Wankerbastards move to 2020. With moderatin' a plenty. We rage against flouncers, strops and teens, and of dryness we have big dreams. We want teacups not fuckups!

[Frouby]

Thread 9 for the tryers to be dryers. Join us if you want some support to reduce alcohol. All welcome for support, laughs and moderating.

Will tag a few peoples name I can spell as I am useless at clicky links.

@flossie
@madameforest
@longestlurkerever
@dionoysa
@waterandlemonjuice

I’m sorry to hear about your mum Madame. It sounds like there is comfort in familiarity. My bf’s mum is very poorly at the moment, and it seems quite a lot of work for someone who’s sick. I see what you mean about it getting too much.

I’m not dry tonight. I’m also not totally shitfaced, which is a rarity. It’s usually one or the other. Two pints and two small glasses of wine. I’m stressed about work, so called a friend for a catch up. I’d better have some work tomorrow...

I overdid the wine a bit. Not terribly but can feel the difference. Lesson learned. AF tonight. Dd2 swimming lesson then i have a few silly bits to lay a valentine's day trail for them. On a course again so hoping for easier work day, though missing stuff is itself a bit stressful.

I’m sorry about your aunt too Frouby, that sounds worrying.

Madame, not surprised you weren’t AF 💐

Longest, enjoy your course.

I started worrying about my thyroid last night, the main thyroid test was fine but one of the tests was slightly raised. GP said they wouldn’t usually do anything on the basis of one slightly raised test but she said re test in 6 weeks and take it from there. Panicked myself by googling and worrying that it was symptomatic of liver disease. I think I’m going to do the 8 weeks of the BSD which means 8 weeks completely AF and get the re test done after that. I am wondering if it’s simpler to just give up drinking for ever on the basis that at least I can stop worrying about my liver then. FGS! And I didn’t even have the liver function test.

NC4 well done on not being shitfaced 👍🏻 Sorry you’re worrying about work, I hope something turns up soon. Could you write a script in the meantime? Ignore me if that’s a silly idea.m

God, I’m in a grump. Massively work related. It seems to be ‘put NC4 out of business’ week.
So glad I’ve got a PT session booked in this evening or I’d be swimming in gin...

Oh NC4 i am sorry things look grim.

Course was a bit shit actually. Was about wellbeing and resilience but the basic message was start doing yoga and mindfulness like your life depends on it, because it does.

I did joke that my coping strategies were outdoor swimming and gin. With gin being a metaphor for wine.

NC4 I hope your PT session allowed you to expend your energy and you feel better now!
Water what is your thyroid result? What is your TSH? I was hyper (over active) and felt nervous, stressed, lost a lot of weight....it cured itself in the end.
Longest well, mindfulness and yoga are things I've never wanted to do. I'd stick to the swimming if I were you, it seems that you find your happy place there, like I do with running. I can think of nothing else than not moving and having to think about things. At least when you run/cycle/swim you are stimulated by other things. Each to their own.

Outdoor swimming sounds good longest. I read a comment recently from someone saying “resource our department adequately rather than telling us to be more resilient and do yoga and shit” or words to that effect. Wonder where it was, was it someone on this thread? I’m probably quoting you to yourself 😂 might have been on LinkedIn if not.

NC4 sorry you are stressed about work. Hope PT was good..

Madame, main thyroid was fine, as was T4, T3 was 2.04 which is apparently slightly elevated. Dh has googled extensively tonight and says forget about it more or less so I’m resolving not to worry. I’m glad yours resolved itself.

Frouby, how are you? When will you hear re course acceptance?

Today is day 3 AF this week, day 7 AF in February and day 27 AF in the year, which is 62% of days AF. Hmm, need to do better.

What’s everyone doing for Valentines and half term? We are having steak and salad tomorrow night, just me and dh, then I’m having lunch in a pub with a friend on Saturday then we have visitors on Saturday and Sunday. I’m doing a lush slow roasted lamb with pomegranate molasses plus salads and baby roasted potatoes with mushroom wellingtons for the veggies.

Well, as I am single this V-day I think I’ll pop round and visit my dear friend Water, just around tea time. I’ll pick up a bottle of wine from little Tesco on my way...

Mindfulness and yoga are all lovely, but not a substitute for having a decent work/life balance.

I’m in less of a grump now. I had a good long chat to one of the editors I write for, who reassured me that it’s just a quiet week, and I’m still very much loved, valued and budgeted for. Gym was good too.

Longest how long do you swim for? I don’t think I could get in an outdoor pool in these temperatures. I’m a real soft arse when it comes to cold.

