Marvelous Magnificant March - week 2

[rebirth]

Marvelous Magnificant March - week 2

Hey Chill thank you. And I am so happy to hear about your mortgage being paid off for a while. That will give you some breathing space..x

It's nice to see that everyone is still posting on this thread. I will try and make more affort to read everyone's posts.

Lav you must be a very happy grandmother these days?

P3 congratulations on your ten months!

[mylife]

Marvelous Magnificant March - week 2

Good evening all!

Rebirth nice to see you back! I understand about the computer time. It was starting to get to me too! But it's a great way to stay on the AF track for the moment.

Great to hear from everyone else as well, I won't list names because I don't want to forget one and then feel bad later!! But I really do read and get something from everyone's posts. It's great to have this support.

Have a wonderful evening everyone!

[paguy]

Marvelous Magnificant March - week 2

Good Evening!

Chill - That is fantastic news about your mortgage! I can only imagine how relieved you feel. I understand how you expressed your feelings for your husband. I met the first love of my life when I was 21 and he still holds a very special place in my heart. We were together for 10 years and he is no longer with us but I still think about him frequently. Those strong first loves can be very powerful :h

This week is coasting along quickly for me. I am wrapping up my training for my run on Sunday and it is going well. And, my sugar cravings have not been all that bad for the past couple of days. Still need to get to the store to buy L-glutamine. Hope to do that tomorrow.

Rebirth - Nice to see you checking in and I agree with Chill - you look fantastic.

Dill - Your quote was very powerful and resonated with me. I know that my success so far has been due to my determination and demands that I've put on myself. Nobody has said this was going to be easy but the hard work has paid off.

Star - You continue to sound so positive and happy with your current state. You really have found peace and I am happy for you. Enjoy your trip to Florida!

Lav - When is your next grandchild due? My new grand-niece/grand-nephew is due next week... More storks will be flying through the area - watch out!

Hope everyone has a peaceful evening....

[Lavande]

Marvelous Magnificant March - week 2

I personally don't care how much time I spend on my computers :H
They keep me working, sane & on track with my quits!!!!

Hi rebirth - I do like your new picture!
Guess I could do with one myself - one of these days.......

Hi mylife, good to see you as well.

Chill, I meant to tell you that I'm happy that you are secure in your home for a while. That must be a good feeling.

Quiet evening, just waiting for bedtime

[Lavande]

Marvelous Magnificant March - week 2

Cross post John -
Next stork ETA is April 5!

[rebirth]

Marvelous Magnificant March - week 2

Morning folks,

Wow lav..all this babies coming into your life this year. How wonderful!

John How is your running? I have managed to use my treadmill once a week but I can only run for about twenty minutes!

A wram hello to all!

[rustop61]

Marvelous Magnificant March - week 2

Hi everyone

I have not been getting much computer time this week either. However, I do check in any chance I get and read. Been a bit of a crazy week, I have had something on every night this week. Last night my daughter was debating with her school in the semi-finals in Gaeilge. It's the first time I saw her in action and wow. The others stood behind the podium and a lot of them read their points. She came out in front of it and what a performance. They did not get through to the final, they were beaten by a boys schools but they should be very proud of themselves.

Papmom - Congratulations on your 10 months, what an amazing achievement.

Chill - Glad you got your mortgage sorted for a while, it will give you a breathing space and who knows what is around the corner.

John - Good luck in your race.

Star - Enjoy Florida, you sound great. Thanks for sharing about the cravings. I still get them but am trying to ride through them and not give in.

Dill - thanks for the quotes, very appropriate as always.

Everyone else big hello and welcome to the newer members.

Rustop

[Stargazerlily]

Marvelous Magnificant March - week 2

Good morning all...

No work for several days and I am ready for a change!! Packed last night, and will leave early this morning, it is just so nice to get away. Looking forward to seeing family and warm weather. I feel healthy and want this to continue.

