af daily sat 21 may

[bear73]

woah zoom zoom busy week - really glad I made myself go out last night after super heavy week and see bands -i drove - no temptation to drink at all - i know it will be back but it felt good yesterday. I got home at 2am and I have a busy busy day today with bout and after party (driving again and there for a short time).

I think i am at 7 weeks af today - last drank on 2 April? I feel so good - I am also on spark people which is really helping me get head together to eat well and stick with day to day exercise cycling to work at least 3 days a week, continue to not smoke and go to the gym.

Anyway can feel work stress building up on me - need to take action on that and continually monitor my thoughts.I have a lovely 3 day weekend off - realised too much lounging time does not relax me - it makes me anxious. Super positive day - not sure I need my prozac anymore - or maybe it is just working and I am no longer depressed - plan to stay on until at least end of year I think- testing times ahead at work.

Dilemma - How much would you challenge a boss who is not making decisions/supporting you - given that she may be interviewing you against another candidate in a few months time? I feel you can do it professionally - not sure - or do you play a political game?
I'm not good at politics!

Rollerderby has really changed me, focused me to be fit, exercise and eat well, heavy drinking and smoking are just not part of that - it has taught me to fall over,stand up, try again and repeat. It has also meant I have met a 90% lovely diverse group of cool women of all different ages, 90% of whom are healthy, do not smoke, or drink to excess (that often, and their excess is 3-4 drinks)

[jennyneric]

af daily sat 21 may

Good morning guess who made it through last night...you got it...me! After my fight with Mr. thing you couldn't have made me drink on principal at that point. Thank you all for your support. This year there have been 20 friday nights and I have now made it through 8 without drink. There have been 21 saturdays and I've made it through 11 of those not including today. Thats a little less than half. I also ordered all but one of my class books last night, I start a week from tuesday. I.m so excited!
Gonna go read now I'll comment back on everyone later!

[Doggygirl]

af daily sat 21 may

Morning fABbies!!!

bear, thanks for kicking things off for us today. I love the changes that are happening in you. Love your view of what roller derby has done for you. I remember a time where the focus seemed to be on the 10% of team mates who maybe were not your cup of tea rather than the good qualities of the 90%. Cup.is.(more than)half.full.

Jenny, congratulations making it through another AF Friday! Don't feel bad about mentioning that reading about my year long struggles triggered "those" thoughts. (well, that's just the year I was here prior to AF - not the zillion years of struggle before that!!!) I think it's important to acknowledge the stinkin' thinkin' rather than pretend it's not there. Pretending sure didn't help me at all during that year long struggle. I am the queen of trying to pretend everything is "OK" when it's not. That doesn't work! You must be getting really excited about school!

Can't wait to see piccies of the PAPHUT and also the dogs at Deter's event. (HINT HINT)

Hello to everyone!

As soon as my breakfast settles I'm out the door for run #3 of week 5 couch to 5K. Can't believe I've come this far. I'm still holding out that "running may not be for me." But for today, I'm gonna just do it.

Lav, I can't believe you already have little tomatoes on. LOL, the stuff I put in the ground yesterday are all tiny little 3 or 4 inch tall plants. I may not have tomatoes until October!

One of the guys in the Men's residential program at the mission is graduating and having a little party tonight. I think I will go to wish him well with his life.

I wonder if Uni got the call yet? :l

One thing is for sure....

DG

[momof3]

af daily sat 21 may

Good Morning All,

Quick check in.

Jenny. Fantastic that you did not drink last night. :goodjob:Another deposit in the self confidence bank and a reminder that you can do anything you put your mind too. Stay vigilant and strong and have some fun. I really like what Greenie said in yesterday's thread (she is the Queen afterall). Plan AHEAD for fun/interesting things to fill your time rather than finding yourself faced with a situation where you have nothing to do, especially during "witching hours."

DG. Have you signed up for a 5K race? If not, I would highly recommend it. It would be a great way to celebrate your achevement. And, it is so much fun to be part of a running event. You don't have to "race" just finish. ONE MORE DAY TIL YOUR 3 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!:yay: I feel as if we are sobriety twins and I am blessed to be sharing this journey with you.

Hi Bear, Love that you are loving being AF. It is amazing to me how I read again and again how negativity and complacency goes away once the brain is cleared of alcohol. That was one of the most pleasantly surprising benefits of becoming AF for me...how much alcohol was causing me to think and behave like a negative victim and once I had some solid AF time behind me, those thoughts and feelings went away. I am most definitely a "glass half full" person now and even when I am faced with challenging situations (or people), I look for the lessons that I am supposed to be learning. I know that you know this, but please be careful with the upcoming parties. What was really helpful to me was to pay attention to my inner voice and if I was feeling at all vulnerable, I would not go to events where I thought there was a chance that I would pick up a drink. It was reallly hard because I felt like I was depriving myself of socializing and friendships but I can now go to such events without the risk of drinking. It takes time though. Okay, I'm done.

