Newbies Nest

[lifechange]

Re: Newbies Nest

Good early Sunday morning, Nesters!
I don't know why I'm up at 630 on an overcast, cold morning-- but I am! Up with birds.
Byrdie, those cupcakes look to die for.. I wish I could dive into one. Please tell me what kind they are. And what did you use to decorate?
Kim, Congrats to your son in the 3200! That's a hard-core race.. So glad you could be there with him.
Yeah, Lav, I was wondering how it is now in smaller towns in the U.S. I know that in Phx, where my parents live, the grocery stores are open until at least midnight, even on most holidays. Come to think of it, though, other shops are closed. I had to think of you yesterday as I made a quiche with eggs from an acquaintance who has chickens. The yolks were so yellow.. even after it was baked, it was such a pretty, sunny yellow.. looked as if I'd used something to colour it. Made me want to have chickens..

So I've got an exciting day planned.. full of a whole lot of nothing! Possibly the flea market, probably a long walk and getting into a new book. I know for a fact that I will not drink! No matter what and no matter who..

Wishing you all a nice and relaxing day..

[jane27]

Re: Newbies Nest

Nursie,
Just saw you have 6 months! What an awesome achievement! Thrilled for you and hope you feel proud! ❤️

[Susie45]

Re: Newbies Nest

Good morning all - once again, nice to wake up on the sober side!
Kim - Congrats to your son! Sounds like a long day but we made it through sober!
The sun is shining here today. I am going to get outside and make the most of my day off. No drinking for me.

[Rusty]

Re: Newbies Nest

Congratulations, [MENTION=15947]Nursie[/MENTION], on 6 Months AF!!!!:thumbsup::sohappy::congratulatory:

[Byrdlady]

Re: Newbies Nest

LifeChange, they are angelfood cake with vanilla frosting. I am a frustrated piper (I just cant pipe out of a bag, not even a dot) so I saw these piping tips online and bought them (they looked SO EASY). In the infomercial, they piped about a dozen cupcakes in 2 minutes......these took me all afternoon and a lot of re-dos. If you google 'Russian piping tips' you will find them. If you are an accomplished cake decorator, you would probably really like these tips.
Thanks, everyone, for the kind words!
Happy Sunday! Byrdie

[Roobs]

Re: Newbies Nest

Good morning nesters,
I was trying to post a while ago but the site was having all those problems. I received one of the hacker emails. It's too bad and sad that people feel the need to put others down in order to feel superior. Anyway, a big fat congratulations to you Brydie! That's a beautiful and huge number. Must be very satisfying. Congratulations on your six months Nursie!!
I'm plugging along over here. I have to admit, I'm feeling a little antsy lately nothing really bad going on but nothing really extraordinary either. By all accounts I should be happy and I guess i am but I don't feel any surges of joy. If anyone has any strategies to finding my joy, I'm all ears.
I'm going to spend a little time reading back.
Happy sober Sunday!

[Pavati]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hi,

I'm here. Not much new to report. I don't get enough sleep on the weekends because I stay up later but seem to wake up the same time. I wish I could stay asleep like everyone else in my family!

Today looks like a lot of errands and cleaning. AFTER my hot cup of coffee and short satisfied sigh that I am un hung.

Happy Sober Sunday,
Pav

[KENSHO]

Re: Newbies Nest

Kentucky Derby party yesterday. I said "I don't drink" several times to people who handed me drinks. I gave myself permission to eat whstrver I wanted and that helped, though I had a stomach ache later! One lady looked shocked when I turned her down and didn't say anything. About an hour later she brought me a NA mint soda drink. I admit that it helps watching other people poison themselves and feel terrible because it reminds me of the consequences of drinking. It's only pretty for 30 min. and then the yuck begins.

I feel you Roobs, feeling flat too. But at least I'm not craving alcohol any more. Thanks to all of you with great thoughts of wisdom. Taking the kids to ice cream and getting silly was the best thing I could have done Friday.

LC, I lové kayaking and flea markets. Do you go ona river or lake? What kinds of treasures do you look for at the markets?

[NoSugar]

Re: Newbies Nest

By all accounts I should be happy and I guess i am but I don't feel any surges of joy. If anyone has any strategies to finding my joy, I'm all ears.

Hi, Roobs. It sounds like the thrill that some feel in the early days of not drinking has faded for you. I'm sorry if you're feeling kind of down. I'm not sure I ever experienced that pink cloud - I kind of plodded along day after day, not drinking. But one thing I did do, thanks to @Lavande, was to notice and be grateful for every single little thing in my life that was better because I didn't drink. In a way I felt like a portion of my brain was constantly narrating my life saying things like, "and, NoSugar, there is no way you could have given Mr NS a ride home in the rain after he stupidly rode his bike to work today if you'd already had your 4 PM guzzle of wine. You'd have had to invent some weak but hopefully believable excuse..." etc. etc. etc. It was (and remains) a constant voice and it NEVER has said that ANYTHING would have been better if I'd had a drink. I may have felt more at ease or been a little more gregarious or spontaneous if I'd had one, but those wouldn't have compensated for the awful, inevitable fall out. While we're actively drinking it is almost impossible to do that risk/benefit analysis of anything. The addicted part of our brains is too strong. But once we're not addicted, logic can once again prevail and we can choose to lead the lives we want and deserve.

