Busy in the Meadow!

I haven't blogged in a SUPER long time and my excuse is just that life has gotten in the way.  I have to be in the mood to blog for one thing and for another, actually sitting down at a computer for long enough to collect thoughts and actually type them out just hasn't been happening for me.  But tonight, TONIGHT I decided time to stop making excuses and get on this.  (That, and well, my best friend Erin says she doesn't even feel like she knows me until she reads my blog to catch up on my life. Considering we have been best friends for over 25 years I'd say she knows me better than almost anyone but I'll humor her here....)

Let's just go with an update of everyone living under my roof.  We are all running every which way so here we go starting with the baby:

Rocko:  Rocko is, well, being Rocko.  He is enjoying summer because he likes to sunbathe by the windows.  His allergy shots are now spread out to every 7 days which is good for all involved.  He does have Twitter though so if you want a good laugh, you can follow him @babydogrocko.  He turns 3 on August 28th!  I better get planning his birthday treat....

Will:  Will has spent the summer pretty much just hanging out.  He went to baseball camp at USI which is my alma mater and had a great time learning from the "big boys".  He and I have spent a lot of time playing "HORSE" at the pool this summer and I think we are about even on wins vs. losses.  He does make me get on my knees though so I'm the same height as him in the pool.  HA!  All I can really say about him is that 8 year old boys say the darndest things and he just makes me laugh all the time just by being himself.  Football should be starting soon for him.  Or maybe soccer.  Or maybe both!  Time will tell!

Sheridan:  Sheridan started 7th grade today!  I can't believe that.  She has become boy crazy this summer which is hysterical to me.  She is also currently obsessed with the band One Direction and has a shrine to them in her room.  Almost an entire wall is covered in One Direction posters that she has spent hours making.  Some people don't like their kids putting that crap on their walls but honestly?  She gets to use her creativity and she loves it so it's whatever as far as I'm concerned.  She made cheerleader for this year so this summer has been a lot of conditioning and a week of cheer camp.  She hates the conditioning so hopefully once they actually get to start cheering at games she will be happier about this decision.  :)

(Sheridan and I at Panama City Beach in July!)

Tabi:  Tabi has been trying to enjoy her summer before starting college.  We've all been getting used to having a "kid" in our house who is no longer in high school but is yet still living in our house.  A lot of discussions about rules, money, etc. but I think we have it all figured out now after a lot of tears, arguments, and eye rolls.  Teenage girls are tough, period.  HA  She is still working at Subway being a "sandwich artist" and will start college in a week and a half at Ivy Tech.  She is excited about school which makes me excited!  I can't wait to see what she is going to do with her life - she is talented enough to do anything she wants!  I will personally be happy for all the high school drama to be over.  Though really?  Is it EVER really over?  Hm.

(Tabi at her graduation party with our nephew Brayden!)

Tommy:  Tommy has just been trying to keep all of us in line :)  Tough job but someone has to do it.  We are starting our backyard overhaul this week so he has been keeping pretty busy figuring out plans for that project.  He is also almost to the point of having his wood shop put together enough to start building furniture again and I can't wait for that!!!  I have so many things I NEED him to build for me.  :)

(Tommy and I in Panama City Beach celebrating our 5 year wedding anniversary!)

Me:  I've been running around like a chicken with my head off this summer.  Running the kids all over the place, getting Tabi ready for college, visiting with family, helping my best friend move, etc. etc.  The list goes on but it is all great things and I'm blessed to have all of the people in my life that I do.  Recovery is going very well.  I had 15 months of sobriety on August 2nd and I'm still going strong.  I am now sponsoring two women that are a bright spot in my life and help keep me out of my own head which is definitely a necessity on a lot of days.  I've had some days where I would have considered myself being in a slump which I am told is pretty normal at this point in sobriety for some people.  As a whole though I enjoy everything about it

As for projects for me, I have a lot of them going on right now.  I kind of go in spurts...no projects for awhile and then all of the sudden I want to do 3 or 4 at a time.  Which is where I am now.  Currently I'm working on a gallery wall for our basement stairway.  If you came in right now you would think I had lost my mind and was decorating with sheets of paper.  No, not the case.  I did that so I know where to hang the frames once I get them all painted.  Yes, painted.  I had a ton of frames packed away that were brass or ugly colors so I'm painting them all black so I don't have to go spend a fortune on new frames. 

