Afloat

Lest you think otherwise, I'm a feller! None the less I found myself in tears reading this - it is just how I felt. We need, occasionally, to remind ourselves just how awful it all was. Thanks for your post Tanja.
Day13.

sadsoul2011

Dominica - Welcome! Glad you could join us! You've come to a truly special and supportive place!! We're an active group - if you have a chance you may want to read back over previous threads (if you haven't already)

Goodcheer - "Peace, Love, Understanding" -- Love It!!

Tanja - I do the same thing as needed I do try to use it sparingly though because otherwise I feel horrible and hopeless. It helps me to remember the bad briefly (I can bring up the negative feelings quickly; like snapping my fingers the bad feelings can be in the pit of my stomach, make my heart pound and swell my entire chest - I've had so many bad memories for so long).

HOWEVER, THEN, I immediately change my mind to good thoughts (spend time envisioning the exact type person I want to be, run down all the positives from not drinking, think back over all the good advice and wishes from everyone here). By the time I finish that exercise I'm in a pretty good place...

You are working so well on your recovery Tanja! Your progress is encouraging. You should feel great BTW - how is your doggie doing? Is he feeling better?

Hope everyone is having a great day! I'm actually getting a few things done and off my desk - imagine that. Maybe all the talk about procrasinating has been working on my brain Don't know, but I'll take it LOL.

Deserto

Sadsoul, yes I did get the proposal done finally, though I had to stay up late to finish it.

General, yeah I've always been a procrastinator. I think with drinking though I could "forget" about what I was procrastinating on for a while ... sober, I have to deal with that procrastination all day long!

I need firm deadlines to get things done. I'll still wait until the last minute to do it, but without a deadline things can hang out in the ether for a very long time.

But the good news about procrastination is you find some interesting things on the net. I was laughing hysterically at this for a while last night: Damn You Auto Correct! - Funny iPhone Fails and Autocorrect Horror Stories

tanja

Sad, that's another good technique to remain motivated! Envisioning the type of person you want to be! Visualing . Affirmations are good - I'm becoming strong - I do not drink, alcohol is poisen - I hate alcohol - I am good to me. Identifying potential triggers and coming up with alternatives. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is essential in retraining the brain to think more realistically. Examining the role alcohol played in your life and kept me from reaching my goals. I am trying to develop a arsenal of tools to maintain sobriety.

My doggie is fine. She's back to her wild and crazy self

alaskasunshine

I laughed myself into hysterics...Thank you. I needed that!

Damn You Auto Correct! - Funny iPhone Fails and Autocorrect Horrhttp://damnyouautocorrect.com/or Stories

philb

Hello everyone. Welcome Dominica2 and congratulations on your sobriety! I grew up in Houston and used to spend lots of time in Galveston. Do you know Gaido's restaurant? I wondered if it was still around. Killer seafood.

This day started off way to fast...alarm clock, running around to get dressed, freeway, overload at work....Its lunch hour. There is a nice park up the street. I'm going to take my lunch out of the office and just sit someplace green and peaceful to unwind (as green as you can get in downtown L.A. that is).

I'm really looking forward to tomorrow. We are heading off to Palm Springs for a long weekend of R&R. Its a great little town with all kinds of outdoor activities. Horseback, riding, hiking, hot air ballooning (if you have never had the experience its awesome). One place in particular we love and hike in is called Indian Canyons. It is on tribal land owned by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. The scenery is awesome and its a great time of year to hike there. I don't recommend July-September when its 110 every day. I don't know if its ok to post links in the forum (?) but this is what the place looks like. Its totally cool Indian Canyons - PalmSprings.com If links are discouraged I apologize, I didn't know.

Thus this will be my last check in until Monday as I am turning off all things computerized for three days. I haven't vanished on a three day binge :-) Already checked into AA meetings out in the desert. There are alot of them, so I'll plan to attend each day....besides you can usually get good tips for places to go at out of town AA meetings. I will actually really miss checking in with you all for the next three days and look forward to picking up on Monday. I think I'll have to start with the last thread as knowing this great and supportive group there will be mulitple ones between now and Monday morning.

