Less Alcohol ~ DECEMBER 2021 ~ One Day At A Time
Replies
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AF last night and I also did my first Caroline Garvan workout (youtube). It's the real deal.
I hope nobody here catches Covid. In the U.S., the at-home 15 min test kits are now available. Some communities are giving them out for free otherwise they should be for sale at the pharmacy. I'm grabbing one or two.
I gave up...the way this is going, it's possible I will catch it spending Christmas with 2 family members in health care who see lots of sick patients and one is a teacher with lots of unvaccinated kids. This gang is going to church (not me) where they will sing with a thousand plus more people, most who just got off a plane from a colder state. EEK!3 -
Wanted to add what's my "easy" how to boost my immunity during the holidays game plan. I committed to myself to do this:
1-Sleep more (add an hour in the morning)
2-Meditate 10 min after exercise
3-Laugh more (funny movies at night) - yes laughter is supposed to increase white blood cell count, who knew?
4-Drink 2 Pellegrino litres a day (I bought a ton in preparation).
All of the above should help me be at my best. The idea is to focus on something easy and do-able. Yes I will delay drinks as much as possible too.4 -
Hi : - )
Going for my usual goal of 16-20 AF days, Diary style
Friday December 17 - Drinks. Prosecco and cheese followed by Beef Vindaloo, chicken pakora, and another drink.
Saturday December 18 - AF. I had an awesome time shoveling and stuff, felt like having a drink afterward (cocoa with bailey's and grand marnier) but resisted because I didn't want to be puffy for the holiday party that begins at 9pm Sunday night.
Sunday December 19 - Drinks - 2. It is going to be challenging over the next couple of weeks with plans to meet up with different friends for drinks. I plan AF for Monday and Tuesday.
Monday December 20 - AF - Planned AF for Tuesday.
Rolling Total: 14AF days out of 20 days.4 -
@MissMay - Prayers that you don't get covid but if you do that it is a VERY LIGHT case.3
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globalhiker wrote: »AF last night and I also did my first Caroline Garvan workout (youtube). It's the real deal.
I hope nobody here catches Covid. In the U.S., the at-home 15 min test kits are now available. Some communities are giving them out for free otherwise they should be for sale at the pharmacy. I'm grabbing one or two.
I gave up...the way this is going, it's possible I will catch it spending Christmas with 2 family members in health care who see lots of sick patients and one is a teacher with lots of unvaccinated kids. This gang is going to church (not me) where they will sing with a thousand plus more people, most who just got off a plane from a colder state. EEK!
My daughter's inlaws are now quarantining since her brother in law caught covid this weekend and tested positive with symptoms on Monday. He lives with them since he just graduated in May and is working here.
Her best friend's parents also now have it and her friend is now in quarantine since she saw her mom Sunday before being tested.
Then my daughter started sneezing at work today and they sent her home to rest ... I think it is just allergies but we'll see.
My sister is a teacher and 6 of the teachers were sent home testing positive at school on Friday. My sister tested negative. Crazy times.
Definitely omicron is circulating fast around Houston area.5 -
Wow,
It sounds like sounds like "a virus is arise among us" I hope everyone tests negative. So far I have dodged all bullets but that can change anytime.
I just a small vent. Please skip to stay in a good mood. I am feeling a bit like the Grinch. Really skip and stay happy. When I write things out it helps me put it in perspective.
When out to eat. I know restaurants are in places short staffed. This place has a separate bar and restaurant areas, we sit in the bar. So I was really wanting the local chain's version of a bloodymary. So off DH and I went. This particular drink comes with 1, sometimes 2 skewers of cheese, celery, tomato, onion etc. setting on the rim, and a 2oz pour of a blonde ale beer. When serving this drink you normally get the drink, the small beer, skewers on top of the drink, a plate and flatware. It's like a baby meal with your drink.
