Hello Sobriety

Ok, so let me begin by saying, I have never been a runner. Never. Not in high school. Not in college. Whenever anyone would ask about running, I was the girl that would snicker and say, "I only run when being chased." Well, not so much any more. Last year, I signed up to attend Wanderlust here in Chicago. Wanderlust is a national festival that moves from city to city and consists of a 5K (3.1 miles), an hour of yoga and wraps up with group meditation. Being the dedicated yogini that I am, I mostly signed up for the yoga and meditation, but figured what the heck. I'll give the 5k a whirl. So I invited a dear friend of mine to attend the event with me. I'll never forget the rainy, grey Chicago day. Not ideal for yoga in the grass. But I digress, first to the race. I remember telling my friend that I have no idea how this is going to go so if she wants to just take off, I'll meet her back at the finish line. (I should note that my friend is a trained athlete who comp...

 ... 27 bottles of WHAT??! That's right. OMG. 27 bottles of wine is what my little, tiny family went through over six days during the holidays. That's approximately 4.5 bottles per day or 1.125 bottles per person, per day. Either way, that's a shit ton of wine. No matter how you look at it. According to the CDC , a standard drink is equal to 14.0 grams (0.6 ounces) of pure alcohol. Which looks a bit like this:     • 12-ounces of beer (5% alcohol content)     • 8-ounces of malt liquor (7% alcohol content)     • 5-ounces of wine (12% alcohol content)     • 1.5-ounces or a “shot” of 80-proof (40% alcohol content) distilled spirits or liquor Now, to put this into wine perspective. One 750 mill bottle is equal to 25.3605 ounces. So if 5 ounces of wine is the daily allowance per person, that means each person in my family had approximately 28.53 ounces of wine per day. That's 5.7 times the CDC recommended a...

So here's how day three goes... this guy I've been "dating" for just a few weeks... four to be exact... splits up with me. Now, it's no big deal, right? I mean, it's only been four weeks... throw the holidays in the mix, and well, it's been like two days. So, really. No. Big. Deal. Here's the thing... he's sober. And was a bit of an inspiration to me in finally deciding to commit to a year of sobriety. So, I kinda liked the idea of him being around. But he's not gonna be and that's OK. Because I believe everyone comes into your life for a reason. To teach you something. Or show you something. Or as a marker, telling you you're on the right path. MM (as we'll call him) was the third alcohol-free man to enter my life in the past 9 months. (Talk about signs from the universe!) He was certainly a marker. He was sent to assure me that I'm on the right path. Because of him, I found the courage to accept my past and to be honest w...

'tis the season for resolutions... so here I go. I've decided to quit drinking. For one year. Maybe more. But for now, one year. Quitting drinking is something I've thought a lot about over the past two, three ... five years. That little voice inside me that says " quit drinking ." Sometimes, it's just a whisper. Other times, it's a roaring scream. Every time, it's ignored. Until now. January 1, 2016. I'm 42 years old and I'm finally ready. More than ready, really. Excited!! For the first time, I'm not worried (or as worried) about what others will think or how I'll have to explain myself. As far as I'm concerned, I won't (for now). I'm simply not drinking. I'm kicking off a Sober 2016. I'm saying goodbye to beer, wine and all the yummy spirits that have graced my glassware over the years and I'm saying hello to sobriety! Hello to all the wonderful things to come. To eyes wide open and a mind clear from the h...