Newbies Nest

[Twinkle79]

Ah, the end of another week. It's been really busy at work which has been great, and I have a fun weekend planned with my little girl - including a rollerskating party for her best friend, eek! Planning to get to a meeting tonight and tomorrow morning though while she is with her dad. My resolve was weak last night and I don't know if my mum could tell or something, but she stayed at mine last night and the moment passed and I went to bed happy to have stayed sober for another day.
Glad to hear of people enjoying Thanksgiving - they did a thanksgiving meal in our canteen yesterday but I don't know of anyone who sampled it!

[Lavande]

Good morning Nesters,

They call it Black Friday here in the US & I vow to not participate in the madness, LOL
I really do not care about all the day after Thanksgiving sales, I will not set foot in a mall, I promise

Marylou, nice to see you & great to hear you enjoyed an AF holiday! It quickly becomes the new norm!!!

Greetings Kradle, Pav & Twinkle! Good job on resisting the urges Twinkle - just keep doing that & you will have no regrets.

Greetings to everyone & sending wishes for a great AF Friday for all!

Lav

[Byrdlady]

Good Morning, all!
R4L, great to see you! If you are ready to kick AL out of your life, we can surely help you! Tell us what has changed and why you are here, sometimes just writing it out and getting it out of your head makes it more real (and more manageable). We are glad you are here!

Congrats Twinkle! Here's to kicking AL's arse! :butt: I tell you, you should be very proud of yourself! The worst is behind you, now it's all a mental mindset! We will be beside you every step of the way (cheek to cheek).

Pav and Ava (PAva) we are in the T Minus countdown for your ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY! I am so stinking proud of you two, I could pop!! Ava, your cake got kinda smashed when I sealed the envelope last week, I hope it makes it. I lit the candle just before I sealed it so it would last thru the trip til it gets to you! (in my drinking days, I might have actually DONE that). UGG.... You two have been such a guiding force here in the nest. If success comes in pairs, it is very evident with you girls. THANK YOU, we are all SO proud of your accomplishment!
TGAF, your second sober holiday! Wasn't it twice as easy as the first? This is my 4th and I must say that it is now tradition! So much better than ALL THAT SNEAKING.....good grief, it was exhausting.
Kradle, good to see you over in these parts! How's it going? Hope all is well with you and your family!

Today the Christmas decorations come out of the attic! The tree will come down, the plastic removed and voila! It's like the Grinch bringing it down, it's fully decorated and my hubs cussing about Christmas and all the hub bub!

I am so glad to see everyone checking in! It's important. Stay connected to the MotherShip for strength! Have a great day, everyone!!! Being sober is the greatest gift of all! If I can live thru MY family, you got it made!! Bwahahaha! XO, Byrdie

[Suek]

Happy Black Friday to all!
Made it through AF Thanksgiving, and still have family staying here since Tuesday.....
I must have set a good example as there was very little beer gone from the case last night....and 4 bottles of sparkling (NA)cider and lots of pop consumed....no hangovers today! Made it through 3 football games and 12 hours of 10 guests yesterday!
Very happy and feel very good on day 20!

Suek

[okoren1]

Close scare for me last night- I would appreciate some advice.

Out of nowhere last night, I had an intense desire to "just have a taste". When I say intense, I really mean INTENSE! I was warmly looking at one of the very few bottles of AL in our home. I had the thought of even taking a sniff (to remember what it smelled like) - I didn't- then the next step, of course would have been "having the taste" - again, I didn't, but boy, it was very close.

By the way, my wife drinks very lightly and only on rare occasions, which is why there is any AL in our home.

Today, I am 112 days AF and my decision to quit has been a relatively straight-line effort. Months ago, any tangible physical cravings stopped.

This feeling last night was more "intellectual" vs. "physical craving", if that makes any sense? In other words, I felt like I wanted to just try some out of curiosity, while remaining confident in my ability to remain, AF. And this thought stayed with me; I mulled this idea around for a couple of hours, before, I ended up making myself a salad and having a club soda/Roses lime juice and then going to bed.

[Mstall]

Okoren - I have no advise to give you as I am only on day 6. However, good job on not giving in to the just taste thing. I actually didn't have much cravings last night. A few of the guys were having drinks or beer but a surprisingly number of women in my family were not. Maybe because they were going shopping later. Either way, it was a nice Thanksgiving and I was exhausted by the time I got home and slept in way late (9:30) for me! Probably needed it.

Have a great AF Black Friday, I'll be staying inside where it's warm.

[See the Light]

okoren- Not sure exactly what you wanted to drink, but I still remember what it tasted like. It’s a lot like bleach from what I recall…or more like bleach if you mixed it with gasoline and cat urine (ok, I’m guessing on that one). You are not “missing” anything though ..Club soda is great drink….in fact there are a million more things that taste better than AL (some cool holiday mocktails below if you are interested). You probably want more than a taste, so don’t lie to yourself….you’ve come too far..there are dozens of stories here about folks who went back for “one more taste” and have regretted it… I personally think you should tell your wife how close you came and if she supports you, maybe you can agree to remove the temptation from your access before you regret it next time. Hang in there, keep busy, stay positive and remain in that 100 day club.

