DryFeb: Day 7
One week in and feeing pretty great. Going to do a “weigh in” tomorrow to see if I’ve gained or lost any pounds due to being alcohol free. Going dry has many positive effects on one’s overall health, and pre-surgery, I’ve made it my goal to shed a couple of pounds. I won’t be posting my weight, just a plus or minus in terms of where I was 8 days ago.
Had a very busy weekend with the kids. My youngest started her (mega-postponed) skating lessons and that went pretty well. We’ve been doing some recreational skating here and there, specifically in the valley at the Laurentian Valley Skating Trails beside the Alice & Fraser Rec Centre (highly recommend BTW), so she has really strengthened her skills prior to where she would have been if the course hadn’t been postponed. However, we did a mini-Lunar New Year’s dinner celebration on Friday night so the kids stayed up late and she was tired the next morning during the lesson. We ended up leaving about 5 minutes early but I told her we could leave when she wanted to, and she took that offer sincerely. We will go to bed earlier this Friday night!
On Sunday, we checked out the Countryside Adventures tubing hill (Moose Creek) and had a blast! They have a nice skating area and trail there as well, so we’ll have to return to have that experience some day.
That brings us to Monday. I have wanted alcohol but not in a major way. Any sort of mild craving has been easily satiated by a glass of Diet Coke with ice.
So far, so good! I hope you are doing well in your alcohol-free journey, too.
If you would like to jump on the DryFeb bandwagon, there’s always room: CLICK HERE.
We’ve reached over $1,300.00 in donations for the Canadian Cancer Society - and our goal is $2,000.00. Be proud of yourself for attempting this feat during a hectic time of year. :)
DryFeb: Day 2
No, don’t worry, I will NOT be posting/pushing blogs every day!! I just had to share a funny thought I had which maybe you will relate to.
Yesterday was Chinese New Year and we (as a fam) typically celebrate all the happy events/holidays of various cultures and all religions by educating ourselves and supporting a local business by hosting an epic feast.
We didn’t do that last night and the kids were asking, “why?” I didn’t have a great answer other than, “it’s a school night”. So we will be doing a little feast on Friday to ring in the Lunar New Year.
My daughter’s skating lessons (which heavily involve me skating with her and holding her up) start across down at 9AM on Saturday… so how relieved am I knowing there is ZERO chance of me being hungover?! Yes! I’m feeling very good about being alcohol-free, although I know this is only the beginning.
If you want to try DryFeb, join the team! Share your thoughts, experiences or observations, too.
Quick fundraising update:
DryFeb: Day 1
Should I start this off by admitting my “cheat” strategy? Here’s what I did last year and what I have put in place this year as a celebratory measure, should it be employed/necessary.
I did not have any alcohol on Monday, January 31st and DryFeb, for me, means being alcohol-free for 28 days! So this “cheat” means that if I wish to have a celebratory drink on the last day (Monday, February 28th) then I will! Judge if you must but being alcohol-free is a feat worthy of cheers!
Day 1: Tuesday, February 1st
Started the day by weighing myself. I will be sharing a + or - result once per week (every Tuesday) but no totals will be given because weight isn’t my favourite topic of conversation. I would like to lose a couple pounds this month and am curious to see if a lack on alcohol consumption will do anything for me in that respect.
Health benefits of Dry Feb
By signing up for a Dry Feb, not only will you be raising funds for the Canadian Cancer Society, but you could feel some great personal health benefits too.
Each year participants report sleeping better, having more energy and being more productive!
Here are some of the benefits you could experience by going dry this Feb:
Sign up for Dry Feb (source: DryFeb.ca)
I also had my first assessment with a new Athletic Therapist downtown. She is very awesome and our first session gives me hope for pain management and “prehab” structure which will help me post operation.
I’m at work now and we have a new contest goin’ which keeps us hosts incredibly busy so I hope to be posting about DryFeb a few times per week throughout the month.
If you want to see what being alcohol-free does for your overall health, join our team! We’re called the Dry Babies and we’ve already nearly met the halfway part of our fundraising goal! Joining is no-obligation, free and fun. You can be dry for as long or as little as you are comfortable.
Avoiding Negativity for 12 Days: a reasonable goal?
Trying to ‘avoid the negative’ for the next two weeks. Will I see the forest through the trees? Wish me luck!
Things are opening back up.
Restrictions are easing.
Vaccines are more accessible. Pills are coming.
The canal is open.
Thinking about some of the negative things I’ve experienced lately and/or been witness to has me shifting focus. Focusing on things that aren’t negative (they don’t have to be overtly positive, just not nasty) is going to be my goal for the rest of the month. Sure, it’s only twelve days… but trying to stay away from the negative for any length can be a difficult task.
Does doing so manifest ‘good’?
I don’t know. I’m not so sure. I think a situation is what you make it or, at least, how you react to it. I’ve been slowly piecing together a ‘community’ of disabled women to follow on Instagram, which has been so wonderful. People who share my experiences as a young person living with rheumatoid arthtirits.
Work is going pretty good, too. I was happy to get back into the studio now that the kids are back to ‘in person learning’. This will be a blip in the timeline of our lives as we get older, I hope. Working from home is a privilige but it’s exciting to be able to fully perform in a way only a host can from the control room.
One of my original videos has received nearly 1.5 million views. I made the mistake of checking that out (I’ve never had such online ‘success’) and some of the comments were… well, you know! So, yeah…. back to my original point:
It’s going to be tough to stay away from the negative for the next twelve days but it’s worth a shot.
What does ‘staying away’ mean? Here’s my guideline that I am completely making up as I go:
No reading the comments when I am not physically at work.
No searching for or through old social media posts.
Avoid or ignore inflammatory situations (online and IRL).
Get outside.
Have more conversations with friends.
Plan for something exciting.
I’m not going to try and be positive or sunny or bright because life just isn’t like that. I’m going to try and avoid the negative, which is doable.
Rink of Dreams: Nope.
Excited to take the kids skating on the Rink of Dreams at Ottawa’s City Hall, we reserved our spot online no problem and arrived at our check in time promptly.
It’s just me who skates, my husband doesn’t. Our daughter who is 4 is learning, and our son, 7, has a pretty good form but also needs help from time to time. As I wait for a total hip replacement and foot fusion, in spite of my constant pain, I do my best to stay active.
We gear up and get on the ice with our new chariot stroller. We go right to the middle so as to not be in anyones way. When my husband arrives to drop off my daughters gloves (he was parking), we make our way over to the boards to grab them from him.
This is when I was approached by someone tending the rink. He informs me that I am not allowed on the ice with my stroller. I explained that it is for my youngest (who mostly is not skating; she was in it at the time) and I also use it as a mobility aid to which he says wheelchairs are permitted. I explained that while signing up, I read the rules and they indicated that strollers are permitted so long as the wheels are clean.
This stroller is brand new. I bought it for this purpose: to skate with the kids.
I agree to leave. We had been on the “Rink of Dreams” for less than five minutes.
While taking off our skates, the rink attendant again approaches me and apologizes. He says he was mistaken and that we are allowed on the rink.
By this point, I am exhausted and fatigued. I am mentally checked out. We are done. My son is crying. It is a stressful time (for many reasons) and tonight was a Rink of Shit.