I'm also in the process of finishing our corn hole boards.  I started them years ago.  And I mean probably 4 or 5 years ago.  One thing about being in active addiction/alcoholism?  You start a lot of projects but never finish them.  Well this is one of them.  Tommy made the boards and I started to paint them.  But got about 1/4 of the way through and didn't touch them again.  They are going to be University of Kentucky themed for hubby so I'm drawing the Wildcat on them and painting him.  Super fun project for me and I can't wait to finish it FINALLY years after starting it!

I keep mentioning my best friend (probably because she is so fabulous, right E?) but I have to mention her again.  She has awakened something in me...my artistic side!  So I used to paint and I loved it.  I painted a few things for friends including murals on walls and canvases to match bathroom/bedroom decor.  This is kind of another hobby that went by the wayside with my drinking and it's coming back in full force.  Erin is a first grade teacher and she wants a funky painted chair for her classroom and she asked if I could do it.  Um yes, I would LOVE to!  I love painting furniture and I had forgotten how passionate I am about painting.  I would LOVE to be able to eventually sell some custom pieces but we'll see.  I really want to focus on upcycling pieces that I find at yard sales, consignment shops, etc. so I'm currently on the hunt for a chair for Erin's classroom.  I came across a child's rocker today for cheap and bought it so someone with a little kid in my life is going to be the recipient of that at some point soon.  :)  So I will see where this goes for me.  It's a fun thing for me to do and if it leads to something great and if not it will help me use my creative side and make some cool things for relatives and friends.

Whew!  Okay, I think that is all I have right now.  We are busy bees but I'm going to try to keep up with this more especially now that I'm getting some house projects and whatnot going.  I like to post those!  They are fun for me to look back on.  For now though, have a great rest of your week!!

Easter & The Azalea Path

Hey all! I haven't written in so long because well, we have been so darn busy! Which means of course, I have SO much to write about but so little time. So I'm going to try to split all of this up into several different posts. I think I'll start with Easter!

This was the best Easter I've had in a really long time - it was my first sober one! It was so nice actually enjoying every single detail of it all. I enjoyed making the Easter baskets (I think I made 7 this year by the time I did our kids and nieces and nephews!), watching the kids hunt eggs, eating the yummy food, and spending time with my family. Here are a few pics from our holiday!

The weather was perfect Friday night for a bonfire! So we grabbed our giant marshmallows and out to the backyard we all went!

Will & Sheridan hunting eggs at Aunt Tanya's house - we had the perfect weather!





My nephew Wade and Sheridan looking in the bushes for those well hidden eggs!We always have to dye eggs - I think I'll make them do this with me even when they get older - my mom still loves to do it!

That next week my mom, my Granny, and my great Aunt Jane all went to the Azalea Path in Union, Indiana. I had no idea this place even existed but it is gorgeous! It was a little chilly that morning but it was so beautiful. I would LOVE to have that in my yard...if only someone else would take care of it all for me! We also went to Smith's Greenhouse which was like heaven on earth if you like flowers. We ended up filling the back of my car by the time we left! I couldn't pass up those beautiful flowers!


I have so many more things to blog about so stay tuned! Lots of projects I've been working on, books I've read, recipes I've tried, and things going on around the Meadow!

Recovery Comes First...This is a Must

I haven't written a ton about recovery lately because I guess I want this blog to really be about me and my life. Recovery is a HUGE part of my life because without that, I wouldn't have any of these other things that I get to enjoy - my family, my hobbies, etc. This is a good time for me to remember that recovery HAS to come first. Period. As I wrote to a fellow blogger recently, when I was first told this in rehab I was all, "That is BS. My FAMILY comes first." Let's dissect that for a second. First of all, when I said that, my family had not been coming first to me for a long time. It's sad, but it's true. My first priority had been me for a long time so to say that was a cop out. Second of all, let's think this - what is my relationship like with my family without recovery? It's insane and ugly that is what. To someone who is not in recovery, saying that something comes above your kids, your family, etc. might seem like you are some bad person. Trust me, for us, it's necessary. In saying that, this is a hard thing to remember sometimes.

