Newbies Nest

[STEADFAST]

Boxing Day check in!

Survived Xmas Day. Picked up Mum from nursing-home and drove her and DH over to sister's place. Mum still confused and asking about Dad (he passed last year) but we worked as a team and stayed up-beat. Others drank but I was happy to stay clear and be the responsible, designated driver. As Ava and Mr G know it's very hot in Melbourne right now. DH is going to watch the cricket. Our house is so heated up (with no end to the heat-wave in sight just yet), so I'm off to the cinema...Might see two movies back-to-back! :happy2:

J-Vo, a difficult time at a difficult time; peace and strength to you - :hug:

And peace and strength to all, love,
Steady

[Lost Soul]

Hi all
Its still Christmas day here, nearly over - I had a lovely day with the kids & they enjoyed their day :heartbeat:
Hope you all enjoyed a relaxing AF day xxx
I think with the kids asleep last night & doing all my preparations I was feeling lonely & overwhelmed. I don't even really know where to begin with my 'ishoos'. And the fact that I find it so hard to put into words makes me feel like a basket case.
Thank you all so very much for helping me on my sober journey. There is no doubt any other struggles or problems we face are easier to manage with a clear head xx
Wishing all a safe & sober Christmas xx

[NoraC]

I was going thru and clicking like on every post. So, instead - I am going to say that all of your posts are wonderful.

Merry Christmas and Happy Boxing Day to those already into Monday. :love:

[Marylou123]

Merry Christmas Nesters! Sending love to all near and far. So grateful for another sober holiday.

[Lavande]

Merry Christmas Nesters

I hope everyone had a great AF day, I did
Sounds like you are all doing very well.

j-vo, I know how hard it is to deal with holidays after losing a parent. It takes a while to fully process the change in family dynamic :hug:

Wishing everyone a safe & comfy night in the nest!

Lav

[Pavati]

Hi, Everyone:

Stuffed to the gills and then some - so much delicious, fatty food over the last 24 hours! It was a very low key time with family - we laughed a lot and the kids had a good time. We live in a somewhat wealthy community and my kids friends always get so much "stuff" every year. It is great to see how my own kids have come to understand that having things isn't the most important part of life. A good lesson to learn early. My little nuclear family had some good bonding yesterday on our way home at around midnight. We decide to drive around town and look at all the lights and ended up on a hill with a great view. My little one sighed and say, "I love you guys. This is so special." It was an amazing night.

I am with Nora - I quit "liking" every post and will just say THANKS to you all. I am so grateful to be sober this holiday season. I am so glad that I could be here with my family, laughing and having fun with no regrets (well, other than the second helping of potatoes). What an amazing gift we have given ourselves.

Off to bed. zzzz. Still Christmas here this side of the date line. Happy Everything!

Pav

[mario]

Good morning nesters,

Today is called St Stephens day in Ireland, Just thought I share that, haven't a clue why :-) ha ha


Anyway I had a lovely Christmas day, I was in my mothers house all morning with my very big family, They were all drinking & eating but it was a good atmosphere, We all went to my sisters for Christmas dinner, lots of us, I had got a plan to escape asap just after dinner, as most of my family would be heavy drinkers.

It turned out to be a very good and funny and quite enjoyable night, got a bit loud but it was grand and I delighted I stayed as I could actually talk to family members who I don't usually see or talk to very much.

Its great waking up with a clear sober head,I have a you tube story about motivation on and I buzzing on with that, Have a great day everyone, were getting there.

[lifechange]

hi Nesters and Merry Christmas..
I didn't have the best day yesterday. I so stupidly drank a couple of weeks ago to escape my current living situation. Then carried on every day until a few days ago, when NS so nicely reached out to me and I had a chance once again to see how much harm I was doing to myself. I know that I'm ruining my life, continuing on this path and I'm so sad to be starting over from the beginning. I never allow myself to get past a certain point.. almost as if I'm setting myself up for failure. And each time I begin drinking again I reach a new low. I can see the possibilities of a different life but I have to be sober for that to happen. So yesterday was day 4 and I drank a ton of brandy.. I actually looked at myself in the mirror (beginning to look better after a few days) and told myself I would regret it and did it anyway. This shows me that although I have had a lot of sober time, when I drink I'm at the beginning again.. at least for a while. Which means I have to do all of the very Newbie things to re-wire my brain.. which, of course!, means for me not having any alcohol in the house..I'm trying to be positive in realizing that I CAN make this the first day in the rest of my life.. that I just turned 47 and 2017 CAN be my first entirely sober year. It's not too late for me.
And I have made some good changes.. moving house in February to be on my own, which is looking like heaven at this point..
Anyway, I haven't read too far back yet.. but it looks like it was a good Christmas here in the Nest.. I wish I had you all to celebrate New Year's with.
This was a good Hip Sobriety post.. about rebranding addiction.

