Less Alcohol - NOVEMBER 2020 - One Day at a Time
Replies
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I am Dawn and live in South East British Columbia. I am 60.
My goal remains the same as it has been for quite some time, 16-20 AF days per month.
I check in diary style. It works for me.
Tuesday Nov 10 - Drinks. Seemingly back to making Tuesday my drinks day.
Wednesday Nov 11 - AF - Remembrance Day.
Thursday Nov 12 - AF
Friday Nov 13 - Drinks. Friday the 13th!! We had that one teaser snowfall 2 weeks ago and then it all melted away. Today we got a really exciting big dump of the stuff. I got out to a circular trail that normally takes me about 15 minutes, but 10 inches of snow made it take blissfully longer. The sound of deep snow with my new hearing aid was so wonderfully overwhelming for me. Photos to come...if y'all don't mind : - )
Saturday Nov 14 - Drinks. Not planned, just low willpower today I guess. The month is not over.
Sunday Nov 15 - AF - Lovely day, but all of that beautiful snow melted away, not much left on the trails now, and none left in town.
Monday Nov 16 - AF
Tuesday Nov 17 - AF - I have one of my favourite jobs at a store in another town tomorrow, up a mountain, so want to make sure that I am alert for the drive and for the day, thus AF tonight.
Wednesday Nov 18 - AF - Very early busy work day tomorrow, so AF tonight
Thursday Nov 19 - Drinks. Well, I haven't had any yet, but am planning on having a couple tonight.
Friday Nov 20 - AF - Got one more garden bed weeded, turned over, added compost, mulched, and covered until tomato planting season next year. 3 more to go, my aim this weekend before everything freezes again.
Saturday Nov 21 - Drinks - Kind of rewarded myself for a big amount done in the garden today after a great hike with a treat of Apricot Brandy mixed with Bailey's. Open water still on the first lake that will be frozen enough to skate, but it is getting there.
Sunday Nov 22 - Drinks, kind of ditto to yesterday. Tried the 6 minute thing twice, but I have just been indulgent this past weekend. Very productive, lots of nice hikes, that addicting apricot brandy with bailey's...back on the horse for me at least for tomorrow. One day at a time.
Rolling total. 14AF days out of 22 days6 -
@MissMay
I am not a beer drinker, but kind of intrigued by the Jalapeno type. I love all things spicy.
As I uncovered the second to last garden bed today to ready (dig out weeds, turn everything over, add compost and mulch) and cover it for winter there were about 20 jalapenos still on there. I picked them, my tenant loves them and had mentioned that when I got around to it that he would love to use them in his cooking even if they had been frozen a little.
Wouldn't want to be his *kitten* : - 0
Running out of warm enough time windows, but only one bed left to do, the carrot bed.
Peeled, cut, and cooked all of the beets. I will freeze them and make stuff with them when I have the time: Cumin beet burger patties, Harvard beets.6 -
@dawnbgethealthy - I made spicy margaritas with fresh jalapeños ... a couple of slices in the on the rocks let it sit for half hour before serving. Very good. Also jalapeño popper dip! Mix and bake ... bacon, 2 cream cheese, 1 cup mayo, 4-6 jalapeños diced, 1 cup cheddar shredded, 1/2 cup mozarella shredded, 1/4 cup green onion, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese. Serve with crackers.
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I have a female "partner in crime" as I call her. We are very active for our ages. We plot and plan to have outrageous tasks to tackle together. Requiring lots of girl power ×2.
Some times after working on a project and getting great accomplishment from it, we would get the insane idea to go for a two hour hike with our dogs since we were already so pumped up.
Yesterday my gal pal had a heart attack. She is in the hospital and scheduled for surgery today.
She is the true glue of her family circle. On top of fricken covid running rampant no one needs this before Thanksgiving.
Be safe and healthy
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@MissMay very sorry to hear the news about your friend, let's hope for the best outcome....
@dawnbgethealthy I love Bailey's too. Plain, on ice. But it's on my "danger list" along with ice cream etc. Once I checked out the calories and saturated fat, I went cross-eyed!!
@Lilylady3k congrats on your goal! I have to follow in your footsteps and quit being so gluttonous. That said, my stats for week 3 were disappointing:
Week 1 and 2 total: 14
Week 3: 9
Running total: 23. Missed my goal mark but still focused on doing it right today.
@CMB44512 awesome that making a rule to only drink what's the fridge and stop worked. Now the sky's the limit and you can improve your goals as you wish.
