Newbies Nest

[j-vo]

Good morning,

As they say, "what doesn't kill us makes us stronger." I'm feeling that now. Everyday I feel a bit stronger and I'm grateful.

Moni, the text from him is exactly why we want to stay away from alcohol. When it's in our system, there's no telling what stupid things come out of our mouths and what stupid things we'll do. Good example.

Congratulations on 90 Daisy! Awesome.

[Pavati]

MAE, Nest (where IS that Gambler??)

Daisy - 90 days is AWESOME! 90 is a big milestone. You are amazing.

After I hit 90 days, I thought I was in the clear, but I had a bad couple of months - feeling flat, sorry for myself and "what's next." Not that everyone experiences that, but I am telling you that so that you're prepared in case it does. It was a slog, but I came out the other side MUCH better.

Congrats on your personal best, Kensho. Keep it going!
Moni, good luck with all of your work. I, too, hate this alcohol crazed culture.

I'm off to enjoy this beautiful Sunday. I don't watch football (a big day here in the US for football fans), so I will have some time to myself while the rest of the family watches. NICE.

Pav

[JackDanielsGirl]

Good Morning friends,

Looking forward to a fabulous day. The sun is shining, I have a clear head and I am enjoying my children. Life is so good without AL.

Have an awesome AF day,
JDG

[Lavande]

Good evening Nesters,

The football game is still going on........
I just watched tonight's episode of Downtom Abbey, hahh! That will tell you how much I care about football

Great job Daisy & Kensho - keep moving forward with us!

LC, you sound happy & that makes me happy. Same with you JDG!

Wishing a safe & cozy night in the nest for all.

Lav

[available]

Morning nesters

Oops, i got in about 4 days early with your congrats Daisy, this is because i knew you would get there!

Oh Moni so many times i woke up hung over wanting to chew my arm off to get away from what was next to me. That is not the case now since i found some self respect when i stopped drinking. I projected myself as a drinker, a party girl etc and i can still get texts 2 years later and i think who the hell is this. Just be happy it is him suffering with a hangover and not you! I dont care now if people arent happy that i dont drink, i am not overly happy when they get drunk and start talking shit. I accept what i did in the past and accept the present. As long as i am happy that is a good thing.

Pav, i get you! Could not wait to get to 100 days, meant i had it in the bag. Oh how wrong was that thinking. Still had to do one day at a time, still had to not put myself in situations i did not think i could deal with, thought "is this it" and i think it took a year before i knew i was going to be okay. 2 years and i am content with little niggles but i know now it is only me that will cause a relapse thus why i log on here everyday like you do. Its nice not to battle with the al voice anymore, its nice to win.

Work is driving me nuts. i am sure i work with the only idiots in this hospital. I went to the gym at lunch and feel so much better, i really have to stop procrastinating about it but i was on the treadmill today and thought that never would i have been doing this when i drank. Life is good.

Take care xx

[daisy45]

Thanks so much for all your congrats today....well, yesterday as it is after 3am.
My girls brought me out for dinner. I got home to settle down when I got a message from 2 old friends to say they were home for one night only. I have only seen them twice in 20 years as they moved to England but they were my best friends and drinking buddies for years. I did have a little thought of 'oh shit, of all days...just as I hit 90 days sober my best ever drinking buddies roll up. '
I went to meet them and a couple of others in a local pub where they were staying. I knew they were already drinking so I went in about 7 pm intending to stay for 2 hours......6 hours later I was still there.....we had the best night! Not drinking was not a problem for them or me....we laughed and had the best craic all night.
I have been like a recluse and realise how much I miss seeing people and having fun.....The only time a 'wish I could drink' thought popped into my head was walking into the pub as I felt a tiny bit nervous....as soon as I sat down I felt at ease. It actually helped that they already had a few drinks......they were less aware of the fact I wasn't drinking. I felt confident, relaxed, not like I was missing out.
Had I been drinking I know for a fact I would not have had such a great night. One person who joined our group told me he was 'pissed'....I told him I was too. He believed me!
This was an eye-opening experience. It also meant that because others believed I was drinking, I did not get tortured for lifts home.
I will remember this day as a great one and am looking forward to the next phase of my sober journey.....night all.....hugs from a very happy me!

[KENSHO]

Hi there! Broncos took it - our boys!! It was fun for us to watch. We had a get-together, and it felt - get this - natural for me to not drink. I really enjoy socializing so much more without alcohol. (NEVER thought I'd hear myself say that!)

Lifechange, thanks for such great posts. I loved your last one :love:

Ava - way to get to the gym to burn off steam! Coworkers can be infuriating!

Daisy, glad you had such a great night - and Moni too. It's so fun to have more and more nights when I'm so glad to just be ME, and not even crave alcohol.

You all are to I thank for that. I don't believe I could have reached even my modest 2 months without the support here, so thank you.

OH YA, we start the 30 day whole eating plan tomorrow. It will be interesting to see if it improves anything! Nothing about it is cheap or fast - so it will either feel like a waste or an investment!

[Lavande]

Good Monday morning Nesters,

We are getting winter storm alerts here in my portion of the nest - again!!!
Not much I can do about it but prepare I guess.

Glad you had a good time with your friends Daisy & felt solid in your quit.
Kensho, good luck with your whole foods eating plan. There's very little processed food in this house. I need to stay away from excessive sodium & preservatives so fresh is the way to go

Wishing everyone a great AF day ahead!

