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lisamarlene wrote:
NobodysHome wrote:

So... today marks Day 90 of my sobriety, beating my previous "second-best" record. So 90 days down, 200 to go to break my "best".

What's most surprising/distressing this time is that on the previous two long-term streaks, once I got out of the first month it was really remarkably easy; I didn't even think about alcohol unless I had a particularly physically grueling day. This time is different -- I still get cravings at least once a week. It's a serious PITA. On the bright side, having concrete goals ("Stay sober 'til your next physical. Stay sober 'til Christmas") makes it a lot easier to take it one step at a time.

And at some point, hopefully these stupid cravings will go away. Or not. At least I'm dealing with 'em.

When you hit your first anniversary, we are celebrating!

With rum and cokes? ;-)

Totally silly side story: Similar to shellfish, I just don't care for white wine or pale beer; apparently "if you can see through it, it isn't worth drinking". So I've always hated the tradition of toasting stuff with champagne because I find the substance rather vile.
And yet the end of my 289-day run occurred when NobodysWife and my mother-in-law insisted that I drink one glass of champagne to toast my deceased stepfather-in-law.
So not only did it break my 289-day streak, but I didn't even like it! :-P


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I didn't say we'd celebrate with alcohol, you doofus.


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Mtn. Dew for everyone!


I vote for sweet tea!

(If you like that sort of thing!)


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I'm from the South. Sweet tea consumption is a requirement for admittance here.


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OMG. Sweet tea is one of those, "How can people possibly drink that?" substances.

Neither NobodysWife nor I care for sweetened drinks; I haven't had an alcohol-free soda in what? 10? 15 years? NobodysWife is trying to cut back on her drinking and finally found "Dry Soda", which uses maybe half the sugar of regular sodas. I drink my coffee black, and she takes hers with less than a teaspoon of sugar.

So the notion of drinking something with even MORE sugar than sodas makes us shudder.

Shiro delights in telling legends of sweet tea from his Kentucky home -- they put in enough sugar to saturate the tea, then heat it up so they can supersaturate it because full saturation "isn't sweet enough".

As a man who doesn't even particularly care for desserts, the notion of sweet tea simply frightens and confuses me.


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I like my tea so sweet a spoon stands freely in the middle of the glass... LOL


I am not a dessert person, really, but I enjoy my sweet drinks, especially tea, especially if done well. I find hitters of all kinds... unsettling. Except for pecans. Pecans are great. (Nuts in general, I suppose.)


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I have at least 2 sweet teeth, rather than the single one most folks have. I'm losing my taste for chocolate, however, unless it's a really light milk chocolate. But everything else is fair game.


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Black tea with two teaspoons of sugar, well stirred please.


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Tacticslion wrote:
I am not a dessert person, really, but I enjoy my sweet drinks, especially tea, especially if done well. I find hitters of all kinds... unsettling. Except for pecans. Pecans are great. (Nuts in general, I suppose.)

I don't understand the term "hitter".

What's a "hitter"?


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NobodysHome wrote:

OMG. Sweet tea is one of those, "How can people possibly drink that?" substances.

Neither NobodysWife nor I care for sweetened drinks; I haven't had an alcohol-free soda in what? 10? 15 years? NobodysWife is trying to cut back on her drinking and finally found "Dry Soda", which uses maybe half the sugar of regular sodas. I drink my coffee black, and she takes hers with less than a teaspoon of sugar.

So the notion of drinking something with even MORE sugar than sodas makes us shudder.

Shiro delights in telling legends of sweet tea from his Kentucky home -- they put in enough sugar to saturate the tea, then heat it up so they can supersaturate it because full saturation "isn't sweet enough".

As a man who doesn't even particularly care for desserts, the notion of sweet tea simply frightens and confuses me.

Have a nice pot of Lapsang.

Or Russian caravan.

Or green tea & mint.

That'll sort you out :)


NobodysHome wrote:
Tacticslion wrote:
I am not a dessert person, really, but I enjoy my sweet drinks, especially tea, especially if done well. I find hitters of all kinds... unsettling. Except for pecans. Pecans are great. (Nuts in general, I suppose.)

I don't understand the term "hitter".

What's a "hitter"?

Ack! Dang it, fingers! "Bitter" - I meant "bitter."

