The Sober Squad- Alcohol Free Living
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That was the longest January in history it seems,not cuz of the dry aspect,just the month in general! Here we go into February stay strong my friends,don't let that voice creep in,squash it like a bug before it takes hold and grows,have a fabulous AF day
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@whitpauly I agree! I thought it would never end. So cold and gloomy here in Maryland. We are in for a warm up next week though and I can't wait!4
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I have to also say I thought I was never a person to fall in the trap of drinking too much. I was and can see it SO clearly now of the people I have hurt while drinking too much. The other HUGE wake up CALL for me was the other day. I was cleaning out a closet.... My husband a few months back was concerned about my drinking (full honesty he should have been, I had been acting out, etc.., Not acting like myself, the Sally he knows) that I hid a bottle of wine. First time I have ever hid any alcohol. YES - I KNOW HUGE sign! I was mad 😡 and said I can handle drinking... Needless to say I forgot that I had hidden that bottle of wine until I was cleaning the closet and it all came back to me. I was embarrassed and then thankful that I have stepped up to make the necessary changes in my life. Hard to admit; however, if it can help one person I don’t mind sharing. Never thought that would have ever been me. Really shows how much alcohol can overtake your life.
NO MORE! I am and will remain to be FREE!
We had three cases of wine shipped from Italy (prior to me deciding to do dry January), we haven’t opened them. FIRST TIME EVER! I am going to have two glasses MAX tmo. I have set up my monthly schedule and will only have wine tmo (SuperBowl/Phoenix Open) and Valentine’s Day. A HUGE change for last year. I will not fall back into bad habits and if I feel like I can’t handle that then I will stay dry. I have experienced way too many positives to fall down. My husband is on board with me and supportive.
ALL - STAY WARM!!!11 -
@kcn2bluesky
Hi! I thought of you when I opened the mail yesterday! I received my new Flow magazine! Next month, book for paper lovers is coming out! Yea! Knitting update: I am enjoying knitting; however, I need another lesson, LOL, I haven’t quite figure out going from row 1 to 2. 🧶
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TBH I have been tempted to drink lately. Yesterday when out to dinner at a nice restaurant was one time. I didn't even care about the effects of the alcohol but it was more like "I'm out to dinner and this is what people do when they are out to dinner to make it more fancy," plus the place we went to makes cocktails that taste good. I wasn't sure what non-alcoholic drink to order that felt fancy enough for a night out so I got a Diet Coke and I didn't even drink most of it because I realized Diet Coke is gross, so I felt a bit disappointed. I think I was already over my calories yesterday though so it's probably for the best. Today I was out to brunch with friends and most people were drinking. I felt a little bit left out, again not because of the effects of the alcohol but just because "this is what people do." But nobody cared that I wasn't drinking and I had just as much fun as anyone else.9
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I had one of those days today where IF I were drinking still, I would be drinking right now!!! I`ve been trying to catch up on work due to our 3 days of snow squalls and overbooked myself today. I loved having the time off, but very much dislike the pressure of having to rearrange to fit everyone in. I "thought" I had booked two jobs today, but got a text from a client when I was at job #1 referring to me working for her this aft....EEEEK!! She was not one of the two jobs I was planning to do today...but thankfully job #2 that I planned is out of town so I can do them tomorrow squeezed in with another client....and then to the visitation at the funeral home for my bro-in-law..
I also forgot that I committed to attend a baby shower of a client's son & S.O. this eve and had to run to get a card and a gift card in between my jobs cause I totally gapped on the whole deal.THEN, to top it all off as I'm paying with a clear, or so I thought, credit card, it declined...so I paid with debit then went to another store & tried to use my card again figuring something was wrong with the terminal at the first store, declined!!!! Are you kidding me...paid with a different card & when I called the card company that declined my transaction was informed that my balance was $1,300+ WHAT??????
Long story short, a couple of months ago I had put a charge on my card for my 11 yr old grandson who wanted to buy some characters on the video game he was playing...he assured me that it was a one time hit and not a recurring charge...all was well until Jan 31 & Feb 1 when my card got hit with several charges from iTunes....when my daughter checked out what's what on his phone, apparently it was a different website that he was playing this game thru that was linked into iTunes & hitting my card with all these charges in the past two days....OMG!! Good news, iTunes is refunding my $$$...thankfully....NEVER again!!!!