How To Fix The Addiction Epidemic Through Rebranding and Social Proof. — HIP SOBRIETY

ok. off to read some more. :hug:

[Guitarista]

Merry christmas LC! Start your new AF life right now and you will have a nice run up into the new year to kickstart your life again. You can do anything my friend.

Big waves to all.

[paulywogg]

Hello nesters, Lifechange((hugs)) I think keeping ourselves planted here and posting daily helps keep us more grounded and more focused on accomplishing our goal of staying AF,try to post once a day at least, I know if I decided to skip posting daily cuz of time or some other excuse, my mind would go back to dirty thinking, staying here keeps me on track,Pav,I ate like a giant pig,feel like captain bloato today! I'm pissed cuz I was supposed to have today off but the lady covering my shift decided drinking on Christmas was a great idea so she text me last night she wouldn't be able to work! I'm also irritated cuz I thought I was gonna be off today so me and my daughter drank coffee at 5 pm while watching a movie so I couldn't fall asleep last night, grrrrrr,oh well I'm trying not to be too resentful(but I am) wishing everyone a great AF day

[j-vo]

Good morning,
I'm soooo glad the last two days are over. It was nice seeing everyone, but the craziness, running here and there, socializing (always hard for me), and the sadness of not having mom here makes me feel a bit relief that it's over. I have all week off, and I'm so grateful for it and the fact that son is home!!

LC, I'm glad you're back posting with us. There's so many good conversations here, lots to think about, so much help here.

Pav, the end of your night sounded awesome. Wow!

Ok, will check in later.

[Byrdlady]

Good morning, Nesters!
So we went to the second party last night and ate ourselves to oblivion. Ugg. Ive got to reign this in! I look like a tick about ready to pop! I was the only non drinker, but no one said anything or paid attention. Just how I like it.
LC! Glad you are back. I wish I had gotten sober at 47, I could have saved myself 4 of the worse years of my life. There is NO good for us in drinking!
Pav, what a moving story. I cringe to think how much life I missed by drinking.
Pauly, sorry you have to work today, that stinks. Once again, AL has claimed more of our time. I hate AL. Im glad you do, too!
J-vo, we've almost made it thru the holidays and all our raw feelings. Lets hang in!
Lav, sounds like you had a teriffic time with the g-babies, as usual, how is the hubby doing?
G, sounding stronger than ever!
Hope everyone has a happy day!! Byrdie

[Roobs]

Good morning nesters,

Omg, I'm so glad Xmas day is over! We hosted my family for dinner and I hardly sat down all day . I kept wanting to check in here for a little xtra motivation but I swear I didn't have time. I have to be honest, I resented every single one of you for about 5-10 minutes. I was looking at those bottles of wine and they looked so beautiful and I thought, "cmon, why not? It's Xmas, etc..." But I didn't because of you all. I disliked you intensely for a few minutes but I'm back to loving you all! Your support, your stories, your experiences have helped me pull through some sticky moments. I feel great today. Thank you!!

LC, I'm sorry you're feeling like crap. Please continue to stick around and share. Just one foot in front of the other. You can spend New Years with the Nest. Just keep checking in.
Jvo, hugs to you.
Pav, what a very special way to end your evening.
Mario, happy St. Stephen's Day, whatever that means!
Byrdie, a tick ready to pop, ha! Gross but hilarious!

Have a great AF day everyone!
Roobs

[Roobs]

I'm so sad George Micheal,died. 2016 has not been a good year.

[Roobs]

Hi again,

Ava, I curious about how you talk to your kids about alcohol. Are you worried about any of them? Mine are teenagers and we've had conversations but I'd love some input on how to handle it as they get older. I know it's not a matter of "if" they drink but "when" they drink or at least experiment. It's scary because it's all or nothing for me so I don't know how to teach. I've talked a lot about the dangers of alcohol and binge drinking etc...how we Americans drink differently than other countries, etc... Any input would be great. Thanks.
Roobs