Booze Busters 30 Day AF Challenge - Week of JUNE 9!

[Miss Behaving]

Booze Busters 30 Day AF Challenge - Week of JUNE 9!

another quickie!

Just popped in for a wee read - even though it is Sunday, I'm so busy that I'm going to work all of the rest of the day ....... but I'm procrastinating!!!

Hannah - your thoughts on the AF options when eating out echoed something I have been thinking about. I've long been firmly of the belief that the NZ culture is very boozy and it is quite difficult to get AF choices when you go out. In previous attempts to give up, I was frequently in situations where the only other options were Coke or orange juice or water.

On the other hand, there is quite a big organic/healthy option sub-culture which is starting to have a lot more of an impact on mainstream consumer culture. And after reading about AF wine on this site, I googled it to find NZ distributors ... and there is literally one supermarket in the city that I live in that stocks it!! (although I later also found another brand at the organic store). I've been consciously looking out for places that give me more choice (like AF cocktails, or something that isn't full of sugar) for when I do work-related social things - but only a very small number of cafes or bars have them.

And my best buddy is having her 50th next Saturday, and when she talked to the place where she is having her celebration about having some AF options, she was asked how many kids were coming!!

anyway, I'm on the lookout for suggestions/recipes for AF celebratory drinks for next Sat ......... lots of people coming into town for the party, and none are particularly big drinkers, but I know that they will all be letting their hair down (lucky "normal" them - they might do it once or twice a year and have a really good time!!). They are good friends and I know that I will be under no pressure to drink whatsoever ...... but I want to have a plan up my sleeve. And actually I thought her kids might also quite like something a bit different to be part of the celebrations (one of them made us a "special" drink about two years ago when she was about 7, which consisted of lemonade, raspberry cordial, an olive and maple syrup!!!)

My favorites at the moment are diet tonic and bitters and ginger cordial in fizzy water. I also like the Italian fruit flavored slightly fizzy one - is it peregrino brand????? But any other suggestions are very welcome!

I had better get back to work - but hope all and sundry are having a great weekend!

mame

[endgame]

Booze Busters 30 Day AF Challenge - Week of JUNE 9!

Good evening Booze Busters!

Day 14 for me - almost the half-way point. I made it though the street festival last night - it's actually still going on - goes on all weekend. I live in the Little Italy part of Toronto and they have this festival called Taste of Little Italy. Basically they close down about 5 blocks of the street and all the restaurants, cafes and pubs get a section of the street in front of them and they have outdoor seating on the street. And typically they offer up a mix of Italian food and some bbq food. And there are some gelato and coffee vendors. There are quite a few musical acts on the street, some traditional Italian, others rock, blues and latin bands. They also had an area of the street where you could watch Euro Cup soccer games on big screen TV. Plus they have some vendors selling knick-knacks and jewellery and some arts and crafts. It's not a big drink fest per se but all these outdoor patio areas are licensed and yeah, I am tempted to sip on a glass of vino and take in the scene. There's this one place that's selling Italian white wine in what looks like a giant cologne bottle. I kind of thought "hey that's interesting" but I knew I had to move on. I've contented myself with taking in the good food and checking out the bands, drinking water instead. I've also had a couple of AF beers back at my pad, listening to a CD I bought from this Latin group on the street - they're pretty cool - you can check them out at The Imbayakunas.

DG, sorry to hear about your Dad's problems - hope everything turns out OK and you have a great Father's Day with him.

Londoner, that's a really impressive bunch of AF days! The Open Air Theatre sounds interesting - what was on the bill?

Teardrop, that carvery sounds yummy. Although half my plate would be Yorkshire pudding and gravy cuz I love that stuff! Don't see it too often in Canada though.

Hannah, I would call ahead and ask about the AF wine. It doesn't hurt to ask about bringing your own - the worst they can say is no. They'll probably tell you what non-alcoholic drinks they do have on offer. Have you ever tried virgin (non-alcoholic) Caesar's? If you like Caesar's, I find they taste exactly the same (just without the "burn" of the vodka).

Enjoy the rest of the weekend fellow BB!

[Miss Behaving]

Booze Busters 30 Day AF Challenge - Week of JUNE 9!

Endgame - what's a caesars??

[endgame]

Booze Busters 30 Day AF Challenge - Week of JUNE 9!

Ha - Canadian thing. As a fellow Canuck I figured Hannah would know. Here's the Wiki description: Caesar (cocktail - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

The non-alcoholic version is called a Virgin Caesar

[Miss Behaving]

Booze Busters 30 Day AF Challenge - Week of JUNE 9!

thanks! actually it was one of my favourites when I was drinking ... always had it with fresh lemon juice (some twisted part of my brain thought that the lemon juice cancelled out the vodka!).

I've stayed clear of it since I have been trying to turn my life around but I just went and made myself a tomato juice and fresh lemon and it was very nice!!

(as you can all see, I'm still procrastinating, but I have managed to write (aka cut and paste!) 1000 words and a diagram since I posted last?

m

[Spanky]

Booze Busters 30 Day AF Challenge - Week of JUNE 9!

ok- I need to do this. I'm in. In 30 days, I will say AF for 30 days!!

