Newbies Nest

[paulywogg]

Great to see you Tony

[Byrdlady]

Marthadan, this is a process and like anything else worthwhile, it takes time. Rememeber the grieving process? Anger, denial, bargaining, depression and acceptance. You are going thru the normal progression of all this...we will be right by your side!

Tony, I am THRILLED that you are back and ready to get this done! Let us know how we can help. Take a twig right by me!! Happy belated birthday, BTW!
Byrdie

[Lost Soul]

Hi all,
Checking in for another outstanding AF day, hope you are all enjoying your weekend :happy2:
G - forgot to say, loved your thoughts on the future, very hopeful!
Tony, nice to see you here - good luck on your AF journey!
Marthadan, 9 months AF takes a great deal of commitment & determination - well done. I relapsed in April 2015, and try to view it positively as a learning experience so hopefully will make for a stronger quit this time!
Pauly, chatting about your crazy drinking days giving you AL thoughts reminds me of an old thread here, 'you know your an alcoholic when...' quite lighthearted but found it quite triggering so best avoided!
LC, we are 30 days next Saturday! (It would be helpful if I could count in the first place...) here's to many more milestones :happy2:
Hi SL, hope your daughters doing ok? Weeks are flying by, can't believe we're nearly in February!
Wishing all a safe & sober Saturday
LS

[tonyniceday]

Hi Byrdy...I'm gonna park myself firmly on that twig...even if I have to nail myself to it! I'm REALLY impressed with your 6 years...amazing!.
I saw your birthday wishes elsewhere -thank you. I didn't respond because I was celebrating with my ex-pal Mr Shiraz...
Got through day 1 now and the Doc has given me something to stop the insomnia this time so I'll be back around in about 10 hours or so!!!.
Good to see all the support on here still.
Tony

[Princess_to_J]

Quick post to say hi, my phone is driving me insane I've written two posts and it's shut down as I've been about to send them.

Managed to make it through a night out with friends and not drink.

A couple of raised eyebrows as they've never seen me not drink, but made an excuse and that was that. I ignored a glass of processco that was poured for me and had virgin cocktails all night.

Day 4 done and onto to day 5

Hope everyone is having a good day

L

[Lavande]

Good evening Nesters,

Gearing up for a big rain storm, lots of wind & all that, not fun but better than snow

Welcome back Tony, you know what to do!

Marthadan, don't give up trying. a firm commitment & a good solid plan will help you meet your goals.

Princess, great job on your 4 AF days, wishing you many more.

LS & LC, we'll have to break out the dancing shoes for you two next weekend, yay!!!

Great to see everyone checking in today & wishing a safe & comfy night in the nest for all!

Lav

[Nursie]

Quick check in for me again tonight. We had my uncle's memorial service today. Not one person was drinking but his sons showed up already drunk and still drinking. They couldn't stand. By the end of the service.
I know that feeling, because I did that when my brother died. But it is very very tough to watch.
Also, my aunt (my dad's sister) told me how relieved she is that I haven't been drinking and that everyone was so worried about me. That makes me sad and emmbarrassed for the times I've been drunk. Sad that I was the one people were worried about. People still think it's a weakness or an escape from reality. It's not an escape it's just medicine? I guess we think it's medicine at the time?
I don't know. I'm so tired that I'm probably not making sense.
Have a safe night in the nest. I will read back in the morning.

[Nursie]

Byrdie! Happy 6 years of brand new life! I love hearing your stories because you always have new pieces to share with us even after all this time. I forgot that you too lost a brother and both parents. We are not a weak lot around here! We are full of strong, badass people that have really been through the horror of it all.

And I'm ashamed to admit this but I think I should. I WAS one of those alcoholics that would drink listerine, vanilla, or NyQuil if I ran out of booze. That was at the end and I could not believe that I was doing it. Sick. I have to remember that next time I crave a drink.

[Orimus]

Sleep well Nursie. Tomorrow is a brand new day, another day to craft ourselves int to the person we wish to be.

[Neo]

Last night was not fun. Fridge still got beer but going to turn it off and start over again. After some great sober stints over the last couple of years ,I know I can do it again .Beating myself up a bit today and it is hurtful .Feeling like a loser

[available]

Afternoon nest

I noticed your post on roll call and wanted to say a huge Congratulations Mary on 3 years, the quiet achiever!.

