Proud to be Sober? Dying for the next drink? Weekenders 11 July - 15 July 2019
Member
Join Date: May 2018
Posts: 8,762
I’m so glad for you that your kitchen is clean dpac. Great achievement. I wish mine was.... I have never had a good relationship with housework. I really wish it would do itself. Or the fairies would come along and clean my house while I slept....
Magsie
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: UK
Posts: 26,666
Dpac, I get what you mean, alcohol was always my first priority and a few months after I stopped I changed the light bulb in the fridge which had been out for a few years! Just simple but for me a turning point. Well done on the cleaning. I got a shark vacuum and I can’t praise it enough, even though my husband uses it more than me! 
Kaily I reiterate what everyone says, I love your photo, sorry you didn’t make the competition.
Kaily I reiterate what everyone says, I love your photo, sorry you didn’t make the competition.
saoutchik
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: London
Posts: 16,200
Originally Posted by Mags1 
I changed the light bulb in the fridge which had been out for a few years!
Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 25,373
Heh. You guys.
Sao built a car. A whole frakkin car, and he jokes about not figuring out the fridge light.
dpac, cleaning your kitchen is huge. At one point I was teetering on having way too much stuff and not caring. It was after my parents died and I had brought back a leetle too much stuff of theirs as keepsakes. There were piles, because I didn't have anywhere to put the stuff. One day I just said, "Nope, gotta go." Once I started it was easier to get through the rest of it. New vacuum sounds fantastic. So does a home-cooked meal. Self-care is so important. Well done.
We like hearing all about you guys. Success stories are the best, dpac. For those of us who gave up on our lives while drinking, every success is monumental.
My issue on the construction is getting fixed Thursday. One step closer. I can't say enough good things about the young foreman. He has been really responsive and helpful. Only lost his temper about 46 times.
I had too much caffeine late in the day yesterday and now I'm up at 1:30AM and can't sleep. Just like the old days when newly sober. I know better with the caffeine! Iced tea with lemonade, though!
Sao built a car. A whole frakkin car, and he jokes about not figuring out the fridge light.
dpac, cleaning your kitchen is huge. At one point I was teetering on having way too much stuff and not caring. It was after my parents died and I had brought back a leetle too much stuff of theirs as keepsakes. There were piles, because I didn't have anywhere to put the stuff. One day I just said, "Nope, gotta go." Once I started it was easier to get through the rest of it. New vacuum sounds fantastic. So does a home-cooked meal. Self-care is so important. Well done.
We like hearing all about you guys. Success stories are the best, dpac. For those of us who gave up on our lives while drinking, every success is monumental.
My issue on the construction is getting fixed Thursday. One step closer. I can't say enough good things about the young foreman. He has been really responsive and helpful. Only lost his temper about 46 times.
I had too much caffeine late in the day yesterday and now I'm up at 1:30AM and can't sleep. Just like the old days when newly sober. I know better with the caffeine! Iced tea with lemonade, though!
Not sure if it's funny or weird. Goats in trees...
Mr
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: FRANCE
Posts: 5,230
Hello weekenders.
Sao excellent
Great pics too.
Take care weekenders
A little 110th street :
https://youtu.be/KtzRJgZG98I
Sao excellent
Great pics too.
Take care weekenders
A little 110th street :
https://youtu.be/KtzRJgZG98I
Member
Join Date: Jun 2019
Posts: 689
dpac414 - really well done on cleaning your kitchen. I think that feeling of joy and relief at 'order' is a significant part of the reward we get for no longer living in the chaos of continual low - or high - level drunkenness.
Willow 68 - thank you for your motivating reminder to those of us (me definitely) in the early days of sobriety.
And as others have said, Kaily, that is a great photo.
Lucinda - sounds like you have a really lovely MiL but definitely not one to have around in the early days of sobriety. I would almost certainly have had a drink with her and thus ruined, in seconds, my new much better life. Don't let yourself do that now!
I didn't realise you could post on the weekend thread after the weekend. Thick or what!.
Willow 68 - thank you for your motivating reminder to those of us (me definitely) in the early days of sobriety.
And as others have said, Kaily, that is a great photo.