[louise]

Booze Busters 30 Day AF Challenge - Week of JUNE 9!

Welcome Spanky. Glad you decided to join us. Mame I hope your moving is done soon and you can relax. I need you and Hannah to come organize me! I'm good about some things but I hate paperwork, filing, etc. Did some today (but no where near caught up) then had a terrible craving for wine at dinner with the "I deserve a reward" tape going, even though husband was having water (he had some wine last night and I was fine). But made it through. Anna, glad you are feeling better and congrats on 20 days. Hannah, I had to laugh about your job at the high school - sounds like a typical school day to me!

DG, glad you made it through dog training day and hope you have a good day with your dad tomorrow. Amelia and Endgame, we are all about 1/2 way! Yeah for all of us. The party outside your door sounds like a challenge Endgame, but you had good strategies. Teardrop, hope you are continuing to feel better. How was the trip with your son?

Hi to anyone who has not checked in today or anyone who has that I missed. Havw a great Sunday everyone!

[Hannah]

Booze Busters 30 Day AF Challenge - Week of JUNE 9!

Hi guys, I'lm back. Boy, this was a tough night. I was sooooooo tempted to have a glass of wine! This is a very elegant, upscale restaurant, not the sort we would go to often, but usually when we did, in the past (not this restaurant, but others like it) we would always have wine. Really missed it tonight! I never did phone ahead and ask about the AF wine, but I wish now that I had. Just the "ceremony" of having a wine glass in my hand would have helped. I usually now order an AF beer, or tonic and lime, but for some reason ended up ordering ice tea, and found it way too sweet. The food, however, was great, and the service excellent. We ended the really excellent meal with peppermint tea for me, decaf coffee for hubby, and some raspberry sorbet, which was a nice end to the evening.

I am very grateful that my hubby is sympathetic. He is still having the odd drink when away on business, but abstains when he is at home, just to support me. Also, as a means to cut down himself. It would have been way more hard if he'd been sitting there sipping happily away...

Endgame, I do love virgin ceasars. But I try not to have them too often because they are so salty, and I swell up from the salt. But would also be a good option next time. I would have ordered an AF beer, but thought that would look too uncouth or something. Boy, I would love to be living where you live. I love all things Italian, I think I must have been Italian in another life or something. Good for you for resisting all the temptations at the festival!

Spanky - Welcome! Tell us a little about yourself!

Louise - I may need another project soon - I have plumb run out of projects at the condo - finally! - we've lived here for 4 1/2 months now, and I think I can finally say we are settled. When we were eating supper tonight, my hubby said to me, "Boy, you can sure tell you've been working hard" - and I looked at my hands and forearms, and they are just a mess - nicks, cuts, bruises, etc. The hands of a working gal! This afternoon I put together a "build from a box" natural pine desk for in the master bedroom - this desk is for me, so I can sit and tap away at my laptop when hubby is using the desktop. No more balancing it on my lap!

DG - Yay for you, crusiing through the day with hardly a problem! Smiling at the picture of your little princess throwing a howling fit when she scraped her knee! Hope you enjoyed your supper when you finally got to eat it!

Hey - my hubby just came & suggested we pull up the website for the restaurant, and send them a query re the AF wine thing - (do we have a lightbulb smilie?) that would work! Even easier that phoning! I'll let you know how it works out!

Well, I'm going to go have a glass of AF wine! Hope everybody had a good night!

[Miss Behaving]

Booze Busters 30 Day AF Challenge - Week of JUNE 9!

Hannah - that is so great that you managed to enjoy the dinner and also so great that you built the desk! Working hands have so much more of a story to tell than those that are perfectly beautiful and manicured!!

mame

[Pamina]

Booze Busters 30 Day AF Challenge - Week of JUNE 9!

Go Kaddy, go!!

It's good to hear everyone's weekend is going well. Good job, Hannah, with the dinner!

This is just a flyby as I'm off to meet a US friend I haven't seen in ages who's passing through.

But I wanted to congratulate Kaddy on the awesome triple digit 100 days today - WAY TO GO!!!

:wave:

[Marshy]

Booze Busters 30 Day AF Challenge - Week of JUNE 9!

A quick visit to say hello and congrats to everyone on their AF time.

I'm still trucking along AF :racer:

[Doggygirl]

Booze Busters 30 Day AF Challenge - Week of JUNE 9!

Happy Sunday - and Monday for Mame - to all Booze Busters!!!

Mame I think we should start a new thread - maybe in the General Discussion area for max exposure - re: cool AF drinks. I'll search first to see if there is something older that we can bump up. Is it Pellegrino water you are thinking of? I LOVE that stuff! We'll try to help you come up with lots of good AF drink ideas for your best bud's 50th.

engame, now it's Sunday, so day 15, and you ARE 1/2 way to 30 now!! Glad you are enjoying the festival with a good plan to stay AF. It sounds like a lot of fun and I wish I could be there! I like the band that you linked us to.

