Newbies Nest

[Lavande]

Good evening Nesters,

Had a half decent, not overly busy day, yay!

CONGRATS on 14 AF days QW - great work!!!
Can't believe you lost 10 pounds, lucky you

Nice to hear you are looking after your Mom G & glad to hear she's doing well.
I once asked my kids what they would do if I got old & sick. My daughter kindly said she would hire a nurse to take care of me. my son said he would take me out in the woods & shoot me. I sure hope my daughter shows up first, ha ha!!

Starfish, hang in there. Weekends can be a little quiet around here, especially holiday weekends. Keep yourself connected to MWO & do a lot of reading - helps!

Kensho, keep your plan close & your goals forefront in your thoughts.

Byrdie, let's see the wonky cookies, ha ha!

Have a safe night in the nest everyone!

Lav

[Byrdlady]

Well, Lav, since you asked! Here was today's project!

[KENSHO]

Made it.

[Eloise]

On the road this weekend and will catch up when I get home, limited internet but we (doggies and me) are having a quiet time of it. All is well.

[Lavande]

Good morning Nesters

Happy Sunday to all!
I'm heading out to meet an old friend for lunch today. She doesn't drink either

Nice cookies as always Byrdie!!

Have a great AF day everyone. Choose to stick to your plans!!

Lav

[Pavati]

Hi, All:

Happy Sunday.

I did go to that party - a birthday dinner for a bunch of women I know. It was a ton of fun, and I laughed so much I cried. They were ALL drinking wine, so were drinking A LOT of wine. To tell you the truth, I didn't miss it. I just kept my glass full with bubbly water and drove home with a clear head and feeling refreshed from the laughing. I never expected that I would go to an event like that and not feel awkward and wish I was drinking, but there you go.

Way to go, Dutch. Congratulations on 6 months - so great to hear you sounding so good.

Byrdie - are the skates for Lil and the trucks for Matt? That baby in the pea pod is too much...

Star - Sorry you're having a hard time. I always found a "detox" bath to be a good diversion - lavender and epsom salts. And food.

Good for you for posting, Kensho. I'm sorry you had a hard time. I know that feeling of wanting the perfectly timed cold beer. It helped (helps) me to think through the drink. What would happen after that one? I'd want MORE. I'd have MORE. Then I would be buzzed putting the kids to sleep in their tents, have MORE, and wake up at 3am in the tent feeling like crap. Waking up without the burden of a hangover is so great to me.

I'm off to a family gathering with husband's family - I am not particularly looking forward to it, but so be it. I'll be back for a quiet night at home.

Happy SOBER weekend,
Pav

[Starfish1]

Byrdie, your cookies are amazing. I may have to start trying to learn how to do that, myself. Looks like fun!

Great work, Kensho. So proud of you!

On the go this weekend, but I am sure glad I am not drinking!

[All done drinking]

.
I once asked my kids what they would do if I got old & sick. My daughter kindly said she would hire a nurse to take care of me. my son said he would take me out in the woods & shoot me. I sure hope my daughter shows up first, ha ha!!

Hahaha Lav, Your post made my day!

KENSHO, I get the whole struggling thing. All of these new experiences without drinking can be tough at times. I am on my first vacay at the luxury hotel we go to where they offer FREE booze, wine, beer etc. EVERY night for happy hour. Believe me, it has been tough to say no at times. Especially when I overheard one younger guy telling his friend how great the executive lounge was with the FREE booze! He was so excited and it was always a perk we looked forward to. The downside however was letting the alcohol control me by being a victim to that free booze. Can´t do ``that`` tour cause we won´t be back in time for the free happy hour. Can´t take the boat to Santorini (BEST island in Greece) the year we went to Greece, because we would have to stay at a place without the free booze. When i look back it was crazy some of the poor choices I made because wine ruled. Camping...now that´s a fun thing to do. The picture I see there is a nice campfire, roasting marshmellows, and definitely a nice cold beer. The triggers!
Hard for you as well. I get it. Hang in there.

Quit, loved your statement about the wine never going bad. I always laughed at the corks for the wine bottle as it usually happened that I finished off the bottle before I let the corking thing happen. Just seemed like if there were an open bottle it should be drunk.

Morning to everyone else I didn´t address.

Addy

[KENSHO]

Glad you didn't miss it PAV.

Last night was more than hard because I have not communicated well with my husband. Last he knew I would have "a little". I have set up a therapy appt. for us to discuss this among other things. He said "you can have a LITTLE...". I said no, because I'll just want more. He had just opened up a bomber of an expensive craft brew and had no one to finish it with him.

It all worked out... He woke up middle of the night with a headache and stomachs- I did not

I'll get there! First priority is to get hubs on same page!

[Quit wining]

Kensho, good for you! We know we can't have a little because little has no meaning to us once we start.
I hope the therapy appointment goes well. Having a supportive spouse makes this easier.

Lav, thanks for the laugh about what your kids would do when you got old and sick. I asked our oldest son if he would be an alternative executor on our estates. And, if we were on life support, knowing we didn't want to be kept going at all costs, if he'd have a problem having the plug pulled. His response was " Dad, I'll pull that plug like I'm starting a lawnmower"! For many nights after, I awoke thinking I heard a lawnmower starting!

Addy, I've been there, done that on vacation too. It's a shame that AL controlled our vacation isn't it. Not this year!

Hope everyone in the nest is having a great day AF!

QW

[All done drinking]

The lawn mower story was very funny too! Thanks for sharing.

Addy

[KENSHO]

Sorry to say its tough again tonight. Started imagining myself "just having one". I cleared the table and smelled hubs beer and it actually reminded me that I would think I was "indulging" in something until I regretted it. I stuffed my face with angle food cake and that has helped, along with dinner. I think the last major piece is to make sure hubs is a support. He doesn't have to like it, but I need his support. Again, me trying to be stoic. (Stupid).

I will make it tonight because it's just one night in a lifetime.

[Lavande]

That's right Kensho - it's just one night. It really helped me to just take the importance off of drinking too. Distraction was always a good tool for me

Qw, I'm glad I'm not the only one with kids really & willing to pull the plug on us, ha ha!!

I had a nice afternoon out & a great dinner here with my daugher & her family. Life is good - really good

Wishing everyone a safe & comfy ight in the nest!

Lav

[KENSHO]

Made it past dinner and marshmallows and now drinking just seems unnecessary. It's really that hour or two and then it's over. But it wouldn't be over for me if I had drank. I would have probably been thinking about how to sneak more, or I would be feeling serious regret, or both. I can log on without shame and say I made it, again. If it weren't for this place, I do not think I would have made it through this weekend. I can only log on so many times and say I want to start over before it becomes clear that I just don't want to stop. Well I want to stop, and that requires me to, well, STOP. Thanks for being here Everyone.

P.S. (Note to Self: it is unbelievable how totally confident you were that you could drink one drink once in awhile. If and when you feel this again, remember back to this time to how you are struggling... Something you didn't think you would do again. You will ALWAYS struggle.)

[Guitarista]

Great stuff Kensho.

For me, the problem with not wanting to stop, but wanting to stop, is my inner truth/real self knows that booze is a hinderance to my happiness and wants to stop, but when I'm drinking or it hasn't been long since the last drink (e.g. within say 30 days), my brain is foggy and my judgment is impaired/affected in the negative and I am vulnerable. This is why it's sometimes hard to see hope or the light at the end of the tunnel when newly sober or still drinking. I know I need to have faith and take the leap into sobriety safe in the knowledge that life get's better and better with time. My way out is through. Through and with the cravings, through and with the emotional ups and downs.