I still don't feel joy, Roobs, except for on the rare and special occasion such as last night when I returned from a trip and my young grandson was so happy to see me. That was pure joy to be appreciated - but way too hard to sustain. What I do constantly feel now is grateful and content, which is what I think most of us are looking for.
All the best. xx, NS

[NoraC]

Re: Newbies Nest

NS - thank you. This one is going in my personal journal. :heartbeat:

[Guitarista]

Re: Newbies Nest

I am a frustrated piper

Badpiper.promoFB.0628-13.jpg

YouTube

Have a gr8 week nesters. This joint raawks!

P.S. Where's Jvo?

[wagmor]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hi Roobs,

Sorry to hear you're still feeling down. I struggle with a bit of that myself, and it's one of the ways al tries to get back in my head. I know that's a lie - al can't help me feel happier - if anything it makes me feel sadder and/or full of regret. I do know that my mood is impacted by my dietary intake and that certain foods affect me more negatively.

I think there's also a lot to the "you get more of what you look for" approach. In other words, if you are seeking joy, go out and purposefully look for examples of joy in the world around you. This might include something beautiful in nature, acts of kindness by neighbors or strangers to one each other, an uplifting song, etc.

I received one of the hacker emails as well. I found it pathetic - you're gonna have to try a whole lot harder than that to insult me or bring me down! If anything I just have pity for people who think that putting others down does one bit to ift them up. Instead, it simply calls attention to how poorly they see and think of themselves. It's the bully mindset and I won't let it affect me for a minute.

Hugs to you friend. :hug:

[Susie45]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hi all - just checking in with another sober day in the books. I cannot lie - I still struggle on the weekends but it really is short lived. I just need to distract myself or eat a snack and it passes.
Roobs - I also struggle with feeling "joy" - I find that my happiest moments are when I am outdoors, on a beach, hiking a trail, or just having a light hearted conversation with spouse, child or friend. So I try to do these things as often as possible.
Life can really bog me down - there is always something to do, take care of, worry about....I try carve a little time in each day to do something I enjoy doing.

[tonyniceday]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hi Nesters

Back from the family wedding which all passed off with no real problems for me. There were only a couple of people there who got stupidly drunk, and I didn't know them so although it wasn't pleasant to watch, it didn't affect me.

My immediate family were really supportive without even saying anything. No-one offered me an alcoholic drink, I had apple juice all the way through (including the toasts). Straight back up to Scotland today and back to work this evening....I'm bushed and going to bed but had to have a read back.

Just wanted to pick up on the Antabuse theme

..... You know i might have to consider antabuse meself.

Mr G - I found AB a life saver at the beginning. Taking the 'will I'? 'won't I' ? out of it for the first few weeks was a turning point for me.
Go on .......... do it !!!

I'm on this and G man it doesn't really matter about taking the half dose you referred to or the full dose, the half dose may just make the effect of you drinking not quite so severe if you did drink while on it. It has absolutely no affect on you UNLESS you drink.

It stays quite inert in your system. If you took one tablet today it would stay with you for around 48 hours. If you continue to take it then it plateaus after around 2 weeks and then stays active in your system for about 5 days, depending on your BMI/metabolism etc.

What it does is interacts with alcohol only, by stopping your body from breaking down and absorbing alcohol. It prevents the liver from producing the enzyme it naturally produces when alcohol is present in your system. Your body HAS to get rid of the alcohol somehow so it makes you sick...I read somewhere on the internet that it doesn't really work...so last time around, last year some time, when I was using it, I was stupid enough to put it to the test and, please trust me if you are on AB - it really does work

I thought it worked immediately so I had a sip of wine...all fine so I finished the glass...all fine, so I finished the bottle, and the next one and I believe more too, although I can't remember how much I had in the end...All fine and I staggered to bed...all fine until about 3am when I woke up feeling really sick and rushed to the bathroom. I was VERY sick, I had palaptations, sweats, and weakness in most joints, it was the worst sickness I have ever experienced...it works, I know that for a fact.

Taking it over a period of time is fine and helps because if I decided to have a drink, I would have to stop taking the pills 5 days in advance, and in that time I think I would have changed my mind!

The higher the dose, the worse the effects, apparently and I was told this as there is a supply issue in the UK where the licensed dose is 200mg per day. Because of a problem with manufacture here, it is now being imported from Spain where the licensed dose is 250mg and my Doctor has told me that that has no effect either, as long as I don't drink, but if I did drink then the effects would be even worse.

[Lavande]

Re: Newbies Nest

Good evening Nesters!

We've had an oddly cool & dampish weekend here but better than being too hot I guess. Good weather for a bit of gardening & chicken coop cleaning, ha ha - my in-favorite pastime

LC, these fresh eggs from happy chickens are the best. They beat the supermarket eggs, hands down. Glad you are finding good things to do in your spare time.

Roobs, I wanted to address your comment about 'not feeling joy'. I experience that too but I attribute a lot of it to normal aging. Let's face it, things change, people change, kids grow up, long tem goals have been met, etc. I find joy comes in bits & bursts completely unexpectedly these days. My grandkids are usually the source but sometimes it's other things, even my dogs or flock of chickens. Like NS I think I spend more time in gratitude mode now & that's good too. Keep your eyes & ears open & remain open to new possibilities

Glad to see everyone checking in & staying on plan. No regrets ever, right?
Wishing a safe night in the nest for all!

Lav