LESS Alcohol ~ JULY 2023 ~ One Day at A Time

dawnbgethealthy · July 2023

@forestdweller1

Magenta striped day lillies? I have never seen any Magenta.

Yes, I put sunflowers and black hollyhocks on the outside of my fence (Bee colours?). Technically the space doesn't belong to me, but it was a gully full of garbage 10 years ago and I took it over.
All of my food stuffs are inside my fence where the deer can't get in.
Sunflower seeds are edible obviously, but not my jam, too much work. I mostly just smush the heads back into the ground for the following year or give the seeds to anyone that wants them. In previous years the sunflowers have grown taller than the deer could reach before flowering, so I had heads at the end of the season. This year they are very short, as are my sugar snap peas. Weird weather.
I do have a few flowers here and there, some self seed like snapdragons and lace dianthus. I mostly like deep red and black flowers, sunflowers are just...sunny : - )

dawnbgethealthy · July 2023

I am Dawn, I live in South Eastern British Columbia.
I joined this thread in November of 2018, a daily drinker at the time
My primary goal with drinking less is weight loss.

My usual goal is 16-20 AF days for the month,
I had 18AF days in May.

I do this diary style:

Sunday July 16 - AF - A full day off. I really liked it : - ) Just caught up with some laundry and weeding and stuff. My Mint has been ready for quite some time, but no Mojitos just yet. I would have had one, but I have 2 jobs on Monday, so stayed AF. Yay to hitting 10
Monday July 17 - AF - I have managed to give away shifts and take most of Wednesday and all of Thursday off and then will work 12 straight over the 3 jobs. Not going to try to stay AF if I feel like having drinks over the next few days. Definitely getting to a lake while it is still summer.

Rolling total: 11AF days out of 17 days.

Michieb125 · July 2023

Such inspiring comments on mocktails and gardening lately!! Seeing beautiful plants and vegetables grow @dawnbgethealthy and @forestdweller1 is not only magical but so rewarding to eat. I’ll post some pics of my beds this week for fun. My grandmother also grew her own tomato garden every year, and taught me to can and make jam with jars in a hot water bath eons ago. I’ll be doing this again since I’m going to have a plethora of tomatoes and peppers this year. I use other methods as well.

I had 2 glasses of unplanned white wine last night after consciously driving to the store for a half sized bottle. Reason? It sounded like a nice way to end the day after a long hot summer day with pool play involved. My perspective is changing where I want to enjoy sipping occasionally instead of thinking why I can’t or shouldn’t…like reframing my thoughts into a more positive approach. The good news is it was 2, not 2+1 so was Less than prior A days. But, this throws off my Thursday plan a bit. Looks like AF until Fri or Sat will be the new game plan.

I have been doing LA since Feb. ‘22 for my mental health, to avoid long-term health risks and weight loss/ control.

July goal: 21-22 AF days
AF - 11
A - 6

forestdweller1 · July 2023

@dawnbgethealthy ...Olallie Daylily Gardens...click on their color catalog [purples]...as IF you have a spare moment!!

Womona · July 2023

I was halfway to golf last night (finally had the time to do it), and said you know what? Tuesdays are my only night off and I don’t want to be in a golf league, even if it’s a “fun, super casual” one. I just need one night home. So instead I ran an errand and came home to have dinner with my family. Great decision! Poof, I just took the pressure off myself feeling I should be doing something I am not all that excited about. I’m too old to feel obligated to do anything. I enjoy golf - but not on my only night home.

At any rate, I had a lovely dinner with the hubby, had 1.5 glasses of wine, got my stuff done, and feel great today!

@Michieb125 i love your changing perspective - I’m right there with ya!

dawnbgethealthy · July 2023

forestdweller1 wrote: »

@dawnbgethealthy ...Olallie Daylily Gardens...click on their color catalog [purples]...as IF you have a spare moment!!

I clicked.
Prince of midnight, Royal fireworks, Real purple star, Chicago knobby, Punk, Ollalie Maggie Brommel, and Deluxe Issue all look to be Magenta in colour with stripes.
Wow, what a catalogue!

I like the: Velvet Underground and Darius out of the purples
Being that I like black and red flowers the Black Pearl, Baltimore Oriole.

I had some black lilies (2 spots) for years, but they didn't come back this year. I do have some black petunias and lovely deep red other types of annuals. I have Crimson Lace Dianthus that come back every year.

Thanks for the link!
Because I am not going to work at all today I had time to enjoy that lovely website : - )

dawnbgethealthy · July 2023

@Womona

Good on you for saying "no". We can all get overwhelmed with commitments, leading to NO downtime at all.

dawnbgethealthy · July 2023

I am Dawn, I live in South Eastern British Columbia.
I joined this thread in November of 2018, a daily drinker at the time
My primary goal with drinking less is weight loss.

My usual goal is 16-20 AF days for the month,
I had 18AF days in May.