I just want to comment on all the progress in this thread....we are all working hard on our thinking, relationships, and being honest. Lots of hard work. Making changes. I was just reading some thread re Baclofen and got the impression that it is magic without the hard work. Is this true? Still, I am afraid of side effects and taking pills in general. I am very happy that there are so many ways to becoming AF as what works for me may not work for another. Just reading the constant partying made me tired. I think I am understanding more and more that the fun we think we see has consequences. We see people partying and getting loud, but don't see them waking up with a horrible hangover, lack of relationships or troubled relationships, broke cause they spent all their money, etc. I am keeping this in mind as when warm weather hits, I associate it with sitting out side and having a few drinks. Which for me can mean hangover city, even with two or three. I am just done with alcohol, just like I am done with cigarettes. My body cannot take it anymore. OK, I am done.

Have a great AF lovely day, and may spring come soon.

[Chillgirl]

Marvelous Magnificant March - week 2

dill;1072961 wrote: "Any time you sincerely want to make a change, the first thing you must do is to raise your standards. When people ask me what really changed my life eight years ago, I tell them that absolutely the most important thing was changing what I demanded of myself. I wrote down all the things I would no longer accept in my life, all the things I would no longer tolerate, and all the things that I aspired to becoming."Anthony Robbins

Dill I get quite emotional when i read this quote, sometimes I just dont know were my strength comes from. Its not there in my day to day living but there have been key monents in my life when I get a surge of inspiration and will just no longer tolerate the way things are. Im so grateful to have had these moments and I strive to make them a more regular occurence in dealing with life. I do believe its inside all of us, we just have to get quiet enough to hear that authentic voice.

Star - I wish you a wonderful trip! I too used to associate warm weather with sitting around drinking wine but looking back what a waste of sunny days. I would be sitting anesthetized after the 1st couple and once id started drinking the day was written off. I could never be bothered to do anything other than just sit there. Now I get out on my bike or enjoy long walks with my dog, i breathe in the beautiful air and smell the blossom! By the end of the day im enjoying that feeling from the fresh air and exercise and go to bed feeling that life is SO good. (I just googled anesthetized when I was checking the spelling and it is the most perfect description of how i felt when i was drinking: "deprived of feeling or awareness".)

I had some wonderful news the other day, my lifelong mentor Wayne Dyer is speaking in London in June and I've booked a ticket. I met him just 3 months before I quit drinking and he was a huge influence on me so this is a really big deal. Here is a great clip of him talking about habits and addictions:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3USPs0nPUw[/video]]YouTube - Wayne Dyer/Changing The Habits That Erode

[Jolie]

Marvelous Magnificant March - week 2

Good morning all,

Star - I agree - there is a lot of hard work going on in here! This is probably one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life but it's so worth it. Sorry - don't know anything about Baclofen - if it's true than that is wonderful but IMO most things that sound too good to be true are. Hopefully someone else on this thread will have more info than me.

Was reading another chapter in Allen Carr's book and it was mainly on the idea of cutting back in order to finally stop drinking - his opinion is that this only makes it harder as all you can think about is when you will be allowed to drink again and if your mind is consumed with this inbetween the times you allow yourself to drink, then the AL still has power over you. This made sense and as for me, just cutting back (moderating) will not work. I'm curious if those who are able to moderate successfully have any opinions on this.

Well, it is a rainy, rainy day in my part of the woods and I'm hoping to stick close to my office today.

Hope everyone out there has a safe, sober day!

[Lavande]

Marvelous Magnificant March - week 2

Good morning Marchers!

Super soaker - that's what the TV weather people are calling this rain storm Jolie - yuck!
All I know is I will end up with 26 super bitchy chickens by the end of the day - they hate being cooped up :H

Enjoy your get away Star. Wish I could get out of here for a few days myself but I know that's not going to happen any time soon

Chill, you are a lucky girl being able to see Wayne Dyer. He's such a wonderful human being, terrific speaker.

I am a happy grandma rebirth - never realized I would enjoy this role so much

Hope everyone has a terrific AF day ahead
Lav

[rebirth]

Marvelous Magnificant March - week 2

Hi all

Jolie I have had the odd drink every now and again on the weekend..so far without harmful consequences. It's hard to say whether Al has power over me because I dont think about it during the week... and if a craving comes along I just let it slide. But we are all different when it comes to our drinking and I know that moderation doesnt work with most people. It may not work for me in the long run but so far I am happy with it. x

[Rusty]

Marvelous Magnificant March - week 2

Happy Thursday, Marchers!

