Newbies Nest

[Byrdlady]

Good Morning, Nesters!
I used to wish I could drink a little now and then or on special occasions. I absolutely could not imagine ANYONE who could go the rest of her life without drinking! I am in the business community, it is EXPECTED! This is just not true, it's one of the lies that AL tells us....it wants us to think that life will be useless without it. When I look back, the HAPPIEST times of my life have been when I was AF....when I was a kid, and when I finally sobered up. Life is NOT measured by what is in your glass it is by the people and places you experience.
I may as well wish I were rich and thin! I dont see that happening, either!! :haha:
Hang tough, everyone! The worst is behind us! The nest is about to get very busy, so all hands on deck! All you gotta do is get thru this day!! Byrdie

[Eloise]

Hey Nar!

Its been a while, busy December for us all.
I am pretty sure those cravings have passed. I just wanted to bring up how helpful I find the L Glut tablets. Very handy!

Snow today in The Netherlands.
No thoughts about drinking for me, just relief to be clear headed. Sending you best wishes in the NW, hang tight!

TJ, I agree with NS. Sugar is better than AL, if that's what it takes to get you through the holidays then so be it.

Cher, it is hard to tell our kids not to do things we did. Exactly, I feel lik a hypocrite too.

Ken, sorry your so cranky hang in there

Pepper, vermouth... Straight? Gross. I know you never wat to go back there.

I don't want to drink but am feeling a strong pull towards it. I just want a bit. FFS!! A bit is never enough. And I don't want to feel like shit in the morning. What the hell. Sometimes this AL brain is too much.
I am going to pour that wine out and get through these damn cravings.

[KENSHO]

Good morning. Thank you for AF thoughts. NS, that is a powerful thread. Thank you for sharing the link. What a deterrent! Thanks for the encouragement Fin & Daisy. I ended up watching a movie with my husband and that was that. I wasn't expecting that craving! But I feel very energized today, which is a nice reward.

We are heading up to my mom's house tonight where step family will be. My step-sister is just a year older than me and she and her family are hard to be around. They are judgmental and image-oriented and phony - something I can't stomach for long. I feel like I need to shower after being around them. My step BIL definitely has a drinking problem - and stopped drinking for a bit after losing a job due to it. Last time we hung out though he was slurring and back to his norm. They tend to compete with us (we just want to hang out and be real). It will be interesting to see if they react to me not drinking, which I hope just goes unnoticed. I'd prefer not to discuss it with them.

Glad you made it through the night Narily! I think it's particularly hard when the craving comes out of nowhere - it's almost like its easy to get out of practice when some AF time goes by - then WHAM - pull out the tools!

Thanks to everyone here. I've changed a lot of my behaviors, perceptions, and priorities since being logging on about 1 year ago - and I am so grateful to be the person I am today without alcohol, due almost entirely to kind people here. Thank you.

[narilly]

Kensho, we did it! Got through the night. Holy smokes it was touch and go for me. I just went upstairs and got in the tub. There is no booze in my tub I closed my eyes and meditated a bit, over and over I Said "I don't drink" . I tried to calm my mind down and just not drink.
NS, thank you for the relapse link. Wow, it is very powerful and very helpful to me. I appreciate all your help. Xxxx
Daisy, it is amazing how much we notice things when we are sober. Pretty crazy all the drunks out there, I am glad it's not us.

El, L-Glutamine, I totally forgot about that. Thank you for the reminder. I will get some. I think it helped me last time I took it. Merry Christmas to you El.

You know MWOERS if it wasn't for you I would have drank last night. Honestly I thought "shit, I will have to tell my support group on MWO I drank, maybe I will drink and not tell them". It is amazing the thoughts that go through my head when I am trying to make excuses to drink. I was thinking you were all a pain in the butt for getting in the way of me having a drink.
I know this is crazy AL thinking but you did get in the way and I thank you for that.

Have a great sober Saturday everyone.

[daisy45]

Ava, enjoy your time with mum!
We have 2 little visitors tonight.....my cousins 2 little girls, 3 yr old and a baby who is 6 weeks tomorrow! Baby is only 6lbs....tiny, and so alert! My youngest daughter and myself are loving it. Noone understands why when we are on holidays from childminding that we take more in.....we are a kiddie family. This really brings me back....the wee angel smiles after her feed and dropping off to sleep.
Looking forward to showing them off tomorrow.
I expect there will be a surge of people in the Newbies in January.....hope we can keep it going and create mass sobriety!
Well done Kensho and Nar....hi Fin and Eloise, Byrdie, Ava and Frances!

