Dry July -Week One

I waited until the last minute to register for Dry July; it was the last day of June and I only did it to give myself the incentive to see this challenge through to the end. After completing the online form and sharing my challenge on social media sites, I closed my laptop and went to bed.

Imagine my surprise then, when the following morning I logged into my Dry July account to see that the donations had started to flood in – people had actually put their faith in me enough to donate – I was delighted and committed.

So far I’m tracking really well, excellently in fact (smiley face).

Day one – Sunday: Chief and I headed out for dinner, more a casual ‘nosebag’, at a ramen cafe we wanted to check out. Before we reached our destination though, we diverted to Green Beacon, a craft brewery in Teneriffe. ‘Great!’ I thought, ‘temptation on the first day’. My non-alcoholic beverage of choice is soda water with fresh lime, usually slopped in the glass from a soda gun, with all the finesse of a firefighter extinguishing  a burning forest, and topped off with a wafer-thin slice of lime. There are a couple of fancy bars in Brisbane who will lovingly muddle the lime first and that makes me feel special. I was delighted that Green Beacon wasn’t just about ales and IPA’s as their bar fridge displayed bottles of soda water – thank you!

Day two – Monday: Straight after work I spent an hour at the gym before heading home. Being the first one home, I turned my attention to dinner preparations. This is usually a time I’d be thinking of cracking open a bottle but I was feeling pumped from the gym so the temptation wasn’t getting the better of me. Chief wasn’t having any of this dry nonsense and delighted in testing my willpower. I stuck to my soda and lime and even washed up Chief’s dirty wine glass although I pointed out that it would be the last time I’d be doing that for a few weeks.

Day three – Tuesday: I can’t say that I’m bouncing out of bed with heaps of energy and a clear head but that may be something to do with a bad night’s sleep (back problems). Tea was spaghetti bolognaise and the prospect of not having a glass of red with this dish was troublesome. I had already cooked up a big batch of bolognaise so just had to reheat and cook some pasta. This left me with some spare time on my hands and so to distract me, I decided to tidy out the messy drawer – you know the one – the drawer where we throw spare keys, pens, manuals for the cooking appliances, receipts, timetables and takeaway menus – yes, that’s the one; well ours is very tidy now. Spaghetti bolognaise was served and while a glass of red would have been the excellent accompaniment, I had to be content with watching Chief drink his.

Days four and five passed without incident or temptation which brings us to…

Day five – Friday: The day of the knock-offs, the kick back to the weekend and drinks out with your mates. Chief was working and the prospect of spending an evening at home with open wine in the fridge was daunting. I left the office around 5 pm, and made my way through hoards of office workers with knock-offs in hand, their laughter filling the air – It made me feel anxious for a moment until I pulled myself up and remembered the good causes my non-drinking donations were supporting. By the time I arrived home I was feeling strong and full of willpower which stayed with me all weekend.

So far so good, my journey made all the more easier knowing over 35,000 Aussies are taking part in the same challenge – go us!