Thus Sadsoul, Tanja, Boozefree, Dee, Littlesparrow, nvrbeentospain, Goodcheer, General, Alaskasunshine, Deserto, General, Gerbosko, Honeypie, Zenzen, debinaweb, cardio, afloat, yvrguy, seethoughblue, sigma, gr8ful42day and Dominica. If I missed anyone I really apologize it certainly wasn't deliberate. I wish you all a peaceful, happy, sober three days. Each and every one of you totally rock! If any of you should encounter blips or troubles over the weekend, I send my thoughts out to you.

"See" you all on Monday!

sadsoul2011

Aaaahhhhh, day is almost done (on the east coast at least ) What does everyone have planned for tonight? What about for the weekend? What are we all doing to stay on track and sober??

I'm hoping this weekend will be a tad more relaxing than last weekend. To stay on track I plan to run on Friday and Saturday, read/post on SR, cut down on sugar and get come rest. Maybe I'll be able to get some reading in too....

Couple of quick notes:

Afloat - Congrats on Day 13 How are you feeling?

Deserto - Yeah for you! Proposal done - great to get that finished before the weekend Loved the link! Thanks for sharing.

Tanja - Oh, so glad to hear about your doggie. You should put a picture of him up. Bet he's cute!

PhilB - Have a wonderful 3-day weekend. Sounds heavenly! And, it sounds like you have everything planned out well - right down to your AA meetings. You'll have so much fun! Make sure to come back and tell us all about it. We'll "see" you Monday!

Goodcheer - Hope you're having a good day? Must be busy.... Make sure to check in later and let us know how you're doing.

Hello to All! I gotta get moving toward home for the evening - will check in later...

Gerbosko

5 pages already?!

I'm back from my jog and drinking my whey protein, so I'll be back later to read / reply. I just wanted to post a (semi blurry) picture of what it looks like from the top of that "hill". I stopped in middle of my jog to take the picture, JUST for SR



Full size picture is HERE

Dee74

welcome Dom - welcome to you too afloat

phil we don't allow links with vested interests, and we usually don't allow commercial links...but we try to operate on common sense - and you're clearly not trying to sell anything lol.

Looks like a great place - have fun!

your neck of the woods looks great too Gerbosko
D

sadsoul2011

Well - thank you!!! So beautiful. Seeing the hill from the top really shows just how steep it is. I imagine that going down is much, much more fun! LOL We'll talk to you later!

alaskasunshine

I have a very strong urge to drink right now. I stopped taking my antabuse, as I was getting headaches and thought that might be why so I stopped on Saturday. Maybe that was just an excuse, i think i was setting myself up for a relapse.
Its lightly snowing, and cold. We are heading into the darkest, coldest time of the year. And here, once again, I am, asking myself how am I going to deal with it. I wish I could escape, even for a weekend. Go someone warm. Palm Springs sounds nice Phil!! If I could wave a magic wand I would have an airline ticket show up on my desk. I would head for the airport in the morning and fly direct to somewhere warm, like vegas or arizona or california. Stay in a hotel with a pool. Lay by the pool and read books like crazy. Go to an AA meeting or two. Have dinner in a resteraunt with an outside patio. Sleep. Get a massage. Yep, thats what I would do if I could. However, reality sucks!! Its snowing and cold and I have no airline ticket or money to buy one.
Well, I think I am just rambling. It's lunch time, I need to go out. I am afraid I am going to the liquor store. :-( Why do I do this??

sadsoul2011

Dee - I want to send you a BIG THANK YOU!! It is wonderful that you're always checking on us and lending your support. The advice and insight you have is always spot-on. Your contributions are so appreciated!!!

honeypie

Hi Guys, I have been reading and reading...your posts are amazing. Funny that among us there is something we can all relate to, outside of our desire to stop drinking, you know! We are all human, we feel better in "tribes" - even if we're "loner" types we still find solace in SR or other "community" places.

Sharing our woes, philosophies, fears, accomplishments, ups and downs...it is so nice to be able to do together.

Gerbosko your running trail looks so awesome. I am jealous. Enjoy!!

And as for keeping October members straight - LOL - it's so true. Certain names I thought were men, turned out to be women and vice versa. And time zones? good grief!

