fri 4 sept af daily

[bear73]

hello there

getting ready for holiday now, packing ready for barge holiday.
Can't wait - very exciting - will miss OH tho he can't make it.
got my al free cobra beers in case i really tempted.

Well it's day 20 here for me af and sf - I am feeling GOOD - went through a downer around day 13/14 - think my massage really moved a lot of toxins around then, or something happened.

Reading aa book 'living sober' really recommend it to anyone - full of tips to avoid alcohol calmly and as part of your life and useful ways of thinking about living af.
I may just start saying to people after a month that i feel happier af - I can be totally open with the friends i am away with this week, and tell them that i am worried i was developing a problem.

I no longer announce to people that i'm not drinking - i used to and found that gave me added pressure - I know it works the other way and helps others. I think cos I have 'failed' publicly so many times before with diet/stopping smoking/moderating - it prevents that 'here we go again' reaction from others which compounds my fear that I can't succeed at my goals. A friend (one who likes others to fail, not very pleasant is it?) on sun eve asked me how the stopping smoking/drinking was going - as i was sat outside i think he thought/hoped in a smug way that i had lapsed.
I said ' great thanks, it's been 15 days now!' - that felt great!
anyway - it's all good today, so have a good friday all to come and see you in just over a week,

[JackieClaire]

fri 4 sept af daily

Have a great holiday ,Bear,

I'm still a bit afraid to commit to a holiday. Done a couple of weekends away.

I still have the mind set of holiday = alcohol, even after nearly 2 months AF.

Look forward to your postcard.

Love J x

[universal]

fri 4 sept af daily

Hi Bear!

Have a great holiday - I'm glad you have a plan in place - that always helps.

I on the other hand have had a really bad week. I don't know - maybe Greeny was right with the alignment of the moons and new season and all that jazz. Not sure. Going to start another thread to as I am feeling very unsupported right now in my goals and as we all know when us alcoholics feel that way we tend to go "oh yeah, well F#$# you, I'll do whatever I want!" aaaauuuuugggghhh

At least it's over - today is Friday. I am going away with my daughter for the weekend and she is only 9 so that gives me some nice quiet time with her which I am looking forward to. Last weekend at the cottage and then it's back to the regular routine which honestly I am looking forward to.

I hope everyone has a great day today!

[universal]

fri 4 sept af daily

Oh, and I wanted to make sure I mentioned that I'm not feeling unsupported by you guys - you guys are great! It's on the homefront that is the issue.

Love you guys!

[bear73]

fri 4 sept af daily

take care universal - gotta go pack now but will see if can get on again - before i leave

[gyco]

fri 4 sept af daily

hi bear,uni and j c interesting,comments,difficulties with sobriety,it is not easy,i was at an AA meeting last nt,of late i go approx. 3 times a week,my sponsor talked of the troubles he xperiences every once in a while,tolerance of others,others feelings,and how it is tuff enuff working on are own problems,but still we have to be reminded originally thats how this program was adapted,a drunk relating to another drunk,makes sense,eh,by the way to share ,he has 33 years sobriety, and hes 61,have a good trip bear,hang tuff,this sobriety thing is a long journey were in the rt spot no matter where we go gyco

[dill]

fri 4 sept af daily

Have a great holiday, bear. Thank you for starting the thread today!

Uni, glad to see you are getting back on track. Have a good weekend with your daughter.

Jackie, I am like you: holiday = drink. It's an extra effort not to drink on vacation, but it CAN be done. I've managed it once.

As for me, I have been mostly on lurking status as 3D life seems to be overwhelming me at the moment. A serious illness in the family and hard economic times are taking my attention, time and energy. However, I am "trudging" along. (term acquired while lurking on the AA thread) I think trudging is a notch up from "plodding" and "plugging" which is what my usual daily life requires.

Looking forward to the weekend. If I can steal the time, I am going to a Tea Party in Dayton. It will be my third one!

Have a great AF day everyone! Thanks for being here.

[dill]

fri 4 sept af daily

Hi, gyco, cross-posted! I can relate to the comments on "tolerance of others". I am generally tolerant, but when I am not, the resentment sneaks in. That is never good for my sobriety.