She brings DH's drink and some of mine. I get the drink with the skewers on top. OK now what do I do with the skewers and where is the little blonde pour? Finally catch her eye after she waits on 3 more tables (I counted), comes over and I ask for the 2oz pour and a plate and flatware. She gets the plate and flatware telling me she is waiting on the keg to be changed and how she is sooo busy. Another 5-7 min go by and I am nursing my drink and suddenly she looks up and the light goes off, she forgot the baby drink. Finally bringing it over and takes our food order. Food arrives delivered by the kitchen. I just had a sandwich and fries.........No ketchup brought or asked if wanted or if everything looked fine.
Given the track record of the bar staff of two, I walked to the server station and grabbed a bottle of ketchup and sat down, I just did not want to wait for the fries to get cold. Then our waitstaff rushes up saying she would have got that.....yeah right. Now this bill comes to almost $80 for two lunches and drinks. How much would you tip? Was I being too picky? And no the place was not packed at the end of the lunch crowd on a Tuesday afternoon. The bar area had two waitstaff in there working, she was the main bar tender. The other side of the restaurant had a bar and staff to take care of that side.
Now I feel like a real a** for venting like this, it really does sound petty. Sorry it was just a bug me thing.
On to better things, my lights are up and look great, food purchased to host Christmas eve and Christmas day dinner. Just need to pick up a little bread on Thursday.
A few more gifts to wraps and I am looking forward to fun. The following week we want to get a way for a few days but the weather is not looking promising.
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@globalhiker are you doing EPIC or one of the other Caroline Girvan workouts? I did EPIC I and am now on week 2 of EPIC II. I enjoy most of the EPIC workouts (especially upper body) though I have to modify some of the lower body exercises ... can't do lunges as I have knee problems and it tends to aggravate them. I don't do the HIIT ones either as there is too much jumping around in most of them. I appreciate the no talking workouts as it would probably annoy me to listen to someone for the full session.
Still on track for AF until Thursday evening as we're meeting some out of town friends for dinner and I intend to have a drink or two.
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Hi : - )
Going for my usual goal of 16-20 AF days, Diary style
Friday December 17 - Drinks. Prosecco and cheese followed by Beef Vindaloo, chicken pakora, and another drink.
Saturday December 18 - AF. I had an awesome time shoveling and stuff, felt like having a drink afterward (cocoa with bailey's and grand marnier) but resisted because I didn't want to be puffy for the holiday party that begins at 9pm Sunday night.
Sunday December 19 - Drinks - 2. It is going to be challenging over the next couple of weeks with plans to meet up with different friends for drinks. I plan AF for Monday and Tuesday.
Monday December 20 - AF - Planned AF for Tuesday.
Tuesday December 21 - Drinks. Not planned. I did the 6 minute wait 6 times and then caved. Planned drinks for Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Rolling Total: 14AF days out of 21 days.5 -
Hey ppl, I’m just feeling great as I’ve not had any alcohol all this month. I’ve made the right choices and kept myself going. To stay away from alcohol in Dec is way beyond than difficult and I’ve managed to do it so far. I hope to make it a clean month, but will give myself a bit of a cheat day on Christmas Eve 😊.6
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Hello to everyone!
Now that that silly ole rant is behind me....
I made my first batch of gummy bears today. I have to say they turned out pretty good looking. Another round of sugar hanging out at my house!
I do have everything set for entertaining Friday and Saturday. The hostess with the...and all that jazz. I am tired just thinking about it.
I am not going to pretend I will not have a few drinks both nights but most likely it will be some long sipping times to make two last the afternoon through evening.
Just in case I don't make it back here until after the weekend, I wish you all a very merry Christmas. Be safe
xxoo6 -
Hope your family is doing ok, @Lilylady3k. I hope mine is, too! What I’ve noticed is everyone wants to do their own social event but wants everyone else to be careful. DD#3 got through the sorority house exposure but she is still meeting up with friends and went out to dinner last night. DD#2 continues to test COVID negative after going to a debutante ball Friday (as expected, many attendees, whole families in fact, have since tested positive), but she tested positive for the flu so she’s isolating and will pcr test again Friday. DD#1 is going to a party where the only one she knows is her date. DH’s best friend is having a party tonight that is always a crush of people but there is a back yard option. I woke with a headache (uncommon for me) and now have a sore throat so probably NEITHER of us should go but DH is convinced he’s fine.
