Morning, Vinny.

I am very far away from US)

Eastern Europe so to speak.

Now you say it we do seem to connect at relatively similar hours in the morning for the coffee... :)

There is snow here in the Pyrenees 1.5 hours due south of me.

Very miserable drizzly grey dark morning. I went out to bring in some firewood and thought I could go in to the fire or go jogging. Decided to go with the fire... Don't feel like being sick next week... :)
Good excuse !

We do indeed, Vinny.

Snow is gone. It's raining now alternating with some periods of clear blue sky and the sun sneaking out.

Fire sounds so cozy.

Groceries for the week is done.

I've succumbed to fruit and now I am going to wrestle with myself the rest of the day should I do cardio or not.

Business as usual.

Thanks for the link Vman.
Yep we need to be ready to quit, I totally agree. I guess that’s why all those times I tried to quit before didn’t work. I wasn’t ready so I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to make it work. I wasn’t able to go a week without drinking. Because I wasn’t really ready to stop, I didn’t want to stop more than I wanted to drink. Now I’ve managed 24 weeks without a drink :)

I’m on the opposite side of the world to you Vman and MB :) Down under it’s getting hotter and more humid by the day. I’m heading to bed now and have the aircon going as it’s too hot to sleep otherwise :) good night all

Good night, Willow.

Have a great refreshing sleep)

Maybe in Quland, S/Australia land is mild at present weather wise. I am much happier with dry heat than humid.

I have at least 5 months of miserable cold weather ahead. Blah.

Good morning everyone!

LHW, I’m very happy you’ve connected with a new friend. I bet she feels the same way.

I enjoy reading the weather updates from all over. I’ve never been to Europe in winter, but I’ve heard that there are some really great Christmas villages scattered about. This past week someone told me that Edinburgh was where they enjoyed Christmas very much with lights etc. on the royal mile.

We have house guests and I’m up before everyone to have a quiet cuppa . A crisp morning to be followed by full sun is on the agenda. After months of wretched humidity it is a day to savor.

I hope each of you has a wonderful day and encourage anyone struggling to join in for a bit of encouragement. :)

That article is pretty good, thanks for linking it. And yeah, readiness is a complete package. Everything else falls under that heading.

A few days ago my thought for the day calendar said to me, "Today I will notice my thoughts. They are creating, not just reflecting my life."

^^That's now on my bathroom mirror. I have rotating sticky notes in a couple places and they refocus me. I actually ask for that every morning, "Please guide my thinking today. Let every quiet moment be used for good."

Seems to help. Can't hurt, that's for sure.

The Dia de Muertos festival was super fun yesterday, I spent several hours there. I think I was supposed to be born to Mexican parents and I took a wrong turn. I just love the whole ancient culture thing.

Sober/hangover-free Sunday. My favorite.

One if the fellows in my office has recenty starting using that product. You can smell it as you walk into the washroom. I've been trying to figure out who by process of elimination.

:dee

By the "total sober day minus drinking days" count, I have five plus years of sobriety, minus four weeks or so of total relapse--mostly in weekend increments.

I do take comfort in the fact that I've largely been leading a sober life for half a decade. Compared to my nearly daily drinking in the time leading up to quitting, I've made great improvements and feel 1000 percent better compared to then.

But I've noticed that addiction doesn't really stop because you do. The addictive behaviors are still there, and "moderation" is like unicorn farts--magical thinking that stinks and isn't really real.

Every weekend I've had alcohol has led to a mental and physical regression. My body is increasingly allergic to alcohol, and mentally the euphoria is so short-lived as to not be worth the cost. And worst of all, I let myself down and don't live the integrity of a sober life if I'm continually looking for the next drink, even with long (months or even years at the beginning) stretches of time between drinks. And the time shortens the more you allow yourself to relapse and lump it into your total sober days.

That's why I decided to reset my count to zero and be honestly accountable for continuous sobriety. The best benefit there for me is that booze becomes less and less a focus once it is off the table. A long daily string of sober days also becomes its own incentive to not drink if you choose to reset.

That's my take on it everyone. So Day 22 for me, and grateful to be here.

Yeah, Hawk. I think re-drinking is rightfully a very humbling experience.

I concede 110% to alcohol. I waved the white flag. It won. When I quit at age thirtysomething I just quit. I didn't have any epiphanies about alcoholism, sobriety or any of that. I was an over-the-top drinker all through my twenties and I was just sick of the whole scene and sick of making a fool out of myself and people who loved me. My life was a mess and my relationships were painful.

It wasn't that hard to quit once I just made the decision.

RUL said s/he was afraid that they would have long-term sobriety and still not make it, like I stated about my 18 years. I hadn't really put a lot of thought into my quit in my thirties - I just did it and got on with life.

Picking up? I didn't give it the Power that IT had/has. I just had a drink one day, no fanfare, no prep, just picked one up. Like I said, I was able to moderate for a long time after that. Till I didn't.

It took me another four years after I had begun to drink daily again to get to the Quit again. My moderate drinking had become daily maintenance again. Now I understand the progressive nature of alcohol(ism) and I won't make that mistake of just casually picking up a drink. I don't have another drink in me. I'm making sure to stay vigilant and to guard my sobriety carefully by staying on top of my emotions and my reactions.

I remembered and interesting quote from the book "Change or die".

“pre-contemplation” (a hopeful euphemism for the time when people don’t believe that they can change) to “termination” (when the change has become complete and permanent).

I think it's important to make this travel from pre-contemplation to termination as fast as possible, otherwise there is a danger to get stuck in pre-contemplation constantly trying, but not getting to a permanent shift in a paradigm where drinking is no longer an option.

yea they do but its not so popular in the uk
but there are loads of tours around Edinburgh about ghosts

I am starting 8 weeks online fitness challenge tomorrow.

Time to buckle up.

So we went to Muddy Paws today. It may sound faguely like a rock festival of some sorts, but is a charity event where you can take your dog to socialize with other dogs and complete a 2km cross country obstacle run with stretches of shallow river (with lots of mud) and water slides for dog and handler to negotiate. Needless to say, in the end dogs are washed and humans shower before making the journey home.

lol Dragon, I am curious to know a bit more on the workings of your process of ilimation that you mentioned earlier today, but had better not ask.

Slowly sliding into a lazy Sunday evening. Well done to all who made it through the weekend. To any who may have stumbled, keep the resolve and stay close.

Wishing everyone a fabulous week ahead.

I best the Muddy Paws was real fun, Captain.

I had a dream the other day that I was in the middle of some flood.

And we were suiting up in some waterproof gear to be rescued.

I remembered that my Kindle still in my purse and I have to take it with me and somehow to protect it from being damaged by water.

So I kept repeating: "How am I going to save my Kindle?".

And that was the thought I woke up to.

The dream was so vivid it took me a few second to realize I was safe and sound and my Kindle in no peril either.

I assume now I know what's the most valuable item among my belongings)