Awesome August Abstainers ~ week 2

[itsmytime]

Awesome August Abstainers ~ week 2

Happy Monday

Wouldn't be saying that a month ago, it feels so liberating to be free of feeling like crap all the time. If I wasn't hungover, I was ruminating and feeling the shame/guilt/anxiety of my last binge. I got up early, got to the gym, meditated, got dinner ready and all before getting ready for work. LOVE IT!!!

"I take it from your post that HB has no problem in terms of knowing when to stop and being able to stop. Good for him! Has he cut back at all as a result of you abstaining? Just curious and you don't have to answer if you don't want to." Thanks Dill!! You are amazing as well to answer your question, hubby can drink with the best of them, but he doesn't mix drinks, try to get drunk fast or get fall down, stupid drunk. He likes his light beer and is a responsible drinker. He has cut back his drinking at home, he never drinks during the week but I notice his consumption on the weekends lessening.

Have a great day all, gotta get going to work. :l

[dill]

Awesome August Abstainers ~ week 2

Hello Awesomes,

Babble away, nellie! I loved to hear your thought process. I wish I had figured it out early on in my life as you have. I continued to have my daily wine to wind down, relax after the stresses of the day. That pleasant habit simply grew over the years into a monster in control of me!

Nurse Lav to the rescue!!:H How is he feeling today?

IMT, it sounds as if you and HB both are benefitting from you decision. That wonderful!

Had fun yesterday afternoon playing legos with my grandson. I never knew they could be so much fun, and he felt so proud of what he built.

Happy AF Monday!

[Lavande]

Awesome August Abstainers ~ week 2

IMT, soon you will be able to push those memories to the back corner of your mind. They no longer plague me on a daily basis but I also don't want to forget completely & become complacent. I just tell myself YES Lav ~ one will hurt
Be prepared for some drinking dreams though. They are freaky but they do serve a purpose I think!

Dill, his text this morning seemed calm enough so I guess he wasn't consumed by hysteria overnight :H
YB has always been the biggest baby - has no pain tolerance whatsoever. He was fortunate that he never sustained any real injuries during his career. We were all fortunate for that really.
He was thrown threw a glass door by a major psycho early in his career but only sustained a ripped shirt & a few scratches. And some guy ran over his foot when stopped for a traffic violation but nothing was broken. I think his repeated injuries these days are due to age related ADD, honestly.

I have a set of large Lego pieces here the kids really enjoy. Matilda apparently has enjoyed a few of them herself :H

I'm about to put together a Celtic Wedding Anniversary design for someone - I'll post the embroidery file later. I did one for my son & DIL several years ago

[nellie78]

Awesome August Abstainers ~ week 2

Thanks Dill - still feeling good here. Really enjoying the exercise and actually 'feeling' stuff. I'm finding that one of the nicest things I'm experiencing is the growing confidence in myself in social situations. Ironic really as alcohol is meant to make you feel confident... I find that I can look people in the eye and really express myself rather than worrying if they can tell I'm hungover or, dread - can smell last night's wine on my breath. Also the evenings have come alive for me - just pottering about and actually finishing half done - jobs. Simple things really but I am slowly remembering how happy and content I was before I hit the vino after mum and dad died. It has been a 13 year slosh-a-thon really and I'm glad I've seen the light! x thanks for listening to all the babble once again folks! nighty night!

[ladybirdheart]

Awesome August Abstainers ~ week 2

As with Dill and Lav, I am certainly appreciating you two being here, Nellie and IMT, it can actually be fun getting free of alcohol in spite of what we might experience or believe to the contrary from time to time. Speaking of fun, I like the image of you building with Legos, Dill. I also imagine having grandchildren is a stellar excuse for you to play, Lav. At one of the hardest times in my career, I would hide in a little room with a couple of my (male) coworkers who were also stressing out, and we would ?color? with a box of crayons for twenty or thirty minutes. It was so out of character, especially for the gentlemen, and we would end up sick with laughter in there. Attempting to emerge with solemn faces at a moment's notice was quite a test. I am off now to curl up with a magazine and some music for an hour or so (I still need to not pick up any significant steam near the cocktail/witching hour). I worked hard today at the Y and with heavy house cleaning, and it?s good as that scale finally dipped below 120 after being frozen for what seemed to be forever. Good Job!:H Love, Ladybird.

