AF Daily Sunday March 15

[greeneyes]

It's 9 AM, do you know where your abbers are?

Where is everybody?

DG I need a healthy crock pot idea for today. Hope you got yesterday's issue sorted.

Yesterday out of the blue at 9 PM I had "those thoughts". I looked at them, turned them over and around and tossed them in the fireplace where they went up the chimney. Sometimes I think it's the fire and cozy that does it. The red wine flicker.

[gyco]

AF Daily Sunday March 15

hi green what thots

[greeneyes]

AF Daily Sunday March 15

Thoughts of a glass of wine by the fire. Ugh.

[retteacher]

AF Daily Sunday March 15

Greenie: I too had some drinking thoughts yesterday. It was scary for me. I had to really fight them. I vacuumed, ate something, & just put them out of my mind. I ended up going out w/the g-sons. On the way over to their home, I thanked God for helping me fight the thoughts. I thought back to the last bad drunk I had. I also thought back to some of my less severe drinking episodes & how they just RUINED my day. That kind of did it. Mary

[LVT25]

AF Daily Sunday March 15

Greenie--have you ever done like a chicken parmesan in the crock pot? It's easy, healthy and good!
I posted it in the recipe section awhile back.

[LVT25]

AF Daily Sunday March 15

Now that you mention it, I had a drinking thought yesterday after I left the auction. It was a beautiful day--luckily it didn't last long. I can usually make them go away by eating or drinking something else! I have a feeling the more nice weather we have, the more these thoughts might happen???
I'm off to Sunday School/Church-will check in with all the sleepy heads later!:h

Has anyone seen "Fireproof"? I really liked it, I even ordered the book, The Love Dare. I'm not sure why, I don't even have the nerve to ask my husband to watch the movie with me!

[A Work in Progress]

AF Daily Sunday March 15

Hi everyone... yeah, "those" thoughts. I don't think we can ever reasonably hope that they will completely go away. Come to think of it, why should they, or how could they, when our culture is constantly giving us loud persuasive messages telling us how wonderful, how much fun, how simply lovely it is to "have a drink"? No, I think we are best off if we just recognize that they will sometimes arise... maybe like a funny noise in an old car, something will crop up and it needs to be taken care of (with distraction, with compassionate attention, with the recognition that they will pass).

Sometimes I notice that someone will say in a post "I haven't even thought about drinking" or "I haven't had any cravings," and some else will respond with congratulations, as if it is an achievement we should be striving for. And at the same time, some people seem to consider it a failure to have an urge to drink. I see it differently. I think that all thoughts and urges (and emotions) are phenomena to be observed (as compassionately as possible), accepted, and dealt with in as healthy a manner as possible. Anger is OK so long as we don't hurt people with it. Shame is OK so long as we don't dwell on it and allow it to poison our lives. Urges to drink are OK, so long as we don't turn them into crazy fantasies, and then act on them.

I had some old friends over for dinner last night... they have been with me before (at our book club) when I said I wasn't drinking, but one of them brought a bottle of wine. Again, I said I wasn't drinking (this time I said that I had realized that it had done me more harm than good, over all the years), but offered to open the bottle and pour a glass for them... turns out neither of them even wanted a glass of wine. Interesting... I find non-alcohol-dependent people so intriguing! Before I quit, I would never have turned down an offer of a glass of wine at a friend's house... especially if I had brought the bottle, myself!

Just a quick mention of this, I went to an AA meeting yesterday (wrote about it in the "early thoughts about AA thread that DG started). It was my first meeting in a very long time, and it was a very good experience. I will definitely be making it a mainstay in my own lifetime-recovery program...

p.s., Marshy, thanks for the photos! Cool! And yes, I would like to retain my fantasy of bicycling in London as an idyllic sort of adventure... ! But I'd love to ride with you, even if it is a bit harrowing! Here's my Surly Crosscheck:

[Arial]

AF Daily Sunday March 15

Hi All and a very Happy Sunday!

I think definite congratulations are in order to all those who have faced those thoughts of tempation and passed by them, by whatever means we have at our disposal! One of the main things that gets me past them is the knowledge that they are, in fact, fairly short - that the urge doesn't last that long - it's just that it can be incredibly persuasive! I don't suppose they will ever go away, but I would hope they don't remain as frequent as now. I do know, though, that I have to keep on guard against getting complacent, and like Mary it's good to think back to those final straws that gave us the strength and motivation to stop drinking.