I think I have a tendency to blog on here about good things - because frankly, I don't want to sit here and whine about bad days and in general, I am truly a happy and gratefuly person. It amazes me sometimes how truly happy I am the majority of the time. I never thought it to be possible, but here I sit, truly happy and grateful today. But something that my sponsor reminded me of this week is that I am still new. Granted, God willing, I will pick up my 11 month chip next week and though that might seem like an eternity to some people, in the grand scheme of things, that makes me still very new to all of this. This means I am still fragile. It's easy to get caught up in things and think that you aren't as fragile as you once were. And I am not. I know I am not as fragile as I was 10 months ago or even 6 months ago. But, I am still fragile. Some examples:

Last week I had a drinking dream. I hadn't had one in a long time. Those dreams scare the holy bejeesus out of me. If you are an alcoholic/addict then you totally understand this - using dreams are the most intense REAL dreams that you will ever have. You wake up and you honestly have to come to grips with reality and think, okay, did that really just happen or am I still okay? I had one the other night and in the dream I was at a party in Chicago and just like that, I took a drink. And even in my dream my thought to myself was, "Oh no! What did I just do??? Now I have to go home and pick up a white chip and everything I have done is a waste and I have to throw all my chips away!" Then I woke up. And I was scared. I think scared in a good way though. It truly can happen that fast is what I take from those dreams.

In the beginning of sobriety I had some bad days. Now, I have not so many bad days and they certainly aren't near as bad as they were in the beginning. I truly hadn't had a bad day in a long time and then last week, BAM! I woke up and I just felt....Off. That is the only way I can describe it. I immediately in my alcoholic mind go to, "Great, what am I doing wrong?" Because you know, I need perfection. I sometimes forget that I AM human and EVERY human has "off' days alcoholic or not. But as I took a quick inventory, I realized I had been doing everything right in my recovery program. I had been to a meeting two days in a row prior to that, I had been to my Aftercare program the night before and heard a great speaker, I was doing my prayers, I was reading....everything I am told to do, I was doing. But that whole day I was so irritible. I couldn't fix it. I prayed a million times and I couldn't get over this icky feeling that I had. I thought to myself, THIS is the exact kind of afternoon a year ago I would have slid into the liquor store, bought two bottles of wine (one bottle is for amateurs...) and went home and drowned myself in them for no good reason other than I just felt "off". Instead I plugged through. I continued to do what I was told and I just suffered through that day and honestly looked very forward to bedtime that night so I could start over the next day. A sigh of relief occurred in me when that 24 hours was over. Days like that are few and far between now but they do still happen.

We are getting into our busy season with kids sports. Will is playing on a traveling soccer team this year which has a pretty intense schedule for an 8 year old in my opinion. He is also starting baseball this Sunday and he does Tae Kwon Do. Sheridan is involved in a lot of school events also. Tabi is busy with senior prom stuff, upcoming graduation, and getting ready for college. There is just a LOT going on in our house right now. Monday night I missed my regular meeting to go to Will's first soccer game. I had actually thought I would have time to do both but to make a long story short, I did not so I ended up missing the meeting. After looking at the soccer schedule for the next couple of months I had to say out loud to my husband and to tell myself and remind myself, "I can't do this. I can't be everywhere at once. I HAVE to make myself put my recovery first even if it means missing out on some things." I want to be everywhere. I want to be able to be there for everyone but this is a slippery slope for someone in recovery. I can't spread myself too thin. So now I am working on a balance with all of this and I have faith in myself that I can figure out how to be a good stepmom/sister/wife and still be able to give what I need to my recovery. That doesn't mean that I won't have bumps along the way and days where I want to scream. I know that for a fact. I'm thankful that I had the realization early on in this busy season though that I needed my program to come first...I am going to need it in these busy weeks that are to come.

I'm rambling now but I guess I just wanted to get some things off my chest. I come off sometimes as super happy all the time and like I said, for the most part I truly am. But I'm human. Some days are "off". No one does this perfectly. It's progress not perfection. All we can do is our daily reprieve and take things one day at a time.

Enjoy your weekend and stay sober! :)

It's all good....well almost all.