I actually made it to the shower almost on time...woohoo!! I dislike being late!
Just needed to vent...Rrrrrrrrrr!!!
Does this sound familiar to anyone?? I've heard from a couple of people that this is an issue with kids & video games & parent's cards getting dinged with huge charges...has this happened to anyone here?
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@Fitness327wk ~ I hope moderation can work for you! I know it can't for me...I think most of us can relate to hiding alcohol...and it definitely is a huge red flag...it's interesting how our thinking clears when we are AF for awhile...I hope things work out as planned for you.
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@laurenq1991 Isn't it interesting how we can be going along in our AF journey just fine and then BOOM!! Where the heck did THAT craving come from?? But like you said it was the atmosphere and fitting in with the crowd...everyone else is doing it and it can make us feel left out or even kinda odd. WELL, if swimming against the current is odd, it takes a really strong person to not go with the flow. And that would be YOU!! And like you said, you can have just as much fun as everyone else....with no after-effects.5
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Good morning, friends. Nothing new here. Went to the library and got three Art magazines, a book on divorce in your 50s, and a philosophy book “The untethered soul”. What a difference a year makes! I am feeling calm and peaceful and know that alcohol would change all that. Tonight is the Super Bowl party in the neighborhood. Last year, i remember that I felt deprived and sad I wound’t be drinking but this year, I am so glad not to be drinking. Love waking up sober especially while teaching little kids.
@Fitness327wk Those magazines looks so good. I didn’t find them at the library but maybe will buy one at Barnes and Nobles.
@laurenq1991 This ride is a roller coaster. And yes, it’s so normal to have some wine with dinner in a restaurant, it feels weird not to. Diet Coke is awful; I order club soda with some cherries or Perrier. Or a pretty Mocktail. Happy you came out ok.
@lorrainequiche59 What a whirlwind. Very stressful for sure. You are handling it very well though. Can you imagine drinking with all that going on. It would be more stressful and anxiety filled. You got this!4 -
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Happy Super Sober Sunday! We are watching the game next door at the neighbor's house. In the past I would have thought, "Great! We don't have to worry about driving! I can drink as much as I want!". But not this year. I am so happy to not be drinking. When I had wine in Austin last week it took me days to feel right again. Plus my skin looked old. Yuck. For me, it truly has become poison. If only I could remember that when I get a craving. But those are getting to be fewer and farther between. Have a great day everyone!8
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Happy Super Sober Sunday! We are watching the game next door at the neighbor's house. In the past I would have thought, "Great! We don't have to worry about driving! I can drink as much as I want!". But not this year. I am so happy to not be drinking. When I had wine in Austin last week it took me days to feel right again. Plus my skin looked old. Yuck. For me, it truly has become poison. If only I could remember that when I get a craving. But those are getting to be fewer and farther between. Have a great day everyone!
Have fun Jen! Yes, the cravings are getting farther and farther apart. Xo5 -
Happy Sunday friends. Sorry I’m not more active on this thread.
As mentioned before I’ve been AF for 6.5 years. I will say however this last month I had sooo many thoughts of drinking again. For me I use A.A. to help me stay sober. My hat is off to those who can recover and not work a 12 step program. Some days I really wish I could but for me I know if I tried to not do A.A. I’d be drunk.
January 2019 is a month I hope I never have to repeat again. I was struck with diverticulitis which then affected my ability to work out. Working out is also a part of my mental health that is just so helpful for me. Then enter extreme cold and snow. Ugh it was awful. Plus we are going through some challenges with one of our children. Ugh. Teens are HARD. Man would I do just about anything to go back to the terrible twos. Not really but you get the point 😃.
I was thinking well I have all these tools that AA has taught me, I have a solid foundation with the higher power of my understanding, I’ve never really burnt my life into the ground, no job loss, etc so if I did drink again and it got out of control again I know where to go back to.
That’s freaking insanity folks!!! One of my best friends who would have had 10 years in January drank and she just got home from a 30 day stay in a treatment center called the Retreat In MN. In less than a month her alcoholism came back worse than what it was 10 years earlier.
