LESS Alcohol ~ FEBRUARY 2023 ~ One Day at A Time

Hi - Robyn here in SE Virginia. My goal is 16+ AF days per month. I had 18 AF days last month. I'm drinking less for health and weight loss. I post the next morning.

2/26: AF - I have nothing exciting to report. I took a 30-minute Pilates class (it was hard!) and also worked on my Fitness Marshall moves . Dinner plans at home fell through so we went to a local dive where they have good seafood. The only NA beer option was O'Doul's, so I had a couple cranberry/club sodas.

Rolling Total: 13 AF Days out of 26

My son sent a cool Kudzu pic. She decided to try out tight wire walking this weekend! That rail is probably 15 feet above the floor below.

Whew! It has taken me close to 45 minutes to catch up.....you folks have been busy the last few days.

After seeing all the wonderful puppy posts I think I will bring up the subject of maybe a fur baby when we get moved and settled. Right now I don't want to bring in a new family member while in the middle of packing and driving. Our fur-girl left us now almost 12 years ago. Does not seem that long. She was 16? and a pretty husky mix.

I don't have any camera stories, other than my foster daughter is still toting her camera's with her and makes money on the side doing shoots.

I have not been a free for 4 days. Each day it seemed DH and I made up an excuse to go out at lunch and of course my will power went out the window and had 2 beers each time. Yesterday though we decided to treat ourselves to crab legs, wine and a movie at home. It was wonderful, but then last night both of our sleeping wasn't worth a flip. No hangover but the nasty sleeping sweats uggggg.

So we both decided this am when we were up by 5am and a crappy night of not really sleeping we can do without for some time.....so win win for me.

Cant wait for March. That is my month to finish our packing/organizing and plan to hit the road the first part of April.

Now my skillet meals, well I have experimenting I think I can pull them off. We just need to plan small trips to local grocery stores to pick up the protein of choice and fresh veggies. Very doable.

@MissMay

Haha, I would be one of those people at the beach wearing a bikini at 62...and not caring what that looks like : - )

Welp last post for Feb, already know how tomorrow will go so posting now. Did not finish strong, trying not to beat myself up too much but at the same time reminding myself that journeys are rarely linear (especially ones that challenge our ingrained habits like weight loss and cutting back on alcohol!) Need to celebrate the wins and acknowledge the slips. Here's to March y'all!

A days - 17 (one over the high end of my goal, 12-16)
AF days - 11

About to wrap up another month. I've found that while I may fall short, being here helps me to at least be more cognizant of it, and over time that is helpful in staying motivated to try and do better.
Today I started logging food again; dinner started out as a marginally not so healthy choice but something that wasn't so bad that I would have refused it, but then wife sent son to the bar next door for fries, and I made an active decision to prepare a separate meal for myself. We ate together, but I had a salad, shrimp and cauliflower. I felt better for it, and son said my meal looked better than his. As he finished his fries, he commented on how eating unhealthy foods leaves him feeling less than great, and he's using that knowledge as a reason to eat healthier.
I'm not AF today, but stress levels have been manageable and I'm keeping it moderate. For March, I'm going to focus on getting back on track with diet and alcohol - I haven't really lost since Thanksgiving and that vexes me. It's been one excuse after another: oh, it's a holiday, oh, we're celebrating a thing, oh we're on a road trip oh we're busy with this that or the other oh excuse excuse excuse and pretty soon we're back in the old habits, hey, wanna go grab lunch? wanna go grab dinner? wanna order UberEats? And we go to the restaurant and I say, we should just split an entree, but we wind up with appetizers and sides and this and that and it's way more than I ever wanted and I weigh in the next day and I've gained two pounds. ENOUGH.
Rant over.

Bentley peed on himself not once, but twice today, despite being walked frequently. Of course that meant bathing and drying. I decided the blow dryer was not efficient, so I set up the Kirby to blow. (It's been sitting in the closet since we got a Roomba.) It moves a lot more air, and dries dogs quite well although neither of them is a fan. I think I heard B mumble something about how he was going to get well and walk again if only so he could kick my *kitten* for subjecting him to such infuriating treatment.
Overcast grackle:


-m

Like some of you, I didn't do as well as I had hoped for February. The beginning of a new month is a fresh start. The days are getting longer and the sun stronger and Spring is nearly here. I always love the time of renewal and re-birth that the season brings. Instead of disappointment in myself, I will focus on gratitude for what I have and what I DO get right.

March goals:

Continue daily meditation. This has become as routine as brushing my teeth. I love starting my day like this.
Try to see the bright side of things. Less negativity.
Think before speaking or acting.
Less TV, more reading.
Doing what needs to be done instead of putting it off.
And of course, less alcohol, more tea.

See you all on the March thread. Thanks to @MissMay for keeping it going!

Hey everyone, I’m Amanda. I live in Michigan and it is freezing and gray here but at least it’s staying light out past 5 pm now. ☀️
I joined this lovely thread in the summer of 2022 and it has made a huge difference in my life! I’ve gone from being 25% AF to 98% AF.

The people here are kind and real and smart and fun! Welcome to all newcomers!

2/1-2/7: 6 out of 7 AF
2/8-2/14: 7 out of 7 AF
2/15-2/22: 7 out of 7 AF
2/23-2/28: 6 out of 6 AF
Total: 27 out of 28 AF

2/27 & 2/28: AF
Such a short month! I always say this but I love this group, you guys are the bestest!
Radiation is officially kicking my *kitten*! I went to bed last night at 5:15! I vaguely remember seeing my boss calling me but I was only scheduled to work until 3 so yeah, I let that go to voicemail.
Here’s hoping March brings healing and maybe the sprouting of green things from the earth to give me renewed hope! 🌱