Had 35 people for Greek Easter yesterday, and didn't have a drop!

[bif]

I kept myself busy/distracted grilling the lamb and spent a lot of the time in the kitchen prepping and doing dishes. I'm learning tricks to help get me through events like this. And the bar was in the living room, so I tried to stay as far away from it as possible. Out of sight, out of mind, right? In the past, I would sneak a few swigs of wine, but I totally abstained yesterday.

[underpants]

1. Good job.

[mr_lebowski]

2. Congrats!

[KPN]

3. Way to go!

[Mersky]

4. Well done!

[blm]

5. Mmmmm - grilled lamb

.

[randr]

6. You should be vry proud of yourself!

Not everyone is aware of how hard that can be or how important for ones recovery.
Thanks for sharing.

[bif]

7. Thanks. It does seem to be getting better.

I'm learning what situations to avoid. Eventually, I hope I'm comfortable all the time. But I'm still skipping events that I'm uncomfortable at. And my wife is very understanding.

[onecaliberal]

10. It gets easier by far.

[CTyankee]

16. Istopped my modest intake of wine when I was having horrible intestinal problems and thought

it was a "bug" I caught on a cross country flight I had just taken. That was on Halloween. Saw my gastro doc the next week and he ordered up a blood test. The blood test said my liver enzymes would rise when I drank any alcohol and went down when I didn't. If I didn't stop, he warned, it could lead to cirhossis, which killed my beloved sister in law. That was enough for me!

I missed my 5 pm glass of white wine, a kind of ritual my hubby and I had every day, and he decided to stop, too, in order to support me.

It's been great! No intestinal upsets. I feel better. I am eating better. I have gained back the weight I lost (this "has to happen" doc said). My clothes fit better.

I hear you with your strategies. My strategy is to remember those awful intestinal issues. As my hubby said "Your liver worked fine until it didn't." That's about the size of it...

[secondwind]

8. Wonderful!!!

[irisblue]

9. Good for you.

[OregonBlue]

11. Way to go. It not only gets easier, you feel better all the time.

[rurallib]

12. Been there myself. Mucho congratulations

It sure ain't easy. Be very proud and keep it up!

[ChiTownDenny]

13. Yesterday I made Galaktoboureko,

marinated a leg of lamb (new recipe--loads of garlic, red wine, oregano, rosemary, lemon juice and evoo), and made Roasted Red Pepper Hummus (which is better the next day and not Greek but everyone likes it). This morning I made Spanakopita, and the lamb and potatoes are in the oven as I type.

[ChiTownDenny]

15. Um, at first glance I thought this OP was about Greek Easter.

Upon re-reading, allow me to say congratulations for abstaining.

[Pepsidog]

14. Stay strong and reach out for help when you feel the urge.

[fierywoman]

17. Minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day is how you do it: bravo!

[wendyb-NC]

18. Good for you!

Keep up the resistance, it will get better.

[nvme]

19. Congrats! Soon it will be as if the problem never existed

So long as you keep in mind that you can show others how they can do similar. Makes sense?

[Karadeniz]

20. Keep up the good work!

[democrank]

21. That took some determination!

Good for you, bif. Well done.

[shenmue]

22. Kalou Pascha

[FailureToCommunicate]

23. Opa! To paraphrase the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers: lamb will get you thru times of

no wine better that wine will get you thru times of no lamb!

Congrats on making it thru that day bif.

[bif]

24. True that! Thanks!

[Stuart G]

25. Congratulations!!!!

[snowybirdie]

26. Yeah!

Keep on Keep in on!

[samnsara]

27. trial by fire and you passed! Great job!

[applegrove]

28. Great. Be proud. After a while it will feel easy to ignore.