Newbies Nest

[abcowboy]

Newbies Nest

Morning everyone, or afternoon, or evening lol, or maybe I should just use MAE....

narilly - sleeping in my own bed sober with Bubba spooned against me, not getting the crazy sweats from anxiety, waking up not having to wonder what I did or said the previous night, is something that only a RA could understand and be so thankful for! We are a crazy lot aren't we lol

sarah - just posting at all is a contribution! It lets the rest of us relax and not worry quite as much wondering how you are..... I don't think very many of us liked the new format so don't feel like you were the only one complaining.... hopefully after the transition this week MWO will be bigger and better.... hang in there girl and keep coming back! We.re always here for you....

Dave (gambler) - I understand all too well the issues of divorce with children, went through a messy one myself with 4 kids waiting in the wings till the dust settled! But that is a story all in itself better left on the shelf lol I take it you're a body man? Hello from a fellow tradesman!!

To all the rest not mentioned but just as important to my sobriety, have great week, and will reconnect at the Nursery as Dave put it, or back here when it's up and running again..... And, stay away from the poison eh!

[Byrdlady]

Newbies Nest

I didnt know ice cream had an expiration date!! (Never around that long!). No one knows the shelf like of cake either!

[Byrdlady]

Newbies Nest

Glad you checked in, Sarah! Are you registered over at Nursie's Nest away from home?

[Byrdlady]

Newbies Nest

We will miss you next week!
Hope you get all your projects done!
Ninja Senses, it's true, I am so much more aware of everything now! Hope you have a great week! Hugs to the boys!

[Byrdlady]

Newbies Nest

Good Morning, Nesters!
Well, at least it isnt raining, but it looks like it wants to. We've had rain for the last 6 months! Lav, maybe I'm the one who should move! I'll be glad when you have the rest of your avatar, 3/4's of Stella gives me the heebeejeebees.
Hope everyone has an easy day!! Byrdie

[Pavati]

Newbies Nest

MAE,

Very happy to check in this morning on day 300. Wowzie wow. Who'da thunk? Interestingly, I had a drinking dream last night. I was very hungover and realized that I had drunk the night before, although I couldn't remember really doing it. I imagined coming back here and posting "Day 1" again - even dreamed the emoticon I would use. I thought of disappointing myself, but first disappointing you all. Then someone poured me some red wine (something I rarely drank), and I decided that since I had to post Day 1 again, I may as well make the most of it. Yikes. That's why I know I will never drink again - I think I could talk myself into becoming a full time drinker pretty darn quickly.

I also got off my medication - for 7 years I had high blood pressure, and now it is gone. I also have lost 15 pounds, all while taking up a weekly ice cream habit. And just yesterday someone I work with said I look great. So many healthy benefits to quitting drinking.

My husband drinks, too. I don't really mind except during the odd wistful look I sometimes take at his cold beer at a baseball game, or cocktail on a Friday night. As NS described, those aren't really cravings any more - I don't want the alcohol, but a quick nostalgic look into a land that hasn't existed in a long time - one beer without thinking about the second, one drink without knowing there were more coming. Right now I am enjoying my coffee and the morning, free from anxiety, guilt and hangover.

Happy Sober Saturday, nest. Off to get some exercise in the great outdoors.

xo
Pav

[Pavati]

Newbies Nest

MAE--

We here in parched California are VERY JEALOUS of all of the rain you speak of. PLEASE send some of it our way...

I'm not sure when we're being booted off, but I'll keep coming by until we do. One idea if you don't want to go to Nursie's site is to keep a journal for a week on our own. Each day write what we would have posted here. Imagine the support we might have gotten.

Also - find one person to connect to away from here. I can tell you that I am a private person, and the reason MWO saved my life is my ability to be anonymous here. I think if I had to wait for an in person meeting to get sober it would have been another long while in the drinking world. However, I was seeing an individual counselor and that helped very much. That is a physical person who I see weekly (although I am tapering off now) who knows the WHOLE story, and another person I can't lie to. Just offering that up as something I found very helpful. Now I have friends I have told who would keep me safe here as well, but that did take me a while.

I listened to the Bubble Hour yesterday on acceptance. It is a simple concept that has so much power, and one that I have been able to translate into other parts of my life as well. I can accept the fact that I am addicted to alcohol, and accept the fact that I can no longer drink again. That acceptance, rather than constrict me, represents true freedom. Once I accept that, I don't have to decide weekly, daily, hourly - will I drink or not. I will not drink, so what does that mean? How do I live my life now I know that to be true? No hand wringing, bargaining, wishing I were different - there are now so many more positive things I can focus my thinking on. That is how I have found my power over alcohol - as long as I don't drink, I have the power.

