Conquest

And I had to share...

One of our top headlines today was "Man Guzzles Stolen Wine in HEB (grocery store) Bathroom, Stuffs Sushi In Pants"
Sheesh! Poor guy. Another reminder to keep up the good fight, friends.

NOW, I'm off.

SoberLeigh

How did the meetup go, BD?

venuscat

I don't use the word abstinence.
I am in recovery. Actively working on smashing this disease.
And I use the REALLY? tool all the time.
It all goes back to the automatic thought thing.
Our brains will shoot all sorts of random thoughts at us.
It is our choice to listen or not.

I had to have the procedure right away Arbor.
It was an emergency.
They fixed me, and checked for serious issues.
I just need to rest today.

Meanwhile my cold is worse and my radiator is leaking.
Not having much fun right now.

This too shall pass.

And I love snow cones!

SoberLeigh

((((sweet venuscat)))). I hope that you are 'all better' in every possible way soon.

BrighterDayz

Leigh, the meetup was very good, could definitely help me grow my little business. One of the guests was a Life Coach discussing how she tells her clients to listen to the inner voice that warns them not to do things...... Here I am thinking, LOL, she has it backwards!

Hope you mend quickly dear Venus!

Arbor

I guess what I was trying to say V is the longer we're sober the less we'll feel the void. I'm certainly no poster child, but I think we're all actively working on our own recoveries the best way we know how.

Feel better soon.

venuscat

Yes, of course we are.

Arbor

No nothing wrong. I was just reacting to your abstinence comment. Sorry if I'm over sensitive.

I never heard that REALLY? thing before. Or I never knew there was an acronym? Is that right?

venuscat

I edited that...oops...I will try again, with massive love.
For me, abstinence means just not doing something, whereas we are working on changing our lives (in good healthy positive ways), hence recovery. It just has a more positive sound for me.

And I just capitalised the Really because I say it to my head a lot. And I say it out loud.

Love you Arbor! ♥

Arbor

Gotcha. So you made up the saying, really...thanks V!

Love u too...

Briar

I never understood until rehab how recovery really is something you grow and nurture, it's much more than just not drinking. It's really working on yourself so you can be comfortable in sobriety. When people talk about their recovery, they're not just talking about the absence of alcohol, they're talking about something they actively work on.

Speaking of which, I need to figure out what I'm going to do around here to be part of a recovery community. I like lifering, but then there was drama among the core group, and it kind of polluted the community. I also didn't trust or enjoy being around the new people who came in recently, so I haven't gone to those meetings in a while. I also bailed out of AA. I did make a good friend in aftercare who I see once or twice a month, so that's good. My therapist is on my ass to do more, but I don't know where I'll feel comfortable. Gotta work on that.

venuscat

I have no idea where Dee is...I must admit I'm worried at this point.
I know he has been busy, but I can't see his input anywhere in the last few days.
I am hoping that he is alright...I might check with Anna.

Mark1014

Good morning gang and happy Thursday.

I hope the meeting works out for you this evening Arbor. And am I noticing a little something different with your username?

V, I'm hoping you feel better this evening!

Lots of good stuff to read from yesterday's posts. But I agree that the longer we are without drink and are working on our new sober lives the more muffled the av will be. We have to stay in this thing long enough to prove to ourselves what a liar the addictive voice is. And when the av throws a little tantrum we won't fall for its manipulative ways.

Gym time.

venuscat

Hmm. Arbor still looks like the same wonderful Arbor to me. No change here.
I am feeling a little better, but not totally OK yet, as you would expect.
And yes, it would be super nice if I had someone to look after me.
But at least I have great company...little V is awesome!

Arbor

Didn't think anyone would notice Mark since everyone calls me Arbor anyway. I dropped the 8 for no particular reason. 8)

I have noticed no presence of Dee lately too. Hope he's alright.

Sleep well venuscat!

phoebe64

Good luck tonight Arbor.

V, I hope you feel better very soon, and that your procedure was helpful if you had been having chronic problems.

Hoping Dee is okay, and just busy.

I am tired! Puppy duty is a bit like having a new baby, but not that hard, lol. But I now need to sleep with the door open and no ear plugs. Between a snoring husband and hamster wheel, and listening for pup, I am not sleeping well. Then, up at about 5:30 or 5:45. Would be fine if I got good sleep. I could ask my daughter to take a turn, but I have no faith she would wake. She and son sleep like the dead once they conk out.

All that whining aside, he is bringing structure and joy to our home, and giving us all a new bonding experience. Also getting to know some neighbors better. One family has a year or so old dog who has played with Huxley twice now. He LOVES it, and that dog never gets mad no matter how hard he plays! I do worry a little because the other dog is so much bigger, but she is not a huge dog. Leggy and thin lab looking sort. But medium sized. He cried when she left last evening.

Lots of driving kids this week. Camps, volunteer gig at shelter for Ds and her 2 friends. Then, tomorrow eve, daughter invited friends to meet the puppy. We will grill some burgers and maybe do the fire pit for them.

Mark1014

How's the crate training going. Once he's settled into that whole routine, maybe you can get back to your earplugs. I'm so stuck on the sound of a fan blowing to help me get to sleep and I like it to blow on me too. I even pack a fan when we travel.

Arbor, for me walking into a meeting type situation for the first time is the hardest and I have to get past that before I can even begin to judge whether or not I relate to the content. I've researched and would have to drive a pretty far distance to get to a meeting location that I'm comfortable with. They are either too close or a 30plus minute drive. I am interested to get your take on it if it does work out for you to go this evening.

SR seems to be getting me by for now, but I'll make changes to my plan as the need arises. Having some face to face support does seem to hold great value.

Arbor

Yeah Mark. I am nervous about it. Not sure what to expect. I hope I don't meet anyone I know. There's always that chance, right? But the way I see it is if I do happen to run into a neighbor or someone else I would hope that would just mean "additional" support. We could really carry each other in times of need. Anyways, where I live now I didn't grow up. Been here for the last ten years or so. I know people close by me in the neighborhood. That's it really. We plan to sell this place in the next year anyhow and move outta town. Need a bigger place for the kids and us.

Mark1014

Can't go wrong with an attitude like that man!

There was this one fellow at the gym I had gotten to know a little that mentioned AA in passing a time or two. I had thought I may touch base with him if the situation ever allowed. At the gym I'm generally focused on what I'm doing and have ear buds in....not really a chatty time for me. Anyway, he moved to Phoenix, so a mute point.

A place for your boys with plenty of room to run around outside and just enjoy the great outdoors sounds fantastic. Those are some of my best early childhood memories.

Briar

Morning guys.

Arbor - I hope the meeting goes well. I've seen people I know at meetings, and it was fine, they were very understanding. They were there for the same reason, after all. I actually ran into one of the other daycare moms at a meeting. We talked for a while about our drinking problems. Now I see her nearly every day at drop off/pick up, and it's pretty cool. We never talk about it, but we say "how are you?" with some real meaning behind it. Seeing her at the start of each day serves as a great reminder.

Things are good here. The southern edge of the fire is now contained just a couple miles from my mom's house. She's in the clear, and we are SO grateful. This one was so close and so strong, it's amazing it never reached her. Huge relief!

Time for another day. I'm working on a proposal for a significant change in the accounting system at the county jail, which has to be very convincing because the government balks at the mere suggestion of change. Wish me luck!