Missy7

Happy Fourth of July Aprillers!

We celebrated yesterday and I did so without drinking. It was great! I even sent my little daughter (23) to the store in my truck with my credit card for my beer (Corona) and she came back and they drank it. I made a s'more, played with my grandkids, made a NICE barbecue come together and we had probably the best fourth we've had in years.

I woke up this morning unafraid--even though I fell while playing tennis ball yesterday. I swung for a bad pitch and hit the infield ground--which is pretty hard and scratchy. Oh, and I did this sober . But I'm not too bruised and am really looking forward to going to a HUGE rodeo today in St. Paul Oregon. Imagine that hung over...wandering through a town so parked up no one can get through, jostling, etc. Sober though I don't dread it at all. Yay.

Also, because I'm sober, I was gardening the other day and found a nest of baby rabbits--which permitted a wonderful moment. I didn't tell my granddaughter (just six) about them and took her and her mom (my daughter) out to that part of the garden and started poking around in the bushes. Afer a minute we could see on and I said, "see the baby rabbits?" She "oohed and ahhed" just as you would expect and my daughter and I were talking when suddenly she cried, "I caught one!" and she was holding a baby rabbit. We screamed, "Put it back, careful," and all. The rabbit went back into the herbs and my granddaughter will remember that moment forever.

All this instead of sitting on the couch nursing a hangover...

Thank you SR.

ttqttfg

Great job indakut & Missy7

I'm not sure what I'm doing today. My wife has to work so I'm off with the kids. Maybe see a movie and try to stay cool. It's only supposed to be 100 degrees here today.

So I've now got 90 days under my belt. Wondering what the next 90 will be like. Guess it can only get better right?

Happy sober 4th everyone.

T

lovetorun

Congrats on 90 days ttqttfg!

(for some reason I can't find the clapping smiley...so you get the dancing smiley instead)

sos22032

Congrats everyone on the progress you are making. I'm starting day 75 and running late this morning. Don't want to go back to work after the long weekend. Had a good time with no booze involved anywhere. Seems almost magical that when I stopped drinking, so have others around me.

I'm working on losing weight and exercising more. Took a 4 mile bike ride around Lake Accotink which had a couple of tough hills. It was a code orange air day and I thought I would have to stop but made it.

Running late so I can't post much today, but wanted to check in with everyone.

Have a great day folks.

Lee

Missy7

Congrats to you long-timers.

I want to comment on SOS's statement about everyone else quitting drinking around us. My family has always drank quite a bit at parties--particularly the fourth of July. We had eight adults this weekend. My 26 year old botanist daughter showed up with a gallon of sangria and left with probably 4/5 of it to go to a lake party on Sunday. My little daughter bought 12 bottles of beer and the botanist and her boyfriend took one of those with them. I forced the two eldest men to drink their beloved "pretty drink--vodka diet pepsi." My husband is being good about that. He would just no drink with me, and maybe I'll eventually let that happen, but for now I'm afraid that he eventually will tell me I "made" him quit drinking so when the occasion arises currently, I insist he drinks.

But that means that, again, eight adults, and we drank: 1/5 gallon of Sangria, 11 beers, and two Vodka diets on the 4th. That's technically about 17 drinks total being very generous with the Sangria. Divided among the seven drinkers that's about 2.5 each--starting at about 3:00 and ending at 11:00.

THAT'S NORMAL! So my stopping being crazy lets them be normal. And remember, I'm pushing the "guys" to drink.

It's not easy and it's not a joy ride, and I will never be sure it's forever, but I am pretty happy about it.

ttqttfg

Man I want a drink so bad right now. I don't know what's different today. I didn't have the best day but I've had worse since stopping.

Usually I can get past it. Eat something, get my mind off it somehow but not today.

Thankfully I'm home now so I guess I'm home for the night. I just want to crawl in bed for the night but that won't happen.

Well hope tomorrow is better.

How is everyone else doing?

Missy7

Hey ttgttffhh...I'm sorry you are struggling, but I so understand your temptation. But at ths point you know how to say no, so you will. I guess we can want something we can't have, right?

I'm going out with hubby tonight just because it'll be amusing and he needs to get out, and I'm a bit worried but I have the bartender trained to start me with tomato juice and follow that with pepsi. I'm confident that I can do it. And I KNOW you can.

See ya tomorrow.

ttqttfg

thanks missy. hope you have fun and aren't too tempted.

