Hi, all, ....a little surprised you guys are still here. Great! II survived Manila........it's like Bladerunner but with worse traffic and a bit more rain. The alcohol is everywhere and insanely cheap. If you really, really, want to drink yourself to death on coins, this is the place.

I'm asked to bring back a couple of bottles of Borocay Coconut Rum. We have a taxi adventure to several very seedy back street booze shops in Manila to find. I'm looking at the scenery, and thinking. " This really doesn't stop does it?"
But Ms Canguy is an organiser......I get packed up and fly back. The rums get handed over, unopened. Who'd wanna drink that sh*t anyway?

Hi to class,,,,,you are doin ok , impressed

Hi everyone,
Congratulations on 7 months this week PalmerSage! Awesome job :) So happy to be on this journey with you.

Hi Strawberry :) Great job on 2.5 months!

Hi Canguy, I'm glad you made it back and are doing well. It's good to see you :)

Hi Bob and everyone else :)

Emme, Canguy, Palmersage, Strawberry-I am doing a lot better now. My cardiologist appt. was changed to late this week, so I'll check in again after that.

I'm here, too! It is bittersweet to me when I see the Dec. 2017 Class. I can't believe how far we have all come. December seems so long ago and I have changed so much from when I hit my rock bottom mid December. I can still feel how much I was hurting right before Christmas and how I promised myself a better new year. It hasn't been easy but, it is worth every sober day. Thanks for being there!

So great to hear, ChloeRose! I agree, December seems like a lifetime ago...

Hi, PalmerSage!
Good to see you on the Class of December 2017 Thread! Summer isn't as difficult of a time in recovery as I thought! I am getting stronger and better at cooling my cravings. I am coping with stress alot better, too. Not relying on the bottle of wine or 12 pack of beer to make 'it' all go away. Most of my stress and anxiety is imaginary. Being sober helps me recognize that fact!
Hope you are doing well, too! I will start posting more often so we can make it to one year!!:)

Thinking of you Bob and hoping your appointment went/goes well.

Hi Chloe, PalmerSage, canguy, Strawberry, Dee and everyone else :)

I'm glad it's Friday. It's been a long week, not necessarily bad, just long. I had a drinking dream the night before last, which was different as I haven't had that happen in a while. Grateful when I woke up that it was just a dream. I had an appointment last Saturday to get my dog into the vet for her Bordetella vaccine but I forgot about it until Sunday afternoon so I am taking her in tonight. She hates going to the vet, so I have a bag of treats ready and hopefully it goes ok.

I hope everyone is doing well and has a happy weekend :)

Hi, emme!
It is so nice to see you and everyone from our Dec.2017 Class. I just sat down to relax from my sewing project. I am making a 'jelly roll rug' for the first time. Lots of sewing round and round. You can 'google' it if you aren't familiar with it. Just finished (well, almost) a Quilting Challenge from the National Quilting Club. It was one block for 8 weeks. They are posted on Facebook. Fun way to make friends. I have been slowly getting back to my real self. I am a shy, intelligent, creative and caring person. I can't believe that alcohol changed me into such a selfish, angry, ugly person for so long. Glad to be sober! Have a great day!♡CR

Hi all. Sorry Chloe, was not an intentional snub before. And I would never think of you as selfish or angry. Thanks Emme. Was nice to read that you were thinking of me.

You know, I've been trying the July class, but it's just not working. Makes me feel like I'm starting completely over and I don't feel that way. More like a learning process that goes back to December with a couple weekends that I've learned from.

Anyway, was supposed to get checked out by the cardiologist this morning. I got there and he told me my insurance would not pay for the tests he was going to do for another 6 days. Sounded a little weird to me, but I'm not going to question the cardiologist that I've been seeing for 23 years. I've seen this happen with prescriptions before, but never a diagnostic procedure. And I have health insurance that most others are jealous of. So my appt. is now pushed back to Aug 1st. All I want to know is whether my heart is recovering, or has crossed into a more degraded state. The continued waiting is not fun. There are some days when I think it must be getting better and other days when I think the opposite. Oh well, thanks for reading :)

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Bob, I'm so sorry to hear that your appointment/procedure was delayed, that must be super stressful! The good news is, you've stopped drinking, which definitely can't hurt the situation and is likely to help significantly.

