100 Day Club members/Maintenance Thread

[Mick]

100 Day Club members/Maintenance Thread

Hooraay man with van been...heating is fixed..it was the doobray firkin thingy that wasnt working properly..all is warm ..well on the way !

[Mick]

100 Day Club members/Maintenance Thread

Lav..which did you find easier to quit cigs or al?
mbh I found it easier to give up al..think the reason for that was it was still accepted practice to smoke in public and at work...whereas not quite so sure al would have been looked at in the same light!!

[nurdl]

100 Day Club members/Maintenance Thread

I'm in! Wonderful idea Byrdie. Sometimes it does to get to be a bit much to hear the advice over and over. Many do need it but we have moved on. It will be lovely to stay in touch and maybe even talk about other things than alcohol like Mick's furnace, lol. We are pretty terrific people. I'd like to spend more time with us.

[nurdl]

100 Day Club members/Maintenance Thread

Mick I never noticed your quit date before. America gives you a :goodjob:

[Hippyman]

100 Day Club members/Maintenance Thread

Mick;1446748 wrote: Lav..which did you find easier to quit cigs or al?
mbh I found it easier to give up al..think the reason for that was it was still accepted practice to smoke in public and at work...whereas not quite so sure al would have been looked at in the same light!!

Uncle SAM is proud of you! :goodjob:

[Sunbeam]

100 Day Club members/Maintenance Thread

I could post here if I remember. I've mostly been posting with the steppers, that's my home base.

[Byrdlady]

100 Day Club members/Maintenance Thread

I'm so pumped to hear the positive feedback!
Mick, so glad your furnace is back in operation we got down to 34* (lets see that's 2* for you, I THINK) so being cold sucks, I don't care who you are!!

Kuya...other than that first 2 weeks (when I felt like I had the flu) I didn't have any tiredness....now my head was a blurry mess for weeks...but after I hit that 100 day mark, I've been pretty steady. I rememeber reading Nelz's posts, he was able to put into words at 6 months how I felt at 9 months...more clarity, etc...no longing and feeling deprived. So people just arrive at really different rates. This may be a sexist thing to say, and PLEASE correct me MEN, but I think they get there faster than we women do. I believe they accept the situation more quickly than we do. This is just my observation...so I am very jealous of the MAN MIND!! (in that regard!!)

Also Nelz, I hear you on repeating the same things over and over, but I tell you, when I see someone quote what I say, then I know it got thru so that makes it worth it. I know Lav goes on Auto Pilot and her eyes glaze over when she sees a post from me!! Poor thing!! I owe my life to that woman!!

No one bit on my dog story....I will have to learn to post pictures! That will get you talking cause she is SO CUTE! (in a mother's eyes!!)
Have a Happy Day everyone!!!!!!!!!! XXOO, B

[Lavande]

100 Day Club members/Maintenance Thread

I haven't had glazed over eyes in nearly 4 years Byrdie - that's just a rumor :H :H
You know i love you & will post any picture you email to me!

Mick, Uncle Sam will start taxing you for sharing the July 4th fame. I'm very happy your heat is back on. I don't like blue extremities very much :H
I personally found it MUCH harder to quit smoking primarily because I smoked much longer. I quit smoking many times in my life, for weeks & months but allowed the monkey mind to take me right back. I think when you finally understand the true nature of addiction, you can find a way out

How about if we assign people to take turns being Nest Mums? :H
That way no one will burn out!

Nelz, I'm planning to bake a huge cake for my anni in March, you bring the decorations, OK?

[FallenAngel]

100 Day Club members/Maintenance Thread

Byrdlady;1446398 wrote: was wondering if there might be some interest in a thread that invited long term Abbers to post. In this thread, we might not speak so much to the day to day struggles of resisting AL, but just generally. If it comes up, ALL HANDS ON DECK, but otherwise, just a thread where there is no real struggling to get thru the day AF....anyone interested?

That sounds like a great idea Byrdlady!
I've got 5 1/2 years sober. Although I don't have day to day struggles with alcohol, there still are times when I really feel a need to connect with others that have been on this journey too. I think that having such a group would be very beneficial to keeping our long term quits 'fresh & green'.

[pixie]

100 Day Club members/Maintenance Thread

Mick, I love the birds on the mantel - very beautiful!

Kuya, I'm having issues with fatigue also, and I have had my B12 levels checked which were fine, thyroid too. Mine may be related to chronic depression, which I'm trying to resolve with exercise and supplements. Hope you find a solution, or that it works itself out on its own.

Thanks for the thread Byrdie

[Byrdlady]

100 Day Club members/Maintenance Thread

FallenAngel....you don't know this, but one time you scared the HELL-O out of me....I had read a post from you and noticed your long ago quit date! Then the next day, I read a post from someone with a similar name and avatar and they had fallen. I thought holy ____ if someone with that kind of time in can fall, what hope is there for me??? I quickly went back to the post I had read previously and realized the mistake I'd made. I have been following you ever since to make sure your date is still in place! Funny the things that we notice...I DO notice quit dates tho...You are an inspiration and I bet you don't even know it! Glad you are here!! B

[Mick]

100 Day Club members/Maintenance Thread

Hi Pixie...those birds that you see..they are Royal Doulton whisky decanters..there are 10 in the set...6 birds of prey, and 4 owls.Each one of them is full of whisky and has never been opened..nor will be.Even through my worst times I never opened them tho was sorely tempted at times!!!

