I'm not familiar with Clangers either, Badge....I watched Toots' video but was still a little confused so I googled it! They're cute! :D

Clangers rule.

The Clangers were of a more innocent era of children's television in the UK. Helen, if you knit one, I definitely want it!! :)

Thought I'd throw this out there....I shared it with the March class & the Soberbus ~ does anyone have any "future" AV issues? Like I don't have immediate cravings, but there's a concert coming up in April....it will be out of town so it triggered my AV like Yeah, just be good for now, then you can have a few with the girls that weekend....every once in a while is okay.... It's even keeping me from saying something to them ahead of time to "keep the option open" ~ idk, maybe I'll start a thread about it....

:tyou

I just used to consider the AV lied no matter what - whether it was lying about something today or next year.

Not trying to be funny or flip but you're an alcoholic Purps - thats not going to magically go away.

D

Purpl I have to agree with Dee. I think if you are honest with yourself and play the tape forward you will know that opening that door is not a good idea. As Toots recently said so brilliantly, there isn't a handle on the other side.

Thanks you guys ~ I'll need to stay close to SR & keep moving forward :thanks

I romanticized the drinks I was going to have on a particular weekend months before it actually happened. Really weird and horrible feeling. I’ll be honest, just writing about it now makes me uncomfortable.

Purp, what Dee said.

Purplrks, this hit home for me. I love attending concerts, and spent the late 80's and early and mid 90's following bands like the Dead and Phish around the East Coast. I don't know if you know what those scenes were like, but they were intense. My brother in law is a drummer in several bands, so I also spent many nights in bars watching him play. I stayed away from shows in very early recovery, but once I got my first show under my belt sober, it's been good. I'd recommend going in your own car, so that you aren't "stuck" in a scene that gets too heavy for you. There is no just having a few in our world. It's a zero sum game. You're either drinking or sober. We are alcoholics. But you can still have a great time at concerts, and I hope you will!

Thanks again everyone ~ You're the best! :ring

Happy Thanksgiving :grouphug:

Good morning folks.

My arthritis is acting up this morning but I have no hangover so on the balance life is pretty good. When you woke up with varying degrees of hangoverness (is that a word? lol) more often than not for as long as I did you really appreciate the clear head and calm stomach in the morning. I am thankful for this every day.

Hope you are all feeling the same this morning :)

I hope everyone had a relaxing and wonderful holiday weekend. My weekend does not start till tomorrow, I am always a little behind the curve so to speak....

I know I am really lucky having a husband that does not drink, (much, 1 glass every 8 mths or so) and we do big socializers, (people must think we are boring,,,,) so drinking over the holiday is really low on my worry list. The worst enemy of that is myself, and I never needed the holidays as a reason or excuse to drink. The big temptation is all the deserts and breads that show up at work, I may have to find me a sponsor for that,,,,,,

Badge

Badge, if you can get away with it chew chewing gum at work. The thought of eating cake when you're chewing down on minty gum doesn't have the same temptation!

I hate that all the cakes and creams at Christmas time boast of their alcohol content! It's impossible to find a shop bought Christmas cake that doesn't have any in. I haven't made a cake for years as it is actually cheaper to buy, so I just don't indulge!

Hoe is everyone doing this week?

Doing okay, thanks Toots ~ AV gets playful with me sometimes so I thought I'd share......like it says "You'd better not get too much sober time, 'cause it'll be worse down the road when you do slip up" (Does that ever happen with anyone else?)

Kinda nervous about Christmas Eve 'cause I normally drink with family on that night.....better come up with a plan! :grouphug:

Doing well thanks, Toots. How are you?

Purple I remember feeling that way sometimes. AV has some awfully sneaky tricks. You are right in coming up with a plan for Christmas Eve. That was a tricky one for me as well last year as it was my first time around "drinking buddy" family members since being sober. I had a couple of allies - Mr. Troy has always supported me in this - and my brother who is an occasional drinker helped to normalize the fact that I wasn't drinking (his wife is usually my partner in crime). Is there anyone you can bring on board ahead of time to help deflect the incessant "REALLY? You're NEVER going to drink again?!" questions? Even if not, try to remember that those questions are much more about the person asking than it is about you. They can't imagine not drinking anymore because it also has a good hold on them and they don't want to lose a drinking buddy. Hope that helps a little.