Thank God....I'm going home today!:yay: Out of Redneckland for good...my last here forever!

Sooty-you asked me why this hotel was raunchy. It's old....the carpeting and paint, wallpaper are all worn, and, the worst part....smelly mold and stale cigarette smoke in the hallways. I've never smoked and I cannot stand that smell.

Chill-congratulations on the mortgage and I'm envious that you will be seeing Wayne Dyer. Enjoy the program! Maybe you can get another MWO friend to go with you?

Dill-thank you for the quote from Anthony Robbins. How very true! I read his book many years ago.

Star-you asked about Baclofen. As you know, I took it for several months and it is truly a miracle drug. You asked about whether it does all the work. No, it doesn't. But in my case, I was never obsessed with drinking, even when my drinking was at its worst. I never thought about it all day....and everyone's journey is different. I was using alcohol to self-medicate. For me, Baclofen mellowed me out and snuffed out the light that went on in my head after work that said, "it's cocktail hour or I'm home alone this weekend, I think I'll have some champagne." It gave me the breathing room to change my routine. Now I'm delighted that I enjoy working out after work. I don't miss happy hour at all, and on the weekends, I love going to the gym and hooking up with a friend afterward for coffee. Baclofen is a muscle relaxant and it has done wonders for my anxiety. I find that I am much more patient when I'm on it....much more low-key, and generally happier. Currently, I am not taking it because I am studying for this exam and the one side effect is that I get sleepy right after lunch. I credit Baclofen with making me indifferent to alcohol.

Jolie-I read Allen Carr's book, too. I found it very interesting and helpful, however, he emphasizes the fact that alcohol doesn't taste good and likens it to cigarettes...how people smoke but they really don't enjoy the taste. In my case, I liked the taste of a good Chardonnay and to try to convince myself that I don't like the taste is futile. My philosophy and drinking patterns are very similar to Rebirth's. You asked about whether some people are able to moderate successfully. When I was seeing a therapist, she said it depended largely on how you've been abusing booze. Fortunately, my trip with alcohol lasted about 3.5 years and is no longer a worry for myself or my family.

Rebirth-what a fabulous photo! You do look amazing! But then, I bet you have never taken a bad picture in your life!:h

Paguy-Good luck with the race this weekend! I'll be rooting for you!

Welcome to all our new people!

Mr. G....it's so good to see you! Well, since you didn't want to jump out of my birthday cake, how do you feel about Easter baskets? :H

Well, I must leave for the airport now. Hope you all have a wonderful AF Thursday!

[Jolie]

Marvelous Magnificant March - week 2

Rusty - thanks for sharing your thoughts and glad acohol isn't a problem for you anymore! As for me, I would always mix my wine with other things - very rarely did I drink it by itself (unless in public where I couldn't pour some cranberry juice into my wine glass full of pinot) so I truly drank for the affect - not the taste. I'm about 3/4 of the way thru this book and although I think it has been helpful, I sometimes get annoyed when he refers quite frequently to the smoking addiction. I bought the book to help with alcohol - not smoking. Besides this, he wrote a book on how to stop smoking before he ever wrote the drinking one! Just my thoughts on this.

Rebirth - that is awesome that you can have that occasional drink without constantly being consumed by when the next drink will be! Guess that's the real difference here. (beautiful picture of you by the way!)

Chill - this Wayne Dyer guy sounds very interesting - I'm gonna have to google him.

Lav - my dogs are out in a kennel during the day where the also have access to a covered house - but do you think they will stay in it? They will look like two drowned rats when I get home and the clean-up will take forever! Oh how we do love our pets. Weekend is looking pretty good though.

Check in later - have a great day all.

[Lavande]

Marvelous Magnificant March - week 2

:H:H Jolie -
You think dogs are stupid in the rain -
my chickens take the cake on stupidity & they smell 10X worse wet than my dogs do :H:H