Less Alcohol ~ FEBRUARY 2022 ~ One Day At A Time
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Day 2 AF - went to bed early to avoid temptation.... whatever works!6
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@luciebrucie Exactly - whatever works! Going to bed stops me from all kinds of things I might regret and it's good for you, too!
@SavageMrsMoose An inspiring story -- from running dates to marathons! FWIW, I've known many football players who had hip replacements in their 50's and 60's. Both my mom & stepmom had hip replacements in their 70's. For all of them it has been a quick recovery (up and walking same day as surgery). One said his first thought coming out from anesthesia was, "omg.... there's no pain." Much easier recovery than knee replacement. I totally understand trying everything else before surgery, but I also heard people say they wish they had done it sooner. Constant pain is a heavy weight to bear.
Ready for the weekend here. We had 1.5" of ice (rain that froze then sleet) dusted with 0.5" snow yesterday. The snow made it nice for my normal walk around the neighborhood and it was so fun seeing all the families out playing. But the roads are no bueno. I make one grocery run/week on Friday morning, and I'm not going today. I anticipate the weekend will be uncommonly busy so I'll probably avoid that, too. Store was out 3 of the last 4 times I've tried to buy a whole chicken to smoke. So I've already used a lot of the meat I've had squirrled away in the freezer. Worse, I have used all of the stock. And I had a frozen turkey carcass I used for 2 gallons of stock after I ran out of chicken. Using the last of the turkey stock for hatch chile stew tonight. Trying to be creative, like @MissMay.
Hunkering down for the storm (we don't get much snow
) has made me feel like a having a cocktail. Won't lie. DH too, evidently. He commented that he has one beer left and he wanted it but was saving it for tonight. Instead of giving in I examined that storm-cocktail association and whether its one I really want. Mostly I just didn't want to start down the slippery slope (ha!) of making weeknight exceptions. I intend to keep it moderate this weekend. 8 -
I am in, with my usual goal: 16-20AF days per month. I had 18 last month.
Diary Style is how I roll.
Tuesday Feb 01 - AF - Busy week, no plans for drinks until Friday. 3rd AF day in a row. Taking Wednesday off of ice skating since my knee is a little sore after I kind of overdid it. Normally I skate twice on Wednesdays.
Wednesday Feb 02 - AF - My long workday, I would normally have had a couple of drinks, but it is too early in the month for that : - )
Thursday Feb 03 - AF - really really felt like having drinks, even though I knew that Friday and Saturday were this week's designated days for such. Thought of @ahoy_m8 staying AF on weeknights, and so many other reasons for waiting another day. Only willpower could stop me.
Rolling total: 3AF days out of 3 days8 -
I'm in for l less alcohol in February! I don't have any problem not drinking when I'm out, the problem is sitting home and drinking for reward once my day is done. So I will just drink less😊
@tracy042 This is me! I gave up "going out drinking" over a decade ago. I almost never drink when out to dinner and I probably have friends that think I don't drink at all since I usually stay sober at parties, but I still love my wine at the very end of the day!
I have a family vacation coming up in two weeks and I know I'm going to be drinking then, so I will continue on the success I had last month with "drinking less." I has been over a month since I drank my "normal" amount. In fact, I daresay maybe it's time to redefine "normal" for me.
Drinking out of a smaller glass has been very helpful as well as just being more aware of how I feel while drinking. I also gave up my nightly Netflix and now I just read until bedtime. That makes it way more obvious when I'm feeling the effects of alcohol! 8 -
I am back with you all (never left, just lurking in the shadows
)... January started off swell... but I let work and other stresses get to me, stopped counting... best guestimate:
January 18/31 AF days (didn't overdue it on the days I did drink, PROGRESS!)
February 2/3 AF days (the one day, I only had about 1/2 shot with my hubby)
Back to sleeping better, just not enough yet. Still loaded down with work during the week, and weekends. Taking some time off here and there for some fun, like watching football. "GO RAMS"!!!
I am really looking forward to Super Bowl next weekend... also going through my mind is planning ahead, what healthy options there are for snacks/dinner that day. I am also going to limit the spirits!
