Newbies Nest

[Turnagain]

Newbies Nest

This will be my first sober Friday in awhile. I have been reading what you other nesters have posted and it's been a big help. I will need to stick close to the nest today. I am devouring the wisdom and lessons here and figuring out how to make this work in my life.

I'm still drafting the big picture plan, but have come up with a special 12-step FRIDAY plan.

1- spend 10 minutes doing mindful breathing 1st thing in a.m. (I'm trying to learn to meditate!) CHECK!

2- Stretch while counting blessings. Take morning supplements (aminos: L-Glut, L-Tyrosine, Gaba, Plus Milk Thistle) CHECK!

3- Exercise 20 minutes (Building toward a goal of 1 hour) CHECK!

4- Get Support at MWO. Give support when possible. CHECK!

5- Go to work. Be productive. Clear the daily TO DO list.

6- On break - Make a list of 10 things that I love about being sober. Make a list of everything I hate about being drunk.


So far...so good...Steps 7-12 are meant to take me through the DANGER ZONE which will start sometime after 4 pm.

7- Take "Scenic" Route home (to avoid the lure of the usual liquor shop stop)

8- Take pre-dinner supplements. Take my sweet dog on a quick jaunt around the block to his favorite smelling place.

9- Fix a HEALTHY dinner for me and Spouse: Grilled Red Salmon with oven roasted Broccoli and fresh greens. (I can't use garlic for awhile - even though I LOVE it. I just associate chopping garlic with having a nice glass of red wine nearby. Maybe in a few weeks...I can try handling garlic!)

10- If it's sunny - take a small hike with hubs and pooch. If it's wet or windy...hunker down on the couch to watch a DVD. If hubs got something really goofy from Netflix....I'll be back on the forum for a looooooong time.

11- Check back in at the Nest

12- Send positive energy to all....take night supplements (Valerian Root, Melatonin and L-Tryptophan) I'm almost sleeping all the way through the night again!

Hoping all of us can find the strength to make it through one of the more dangerous days of the week for us FORMER drinkers!

[4me]

Newbies Nest

Hi all! for Turnaround, I am was born and raised in Billings Montana, After I married I spent seven years in Missoula (as in the movie, "A River Run Through It"). Flathead River isn't far from Missoula and it is unbelieveably gorgeous. You will love it!
Gregorino, exercise is so vital for all of us, drinking or not. And the bonus is it is a natural high, no glass needed. LOL
Take care all!

[jenniech]

Newbies Nest

moderation or abstinence.....that is the question

[Lavande]

Newbies Nest

Thanks Hypernova

TurnAround - that is quite some detailed Friday plan you have there - good for you! Stick to that plan & you should do just fine

Hope you are having a good evening 4me!

jenniech, hello! You've had some time at MWO, you know the decision to attempt moderation is completely yours. What are you thinking about doing? Have you had some significant AF time? Take a look on the moderation threads & see what they are doing. I was never able to moderate on my own so I skipped that step this time around

[Clover]

Newbies Nest

Good Evening, Everyone! I was determined to come here tonight and post a little something to each and every one of you. But, guess, what ... I'm tired! I just came home from a very pleasant dinner with a friend; we had delicious Middle Eastern cuisine and Lebanese iced tea. THIS is what I need to be doing on a Friday night! I can now relax, check in with MWO, watch some t.v., read - and be up nice and fresh on Saturday morning!

It is so inspiring to see all of you here, sharing and discussing plans, and determined to have brand new alcohol-free lives. I really look forward to my morning and evening check-ins. I wish you all a relaxing and sober Friday night. See you all tomorrow!

[gregorino]

Newbies Nest

Great Stuff Nestorians!

I'm with Clover - What great stuff to come home to! Thanks for all the great posts today. It's so much better with everyone sharing and encouraging. Without this, The Voice might hold some sway...

Turn - What a plan! Wowsers! Hope it went well!