We have home antigen tests to take Xmas day before the grands arrive, but my dad told me today they will decline to be safe. He is planning on a gift exchange with just me Xmas eve, though, so maybe I should use my antigen test before doing that instead. Tricky times, sadly.
On the up side, fewer social events makes it easier for me stay AF. DH and I will be alone Xmas eve, so we’ll have wine. We have a magnum of Cabernet for our Xmas dinner which we’ve been looking forward to. Here’s hoping everyone’s plans are not derailed by illness.7 -
Argghhh… the dad in the family DD#3 has been babysitting this week just tested positive. She took a rapid test and is negative at the moment but sheesh. Dynamic situation.4
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So far my adult kids, mom and sister are all okay. We are waiting for our granddaughter to arrive ... due Dec 29!!! My DIL is feeling very pregnant
I took my "girls" (daughter and 2 daughter in laws) for pedicures today, had everyone over for lunch unexpectedly ... but I was able to make turkey street tacos from the smoked turkey (Tues night dinner).
Tonight the kids are all over at my daughters. DH & I are enjoying some quiet time. He has wine. I decided that tonight was a great night to skip the wine.
AF this evening after 6 evenings of wine.
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Today will be one more AF day (it's been easy this week since my "work-life" has been very low stress with our clients and colleagues taking off this week).
@LazyBlondeChef - no clue which workout but I am sold and will do whatever this trainer tells me. It was a video with only 4 exercises - romanian dead lift, backward lunge with barbell, row with barbell, and a push-press (squat a bit and then push the barbell over your head). My weights were light-ish but I think I did variations of this sequence for what felt like a half hour? It wasn't boring and the music was good.
I thought I had strong abs but now I know I definitely don't. I tried another of her videos and could not do more than 2 of her ab exercises LOL!
I do believe her workouts will reverse my aging so I will attempt to do all the series on an every-other-day cycle, alternating with my running.5 -
globalhiker wrote: »Wanted to add what's my "easy" how to boost my immunity during the holidays game plan. I committed to myself to do this:
1-Sleep more (add an hour in the morning)
2-Meditate 10 min after exercise
3-Laugh more (funny movies at night) - yes laughter is supposed to increase white blood cell count, who knew?
4-Drink 2 Pellegrino litres a day (I bought a ton in preparation).
All of the above should help me be at my best. The idea is to focus on something easy and do-able. Yes I will delay drinks as much as possible too.
These are great. I need to try meditation, and who doesn’t love funny movies!
I also supplement with Zinc and Vitamin D because that also helps boost immunity.3 -
@lmlmrn oh it’s so frustrating to get a clueless server. I normally tip 20% but in that case I would have backed it down to the minimum 15%.
Can we do a side thread about eating less Christmas cookies??????? Our clients brought in all kinds of homemade treats for us, and I can eat my weight in cookies. OMG yum. Alcohol I can moderate….. cookies? Nope! Somebody stop me.
One of our clients made homemade limoncello, and gave a bottle to every one of the staff. Of course we cracked it open and it was amazing. He should sell it- so much better than what you get at the store. Yum.
Last day of work and then I’m off for a week. Today should be a light day, so here’s hoping!4 -
Hi : - )
Going for my usual goal of 16-20 AF days, Diary style
Tuesday December 21 - Drinks. Not planned. I did the 6 minute wait 6 times and then caved. Planned drinks for Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Wednesday December 22 - Drinks. Trying to be AF for Thursday
Rolling Total: 14AF days out of 22 days.4 -
Lots of restrictions in place up here too. So far the restaurant that I work at is still open for dining.
Boosters don't roll out in my Province until January. At this point it is only for those older than 70. Hoping that I don't have to wait too long. Rapid tests are available in some provinces, but not BC - our public health doctor feels that they are not accurate enough as a PCR, and one could test negative and pick up the virus an hour later - thus our partial lockdowns (gyms, bars, nightclubs, movie theatres etc. have been closed) have been implemented.