Happy Friday! Bowling night for me!6 -
I have been doing well, tonight we did go out and had 2 beers then home. Before we would go out I would have 2.5-3 beers, go home take a nap, wake up and drink hard liquor. Now when I chose to have 2 beers out and a nap. Thats all the alcohol I will drink, so much better.
Wow I love how you are all getting into the creative cooking bug. I have had that itch for so long. I love trying new flavors on favorite foods. The bests are the pasta sauce creations. So I have this app on my phone and laptop called copy me that. So when I am looking for idea's and come across a recipe I can hit the button on the command bar(?) and it copies the recipe. So when I am ready I just open the app and there it is. It is also great for meal planning. Has a calendar you can put your copied recipes on, and you can send the ingredients to your grocery list.7 -
I like reading everyone’s posts this week!
Well, I made it through day one of my birthday celebrations. AF!!!! From daily drinker to 30 days straight without alcohol, I’m pretty stoked so far. It’s interesting, I use to think about alcohol all the time, even planning my days around it especially on the weekends. I would have never admitted it but it’s the truth. Tonight I had a lovely ribeye steak birthday dinner. I never once thought about having wine with it. In the past, I would have drank 2 glasses then made sure I had more at home to finish out my night. Instead of rushing home to settle in and drink, I came home late and took my dog to the park to play fetch. I had coffee before bed instead of booze. As I always say, I don’t intend to never drink again. Just not today. Probably not tomorrow. Maybe not for a long time.
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Here we go, February:
Feb 1-2 - AF
Feb 3-4 - stuck with 2 drink limit5 -
I am in, with my usual goal: 16-20AF days per month. I had 18 last month.
Diary Style is how I roll.
Tuesday Feb 01 - AF - Busy week, no plans for drinks until Friday. 3rd AF day in a row. Taking Wednesday off of ice skating since my knee is a little sore after I kind of overdid it. Normally I skate twice on Wednesdays.
Wednesday Feb 02 - AF - My long workday, I would normally have had a couple of drinks, but it is too early in the month for that : - )
Thursday Feb 03 - AF - really really felt like having drinks, even though I knew that Friday and Saturday were this week's designated days for such. Thought of @ahoy_m8 staying AF on weeknights, and so many other reasons for waiting another day. Only willpower could stop me.
Friday Feb 04 - 2 drinks - I went to the "competition" a new Indian restaurant in the town and had Indian flavoured cocktails. Very delicious. I brought home some of their food and ate a little bit of it and then drank so much diet gingerale, water, diet cran - the food must have been salty as all restaurant food is. It was good, but quite different than the fare at the Indian restaurant that I work out. Possibly having a couple of drinks on Saturday also.
Rolling total: 3AF days out of 4 days6 -
Well we did go out again for lunch today. And yep I had 2 drinks then home for a nap. But I am no longer continuing to drink when I get back home so it is a big win in my books. As a general rule I don't even think about drinking Sunday through Thursday. And now Friday's and Saturdays has proved to be light compared to my past. For now I can live with that
Found this though and it is great for weeknights or freezer meals, low calorie and filling!
Chicken, Creamy Cajun Pasta
Servings: 6 (more for us smaller eaters), I also add a whole onion and celery sometimes carrots just to pump up the veggies.
Ingredients
◦ 3 tbsp. olive oil
◦ 1 Bunch Asparagus (cut to bite sized pieces)
◦ 1/2 med onion (diced)
◦ 1 red pepper (sliced) optional
◦ 1 lb uncooked chicken breast (diced)
◦ 1 Box Barilla Protein pasta (rigatoni, penne)
◦ 2 tbsp. Cajun seasoning
◦ 1.5 C Plain greek yogurt
◦ 1/4 C milk
◦ 15 oz can roasted tomato
◦ 1/4 T smoked paprika
◦ 1/2 C Shredded Parm. Cheese
Steps
1. Trim asparagus, boil 2-3 minutes, drain and rinse with cold water
2. In Large bowl add chicken, 1 T oil, 1 T Cajun seasoning. Mix to coat.
Cook chicken and onion med high heat, set aside
3. Cook Pasta according to instructions, drain and rinse.
SAUCE:
1. Mix 1.5 C greek yogurt, 2 T oil, 1 T Cajun seasoning, 1/4 t smoked paprika. Add 1/4 C
milk mix
2. Add sauce to cooked pasta. Add 1/2 C parm cheese. Add cooked chicken,
asparagus, can of tomato's with juice. Serve.
