Well, That Didn't Take Long

[NoSugar]

Well, That Didn't Take Long

The ] is missing between the l of url and the h of http and the [ between the l of html and the / of /URL.
Or, do they disappear on you?
Sorry if my instructions are confusing!

[Unwasted]

Well, That Didn't Take Long

Hi Everyone,

You guys must go here and watch the short video. I think it's brilliant.

Science Has Been Misleading You About Some Fundamental Truths

Crazy busy today and big computer is in process of being packed. Loading starting tomorrow so lots going on here. I will keep reading and chiming in here and there, but posts will be kind of short.

Love reading about everyone and will post more when I can.

xx,
UN

[free at last]

Well, That Didn't Take Long

Hi All,
In the airport lounge (one more flight and I am home after 24 days on the road) and finally have a decent connection. Went straight to this thread to catch up on my buddies. What a great lot of discussion. My view is that the more time I log on the website, the less I think about drinking. When I don't get to post daily, the thoughts start creeping in. I think it's my form of going to a "meeting." So, UN and MyLife, I hope you keep posting, as I enjoy the discussions (even though I often feel incoherent, due to jetlag or no sleep)

Running4 Life--welcome back. I always loved your avatar. And Lifechange -- welcome. As an introduction, I am soon to be 55 year old intl consultant (food security) who is interested in yoga, meditation, and exercise (when I can get a consistent routine going).

Today is day 50 for me. Not certain how much longer I will count days. Ikeep forgetting the number, which I guess is a good thing.

UN -- best wishes on the move with the cats. My advice, avoid druging them. Our dog survived four international flights. I, of course, was a wreck worrying about him, but he was fine.

[lifechange]

Well, That Didn't Take Long

Good morning everyone!!
After some cold, rainy days, I woke up to blue skies, sunshine with the smell of autumn in the air. I love this time of the year-- I mostly grew up in the arizona desert so I really appreciate the change of seasons here. The changing colours and falling of the leaves, roasting chesnuts!!!, log fires and red squirrels.

Un, thank you so much for posting that video. Beautiful--Perfect. If each person could do what is suggested, we would have a completely different world. It doesn't have to be so complicated, does it? I feel like I'm finally on the right track and if I can stay on it, which I know I can!, I will have the strength to live the life I want to have. I have said this before, I know I have-- have even said that it's different THIS time. But each set back has given me more insight to my weaknesses/insecurities/fears-- and I've been able to learn from the mistakes. So I thank you once again for this thread and for bringing people together here. You all give me so much.
Wishing you all the best with your move!! Will be thinking of you.

Free at last, my goodness, what a hefty time of travelling you've had!! How often are you on the road? I hope you have arrived home safely and are able to snuggle into home a bit. Do you suffer greatly from jet lag or has your body adapted? Can the body adapt? Anyway, I'll be asking for some tips before I fly over to see my family this December. I'm always dead for about a week upon arrival! I look forward to hearing more from you-- 50 days is awesome.

Off to check the sugar free link! I made it yesterday and I swear, it was almost as difficult as not drinking for me. Difference being, of course, that I had my mind in tact. The cravings, though! I knew I had a sweet tooth, but I didn't realize how difficult it would be to just stop eating it. See you all later,
life

[Pinecone]

Well, That Didn't Take Long

Good morning friends,

MyLife, hi to you! You are really missing out on life living in Florida. Why don't you just move up to the frozen North, so you can spend hundreds of dollars on special clothes that you will NEED to survive the short walk to your car in the morning? it's great up here and yes we are all a little crazy!

Lifechange, that is so cool about the vipassanna (sp?) course you did. I saw a really cool program about a group that does that in prisons. It was fascinating.

FAL, glad you are back safely. I hope you can get some rest before your next trip.

It has been fun to read about everyone's interests. It strikes me that we are all so interested in healthy, holistic things. I like to remember that alcohol has no room in my life like that because it cuts off all the richness of my pursuits.

Un, wishing you some peace with your move!
Hi to NS!

[lifechange]

Well, That Didn't Take Long

Morning Pinecone! Was it the Dhamma Brothers you saw? A documentary set in the states? Or the one in India? It's amazing, the healing that's been done with meditation. I love it! I can't believe it's that cold where you are! I lived in Anchorage for awhile and it was very cold, but still manageable. Of course I was much younger then!
Alcohol has no room in my life either. No how, no way. If you've been sober since before you signed on here, that means you have quite a lot of time under your belt. At least almost 2 years, yeah? awesome.

[Pinecone]

Well, That Didn't Take Long

Yes, that's the one, Dhamma Brothers.

