AF Daily Wednesday 9/30

[Lavande]

Good morning Abbers!

Here we are, the final day of September! It's been a good month for me, I'm grateful & hope you all had a great month too!

Sarasmiles, I just saw your post from yesterday's thread. I'm very, very happy for you You're doing great & I think switching to the Amoryn will help keep you feeling great! Keep up the good work friend

I have a busy day planned for myself including watching my grandson this afternoon. Good thing I slept well last night, I need lots of energy to keep up with my little 10 month old dynamo

Have a great AF day everyone!
Lav

[Mstall]

AF Daily Wednesday 9/30

Morning Lav and all to follow!

Lav - enjoy your grandson! I bet thats a good workout

Another busy day at work. Looking forward to coming home and making my fabulous baked chicken breast recipe. It took me 54 AF days of fooling around with it till i finally found a way thats healthy and tastes good. lol

today i am grateful to have those 54 days and look forward to adding another one tonight.
That will give me my first full calendar month AF!! Bring on October!

[universal]

AF Daily Wednesday 9/30

Hi guys,

Day 11 here - busy day at work though so have to fly but will check in later.

Love and hugs,
Uni

[AAthlete]

AF Daily Wednesday 9/30

Good morning Lav and happy Wednesday to you!

The first thing that popped into my head when I read your post about sleeping well is what a change stopping drinking made in my sleep patterns. When I was boozing I would constantly be up in the middle of the night, wondering if I had done anything stupid, wondering if I should have another drink to calm my nerves, and wondering if I could resist drinking the next night... It was an endless cycle....

Now, I can't stay awake past 10am, and wake up in the morning without an alarm clock ready to get the day started. So, thanks for reminding me of another benefit of living a sober life. AF rules!

Hope everyone had a happy and productive Wednesday!

[greeneyes]

AF Daily Wednesday 9/30

hey ho abbberoos!

AA I had that very same thought today. My internal clock is sleep from 10 to 6. I do wake up once around 2 or 3 to tee-tee but go right back to sleep. I have yet to make it to the end of the PBS series I'm watching this week. Tonight I'll do something new and different and SIT UP on the couch with the lights on.

I'll be looking for the 54 day chicken breast recipe mstall!

Well, the show must go on! Hey I got a huge boquet of mums for half price at the store today. They have the manager's special buggies at the front. $5 and it made 2 big vases!

[Determinator]

AF Daily Wednesday 9/30

Happy Wed ABerooooos!

good grief, yesterday it was 90+ and today we have frost. brrrrrrr.

Lavande, enjoy your grandson. also...what is your avatar? I just noticed this morning that it winks LOL

ditto what you guys said on booze screwing up sleep patterns. not fun! I still have some nights where I don't sleep to solid but there is no feeling of dread. and what sleep I do get is really beneficial.

off to chop some garlic for breakfast

be well

[universal]

AF Daily Wednesday 9/30

Oh Det, we had greek for lunch - I swear I smell like a walking garlic bulb now! LOL and I have a customer appoitment later - hope I don't knock them over!

[Doggygirl]

AF Daily Wednesday 9/30

Hello everyone!! What a wonderful chipper thread we have going today. Lav & Mstall - you both reminded me of two big benefits of sobriety in my life. The sleep one has already been mentioned! And yes - intertwine the sleepless nights with guilt, remorse, tears & fears - and there you have it. Those were my nights. Makes a simple night of sweaty menopause symptoms seem tame LOL!! I too find that I naturally fall asleep early (for me, that's usually 9PM and Greenie, I can relate to falling asleep on even my favorite shows ThankGoodnessForTivo!) and wake up with no alarm usually by 4 or 5AM. Funny how we experience so many things in common after feeling so totally alone when drinking. At least I felt lonely and isolated! And here we are with all this stuff in common both now AND back then.

I can also relate to COOKING!! And FOOD!! And enjoying both!! I too cannot wait for the 54 Day Chicken recipe. Let us know when you post it, OK? Today it's crock pot beef stroganoff. I'm trying out a new recipe and yesirree it's got GARLIC in it. So it's sure to be good.

Uni congrats on Day 11! Good luck with your customer meeting! Maybe they had garlic for lunch too. If Deter ran the world, everyone would have garlic for lunch. And maybe one or two other ingredients as well.

Greenie I almost bought some mums today and now I wish I would have! It's so nice to have fresh flowers in the house. But I get that "it's a recession..." mentality going. Unfortunately, that mentality does NOT strike me when the Eddie Bauer catalog comes.....

AA it's always great to see you. I completely agree with you that the AF life rules. I would not willingly go back to being a drunken prisoner in my own home for anything.

The days are flying by and at times I'm not sure what kept me so busy!! Beats boredom I guess. It was cold last night - they were saying maybe 30's. I don't think it got THAT cold but I think it went into the 40s. BRRR. We turned on the furnace. I realized I don't NEED a furnace at night. I have my own built in middle aged furnace that is working over time. Anyway...today is sunny and gorgeous in the 60's. So I need to get my butt out to the garden and see what's goin on!! I still have hopes for some lettuce, turnips, beets, radishes and brussels sprouts before it's all over. (yes I know...a BIG dream!) There might still be some tomatoes and peppers to be picked as well. There are also a few more onions that are now GIANT that I need to bring in. They are really too hot for eating raw, but we accidentally figured out that they are AWESOME when roasted. So I don't want to lose those. OK - if anyone has trouble sleeping I have provided the garden adventures that you can read and snooze to!