I promise it is pretty dog gone good and makes a LOT of food.7 -
4th day AF. Feeling okay, but tomorrow will be a challenge. Preparing, planning, practicing saying "no, thanks. I'll have a coffee please"5
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Here we go, February:
Feb 1-2 - AF
Feb 3-5 - stuck with 2 drink limit
Feb 6 AF6 -
February: 2/5 AF days (planning on AF Sun-Thu this week)5
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@lmlmrn thanks for the recipe, I've never thought of yogurt as a sauce base for pasta so I'll have to try that.
I've been quiet the past few days just busy with boring stuff - tax prep, catching up on work, and looking for a job. So insane! All I want to do is quit, go on vacation and hike somewhere! I'm so simple.
The trucker shortage in the U.S., I read, is causing the food supply chain delays and high prices and actually the trucking costs have more than doubled so prices are going up. I just try to buy what makes sense. As long as my coffee is still available, I can ride this wave.
I'm focusing on no drinks today, just relaxing and going out.4 -
I am in, with my usual goal: 16-20AF days per month. I had 18 last month.
Diary Style is how I roll.
Tuesday Feb 01 - AF - Busy week, no plans for drinks until Friday. 3rd AF day in a row. Taking Wednesday off of ice skating since my knee is a little sore after I kind of overdid it. Normally I skate twice on Wednesdays.
Wednesday Feb 02 - AF - My long workday, I would normally have had a couple of drinks, but it is too early in the month for that : - )
Thursday Feb 03 - AF - really really felt like having drinks, even though I knew that Friday and Saturday were this week's designated days for such. Thought of @ahoy_m8 staying AF on weeknights, and so many other reasons for waiting another day. Only willpower could stop me.
Friday Feb 04 - 2 drinks - I went to the "competition" a new Indian restaurant in the town and had Indian flavoured cocktails. Very delicious. I brought home some of their food and ate a little bit of it and then drank so much diet gingerale, water, diet cran - the food must have been salty as all restaurant food is. It was good, but quite different than the fare at the Indian restaurant that I work out. Possibly having a couple of drinks on Saturday also.
Saturday Feb 05 - Met with some gals (new friends that I met last April) to go to the Snowed In Comedy Festival at our Key City Theatre. We met at Spice Hut (where I work during the week) for drinks prior to. Easier parking, cheaper drinks, alley straight to the entrance of the Theatre. So great and so fun, 4 comedians, went back to one of the gals place. Met another friend of their's, she was cool, it was her birthday : - )
Rolling total: 3AF days out of 5 days5 -
Made it through the weekend AF8
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Hey gang great posts
@77topcat thanks for the sweet potato recipe, love sweet potato! Hahaha TIP AND TASTE!
@cowgirlslikeus86 oh goodness belated happy birthday wishes and nice job getting through AF
@lmlmrn I have jotted down tgat recipe you shared. Looks so good. Remember NAPS ARE GOOD, don't fight them 😉
Welcome back @looneycatblue super upbeat vibe from your .
Be warned ~ RANT AHEAD!
Yesterday we needed to run a few errands, while out hubby suggests we go mingle with some other human life because we'd been cooped up in the house due to ice/snow again for a few days. He mentioned a place and I turned it down and stated another taveren because they had a dart game going on AND served Heineken00.
So we go in, there are only two people sitting at the bar. Bartender comes over and states that there is not a full menu on Sundays, only hotdogs and drinks. I laughed and said well I hate hotdogs as long as we can get some thing to drink and watch the dart game.
She asks what we want, husband ordered his and I said Heineken00 in a glass please. She brings both drinks. So we are sitting chatting with the dart players. Husband orders another tequila while I am chatting away and I see another bottle sitting there for me. (Ok well I didn't order it, but I guess she assumed even though I wasn't done with this one in front of me, that I would get another.)
