Newbies Nest

[Turnagain]

Newbies Nest

Good afternoon to ya'll from my soggy corner of the world...

4 weeks ago today, I was hungover and scared. My insides ached, my head hurt and I was depressed. I finally FORCED myself to go just ONE day without booze. I remember shivering under a blanket on the couch and reading this forum - I must've prowled about the threads for nearly 9 hours or more on that gloomy Saturday.

Today...while it is crummy outside...I am at peace within myself. My body is healing. And I am determined to "hang on to my quits" H/T Lav and Brydie!

I have new friends...who understand this struggle to break free of addiction. I have hope for myself....and for all of you.

Byrd...I'm happy to hear that you and your hubby are surrounded by pros who can help him get better and help you keep all your boats afloat.

Going fishing tomorrow...rain or shine. Need to fill my freezer with some silver salmon! Crew call is Oh-dark hundred. Glad I don't have to worry about being hungover out at sea!

[Lavande]

Newbies Nest

Good evening all!

Turnagain, it's quite soggy here as well - not summer-like at all.
Congrats to you for sticking with your AF & NF plan.
I wish you well on your fishing trip. I wouldn't go deep sea fishing on a mild, dry, sunny day :H

Byrdie - 'it isn't YOUR colon' :H :H
Perfect response!!

Wishing everyone a safe night in the Nest!!!!
Lav

[RitaNow]

Newbies Nest

Turnagain;1166325 wrote: Good afternoon to ya'll from my soggy corner of the world...

4 weeks ago today, I was hungover and scared. My insides ached, my head hurt and I was depressed. I finally FORCED myself to go just ONE day without booze. I remember shivering under a blanket on the couch and reading this forum - I must've prowled about the threads for nearly 9 hours or more on that gloomy Saturday.

Today...while it is crummy outside...I am at peace within myself. My body is healing. And I am determined to "hang on to my quits" H/T Lav and Brydie!

I have new friends...who understand this struggle to break free of addiction. I have hope for myself....and for all of you.

Byrd...I'm happy to hear that you and your hubby are surrounded by pros who can help him get better and help you keep all your boats afloat.

Going fishing tomorrow...rain or shine. Need to fill my freezer with some silver salmon! Crew call is Oh-dark hundred. Glad I don't have to worry about being hungover out at sea!

What a great testimony ... It's hard to believe you are only 4 weeks AF .... The wisdom you have is like someone who is down this road a lot longer. That is a great "symptom" of someone who is committed and WILL make this a life change. I am impressed with your nutritional wisdom ... did you already know a lot about nutritional healing? You are wise beyond words! Congrats on the 4 weeks ... THAT IS WORTHY OF A HUGE :l:hug:

[tonstantweader]

Newbies Nest

Hello everyone, Made it through one of my first social events without drinking. But here's something interesting: It was at my sister's house. In her refrigerator, she had two opened boxes of wine from a vacation we spent together back in June. JUNE! That wine wouldn't have lasted a week in my refrigerator! Another reminder how "normal" people treat alcohol.

Lavande, Yup, know where Oxford is. I don't get that way at all anymore since moving farther west. Is it still so rural around there?

[Lavande]

Newbies Nest

Good morning Nesters!

Tonstant - I call this 'Cow Country' :H
I've only lived here 8 years but am starting to think about moving back to civilization. We moved here to have a quieter place to retire but since my idiot husband ran out 16 months ago I'm alone. I actually live 8 miles south of town so I am really in the middle of the cows & the corn :H
Congrats on your AF event! They are completely doable ~ wish i had realized that years ago. It sure would have saved me a lot of grief

Waiting for the storms to begin again! I heard on the news a few days ago that this has been the wettest August on record for this area.......as evidenced by the giant toadstools growing in my lawn!

Wishing everyone a great AF Sunday!

Lav

[Mema]

Newbies Nest

I've missed this forum. I have had a pretty good summer controlling my drinking. But that's not good enough for me. More and more I seem to be "living for" 5:00 and not doing much with the rest of my day except reading, looking after the children and doing the household chores. The children start back to school tomorrow so I figure it is a great starting point for me to get back my life. So today is day one..Yikes!!!

[Today]

Newbies Nest

Good morning!

Sometimes I still surprise myself in my efforts to stay AF. And, am so proud of the results so far. My best friend cancelled our dinner plans out last night for a lame reason and ordinarily that would have driven me straight to the bottle. It was unusual that I didn't already have a buzz anyway! Still, I was disappointed, upset, angry and annoyed... all triggers for me! I was tempted to go buy coolers or even my old friend Silent Sam but didn't. I tried to imagine chugging nice cold drink and there was little appeal to that... my feelings were just that I wanted to relax and drift away. However, I know I would have enjoyed that first drink, but then the anxiety would have set back in.

So, I enjoyed my clean house (cleaned for companies sake) and whipped up some yummy pasta for myself and watched "Drop Dead Diva" S1 on Netflix. Good show!

Luckily, I have some concrete plans to keep me busy today. What I am trying to remember is that I don't have control over anyone else's actions, just my own.

Welcome to Mema, and congrats to Tonstantweader on success at your social event! We can do this together

Today is day 16 AF for me! Still cannot believe I have come that far and it is all thanks to you guys for your support

[Sunsign]

Newbies Nest

Happy Sunday Funday, Nesters!