Off to the Farmer's Market and to clean 2 bathrooms when I return.:upset:

[Lavande]

af daily sat 21 may

Good morning Abbers!

I admit I slept until 8:30 this morning!

The sun is back for the first time in over a week - it will not rain today -YAY!!!

Bear, congrats to you on 7 AF weeks! Fantastic!!!

jenny, congrats on another AF Friday night! They do become completely normal, you'll see

DG, you know that my garen is energized with chicken poop :H
The tomato plants especially love it!!!

M3, don't clean today - go out & enjoy the weather
After the week of rain we've endured on the east coast we deserve a break!

I will be attending my niece's baby shower this afternoon but the rest of the day I will be playing in the garden

Have a great AF day everyone! Thinking of Uni as well!

Lav

[Kaslo]

af daily sat 21 may

Gude morgen Fabenstiener Absteners! Ich bein sober! I was always a morning person, until I started boozing too much and I became a wuss in the morning. I keep sayin, Im new here, getting to know you all, and I have to say I just love the positive spirit I find here in the morning.

Jenny, you did it, thats great :goodjob: getting past the gates of hell, aka Friday night may seem simple but to us here, we completely understand the press. Well done!!

Momof3, there was a time I could not imagine going AF for three years. You are an inspiration to me. Especially your fitness campaign. I cant run (had two hip replacements) but i can garden like a FIEND.

DG have a great day!!!!, wish I had a party to go to. Instead I have to pack to get up to the memorial service for Peter, (and all the other travel planned for this week) but in fact that will be a bit of a party no doubt, and I wll see many old friends. Its kind of sad, because I loved the guy he was a big brother to me, and also a huge drinker, but also it will be pleasant. His family is kind of my adopted family in many ways...

Bear, protecting a fragile state of mind is something I can really relate to. I was suicidal and on prosac 15 years ago, whilst drinking like a fish, and it took a year to take. I have been down since then, but never that down. You are doing so well to go 7 weeks... that is a major achievement. Keeping busy is probably a good idea for you. Pretty soon though you may find that being AF makes the passage of time so much easier to enjoy.

Hope you guys like this most recent photo taken at work. I wish they came up smaller. I am posting via photobucket, so if anyone has any ideas let me know. This is a creek entry into the reservoir where I am doing a vegetation study. The foam is natural. Getting going, have to pack, get all my field gear, and stuff together to present a paper at a symposium on air pollution on Tuesday. have a great day everyone.

[jennyneric]

af daily sat 21 may

Hey Bear, DG, M3 and Lav. . .sooo good to see you!

I got up and showered, put on make up, fixed my hair, and put on cute clothes for the first time since the "accident" or "incident" whichever fits better. I feel so good! I have my whole Saturday to do everything and anything. I don't feel sick or cloudy. LOVE IT! Added bonus. . . I'm in the 119 (lbs) this morning! Been trying to lose those last 4 lbs forever and was going no where no matter how much I watched my diet or exercised. . . maybe it had something to do with the 560 cals of vodka I was drinking on Friday night. . . I've also been "zig zagging" my cals this week. . .1100 then 1500. . . .and it seams to have worked!


DG. . . .you 3 year anni! We gotta have a party! I can't believe I've been reading that date for a week and it never even occurred to me. . .sorry! BTW I love the Booze Buster threads! So awesome! If you get a :award: for thirty days the you and M3 need 3 of these:grouptrophy:!!!! y'all are awesome and inspirational!

Off to a doggie hair cut and a people hair cut, then some yummy grocery shopping at Target! I may even use the motorized cart. . .for people that can't walk or have broken legs, ankles, or feet. . .like me!:H

[LVT25]

