Newbies Nest

[KENSHO]

Re: Newbies Nest

I posted yesterday, and it is not showing up??!!

LAV, we’re having torrential rains here too. Like inland hurricanes! Something’s different.

Belle! Nice work! The table looks refreshed and happy again!

Byrdie, absolutely amazing that your husband asked you that. I think it shows that people who are not addicts just can’t fathom how our brains work regarding substances. I’m so glad you were honest with him; your response was perfect. Was he disappointed because he wants to drink with you, or because he wants you to be “normal” again?

G! Happy 300 my friend! You deserve all that life has to offer and you are getting to enjoy it sober!! Keep going - more days AF feels better and better!

Time for me to get serious about being productive today. I’ve been mentally still on vacation… time to work! And keep the kids busy!

Have a good one Everyone!

[Guitarista]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hola nesters,

Thanks Narilly, Pauly, Kensho and y'all for the congrat's. It sure feels like some kind of turning point at around day 300. Almost like - hey G, you are getting serious. This AF thing is starting to stick. And it is. Like Slo, a year is real close and within grasp. That is added motivation. But my quality of life and general wellbeing is where i see the impact and benefits. It really is a daily fix of goodness! Ya need to nurture some self love through some daily self care is my tip for the day.

Lav, i'm def up for a cuppa sometime.

Take it easy out there. Do something you love and go git it.

[available]

Re: Newbies Nest

Morning nesters

Lav i find it hard to get that you have such a massive heat wave, our winter considering has been pretty good. i do prefer the cold, i can get warm and hot flushes help a treat.

G i would be honoured to have a coffee with you for your one year, that should be around the 9th or 10th September i am thinking. i am free, let me know. Lets celebrate with a drink..... coffee of course . Its funny isnt it how we think that we are finally getting it. i used to think of how many days i had and think it was someone else and could not possibly be me. It is our appreciation of life that changes and loving ourselves again.

Pauly, i love how you hate al now and realise where it takes you. I agree that they condemn smokers and treat them like lepers and do the same if you dont drink. I am forever proud to say i dont drink and dont have to suffer the consequences that al brings. if i was a take it or leave it drinker then i might feel different but i am not and i have to protect what took me years to achieve. My mother still wishes i had given up smoking before drinking and her son died an alcoholic. go figure! She was telling me on the weekend how cranky she was that he ruined his life by drinking. Im sure he felt worse than she could ever imagine.

Hows your job Nar? Settling in and running the company ha ha. You go girl.

Tomorrow i am 100 days smoke free. Saved apparently $2300. I wish but i do know i have lots more money to spend on other things. Feeling great and realise i cant smoke anymore. i want to but i wont. There was a booze bus yesterday pulling people over and i could feel my stress levels rising. why when i dont drink is beyond me. my first thought was i wanted a smoke (stress) so i had a spray and then was waved through, sigh. i love it when they ask when my last drink was. oh 1st december 2013. that will never get old.

take care x

[Lavande]

Re: Newbies Nest

Good evening Nesters,

Not quite so wickedly hot & humid today ~ nice break. I know it will all be back again in a few days, oh well.
I was happy to see 2 of my junior flock laid their first eggs today. I found one in a nest box & the other in their feed dish, haha!!

Ava, I will always prefer the colder weather too
Congrats to you on your smoke free time. I still think about the stupid things every once in a while but I will never smoke again. This is my last & final quit for sure. Loved your answer to when you last drank, LOL

G, keep that happiness going, it looks good on you

Kensho, there is no denying climate change regardless of what the current administration says & does.
I was thinking today that Trump’s grandchildren are going to have to live on the same planet as mine. How’s that going to work out if things keep getting worse?

Hello to Pauly, Narilly, Belle, Byrdie & everyone else checking in later on.
Wishing a safe night in the nest for all!

