Newbies Nest

[Matt M.]

Good morning from the Lone Star State

Busy day ahead for me and the dog days of summer have smacked down on us.
I'm so very grateful for my sobriety today, in grateful for this group and each contributing member. Wanted to share a reading for the day.
Stay hard my friends!

Letting Go of Resistance

Do not be in such a hurry to move on.

Relax. Breathe deeply. Be. Be in harmony today.

Be open. There is beauty around and in us today. There is purpose and meaning in today.

There is importance in today - not so much in what happens to us, but in how we respond.

Let today happen. We learn our lessons, we work things out, we change in a simple fashion: by living our life fully today.

Do not worry about tomorrow's feelings, problems, or gifts. Do not worry about whether we can trust life, our Higher Power, or ourselves tomorrow.

Everything we need today shall be given to us. That is a promise - from God, from the Universe.

Feel today's feelings. Solve today's problems. Enjoy today's gifts. Trust yourself, life, and your Higher Power today.

Acquire the art of living fully today. Absorb the lessons, the healing, the beauty, the love available to us today.

Do not be in such a rush to move on. There is no hurry. We cannot escape, we only postpone. Let the feelings go, breathe in peace and healing.

Do not be in such a hurry to move on.

Today, I will not run from my circumstances, my feelings, or myself. I will be open to others, Higher Power, my life, and myself. I will trust that by facing today to the best of my ability, I will acquire the skills I need to face tomorrow.

[Fin]

Day 0?

Fin - Day 100, but I failed 2x days in the 90's?! The difference is that I didn't continue down the old path. I got right back on the horse. So, I was 98% successful over my first 100 days and now aiming for another 100, 100%. I have yet learned another set of valuable lessons that will help me kick AL out of my life for good. I had two major triggers fire that caused the momentary relapses. I now recognize these triggers and how to deal with them. Onward and upward.

[Matt M.]

Day 0?

Fin - Day 100, but I failed 2x days in the 90's?! The difference is that I didn't continue down the old path. I got right back on the horse. So, I was 98% successful over my first 100 days and now aiming for another 100, 100%. I have yet learned another set of valuable lessons that will help me kick AL out of my life for good. I had two major triggers fire that caused the momentary relapses. I now recognize these triggers and how to deal with them. Onward and upward.

Great Fin
Looking back on my past slips at 6, 8,9 months, those quit attempts I always had the thought of " Damn I'm missing out on all the fun!" This time around I have changed my entire mindset about alcohol. I look at it for what it is Poison, perfectly packaged poison.
Sure there are times a specific drink sounds or looks good, but I know longer feel as though I'm missing out, quite the opposite, I'm so glad today I have absolutely zero desire to drink.
You are definitely Staying Hard Fin!

[Elvis]

Looking at our disease from a different angle. Article to the grieving family of an addict whose addiction won. Sadly I think most of us can think of someone.

To the Grieving Family of an Addict Whose Addiction Won | Babble

[Fin]

Great Fin
Looking back on my past slips at 6, 8,9 months, those quit attempts I always had the thought of " Damn I'm missing out on all the fun!" This time around I have changed my entire mindset about alcohol. I look at it for what it is Poison, perfectly packaged poison.
Sure there are times a specific drink sounds or looks good, but I know longer feel as though I'm missing out, quite the opposite, I'm so glad today I have absolutely zero desire to drink.
You are definitely Staying Hard Fin!

Matt, thank you very-very much for sharing your experience. I hear you and I will keep up the work. It's becoming easier and easier and I feel awesome about it both physically and mentally.

[daisy45]

Well done Fin. Looking forward to your next 100,

[Lavande]

Good evening Nesters,

Exhausted after two days watching my grandsons but grateful for the opportunity to spend quality time with them. This sure wouldn't be happening if I had continued on my previous path

Fin, glad you're back & wiser with the knowledge of how to handle your triggers! Stick around & let us know how it's going.

Elvis, thank you for posting that link.

Matt, I totally latched on to Tolle's 'The Power of Now' years ago & learned to live in & appreciate each moment as it comes

Hello to Daisy, bobby boy, Pauly & everyone!

Wishing everyone a safe & peaceful night in the nest!

Lav

[Inthesky]

Good evening everyone,
Well on day 12 and feeling so much clearer.
Welcome Panda��
Panda this is a great supportive group. Please feel free to post anytime there is usually someone on here to help you. The first day is hard. But don't give up.
Sky

[tonyniceday]

Hi Fin
I want to personally and publicly apologise for my knee-jerk reaction yesterday. I got the wording all wrong and should have been far more sensitive about what I said.

You've clearly been around this site for a lot longer than me and I've talked about the "tight-rope" and know how easy it would be to fall, or even jump, off it.

Whilst I stand by the basic principle of what I said, I apologise whole-heartedly if I caused you any upset and I think that it is very important to acknowledge that you have not taken the easy way out, and disappeared down the neck of an open bottle, but have climbed straight back on to the wagon again. You have got back to 7 days again today and I want to be the first to congratulate you on that!

I am reaching my arm out across cyberspace to shake you by the hand.

Please don't go "off-grid" but stay here with us so we can all share with you as you continue on your journey. We all need to be here for each other.

All the very best, my friend, and have a great day.

Tony

[tonyniceday]

Morning all - just had a good read through the last few days which I've missed most of because work has been so busy!

