Yes definitely.

Ah the hoarding thing, keeping it just in case........well just in case is going to kill you.

I'll let you off for exchanging $10, $20, or whatever a box of wine costs, in order to make you a better life where you are not sneaking around.

I'm all for making it harder for yourself.

I'll tell you about my husband, he hoards stuff. I do to but he's much, much better. I found some 16 year old oatmeal in the kitchen. This would have been bought back when he was on a limited income. They didn't eat it. He also buys several different types of cleaner, forgets he's bought them, buys more. Stuff separates to the point where it's useless. Food spoils, other stuff gets in the way, so it's moved around from place to place and time is spent working and cleaning around it.

None of that is being wise.

I ate the 16 year old oatmeal just to prove a point. Boy it had a wierd taste.

Anyhow, if it helps save your life and brings you success it's more than a fair trade.

I also reckon he knows something is going on, people just aren't daft.

Okay UKblonde you had me rolling on the floor ...you were lucky it didn't have bugs...but that just would have been more protein (at least that's what my mom would tell me).

Thanks I need a good laugh!

Jaba

Well, a successful weekend in that I didn't totally over-imbibe and practiced a little bit of self-regulation! Yay me! While I want to reduce my daily intake of al to one-two drinks, the real driver for me going on nal is to eliminate the horrible out-of-control binge nights I have every couple of months. They exclusively happen on weekends (or vacations, which are essentially an enlongated weekend to me...), so whenever I make it through a weekend without incident I am relieved. The binges almost ALWAYS happen when we go out with others... In analyzing the situation, I think it's because I can get away with drinking more because my husband's attention is divided. Anyway, we went out for dinner with family Friday night and I drank the wine/beer/cocktail pairings that came with the different courses. I did not finish them all because I didn't favor them. Mindful drinking.... Prior to TSM, I would have consumed every last drop, whether I liked it or not, because I would want to drink as much as possible AND I because I paid for it wouldn't want to waste it.

Then Saturday we went out for dinner again (I spent all day making 10 gallons of homemade tomato sauce with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law) and we bumped into some friends. I had a glass of wine while waiting for our table, 2 glasses at dinner and thought we were leaving. However, we decided to go to the bar beneath the restaurant with our friends for one last one. I didn't finish it! And I didn't do what I normally do with this couple... which is completely over-imbibe! (There are always those people that seem to bring the drinking out of you....) I'm so happy I was able to recognize that I didn't need to chug with them and keep it under control!!!

And finally, yesterday was a bit of a test for me. Hubby left for an overnight golf tournament and the kids are at the exes houses, so I was home completely alone with no reason to get up in the morning. Normally I would drink wine until I passed out.... 1.5 - 2 bottles would be the norm for a night like that for me. Last night I had 4 glasses while reading and watching TV. I didn't really want the last one, but drank it out of habit. When I realized it, I made the conscious decision NOT to refill my glass mindlessly unless I really wanted more wine. I didn't!

Another thing I did was delete the series "Intervention" from my DVR recordings and stopped the recording of new episodes. I would watch them almost obsessively, alternating between shaming myself for recognizing some of the behaviors the addicts exhibit and congratulating myself for being nowhere near as "rock bottom" as they all are. Since the show only seems to support the Minnesota Model to treat addiction, I realized that watching it ultimately resulted in me always feeling bad about myself and my inability to always be able to self-regulate my alcohol consumption. No more! I'm doing TSM and will no longer fill any of my free time watching others struggle through their addiction going through detox/rehad/12 steps. More room on the DVR for "Scream Queens" which I'm watching my my teenage daughters.

Baby steps....

Wow, well done Minnemom on the mindfulness, it's interesting when that kicks in!

I'm FORCING the mindfulness on myself! Much to my own chagrin... If I hadn't read so much about others here on the board practicing mindful drinking, it would've not occurred to me. At least not this early in the game. I don't always have the willpower to exercise mindfulness, but I am working on it.. Thanks for the feedback!!!!

it sounds like you've made a great start MM - keep up the good work

-badger

Mindfulness has nothing to do with willpower. It simply means to be aware of what you're doing. Drinking to the point of inebriation, and being aware of what you're doing goes out the window. Nothing wrong with baby steps.

You're so right, G.... I guess what I'm struggling with is combining mindfulness AND willpower. So many times I can say, "Do I really want this drink?" and I answer myself, "no!" But then go pour another one anyway.... I not only need to be able to ask myself the question and answer it, but to also have the willpower to act on that.... That is where my baby steps come in... I wish I could ALWAYS answer, "no I don't need it" and then walk away from the bottle. Not there yet....

Minnemom,

That was me, and then one day I realized I really did not want it and I needed to do an af day. It was just habit keeping me drinking and nothing more, for I did not enjoy it anymore, it didn't taste the same and I wasn't getting buzzed from it!

You are so early in the game and doing wonderful, just keep up the mindful drinking and then the nal. will be your "will power" and you will walk away from that drink and that bottle!

Jaba

I don't know how to feel about this past week. No real change in my consumption, though I've kept it at the low end of my weekly average. Wish I had more to report, but not feeling very good about the past two weeks since starting Nal. I'm so envious when I read other people's posts about how they felt something immediately, that the al tasted/felt different from the get-go. Not for me... it still feels really good taking that first sip. And that first sip tastes as good as it always has. I wonder if I'm one of those people that Nal doesn't work for? And I've been religious about the golden rule. In fact, I'm preparing to take my Nal in about an hour (11 am) because I'm going out for a lunch date with my husband - RARE!!! The restaurant where we had our first date (also lunch) 7 years ago is closing next week, so we decided to return to the scene of the crime... Anyway, there may be a glass of champagne involved... or not. Either way, I just want to be prepared/

Anyway, like I said, not feeling very good about my (lack of) progress.... I was hoping I would feel something... just one little thing by now - just to show me it's working.