Sorry everyone. I have been super rubbish at my blog this time around, and it has already been four months! I think the main reason is that I am not really learning anything new, beyond what I learned last time. Well, that’s probably not 100% true, but more on that in a minute.

So how has it been going? Alcohol wise, extremely well. I haven’t been missing it at all really, and like last time I have been really enjoying it and finding it liberating. Anywhere we have gone I have driven, and it has not even entered my head that I am missing out.

Takeaways wise, I have had two takeaways this year; one was this week when my friend andrew popped over unexpectedly, so we had a chinese, and the other was a few weeks ago when I drove back from wales late, and we had an indian. I enjoyed every. Single. Mouthful. And I think that is the difference, we would normally have a takeaway most weeks, and it wasn’t a treat. These two occasions felt like proper treats!

One new thing that I didn’t really have last time, is that I genuinely don’t know what to do when the year is up. As I say, I am really enjoying not drinking, but I also can’t face the thought of never having a glass of red with a roast, or getting giggly with my friends over a bottle of fizz. Buuuuut, that’s eight months away, so something to keep pondering.

Again, apologies for the lack of updates, but at the moment, it’s going really well. I promise I will update you again soon!

January has finally ended. I thought it was going to last forever! The afterschool pick ups are getting lighter, and spring feels like it might be round the corner.

Its been a busy time at work and I have been away a few nights a week, which always takes alot of organisation in terms of prepping healthy food and making sure everything is sorted at home, before I bugger off and leave Guy and Joss to it! Although, I have heard a rumour that guy and Joss have been getting fish and chips when I am away….

I must admit, it’s sometimes quite nice to have some time away; I can do longer days at work, go to the gym, and get some early nights in. Last year, this would also mean a nice glass of wine, while catching up on the trashy tele that Guy won’t watch with me! Obviously this month, that has not been the case, but I haven’t felt any less relaxed. I think I have slept better and I have been able to think more clearly. I think this isn’t just down to ditching the wine, i think it is also staying off the takeaways. I have felt so much better eating healthier food, and I have enjoyed planning meals and feeling more organised; even managed to shed a few pounds!

I have had a few really fun nights out this month, and went for a fancy meal for a friend’s birthday, where I thought not having the matched wines would be horrific! As it happened, the food was amazing and I had a great time. Turns out the food and the company make it, not the wine…. Who knew?! It also means that everything is easier. I have been able to just drive everywhere and not have to worry about cabs or lifts, which is very liberating.

Also a nice surprise this month, is that payday rolled around and I still had money in the bank, which NEVER happens!

Another surprising thing is that I have missed the takeaways more than the booze! But is has made me realise juat how much we were relying on convenience food. But, i did it! One whole month down!

Thank you all so much for the encouragement and support over the past month. It’s so nice when someone gets in touch to say they are enjoying my posts. I particularly enjoyed it this morning when a friend said to me “I love your blog, and I would guess your favorite word is twat”! Yes. Yes it is! Have a great week everyone!

So sorry for not posting for a while. I don’t know where these past two weeks have gone?! We are nearly in the middle of January already; mad!

I’m not going to lie, this week has been an absolute twat, and I have thought several times that a nice glass of red would help ease the situation. Sarah gave me an amazing tip in 2020 which was to ‘play the film to the end’. This helped me enourmously last time and has been the one thing that has kept me sane this week. Having a drink wouldn’t make my week any less shit; to the contrary, it would mean I still had to deal with everything, but with a fuzzy head!

Last weekend was interesting too. One of Sarah’s Thoughts For The Day last week was to make sure I have a plan for the weekend. Well…. That didnt happen, and I fell into the weekend feeling stressed and tired. Friday night was ok. I had some Alcohol Free (AF) beers (lucky saint, they are lovely!) and had a friend round to play board games which we do every Friday. Although we ended up just watching tele! Saturday we had a slow start, then the three of us went swimming. We ended up spending the whole afternoon at the pool, and when we got out at 5pm we were all shattered, and starving. Driving home, guy chirped up with “shall we just get a takeaway?” “That sounds like a great id…… Oh BOLLOCKS!” was my reply. Never have I wanted a Chinese more than that moment!

