AF Daily Thread - Monday Dec 22nd

[4theboyz]

Good Morning Abbers!

Boy, it has been a while since I had the honor of starting this wonderful thread.

Another mind numbing cold day in Chicago a whole -6 degrees this AM. Have yet to find a good substitute for Shnapps and hot chocolate to warm up with, but a cup of hot tea goes along way when it is this cold out.

Well I hope everyone has a warm AF day today. See you later.

4tb

[retteacher]

AF Daily Thread - Monday Dec 22nd

Just dug out after 2 days of snow. It looks very pretty. Mary

[Cinders]

AF Daily Thread - Monday Dec 22nd

No snow here, just cold. Brrr. Hopefully it will warm up a bit before Christmas so my folks don't get too cold.

Hope all are hanging in there, staying warm and happy.

Love,
Cindi

[A Work in Progress]

AF Daily Thread - Monday Dec 22nd

Hey, all. Yeah it's zero degrees here, but maybe it'll get up into the 20's today? I surely do hope so.

I'm struggling through the usual sad Christmas feelings, but will not drink. I'm focusing on staying safe with exercise, meditation, some interesting work projects, reading, movies, coming here, and eating pretty much whatever I want (that last one will have to end soon, though!). If my mother were not here in town, I would most definitely be off somewhere else, doing something else entirely, but I need to be with my mother on Christmas day; this is very likely the last time she will be around, or will recognize that it is Christmas. And I am her only living relative. So, there it is.

Jack Kornfield has an excellent new book out, called The Wise Heart. I just started reading it a few days ago. Jack is a Buddhist teacher, a meditation teacher. This new book of his would be helpful for anyone who is looking for an effective way to cope with all the painful struggles humans face, whether they (appear to) come from within ourselves, or from the "outside" world... And of course the struggle to end our dependence on alcohol is very much an example of "all the above": our painful emotions, urges, cravings, distorted thinking, and difficult relationships are a complex blend of "inside" and "outside" stuff.

[Cinders]

AF Daily Thread - Monday Dec 22nd

Speaking of eating..

I just made Peanut Blossoms and they are dellicious. I also bought some Walker's Shortbread, pistacios (sp?), nuts to crack, and fudge. I can't make good fudge, so I bought some at Costco.

Sigh. I think I am going overboard a bit.

Christmas Eve is our "Mexican" night where I make my homemade enchiladas. We will have tacos for the kids and chips and dip.

Christmas Day, a ham, squash casserole, brussel sprouts - saw two recipes on Foodnetwork that appeal, corn on the cob, ham gravy and rolls. Must make pecan pie and pumpkin pie.

The food alone is going to break me.

Love,
Cindi

[momof3]

AF Daily Thread - Monday Dec 22nd

Good Morning All,

I'm out of town celebrating Haunukkah with my in-laws then up further north for Christmas. I thought I was coping well until I realized this morning that I ate 6 cookies without a thought...very very unlike me. My usual ways of coping and taking care of myself are next to impossible...too much snow/ice for exercise. I desperately want my own home. My children are eating junk food and staying up too late. I have turned into a creature of habit and structure...so important to my sobriety. Things will be better when we leave for our Christmas holiday tomorrow. And, if it continues to be so crazy, I'm cutting the trip short and we are going home!!

M3

[LVT25]

AF Daily Thread - Monday Dec 22nd

Good morning.

Today is the anniversary of my mom's death in 2004. I've already relived that day in my head several times. I miss her so much. I'm not going to dwell on being sad today, just needed someone to know.

Have a good day everyone!:h

[momof3]

AF Daily Thread - Monday Dec 22nd

LVT

I am thinking of you and I am so sorry for your loss.

M3

[Accountable for Me]

AF Daily Thread - Monday Dec 22nd

Good morning, good morning!

We had another good dump of snow yesterday. It finally has stopped - I hope. I love the beauty it brings, but man, after shovelling a few hundred pounds of it yesterday, I was beat. I was in bed at 8pm! A little sore this morning. I laugh, I am so out of shape!

I guess for me this morning is to take my nana's dog for a walk, as I did yesterday - I don't want her to break a hip!!! So me and the little one will do that. Then it is shovelling the mass amount of snow again. My little one was helping me yesterday and having a blast - so that makes it a bit more fun for me. We are to get more tomorrow, Wednesday and then some flurries for Christmas day. That is exciting. Living on the very southern tip of Vancouver Island/West Coast - we NEVER get a white Christmas. So whoo hoo for that!

My heart goes out to those of you who are feeling a sense of sadness this time of year. I think that this is the very first year in a very long time I actually don't feel too bad. I wish I could send you some joy. I do know that once this is all done, there will be a huge feeling of let down.

Have a good day everyone!

