Friday 1 September 2023
Never Say Never
Tuesday 21 February 2023
I Am Still Here
Here's an update for you:
I am finishing my Bachelor's. I'm on the graduation list this year. It has been a long and difficult road to this. My internal family had grown exponentially over the past 6 years. I lost my bio mom. Two of my siblings passed away. These were not Co-v-id related.
I'm still writing. You can see and find my books in the shop at www.lisalheureux.com.
I have the idea for a new book and soon as I can get it on paper it will be available in my store.
We are looking forward to new and exciting prospects this year. There are reels and videos to be made. You can find my personal reels on Facebook. Follow me on social media.
Have a look at my services webpage ad see if there's anything we can do for YOU today.
Saturday 18 June 2022
Not-So-Mocktail
Let's have a look at what happens when a sober alcoholic accidentally sips a cocktail. It happened to me. Yes. I met my friend for lunch. When I ordered my drink, I asked the waitress if they had mocktails. She seemed confused for a moment but right before I was going to say something like a Shirley Temple, she said Caesar and I exclaimed yes, because I usually have a VIRGIN Caesar. I stated that I am sober, and my friend said to the waitress that I don't drink.
Well, the waitress brought me a caesar and I smelled it, like I always smell my drinks when I eat at a restaurant or pub. It passed the odor test and I took a sip. It was super spicy and that was all I could tell at first. They made it with tomato juice and (I think) Tabasco sauce in a glass that had been dipped in spice, salt and pepper. I noted there wasn't a pickled veggie in it, like many establishments will have, but other than that, I licked the spice off the glass and had another couple of sips. It tasted fine and not particularly unusual until all of a sudden there was the faintest old familiar taste. Like what I imagined vodka tastes like. I had not had a drink of vodka in almost nine years up until then.
I immediately said to my friend, can you smell vodka in this? I handed her the glass. She took a big whiff and said No, why? does it taste like vodka? I said, well now, maybe not, I did say mocktail. My friend says, you didn't say virgin. You're right, I said. I took another tentative sip, trusting in what I believed was a mocktail. I was very hungry and thirsty. I laughed then. No. I pushed the drink away. There is vodka in there. Just then, the waitress walked by. My friend asked her if there is vodka in my drink. The waitress answered enthusiastically, Yeah! Do you want a double? I laughed and exclaimed No thank you! I'm sober. I haven't drank in eight years! I laughed again and said, Except for that.
The waitress apologized and said she should have known when I said mocktail and my friend said didn't say virgin, I had to agree that I had not specifically said the word virgin. The waitress brought me a pop to drink then. I have to say I was a little shocked at how weak the drink was that I didn't even notice it. Shocked that my sniff test was not a reliable test! But I went on to eat my lunch and my friend and I had a good conversation. At some point, I laughed and told my friend how I had just come from a check-up and insisted to the Dr that I don't drink. Then I promptly drove over and met my friend and drank.
Maybe upon reading this it sounds like I laughed a lot at this but I did and continue to take it seriously. I quit drinking when I knew it was an alcoholic beverage. Come to think of it, the remainder of the drink was on the table the entire meal and I never looked at it again. What little aftertaste there was, just tasted gross and sickly to me, it was not appealing. I remain sober and the urge to drink/get drunk is still removed from me. For that, I am grateful.
Earlier in the day, I had been angry. I had been late to the Dr. There was no parking. It was difficult to get out of the parking lot due to paving. Late in the evening, when everyone is asleep, I have to admit, the incident with the drink was rather humbling. It makes me think of all I would lose had I been failed in this test. But the grace that has kept me off the booze for almost nine years was sufficient to keep me sober for another day.
I am uplifted by this truly amazing and on the other hand rather embarrassing experience. It is a good lesson for me. To remain diligent. To be more fearful of my kryptonite.
Sunday 19 September 2021
8 Years No Booze
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Lisa L'Heureux is the author of 7 books. Her work includes the Lisa's Sober Blog Series, This and the Man in the Moon and This One is About Domestic Violence. She lives in Alberta, Canada, with her family.
More than 8 years ago, Lisa retired from practicing alcoholism.
Lisa On Facebook
Buy the Lisa's Sober Blog Books!
Like us on Facebook at Lisa's Sober Blog
Tuesday 13 October 2020
Leveraging Technology to Get Out of a Domestic Violence Situation
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Lisa L'Heureux is the author of 7 books. Her work includes the Lisa's Sober Blog Series, This and the Man in the Moon and This One is About Domestic Violence. She lives in Alberta, Canada, with her family.
