How this Girl Stayed Sober

Hey errybody! First off, I have some exciting news! When I posted last week, I told you that the my babies were not going to get to come.  After I posted, guess who shows up?!

My Loves

So, I did not have to wait to ask them how their first 3 days of school were! I am happy to report that they had a great first week. They like their teachers and all is well. We had a fabulous weekend togetha! We went to Get Air in Nicholasville, KY to celebrate their friend Bailey's birthday.  FYI, Get Air is amazing! The best way that I can describe it is that it is a trampoline park. They even had dodge ball on trampolines! I wanted to jump to, but I decided against it because of my bad knee and I didn't want to embarrass my babes.  The cost was not too bad either.  For Children 5 years and older it is $12.00 for 1 hour and $20.00 for 2 hours.  The cost is less for children under 5 years of age.

DISCLAIMER:

I decided that I wanted to talk about what I do to keep my disease in remission. A few things before I start: what I talk about on here comes from MY OWN personal experience.  I can only speak for myself and what I've been through.  Everyone is different.  However, the program I work has a basic foundation that most addicts in recovery follow.  Also, if you don't believe that what I have is a disease, you have every right to your opinion.

What do I everyday to keep me sober?

#1- I usually start my day with meditation and prayer.  Now, I do get lazy and skip this sometimes and boy, oh boy I can tell a huge difference in my attitude and actions for that day when I don't do this.  My prayer and meditation time is nothing fancy.  I have a few devotionals that I read.  I get most of the from my favorite Android app called "Bible".  It has 1,000's of devotionals to choose from. You can just type in a topic and it will give you many options to chose from.   This app is FREE and I highly recommend it! I also get my devotionals from Hazelden (Click Here for Hazelden Devotionals).  And last but not, least I go to Just for Today website (Click Here for Just for Today Meditations). The cool thing about Just for Today is that it compiles the meditations from many different sites onto theirs, thus saving you valuable time. I have a journal that I keep my thoughts in about my devotionals also. Prayer is next! And listen honey, I used to get tore up when it was time to pray.  I didn't know how I was supposed to pray in order for my prayer to be most "effective".  I always felt inadequate in my prayer life.  I even acquired a prayer book and I would recite the prayers from that book because I was sure that God would hear and answer me more sufficiently if I did. Now, I know better! I was letting religion get in the way of my spiritual walk.  God wants to hear from me! He does not want me to be so caught up on the "right" or "wrong" way that I miss the point of what prayer really is.  It is a conversation with my Father! I over complicated it (like a lot of addicts tend to do, complicate things).  The stronger my relationship gets with God and the more that I study the Word of God, the more confident I am in my prayer life.

#2- Give back! Give back! Give back! I used to be the most selfish individual that I knew, so God has really changed me in that aspect! If you knew me before, you know it is a miracle that I think about someone other than myself now.  I spend a lot of time doing volunteer work! It is imperative to my recovery. I also work in a rehab.  I love working with what I call "my people".  It is very humbling.  I see now on the other side how addiction destroys the family and the addict! Sometimes I get sick to my stomach thinking about the hurt and paind that I caused all of my family and friends. There is nothing more therapeutic than helping another addict. I also belong to several organizations in my community that are not necessarily drug related. No matter what stage of recovery you are in, you have something to offer someone else.  Someone needs to hear your story.

#3-Meetings! I attend weekly AA meetings. I love my AA fellowship! I feel like these meetings are vital to my recovery!

#4- I conduct a daily inventory of myself.  Now, I think whether you are an addict or not, you could benefit from an inventory.  All it is basically is reflection.  At the end of the day, I go back and think about what I have done during that day.  Did I say something that was hurtful to someone? Was I unforgiving? Prideful? Mean? You get the picutre.  If possible, I like to try and go and make things "right" the next day.  I also pray and ask God for forgiveness for acting the way that I did. Then, I just try and do better the next day. Simple enough, right?

#5- Exercise! The same endorphines that were released when I was using drugs are the same ones that are released when I exercise! I teach Zumba and I lift weights 3-5 days per week.  I used to run, but my knee was not having it. It also helps that I have lost weight from exercise too!

#6-  I have fun, laugh and enjoy life! There is so much to be grateful for! Even on a bad day, you can find the positive out of it!

In a nutshell, there it is folks! There is no magic involved! And anyone can surely do the things that I talked about! It is so important to STAY CONSISTENT! If I stop doing the things that I listed above, I will probably fall back into my disease.  And for me it is life or death! Now, I chase after my sobriety like I chased after drugs!


THIS WEEK IN FASHION:

My friends and family have been trying to tell me this for a long time, but now I am willing to admit it: I am a shopaholic! With that being said, I have vowed to cut back on my spending.  Here is a recap of my week.

Honey, I love me some monograms! What is better than a monogram? A HUGE monogram!!! I bought this t-shirt at Walmart for $3.00 and took it over to my favorite store in Mt. Sterling, Sheryl's Hallmark and had the monogram put on for only $8.00! Now, that is a steal! 

I love me a good statement necklace.  I have been seeing statement earrings on Instagram and decided that I wanted to try them! I went to one of my favorite sites and eBay does it again! I got these babies for $5.00 total!!! So, if I don't like them, I ddn't invest too much!

I love to mix patterns! I love this chevron and floral combo! I got those purple jeans off of the clearance rack at Walmart a year ago for $5.00. The scarf was a birthday gift from my beautiful friend Aisha. The shoes are from Rue 21 for only $7.00. The t-shirt is from Walmart for $4.97! I got the necklace online!

I had a coupon to American Eagle and was able to get all of this for only $58.00! Not to shabby! My love of cheetah and leopard print is probably not healthy! 






This was last Sunday's outfit! The dog stole my heart at Rue21, so I had to get! And the bracelet was a gift from JC Pennys. The pants are called joggers and I could live in them! 




My BFF Kelli begged me to put her shoes on! She got these from Rue 21 for $7.00! Great deal!

Well, until we meet again friends! Peace, Love and Blessings!