Mon. - Dec. 8 - AF Daily Thread

[brittzak]

Mon. - Dec. 8 - AF Daily Thread

Good afternoon all. Just a quick post. To say hello and Happy Sober Monday. Fully decorated Christmas tree fell flat over this morning..I just laughed...we will fix it when we get home...used to have been an excuse to have a drink. Not anymore!!!!

[kaponium]

Mon. - Dec. 8 - AF Daily Thread

Greetings all!! Tis Tuesday morning here, have just caught up on the thread! Hi Keets! You sounding great, darl ....RETEACH, am with you 100% on your insight. I too, do AA/and NA combined with MWO - all fantastic recovery aids, and plenty of happiness and fun thrown in for a positive sobriety.
Lots of hugs to all on this site.

I am also not sure about the contention on the site with WIP etc. I don't need to go there, however. "I have resigned from the debating society, the grouch and the brainstorm are the dubious luxury of so-called normal people"

Blessings

[spottydingo]

Mon. - Dec. 8 - AF Daily Thread

LVT25;489814 wrote: Well, I'm pretty bummed out and a lot confused this morning. So WIP left MWO. What is the big secret? I know she was attacked recently and can only assume that behavior continued in Subs or PM's. I continue to debate with myself about joining subs. At this point I'm leaning towards not--it's hard not to think of it as another little "clique". Sorry if that offends anyone. Also starting to feel like I don't have a lot to offer here and need to take a little break my own self. Sorry for the downer mood this morning--maybe I'll feel differently tomorrow.

Whhaaat happened? I'm shocked at this and also really bummed. WIP, if you read this I :h you and hope you're OK. Your posts are among my favorites here! This really sucks.

I also got to the point where I took some time off after some offensive posts were directed at me but since I've come back I pretty much stick to this subject as people here are serious and generally stay on topic. Its in the general discussion I don't always feel comfortable. Also I had someone send me a REALLY inappropriate PM once, but I think that particular person has a lot of other issues besides AL. Besides that I've never had issues with people here. I recently became a subscriber but only to support MWO. I rarely look at the Subs thread. After I finish this I'm going to start a thread for WIP in case she comes back to lurk. I can't believe we've lost such a valuable member of our community. Not a good way to start off the week.

Well, I had my various Dr appts last week. My thyroid tests came back within normal range for my regular doc but within a treatable range for the thyroid doc. So, the thyroid doc put me on Armour so we'll see if it helps. Also both docs want me to have a sleep study done as apparently sleep apnea can cause many of my symptoms also. So, I'll have that done after Christmas. Really not an appealing thing to do -- or the prospect of having to sleep hooked up to a machine -- but if it makes me feel better I guess thats what I have to do. Anyone else out there with sleep apnea?

Also I discussed my drinking with the thyroid doc and she brought up Topamax and Campral. I told her about my experience with Topamax, and that I had bought it online. She said that any website that doesn't require a doctor's prescription is not selling you the real drug, and that the weird affects (dizziness, lightheadedness and irregular heartbeat) I had from the topa from River Pharmacy were probably due to that. She said there's no way of knowing whats in a medication like that. Scary. I guess I'm really naive, it didn't occur to me. So, I'm going to try prescription Topa and see what happens.

Besides that, everything is OK here. I have 2 weeks before we go back east to my folks house for a week for xmas so I have a million things to do.

I drank on Saturday night. For a while now I've been going all week AF only to fall on the weekend. Apparently cooking on the weekend is my big bugaboo. While this pattern is an improvement over my past behavior I obviously need to work on that.

Well, hope everyone has a great AF week.

Cheers!

[cymru]

Mon. - Dec. 8 - AF Daily Thread

Finishing day 8 and feeling great. No urges which im quite suprised about.

[kaponium]

Mon. - Dec. 8 - AF Daily Thread

Fabulous cy ***APPLAUSE***!!!

[namaste]

Mon. - Dec. 8 - AF Daily Thread

just counting my days...real busy but it helps to see the number...

16 days AF

[Miss Behaving]

Mon. - Dec. 8 - AF Daily Thread

quick check in from me too. I had a really busy weekend, with kittens and gardening and exercise keeping me fully occupied. We are weaning our (foster) kittens for them to be adopted out by the SPCA - they will make great Xmas presents!! Mum cat unfortunately wants to keep feeding them so we have to keep them separated, which is not easy in an open-plan house!!

I hadn't caught up on the WIP thing - that's sad. But like Mary, I edit my reading - and I also got to a point earlier in the year where I felt like I was spending all my spare time (plus lots of time when I should have been doing other things!!) here. Part of the pleasure of being sober for me is that I'm getting out and doing a lot more than I used to do when I stayed at home drinking all the time. So when I come here, I usually limit myself to no more than an hour of reading and posting.

I've been doing a bit of a year-end review and new year plan for 2009. I came across a really nice template a couple of years ago from Martin Seligman (dont know if anyone else has ever heard of him - he wrote "Learned Optimism" and "Authentic Happiness"). Anyway, I've been finding it really helpful and I'm feeling very optimistic about next year. My goals (apart from having an AF year!) are to take up again some things that I stopped doing because of drinking. I've got some big goals around exercise (a 2.8km ocean swim in January, and a 100km cycle ride in April), we want to foster more kittens, and I'm auditioning for a choir that does serious performances.

But I'm really looking forward to a holiday first - just have to get through to the end of next week and I'm hanging out for it!!

[Doggygirl]

Mon. - Dec. 8 - AF Daily Thread

Good afternoon ab-chievers! (that is so annoying...somebody better come up with something else PRONTO!)