[hulagirl]

fri 4 sept af daily

Aloha All! Just sneaking in here as I should be sleeping but woke with too many thoughts messing around in my head in these wee hours. Uni, I was so excited when I read your post from yesterday about what looks like making some life changing decisions and goals. I have a faint glimmer of those but feel "stuck" at this stage in my life. I don't want to use the word "trapped" because that sounds so helpless but just at an age where I have to consider retirement benefits, energy levels, commitments, responsibilities and the realities of my situation in life. I can no longer be a free spirit. sigh. I hope your plan works for you. OK, now that I have that thought out of my brain and onto "paper" maybe the other thoughts can be "put away" until morning and let me sleep. I have had to make 3 phone calls for about the last 3 or 4 weeks and because of t he full engagement of my work I forget, everyday, and when I remember it is too late. Now another one has come up tonight that I really must take care of tomorrow (friday) or next week. See there I go putting off again. If I just take care of these then I can get on with feeling a little bit more in control. OK, now I will go to sleep. Good night.

[Marshy]

fri 4 sept af daily

Hello everyone,

Sorry to hear about all the struggles. I'm in non-struggle mode so feel oddly out of place, but wanted to post the thing below.

I was reading an interview with Rhona Cameron yesterday. She's a Scottish comedian and writer/TV personality who also had/has a problem with alcohol and has been sober for quite a few years now. The interviewer asked her if she had any advice for people with addiction issues, and she said: "You no longer need to use these substances as anaesthetics because your life isn't something you need to escape from." I like that.

From yesterday: DG, interesting to hear your sponsor is a nun. I immediately thought it must be quite difficult to drink in a convent, but maybe she wasn't in a convent. That's an addict's brain at work - figuring out how she would go about that :H

I'm off to work with a bag of healthy food - carrots, figs, coconut. Looking forward to lunch!

[Mstall]

fri 4 sept af daily

Good Morning Abbers!

I wish for strength for those struggling or those just continuing the journey.

I have a 4 day weekend starting tomorrow which will also be my first day smokefree! I've had my last pack of smokes now for 3 days! i've been busy after work getting my daughter ready to start high school (faints!) and havent had time to smoke much. imagine that, never would have happened with wine in my system.

anyway, here's to a great sober weekend everyone!

[Raven.joy]

fri 4 sept af daily

I am still feeling positive and looking forward to my holiday later this month. Have drunk on last 4 yearly hols to excess and embarassed myself and family a few times. I will still be taking antabuse while away so should be ok.

[Lavande]

fri 4 sept af daily

Good morning Abbers,

Happy Friday to one & all!
Nothing real special on my plan book today, just more of what I did yesterday, I think!

Bear, wishing you a great holiday, stay strong!
JC, you're doing great, good for you.
Uni, hope your weekend with your daughter is relaxing & just what you need
Hi Gyco.

Dill, I'm so glad to see you, have missed you. I'm sorry things have been so difficult lately. Glad to hear you are 'trudging', that does sound stronger, purposeful. Hope you can make it to the Tea Party this weekend. I'll bet those events leave you feeling energized. Wish I could find one to attend, should really look around. I hope everything settles down very soon for you. Please hang in there.

Hulagirl, sounds like you need to make a daily 'to do' list. I'm the same way, I forget everything if it's not written down & placed in front of me. Returning calls requires a time commitment on your part - sometimes a hard thing to do.

Marshy, I like the idea of not having to hide from life. Wouldn't that be so much simpler to accomplish if everyone around you would ease up a bit???....... Enjoy that healthy lunch of yours

Have a great AF Friday everyone.

[greeneyes]

fri 4 sept af daily

morning abbers!

Started off my day with All One followed by a gag and shiver. Really must come up with a good way to disguise disgust. Any ideas?

I mentioned the planetary thing the other day and I know many scoff at that stuff. But if you're interested, Mercury retrograde really is a good time to be introspective, take stock of things, mull over plans, that sort of stuff. If you feel a little of that, it would be good to engage it. It goes retro on Sunday but the pre-shadow is here so effects may be felt. Seems like some here already do?

Anyway, EO is ill this AM so I may take advantage of that and mow the grass. Or at least install the new parts. I amaze myself with my yard tools! :grannypants:

Hope everyone gets all sorted and enjoys the day.

[fig]

fri 4 sept af daily

Hi everyone! Yesterday was the first day I had no wine in a couple of weeks. I'm thinking of joining you all in an AF month, but am concerned about the timing right now as we go into a holiday weekend (or any weekend for that matter!). Tonight I have a dinner out planned with some girlfriends and that is a danger zone just waiting to snare me. Tomorrow night is a family bbq, and my family are big drinkers. Not drunks, but just include alcohol in all social gatherings. I'm really anxious about trying and failing tonight and tomorrow night. Does anyone have any ideas? I have been to the tool box and have written down a sort of mission statement for me to carry in my purse, but I could sure use some practical advice, like, should I fib and say I'm on antibiotics when it's time for the drinks order? What has worked for you in sticky situations. Many thanks in advance!