Newbies Nest

[available]

Re: Newbies Nest

Morning nesters

Nar, i hate those cringe worthy moments that my kids bring up every so often but it does instill why i cant drink and be normal. falling face first into a big ceramic pot seems to be the memory of choice my kids think of. i am sure i fractured my cheek but there was no way i was going to go to the drs and admit i EVER had a drinking problem.

Hi Roobs, nice to see you around and you found your book of "memories". i think i was too pissed to write anything and for it to be legible enough to read. a great reminder though on why we cant/wont/dont drink.

Good to see you having some quiet time at work Pav, winter time for me is super busy but keeps me occupied.

Happy 200 days Kensho.

I hope your fur baby is ok Lav, my girl has lost nearly 1kg in weight and is now on antibiotics for what they think is an infection. i realistically know that my time with her is precious.

Frances, the witching hour is a bitch and to realise how dependent we actually are on al is scary. keep up the great work and remember where that one drink will take you.

Back to the salt mines for me.

take care xx

[Lavande]

Re: Newbies Nest

Good evening Nesters,

Rainy day today but my daisies decided to bloom anyway ~ nice ~ they make me happy

Robs, nice to see you! As you can see I am still in the habit of checking in here daily, even after all this time. It's not so much that I feel the need to but I always feel weird if I can't check in for some reason. My brain has been trained to know that checking in for a few minutes each day is a good thing. We know we don't drink, we just have to convince every fiber of our beings & you will

Kensho, almost 200 days :yay:
It's such an empowering feeling, keep on moving forward!!!!
I can get my gall bladder acting up with just one meal if it includes a high fat content or if it's super spicy. Never had the problem until a few months after my son was born. It happens to be a common time for your GB to act up. I had such severe right upper quadrant pain that radiated to my back, it was awful until I realized what was going on. Once I figured it out I changed my diet, no fatty foods or spicy foods for me. I never brought it up with any doctor because I'm stubborn like that & didn't want to face more surgery right after having a C-section. Keep a food diary for a while & see if you can determine what food causes you discomfort.

Hello to Narilly, Pav, Rava & anyone else I've missed. Frances, how's it going today?

Ava, my dog went in for her dental cleaning today & did well. Her gums were inflamed so that may be part of the cause for her elevated eosinophils. She's on an antibiotic for another week or so. My chicken seems to be doing a tiny bit better every day. It's funny though that she hasn't made a sound since this incident/attack happened. Maybe her voice box was injured as well, who knows. I showed her picture to the vet when I went to get my dog. She couldn't figure out the cause of the injury either - so weird. I hope your pup rallies a bit, you never know :hug:

Wishing everyone a safe night in the nest!

Lav

[narilly]

Re: Newbies Nest

Ava, I never heard the ceramic pot story we would have been a total wreck (even worse than what we were)if we drank together.

Hey Frances, distract yourself during the witching hour so you forget about drinking. Go for a walk, a movie, meet a friend for coffee, go shopping, whatever helps.

Glad you are here everyday Lav!

Don’t drink today.
Xo

[lifechange]

Re: Newbies Nest

Morning Nesters!
Whew, just got caught up with the posts..I've been reading a few each morning and evening. We are so busy with this week with a symposium which involves me running around like crazy, preparing special meals and then for more people than usual, home at 10pm and back at 630.. great fun, but my knee hurts a bit.
Anyway, still a day to go but I wanted to tell you all that I'm thinking about you and am grateful and happy to have this Nest to come to at the beginning and end of each day. Love to you all and thank you for being here and sharing your lives.. this weekend is a busy one, with my youngest getting baptized. So at the latest, I'll be in for a long catch up on Monday. I'm also missing you, G-man..
xx

[frances]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hi all - Day 4 and 5 were tough, here's hoping Day 6 goes a little better! We are going out of town for a long weekend - I'm sure there will be challenges. Sitting here with coffee at 7:40am it doesn't seem like it will be a problem but I'm sure that may change this evening. I will stay strong!

It's really good to be back here and read all the updates and supportive posts. I'm so glad I'm doing this. Gotta run, hubby is wanting to get on the road - I'm sure I'll check in while I'm away...have a great day everyone!

[Byrdlady]

Re: Newbies Nest

Good morning, Nesters!
LC, I'm having knee issues, too. Not sure if the prolonged standing at those trade shows brought it to the surface or not, but it appears I have a misaligned kneecap. So I'm getting in to physical therapy for it as soon as I can...hopefully will get that straightened out. The Doc asked if I had an old sports injury (I am NOT a sports person at all) and I had flashbacks of the MANY falls I took while drinking. Cringe! In fact, everything about my drinking days makes me cringe!
Hang in everyone! Breaking the cycle of addiction isn't easy, but it is worth all of the discomfort to finally get relief!
Hope everyone has an easy day! Byrdie

[Rava]

Re: Newbies Nest

Good morning nesters. I am on day 7. Pretty excited that I have made it a week. I could definitely throw in a few falling stories as well. So many common factors here in the nest. This group reinforces the desire for me to stay sober. Hope everyone has a great Thursday. Frances, have fun on your long weekend. You got this!

[Mr Vervill]

Re: Newbies Nest

This, this right here is what I have to work on. Beautiful, LC! Thank you.

