AF Daily - Thursday April 23

[Doggygirl]

Hi all! I didn't get a chance to check in at all yesterday and need to make this quick for now today. But wanted to say hi to everyone and wish you all a superb AF day! And also offer strength and hope to any among us who are struggling today. (I hope that is nobody...but just in case!!)

Yesterday was 14 months sober for me. At some point in the day I thought about last summer (newly sober and finding myself). I planted some potted flowers and a couple of potted tomato plants on the deck. I canned some tomatoes from the farmers market and drank a couple of O'Douls while doing it as I missed my attendant booze.

This summer I have potted flowers and potted herbs and a potted tomato plant. And a whole garden of my own tomatoes to can. And pickles and spaghetti squash and on and on. And I haven't felt the need for any O'Douls due to missing my booze. The sober life keeps getting better and better. I don't know what I did the summer before last other than stay drunk. I certainly wasn't growing anything literally or figuratively.

OK...are you ready for some "cheese" (of the cheesy type??)?

Plant the seeds of sobriety and watch your garden grow!

(OK - gong me now!!!! Remember that show? The gong show?? You folks outside the US and/or young uns have no idea what great TV programming you missed!)

Anyway...had a busy day yesterday and didn't even MAKE it out to the garden. So hopefully today where will be plenty of action out there. I'm getting ready to head to the gym early to get that out of the way. I hope to spend a little more time here later catching up. Mean time, have a rockin' good day all!

DG

[Gold]

AF Daily - Thursday April 23

Had me confused for a moment there with April in the title!

Two days for me. Your posts are really encouraging an example of how much things can change and also how blind and closed to other possibilities we are (certainly me at least) when stuck in the nightmare.

I'm intrigued by your name and wondered what dogs you have? I have five the fifth being a nine week old Standard Poodle puppy, plus a horse and my daughter's pony. I have often felt guilty as if people were judging me for having animals (and so many) especially where I live which seems mostly full of people who are not much into animals and can't understand why I would want the smelly, messy creatures!

So it would be nice to hear of others who have a lot of pets.

[greeneyes]

AF Daily - Thursday April 23

Abbers!!

Thursday. More figs.

[MissMerlot]

AF Daily - Thursday April 23

Hi

DG,Thankyou for your inspiring post.It really was what i needed to read on this my Day 8....
The last time i went af i only lasted to day 8 so i sort of awoke this morning with a sense of dread.Reading your post really gave an insight into life without alcohol and from your post the grass really is greener...
Well done on your progress w/o al and congratulations on your garden...:goodjob:

Gold,
I only ever had 2 pets,2 black labradors., Meg & Molly.They were adorable loving pets but once my landlord learned i had them (7mths) he told me he had it in my contract that no pets were allowed.I had to ring the kennels to come for them.I cried for 3 full days.And drank too of course.
The guy that took them rang me only after a week and told me they had been taken by a farmer to a great home,the farmer wanted friendly dogs for his 2 daughters.
That helped a bit but after the heartbreak of losing them i vowed never to have another pet.Not even a feckin goldfish...lol
Keep hanging in there gold,the first 3 days are by far the worst(well mines were anyway)
You're doing well!
Well like i said,just checking in on day 8...if i make day 9 it will be my longest stretch ever without alcohol in about 10 yrs.:blush:

Planning an early night tonight and heading in the car now to do my outside the house tasks when my frame of mind is not to buy wine...
Will post later...

take care,
:l
annie
xx

[Cinders]

AF Daily - Thursday April 23

(((Greenie))),

Sending hugs to you from all over the board. We are here. Use us.

DG, Gold, Annie, Hi!!

I'll post a bit later today but have to get to work now.

Have a good AF day, my friends.

Love,
Cindi

[Lavande]

AF Daily - Thursday April 23

DG,

A whopping big congratulations to you, 14 months is awesome
I will gladly follow in your footsteps and plant those seeds!

Gold, congrats on your 2 days, keep going, you'll love the results.
We have 2 dogs, a cockatiel, 20 hens (love those fresh brown eggs). They're all good friends, keep me company and keep me busy

Annie, wishing you the best on your day 8! Go ahead and make yourself pround by making it to day 9. Stay focused, blow off everything and everyone else for a while if necessary - that's what I did!!

Have to run for now, wishing everyone a great AF day!

