Bye Bye Booze, It’s The Dryuary Challenge!

When we sold our house to hit the road, we gave up a few luxuries we loved. The washer and dryer. My craft room. And our well-stocked liquor cabinet. Good thing, because it makes things like the Dryuary Challenge so much easier.

Skagway Spirits best drinks ever
From Mexico to Alaska, we fearlessly taste our way through bars.

Back in our previous life, we had bottles of every libation necessary to take the edge off a rough day. There was no cocktail we weren’t willing to try at least once. And since we were making ‘real’ money, we weren’t afraid to blow a fat chunk of cash on Costco-sized containers of alcohol.

But moving into the Arctic Fox required us to keep only a few bottles on hand at any given time. Our big bar was reduced to small part of of the closet that houses our stinky sneakers!

Dryuary challenge
We’re gonna ride out Dryuary 2019.

Despite our smaller selection of boozy beverage fixins, over the years we’ve had a few moments of loving our evening cocktails just a little too much. You know the rest of the story.

Going Dry in January’s Dryuary Dry Days Challenge

When Jim heard about the Dryuary Challenge that’s so popular in Britain, we decided to join in. We downloaded the Dry Days App, which supports you though the process. It also emphasizes interesting aspects about giving up booze, like how much money and calories you save by taking the plunge.

This month all over England, thousands of winos like us are going off the sauce for an entire month. Here’s how the Dryuary organizers describe it:

The goal of Dryuary is to offer a supportive environment for taking a month-long break from alcohol. It’s an invitation to give your body a break for 1/12th of the year from a diet that includes alcohol. Dryuary is not therapy; it is simply an opportunity to reset your relationship with drinking by taking a break at the beginning of the year.

The concept is pretty cool. Stop drinking, discover how to have fun again without it, and talk about going dry with others going through the same self-inflicted torture.

Dryuary challenge
We’ll find another method to end the long work day.

We’ve given up cocktails before, like our last summer at Vickers Ranch. And again last year, when we did an Elimination Diet. We survived both times, but barely. Each we fell off the wagon again, we made sure to make up for our dry months. 

 

Canadian Bloody Mary cocktail
Mmmm. Canadian Ceasar Cocktail in Nelson.

Sure, we went back to drinking. But the good thing about giving up the booze once, was that it proved we could do it. We know we aren’t hopeless drunkards. We didn’t need booze to live life, to have a good time, to survive the not-so-good times on the road.

local Montana whiskey
Tasty local whiskey in Yellowstone National Park.

We will likely drink again. But now we know we have the power within us to stop. Alcohol won’t have power over us the way it did when it killed our beloved Spoonie Gee.

Ironically, alcohol IS the distraction. It distracts you from who you are and who you are meant to become. Alcohol fights the evolutionary impulse within all of us to transcend and transform into a better version of ourselves. Taking a break from drinking allows your brain to come back online maximizing your potential to rise.  It creates a beginning to becoming part of the flow of positive change on the planet. — Day Four, Urge Dirge

Over the next few weeks, we’ll try our best to honor our Dryuary commitment and stay dry. We will follow Dryuary tips and boldly ignore our full bottles of wine, vodka and whisky that keep calling our names every time we open that damn cabinet.

13 thoughts on “Bye Bye Booze, It’s The Dryuary Challenge!”

  1. We were forced to give that up years ago due to prescription issues. Later, when we could drink without interactions with RXs, we went to a wine tasting party. Only made it through sips of two types before we looked at each other (the swirling images of each other, at least) and decided to head home. Haven’t had the inclination again, although admittedly every time we watch Blue Bloods and see their obligatory chat in the living room with a whiskey neat in a tumbler, there is that aroma that seems to waft through our rig! Good luck–enjoy sobriety. There is much to be said for it!

    Reply
    • Hey Sandra, that’s awesome you both discovered sobriety at the same time, and that it’s lasted too! It sounds like your relationship with alcohol is a lot like mine when it comes to eating meat … that ol’ BBQ smell is tempting, but I have no desire to actually consume the grub. Thanks for the encouragement to do that same with alcohol.

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  2. This makes even less sense to me than wanting to run 26 miles! 🙂 When you come to your senses in February, have you ever tried Ketel One Grapefruit-infused Vodka? Mixed with fresh grapefruit, and less calories than a glass of white wine…..just sayin’

    Reply
    • Well, for me, running long distance doesn’t work well after a nightly round of cocktails, so the two went hand-in-hand. And nope I haven’t tried that vodka but it sounds tasty and tempting. My sister just gave me a bottle of craft ginger-infused vodka, I am looking forward to eventually trying it.

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  3. I’m embarking on a Whole 30 Month which includes no alcohol. Not such a problem because I don’t drink much anyway. My love is sugar and this way of eating really solves the sugar blues!

    Happy Dryuary!

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  4. Felicidades! This is my 3rd Dryuary! It’s tough! Last year Bill stayed dry through August. I barely made it to the end of the month. Most of the time it’s pretty easy but I do find it a bit isolating, kind of like our plant-based lifestyle but it does give me a “reset” that I like and I sleep soooo much better which is my favorite side effect. We tend to socialize less during this time too, but I have found that more and more of my friends have given up the drink for good. The lifestyle we have down here is pretty booze-centric can make it pretty tough but I’m determined to power through. Thanks for the app suggestion -that’s def going to help. And you’ve made it through days 4-5 which are typically the hardest!

    Reply
    • Devi, that’s really something to be proud of, good for you! And Bill too…wow that’s a long time not having a bevvy! Congrats on giving Dryuary another chance. I do agree, it is a lot like going veg as far as the social aspect, but there’s always a way to keep your commitment as you’ve discovered. Great job and thanks for the encouragement!

      Reply
  5. Never heard of that, very interesting! I may check out the app and join you as i made a resolution to lose a few pounds and those empty delicious calories keep my scale standing firm 🤯

    Reply

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