Hey hey all! I haven't posted in a few days but I wanted to write about a few things that have gone on this weekend. First of all, on Thursday I gave my first lead! So crazy! I never thought at 10 months sober I would be doing that but when I know that when I was asked it was for a reason so I said yes. I was asked by a friend who I met in outpatient treatment and I was asked to speak at the treatment center that we both attended. It's a big meeting and you have to stand up in front with a podium - yikes! I was like, okay so do I plan this out or what? My sponsor said, nope, you sure don't. You have a beginning (which is just your name, your sobriety date, and your home group) and an end (thank you...so novel I know...HA) and she said to leave the middle to God. Pray that he gives you the words to speak and that is it. She said the best leads are the ones that aren't planned out because the best ones just come from the heart. That seemed so unnatural to me. I'm a planner by nature so as the day wore on Thursday I started getting nervous. I was like, okay, I'm nervous that I have NO plan. I had NO clue what I was going to say and that kind of scared me. I must have prayed a million times that day. I had a bunch of the ladies from my home group come to support me which just made my night. It's so wonderful to have people who truly care about me. It made me feel so grateful. Of course right before I was to speak I was like, oh no. I have to pee. Because that is just me. Nerves I guess. Then I got all worried about having to pee the entire time I was speaking. HA But before I knew it I was up there speaking and the words just flowed. It was over before I knew it! I did it!!! I made people laugh, I made someone cry, and a lot of people told me that it was great and that they could really relate and that they heard a lot of their story in mine. Wow. It was a whole different kind of rush and high. What an amazing thing to share experience, strength and hope with others.

Friday little sis Tabi and I went prom dress shopping for her senior prom - holy crap! Senior! Eep! On our way we noticed a ginormous strawberry on the side of the road so we knew that we just must stop to have our picture by it. My mom and I always say we are going to take a road trip to find random things like this. I mean it's not every day you get to take a picture like this right? I think not. And oh yeah, we found THE dress! :) I can't post pics yet because it's top secret. But trust me, she looks gorgeous in it!

Friday evening we went to USI (which is where I received my college degree not SO many years ago....okay maybe a FEW years ago...) for Sheridan's science fair awards. Her project was chosen to be entered in the Tri-State Science and Engineering Fair and we were told that she had won some awards so we needed to be there. How exciting! I would like to tell you in detail about her project but honestly science is lost on me. I mean it is interesting I suppose to a degree but I took the bare minimum I needed to in that area. Not my thing at all. But her project involved genetics and fruitflies. She is a little smarty pants and we are so proud of her! She ended up winning 1st place in her category in her division and won an honorable mention for the grand prize! Being that my husband is an engineer this is no surprise that she is good at this stuff :) Doesn't that look like a proud 6th grader to you?

So that is all good right? Well here is the "almost all" part of this post. Yesterday I went to my Big Book study group then went to the store. Having a lovely afternoon really. I came home, got out of the car with some groceries, walked up the steps, opened my front door and when I stepped into my house, BAM! My back had some sort of weird sharp pain and down I went. I managed to make it over to my kitchen island to put the groceries down but then I just kind of hung out in the floor until my husband came in. I was laughing so hard because if I didn't laugh I would have cried. I could not get up! He piggy backed me to the couch and told me to just fall over on the pillows. HAHA It was quite comical really because when I tried to walk I couldn't stand up so I just kind of danced along bobbing up and down. Sigh. I hurt SO bad last night. I couldn't stand up, could barely walk, couldn't straighten out my legs....ugh. My first thought, "There goes p90x. Dammit!" I think an injury like this is more frustrating than anything because I have to depend on someone else to do everything for me. I am not a sit down and watch people kind of person. This morning I went to the chiropractor (of course, my chiropractor is out on vacation..."climbing a mountain with his wife"...um. So I saw someone else in his office) and he worked on me. Pushed, prodded, cracked, massaged...I honestly feel a little better. I can straighten my legs now and walk...a little. I have to go back Wednesday and Friday. I will be sitting on a lot of ice and resting today and tomorrow. It's frustrating but I have to listen to my body even when I don't want to I guess. Let me just say, my little sister has been a star taking care of me today. I need to give props where they are due!

Ooooh....I've read a lot of good books recently too. I've been slacking on book posts...I might do one later. Hope everyone is having a great Monday (even with the time change!)

My keyboard has dust on it!

Wow! I can't believe how long it has been since I "wrote" on this blog. My mom in fact was all, "Is everything okay? You haven't blogged in awhile...." I guess I should mention that last year when I was going off the deep end I had another blog and stopped blogging cold turkey. That was a "sign" to my mother that things were a little off with me. HA I suppose a mother will always worry huh? But don't worry, everything is better than fine, I have just been doing other things. I think I kind of have ADHD with things I'm interested in. I'll be all gung ho about reading...then a month later I'll be gung ho about doing puzzles....then a month later I'll be gung ho about blogging....I think consistency is perhaps something I need to work on. Hmmm....

