Newbies Nest

[Matt M.]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hello All!

Matt, thanks for sharing that story, days like today, I need to hear that.

Hubby has left , so the same old feelings rear their head, too many years of habit, but I have you guys and that helps A LOT! We had so much fun together last week, this is why we moved down here. It is like living on vacation to us, as long as we do not get a hurricane. Hubby really didn't want me gone to the war zone long yesterday. I normally stop at a couple of places where I know I can good prices and it is a shopping excursion. He wanted me to get what I needed and back home so we could enjoy our day together. I surely found a keeper with him! He hated leaving this morning, he had too good of a time also.

I realized yesterday after I got off here that I called the grocery store, the grocery store instead of the war zone. Progress! Looking at things normally at short glimpses of time. It will be the war zone tomorrow and I have to remember that, I can't get too comfortable.

I am so glad to hear everyone doing well. Feral Pup, you are doing great! I have lots planned for this week so that is a good thing. I have my table to start refinishing, some shrubs to trim (hubby hates that job), and a closet to clean, along with my office/ craft room. There is the pool to fill in the hot points of the day and a book I started. The book started out appropriately for a mystery. The main character in the book wakes up in the first chapter not really knowing what is going on while waking and thinking how she should not have drank so much the night before, she needed to stop doing that on weekdays, and then she repeats the very next night. Gee, been there, done that and even dreamt about it this week. Makes you think that author has been there herself.

So now, on with my day. The first day hubby is away is always the hardest, but I can get through hard. I just have to get through today and if anyone should happen to call today, they can leave a message. I am not doing drama today and I know it will pop its head out at some point, but I am not dealing with it today.

Happy Sober Sunday all!

The greatest invention known to mankind is online grocery ordering and curbside pickup at Walmart. Warzone is an accurate description.

Stay hard little lady

[Matt M.]

Re: Newbies Nest

Well back to work, i am just flaffing around today.

take care xx

AVA- can I get a Australian to American translation on "flaffing" ? :newhere:
Love ya, mean it!

[New Sunrise]

Re: Newbies Nest

Good Morning All,

It is time to start my day, but not without checking in first!

Yesterday was hard, not because of alcohol, just really missed hubby. I love it when he is home and we have such a good time together but the house was quiet and empty without him. I believe he felt the same way. He had a long day of traveling, and was so tired last night. I should see him by the weekend because of my test so that is good.

I got everything together to start refinishing my table and forgot the most important part, chemical proof gloves. I wound up straightening up the house and sitting like a couch potato catching up on shows that hubby really doesn't like to watch. I didn't sleep great last night, my bed was empty except for the ball of fur who sleeps next me when hubby isn't home. If I stir just a bit, he is up in my face and wants to be fed. I wish that cat could tell time better.

Pav, right now I wish I were as busy as you but then again, not. You are the social butterfly this week. I remember how hectic the end of school was for my children and always dreaded May with baseball, their school events, my school events, and trying to keep the kids down to a small roar at the end of school. I am getting too old for that now.

Matt, I am sure you are glad not to be hung over on a Monday being a First Responder! That is some tough work and takes a special kind of compassion to do it. I can imagine that you have seen things that we can't imagine. I am sure it is rewarding too. I thank God for people like you.

Guitarista, Columbia, how fun! I am sure you will enjoy it and they will enjoy your music. I love traveling to new places.

Lav, I bet the recital was wonderful. I always loved them, though daughter got to 5th grade and gave it up. You start with the little ones who are more adorable than a speckled pup and end with the older ones who just amaze you.

Hello to Avail, Pup, Byrd, Wags, and everyone. I am off to the war zone today, get'er done and try to find as much low calorie but still filling food I can. Hubby did nothing for my diet last week and I have ground to make up!

Happy Sober Monday All!

[Pavati]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hi, all--

Monday morning. I'm tired, but not at all hungover - grateful for that.

We already know of two sick staff members - always makes it hard for the rest of us. But it also makes it go by quickly!

G I am so glad to see you pop in - where are you again? What grub is the local fave? How's the music?

Lav - so cute but THREE AND A HALF HOURS!? You deserve a medal for that. That's a lot of other routines to get through to be able to see your own...

Sunrise - having a spouse travel that much would be very hard for me. You're very patient... Any news on the nieces coming for July?

