Old habits DRY hard! It's DRY JANUARY thread #2... newcomers always welcome!

[HPLikecraft]

Here we are, a shiny new thread to help us stay dry.

Thread one has been great and supportive; and thread two will take us through further challenges and milestones. Hop aboard; you're all doing brilliantly!

Had a really nice lunch but a bit paranoid that my nosecco bellini was the real thing - despite me having made a point of ordering from the mocktails. Could have just been psychosomatic but passed the second half to my mum as a precaution. I am classing DJ as intact still.

I love this thread! It is so supportive and non-judgemental.

@Champagneforeveryone it sounds like DJ has been a bit of an epiphany for you. Deciding to separate is always a difficult decision. Be kind to yourself.

Dragged the kids and the dog out for some fresh air today. Went on a long walk, then took them to the local park. Popped into the shop on the way home for milk. The temptation to buy a bottle of wine was strong! I resisted, but don’t feel any better for it.

I’ve realised that I’m replacing alcohol with food. I am hoovering up sweets, biscuits and crisps without even enjoying them, much like I usually do with wine. It seems I have replaced one bad habit with another. Going forward I need to eat more mindfully. That is my target for the next two weeks.

Just ducking out of a birthday meal to take a breather. Everyone is knocking the wine back. It's a big family thing (not mine) and I am feeling a bit spare partish and not knowing where to sit - whether to help etc. this is exactly the sort of situation that makes me reach for the wine. Got to grit my teeth and see it through! I won't crack but wine has never looked so appealing

Good luck @lemonsaretheonlyfruit - that sounds challenging. Just keep picturing how pleased you’ll be tomorrow if you manage to resist.

Also, can I just have a rant about how god damn HARD this is sometimes? I know it’s only a month but oh my goodness I’ve struggled so so badly at times. I expected it to be tough and it is extremely tough. I was a heavy drinker at 70-90 units a week, but I wonder if even “normal” drinkers would struggle with DJ - or whether they’d sail through with ease? I don’t know any moderate drinkers who are doing DJ, probably because they feel they don’t need to.

I'm with the family. Really envious of my mum's glass of red but staying strong.

@Champagneforeveryone - hope you are ok. That sounds really hard
@Stickywhitelovepiss - fantastic poem - you have set the bar high
@lemonsaretheonlyfruit - stay strong. I went out to a birthday meal last night and was ok until I got home with quite pissed DH and felt simultaneously smug and jealous.

@HPLikecraft - thanks for the face pics - have been doing intermittent selfies in DJ - at least I look cheerier if not actually less red.

Sorry for not name checking everyone else - hard to keep track even when sober.

DJ song to be sung to tune of "Valerie" by Amy Winehouse. Have to admit I found this a v tricky one to do as melody and rythyms are very irregular so apologies if it doesn't scan quite right plus sorry for "staying merry" - not much else to rhyme with sherry (who even drinks sherry anyway - just me probably when hoovering up left over Xmas drinks ...)

Well sometimes in DJ just one glass
It is quite a large temptation
But I think of all the other DJ ers
And in my head I paint a picture

Cos since they stopped the wine
Well their skin has been so clear
And they’ve not had bad headaches
And they’ve just drunk AF beer
Splashed out on Sentia
To have a GABA reverie
It makes me stop and reach for a cup of tea,
Cup of tea, Cup of tea, Cup of tea.

I’m determined not to fail
Neck a pint of pale ale or drain a glass of sherry
I hope we’ll all get to the end
I hope we’ll stay sober & we’ll stay merry
Maybe we’ll eat a lot of cake
And not loose too much weight, it could be scary
But we won’t drink no more wine
We will dodge it all the time ‘til February

Why don’t I have another tea, cup of tea, cup of tea ……

@freshstart2023 I would say I was a pretty moderate drinker but frequent- so a glass or so a night- most weeks around 14 unit or so - it's not been as hard as I thought

@Champagneforeveryone I just wanted to add to what everyone else has said and wish you all the best with your decision. I agree that drinking can mask a lot of what is really going on in our lives - when you stop it can be quite an eye opener. Strength and hugs and as a previous poster said, be kind to yourself.