So we went home, I popped some fish fingers in the oven, and some waffles in the toaster (this tip has actually changed my life btw….) for Joss. Then I looked in the fridge and there was nothing in there. So guy went off to the supermarket to get something for dinner. All fine, and no takeaways. Brilliant.

Then we sat down infront of the tele and I started to finally chill out a bit, but really really wanted a glass of wine! I told Sarah this, and she reiterated the point that, for the first few weeks at least its about breaking the habit, so doing the same thing but without the booze will be really hard. As will not reaching for the takeaway menu is I haven’t prepared properly! So, this weekend I feel a bit more prepared and have a few things up my sleeve, including a few goodies for the sober treasure chest.. I will update you all on Sunday.

Have a great weekend everyone. We have our first full working week of 2023 under our belts! Nice one!

So today my alarm went off at 5am, and I drove my 75 mile commute to work. In the rain. Christmas is officially over….

Grim. However, the motorway gods were obviously shining down on me today as I didn’t get stuck in any traffic at all, either way! I thought it would be extra busy as everyone is back to work and there are train strikes, but no!

I spent the day catching up with colleagues, trying to remember what I was doing before christmas and having the annual wrangle of “when do you stop writing ‘happy new year’ on emails?” I have no idea…

Sarah, who was my fabulous mentor when I gave up alcohol in 2020 was the first person to message me when I announced I was taking on the challenge again. She is amazing, and always has the best advice. I was feeling super shit yesterday; proper January back to work blues. Then a whatsapp chirps in from Sarah offering to send me a “thought for the day” in January. “Erm, yes please. That would be AMAZING” was my reply!

When I gave up alcohol in 2020, one of the things I commented on alot in my blog was that quite often, we use alcohol as a treat, a way to unwind, or de-stress. Sarah’s thought for the day (TFTD) today was to have some things in your ‘sober treasure chest’ to have as a really nice treat. Book a massage, do some online shopping etc. I really like this idea and I have already bought myself a new book…. More on that later in the week….

Another tip sarah sent through was to have a social media sort out and to remove any posts referring to wine o’clock and the like, and then to change your marketing preferences so you don’t receive any about booze. Handily, having this blog has meant that I am being absolutely bombarded with ads for non-alcoholic drinks! However, I have been through my emails and clicked unsubscribe on a few booze related ones which felt quite liberating.

Right, must go; I have a lego Delorean to finish (before Guy finishes it all!) and an episode of Happy Valley to catch up on! Have a good week everyone!

I have already been overwhelmed by the support I have received since posting yesterday, so thank you everyone.

I have also had alot of people asking “what are the rules?” “are you allowed to buy a sandwich?” “what about a coffee?”

Well, what I am going with is any food where I am at home and would order in. So ordering a chinese or getting a pizza delivered. This includes if I am at home and pop out to get ready made food, if I have access to a kitchen. If I am working away, or travelling, and have to buy a ready made lunch, I don’t really have much choice. Equally if I am on a long journey and need to buy a coffee, I think this is ok too. What I want to try and cut out is the convenience food that we end up buying when we could easily cook something at home.

I want to try and be more mindful, and plan our meals better. Whenever we have made a concerted effort to do this, we have all felt better, and saved a few pounds too! So this is the plan!

Me again! 2022 has felt rather long, I’ll be honest. A lot has happened this year; most of it positive, it’s just been hectic!

We moved house, I qualified as an accident investigator which meant that it got busier at work, and I turned 40. Turning 40 was a bit of an eye opener for me. 40 is not old by any means, but it’s certainly a time to re-evaluate and make sure you are looking after yourself. It’s safe to say, that up until this point, I haven’t really.