Lucinda - sounds like you have a really lovely MiL but definitely not one to have around in the early days of sobriety. I would almost certainly have had a drink with her and thus ruined, in seconds, my new much better life. Don't let yourself do that now!
I didn't realise you could post on the weekend thread after the weekend. Thick or what!.
Sober-T- Dragon
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Manitoba
Posts: 8,759
Nice getting the kitchen done dpac. I find I get bursts of energy and will tackle a project like a mad man. Then the energy dissipates and I do nothing for awhile. It used to really bother me that I could not sustain what I defined as a productive level of activity at home. But I have learned to go with the flow. Heck I work all day.
Speaking of being productive, I gave fluffy puppy a hair cut last night. I swear he's five pounds lighter now.
Sheep shearing....
Speaking of being productive, I gave fluffy puppy a hair cut last night. I swear he's five pounds lighter now.
Sheep shearing....
Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Colorado
Posts: 3,474
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Boy, a Hat Tip to that *Mission Statement* Post from WeThinkNot. Mighty inspirational! I really enjoyed that Pic, Kaily. A fellow Alkie I met at the local Dog Park does Handyman work around here, and keeps Bees way off in a corner of our Mesa, here. I don't go anywhere near them; especially since it appears a Bear got into the Hives recently. My kinda Wildlife was called 'College'.
I put together an Ad quickly to sell my prior Truck over the Weekend, and it looks like we'll close the deal this Thursday at the motivated Buyer's Credit Union in another Town. Kinda like really cleaning up a Joint when you move, I've whipped the Truck into show condition. I have the sound sleep patterns to prove it.
Leading me to bolster what dpac accomplished. In Effortless Sobriety, I find a great deal of Serenity comes from really digging down, and getting select things done. Precisely as I want them done. After all, there is a hyphen in A-R.
Me, I used to put the 'Pro' back into 'Procrastination'. There was no time like the present to get hammered, and promptly lose all motivation. Now, when I'm cleaning up the Truck, I'm only cleaning up the Truck in total focus. All the other Mental Signal-to-Noise malarkey that feeds drinking away problems and frustrations is mentally shoved back to irrelevance. This, then, leads to the Inner Satisfaction that permeates dpac's stellar Post.
Rinse and repeat such successes. I find that Sober Life with such lil victories pretty much then takes care of itself. And, in this pending stretch of 100 F [38 C] Degree Days, it's time now pre-Sunrise for Truck Vacuuming and Coffee!
Sunset after Rain last Night...
~ 'Why Can't We Live Together' ~ Steve Winwood & Carlos Santana ~
Boy, a Hat Tip to that *Mission Statement* Post from WeThinkNot. Mighty inspirational! I really enjoyed that Pic, Kaily. A fellow Alkie I met at the local Dog Park does Handyman work around here, and keeps Bees way off in a corner of our Mesa, here. I don't go anywhere near them; especially since it appears a Bear got into the Hives recently. My kinda Wildlife was called 'College'.
I put together an Ad quickly to sell my prior Truck over the Weekend, and it looks like we'll close the deal this Thursday at the motivated Buyer's Credit Union in another Town. Kinda like really cleaning up a Joint when you move, I've whipped the Truck into show condition. I have the sound sleep patterns to prove it.
Leading me to bolster what dpac accomplished. In Effortless Sobriety, I find a great deal of Serenity comes from really digging down, and getting select things done. Precisely as I want them done. After all, there is a hyphen in A-R.
Me, I used to put the 'Pro' back into 'Procrastination'. There was no time like the present to get hammered, and promptly lose all motivation. Now, when I'm cleaning up the Truck, I'm only cleaning up the Truck in total focus. All the other Mental Signal-to-Noise malarkey that feeds drinking away problems and frustrations is mentally shoved back to irrelevance. This, then, leads to the Inner Satisfaction that permeates dpac's stellar Post. Rinse and repeat such successes. I find that Sober Life with such lil victories pretty much then takes care of itself. And, in this pending stretch of 100 F [38 C] Degree Days, it's time now pre-Sunrise for Truck Vacuuming and Coffee!
Sunset after Rain last Night...
~ 'Why Can't We Live Together' ~ Steve Winwood & Carlos Santana ~
Giving up is NOT an option.
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Western Wisconsin
Posts: 7,808
Good morning!