X/


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I'm a born Southerner, so sweet tea is a standard portion of mealtime "full regalia". I like the stuff. When it's done right. I don't need a high concentration of the stuff to suit me. I've run into various categories of "diabetes juice" over the years, but the sweetest tea on the market I can enjoy is Gold Peak (as far as quick-fix brands are concerned -- homemade is the only way to go).

Homemade supersaturated sweet tea is terrifying to me. "One hit of this s~~&, you're guaranteed to get Wilford Brimley's 'die-beet-us'! Whooo! C'mon, y'all!"

I already have a genetic predisposition for diabetes, but only recently have I made concerted efforts to limit my diet accordingly. Lots of water, lots of coffee (unfooled around with, mind you!), a few Dr. Peppers, sweet tea a couple times per week. Things such as that.


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Yeah, it's kind of funny. As an overweight alcoholic, I'm supposed to be predisposed for a lot of nastiness...
...but I also drink about 1/2 gallon of water a day and around 20 ounces of strong black coffee.

That stuff cleans out your system something amazing.

But I'm getting my blood work next week. We'll see whether this alcohol-free diet does anything. Last time I did my bloodwork off alcohol, the doctor took one look and said, "I can't believe these numbers! Keep it up and we'll be able to take you off your medications!"
And of course I started drinking again and my bloodwork went back to, "Perfectly OK for a guy on two cholesterol medications."

Ah, well, time will tell.


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You can do iiittt NH!


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Tomorrow???
(makes puppy eyes)


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lisamarlene wrote:

Tomorrow???

(makes puppy eyes)

Not only is tomorrow on, but:

  • I am very happy with the uber-tasty Himalayan place on Solano for bailing us out from the TryCaviar fail, so they're getting my business on Saturday. So expect tons of awesome Himalayan food. And momos!
  • I don't know whether you recall Impus Major's volunteer project, but Impus Minor is now in the same boat, with 14 hours of community service. Free baby-sitting counts, so if you want to send your kids off to the park with him and Impus Major that would count, or if you guys want to have an evening to yourselves you could let him know. And since it's "volunteer" work, it's free!

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    mmmmmm...momos!


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    I have a lawn that needs mowing and some vegetation that needs to be removed. Send the Impii Brothers to Illinois. It's good for kids to visit Third World economies as well!


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    Vanykrye wrote:
    I have a lawn that needs mowing and some vegetation that needs to be removed. Send the Impii Brothers to Illinois. It's good for kids to visit Third World economies as well!

    Sorry; they're not allowed anywhere that tries to legislate mathematics.

    (And yes, those of us on the West Coast can't distinguish between Illinois and Indiana. Nor Iowa. They all begin with "I", don't they?)


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    Hard to distinguish between them when driving through too.


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    No hills...no trees....endless corn...all flat...

    that is why we call it the "middle part"


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    Seen from the air, yes, I get it. I'd much rather live in northern CA or the PacNW myself, but when you get out in the middle of the country there's a definite peace in the openness.


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    GM_Beernorg wrote:

    No hills...no trees....endless corn...all flat...

    that is why we call it the "middle part"

    My favorite story along those lines goes back to the days where I assisted on a lot of Sierra Club trips in the Sierras (I'd say, "Go figure", but they DO do hikes elsewhere). We'd ask the East Coasters: "Do you have any experience hiking at high altitude?"

    "Oh, yeah, I've gone up and down the Appalachian Trail dozens of times!"
    "So... how 'high' have you been?"
    "Oh, I don't know! A couple of those trails have been at 2500, maybe 3000 feet!"
    (Sighs and marks hiker as a likely issue.)

    So, for those of you who haven't hiked in "real" mountains before, once you hit about 4000' you notice a slight shortness of breath. By 7000' you can seriously endanger yourself by pushing yourself too hard. By 10000' if your body isn't used to it you can have all kinds of wonderful pulmonary emergencies.

    But it happened on every trip. We got that ONE "East Coast Guy" who ran marathons, jogged up 3000' hills as if they were nothing, who was absolutely, 100% cocksure that nothing the Sierras could offer could possibly be daunting.
    And the number of those a$$hats we had to walk down on the first day because they ignored all the warning signs from their bodies that they were pushing themselves too hard is more than I can count on both hands. And I only did those trips for 3-4 years.

    NEVER Midwesterners. They were always sensible folk. "Oh, we're camping at 9600' tonight? That's higher than Ma's silo, isn't it? OK, if you say I should avoid getting out of breath, I guess I'll do that. Thanks for the advice!"