Last night I was in a meeting and the speaker he said something that just really struck with me and I wanted to share it here. Something to the effect of “when I take that first drink it leads me to my second drink which then leads me to # 3 that then takes the man”. How true for me.
Once I start drinking I can’t stop no matter how hard I try. I’ve had such an amazing life over the last 6 years. Why would I ever want to try to see if I could moderate then hurt my loved ones AGAIN and then come back (if I make it back) to recovery????
I’m so beyond grateful just for today to have another day sober. I pray every morning to my HP please help me stay sober today and what can I do to help someone else and at night thank my HP for another sober day.
Today’s a big drinking day. If you’re on the fence about drinking make a plan and try to execute the plan. If you fail at that plan please give yourself grace, be safe and hit the reset button tomorrow.
❤️☕️14 -
I thought I should move over to this post instead of the less alcohol post. Less alcohol? Who am I kidding. I need to be here in the AF thread.
So - Hello. Today is day 9 AF.
Last time I went AF (for 8 months) I managed to get off of my BP meds...I was 100% med free. Why the hell did I start drinking again???!!! Because I could handle it? Today my BP is starting to drop again. Time to start cutting my dose of BP meds. Another week or two and then med free again!
I slept all night last night and even managed to sleep in a little for the first time since going AF. Another week and I will be sleeping like a teenager on a rainy Saturday morning!16 -
@Rubyred427 Morning! We are heading off to Church this morning and Super Bowl later. I am proud of your accomplishments with alcohol, YOU are an inspiration! The Flow magazines are from the UK and sadly they are not published here yet; however, they do have a few books that you can order through Amazon. Also, for our “crafty” fun side they have a book coming out call Paper Lovers (fun little projects) and it will be in the states in March/April.
Here are books through Amazon (I hope they publish their Magazines in the US soon, they are expensive with shipping):
I HIGHLY Recommend the following book below, not sure if it would be in the library since it has projects your write in the book etc... It is $19 on Amazon and worth every penny! Five star reviews
A Book That Takes Its Time: An Unhurried Adventure in Creative Mindfulness (Flow) Hardcover – October 3, 2017
Have a great Sunday!
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Here are two other books from Flow that are great; however, if I was to choose to buy one it would be the one recommended above.
Creativity Takes Courage: Dare to Think Differently (Flow) Hardcover – August 21, 2018
50 Ways to Draw Your Beautiful, Ordinary Life: Practical Lessons in Pencil and Paper (Flow) Paperback – April 17, 20182 -
@Ed_Zilla I am happy for you and your achievements!!!! Sleeping 💤 😴 is awesome for me now and happy you had a restful night last night.
@tifano Kudos to you and AF and experiencing all the benefits the last 6+ years! Today is a big drinking day and I have been AF since Jan. Feel GREAT! I am planning on having two glasses of wine; however, I already told my husband that if I feel I can’t handle that or... I refuse to go back to where I was at. This month I had planned today and Vday for wine (2 glasses max) and remain AF for the remainder of the month. A big change from last year drinking everyday!!!
@JenT304 Oh ya!!! I made my first knitting square. 😀5 -
RubyRed427 wrote: »
Ha ha ha ha ha @RubyRed427.
Also @Whitpauly. There is always that voice. Hate that. I keep thinking about squashing it like a bug. That one is a keeper. It is quick to think of and does the trick fast. Sums it up just fine. Our lives are too important here.
Life goes fast. Today will come and go. Keep the full picture in mind. Have fun. Have no regrets.
Love you all here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!4 -
Glad to hear everyone is doing well in the AF department.. After my slight derailment last Saturday I have remained AF, so 26/27 days isn't too bad.. I'm allowing myself to feel happy about that.. Nights when my husband has to work overnight are tough.. Don't like being alone overnight. I would always have drinks, but he's been on call a lot and I've been managing even though I don't sleep all that well. Last night would normally be an extra trigger bc I accomplished some major paperwork organizing and filing so my reward after hours of work would be wine or vodka sodas, but I abstained; however, I did paperwork from about 3pm until 3am (minus baby feedings and snuggles) which is insane, but I'm an all or nothing kind of person..
