amateur night

new year's eve;
another holiday where many folks
feel almost compelled to drink.

similar to st patrick's day, when
even people who hardly imbibe,
find themselves tying one on.

at least drivers are more aware
than ever, the risks of driving
under the influence in the time
of the .08 blood alcohol level.

staying home or going to a
nearby house party has been
our practice for many years.

tonight will be a quiet(somewhat)
evening with Aden & Logan,
enjoying spongebob, scooby doo
and charlie brown.

happy new year!

the pecking order

had a chat with a friend in the rooms
after my relapse.
told her how people act differently
toward me, since my fall from the 5+
year club

I compared it to a certain "pecking order",
that exists in most recovery rooms.

sure we still hear," all we have is today",
but it sure was comforting to have a few
thousand today's piled up.

here's an experiment;
listen closely to every person with more
than 3 years clean, and you will be reminded
of how much time they have every time they
share.

I've been to thousands of meetings, in four
states, and this is all too common.

It's those with that peaceful, calmness that
I really admire; they never remind us of
their accumulated years, it shows in their actions.

my quote for the day;
"you can take the rum out of a fruitcake,
but it's still a fruitcake"

out of touch

well I never got the chance to sign on
due to an outage of cable, internet and
even our vonage phone service, since around
noon today.

we were relegated to dvd's;
even found the classic "Ladder 49".

on the lighter side was, "Forgetting Sarah Marshall".

still patiently waiting for service to be restored,
we watched "Boiler Room".

oh well, tomorrow is a new day

more news

from about.com/alcoholism;

Actor Charlie Sheen Arrested After Drunken Brawl... Cardinals Third Baseman Registers .232 Blood Alcohol Level... Mexican Security Forces Kill 'Boss of Bosses'... Man Sold Crack With 2-Year-Old In Tow... Drunk Driver Who Killed Cop Gets Another DUI... Man Jailed for Driving Forklift Drunk... More... Read more...


wow the malady surely spans the entire spectrum!

not sure that most Americans realize the chaos and calamity
caused by imbibing.

from motor vehicle accidents to hospital emergency visits,
to domestic violence, unprotected sex, senseless fights
and a myriad of social problems, booze is underestimated
as a major cause of many problems in society.

part of the problem, of course, is the legality and social
acceptance of drinking.

in this age of awareness, we are exposed to the
daily consequences of the effects of drinking to excess.

Monday quotes

The highest form of wisdom is kindness.
- The Talmud

If you want something you've never had, you've got to do something you've never done!
- Tangela

We worry about what a child will be tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today.
- Stacia Tauscher

I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph.
- Shirley Temple

Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't.
- Margaret Thatcher


Success has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself. It's what you do for others.
- Danny Thomas

I hate women because they always know where things are.
- James Thurber

If you do nothing else this year...Evolve.
- Lily Tomlin

Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.
- Brian Tracy

Once you've gotten the meaning, you can forget the words.
- Chuang Tzu

I'm an idealist: I don't know where I'm going, but I'm on my way.
- Carl Sandburg

A holiday gives one a chance to look backward and forward to reset oneself by an inner compass.
- May Sarton

sunday photo fun...

kudos to Motifake.com for the best posters on the web!!

over the holiday hump...

well it was quite the Christmas
yesterday.

watching Steph, Keith, Erin, Dan, Deb,
Bob, Aden & Logan, unwrapping gifts.
even China was included in the festivities!
I had the essential task of getting it all
on video.

Deb put out a fantastic meal as always;
we were all asked to share what our
high & low points were, for the day.

later in the evening, our manager, Roger
(also Santa for Christmas eve), and our
friend Megan, had a blast discussing the
day's events.

with national lampoon's Christmas Vacation
in the background, we all some great laughs!

all in all a fantastic holiday experience;
hope yours was also memorable!

Merry Christmas

Aden & Logan with the elves
The house in full regalia
China, all dressed for her to escort the reindeer...

Santa arriving at Prospect House...
now we find out who's been
naughty or nice!

'twas the night before Christmas...

...and all through the house
the guys next door were
startled by a little mouse.

we have no chimney, yet
stockings galore, filled to
the brim almost ceiling
to floor

the guys all home with family
for the night,
sharing the holiday
in a recovery light

Deb in her holiday best
and I in my Santa hat
off to watch the young
ones unwrap,
with Blue the dog
and Nixon the cat.

"Merry Christmas to all,
and to all a good night"

Remember all our public
safety workers and also
the brave men and women
in our Military, home and abroad.

God Bless America!

augmenting the 12

just wanted to share steps 8 and 11,
from The 16 Steps;

8) We make a list of people we have harmed and people who have harmed us, and take steps to clear out negative energy by making amends and sharing our grievances in a respectful way.

