How the Grinch Stole Christmas Because of his Childhood Trauma

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How the Grinch Stole Christmas Because of his Childhood Trauma

Last weekend I saw The Grinch at the movie theater with my nephews and family. Everyone knows the time old tale of the Dr. Suess book, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Grouchy green guy steals Christmas from innocent town in an attempt to make his own pain go away. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t work, and the kind hearts of the Whos in Whoville show the Grinch that the spirit of Christmas comes from their hearts and not material goods.

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Cultivate Your Full Bloom

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Cultivate Your Full Bloom

On May 7, 2013 I was on a plane flying back to Cancun where I lived at the time, from Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Minutes before I had made a heartbreaking decision for myself. I decided that I would not be drinking again, until further notice. My mom had listened to me crying in the Punta Cana airport, full of distress and questioning my worth as a person. What the fuck was wrong with me? I was so sick of not being able to control my drinking. I was so sick of feeling like crap afterward. I was sick of feeling paranoid that everyone was mad at me for something I did or said while wasted. I was sick of ruining relationship after relationship. I wanted these feelings to leave me and I knew in order to do that I had to cut alcohol out of my life.

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Why I Walk Like MADD

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Why I Walk Like MADD

In 2013, 28.7 million people admitted to driving under the influence of alcohol – that’s more than the population of Texas.Everyone drinks and drives. Everyone. If you are a social drinker and you have never gotten behind the wheel after 2 or more drinks, I am confident enough to say you’re lying. It’s one of the first things we learn starting back in elementary school - DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE!

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My Experience As A Sober Bachelorette

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My Experience As A Sober Bachelorette

I just realized I've been so behind on posting this month. This month has been a doozie. The last post I published was in the aftermath of the election and let me tell you, that wound is still open. It's been hard to function, to go about everyday life, and find hope to carry on. This was especially hard for my bachelorette party which had been planned for months to occur on the weekend after the election. In my ideal mind, we would be celebrating my upcoming nuptials as well as the election of the first woman present. It was like I had been holding my breath for three months and I was hoping I'd finally be able to feel some relief and de-stress with my best friends.

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Join Me For She Recovers NYC Event in 2017

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Join Me For She Recovers NYC Event in 2017

I have exciting news! You may already be aware of this news if you follow my Facebook page, but I wanted to write a more informative post about what's going to be happening in May 2017. She Recovers is hosting a 3-day conference in New York City and I will be in attendance! Not only will I be in attendance, but I will be part of the official sober blogger team and panel along with 11 other inspiring recovery bloggers. I hope many of you will be able to join me! Here are the details.

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Generation Found: The Youth Recovery Revolution

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Generation Found: The Youth Recovery Revolution

At the end of this week I was in Orlando for work and had planned my trip around an event hosted by Advanced Recovery Systems. The event was the screening of a new film by Greg Williams called Generation Found. Just a little background, Greg Williams is the man behind the amazing film The Anonymous People, a film about the addiction epidemic that is currently plaguing the U.S. That film also encouraged everyone in recovery to openly tell their story.

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Making Amends in Vermont and a Visit To Bill W’s House

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Making Amends in Vermont and a Visit To Bill W’s House

This past week I traveled to Vermont with my family. Vermont is a place I’ve been going to since I was a baby. I have family there and we have a very special house there called Irish Hill Farm – my grandma’s farm to be exact and before her, it belonged to her mother and so on. The house is a symbol of my childhood and reminds me so much of my grandma. Her spirit will live on there forever and her ashes were scattered in the backyard up on the mountain.

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Running for Recovery on June 4

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Running for Recovery on June 4

Last year I wrote about an important event called the Heroes in Recovery 6k. I completed the race in South Florida and was able to share my story of recovery while I was there. It was later published on their website. The Heroes in Recovery 6k was emotional for me last year. It was the first race I ran for recovery. It was the first race I ran that I really felt was for me. That I was part of these 23 million people who thrive in recovery, that we really are completing heroic acts, just by living in recovery from our addictions. I was amongst my people and running that race with the support of my sister and brother-in-law really moved me. I suppose it will be just as emotional for me this year. This year I am 3 years sober and in a little better shape physically (last year I was just coming back from my knee surgery!)

