Less Alcohol - AUGUST 2020 - One Day at a Time

MissMay

Feeling better in control of not wanting to have adult beverages because:
1) Because it is Summer
2) Because it is hot and humid
3) Because I nailed a very busy day at work
4)Because a gal pal texted and wants to unload her mother/daughter problems on me.
5) well you get the picture.......

My brain used to think alcohol - solved, made better, gave me cool ideas, made me invisible, etc.
It does not.
I make those choices, nothing else that is contained in a bottle makes those choices.

August
Alcohol days ~0~

Do something wonderful for yourselves today. 🍉

dawnbgethealthy

I am Dawn. 59 (for one more month), I live in SE BC
My goal has remained the same, one that I feel comfortable with: 16-20AF days each month.

Saturday August 01 - Drinks, fancy fruity ones that I concocted.
Sunday August 02 - AF - Didn't really want to be AF, but did.
Monday August 03 - AF - Too windy to go to a lake today (I float on a mat) so I did some stuff around the garden. It is still going to be 100 degrees for a couple of more days, I am going to try to only work in the mornings so that I can get to the lake while it is super hot and not windy. Motivation to not drink is how my belly swells up so big the day after having drinks. Planning on AF again tomorrow.
Tuesday August 04 - AF - Long stressful workday when I should have been at the lake, second to last really hot day. So badly wanted a few cocktails, but fought through it with my newfound "don't drink when you are stressed" tactic. Those cocktails won't be going anywhere, I will have a few on a happy day. Lake time Wednesday no matter what.

Rolling total 3AF days out of 4 days

globalhiker

0 drinks/4 days.....just bought blueberries (from Canada), 4 packs for $1...and they are amazing. I also have 2 lbs of really plump northwest cherries from Wenatchee, Washington. Packed the cherries in snack bags, 10 per bag and I freeze them. When I want a treat, pull out the bag and rinse them under lukewarm water to slightly defrost.

This is better than ice cream and wine - believe me . Calories favorable too.

My August plan reminder:

1.AF 29-30 days
2.No purchases of wine bottles, period.
3.Max 1 can rose bubbles on planned drinking days (upcoming family b-days)
4.No excuses
5.Lose 2 lbs
6.Refocus on enjoying life!

dawnbgethealthy

@MissMay
You must have a lot of blueberry bushes!
I have some, but never enough to bring in the house. I will take a picture later, I would love to see a photo of yours!
What are you going to do with those 3 big pails of blueberries?

looneycatblue

@forestdweller1 Where are you and Catpucino going? See you around soon!

looneycatblue

Day 4 - Aug 4

AF 2.5 ? / 4

I need to learn how to better deal with other peoples bad moods... after a long work day, I really don't want to come home to bad attitudes, but this is what happens most days. I tend to try and de-stress on my drive home, so I don't bring it into the house... So I waited for 1 full hour after getting home, telling myself to just deal with it, but I caved again... made a wine cooler, took a few sips, not my usual guzzle, then it sat while I finished making dinner, by then the ice was melted, and I picked up my water bottle instead... and ended up dumping the wine cooler!

So can I just count yesterday as 1/2 AF?

Side-note... love blueberries, but here in So California, prices are about $3 per 12oz container. I love berries and Greek yogurt for breakfast! They are good frozen too.

shorepine

Hello everyone. I myself have gone to the U Pick blueberry farm twice in the last week. I like to pick blueberries and freeze them for the year. So far I have picked 30 lbs. I like picking blueberries, it's peaceful and the bushes are tall on the farm so its shady. I go in the evening after work with my kids. I live in Oregon and we have wonderful blueberries too!

I've been AF'ing it up over here. In the past 10 days I've only had one alcohol day. I'm starting to realize I don't need alcohol in the way I once thought I did. This is pretty cool.