To cut down on the total "alcohol" my husband alternated between one higher alcohol IPA one lower one like Coors Light, for example. He still got the same liquid volume so he tricked his body that way. It's all a mind game
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Well I didn't quite make my weekly goal of 4 AF days, but I'll take 3. It's better than zero and if there's ever time to cut some slack, it's now. Slack for drinking--not slack for being reckless and endangering others. I'm so angry with people continuing to whoop it up in "restaurants"--you know--the former bars that are now restaurants because they threw fried pickles on the menu. We are going to have a mass exodus by way of coffin just in time for Christmas. As NPR said this morning, we are having a 9/11 every 3 days.
@MissMay I'm so very sorry about your partner in "crime" and wish her a speedy recovery. Glad she was able to get seen rapidly. Saw on the news a mother in her 30's who had a heart attack died because they had to transfer her due to being overrun with Covid patients and she didn't have the time to spare.
On a spicier topic, @MissMay what is the name of the brewery with jalapeno beer? How's your throwing arm? Think you could toss me a growler over to Moosehead Lake? I'm stuck here with no beer and no jalapenos!7 -
I do not post in these threads that often but sometimes I have time to reflect on where I was and where I am and I have a thought to share.
It is obvious to everyone that drinks past their comfort level that it is a negative. I was certainly drinking past my comfort level. What I didn't always realize is how much of a mental anchor I was dragging around. In addition the the anxiety alcohol was in my thoughts a lot. It was also permanent ink on my schedule. By 7pm I should have my first drink in my hand. If anything interrupted or delayed it I would get agitated.
The physical anchor was more obvious. I weighed far too much and even if I was not hung over I felt a dullness that I had to fight through to get work done.
As I began to make progress in my overall self improvement alcohol was finally put back into moderation. Weight loss got easier. But it didn't stop there. As that mental and physical anchor lessened I did more "other" stuff. More quality work. More exercise, More volunteer work. More time helping friends, family, neighbors, etc.
Where alcohol was crowding out my best quality life, as my better quality life began to take over, it crowded out the alcohol. Each and every time I think about drinking now I think about what I want to do the next day and I wonder if I would do it as well if I drink. It is just not a risk I want to take anymore in my normal routines. Perhaps on vacation I might feel differently but I am not even sure about that anymore.
Much like the weight, I really had no idea how much I was giving up to drink and how much I would gain by drinking less.
Thank you for sharing, I needed to here this today.7 -
Streaking 30 straight alcohol free days today makes me feel like I can accomplish so much more but I'm only getting started. I still have no goal, yet, other than to carry a long, straight streak of my best days into 2021, which means no alcohol. This, more than anything else I have done for myself lately, makes me feel empowered.11
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Good day and thanks for your stories - it is always helpful. I did have some whisky yesterday during that fragile moment while making dinner (after 2 days AF). The "I feel like myself!" moment was strong, that little glow was there, but I concentrated a lot on the duller feeling that followed, and today it was easier to say no.
For the past month or so, I only watch any video programs while pedaling on the exercise bike. Now that the days are so short and the weather not yet good enough for snowshoeing (I'm in Québec), the bike is a good way to get through the evening without feeling like a couch potato, and without enjoying "just one more" nip of that good whisky or another glass of wine. I am getting quite competitive with myself about how many miles I cycle during one episode of a favourite program - and drinking alcohol slows me down! I can manage one beer, but more than that, I'm slowed down. I like having this goal for the evening to help me say no at 5 pm when I'm getting ready to start making dinner. It's working for now.7 -
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I am Dawn and live in South East British Columbia. I am 60.
My goal remains the same as it has been for quite some time, 16-20 AF days per month.
I check in diary style. It works for me.
Tuesday Nov 10 - Drinks. Seemingly back to making Tuesday my drinks day.
Wednesday Nov 11 - AF - Remembrance Day.
Thursday Nov 12 - AF
Friday Nov 13 - Drinks. Friday the 13th!! We had that one teaser snowfall 2 weeks ago and then it all melted away. Today we got a really exciting big dump of the stuff. I got out to a circular trail that normally takes me about 15 minutes, but 10 inches of snow made it take blissfully longer. The sound of deep snow with my new hearing aid was so wonderfully overwhelming for me. Photos to come...if y'all don't mind : - )
Saturday Nov 14 - Drinks. Not planned, just low willpower today I guess. The month is not over.
Sunday Nov 15 - AF - Lovely day, but all of that beautiful snow melted away, not much left on the trails now, and none left in town.
Monday Nov 16 - AF
Tuesday Nov 17 - AF - I have one of my favourite jobs at a store in another town tomorrow, up a mountain, so want to make sure that I am alert for the drive and for the day, thus AF tonight.
Wednesday Nov 18 - AF - Very early busy work day tomorrow, so AF tonight
Thursday Nov 19 - Drinks. Well, I haven't had any yet, but am planning on having a couple tonight.
