af daily wed 6 Jan

[bear73]

hi there lovely ab people, snowed in today so am working at home - and as one of my new year's resolutions was to work less hard/stress less about work hope to be here quite a lot!
Well it's day 6 here af and sf - still got huge cold - I HAVE LOST THREE POUNDS THIS WEEK!!!!

This is the most I've lost in a long time - so pleased to see some progress tryign to stick to 1200 a day but pro been slightly over that. Determined to keep at it and focus on my half stone mini targets - three and a half stone is too much to think of in one go.

Anyway - not enjoying being back at work abut had good chat with soemone else who doesa job share and hearing her talk about her experiences, feeling inadequate/comparing self to partner really helped - it's not just me!!!

anyway good day all - will keep popping back through the day - got to learn how to work my blackberry now!!

[Marshy]

af daily wed 6 Jan

:durn: Not enough snow here! Didn't even get my feet wet on the way to work.

Good going on the weight loss bear!

[greeneyes]

af daily wed 6 Jan

Morning abberroooooos!

bear wow, lost 3 pounds already! Not to worry, I found them! Right there in a box of black jack cherry frozen yogurt. OK, this stuff has chunks of black cherry and dark choccy in vanilla yogurt. It is like ice cream. Not peppermint, mind you, but it IS good and ... shut up greenie, sugar is sugar. I'm having a hard time with the sugar and coffee. But I'll get there!! I'm still walking little doggie, but I fell off the swimming. So cold, it's hard to think about it.

Marshy don't fret over the lack of snow; all the better to see you boots! :H

Well I finally got the guy I'd like to repay me served papers yesterday. So court will be in a couple months I guess. Hope that goes well.

Busy today but a massage is tucked in there so that will be nice. And the wife always makes a nice lunch. Makes me feel right special! She makes great soups and knows I love hummus.

have a good one! BTW I put a delish soup in recipes last night.

[ready2change]

af daily wed 6 Jan

Wonderous Wednesday to all! It's early and cold and I'm off to take doggy for a walk. Walking early in the a.m. really is a great start to the day.

Still sober and having to use the rubber band less and less, in fact forgetting to put it on. But there is always a supply of rubber bands around, in case I need one.

Dad is finally starting to feel better. That is a relief. Well off on my walk I go.

Everyone have a great day. Hope all your goals are met.

R2C

[Lavande]

af daily wed 6 Jan

Good morning Abbers!

Slight covering of snow last night - no big deal! Supposed to get more Thursday night into Friday - we'll see

Hi to bear congrats on the 3 lb. weight loss this week - I've lost 1 - woo hoo!

Marshy, think snow!!!

Greenie, you are welcome to pick up my lost pound as well!

R2C, glad to hear your your rubber band wounds are not too bad

Have to get some work done - have a great Humpday one & all!
Lav

[hiddengoal]

af daily wed 6 Jan

Back...

Happy Day all you AFreedom Riders!

I guess I am in the AF saddle again. I have never said 'forever', so doing periods of AF, with some wine time between, seems to be where I am at right now. Someday, I may decide to do 'forever', but I can't think that far ahead - ha! I just know that progress seems to come the longer AF time I put in. Having analyzed my life as 'stuck', progress toward movement and change is the goal. If AF is what is needed for that, then I'm riding in the AF saddle again.

I hope its ok to join in here, even if I sound rather wishy-washy, as I need a 'home thread'. This has been where I've landed before because of all the great thoughts, humor, and 'real stuff'.

Oh, its Day 3 this time. I guess its my third day 3 since I joined here in 2007 and started to try to 'manage' my habit with wine. First day three went to 45 days, 2nd time was months later and I went 100 days. We will see how far I go this time, but I won't worry about that today, Scarlet...