Byrdie ...your quote.......PLEASE correct me MEN, but I think they get there faster than we women do.


oh ho so now what are we talking about ???:H:H:H:H


Lav...Uncle Sam might as well have some too...everyone and their dog over here seems to think they can!!!!This country is skint, and yet from the Daily Telegraph................

Around 250,000 migrants from Bulgaria and Romania could head to the UK for work when restrictions are lifted at the end of the year, campaigners said, after ministers admitted the influx could lead to housing shortages.

But Britain remains one of the most attractive destinations for migrants, ?partly because of its flexible labour market and partly because of the ease of access to its benefits system?, Migration Watch said.
It found around 50,000 extra foreign workers could head to Britain each year for the next five years once restrictions are lifted on December 31, but admitted this estimate could vary from between 30,000 and 70,000.

[Hippyman]

100 Day Club members/Maintenance Thread

FallenAngel;1446787 wrote: That sounds like a great idea Byrdlady!
I've got 5 1/2 years sober. Although I don't have day to day struggles with alcohol, there still are times when I really feel a need to connect with others that have been on this journey too. I think that having such a group would be very beneficial to keeping our long term quits 'fresh & green'.

I hope to hear more about your long term success Angel. My life plan is to stay sober forever and it's encouraging to hear from someone with 5+ years.

[FallenAngel]

100 Day Club members/Maintenance Thread

Byrdlady;1446798 wrote: FallenAngel....you don't know this, but one time you scared the HELL-O out of me....I had read a post from you and noticed your long ago quit date! Then the next day, I read a post from someone with a similar name and avatar and they had fallen. I thought holy ____ if someone with that kind of time in can fall, what hope is there for me??? I quickly went back to the post I had read previously and realized the mistake I'd made. I have been following you ever since to make sure your date is still in place! Funny the things that we notice...I DO notice quit dates tho...You are an inspiration and I bet you don't even know it! Glad you are here!! B

:H:H:H Sorry I scared the bageebies out of you! :H

But seriously, you bring up a very good point. You said: "if someone with that kind of time in can fall, what hope is there for me??? "
That is one factor that kept me on the straight & narrow back in my first couple of years here on MWO.
A little of my back story: I came to MWO when I was 7 months sober. An online friend who had been quit for over 17 years helped me in my initial first few months. To them, I would always be a "newbie". When I came to MWO with 7 months under my belt, I was considered by many to be a "long-termer". This was a total 180 turn around for me... to go instantly from feeling like I was still wet behind the ears to someone that is being asked advice. Wow. That was a mind-blower to say the least.
I remember one time when a member here who had around 8 months, relapsed. A friend of mine was really shaken by this. She basically said what you did, "if someone with that kind of time in can fall, what hope is there for me??? ". I realized right then how important it was for ME to stay sober, so that OTHERS with less time could keep the faith that that life-long sobriety is possible. I had a long list of reasons to stay sober.... when times got tough, I would mentally go down the list. Some days, the first few on the list didn't really matter to me, but I would always find one that did, and that reason would keep me sober, for that particular day. Being accountable to my friends here at MWO kept me sober for more days than I can count. And for that, I will be eternally grateful. :l

[FallenAngel]

100 Day Club members/Maintenance Thread

Mick;1446748 wrote: Lav..which did you find easier to quit cigs or al?
mbh I found it easier to give up al..think the reason for that was it was still accepted practice to smoke in public and at work...whereas not quite so sure al would have been looked at in the same light!!

That's very true Mick.... quite acceptable to see someone have a smoke before breakfast, but it sure can raise a few eyebrows if it's a drink! :H

Although both smoking & drinking can lead to addiction, the ramifications to quitting can be quite different, IMHO.
With smoking, we learn how to break the habit of getting our nicotine fix (insert number) times a day. We might find we're uncomfortable hanging around with certain smoking friends, but in general, our life isn't turned upside down. Now don't get me wrong.... I KNOW how hard it is to quit smoking, and the transformation process that happens; but it isn't total lifestyle change like becoming sober. When we quit drinking, we have to change everything from people, places & things.
I don't think I would have had the strength to quit drinking if I hadn't quit smoking first. Drinking was my #1 poison of choice. With all the things I learned from quitting smoking, I applied to my drinking quit. For me, choosing a life of sobriety is the hardest thing I have ever done. But it is by far the BEST thing I have ever done.

I think an important issue to bring up is what I call "the last crutch".
In my case, I quit smoking first. When the urge for a smoke came up in the evenings, I would just pour another glass of wine to get me through the craving. It not only numbed me out, but it was used as a substitute & reward for not grabbing a cigarette. When I quit drinking, I was left with nothing familiar to rely on. Nothing to relax me at the end of a hectic day. Nothing to reward me for a job well done. Nothing to keep me company in my loneliness... or sorrow...or anger... or happiness. I had kicked that last crutch from under me, and now I felt like I had nothing to lean on. I had to learn how to stand on my own 2 feet without any assistance.... for the first time in my adult life. And that, for me, was the hardest.