Dee74

Congrats on your 90 days ttqttfg...

sorry you're struggling today...it seems to be pretty common around 90 days...whether it's PAWs or whether it's just the occasion, I don't know...but you can get through it... I found saying to myself todays no different to yesterday helped a little

D

ttqttfg

thanks Dee. yes I'm doing better. guess I wasn't paying attention to the HALT idea. I was hungry and after eating I felt better. also I was some what angry and upset about work. and I am very tired lately. I've been staying up too late and haven't been sleeping well (as I'm typing this at 11:15 pm). so I need to keep an eye on that.

I also checked out that link you posted about PAWS so i'll read up on that.

how are you doing Dee? we never ask how you are or what's happening with you.

well off to bed. glad I made it through. hope tomorrow is better.

Missy7

I sat through karaoke and didn't drink. It was actually pretty fun, but there was a moment at about eleven when it became repetitive and I just decided we had to go home. Phil was okay with it and we went home and to bed.

I'm loving going to bed sober. I'm loving waking up sober--even though I don't always feel great. For instance, I'm very tired today. But I am going to do my walk--without the dog.

If we had been drinking last night, we would have stayed till the place closed and then might have moved to the next bar--that was pretty typical behavior. We would have spent $80 or $100 instead of $22. We would have driven through some awful place after for grease. Instead, I came home at 11:20, had a bite of leftover dinner rice because I was starving, brushed my teeth, washed my face, (neither of which got done drunk) and climbed quietly into bed. Lovely.

Perhaps the thing that is most interesting is that at that moment when I pulled the plug on the evening, I would earlier have upgraded my alcohol to provide more energy. What a stupid idea. Then I would have thought each tired attempt by this group of increasingly intoxicated crooners had some kind of value. And most important, when still drinking I would have gone on Wednesday on the absolute condition that we not go Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. But I would have caved and gone each of those other days because it had been "so fun." Now I'm clear that it's not really fun and I've already conceded to my husband's interest this week and I simply don't have to go again.

Phwew. I know it seems ridiculous but it has been a hard habit to break.

Now, where did that pink cloud go?

And Hi Dee--wherever you are. I hope you are feeling well.

ttqttfg

Good job Missy! Glad you had a good time. Did you get up and sing?

That is something I have never done (karaoke) and would never do unless I was pretty drunk. Get up in front of people. And if I did I would make a complete a** out of myself. So I guess I will never do karaoke.

That's one of the reasons I drank, or at least told myself I drank. Because I am a shy person and that would loosen me up and allow me to have a good time. But like I said, I eventually turned into a complete stupid a** and made a fool out of myself. Then no one invited us over or wanted to be friends. Go figure.

T

Missy7

Hi there. No, I didn't sing. I have to have had some serious alcohol to sing. But Phil sings--even sober. So he can actually go, not drink, and sing. And he's okay. On a few songs he's very good, but he has this idea that he has to sing every song from the charts in the 1970s, and it just doesn't work. I'm a supporting character.

But I'm insisting he drink right now, just because he does not have a problem and I don't want to hamper him. He does loosen up after one drink, then after two he switches to diet soda. So we have really gotten to a good space.

Yeah, I don't want to be the drunk woman anymore. I know what you mean. And I am afraid it has affected people's views of us.

Dee74

Thanks ttqttfg - I'm back to normal now...I think

D

Missy7

Morning Aprillers. I'm at day nineteen and am looking forward to the weekend without terror. I'm thrilled about this. I don't have to drink this weekend. Even if others do. I'm not saying it's not a challenge and that I cannot screw up, but I don't feel like I will.

Just to make sure I stay strong, I'm about to submit my information to women for sobriety. I hope to find a consistent group I can work with. Yay for me! Yay for all of us.

Dee74

hope everyone has a great weekend

D

lovetorun

Hello all...just want to say hello, hope everyone is doing well. I've been without a laptop for a few days and won't have it back for probably a week, so it is hard to read and post. I'll be back though, eventually. I wish you all peaceful, sober days!

ttqttfg

Hi everyone.

Very quick and exhausting weekend for me. It's going to be a very, very busy week and I'm already tired.

Went to my parents home (4 hrs away) to help them with their 50th anniversary celebration. We're throwing a party in our town this weekend.

So that's why it's going to be so busy and tiring.

How is everyone? Did you have a good weekend?

Looking forward to hearing from each of you.

Terry

ttqttfg

How's everyone doing?

I made 100 days. I believe that matches my longest ever being sober. Guess I'll quit keeping track so closely now.

Gearing up for another busy weekend. Got family coming into town today and tomorrow.

But that's followed by a nice quiet week (at least at home) as all my kids will be out of town. This used to be the week I would go out and drink a lot (mainly I used to just drink at home). So it's probably going to be a very boring week.

T

Dee74

Congrats on 100 days Terry

D