Mags1

Welcome to the Weekenders



Sunny hazy boozy days. I always associated sunshine with getting drunk, well drinking really but I always ended up drunk.

So when it’s summer or winter or any season, come to think of it, our thoughts can stray to drink.




Having a ‘go to’ refreshing drink so you’re not tempted by an idea that one drink will be ok helped me not have to mull over drinks and waken the AV(addictive voice), though nowadays my tool box ensures it hardly ever gets a whimper!

I have a ‘go to’ beverage too, I like coffee, milk no sugar. That’s how I like it, I don’t stray from that unless milk is low then I have it without. Simple.

So a cool drink of orange and lemonade hits the spot for me.



If this is your first weekend sober, or many, come join us for support and chat...as we know the weekends can be a struggle sometimes. (We’re here all week too!)

andyh

thanks Mags, I'm in.

stay hydrated today everyone - getting thirsty is a sure-fire way to get the AV twitching

Willow00

Thanks Mags looks like I get shotgun

Willow00

Oh and my latest favourite drink is ginger & lemon kombucha , delicious and refreshing and healthy

theVman31

Thanks for the OP Mags.
I'm in for the weekend and week.
Not long before the holidays.
Later weekenders

MantaLady

Thanks Mags! It’s so hot here, inside the house it’s 27.5 and I am meeting some of the people I actually got on well with from work at a country pub for my leaving meal. I haven’t done anything like this since leaving rehab and the AV has popped by to tell me I can have a glass of wine as I don’t have a problem anymore. All the ladies at the meal will be having a large glass of vino but I am going to stick with my pint of lime and soda! My go to at home though is ginger cordial with soda water and ice, so yummy. Xx

STDragon

Yum, ginger cordial. I don't think've tried that one yet. In the early months I had an entire fridge stocked with all sorts of sodas, juices and waters. I enjoyed mixing different flavours and always tried picking up something different when shopping. I had no idea there were so many flavours out there! Right now my goto is Pinapple, ginger and tonic water. Pinapple and soda is nice too.

Dee74

I can heartily endorse ginger cordial

D

biminiblue

I'm on iced tea half filled with lemonade in this part of summer. That or just plain iced water (filtered of course.)

Manta, watch out for that AV at the pub. I particularly have to be careful about talking about drama (like why I left a job) - that will get my want-a-drink going pretty quickly.

Lots of small annoyances in my life this week. I hope to survive them all.

I think if I just didn't talk to anyone it might stop. That's not really an option, is it?

Kaily:
(bringing this over from the last thread)
Your little dogs might bite off more than they can chew with a swan couple! They are tough birds! Beautiful image.

Kaily

I don't drink anywhere near enough ~ now I am sober I might add.

When I was drinking it had gone way beyond liking the taste, it was all about the quickest way to get to oblivion.

At the worst of my drinking I was adding my vodka to milkshake as I didn't like the taste and it hurt to drink but needed it, so it was a gentle way of getting it in. And bizarrely the milk soothed my painfully inflamed liver.

Now I have a three of cups of decaf tea (ha suddenly worried about caffeine) and one can of fizzy sugar free orange topped up with water. And that's it.

One extreme to another.

Got to take my Dad to a hospital appointment now and my car has no A/C! Yikes..

Thanks for the thread Mags.

Kaily

Thanks Bim.

Problem with Jack Russell's is that they like to have a go! Grrr

MantaLady

Good shout Bim! I am pretty nervous about going which has taken me a bit by surprise. Not nervous about the people and chatting just the alcohol part. I absolutely know if I had one my brain would decide I had failed after all this time, I would be sensible and just have one but would be trying to leave early to get a bottle to drink by myself after when I get home as if I am going to fail might as well make it worth it and get totally smashed. I guess I am a little angry I still have these thoughts but I’m an alcoholic so what else do I expect lol!

I know I won’t drink but I am not sure how happy I am going to be about it, it’s just something I have to go through and i’ll be thankful in the morning when I don’t have a hangover or find in my drunken state I emailed my old boss to tell him what a tosser he is lol xx

biminiblue

I did quite a bit of venting about my old boss after I left. Thankfully I didn't do any of it in writing! That would be bad.