Having experienced a migraine yesterday and the urge (fully indulged) to eat a packet of Lidl's finest triple chocolate cookies, I am not sure I am gaining anything from dry January.

Been at the inlaws this afternoon , OMG I could so easily have had a glass of wine when we got back , even DH says they’re hard work !
Instead , I’m on the posh clementine tonic mixed with sparkling water in a nice glass

I’m no poet , but I make nice cakes
Heres one for us all to share this evening

I'mapplauding poem, lyrics and cake like mad here!

I'm out of the danger zone...DH is working tonight and I'm alone with the kids and no booze in the house! Should be ok during the week...next weekend is the final DJ weekend! 🎉

Excellent work @Veryfishy and @Cherrymix!!

@Veryfishy @Cherrymix 👏👏👏

I’m hoping to be in bed by 9 tonight - I honestly think that channelling so much willpower on a regular basis is leaving me exhausted.

Phew home and going to reward myself with a 0/0 San Miguel (new favourite).

Someone sent me this today. On so it's from the awful DM but very topical for this thread ..

www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11658319/amp/Does-SENTIA-actually-work-alcohol-free-drink-promises-drunk.html

Thank you so much to you all for your messages of support 💐

I'm ok, very sad but oddly calm about it. It helps that I am the main wage earner, no young DC as DS is now away at uni and the house is mine. DH is devastated which is hard going, but I need some real solid, concrete change before I will reconsider. I'm just hopeful that he will also have some sort of clarity while not drinking and commit to serious changes - time will tell but he doesn't have a great track record 🙄

I'm afraid I have nothing to add to the talent night. I'm currently sipping mint tea (it's the only herbal tea I've found I can actually bear) and trying to sort out DM's PoA - she's reluctant to engage but has acknowledged that the only person who will be inconvenienced by not having it will be me as usual

Congratulations to all still dry and commiserations to those struggling ☕️

Not a huge amount of entrants into the talent competition (there's still time, folks! Whap out the watercolours and knock something up!) but I'm so impressed with our 3 entrants so far. And here's the 4th, mine:
We've lived in the wet, but can survive just as well dry, so I knitted a frog! He's not quite finished yet as I'm knitting him a jumper, too, but here's Froggy!

Hopefully we'll have a few more before midnight! But please send in your votes tomorrow morning and we can announce a winner.

BTW, the end of today takes us to...

68%

of the way through! This is monumental. However well you've done so far, well done!

Loving the entries. And @Champagneforeveryone - best wishes to you.

Not much time but here's my DJ Haiku:

Water, clear as glass
Clear as my head and my heart.
Quiet surrounds me.

Grand. The talent show was modestly participated in, but hopefully more generously observed. The entrants were:
@Stickywhitelovepiss with her excellent DJ poem

@Cherrymix with her DJ version of "Valerie" - a vast improvement on the original, I have to say.

@Veryfishy for her gorgeous looking cake for us to share. That's going straight to my hips.

@me for my frog

@PermanentTemporary for her crisp and keenly observed haiku.

Who gets your vote?

Dammit, I feel like a mum with her children here... like it wouldn't be fair to pick a favourite! I'll sleep on it.

All winners in my eyes. 👏

I don’t think I can pick one - I love them all.

They are all brilliant! Well done!
I love the serenity of the Haiku, But I also enjoyed singing along to the tune of Valerie, and Sticky’s poem is ver entertaining. The cake looks amazing and the frog is an adorable mascot. So in short you are all talented and I can’t choose!

So day 22 is here and we’ve completed three full weeks.

I can’t believe I’ve come this far. Thanks again to all of you for your support - I would have given up weeks ago without this thread.

I’m planning to have a day at home doing chores today so should find things easier. It’s when I’m out that I really struggle and feel miserable.