Newbies Nest

[K9Lover]

Newbies Nest

Reading back and checking in...I have a lot of catching up to do...but I feel like I need a sober re-charge and the Nest is just the place to get it. Plus, if I don't behave, Lav will send Stella out to scare me straight. LOL

Welcome to all the Newbies, I hope to be able to catch up with all of you soon. All I can say is this "Listen to Byrdie and Lav...JUST DO IT!" The will never steer you wrong...:h

[Mein Sonnenschein]

Newbies Nest

Thanks Narilly, I will put the others on my reading list.

I also started a pinterst board with sobriety affirmations. I plan to use that and this site to reaffirm that sobriety is the correct and only choice for me.

Much love and strength to you all today.

[Byrdlady]

Newbies Nest

Mein, what a great find ! That IS it! I couldn't even enjoy the drink I had in my hand for worrying about the NEXT one!! What an awful cycle. Would you consider tucking that quote in the Tool Box?

K9, GREAT to see you! We are here to charge whatever you got that needs charging! Get on in here! Looking forward to catching up!
Byrdie

[daisy45]

Newbies Nest

Mein Sonnenschein;1681068 wrote: ?I once heard a sober alcoholic say that drinking never made him happy, but it made him feel like he was going to be happy in about fifteen minutes. That was exactly it, and I couldn?t understand why the happiness never came, couldn?t see the flaw in my thinking, couldn?t see that alcohol kept me trapped in a world of illusion, procrastination, paralysis. I lived always in the future, never in the present. Next time, next time! Next time I drank it would be different, next time it would make me feel good again. And all my efforts were doomed, because already drinking hadn?t made me feel good in years.?

― Heather King, Parched

Love this! Some things you don't even realise until it is put into the exact right words like this.....

[Mein Sonnenschein]

Newbies Nest

Byrdie, I just posted this in the Tool Box. This quote really spoke to me because I would think the EXACT SAME WAY. So much in fact that I would chug wine... yes, CHUG wine. I was also the same as you... "let me drink this beer super fast so I can order another". You know where this goes... another... and another... and another.

I'm reading up on the Six Year Hangover blog this evening and I'm relating, I'm crying and I'm so excited for the time when I have more sober days and am not so emotional all the time.

The Six Year Hangover | A GAY MAN GETTING SOBER IN NEW YORK CITY. | Page 2

Love to you all.

[Pavati]

Newbies Nest

Hiya Nest:

Pepper - that was a profound post. I am so happy that you're feeling so great. I actually also got off blood pressure medicine, and have found that I am not as moody and sad as I thought I was by nature. As Lav says, alcohol IS a depressant. So happy for you and your family.

K9 - YAY - good to see you stop by. I miss your cheerleaders and your irreverent sense of humor! No one seems to get Byrdie to talk about things like her 38 longs like you did... Hope you're well.

Mein - Thanks for that video - what struck me was "what seemed like a dark and scary place is actually full of light" or something like that. I found the prospect of sobriety and dealing with life sober to be a dark and scary place - and sobriety is anything but. If anyone is reading this and contemplating giving it a go, DO! I can't believe how afraid I was and how much better my life is without the constant thoughts of alcohol and getting "buzzed." I will look up that book, too. Thanks for posting that.

BND - Sounding strong on day 3. Keep it up.

Sarah - Glad you went to your doc. Any talk about the alcohol?

Happy Sober Thursday, nest.

Pav

[Rahulthesweet]

Newbies Nest

Welcome back K9.

I too am bit slow on new bids nest since past few days of travelling. Will be heading back home tomorrow.

Staying strong and sober besides one of the worst weeks since I remember ever (from tension point of view)

[K9Lover]

Newbies Nest

Pavati;1681131 wrote: K9 - YAY - good to see you stop by. I miss your cheerleaders and your irreverent sense of humor! No one seems to get Byrdie to talk about things like her 38 longs like you did... Hope you're well.

I think they are more like 32 Shorts. LOL (You know I love ya Miss Byrdie...Long, Short or Uneven!) :h

[Lavande]

Newbies Nest

Good evening Nesters,

K9, you'll be glad to know I sent Stella off to the Bahamas for a few days - she needs the R&R :H
Glad to see you here today!

MS & narilly - great o see you both doing well.
Rahul, I'm glad your stressful week is over & you can get back home - good job

Nothing real exciting going on in my world except that I figured out today how to make gluten free, dairy free bean & rice enchiladas with homemade enchilada sauce & they were actually pretty good It's so nice to be operating with a clear head (one of the side effects of giving up AL)!

Wishing everyone a safe night in the nest!!!!

Lav

[Lavande]

Newbies Nest

Good evening Nesters,

K9, you'll be glad to know I sent Stella off to the Bahamas for a few days - she needs the R&R :H
Glad to see you here today!

MS & narilly - great to see you both doing so well.
Rahul, I'm glad your stressful week is over & you can get back home - good job

Nothing real exciting going on in my world except that I figured out today how to make gluten free, dairy free bean & rice enchiladas with homemade enchilada sauce & they were actually pretty good It's so nice to be operating with a clear head (one of the side effects of giving up AL)!

Wishing everyone a safe night in the nest!!!!

Lav

[j-vo]

Newbies Nest

Mein Sonnenschein;1681068 wrote: ?I once heard a sober alcoholic say that drinking never made him happy, but it made him feel like he was going to be happy in about fifteen minutes. That was exactly it, and I couldn?t understand why the happiness never came, couldn?t see the flaw in my thinking, couldn?t see that alcohol kept me trapped in a world of illusion, procrastination, paralysis. I lived always in the future, never in the present. Next time, next time! Next time I drank it would be different, next time it would make me feel good again. And all my efforts were doomed, because already drinking hadn?t made me feel good in years.?