I am going to an AA meeting tonight. I may or may not "share" there. Last time I didn't and I felt like people were waiting for me to say something and I almost felt guilty about not talking but I steadfastly refused to feel pressured. We'll see about tonight.

You guys are the best! PS ALASKA we posted at the same time. Are you OK??

sadsoul2011

Alaskasunshine - STOP in your tracks Sit down. Take a really deep breath or two. Now - Thanks for posting and letting us know how you're feeling!

You know you don't really want to go to the liquor store - or you wouldn't be here! Your AV wants to twist you and talk you into going.... It is scared because you're succeeding and it is getting left in the cold. Your AV is whispering lies and a bunch of crap to you.... You won't feel better if you go to the store. You know how horrible and ashamed you'll feel if you listen to it.

You've come so far - don't turn back now. What can you do right now to shut it up? Is there an AA meeting you can go to? I don't remember if you have a sponsor yet? Think about your earlier meetings and all the progress you're making in your recovery. Think about your bible study class! Think about your kids - how proud you feel about yourself when you don't drink.

You don't need booze to make you feel better! It doesn't work anyway!!!

More in a minute.....

honeypie

Alaska are you okay? you do NOT need to go to a liquor store. Can you go to chat?

Sigma

Please don't Alaska, hang in there with me. I suggest mild exercise and a few tans (buy the by the tan if ya want). This will help elevate your Vit D and positive mood.

I had the AV kicking in on the way home (My Witching Hour). I just kept changing the subject in my mind to what was right in front of me; the car ahead, whatever. It worked pretty well.

Hang in there.

sadsoul2011

More (I wanted to post the first part in case you were still on-line reading... )....

Have you checked HALT (hungry, alone, lonely, tired)...... I understand getting down in the winter when it gets dark etc... I have to tell you something my mom told me years ago because I was always bothered by it getting dark so early too:

"If it didn't get dark early we'd never see the beautiful Christmas lights."

That was a turning point for me (and I was horrible about the short days). It got me thinking about all the good that comes in the winter....

• You don't have to do much outside/yard work - no mowing yeah!
• It's a good reason to curl up on the couch in comfy clothes with a good book or movie after dinner - what else is there to do
• It's ok to go to sleep earlier... (to me anyway haha)

I bet you could come up with a couple of good things about shorter days. I love that we can kind of hibernate a bit if we want and of course I love to be in cuddly, warm clothes

What can you do starting tonight to help get through the weekend.... I know you have AA but what about at home. Can you get a BUNCH of movies and your absolutely favorite snacks to have a movie day. Set yourself up in front of the TV with all the must haves (including SR close by) - don't forget your fluffiest pillows and softest blankets. Or, if you want to get out of the house - how about a walk and then coming home and having takeout. Do you like to cook? You make something fun (fondue or a picnic in the living room) for dinner or something covered with a ton of cheese - melted cheese - yummy! And - if you really want to be somewhere tropical - rent movies set by the ocean, turn on all your lights and crank the heat up! Put on your shorts and flip flops, paint your toenails a cool color and enjoy!

You know that you can do this! Picture where you want to be Monday morning....How do you want to FEEL on Monday morning! You're in control and you know where you want to be. Lock your AV in the closet and enjoy your weekend!

Keep posting to let us know how you are!!!!!!!! We care!!!

p.s. If you did happen to end up at the liquor store at lunch - it's not too late. Get rid of anything you may have purchased - give it to someone right away or dump in a trash can where you can't retrieve it. Not worth worrying about the money - money much better spent if you DON'T drink it. It is never too late!!!!

Dee74

There's some great advice here alaska - I know you can do this

D

honeypie

I went to chat, just in case Alaska was there, and I ended up chatting with other SR users and they were really nice to talk with. It is such a great tool when you are craving.

Bye for now, back later, hang in there Alaska, I know how you are feeling, we ALL do!

Deserto

There's like 960 pages on that Autocorrect site, Alaska. You could spend the whole afternoon and evening just giggling hysterically if you wanted to.

Hang in there. I know the darkness is tough. The clouds rolled in here a few days ago and my mood sank with them. But you can do this! One minute at a time.

Please post again and let us know how you are doing, good or bad, we're here for you.