Less Alcohol ~ APRIL 2022 ~ One Day At A Time
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Completely blew it at my sisters last night ... 4 glasses of wine. It is tough starting the month on the weekend! Hope for better resolve during the week days.
April accountability: 0 days AF
Alcohol: 2 days (6 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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@dawnbgethealthy - I'm sorry for your stress and hope that everything rights itself in your world.
When will you be able to start digging in the dirt??? Since it really doesn't get that cold here in Houston I had to pull weeds out of my veggie beds, then hoe up more weeds, then turn the soil and get rid of more weeds as well as a ton of acorns from the neighbor's oak tree. But I accomplished it! I lost everything but my 30+ year old garlic chives in the 2021 freeze including my 15 year old rosemary. I was bummed out last year and just let the beds rest for the most part. This year I've reestablished the beds as MINE and not the squirrels I planted Greek and Sicilian oregano, sweet and Thai basil, Moroccan mint, Italian flat leaf parsley, lemon thyme ... and then a bunch of additional Gerber's in my perennial garden. Also potted flowers in the 2 pots at my back door that I've had empty since last summer. Really helped with my stress. But then I had drinks with my sister and DH so probably blew all the good I did gardening. Maybe I'll get back out there today and weed & turn another flower bed.5 -
Happy April! I am going away to a wedding this weekend, so for this week I want to be AF today-Wednesday. The first day is always the hardest for me. So far I’ve had two drinks each day Friday and Saturday. Not horrible, but all this daily alcohol is making my skin look old, despite all the water I drink in a day!
I’ve also been porking out these last few days, so I need to rein that in as well. Amazing how just 2-4 pounds makes a huge difference in how my clothes fit!4 -
@Lilylady3k 🤗🤗🤗 these hugs are for you.
I could almost see myself in your story above. A great day prepping gardens, getting fresh air, the feeling of accomplishment, plenty of exercise for body and mind. Then, the drinking brain speaks up and says " You deserve to treat yourself with alcohol"
Remember this phrase:
Restart, think fresh, you have 28 more days in April to get back on track.4 -
@MissMay - yes I remember posting that ... and it is so true. The drink definitely took me away last night ... When the 3rd bottle opened I wanted a drink but really didn't need it. Refreshed and heading out to Enchanted Forest to buy more plants and work on my front flower beds today. No wine for me tonight!
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@MissMay
Ziplining! My you are an adventurous and brave one!
I hope that you take lots of pictures for us : - )
That totally makes sense about the $$ on booze.
Also, I am thinking with my Canadian brain, booze is cheap in the States, not $12 per drink.
And yes, I usually gain at least 7 pounds at the all-inclusives because the food is so good. That would be Mexico. I went to one in Cuba and the food was terrible. Just thinking about all of that is making me crave a Mexican breakfast. I wouldn't know where to begin if I were to try to replicate it. I am not much of a cook.4 -
@Lilylady3k
So sorry that you lost all of that stuff in your garden : - (
As for mine. My bearded Irises have been up for about a month, I have them in the front, the back, the side. I haven't cleaned their beds of last year's leaves yet. I leave them in the fall to keep the soil from blowing away or becoming full of weeds in the spring. We were at minus 2 Celsius this morning (around 30F) even though it has been +15 in the afternoons. Not quite time yet to clean up the irises.
First for me will be the potato garden, which usually takes me about 3 days. I cover it in the late fall. I expect that in 2 weeks from now I will begin that, turning it over shovel by shovel. Carrot and Beet seeds will also go in around the last week of April.
My garlic I planted in the fall, and put 4 inches of mulch over, which I likely will remove around the beginning or mid of May.
Tomatoes and peppers don't go in here until the snow is all gone from nearby Mt. Baker mountain, which I can see from my porch. Usually the 3rd week of May.
My dianthus have been up for about a month, but I have left the leaves surrounding them for now to prevent early spring weeds. I will take those off in a few weeks, and put coffee grounds in their place. I think that I have around 20 Crimson/Ruby dianthas all together. Sometimes I lose a couple and put new ones in their place. It looks like they are all there this year.
Tulips are up. They will flower fairly early. The bearded irises vary depending on where they sit, the ones in full sun flower earlier.
I had cut back my lilac bush in the fall and put the branches in places as mulch/fill. Those dead branches laying on the ground are budding!! WTF.
My hollyhocks have been coming up and greening for about a month. They don't usually flower until August.
I smush the sunflower heads into the ground, so they should come up on their own.
I only found out a couple of weeks ago all of the medicinal uses for sunflowers, leaves, flowers, stems and seeds. Who knew? I don't usually do anything with them, they are outside of my fence so the deer eat them and hopefully poop the seeds all over the neighbourhood : - ) I don't eat sunflower seeds, too much work. I do fill like one jar with the seeds in the fall in case I have any gaps to fill.
The plan was to have the black hollyhocks and yellow sunflowers together. Only one hollyhock down that side flowered last year, the rest are still going to be too young yet to flower, but the greenery is lovely. Kind of a long term thing, in a couple of years that side of the fence will be coloured like bumble bees : - )4 -
My usual goal, 16-20AF days for the month. Diary style.
I had 21AF days for March, but it was a longer month.
