Alcohol Free is What We Want to Be! Thursday, October 14

NEW CHALLENGE!

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO BE FOR HALLOWEEN?
September 5 - October 31


CIRCLE September 5 on the calendar. Now CIRCLE October 31 on the calendar. This is your 8 week AF Halloween challenge. For this challenge to work you have to commit and take it seriously. Respect the importance of the challenge. RESPECT YOURSELF by focusing on your health and taking care of yourself. Organize yourself healthy, organize your grocery shopping, ORGANIZE!

Do you fancy yourself a witch? a ghoul? a ?? How about visualizing yourself as a happier, healthier person? Envision your costume…except it won’t be a costume, it will be you!

Being AF isn't easy, no one said it would be. Are you in an emotional war when it comes to alcohol? Declare a truce and determine that it isn't helping you, in fact it may be causing you problems. Can you decide to be alcohol free for the challenge? Can you determine your detours, not necessarily to take them but to plan so it isn't a free fall into AIE? Don't give yourself an excuse that oh my day has been lousy so I will have a drink or I'm bored so I will drink to get through the evening. During the challenge the primary goal is to abstain from alcohol. If you decide to have a drink, don’t beat yourself up….this is a hard journey! Keep in mind you don’t have to finish the bottle, you don’t have to finish a bag of cookies…you have control…now you have to believe it!

Some of us can’t have “spirits” in the house…that can take a whole lot of self control. There are lots of tricks and ways to avoid A but essentially many of us bring an OCD attitude…..usually defined as obsessive compulsive disorder... to stay AF but for this challenge OCD means….Ongoing Celebration of Discovery! We can discover and celebrate ourselves!! And we don't need alcohol or excessive food to do it!

So what are you going to be for Halloween? A much healthier, happier person sounds like a great plan and it won't be a costume! Great success!

Word of the Day

verklempt
[ VER-KLEMPT ]

Part of Speech adjective

Origin + Etymology
1990-95; German First recorded in 1990–95; from Yiddish verklempt, farklempt, “overcome with emotion”

Synonyms
distraught, agitated, hysterical, distressed, frenzied, overwrought

Antonyms
deadpan, stolid, detached, unruffled, serene

Definition
overly emotional and unable to speak

Example
A) After she broke up with him he was visibly verklempt and unconsolable. B) The groom was verklempt as he watched his bride walk down the aisle.

Good Morning!

Had my appointment with the ophthalmologist yesterday afternoon. Was expecting to just get a baseline but nope, cataracts in both eyes.
Will do the surgery on the left eye Nov. 4. DS is sick so I went on my own. Driving home in rush hour traffic with dilated eyes was not a fun experience but no harm no foul.

Fell asleep on the sofa early evening and didn't wake up till 2 AM, then moved to my bed.

Another rainy day. The last two nights have had strong rain storms. Wish I had pushed harder to get all the bulbs into the ground. Oh well. Saturday looks to be nice.

The plumber came on Monday, fixed the problem and it was just under $500. Part of the wall had to be cut out to get to the PVC pipes….they were more extensively cracked than what we could tell. A different type of pipe was installed that should stand up to any freezing temperatures. Thankfully I trust the plumber but was hopeful it would not be such an expensive job. This month has been expensive! Now the oven is not working….broiler works, stovetop works but cannot bake anything. Need to check out some videos online.

I received a voice message yesterday being addressed as Mr. Klein or maybe Mr Klein was calling. The balance of payment by insurance company was being issued. I checked online and the check was issued. The message cut in and out so didn’t make sense, nor did the transcript. I guess once I get the check I will call my insurance company to see if funds were included for the gutters. I would like to get the project done before the end of the year.

Regarding GF (?): She is from India on a student visa working to complete her Master’s. If she doesn’t maintain a certain GPA, then she could lose her scholarship and return home. She has been looking for a part time job but without citizenship, she has not had any luck. Her family will not be pleased if she gets involved with a white man. The parents have contracted two arranged marriages and neither have worked out. She lives with two other students. She does not have a car and she lives 45 minutes from us. So when DS brings her here, she stays. This last time she came on Thursday and left late Sunday. I think she feels safe here. She is very sweet and watching her, I would say she “loves” DS. But there are difficult cultural differences. She has an aunt that lives in Houston but is ignored (not quite shunned) by the family because she married beneath her caste.

DS has an Indian friend from college who is dating a Mexican man…his family refuses to acknowledge her.

DS starts his new job on Monday. The company has been waiting on the official background check from the FBI. He has been cleared but the written approval has not been sent. Probably the FBI are too busy investigating parents. He has some sort of national banking certification showing he is cleared.

It makes me wonder how many young people who have been arrested over the summer, will be able to pass background checks. In reading job postings, the term “ scuffs” in your background is being used. We have a lot of restaurant jobs open in the area and yet people post on the town’s FB page that they apply and never hear back. Now there are more posts, does anyone know anyone really hiring?