Jenn - I'm only 11 days sober now, but have had long stretches (like, years) in the past. I know I can't moderate because the only thing that happens when I drink one is that I drink 10. The goal is always obliteration. Never has been moderation, going back to my first drunk at age 16 - Back when Hippies roamed the earth!! Just MHO. :cents

Clock- Hang tough..You CAN do it - Just think about how marvelous to wake up without a pounding head and bleeding eyes.

Hyper- 4 weeks...Totally AWESOME!!! :goodjob:

SarahJane - One week in, so go for 2...Love what Lav says...Friday is just another day...

My potential boat deal hit a snag...Seller putting me on hold for a month, so I'm just gonna go get drunk now....NOT!! :nutso:

Thanks again for the great posts today...Gotta hit the sack so I can get up at 5 to be at gym at 6 and work at 7....

[FlyAway]

Newbies Nest

Another late check in. Nine-thirty at night and I'm just getting home. Up at 4am tomorrow for work again tomorrow. Ugh. Then to a going away party at a bar immediately after work. I'll be drinking water and I'm not worried in the least. I feel that confident! Then a party at my house on Sunday. I'll try to check in but might not really post until Monday. I'm thinking of you all and holding you all close. Let's share our strength!

[Dunahoo]

Newbies Nest

Anyone else dread going back home after leaving to get sober. I fly home Sunday and im kinda worried about it, going back to where the problem was extreme.

[Byrdlady]

Newbies Nest

Dunahoo! Welcome and pull up a wad of hair!! We are glad you are here. Lav, our nest mother, will come in and give you the very first links and tools you'll be needing. I, her lacky second in command, do not know how to do that. So I will offer you a strong cup o joe, and suggest you read all over this site. While the AL may be out of your system, it isn't out of your life. So that's the next thing. You will hear us talking about breaking old habits, doing things we haven't done. Lav is hoarse from telling us to make a plan. What is a plan??? This thought is so foreign to us because the plan was always to have enough booze to get thru ______ without running out. Plan 2 was to drinki it all. Plan 3, pass out. Am I true? Now we must think ahead and imagine ourselves at parties drinking a diet coke. May I mention here, that you must pysically hold something...you can't just go and stand there with your hands in your pockets. Get a drink, but something else. Without the aid of AL, I find diet coke keeps me awake...so i usually get water with lime. (yes, I'm a weenee). I am a very cheap date too. One thing you must do is get control of your mind...and your thoughts. SEE yourself getting outside and taking that walk...anything but going to where you used to go when you'd break open that first one. Get over that rough edge. Keep yourself and your mind occupied at all costs! When you feel yourself going into that rabbitt hole, grab yourself back out....name the 7 dwarfs, or dwarves (look UP whether it's dwarfs or dwarves!) Recite the Pledge of Allegience....get out of that loop that leads you to drink. I'm sure you have done this, but get all the AL out of your house...we are not Mother Theresa, so remove the temptations and even your favorite glass. I bet you had one didn't you? I did. I threw it in the trash. And that's what you are doing with your old HABIT. Break the patterns of what would normally cause the problem.
Try to be helpful to others. This sounds stupid. But I am finding just a little time here or there to do something nice for someone else is a feeling much like a good buzz. I've been baking cakes for neighbor kids and just showing up with them. They aren't full size cakes as such...more like huge cupcakes. But my skill level of decorating is still, well, in kindergarten. They don't care, they LOVE it. Plus it gives me something to do that I wouldn't/couldn't have done before.
Associate yourself with people who are of like mind. I thought everybody drank (to excess) but they really don't. I realize how many times I prolly forced wine on whoever dropped by.
And lastly (I know you thought I'd never shut up) you can attend the pity party for 10 minutes. You better make it good...cause that's all you get. Then you clean up that place that's been empty, catch up on the mail...and go out and get yourself a great big cookie. If you are like us here, your sweet tooth is alive a kicking. You know what? In one week's time..you will see that you are in a very good place. You have been every day of the week (including the weekend) without AL. You really ARE funny without booze! You really CAN talk to people without a buzz! I know you can do it. You will do it. Like me, you don't have a choice anymore. Check in here many times a day. Heck, read back on my thread how I've fought this dam thing for a year and a half. I have been drinking heavily for 25 years. I'm six big months sober...and VERY proud of it.
I will say it again....keep with people of like mind. Set yourself up to succeed! Be with people who are examples of what you strive to be. I'm not saying that you can't go out with the people who you used to drink with, but I'd give that some time. When you do...you will quickly see after a 'few rounds' how sloppy and stupid they look. And that was me! (oh god the ass I made of myself)
You will do just great....stick close friend, you are in very good company here.
XXOO, Byrdie

[Lavande]

Newbies Nest

Good morning Nesters!