Friday April 1st - Drinks. I hadn't planned on having any on the first day of the month. A friend that I hadn't seen since Covid was driving by as I was arriving home from work to start my days off. He said "let's go for a drink", so we did. I jumped in his car and we went to a place like 150 steps from my house lol. It was good to catch up, but honestly I had been having some work stress that after I jogged home came slamming back to me, alcohol may have exacerbated it, not sure. Contemplating a change. Saturday was my planned day with a small bottle of prosecco chilled in the fridge and a flute in the freezer to be frosty. We'll see whether I do or not.
Saturday April 2nd - AF - Turns out I lost my Monday shift to my Manager at the restaurant that decided that she wanted it, so I am off on Monday too. Prosecco is still in the fridge, it is not going anywhere. May or may not have it Sunday afternoon.
Rolling total: 1AF day out of 2 days.3 -
Saturday night no drinks but I did have 2 small "red" grapefruits that hit the spot and I put myself to bed super-early - 7:30! (thank you to the person who said this before because it was a good idea). Result: Sunday morning 6 a.m. hill run, 5 miles in an hour. Feeling less old! Weight is down a bit -2 lbs. I'll take it and keep going.
Cost of living sure is going up. In my part of the "States" restaurants got VERY expensive. Lunch menu looks like dinner menu prices. Drinks went up too. A glass of wine is $12-16. Oh well, guess we'll just drink and eat less and get healthier.
Weather is getting hot and I am thinking of making healthy smoothies for those times when I feel overheated and drained and achy which is often. Instead of drinking wine to settle that "discomfort", I can make myself a low sugar, anti-inflammatory smoothie that is refreshing. A "superfood" smoothie for me is more appealing that an mocktail since it's got more substance to it. If anyone has recipes for ones that are on the lower-calorie side and super-easy to make, let me know. I can also use a low-cal gazpacho recipe.
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Not going to lie, this month has started off rough. Super stressed at work and have been hitting the wine in the evening but not to excess.
April 1-3 wine 2 glasses6 -
AF this evening!
April accountability: 1 days AF
Alcohol: 2 days (6 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.
4/1 - 2 wine
4/2 - 4 wine @ my sisters
4/3 - AF
@dawnbgethealthy - You have a lot of gardening to look forward to in the near future. Does sound a little chilly up there still!4 -
Not going to lie, this month has started off rough. Super stressed at work and have been hitting the wine in the evening but not to excess.
April 1-3 wine 2 glasses
Sorry your having a rough start to April. There is still plenty of time to re-adjust your goals to allow for a little wiggle room. This way the pressure to stick to X number of drinks is not so hard on you. Your doing GREAT, and your accountability these moths is amazing.
😁5 -
Happy April! I am going away to a wedding this weekend, so for this week I want to be AF today-Wednesday. The first day is always the hardest for me. So far I’ve had two drinks each day Friday and Saturday. Not horrible, but all this daily alcohol is making my skin look old, despite all the water I drink in a day!
I’ve also been porking out these last few days, so I need to rein that in as well. Amazing how just 2-4 pounds makes a huge difference in how my clothes fit!
Same here 2-4 pounds makes a huge difference, mine is reflective as to how it makes my knee hurt. I heard this year is the year for weddings, more weddings planned in 2022 than ever before. Have fun.3 -
luciebrucie wrote: »Tempted to drink last night, so I just went to bed.
This is a super tactic, and one I have used to also get me out of the kitchen if I keep opening the frig and cabinets looking to eat goodies I don't need.👍3 -
sfharvey07 wrote: »At this current moment, my goal is to do better than last month; less A days, more AF days. 🙃🙂
Awesome to see you again in April. 😁3 -
Great to find you guys. I’d like to completely cut alcohol calories. Over Covid, I’ve noticed I’m drinking more (2-3 a day). Last summer I switched from wine to spiked seltzers but even these leave me feeling bloated and lethargic from interrupted sleep the next day. Any others looking to completely eliminate?
Hi and welcome. Yes I do believe there are people following that would like to eliminate completely. You have already done a good job testing different ways to cut back. Accountabilty is a big help.3 -
Exciting for you travelers! I can never "get my money's worth" at a buffet or all-inclusive. Even when I try
Same goal
M-Th: AF
F-Su: 2 max
In March I drank more than planned one night each of the first 2 weekends then got myself on track the last 2 weekends. It feels like this is what I say month after month. From a weekend perspective I'm batting .500 which does not feel very successful. From a monthly perspective, I'm going off plan 2/31 days which sounds a little better. @Lilylady3k is right, it IS easier than it was a couple years ago (and also substantially less quantity) but it continues to be a challenge and that IDGAF gremlin on my shoulder does get the better of me when I'm not paying attention. Work in progress...
This is a Texas meme:
Be like I35~ Keep working on yourself no matter how inconvenient it is for anyone else.
Loved when you said you could never get enough at the buffet! 😅3 -
Thanks for the thread @MissMay. Happy to start a new month here. My goal is to reduce my drink portions and work some AF days into the mix this month. I would not want to pay the extra $$ for unlimited food and drink either. I would either feel like I should get my money's worth or like I wasted a lot of money. Good plan to find another place.
Hi again this month! Good luck with your goals and keep checking in.2 -
Once again the infamous standard drinks chart.
BECAUSE a glass of alcohol does not mean you chose the largest glass in the house and fill it to the brim. 🤤😁😅
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