Woot woot!!! Oh....and come join us in the Class of February. :)

So, what are everyone's favorite things to drink when they're not "drinking"?

During the week I drink only water, and the weekends...usually only alcohol. What's good?

What is that, Badger?

Keep getting sober and sobriety on the forefront of your mind.

The drink has a way of making us forget.

M-Bob

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/newcomers-recovery/404947-class-february-2017-support-thread-part-2-a.html

Not sure if the link works. ..but on the same section as your post.

I wish I had started being sober so long ago. (day 4 atm)

-Think about you will feel after the vacation. Do you want to feel like you are starting all over, especially if you generally fall into depression after drinking (like I do).

Or do you want to feel like you already hurdled of the biggest challenges going into this new phase of your life...

I like sparkling mineral water with a dash of apple juice and a twist of lime. Chilled.

Also don't lose sight of that this is your decision. What I mean is: own your sobriety. It's yours.

Found it..thank you! Happy to be joining.

This is an amazing point. Thank you!! Honestly, I feel if I can make it through that...I could do anything!

Hi RuralJuror - I just read through your whole thread. You got some terrific responses - and I'm so glad you didn't get defensive or frustrated. Very proud of you for seeing what needs to be done and taking action. You'll never have the regrets & remorse that many of us carry with us - you will be free.

Thank you! I am so happy to have found SR, and want to soak up all the information and suggestions that I read and am given. Doing it my way has led me here...so it's time to get help!

This place is amazing, I seriously am riding high just thinking about being sober. I think I just needed people to tell it to me straight.

You will always find lots of support here, and I'm glad you are reading and learning. Making the decision that you drinking is no longer an option, ever, will allow you to begin healing in recovery.

RJ
I decided to finally quit full stop and for once didn't let the fact of a boozy vacation coming as another chance to put it off , for a 'better' time. It's definitely doable , and you certainly can.
Truth be told , I wasnt the happiest camper, quite the opposite, but I made decision and was hell bent on sticking to it. After that week I made another decision , I was going to stick with my first decision and decide that I could be a happy camper too :), I realized the pissiness was coming from the deprivation of the addiction( the beast the desire for alcohol) I wasn't depriving myself, I am giving myself freedom , health, peace of mind all great things not taking anything good or worthwhile for my life or happiness.
You can give yourself those same things and forgo the pissy part, but even if it feels uncomfortable , at first, don't not give yourself the good things. Starve the beast, It will throw tantrums and scream about being deprived, let it, let it remain uncomfortable, what has indulging Its desire ever gotten you, what price does It ever have to pay? IT doesn't get hangovers, shame , guilt loss of control, those we have to pay, stop paying the price for IT, you deserve to have the good things the healthier live enhancing things.
Starve it out! You got this.
Welcome aboard, btw :)
Come back often, read, ask, post and come back often
My first time on SR I saw mention of RR/AVRT and those ideas helped me to solidify my resolve to quit full stop and for good. There are great threads on these ideas here on SR in the Secular Connections forum.
Wish you welll and hope to see you around

Thank you!! I will check out those additional resources, and keep your words in mind. Much appreciated!!!

does this approach work or are you sabotaging yourself , you ask.

wouldn't have worked for me, though i tried it many times, which is why i know it didn't work for me.

but no, i don't think you are sabotaging yourself, since you are planning to drink on vacation. where would be the sabotage?

i did set a date, last time i tried, and with my reasoning being much like yours, i chose a date after an upcoming vacation (vacation without others drinking, but couldn't fathom ANY vacation without drinking).
suddenly, though, i just couldn't wait to be rid of this sick thing and ended up quitting before the vacation.

This is EXACTLY how I've come to feel in the last 24 hours. Thank you!!

Welcome to SR!

I first stopped on dec 17th, then I thought oh yeah what about Vegas in March? We are going to Vegas for my wife's friends bday, 18 of us going and it was booked way before I decided to stop, so I told myself this is a break, I won't drink until Vegas, but then all bets are off, well it's now 30 days until we leave for Vegas and I already made up my mind a long time ago there is no way I'm drinking then, I think in the early days tho the thought of being able to drink then somehow helped me keep going and stay sober just by telling myself it was only a break and it's not like I could never drink again, but after about the 3rd week I made up my mind that I can't drink again.

I totally understand what your going through thinking about making your first sober weekend the same time as a vacation, that's a tough one for sure, but you can do it, and you have to be brutally honest about it with your husband and friends in my opinion, I told everyone I know on day 3 that I stopped drinking and they can either support my decision or get lost, I thought it would be way harder but to my surprise everyone has my back, and I never told anyone they can't drink just because I'm not, go on and have your fun, but for me I just can't do it anymore, this is about me not anyone else, you can do it and it will get easier all the time.

I didn't find this place till day 48, I wish I had found it sooner, I enjoy reading people's stories and learning from everyone here, good luck and I'm sure you'll still have a great weekend.

By the way about your gastric bypass surgery, all I've done different in the last 66 days is not drink on the weekends and I've lost 27 pounds already, nice little insentive to keep going.

Maybe if you don't buy any booze and opt out of the winery/ brew house tour you and your husband could get away just the two of you one of the days on vacation and use the money you saved for a couples message or dinner together?

I have to admit I'm of two minds on this. I see that you posted, in BOLD, that you aren't going to drink on your vacation. I think that's fantastic! If you are committed to that and you have made up your mind, you can absolutely do it.

I know for me that I wouldn't have been able to quit for the first time in that environment. You have already said you aren't going to cancel the trip, which I totally understand. Others will disagree with this, but I'm more in agreement with Rich88. My advice would be to talk to your husband about your concerns. Let him know you don't want to be drunk and hung over the whole trip. Set your date, after your trip, but don't let it be an excuse to throw caution to the wind and binge on your vacation. If you do that you could end up doing what I did on my last trip with friends and end up not remembering much of it.

This is only my opinion. Others here have a lot more sober time and their advice is valuable. I will add that I joined SR when I was your age, it took me ten years to totally commit to never drinking again. You don't have to follow that path. I hope you have a safe, happy, healthy vacation.

EDIT: I'm editing this post without deleting what I originally wrote because I think it's OK to admit I was wrong. I just read all the comments on the second page. I'm excited for you just imagining how great you will feel after a three day vacation relaxing and not putting any poison in your body. You CAN do it, and you will be so happy you did. Welcome to the SR family.