I just got caught up on the thread. I tend to not look at SR much on the weekends, but generally get caught up when I'm at work, supposed to be working (shhhhh - don't tell anyone). Lots of good stuff!
Congratulations on 1000 days, STDragon! It's a very nice milestone. When I hit 1000 days I was in Bali, on a women's recovery retreat, so it was fitting.
Mariposa and Vman - sorry you are going through rough relationship times. As we enter sobriety, I have found that the status quo in relationships gets rattled up a bit and there is an adjustment period. Everyone is trying to figure out how to navigate things anew - sometimes we even realize a particular relationship doesn't really work anymore, or that it's going to take work to save it. I went through that with my man friend. We are ok now, better than ever, actually. It took time and we even broke up for a while. The most important thing is to take care of yourself and your sobriety above all. Drinking, as we all know, doesn't help at all. Things have a way of working out the way they are supposed to if we stick to taking care of our own side of the street.
I have been feeling extra gratitude for sobriety lately. Maybe because summer is a particularly challenging time for me to be sober. I haven't actually wanted to drink in a serious way, I have just been having more thoughts than I usually do. Partly that is because of the weather, and the large number of festivals, celebrations, and other events where alcohol is present, and partly because I have been very busy with my house projects and other stuff and I'm not taking as good of care of myself as I should. I'm not getting my hiking done this summer, and that's an important thing to me. I must make an effort to get out into the forest soon.
Dpac - I completely understand your kitchen cleaning pride. I had neglected housework a lot when I was drinking (well, I neglected a lot of things). I'm still not the best at housework, because I really don't like it much, and I'm so busy that I don't have a lot of time for it. But when I did start really digging in and deep cleaning different rooms in my house, I felt more pride than a clean room really warranted. It was symbolic to me every time I cleaned something - I was cleaning out the past, in a way. A fresh start. A chance to stand back and admire a job well done. I didn't have many things to be proud of in early sobriety, but I could pat myself on the back for cleaning out a closet. (On a side note, I also have a Shark vacuum and steam mop, and recently also bought a Shark hand-vac for doing stars and other tight spots. I love them all so much.)
I just got caught up on the thread. I tend to not look at SR much on the weekends, but generally get caught up when I'm at work, supposed to be working (shhhhh - don't tell anyone). Lots of good stuff!
Congratulations on 1000 days, STDragon! It's a very nice milestone. When I hit 1000 days I was in Bali, on a women's recovery retreat, so it was fitting.
Mariposa and Vman - sorry you are going through rough relationship times. As we enter sobriety, I have found that the status quo in relationships gets rattled up a bit and there is an adjustment period. Everyone is trying to figure out how to navigate things anew - sometimes we even realize a particular relationship doesn't really work anymore, or that it's going to take work to save it. I went through that with my man friend. We are ok now, better than ever, actually. It took time and we even broke up for a while. The most important thing is to take care of yourself and your sobriety above all. Drinking, as we all know, doesn't help at all. Things have a way of working out the way they are supposed to if we stick to taking care of our own side of the street.
I have been feeling extra gratitude for sobriety lately. Maybe because summer is a particularly challenging time for me to be sober. I haven't actually wanted to drink in a serious way, I have just been having more thoughts than I usually do. Partly that is because of the weather, and the large number of festivals, celebrations, and other events where alcohol is present, and partly because I have been very busy with my house projects and other stuff and I'm not taking as good of care of myself as I should. I'm not getting my hiking done this summer, and that's an important thing to me. I must make an effort to get out into the forest soon.
Dpac - I completely understand your kitchen cleaning pride. I had neglected housework a lot when I was drinking (well, I neglected a lot of things). I'm still not the best at housework, because I really don't like it much, and I'm so busy that I don't have a lot of time for it. But when I did start really digging in and deep cleaning different rooms in my house, I felt more pride than a clean room really warranted. It was symbolic to me every time I cleaned something - I was cleaning out the past, in a way. A fresh start. A chance to stand back and admire a job well done. I didn't have many things to be proud of in early sobriety, but I could pat myself on the back for cleaning out a closet. (On a side note, I also have a Shark vacuum and steam mop, and recently also bought a Shark hand-vac for doing stars and other tight spots. I love them all so much.)