Indoor and outdoor gatherings of any size for NYE have been banned.
Lol, I never make it to midnight anyway.
@ahoy_m8
I am very glad to hear that the grandparents don't want to get together with the social younger people. Safety first.2 -
Don't overdo it this holiday season ... we want to feel bright, alert and ready for whatever the day holds for us.
Picture: Don't look like this in the morning HAHA
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@lmlmrn oh it’s so frustrating to get a clueless server. I normally tip 20% but in that case I would have backed it down to the minimum 15%.
Can we do a side thread about eating less Christmas cookies??????? Our clients brought in all kinds of homemade treats for us, and I can eat my weight in cookies. OMG yum. Alcohol I can moderate….. cookies? Nope! Somebody stop me.
One of our clients made homemade limoncello, and gave a bottle to every one of the staff. Of course we cracked it open and it was amazing. He should sell it- so much better than what you get at the store. Yum.
Last day of work and then I’m off for a week. Today should be a light day, so here’s hoping!
oh gosh you made me laugh with the side thread about limiting Christmas cookies. YAASSSS. Until I got to the part about limoncello at which point I got jealous. So jealous.
Total agreement @dawnbgethealthy regarding safety first. Stay safe everyone!4 -
Evening out with with my daughter and DIL. 3 glasses of Prosecco (split a bottle with my DIL that is not pregnant). Italian restaurant and then candle making where you get to mix your own from about 100 scents.
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dawnbgethealthy wrote: »Lots of restrictions in place up here too. So far the restaurant that I work at is still open for dining.
Boosters don't roll out in my Province until January. At this point it is only for those older than 70. Hoping that I don't have to wait too long. Rapid tests are available in some provinces, but not BC - our public health doctor feels that they are not accurate enough as a PCR, and one could test negative and pick up the virus an hour later - thus our partial lockdowns (gyms, bars, nightclubs, movie theatres etc. have been closed) have been implemented.
Indoor and outdoor gatherings of any size for NYE have been banned.
Lol, I never make it to midnight anyway.
@dawnbgethealthy - My son works with a group out of Vancouver and he was telling me that they are getting whatever shot is available ... so really mixing them up on the 1st & 2nd shots. I'm really sorry the roll out up there in Canada has been slow and limited.
Things are not closing in Texas but we are definitely starting to see signs where masks are required again (not an option) at various restaurants, retail, and shops ... like the candle shop and nail salon we went to the last 2 days.
I'm hearing every day of another friend or adult son/daughter that has Covid ... so far light cases or asymptotic but then they all have to quarantine for 10 days.
My husband's company sent us CUE Health Monitoring System (Cue Reader) and 20x Covid 19 tests kits. (CUE molecular test that detects the RNA of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in 20 minutes using a nasal swab sample). So far everyone feels fine ... but if no one is feely bad then do you really want to test and find out that someone has Covid??? Maybe or maybe not ... dilemma. BUT we are planning to use them before being around the newborn whenever she arrives (due Dec 29).
My DIL and son got their boosters this week. The only one not able to yet is my daughter who is pregnant and they want her to wait until her 3rd trimester.
So we are masking up everywhere even if it is not required with 2 pregnant in our mists ... except when in the house together or outside.
Stay safe everyone! Merry Christmas!4 -
Hi : - )
Going for my usual goal of 16-20 AF days, Diary style
Tuesday December 21 - Drinks. Not planned. I did the 6 minute wait 6 times and then caved. Planned drinks for Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Wednesday December 22 - Drinks. Trying to be AF for Thursday
Thursday December 23 - Drinks. Well, I had only planned on 2 AF days this week...and drank on both of them. Not planning on another AF day for awhile, but will continue checking in. Happy holidays to all : - )
Rolling Total: 14AF days out of 22 days.6 -
Yesterday I went shopping crazy in a nearby suburb. I shopped for 6 hours and hit 14 places. Do you know, nobody had masks indoors except for 1 bakery attendant. I thought, this is not good. Most of the people looked young-ish, college students visiting parents and tourists escaping winter (boots and jewelry are dead give-aways). Markets are PACKED.