It’s also fair to say that I have limited success in sticking to things that actively require doing something additional. I was successful with one year no wine as it required *not doing* something. I want 2023 to be a year where I start getting healthy again, but it’s clear to me that if I try a “one year go to the gym 3 times a week” type challenge, I will find it very difficult. So, 2023 is going to be one year of no booze, and no takeaways.

I’m not going to lie, I think this will be hard. When I had a year off the booze last time, the main reason for doing it was to prove I could live without booze. This time, it’s to get healthy. But, I got motivation in 2020 when I gave up the booze from this blog, and you guys, so I am sure I can do it again!

The first week of January: back to work, christmas decorations come down, jeans are all tight, and it’s bloody freezing!

It’s odd. When I look at my posts from this time last year, I am talking alot about breaking the habit, and learning to do things differently. So, here’s the thing; not drinking has become the habit, and I don’t want that to change. What I do want is to be able to have the occasional drink, and really enjoy it.

Last Friday, New Years Day, I woke up without a hangover, and had a lovely day. Then we opened a bottle of really nice red. We both had a glass, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It took me 3 hours to drink it, and I had no urge to drink any more. We had another small glass from the same bottle on Thursday, and now the rest has gone down the sink.

Last night I had a couple of fake beers, as usual on a Friday! So far, the mindful relationship I wanted with alcohol appears to be working!

As for this year’s challenge, (oneyear400kg) there will be an update later! Have a lovely weekend everyone. X

So here we are. The last night of my challenge. I am already in my jammies, with some non alcoholic fizzy, ready to see out the shit show that is 2020.

Happy new year peeps! X

So here we are. Almost at the end of 2020; a year like no other. None of us have experienced anything like this before, and it’s not over yet… But, despite the challenges, I have seen kindness in bucketloads, people pulling together like never before, and a real sense of ‘togetherness’ even in a year when we have mostly been apart from our loved ones.

I have probably ‘seen’ my friends and family more than I would have done, as we have all made a proper effort to have zoom catch ups, quizzes, and group calls. We have spent more time truly enjoying being at home, and together as a family. Of course, it has not been all sunshine and rainbows, sharing a space with another adult, a toddler, and a dog, and working at home, can be challenging at times. But, we are so fortunate that we have a garden, and live in an area with lots of outside space to enjoy, I know some people do not have this privilege.

Apart from a sip of Chablis in the summer, I can honestly say that 2020 has been an alcohol free year for me! It has been challenging at times, but I have done it! So, I am going to go through my “lessons learned” / surprises.

1. Don’t underestimate the physical effects of giving something up. The first 2 weeks were awful: Probably not helped by drinking quite alot over christmas. Honestly, I could quite have easily caved in these first 2 weeks due to purely the physical side effects.

2. The power of the crowd is astonishing. This is something I learned early on, when I was struggling. The thought of having to tell you lot that I had failed, was an awful feeling, and one that kept me going. The words of encouragement, the number of blog views, and followers really have kept me on track.

3. “You are still there!” This has stuck with me from quite early on, when I was having a chat with a very good friend who gave up drinking about 10 years ago. I asked him if nights out or social events were more boring when not drinking, and he simply said “well why would they be? You are still there!” I have had some of the most enjoyable nights out I have ever had over this past year, and the best thing is, I can remember them all!

4. The beer jacket is an actual thing. When not drinking, take an extra jumper. You’re welcome.

5. Get a mentor. I was so lucky that a friend of a friend offered to support me early on. She had just completed her first year booze free, so was able to give me an honest, warts and all account of what I had to come. She also sent me loads of books, and was on hand over the entire year. Not only was she there every step of the way, but the fact that she had done a year, and was still booze free was an inspiration. Thank you Sarah. I could not have done this without you.