Giving up is NOT an option.
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Western Wisconsin
Posts: 7,808
Good luck on getting the truck transaction completed smoothly, MesaMan!
And I identify with what you said about focusing completely on the task at hand, as you did when cleaning the truck. I do that also, and I find it a sort of meditation. It's calming to me to immerse myself in whatever project I'm working on. Like when I trimmed the overgrown hedges in front of my house a couple of weeks ago. I put my mind to it, didn't get distracted, and got it done. I felt so calm and pleased when it was done.
And I identify with what you said about focusing completely on the task at hand, as you did when cleaning the truck. I do that also, and I find it a sort of meditation. It's calming to me to immerse myself in whatever project I'm working on. Like when I trimmed the overgrown hedges in front of my house a couple of weeks ago. I put my mind to it, didn't get distracted, and got it done. I felt so calm and pleased when it was done.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2019
Posts: 93
Beautiful photograph, MesaMan. What does A-R mean? All I can think is accounts receivable, but there is no hyphen in that. Is is alcohol recovery? Dpac’s accomplishment gave me the incentive to clean out a drawer. I have about sixty percent of that drawer in the pile for donations. You are all right. Do the next right thing, one thing at a time, and it will get done. But I truly hate housework. I guess that’s next, ugh. I will attempt one task, and hopefully that will lead to the next one. Thanks to everyone, again.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2019
Posts: 93
Oh, and Bimini, I am sorry you were up at 1:00 in the morning. I am glad your construction project is going okay. I started out yesterday feeling so happy, then went downhill fast in the afternoon. I slept for about ten hours last night, but still feel foggy (no pun intended) and tired today. I guess that’s about right for very early sobriety.
Giving up is NOT an option.
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Western Wisconsin
Posts: 7,808
"Do the next right thing" was one of my mantras in the beginning. It was overwhelming to try to think about the long-term back then, so I just concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other, and doing each small thing to the best of my ability. Oddly enough, that approach, which I found absolutely necessary back then, really stuck. I still do it. Life is easier if you try not to think too far ahead most of the time. Less anxiety and worry. Just line up the things you need to do, do them one at a time, do the best you can.
Giving up is NOT an option.
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Western Wisconsin
Posts: 7,808
And also, Foggy - really common and OK to want to sleep a lot early on. I was sleeping 12 hours a day sometimes at the beginning. Your body and mind are trying to heal. Sleep also conveniently uses up a lot of time, which in the early days leaves less time to obsess about drinking. It took a couple of months for me before the fatigue really got better.
Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 652
Originally Posted by Rose335
Lucinda - sounds like you have a really lovely MiL but definitely not one to have around in the early days of sobriety. I would almost certainly have had a drink with her and thus ruined, in seconds, my new much better life. Don't let yourself do that now!
The timing was poor and it knocked me for 6 if I am honest. This coming weekend we are away for a family wedding and guess who is sharing accommodation with us!
Never mind, I may be more resilient by the weekend. Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 652
Originally Posted by Foggyriver
I started out yesterday feeling so happy, then went downhill fast in the afternoon. I slept for about ten hours last night, but still feel foggy (no pun intended) and tired today. I guess that’s about right for very early sobriety.
saoutchik
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: London
Posts: 16,200
Good stuff reading this thread, some great posts and great pics, too many to comment on them all.
Thanks for the sentiment about the car bim although building a whole car was stretching a point.
I am off to a region called Teeside tomorrow for work, it is 200+ miles north of London on the east side of England. I will be staying the night and then I will be making a speculative visit to a company in a town called Mansfield in the Peak District which is south and west from Teeside. The last time I went there was Autumn 2014 when I was still drinking and in a really bad way so there might be some mixed emotions. I am not seeing the same people which might be for the best.
Thanks for the sentiment about the car bim although building a whole car was stretching a point.
I am off to a region called Teeside tomorrow for work, it is 200+ miles north of London on the east side of England. I will be staying the night and then I will be making a speculative visit to a company in a town called Mansfield in the Peak District which is south and west from Teeside. The last time I went there was Autumn 2014 when I was still drinking and in a really bad way so there might be some mixed emotions. I am not seeing the same people which might be for the best.
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