oh em hoyt

Hi ya’ll! I’m starting April’s reflection post with this quote:

I MANIFEST BY WALKING AROUND SMILING
LIKE A GIRL IN LOVE WITH LIFE
BECAUSE I AM.

AND THE UNIVERSE MATCHES THAT ENERGY SO FAST, IT’S WILD.

Read that last part again.
I’ve touched on this whole “universe” thing a few times in other posts, and I just feel like April was a month where I was continuously reminded of how real our relationship with the universe truly is. Or, how real it can be when you fully lean into, believe, and trust in it.
It speaks to this deeply personal connection and relationship I’ve been exploring with my spirituality, and I’ve only been able to do that because of and through my sobriety.
It’s through the clarity of getting sober and practicing gratitude that I’ve been able to recognize that this connection with the universe is so freaking real. It’s like this ongoing conversation/relationship and the quote rings so true for me, the universe continuously matches the energy I’m putting out there. It doesn’t always show up right away or in a way that you’d expect but all of a sudden out of nowhere, the reciprocation comes in bounds.

And so that brings me to April; a month filled with action and fruition from some of the plans and groundwork we laid in March. Some highlights and exciting new stuff to look forward to in May 👇🏼👇🏼

» NIAGARA FALLS / HUBBY’S BIRTHDAY – This little getaway was EXCATLY what we needed. After a stressful couple of months for both of us at work, it was a much-needed break to just get away and relax. On top of that, we planned it out with the perfect loose itinerary. Spent the day at the Falls walking around and taking in the beauty, getting our nature on, we went to lunch at our favorite gastropub in Niagara and then off to the casino/resort we went! Our room was awesome, but the best part was that we basically had the entire pool/spa/exercise room to ourselves the entire time we were there. I was still able to get my workout/10K training in while my hunnie swam like a little fish and we relaxed that night in the hot tub after playing at the casino for a few hours. IT WAS WONDERFUL.

» MEETINGS/SOBRIETY UPDATE – I’ve been able to make the Thursday night SOS meetings more regularly this month (I didn’t budge on my work schedule b/c the meetings are important and not a sacrifice I’m willing to make). The best part has been riding with Mark & Karen. I love that we get to spend the time together catching up before and reflecting after. They’re my people and I love it.
Also subscribed to TLC (The Luckiest Club) email list from Laura McKowen (although I’m not a paid subscriber, I love reading her updates and being “in the know” about the programs TLC is offering)

» Separate Sobriety Note: A friend recently referred to something I said as “preachy” during a pretty casual conversation where we were just checking in on life stuff. In the moment, I honestly didn’t think anything of it but after the fact and as I’m choosing to blog about it, I’m realizing that it kind of hit a nerve. I suppose in fairness, this friend is allowed to feel however they do and take what I said however they interpret it right? Right. And FTR, the feelings it’s brought up have literally nothing to do with this person.
It just has me reeling a bit because I hate the idea of coming across as preachy. I have literally held back from certain topics or shares in meetings because I refuse to come across as holier than thou. But then, the other day I was out for a run thinking about my upcoming soberversary in June and I thought to myself, “don’t I deserve to be a little preachy at this point?”
Now this little burst of arrogance could have been fueled by my dopamine receptors being electrified from running but still, even now as I’m sitting here mulling it over, I’m feeling like maybe I have become a little preachy and maybe it’s not something I should feel bad about. I’m about to hit TWO YEARS of sobriety in a little over a month. That’s long-term sobriety ya’ll. And what if in trying to not come across as preachy, I’m doing a disservice to the lessons and wisdom and gratitude and fuckin shear greatness by not sharing it?
I would never intentionally imply that the way I got sober and my path of recovery is the way anyone else should because I deeply feel that everyone experiences it differently and has to go through their own process. However, I don’t think I should hold back on sharing my experience through it at the risk of “sounding preachy”. I deserve to be a little cocky about the fact that I’ve made it as far as I have, to celebrate the fact that I am a human that I genuinely love now and that sobriety is the reason I’m able to say and believe that statement in all of my truth.
And that concludes my “arrogRant” for today. Just had to get that off my chest instead of beating myself up over some silly comment.

» MY HUNNIE GOT A NEW, “BIG BOY” JOB – Universe working its magic in real time ya’ll! In a wild and seemingly random (but not) turn of events, my husband ran into a former coworker who had previously mentioned how he had gotten out of the restaurant business said that the company/school he works for was hiring. In a matter of days, my husband landed a full-time manager position at a local school district. We literally can’t seem to find one negative thing about him making the transition and he starts in a little over a week! I am beyond proud and excited about this for so many reasons. The pay is better, the hours are better, the benefits are better and most importantly, I feel like his/our quality of work/life is going to be much better. Change is scary right, but I am thrilled to see him embracing this opportunity so well and could not be prouder of him for taking the chance to better himself and our life together.

» I’M ABOUT TO RUN A 10K YA’LL – April has been full-fledged training mode for the upcoming 10K in May! I’m quite surprised at how well I’m doing with the longer runs. A sure sign that my consistency throughout the “off-season” paid off. There was a lot of rain in the beginning of April and seemingly happened to be on almost every one of my days off in the first couple weeks; we even had snow in the middle of the month (WTF!) but I think the weather has finally turned the corner and I’m now following a pretty (self-imposed) strict run plan with the help of my MapMyFitness app. It’s pretty cool and makes me feel like a legit runner to be doing interval runs, timing out my pace, and really focusing on my heart rate and breathing. I am SO ready for this 10K and so excited that it’s at the Lilac Festival, two birds right?

» MY GARDENSCAPE IS COMING ALONG BEAUTIFULLY! – April showers, May flowers is the fckn truth! I am so hyped about this garden project we’ve been working on! Not only is it really starting to look like what I envisioned, it has also been a great project for us to work on together. We are such a great team and it’s been so much fun being outside and working towards beautifying a space we can enjoy all summer long. I have before pics and tons of progress pics that I’ll post once it comes together more. We’re actually going to scope out some plants/flowers today. The best part about it is that we’re already coming up with additional plans for next year and it’s just so exciting to see it porgress in stages.

» MISC. MAY THINGS – Mother’s Day, Spring Cleaning, Bikes, New Books, Soberversaries & Promotion for OHEMDESIGNS (new site is live and new tank top design is done!)

And that’s all she wrote friends. Here’s to a May filled with celebration, accomplishments, new beginnings, and the universe magic showing up in all the in betweens.