And I'm the meme of the lady from The sound of music - 'This is me not caring about football ' so I'm going clothes shopping today as a treat to myself for my upcoming birthday and out to dinner with the hubs tonight.. I will long for a fancy cocktail with dinner, but I will abstain. I hope you all have a great AF time at your superbowl festivities!5 -
Yellowstone1983 wrote: »Glad to hear everyone is doing well in the AF department.. After my slight derailment last Saturday I have remained AF, so 26/27 days isn't too bad.. I'm allowing myself to feel happy about that.. Nights when my husband has to work overnight are tough.. Don't like being alone overnight. I would always have drinks, but he's been on call a lot and I've been managing even though I don't sleep all that well. Last night would normally be an extra trigger bc I accomplished some major paperwork organizing and filing so my reward after hours of work would be wine or vodka sodas, but I abstained; however, I did paperwork from about 3pm until 3am (minus baby feedings and snuggles) which is insane, but I'm an all or nothing kind of person..
And I'm the meme of the lady from The sound of music - 'This is me not caring about football ' so I'm going clothes shopping today as a treat to myself for my upcoming birthday and out to dinner with the hubs tonight.. I will long for a fancy cocktail with dinner, but I will abstain. I hope you all have a great AF time at your superbowl festivities!
Happy early birthday!!!
Alcohol may put you to sleep, but it is known to not help you to sleep well. I think it makes me more tired the next day, too and more susceptible to caving on my AF. You are doing great!!!5 -
@salleewins Thank you!3
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Happy Sunday friends. Sorry I’m not more active on this thread.
As mentioned before I’ve been AF for 6.5 years. I will say however this last month I had sooo many thoughts of drinking again. For me I use A.A. to help me stay sober. My hat is off to those who can recover and not work a 12 step program. Some days I really wish I could but for me I know if I tried to not do A.A. I’d be drunk.
January 2019 is a month I hope I never have to repeat again. I was struck with diverticulitis which then affected my ability to work out. Working out is also a part of my mental health that is just so helpful for me. Then enter extreme cold and snow. Ugh it was awful. Plus we are going through some challenges with one of our children. Ugh. Teens are HARD. Man would I do just about anything to go back to the terrible twos. Not really but you get the point 😃.
I was thinking well I have all these tools that AA has taught me, I have a solid foundation with the higher power of my understanding, I’ve never really burnt my life into the ground, no job loss, etc so if I did drink again and it got out of control again I know where to go back to.
That’s freaking insanity folks!!! One of my best friends who would have had 10 years in January drank and she just got home from a 30 day stay in a treatment center called the Retreat In MN. In less than a month her alcoholism came back worse than what it was 10 years earlier.
Last night I was in a meeting and the speaker he said something that just really struck with me and I wanted to share it here. Something to the effect of “when I take that first drink it leads me to my second drink which then leads me to # 3 that then takes the man”. How true for me.
Once I start drinking I can’t stop no matter how hard I try. I’ve had such an amazing life over the last 6 years. Why would I ever want to try to see if I could moderate then hurt my loved ones AGAIN and then come back (if I make it back) to recovery????
I’m so beyond grateful just for today to have another day sober. I pray every morning to my HP please help me stay sober today and what can I do to help someone else and at night thank my HP for another sober day.
Today’s a big drinking day. If you’re on the fence about drinking make a plan and try to execute the plan. If you fail at that plan please give yourself grace, be safe and hit the reset button tomorrow.
❤️☕️
Great job!!! You are right about the insanity of alcohol. The monkey is always on our backs or the wolf in the woods (quoted from those on here). I am trying to squash the voice, lol. I get the exercise thing, too. I hurt my back AGAIN at work last month. I started to get some despair. Immediately off my routine. Can't get much done outside "surviving" for awhile. I drank heavily before when this happened. I was ridiculed by one person who really doesn't know me. I did stick up for myself. The snow came and showed up again and again. I had to go to work. Shed tears. Have to pay the tax man. I had help with the snow, but not 100% with it. I have survived. You have, too. Yes kids are hard period. Just remember it could always be harder as you know probably. None of it is worth a drink. Frickin' alcohol makes it frickin harder in and of itself. Yes, I don't want to have the one I have left here be the object of my anger while drinking again. Yelling, witch that I have been. It wasn't much. One major time that we both recall, but once was too much. I just was absent, not praying for them enough etc. the most. When we drink we don't care much about much except the drink when we are problem drinkers.