Friday Nov 20 - AF - Got one more garden bed weeded, turned over, added compost, mulched, and covered until tomato planting season next year. 3 more to go, my aim this weekend before everything freezes again.
Saturday Nov 21 - Drinks - Kind of rewarded myself for a big amount done in the garden today after a great hike with a treat of Apricot Brandy mixed with Bailey's. Open water still on the first lake that will be frozen enough to skate, but it is getting there.
Sunday Nov 22 - Drinks, kind of ditto to yesterday. Tried the 6 minute thing twice, but I have just been indulgent this past weekend. Very productive, lots of nice hikes, that addicting apricot brandy with bailey's...back on the horse for me at least for tomorrow. One day at a time.
Monday Nov 23 - AF - Early morning and fairly long day tomorrow. Anyway, I had been breaking my own rule for myself, not having 2AF days in a row.
Rolling total. 15AF days out of 23 days5 -
There was a teenage boy skating on one of the alkali lakes where I was wandering today. I thought that they were all salt and didn't freeze. I have lived here 19 years and only found out this year that people skate on them. My skates are in the car now if I can slip away from work tomorrow to give it a go, I didn't have them with me today.
He said that the stump is on the bottom, so that it is only about 2 feet deep.
He said that he cut a hole and the ice is 2 inches thick. 2 feet thick sounds safer, but he was skating all over it.
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Careful, Dawn...surely you remember being a teenager...they are immune to bad happenings...
Looks like such fun !!4 -
Work is finally slowing down so I'm getting time to read back through the thread.
@dawnbgethealthy You are such an inspiration with your words, adventures, and photos. And accountability. Thank you so much for sharing with us!
@lilylady3k Torchi Tacos??? From the restaurant? I NEED MEX! I wonder if the gas station in Rockport has fresh jalapenos.
I'm sorry about the family and TGiving. I had my realization about 2 weeks ago--no kids for TGiving or Christmas. Went outside to cry alone in the snow (country song to be written and sung by @dawnbgethealthy?????)
@brittgreenlikethecolor88 Suggest to your mom to just inject canned cranberries with vodka instead of messing with Jello. Might just make them palatable.
@forestdweller1 I'm with MissMay--could we please have a peek at your antique wine rack?
@samand303 We did Instacarte for first time last week and were pretty pleased. I tried to stock up about a month ago at BJ's warehouse to minimize store runs, got the wrong canned tomato cases and giant rice bags (picky DH), and discovered they haven't taken back returned food items since March (supposedly have signs posted--saw none)
@globalhiker Covid Anxiety is real. I think to not feel it at all is problematic. You are inspirational in alleviating it with a run or hike rather than a nip. I'm gonna give that a try today!
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Getting mentally psyched about my 25 day+ holiday "DRY OUT" or whatever you like to call it starting right after Thanksgiving.
It's more of a challenge for me to introduce fun, happy stuff into my days and prove to myself it was irrational all along to be in "party mode" during the "holiday season" which humans managed to turn into a 6-8 week-long binge.
Yesterday I read about "DRINKSGIVING". I honestly never heard this term before, in my life, until yesterday.
Apparently, Wednesday is the event and people are "supposed" to go out drinking and get wasted ? Sounds like another scheme up there with "holiday season" to take your money.
The bars near me are advertising Drinksgiving specials heavily and they are all open. OMG I am stunned. During a pandemic, when our state's ICU bed availability is down to 10% ? Next week we'll be plastered all over the news.
Grouchily, I am lacing up my running shoes now and out the door I go to get my "happy reset".....
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Thank you for your kinds thoughts. Still no word her surgery was postponed , everything moves slowly these days with the virus precautions.
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AF again last night! Nov accountability: 13/23 days AF
@MissMay ((HUGS)) for your friend to recover healthy so that ya'll can again get up to your shenanigans.
@globalhiker Never heard of drinksgiving and definitely don't want to participate in a bar surrounded by people getting drunk during a pandemic.
@dawnbgethealthy Stay safe on the ice and enjoy. But I agree kids just feel immortal and daring. But maybe that is not a bad thing ... "enjoy life now" as @MissMay stated.
@mainelylisa If you've not had Torchy's Tacos then you've just not had tacos! Nothing like them. Drive on back down to Texas! Since cutting carbs I found out I can order them in a bowl without the tortilla ... so cool and tasty. My current favorite is Crossroads (Smoked beef brisket with grilled onions, jalapenos, cilantro, jack cheese & a slice of avocado with tomatillo sauce).
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It is 5:20am here in Southern California... and now I want to try some of Torchy's Tacos!