Half term’s started here. DS2 has a blood test this morning and didn’t even flinch, which is brilliant. He was quite fascinated by the whole process and really got on with the practice nurse who did it. He’s always been a bit phobic of nurses and won’t engage with them, so although it sounds silly, it was a real milestone ❤️

Morning all and happy valentines day. Load of commercial bollocks but I got some naice prosecco, roses and chocolates yesterday so all good. Ds has bought he crush a little bunch of roses, box of chocolates and a card as well. So sweet but poor dd isn't getting anything. She says anyway. Could be just not telling me. She has a teacher training day today so no school and isn't going out anywhere.

Had an email from UCAS yesterday just telling me that they have received my application. I spoke to admissions at the uni on Wednesday and they said they do interviews for foundation year courses right through to the summer so it may be a while. OU applications open in april for October courses so will call then if have not heard anything as OU is still Plan B.

Food sounds lush, haven't had lamb for ages. Aldi do lovely British lamb legs for about half the price of anywhere else, might do one for Sunday.

Not dry last night. Fuck sake. Am writing this week off. Half term plans are go to my school mum friends new house for a cuppa and so kids can play, nature reserve and some point, got my smear booked in and spend some time decluttering my house. Possibly also nip to ikea at some point.

Bugger, not good news about poor auntie in hospital. Her blood is apparently attacking her liver which doesn't sound at all good. They aren't sure why, possibly some autoimmune thing or weird type of hepatitis. I think it's quite serious, the doctors have said that she will get confused soon so needs to 'get things in place'. Am assuming some kind of power of attorney maybe?

They are getting a bigger hospital involved to try and get to the bottom of things. Fuck sake.

Oh Frouby I'm so sorry about your auntie. I think the hospital is right, she needs to get things in place if she hasn't already got a will and named the executor. Autoimmune illnesses are very common and sometimes very hard to cure and even if the liver regenerates I suppose there is only so much it can take in the end. I hope she isn't suffering.

Oh Frouby, I’m sorry about your auntie. 💐

NC4 do pop round 😂 - I’m glad ds was ok with his blood test and the editor was reassuring

Dh gave me a lovely card, a bottle of Bollinger, 12 red roses and a box of Prestat chocolates so I’m happy. I framed a photo for him of us 20 years ago, plus some chocolates. We look very young in the photo!

I have been prepping food for the weekend this morning so I’ve made mushroom wellingtons and marinated the lamb and made a heart shaped tart for dd for tonight with the leftover pastry from the wellingtons. Idid half without olives as she has a fussy friend here tonight. I also cleaned the top of the oven, stripped beds and have done loads of washing. Dull but quite satisfying. Happy weekend everyone

Frouby, I am sorry things don't sound too good for your auntie. Power of attorney sounds sensible.

Water, that looks fab! Your quote sounds like something I would say, but I don't remember saying it! To be fair my place is reasonably good at work life balance - I have worked any number of different working patterns and so does pretty much everyone in my team, male and female, it just always feels a bit like I am carrying quite heavy responsibility for my pay grade! And then they are super stingy about other things too so you're faffing around trying to conduct international negotiations from the stairwell.

Glad you've had a better day NC4. I tend to do 20 lengths of the 50m lido, plus cycling there and back - which isn''t very far - 20 mins each way maybe, but there's a fuck off hill in both directions. It's not cold though, honestly - bit cool is all. Is heated to about 24 degrees, which is only a little cooler than the indoor pool, and it's so much bigger and emptier and less shrill and echoey than the indoor pool.

I've had a lovely day so far. Dh is a soppy get and booked the day off so I had a lido swim and we went to an escape room, which was really fun, and we managed to escape! Went for a curry buffet too, and may have snuck in a speedy siesta crapuleuse. I got tulips, choccies and champagne so no complaints here either, and I have bought a lobster and quails' eggs for tea. Made the kids a mini Valentine's treasure hunt, which pleased them, if not me, when they were stomping around at 6am.

Half term here too, though I am working Mon- Wed. Dd1 is going to Harry Potter art camp and dd2 is going to friends' houses, and I am reciprocating Thurs and Fri.

Mil wants to buy dh and me a kid-free weekend away later in the year for our joint 40ths, this year. Where should I go? Nowhere too expensive. Wondering about Paris or maybe somewhere I have not been, like Lisbon.

Me in my happy place at the lido Mme!

But have just realised various of dh's colleagues will have been at that conference with the coronavirus. It's next door to my office. Shit.

