to fine tune (I might be exaggerating!) my nutrition plan. I'd meant to start Monday...I know it makes a world of difference for my state of mind.

Pav, you're sounding well-- tired after working the first week/s after summer break.. but it's going well.? It's good that you're thinking about the insecurities, sense of shame, awkwardness that you still feel at times. Like you said, even though you understand what's going on, the feelings are still there. It's crazy that so many activities revolve around alcohol-- that we would feel left out, or question whether or not we should attend an event because we didn't want to drink. It's actually insane that that's the society we live in. That it is so accepted . Arrghhh.

SL, thank you very much for the book recommendations. I am looking into them..

Hi Nar! Hi Wags! Hi Jane! Dottie, 93? still?? Where the heck are you living? And do you go into the hot tub when it's so warm out? Hi Wags, Hi Gman! Hi Eloise--how are you feeling? Daisy, how are doing with the little ones?

A friend sent me a Pema quote today which I found good..

STEADFASTNESS
We’re encouraged to meditate every day, even for a short time, in order to cultivate steadfastness with ourselves. We sit under all kinds of circumstances—whether we are feeling healthy or sick, whether we’re in a good mood or depressed, whether we feel our meditation is going well or is completely falling apart. As we continue to sit we see that meditation isn’t about getting it right or attaining some ideal state. It’s about being able to stay present with ourselves. It becomes increasingly clear that we won’t be free of self-destructive patterns unless we develop a compassionate understanding of what they are.


:l to everyone stopping in today.. see you in a bit.

[wagmore]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

MAE everyone,

Still feeling solid with my quit - so good to be back on firm ground after last weekend's challenges. I do NOT take this for granted and am actively working this week to shore up my foundation by revisiting all of the basics. I'm coming up on 120 days soon and it has helped to have some goals - 120, 125, 150 are all around the bend. I think for the future, I'm just going to make it a habit to revisit and strengthen my plan every month - either every calendar month or every 30 days.

I also realized that after 100 days I stopped my little "celebrations" or pats on the back, and I've started doing that again. I do a little cheer every time I drive past one of my old liquor stores without turning in (often without glancing or evening registering that I've passed it until later - so sometimes the cheer is belated). I've started doing my "money saved" jar again, and I'm putting it toward a big trip I'm planning with a dear friend. We're going to travel around the new year, so that gives me well over 100 more days to save, which will pay for a big chunk of the trip. I'm putting pics of our destination on my walls to remind and inspire me. We're going to do a trekking/backpacking trip, so I have added incentive to stay AF and to continue working out so I'll be in shape for it.

Last, I've found new paddling teams to join. One I'll start with in about 3 weeks and will practice with them through the winter. I already have several friends (well, acquaintances) on that team. The second team stops training over the winter but I'll start with them next year. I love that coach - SOOOOO different than my current one.

Sorry so self-focused with this post. I will read back and catch up with everyone this MAE.

Today is a good day in Wag-land

[lifechange]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

Hallo, Wags!
Your plan sounds great-- super ideas, checking in with your plan every 30 days to revise, the acknowledgements for the "small" accomplishments, like driving by the liquor store, having a yogi tea instead of a beer in an Indian restaurant (me tonight!), etc. --that has been one of my favourite parts of your plan and one that has helped me a lot in these first weeks. I try to compliment myself every evening for continuing to follow through on the most important decision of my life. Thank you for that. Great, too, to save the money for something special. I figured out the other day, that in 13 days I had saved my liver/mind/body from either (depending on the day) +/- 60 litres of beer! or 26 bottles (19.5 litres) of wine! I think it is Ava that keeps track of such numbers-- I measured it out and poured it in a pot to see.. That has definitely helped to put things into perspective.
Good news, too, about the new paddling team..Glad all is well in Wag-Land!

[j-vo]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

Evening Gloamers!

First day with the kids today and I have to say how grateful I am right now to not only love being a teacher, but for the absolute calmness, peace, and serenity I felt throughout the day. I can't remember feeling like this ever in my life, first, last, 120th day of school. It was a feeling of being right where I want to be. One of my team members asked me how I was so calm. Yes, usually I'm the one that's nutty, but I told her I took some deep breaths before jumping in today. We have another great class of kids this year. Another grateful thing. They're really chatty, but chatty and disrespectful are soooooooooo two entirely different worlds.

A few updates on me. I've decreased my anti-depressants. I've been on AD's for as long as I can remember--almost, with some breaks a long time ago. Not only that, but I'm off my heart medication that was not for high blood pressure, but for my anxiety. Feeling really good about that.

LB, you said your hubby is open to talking about his recovery and I think that's awesome. I've discussed with a few gf's, but not in great detail. They just know I don't drink, and the great thing about being almost 50 is that nobody cares. It's not a peer pressured thing anymore. That certainly helps. I was more of a closet sloppy drinker anyhow, but still...What I've been more open to talking about is my great improvements with my anxiety and depression. I've talked a few times just this past week about it, and you know what? It feels good. It feels good to be able to talk about something that's plagued me for my adult life. That's so sweet that those people came together for you. Wow. Now that's just wonderful! The image of making not drinking attractive is so necessary for us. We tend to glamorize the thoughts of the chilled wine in a wine glass, and see that as attractive. For me, it was gulping straight from the bottle sometimes. And drinking DH's cooking wine!

Pav, you're doing so great in your recovery. A superb model of what it takes to live in full recovery and how to get there while riding through the bumps and potholes.

LC, thanks for the "Steadfastness" post. I'm doing the "headspace" someone posted. I still use the "calm" app, too. It's perfect to fit in at lunchtime (in my locked classroom). Maybe I should put the calm app on my smart board! Wonder what it would be like having the kids watch it. Maybe I should and have them write about how they felt while listening and how they felt afterwards!!!! Hope you're feeling better.

Wags, you're another great role model. So many great role models here! I think revisiting plans is always a smart idea. Making changes to an already formulated plan is necessary for growth. And keep celebrating!

Have a great night Gloamers.