Ladies on a Mission!

[Starfish1]

Ladies on a Mission!

narilly;1591078 wrote: I went to counseling yesterday and the counselor gave me a really good strategy to use when I think I want to have a glass of wine.

As soon as I think of having a glass I should picture something terrible.

Okay, gals, this is about the worst I can think of and I am stealing this from another member from last year...but it's pretty gory...

When you think of picking up that drink, think of it as embalming fluid....YOUR embalming fluid...so realistic....and so true :upset: drink up!

[scottish lass]

Ladies on a Mission!

Morning all - woke up, stretched beautifully - took a selfie, and nope - same old jiggly wrinkles tucked up in the flannel sheets - with major bedhair!! (ps - didn't really take a selfie - scared it would damage my camera:H)
So two weeks for me today - I have got to this point a few times in last couple months and blown it - so hanging on tight with you lovely ladies!
NS - I have found some sparkling pomegranate juice at Trader Joes, that I keep for "special" occasions - and it has worked for me. I don't like the AF wines etc. They also have a chardonay grape juice that is sparkling and is in a champers style bottle...
Well, working from home today - so will likely be checking in a few times - got to nip out and get turkey, will just have to turn a blind eye to the temptations in the stores, as I know I will be tempted

[Starfish1]

Ladies on a Mission!

scottish lass;1591116 wrote: flannel sheets)

Glad I'm not the only one that doesn't starch my white sheets, but am I the only one with a sore shoulder ??? ! I can't stretch it anymore. I don't think its due to alcohol misuse, just age!
As I have said before, Scottish Lass, you are my shero :l

[acadiaofmaine]

Ladies on a Mission!

Hi Everyone,

Narilly, your comment about your mother in law saying to just go relax with a glass of wine...raises a lot of stuff for me. It is so seductive, isn't it? It sounds so good-just have a glass of wine and relax. I feel the same thing when I walk down the street and see people in restaurants at lunchtime (or any time) having a glass or two. It looks so civilized, so NORMAL! I am not feeling sorry for myself, just commenting that it's easy to buy into THAT sense of normal, not our own, which is (at least for me) to have that glass, relax, and proceed with abandon!

[j-vo]

Ladies on a Mission!

Hi "young" ladies!
Well, one day until Turkey Day. Lots to do this evening and tomorrow. But I will not drink! I've already made that decision, so I don't have to think about it at all.

Scottish Lass, Congrats on your 2 weeks! That's wonderful, and I know you're feeling good.

Welcome Sunshine! I enjoy your posts and glad you're here. Debatable Lady?...ok, do you have a penis? Well, then you're in.

Starfish, wow on your three years, then 7 months more recently. You did that, and you can do it again. It's our AL brain telling us we're strong and can go back, but I don't believe it anymore. I truely believe that my brain has crossed that line, and cannot handle any type of al in my body. And yikes! That's quite a visualization with "our embalming fluid." The truth is scary. I've been finding things on youtube, mostly documentaries about people who are on the brink of death. Some of them do die, but I think at my age, our age, it's good to see where just a little more alcohol can take us. I think we've all been in dangerous places with our intake. And we're not unique. It can happen to us.

NS, you look lovely in your pic!!!!

Narilly, associations are a good thing. Try to associate good things with being sober, such as NS's picture too. Staying away from AL because of pain (motivated to quit due to pain from AL) how we feel terrible about ourselves does not last as long (we forget the pain) as seeing ourselves feeling good about our accomplishments and making ourselves a better overall person. Work towards those goals. This motivation is much more positive and is associated with long-term sobriety. But I hear you with "Oh, a glass of wine sounded safe and good." We still have that connection. That connection needs to be broken. What other things make us feel safe and good?

Welcome Humblerider!

All other Ladies on a Mission, I'll check in later.

[j-vo]

Ladies on a Mission!

adadiofmaine,
I think the same thing. Any billboards, commercials, watching movies, tv...90 percent of the time, they have AL in their hands. Going to a football game, baseball game...we could go on and on. And yes! It looks good and it's forbidden for me now. But I have to change the way I look at it. "Forbidden" isn't a good way to think about it. It creates resentment. It's a choice I am making so I feel better about myself. That one glass may look pretty, but it's deceiving. Don't fall for those pretty glasses.

[FreeFly]

Ladies on a Mission!

Good evening ladies, well this thread feels very warm and cosy
R4L ? you sound like you?re having a particularly challenging time and I wish you great strength. As you say, you first. :l:l
Big hello to everyone else and keep holding NS?s wake up girl image all those about to enjoy Thanksgiving ? wishing you a wonderful and effortless time.
Had a big craving today because circumstances prevented me having lunch til 2.30 after 6am breakfast. Proof to me just how much a hunger pang means ?quick buy a bottle of wine? to my little brain. Happy that day 4 is in the bag.
FF:l

[j-vo]

Ladies on a Mission!

NS,
Feeling better does mean so much more than the looking better these days. Although the 30+ lbs. has me feeling like crap. With 38 days in, I'm ready for my next challenge, and that's better eating and walking. I love to walk, even if it's on the treadmill. I let my thoughts go, listen to my 80's music, and feel so great when finished. Feeling nothing when visualizing about the wine is a good thing. Better to feel indifferent than to have negative feelings, feelings associated with pain, resentment...

Scottish Lass - how about a chiropractor for your shoulder/arm? I'm a regular and I attribute that to getting back into good health the past 6 weeks.

Freefly - great on day 4! Watch out for those hunger pangs. H.A.L.T. Hungry, Angry, Lonely, and Tired are triggers.

[scottish lass]

Ladies on a Mission!

Ok - grocery shop done, no wine bought - now safe back home not to venture out again. We have a 5 K walk/run for the hungry way too early tomorrow morning, but a really good way to start the day - then home to turkey cooking and TV watching - glad we will have some movement at some point in the day.
Seriously thinking of getting a new mattress on Friday - Sunshine, we chatted about this a little while back on another thread....been thinking a lot - Star, is that what's wrong with your shoulder? Its my hip thats bugging me - and I think it maybe is my mattress (along with age)....
Good to see you Star, Ann, FF and j-vo.
j-vo - can I ask the origin of your name???

[Running4life]

Ladies on a Mission!

Hi Ladies:
Day 5 for me, Whahhoo!!!! Had a few thoughts last night due to family issues but made it through.
Going to my first drop a dress size before Christmas session tonight at the Gym. Not sure if I will drop a dress size but want to be keep my fitness routine and make sure I am accountable for watching my diet over the holidays. I figured it would help. I unfortunately messed up my hip doing a stretch over a Bosu Ball on Sunday so I don't think the workout will be too vigorous but it all helps. Hope you are all feeling great and enjoying fantastic AF day!
R4L

[j-vo]

Ladies on a Mission!

Scottish Lass, someone at work starting calling me j-vo. J for my first name, and V for my last name. She likened it to J-Lo! So I kind of liked it as I like Jennifer Lopez. And...she's not a drinker!!! How many times can one say "like" in one sentence... and speaking of hip pain. I wake up in the middle of the night with hip pain. I have to change positions more than a few times. It's quite annoying, but I think it's a combo of age, not drinking enough water, and possibly my mattress. I don't LIKE that!

Running, good on Day 5! I need to get back into a consistent exercise routine. Last night was my first time back on treadmill after dealing with Plantar's Faschitis. Oh! Freaking aging! So I went to chiropractor several times and he fixed me.

Have been feeling down this evening. Thanksgiving Eve was always a big party night, anticipating the break, going out and enjoying the night before eating big the next day. But I have to recall what [I]really[I] happened on those eve's. What happened is what always happens when I drink. No different from any other drinking night. Start off with a few and end up plastered, only to wake up on Thanksgiving Day with lots to do on top of a nagging hangover. So no nagging hangover tomorrow, just nagging thoughts tonight. I think I need a dose of endorphins right now. Going to get on my treadmill right now and shake this shit right off of my jiggly body.

Jiggle Bells, Jiggle Bells, Jiggle All the Way!!!! Have a happy night!

[scottish lass]

Ladies on a Mission!

Thanks for sharing J-vo, I like J Lo too, had no idea she was not a drinker....
I am thinking it is my mattress, but how disappointed I will be if I fork out and it is not the cure....I am having to turn over frequently too...
Well done running - you are getting a good start going!
I am a little quiet tonight - not really blue, just feeling a little deprived - have four days off and feels "wrong" that I am not relaxing with a drink - need to change my attitude for sure...
Hope everyone else is staying strong just now - and managing to get ready for first big holiday free - and to those not in US, thanks for the support, hopefully we will come up with some good coping methods for a months time!
Off to cook supper and hoping my mood shifts a little.....

Jiggle bells to all checking in this evening...

[j-vo]

Ladies on a Mission!

yea, Scottish Lass, i feel that's my kinda mood now. Not sitting with some wine, although i know it turns into more than i should have. I feel a deprivation right now, but haven't been feeling that way for a good portion of my 38 days. i think it's just the AL beast talking to me saying, "hey, j-vo, it's a big drinking night, always was. Everyone's out but you!' so that's my low right now, but that shall pass. Someone said, I think K9, that our hangovers last much longer than a temptation/craving.

[NoSugar]

Ladies on a Mission!

j-vo;1591376 wrote: So no nagging hangover tomorrow, just nagging thoughts tonight.
What a great trade-off! No matter how restless and agitated you feel in the evening, it has to be better than feeling sick and full of self hate in the morning.

scottish lass;1591417 wrote:
I am a little quiet tonight - not really blue, just feeling a little deprived - have four days off and feels "wrong" that I am not relaxing with a drink - need to change my attitude for sure...

You are doing the RIGHT thing, SL. Good job!

No one can have a good attitude all the time. I am grateful that I no longer need to drink but here are times of wishing things were different. We were out to dinner tonight and I was very chilly and thought about how nice the warmth that comes from a couple glasses of wine would be. I even acknowledged to myself that I miss that feeling. But that's as far as I can go with that thinking - that tiny pleasure isn't worth the misery that invariably comes with it. So I thought about how I was going to truly enjoy our after dinner activity and wasn't going to be trying to manipulate the situation to get home and drink. That didn't warm me up but it certainly made me happy .

I'm sorry you both feel like you're missing out tonight but I bet when tomorrow is a wonderful holiday, you'll know the trade off was worth it.

I hope all the ladies on a mission have a wonderful, sober Thanksgiving :l.

[narilly]

Ladies on a Mission!

Gals, you ARE NOT missing anything Good, we all know that! Try and surf the craving. Visualize yourself drunk or hungover(with wine) and then visualize yourself waking up in the morning bright eyed with a big white comforter around you! (Without wine)
I went to a jewelry party tonight. Of course, there was all kinds of booze there and I was offered wine more than once. It was quite different going to a party, not drinking and really being able to listen to people. I remember leaving and talking to the hostess, I was not this last one to leave, usually I am cause I want to drink more. Wow, what a difference! I'm going to wake up feelin' good. Yeah! AF
Have a great night girls!