I'm also still at the stage where being sober 100% of the time is such a novelty that I'm enjoying every minute! - even the not-so-good things, because I know I've handled them as well as I could and I will remember them later - and as for the little things like the buds starting to appear, a breeze in the air, my daughter's head on my shoulder... why would I ever choose to give this up or threaten it in any way?!

Keep strong and have a wonderful end to your weekends everyone! :l

[Mohun]

AF Daily Sunday March 15

Good morning. Happy hangover free Sunday everyone. Looks like some people are starting to get Spring fever. Me too. Here is a picture of a Cedar Wax Wing I took yesterday. Lots of birds around.

Mo.

[Tom 4.0]

AF Daily Sunday March 15

Hi everyone,

It's a beautiful, warm weekend and with the start of D.S.T., I declare the end of winter (here) and will stuff the Seasonal Affective Disorder back into the closet, or maybe I should just kick it to curb next to Big Al!!

Mowed the yard/field for the first time since fall and it looks great; now if we can get some rain to green things up. I'll try to get the bike out this afternoon, even though I over-did it last Sunday and wound up with a sore knee. I know, I know; too much, too soon, too old. :H

I have occasional thoughts of drinking, but I seem able to dismiss them quickly because I KNOW what the result would be if I let them take hold.

BTW, I'm reading Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now. WOW!, controversial, but still, WOW!

Have a great day!!

[Joanna]

AF Daily Sunday March 15

WIP You will need your extractor mask if cycling anywhere in central London! Don't forget! Was there yesterday and it was smoggy

[Accountable for Me]

AF Daily Sunday March 15

Good morning!

I didn't do much of anything yesterday. I practically watched tv all day along with a short trip to the market to get some things for Hailey's St. Patty's day party at her school on Tuesday. I was LAZY!

Today, I am meeting with a friend for a coffee in the afternoon. I will do my usual Sunday chores such as laundry. Then cooking some pork spareribs for dinner. It has been rainy and windy here this weekend so staying in for the most part is fine by me.

I had a couple of drinking thoughts myself yesterday afternoon. My little one had a complete meltdown just after lunch and the first thing I thought of was to have a glass of red wine. Of course I did not run out to buy a bottle; but was tempted. She didn't let up from her blood curling crying for about an hour! UGH!

Anyway, have a great day everyone!

[retteacher]

AF Daily Sunday March 15

WIP: I loved your comments about the drinking thoughts. Why wouldn't I have them? I was obsessed w/drinking for so many years, that a complete erasure of the thoughts is totally unrealistic. They are a part of my life...I don't have to act on them or be afraid of them. Mary

[Cinders]

AF Daily Sunday March 15

Hi Everyone,

The birthday party in the dark last night was so much fun. Luckily anything I couldn't cook on the grill was already cooked before the power went out. It turned into a lovely family gathering. It is hard to believe I have a child who is now 30. I guess I am getting older. Time to grow up!!

We talked about simple ways of looking at life yesterday in AA. Homilies like "do the next right thing," "thoughts may come but it is actions that count."

I need simple things to help this brain. Those help.

I did get a few urges yesterday, especially when I was getting anxious, but have been reading WIP's posts very closely. Thoughts ARE just thoughts. Nothing to feel guilty about or bad about, just a thought. They do pass.

As I said on the AA thread, drinking is simply not an option for me. I am a menace to society and myself when I drink. I am very, very afraid of my addiction. I would rather be a bit uncomfortable with a thought than allow my addiction to beat me.

The Samuel L Jackson post also helped me. He says that whenever he thinks of using, he looks at do I want that life or do I want the life I can have?

I am using that in my mind, too.

Glad I am here with all of you. When I get a bit antsy or bored, I log onto MWO and have an instant "aaahh" moment because of you wonderful people.

Much love,
Cindi

[Determinator]

AF Daily Sunday March 15

Happy Sunday ABanators!!!!!

wonderful to hear of our successes against our common foe.

WIP this line of yours is great:

I find non-alcohol-dependent people so intriguing!

I totally agree. lets catch one of them and poke it with sticks and interrogate it. hahahahhahaaa, sorry my sense of humor is coming back after this nasty cold (warning).

Tom isn't Tolle something? I really enjoy his audio CD set I have of "a new Earth".

I was really looking forward to doing some long range shooting today but the winds have picked up, so I'm hitting the drawing board now. all this talk of cycling sounds good.
Incidentally I have the perfect 'push bike' (as our Brit friends would say) for a jaunt around the cobblestones of London..... a vintage Dawes Galaxy. it's really a neat old bike.

well, I'm off to peel some garlic for breakfast.

enjoy your 'super-now' everyone! and be well.