Byrdie - hope it's all going smoothly up in Virginia - I guess you'll be having the exam today or tomorrow - good luck with that, I'm sure you'll be fine!

Matt - Bacon all the way! - I'm with Byrdie on the logistics of ice cream and bread...

Lav - we got the storms here too. One of our border collies is absolutely petrified of the thunder and seems to sense the impending storms before we see them and becomes very clingy...Playing havoc with my gardening as well!

Bobby/Daisy - I'm glad you found that stress thing useful - I heard about it a while back and this is the first time I've used it and I'm liking the way you can physically see the list get shorter when you cross things off, and the sense of achievement that you've done something about it! - Bobby I've had all the blood tests a few days ago and got a call to say that all was ok, except I'm low on Folic Acid - I always thought that was something which affected pregnant women and as I am neither a woman, nor pregnant(!) it's slightly worrying but now I have yet another pill to take to sort that out - oh joy!

Elvis - what you shared brings back to me the main catalyst which brought me to MWO - I sure don't want anyone to be writing an article like that with me in mind - it certainly reassured me I'm in the right place here!

Day off for me today so I'm going to try to find some re-claimed bricks to start looking at putting in the first raised beds in the garden.

Have a great (AF) day everyone

Tony

[Eloise]

Gosh this makes me sad, yes, I do think of a very dear childhood friend whose mother died alone in her house severely addicted to alcohol. Sad indeed.

Looking at our disease from a different angle. Article to the grieving family of an addict whose addiction won. Sadly I think most of us can think of someone.

To the Grieving Family of an Addict Whose Addiction Won | Babble

[bobby boy]

Good afternoon everyone ...
Been busy bee with work and chores but having a quick break so that I can connect with you all . Thanks Pauly ... Yes it is true that phlebotomy helps with the iron overload . I am so glad that I donated the other day and now will have to continue to do so on a regular basis . My wish is that the iron will adjust to normality ! Elvis , thanks for that link ... I too have lost someone to AL . We have to keep on reminding ourselves that it is a TOXIC POISON and nothing else ... I need to share this next story as it made me feel both happy and sad ... I went to a little shopping centre near my home today and as I was walking back to my car , the car guard ( yes , we have those here ) asked me if I forgot to go into the bottle store today ??? Oh my gosh , imagine .. he must have seen me on a regular basis doing just that with all the bottles clanging in the trolley . I answered NO , I didn't forget I DONT DRINK ANYMORE !!:happy2: I felt so good saying that and I thought about how much money I gave that liquor store , promptly took out a hundred Rand note ( price of a bottle of wine here ) and gave it to the guard ... He said " Thanks so much Madame , I will be able to buy food for my whole family tonight " . :sad: OK enough of my stories . :happy2:

[Lavande]

Good evening Nesters,

Wow, tomorrow is Friday already. Geez, time really does fly

Bobby, handing over your wine money was such a nice gesture, good for you! Good for the soul too. I have been spoiling my grandkids over the past 7+ years with money saved from not drinking & smoking!! I'm sure it's a small fortune by now, ha ha!

Byrdie, hope you are doing OK.

Hello to everyone & wishing a safe night in the nest for all.

Lav

[Byrdlady]

Monday night I didnt get to the hotel until 2:30 am. I got two hours sleep! Dont ask me how, but I made it thru that class and passed my test. Yesterday, I worked on a proposal for a customer with my boss and got all confused. Then the project managers kept piling stuff on and asking for their 'job' paperwork. One guy who was helping me do the quote was so nice, and said he wouldmt leave my side until it was done. I lost it. For some reason I started crying! Then my boss walked up! Ugg. Im exhausted. Had to get up at 3:45 this morning for my ride to the airport.
Thank goodness AL isnt a factor in any of this!

Bobby, it was iron overload that got me on a downward spiral. They were blaming my iron overload on a fatty liver! I was just before having to get a liver biopsy. I decided to stop taking any and all meds I could live without (to give my liver a break, funny tho, I didnt stop drinking). One of the drugs I quit taking was Cymbalta (an Antidepressant) a couple weeks later I had horrible withdrawals and ended up in the ER! This was just before Christmas 2010. I felt so bad recovering from that I drank MORE, then on Jan 19th, 2011, my hubs issued an ultimatum. Him or AL He ended up saving my life. Obviously, I couldnt stop drinking and my life DID depend on it, it was the fear of losing him that got my full attention. Once I stopped drinking (actually after 3 months) my ferratin levels came down and have been down ever since. My AST and AGT (I think thats what they are) were normal, it was the high ferratin levels that tipped them off. I blamed it on the Cymbalta, but Im sure they knew it was AL. What an awful time. I had 3 sessions of phlebotomy, felt like a real loser. Its done in the room where the cancer patients get their chemo. There they are fighting for their lives and there I sat, drinking mine away. AL is such a powerful addiction. Do whatever it takes to break it. Otherwise it will break us.

Im going to bed! Hugs to all! Byrdie

[Dutch1988]

Quickly checking in at 500 days, I haven't been able to type much since I was in a cast, now I am working on getting my hand back to 100%. I hope everyone is well, I have been doing fairly well on all fronts, expecting a new baby girl in December and happy as can be. Thanks everyone on here who has given me support over the past 500 days.