So things are going well in our house. Basketball is now over for Will and his team went undefeated this year up until the semi-finals of the tournament. We were so proud of him!

Sheridan is still my little bookworm and at 12 years old (I can't believe I'm typing that) she is growing up on us. This weekend I said all I could hear coming from her room was the sounds of loud music (albeit Taylor Swift...HA) and her talking on the phone to her friends rehashing the slumber party from the night before. Where does time go?? And my sister Tabi is almost all finished applying to colleges and getting ready for her final prom and graduation - crazy! We also recently celebrated her 18th birthday. She is an adult now! Which means if she does something stupid now she can go to jail and I can let her sit there....HAHA Just kidding Tab...well, kind of. ;)

Another exciting thing that happened is that my best friend of 25 years had a baby last weekend! They had their struggled with the journey so I couldn't be happier for two people than I am for her and her hubby. So I became an "aunt" again last weekend to little Lincoln Allen and I can't wait to go visit them on Wednesday!

Things are going really well in my sobriety journey. I could probably type for hours about this but I'll save some of it for other posts. I feel like I am getting more involved in my recovery community which is a wonderful thing on a lot of levels. I'm starting to reach out more to others, I'm leading meetings, I'm giving rides to people when needed, and get this - I have been asked to give my lead next month! AH! (For those not in recovery, giving a "lead" basically means telling your story during a meeting. It's about 45 minutes talking about your journey). I'll be giving mine at the treatment center where I did outpatient treatment and I'm looking forward to it. It's a pretty big meeting but I know I'll have some people there who I am friends with so that will be helpful. I'm trying to not worry about it too much but holy cow. I feel honored to be asked to do that and I hope something I say will help someone who is listening as I know it did me and still does.

I'll leave it all at that right now but I have some things coming up this week. I have some good recipes I want to post as well as my new recipe organizing system which I'm pretty proud of. :) Also, you will notice on my sidebar my books on "goodreads." If you like to read, I suggest you check out www.goodreads.com. It's pretty fabulous - you can go through books and mark them as read, to read, rate books, look at others books, etc. It's a great way to keep track if you are a bookworm like me. :)

Bye for now!

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone is having a great holiday season! I know mine has been wonderful so far! Yesterday my husband and I exchanged gifts with each other as we always do on Christmas Eve. Santa was good to us both this year! We then went to his parent’s house for a yummy meal and present opening. This morning we got up and gave Tabi her presents from Santa. That girl normally can sleep until noon but wouldn't you know she was up before 8am ready for presents? She broke my 8am rule! HA This afternoon Will and Sheridan came to our house to see what Santa brought them and now we are all just enjoying the evening. I am BEAT though. I feel like I have a lot to do but taking things one day a time is really helping this year. I am not even stressed yet about what I have to do later in the week. And thank goodness because we still have two Christmas celebrations to go! On Wednesday I get to meet my niece for the very first time! She isn't even a year old yet and lives in Florida so we rarely get to see them. It will be great to see my stepsister, her hubby and precious little Cadence!

Here are some things that have been going on this holiday season for us....

Baby sister Tabi all dolled up for her Christmas dance...last one as she is a senior this year!

Check out Will looking right at me during his school Christmas program...HA!

Nothing makes Sheridan happier than books and gift cards to buy books!

My little nephew Brayden had his first Christmas this year!

Do you think Will likes this present from Mamaw and Papaw? I'm guessing yes

Santa brought a zip line to our house this year and put it up in the woods! It has some tweaking to make it perfect but once it is it will be an awesome toy to have!

Here's what's been cookin'

Two posts in one week! I am a crazy woman. HA I wanted to get on here to post a few recipes that I've made lately. I used to have a blog devoted solely to my baking and cooking but as I said, that was called "wine lover's cooking diary." I feel like that isn't appropriate anymore....ahem. Anyway, I am still cooking and baking though and I want to share some things that I have made lately in case you are looking for some new things to try! I love the internet for finding fabulous recipes...I don't know what I did before cooking blogs!!!