Yes my AV tried the “how perfect a glass of wine would go with thanksgiving dinner” route. It was close, hit while I was setting the table, took the entire dinner to shake it. So I know to be extra ready for Christmas.

Badge

My sister and her daughter brought a box of Chardonnay to Thanksgiving dinner at my house. I put it exactly in the spot in my fridge where I used to keep my Chardonnay boxed wines. Chilled Chardonnay was definitely my wine bomb. It definitely brought up a few cravings and wishes for a glass. I have been struggling hard recently, due to many factors. Exhausted from work, depression due to seasonal changes, and I got swept up in the drama of a friend relapsing and not being able to help. I have been gliding through sobriety without much thought for a while and this has been a slap in the head for me and a reminder that I still have a ton of work to do on myself.

My advice to everyone here is to keep working on building a stronger foundation for your sobriety. This isn't a one year and done project. You need to keep working at things. Yes, the cravings wane and alcohol thoughts become less frequent and intense over time. But that urge to drink, unfortunately, will always be there somewhere in the back of the brain, waiting to pounce in a moment of weakness. Everyone here is doing an amazing job. Just remember to keep making your sobriety job one.

Keep looking to grow. Keep looking for new awakenings spiritually and emotionally and personally. Live your lives to the fullest now that you aren't simply living for the next drink. Just living a life not drinking is not living life.

Ugh. Box wine. Cheap wine. NOT a temptation.

Now a vintage champagne, or a Western Australian chardonnay, a good California Central Coast Nebbiolo that's 2008 or earlier....

I am serving the last of my wine collection and giving the rest away as Christmas presents.

Doing well this week. Studying hard for my real estate classes. Researching motorcycles, which I want to make as a new hobby. Seeing friends. Working out hard. Therapy today. Feeling good and strong.

Had a drinking dream last night, they do happen occasionally. In this one I did a shot, and immediately said "WTF are you doing?" and spit it out.

Closing in on seven months.

Life is good.

Great post Stargazer, just what I needed to hear/read. Lots of triggers for me right now, decorating for Christmas, getting the lights out, garlands strung. I associate all of these things with a glass of wine. Yes the wine came out of a box, it was just fine for me, besides boxes were easily destroyed and much easier to hide:headbange

Badge

Great advice here, thanks everyone ~ I normally don't like to be a tattletale but I figured it's okay to tell on myself. Just thought I'd bring it up ahead of time before disaster strikes.....thanks again! :tyou

Great post Star, I feel the first year is about finding ways to not drink, from a year on, it's about finding out who we are sober.

Purp, some good advice here. I always think forewarned is forearmed, and knowing the events that have bigger triggers we can plan in advance.

Word of warning to all, don't relax too much after the big scares - that is often the time AV slips under the wire unexpectedly and catches us out. Praising ourselves on managing to survive, AV then tells us to celebrate our sobriety! ( yes you can not drink, so now you can have one!! Er, no AV! )

Mindful, I convinced myself that because I could afford decent alcohol, that I was an afficianado rather than a drunk. I wasn't, I was just a drunk with good taste and the pockets to afford it. I hate drinking dreams, they hit rarely now, thankfully, though still have the ability to discombobulate me for the whole day when they do. Seven months is great.

Have a great sober week.

Holidays are simply new milestones, new ways to build sober muscles. I think of how many weekends I've now spent sober, plus social events, BBQs, yardwork, leisure time ... At one point all these seemed insurmountable; today, not as much.

Amazing what we can achieve once we set our minds to it eh Rascal! Great going.

This is my last night as a true Undie tonight :)
I'll be an Over when I'll wake up tomorrow morning.

This "One Year and Under Club" has been a very rich thread through the months for me.
Sincere thanks to all of you for your shared posts and precious advices.

Have a good weekend guys :tyou

Excellent work Koala👏

We are so proud of you, CK! Congratulations! :c011:

Congrats CK on a great accomplishment!

Congrats CK!!:nyaa

Thank you Rascal for the post, its what I needed to hear/read. This has always been a big drinking time for me, not the holiday parties, but the decorating, wrapping, things along that line. Which have always been done with a glass in hand, so I associate all with drinking. I think because of that i am having a hard time getting motivated to do the latter, I just sit and stare at the tree thinking it looks just fine without any decorations on it, just lights. Plus I absolutely hate putting the stuff away, so I know the more I drag out, the more work I make for myself,,,,,, such issues,,,,,sigh.

Badge