I'm exaggerating a bit about the cold here, but winters can be brutal. Summer is quite temperate and fall is cold but very beautiful.

I have been meditating for 30 days now, minus one day. It is very helpful to me and I'm going to continue the practice. I had always wanted to for years but the drinking...it helps me feel centered. I put my quit date in my signature line after I hit one year AF. This place and the people here have been a blessing to me.

[lifechange]

Well, That Didn't Take Long

I hear you! My drinking really got in the way of my meditation practice. I went to the course in desperation for solitude and silence, and that's what I got. But at that time I still wasn't 100% honest about the level of my addiction. I wasn't 100% sure that I wanted to quit "forever"-- so though I got so much from the course, I didn't get as much as I could have if I'd been completely honest. Now I'm continuing on and will plan to do another course in the spring. I never imagined how much meditation could bring to my life. I'm really excited about this new beginning--

[Unwasted]

Well, That Didn't Take Long

Lifechange, you are such a great addition to this thread - so glad you found us!

Sorry I have to be quick again today everyone - in the throes of chaos here. Will catch up when I can.

I love the discussion going on - I plan to check out a meditation group I've already found in the little town in which I'll be living. When I attained my 7 months of sobriety I was meditating and am sure it was part of what helped me get that far.

Brief history about me - I started truly drinking alcoholically after my husband got cancer 3 years ago at the age of 55. It rocked my world and was so serious that I really thought I was looking down the barrel of being a widow when the cancer recurred and he had to have a very serious surgery. He is doing well now, but I'm certain that's when I started drinking at a whole new level. I might have ended up developing a problem anyway because I liked to party, but that definitely sent me over the edge.

No kids - taught school way back when, also worked many years as an office manager/admin. and eventually ended up selling real estate. I'm interested in vegetarian cooking (trying to become solely veg) but kind of like booze - I slip back into it in large part because hubs is a big meat eater ............ it's so hard to cook a separate meal for myself. But where there's a will there's a way and I know I can get there. Pinecone, I would love to hear any advice you can give me. I have a lot of veg cookbooks.

Also, very passionate about organic/environmental/animal issues.

OK, off to load more stuff everyone.

xoxo,
UN :lilheart:

[NoSugar]

Well, That Didn't Take Long

Unwasted;1552484 wrote: Hi Everyone,

You guys must go here and watch the short video. I think it's brilliant.

Science Has Been Misleading You About Some Fundamental Truths

xx,
UN

LOVED THE VIDEO! Thanks for the link. It reminded me of a documentary I've mentioned before: I AM The Documentary | Official Site .

Sounds like everyone posting here is doing well .

Congratulations, Free on the 50 AF days!

I used a meditation app on a flight yesterday - it helped!

Have a great AF weekend! :h NS

[allswell]

Well, That Didn't Take Long

Hi Everyone,

This thread's been busy lately. Here's my intro - 50 years old, always went the corporate route then decided I'd start my own practice because I was sure it was easier and I would have more time for things that made life fulfilling. Been doing it for 25 years and find the practice drains the life out of me and no fulfillment professionally or personally at this point at all. Held on to a few hobbies through the time which are gardening and playing guitar, the other one being alcohol of course. Looking forward to an early retirement farming some acreage I purchased years ago and playing some guitar on the front porch and anywhere else people would like to listen. I'm a lover of flamenco.

NS, I agree totally the sooner we can get a handle on things the less life we waste. I wish I had my head in the same place I do now when I was 25. It's hard not to think about the years that were totally wasted literally and figuratively.

[mylife]

Well, That Didn't Take Long

Hi Guys!

Happy sober Saturday morning! I woke up before 7am after a good nights sleep. That ALONE should be reason enough to never drink again. So why do I keep beating my head against that same brick wall? Maybe a year from now looking back on my new sober life I will finally understand why I ever did that to myself!

It's so nice to hear from everyone. My intro - I just turned 50 this spring. I've been working in the corporate world (finance) since I graduated from college in a variety of industries. Sometimes it's been good and sometimes bad - I think I some days I like the drama and stress and other days I just can't be bothered anymore. For the last 12 years or so I've been working for internationally based companies so there has been a lot of travel. I think I started drinking alcoholically around 40 looking back. Although I didn't drink every day then, I didn't just drink for social reasons - I was drinking at the end of a bad day or at the end of along day to relieve stress. I always drank socially thoughout my 20's and 30's but never unless I was in a social setting - I think around 40 is when I brought it home and that's when the problem really started. I would love to retire early - but I think I've got at least another 5 years to go, so I'm plugging away and hoping for the best for now!