:H Byrdie.....what more can I say? :H Good job girl!

Hello & welcome Dunahoo! Glad you found us! Please make yourself comfortable in the Nest for a while
Not sure what you have been doing or where you have been Have you been in Rehab or away on vacation? Returning home today?
Take a look in our fabulous https://www.mywayout.org/community/f1...box-27556.html for lots of great ideas to help you make your plan! We will be around all weekend so please come back to let us know how you are doing & a little more about yourself. We all wish you the best!

Clover, your dinner out sounds delicious! I have to go far, very far to find a meal like that! There are drawbacks to living in cow country :H

Greg, sorry about the boat deal. I was looking forward to hear about your sailing adventures!

FlyAway, don't know where you work but your hours sounds an awful lot like the hours I used to work in nursing.....way too long!

Heatwave #6 going in in my part of the Nest so my outside time will be minimal this weekend. I suppose I could always clean up my surroundings inside
Wishing everyone a great AF Saturday!

Lav

[life...take2]

Newbies Nest

Good Morning Nesters!

I've been trying to catch up with all the posts...so many are racking up Af days, moving forward without booze, exercising rather than abusing their bodies -- truly inspiring! I love coming here and learning from everyone. You all pick me up and carry me forward when I'm tired!

Started the morning late. Just could not sleep in this heat. Made a big pot of coffee: First cup is hot, the remainder is going over ice and vanilla milk for a giant ice coffee treat. Haven't exactly figure out what to do next except I know I will exercise, and then maybe work from home. Watch some tv [and remember what I watched!] --- take it hour by hour and enjoy life in the present tense. No should do's, could do's, shall do's today....

Hit 7 weeks today, but I'm looking forward to tomorrow - the big 50. Can't believe I'm doing this. To think I started here with 14 days sober.

Will be thinking of you nesters today - try to pop in and out when I can.
Peace to all --- trust me, if I can make it this far, anyone can!

[Byrdlady]

Newbies Nest

Jennitech....I have a better question. And it's a yes or no answer. Are you abusing AL? Simple question, hard answer. You don't have to tell us...but be honest with yourself. I've been here quite a while and I've seen people come and go. The ones that just couldn't quit seem to find solice on the moderation board. Here is my take, and I may be a little harse...but AL has just pissed me off! Misery doesn't just love company, it loves miserable company. And those that can't quit say they are moderating......ok, you can put it that way. But can a sex offender moderate? Well, I guess they can, but it still IS what it is. I wasted a year of my life, liver, and marriage trying to moderate...it always got the better of me...I ended up worse each time. This is such a powerful addiction that we are willing to tell ourselves ANYTHING to keep it alive. Trust me, no body was a better liar to herself than I ....Quitting is the only way to take back control of your life, if you are abusing AL. It is sooooo worth it. Byrdie

[Lavande]

Newbies Nest

life...take2 hits 50 AF days tomorrow!!!

Congrats to you Wishing yuo many, many more!!!

Hi again Byrdie

[life...take2]

Newbies Nest

Lavande,

You are a SWEETIE!
Sending you a big cyber hug - thanks for your support,

:l

[RemorseBeGone]

Newbies Nest

Day 27 AF

Today I felt like I was in mourning for a very close friend who I would never see again i.e beer.

I have suffered from depression in the past and today it seems to be creeping back up on me - think I need to see the doc on Monday.

Is there any research aboout the effects on suddenly stopping drinking and depression or is there anyone else here with a similar story?
I had always assumed that my depression was mainly caused by my excessive drinking but now I'm not so sure because instead of improving it seems to have returned with a bang ?

Thanks Guys ...