[brittzak]

AF Daily Thread - Monday Dec 22nd

Cinder...I do homemade Mexcian Christmas day! Have for years...even do homemade tamales....is the West Texan in me girl!
I have been reading lately and GOOD stuff here...I feel strongr than I have felt ever in my sobriety. Just a good, happy, strong feeling. AND it is the holidays...I am counting my blessings and thanking God for all life has to offer right now. Sure...there are lots of negatives...but the flip side is there ARE a lot more positves to dwell on in my life if I just LOOK at them.

[retteacher]

AF Daily Thread - Monday Dec 22nd

It sounds like everyone is doing OK. I am too...in a few minutes I'm off to my g-sons holiday concert. A lot of little kids singing off-key. Very cute. Mary

[Doggygirl]

AF Daily Thread - Monday Dec 22nd

Happy Monday (and Tuesday for Aunty Mame?) to all in AF-Land.

LVT I am very sorry that you have lost your Mom. For all the ups and downs in our relationship over the years, I can't even imagine what it will be like when she isn't here any more. I am sending extra good vibes your way today.

Mary, the concert sounds fun! Glad you are dug out and getting back to regularly scheduled holiday life.

Britt and Cindi - you are both making my mouth water with all this talk of home made Mexican food! A friend of ours who is from Mexico brought over some home made tamales a couple years ago. One was a hot version with meat, and the other was a sweeter version with cheese and some sort of berries - but that also still had some zip to it. Hard to describe, but YUM YUM YUM. So...what time should I be over?

AFM you sound in better spirits than I would be after shoveling that much snow!!

momof3, I can SO relate to the structure that has become part of your sober life, and how uncomfortable it must be to be completely away from that and in someone else's home to boot. And no way to exercise and get some endorphin power going. Keep taking deep breaths and keep putting your sobriety first. This too shall pass.

WIP I was thinking about you this morning on my travels around town. I'm glad you are keeping occupied with some good reading and movie watching and pleasant sounding things - I know this is such a hard time for you. No matter how she acts on the outside come Thursday, I'm sure it will mean SO much to your mother to have you there with her. Hang in there my friend!!!

4TB - it is so good to have you back!! Thank you for starting us off today. I never thought I would say this, but tomorrow's forecast of "Wintry Mix" is actually sounding good to me in this frigid cold of the last couple of days! Not sure if you were serious about finding a good substitute for hot chocolate with schnapps, but if you are..... (I'm the queen of substitutions sometimes!!) How about hot chocolate with a DaVincis (or similar) flavored syrup such as Creme de Menthe or Peppermint flavors? DaVinci Gourmet – Flavored Syrups, Sauces And Tea Concentrates Now I'm gonna have to give that a try here today!!

I'm glad the in-law get together is over. I must admit it was not nearly as bad as I "awfulized" it up to be ahead of time in my mind. I will also say this. It was just another example proving that alcohol does NOT make things better / less stressful / more fun, etc. etc. It makes things WORSE each and every time. This was an "in my face" example of how alcohol truly did make things worse in my past. (this is my first AF holiday season). This was monumentally less stressful (in fact, nearly stress free once we got there) since I didn't have to worry about whether I would drink or not, or how to hide the volume I was really consuming, or stressing over when we could leave if there was no more to consume, etc. etc. etc. (Mary...I know you will be shaking your head "yes" when you read that!!!!) And I know this is vain, but vanity rocks sometimes too, right? I was wearing the same size pants as my college age niece. (that would NOT be possible with booze anywhere in my picture, not to mention the other healthy lifestyle changes!)

So here I am today, quite happily 7 months sober! It is SO worth doing whatever it takes to get here.

Happy AF day to all! Hope I didn't miss any one...

DG

[Determinator]

AF Daily Thread - Monday Dec 22nd

Happy hangover-free Monday ABeroooooos!

4th boyz, thanks for the great kickstart,

DoggyGirl, mega cheers for 7 months!!!!!

LVT, extra hugs for you today XXXX

Britzak, your post totally made my day

the sun is out here and in the back yard the snow is melting, and in the front yard more snow is falling as it pours over the Sierras...pretty surreal.

getting my menu prepped for NY's eve party. Going to make tempura shrimp for sure...haven't made that in ages.

so....binge eating. yes indeed something I'm having to catch myself on lately. I've been having tummy aches for the first time in a while...quite possibly could be the bushels of cookies I've been inhaling. arg!

we don't make a big deal out of the holidiays (no kids for one thing) so we don't have the big lift-up..let down kind of reaction. We just watch the world in it's crazy antics...point and giggle

be well everyone!

[SAUSAGE]

AF Daily Thread - Monday Dec 22nd

Hi everyone

Just a quick check in from me. i'm on day 50 today of my current AF stint. just worked out that Christmas Day / Boxing Day falls on day 53/54 - the point at which I caved in last time , so this makes me even more nervous!!

A special congrats to DG and WIP on their 7 / 5 month anniversaries today - have left messages on the individual congratulations threads.

Will check back later, lots to do, parcels to wrap, food to get etc etc

Have a good day everyone