I like to use the crockpot when I can since we are so darn busy. Hubby isn't as huge of a fan as me but he also isn't the one who has to find time to fix dinner with our schedules so sometimes I just go for it. :) This loaded baked potato soup is SO good. It was perfect for a cold day and smelled so delicious while cooking. Very easy to make! If you want it a little thicker then use less chicken broth. I will probably use less next time.

One of my all time favorite fall recipes is for iced pumpkin cookies. I made these a few years ago for the first time and now I get requests for these every year. I made these for hubby's secretary last week for her birthday and everyone loved them! Whoever came up with this recipe deserves a medal. The pumpkin cookie part is good enough to eat on it's own but is made every yummier with the drizzled icing. YUM! (picture from allrecipes.com)
Here is another yummy crockpot recipe - southwest chicken stacks. I LOVED this one. I could live on Mexican type food though so it would be something for me to NOT have loved it. You can really do a lot of different things with this recipe - make it into tacos, burritos, quesadillas, or my favorite, over tortilla chips. I make mine into nachos with all the fixings and it is so good. Even kid friendly which is always good! (photo from Mel's Kitchen Cafe blog)

I guess one final post should be the birthday cake that I made for my stepson's birthday. I was terrified to make this cake. I am pretty crafty - not to toot my own horn, but creativity is just one of my strengths. But cake? I had never messed with cake. Cookies? Yes. Cake? No. But Will wanted an army tank cake, so an army tank cake was what he would get. I found some ideas on Pinterest and used those as starter guides. Here is what mine ended up looking like:

Hope you enjoy at least one of these recipes - I have lots more where these came from so I hope to share them with you soon! Happy Sunday!

On being an inspiration and fun in recovery

Once again it's been forever since I have blogged. You would think I would have a ton of time to do so but I am actually pretty busy most of the time. And I think that blogging is something you have to be in the mood to do. If you aren't it's more of a chore than something therapeutic and fun which is what blogging means to me. So a lot has happened! We had my Will's 8th birthday party last weekend, Tabi finished up soccer and made the honor roll, Sheridan was voted into student council and on the school paper, and hubby leaves for Korea on Sunday for business. Oh and Rocko, well, he is still Rocko. Sleeping. A LOT. HA

A couple of things have happened yesterday and today that kind of made me want to write. Yesterday I was told by two different people that I was an inspiration to them. Me??? An inspiration? Both of these people probably read this blog so I hope they don't mind me writing about them but they really made my day. A long time friend of Tommy's wrote to me yesterday sharing that she had dealt with addiction in her own family and that she was so inspired by me showing her that addiction doesn't always win. Last night I spoke with someone I love very much who was a roommate at inpatient rehab. She has struggled with relapse and struggling to find her way on this journey of sobriety. I pray for her every single day and I know she can do this when she is ready. She said that I give her hope and that she is inspired by me and how I am living my life. Two people in one day said those things to me. It made me feel really good I have to say. That wouldn't have happened 6 months ago when I was active in my alcoholism. Today I can say that though I am sober for myself, being an inspiration to others is one of the many things that helps keep me sober and hold me accountable for my actions in my recovery. I know that I am inspired by people in the program who have remained sober for years and equally as inspired by the newcomer who comes in and picks up that white surrender chip. To think that someone feels that way about me makes me so grateful for my own recovery. To think that I am helping people in some way even if it's just showing them that addiction doesn't always win, then I am doing something right. As I grow in my sobriety I hope to be able to continue to share my experience, strength, and hope with others to help with their journey as well as continue on my own.

When I first went into meetings before treatment I was not sold on them. For one I was completely turned off by the "Higher Power" talk and for another I thought I didn't belong there. I wasn't bad enough and why would these people ever want to hang out with me or why would they care about me and what I did? Now almost 6 months later, I can't imagine my life with "these people". There are days when I do not want to go to a meeting. Most of the time it's because I'm being lazy or because I'm in a bad mood for some reason. Those days are exactly the days I need to get my butt to a meeting. Today I was feeling a little lazy, I can't lie. But I dragged myself to my normal noon meeting and I am so glad that I did. I love that meeting. I go to it at least twice a week, sometimes more. There is a lot of long term sobriety as well as newcomers. A good mix of old and young, rich and poor, men and women, and everything in between. The people in that group have become a family to me. I miss them when I don't see them and I know when I am gone they wonder where I am. Because they genuinely care. Most people in there are regulars and have been going for quite some time so we are all a pretty tight knit group. You have your jokesters, you have your more serious people, you have your people who never talk and those that, well, can talk to much sometimes. :) Today I ended up between two guys who are regulars who I have come to respect a lot for the way they work the program. They are also two of the biggest class clowns possible and between the three of us, a couple of guys sitting in front of us, and the rest of the group, we laughed and cut up so much that I left the meeting with a smile on my face a lot bigger than the one I came in there with. I am so thankful for that part of my reocvery family at the noon meeting. It IS possible to have fun in recovery. You just have to get involved, meet people, throw yourself out there and work it. It's a choice you have to make and I'm glad I"m getting more comfortable with that choice.