Problem with meeting at pubs is that *someone* is going to want to make it a night - drinking. There's one in every group. "Let's have another. I'll buy a round."

Can you set a timer on your phone to prompt you to leave after an hour? "Oh, I'm going to have to excuse myself! Thanks, everyone! Bye!"

I can handle an hour in almost every situation, but more than that can become overwhelming unless it is a good friend. (Definitely NOT 5-month work acquaintances.)

andyh

better to mail him now & get it over & done with

Fearlessat50

I am loving the coffee bars popping up here, even in wine country There’s a sober revolution going on for sure

MantaLady

Luckily everyone will be driving as the pub is out of the way, has work tomorrow and most have little kids to go home to so I don’t think a rowdy night will be on the cards. x

MesaMan

.
Thursday = Landscaper Day

Our Resident Hippie Landscape Dude who lives down in the Canyon nearby shows up in an Hour to provide *Aesthetic Direction*, and a $$ Quote, on tricking out this meandering Garden plot all around the edge of the Stamped Concrete Patio out back. My job is to stand around and do nothing. I've got that schtick down, so it'll go fine. I'll pipe up occasionally re: existing Infrastructure [like Irrigation Plumbing location]. Drink Coffee. Act pretty much like those Guys leaning on Shovels around any Road Construction Project. I can handle that. Lotsa Rain here while we were on the CA Coast has caused an insane eruption of Grass and Weeds all over. I'm currently shopping for a Compact Tractor w/Mower and Attachments. Consequently, this Garden Project is MesaMate's gig.

Each Generation of Bunnies around here gets more tame, so the lil Guy seen below didn't even budge when I was 10' away. It sputtered Rain all Night. Because I washed my new Truck yesterday. Rain makes for nice conditions in Bunny World.

Diet Lemonade, Ginger Beer, and Seltzer with Cranberry Juice are currently my go-to drinks. Lotsa Decaf/Iced Coffee, as downed in Japan on Biz Trips. I'm getting some good ideas from this Thread. Because Kombucha can have traces of Alcohol that ferment up - ~0.5% - I just decided to simply firewall it and not partake. Making that sort of likely-unnecessary binary choice is easier on my remaining Brain Cells.

The few visits I booked at a local Alcohol/Drugs Shrink was to cover, and vent about, social situations involving Alcohol. Venting helped clear my Mind, and crystallize my Values/Boundaries.

'If It's Not Fun, Why Do It'? ~ Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Bumper Sticker

Now, I don't give a second thought about whether to accept such Invites or not. Any sense of *Social Obligation* is long gone. I just roll with 'what is best for my Serenity', and skip any Hand-wringing re: the decision to participate or not. Early on, I was not happy about having to bob & weave around crapola imposed by Drinking World. Long before that, I would fake a lil *jump*, and pretend to read something on my Cellphone from some critical Customer. Act like my Phone was on Vibrate Mode, and then excuse myself from some BS Corp Meeting to get a needed breath of fresh Air. Ya gotta manage those Escape Scenarios! Thanks, Mags...

Happy Sober me!

~ 'Going Up The Country' ~ 1970 ~ Canned Heat ~

stargazer016

I have become a big ginger lover in sobriety. Ginger ale, ginger beer (non alcoholic), ginger candy. It's a bold taste and is good for digestion. Never saw the appeal while drinking.

dpac414

MLD51

I'm in!

I drink a lot of iced tea with lemon in the summer, hot tea in the winter. I love really good green tea, and it's good for you, so it all works out. I get fancy Vietnamese green tea and brew it lovingly in a special little pot when I'm at home. It's kind of a nice little ritual that makes it feel like a special drink. I also firewalled kombucha. I don't really like it all that much anyway, and the risk of alcohol in it just seals the deal. I'd rather stick to non-fermented tea.

I'm starting to get excited for my upcoming trip to San Francisco and points south with my son. Reservations have all been made for a couple of months now, and everything is planned out to an extent that makes me comfortable, without being down to the minute. I have scoped out a few restaurants near our various hotels, and will be returning to a couple of my very favorites from my year living in the area, and years visiting my dad who lived there. Will be scattering his ashes in the same spot we scattered his wife's, some 26 years ago now. Should be a good way of saying goodbye, maybe some cleansing for me.