Less Alcohol ~ DECEMBER 2022 ~ One Day At A Time

Thanks all for your well wishes : - )

Yep, not indestructible, maybe I needed that reminder lol.
I pushed so much water yesterday that I was actually up more than 3 pounds this morning.
I woke feeling fantastic! Got out for a nice cross country ski on Elizabeth Lake, listened to one of my fave Science shows (and 2 comedy shows) on the radio, chipped away the large lump of ice that had formed where I park because soon it will be minus 20 here, washed the floor of my porch before it gets too cold. Shovelled until dark, then made a Manhattan with 1/2 shot of rye and an 1/8th shot of sweet vermouth, a few dashes of orange bitters and a maraschino cherry. I think now that the bitters is what wrecks it. Anyway, had just a sip and then put it in the freezer. Then I made sort of a Stinger, actually a Prince, Rye and Peppermint schnapps. Having that now, 1/2 shot of Rye, 1/4 shot of peppermint schnapps.
Such a fantastic day.
Yesterday was a write off, couldn't go to work, could barely stand up, accomplished little. I was getting maudlin thinking of how NOT invulnerable I am etc.
All good today : - )
Going to relax tonight.

I am Dawn, I live in SE BC Canada
My primary motivation for drinking less is weight loss.
I throw up if I have more than 3 drinks, so moderation on drink days is rarely an issue for me lol.
My recurring goal is 16-20 AF days per month. I squeaked to 16 last month.

I like to do this diary style to keep track.


Wednesday December 14 - AF - I was really craving a drink last night after work, but figured that I had to hang tough for a couple of more days. First Wednesday public skating at a local arena during my break, they finally opened back up. I walk there from work and bring my skates into work so that they are not too cold to put on my feet. Looking forward to doing that every Wednesday between my split shift : - )
Thursday December 15 - AF - Planned a long Friday workday with X-Country skiing during my 2 hour afternoon break. Good reason to not have drinks Thursday night. Then woke up very sick this Friday morning. I am not going anywhere, can barely stand up. Flu-ish
Friday December 16 - AF - Sick with the flu or something, no energy to Covid test until Saturday morning...negative.
Saturday December 17 - Drinks, made in small measures.


Rolling total - 11AF day out of 17 days

Hello all! I’m still Amanda, I’m from Michigan. I am still a crazy cat lady and work for a veterinarian. This will be my sixth month with this group and it has helped me cut back on my drinking so much! I am not ready to say I am 100% sober but last month I had 30 days alcohol free 😃

12/1-12/7: 7 out of 7 AF
12/8-12/14: 7 out of 7 AF
Rolling total: 14 out of 14 AF

12/15: AF
My dad always buys a giant bottle of Baileys over the holidays and we put it in coffee and top it with whipped cream (if you want) or pour it over ice. I just perused the interwebz a bit and I don’t see AF Baileys. You can make it but it looks like such a pain in my behind I think I’ll just skip it this year or just have one.
So proud of everyone for their AF streaks, especially during this season that can be tricky.
12/16: AF
Back to my pre-surgical weight today! I gained 5 pounds with that surgery. I’m still not anywhere near where I want to be but any loss in December for me is a win!
12/17: AF
I did way too much yesterday and am paying for it with soreness today. 12 days out from surgery and ready to be back to normal!
I made like 4 million cookies with my mom yesterday, a tradition. She did not start drinking before noon which helped the process go smoother. My dad got pretty toasted before dinner which is odd and I didn’t necessarily like it. I’m kind of at a cross roads with saying something about their drinking. For one, they are going to keep drinking if they want to. And they are still getting used to me not drinking with them. However, they are already unsteady on their feet and adding alcohol makes their fall risk go up. I know a lot of you deal with partners drinking but have/did/are any of you dealing with an elderly parent drinking?

I am 50 days AF.

@mfowler883 I went into college thinking I was going to be a great novelist. Here I am 25 years later, a vet tech and loving the medical field. I won a bunch of awards for writing in high school and was awarded grants for college. I’ve kept journals over the years of things I’ve seen in vet med but I really do not think anyone would want to read it!

I hope you got some rest after your spiral, I’m sorry you are dealing with that.

@lmlmrn Im sorry to hear things are getting crowded in your head. This sounds cliche but you can only do what you can do. I’m glad you have the sale of DH business behind you but you may both have some trauma to deal with from that. I’ll be thinking of you!

@tmbg1 Amazing! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 That’s a big deal I’m glad you shared that! I think you said you’re a teacher, so do you have some time off here? Plans? Recovery mode?

Hi All! I’m in!

@joans1976 You can always express your concerns, but you're right that it may not make a difference. I will share my story here. I had the absolute best dad in the world. He was handsome, cool, funny, and very intelligent although his family was poor and he had to drop out of school to help out on the farm. I was a daddy's girl and he was my hero. I thought he knew everything and could fix anything. He was to me like Andy Griffith was to Opie. The sad part of this story is that he started drinking very heavily about the time I went to college. He had a mid-life crisis and really needed counseling, but was unwilling. He turned into someone we didn't know when he drank. He became the Mr. Hyde of Jekyll and Hyde. My mom did not drink. When drinking he would become verbally abusive to her. Nothing I nor anyone else could say or do stopped him from drinking. I had him committed twice. It was humiliating and the hardest thing I'd ever done in my life. I thought he would hate me but he later told me that I was the one who never gave up on him. My parents split up after 42 years of marriage. He found a drinking partner and lived with her for a few years. I thought he would die an alcoholic but later in life he tired of it, reconnected with an old flame, remarried and totally stopped drinking. We had my dad back for the last 17 years of his life. I will be forever grateful for that. He was back but not quite the same after that. He never could really forgive himself for those 20+ years of heavy drinking. In his mid-80s he started having bad health problems (COPD and memory issues). He took his own life in the end because he didn't want to be a burden. It was hard but I understood his thinking and I've come to terms with it. Anyways, I'm not sure why I'm writing you this long story because it's a bit different from yours other than to say that there's always hope for those you love. You'll have to decide but may be good for your parents to know your concerns at least, and you are showing them by example, which is more than words.