I keep a journal too. It is a really good tool. I started it a year before I quit drinking. I can look back and see where I was fooling myself about things. When a couple of rather bad things happened when I was still drinking, I wrote nonchalantly, as if nothing was wrong. Looking back now I think, wow, that was really bad and I was SO in denial!
It is also great to see how I felt when I first quit: those first few months I was so grateful for so much.
And, I am still grateful, every day...