― Heather King, Parched

Excellent post!!!! That's a keeper. Thank you Mein.

Nar, I read Parched a few years back. I recall a very good one. And Did you read Mary Carr's "Lit?" She's excellent. So many recovery memoirs and one of my favorite things to read. They're so inspirational and give you lots of hope.

[Sarah42]

Newbies Nest

LC- thanks for asking. Yes, I am still on the anx meds. I feel I can breathe again. But, worried about upcoming dr/dentist appts and mixing AL with the anx meds. I significantly cut down on the AL cause it makes me feel way too unbalanced mixed with Al. I do sleep better at night, but have very weird dreams. I'm eating more and drinking less, and right now just trying to cope until I can get the tremors under control. Hope that doesn't sound too much like an 'excuse', but it prolly is. Hope to finish Carr's book tonight or tomr and start re-reading it....it really is helpful.

Love,

Sarah

lifechange;1680947 wrote: Good morning, Nesters!!

Peppersnow, your post touched me as well, as did the blog you mentioned. She describes the hell of addiction so well and that could have been me to a tee. So many of us. And then she gives a glimpse of what life can be if we take the steps to get out of the trap of addiction. You sound wonderful--like you have re-discovered who you are/can be, like you are reclaiming your life. I'm happy to be on that path as well. I feel very grateful today for having taken the first steps (albeit AGAIN!) in the right direction-

BND, you are also on the right path and so great that you're feeling better after 3 days. It just takes some of us (I'd guess most of us) quite a few tries to get it right. I was beating myself up a lot the past 6 months, as I tried to get back to where I was. It was hard to get past the "starting over"-- but actually, as long as we are learning from our mistakes, we aren't really starting from square one. We have our experiences to help us. Now I don't mind which day I'm on as long as I'm moving forward, which I am. You sound to be in a good state of mind-- so each day can be a celebration of FREEDOM!!

DD, thinking of you!!:l

Sarah, do you have a plan for the next days until you get the blood test results/ neuro appt.? Are you still taking the anti anxiety meds? How are you feeling in general today?

Ican, How are you today???

I had a very grumpy day yesterday-- had a bit of a sugar hangover from the night before and felt just generally out of sorts. Today is looking better. Like Byrdie says, we usually don't have too many down days in a row if we keep the al out of our systems. Mostly this is true for me, too.

Wishing you all a good Thursday..

[Sarah42]

Newbies Nest

I will read the blog post myself. Thanks for posting it!

peppersnow;1680927 wrote: Pav and NS - that blog really struck a chord and made me cry...it was so raw and so real and used to be my life. That line at the end about convincing herself that everyone hated her was incredibly powerful and resonated. During the last months before I quit, I was completely convinced that nobody -- including my teenaged girls -- would miss me if I died, that they didn't need me, that life would be better off for them without me in it.

Almost 4 months later, I'm AF, 25 pounds lighter, doc took me off blood pressure meds, I'm happy again, a pretty awesome and fun mom with more patience than I ever knew I had, and I can very clearly see that even when I was a mess, my death would have been the worst thing my children would ever go through in life. But at the time, I truly believed they wouldn't miss me. I don't understand how I ever convinced myself otherwise, and looking back it frightens me, but that is the power of a brain controlled by addiction.

Everyone, everyone, EVERYONE should read that blog linked above. Life becomes so incredibly wonderful again without AL in it. That's a guarantee and a promise!

Also, CONGRATULATIONS j-vo!!!!

[lifechange]

Newbies Nest

Good MAE, Nesters!
Just a quick fly by on my way to work. I hope everyone has a great Friday! I know I'm looking forward to the end of the work week and a looooong weekend. I have so much more time now that I'm not drinking! I love being able to plan what I want to do, or not make plans at all. I love knowing that I can get things done, actually remember what it is I want to do!! I can proudly say that I haven't let anyone down the past 13 days!! And there was so much end of the year school stuff to deal with-- I was definitely overextending myself, but I was able to push through and that makes me feel good... and it sure made my girls happy.!

Mein, thanks for all the great links yesterday! I'm looking forward to reading the six year hangover this afternoon-- didn't realise there are so many al related blogs on line!
Hows your weather down south? I'm in Berlin and it's so warm and humid here-- could be in the tropics!

Lav, are those chickens still getting frozen peas? Poor girls--hope they're holding up! We have some pet mice and they are suffering right now--

see you all later!! xo

[Pavati]

Newbies Nest

Hi, Everyone:

LC - still Thursday here, but have a great day at work (as I'm getting into the PJs).

I've been reading through the blog that NS posted (Called And Everything Afterwards). She is a really great writer and just quit in March, so she talks very honestly and very well about the first few months sober. This post was brilliant - This is how I will feel if I drink.

I am now heading to bed. Spent a long day with teenaged son trying to buy him some clothes before he goes off to a summer program for a month. I had a lot more patience with him than I would have with a hangover, and was even able to finally get out of him that part of his sullenness was his worry about going away for so long (first time). Another gift from not drinking.

Hope everyone has plans in place for the weekend to stay away from alcohol. I am going to visit two friends, one who doesn't drink (she's one of us) and another who understands. Should be a nice weekend with lots of laughs.

Good night,
Pav