Even when the site is shut down, I know I have to focus on my sobriety daily. There are some days when I don't want to, I want to forget about alcohol all together. All the evidence I have read says that focusing on sobriety is key to maintaining it. Sometimes my focus is a simple thought - today I won't drink - and that can be enough.

I'm Sunday morning rambling now.

Good to hear about your boys, Gambler.

Cowboy and Narilly - the sober, not hungover cup of coffee is one of my favorite sober things. The small things!

Hi, Byrdie, Lav, Ava, NS and everyone else. I'm with Cowboy - even if I don't mention you every time, you are all key to my sobriety.

xo
Pav

[KENSHO]

Newbies Nest

Please post the link to Nursie's site again (Is it open to all?)... I would very much like a place to be when this site is off line.

[NoSugar]

Newbies Nest

That might be the best description of what true acceptance means to us that I've read, Pav. Thank you.

I think of you every morning as I savor my first cup of coffee. xx- NS

[Pinecone]

Newbies Nest

Hi friends, I hope everybody is planning to use the site Nursie set up for us next week.
Pavati, congratulations on your three hundred AF days! I have always enjoyed your posts. I completely agree that we need to focus on our sobriety constantly. It isn't a chore though. Making daily progress is both important and rewarding.

I have some wood to stack! Be back later.

[Matt M.]

Newbies Nest

Kensho
http://steppingforward.proboards.com/

[FlyAway]

Newbies Nest

Pavati;n2516196 wrote:
I listened to the Bubble Hour yesterday on acceptance. It is a simple concept that has so much power, and one that I have been able to translate into other parts of my life as well. I can accept the fact that I am addicted to alcohol, and accept the fact that I can no longer drink again. That acceptance, rather than constrict me, represents true freedom. Once I accept that, I don't have to decide weekly, daily, hourly - will I drink or not. I will not drink, so what does that mean? How do I live my life now I know that to be true? No hand wringing, bargaining, wishing I were different - there are now so many more positive things I can focus my thinking on. That is how I have found my power over alcohol - as long as I don't drink, I have the power.

Yes, yes, yes, a thousand times yes! Accepting that I will never drink again was such a huge relief! For the first time in 20-some years I felt total freedom. Well said Pav.

[Matt M.]

Newbies Nest

Good stuff Pav....

[LavenderBlue]

Newbies Nest

Hiya all! So nice to see folks poking their heads in - and trust me, I'm not such a big fan of the current forums, either. I'm looking forward to the changes coming, sounds like it'll be a good thing. I'm going to keep Nursie's site in mind; but I want to promise you guys that if I don't pop in there I WILL be both journaling and checking in with some of my offline support.

Kind of off this week still, but it's feeling so good to have ditched my top unhealthy addictions - and at least for the smoking I've done it before and I *know* it gets better given time. It's really neat to watch my appetite get back to normal as well. I always used to be an "eat a lot of small meals" person, but with the AL and soda and smoking I've been skipping meals and then eating too much for years now. It's kind of weird to be able to sit down and eat a reasonably sized meal - but a very, very good thing!

Last night I was busy participating in a charity event; which is another great thing about having a more clear head. I try to be active in things like that when I can, and it's so much easier to follow through when I'm not hungover or drunk. I'm also starting to notice more often that I react to people very differently (and much better!) when I'm AF. It's even more noticeable in a group, I'm more comfortable with myself whether I'm being talkative or quiet.

Gambler - Visla's are gorgeous dogs! I don't have it in me to go for high energy breeds - been pretty happy with my lower energy lab mixes, hehe. But those are definitely on the list of breeds I'd look at if I was sure I'd keep up with them.

I've also had the same thing with sweets; I craved them like crazy for a while and now not as much. I'm still keeping some around because I've found they do help when I have other cravings or just need a quick way to treat myself, though.

Good thoughts and support for everyone today and while we wait for the forum update!

[Byrdlady]

Newbies Nest

Nice relaxing day here! Good to see everyone checking in.
Pav, acceptance IS the last piece of the puzzle isn't it? Once I accepted that this is the way it is and all the wishing and hoping and denial in the world wasnt going to change my situation, I was in a good place. I just took the option OFF the table. I am so proud of you and Ava!
Looking forward to a shiny new site when we reconvene!
Hugs to all, B