Lav

[paulywogg]

Hi nesters,Daisy glad you enjoyed your night I've been a hermit too but that's ok for me for now,I just wanted to pop in and thank Pav and Ava for their posts,it does get a tad easier after the 90 to 100 day mark but it still takes work to stay sober,for me I just feel like I'm having to deal with a lot of emotions coming out that I can't drink away,before I started drinking there was a lot of questions about what I want,where I want to be, what I plan for the future, now all that shit is bugging me again, anyways congrats on 90 days Daisy,keep it up,hope everyone has a great Monday

[JackDanielsGirl]

Good Morning,

Winter weather again, Lav? My goodness, prepare and stay warm.

Kensho - I'm gonna check out this whole eating plan, been looking for better ways to eat healthier and I LOVE to cook. I agree it is slowly beginning to feel natural to NOT drink.

Kinda busy today going to tattoo shop with kiddos today, for them not me. I have one and thought I was being tortured by mercenaries. LOL I know I am a wimp. I am loving life and enjoying it to the max because I know if you are not in a storm there is one brewing on the horizon, so I am trying to get as strong as possible before I hear the first rumble of thunder.

Have a fantastic day in our AF world,
JDG

[j-vo]

Great posts of success. Thanks for sharing. It's good to know that it alcohol doesn't need to be a part of the night to have fun. I experienced that on Friday night, even if it was only an hour, I felt comfortable in my skin not having to drink, but enjoyed the light conversation. Most people just have a few and eat, so it's great feeling like everyone else, and not worrying about if I'm getting enough or if I'm looking as though I'd had too much. It's much easier to concentrate on conversation.

Lav, Jack Frost is talking a little on this side of the nest as well. We'll see.

Congrats Broncos!

[Byrdlady]

Daisy, that is fabulous news! ACTING DRUNK, as it turns out, is EASY!!! I'm so glad to hear that you had a great time...I'm here to tell you that it gets easier every time you do it. The uncomfortable part is when everyone is ordering (I think). More good news, if you just drink water with lime, you'll never get stuck with the check! A Win-Win!

Hope everyone has an easy day~! Byrdie

[available]

Morning nest

Pauly the emotions are crap. The anger, the fear the sadness, the happy days, all pour out at times that are unexpected. It takes a year for those emotions to settle down but they are bareable without al. I figured i drank for over ten years and if it takes ten years for me to be ok then thats fine but thankfully after a year things start evening out. the second year is more dealing with emotions and realising we are great people and its not hard when we have our shit together.

Daisy great work on your night, 1sts are hard but we can and do do them. Be very proud of yourself.

well today for me is 800 days sober. I "date, timed calculated" 3 times to still get the same date. Where the hell did those days pop up from? How did i feel? Stunned i think. I messaged all the kids as they have been such a help to me. I remember taking each one of them to the calendar weekly to show them my days early on and i remember them telling me how good i was doing. Now its a part of life, now its me. Damn i am proud of myself. Pav and i always said we would have a party when we got to 1000 days. i always thought well "you will be there by yourself". Today is a smiling day today, no one and nothing will fuck my happiness up today. Just had to check again! lol

Take care xx

ps where are you G and LC?

[Eloise]

Hey guys... I think I saw a conversation somewhere about alcoholic and the development of low blood sugar?
I am starting to think my headaches are due to hypoglycemia? Gonna get one of them little machines to test it. yup, still dealing with headaches. Maybe NS has some insight on this topic?

Omg Available 800?! That must feel amazing!

[lifechange]

Hi Nesters!!

I'm here, dear Ava! Just in the nick of time to Congratulate you on 800 days!!! Wow, what an awesome number. I also remember thinking, 700 or so days ago, that 1000 days seemed like an eternity of planning ahead for you and Pav.. now I'm thinking you girls had better be saving your pennies!:happy2:

Hang in there, Pauly. I remember the only time I made it past 100 days I began to take it all a bit for granted.. in the sense that I stopped checking in so often, thought I might be "cured", stopped with the maintenance work that I think is necessary (or at least that's what I'm believing now) the first year.. I keep trying to tell myself, "baby steps, baby steps".. There is so much lost time I want to make up for, so many things I want to learn, changes I want/need to make. And it's easy to get overwhelmed.. which I'm interpreting these days as SLOW DOWN. I don't know how it is with you, but I've been trying to break it all down to bite size pieces... trying to prioritize.. what is really necessary and what can wait.. You're doing so well, Pauly!

Daisy, great job on the outing with your friends. I'm also finding that it's easier not to drink..in the sense that I can follow a conversation!, am not paranoid about saying stupid things, not worried about not getting enough.. I haven't yet had the occasion to act like I'm drunk.. I know you have a great sense of humour and were probably more fun than ever to be around..

J-vo, my sister just walked out onto court last week with my nephew for his last home game, too. I almost cried just watching the short video.. I can just imagine all the feelings you must be having. You must have been so proud of him! Sounds like a really nice evening out with friends..

Crocster, have you checked in today? I think I saw that you have 14 days today.. Well done!!!

JDG, You're sounding awesome! And you have the right attitude for sure.. we should definitely fully enjoy the times we're feeling good, gather up strength and energy, share the love! What kind of a tattoo is being made today?

Kensho, I'm excited to hear about your whole food nutrition plan as it unfolds and develops! I'm certain that if you stick to it, you will notice big differences in how you feel... it can really only be an investment. You wouldn't dare drop out!! How long are you doing it to begin with?

So, I'm also wondering where G-man's hiding out!
and ActionGirl? Who else hasn't checked in for a day or two?
At least fly by quickly and say hi (says she who's been quite a slacker lately..)

hugs to you all..