af daily sat 21 may

Hello friends,

Wow, everyone sounds great this morning. Bear, I am so proud of you! Jenny, stick with it, you know what to do. Keep doing stuff with your kids, even if it is just sitting on the couch watching a movie on Friday night!
I'm sorry for your loss of your friends Mom3 and Kaslo. It is so hard, and so sad. I truly hope my friend with stage 4 colon cancer can beat this thing. He is doing great on chemo. His wife is my best friend and all I can do is continue to be there for them.
Lav, I'm glad someone has our sunshine today. Yesterday was beautiful here. A little chilly, but by evening it was absolutely gorgeous. I mowed at the cemetery until 7pm. They are talking rain showers off and on for the next 10 days again here.:upset: The rain has made the grass a beautiful green, but it will quickly turn yellow if we don't get some sun!
I really, really want to get my garden at least started before we leave for DC. (OK, right now I am pretty sure I am going--Greenie, quit shaking your head!):H
Mom3--we are staying at the Crystal City Hyatt. And by staying, I mean sleeping and eating breakfast. Here is a sampling of the things we are going to do in 4 days and 3 nights: Capital Hill, Iwo Jima memorial, Smithsonian, National archives, Union station, National zoo, Embassy row, Korean war vet memorial, Jefferson memorial, WW2 memorial, Holocaust museum, White house, Mount Vernon, Fords theatre and Peterson house, Kennedy center, Old town Alexandria, Arlington Natl cem, FDR memorial, Washington Natl Cathedral, Vietnam memorial, Lincoln memorial, Washington monument, Dinner cruise on Potomac, Newseum..............
Wow, I get tired just thinking about it. Anyway, it's something I don't really want to miss out on, and all my other projects will keep. As far as my son goes, one of our good friends has agreed to keep him and parent him. The only worry right now is they will be out of town the first day we are gone, so I'm going to try to find someone to be here that first night--so I don't have to worry about him so much. I can't believe how much this son has taught me about communicating. He has grown up so much this last year, and I am very proud of him. Hubby and I even managed to have a positive conversation about it last night.
Anyway, I seriously need to get busy. I am just going to keep plugging away, and hope to get as much done as possible in the next 10 days.
Oh, and I need a new title to go with my new VITAMIX 5200 BLENDER!!! I made a delicious "Banana Split Protein smoothie" yesterday---yummy!
Have a great sober weekend all. (Kaslo--my next vacation, I'm coming to see you!)
:h

[Kaslo]

af daily sat 21 may

I missed Lav, she posted just as I was about to. Hi Lav, have a nice day in the garden. MVT, thats a lotta memorials.... have a great time!

[greeneyes]

af daily sat 21 may

LVT25;1117988 wrote: (OK, right now I am pretty sure I am going--Greenie, quit shaking your head!):H

:H:H:H Who needs a web cam! Seriously, I'm sure you'll have a blast. The activity list made my head spin so much I fell out of my chair. :zonedout:

I love my little piece of planet... ommmm....Yes, I'm working in the tundra. Just the back today, front can wait a few days.

I'm dying to see the paphut and a video from det would be awesome! Kaslo, I'd love to folllow you around work for a few days - it sounds fascinating to me. I'll have my passport in a month so when you have "bring a friend to work" day, I'll be ready! :H BTW, I think you can edit the size after you upload.

Jen, good job making it through yesterday!

Lav, so did you REALLY have meatballs and doughnuts?

bear, how far is it to work. I'm so impressed by the cycling to work! Here it gets so hot and humid I would be a sweaty mess in just a short distance.

DG, I'm with M3 on the 5K race idea! I ran my first race on my birthday with a hangover. (imagine that)

OK, back out to the tundra.

[DriftyAlison0]

af daily sat 21 may

Today should be an easy af day. Taking it a day at a time and when the craves hit, I will just come here and/or visualize myself with a massive hangover.

[papmom3]

af daily sat 21 may

that's what I do Drifty and it worked/works for me. I NEVER EVER want to have a hangover again!! Welcome and what else is in your plan?

[Determinator]

af daily sat 21 may

hidy ho ABeroooos! finally getting in a post before dark

had a fabulous time at the K9 trials and but sadly couldn't take any pictures from where I was located in the exhibitor section. thankfully the handlers walked their dogs around so I could pet them and get my doggy fix. I just love dogs and some day when I'm not travelling so much we'll have one again.

Kaslo great picture. it looks monochromatic. is that intentional or how photobucket interpreted it?

Great work on the sobriety everyone, loving to hear the success stories.

Uni, hoping your in a good safe spot tonight dear xxxxx

well, off to scrounge around for dinner. say, did I mention I'm staying the night in.......drumroll please.......

Gilroy, CA the garlic capitol of the world!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

yeeeeee haw!

be well everyone, garlicky dreams

[DriftyAlison0]

af daily sat 21 may

My plan is to avoid the bars till I can go without drinking. I love to do karaoke and I don't want them to stop, so I will wait a few weeks or so till I feel ready (if I get to the point) and then go with only around 40 dollars or less and just order soda. I have friends supporting me as well as my mom. And I also plan to pray and ask god to help me. With this site, my faith, and my support system, I will succeed. I will also do what ppl over at quitnet do when they crave, they post about it. So that is what I am going to do. If I can defeat smoking, I can defeat drinking as well. You can do anything that you put your mind to it. I put my mind to quitting drinking so I am going to be able to do it.

[greeneyes]

af daily sat 21 may

Hi allison and welcome! It's good to see you with a wholehearted approach and using "I am". In the past I've seen you say " I hope". There's a big difference! You sing! How marvelous! Very good idea to avoid the bars now and I'm so glad to see you tackling this while you are young. (a little younger than us 29 year olds, that is..:H)