Booze Busters Week of 6/30 Absolutely Fabulous Hangover Free 30 Day Challenge!

[AMELIA]

Hello all you abbers!! Happy Tuesday to you!
Still AF and feeling good. Glad to see you are all doing really well.
Haven't been thinking much about drinking....so I reckon I am winning that part of the battle.
Sending you all positive vibes for an AF day today.
Love
Amelia

[Aunty Mame]

went to my last session today, which was much better than last week. Not so much because I felt any different but because the guy siad some useful things - I've got a CD of the session and when I'm not so tired I'll got through it and try to remember what they were!!

I've been thinking about what everyone has said about it, and I was very grateful to be feeling relaxed and calm, whatever the reason!

And when I was on my way there and wondering how I would feel afterwards, the thought suddenly popped into my mind that I never went to hypno in order to stop drinking ..... I went because I had already stopped and was finding it hard (and slipping up), and it was only ever intended as a tool to provide me with some support - not as the means to an end. Does that make any sense?? In a way I think I was setting myself up to have a drink if the hypno "failed" (which of course would be someone else's fault and not mine!!!!!)

So I'm not going to even think about whether it "worked" or not or whether I was properly hypnotised or not ...... all I'm going to focus on is not thinking about drinking (and yes, it is SOOOOOO nice to have those times when I dont think about it!!). And I'll keep listening to the tapes - any help is better than nothing in relation to where I've been.

anyway, it is getting late and I still have a few things to do before I get to bed so I shall head off now and hope you all have a great Tuesday!!

m

[mickyshell]

hi all,

Big plans for an AF July! I'll keep checking in for some tips and hopefully some help ifpossible when the weekend rolls around and I get that 'oh what a week, I deserve a drink....it's been 6 days, one bottle wont hurt........lifes shit at the moment, it;ll help.......no one understands.......' rubbish which always seems to bloomin win and end up in a completely wasted weekend thanks to a terrible hangover, and the kids have a horrible lazy snappy mum. (crumbs the truth hurts). I will get by AND be a healthier, happier person smiling and getting up for the best part of the day! Cant wait to post here on 31st July saying I've sone it! Good luck to all others planning simular X

[Doggygirl]

GOOD DAY BOOZE BUSTERS!!! It's a fresh month and a great time to be Hangover Free!!

Hannah, I was actually thinking about AF beer and wishing I had brought some during the "celebration moment" at the trial. Funny - I used to drink lots of beer back in college but really lost my taste for it. So I have no idea if it would taste good to me or not. Might have to try it sometime though! The small and less formal wedding sounds really nice!! Mr. Doggy and I are both on #2 and talk about small - we got married in the court house with just my folks and Gary's best friend in attendance, then the 5 of us went out to lunch at a casual pub type place. Let us know how you fared in golf yesterday! Have a fun week with Mr. Hannah home.

Sheepish and sothankful....glad you are both out of the Fugly Green Suits and on to Day 2!! Never stop trying, and never stay away for a long time like I did. NOT WORTH IT. sothankful, I know what you mean about changing the pattern. I think the hypno CD's are worth a try - why not?? The biggest complaint I've seen about the MWO CD's is the voice is sort of....I dunno. Mechanical? Monotone? LOL - I got past that when I realized that to me, the voice sounds like some of the characters Will Forte plays on Saturday Night Live where he uses that monotone voice. So I named the hypno voice on the CD "Will" and developed a very nice relationship with him. Especially the part where I'm laying in the Hum-ock looking up at the clouds. And imagining myself in a bikini looking great after dumping all these booze calories and exercising and stuff.......well, now I'm way off track!! Bottom line - look at how much $$$ we wasted on booze. So I'm not afraid to spend a little $$$ of what I'm saving getting myself out of the mess.

Marshy welcome back!!! Glad the wineglass trick seemed to do the job in terms of minimizing the "nags" to drink. Hope the visit was a great one! I really don't care who knows I've been a problem drinker - LOL most of the people close to me in any way know it anyway and are just too polite..... But I DO understand the desire to not drink on your OWN terms and not having other people tip toeing around.

Gegit - I just can't even imagine living with all that smoke and the difficulty breathing and no breeze to blow it away and nobody there to help. (((((((gelgit hugs))))))) Not to mention estranges hubby under foot....... My heart is out to your chickens too. Are the fires done near you and it's just the smoke problem now? Or do you still have burning fires nearby? Or do you even know - maybe not which would be scary... We are thinking of you.

Mame - lol on your cat during your attempted CD hypno listen. What is it about cats - they are so smart!! They always know when you DON'T want them bothering you (and they bother you). And back when I had cats, they always seemed to know who was either allergic to cats or didn't like cats...and that's who they wanted to pet them, sit in laps, jump on, etc. Your insights about your attitude towards the hypno are interesting. I posted awhile back from the quit smoking board - that theory that we don't just "fall off the wagon" at the spur of the moment...our subconscious minds have been planning it. Sounds like you just busted your inner Booze Beast in a plot!!! Good for you!!

Amelia, that is wonderful that you aren't thinkin of drinkin very much!! OH I know we all want to get to that place!!

mickeyshell!!!!! I hope you will check in often and tell us more about yourself and go Booze Bustin' with us for July!! We CAN do this - ESPECIALLY on the weekends. They are just days.

Today is Day 41 Absolutely Fabulous Hangover Free!! Yesterday afternoon for some reason I just felt exhausted and took a nap. Then napped in the evening, and then slept pretty decent through the night. I guess I needed some sleep!!

Our friend who took lots of picture of Fergie and Mr. Doggy on Sunday sent me a few this morning - she has TONS of pics to go through from the trial. They brought a tear to my eye!! Later today I'll size a couple of them down a tad and post a couple. Other the the continued "cloud nine" feeling over the trial results, it's pretty much another week otherwise. We finished off a decent June in our business, although our expenses have been so high lately we've got to get that under control. We're setting goals for July and doing the regular stuff. I'm off soon to Curves, and then to my Tuesday AM business referral group.

Catch you Booze Busters later!!

DG
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[Teardrop]

Hi to all my boozer busters friends,

Aunty mame.... sometimes i think its a good idea to stop counting, and to just not think or question our self about the thinking side..Hmmmm does that make sense! Yes any help is better then nothing.

Pamma....i love doing casserole in the winter time, but today it would be to hot to do a casserole. Yep that right uk has got some sunshine today.

Hannah...glad the wedding went really well. and af wine well done.

Sheepish...Dont feel sorry, we all have been there. just dont be hard on yourself, the best thing is you didn't keep your feelings, how you felt to yourself and plus you come back. you know you want this and you will do this but sometimes it might take a few times we all learn from how slip and pick ourself up and start again. I have every faith in you. you can and you will beat this!

Mashy... Well done for saying NO! its funny how you said how your dad felt relax once you had a glass in your hand. looks like he see's you as his drinking partner. I get the feeling your mum knews already maybe tell her first, next time you go maybe say to her you like that af wine if she could buy next time you visit.( just a thought thats all )

Gelgit...I hope the fire dies down soon your in my thoughts.
Sothanful..well done 2days af and welcome aboard.

Mickyshell...well done 6days.I always treat myself to a bottle of af wine at the weekend and try and keep busy. i think once you done a few weeekends, its not that bad after all. Once you get into a routine you start thinking what was all the fuss about the weekend. But stay close with us at weekends there is always someone here to help if you need it.

Dg...Cant wait to see the pictures. sounds like Mr doggy had fun i love watching the croff shows when they come on t.v. Enjoy your day doing your curves. i will take my bike out later such a lovely day here need to make the most of it.

Today i pick up my son prom suit for him. He really does look smart like out of james bond 007. but does not want me to take any photo's (thats what he thinks) with his friends. I know they will have a school photographer there. so that a good thing.

Have a nice day everyone.