Hyper, congratulations on 33 days! Letting go and learning to live by your nature.. sounds like a recipe for peace within.. it's taken me such a long time and I'm still working on going deep within myself to figure out what's really important. Finding my truth, believing in it and not being so easily swayed by what others think about it. Finding ways to be ok with what I have, how I've chosen to live, concentrating on the positive aspects of who I am and what I have to contribute.. this is key for me. To lose the bad habit of comparing myself to anyone else.. You seem to be in a good space, albeit too busy. The bike ride and having those realizations wash over you sounds wonderful..

[KENSHO]

Re: Newbies Nest

Congrats RAVA on one week! That's a solid chunk of time! Keep going!

Frances, I swore to myself so many times that I wouldn't drink come evening - but every single afternoon the voice perked up. No matter how terrible I felt in any given morning, the evening was still filled with cravings. I'm not sure what your goals are - and I remember our discussions a couple years ago - but I will tell you that I rarely crave alcohol now. It's wonderful to know I will not have to have a daily struggle with alcohol ever again. Glad you are here!

LC, sorry about your pup. You and I need to stop and smell the flowers - being busy is overrated!

On that note, I'm headed to a neighbors to sit on her porch and have a cup of coffee. I'm tired of running all the time - it is a lovely morning with birds chirping. Have a good day everyone!

G-Man, that's enough of the disappearing act. You need to check in.

[paulywogg]

Re: Newbies Nest

Morning nesters,Rava,congrats on 7 daysHyper congrats on 34 days! Frances,have fun on your getaway and congrats on day 6 been just doing a lot of self reflection here lately,my last relapse hit me outta the blue and really scared the shit out of me cuz I honestly,truly thought I was prepared,it almost gives me the creeps on how fast I lost my control now I'm still picking up the pieces mentally after all these weeks ugh,wishing everyone a happy AF day!!!

[NoSugar]

Re: Newbies Nest

We are so busy with this week with a symposium which involves me running around like crazy, preparing special meals and then for more people than usual, home at 10pm and back at 630.. great fun, but my knee hurts a bit. Anyway, still a day to go but I wanted to tell you all that I'm thinking about you and am grateful and happy to have this Nest to come to at the beginning and end of each day. Love to you all and thank you for being here and sharing your lives.. this weekend is a busy one, with my youngest getting baptized.

Don't you wonder how you would have managed this week if you were still drinking, [MENTION=15430]lifechange[/MENTION]? If you're like me, you wouldn't have managed it! I probably would have used my knee as an excuse to dump work on someone else because I actually was just too hungover to cope. I would have figured out ways for me not to be on duty in the evening, because it would have interfered with my drinking, which it felt like I had to do. And sadly, I probably would have dreaded the baptism, knowing that I would have extra responsibilities and commitments. It was so hard to do anything extra with all the time spent acquiring, consuming, and recovering from drinking. I used to feel like I couldn't handle anything - now life is back to being an adventure with all the ups and downs we get to experience.

Congratulations to everyone racking up the days -- I remember when I was in "single digits" imagining the time when a single day wouldn't be such a huge percentage of my AF time. I visualized double digits and triple digits and vowed to myself that once I had them, I wouldn't given them up. Really see your future sober self and don't let go of that image. It is in your power to be the person you want and deserve to be. xx, NS

[Pavati]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hi, All:

I'm re-reading a book called Switch, about why change is hard and what can be done about it. One piece of advice that I think is relevant here is that if you're using sheer willpower to change, you'll exhaust yourself and you'll loose eventually. Your brain can't sustain that level of "choice" (should I drink or not) forever. There's a lot more to it, but that's why I think a plan is key. You logically know you should quit (health, getting in the way of life, etc), and you can appeal to your emotions as well (my kids, my partner, my house), but you also need a clear plan - an order of things, so that you have a set of things already decided so that your brain is rested and can resist when tempted. I guess that's why if you're feeling tired or weak you shouldn't go to that party tonight, or why you should eat what you want if it feels necessary.

Another piece is to look at the bright spots. What were you doing/thinking/feeling when you WERE successful at not drinking? Can you recreate that when needed? Position yourself to get back there if you stray? Anyway - I am over simplifying it, but I recommend the book as I can apply it to many things in my life, including drinking...

Kensho - 199+ is amazing. Keep it up!

Sorry about those sore knees, everyone. At least we're not falling on them any more!

xo
Pav

[Pavati]

Re: Newbies Nest

Also, I want to share this post from the Off-Dry blog NoSugar recommended:

Day 187: Sobriety Accumulates – Off-Dry

It speaks well to those feelings of "really? My life isn't all rainbows and unicorns now that I've stopped drinking?"

[wagmor]

Re: Newbies Nest

Kensho - congrats on 200!!!!!

[Lavande]

Re: Newbies Nest

Good evening Nesters,

Big CONGRATS going to Rava today for 7 AF days & Kensho for 200 :welldone:
*That's the way to do it ladies, keep up the great work

LC & everyone c/o painful knees - my knees & my hands started hurting me way back in high school, long before AL entered my life. I just put up with it & hoped it wouldn't get too bad. We all know that pain is caused by inflammation but how do you know what causes it in the first place? I ended up totally eliminating dairy from my diet to give my gut a rest & lo & behold the hand & knee pain disappeared. I would advise anyone with chronic pain issues to look into an elimination diet. Can't hurt anything & you just may be surprised

I had fun watching my grandsons today. Too hot to stay out long so we found stuff to do inside, in the AC!!!

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

Lav