I get what you mean about the July class, I think part of it is the group that you "click" with, and part of it is feeling like you're in a different stage of recovery than people who are just quitting now, for the first time. I would suggest that you consider posting in both (I post daily in January, but this is my "real" class since I quit on 12/18). Or maybe I'm just convinced that "more is more" when it comes to SR. Recently, I've needed to double down since my AV has been making some really bad suggestions!

It's so good to hear that everyone is really hanging in there and doing well. Chloe, your new hobbies sound very interesting and cool. :)

Thanks Palmer. Since I don't read January, how did your housing situation work out?

Hi, bobdrop! Yep, you belong here with us. Consider December 2017 as the foundation of your starting point to really start focusing on recovery. Your attitude of committing to the path began here and it is "home base" for us. We feel at home here no matter what! ♡CR
PalmerSage...my interesting hobby just got more interesting...I 'sewed' thru my fingernail on my sewing machine this morning! I was so focused on my stitching that I forgot to move my finger out of the way!

Just stopping by to say hi y’all I miss you all hopefully everyone is good

Congrats to all you guys for the continued fight :)

D

Thanks Chloe!

Hi everyone,

I googled that 'jelly roll rug' Chloe, they are beautiful and that looks fun, I need to start on some craft projects :) I've been saying that too long I just need to do it. I hope your finger is better, that sounded painful.

I'm sorry your appointment got delayed too Bob, that must be frustrating. Glad it will be here in not too much longer.

Hi Nichole, it's good to see you :)

Hi Barbs and everyone else :)

Sorry, I had kind of a stressful weekend and I'm going to vent a little. Most of you know my mom passed away in January. I know it's been almost 8 months but it's still kind of a day by day thing, some days are ok and some days are hard. Last week, my dad connected with a woman he dated prior to dating my mom, which I am not necessarily happy about but not opposed to either because I want him to be happy and he is not. When I talk to him on the phone, I can hear in his voice he isn't happy. Anyway, he is moving extremely fast with this woman and wants her to move in with him and they haven't even met in person yet. When they dated, it was close to 55 years ago. I just feel like it's way too fast and my parents' 50th wedding anniversary would be in October and I'm just not sure what I am supposed to be feeling. I talked to my brother, which helped, and he thinks they are moving too fast as well. He talked to my Dad about it yesterday and we are going to talk to him together on Friday. Also, my birthday is Friday and I am already thinking about drinking. This will be my first sober birthday in as long as I can remember and I'm pretty sure I'll make it, but I'm irritated at myself that I'm even thinking about it. It feels like it would take some of the stress away, but I know it won't.

I hope everyone is having a good day/evening :)

Good Morning, Class!
Emme, check out Craftideas.info for some inspiration! Also, joann's or Craftsy.com
My finger is just fine! Thanks for your concern!xxoo
Don't worry about your father. He is a grown man. Just let him know how much you love him and how much you care.

Hi, bobdrop! How are you doing?
Hi, Nichole! Sending you lots of love!♡♡♡
Hi, barbs and anyone else from the Dec. Class...we are still here for you!!
Come join the Birthday Party on Friday...no alcohol allowed but, bring on the fun!:)

Happy Birthday, emme!:birthday:bc1:a122:

Emme, happy birthday!!! And as far as your dad is concerned, I think you are right to express your thoughts, but since he is an adult there is probably nothing you can do. I guess it's a good time to practice that detachment that comes with sobriety, the ability to let go of the things we can't control, and of course, that becomes most things when we really think about it. Hugs to you in any case, I can't imagine how difficult it must be. :grouphug:

Bobdrop, you asked about my house, thank you! Construction has not yet started, due to the back-and-forth with insurance, but we found a pretty comparable place near our neighborhood. It's like a slightly dilapidated mansion, nothing we would buy but it definitely meets our needs in the short term...probably about 6 more months or so.

I'm doing well, exercising and eating better, although as always...too much restriction with food always tips the scales towards alcohol cravings. It's something I'm very aware of and actively working on, so hopefully it will continue to work.

Thank you Chloe! :)
I’m glad your finger is better :) I will check out those sites for some craft ideas. I must have liked a craft page on Facebook too at one time because sometimes crafts show up on my Facebook, which is a good thing. Yes, my dad situation is better, it was just bothering me that day, thanks for the advice :)

Hi everyone else :)

I hope everyone has a Happy Friday and a good weekend :)