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    We're used to grain dust spontaneously exploding and setting fires. We're used to working around heavy machinery that is actively trying to kill us. If someone says "Don't exert yourself too hard or you'll die in these conditions" we're likely to take these warnings seriously.

    But if a wasp flies into a 400' radius around us, watch out.


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    NobodysHome wrote:
    GM_Beernorg wrote:

    No hills...no trees....endless corn...all flat...

    that is why we call it the "middle part"

    My favorite story along those lines goes back to

    So, for those of you who haven't hiked in "real" mountains before, once you hit about 4000' you notice a slight shortness of breath. By 7000' you can seriously endanger yourself by pushing yourself too hard. By 10000' if your body isn't used to it you can have all kinds of wonderful pulmonary emergencies.

    I had exactly the opposite problem. I used to live in a little town at 4000 feet and I loved to go jogging. Then I moved to the Gulf Coast and when I tried the misery that was jogging there all I could think of was what the eff is this ridiculous stuff that you people call Air?


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    Aaaaaahahahahahahah!

    But no, seriously, we call it "water."


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    Did I leave my character sheet at your place again?

    Because I had about five minutes to look for it before I had to drive to San Mateo and back to pick up Hermione from the Elementary sleepover at our other campus *before ballet* this morning, so it's amazing that I even have my dice bag.

    At least I think I have my dice bag.
    Yep, got it.
    But no Norathar.


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    It's pathetic. I'm not even a hot mess; that would require a major upgrade.


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    The tallest mountain we have here in Pennsylvania is Mt. Davis, at 3,213 ft. / 979 m.


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    lisamarlene wrote:

    Did I leave my character sheet at your place again?

    Because I had about five minutes to look for it before I had to drive to San Mateo and back to pick up Hermione from the Elementary sleepover at our other campus *before ballet* this morning, so it's amazing that I even have my dice bag.

    At least I think I have my dice bag.
    Yep, got it.
    But no Norathar.

    Yes, I saw it in the pile.


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    John Napier 698 wrote:
    The tallest mountain we have here in Pennsylvania is Mt. Davis, at 3,213 ft. / 979 m.

    The tallest mountain we have in Illinois is the Sears Tower...wait...no...it's not called that anymore. Willis Tower. Wait...no...it's not made out of rock and dirt, so it's probably not a mountain.

    Charles Mound. 1235 ft. It's almost in Wisconsin. It's a glorified ant hill. I like my Sears Tower answer better.


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    lisamarlene wrote:

    Did I leave my character sheet at your place again?

    Because I had about five minutes to look for it before I had to drive to San Mateo and back to pick up Hermione from the Elementary sleepover at our other campus *before ballet* this morning, so it's amazing that I even have my dice bag.

    At least I think I have my dice bag.
    Yep, got it.
    But no Norathar.

    You have a character called Norathar? Neat! Was that taken from the Vlad Taltos books, or is the name just a coincidence?


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    Well, we have Mount Whitney, of course (14,505), which I've never climbed. But I've hit over a dozen 13,000+ peaks.

    The highest I've ever camped was a lake at just over 12,000'. The stars were... incredible.

    The foliage... not so much. It was pretty much camping in talus, sand, and snow...


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    Limeylongears wrote:
    lisamarlene wrote:

    Did I leave my character sheet at your place again?

    Because I had about five minutes to look for it before I had to drive to San Mateo and back to pick up Hermione from the Elementary sleepover at our other campus *before ballet* this morning, so it's amazing that I even have my dice bag.

    At least I think I have my dice bag.
    Yep, got it.
    But no Norathar.

    You have a character called Norathar? Neat! Was that taken from the Vlad Taltos books, or is the name just a coincidence?

    Not a coincidence. I love Brust.


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    Randomly missing: two white d6 (smallish) with 1-4 pips and Xs in place of 5 and 6, and also a metal mini of a Pirate captain, from the board games I just bought yesterday. Which Hermione has suggested might be under your couch.

    Please let me know if you find them?


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    lisamarlene wrote:

    Randomly missing: two white d6 (smallish) with 1-4 pips and Xs in place of 5 and 6, and also a metal mini of a Pirate captain, from the board games I just bought yesterday. Which Hermione has suggested might be under your couch.

    Please let me know if you find them?

    Not only did I find the aforementioned items, but I also found a small ship, an island fort, a barrel, and some potatoes.

    Some kind of pirate game?