Aug 1: 2 drinks
Aug 2: AF
Aug 3: AF
Aug 4: AF

So far in Aug: 3/4 days AF

MissMay

@dawnbgethealthy, this is only a 1/4 of one of my blueberry bushes. They are high bush and I have 8 of them. The close up is one cluster of berries. They are truely phenomenal. 15.5 pounds picked so far this season.

whitpauly

MissMay wrote: »

@dawnbgethealthy, this is only a 1/4 of one of my blueberry bushes. They are high bush and I have 8 of them. The close up is one cluster of berries. They are truely phenomenal. 15.5 pounds picked so far this season.

Jealous! Those look so plump and juicy you're lucky🤗 6:36 am in Vegas another 24,hope everyone has a wonderful day 💗

mainelylisa

Man, I'm not a big blueberry fan, but I want some now!!! Bluetiful pics!!!!

dawnbgethealthy

I am completely jealous of your blueberries @MissMay They are like trees!!

Back in Ontario they are like ground cover, very short bushes. I hear that they are like trees also in Vancouver.

I have one square of them here. Almost embarrased to show after seeing yours lol.







I just eat them standing there when they become ripe, about to do that.

dawnbgethealthy

I am Dawn. 59 (for one more month), I live in SE BC
My goal has remained the same, one that I feel comfortable with: 16-20AF days each month.

Saturday August 01 - Drinks, fancy fruity ones that I concocted.
Sunday August 02 - AF - Didn't really want to be AF, but did.
Monday August 03 - AF - Too windy to go to a lake today (I float on a mat) so I did some stuff around the garden. It is still going to be 100 degrees for a couple of more days, I am going to try to only work in the mornings so that I can get to the lake while it is super hot and not windy. Motivation to not drink is how my belly swells up so big the day after having drinks. Planning on AF again tomorrow.
Tuesday August 04 - AF - Long stressful workday when I should have been at the lake, second to last really hot day. So badly wanted a few cocktails, but fought through it with my newfound "don't drink when you are stressed" tactic. Those cocktails won't be going anywhere, I will have a few on a happy day. Lake time Wednesday no matter what.
Wednesday August 05 - Drinks. Last hot day here, so went to the lake and had some yummy cocktails when I got home.

Rolling total 3AF days out of 5 days

dawnbgethealthy

Claiming a concrete table at the lake with my float and beach bag. So nice to step away from town on our last hot day.

shorepine

Wow @MissMay, gorgeous blueberries! The ones on the farm I pick at are like trees, too. I have a few blueberry bushes but they look like @dawnbgethealthy 's. Not getting my 30 lbs that way, that's for sure. My bushes COULD look like trees, because they do that here, but the deer keep devouring them. We keep meaning to build a fence, and just haven't. We also have a herd of elk here. It's a lost cause without a fence.

Actually two nights ago the deer came through and ate all my flowers. Yesterday I discovered this in the morning, and I actually cried. They also ate a whole row of sunflowers that were just about ready to bloom that the kids and I started from seed. I have been using deer repellent, and applying it weekly, but I guess it had been about a week since I applied it and it was not effective.

Yesterday I swore I was going to give up flower gardening. I can't exactly put fences around my flower beds, since they are around our yard in a perimeter and what you see as you look out at our view. But then, as I laid in bed last night, I had an idea. I have two big dogs who enjoy chasing deer. I am going to get one of those dog doors built in to a panel you put in your sliding glass door and leave it accessible all night. My sliding glass door is in proximity to my flowers. The dogs will leap out of the door when they see deer coming! Or at least, that's my hope. I looked, and those kind of door panels aren't that expensive, only like $130 or so. I'm doing it! Let's hope it works.

Anyway, another AF day yesterday. I kind of wanted wine last night after the kids went to bed because my son was having a hard time and experiencing some anger issues. I ended up spending a long time talking to him, trying to help him through some breathing exercises, etc. He had gotten in trouble and had something taken away, and was very mad about it even though he understood why. I could have used the wine after expending so much patient parenting energy, but I just brewed myself a cup of Kava tea instead. Proud of myself!