Not hungover either 
Nearest one is in Denver, CO... if I had only known, we were there a year ago! Maybe one of my cousins will overnight some to us! 4 -
@MissMay - I hope your friend is better.
I read so many posts here and haven’t really had anything to post, except that I drank again.
I absolutely love ALL of the insight and information all of you contribute to this thread. When MissMay told us that her first husband was diagnosed with cirrhosis and only lasted a few months, that hit me right between the eyes. Nothing else has made me hit the breaks and limit my drinking days; it scared the crap out of me.
I am now able to go AF days and I really feel like I am accomplishing something and being good to my body.
Thank you to all of you for posting your experiences and advice. Even though we come from all different directions in life, we are all in this together. I appreciate the honesty you all have to offer. I may not post often, but I read them all and love the pictures too!
Karen8 -
It's National Mariachi day. Go ahead--click on that Google Doodle. It's cute. But it doesn't give you Torchi Tacos. Or a margarita. And will leave you wanting Fritos.5
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Well if you are ever at Torchy's Tacos make sure to ask for the Secret Menu and also about the Taco of the Month.
https://torchystacos.com/menu/secret-menu/
Next time I go I'm planning to try their December taco of the month ... Naughty Santa: grilled shrimp, chorizo, pickled onions, jack cheese, avocado, cilantro & poblano sauce.
If you don't have a Torchy's nearby then the menu gives you plenty of ideas for creating something new at home for a change of pace!4 -
FRITOS bag salad. Yes a real thing and delish.4
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And this was real for me every Tuesday in the elementary lunch cafeteria. The Cafeteria Ladies loved slicing that bag open almost as much as I enjoyed devouring it. I'm not sure how I have low blood pressure after 55 yrs of sodium buildup. I hope we feed our kids better than this at school today, but something tells me not.
https://www.eater.com/2016/4/3/11326520/frito-pie-explained
(BTW, if you click on this, curious if you get an ad at the top for wine subscription. Or whether it's just me. :-))2 -
I only just discovered this delightful food Fritos taco salad last December at 60 years old.
What rock have I been living under? Lol2 -
EEW....fritos taco salad sounds ikky! I once saw a TV program showing guys in jail making that. You can't sell me on this one. No way Jose.
Torchy's sounds better 3 -
globalhiker wrote: »EEW....fritos taco salad sounds ikky! I once saw a TV program showing guys in jail making that. You can't sell me on this one. No way Jose.
Torchy's sounds better
THANK YOU FOR THIS REACTION I needed to good laugh.4 -
Just got the word on my gal pal that had the heart attack. No stent required, no damage to the three major arteries going to the heart. Inside blood flow good.
2020 please pass quickly and take all the BS with you.9 -
So great to see @looneycatblue checking in❤
@jugar your very lucky to have your inside peddling to keep you fit. Congrats on those 2 AF days. Glad our writing help you out.
@CMB44512 little changes can become big progress. You did well to keep one warm 👍
@AR10at50 I am glad you found my post helpful. I wish I had this thread to check in with while he was still alive. While making trips to the Lahey Clinic in Massachusetts ( known for their expert liver doctors) I learned a very important thing. The liver, if not too far deteriorated CAN REJUVENATE. So if anyone thinks they may drink too much and see no reason to cut back now because it won't help. It can be repaired. The only thing Lahey would not do is put him on a list for a liver transplant because he would not stop taking in alcohol and he thought he was fooling the doctors by lying, but blood tests tell all.7 -
I am Dawn and live in South East British Columbia. I am 60.
My goal remains the same as it has been for quite some time, 16-20 AF days per month.
I check in diary style. It works for me.
Monday Nov 23 - AF - Early morning and fairly long day tomorrow. Anyway, I had been breaking my own rule for myself, not having 2AF days in a row.
Tuesday Nov 24 - Drinks. Apparently my self control is not that in gear over the last week. I will get to my 16-20.
Rolling total. 15AF days out of 24 days5 -
forestdweller1 wrote: »Careful, Dawn...surely you remember being a teenager...they are immune to bad happenings...
Looks like such fun !!
100%. I looked it up this morning on the "Michigan Dawn Patrol" (yeah, because it had my name in it).
Not safe. It needs to be 4 inches minimum.
Instead, I took off from work and went to the arena in the other town (Kimberley) where my guitar player (who lives there) met me for a skate, and then I went back to work. Made for a much longer day for sure, but also a much better day!
The skater boy said that it was bumpy, and I have only skated once this season, so the arena was a much better choice.
That teenager was an excellent very fast skater, so probably wasn't in one spot long enough to fall through into that Alkali muck underneath, which is much like sinking sand.
Another month from now and I will try skating on a few of those Alkali Lakes.7
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