[Lavande]

Awesome August Abstainers ~ week 2

Good morning Awesomes!

I'm heading out to watch my grandsons for the day. Glad I slept well last night
Wishing everyone a terrific AF Tuesday!

Lav

[itsmytime]

Awesome August Abstainers ~ week 2

Good morning All,
Nellie, it is wonderful being sober and free. I starting drinking after 5 years sober after my brother and dear friend passed away 5 years ago. I lost my nephew and two of my best friends also these past 2 years and was bingeing like never before and knew I had to stop or I would die. Feelings are starting to surface, as they say you can ty to drown your sorrow but they can swim. I am feeling them and in order to heal we need to feel.

Have a great day all, I know I will happy to hit Day 30 - my last day 30

[Mick]

Awesome August Abstainers ~ week 2

Good day everyone..just thought I would be nosey and see what is happening elsewhere..Sun is now shining over here,so going to let the rabbits out.Lav they are worse than any kids..and twice as sneaky!!

Have a nice day,
Mick

[Lavande]

Awesome August Abstainers ~ week 2

Hey IMT, you know Byrdie is prepping uour 30 day hat over in the Nest
I am very happy for you, it truly is your time

I see you sneaking a peek over here Mick :H
One grandson is up, the other is sleeping in a bit. Your rabbits sound like a lot of fun too. Just be grateful you don't have any diapers to change :H

[Rusty]

Awesome August Abstainers ~ week 2

Hi Everybody!!!:wavin:

I am in Salt Lake City, UT on business again.

I had a wonderful vacation at home with Anne and her son. Anne is so easy to talk to and so positive about everything. She has forgiven her mother for making her life miserable with her in-denial alcoholism. One story she shared made me particularly sad....that Aunt Rusty was too drunk to go to Anne's sister's graduation from nursing school, and Anne's dad stayed home and took care of Aunt Rusty instead of going to the graduation.:upset: Can you imagine that????!!ull:no!: I will have to forgive Aunt Rusty, too, because she was my godmother (in title only) and she was a weak, weak person. I am also miffed that my uncle enabled and covered up my aunt's drinking. It was not fair at all to their four kids. Luckily, three out of four of them have turned out to be really nice people. If my mother only knew what a good mother her sister was NOT.....SIGH. We all had such a nice time, though....swimming, walking....visiting my family. It was extremely relaxing as they did not stay at my condo, but at a hotel close by, so I could still have my space and they could have theirs. My mom has a beautiful picture of her and my mom on my mom's wedding day....a photo Anne had never seen. When Anne saw it....she started to cry....saying her mom looked so youthful and happy.

Dill-you wondered what you could do instead of drinking after school....what about taking walks with Mr. Dill because he is home alone all day? Wouldn't it make him feel special if you said, "let's go for a walk when I get home for work!" It might be relaxing if you walked in an area you both find soothing and beautiful. I know for me....I needed an outlet where I could vent my frustrations after work....so I chose exercise. Once I got done with a pounding workout....my thirst for AL had diminished greatly.

Lav-I know your daughter worked for Enterprise Car Rental when she graduated from college, so you might appreciate this. Those customer service representatives make me want to puke with their wayyy-too-friendly attitude. I was greeted by not one but THREE CSRs when I got in my garage. "What are you doing in Salt Lake, Ms. Rusty?" SMILE SMILE SMILE. I'm on business. "OH! What kind of business are you in?" Why the f*ck do you want to know, I'm thinking. Just get out of my face and give me my car!!!!!!:stomper: Phew, thanks for letting me vent. I feel better.