Mary - good to see you pop in also.

Hi, Everyone else. Happy SOBER Monday,
Pav

[wagmor]

Re: Newbies Nest

Lav - sounds like a fun day with the recital then family dinner. Yep, those are the moments we all used to miss out on (or ruin!) due to drinking. Hope the week starts off easy for you with perfect weather

Pav - no major hikes planned for this summer, but lots of bike riding (my wife just got the "ok" to start biking again from her shoulder surgeon!) and a couple of fire lookout "camping" trips. I think I've described the fire lookouts before - they are usually small cabins perched either up on a tower or on a cliff with a great viewpoint, where fire rangers used to monitor the forests and stand ready to respond if fires were detected. Those assigned to each post would live there for weeks or months at a time, so there are basic amenities (usually things like propane stove, some sort of heat source, sometimes propane lights and/or refrigerator, and very simple furniture). So it's a way to stay in a place with an outstanding view, and camp without the limitations of a tent. Due to their remote locations, up steep rocky fire roads, there aren't a lot of people (usually none). Anyway, we have two fire lookout stays planned, including one over the 4th of July which is absolutely horrific in our neighborhood.

G - glad you landed safely and are ready to start adventuring. I've heard wonderful things about Colombia and will look forward to your updates!


Well, it's officially the start of my recovery week! Several of my students have their big test today, which means they are either done completely or they will at least want to take a break before prepping to take again in about 6 weeks. I will still have some work this week but a lighter schedule and I am definitely ready for things to ease up a bit. The last couple of weeks have been busier than I'd prefer, and since this work is also mentally draining for me, I think my brain is just plain tired.

My wife is actually going camping with a long-time friend this week, but I opted out so that I could still do a bit of work. I also just wanted a week at home to relax, maybe catch up on a few of my to-do list items, etc. As I've mentioned other times, this would've been a surefire situation where I'd have planned in advanced to have a binge week of drinking all day. It's weird, there's a small part of my brain that thinks back on those times and thinks, "that would be fun to do again." But the overwhelming part of my brain says NO. So I've been trying to dissect exactly *what* was so "fun" about those binge weeks because I think I can have some of those elements without the drunken messed up really unwell and unhappy with myself parts.

Has anyone else ever done that? Tried to separate out what was so appealing about drinking and then worked to achieve some of those same effects in a healthier and sober manner? Curious to hear your thoughts.


Have fantastic Monday days and eves everyone!

Hope you all are heading into wonderful weeks yourselves!

[narilly]

Re: Newbies Nest

Well hello Matt! So nice to see you here, you are kicking butt and that is great. I just had my 5 years and Pav and Ava a few months before me, pretty soon you will be on the 5 year team. Oh yeah baby! I agree, Mondays suck but suck more when you are hungover.
Happy Un Hung Monday is what I say

Hey G, it sounds like you are having a blast, good think you don't drink. Columbia must be beautiful especially for a colorful guy like you.

So I went to my friend's cabin on Saturday with my dogs and we hung out for a couple of days. It was in the middle of a forest, trees everywhere and a creek running by. SO nice, Pav you would have loved it. We went for walks, BBQ'd, played Rummy and just chilled. It was really nice. Drinking wasn't a thing. My friends had a couple of drinks but the getaway was not centered on getting drunk or 'wow, these Margaritas taste SO good' bullshit.
If I was drinking it would have been ALL about the booze. I have been drunk camping so many times, it makes me cringe.
Matt, the story you told us about your friend is terrible, what a great reminder about the importance of staying sober and living the life we want.

Have a great Monday everyone and don't drink. xo

[narilly]

Re: Newbies Nest

Has anyone else ever done that? Tried to separate out what was so appealing about drinking and then worked to achieve some of those same effects in a healthier and sober manner? Curious to hear your thoughts.

Wags, I do this everytime I go out to maximize my enjoyment without drinking. I have to intentionally let myself relax and try and loosen up without the AL. It isn't always achievable but I am mindful of my feelings and try to 'make myself' enjoy the situation like I was drinking. I know this sounds crazy but you gotta do what you gotta do.

NSun, yeah husbands can be hard on the waistline, my hubby absoloutely loves Ice Cream...and so do I.
Hello Feral, you are doing great.
Hallo Mary!