11) We promptly admit to mistakes and make amends when appropriate, but we do not say we are sorry for things we have not done and we do not cover up, analyze, or take responsibility for the shortcomings of others.

These are essential for anyone seeking
progressive wellness, especially women.

Many females have been victims of abuse
in numerous forms; verbal, emotional,
physical and sexual.

sadly we are not encouraged ANYWHERE
in the big book or 12 steps, to safely
address those who have wronged US.

part of the healing process begins with
admitting wrongs, but it remains incomplete
until we are able to share our feelings with
those who have harmed us.

I am reminded of this by the verse
from the Skylark
song from the '70's-"Wildflower"...

"Be careful how you touch her,
for she'll awaken
and sleep's the only freedom that she knows
and when you walk into her eyes,
you won't believe

the way she's always paying
for a debt she never owes
and a silent wind still blows
that only she can hear and so she goes"

'tis the season...

...to be jolly;
or perhaps, anxious, stressed,
sad, hopeful or just normal.

there is a flood of emotions
associated with the holidays.

they always remind me of
getting ready for the prom;
lots of preparation, shopping,
anticipation and excitement.

through the decades of my
life, Christmas has been ever
evolving.

remembering what it was like
as a child and teen.
the large family gatherings,
great food and loads of presents.

I recall the joy of all the Christmas
mornings with my son, watching
him open gifts.

to the last decade of sharing the
holidays with Deb and her daughters.

the last four years enjoying the
addition of Steph's two boys.

there have been many changes
to my Christmas experience;
at this stage of my life, I understand
the joy of giving like never before.

interesting new site

Look at your drinking.com,
based in England, they offer online
therapy.

what I like about layd is displayed
in the opening description;


"If you sign up for therapy, there is an option to cut down or quit altogether and your therapist works with you to find out the right solution. You may start off by wishing to cut down and end up quitting. Similarly, you may feel you want to quit but then wish to try to moderate your drinking. Each person is different and you and your therapist arrive at a solution that’s best for you."

in addition they offer personally tailored
help, including cognitive behavioral therapy
and motivational interviewing.

this online approach is ideal for any adult
who has neither the time or financial means
to go to inpatient rehab.

I will be signing up soon, and let my readers
know if this is a viable alternative or
addition to AA.

Monday quotes

A half truth is a whole lie.
- Yiddish proverb

Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. I sense much fear in you.
- Yoda

The greatness of a man can nearly always be measured by his willingness to be kind.
- G. Young

Such is human psychology that if we don't express our joy, we soon cease to feel it.
- Lin Yü-tang

Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.
- Denis Waitley

The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.
- William Arthur Ward

The further one grows spiritually, the more and more people one loves and the fewer and fewer people one likes.
- Gale Webbe

To live with fear and not be afraid is the final test of maturity.
- Edward Weeks

The crisis of today is the joke of tomorrow.
- H. G. Wells

When women go wrong, men go right after them.
- Mae West

None are so empty as those who are full of themselves.
- Benjamin Whichcote

I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today.
- William Allen White

The only time a woman really succeeds in changing a man is when he's a baby.
- Natalie Wood

had to repost this

this is my all-time favorite list of what you did not and will
not learn in school It was written by Charles J. Sykes, best known as the author of "Dumbing Down Our Kids: Why American Children Feel Good about Themselves, but Can’t Read, Write, or Add."

the emphasis has shifted from teaching the basics,

to sappy, feel good coddling and political correctness.

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2
: The world won’t care about your self-esteem. The world will expect
you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3 : You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You
won’t be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4 : If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule
5 : Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had
a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it’s not your parents’ fault, so don’t whine about your mistakes, ‘learn from them’..

Rule
7: Before you were born, your parents weren’t as boring as they are
now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes
and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So
before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent’s
generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule
8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS
NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they’ll
give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This
doesn’t bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don’t get summers off
and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do
that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.


all good advice for gen-x, gen-rx, and the mtv generation.

I'm back !

sorry for my absence;
I got home this morning from
3 weeks of treatment.

somewhere along my recovery
path, I lost the ability to "think
it through".

that feeling that I could somehow
control or moderate returned
after 6 years of sobriety.

just when I was finally able to
play the tape to the end, complacency
took over.

there were no reasons for me to drink.

Since the facility I entered has a medical
staff, I was able to make an important
med change.

In addition, they offer a strong spiritual
component to recovery.

I don't feel I lost anything other than
a sobriety date.

I'm proud of the time I was able to achieve;
as a former long-term 90 day wonder,
it was a major accomplishment.

Just like I tell people in the rooms;
what matters is what you do after
a slip.

get back on the horse and hold on
even tighter.