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I got home from a stressful week of helping with a tragic situation straight to a stressful situation at home. Guess what I did? Drank. Plenty. I'm so disappointed. Thirteen dry days and then wham. I was basically in the "I don't even care" mindset. Yuck. I'd like to say today is a new beginning but feel pretty fragile…
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@suzJok85, Thank you for your thorough and thoughtful post. I am the person you quoted and your post was a welcome eye-opener for me. These 12 dry days have been illuminating. I’ve struggled with this long enough that I can flip back through years of journals and see some version of “I am going to limit myself to 2 drinks…
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This morning in my hotel room I flipped on GMA and there was a woman reporting on her Dry January. She commented on how her skin has improved. Mine too but I didn’t associate it with alcohol. A dr. confirmed that alcohol dries out skin and hair. Another plus to not drinking.
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I’m being called upon to provide support, transportation, child care, food, anything else needed in the midst of a true life crisis (I posted about it Wednesday.). Plans are changing by the minute. I cannot even imagine how I’d be able to do this if I was drinking at night. Up having a hotel breakfast feeling clear and…
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@MaryBethHempel, thanks for your kind words. So I got to my hotel room after a day of driving and meetings. This is the most I’ve craved a drink in 10 days. There was even a liquor store calling my name between the office and here. I’ve just caught up on everyone’s posts from today and that (along with OJ and Perrier) has…
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Yesterday at salon I was served Tazo vanilla bean macaron tea. Amazing!!! Low in caffeine although it’s not caffeine free. Hitting the road for 5 days. Relying on this thread for the journey. Happy Day 10!
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A sad "bonus" today. This morning at 7 my daughter called. She lives a 4-hour drive away. Her best friend's husband is on life support and probably coming off in the next 2 days (30-year-old with kids 4 and 2--cancer). She asked if I could possibly come up this weekend to be with her kids while she goes through this with…
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@norminv, I'm using the app to help me sleep, but now I'll forever hear the word "schmuck" when the guidance person starts talking. That's hilarious! Happy Day 9 everyone!
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Yay! SLEEP!!! @kittybenn, thank you for the app recommendation. I listened to a few of the sleep meditations yesterday and then just mentally went through one of them last night (without the app) and was asleep before I could finish thinking through it. First really great night of sleep since Jan. 1. It makes a big…
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@MaryBethHempel, I am so impressed! I don't think I could avoid drinking wine if my husband were drinking two bottles right next to me. My own husband, the bourbon drinker, stopped drinking on Jan. 2 just because he saw me abstaining. That has helped but made me a bit jealous because he does not seem to be struggling with…
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@kittybenn and @SanDiegofitmom, thanks so much for the advice. I will act on both suggestions--the meditation app and the melatonin. I'm glad I'm not alone in this! I slept until 11:45. Thank goodness it's Sunday. On the Naked Mind book. I'm now rereading it slowly and absorbing it better than I did the first time. I still…
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Well, this is Day 7, but it's 2:35 a.m. and I have not been able to get to sleep. In the past, good sleep has been a great perk of abstaining from alcohol. This time, for some weird reason, my brain will not turn off. I've finally given up, gotten out of bed, read posts here, and will now do the Sunday NYT crossword on my…
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@kittybenn, if by day 7 you've saved $20 on wine, you are either drinking the cheapest wine known to mankind or you drink WAYYYYYY less than I do (Did). I suspect it's the latter. I haven't thought of diverting that money, but I would have some serious change by the end of the month if I did. Yesterday was my first serious…
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Ha! I am responsible for references to the "book which must not be named" thing because I felt like I was being obnoxious by talking about it so much. But really, Annie Grace does deserve credit for her wonderful This Naked Mind, which I'm now re-reading at a slow and steady pace after blitzing through it. I so highly…
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This is going to be the stupidest post, but, oh well . . . I happened to catch a rerun of The Devil Wears Prada yesterday, and when Meryl Streep's beleaguered assistant is rushing to get her bottle of San Pellegrino on her desk in time, that suddenly looked like such a delicious and decadent treat. Bought myself a few…