Lav

[Byrdlady]

Re: Newbies Nest

Kensho, I think it’s a little of both for my hubs. I think he feels bad for me when we go out and he just wants me to be ‘normal’. Pauly, you really nailed it when you said we can’t enjoy the one for obsessing about the NEXT one! It’s nuts. My houseguest who drank half a glass?! I’m still thinking about THAT! My relationship with AL defiantly isn’t normal, so NONE it is. And that’s just fine by me. Everyone has a quirk or two!
It was back to the grind today. Blech! Hope everyone has a great evening. Byrdie

[narilly]

Re: Newbies Nest

Quick check in. I am SO tired, I forgot how much energy it took to work, haha.

Glad I am sober.

Don’t drink today.

[lukalee]

Re: Newbies Nest

Day one almost in the bag. I feel like I've done irreversible damage to my body. Did anyone else feel this way?

[wagmor]

Re: Newbies Nest

[MENTION=24390]Buzzkill[/MENTION] - welcome to the nest and congrats on Day One. Yes, I definitely felt like I was in the process of killing myself and was particularly worried I'd done irreparable damage to my liver. The good news is that our bodies are resilient and quitting drinking sets the healing process in motion. Of course other things, like eating healthy food, exercising, etc also help - but the number one best thing for our health and healing is NOT drinking. Glad you're here!

Ava - My wife's shoulder is healing well, thanks. She's still got at least 6 more weeks of physical therapy but she's back to many daily activities and feeling so much less pain than before the surgery. Sorry that visits with your mom are so hard. I was lucky to have a loving gentle mom - we were extremely close and I miss her every day, even though she's now been gone 11.5 years.

Lav and Kensho - yep climate change is definitely real and we're seeing/feeling it all over this country (and the world).

G-man - huge congrats on your big 300 days today!!! Loved hearing about your Machu Picchu adventure. I was there in 2001 and it was absolutely fabulous. I think I walked that same road back, and I definitely know the train station you're referring to. I remember that little town being so warm and humid feeling compared with how chilly it had been in Cuzco, and now that I think about it I was there exactly this same time of year! My favorite part of Cuzco, besides the architecture and little mazes of narrow streets, was sitting in the Plaza de Armas and just soaking up the culture and environment. What did you like best? Did you also get to visit Sacsayhuaman or other ruins? Such a cool place - I really hope to go back and take my wife so she can share in this adventure.

Byrdie - glad you enjoyed your vacay and sorry you're back to that ugh job. Hope you have a good week.

Belle - sounds like you're hitting a rough patch, but fortunately you don't drink and I'm sure you'll find comfort in one or more of the other ideas you and others mentioned. Your coffee table looks great!

Pav - the soccer game was sooooooooo fun to watch! I was supposed to have a class at that time but my student texted me that he was running late, so I got to see all the way to the end and was so grateful. Now if we can just get those women (or hey, how about all women) paid equitably.


Hellos and waves to everyone stopping by the nest today. It's a new week, and here we go.......

[Guitarista]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hola nesters!

Welcome Buzzkill. Congrat's on day 1 of taking back your precious life. Yes, i reckon i've done a little damage from years of boozing, but i am fit and healthy despite the odd niggle. My mental outlook is clear, strong, optimistic and full of hope and possibility. The fear has largely gone. replaced by some positive thinking madman who thinks there are no such thing as limits and that anything is possible. Keep us posted on your progress.

Wags thanks. I arrived in Cusco late at night and left early in the morning after a long day tour of Machu Picchu, so unfortunately didn't see much of this cool town aside from driving to and from airport. Next time though! Yes, that winding road up the mountain from the train station and town of MP. Took the bus up, then end of day walked back down on my own, just me and the mountain for 1.5 glorious, reflective sunny hours. Very noice.

Big waves to evabody!

[paulywogg]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hi Buzzkill,yep I ALWAYS worry I've done damage to my body, especially if I'm tired for no reason I start thinking about liver problems or if my back hurts I think of my kidneys bit I'm a hypochondriac anyways,day 1 always feels rough as it is try not to worry about too much right now,you should be feeling better in a few days waves to all and have a happy AF day

[lukalee]

Re: Newbies Nest

Good morning or night to everyone! I have not slept in almost 36 hours and need to go to work; this should be fun! I hope everyone has a great one!

[lukalee]

Re: Newbies Nest

Good morning or night to everyone! I have not slept in almost 36 hours and need to go to work; this should be fun! I hope everyone has a great one!