I'm still not excited about all that comes with a puppy - the crying in the night and the potty training and the chewing and the issues with having multiple dogs when a new one comes home, etc. BUT...I am very happy for Mr. Doggy that he will have a really good prospect for the sport that he has come to love so much. The old drunken me would have thought ONLY of myself and my own feelings without much, if any, consideration for his. It will all work out, and I am still amazed that even DEEP down inside I am so peaceful about this. Wow. Life surely is changing for the better around here.

Have a rockin AF end of September everyone!

DG

[Pamina]

AF Daily Wednesday 9/30

Thanks for the good wishes, DG, I'm definitely celebrating the end of September and yes, I'm doing it AF.

I've had a really hard time this month with taxes, probate, my sister's issues, my uncle's funeral and now another death. At least a month is ending, hopefully the bad news will too. Oh, and the Mercury retrograde thing should be over!!

I just wanted to check in quickly now I'm finally back in London. Hopefully life will settle into something a bit more normal.

Have a good evening all.

[Doggygirl]

AF Daily Wednesday 9/30

Pamina, the stuff you've been dealing with this month sounds so tedius, and with the added difficulty I'm sure of the mourning feelings that surely came with the work. Is there still more to do, or is most of this behind you now? I bet it feels good to be back in London. Sending you huge non-retrograde vibes if there is such a thing.

ETA: Sara, I just read your post from yesterday and it sounds like you are coming to some important decisions about where AL does (or doesn't!) fit in your life. Good for you. Looking back on things, for me it was such an important turning point when I finally decided to stop the BS with the "maybe I can moderate" stuff and just get serious about building an AF life. It was so much simpler and more gratifying to tackle the problem in that way. I hope your decision works well for you!

DG

[Guitarista]

AF Daily Wednesday 9/30

Hello folk's!
I'm sorry to hear of your difficult times, Pam, it's great you are af, and i'm sure things will settle for you soon too.
Yep. AF life defo rules! Sort of a 10.00 p.m. to 5/6.00 a.m'er here too. I sleep well usually, and generally up before the alarm clock. Aint this a feeling to be remembered and cherished?!
Best wishes to all my friends here. Rock on!

[Sarasmiles]

AF Daily Wednesday 9/30

Hey Abbers,
I'm so happy to count myself as one of you, and to be accepting this new path.

I never seem to have time to check in until late night, so I feel a little out of sync. Thanks for the responses to yesterdays thread. Lavande, I'm looking forward to getting the Amoryn, and I'm so grateful to you for mentioning it. I've been off of Prozac since 9/19, after tapering down. I started up the St. John's Wort and 5HTP at the same time. Today I felt irritable...like PMS, only I just had my period. I remember this from previous attempts to get off of Prozac. It hits after about two weeks, when the drug is fully out of my system, I think. In the past, I've gotten scared when I've felt this irritability, (and teariness...that hasn't come yet, and maybe it won't this time!) and I've soon gone back to Prozac, or tried other SSRIs. I've also had a pattern of drinking when this mood hits. This time, I'm going to handle it differently. I just read "Prozac Backlash" and have read a lot of things on line about withdrawal from anti-depressants. I truly think I experience that, and then I either drink or go back to the med, or both. I would like to get through the withdrawal and see how I feel in a few weeks. I don't think it's a "return of depression", but rather "SSRI discontinuation syndrome" (yes, that's the drug company name for it...I guess it sounds better than "withdrawal".) Anyway, I've been feeling good most of the time, but just had that nasty feeling of wanting to snap at the kids or my husband today. I didn't snap, but I felt on the verge of it. I want to check in here as I go along, and hold tight to my resolve that drinking is not the way to relieve tension or irritability. Tonight I ended up telling my kids (who are young; 6, 7 and 10; all boys) that I was in a bad mood, that I was tired, and that it had absolutely nothing to do with them. I have such a fear that my moods will trouble or hurt them...It's hard to just feel stuff and let it be, when what I want most in the world is to be the warm, loving, gentle, cheerful mom I am when I'm at my best.

Thanks for the encouragement, Doggygirl. Yes, I agree, this feels easier than moderation! I can hardly believe it. I was so sure that I just couldn't face the thought of never drinking again. Something has clicked, and now the thought doesn't really scare me. It comforts me. I never have to screw up (in that particular way:H) again. I don't have to count drinks, plan for which nights I can drink, or kick myself for straying from my plan. What a joy.

Pamina, you have my sympathy and empathy for your tough times, too. We have all got to hang in there through our rough patches and the rewards will be so great!

Okay, I've gone on a long time here...and this will be yesterday's thread by the time I sign off if I don't hurry up! Best to all, and thanks for being here.
Sara

[LVT25]

AF Daily Wednesday 9/30

"It's hard to just feel stuff and let it be, when what I want most in the world is to be the warm, loving, gentle, cheerful mom I am when I'm at my best."

Sara, I can so relate to your thoughts here. I struggle with irritability so much of the time. Esp when hubby drinks. I feel better since I've started the BHRT, at lease I don't feel like I could bite through nails at times. I really am trying to learn to get outside of myself---like yesterday I was irritated that hubby couldn't/wouldn't fix dinner--I wasn't even thinking he might be having a bad day having lost an old friend of the family. It doesn't always have to be about me, you know?

Anyway, just wanted to pop in to encourage you to keep posting--late or not. :h

[Sarasmiles]

AF Daily Wednesday 9/30

Thanks LVT25! What is BHRT?

[LVT25]

AF Daily Wednesday 9/30

Oh, sorry---Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy. I'm using a Progesterone cream.