donimfp Member

Good evening, everyone. Ruby and Foo Foo, it's so great that you guys are doing very well. I've been a member of this group since January 2018 and I'm so grateful for everyone here. Unless I'm really forgetting something, and I don't think I am, I'm the only person I can remember in those 3-plus years who confessed to a…

@Beka3695, same! My husband drinks bourbon (moderately), and I wouldn't sneak a sip from his bottle for anything. So it doesn't attract me. My relapse in Jan. was helped along by the fact that my in-laws who own a winery, and were totally unaware of my struggles, had just sent 3 bottles of their wines for Christmas.…

@RubyRed427, thank you for your thoughts! I believe up above you may have thought my quoting Beka was "me" talking, but that's ok. She and I do share the "need to get back to sobriety" struggle! I also often think of Whitpauly saying "Another 24 in Vegas" (or whatever it actually was). It took me the longest time to stop…

@JenT304, I'm sorry to hear about your neighbor. I lost my stepfather and stepbrother (20 years apart, both around 60) to lung cancer. It is not something I would wish on anybody. It's so sad, that feeling of wanting an impossible "do-over." I've certainly been there with alcohol, if not with smoking. <3

[quote="Beka3695; I am off the wagon. In 3 months, one drink has led to almost back up to speed limit. I have had 3 hangovers during this time. I am allowing myself the “last dance” of this holiday weekend, then dry again 06/01. I really thought I could moderate..... how many times have we said/heard this?!?!?! I cannot. I…

@LoveyChar, thank you for posting that. It's a saying I've heard since I was a little kid, but it's worth coming back to. What I can't change is the passage of time and the advancing of age (with any luck!). But what I can change is how I navigate and spend the passing time and how I age (to a great extent). As with all of…

@Up_n_Running, your success makes me smile! I, too, am finding a positive focus helpful--what am I gaining rather than what am I giving up. A woman in the Sober School forum recommended a book by Elizabeth Rider--The Health Habit--which is all about caring for yourself. I bought it back in September but somehow never got…

Glad y'all appreciated that blog post. I really did. I am by no means overly confident, but this is the 4th day without alcohol, which is the longest I've managed since 10 days in February. This time feels different, though. Like last July, I'm feeling very content with not drinking and feeling happy at night when I wake…

Kate Bee posted this blog yesterday. I thought it was insightful and helpful. https://thesoberschool.com/sobriety-makes-me-feel-deprived/

@LovelyChar, I get that. A few years ago, my mother, now 89, was going to throw away all her journals when she moved to a smaller house. She offered to let me read them if I wanted. I said yes. But she, too, really only journaled the painful things, and I could see why she didn't want to keep them. After a while, I stopped…

@Up_n_Running, Yes, you go girl! I am so happy that you were able to get right back to your sobriety! I've been struggling to get back there for 3 months now, but I'm determined to do it. I'll tap into some of your "Oh it's on!" energy.

It's great to hear new voices. This is the place to come for support for sure. I just spent several hours re-reading my journals starting from last summer when I tried, and failed, to get sober, then joined Kate Bee's course July 6. From then to January 6, I did not drink. My journal entries were full of joy, accounts of…

@billyfallon1, that's ok! I was trying to remember when I ever auditioned for lyrics/singing. Believe me, that would NOT have been a pretty picture. :s

@RubyRed427, you are right. There are worse things in life than not drinking. One of them definitely is drinking!!!! It sucks. And it's really hard to get back to sobriety. I'm finding that out the very hard way but am determined. @JenT304, thanks for asking about Jeopardy. I've made it through all the auditions. Their…

P.S. to my 2 a.m. post above: I was up until 4:30 because of tinnitus. I did some research. Although alcohol kind of deadens the sensation of buzzing, it is actually a contributing factor to the symptom. As is salt. As is sugar. As is aspartame (I usually drink one Diet Coke a day). So now I have an extra motivation to…

@mtngrl3, Congratulations on 36 days! The gardening sounds like wonderful therapy. We had a community plot several years ago and it was really amazing to see things "magically" appear. We don't garden any more, but just yesterday we received our first CSA share, and prepping and figuring out what to do with the produce is…

Wow. I didn't realize until I logged in how long it's been since I read and posted. I've caught up with the reading. A belated kiss and hug to you, Ruby for the tragedy in your family. I was so sorry to read about that. Congratulations on your sober vacation. Jen, that was amazing to learn about your father! How well I…

@adamyovanovich, that is awesome! I so agree with your post. What keeps me going in sobriety is my "What I Hated About Drinking" list. You said it best. Just bad! @RubyRed427, a trip to the sun sounds fun. I'm just thankful that this spring break isn't about if and where we can find toilet paper! I'm sure you've heard…

Hooray for 6.5 months @RubyRed427. Are you on spring break? Ours starts today. It's so weird to realize it's been a year since we went on SB and never went back to school. I'm proud of all of us for working so hard on sobriety during such a difficult year.

I've been quiet for a while but following. After getting right back to it after my Jan. 6 hellish relapse, I haven't been very successful or, frankly, very motivated. But I know all the wonderful gains of sobriety beat the heck out of all the downsides of drinking. @Up_n_Running, I like your new picture. It represents your…

Kate Bee says the same thing in her Sober School course. At the end of our six weeks, she said that of course we were free to choose to drink after the course ended. We had committed to not drinking for six weeks, and that period was ending. BUT, she said, don't kid yourself that you are going to a new, moderate drinking…

@Up_n_Running, I like that advice from Bex Weller about treating yourself to something besides alcohol. Of course I'm not going anywhere during the pandemic, but I often think about the trip I took to Italy a couple of years ago and wonder how on earth I could go back there and not drink. Wine was so much a focus of our…

@Up_n_Running, (Wow, my first time not typing your Foo Foo handle) . . . you are incredibly strong. I really don't think there are many of us (certainly not ME) who could hold up as well as you have in your situation. I'm just glad you've seen how beautiful sober life feels and how giving that up would be doing yourself a…

Hi, all. Send some good thoughts our way (Texas). It has been a hell of a week. I'm returning home today after 4 nights with a relative. Still sober. That's the good news.

@FeelinFooFoo, you have such an interesting life living with your partner and brother! Good for you for maintaining sobriety while dealing with “the boys”!

@RubyRed427, Ms. Hirons lists smoking, sun, and sugar as the three big culprits as far as skin ageing, but she puts alcohol right up there with them, and would certainly put excessive alcohol even higher on the list. I remember hearing Jennifer Lopez give the reason she doesn't drink--that it's disastrous for your skin.…

Those of you who are into skin care as a hobby, I really like Caroline Hirons’ blog. She’s got little “cheat sheets “ on all kinds of topics. She has a bestselling book called “Skin Care” which I bought but I think pretty much everything in it can be found on her blog for free. It’s fun and informative and inspiring.

@aroze0928, I feel your pain (which seems to be healing--so that's good!). I am amazed at how much one "little" relapse can set us back and set cravings in motion after so long--for me 6 months, for you 2 years! I don't think I really believed it. In fact, I had fantasies of having a "yearly" martini and then getting right…

Meditation is extremely helpful, I've found. I'm not an expert by any means, but just adding 10 minutes at the beginning of the day makes a huge difference. Speaking of adding pastimes . . . I've become obsessed with "skin care" during lockdown. Reading books, blogs, etc. and for the first time in my long life developing a…

Oh yes, Jen! His book and Jason Vale’s are very inspirational!! Two thumbs up.