Neo, get rid of the al, why have it staring in your face. Just like any addict we cant have our addiction near us. I can now have al in the fridge but i always put it out of my eye range. I even threw out my goblet wine glasses and if anyone comes around for a wine they have to stand on a chair to get a glass. Anything that was associated with al went out of my house. No point in beating yourself up, just work on a new and better plan.

Welcome back Tony. Us alkies can never moderate or have one. Sadly to say relapses make my strength and commitment stronger as i know if i ever had that one drink i would not come back.

Nursie you were one of those people, you are not now. Be proud of what you are doing.

Quiet day for me, daughter dyed my hair and i napped and recharged. Catching up on The Blacklist and waiting for the next episode of Sherlock. I love my tv shows now. Remembering them is still a novel concept for me.

Off to the gym with my son. He is 3+ weeks sober now and the difference in his anxiety and mood is great to see. He is even handing assignments on time and i am a happy mum. I see he still has his up and down days but each day sober makes him stronger.

Take care x

[lifechange]

Hi Nesters..
Happy sober Sunday!

Tony, I'm glad to see you back in the Nest and to hear that you're nailing yourself to a branch next to Byrdie! I think what has helped me more than anything these last 3 weeks is checking in here AND writing something, anything each and every day no matter what. Making it my top priority.. making the commitment to honestly talk about how I'm feeling regardless of how trivial I think it might sound. And reading about how everyone else is doing, the struggles, the celebrations, whatever is going on, has helped me to stay focused on my most important work towards being and staying sober.

Neo, Welcome back! I would have to agree with Ava on getting rid of all the alcohol in the house.. The last bottle of brandy I poured down the drain seemed like a huge waste of 15 bucks (?!).. I thought about how I could drink it and then start after that. But I kept imagining what drinking it would do to my poor body. I kept thinking about how my stomach and liver would feel having to ingest it..and how depressed I'd be after the initial hour of feeling high.
I think that getting rid of it all and making the decision not to buy any more, not for anyone else either, allows us to show ourselves how serious we are about staying quit. It closes the door on the "possibility" of drinking, at least for awhile. Anyway, that definitely helped me the first week.

Nursie, we are a group full of strong and bad-ass people! Have to agree with you there.. and you are leading the pack with your strength and bad-assedness. I appreciate your openness and willingness to share what's going on in your life.. that goes for everyone here. It takes a lot of strength and faith to lay it on the line, to go against habits and addiction and face life head on.. to make the changes necessary to learn to deal with it all, to put ourselves in a vulnerable position (without our al armour) to look at ourselves honestly and then to make decisions/find solutions to create a life we find worth living.
I am beginning to think that's really possible.. I'm believing deep in my heart that which the long-timers promise.. that I won't regret the decision not to drink and that I can't imagine how much better life without alcohol can be.

This morning we were watching Tennis and there was a commercial advertising a casino.. at the bottom of the screen it said, "warning, gambling can become addictive and can lead to isolation and depression".. The most I've ever seen with alcohol advertisements is "drink responsibly".??
crazy.

Mary, I also wanted to congratulate you on 3 years of sobriety!

So I'm off to the gym now. My first day back in months. I'm going to follow G-man's advice and just get my butt in there. Something is bound to come to me if I make it that far!:happy2:
xx

[jane27]

Congrats Byrdie!!

[marthadan]

Good morning every one. Hope you're enjoying your Sunday. Ok - I think I've said my goodbyes now and I'm ready to call this my day one. Wish me luck! Thanks for all your kind comments. Just hoping I can get past the 5pm cocktail hour! See you on the other side.:exclaim:

[Princess_to_J]

Neo, I know what you mean, I was getting ready for my first AF free night out with friends. I had my plan in place for the night but really wanted a drimk as I started getting ready, thinking I had no alcohol I'm the house apart from hubs vodka which I can't touch as its his, I found a bottle I'd bought and wrapped for him one Christmas, sadly he died a few weeks before, so its been in my wardrobe since then, I can't bring myself to unwrap it etc
For a moment I really wanted to crack it open. Its now out of reach unless I get a step ladder, where I'll forget about it. Tuck the beer away if you're not going to pour it away, out of sight, out of mind.

Byrdie six years that's immense.. An inspiration as is Nursie, I really admire you guys, same with everyone else. The support you all give total strangers is amazing .

Right time to get organized, family lunch out today, so no alcohol and no explanations required.

Have a good day.

L x