[KENSHO]

Re: Newbies Nest

Good Morning Buzzkill! HUGE congrats on day 1! Your body seems to be thanking you with 36 restorative hours of sleep. I never could sleep beyond 4-5 hours after drinking. Let the healing begin! Eat, laze around, sleep, do whatever it takes to NOT drink today. You got this!!! Get through these first hard days and it starts to get easier - so you have that to look forward to!

G, thanks for your always inspirational posts. You are filled with wonder and appreciation for life and I love it! What will you do to celebrate your upcoming year in September?

I'm still a non-drinker, and most days don't want a drink at all. The habit has changed to use alcohol to solve every little emotion. In fact, I feel emotions now, not drown them. I was even drowning the good emotions to "celebrate"... what is THAT? What a waste.

I DO wish my husband was not a big drinker. He's lessened his intake a lot since returning home, but alcohol remains something that makes him excited, and I just cannot share in that. He still tries to show me how great the color of a beer is, or how describe the flavor of some mixed drink, and I largely ignore him. When will he get it? Probably never. I DO think his drinking will catch up with him. And I hate that. BUT I must focus on ME, and that is helpful. It was hard enough to get myself sober - I can't take on his shit too.

We have digital architectural drawings that are shared between three people on dropbox - so that each person can access them where the other left off. Somehow all the files have corrupted, and about 40 hours of work are down the drain. I'm not stressing about it too much right now, because I cannot control it - but we do have some work ahead of us and it is likely not billable so that sucks. But it could be worse. I'm still here and breathing!

Hugs to all - love YOU today.

[Byrdlady]

Re: Newbies Nest

Welcome, BuzzKill! I thought for sure I had screwed up my body in general, and my liver in particular. I was going once a week to have a pint of blood removed to lower the levels of iron in my blood due to a haywire liver. I was JUST before having a liver biopsy (a controlled stabbing, as it was described). I was on a path to destruction for sure. It took about a month for things to start turning around on my blood tests and steadily, everything got back to normal. The liver is very forgiving IF we finally stop insulting it! We are so glad you found us and congratulations on getting that Day 1 behind you. Without question, it's the worst! Rinse and repeat! If you can go 1 day, you can go 2! We will be right beside you.
Hope everyone has an easy evening. Byrdie

[NoSugar]

Re: Newbies Nest

Welcome to the Nest, [MENTION=24390]Buzzkill[/MENTION]! We are so lucky that the liver is one of our organs that can regenerate. Odds are good that if you stay away from alcohol (and tylenol, and all sorts of medications!), over time you'll be feeling much better.

Some people sleep well shortly after they quit drinking but what you're experiencing with all the wakefulness is what actually makes sense biochemically. Because alcohol is a depressant, our bodies upregulate stimulatory substances in an attempt to bring us back to equilibrium. It will take awhile for your body to realize that you aren't going to be dosing yourself with a downer every evening and that it doesn't need to keep making all the uppers to keep you functioning!! So, in the meantime, you're overstimulated, making it really tough to sleep. I became less concerned about it once I understood that, knowing that if I gave it time, sleep would work out.

So, all these non-supportive partners need to shape up. For one thing, if they love you, they should want you to be as healthy and happy as possible. And for another, why should what you chose affect them (unless they are already feeling a little uneasy about themselves ...)? I know you don't act all deprived and sorry for yourself, [MENTION=11704]Byrdlady[/MENTION], so if your husband is feeling bad for you, he's projecting on you how he would feel, I suspect.

Notice that no one seems to really care one way or another if we don't eat fish or lima beans (GAG), even if they love them. The judgement only comes in with the Guilty Pleasures like booze and sweets. I'm very fortunate that my husband doesn't seem to be bothered that I'm not too interested in going to bars or ice cream shops. He goes to each occasionally but since he isn't at all addicted to either substance, it just isn't a big deal. Plus, I am perfectly willing to go out now and then and order a nonalcoholic drink at a bar or just chat while others eat dessert (and keep my mouth shut about what I think they are doing to themselves :wink.