[daisy45]

Cross-post Nar......I have had those exact thoughts too! Nobody on here would find out....but there is an unspoken trust between us lot, isn't there? We know the one thing we all have here is honesty and strange that MWOers are the ones that we open up to more than those in our every day lives.....

[narilly]

Daisy, I totally agree.
Enjoy your wee ones tonight, Sounds like fun.
So glad we are sober together.

[Pinecone]

Hi friends, just a quick check in before I get to bed. Great reading today.

Daisy I just love your posts lately.
Kensho, good luck with the in laws. Ugh that sounds so tedious! Sometimes we are faced with people like that. I ask myself "what is God/the universe trying to teach me by having me deal with this Person?" Most of the time I can't figure it out!

Great job Nar. Saying it our loud helps.
Hang in there, Frances.

[Lavande]

Good evening Nesters,

I'm smiling reading today's sober reports
Be proud of yourselves, you are all doing great!

Had a good, low-key sort of day & that's perfectly OK with me
Wishing everyone a safe & comfy night in the nest!

Lav

[BeachGirly]

I am sure some of you have crossed this bridge... So your advice is welcomed.

How do I handle the booze gifts I received. Makes me sad to realize that is how people see me - "give her wine, she will be happy".
I have also been invited to a wine tasting event at a very nice resort.
I absolutely know I cannot go there- but it is my fav sister in law, and she was one who gave me wine.
I need to find the right words to thank her for the thoughts, but to let her know this part of our relationship is over.
Thoughts?

[wyldetymes]

Hello - its my first day here so Im just trying to figure out whats what and wheres where and I was advised to come here
My name is James and I am trying to give up - last time I slipped as I live alone and after 2 months I slipped - but this time when I get clean I hope to stay clean Im 60 so I don't want to drink away my last years and make them less than god intended
thats me folks

[available]

Hi James glad you found the nest. Its a lovely place to make friends,when they are awake that is.

Well i made it to mums and they airline lost my suitcase. FFS have i killed a chinaman and no one told me. Its so hot up here also and i did think a wine would be refreshing but coke zero did the trick. They did manage to find said suitcase and taxi it out to mums. i was more worried about not having make up than clothes!

mum is stoked to see me and i thought i was coming home on the 2nd Jan but no its the 5th and i am supposed to be back at work on the 5th. Oh well shite happens. I need the rest so work can wait.

Had some lovely seafood for dinner and now im ready for bed. Off to the optometrist tomorrow to get some new glasses, mums xmas present to me. i so love being spoilt.

Beachy re-gift the wine ASAP or tip it out. If you can get out of the wine tasting then do so. It is too tempting early in your quit and the most important thing is to protect yourself at all costs. If your SIL understands then tell her you are not drinking and it maybe not a good idea to go to the wine tasting. I found a bottle of wine in my cupboard before xmas. A miracle i thought, in my drinking days there was never any al in the house. How times have changed in my thinking.

[Pavati]

Hi,

Wee bit of wifi. Beach with no booze is where it's at. My kids and I just went swimming in the ocean in the middle of a warm downpour. So lovely to be present!

Nar- of course you didn't drink because you don't drink. Awesome you came here for support. I also recommend the Bubble Hours on relapse. They are good listening, too.

Kensho- my husband and I have found different Friday night escapes. We go to movies, out to dinner - whatever. I also took up a Friday evening yoga class. A great way to unwind after a stressful week. Glad you stuck it out, too.

Off to the next event. Back home in about a week. Stay strong, Nesters!

Xo
Pav

[frances]

Good morning all! So great to see folks doing so well. Narilly I felt the same way about MWO but unfortunately those thoughts didn't come until afterwards. I didn't want to be honest about it. But I knew I couldn't do that, it would have defeated the whole purpose. I am so so glad that you recognized your thoughts up front and were able to come here for help first. In retrospect I should have known that any occasion with alcohol could be a problem and not to be complacent. Lesson learned the hard way!

Welcome James so glad you are here! Stick around, read and post...this is a tough thing to do but something you will never regret - many of us are older (I'm 50 next year) and I can say for myself feeling the same way - I don't want to waste anymore of this life. Don't look back, just ahead!

My friends are bringing an additional friend of the family with them on our upcoming New Year's trip - he is just a teenager and me not drinking will be a good thing and maybe my friends will want to be on better behavior too. this is a trip we take where drinking is definitely the norm and often starts very early in the day. I'm going to try to get activities planned to keep us out and busy. Right now I'm feeling good about everything and I think I will be okay - I have no desire to drink - I sure hope it stays that way!

[Pie]

Hello Wylde! Welcome! So glad you found us and have made your way to the Nest.

Pie