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/recipe_slideshows/non_alcoholic_holiday_drink_recipes?slide=1#leaderboardad

[little beagle]

Today is yesterday's tomorrow.
Okoren glad you didn't taste.

[KENSHO]

Hi All ! Feeling tired today and hungover from sugar and food. I'm glad it's not from AL, and looking forward to good food kept my attention away from the AL that people started drinking at 10:45 am!! My hubs woke up so tired and wondered why. It's clear as day to me now. AL steals so much more than a sober night from us, it steals our energy, clarity, health, self-respect and ability to be present the morning after. I am disappointed people felt the need to drink all day, but watching them get more and more sloppy throughout the day, and watching their mentality today is a powerful reminder of what I chose to avoid.

Off for another mountain bike ride... It's sunny and hot here! Have a great Friday folks!

[Byrdlady]

OkOren,
What you experienced is normal, but how you react to it is what separates the winners from the 'also rans'. It is a strong voice out of left field that tells you that just a taste or SIP wont hurt. I cant tell you the number of nesters that have thrown away GREAT sober time for falling for the Siren's Song. SIPS lead to SLIPS lead to FALLS.

We must remember what brought us here in the first place....we CANNOT control AL once we start. THIS is the problem....starting. No matter how small the amount, it awakens the Giant. In some ways, that slip is worse for us because we think 'we got away with it'. SEE? I can just have a sip and do just fine....that means I can enjoy ONE now and then and be fine. This is how the downward spiral begins. In the 5 years I have been around here, a SIP starts the relapse process. Adopt that Zero Tolerance Policy and YOU will not be one of these. Recommit yourself to your quit, stick around in the nest because we are about to get very busy! This will help you to appreciate where you came from. Get those thoughts out of your head because they will serve no good purpose. STL is right, have a Heart to Heart with Mrs Ok and let her know how to support you. They don't know or understand how we operate. I have let Mr Bydie know that if I ever tell him that I am ready to have just a little here and there, NOT to listen to me....I have given him the phone numbers of who to call for confirmation. I told him that i could probably convince him (and myself) that it was OK, but not to believe me. I think he gets it now and he's got my back!!
The good news is that those cravings ( for lack of a better word) come less and less. The bad news is that they are strong when they do happen (and disturbing). Dont fall for it, its a trick!
So glad you came out the other side!! GREAT JOB!!! B

[MossRose]

Okoren - I must second what the others have said - if at all possible, remove all AL from your home. Since your wife is supportive, I'm sure she will understand. Good for you for not giving in. That had to be rough.

Hi Kradle - so wonderful to see you. Haven't had a chance to chat lately, so hope all is going well in your world.

Today has been lovely. I have a big stockpot full of broth simmering for my brother. I have been reading lately how good it is for cancer patients in need of nutrition. I have always made stocks and broths. My mom taught me how to make them a very long time ago. Such simple food, yet so good for you. I'm going to take it over to him tomorrow. I was horrified to hear what he has been eating lately. After months and months on a feeding tube, he is finally able to swallow again and is subsisting on fast foods. aarrgh. Time for a cooking lesson

Spending the first day of my mini-vacation just relaxing. I am a Trekkie, so enjoying a day of all things Star Trek - Next Generation and the Reboot movies. I know - I'm a geek. But I just love it.

Have a wonderful MAE everyone.

[NoSugar]

This feeling last night was more "intellectual" vs. "physical craving", if that makes any sense? In other words, I felt like I wanted to just try some out of curiosity, while remaining confident in my ability to remain, AF. And this thought stayed with me;.

Guess what, OK? I had/am currently having the same experience. There were a couple bottles of wine open yesterday and I kept thinking that it would be interesting to "just try it and see what it is like now". I didn't, though, and the day was fine. But, I know there is about a glass of red left in the bottle downstairs. I just read a note from a friend who had a single glass of wine yesterday and felt good about that - no compulsion to have more. Reading that fired something in my limbic brain a little bit more. So... the only thing to do is post this and go dump out the rest of that bottle of wine, right? See you later. NS

[Twinkle79]

Difficult evening going on here. For a start, I found myself watching some programme about the Kardashians which I do not understand at all!! Why are they on my tv?!! Before that though, I had definitely allowed the evil H.A.L.T in. I quickly made some gross but filling macaroni cheese, rang my mum and passed through the awkward feeling. But will that ever go away? My mum has way more emotional stuff going on than me so she doesn't need to be my support person. And I never ever talk to anyone else about anything that is bothering me. Which is why I don't ring any of the AA women who have given me their numbers, or ring them back when they leave voicemails during the working day.

[MossRose]

Twinkle - please take this in the spirit intended, but please answer those calls. Those women do care. So do we.

[Twinkle79]

Argh, turns out, I couldn't handle my first night home alone so easily! The boyfriend left 3 weeks ago and I have since then had my daughter here to look after, been with my mum, or on one occasion, met a friend for dinner. Tonight though, I am stuck alone with my own head. And it sucks.