Newbies Nest

[Hippyman]

Newbies Nest

Happy Sunday Nester's. Well, today is the BIG day for our girls. It's their monthly Dachshund meet~up and it's Valentines theme this month. Every Valentines day they have a kissing contest. Madame Zelda is the reining "Kissing Queen". Last year she gave me 35 kisses in 30 seconds! That was an all time record and done with OUT a piece of pepperoni in my mouth. :H Last year I was there with a horrible hang~over and just wanted to get back home and hit the beer! How sad that I didn't stick around and let Zelda savor her victory. :upset: All 3 of them are entered this year. There is lots of competition. Close to 40 doxies entered. We shall see who wins today. Wish the girls GOOD LUCK and if God be willing we will bring home the crown again this year! THEY MAKE LIVING FUN!!! I'm sure that Zelda and Zoey like me much more sober and little Abagail has never seen in drunk. THANK GOD!

[Slaythefear]

Newbies Nest

Morning Nesters! Onto day 17...I like the way that number sounds today! Well, I overdid yesterday and feel lousy today. Gee, how uncommon for me to do such a thing. LOL!! I've been going gang busters with some things in this quit. I'm happy to report I have no desire for alcohol right now. I had a boatload of temptation a few days ago, but it sounds dreadful to me currently. I can hope it stays that way...yes I can!!:welcome: to that feeling.

The thoughts on introspection and isolation are present with me as well, gang. I think that is a good thing. We are working to heal, getting in touch with reality, who we are without any of this destructive unhealthy substance, figuring out what it means to our lives instead of escaping and not being fully present in our lives. It allows us to become active with our issues and problems and face them the correct way, the healthy way.

Ican, it's the same concept of wanting to be free of abuse in a relationship, but not really wanting to be free of the relationship. The problem is you have to get rid of the relationship to get rid of the abuse. Change and loss are uncomfortable for us but necessary.

Dottie, anti-inflammatory meds, elevation and immediate ice are the key. It sounds like you have it handled. I could see me doing that...it's not funny, but I chuckled visually seeing me doing that. I have them with or without alcohol, but I don't feel them with AL chumming along.

Someone here mentioned an issue that I haven't seen mentioned too often...those unexplained bruises. There was a point I had so many of them and because of a very bad occurrence, I wound up in the hospital bleeding internally. I had NO vitamin C in my system...modern day scurvy. You'd be surprised how many have a deficiency in that area. When we drink instead of eat we become deficient in many nutrients. I had a list of basically zilch. I almost died. Be wise, be smart. Make the choice to live.

Everyone hang tough and be strong. Today is just another day, but the days get better without slowly killing ourselves.

Love,

Slay

[jIMMYDAMA]

Newbies Nest

Good morning Nesters, Wow what a difference a day makes. Just a quick thank you to all.

I have been eating some crazy good food the last few days. I think that was a huge trigger for me, thirsty and hungry meant get a drink. As I mentioned I have been mostly alone here,
But I failed to realize how that can be a very positive thing also.

I am living within a 2 mile radius of about 30+ fantastic restaurants and the beauty is every thing I order is half price. I'm only buying one meal not two. and I am also a really good cook so I took y'all's advice and I am eating well, staying hydrated (diet green tea or diet blueberry cranberry) and getting plenty of rest! I gotta go exercise haha!

Starting day 7 whoop whoop !

I'll check in tonight, have a wonderful day, stay tough, keep smiling!

[Byrdlady]

Newbies Nest

Morning, Nesters! jIMMY, you have hit on the Laser Guided Bullet of tips for getting thru the first 7 days. EAT! This is a habit that I lost in the throws of drinking! Eat and Enjoy!!! Our bodies are literally STARVING for FOOD!

Dottie, I'm so sorry about your tumble...but at least we are talking about a physical fall and not a fall into AL! Hopefully the one you had will be much easier to recover from....

No drink tastes/feels better than being sober does. Don't let the 'F' it's' rule your mind. YOU rule your mind and YOU want to get out of the rabbit hole! Say, NO, HELL NO! AL will not take one more day of MY LIFE! Byrdie

[Tess-2]

Newbies Nest

Good Morning All,

Many of us are discussing food and nutrition in The Nest this morning. My five-year diet of beer left me obese and afflicted with many ills. Of course there is no nutritional value to beer, only calories: lots and lots of calories... One website states: This food is very low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. I had to laugh. I thought of our friend, Happy Hippy, who is able to find a little bit of good in everything. Love you, Hippy!!