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My First Sober Cruise

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My First Sober Cruise

Last weekend a wonderful friend of mine got married to her one and only. I was invited to be a part of her wedding party as a bridesmaid, and Fer and I were invited to join the wedding guests on the cruise that followed the wedding. We love any excuse to travel so of course we said yes to the cruise. The wedding was held aboard the Carnival Conquest at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale and the ship took off shortly after the reception ended.

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Why Storytelling Is The LifeBlood Of Recovery - Book Download

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Why Storytelling Is The LifeBlood Of Recovery - Book Download

What is it about stories that make us feel alive? It’s not just in the recovery community; stories are all the rage in marketing and advertising too. It’s the human condition – we yearn for someone to understand us. We feel safer buying from brands that we connect with. If we see others like us doing something, we realize we can do it too. Hearing people talk openly and honestly about their struggles and successes makes them real, relatable, and feasible. It’s that powerful phrase of relief we desire to utter, or have others say back to us, “me too.” There is almost nothing worse than feeling like the only one – the dread of loneliness that so often engulfs those in the throes of addiction, trauma, or abuse. It should be no surprise that sharing a recovery story can change or save a life, or plant the seed of evolution in a complete stranger.

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Why I'm Going To Unite To Face Addiction On October 4

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Why I'm Going To Unite To Face Addiction On October 4

Unite to Face Addiction is a big rally on the National Mall in Washington D.C. set to take place on Sunday, October 4, from 4 to 8 p.m. The event will include musical performances from Steven Tyler, The Goo Goo Dolls, Sheryl Crow, The Fray, and many others. Additionally, there will be recovery advocates from across the country and inspirational speakers whose lives have been touched by addiction in some way. The goal of Unite To Face Addiction is to bring awareness and new solutions to the addiction crisis in America.

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7 Things I Learned At My First ICYPAA

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7 Things I Learned At My First ICYPAA

Do you ever feel like you were just destined to be friends with someone? You meet and it's not weird at all. It's like you've known each other for years. It's a rare quality in a friendship and I got to experience it this past weekend. I finally met my online friend Beth after catfishing her for a year and a half (I kid.) Our paths crossed in the rarest of circumstances. We both wrote about our sobriety and our posts both got picked up by the Huffington Post in May of 2014. We both wrote each other emails and discovered we shared the same sobriety date. Just like that we became friends. We started talking, texting, and snapchatting daily. A year and a half later, I finally met her in the flesh and blood when she came to Florida last week. Beth came down to go to ICYPAA - the International Conference for Young People in Alcoholics Anonymous and I went with her.

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Recovery Messaging Training With Young People In Recovery

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Recovery Messaging Training With Young People In Recovery

I talk a lot about recovering out loud, breaking the stigma of addiction, and telling your story. But I've never really considered how my rhetoric can affect the public's perception of this disease that I'm dealing with.

Last Saturday I crossed over to the other side of the state and visited Boynton Beach to attend a Young People in Recovery event called Recovery Messaging Training. It sounded like something that was right up my alley and I had been wanting to attend a YPR event for awhile now so this was the perfect one. I met a lot of great people and learned new information about how I can present my recovery to the world.

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My First International AA Convention Atlanta 2015

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My First International AA Convention Atlanta 2015

As summer is flying by, I had a unique opportunity to join a friend and her mom at the International Convention in Atlanta from July 2 to 5. It worked out perfectly as I was able to celebrate my friend's 1 year soberversary while we were there and speak with her mom, who was one of the first people I messaged on the day I decided to stop drinking. I knew she was in the program and I thought she might have some advice for me. She told me to get a Big Book and that I would live a life beyond my wildest dreams. She was so right. Reminiscing with those gals was enough to make the weekend worth it, but I also attended a bunch of fun meetings too. Let me explain what an International Convention is all about.