More than six years and nine months ago, Lisa retired from practicing alcoholism.
Lisa On Facebook
Buy the Lisa's Sober Blog Books!
Like us on Facebook at Lisa's Sober Blog
Saturday 5 September 2020
One Day At A Time
One day at a time. What does that mean really?
When I went to the treatment centre in 2013, it was the all-time low of my life. Believe me! I've been low before. Nothing compared to this.
While I was there, I remembered various comments in various rooms where the phrase "one day at a time" was written on the walls. I did not know what that meant. It wasn't as though you could do more that one day at once!
My life was in a shambles at the time, I was sick, I couldn't stand another drink.
This simple phrase I contemplated daily because once I got home, I could not handle one day at a time. It was impossible. In fact, in those days, I sometimes could only do one minute at a time. Chaos prevailed. Depression was rampant.
I think after a while, either life changed, or else I got used to the mess. I got right to work, ironing out the mess that Drunk Lisa had left behind. If you had seen Drunk Lisa you would understand why I talk about myself as though I were another person back then! It's a joke but it's not. I know it was drunk me that did all those things.
So there I was, newly sober. I attended meetings back then. I still do today. I talk to other sober drunks. Every day, and I think I do this everyday litrally, I consider my life as a drunk. I consider my life while I am now sober. There's much I do today that I would have never been doing if I was drunk.
I spent a good while apologizing.
Now we know we cannot live more than one day at a time. However, do we know that in essence, thinking about tomorrow helps but it cannot change anything in the present moment? One day at a time also means to be present. Not dwelling in the past we can't do anything about.
One day at a time means that I have been given one day of reprieve from the incessant urge. The urge that would never let me rest. Today I am grateful. Today I can do the thing I could never do while I was a practicing drunk.
One day at time means today I add on the the length of days I have in sobriety.
It means that today I may die. But I won't die drunk today.
Thanks for reading.👀
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Lisa L'Heureux is the author of 7 books. Her work includes the Lisa's Sober Blog Series, This and the Man in the Moon and This One is About Domestic Violence. She lives in Alberta, Canada, with her family.
More than six years and nine months ago, Lisa retired from practicing alcoholism.
Lisa On Facebook
Buy the Lisa's Sober Blog Books!
Like us on Facebook at Lisa's Sober Blog
Monday 6 July 2020
Six Years and Ten Months!!?!
I have not posted in a while. You all might know what has been happening in the world lately. However, not many know I have two new children since February. I have had three of "my own" children over the past three years. They happened to be "born" to me at varying ages. Please do not ask me to explain all the quotation marks there, all I can say is, it is complicated. It is all a little complicated. Is it not said, Keep It Simple?
All said, good things can and do happen every day. With training. I have been able to see it. I hope that others can see it too. I train myself. I use a gratitude list. I focus on what needs to be done.
The take-away of my life right now is this: I am a raging alcoholic. By the grace of God, and I believe this with my whole heart, I have been granted a daily reprieve of my alcoholism. I know who I was praying to while I was a staggering drunk so nobody can say this does not exist to me. I already proved time and time again what I would do were I left to my own devices. I lost or destroyed or burned every bridge to every home I had since I was a teenager. In real life, I did not burn anything but maybe a cigarette since I was a teenager. Burnt bridges as a figure of speech... I did quit smoking cigarettes around the same time I quit drinking. I do not vape.
When I first quit drinking, I was sick. Over the years I have become healthier, I have aged too, but who knows what I might have been at if I had not quit the booze? I have seen my drinking friends, those who are still alive...
As the time goes by, being sober becomes more and more the normal for me. I enjoy outings and regular life without having to pick up a drink. Funnily, not funny, I generally got drunk rather quickly so either way, I was not necessarily there for any events anyway. In fact, one guy took me to a hockey game and at one point I was yelling at him and another moment I was asleep in the stands. Please do not get me wrong, I like hockey. The booze took that away from me. I still do not watch enough. However, life has become busy. Later, I keep telling myself, later I will do this or that. I am not fooling myself. I know there are things I will never do again in this life. If drinking alcohol is one of those things then I shall be a happy woman.
Life is a blur sometimes. It is said, time flies when you are having fun!
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Lisa L'Heureux is the author of 7 books. Her work includes the Lisa's Sober Blog Series, This and the Man in the Moon and This One is About Domestic Violence. She lives in Alberta, Canada, with her family.
More than six years and nine months ago, Lisa retired from practicing alcoholism.
Lisa On Facebook
Buy the Lisa's Sober Blog Books!
Like us on Facebook at Lisa's Sober Blog