Slay - I used to bruise very easily too. Now I understand why.

A big part of recovery has been learning to eat again. Supplements are an important part of the picture too. I am careful not to get too hungry. My brain interprets hunger as a message that it's time for beer. I start the morning with a protein shake to achieve what someone (sorry, don't remember who) calls "30 in 30" - 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking in the morning.

Well, my desk is stacked with textbooks demanding to be studied.

Remember, Dear Nesters, that your body, mind, and spirit will HEAL when given half a chance. We are walking miracles. Hold yourself and each other in high esteem.

Namaste - The light in me honors the light in you. ~ :rays:

[New Day]

Newbies Nest

Good Morning Nesters ---- I am on Day 1, but it's okay with me. I had planned to toast join in the champagne toast to my daughter yesterday on her 33rd birthday. My original goal was to do the 30 days, and I went to 40. I am not feeling bad about it, even though it was nice to see the numbers of AF days rack up. I may record my own number of AF days out of the total ... example today would be 40/41.
I was pleased that I had the 1/2 champagne, 1/2 OJ for the toast, and when everyone else topped up their glasses with more champagne, I just had more OJ. I won't make myself feel bad about that.

Feel good today ....it's bitter cold, but the sun is shining and it looks like a winter wonderland outside. Think I'll bundle up and go for a walk and feed the ducks at the local pond.

Enjoy your day everyone!

[mimi911]

Newbies Nest

Tess2- Namaste to you as well. I am on day 9 of a 20 day yoga challenge. I have to do 20 straight days of yoga, keep a yoga diary (they provide the book with the format done for you) and then your name is entered into a drawing for all kinds of prizes. Really fun!

I love being sober as others have said. I have peace, mind, body and soul. But like you I also like to drink. I can go a long time without. The last time was 90 days but then went on vacation and had a month of drinking, sometimes a lot, other times a little and now tomorrow will be one week AF, again.

The crazy thing is I don't feel any need to drink during the day, never have. But at night that is when I want to drink and if I'm not drinking I want to eat.

I want to lose 10 pounds before going to a fitness camp for 3 weeks. I know it doesn't sound like much but it is really important. You would think that NOT drinking the weight would just fall off but since I don't drink consistantly and I eat healthy it doesn't make a difference in the weight.

Again, I eat healthy all day but at night I want chocolate. How do you get over cravings in the evening? Please give advice. For me giving into cravings in the evening weather it is food or drink is unhealthy and out of control, they go hand in hand.

Have a wonderful day and take care of yourself.

[jenniech]

Newbies Nest

I never drank during the day (sometimes i WANTED to, but mostly, I did not). I was a bottle of wine a night drinker (it would have been more if I kept more in the house - I had to go and buy a new damn bottle every day - what a pain). I also ate a lot. After the bottle of wine, I would justify the huge bowl of cereal (special K chocolaty delight my favorite) right before bed (yes, AFTER a huge dinner) because if I ate it, I wouldn't be as hungover the next day.
How so very stupid.

I have a few tools I use to combat the eating. As for the drinking, I have a load of tools. The drinking is far worse than the eating for me .... I post and read this website CONSTANTLY, especially in evenings. I have a sponsor and I go to AA meetings (they help but I am not a diehard fan). Here is a list of stuff I have come up with:

1. If you work eat as soon as you get home.....don't wait until you are starving. If you don't work, just eat dinner EARLY...like 5pm. Seriously, a full stomach does wonders for the food and alcohol cravings;
2. go for a long walk - if you move a muscle you will move a thought
3. Read read read MWO
4. Post how you are feeling on MWO
5. Drink LOTS of herbal tea or sparkling water
6. Read books/watch movies
7. I once mowed my lawn to fight my cravings...that worked!!
8. change your routine - any little thing helps

Basically, feed yourself nutrient rich foods, drink lots of liquids and if you move a muscle, you are going to move a thought. It really works!!

[Dottie Belle]

Newbies Nest

Hello all,
Slept pretty well and the dog didn't step on my ankle in bed so that was good.
Advil and the ace wrap are helping a lot.
We are off to a train club thingy...Think I will take hubbies cane for a little extra stability. And sympathy...;-))
Back later,
Dottie

[nonamegirl]

Newbies Nest

HI, Muppet

I'm here, too. I know just what you mean about how scary it is. And I'll go AF on Monday with you, too. Know that there is one person out there, doing it just for you. (Okay, that's not true, I'm doing it for me, too. But you encouraged me!)
In fact, I am thinking about starting a 30 AF on Monday. We can do this. I'll grab a cup of tea, tuck myself up, and send you strong thoughts that you get through this....