That is my recovery talk for the day. HA I am now ready to chill out at home on this chilly Friday night and watch Game 7 of the World Series. What a game last night! As a Cardinals fan I am rooting hard for them. However, I am rooting for Josh Hamilton on the opposing team - he is a recovering addict and has such a powerful story. It's amazing to me when people who have so much power due to their celebrity put themselves out there with their stories. They probably have no idea how much they help others in recovery and those who might one day be in recovery.

Go CARDINALS!

Long time, no blog!

I feel like it's been forever since I've blogged! Life is pretty busy right now with recovery events, meetings, kids sports (3 playing soccer with 1 playing football in addition to soccer!), and just life in general. I am thankful for my sobriety to be able to actually ENJOY these things going on. Don't get me wrong, sometime I get overwhelmed. I had a day a couple of weeks ago where I thought, okay, I don't have time for everything and then I got in the nasty spiral of overthinking things which gets me nowhere. But overall I am very happy with where life has taken me even if it's busy! So let's catch up here...

A couple of weeks ago Tommy and I made the 2.5 hour drive to Nashville, TN to go to the Cumberland Heights annual alumni picnic. I can't even explain to you the feeling of peace that comes over me anytime I go back there. It saved my life and I am thankful for that every single day. We had lunch, heard a speaker, and the best part was being able to visit with some of my "sisters" who went through treatment with me. That is a bond that will never be broken for sure! I snuck a few pictures from that day, including this one where I am pretty much thinking, "Haha, look at me! I have not only my phone but a camera on campus AND I'm wearing a skirt!!" Okay, maybe not but that little alcoholic voice inside of me was probably thinking this since as a patient I couldn't have done ANY of those things!!! HA (Seriously though, one day we got in trouble for wearing yoga pants...YOGA PANTS! Apparently they were too tight on our butts and the boys were distracted. Um, whatever.... HA)

Somewhere along the past couple of weeks we have also had Tabi's senior night for soccer, my other half sister had her baby shower, Will's final football game of the season, had about 10 trees cut down in the back yard today, and assorted other things.

This past week I've started having some major joint pain in my fingers, wrists, elbows and now ankles. I've had it off and on for the past few months in mild form but the past week it has really taken on a new level. I went to the doctor twice this week and on Friday had blood drawn to check for rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, etc. I am praying it is not RA but that does run in our family unfortunately. I am keeping my fingers crossed that my bloodwork comes back okay and it's just inflammation or some sort. I said I'm going to wear a shirt that says, "I became sober and all I got was rheumatoid arthritis!" HA

Today I was very fortunate to be able to attend the annual alumni picnic at Deaconess Crosspointe, the center where I had my outpatient treatment. It was a great fellowship lunch with an awesome speaker. I am so thankful for both Donna and Dave who run the program that I attended - they save lives every day doing what they do. I know that they had a hand in saving mine. I am blessed to be able to be surrounded by such amazing people at these events. And I was able to play with my sponsor's grandson which is a treat! He is such a cute little baby! That event put me in a great spot for the rest of the day.

I have a couple of other things up my sleeve to blog about but as I said, my fingers and wrists are hurting right now so I can't type for long periods of time. Stay tuned to hear why I now have a ceramic white elephant on my mantle and very weird story about a find in a local "junk shop" that made both my mom and I step back and say, "Whoa...God works in mysterious ways."

PS - Tomorrow is my 5 month anniversary of being sober!!!

Where did the week go?

This is one of those weeks where I think, where the heck did the week go??? It seems like what I did last weekend was just yesterday.