I do this diary style:

Sunday July 16 - AF - A full day off. I really liked it : - ) Just caught up with some laundry and weeding and stuff. My Mint has been ready for quite some time, but no Mojitos just yet. I would have had one, but I have 2 jobs on Monday, so stayed AF. Yay to hitting 10
Monday July 17 - AF - I have managed to give away shifts and take most of Wednesday and all of Thursday off and then will work 12 straight over the 3 jobs. Not going to try to stay AF if I feel like having drinks over the next few days. Definitely getting to a lake while it is still summer.
Tuesday July 18 - Drinks. Orange Mint Mojito and Chocolate Mint Mojito. I wouldn't normally drink more than one, but made them for a friend and I and then she said that she couldn't drink hard liquor and that I would have to drink hers. They were both delicious and quite different from each other. I got a good stretch of Bindweed battling after my bank appointment, and then really really relaxed knowing that I would have Wednesday off. Planning early morning weeding in another area of my garden and then off to a lake today. If I feel like having drinks when I get home I will.

Rolling total: 11AF days out of 18 days.

ahoy_m8 · July 2023

dawnbgethealthy wrote: »

@ahoy_m8

You went on vacation...and there was snow?
Enquiring minds (me) want to know! Where did you go, and do you have photos to share?

66 new messages! Apologies for not keeping up with the group! Dawn, it was more of a long weekend over the holiday than a vacation. Visited my sister-cousin (thank you for coining that term -- it's so apt!) in NM and up in the mountains there was still snow! I'll try digging out a couple photos. Meanwhile at home, still got that high pressure dome that is giving us triple-digit heat every day. It's still 95F at 10pm. Plants struggling. Kinda demoralizing.

Accountability: If I ever experience anything akin to seasonal weight gain, it's in summer. Whereas lots of people are less active in winter because of short days, I'm less active in summer because of heat. And margaritas. I have not totally devolved into no willpower at all (which has happened before), at least not yet. Haven't skipped cardio because of heat (yet). Sticking with weekday AF (vacation notwithstanding). Drinking more on weekends than goal.... more like 3/day vs. 2 which I guess isn't crazy but it does add up. And eating more than I need to maintain. Eating all the same things I normally eat, just more of it than I need and my weight is up a pound or 2 but still in the 5lb "maintenance range" so I'm being chill about it.
ETA

Apologies if I missed big happenings for anyone. Catching up on posts now.

Michieb125 · July 2023

I must look up that amazing DayLily gardens catalog this week….I hope to try some new flowers outside of my safety zone of petunias and petunias lol.

@Womona I know you made a great decision last night. Feeling good about how we spend our precious time is key for me too.
@dawnbgethealthy a day at the lake sounds heavenly - enjoy!

Yesterday, I went to a Zumba Gold class (beginners and/or seniors) thinking it was going to be easy peasy but NOT. I pretty much kept up but laughing inside and out half of the time….it was a lot of rapid movements but the instructor was so fun and I wanted to burn some extra calories this week. Made some icy cold NA zero calorie refreshments last night and kept hydrated.

AF until Fri or Sat this week to meet my personal goal.
July goal: 21-22 AF days
AF - 12
A - 6

ahoy_m8 · July 2023

Love, love the garden photos. So much to see! Have a BLAST at the lake, @dawnbgethealthy . You deserve it!
@MissMay Congrats on the job change. Sounds like a more soothing and supportive environment.
@Womona Very exciting about the tennis season -- congrats! And I'll echo good call on trimming back activities. Life's too short, and free time is too precious, to spend it on things you don't love. Maybe fun sailing days ahead!
@Michieb125 very funny about the zumba. I feel ya!

Nice seeing past posters pop in with updates. Thanks for joining in. Ya'll take care of yourselves in the heat and follow @Michieb125's lead on staying hydrated!

MissMay · July 2023

Quick accountability: July 19th

Today is my LAST 11.5 hour day at my present job, tomorrow is my final day there completely 8-2. Then DONE.

My new job starts on July 21st this Friday. No vaca. no time off. I will just transition out with the old, in with the new. Husband is freaking out about that.

"HOW" he says can I just stop one and start another without a break? Because I was a business owner previously for 35 years I guess was the right answer to give him.

AF days are totally winning over A days.

I stocked my frig last night with this

tmbg1 · July 2023

7- A and 11 - AF so far

2timesacharmmfp · July 2023

Oof it's been a while. I had a pretty big test beginning of the month so when I wasn't studying...let's just say I wasn't sticking to my A/AF goals. The good news is I passed!

I also have been trying to figure out if WW or MFP works best for me- so far it's neither. That being said, as I have posted before...it's never too late to start again.

So for July- currently 11 A/7 AF (with several days going over my target "A" count)

Goals for the remainder of the month:
5 more AF days, no more than 3 drinks on a given day.

MissMay · July 2023

itladyee · July 2023

Goals for July *in force after vacation 7/13/2023 in August!

Self-care and positive vibes ~ One day at a time
Zig-zag calorie count - Daily Average 1400
Success = No more than two glasses of wine per night.

Current Streak - AF = 0~

Not doing so well this month.
I had taken my dog to the vet because he had been acting weird. Long story short - his diagnosis - Diabetes and Keto Acidosis which is pretty fatal for dogs. I had to put my 14 year old buddy to sleep Tuesday.