Although there are some times that I feel that I’m missing out on the fun by not drinking, I’m relearning how to live and sometimes the pleasures in the simple things so far outweigh the slight, “Uggh…I’m not part of the club anymore feeling” I get from not drinking. My and my soon-to-be-hubby’s normal Saturday night activity involved going to a nice dinner and drinking, followed by a bar with more drinking. Since he was driving it was mostly just me drinking. Last night, we went to a nice (and surprisingly less expensive dinner without a bottle or two of wine) then went bowling. We had a blast! My guy remarked on the way home how much he preferred this Saturday date night to our usual. Again, it reminds me that it was me who was driving our drinking behaviors in our relationship. I hold onto that when I second-guess myself and wonder if I’m as fun as I used to be. Today, we’re going out on the boat and then Par 3 golfing! I am so tired at night now that I’m tuckered out from all the activity!

Byrd: You & hubby are still in my thoughts. The love, prayer, and support of all these MWOers got me thinking about an article I read on energy healing via remote intention (prayer/meditation) in college. I wasn’t able to find the article I was looking for, but ran across this: http://www.qigonginstitute.org/html/...gEMedicine.pdf and thought I’d pass it along.
Lav: Isn’t painting good for the soul?
Today: Congrats on Day 13! I agree with Byrd that it is a big turning point—to the side where you don’t crave it so much! Whoo hoo!
Greg: So sorry your sailboat deal fell through. Hope this is only a temporary setback. This is or something better! Your ability to stay true to yourself and your commitment with all this stress is inspirational!
Hyper: Wow! 7 weeks! Congrats! I, too, am a little nervous about remaining AF on my vacay. It’s really comforting to know we are not alone and others have the same fears and anxieties. We all have faith in you!
Life: Your post is so timely and wise. Loneliness is definitely my nemesis and AL was my crutch, but it was also a cause of my solitude—a vicious cycle. I wouldn’t make a plan to be with friends in the evening because I’d have to wait until after to get drunk; I wouldn’t call people on the phone because I didn’t want them to know I was drunk. Thank you for reminding me of what’s real and inspiring me to stay true to myself.
Turn: Yes, I believe more than anything else, that this forum is what’s made the difference this time. I haven’t gone this long without a drink for about 15 years.
Tonstant: Props to you for staying AF through your social event! Yayayayay!
Mema: Nice to “meet” cha! It’s amazing how much more I’m able to accomplish now that I’m not drinking!
Today: Good job not giving into one of your triggers! That’s the tough part for me, too!

[Lavande]

Newbies Nest

Welcome back Mema! Find your twig & settle in the Nest once again
I prefer the AF life as well ~ much easier when you taking drinking off the table as an option, really!

Today, you're doing great! Those 16 days will turn into 30 before you know it

Sunsign, painting is good for the soul, glad you noticed. Thought it was just me :H
When are you getting married? :h

Just waiting for the next storm to roll thru

[Lavande]

Newbies Nest

Jumping back in to wish everyone a safe night in the Nest!
See you in the morning

Lav

[Lavande]

Newbies Nest

Good Monday morning Nesters!!!!!!

Where is everyone????

[Byrdlady]

Newbies Nest

I dunno, Lav...it's a Ghost Nest!!! Hello? hellooo heloooo heloo (echoes).
Well, here's assuming all are sleeping in! Good weekend and ready to take on a new week! Love to all!! Byrdie

[Lavande]

Newbies Nest

:upset: Where have all the Nesters gone?????:upset:

Just hope everyone is OK & having a great AF Monday!

Good to see you Byrdie

[Turnagain]

Newbies Nest

Good evening all...

I just realized, I've gone 31 days without alcohol or nicotine...or caffeine.
I've been here before. More than a few times. And more than a few times, I threw away this incredible way of REALLY living by allowing myself to believe that I could just have a beer or two...or a glass of fine Malbec every now and then.

This time is different. And it's because I have finally accepted that I cannot moderate. It's a fact of my life. I've been able to accept and live with a lot of other realities:

I've got wide feet. I'll just have to admire those Jimmy Choos on Shue and others because I was born with paddles that were made for running away from dinosaurs.

I am now allergic to peanuts. Did I end up with this adult onset allergy because of alcohol? Maybe. If you're familiar with "leaky gut syndrome" you would suspect it's a possibility. All I know with certainty is that I can't eat peanut butter, or Chick-o sticks or Payday candy bars or ANYTHING made on 'equipment that also processes peanuts' or I risk ending up in the emergency room (again) for several hours getting megadoses of antihistamines on an IV drip. I might even risk up being dead.

You know what...this is how I am beginning to think of alcohol. It's become an allergen to me. Drinking to excess isn't a moral failing or a weakness of character or a mental illness...it is an addiction. I don't know what caused it...genetics? Habituation? Hypoglycemia?

I do know what cures it. The ONLY way I can break this addiction is not to pick up the first drink.

I have learned much from all of you here. Support is essential. Thank you...I'm not going back from where I came. I just can't...if I want to live. I would actually like at least two more go rounds on the planet. And maybe in that next life....I could wear pretty shoes...while sipping a chilled glass...of lemon water.

Keep at it friends.

[Lavande]

Newbies Nest

Turnagain,

Great to see you & a HUGE CONGRATS on your 31 day quits!!!!!
You are definitely the winner

Adult onset allergies seem to be on the rise. I know many people who have developed allergies in their 40's & 50's, not related to AL use/abuse. Sunflower seeds, peanuts, eggs, dairy & gluten allergies are pretty common anymore. And I have first hand knowledge of leaky gut syndrome I sometimes wonder if our species is moving through some evolution process. Who knows, really? The best thing we can do for ourselves is not smoke or drink

I continue to learn something new each day too & I like that
Wishing everyone a safe night in the Nest!

Lav