AF daily - Monday, September 14th

[Marshy]

Hello abbers,

Bright sunshine here, windy and an autumnal nip in the air. Lovely!

I've passed my previous AF record! (Recap: did 8.5 months AF last year, then my parents sent me a Christmas hamper that included a bottle of sherry, and I drank the bottle of sherry. And the next day I was scared that it might lead to a longer relapse but I came here and posted about it and got loads of support which helped me get through that and move on.) Soooo, it's 8.5 months later now. It feels like I've got back to where I left off! :yay:

Before that, though, it was stop-start-stop-start for a long time. I used to post in the Sunday shout out thread "day two again" or "day one again" and feel like I was banging my head against a brick wall. So to those struggling, I'd say just don't give up, keep working at it. It is possible.

Have a good day all!

[bear73]

AF daily - Monday, September 14th

wow that's excellent - really well done.
I was reay craving alcohol and cigarettes yesterday - but I resisted, so day30 for me here now. The longest I've ever gone - I made 28 days the other year.

I'm feeling a bit bluesy today - sad about friend on holiday - that our relationship is shifting and possibly fading. Historically I think I've let her 'lead' and fitted in with her wishes, now I have more wishes of my own we'll see how it goes.

I'm scared of losing the other friend in this trio if I challenge her more, which I know she won't take well. I've realised that's been one of my rules with her from cbt work, and that I need to take a risk and break it and challenge her more. I did on the last day and it felt liberating. It was just awful having to 'swallow it'for a week, little barbed comments each day.

Anyway - I'm 30 days AF and SF today so that is a great thing.pottering today - buying healthy food, bit of exercise and buying some new cheap clothes (temporary until I lose weight!)Have a good day y'all - anyone else experienced relationship shifts?

[redhibiscus]

AF daily - Monday, September 14th

A bottle of sherry for a gift and wham...you drink. But this time you know where to go for support and you immediately start AF again. That is the beauty of this site. We learn how to be sober, over time, if we keep working on it. We ask for support and get it, we set goals and stick to them.

My journey has also been start, stop, start, stop. But each episode showed me that I can be AF and it feels good. I think a huge part of this recovery is learning to treat yourself with love and care. Listing the advantages and practicing being grateful. It is a process. I love how people do not beat you up when you start back at day one, but instead encourage.

Best wishes to all today and may an AF day give you an opportunity to live well.

[Sarasmiles]

AF daily - Monday, September 14th

Good Morning All,
Anyway, it's morning here in New England. I woke up so happy today, just knowing I made it through another evening without a drink last night. It's day 8 for me today. It's wonderful to hear from people who've made it so much longer...Congratulations Marshy, that's great. Bear, 30 days seems like a long time off for me! Congrats to you, too! Here's a naive question. What is SF? I keep seeing that and trying to figure it out!

I'm looking forward to today, with the kids in school, and I don't have to work, and I don't have a hangover! I'm going to take the dog for a long hike in the woods, and then roll up my sleeves, pull back my hair and clean my house! Ah, the simple things in life that feel so rewarding!

Have a great day, everyone. Sara

[bear73]

AF daily - Monday, September 14th

Hi Sara - it's smokefree - finally realised that to stop my heavy social smoking I had to not be drunk - then realised I wasn't just using alcohol like most people and should quit that too!
8 days is great going - over a week and your first weekend - you can do it.

[Sarasmiles]

AF daily - Monday, September 14th

Thanks, Bear. So glad it wasn't smack! :H

[Mstall]

AF daily - Monday, September 14th

Morning Abbers!

Back from my 30 mile MS walk this weekend. It was wonderful! Saw some sights I havent seen before since living here.

4 advil later and i can walk without looking like i'm 90, almost.

Have a wonderful sober start of the week all!

[universal]

AF daily - Monday, September 14th

Hi guys,

I woke up refreshed and not hungover today as well. It is a liberating feeling to know that you are ready to face the world and don't have to drag your sorry a$$ through it!

I have been struggling a bit this September after a great July and August - not sure why exactly but I'm going to add the L-Glut to my daily repertoire. As everyone above has said "start stop start stop" but at least we know we have the ability to get there and have the support here.

Today will be an AF day for me.

Love and hugs,

Uni

[speedster]

AF daily - Monday, September 14th

Marshy -- :goodjob: Congratulations on the new milestone.

Bear -- :goodjob: on 30 days as well! That's a big milestone. Have a great time at pottery. Sorry about the friendship changing but who knows, your friend may follow in your foot steps! Let yourself feel down and stay strong being AF and SF!

Mstall - congrats on the walk! Sounds like you had a great time even if you're a bit sore.

I MUST control my Farmers Market urges. I bought a box of tomatoes and made more spaghetti sauce on Saturday. Spent all of Sunday staining the deck before it starts raining this week. Mr Speedster will try and finish it today. He's had projects at his parents house as well and he doesn't love projects.

What I liked about staining is the hours flew by and I have no idea what I thought about. It was like meditation. I just zoned out.