Discussion forums have many wonderful qualities, but like any large groups of people in real life, it is inevitable that strife will occur. Even though I don't see how it can be avoided all together, it sure is sad when people get hurt. I feel for those of you who are missing good friends today. I learned after letting it exhaust me that I am best to do what Mary has mentioned - stick to the AF and exercise threads that are such a positive force in my sobriety, and leave the rest alone. That doesn't mean I think "the rest" of the site is "bad" or anything - not at all. We all need different things. I get the most value from MWO by sticking to the main reason I'm here - to get and stay sober - and to leave the rest. If certain areas of the forum aren't working for you, I would just suggest sticking to those parts that DO work - just like other aspects of our recoveries. (I see people use that phrase a lot WRT AA - so why not MWO as well?)

ANY way.... CHEECH if we can help you, let us know what we can do. You sound like you might be having a bad day.

Britt - LOL about the tree! Well, it's really not funny but I've had that happen several times. Once due to kitty play years ago before I morphed into a dog person. Once because the tree was just too dry and the branches went from pointing upwards to pointing downwards over night, and everything basically slid down off of it! I'm with you that in the past it was a reason to drink and now it's not. Actually, it became my reason not to have a tree.

SpottyD - I am SO GLAD that you found a doc willing to treat your thyroid. Many, MANY people have symptoms but if they fall even barely within the "normal" TSH range - no dice. And there are two ranges - a narrower range which came out a few years ago, yet lots of labs still use the old outdated range which means even more people are negatively affected! Keep us posted! I was a big drinker cooker too. It took me a lot of practice to reach a point where I didn't think about booze while cooking, but you CAN get there. Each time it gets easier. If weekend cooking is the main problem right now, maybe you could plan simple / fast menus so you can get used to NOT drinking & cooking over a shorter period of time??? What a great excuse for something awesome on the grill! (for me that would be steak!!)

Namaste - :yougo: on 16 Days Sober!!!!!!

Cy - :yougo: on 8 Days Sober!!!!

Kap - I agree with you and Mary and others - I too use multiple sobriety support systems. For me it's MWO and SMART as on-line elements, SMART face to face as a "live" element, supplements started MWO style, but expanded as I work more with my hormone doc and also do additional reading. (OMW - totally agree with you there!!) Those are the biggies.

R2C I love your XH analogy and how that is like XA (ex-AL)!!!

Keeta - I LOVE LOVE LOVE unhung mornings!!! I sure hope I never take those for granted because they are just awesome!

Hi to MomO3 who gets a :l because of all that running when nobody is chasing her. And double :l to LVT and Mary just cuz.

I have some really big news!! I was asked today to be on the board of a new organization just starting up in our community. It's a "Buy Local" initiative and membership organization with a mission to educate each other and the public about the benefits of keeping as many $$ as possible in our local community by supporting locally owned and operated businesses wherever possible. I can't imagine doing this back when my head was in the bottle. But now? I really think I have something to offer based on my previous work experience, and I'm excited to grab onto a new project!

Wow! And it's only 2:30!! There is still time for more good stuff to happen today!!

Happy AF Monday to all..

DG

[SAUSAGE]

Mon. - Dec. 8 - AF Daily Thread

Hi everyone

Just a quick check in here to AF Daily, haven't had a lot of time to go online in the last couple of days and tonight I've been caught up in the MWO retiree debate and the thread left for WIP and posted on these sections. I too normally stick to the exercise and the AF daily sections and have encountered nothing but support but I really feel for those who have been hurt on this site in some way. MWO can be a great tool if used wisely but there are dangers and it can be very addictive. I too am starting to learn to live AF (not just existing without a drink - there is a difference) and developing other interests means less time for MWO but I do love to come to this thread and the exercise one as it's an important part of my recovery.

Thanks again everyone for all your support over the past 3 months.

[ready2change]

Mon. - Dec. 8 - AF Daily Thread

Congrats to you DG!! That sounds exciting! I love the concept of keeping things locally. I love going to our weekly Farmers Market, the produce is so fresh, picked the same day.

I'm really excited for you. Keep us posted on how that's going. Just one more benefit of being free from AL!! Whoo hoo!!

R2C

[brittzak]

Mon. - Dec. 8 - AF Daily Thread

I love going to the local farmer's market as well. Our has flowers during the spring and summer too DoggyGirl.

[Determinator]

Mon. - Dec. 8 - AF Daily Thread

so busy but I'm thinking about you all! XXXXX

zoom zoom

[vinophile]

Mon. - Dec. 8 - AF Daily Thread

A quick "HI" to all my abs friends,
still slogging through the pre-xmas season AF. I had a huge craving(something I haven't had in a while) and was a bit blown away by it. Afterwards I realised that it was late afternoon, I'd done many errands, done some shopping and I was tired and very hungry. So did my body say"go home and relax".....no.....it tried to fool me into thinking that wine would make me feel better and more festive.
Fortunately reaching 100AF days a few days before xmas will be the best xmas present I can give myself!!!
Once again it's good to "see" you all again tonight. I know there's some turmoil on the boards but we here are in a good place and in good company. There is something very special about supporting each other in our sobriety.

Janet

[Tom 4.0]

Mon. - Dec. 8 - AF Daily Thread

Hi everyone,

All's well around here, nothing exciting to report. Just sleeping well, waking-up rested with a clear head, eating well, putting in an honest day's work, feeling happy, still being creative at 8:30 PM, you know, just the normal, good stuff of life. Hey, this alcohol-free stuff really works!

[kaponium]

Mon. - Dec. 8 - AF Daily Thread

Thanks everyone for such positive uplifting posts! Awesome that you did not cave into your craving, vino - what a huge effort - soooo pleased for you! Be well, one and all

X K