Big hellos to everyone else and welcome to IMT and Nellie!

I'll be back later. Hope everyone is having a swell AF Tuesday.

[dill]

Awesome August Abstainers ~ week 2

Hi Rusty, I'm glad you had such a good visit with your cousin Anne. It is amazing the lengths people go to to cover up this problem. So much deception related to alc abuse. Thankfully I did not have a problem with al when my kids were still home with us, but listening to your story made me wonder how bad it could have been. Mr. D knows I have a problem currently, but he does not broadcast that to anyone. I wonder if he would have covered up for me if I had a problem when the kids were little, like your uncle. Somehow, I don't think so, but people sometimes have so much to lose when they get honest. It changes everything. I suspect your uncle was in denial, just as your aunt was, don't you think? Thanks for the suggestion of the walk after work. That may just do the trick.

Lav, I started out the day with no plans and got an early morning emergency can-you-keep-the-kids-call! The day was instantly turned on its ear!:H

:welcome: Mick, poke your head in any old time!

Feelings are starting to surface, as they say you can ty to drown your sorrow but they can swim. I am feeling them and in order to heal we need to feel.All so true, IMT. How wonderful that you have found it in you to make this change. Your life will be so much richer.

Nellie, nicest things I'm experiencing is the growing confidence in myself in social situations. Ironic really as alcohol is meant to make you feel confident...

Also the evenings have come alive for me - just pottering about and actually finishing half done - jobs. Simple things really

Both things to be grateful for. Thanks for the reminders! I often try to go back and remember what it was like before al took over. It's difficult to recall, it was so long ago! But every now and then, I remember what it was like and it was a sweetness that I surely did not appreciate at the time or I wouldn't have given it away so carelessly.

LBH, :H I got a good chuckle imagining you and your colleagues coloring and cracking up together. I do find coloring soothing, too, and luckily for me, I can do it out in the open with the preschoolers!

AF evening wishes to you all.

[Lavande]

Awesome August Abstainers ~ week 2

Any day of grannycare done & dusted :H :H
I was also stuck with the Insanity Twins this morning ~ couldn't put them outside in the pouring rain

Rusty, the kids who work at Enterprise are usually fresh, right out of college, haven't had time yet to get real :H they all grow up eventually! Glad you enjoyed your visitors. I have so many cousins but haven't seen or heard from any of them for years - oh well.

Dill, so you had a grannycare day too - good for you
It's fun, it's tiring & I am sure we are both ever so grateful, right?

OK, now I'm going to sit & veg in front of some NCIS reruns - yay!
Have a great night one & all.

PS: I saw chill's pics on FB. She looks like she's having a great time with her parents on vacation!

[Jolie]

Awesome August Abstainers ~ week 2

Hi gang,

Hope everyone is having a great week. Lav - bad weather is all over the news - looks like you may be affected. Keep safe!

Hope everyone is having a great end to the summer! Hoping to get away somewhere this weekend - Harpers Ferry is at the top of the list.

Rusty - still laughing - hope you have a pleasant stay in Salt Lake - even if it is business!

Computer is acting up - sorry I couldn't address everyone - have a great AF night gang!

[Lavande]

Awesome August Abstainers ~ week 2

!Good morning August friends & Abstainers

Guess it's time to start the third week, huh?
Maybe later......

Hi Jolie, that was some bodacious lightning last night!!!!!!
Hopefully nothing was hit here for a change.

Time to get to Curves & deliver eggs. I see eggs are in the news again today but that Canadian study was a bit ?? IMHO.

Have a great AF Hump Day!
Lav

[itsmytime]

Awesome August Abstainers ~ week 2

Good morning all,

Late start today so quick check in. Feeling great to be hangover free after going to a concert last night. Had my first real thought of maybe I can have one, but chased it away. One craving at a time at this stage eh?? Had a great time, even better because I am clear headed and anxiety free today. When drinking the horrible anxiety and shame takes over the great time had the night before, not any more.

TTYL