5 Years of Freedom

/
5 Years of Freedom

It was just like any other weekend of my crazy 20-something life. Sun, sand, and a plethora of drinks in my hand. Only this time instead of staying up for days at a time and snorting cocaine off my house key in the bathroom, I was with my childhood best friends in the Dominican Republic. I had an incredible amount of anxiety before going on this trip and in a way, I feel like my body and soul already knew, and were preparing me for it. I was worried about doing the right thing and playing the part for everybody.

Read More

We Can All Benefit From More Love

/
We Can All Benefit From More Love

In the wake of the horrific Orlando shooting that occurred on June 12, I had to take a step back and analyze my feelings about this situation. I'm not exaggerating when I say it almost ruined my trip. I was in Cancun that weekend meeting with my wedding planner, my florist, and doing fun stuff like tasting hors d'oeuvres and seeing the terrace where my wedding reception will take place. It just didn't feel right having fun and doing these seemingly unimportant tasks while so many people and families were suffering. Once again we're left with a mass shooting, this one the most deadly ever to have occurred in the U.S.

Read More

I'm Lucky To Be Alive

/
I'm Lucky To Be Alive

This week Fer and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary. I love this time of year because there are so many great moments that come about all in a row - my soberversary, our anniversary, and my birthday in a few more weeks. This year we went out for a romantic dinner and during our quiet time together we really reflected on how far we've come in 4 years. We got to talking about how different our relationship was at the beginning - toxic, argumentative, and plagued by drugs and alcohol, jealousy, and anger. In particular, Fer brought up one incident that still haunts both of us today. You may be familiar with the before and after photo that's on my homepage where I have a bandage over my nose. In August of 2012 after a long night of drinking, Fer and I found ourselves in a place we frequented often, an after hours nightclub in the hotel zone of Cancun.

Read More

When Love Changes, Change With It

/
When Love Changes, Change With It

When you've got the geographical cure for addiction like I did, chances are you've made memories all over the globe. I've lived in several different cities and as most of you know, Cancun, Mexico, is one of them. Fer and I have been here for the last week searching for our wedding venue. I've got a ton of memories wrapped up in this little tourist destination and not all of them are good. But seasons change and so do feelings. I've resented a lot of places where bad memories occurred: my college campus, Ocean City, Maryland, Baltimore, Punta Cana, the list goes on. The bad memories are always connected to one thing: drinking. Some of these places I ended up hating for awhile, but my anger was always misplaced. I think it was part of my defense mechanism - get angry at the place or the substance, but not at my actions or addiction.

Read More

Triggers Are Found In The Funniest Of Places

/
Triggers Are Found In The Funniest Of Places

This photo brings up a painful memory. A night out that turned into another day without sleep, drugs and alcohol to keep me awake. On my Facebook page this week I asked my followers to give me topic ideas for my blog that they might want to read about. I always like answering questions that my readers ask, or writing about a topic they really want to hear about. One follower suggested a post about triggers. Triggers. I had never really thought much about triggers or considered writing a post about them. I'm not really sure why. So when faced with thinking about triggers, a few thoughts came to mind.

Read More

Everything You Need To Know About Sober Travel

/
Everything You Need To Know About Sober Travel

I really can't believe I haven't written a specific post about this before. Most of you know that traveling is one of my favorite things and it's 1000% better now that I'm sober. Travel can be intimidating when you're newly sober. I am often asked about places to avoid, what I do differently now that I'm sober, and overall how sober travel compares to drunk travel. I'm going to answer these questions and share my experience on how sober travel is for me now and how it was when I first got sober.

Read More

Living in Paradise: Why Addicts Go to the Caribbean

/
Living in Paradise: Why Addicts Go to the Caribbean

This post is different from my normal ones. A few weeks ago I was approached by a fellow sober blogger named Marilyn Spiller who I have chatted with via Twitter and blog comments before. I love reading her blogs and I can relate to almost everything she writes. We share many similarities. We both lived in Caribbean destinations abroad, and we're both alcoholics who got sober and now share our experiences through writing. We both agreed on the fact that the Caribbean is paradise living and a place that attracts big drinkers and alcoholics. To explore this topic more in depth we did an interview style blog post together. It was fascinating getting to know Marilyn better and interesting how similar and different our experiences were.

Read More

7 Things I Miss About Living in Cancun

/
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.  

Read More

A Glorious 4th of July in the USA

/
A Glorious 4th of July in the USA

After living in Mexico for several years, this year I was excited to finally spend Independence Day in the USA.  I was looking forward to having some good old fashioned American fun and to seeing a real fireworks show, as they don't have those in Cancun.  Also, it was Fer's first ever 4th of July in the States, another reason to celebrate.