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Another motivator for me: I've lost 1.5 lbs. since Monday. I'm sure a lot of that is water, but I'll take it. I just want to say that those of you who have referred to "failing" because you had a drink, I don't think of that as "failure" at all. This is a process, and I think we need to be exceedingly kind to ourselves.…
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As for AA, I know it has done a lot of good for many people, including my best friend. However, seeing that she still goes to 2 meetings/week after 4 years and still thinks, "One day at a time" every day . . . that's what turns me off from that approach for me personally. I figure if I have to think of alcohol every damn…
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I had what turned out to be a great experience last night. For the first time, I made Julia Child's French Onion Soup. Watched her make it on YouTube and did it. It was great! But you know what goes really well with French Onion soup? Red wine! Julia herself says so. So, I poured myself a glass, sat down to eat the soup…
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@MaryBethHempel, I'm 60% through This Naked Mind. She recommends going through it slowly, and I'm going to do that when I finish this blitz through. There are so many insights I never thought of before. For me personally, I've always dreaded the idea of the AA-type approach. I figured if I have to be thinking about…
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Last night at the recommendation of several on this thread, I started reading This Naked Mind by Annie Grace. OMG. Mind blown. The way she looks at drinking/not drinking makes SO much sense to me. Maybe her way of thinking won't resonate with everyone, but it sure does with me. The thought of living my whole life just…
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Day 1--no alcohol for me either, but feeling kind of shaky (psychologically, not physically). Looking forward to lovely sleep tonight. I sleep SO much better without alcohol. Even if I wake up briefly, I just smile because I feel good and go right back to sleep. That's just one item on the long list of benefits of being…
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I, too, thank everyone on this thread for the non-judgmental honesty. @JulieAL1969, I did the same as you . . . drank right up to midnight watching Andy and Anderson ring in the New Year. And I do have a headache today. But this is the beginning of an adventure. @crazykatlady, thanks for the encouragement. My trip to Italy…
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I'm looking forward to a dry January and maybe beyond like @crazykatlady_ My husband informed me that he bought a bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne for tonight--my favorite (He's not a saboteur; I just haven't informed him of my plans). So I'll ring out 2017 with a glass or two then get down to business in 2018. Happy New…
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@cmriverside, I hear you on the being sick of "bargaining and counting." I am really becoming tired of having alcohol consume so much of my thinking. What a waste of energy. However, I sure do enjoy my wine. Question: you say you don't miss alcohol one bit. How long did it take before you could honestly say that? I…
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That happens to me, too. I'll be wide awake for hours after I crash. And then my heart beats fast like it can't settle down. [/quote] Same here, @JulieAL1969 ! I didn't know the rapid heart thing happened to anyone else . . . or that it was related to alcohol. Thanks for sharing that; it's more motivation. And thank you…
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@JulieAL1969, You and I have opposite problems. For some crazy reason, it is easy for me not to drink or to drink just a little when I'm out in a social situation with drinks. Socializing keeps me occupied. When I'm at home and bored or just want to relax, THEN I can drink a bottle of wine without even thinking about it. I…
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Well, yesterday didn't turn out to be first alcohol-free day. However, it was a very LOW alcohol day compared to usual, and I was up and running and feeling good today. So glad to have found this thread and such positive, non-judgmental people. Something I've found that is very surprisingly delicious is iced tea brewed as…
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Woo hoo! So glad to have found this thread on Dec. 23. I just read all the posts. Everyone is so inspiring. MaryBeth, you are really an inspiration! When I've gone some days without drinking, I, too, notice that my husband's breath smells like alcohol. Surely when I drink, that doesn't happen to moi! I think I'm in the…
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Great story! Be warned . . . nobody trusts a skinny opera singer.
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Lady Day is in Austin with an amazing singer (and actress) named Chanel playing BH. She channeled her (no pun intended) amazingly. Had a vodka and Perrier at "the Emerson." It was good but not as good as I remember. Hmmm.