Hidden

[Suni]

af daily wed 6 Jan

Hi Abbers,
Lovely day here all crisp and sunny and able to go for a walk but too busy being creative in other ways!
3 LBS Bear! Awesome. Keep going!
Marshy. It's no fun when you have to travel to build a snowman!
Hidden, I wish you long time success this time around.
I'm three months into AF and I have no intention of throwing that way.
Not for anything. You could offer me a million pounds right now and I would let you keep it.
Take care y'all and don't fall.

[Chief]

af daily wed 6 Jan

Morning All,

Day 3 here and feeling pretty good.....actually real good. Snowing here everyday, but it gets me out shoveling and getting fresh air. I'm back to going to the gym and running also.

I like how I feel.

Have a great day everyone...

Don

[Gold]

af daily wed 6 Jan

Hi all,

Well done on everyone's progress.

We have snow in this south east part of the UK, sorry it hasn't got as far as you in London Marshy. The local comprehensive school was closed today, easy to tell because of the alternative snowman erected (pardon the pun) virtually in the middle of the road. A full set of male genitalia complete with twigs to give the effect of hair, and they say young people spend too much time in front of their computers!

[FoolsGold]

af daily wed 6 Jan

Now on Day 4 & delibrately avoided what would have been a trigger. Usually travel to/from work with wife but occassionally make my own way home whch would have involved a half hour wait where I would have went for a couple of drinks. Seen this one coming & made alternative arrangements. Now home (& dry!!)

[ready2change]

af daily wed 6 Jan

Good Job FoolsGold...sometimes that is all it takes is changing our routine. Tricking our brains. Keep up the great work!

R2C

And Don, it does feel good, doesn't it?

[KateH1]

af daily wed 6 Jan

Hi All!
Very, Very, Cold here today.....snow is on the way....not a lot only a couple of inches! I am getting back into the swing of being back to work...This is always a challenge after some time off!

Hidden, it is great to have you with us! It is nice to hear that you find encouragement on this thread....I do as well! Even with us long termers, or at least for me, I find that hanging with fellow abbers is very encouraging.....I continue to learn every day!

Chief....it is so good to hear that you have made it to Day 3 and you are out of the Day 1 Loop! Keep it going!

I have been thinking about "Triggers"...I call them the...."I Drank Because....." Truth is....there is only one reason that we choose to drink...we drink because we feel horribly uncomfortable about dealing with something. We all have a long history of drinking to put a bandaid on anything that we do not wish to deal with. When...what we really need is "New Coping Skills". Though Time and Time Again....Booze never deliver the promised "Relief" from the stress and trauma's that life delivers...we still convince ourselves that one day....booze will bring us relief from Stress, Anxiety and Pain....It never will!

OK...I am done...just some of the thoughts that have been going through my head the past couple of days! LOL

Have a Great Day All!

[Raven.joy]

af daily wed 6 Jan

mental triggers do exist though. I got a new phone at Xmas. The space and full stop buttons were in reverse to my previous phone. For several days every time I sent text messages I would press full stop instead of space again and again much to my irritation. I did not do this to escape from or block out anything else. I did not do this because I was addicted to it. Habit and triggers to said habit exist. Seeing that as well as dealing with any more serious issues is important in recovery.

[Leelou]

af daily wed 6 Jan

Hi abbers,

I'm off to an island for a few days, leave in an hour. I have lots of reading material with me, and camera gear, last few days of holiday!

Stay healthy, happy and focused all!

[KateH1]

af daily wed 6 Jan

Leelou...Have a great time!!! Please post photos upon your return!!

Raven.Joy...sorry if I did not make myself clear. I am not denying that triggers exist. They certainly do, they are those people or circumstances that, during our drinking lives, would signal our brain to "Take a Drink". The "Witching Hour" for some is a huge "trigger" in the beginning...for others it might be a boss or a father in law. My point is that Nothing causes us to to drink. It is our former conditioning. We simply cannot ensure that these triggers will go away....but, we can learn new ways of dealing with these people and circumstances and retrain our brains to not immediately think of a drink, when a trigger occurs.