Sunday 3rd August

[Janice]

Not had a lot of time this week - lots of gardening and now busy decorating and trying to get it done before our hols. We're going to New York in a couple of weeks, all four of us. Our first visit and we're all really excited. Before then, I go up north to attend a review on whether mam's stay in the care home is permanent. Its looking that way. She's doing well, continuing to improve physically and looks so much better (no drink of course).

On the drinking side, not sure if I should be still posting here on Abs but it feels like home here so I hope you all don't mind if I stick around? I feel as if I have a different mindset now - whether its cause I'm so busy I don't know but I'm definitely not thinking about the drink like before. After a busy day decorating I've been happy with my two beers and thats it - Monday to Thursday I'm not drinking. The swimming is definitely helping to keep me positive which has a knock on effect on my mood.

Hopefully will try and catch up on all the posts - Beck,hope you had a good holiday, good to see you back!!

love to everyone and best wishes for a great day!!

Janicexxx

[Beck]

Sunday 3rd August

Good Morning Everyone,

Hi Janice!!! Good to see you here and of course you belong here. Anyone who can go from burying beer bottles while gardening to being good with 2 beers a night on weekends is certainly a success. And I remembered the beer bottle story b/c it sounded like something I would have done LOL.

My vacation was great. Rented a house on a lake in New Hampshire - paddling in kayak every morning - loved it. Have fun in New York. With the lousy US dollar value, you Brits sure get a bargain when you come here. Glad your Mom is improving.

So today I begin my holiday - my girls are off to their aunt's for 2 weeks. I have been putting off a lot of things so now is the time to get back to it.

Good Day to all,

[Doggygirl]

Sunday 3rd August

Happy Sunday Janice and it's great to see you!! Wow your family trip to NY sounds exciting. I assume New York City as opposed to somewhere else in the state? I've been there on "in and out" trips for business, but never with any leisure time to take in the shows and shopping and all the GOOD stuff NY has to offer. Can I come too?????

Congratulations on reaching a point where you are able to successfully moderate. Personally, I have to be very careful not to allow myself any fantasizing about that. Can I offer a suggestion? I don't want to see you stop posting here in the Abs section just because you ARE one of the seeming few who CAN moderate successfully. But in fairness to those who need to abstain, and may be at a stage where fantasies of moderation are no good, maybe you could just not post about successful moderation in this section? It's certainly not up to me - there is a whole big group here. So I hope this suggestion is just taken with a grain of salt.

Posting seems very light this weekend and it has been for me too - this is a busy one!! Hopefully everyone is sticking to their AF guns and having a fun one. Today is in law BBQ day (we're hosting) and I'm GRATEFUL to be sober. I mentioned this in booze busters but I think it's worth saying again - normally I would already be drinking through my prep work by now. How on EARTH did I ever convince myself that I was "fooling" these no / very little drinkers that I wasn't IN THE BAG by noon when they arrived????? OH the lies we tell ourselves over AL......

Oops - Janice I also meant to say that I'm glad your Mom is doing much better!! I'm sure getting her off the booze was a big help. Continued best wishes with all that - the elder years with parents are not easy that's for sure.

Happy AF Sunday to all yet to come!!

DG
Day 74 AFHF

[Ibelieve]

Sunday 3rd August

Who are we fooling??

hello to all

DG- i too would be tippsy when the family arrived. Guess i thought i was folling them andthen there was alwyas the one sister in law who enjoyedto drink as much as me and we'd get into it together. really the only one i was fooling was myself that it was not an issue or OK.

i am doing well with AF, although i do fantasize about moderration. i am approaching day 30 and will go another 30 because i really want that fantasy to go away. i am quite sure it won't work for me. in fact, i haven't even tired AF beer or wine yet becaseu if am afraid it might trigger a downfall. Any comments ??

warm regards,
diane

[Beck]

Sunday 3rd August

DG, Always drunken prep - always half loaded by the time the company arrived and hadn't actually gotten that much done. And I agree with the advice you gave Janice. Having known her for a while I assumed that she wouldn't post about her drinking here. I also know that having done 120 days AF before modding she knows how to talk a newbie through 30 days AF and beyond.

Diane, I really came to MWO to quit drinking during Lent. Every time my 30 days was up I just continued down my AF path. Somehow I could (still can) envision staying AF for 30 days but not forever. I'm 6 months sober now and I didn't really do it ODAT so much as 30 days at a time. For me, modding has not been an option as long as I can still hear AL calling...b/c I figured it still had too much of a hold on me. He still calls infrequently...I remain AF. And if I am completely honest - I don't fantasize about a drink - I fantasize about a DRUNK. I do occasionally drink AF beer but I did not strart that until I was 4 months AF. I find that I have to be careful with it.

All the best,

[Janice]

Sunday 3rd August

DG, to be honest and to be fair to others, that is exactly why I haven't posted here for a while but I do think its early days and tempting fate to say "I'm one of the seeming few who can moderate successfully". Who knows?? What I do know is that there's a part of me that still needs MWO but I totally understand if you're telling me to shift over to "Mods".