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Break the Stigma of Addiction, Run Heroes in Recovery 6K

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Break the Stigma of Addiction, Run Heroes in Recovery 6K

I’m always looking for reasons to break the stigma of addiction. In fact, I don’t normally need a reason, I just come to my blog and start writing. However, in this case, there is a very cool event happening that is perfect for anyone whose life is affected by addiction. I’m also always looking for fun, athletic events to participate in. If you are a person in recovery or know someone who is, you should be running this race. Even if you are not affected by addiction, but you’re an athlete who enjoys a good race, and contributing to a good cause, this event is for you.

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Sober Fun at Winter Music Conference in Miami

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Sober Fun at Winter Music Conference in Miami

If you've read some of my older posts, you know that I still enjoy a good party and great house music once in awhile. When I got sober, I promised myself that I wouldn't miss out on life and that includes fun festivals, shows, or parties that might include drinking. During my first months of sobriety, these types of events weren't that enjoyable because I was still mourning the loss of alcohol and drugs. I was still learning how to have fun sober and how to feel comfortable sans mind-altering substances. I continued to attend events throughout my early sobriety and now almost two years sober, it's becoming much easier to be sober everywhere.

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Acceptance Is The Answer...For Dealing With 6 Knee Surgeries

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Acceptance Is The Answer...For Dealing With 6 Knee Surgeries

I've had a million ideas for blog posts and website redesigns for my site lately and I've been feeling guilty for not putting the time and attention I want into it. I blame it mostly on more self-care and homework I'm doing for my AA step study group. Excuses aside, I pushed my topic ideas to the back to write about something more pressing that's on my mind. Next Thursday, a week from today I'll be having my sixth knee surgery. Yes, you read that correctly, 6 knee surgeries. As I've mentioned in previous blog posts, my favorite sport in the world is soccer, and although I almost love it more than life itself, it has provided me with quite a few injuries along the way. I have what's known as the curse of the ACL injury and I'm sure if you've played soccer sometime in your life, you know about this injury. It has haunted me since the age of 16. My most recent injury isn't an ACL tear, so I feel like I should be thankful. This time around, I tore my medial meniscus in my left knee. Also in there is a cyst and a random piece hanging off of my patellar tendon. So next week I'll go under the knife for the 6th time and undergo an arthroscopy to fix these 3 small issues. Obviously, I won't be able to play soccer or do much of anything for a while following the surgery. Approximately 6-12 weeks without soccer, but who's counting?

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My First Face-To-Face AA Meeting

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My First Face-To-Face AA Meeting

No hell didn't freeze over!! but... Last night, I finally - after 1 year, 5 months, and 14 days sober - attended my first face-to-face AA meeting. It hasn't been a secret that my thoughts about AA have been a bit wishy-washy. When I first got sober I attended some online AA meetings and I just felt really out of touch. People in the online rooms always told me that I wouldn't get or stay sober if I didn't go to f-2-f meetings, believe in a higher power, work the steps, or get a sponsor. I didn't want to be told what to do or how to do it and I left the online meetings and email chains and never looked back. I have to admit I had a bad taste in my mouth about AA. I also consider myself agnostic and couldn't relate to the faith based mentions of God in AA, as well as surrendering yourself to being powerless against alcohol. Naturally, I avoided AA. I had friends and family tell me I should go and in the back of my mind I thought maybe I will one day, but until yesterday I had never made time for it.

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7 Things I Miss About Living in Cancun

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7 Things I Miss About Living in Cancun

It's been over a month since we made the big move to the USA.  Things have been great here and we are slowly but surely getting adjusted.  Even though I am extremely happy to be living back stateside there are things I miss about my beloved Mexico.  To soothe my nostalgic feelings here are 7 things I miss about living in Cancun.  

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