UN - loved the link - thank you! I hope your move is going smoothly! I hear you about the sick husband - my husband has type I diabetes (since he was in highschool) and it has really started getting bad in the past few years. I'm sure that added to my drinking as well.

FAL - thanks for the encouraging words about posting and congratulations on 50 days! I have read again and again that it's important to reinforce not drinking with some sort of a support group - so I'm sticking with it.

Life - I hear you about the sugar! I really need to take that plunge as well - but I really like my sugar right now - so I'm afraid to mess up the AF-ness by giving it up too soon.

Pine - although I live in Florida now - I have lived in Alaska and Colorado in earlier periods of my life - so I well know the cold! But I guess back then we just called it "wool" and wore lots of it. The best warm clothing I found was north of the arctic circle in a native village where they made their own!

NS - are you really sugar free? I'm so impressed with that. That will be my next goal.

Alls - I would love to learn to play flamenco. I think we had this conversation about a year ago.! I still haven't - just too busy. So that will be a retirement project.

Wishing everyone a great AF Saturday.

[NoSugar]

Well, That Didn't Take Long

I love this thread and everybody here !

UN, a major health crisis my husband had and almost died at the same time our nest was emptying I think took me from dependence to addiction. I think I 'decided' at some unconscious level that if I was going to be alone, I might as well get it over with. I ended up isolating myself on many levels, numbing myself to what was going on, and trying to escape what I was afraid of. Y'all know how well that worked out!

Free, I counted days for 100 days but that was just an arbitrary choice. I check in to that Super Sober Sunday thread once in awhile just to see where I am. I think you'll know when it isn't a useful tool any longer. I bet you are enjoying your brief time at home. I hope you have a great hike in the woods this weekend.

ML, I really did give up sugar and sugary carbs almost 2 years ago when my blood sugar was getting messed up despite my relatively good diet and normal body weight. I felt so much better after that, even when still drinking. Since giving AL up as well, I've normalized my blood sugar and feel terrific. I guess I think I will always have the potential to be a diabetic and an alcoholic but by taking control of what I put into my body, I can be neither of them .

I was going to write to each of you but they've called my flight. Have a great day, friends! :h NS

[Unwasted]

Well, That Didn't Take Long

NS, it's a great group here isn't it? We love you too by the way. :l

Free, I hope you're getting a nice break from your rigorous schedule walking in the woods this weekend. Your job sounds overwhelming to me. But then I'm at the opposite end of the spectrum and need more to do which I hope to remedy after I get settled. Thanks for the advice about not drugging the cats for the trip. I did a lot of online research about it and most of what I read concurred with that advice. Oh, and congrats on 50 days!!

NS and ML, there is nothing scarier than health issues -- our own and the stuff going on with our husbands! I think the worst part about it for me was that if you had asked me hypothetically how I would handle the situation before it happened, I would never have thought that it was going to undo me to the extent it did. That was disturbing to me -- that I didn't know my own capacity or lack thereof to handle a crisis. I still don't think I'm over it, because it's always in the back of my mind - simmering. I don't dwell on it but the whole ordeal shook me to my core. Since I don't have kids it made me feel very alone. It's so strange because I always thought of myself as strong, independent and resilient. Things change in so many ways as you age.

Pinecone, could you elaborate a bit on your meditation? Do you basically just do a sitting type where you concentrate on your breathing or do you listen to some kind of guided meditation tape?

Alls, how are things on the election front and when will it happen (November)? Are you still planning on the October marathon?

Lifechange hope things are still good with you!

Well, I can tell you one thing for sure.....IPads are wonderful in many ways, but word processing is not one of them!

Back to the crazy day -- R leaves early tomorrow with our stuff. Yikes. Getting very close to coming together.

Have a super day everyone.

UN :lilheart:
p.s. It's so nice to learn some more about you guys! Great suggestion LC!!

[Pinecone]

Well, That Didn't Take Long

Hi friends,

Un, I really like Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian." He is a great food writer formerly of the NYT. The recipes are presented like templates and nothing is written in stone, just like real life when you try to make something but only have half of the ingredients. He also goes into the nuts and bolts of beans/legumes different kinds of grains, cooking techniques etc. it is a pretty rich book for the price.

As far as meditation, I have been doing a mindfulness of breathing practice that I found in Thich Nhat Hahn's "Miracle of Mindfulness." It really seems to help with a lot of my issues.

It really is great to read about everyone's lives here. I feel fortunate to have you all as colleagues in sobriety.