[Accountable for Me]

AF Daily - Thursday April 23

Good luck today, Greenie! xoxo

Nothing much to say this morning. I did go out last night and bought a new watch - finally! I finally found one that I liked. I am very, very, very, picky. hahahaha

Yesterday at lunch I went to a book store, near work. I FINALLY found the book 'Easy Way to Quit Smoking' by Allen Carr. I quit May 31 but I am sooooooooooo curious as to what all the 'hub-bub' is about. Not to mention that I am still chewing the Nicorette gum and this book is designed to kick the 'nicotine' habit. Anyway, I can read this on the bus and then I will give it to my mother to read. She has been trying for years to quit smoking. She is such a tense person that she starts up again under stress, so I am thinking maybe this will help. Who knows. I am only on Chapter 3.

Yesterday was a bit less chaotic on the work scene. I managed to get a lot done and felt I actually accomplished something. I don't know what it was about Tuesday. But I guess we all get those 'overwhelming' days. I am good

OK, I am running behind this AM. Although I have been up since 5am. So gotta run. Have a great day everyone!!!

DG, Congrats on your 14 months! Awesome!

[LVT25]

AF Daily - Thursday April 23

Hello my af friends! I kind of wish it was April again....this summer is going by too fast. It almost feels like fall already!

:welcome: to the new posters! It's always great to see new avatars!

DG--congrats on the 14 months. It is great to reflect and share the changes within!!! That is what it is all about--when it is no longer so damn hard! It just is.

Gold--there are lots of dog lovers among us. I myself lost my "mutt" a few months ago and miss him terribly. But we got a lab puppy and he is a lot of fun!

I have been feeling extreme fatigue and brain fog. Maybe I over did it with the progesterone cream? Or maybe I've been working too hard--nah, I doubt that! :H I really, really need to get out in my garden--seems after the workday I cannot seem to muster the energy. Maybe tonight.

On the up-side, I decided to step on the scale and I have lost 5 pounds this summer--just by having a more physical job! My goal now is to start August 1 and see just what I can do if I try. It would be fun to lose at least 5 more and tone up a bit. Then I've got the Race for the Cure in Denver on October 5th so I need to start training for that! Guess I'll jump on the abbersizers thread soon for a little motivation!

That's all I've got. Looks like another beautiful day--hot! Let's make it count!:h

[sunshine_gg]

AF Daily - Thursday April 23

DG.. awesome.. congrats on 14 months!
My garden sucks this year... too cold, not enough sun.. hrmpfh.

Gold.. I had a little farm until last October (when I moved in with Mr. Wonderful - it was a distance thing - 9hour drive). Now, I 'm down to one dog, one cat, and one horse. No more chickens (I LOVED my hens.. yes, and their brown eggs!)

Greenie.. good luck this afternoon!

Annie.. you can make it to day 9 and beyond! It is SO satisfying to make it past a personal hurdle... you'll see.

Hello Lavande, AFM & LTG... gotta run, girls... have a wonderful day!

[AAthlete]

AF Daily - Thursday April 23

DG, congrats as well on 14 months of quality sobriety (it is one thing to stop drinking, but something completely different when you can be happy about it).

It truly is amazing the lengths that we will go to when drinking, isn't it? The amount of effort I put into getting, drinking, and hiding my alcohol absolutely amazes me know, and I often wish I could bottle that kind of drive to use in other aspects of my life.

I have a confession to make, as I was a bad dad last night. My son and I were goofing around at bedtime and he whacked my on the side of the head/glasses. It startled me and caught my by surprise and I whacked him back on the leg - but it was too hard and I made him cry. Obviously didn't mean to and I made my amends to him (over and over). I couldn't have felt much lower last night, as your children are supposed to look at you for guidance and protection and I did the opposite.

Now I just need to let it go and resolve to handle it better the next time around. I know tit for tat is never the answer, even when playing around.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Thursday.

[Doggygirl]

AF Daily - Thursday April 23

:H April??? OK I confess. I'm going backwards in my quest to be 29 one more time.

Hi Gold! Yes...my addiction can be blinding - that is a good way of putting it. Blind to any and all other possibilities except feeding the addiction. That was my life day in and day out for way way way too long. That is a very insightful observation. Self honesty will serve you well in your mission I think. Congratulations on Day 2! Keep doing whatever it takes to stay sober - I promise you will not regret it in the long run.

We have 4 doggies here - 2 German Shepherds and a Mutt and a Beagle. Mr. Doggy also has two hives of honey bees. Planning is underway to add some chickens to the mix next spring and see what those fresh brown eggs are all about. There are lots of pet lovers here!