Then..I get the text from son....Hey, I was exposed to Covid. My assistant who I've been working with all day just tested positive". Was she sick? Yes, he said. Why are health care workers working when they are sick? The stores are out of tests. Now what?
My coping mechanism: I stole one of the Godiva candy bars out of one my kid's stockings and it kinda helped me feel better.
Lets hope today brings better news.6 -
Merry Christmas Eve to all of you.
I've been down for most of the week with strep throat. Luckily it was not covid from the client on Monday.
Good news everything for the holidays was done last weekend. Now to continue resting.
🌲🌲🌲6 -
Merry Christmas Eve! I hope everyone who celebrates has a wonderful Christmas season. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the support and insights from all the wonderful people in this group.
I finished shopping and wrapping today, and can FINALLY relax and be done. A Mimosa or three was involved with the wrapping, not gonna lie! I got to spend the rest of the day reading, relaxing and taking a little snooze. Tonight and tomorrow will be a nice, low key celebration with my immediate family. Both DS’s are home, I am in the bosom of my family, and I am happy. May the peace is Christ be with you all.
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Merry Christmas everyone. This is my second sober Christmas, and I really love how none of the artificial melancholy from booze is present.
I did an experiment after one year sober, it's the same experiment Annie Grace did. I purposefully drank alcohol while alone in a hotel room with no one around and nothing to entertain me and I filmed myself every 20 minutes.
It was the most boring, horrible experience. I barely made it through half a bottle of wine before pouring the rest down the drain.
Why? Because the alcohol alone made me SO SAD. I had been in a perfectly good mood, I had just gotten great news that day, and had spent the afternoon wandering a gorgeous beach watching giant brown pelicans doing break-nevk dives, which are magical and I had never seen before.
But with each small glass of wine, I felt sadder and sadder, but the sadness felt also oddly comforting. It was like being wrapped in a warm, depressing hug. I could totally understand why I turned to wine when I felt awful, it enhanced the awful feeling, but made it feel comfortable to feel so awful.
I took me a week to be able to watch the videos, and man, were they hard to watch. With each video, I got more and more morose and "philosophical" and frankly just totally full of *kitten*.
I now call wine "sad juice," and have no desire to bring that morose sadness back into the happy holidays where the point is to feel connected.6 -
Merry Christmas to you all! Wishing you happiness and health and peace and joy with your loved ones!
On the house menu is rib roast, potatoes, green beans. Dessert is apple pie, blackberries, whipped cream. Cognac and Baileys for those who prefer liquid dessert.4 -
Hi : - )
Going for my usual goal of 16-20 AF days, Diary style
Tuesday December 21 - Drinks. Not planned. I did the 6 minute wait 6 times and then caved. Planned drinks for Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Wednesday December 22 - Drinks. Trying to be AF for Thursday
Thursday December 23 - Drinks. Well, I had only planned on 2 AF days this week...and drank on both of them. Not planning on another AF day for awhile, but will continue checking in. Happy holidays to all : - )
Friday December 24 - Drinks - Mostly I have been having 2. Being indulgent with food and drink, and I am okay with that : - )
Rolling Total: 14AF days out of 24 days.4 -
1 glass of red wine with lunch today for Christmas. Lovely few days! Lots of family around which is always nice, food, wine, games ... and a candle making class Thursday night.
12/22 - AF
12/23 - 🥂 3 Prosecco Candle Making w/ my girls
12/24 - 🥂 3 wine Annual large Christmas Eve party at my house for seafood gumbo, Natchitoches Meat Pies, and wine!
12/25 - 🎄1 wine
I'm OKAY with this!
December accountability: 11/25 days AF
Alcohol: 14 days (31 drinks)
Goal: Limit 1-2 glasses per day; 12-16 AF days per month. Aim to drink no more than 2 nights in a row.
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