Life, hope you are doing ok. I am thinking of you.

[Matt M.]

Re: Newbies Nest

Well hello Matt! So nice to see you here, you are kicking butt and that is great. I just had my 5 years and Pav and Ava a few

So I went to my friend's cabin on Saturday with my dogs and we hung out for a couple of days. It was in the middle of a forest, trees everywhere and a creek running by. SO nice, Pav you would have loved it. We went for walks, BBQ'd, played Rummy and just chilled. It was really nice. Drinking wasn't a thing. My friends had a couple of drinks but the getaway was not centered on getting drunk or 'wow, these Margaritas taste SO good' bullshit.
If I was drinking it would have been ALL about the booze. I have been drunk camping so many times, it makes me cringe.
Matt, the story you told us about your friend is terrible, what a great reminder about the importance of staying sober and living the life we want.

Oh G-Damn you made me spray my iced tea out my nose with your very accurate depiction of the pretentious, douche nozzle margarita aficionados (I may have resembled that remark once upon a time)

Narilly great to hear from you! And congrats on your 5 years

[Byrdlady]

Re: Newbies Nest

Matt, the wine snobs fry my bacon! Oh, this one has notes of oak, or hints of fruit. Hells bells, all I cared about was the AL content and how much of it I could get without anyone else noticing I was smashed. Just a crazy obsession! Everyon thought I drank so little! What they didn't see was what I drank in the bathroom when they weren't looking. I am so happy NOT to be that person today. I understand I COULD be that person tomorrow if I venture off my path.

I have a quote up on my cork board from Stephen Covey "I am not a product of my circumstances, I am a product of my decisions." No truer words!
Hope everyone had an easy Monday! Byrdie

[Slo]

Re: Newbies Nest

My life just got easier since young daughter passed her drivers test! So I’m sitting here posting and with dinner in the oven instead of running to go pick her up now!
Lav, and I am very much looking forward to her dance recital later this month. They have separated out some of the “Company’s” dances into a separate recital, so have cut the length down now to about 2 hours.

Wagmor, I do try to figure out what I liked about drinking and try to keep some of those aspects, and one thing I liked about home drinking was sitting and taking a do-nothing break. And drinking was my excuse to do that. So now I give myself permission to do that anyways.

Narilly, I saw a sign in a shop lately that bummed me out: “Camping Without Wine is just Sitting in the Woods”. But I see you managed to prove that dumb statement wrong!!

It’s not so hard to be around drinking when the drinking isn’t central. When I was in St. Louis with my SIL helping her pack, it wasn’t at all central: she and her friend each had a glass of wine at an outdoor cafe along with food, and I had a root beer with food.
And when we went to a restaurant patio on Saturday, the people at the other tables were drinking, but she followed my lead and just had water. Alcohol does nothing for her; to her it’s just a beverage and doesn’t really carry a charge at all.
And with her dementia, she always forgets that I have alcohol problems; so that works out too! You’d think that since she divorced her husband over alcoholism that I’d wear a red letter A on my forehead around her, but happily, no!
Yes, we got along well, Pav; and it was a satisfying project. I do like getting together with people over a project better than just getting together and “hanging”.

Have a safe night in the Nest one & all!

[Matt M.]

Re: Newbies Nest

Matt, the wine snobs fry my bacon! Oh, this one has notes of oak, or hints of fruit. Hells bells, all I cared about was the AL content and how much of it I could get without anyone else noticing I was smashed. Just a crazy obsession! Everyon thought I drank so little! What they didn't see was what I drank in the bathroom when they weren't looking. I am so happy NOT to be that person today. I understand I COULD be that person tomorrow if I venture off my path.

I have a quote up on my cork board from Stephen Covey "I am not a product of my circumstances, I am a product of my decisions." No truer words!
Hope everyone had an easy Monday! Byrdie

Omg I love that, I swear T your like a modern day Dalai Lama

[KENSHO]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hiya Nest crew!

Wags, on your topic of “what was so fun about drinking anyway”… I think it’s what thought we were when we drank (not what we actually were).