More dependence on the HP, right?? In my case, maybe yours and others here, THE GREAT I AM! If I depended on myself, forget it. He has sent the people, the strength, the tools and the programs and help have needed here on this earth.6 -
Also, as a connoisseur of flavored sparkling water and someone who used to mix it with vodka, I thoroughly enjoyed Dasani blood orange flavor even better than my usual La Croix.. just FYI for those who enjoy some AF fancy fizz7
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Yellowstone1983 wrote: »Also, as a connoisseur of flavored sparkling water and someone who used to mix it with vodka, I thoroughly enjoyed Dasani blood orange flavor even better than my usual La Croix.. just FYI for those who enjoy some AF fancy fizz
I do!! I will look into it! Thank you! I bought a whole bunch of the Halos tangerines yesterday to go in something!! I try to always have something in mind to get or I search for something new that I can drink and eat if I need to go get something instead of running to alcohol. Thanks for giving me another good treat for my list.3 -
We are cheering for everyone here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Let us hear from you, if you are having trubs (slang at my house for trouble) today before it hits the fan.5
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salleewins wrote: »RubyRed427 wrote: »
Ha ha ha ha ha @RubyRed427.
Also @Whitpauly. There is always that voice. Hate that. I keep thinking about squashing it like a bug. That one is a keeper. It is quick to think of and does the trick fast. Sums it up just fine. Our lives are too important here.
Life goes fast. Today will come and go. Keep the full picture in mind. Have fun. Have no regrets.
Love you all here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Happy Sunday peeps,just wanted to say that there's pushing the thoughts away like this that works for me,them there's "playing the tape forward" playing out in your mind how bad the drinkin makes you feel but it doesn't work for me cuz I can't get past the"well I'll get to drink,I'll deal with the after effect later" nope! Much better to stop it in it's tracks!@Tifano I wish AA would have worked for me but I'd leave there wanting to drink more than ever for some reason,the people at the meetings I went to were just unrelatable to me, alot of them were court ordered and I just don't understand the steps,I'm very happy it's worked so well for you Lorraine,yep it's happened with my g-son and his games too,I seen him ordering things but thought it was fake"game money" haha, his dad flipped out when he seen his credit card bill! RubyRed,sounds like you're coping really well,so many posts I'd like to comment on but hard to look back with my phone,wishing us all a super,sober Sunday! 4 -
No Super Bowl for me because I don't find watching football even remotely entertaining. I hope you guys who enjoy it have a great sober night though and eat a lot of delicious snacks!7
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Happy Super Bowl Sunday and as @JenT304 said, Im making it a Super Sober Sunday as well...
I AM SO PROUD OF YOU Norm!!
Such awesome comments and all the comments to the comments are covered so I'll just say ditto!!
I attended my bro-in-law's visitation this aft. I do not like open caskets, but it's not all about me now is it!! BUT I have to say he looked horrible....not at all like him. I personally do not need to see a dead body to get closure but understand that some do.
Anyway, there were lots of pics displayed and that's how I'll remember him. As I was walking past the line of people waiting to pay their respects to the family, I got whiffs of 3 distinct odors....Alcohol, remnants of cigarette smoke & pot!! The alcohol odor was particularly strong & there was one guy there who was visibly wasted. It was depressing...it just gave me a really sad feeling for these people who are so heavily dependant on their liquid courage. Just really sad! What a waste of the life that they have. I saw different ones who have aged so much, likely in large part to their unhealthy lifestyle.
I am so thankful to be sober and never want to take it for granted.
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I survived my girls getaway trip this weekend, AF!!! It was tempting at times to join in on the drinking, but i'm SO PROUD of myself for not caving in! Coming up on 3 weeks sober now...... I'm feeling good about this.
Hope everyone here is off to a great start this month!12
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