AF daily Tuesday 30 December

[Loppy lugs]

Good morning all,

What a wonderful morning. I am in such a positive mood almost as if anything is possible.

I got a bit further yesterday on researching all the minor health issues I have been suffering from since going AF, Has anyone else had that? I probably suffered from them all along but just didn't realise because when pissed all the time you feel dreadful anyway.

Anyway off for another day in the office.

Keep well all.

[hulagirl]

AF daily Tuesday 30 December

I want to join in but find that I'm always a day behind. I don't have the patience to read through all the posts in the thread, get to the end and know that everyone is gone onto tomorrow and I am still in yesterday which is actually today for me. So...Happy Tuesday. (tomorrow). I am just completing Monday (today) DAY 3 AF!!! Are you confused yet?

[Marshy]

AF daily Tuesday 30 December

Morning/evening/Aloha! Does that cover it?

Welcome hulagirl! Members of this thread now span the time-zone globe, from New Zealand to Hawaii. Cool! Congratulations on your three days!

Loppy, I can't imagine now how I managed to function at work when I was feeling so hungover most of the time
I love these sunny, frosty mornings we're having!

Have a happy day everyone!

[Arial]

AF daily Tuesday 30 December

Certainly had to think about that, HG, but slow brain got there in the end!

Hello everyone - again! - this time I'm back for good - you know there's a lot said about having to be in the right frame of mind to be able to stop drinking - well I'm there - finally! After having fallen off the wagon big time and avoided this place for a year because I didn't actually want to stop drinking and be faced with my complete and utter failure - I had another wake-up call on Christmas Eve and whatever it is, finally kicked in. This time I've even shared it with my girls and promised them I will not drink again for 3 months. They asked why 3 months, and I said that I'd read somewhere that it takes three months to break a habit, so hopefully by that time a sober life will have become the new habit, my new existence (and their's too!)

It's hard to understand why, even though I knew it was hurting my girls, I didn't even want to stop drinking this time (I'd been 3 months AF before, then tried mods and then ended up right back where I started!). However, I approach this new endeavour knowing my own weaknesses, with a clear understanding that me and alcohol will never be comfortable bed fellows, and with greater resolution and strength to fight this thing that is such a negative controlling element of my life - NO MORE, I say!!!!

To all those who have obviously triumphed over the last year or so, many, many congratulations - you are my inspiration. To all of those starting, or starting afresh like me - LET'S GO! - this can be beat and I'm going to do it this time. 5 days AF and counting.

Here's to a fabulous, fantastic, sober, happy NEW year (says she raising a non alcoholic drink!)

:l Arial

[Guitarista]

AF daily Tuesday 30 December

Good morning/evening all! Arial, big congratulations on day 5!..that's great work. I too have tried to moderate after 2 months here, 3 mths. there etc...and realised it doesn't work for me, so i'm af now, and feeling the power! Stay strong, and power on into the new year....best wishes, G.

[Doggygirl]

AF daily Tuesday 30 December

Good _________ everyone!!!! Marshy - loved your greeting. I love the international expansion of the Daily AF thread lately!

Loppy, thank you for starting us off today. I'm very interested in hearing more about your health research. I had all kinds of problems that I was just blowing off / covering up with my drinking and it's been so good to start fixing them. I'm sure my excessive drinking caused or contributed to some of my issues - maybe even most of them. Alcohol really robs us of our health in multiple ways. Glad to hear you sounding so chipper today! Hope the washing machine problems are solved now.

Welcome hulagirl!! Is that your dog in your avatar? If so, what kind? Welcome to the daily AF thread. I know what you mean about feeling overwhelmed and obligated to catch up on many posts. Please try not to feel that way. Just jump on in and carry on going forward rather than staying away!

Hi Marshy! I'm about :b&d: with the cool crisp weather for this season...

Arial, welcome back and congrats on Day 5 AF. I can relate closely to everything you said. My falls off the wagon historically lasted a LONG time which is why I have to hang on so tight to my sobriety. I believe there IS something to that 3 month thing. Both with quitting smoking and with quitting drinking, I noticed a definite change around that mark. With smoking things went from pretty much complete misery and an almost constant battle against the cravings to a much easier time of it. With drinking, it was like a new phase was starting - that's around the time that just "not drinking" was not enough, and I started focusing on really building a new life from the pieces (i.e. exercise) I had been putting in place along the way. I think that's a very good goal. Yeah...LOL on trying mods. I guess we all have to go through that unfortunately.

Hello Guitarista!! I agree with you that the power of the AF is much bigger once fantasies of mods are off the table for people like us where mods is not an option.

I've been in sales pretty much all of my adult life and I still hate cold calling. But with business in the toilet, it has to be done. So yesterday after Curves I tiffed up and made 10 cold calls before my trip to Trader Joes. I have some 2009 calendars and sticky note pads to give away so it was pretty easy - I just used the "I'm here to give you some free stuff" approach. Trying to actually "talk to the boss" just pisses people off. The "free stuff" thing had a couple of folks saying "wait a minute - what do you do?" So I did 10 of those yesterday and plan to do 10 every business day through the end of January, then will re-evaluate. So kick my ass if I don't mention my 10 cold calls on a business day, OK?

Here is my New Years plan - what is yours?

NY Eve we will be having Doodlebug's Salmon for dinner and then we plan to watch some Netflix movies together. LOL the hard part will be agreeing on which movies we think we both will like!

NY Day I am making the first of the 6 turkeys I got from the little farm near here. I found a recipe for low carb dressing that has it's own low carb "bread" recipe to make first. I'm gonna give that a whirl. I also found a really interesting recipe for low carb "faux" apple crisp using chayote squash instead of apples. I guess they have texture similar to an apple and you microwave them with sweetener and a couple other things and voila! They always have chayotes at one of the grocery stores near me so I gotta give that one a try. If it tastes yucky we will make ice cream since it only takes 5 minutes now.

There will be no drinking alcohol - that decision is already made.

Well - I'm off to Curves and we'll see where the day goes from there!

DG

[greeneyes]

AF daily Tuesday 30 December

LOOK OUT!!! It's greenie on caffeinie! I was up late but my desk is clean (except for one tiny three layer pile. So I am having a cup of coffee to get going to a busy day. I even had to drive up to the office last night to get it since I don't even have any i n the house. It's really an excuse. To be honest, I wanted it. I wanted to feel the caffeine buzz. I wonder if deep down it's a replacement for alcohol. An altered state if you will. I hope I get too buzzed out that I don't want it again. Another addiction is not what I need.

Hula girl, I feel that way sometimes but I live in USA EST zone :H Good on day 3!

Arial you post is inspiring! 2 more days and you'll have a week!

Morning greg, marshy, loopy and DG.

My New Years eve plans involve being at home and a couple lamb chops and roasted beets and something and salad.

My New Year's resolution is to move next door to DG so she can train little doggie and I can be invited over to eat all that good cooking.

[Jewel]

AF daily Tuesday 30 December

I think I want to move beside DG as well. I could use a butt kicking to get to Curves these days myself. Not to mention all of the healthy alternatives to eating!

DG, you must prepare a cook book as I am sure it will be a BIG seller!

My New Years plan is to do a lot of nothing. Prepare a great meal, and probably head to bed around 10 as per usual. New Years were never a big deal for me. I don't think I have been out on New Years since the year of 2000!

Lamb chops sound delicious! Hmmm... maybe I will prepare lamb kabobs, some calamari; kind of a greek night for my family. That would be delic!

Sorry, for my intrusion on your thread. This is where I need to be. I have several months of sobriety and I like the tone of this abstainence thread.

Also, I would like to know why the link to subscribers is broken. I want to subscribe but through the MWO FAQ's it comes up with a parent directory. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[retteacher]

AF daily Tuesday 30 December

Everyone: There's nothing like the new year to cause one to be optimistic. I had forgotten about the whole 90 day brain reset concept. I've read that as well...that after 90 days a new habit replaces an old one. I just can't get complacent. That's a big pitfall for me. I'm gearing up to being AF for 2009. I'm nervous about saying that, but if I don't, it's like admitting defeat.

Today, I'm going shopping w/my daughter. One of my g-sons has grown out of his pants, so we'll stock up for him.

Mary

[ready2change]

AF daily Tuesday 30 December

Happy Tuesday Abbers. I'm feeling MUCH better today san hangover. I intend to keep it that way.

I feel resolute about the New Year, excited that it is going to bring wonderful new things into my life. Not sure what they are, but that is not MY job, just knowing they are coming is all that is expected of me.

New years will be very quiet at my house. Thinking of BBQing steak and lobster with a veggie. But I'm open for anything (except going out), so whatever happens is fine by me. There will be NO drinking on my part, can't wait to welcome the New Year sober and full of energy! I'm sure hubby will have wine, but most times anymore, that is not an issue for me. He says he is going to quit after New Years, as the docs told him he is borderline in just about everything, so I really hope he does.

Everyone have a great day, and meet your goals.

R2C

[on my way]

AF daily Tuesday 30 December

WOW, so many posts already today I'm so glad so many here are committed to being AF in 2009. I am very excited about that myself. I bought a copy of the big book and plan on reading it. I also plan on going to meetings, a big step for me. Public admission is not easy. I commit to continuing a good thing!!
I have only shared to a few friends and family what I am up to but I think everyone gets it. Amazingly enough I did not get any sabotage wine for Christmas gifts so I think I may be out.

So, a big good morning goes out to; ready2change, retteacher, Jewel, Greenie, Doggy, Guitarista, Arial, Marshy, HG and Loppy....hope I got everyone!!

nat

[A Work in Progress]

AF daily Tuesday 30 December

Good morning, and welcome (or welcome back) to various "new" faces!

Interesting topic: habits, and the breaking and making of them. Most behavioral scientists will tell you that habits are really never "broken," or un-learned. New habits (most importantly, those that are inconsistent with unwanted habits) can be learned, and over time the brain pathways that underlie the new habit will get strong enough so that we feel a "pull" to engage in it. At the same time, repeatedly resisting the "pull," or craving, to engage in the old habit will weaken the brain pathways that underlie that behavior. We begin to forget why we were so strongly driven to do whatever it was that we have now stopped doing for a while.

There's nothing magic about 3 months, but it's a good benchmark.

Addictions can be thought of as very strong habits, similar also to the compulsive behaviors seen in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. In each of these cases, the key to success is the willingness to tolerate the discomfort that WILL arise when we refrain from engaging in the behavior that we so badly want to do. That does two things: it weakens the brain pathways that underlie the habit itself, and it strengthens the connections between the frontal lobes and the amygdala and other parts of the brain that give rise to the feeling of urgency and distress, which we call "craving."

The important thing to remember: old habits (and certainly addictions) will probably always be lurking within our brains/minds, and can be re-activated fairly easily.... much more easily than building a new habit might be!

Yesterday I had an incredibly strong feeling of urgency and anger, and I recognized it as the kind of feeling that often preceded my first drink of the day; I was waiting on someone to come over to the house and pick something up, and it was around dinner time, or time for me to start fixing my dinner. I was hungry, and irritated, and it really blossomed into an irrational anger. I recognized it clearly as a feeling that once would have triggered immediate rapid-fire drinking... I ate a snack... my friend showed up, and left... and the feelings slowly subsided. Those old feelings, habits, mental connections are powerful things...

[AAthlete]

AF daily Tuesday 30 December

on my way;505944 wrote: Public admission is not easy......

Nat, at our meeting this morning we talked about Tradition 12: "Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our Traditions, ever reminding us to place principles above personalities." Remember that in meetings, just as like here at MWO, we are all equals. We can reveal ourselves to others outside of AA or MWO if we so choose, but we can never reveal someone else or pretend to speak for either program. Sure some people here carry wonderful messages or speak very well, but at the end of the day we have to feel 100% comfortable to talking about what is going on in our lives otherwise being here is a mute point - we won't get the support that we need and will never get better.

I would agree with WIP that the feelings never truly go away. At Christmas dinner last week I opened a bottle of Christmas wine for others to drink and the smell almost made me choke. But there was also a brief second where I thought a sip might not be so bad.... The feeling quickly passed, but here I am 1 1/2 years sober and it can still pop up in an instant. A good reminder that I always need to be ready and I cannot become complacent in my program.

Hope everyone has a wonderful day! I too love how this thread has grown and love reading everyone's posts.

[momof3]

AF daily Tuesday 30 December

Hello Friends

I returned last night from a 10 day holiday journey. It was a wonderful time and I am so very happy to be home. I had one very strong craving that completely caught me by surprise but all in all it was quite manageable to be AF. We will visit friends for an early dinner on New Year's eve. I'm so looking forward to this long drawn out holiday time to be over. It's been fun but I am done.

M3

[retteacher]

AF daily Tuesday 30 December

Everyone: It's a joy & a strength to read this thread. WIP: I loved what you said about the new brain pathways, but I know that I always have to be on the alert for the urge to come up. It's so easy to act on those urges. AAthlete: I can just imagine that opening a bottle of wine would be difficult. I usually have my husband tend to the drinks, & I concentrate on the food. It all seems safer that way.
Mary