I’m reading a new book, and loved one of the descriptions of an aging woman who smelled of mouthwash, had dry, red skin and looked dumpy and “used up”. She described her in her glory days - as an FBI agent who would sip whisky and solve cases - a rebel and beautiful tough character with a sharp mind. But NOW… a dumpy, slow, washed up, sickly, smelly alcoholic mess.

Oh the romanticizing! The clever, handsome detective in a tailored suit, taking the edge off with a shot in a glass of clanking ice… But if we play it forward, we get the reality of someone who’s wasted their lives and it’s not romantic at all, its pathetic. I’m SO glad I’m not chasing that vision any more… it doesn’t end well, and we were never as “cool” as we imagined ourselves to be.

I attended a crawfish boil Saturday. People getting Kentucky-style wasted. People asking me what’s in my glass and confused when I say water. And these two teachers. I was having a great conversation with them about music when they started talking about the festivals they attend and about “passing out” in the middle of the day - like it’s normal. And they have two small kids. WTF? What alternate reality is it ok to totally check out in the middle of a day - for an entire weekend - with kids? I can tell my husband loved being in the company of others who consider partying normal. It will catch up with him some day.

Camping on Memorial Day, I was reminded of how many people consider camping about only “drinking” and “campfires”. I can’t stand either - they both stink. The people near us were so trashed, they were up all night, and then we found vomit all over the floor of the only nearby toilet. For God’s sake… choose any of the hundred trees near by! And consider enjoying nature without anesthesia - I promise it’s a better sensory experience!

Anyway, the kids are back in camp, so I get 6.5 hours to myself each day to work this week!! Yippie! It’s amazing how much better my brain works without distraction. Also getting excited about our vacation coming up the last two weeks in June to the Carolinas. I’ve never been to the south, unless you count Florida.

Matt - glad see you checking back in! Great work on your nearly 5 years!

G - Enjoy your travels!!!

Byrdie Lama… I like it!

Pav - what is it about this springtime flu going around? It’s time to be done with that. Hope you steer clear and that your work load isn’t too much without your co-workers.

Narily, I hope in my lifetime that your phrase catches on… “Drinking wasn’t a thing”. Maybe my grandkids will say that? A girl can hope.

[Lavande]

Re: Newbies Nest

Good evening Nesters,

Drinking isn’t a thing around my house anymore Kensho
I happy & proud to say that out loud!!! We loved camping when our kids were young but eventually we found the camp grounds to be way too filthy for comfort. It was fun while it lasted anyway.

Matt, glad to see you back in the nest!

Wags, after years of post-drinking thought I have come to the conclusion that my main goal (back then) was always to tune out something or someone. I chose to drink at people & situations instead of confronting them & possibly making things worse. I chose to punish myself essentially. Grateful to God & the Universe that I no longer do that. I have moved on mentally/emotionally & that’s a good thing

It was a perfectly nice day here, blue skies & comfortable temp. That all changes on Wednesday of course, haha!
I’m still smiling thinking about all those happy kids dancing their hearts out. The time actually went by pretty fast too.

Wishing everyone a safe night in the nest!

Lav

[Matt M.]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hiya Nest crew!



Matt - glad see you checking back in! Great work on your nearly 5 years!

G - Enjoy your travels!!!

Byrdie Lama… I like it!


Narily, I hope in my lifetime that your phrase catches on… “Drinking wasn’t a thing”. Maybe my grandkids will say that? A girl can hope.

Kensho! You sound amazing, thank you!

[Matt M.]

Re: Newbies Nest

Good evening Nesters,

Drinking isn’t a thing around my house anymore Kensho
I happy & proud to say that out loud!!! We loved camping when our kids were young but eventually we found the camp grounds to be way too filthy for comfort. It was fun while it lasted anyway.

Matt, glad to see you back in the nest!

Wags, after years of post-drinking thought I have come to the conclusion that my main goal (back then) was always to tune out something or someone. I chose to drink at people & situations instead of confronting them & possibly making things worse. I chose to punish myself essentially. Grateful to God & the Universe that I no longer do that. I have moved on mentally/emotionally & that’s a good thing

It was a perfectly nice day here, blue skies & comfortable temp. That all changes on Wednesday of course, haha!
I’m still smiling thinking about all those happy kids dancing their hearts out. The time actually went by pretty fast too.

Wishing everyone a safe night in the nest!

Lav

Thank you mam it's good to be back..:woohoo2: