Day 4

Morning Surfers!

Anni, welcome to the wagon train! Congrats on your abs days! (& Happy belated 32nd anniversary!)

Ter, great to see you here! Day 6 is fabulous! Hope your tummy feels better soon!

Nancy, great strategy on that talk with your husband of 41 years (wow!). I hope he's a good support for you!

Janet , so glad you're back! Good for you on getting out of the moderation waters before they got too deep! The way I see it, we have enough to deal with getting our lives back in shape, and as you said so well "uncovering those hidden emotions that lead me to indulge..." , before bringing the vino back into the picture.

So all, as promised I'm zeroing in on ways to manage stress this month. First let me just tell you all that I believe it's possible to minimize SOME of the stressors in our lives, but certainly there is no way to remove all of them. Life on Earth is guaranteed to bring stress, unless of course you're really a surfer & get to hang out on the waves all day! ol What am I talking about, of course that's stressful...those waves are scary!!!

Seriously though, I guess drinking has, at times past, been a good temporary relief, but eventually it comes full circle and itself becomes a source of stress. As you all well know! So, I'd love to get feedback from you all on how you deal with stress now, or how you think you can manage or decrease your stress levels. i know I've had to work on this very consciously since corking the bottle!

So far we have out pets, and our exercise. We've got some laughter in our day if we're lucky. What about doing things you love? Play? Play really gets me out of my head when I'm stressed. Whether it's a crossword puzzle or shooting a basketball or whatever you like. How about sex?( Please, marital only, we don't condone any other kind around here!! ol :eek ) Massage anyone? That's one if my personal favorites, and gets toxins out of your tissue so it's especially great for us. (Make sure you drink lots of water after having one to flush them out.) Anyone dealing with pain? How do you manage it? Acupuncture? Chiropractic? And can we all please stop this ridiculous multi-tasking all the time? No? Ok just thought I's ask. It's worth a try sometime. I'm surprised at how much more I get done in a shorter time when I give it my full attention in a calm state! We don't have to be "a rat on crack" all the time!! Right Andrew? :rollin

Anyway, just throwing some ideas out to you folks.

Congrats to everyone for keeping your goals in the forefront!
And for making it through the first Saturday of the month!
Well done!

Deirdre

Can I really check in before I fall asleep on nights that I can't sleep? Only kidding.

For stress I can not say enough about yoga. For the $10-$15 you spend you come out feeling way better than any massage (or workout) that I have ever had. Go to a Hatha class those are pretty tame--but so relaxing--and stay after class and ask the teacher some poses you can do at your desk to relieve stress. I love it because you learn things that are accessible to you to relieve stress 24/7--and it is cheaper than a massage.

And for anyone looking to get in shape--go to a good power yoga class. I promise you will sweat out more toxins than ever and never lift a weight again in your life. And if you question if yoga can really get you in shape--just look around the room.

I am going to my first yoga retreat this weekend. The whole teachings of yoga are so rewarding--I am looking forward to the way I will feel and the things I will learn that can be used in everyday life.

I am off to bed.

Kim

Hi Everybody,
It's Sunday night 4th June here and I have been away so couldn't check in and it day 17 for me!!!:rollin Hope wverybody is going well.
I must admit I spent the weekend with my parents and have come back quite stressed. How can a woman nearly 50 become a kid again in 1 weekend?:\
My hubby has just poured a scotch and I did think about it but I WILL NOT.
Talk to you all tomorrow.
Shas

Hi all:

Missed a day posting, but not absing. Two dinner parties to attend in the last couple of days with people drinking wine all round — ouch! One couple recently back from San Fransisco brought a bottle of Californian meritage so intense I could smell it from across the table - I'm thinking 'rich blackberry and spice notes...' while trying to look nonchalant, saying 'no thanks, just don't feel like it,' discreetly wiping drool off chin and shirt.... and admitting it's not really the blackberry and spice notes I'm after.... Did it, though — stuck to my Chateau Club Soda (rich notes of sodium and lemon slice)....

Anyway — happy day 4, everyone; hope it goes well for you all, and that the weather is better than where I am. Congrats, Nancy & Anni, on your anniversaries.

Andrew

Good morning
Rainy,chilly day here and we have to leave soon to go to my son's high school graduation ceremony.I hope it will not be outside in the pouring rain.Have to find the umbrellas.
This week I am going to work on(think about) the instant gratification a glass of wine gives me. That is one of the reasons I keep going back. Nothing gives me that aaaah feeling like it. BUT for 5 minutes of aaah I am usually miserable the next day.Why do I keep going back??? I hope that in recognizing why I can stop the behavior or change it. Perhaps I'm analyzing too much.
Anyway last month I found a great deal of solice in reading before going to sleep.Alas I finished the book and have not gotten into another yet. Will look for one.
Have a great day all. Hope you all have better weather than we do here.
Janet

Made it through another day/night with no vino. Yesterday was a bit harder with company so I am glad I did not have any in the house. I keep hearing how alcohol increases risk of breast cancer, which is another really good reason to abstain, or moderate. Moderation is not a possibility for me @ this time. I really am a black and white thinker- it is all or nothing.

I am so grateful to all of you for your posts/chat and the cyber friendships that develop through this site. Also, I seem to be seeing some great successes with abs posted and that is highly motivating. Nice to know it is possible. Don't remember whose post I just read about being @ the dinner party and smelling the CA wine from across the table and still did not partake. AMAZING!!!

Deidre,

Really want to thank you for spearheading this thread. You have given a lot of support to us and I hope you are getting the support you need too. How are you doing? How long have you been abs? All the best!

Congrats to all and welcome back Kim!

Glad to be in the "fold" again. As I mentioned before, I never left just stopped posting. That's one of my bad behaviors I'm trying to curtail....isolating. It seems I only want you to see the me that is doing well, the perfect Lori. But this is not the reality of those who drink too much. It takes me longer than most to just follow the directions:o

Kim, I remember your last post before leaving. I wanted so much to find you and tell you how much I could relate to your struggles. One day we're on top of the world sober as can be with hope for the future, the next drunk and wondering "how the hell did I get HERE?

The hope of drinking moderatly is now gone for me. I no longer wish for that anymore. AA is a wonderful program for those who have lost all reason. You and I and most on MWO have taken the beast by the horns long before we've had to lose everything. That is why I thank God for this site and RJ. I would never presume to judge those who've really lost everything, but that is not me. I resent being told that is what will happen to me. Long, long before it gets that bad I will seek help like all of us here.

On another note, I never see anyone who dabbles here a waste of time. The time spent helping someone else is not only an honor, but less time focusing on my miserable lifeol

Thank you Donna and Deidre for all your hard work. You are doing God's work.

Love,
Lori

Hi All,

Thank you Lori. What a very nice thing to say! We sure are all in this together, no doubt about that!

Kim, welcome back. I am so glad to hear you are doing so well! I must commend you for having the guts to try AA. I never had the courage to put myself out there like that. The whole yoga thing sounds quite interesting. I know we have classes like that in my area. I can't wait to hear how your retreat goes!

Susan, I was so happy to hear from you. I must admit I was a bit concerned. I had forgotten that you were going for the whole week. Sorry to hear about the caterpillars!!

Hanna, hope you and your lab are doing ok!!

All is fine in my neck of the woods. My son and husband are on the last day of a 3 day regatta, my daughter is now at work, and I am left to the task of unpacking the weeks groceries. I know, but someone has to do it.

I hope everyone had a GREAT weekend!

Donna

Greetings to all,
I can't believe I made it though both a Friday and Saturday night AF. It's been years. And I feel great. Finding this website is the best thing that has happened to me in a long time. Kudos to everyone for abs, I know that it is very hard to think of 30 days. I'm just going day by day.
I really appreciate the support and friendship from all of you.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Anni