Newbies Nest

[jennyneric]

Newbies Nest

LOL good one MM

[mylife]

Newbies Nest

Wow -- fantastic MM -- see what no Alcohol can do?!

[Lavande]

Newbies Nest

:H:H I am seriously impressed MM :H:H

Thank you

[BlondeAFAmbition]

Newbies Nest

MMs-Nice change of pace in your avatar!

Good evening Nesters!

Lav-Thanks for your concern with my way to work this morning...what a yucky day it turned out to be weather-wise! Snow and rain and ice. I walk to work so even though I'm not in a car, I nearly slipped a few times! But made it unscathed. Glad to be home and warm, sipping on some herbal tea after a lovely dinner with my hubby. Wanted to check in with everyone and wish you all a peaceful evening. I actually had a bit of a wine craving when I got home from work tonight...I was starving and I went to the fridge to get some cheese...ended up reminiscing how great wine and cheese used to taste together...ugh! But I downed some seltzer and got dinner going and the craving passed. I'm not giving up my new found AF freedom just because wine and cheese go well together! But I was suprised it came out of the blue and I have been not having any cravings until now. Anyway, I hope everyone is doing great!

[Lavande]

Newbies Nest

Blondie, as time goes on you'll find the 'cravings' are nothing more than thoughts & you don't have to give in to a thought. Good for you

[Bean]

Newbies Nest

Evening all!

Hope you had a good day. Mine was full and fulfilling! I finally received my Christmas parcel from home that was sent before Christmas so am feeling all loved and cherished by family who are far away.

Blondie - it was a good move to have some cheese when you had that craving. An addictions counsellor I was seeing last year told me that cravings can be triggered (or diverted) by the need for protein. So if you are a meat eater having a small amount of meat for a snack when the cravings hit can help or any other kind of protein. I forget now what it boosted in the brain - maybe tryptophan or something. Anyway, I think it helps.

I'm having an AF cider and enjoying making the 3 week AF milestone. Funny how the days drag in the beginning and then suddenly start to rack up! Feels good.
Bean

[madmans]

Newbies Nest

Hi everyone . one mars bar too much and look what happened, good here today and not much else happening

[hillsidetime]

Newbies Nest

Madmans, you are messinng with our minds. How big was the Mars bar.
Have a great day everyone,
Hill

[Jolie]

Newbies Nest

Good morning everyone!

Blondie - just posted on the other thread - lol - same thing happened to me last night and it looks like we both decided to make dinner and keep busy instead. Yea for us!

Bean - totally relate to how now the days just seem to be adding up. First week was really hard - it's definitely getting easier!

Lav, Hillside, MM, mylife, jenny, and anyone else who flies in - hope you have a great AF Wednesday!

[Lavande]

Newbies Nest

Good morning Nesters!

Reporting in from an overcast, damp & chilly portion of the nest again - where's the sun these days????

MM, thanks for the reminder to stay away from Mars bars :H

Glad your Christmas package arrived.....poor kid having to wait so long! Congrats on your 3 weeks AF - great job!!

Greetings to Blondie, Hill, Joile, mylife, jenney & all who stop in today.
Happy AF Humpday to one & all.
Lav

[BlondeAFAmbition]

Newbies Nest

Greetings everyone! Lavande...we are waking up on the same side of the Nest...I have the dulldrums up here too weatherwise, even my dog doesn't want to go outside...lol...but I feel sunny inside, and that's what counts! Thanks for your words of ecouragement that these cravings end up being mere thoughts and you are so right, we do not have to give into a thought! I know that as time goes by and the cravings will subside down the line :h

Bean: I am a strong believer in the protein connection to help alleviate cravings! I try to have a little protein with every meal, and I think it sticks with me longer than just carbs, and helps fend off the craving for AL. Basically, I just need to not get so ravenous that I want to reach for the bottle instead of a snack, and I'm so glad I had a nice round of boursin in the fridge when I got home to cut into! That and a juicy steak that I cooked up for hubby and I definitely did the trick! I have cut out all sugar in my diet and that has definitely helped with the cravings also.