6. Play the film to the end. This is another fabulous trick to have up your sleeve and one that has helped me on many occasions. Sarah told me this one very early on, and it has been amazing. Basically, its a visualisation technique. If I wanted a drink, I would imagine having one, then another…. Then going to bed late, having a rubbish nights sleep, and waking up with a fuzzy head, craving carbs! Worked a treat!

7. Relaxing is possible without wine! Who knew?!

8. There are some amazing non-alcoholic drinks on the market. I have enjoyed some lovely fizz, amazing rose wine, and some excellent beers. A good alcohol free red does not exist. There are some ok ones, but they just don’t have the depth of real wine. There are lots of amazing faux spirits coming to the market; tequila, whiskey, gin… They are all distilled spirits so they have that spirity ‘tang’. The gins are the best by far, and they all work really well in mocktails.

9. Turns out I am just a loon. Alcohol had nothing to do with it! A comedienne at heart, I love nothing more than getting a laugh or two. I always used alcohol as an extra boost, lower your inhibitions and all that. Turns out my inhibitions / embarrassment genes are non existent! Apologies all…

10. Bad stuff still happens. Having a drink won’t make it better, or go away. It just means you will still have to deal with it, but with a hangover!

So overall, an enlightening year! Being an all or nothing type person, this has worked really well for me. Cutting down was not an option, and my main goal when I started this was to experience everything a year had to offer (birthdays, bad days, good days….) without booze. I know this is not right for everyone, and I also know plenty of people who have a healthy relationship with alcohol. This year has made me re-evaluate my relationship with alcohol, and think about how I want it to feature in future. So, the question remains…. Will I drink again come the 1st January? The answer is yes, but I want my default to be not drinking, as I said in my previous post. So I am going to continue with this blog, and keep you updated with the next stage. You never know…. I may have another “one year” challenge up my sleeve!

Thank you all so much for your support this year. I couldn’t have done it without this blog, and all your words of encouragement. You are all smashing! X x x

This time last year, I made my decision to make 2020 an alcohol free year, not knowing then that this year would be an absolute shit show! We were all looking forward to Christmas, planning things for 2020, enjoying parties, nights out…..

Fast forward to the present day however, and things are a little more sombre. No christmas parties, no big nights out. I have spent more money on pyjamas and slippers this year than any other type of clothing! Oh how things have changed!

I am nearly at the end of my little experiment, and i will be posting a ‘lessons learnt’ piece over the next few weeks. But, I just wanted to share something I have been thinking about over the past few weeks, and something I have been asked a lot; come January the 1st, will I be drinking again?

The simple answer is, I don’t know. What I do know is that I have a different opinion regarding alcohol than I did a year ago. I know now I can have a great time without it, that hangover free Saturdays are amazing, and that not drinking, for me, should be the norm. Let me explain…

A year ago, if we went anywhere that served alcohol (and I wasn’t driving), I would probably have had an alcoholic drink. This year, that has not been the case, and I would like to keep that as the norm.

Also, I used to use alcohol as a way to relax. Obviously I haven’t this year, and I have still been able to calm down after a long day at work, so I know this too is possible.

This week has been a particularly tricky one; I finished working at a company which I have absolutely loved. This is to start a new job in January. I finished early so that in the gap, we could move house. Its all complicated, but it meant moving into rented after we completed on ours, then completing on the new one in March. As we had this deadline of my new job, and we were just waiting for the i’s to be dotted, we decided to just go for it…. Only to receive an email from the seller of the house we were buying, on saturday, when guy had spent all day moving stuff into the rented house, saying that they no longer wanted to sell. Obviously, they are well within their rights to do this, and it was our risk to take. But, still incredibly frustrating 14 weeks into the process, after we had bent over backwards to accommodate the sellers needs. We are both devastated, out of pocket, and have our belongings spread across 2 houses, 10 days before christmas!

I really wanted a drink. But didn’t have one. Having one would not have made the news any less shit. It would just have meant that it would look even shittier in the morning, with a hangover.

These things happen. We will chalk it up to experience, and move on. Right, best go; need to move all our stuff back home!