Welcome Spanky!!! This is a great place for going 30 days AF. Tell us more about yourself, and post often with how you are doing. There will always be tough moments, but the first week + can be hard, so touch our little life line here as often as you need.

louise - I've been meaning to ask you a really important yet sensitive question. Your tag line next to your avatar says "mile high member." Ummm....does this mean what I think it means? If it does, did you and Mr. louise become members the traditional way in an airplane, or in a balloon?????? (are you blushing????? - I'm so evil!!) I know what you mean about filing and paperwork. I'm a disaster in that area too. On the "I deserve a drink now" tape which I think all of us own....I believe it was beatle who said something interesting yesterday on the Daily Abs thread. "No...I DESERVE to be SOBER." I like that. I'm stealing that! Seriously...that really hit me as a good come back when :alf: starts playing the "I deserve" tape. (louise, I LOVE your "playing the tape" saying....I'm stealing that too! )

Hannah, you dinner sounds lovely! Sorry that it was fraught with some cravings. But you did it!!! I think writing the restaurant with AF wine suggestions through their web site is an awesome idea. Let us know if it works!! That is really nice that your hubby is supporting you by not drinking in your company. While the decision to quit has to be ours and ours alone, that level of support sure doesn't hurt! Girl - you have done more house projects in 4.5 months than I have in 4.5 YEARS. I think you officially get the Booze Busters SuperWoman award!! So...go get dressed in that skimpy boobacious red white and blue outfit, OK? Don't forget the blingy head band. Seriously - it must feel so good to look around you and feel settled again in your own home.

Pamina, have fun with your friend - let us know what you do!

KADDY!!!! :cheering: 100 Days!!!! :cheering:

It's Day 25 here and I still can't believe how fast and relatively smooth things are going. I must be careful not to let my guard down. L-Tryptophan is my friend. I'm also trying to really work on my mind set, and rid myself of thoughts that I'm deprived, I deserve a drink, why do other people "get" to drink, etc. I'm not deprived, I'm FREE. ala beatle yesterday, I don't deserve a drink, I deserve sobriety! Maybe some people "get" to drink, but there are lots of people like me (pre-AF) who don't "get to" - they "HAVE to." That's the truth of addiction.

Today will be busy. I will be on and off here this morning and also getting side dishes ready to go with the steaks to Mom and Dads. Mr. Doggy is going to train at our trainers house this morning (2 hours each way!) than we go to Mom & Dads. Then we need to do mowing and other yard work, then do invoicing for our business....blah. Not the relaxing type of "no committment Sunday" that I really love! But it will be good to see what's really going on with Dad. Thanks again to all who and shared such warm thoughts and understanding about that.

Rock on for a great Booze Bustin' Sunday!! Hope I didn't miss anyone...and hello to all yet to come today.

DG
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[Cinders]

Booze Busters 30 Day AF Challenge - Week of JUNE 9!

Good Morning BBers,

I am just awake, slept 10 hours last night. OMG, for me that is so unusual. I am a bit worried, actually.

However, I was reading DG's post about changing the mindset and I have learned a "trick" in the last few days.

This eye, head, face problem I have had has made not drinking difficult, to say the least, when you are physically and mentally down, the beast really seems to have more sway.

However, whenever I get those thoughts, "Man a glass of wine would be so nice.. I feel awful, some voddy sure would make me feel better.." I think back to my real drinking and know, and I mean KNOW, that of course a glass doesn't do it, nor two, nor three, but somewhere after blackout.

Then I say to myself, "what would it REALLY do for you?"

This seems to shut off the beast, because my "smart brain" knows exactly what it would do for me.

Love,
Cindi

[kaddy]

Booze Busters 30 Day AF Challenge - Week of JUNE 9!

morning all hope you all have good day

100 days af yaaa

[Doggygirl]

Booze Busters 30 Day AF Challenge - Week of JUNE 9!

Cindi, 10 hours of sleep sounds like heaven on wheels to me....but given your circumstances with this infection / problem that won't go away, and if that is really unusual for you....I can certainly understand your worry. I hope the test results turn out OK.

kaddy - any special 100 Day success tips for us??? Thank you for your leadership and always checking in. We look up to you!

I read something interesting this morning on the quit smoking support board I still frequent. Board owner Kevin at tales from the quit is very insightful, and has an excellent way with words. Many of us here have or are battling both nicotine and alcohol addictions, and have found similarities in the fight. Here is something Kevin noted to a person who had been quit for 4 months, then had a relapse when getting together with an old friend who still smoked.

...relapse never sneaks up on us; we usually plan it out subconsciously over a period of time. if we're reaffirming our commitment every single day, it's harder for that process to get started. look back over the last few days or weeks and see what you did to plan this out; that'll give you something to watch out for in the future.

This makes me view things like Saturay dog training - and my falls on that day - in a fresh light. All that stressing for days ahead of time that I used to do (and am still capable of) was probably my subconscious seeking a good plan to drink. "How will I be able to resist drinking in this situation.....I'll be around all these drinkers.....It's stressful in some ways....blah blah blah. I think Kevin may be right that some (many?) of our decisions to drink when our goal is AF are NOT really last minute "slips" - but things we have subconsciously planned well in advance - making that split second decision to drink very easy.

Hmmm....what do you guys think? Just food for thought I found interesting.

DG
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