MMs-Wow, what a drastic change in your avatar from just last night! Gotta keep 'em guessing, right?!

Jolie, good for us for kicking the craving last night, I bet you are feeling just as good as I am about it this morning! Day 12 for me, by the way! Last night, I stayed up late reading a book called "Restore Your Life, A Living Plan for Sober People", by Anne Geller, MD. I was up 'till almost midnight reading the first few chapters...it is a really informative book taking you through the first year of what to expect sober, both emotionally and physically, and it has amazing info on how alcohol affects all organs/cells of the body, not just the liver (as we all know), but she describes it in a very easy to understand format, as I am not a scientist for sure! Has anyone read this one? Anyway, as I finally got to bed it was a few minutes before 12 and I thought to myself...in a few minutes, it will be 12 days, that is soooo great!

I really like a paragraph that I read last night that really nails it on the head, and I wanted to post it on MWO, so I may as well do it in th Nest as it reminded me how beneficial it is to simply post the number of days that we have remained sober. This paragraph ended a chapter on how not ever to let your guard down, as in, having just one drink after being sober for a long period of time, thinking you can have just one glass of wine occassionally. It followed the real life story of a woman who had recovered and was sober for almost a year when her husband suggested that they serve wine with dinner at a dinner party he was throwing for work. She had a glass of wine that night, then noticed a few drops left in the bottle when cleaning up dinner, polished that off, then a week later, she was back at it full throttle and had to go back into rehab and regain the ground she had lost with the setback. Since I had my first strong craving last night, this really hit home for me. This is a direct quote from her book: "Whether you stopped drinking or using yesterday or more than two years ago, sobriety means putting the past behind you. Yesterday is over. You did not drink or use drugs then,but today is a new day in sobriety. And tomorrow is another. With each new day you have the opportunity to remain sober and add another link to the never-ending chain of new beginnings that makes a sober life. And so, then, let us begin."

I love the idea of building this "chain" of sober days to make a sober life. This is how I feel when I hear from you all about how many days you have remained AF, it just makes the chain stronger and less apt to break. And with that, I will leave you all to your wonderful AF day, another link in the chain!

[mylife]

Newbies Nest

Hello Nesters!

I don't have the excuse that it's dreary here today, it's actually pretty nice out and sunny, but I have the blahs for some reason. I'm going to get some exercise after work -- I think I just need to get some endorphins in my system!

MM -- what can I say -- I'm not sure which Avatar is scarier!! Thanks for keeping us entertained!
Blonde, Jolie good job on beating out the cravings. It's so hard sometimes!! I'm really trying to work on that one with Allen Carr's book -- he thinks cravings are only there because we have this schizophrenic idea that we like drinking even though we know it's so awful...
Lav, hang in there in your chilly corner of the world! You will have a beautiful summer and I'll have humidity!
Hill, great to hear from you! I always look at your sobriety date and think how great it will feel next year when I am coming up on my first year AF. Can't wait.

Have a great afternoon all!

[Jolie]

Newbies Nest

Good evening nesters!

Had a stressful day at work but no overwhelming urge for wine tonight! Came home and made little glasses of banana pudding for dessert! Keeping myself occupied seems to be the secret for avoiding the poison! Hope everyone is having a great evening! I'm actually feeling a little sleepy so I'm going to hit the hay for a peaceful nights sleep.

Hillside - just wanted to you shoud be so very proud of your 1 year anniversary coming up. Still seems a long ways away for me but every day is 1 day closer! You are awesome!

[hillsidetime]

Newbies Nest

Thanks Jolie, I appreciate it very much. I was feeling a little down, and you made my day.
Hill

[Lavande]

Newbies Nest

Good Thursday morning Nesters!

How is everyone today?

Snow on the way again tonight, sigh!
I'm mentally done with winter already dreamming about Spring

Wishing everyone a terrific AF Thursday!
Lav