Long Story....

We picked up Yoda (my 14 year old Puggle) from boarding Thursday evening. He didn't eat much then but he normally has an adjustment period after coming home. I really didn't pay attention on Friday as I was at work and my husband couldn't recall if he was "different" then.

Saturday - I put down food and took him out and noticed that he had not eaten his food. Unheard of for my dog! But he was drinking water like crazy...so much that I had to take the bowl away. And as you can guess, with all the water came the need to pee, and not always outside. Sunday, it was more of the same. We brough his puppy crate upstairs and started to crate him when we couldn't be right by his side.

Monday - I called the vet but they said they couldn't see him until Tuesday. Monday was the same and Tuesday seemed a bit better but...still not normal.

Yoda was diagnosed with having diabetes complicated by Keto acidosis, which is fatal in dogs.

Options presented:

A. Transfer to 24 hour facility to give him short term acting insulin and then we would need to continue with giving him injections twice a day once he's stabilized.

In 5 to 6 months he's probably be blind. The initial cost $5,000 - not including ongoing cost

B. Do nothing - He would probably die in a couple of days

C. Euthanize him - put him to sleep, today

It was a difficult decision but he was 14 years old and pretty much at his max.

I didn't want him to suffer or die at home.

I chose option C

I told them I would come and get him at 3:00 to spend some time with him and then we would be back at 4.

My husband drove me and I had him stop by McDonalds and got a cheese burger and fries for Yoda. I brought water and his bowl from home.

I wished I had brought more water and a blanket for him.

Went in to get him and when we were going outside, he still remembered to stop for a treat... (that's my Yoda).

We sat outside and he actually ate the people food. He wouldn't eat his food but treats and people food were acceptable!

The tough part - other than watching him be super thirsty and constantly peeing...he still seemed like normal Yoda. It's so much easier (keeping things in context) when they are lethargic and in obvious pain. He clearly was not.

The doctor assured me that in this case, we were making the best decision for Yoda.

So...it happened.

Very sad. The house seems so empty.

Here's a couple of pictures

The first one is one of his last shenanigans a couple of months ago. I was cleaning and through away some close hangers. He went dumpster diving. This is what I was greeting with when I returned from an errand. Scared me and I thought something was really wrong. The second one is one of his puppy pictures.

Aiming for a few AF days next week, then I'm going "Glamping"🙂

I hope everyone is doing well. I will play catch up soon!

Success Days #
Bonus Days #

AF = 0
A = 19

The Month recap to stay accountable

7/1 ~A

7/2 ~A

7/3 ~A Husband made a red, white and blue drink for the 4th. It was good but too sweet at the bottom (grenadine)

7/4 ~A Pre vacation celebration - went out to dinner to keep from dirtying the kitchen

7/5 ~A Travel Day and went to the Diamonds baseball game. Had a little encounter while entering the game which put me in the funk and in the mood to drink! Long story short. I have a small purse that I take to the games with me. They decided it was too big and I had to store it in a locker for $10.00. I bought this purse in Italy as a souvenir and loved it, otherwise I would have just tossed it to avoid the inconvenience. What made me so mad though was once I was in the park - I saw ladies with bags larger than what i had. That set me off....

7/6 ~A

7/7 ~A Currently on vacation and just enjoying myself. I am continuing (for the most part) to fast and then being mindful of eat and drink, but not saying no!!

7/8 ~ 7/14 ~A Vacation

7/15 ~A

7/16 ~A

7/17 ~ A

7/18 ~ A

7/19 ~A

My 2023 Stats...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
January
AF = 53%
A = 47%
February
AF = 29%
A = 71%
March
AF = 0%
A = 100%
April
AF = 14%
A = 86%
May
AF = 23%
A = 77%
June
AF = 27%
A = 73%
July
AF = 0
A = 100

dawnbgethealthy · July 2023

@itladyee

So sorry about your dog

@ahoy_m8
I bet that you wish that you were back in the mountains of NM with the current heat.

dawnbgethealthy · July 2023

Some photos:

My black petunias

The lake (my fave, Mineral) that I went to yesterday.

Newest belle peppers out of their flowers. They will all be popping over the next few days : - )

dawnbgethealthy · July 2023

I am Dawn, I live in South Eastern British Columbia.
I joined this thread in November of 2018, a daily drinker at the time
My primary goal with drinking less is weight loss.

My usual goal is 16-20 AF days for the month,
I had 18AF days in May.

I do this diary style:

Wednesday July 19 - Drinks. Made myself a Mojito out of my Ginger Mint, very delicious and different. Planned AF for the next 5 days.

Rolling total: 11AF days out of 19 days.

ahoy_m8 · July 2023

@itladyee Awww... I am very sorry about Yoda. What a cutie. He must have felt loved and cared for till the very end. Because he was. 14 is a good score for a dog! His prognosis was not promising at all and you spared him suffering. It hurts to loose a faithful companion. Hugs to you.

LESS Alcohol ~ JULY 2023 ~ One Day at A Time

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