Anniemac I hope Day 8 is sailing by smooth as glass. But even if it's not, drinking over it would make things worse not better - not worth it. YOU CAN DO IT! If I can, you can. I hope you join us tomorrow - maybe the thread will actually be dated July 24 LOL - to let us know you made it. Check in regardless of what you do. We will be here. Sounds like you have a good PLAN and that is so important. Make sobriety your #1 mission and don't deviate. The possibilities in life for everything else are amazing as long as sobriety is #1. A good plan and some Big Girl Pants (BGP's) like Greenies will see you through!

Sunshine, good to hear that Mr. Wonderful is still Mr. Wonderful! (at least I think I understood that!) You still have a respectable menagerie.

LVT congrats on the 5 lbs without even trying! That rocks. How are things going with the pup?

AFM it sounds like you have had some craziness this week - I'm behind on all that but I'm glad from the sound of things it's gotten better. So what type of watch did you get? Practical? Mod? Blingy? Girly girl? Inquiring shopaholics want to know.

Lavande, I can highly recommend staying sober, but I don't know about following in my footsteps. If you only knew where these feet have been.....

Hi Cinders! I love your gratitude siggy line.

AA - it sounds to me like you have already learned from your experience last night. I'm not a parent and thus cannot imagine the way that responsibility must seem overwhelming at times. Unfortunately as humans we will never be perfect. I'm sure your son learns from the very good example you set nearly all of the time these days. And if you have shown him by example what is the right thing to do when we do harm - confessing the wrong and making amends - then in some ways you are giving him a gift too. One that many kids do NOT get from their Dads when Dads make mistakes.

The big tomatoes are starting to get ripe. There is a butternut squash on the vine that has made is much larger than the 2 I lost - it must be 3 inches long now. Patience. Life is good. I hope everyone is having a lovely "April" day!

DG

[Determinator]

AF Daily - Thursday April 23

Happy late check-in ABland!!!

slammed early with work, cant really complain about that i guess.

Had a really crummy drinking dream last night. stupid brain! d-oh!

in the dream my dad and I were sitting in a dark hotel room together but not talking. Just slamming down shot after shot of hard liquor. the dream just had a deathly dark feeling to it. what the heck?

the best thing about drinking dreams is waking up and realizing I'm still AF. whew!

LVT how much of that progesterone cream are you eating? I try to keep it down to a teaspoon per day on whole wheat toast

ok, I need to play a game or something and wind down.

huge congrats to Annie and Gold on new AF times. This really does get better. honest!

be well friends,

[Lavande]

AF Daily - Thursday April 23

Hi all,

Personally, I'm glad it's not April - I wasn't feeling half as good then as I am now

AA, I can remember rough housing with the kids and 'accidently' shocking each other with a smack that my have been a bit too rough - we didn't hold it against each other, really! Don't fret about it.

Gold, I'm so happy for you, stay strong!
Annie, strength to you as well. Make this a very, very long quit

DG, in addition to the animals I mentioned earlier today my Greater Swiss Mountain dog located a large (10") snapping turtle in the yard a little while ago. We had some hard driving rain earlier, must have driven him out into the open. Mr Lav returned it to the creek area about 1/4 mile away.

Deter, I hate the dreams! Last night I had a smoking dream and woke up freaked out & feeling guilty. I really wish they would stop, they are pure torture!!!

Heading out to harvest my chamomile...........growing my own tea this year.
Have a great evening!!

[dill]

AF Daily - Thursday April 23

My gosh, what's with the dreams last night?! I had a horrible drinking dream, too. It's too long to go into but it was very troubling. I woke up AF, thank goodness.

Loved the dilbert comic, Det!

Lav, I can't believe that the PA Dpt of Ag hassled you about your hens! (June 21 thread). That really made me upset. Government is way too intrusive these days. Years ago we raised hens and sold the eggs to neighbors and friends. It was a nice hobby and everyone loved the eggs. It is legal here in Ohio, still. But, speaking of gov. planes doing fly overs, they do that here, too. I assume they are looking for marijuana patches as we live amongst pastures and farmland. Well, one summer day a few years back a bunch of drug task force guys showed up on our back porch and told us they had spotted some growing on our property! They didn't wait for permission to search. Off they went! I was standing there, confused. Called Mr. Dill at his work. He hurried home. It was quite frightening, really. Well, it turned out to be just some weeds that 'looked like' marijuana from the air. WHEW! That was a pretty scary day!

Doggies: we have two here. Mixed breeds. One is part aussie and one is part akita.