Read More

My Goodbye Letter to Cancun

/
My Goodbye Letter to Cancun

After 5 years, the time has finally come for us to part ways.  What a roller coaster ride it has been.  When I found you, I was blown away by your flashing lights, party scene, interesting people, and beautiful beaches.  You were my escape.  You were the answer to all my problems, or so I thought.I always describe us as having a love-hate relationship, although I could never hate you.  I think most people that come from other places to live here can agree with me when I say most of them move to Cancun to escape something – probably themselves, me included.

Read More

Big Life Changes: We're Moving!

/
Big Life Changes: We're Moving!

Yes you read that correctly, surprise! We're moving!  By now most of my friends and family are in the loop about the move, as well as my job that I gave my two week notice to last Friday. Fernando and I decided that the time has come for us to make the BIG change -move from Mexico to the United States.  Our plan has always been to eventually move to the US as this is where we would like to live and raise our family in the long run.  We weren't sure when exactly we would feel like moving, but we began planning it recently because Fer and his co-workers who were involved in the same program at his work were let go. Another reason we thought now would be a good time is because my sister is getting married in November and I want to be nearby so I can perform all my maid of honor duties, and be there for her during this important time.

Read More

Why I'm Already Obsessed with CrossFit and You Should Be Too

/
Why I'm Already Obsessed with CrossFit and You Should Be Too

Two weeks ago I started CrossFit with Fer and some friends.  I've been hearing about CrossFit forever and I'm sure you have too.  Generally people who do it are slightly obsessed and like to vocally advocate this type of working out.  Well now I know why and I'm proud to say I am in the CrossFit cult!

Read More

Why Cancun is So Much More Than Just Spring Break

/

Spring has sprung and we've already started the month of April.  Here in Cancun, the crazy Spring Break season is coming to a close, which means I can come out of my cave again.  Haha.  It's funny that Spring Break is the thing that brought me here originally, yet nowadays I can't stand it!  Spring break is GREAT for businesses in Cancun and in that respect it's nice, but for locals who work a 9-5 and are sober sallies like myself, it can be a huge nuisance.  Additionally, we like when Cancun is known for being a beautiful, culturally robust city with historical attractions, great food, and amazing beaches, not just a party town for college kids to come get drunk in.  I thought this would be the appropriate time to share why I think the destination of Cancun is so much more than just Spring Break.

Read More

5 Things I've Learned Living Abroad

/
5 Things I've Learned Living Abroad

Living abroad can be tough to adjust to.  Like I outlined in a recent post, there are many things you have to accept and adapt to, especially in Mexico.  Living in another country can also teach you many valuable life lessons.  Here are a few I've learned while living in Cancun for 5 years now

Read More

11 Things You Must Accept Living as an Expat in Mexico

/
11 Things You Must Accept Living as an Expat in Mexico

A few weeks back I had some expat ladies over to my house for some appetizers and gossip.  We got to talking about luxuries we missed from our home countries which led me to write this post. As an expat living in Mexico there are certain luxuries I've had to give up while living here and some weird things I've just had to accept about this foreign country.  I know my fellow foreigners living here will be able to relate to these unusual things you might have to accept if you want to live as an expat in Mexico. 

Read More

Valentine's Day Weekend at Now Jade Riviera Cancun

/
Valentine's Day Weekend at Now Jade Riviera Cancun

To celebrate a romantic Valentine's Day with my lover we decided to book an all-inclusive resort in the Riviera Maya.  I like to take advantage of the amazing surroundings in Cancun whenever I can, so I went on the hunt for an affordable, yet luxurious one night stay for us.  The best deal and reviews came from the Now Jade Riviera Cancun.

Read More

Gourmet Mexican Food at Julia Mia Cancun

/
Gourmet Mexican Food at Julia Mia Cancun

OMG my second post and it's about food again... no surprise there!My boyfriend and I decided to try a semi-new restaurant in Cancun last weekend for our date night.  We had heard great things about Julia Mia and its gourmet Mexican food.  Julia Mia is located in downtown Cancun right next to Costco.  The decorations inside and out are just beautiful.

Read More

Vegan Tacos in a Meat Eater's Paradise

/
Vegan Tacos in a Meat Eater's Paradise

Holy moly my first official blog post! Those who know me know that this blog has been a long time comin' and finally I've taken my writing skills to my very own personal blog.For my opening post I chose to write about my recent experience at a fun new food place in Cancun.  On Saturday night my Mexican family (the in-laws) and I ventured out to Corazón Contento in downtown Cancun.  This is not just your average vegan taco place!

Read More