[Byrdlady]

Newbies Nest

jIMMYDAMA, Star just texted me and asked if I would bestow your major award, she is having internet problems. So on behalf of the entire Newbie's Nest, please accept this FULL MOON! :moon: You have conquered every day the week can throw at you, and you have kicked AL's arse! Well done to you and this milestone! We are so happy for you~! Byrdie

[Elliesmom]

Newbies Nest

Happy Snowy Sunday to those in cold climates! And to those in the tropics, too! Hippy, as much as I love dogs, I'd have trouble accepting even ONE kiss on the lips, but would happily take your girls to the dog show and accept 40 kisses if I could trade locations with you for just 24 hours. I'm rooting for them!

Dottie - hope the cane helps and you feel better soon - ouch.

JimyD: Hooray for great restaurants, and and double hooray for staying in that pickup :goodjob: I love to cook, too, and have been playing around with some high protein/high nutrient foods that keep my stomach full longer.

Slay and other bruisers, me too. People were always commenting on them. I knew why, but would just say I bruised easily. About 6 months ago at a routine Dr. appt., my doctor was shocked at how low my B12 was and made me come in for weekly B12 shots for awhile. I researched it and figured out it was the AL. Now I'm wondering if my Dr. guessed but didn't want to say anything, as she's also a friend. So lets together look forward to our next appointments -- think how cool it would be to have a doc surprised at our miracle improvements!

Mini, Tess, and anyone else interested in tracking whether we're getting the right nutrition to repair our bodies (or weight loss), there's this awesome website through USDA called "Supertracker" that includes practically all the on-line tools that WeightWatchers online does, but for free. If you want to make sure you're getting all the nutrition you need, it's a fantastic site -- after a few days, a week or even just one day of logging what you eat, it graphs out all the minerals, vitamins, proteins, fats, sodium etc., that you are either Low, OK, or High in. It's a very cool tool. It also will track your physical activity. The link is https://www.supertracker.usda.gov/default.aspx

Hope all are warm and safe today!

Elliesmom
Day 9 AF

[Icanwithoutacan]

Newbies Nest

Happy day 7!

[Tess-2]

Newbies Nest

Dear Nest Friends, I'm taking a moment from laundry and homework to enjoy a poem. Come join me! Life cannot be all work and no play. There's got to be a little chocolate too. :choc: :lilheart: :choc:

?The Blue House,? a prose poem by Tomas Transtr?mer

It is night with glaring sunshine. I stand in the woods and look towards my house with its misty blue walls. As though I were recently dead and saw the house from a new angle.

It has stood for more than eighty summers. Its timber has been impregnated, four times with joy and three times with sorrow. When someone who has lived in the house dies it is repainted. The dead person paints it himself, without a brush, from the inside.

On the other side is open terrain. Formerly a garden, now wilderness. A still surf of weed, pagodas of weed, an unfurling body of text, Upanishades of weed, a Viking fleet of weed, dragon heads, lances, an empire of weed.

Above the overgrown garden flutters the shadow of a boomerang, thrown again and again. It is related to someone who lived in the house long before my time. Almost a child. An impulse issues from him, a thought, a thought of will: ?create. . .draw. ..? In order to escape his destiny in time.

The house resembles a child?s drawing. A deputizing childishness which grew forth because someone prematurely renounced the charge of being a child. Open the doors, enter! Inside unrest dwells in the ceiling and peace in the walls. Above the bed there hangs an amateur painting representing a ship with seventeen sails, rough sea and a wind which the gilded frame cannot subdue.

It is always so early in here, it is before the crossroads, before the irrevocable choices. I am grateful for this life! And yet I miss the alternatives. All sketches wish to be real.

A motor far out on the water extends the horizon of the summer night. Both joy and sorrow swell in the magnifying glass of the dew. We do not actually know it, but we sense it: our life has a sister vessel which plies an entirely different route. While the sun burns behind the islands.

[Tess-2]

Newbies Nest

kuya;1460005 wrote: Tess .. That slightly out of body, detached feeling lasts a while. It is just like you are watching scenes from a movie.

When it goes you become TRULY present for the FIRST time. It is like the detachment caused by drinking becomes replaced by a quiet, patient, wiser self you have never known before.
Truly amazing.

kuya - I love the hope of becoming "a quiet, patient, wiser self that I have never known before." Thanks for the encouragement!! :chick: