AF Daily, Saturday January 31st

[SAUSAGE]

Marking and running!!!!!!

Think i'm getting the hang of this now!! - i'm editing my original post!!!!!

Right everyone - thought i'd start this thing off - Day 90 for me today, not that i'm really counting as this time last time around was a dodgy time for me and the last few days have been tough for me staying AF as most of you will know. Thanks again for all your support on Thurs night folks, last night was a little easier.

Well anyway, i'm going to be positive, it's a really cold dull day here but i'm going to be positive. As we've discussed before - you can determine your mood for the day by the way you set yourself up, the way you look at things. I'm not going to dwell on alcohol at all (I've been having far too many alcohol thoughts recently as many of you have pointed out and it's not healthy for my sobriety) - i'll keep myself busy and infact i'm off to the gym right now as Mr Sausage has taken the kids to the supermarket for the weekly shop....

I'll be back later - have a great AF day / weekend everyone

Sausage xxx

[A Work in Progress]

AF Daily, Saturday January 31st

Hey, Sausage! I'm having trouble sleeping here in Florida... went to bed early, VERY tired after a busy, productive day... but so much left to do! My mind is spinning about how to juggle a lot of major life-variables: work, houses that are 1300 miles apart, dogs and kitties, elderly mother with Alzheimer's, work, health care benefits... I need to shut off my worry-mind and move it in another direction! So I got up, have some coffee, and I'm poking around a bit on MWO. Then I'll sit meditation, take a shower, and get moving on the rest of the day!

[SAUSAGE]

AF Daily, Saturday January 31st

WIP - good to "see" you - good morning - it must be incredibly early in Florida - about 4am? i'm not surprised you cant' sleep with all that on your mind!!!

You make me feel really guilty - compared to you my "troubles" are nothing - you are doing so well given all the issues / difficulties you have at the moment. You are an inspiration to us all and you must be dead good at switching off your worry mind/ compartmentalising your life etc I am a compulsive worrier which is ridiculous given that i don't have anything major to worry about! I am trying not to worry about things that I can do nothing about right now - that is the key to it all I know. Hope you are now fully recovered from your food poisoning earlier in the week.

Have a good day, i'm off out now and i'll be back later!

[A Work in Progress]

AF Daily, Saturday January 31st

90 DAYS!! CONGRATULATIONS SAUSAGE!!

You're doing great... and, with practice, it will get much easier to deal with thoughts about drinking. One key (for me) is to be compassionate about the worry-mind or the Addictive Voice; I don't try to beat it into submission, but instead just notice what direction it is spinning into, and gently change the channel when it is heading into dangerous directions. Effectively dealing with thoughts is more like training a puppy than running a chain gang! "Gentle" is a key concept, here!

As for the thoughts about alcohol, I often "change the channel" into thoughts of gratitude for everything that being AF has given me, and/or into the direction of remembering what drinking always has done to me... and what it would do to me again, if I were to start back up with it...

My worries aren't really so great... it's just that there is SO much going on all at once...

Mary did I say CONGRATULATIONS to you on your 30 days, yet??? You are doing SO well! And someone else here, too I am afraid that I missed... forgive me, I have only been here in a spotty fashion during the past 4 or 5 days.

I hope everyone here has a good day!

[AAthlete]

AF Daily, Saturday January 31st

Morning guys, and Sausage congrats on your 90 days - that is a great accomplishment!

It's inspirational to see both of you dealing with your issues with openness and honesty. As you point out life is not always a bed of roses - there will always be challenges there that will test our serenity. We can choose to do the things we need to do to deal with them sober, or go back to our old way of thinking and drink over our 'issues.'

Keep up the wonderful work and have a great Saturday!

[charlee]

AF Daily, Saturday January 31st

Morning
WOW!..those milestones keep adding up around here...Sausage 90 days, Mary 30!!!..Congratulations to you both.
I used to get overwhelmed with all the "to do's"...always seemed like 2 steps forward and 1 back. I never felt ahead of the game. I have said to myself over and over (and now I finally believe it)...I am only one person with one brain, two hands and can only do one thing at a time. I am happy just to slowly chip away at that never ending "to do" list...I am finding keeping things simple is good medicine, at least for me....
Hope everyone has a great Superbowl weekend!!!

[lilmea]

AF Daily, Saturday January 31st

Hi all,
I'new on this thread. I hope no on minds. I only have 2 weeks AF and so many others have such great milestones. Congrats Sausage on 90 days. Wow.

my goal is to stay AF loooong term. Everyone here seems to be so busy, with so much going on and yet handling things without drinking. That's my goal as well.

[SAUSAGE]

AF Daily, Saturday January 31st

Welcome lilmea, and congratulations on your 2 weeks - that's brilliant. This is a great thread to post on as we all seem to have the same long term goal and objectives and you'll "meet" lots of great people on here who will help you when times are tough and share their day to day experiences of being AF. It is helped me a lot over the last 90 days. Another good thread to join (if you are into exercise - and it's a good thing to try and do if you can, as it helps with trying to stay sober ie a whole healthy lifestyle change) is the abbercisers thread - also in the Monthly abstinence section. The current one started on Jan 1st but I'm planning to start up a new one on Feb 1st tomorrow.

Good luck on your journey and look forward to "seeing" you around.

[LVT25]

AF Daily, Saturday January 31st

Hello friends--

Welcome lilmea!! Congrats sausage and Mary! Did you get a chance to look at the "30 days and beyond" thread I linked in your thread sausage?? I highly recommend it.

Wip-your life is too overwhelming-I think I'll keep mine. I just have to make 100 burritos and a big batch of puppy chow!

My sil and bil arrived yesterday and guess what--they are quitting smoking!!! I went to town in the afternoon when they all started drinking beer to do my errands. She had my supper finished when I got home. Yay!

Wishing everyone a good weekend!:h

[Mohun]

AF Daily, Saturday January 31st

Good morning. Another chilly winter day here. But like Sausage said, you can control your attitude, but you can't control the weather (or can I?).

Off today to check on our new puppy. We pick him up tomorrow. He is an 8 week old golden retriever cross. Very cute.

Have a great AF day and weekend. Day 31 for me....

Mo.

[Janice]

AF Daily, Saturday January 31st

Hi everyone.....managing to snatch a little "me" time. Busy few days with little time to myself for MWO - I really do miss it when I can't come on here whenever I like. Mary, great achievement on your 30 days!!! And, Sausage......90 days!!! Well done, I know you've had a tough time this last week but its great hearing you sound much more positive - more like your old self!!

Day 14 here and I started it off with a swim this morning followed by a long walk. Have an appointment to get my bloods checked this next week as my monthly visitor has still not arrived (since 3rd Dec!!!! eeeeek!!!) and I've not been feeling too well......really bloated especially evenings. I've done a pregnancy test and it was negative so the next step is blood tests. Just relieved and thankful that I'm not drinking otherwise all sorts of things would be going on in my mind.

Coming up to an emotional time of the year, Monday will be 3 years since my dear father-in-law was killed. He was in the early stages of alzheimers. Long story but he went out for his daily walk (physically he was very fit) we are not sure exactly what happened and have had to put pieces together but we think he must have got lost. He was out hours instead of his usual one hour. We think he tried to cross a very busy dual carriageway not far from his home. He was hit and killed outright by a car doing 80 mph in the outside lane. He was a very special man.

Its a beautiful day here, very cold though and I believe snow is forecast for the next couple of days!

Wishing everyone a great AF Saturday.

love Janicexxx

[Accountable for Me]

AF Daily, Saturday January 31st

Congrats to all of your milestones Af'ers!!

I have nothing much to say. Still plugging along. Kind of bored; but whatever.

I think I will read some threads, grab a shower and go out to do some shopping today. My wonderful nana is taking us out for lunch. Seeing I don't do much of anything these days; it is a treat indeed!

WIP - are you relocating to Florida? With all you have going on at the moment, you are one strong woman; don't ever forget that.

Luvs to the rest of you!

[Accountable for Me]

AF Daily, Saturday January 31st

Hugs to you Janice! That is so sad about your FIL.

[momof3]

AF Daily, Saturday January 31st

Good Morning All

And, Happy Saturday

I spent a good part of the morning catching up on the Monthly Abstinence/AF Daily threads. I want to let all of you know that you are such an inspiration to me and I am honored to be sharing this journey with you.

I have been full on with helping my friend who recently had a stroke. Her children have been spending a good amount of time over here which means I often have 6 kids in my house. At other times, I have been just hanging out with her at her home to provide her with company and any assistance she may need getting around the house.

The past few weeks have been quite challenging with having 2 dear friends who are seriously ill. I feel like I have been walking around with my heart outside of my rib cage...completely vulnerable with no protection, on the verge of tears much of the time. I must say that although scary and overwheliming, it feels good to feel these feelings, to not run away from them, and to not dampen them with Al. It has been a real test to my sobriety but no how no way am I going to drink. In some ways I feel like a young child who is in a new world of discovery. I refuse to spend one more minute of my life anesthesitized by alcohol. I want to feel the full range of feelings that I have been afraid of most of my life.

Last night I went with my familly to a small get together to celebrate Chinese New Year with a few other families. When I got home last night, I realized, much to my astonishment, that I did not worry about drinking Al prior to arriving, I had no desire to drink while I was there, AND I had a really good time. This is a huge milestone for me because I have had alot of struggles around socializing with others who are drinking. So my message to those who not as far along in their AF journey...It does happen! There comes a time when you do not think or worry about not drinking...a very liberating feeling.

I am going to try to get a long run in today or I will not be ready for my 1/2 marathon in March.

Be Well
M3

[dill]

AF Daily, Saturday January 31st

Hugs to you Janice. That must be difficult for you and your family.

Well done Retteacher, Mohun and Sausage!
Momof3, I appreciated your post about it getting easier. It's nice to hear that message. And your positive attitude in the face of all you are currently going through is inspirational. Your friends are lucky to have you.