I love your happy place Longest! Outdoors is best, for all sports. I must try the outdoor pool in Rennes, 50m outdoor, heated to 24°c in winter.
I don't get the same endorphins with doing sport indoors.
I hope the coronavirus stays away. As you say, shit. But only 1% of people who have contracted it have died ...if you believe everything the Chinese government say of course!

I love outdoor sporty stuff. But definitely not a day today to be out in it.

Had a nice evening last night, despite bad news re aunt. Had 2 beers and a full bottle of prosecco. Was pissed as a fart. But surprisingly felt ok this morning, probably because I didn't wake up until 9am after being awake for an hour in the night.

Dh got up before me, had cleaned the kitchen from last night and been to feed the chickens by the time I got up. And he's cooking tonight. I wont be dry but will definitely aim to moderate a little bit.

Just waiting for my cousin to call in on her way home from hospital with an update re aunt, then am considering either a nan nap or a beer. Probably depends what the news is.

To be fair you can do outdoor yoga near me. Pricey though. Park run is free and swimming isn't too expensive relatively speaking. Managed park run this morning but has turned really foul now. Some kind of speed demon turned up and flew round the course 2 mins faster than anyone else. I had only just got used to not being lapped! Knackered after a bit too much champagne. Determined to be a bit more moderate tonight

Some mad heads do yoga on stand up paddle boards in our lake in the summer 😮. Lots of falling off it involved though.

I'd have a go except I can't do sup and I can't do yoga. I usually sit and watch them instead but have said I will do more paddling this year.

Yes actually they do that at our reservoir too but again it is £££.

Am not sure how much it is here, it's not run by the club it's an outside club that pay to use the facilities. Am sure it's something like £50 for 2 x 2 hour sessions to learn how to SUP. But club members get unlimited coaching on it if you want for £99 annually for a family if 5 😂😂😂.

I am going to learn this year and have a go at windsurfing I think. And the dragonboat team keep threatening me with forcing me out with them. We are very lucky that the club is so cheap and there is so much to do at no extra costs.

Hoping that the weather improves soon, got absolutely loads to do on the allotment but it's so wet at the minute it's impossible.

DH needs to use my car for work tomorrow and Tuesday, his needs a bit of work for MOT and they need a part. So told him I had been planning to go to IKea on Tuesday so making him take me tomorrow morning instead. Winning at life 😂.

Hugs to you and your auntie, Frouby.

Longest, I love the picture!!

Playing catch-up a bit, through a fog of gin.

DP was good on Valentine's Day, in terms of flowers etc (which I was grateful for, because it was all absolutely lovely), but made up being sweet for it by his don't careish behaviour. It is ongoing now, which explains my gin fog. I am toying with the idea of drunkenly texting our mutual friend, who knows that I am long suffering, to have a moan. I know this is a bad idea, though.

I made DP a card, which he was pleased with. Also made DD a card, because she has had a rotten time. So she liked me for about 4 minutes.

Now submerged by half term. FML.

Everyone has been very quiet this weekend, i have been thinking of you Frouby and Mme and wondering if you have been coping with very difficult things. Sending hugs.

After such a lovely Friday the rest of the weekend was a bit meh. Weather didn't help and dh is being jumpy again while he adjudts to this diet (at least i am really hoping it's temporary as i had got quite used to not being constantly on the brink of divorce). Kids a bit whingey/tantrummy and the weather was too shit for swimming so we decided to torture ourselves with ikea, which would have been fine if kids would have gone in the crèche but the ball pit was closed so they wouldn't.

Ah well, i had a better night's sleep which was probably the main issue, though was moderate rather than AF even though Sunday. Had a cheeky glass to calmy nerves after family board game night!

Kids being farmed out today and i am off to work.

Longest thanks for your thoughts, I hope Dh gets used to his diet soon and half term goes well!

Frouby have you had any news about your auntie?

Dion I'm glad DP was lovely on Valentine's Day even if he has reverted to old behaviour now.

Water I hope you had a lovely weekend.

Mum died on Saturday morning, my cousin was with her when she passed away, she very kindly stayed all night Friday. I still can't quite believe it as only 2 weeks ago she was fine, but then she never wanted to end up in a nursing home so it is probably for the best. I'm waiting to hear from my dad about the date for the crematorium then I'll go to stay with him and help him organise everything. It's the school holidays for 2 weeks so no worries about missing teaching work at least.
Haven't been dry at all and have also been over eating due to stress so am determined to be AF for at least a few days this week.

Oh Mme, i am so sorry for your loss. Xxxx