Janice

[Determinator]

Sunday 3rd August

Top of the Sunday ABanators!!

burying beer bottles gardening? OMG that is sooo funny I almost sprayed my coffee on the computer...I can soooo relate to that. I'll never think of gardening the same way again

there are some sober camps at 'burning man' festival so I'm trying to find out what they will be up to so I can hang out with them when I'm there at the end of the month.

be well friends!

[CS04]

Sunday 3rd August

NA beer

Here is my thought on AF beer -- I hated the idea of it after about a week AF. Then after about 2 weeks, it was great to pop one open on a Friday night. Then lost it in July and relegated the last AF beers to the basement -- why take up fridge space? Now that I am trying AF again, and am trying to get over the mental hurdles (hubby drinks), I put 'em back in the fridge -- as a tool.

However, I want to get to the point where I don't "need" a beer or a glass of wine on a Friday or Sat. or Tuesday or at 5:00 or whatever -- whether it is AF or not. I think it will be a while till I get there. The flip side of that argument, is that after 2 AF beers, I really don't like em that much (they're kinda sweet) and so I don't want anymore. So that will be a different kind of tool, maybe, to help me moderate. We'll see.

My 2 cents -- hope it helps.

[Determinator]

Sunday 3rd August

Cs, I can relate. incidentally when I drank I also drank more NA beers than when I do now that I'm AF. how weird is that? a case of odouls lasts me months now. in fact I might have 1 or 2 in a 7 day span.
I just like carbonated water, tea and coffee. speaking of coffee this is the 4th day of my serious cut-back in coffee consumption and I'm not doing too bad. no bad headaches happy to say.

[Cinders]

Sunday 3rd August

Hi Guys/Gals!!

Just got back from Fort Ticonderoga with my folks. Daddy loves the war stuff and I learned a bunch today. It was fun.

Wore both of them out though. They are lying on the bed right now trying to rest.

Saratoga Racetrack almost did my mama in yesterday.

It would be bad if I hurt one of my folks on this trip.

Doing fine, not completely sold on Lenair but not not sold on it, either. Still have two sessions left. Will let everyone know the outcome.

Janice, you are more than welcome on abs. You have been with us a long time and really fought your battles well. I understand DG's concern about discussing the mods thing, but I would miss you and I simply cannot get into another thread. There are only 24 hours in a day and I consume a huge amount of them here already!!

BTW, where is Mary? Is she okay?

Beck. You are simply amazing. 6 months 30 days at a time. Wow.

Det, like you, I laughed really hard at the buried beer bottles in the garden. OMG. Sounds just like something I would do. :H

CS, As far as AF beer. Sometimes it does help. No idea why, because I don't drink beer.

Anyway, gotta go. Love to all.
Cindi

[louise]

Sunday 3rd August

Just my 2 cents, since I don't post here often but remember many of you from when I started last summer. Janice, I think what DG was saying was, yes, stay with the group as people know you and want you around. They want to hear about your trip, your mom, etc. I think she was just saying that discussing moderating might not be the best topic here. There is no reason you can't post in both forums that I can see. In mods you could ask for support in staying mods, here you could just say "still sober!". You have a lot to offer newcomers here.

[eustacia]

Sunday 3rd August

Hi, Everyone,

Just felt like stopping in to say hi! I'm more an mod girl than an abs one (double entendre not intended) but I haven't felt like drinking over the past few days so maybe that makes me a de facto abser!

Now what to do about my tummy!

A sunny, joyous day to all!:happyheart:

:heart:E

[Janice]

Sunday 3rd August

I am definitely not confused!! How dare you!! For the first time in a very long time, the only land I'm living in is a good place, a "land" where I've finally found some "peace" with whats going on in my life. But I do apologise for my post, it was a simple slip, a few words. It won't happen again.

Janice

[Doggygirl]

Sunday 3rd August

Janice, I hope I didn't start something offensive or negative. I meant exactly what louise said (thank you louise!) in her clarification. I was NOT suggesting at all that you should not post. ONLY that I think mods discussions specifically may not be appropriate. And I'm just one person, and that's just one opinion. I hope you are not upset, and I certainly hope you don't stay away.

CS on AF alternatives, I shied away from trying them for quite awhile - for the reasons you mentioned - a fear of the fake thing leading straight back to the real thing. Around the 60 day mark I got brave enough to give it a whirl. Wine and Vodka were my poisons of choice, and funny...I found I really don't care for the AF wines. I find them too sweet for my taste, and end up doctoring them up with ice and club soda. What's the point?? I haven't had much taste for beer since college, but I am finding AF beer to be a good "tool" (as someone else aptly put it!) for drinking situations. Although I still consider this in the experimental stage - the last thing I need is another crutch. So if my thoughts and desires for AF beer get to be too much, I'll have to forgo that tool. This is a great topic and for me, the jury is still out so I really enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts on the subject.

On to Monday!!

DG
Day 75 AFHF