Yes I think those timeline models are only intended as a general guide, not to be set in stone. There's some truth to it overall, but I found myself jumping in between those stages a fair bit, I experienced the 'pink cloud' effect several times, other times I didn't feel so great, but that's part of recovery. Eventually I started having more normal phases, these became more common and lasted longer as my recovery continued.
Often we feel a bit stuck and as if we've hit a wall just before a breakthrough of some kind. We may feel like we're moving nowhere, but in fact we really are.
I feel quite comfortable in my sobriety now, it's a good feeling, not the giddy feeling of being on a 'pink cloud' which is usually temporary, but probably what they call in AA the acceptance/serenity. A big point in my recovery I think was ending the seek-quick-high/escape-mentality (which I never thought I could live without), learning to accept things at their own pace, appreciate more in the here and now.