Need to go back and read posts to know what is going on. Hope everyone is doing well.

Hugs, Cindy

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO BE FOR HALLOWEEN?
September 5 - October 31

How will you love yourself today?

Move More Accountability: REALLY need to work on this!
Sleep Accountability: Actually pretty good! FitBit 91%
Nutrition Accountability: Tracking/NOT
Journal Accountability: I don't really journal
Happiness Accountability: I guess we make our own happiness
Habit Accountability: Take my pills first thing in the morning and start to observe and re-direct to a more positive path.
Check in Daily Accountability: Here!
Time Management Accountability: I never was a time management person; need to work on this if I want to get more steps in!

What are you going to be for Halloween? Hope happier with myself

DAILY STATS
Calories allowed/consumed: 1270/
Calorie Burn Actual:1930
Fitbit Goal/Actual: 6,000/2,387 terrible steps but knitted most of the day!

DAYS AF: 5
DAYS NOT AF:34

September 5: 213.8
September 12:214.8
September 19:217.0
September 26:218.8
October 3: 221.0
October 10: 219.0
October 17:
October 24:
October 31/Final weigh in:
Happy Halloween! and congrats to your new self!

Hi everyone!
Yesterday was an AIM day, one drink; eating was not too bad either. I haven't tracked and need to get back to that. I did get on my bike for 20 minutes the day before yesterday, need to be more consistent. So I have been doing ALOT of retail therapy which is probably helping me ease out of my funk, the only thing is that it is a little costly, but most of it, actually all of it has been for Isabel, lol. I bought an outfit, Converse Leopard Chuck's hightop sneakers, Christmas jammies, Christmas dress, and the Little Tikes Fairy Cozy Coupe. I really haven't bought her anything since she was born except for her Christening gift. I had opened up a savings account for her and I have been making a weekly deposit; I thought this would be better than buying "stuff" instead.

I am finally knitting a sweater for the baby, no more blankets for a while, lol. It is a hooded cardigan with sort of a thermal/waffle stitch and it is all in white, something practical, then I make her some hats for the winter. When it's done, I will post a picture on our FB page.

Amy~ I love your black "spooky" tree! I'll bet you are going to get a lot of kids with all your Halloween decorations.

Jan~ Yay for getting the cabin closed and making notes of what will need to be done in the spring. I love your designs on the shutters. Are you painting them yourself or are they carved? Glad DS will be spending some time with you before his job starts in Oregon.

Carole~ Are you liking your new job? Wow, your Dad finding his old Army duffle bag must have brought back so many memories for him, what a fabulous find!

GG~ You must be glad Bible study has restarted. Just curious, do you all wear masks where it is indoors and the possibility that not everyone is vaccinated?

Murphy~ Glad you were able to get to the dentist before your trip; when do you leave? Maybe with your taking a short walk and my trying to be more consistent with the bike, you and I can get a little healthier!

Cindy~ So glad to hear that DS got the job! What will he be doing and will he have a long commute? Sorry about the cataracts, but glad you were able to get an appointment so soon. DH and I have our appointments 10/29; fingers crossed.

Cathy~ I think you made a wise decision not going to your card game; as Jan had said, you need to do what is right for you. Glad you have some sewing projects to keep you busy!

Have a great day!

Good afternoon! I’ve been to the Y. I walked 25-30 minutes and then was in the pool another 20-25 minutes. I stopped and picked up a few groceries. Tonight is bell practice. As I was looking at my WW journal, I realized I passed my 3 year AF anniversary! It was on the 8th. It’s hard to believe! What’s even harder to believe is that I still want it! Not like I used to, but enough to know not to touch it! One is one too many and one more is never enough. Oh, I got a blue dot yesterday too! 🤪

Amy: How far or how long do you walk every morning? Even with my 30 minute walk, I still don’t reach 10,000 steps. Partly because I sit so much in the morning, I know!

Cindy: Yay for ds starting his job Monday! Could you tell you had cataracts? Glad you are getting them fixed.

Jan: Don’t you just hate it when DH’s decide to be buttheads? Lol You made me smile. When is ds expected at your house? Do they get much time between jobs?

Liz: 91% for your sleep? That’s amazing! The highest I have ever gotten is an 84. Usually it’s upper 60’s to low 70’s. No, we don’t wear masks, but would if someone wanted us to. The way I look at it is that I have had the vaccine. I will also get the booster when it’s available. But I honestly think it will be like the flu shot, which I also got. Some years I get the flu, some I don’t. But when I do, it’s not as bad as it would have been. I think at some point, we will all get Covid. Hopefully the vaccines will keep the symptoms light. I refuse to worry about it!

I’m fixing spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, so I better get moving. I’m planning on getting another blue dot today!