Aug 1: 2 drinks
Aug 2: AF
Aug 3: AF
Aug 4: AF
Aug 5: AF

So far in Aug: 4/5 days AF

mainelylisa

With all the blueberries and mint...just sounds like a mocktail is begging for some muddling!

looneycatblue

Staying on-track, AF yesterday!

3.5 AF / 5

Had a nice evening walk with hubby, we got to share with each other the struggles with his daughter. She is 25, but acts like a petulant 15 y/o teen... this Covid isolation stuff is not helping with her at with her anxiety and trouble making friends... so she tends to lash out more at us, mostly her father. I keep telling myself that she will grow out of this phase, but it has been 10 years already! I am mostly a calm person, takes alot to get me to raise my voice... takes nothing for her. I keep my distance, I do not enjoy any of the drama.

I was raised with 3 brothers, and was a bit of a tom-boy, had lots of male friends, raised 2 sons. Maybe I just don't have what it takes to deal with a girls roller-coaster of emotions and anger.

mainelylisa

@shorepine Let us know how that works! My only caution comes from experience with a doggie door. Critters have been brought into my house (the dogs and Mr. Kitty all tried to take credit for all of them, so who knows who it was). 2 possums and a chipmunk. Nothing like coming home alone after a night out (yes, drinks were involved and in this case, it probably helped me not completely freak out) to a dead? possum on my dining room floor. There was also the chipmunk chase, resulting in me running into my front yard with little on trying to deposit him outside, and then the other possum being brought to me and, seemingly in slow motion, gently set down next to me on my COUCH!

dawnbgethealthy

Great story @mainelylisa !
I have never seen a Possum, I just had to Google it. Looks exotic!
I had heard the term "playing Possum" but didn't really understand. So they play dead, slow their heartbeat right down and excrete a terrible smell from their anal glands (ewww) to appear dead.
So, the one on your floor...was dead or just playing dead?

I wonder what sort of creatures might come in the doggy door in Oregon @shorepine or if your huge dogs would dissuade that. Do you have racoons, possums, chipmunks, squirrels?

Apparently no matter where we are geographically Deer are a garden problem to us all.

dawnbgethealthy

I am Dawn. 59 (for one more month), I live in SE BC
My goal has remained the same, one that I feel comfortable with: 16-20AF days each month.

Saturday August 01 - Drinks, fancy fruity ones that I concocted.
Sunday August 02 - AF - Didn't really want to be AF, but did.
Monday August 03 - AF - Too windy to go to a lake today (I float on a mat) so I did some stuff around the garden. It is still going to be 100 degrees for a couple of more days, I am going to try to only work in the mornings so that I can get to the lake while it is super hot and not windy. Motivation to not drink is how my belly swells up so big the day after having drinks. Planning on AF again tomorrow.
Tuesday August 04 - AF - Long stressful workday when I should have been at the lake, second to last really hot day. So badly wanted a few cocktails, but fought through it with my newfound "don't drink when you are stressed" tactic. Those cocktails won't be going anywhere, I will have a few on a happy day. Lake time Wednesday no matter what.
Wednesday August 05 - Drinks. Last hot day here, so went to the lake and had some yummy cocktails when I got home.
Thursday August 06 - AF - I will try to be AF tomorrow also to get 2 in a row.

Rolling total 4AF days out of 6 days

MissMay

Thanks everyone for the blueberry comments, lowfat vanilla yogurt, almond milk and blueberries are my go to smoothie.

@mainelylisa those are hysterical stories. Would have loved to have been there. Those were lovely thoughtful gifts your fur babies were bringing you.

I saw my first possum in Florida 2017. We were in an outdoor Jacuzzi late one evening at our resort. And a possum came onto the deck area wandering about like it owned the place. He/She was pretty cute looking I must say as critters go.

AUGUST 6th ~ 6 days AF
Best beginning to a month I have had since March 2020.
3 weeks and 3 days to go.
Step aside Dry January. My dry August is making strides.