Briar

Hi guys, just checking in. All's good here. It's been a busy week, I've spent some late nights with my face in government grant reports that were so boring my brain just about gave up and died. But we got them done, and I earned a little money.

Today on my way home from work I had some very romantic thoughts about drinking. Sometimes it just seems too easy. But I've had success with reminding myself:

1) For me there is no such thing as an innocent drink.
2) If I get into trouble (which I will if I drink at all) and have to ask my husband and friends for help again, they will not be pleased. I will start losing people.
3) Drinking never makes anything better. Nothing. Ever.

V I'm glad you have a plan in place and have found someone to help you. Is she going to help you file for disability?

Dee I'm sorry you're not well. I wish you quick healing.

And V with your foot and Phoebe with your back, and Leigh still recovering. Healing vibes to everyone ~~~

When I've had time this week, I've been embracing my hobby of packing perfectly balanced, aesthetically pleasing, healthy, American-style bento lunches for my daughter...oh okay, for myself too. I don't know why I enjoy it so much, maybe it's a balance thing. It's kind of like a puzzle. I have several different lunch containers. There was one I lusted after, the Laptop Lunches box, but could never justify the $25 it cost. Then I was at TJ Maxx the other day, and I found one there for $7! Then today I hit Marshalls and found the $15 expansion pack for $5! Miracles! Yeah, I'm that big of a geek, my lunch boxes have expansion packs. So I've been having a wonderful time packing lunches the past couple days. It's nice to be able to do that simple fun thing. When I was drinking I just threw my daughter's lunches together haphazardly and bought myself crappy burgers for lunch. Another way in which life is better now.

venuscat

What are "bento" lunches Briar? And I want one of these lunch boxes now....

Nope, no disability. The social worker and I both feel strongly that if I duck out now, I will keep falling down the rabbit hole, and may never be able to come back out. I need to re-immerse myself in my own life now. I need to keep moving forward with job search, and stay engaged. There is an option for me for a time-out from this if I need it. But only if it is truly necessary. And I don't want to do that...

And no, drinking is not an option for us. Not for me, that's for sure.

I am taking my phone and myself to watch the football in bed.
I now have every AFL game live (for free) on my phone or tablet.
Except I don't have a tablet. So now I want one.
Something to work towards....

Dee74

just a torn muscle guys...it'll be fine

D

Briar

V bento is packing a whole meal in one container making the maximum use of space. The meals are balanced. In Japan they use a certain ratio of rice to meat to veggies, but here it's more flexible. I prefer two veggies, one fruit, two proteins, and one to two carbs (just one for my daughter, sometimes two for me). I pack for the whole workday - lunch and snacks in one box. You aim for the widest range of colors (more color = more nutrition), and I have a particular thing about balancing sweet and savory so that savory always wins out by a serving or two. For kids the big thing is to make the food cute by designing things out of it. Like for example for Halloween I like to peel a mandarin and stick a bit of cucumber in the middle that's cut to look like a stem, and there you have a cute pumpkin. I don't go crazy with the cute designs like some people, but I do employ a lot of cookie cutters, sandwich cutters, food picks, silicone cups/dividers, and cute mini containers. It's a lot of fun, kinda crafty, and my daughter loves her lunches. I don't do anything fancy for myself, but I do aim for the balance I like. I think I have a picture of my new lunchbox I took the other day to show my friend (also a bento enthusiast). I'll see if I can load it.

Briar

Okay, this one's crappy and uninspired, and with a glaring absence of green, but you get the idea.

venuscat

I woke up from a nap, saw this, and was instantly hungry.

Is that apple with the salami and cheese?

Conquest

Briar... I need a bento box!!! Somehow, it turns lunch into artwork! And Venus is right...we eat with our eyes first...it made me instantly hungry.
They're also perfect for eaters that hate when one food touches another. That doesn't bother me at all, but I know it does some. Super cute and nutritious!

I'm up. It's Saturday and the week took it out of me. Time for some pampering. I've got a mani/pedi scheduled and plan to go shopping for a sundress or something cute to wear to a graduation party/BBQ tonight.

Enjoy your sober Saturday's everyone!

venuscat

Have a great day all.
Done and dusted here.
Night and hugs from me. ♥

SoberLeigh

Conquest and Venus - yes, we eat with our eyes.

Have you seen the movie "The 100 Foot Journey"? It is so beautiful in so many ways. One of the main characters is a young man who is an aspiring chef; his main culinaryspecialty is initially Indian cuisine (having been taught to cook by his mother in India); circumstances (don't want to tell you if you haven't seen it) bring his family and him to France where he discovers the splendor of French cooking; there is one scene where he is absorbing all he can from a French cookbook and, while captivatingly reading a certain recipe, he brings his fingers to his lips as if to taste the ingredients - really cool scene.

Really wonderful movie.

BrighterDayz

Your crappy and uninspired lunch looks pretty tempting from here Briar! Busy weekend here making stuff for an event next Saturday. Crunch time.

Arbor

Those bento lunches look great Briar. I'm going to show that to my wife. Shes a very creative, crafty person. This would be up her alley.

Sobriety. What a wonderful way to be everyone. We should all feel proud everyday we make it through without a drink. A major accomplishment to say the least. Isn't that a great feeling? To know that everyday we've done something great for ourselves and our families?! That alone is reward enough.

Enjoy the weekend all.

Conquest

Amen to that, Arbor! There's a poster on the weekender thread that quantified the amount of alcohol that he has avoided since getting sober...when you start to think about how much poison the body had to process before...oh.my.stars. It feels so good to be free.

SoberLeigh

I think your bento lunch looks fantastic, Briar. My 'bagged' lynches were never half that inspiring.

phoebe64

I want a bento box too! Well, I want that lunch.

Briar

Here's a proper one I packed for my daughter this morning. I think we're going to the park today, so she'll need a lunch. We've got carrots, salami, juice, a string cheese under the little spoon, crackers, grapes, blueberries, apple slices, and half an avocado:



With bento you want to pack it tightly so if you beat it up (as kids always do), everything stays in place. Here the grapes and berries are a little loose, so that's where I'll stash a cute little napkin to fill the space. The lid is a little transparent, so this is the first thing she'll see:



And she'll be a happy little kid!

Arbor - if Ms. Arbor likes this, tell her to google "bento blog," there are lots of ladies who do this and blog their lunches. They all have different styles, and some of them do really cute stuff.

Conquest

That is too stinkin' cute! Ok. I may have a new hobby...

Mark1014

Ran up to the condo for a snack and thought of bento and you guys.

Having a great time. Hope to catch up with everything tonight

Briar

Go for it, Conquest, it's super fun! And healthy!

Beautiful FAD! I think it's high time for a SR retreat. That looks like just the place.

Briar

Check it out...100 days!

venuscat

Congrats Briar love! ♥♥♥♥

That looks magnificent from.

Have to run.
Love to everyone.