I still need to focus more on exercise and cutting out some snacking. Winter is approaching and I need to have better habits established by Nov 1st when we lose daylight savings time. That's 6 weeks away!

Goals this week are to take time to get in a better exercise/eating frame of mind. I also need to halt my house projects and enjoy the weekends for the next 6 weeks.

Have a great AF Monday!

[Lavande]

AF daily - Monday, September 14th

Good morning Abbers,

Wow! The stats are looking great:
Marshy - 8.5 months, bear 30 days, Sara 8 days - Congrats to all of you, well done

Hi to Red & Uni, it's a new week, let's start off strong!
Mstall, hope you have a pain free day after your 30 mile walk (ouch)!
Speedster - I'm with you! Now is the time to develop some healthy, skinnier habits before winter settles in. I gained weight, of course when I quit smoking in May and haven't been able to budge it!! That, in combination with excess menopause weight now puts me 20 lbs. over where I really want to be!!!! Getting tired of dragging it around, you know??? Perhaps I should dust off the treadmill??

Wishing you all a great AF Monday. I will be babysitting this afternoon while my daughter-in-law is in class. Crawling around after a 9 month old counts as exercise, right

[LVT25]

AF daily - Monday, September 14th

So many checking in this morning hangoverless!!!!:goodjob::goodjob:

Sara, I'm going to follow your lead and do the same this morning--take the dog for a walk, then get the scoop shovel and dig in!:H I have a long list of things on my to do list. Last week was a busy one away from home, I really need to take a little time and get caught up. Then, just maybe I will still have some time to do the other projects--thanks for reminding me I need to stain the deck speedster!:upset: And, BTW, I will GIVE you the stuff in my garden if you'll just come pick it!! Maybe by the time the tomatoes are ripe I will actually have time to can them.
MStall--I cannot even imagine a 30 mile walk--that is awesome. Did you notice it is easier doing those things since you quit smoking? Even though it has been over a year since I quit, I still get winded. I'm afraid I did too much damage smoking all those years. Maybe a little more aerobic exercise would help get the lungs and heart in shape too!

Have a great week everyone! :h

[Chief]

AF daily - Monday, September 14th

Morning All,

Day 6 here and it feels good! I'm so glad to be AF....

It's a beautiful day here...think I'll work outside. Hard to believe we have to start thinking about fall and winter coming...

Have a great day, everyone...

Don

[peacenik]

AF daily - Monday, September 14th

its so good to check in here and see sober people busy being sober!
i too am hangover free and feeling like getting stuff done...now let's see...laundry is a mile high, guess thats what i'll be tackling.
i ordered the supplement that lavande suggested in yesterday's thread. it is mostly made of st, john's wort (which i know is used for depression alot in europe), 5htp, and vitamins. it looks promising and i ead the entire sight with enthusiasm.
obvously i hvae been having overwhelming urges to drink lately, and had them all night last night, but today i feel calmer and ready to move forward. i was obsessing about when i could drink again and actually planning it in my head...not anymore for now. i am working towards long term sobriety damnit.

here's to everyone in the struggle!

peace

[Determinator]

AF daily - Monday, September 14th

Happy hangover-free Monday ABland!!!!!

Marshy, kudos on your new record! onward and upward friends.

Dx and I watched all the back episodes of The Colony' on Discovery channel this weekend. what a great show! it's like a tv reality show that DOESNT suck! wow. you can check it out at Discovery.com

did somebody mention eating more sensibly? I must have eaten my body weight in simple carbs this last 3 days. arrrrrgh! ok I'm going straight out to the weight bench after typing this.

Hulagirl nice to see you pop in last night

be well everyone

[dancelot]

AF daily - Monday, September 14th

What a nice uplifting thread!

Marshy - 8.5 months is wonderful! I'll give you extra credit for the previous ones as well. Seeing anyone overcome the stumbling blocks provides so much inspiration for us new folks.

Bear73 - I've been noticing some relationship shifts as well. Learning to stand up for myself, not being so afraid of other people, having the courage to pick up the phone and actually make some new friends. I think being AF free has made a huge difference. We are new and better people, and our real friends will appreciate the new us. It's such a different feeling to me to live more honestly. When I first came here I was terrified to post! I'm so much happier now.

Red H - I find hope and inspiration here every day as well.

SaraS - Congrats on 8 days!

Mstall - 30 miles and 30 + days! Wow! I have a cousin in Minneapolis that lives on the route of the runner's marathon. Maybe you passed by on your walk?

Uni - L -Gute is wonderful stuff, so is kudzu (one or both really work for me).

Speedster, LVT25 - Keeping busy with anything that's not drinking is great, plus we're so much more productive!

Lavande - I also been dragging out all forms of inside exercise equipment. Be prepared for prepared for when you can't do your outside stuff!

Chief - Congrats on 6 days! Keep it up!

Peacenik - I do love my supplements, they've made a huge difference. Hope yours do too!

Determinator - How's it going? Maybe I'll get brave and visit you guys on live chat sometime!

Hello from me to anyone else who probably posted as I rambled! Thanks to all for all the help I find just reading, and thanks for listening always!

Much Love!!!