Still chatting and laughing I finish my glass, pick up the full bottle and GASP!!! This is NOT 00, this is straight up alcohol Heineken. I get her attention and ask, what it was she served me the first time in the glass? And she says HEINEKEN.
I, with wild eyes said, what not the 00 Heineken? Noooooo.........why is that what you wanted? Then loudly says OMG ARE YOU IN RECOVERY???
By then there are dart players coming out of the other room hearing nothing but OMG ARE YOU IN RECOVERY??
Calmly I say no, I am though doing a alcohol cleanse of my body and YOU just ruined my 44DAY STREAK.😠
Help me out here group....do I ignore the fact someone else gave me a full bottle of alcohol without my consent and keep the tally of my AF streak going OR suck it up and go back to day one? 😭😭😭
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@MissMay I say if you're honest with yourself, ignore it - keep the tally and you get the credit! I would be embarrassed and pissed and I hope she gave you credit on your bill. But the bartender meant no harm and only wanted to please. And possible those other dart players have been in and out of "recovery" themselves.
It's Monday and time to kickoff a new week. Last night I had 2 sparkling wines with dinner and stopped because I had no more in the house. That's the easy solution. If it's not there, it can't be consumed.
Off I go for a run and will do 6 miles no matter what. If I power out early, I'll just walk till I hit 6. My goals belong to me and there are mine for the taking.
Make this a really great week people !!!6 -
Hey gang great posts
@77topcat thanks for the sweet potato recipe, love sweet potato! Hahaha TIP AND TASTE!
@cowgirlslikeus86 oh goodness belated happy birthday wishes and nice job getting through AF
@lmlmrn I have jotted down tgat recipe you shared. Looks so good. Remember NAPS ARE GOOD, don't fight them 😉
Welcome back @looneycatblue super upbeat vibe from your .
Be warned ~ RANT AHEAD!
Yesterday we needed to run a few errands, while out hubby suggests we go mingle with some other human life because we'd been cooped up in the house due to ice/snow again for a few days. He mentioned a place and I turned it down and stated another taveren because they had a dart game going on AND served Heineken00.
So we go in, there are only two people sitting at the bar. Bartender comes over and states that there is not a full menu on Sundays, only hotdogs and drinks. I laughed and said well I hate hotdogs as long as we can get some thing to drink and watch the dart game.
She asks what we want, husband ordered his and I said Heineken00 in a glass please. She brings both drinks. So we are sitting chatting with the dart players. Husband orders another tequila while I am chatting away and I see another bottle sitting there for me. (Ok well I didn't order it, but I guess she assumed even though I wasn't done with this one in front of me, that I would get another.)
Still chatting and laughing I finish my glass, pick up the full bottle and GASP!!! This is NOT 00, this is straight up alcohol Heineken. I get her attention and ask, what it was she served me the first time in the glass? And she says HEINEKEN.
I, with wild eyes said, what not the 00 Heineken? Noooooo.........why is that what you wanted? Then loudly says OMG ARE YOU IN RECOVERY???
By then there are dart players coming out of the other room hearing nothing but OMG ARE YOU IN RECOVERY??
Calmly I say no, I am though doing a alcohol cleanse of my body and YOU just ruined my 44DAY STREAK.😠
Help me out here group....do I ignore the fact someone else gave me a full bottle of alcohol without my consent and keep the tally of my AF streak going OR suck it up and go back to day one? 😭😭😭
Oh man, that stinks! Well, the intent was there and you didn’t realize what you were drinking, I say you don’t need to reset to day one. Others may disagree. But it’s not like you asked for it!
Meanwhile she was probably horrified that she thought she was the one who pushed you off the wagon! I’m sure some people could have had a ton of fun with that haha!!! But oh how embarrassing for her to yell it out like that. Nothing embarrassing about being in recovery mind you, it’s just that I imagine most people only reveal that on their own terms! Yikes. Cringey all around!5 -
@MissMay How annoying! I agree with the others- ignore it. Or rather- consider it a victory. It doesn’t ruin your streak at all- you could have finished the bottle and then had another… That would have ruined your streak. But you didn’t! Good for you!
As for me, today is day 9 AF. Feeling pretty good. DH halfway participating. Hopefully he will join me tonight and the next few. Less is more, right?4
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