Love
Teardrop.x

[gelgit]

Morning all, I'm feeling better today even though the smoke is still choking!! We actually saw the stars for a few minutes last night. Itchy?? interesting as I was noticing during my last weeks of regular Al, that my skin was itchy... no bumps or bites just itch. Sothankful, there's a couple of threads going on now, about the hypno tapes. I feel rather "disloyal" for my opinions about the CDs offered here so I won't repost my opinions. I have a subliminal by Brian Caldwell that is blissful. However, I think it ALL is helpful.

Here we are: another month. blessings, g. xxx

[Doggygirl]

Teardrop, we want to see pictures of your son all dressed up for prom!! Does he have a regular steady girlfriend, or someone new for the big prom date? Either way, I'm sure his date will be happy to be going with "007!" When is the prom? This weekend or do they have prom during the week? Have fun on your bike ride!!

Gelgit - that is GREAT news seeing stars!! At least it sounds like great news!! We will all keep sending positive vibes for the smoke to clear out for good. As far as the hypno CD's - whatever works, I say.

I hope these pictures aren't massive!! I tried the resize feature on photobucket in hopes "medium size" will be reasonable.

Here is Mr. Doggy & Ferguson in the "halt" position getting ready to start the next exercise of the obedience routine.



Here they are at a fast paced heel.



Here is Ferguson doing his recall - he is going FAST which is how it's supposed to be when he is called from the down position. Fergie's front and finish at the end of that exercise could be better, but the recall is fast and that's what our trainer likes to focus on when the dogs are just learning. If they learn to do it slow, it's hard to get them to speed up later on. Easier to get it FAST in the beginning, and then later work on perfecting what happens when the dog gets back to the handler.



Gary & Fergie right after they passed the traffic & temperament test, meaning they earned their BH.



Well, that's what we spend all our time on LOL!!!!

Keep on Bustin' that Beast!!

DG
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[gelgit]

Hi all... just listened to radio fire update... 38,000 acres burned so far. 800 residences still threatened, 2 burned. 400 more fighters came in today and weather conditions are good. Our Governator is giving a pep talk in Shasta area (far away from here) The sun just broke through and there is still no wind that =s less smoke and fire, those 400 guys are working hard!
DG, thanks for the pictures! It reminded me of my American Kennel Club days. I had English bulldogs which, at that time, were not required to accomplish anything but allow themselves to be dragged into the ring!! Mickey, Teardrop, good for you! xxx to all, g. NOW, I'm going to get oof my fat *ss and move around a bit!

[Hannah]

Good morning all!

It’s Canada Day here for us Canucks, so we have three little Canadian flags that we are going to fasten to our balcony railings, and later on tonight we are going to my folks place because their own huge balcony (I have balcony envy! Lol!) has a terrific view of the fireworks! And we are going golfing with some friends later this afternoon, but this morning is quiet time – it’s almost noon and I am still sitting here in my jammies.

Golfing yesterday was good – especially since I was so stiff from the ride home from the wedding (3 ½ hours) that my right side lower back and hips were screaming, and I literally couldn’t bend down – Mr. Hannah had to put the tee in the ground for me, pick my ball off the green, etc. You know you are a diehard golfer when you still go golfing when you can hardly move! But with the help of lots of drugs, I managed to play the first nine in what I call my “imitation good golfer mode”, and then had to quit around the 12th/13th or thereabouts.

We were paired up with another couple around our own age, and they were very nice. They invited us to the clubhouse for a “beverage” (Their words) – and when we got inside, Mr. Hannah stopped at the bathroom, I went on in with Judy and Richard. Richard asked what he could get me – and I had a moment of hesitation, not because I wanted to order a drink, but because so often these little clubhouses just don’t have anything in stock other than Al type beverages that I do like……so I asked for a .5 beer (My words) – and Richard went up to the counter and asked for a “Non alcoholic beer” (his words). Of course, they didn’t have any. So I asked (tonic water?) Nope. Sigh – Oh well, I’ll have a diet coke. (And leach a little more calcium out of my bones). Hubby had a diet pepsi too, Richard had a real beer, and I think Judy was going to have a beer, but she went up and got a cranberry cocktail instead. So there are still challenges out there –

I don’t want orange juice, because it’s often too acidic on my stomach.,
I don’t want a virgin Caesar because it’s too salty and I will swell up
I don’t want a lot of other soft drinks for reasons one and two above
I don’t want a lemonade or ice tea because the commercial preparations are too sweet
I don’t want a herbal tea because it’s too hot outside
I don’t want a coffee (well, actually, I do) because it would keep me up all night

?????????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????

Dunno, have to think on this one, because I don’t want to be drinking too much diet pepsi. I guess there’s always just plain old bottled water. Does anyone else have suggestions for me? Maybe I need to start toting around my own cooler of AF beer?

Gelgit – glad to hear you have a little bit of clear sky poking through. And those 400 guys accomplish a lot! At least there is some help out there now.

Teardrop – Oh, isn’t it bittersweet to see your son graduating? Re the pics – you just have to get someone else to take them. Usually our kids are too polite to tell someone else to take a hike – that’s how I got a lot of my pics of my own son in his grad finery. And it’s funny how quickly they want to get out of those duds after the ceremony! I hope this week/the event are forever etched into your heart as one of the best experiences you have ever had together.

DG – I go to Curves because I HAVE to, if I don’t, I stiffen up something terrible. My appointment for the “torture training” is next Monday morning, BTW. Love the Mr. Doggie/Ferguson pics! What a handsome dog – and I am sure he knows it! Mr. Doggie looks way okay too. What an exciting day! And re the AF beer – I never was a beer drinker, at all. So I surprised myself that I like the AF beer. It is more refreshing, or something – especially ice cold.

Mickeyshell – Welcome to our happy little clan. Hope we can give you the support you need to get you through that first weekend AF. You CAN do this, you know. Just ignore that little voice in your head that tells you that you need a beer. I highly recommend that maybe you buy some AF beer. You may be surprised how much you like it. Good luck.

Sheepish, sothankful, Marshy, Mame, Amelia, hope you have yourselves a great Tuesday.

[Pamina]

Good evening BBs,

and Happy Canada Day, Hannah! Gelgit, great to hear you're finally getting some help. And Teardrop, how sweet about your son - you must be so proud to have a James Bond in the house! You too, DG, great pictures of 007 w/ dog!

It is indeed too hot (for once!!) to have casserole so I threw it in the freezer and had salad today. Glorious sunny weather - too bad I had to spend the afternoon chasing after a mouse repellant!!!! I woke up at 4am to a rustling sound in my bedroom and sure enough, there was Mr Mouse scurrying across the floor. This is not an ancient inner-city building but a new townhouse. How the critter even got to the second floor is beyond me. But no way am I spending another night with a rodent But no way do I want to deal with a dead mouse in a mousetrap either, so I got a 'sonic repeller'. Lets hope it works!!!! [I was thinking coming home that I do sometimes post the strangest things - as in, how is the mouse story supposed to help anyone stay sober???!!]

I did have an additional thought on Mame's hypno stuff, though. Namely, the situations in which we drink. Sounds to me like there's lots of fertile ground over there in NZ for the drinking thoughts, and actions, to take root. Partner's unemployment, illness in close friends, lots of moving, dark moods... Circumstances which make us feel vulnerable or overwhelmed. Precisely when AL becomes such a good friend for blotting it all out for a while. Now suppose if instead, you could stay calm and relaxed in the face of adversity, retain your faculties and ability to consider options, remain emotionally present... Would AL seem quite so attractive any more? I agree, the hypno guy is not abstaining for you, you're doing that yourself. Maybe he can help in bringing the most centred, calmest 'you' to the fore. Come to think of it, I probably need a hypno guy of my own!!

Welcome Mickyshell and good start of the month to all other BBs. I still have to nip out to the corner shop so more later.