Last weekend was a great overall weekend. It truly was one of those weekends where I thought, wow, I am so happy I am sober to enjoy all of this. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy every day that I'm sober but I know that the things that made me truly happy inside last weekend wouldn't have made me as happy when I was drinking. Sad, but true. Friday was my mom's birthday and we always do a day trip to wherever she wants to go. She is very into geneaology and our family tree so we drove around to some small towns near here and looked at old family cemeteries, old school houses, and went to Spring Mill.

















Last Friday night hubby and I went to the Friday night meetings of Al-Anon and AA which conveniently are right next door to one another in the building. After that a group of us couples including my sponsor and her hubby went out to eat at IHOP. I am not a huge IHOP fan but I had pumpkin pancakes. They were to die for. I MUST make some. We stayed out until almost 11 - late night for us! Oh how things change.

Saturday was another great day. We woke up and went to Will's football game and...wait for it...he scored his first touchdown ever! So fun to watch that. After that we had the kids and we just hung out at home all day. Rocko and Will played in the backyard, Tommy watched college football, Sheridan did her almost teenage girl thing which I believe was consisting of watching movies and painting nails, and I did various things like working in the yard. We made two new recipes that day - one for dinner and one for dessert. The dinner recipe was pepperoni pizza puffs. Such a cute idea for a kids dinner and they both loved them. I suggest you try them especially for the kiddos.





















(I could not for the life of me get good pics of these on my own so I'm using the pictures from the blogs that I found the recipes. Need to work on food photography skills clearly...HA!)

For dessert we made snickerdoodle cake with brown sugar cinnamon buttercream. Did you die a little bit just reading that? Here is how you know it is a good cake - between the cake and the icing it called for SIX and a HALF sticks of butter. No, that is not a typo. As disgusting as the thought of that much butter sounds, this cake is SO freaking good. Perfect for fall. The kids had a good time helping make it and licking the beaters. When they were 3 and 7 they fought over who got to pour in the ingredients and now at 7 and 11 they are STILL having this same argument. HA!

So overall last weekend was awesome. I can't even tell you what all I've done this week. Like I said, seems like it just came and went. I worked concession stand Tuesday night at Tabi's soccer game which I was dreading but actually was kind of fun. This is one of those unselfish type things that I look at and know that when I was in my addiction I would have just not even volunteered to do. It wouldn't have crossed my mind. Different year, different me. I've been obsessing this week over our bedroom decor. I haven't touched the bedroom yet as I've been working on the rest of the house and in true addict fashion I can't have a project and just not let it consume me. Hopefully I'll pull the trigger and buy some things soon so I can get it off my mind. HA

Tomorrow we are heading to Cumberland Heights in Nashville where I went to inpatient treatment. It is the annual alumni picnic and I can't WAIT to see so many of the ladies who were in rehab with me. We formed such strong bonds in such a short amount of time. The weather is supposed to be great, road trip with the hubby, I have a fab new fall outfit to wear and I get to go to one of my favorite places on earth. Am I happy? I think so!

Football and Futbol Saturday!

Fall is a busy sports season in our house. We usually have three kids playing soccer among other things like karate, gifted and talented programs, and other various things. This year we have a little bit of a change. Will is playing football for the first time! Tommy is beside himself with excitement as he LOVES football. I think college football opening day is possibly his favorite day of the year. Anyway, so today was Will's very first football game ever. We couldn't have asked for a better team color either - Kentucky Wildcats blue! Does it get any better for Tommy? I think not. Watching a bunch of first and second graders play football is way better than any other activity I could have planned for the morning. Will was a little star out there! I give you number 38...

In addition to Will's game, Tabi had a soccer game this morning. Isn't it fun trying to be in two places at once? Ugh. I opted to go to Will's game since it was his first one ever. I rarely miss a soccer game of hers so I don't think she minded too much. They have had some rough games this week against bigger schools. She is doing great this year though! I could never play soccer. They are ROUGH out there. No thank you. I give you number 1...Tommy had oral surgery yesterday. Ouch! Something about extraction and cadaver bone. If I hear anything else about that part of it I might faint so moving right along...in other news, apparently yesterday a bat flew into my Granny's house. She was told by my uncle to NOT shoot it with a BB gun which was her first instinct but in true Granny-pro-BB-gun-shooting form she nailed it despite being told not to! HA! Moral of the story - don't mess with Granny.