    EDIT: And fair warning: Both Impus Minor and I are home sick today, so probably not a great day to swing by and pick stuff up until after 4:00 pm, at which point the bottomless eating machine will be home and can conduct the trade, hopefully virus-free.


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    NobodysHome wrote:
    lisamarlene wrote:

    Randomly missing: two white d6 (smallish) with 1-4 pips and Xs in place of 5 and 6, and also a metal mini of a Pirate captain, from the board games I just bought yesterday. Which Hermione has suggested might be under your couch.

    Please let me know if you find them?

    Not only did I find the aforementioned items, but I also found a small ship, an island fort, a barrel, and some potatoes.

    Some kind of pirate game?

    EDIT: And fair warning: Both Impus Minor and I are home sick today, so probably not a great day to swing by and pick stuff up until after 4:00 pm, at which point the bottomless eating machine will be home and can conduct the trade, hopefully virus-free.

    The "potatoes" are allegedly Gold. I thought they looked like Corn Pops. Hermione thought they were Pirate Booty (the cheese puffs). All but the dice are from Catan Junior. Which actually turned out to be a pretty good game.


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    Oh, for the record, I totally listen to advice given about environment and it's affects if I don't have experience in that type of area. I may be an Easterner, but being from Update NY, I consider myself more sensible than certain...other folks...

    Rasafraggin giant steel towers and man-made canyons of night (at 11 AM)...names shall not be named however ;P

    Desert is my go to for open spaces and peace, but I would like to hang out in some unspoiled prairie land (I loved meadows as a kid, almost all of ours had become orchards and fields long before me alas), do we have any of that anymore here these days?


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    GM_Beernorg wrote:
    Desert is my go to for open spaces and peace, but I would like to hang out in some unspoiled prairie land (I loved meadows as a kid, almost all of ours had become orchards and fields long before me alas), do we have any of that anymore here these days?

    So, this is a question so I figure I should answer it.

    The fact is, most of the land in the U.S. is still undeveloped. If you live in an urban area (east or west coast) it seems like we've paved over/developed everything. If you go even 50 miles inland, you start finding vast expanses of open land.

    So yeah, go to any state without a coastline. You'll find your precious, precious massive deserts and prairies.


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    GM_Beernorg wrote:

    Oh, for the record, I totally listen to advice given about environment and it's affects if I don't have experience in that type of area. I may be an Easterner, but being from Update NY, I consider myself more sensible than certain...other folks...

    Rasafraggin giant steel towers and man-made canyons of night (at 11 AM)...names shall not be named however ;P

    Desert is my go to for open spaces and peace, but I would like to hang out in some unspoiled prairie land (I loved meadows as a kid, almost all of ours had become orchards and fields long before me alas), do we have any of that anymore here these days?

    Not really. Not in any great swaths. What unspoiled prairie is left is largely confined to small parks. The state and national parks around here are all wooded areas.


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    I suppose Colorado/Wyoming type states will have prairie left. Midwest and Great Plains...it's nearly all been given over to agriculture.


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    I shall endeavor to visit some midwest state parks...I have seen from some TV shows that I watch some great looking ones, far more interesting than expected. I loved Colorado while there!


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    How's she doing after yesterday NH?


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    Vanykrye wrote:
    How's she doing after yesterday NH?

    Unfortunately, she's reporting that she's in a lot of pain, which is not one of the listed side effects of the procedure. She's still trying to sleep off the anaesthetic, but once she's up she's going to call the surgeon's office and find out whether she needs to go in... again.

    Crossing my fingers and hoping it's "normal"...


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    So more than the expected post-op pain, I take it. *sends virtual hugs* I know HIPAA will probably prevent them from telling you anything (unless she signed all the proper paperwork), but you could try calling in to see if there's anything that can be done while she's still sleeping it off, or if they're alarmed enough by it that you shouldn't wait.

    (I went to the doc yesterday and I get to go back tomorrow for a biopsy. Oh joy.)


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    Sending out good luck vibes to NHW!


    Hope she feels better soon!


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    NobodysHome wrote:
    Vanykrye wrote:
    How's she doing after yesterday NH?

    Unfortunately, she's reporting that she's in a lot of pain, which is not one of the listed side effects of the procedure. She's still trying to sleep off the anaesthetic, but once she's up she's going to call the surgeon's office and find out whether she needs to go in... again.

    Crossing my fingers and hoping it's "normal"...

    :( Poor old Nobody'sWife.

    Hope she mends quickly!

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