Work it Wednesday - Step 3

Step Booklets are available through
our website www.streetchicks.net

Just to review - We have already discussed Steps 1 & 2

Step 1 - We admitted we are powerless over our addiction and that our lives had become unmanageable.

Step 2 - Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

Now for Step 3 - Make a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood him.

Before we make the decision to turn our will and lives over to God, we need to be convinced of three things:

1. That we were addicted to _________ and could not manage our own lives.
2. That probably no human power could have relieved us of our addiction.
3. That God could and would if He were sought.

All this step is about is making the decision. That's all!  Putting off the decision is a decision. Not deciding is a decision. It is simply a decision, not an action. For example, you decide to go to the grocery. The action you take is to drive or walk there.  

There is no room for God if we are full of ourselves! Our problem comes from our addiction and is an extreme example of self will run rampant. Remember who we are playing with - your addiction is cunning, baffling and powerful.  If you are still trying to run your own life? Are you trying to run other people's lives? How's that working out for you? Should you be fired? 

Are you ready to have God take it from here? You simply need to be willing to open the door a crack and let God do the rest. Decide that from now on, God is the director, not you!! So what are you waiting for? Let go and Let God!  Not just of some of the things - ALL of the things!  This is only the beginning!

Are YOU ready?

Sunday Stories - Summer

Hello my name is Summer and I'm an alcoholic and drug addict.

My sobriety date is 2/1/2003. I have a home group in a 12 step program. 

I have a sponsor and I sponsor women in this program.

I am from a northern state from a big family in a semi rural area. I grew up with horses and farms and lots of out door spaces. I was also adopted into this family. I am now 49yrs old.

I started messing around with alcohol when I was 12. That's the first time I got drunk anyway. I was out with my friend and his Mom for the afternoon at one of the lakes. Later that evening while we were eating at a bar and grill, my friend and I got into the pitchers of beer on the table and I began to drink. No one noticed and I got hammered. I got so drunk that to this day I can't remember if my friend got drunk too.

When I got home I told my Mom (who was waiting up for me) that I was sick, and I ran upstairs to my bedroom. I had just gotten a cast off my leg from partially breaking my lower leg in a horse accident.

When I laid down to sleep the room began to spin. I ran to the bathroom to get sick and I fell and re-broke my leg. I never told anyone except my brothers who woke up when I screamed from the pain. No they never told on me either.

After a few days of being sick from my first drunk. The pain and suffering seemed to slip my mind because I was about to do it again.....

Come back next week for more of Summer's story!

Feed Me Friday - Higher Power to the Chicken Degree

Your Higher Power:

is NOT your addiction:

IS a power greater than yourself and with it, you can do anything!

While feeding your soul with some great music, feed your body with this delicious Shredded Chicken! 

When visiting my parents, I am asked what I want to eat while there. I always request a shredded chicken sandwich.  A couple of days ago I was at a friend's house for dinner and her Aunt Ellen made shredded chicken in the crock pot. I put it over mashed potatoes and it reminded me of my mom's chicken sandwich. So, when offered leftovers to take home - I took some chicken and made it into a sandwich the next day!  YUMMY and reminded me of home!  Here's how:

Place the following in a slow cooker:

4 chicken breasts
2 cans of mushroom soup
1 boullion cube
garlic powder
salt
pepper

Cook on low for 6-8 hours. The chicken practically shreds itself!

I put this over mashed potatoes!  It would also be delicious over a biscuit. 

To make it into a sandwich, crush crackers (saltine, club, Ritz) and add until the mixture is thick enough to put in a bun. Think of the consistancy of sloppy joes.

Work it Wednesday - Step 2

Step 2 - Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. 

In Step 1 you admitted that you are powerless over your addiction and that your life has become unmanageable - 

You are suffering from an illness which only a spiritual experience will conquer.

A Power greater than ourselves? What does that mean? God? What if I don't believe in God?

   ag·nos·tic
    noun \ag-ˈnäs-tik, əg-\

: a person who does not have a definite belief about whether God exists or not

: a person who does not believe or is unsure of something

athe·ist

 noun \ˈā-thē-ist\

: a person who believes that God does not exist

A Power greater than ourselves = a higher power as you understand it. It is anything at all that you think is adequate as long as it is greater than yourself and is loving and caring. If you are not comfortable with God, you can pray to the stars, the universe or just a higher power in general.

To be doomed to an alcoholic death or live on a spiritual basis is not always an easy choice. You must find a higher power to compensate for our own lack of power. For about half of us that higher power is God. For the other half, all you need to do is express a willingness to believe in a Power greater that ourselves, whether you find that in the stars or otherwise.

Experience shows that when we come to believe in a Power greater than ourselves we find a new power, peace, happiness and direction. We have a revolutionary change in our thinking a new of living. You have a new foundation, or cornerstone, that forms part of the new you.


Doubt and prejudices block our ability to find a spiritual solution. They may have come from childhood misconceptions, or by anti-religious campaigns. We want to hang on to old ideas, but that will only keep us stuck and not allow us to move forward in our recovery.

Willingness to believe is the key to Step 2. Whether your higher power is God or otherwise, simply BELIEVE that that power can restore you to sanity!

Sunday Stories - PAM E.

Hi I am Pam and I am a grateful Christ Follower recovering from abuse, codependency, abandonment, alcohol and anger. If not for the Mercy of our Lord and Savior, Celebrate Recovery, awesome sponsors, accountability partners, and Church Family I would not be standing here today.

I was born on Oct 24, 2009. That was the day I woke up in a turtle suit in the mental observation pod of the Ortiz Correction Facility. I spent 5 horrific days there before they moved me to general population. I knew immediately that my life had to change! I knew I could not do it on my own.  I prayed to God to take the taste of alcohol from my tongue and thought of it away from my mind and show me the direction my life had to take. How had I gotten here???

November 8th 1954. As the intensity of her labor pains increased, she knew it would all be worth it…a baby boy, the solution to everything! Her husband would be fulfilled and happy. This would repair her broken marriage all would be perfect. The big moment arrives!! Ta Da!! I was born…her third girl much to her dismay. My middle sister hated me because I destroyed her babydom.  To my oldest sister I was just one more thing she had to help with around the house. Dad was happy…a reason to celebrate!!!

There was always a high level of tension in our household. Mom had an explosive temper. You never knew when or what would set her off. We all walked on eggshells. It didn’t help that I was a sickly child. My Mom took a morning sickness pill that caused me major medical conditions throughout my life. Dad made sure he kept himself either busy, out of the house, or drunk. Sometimes he accomplished all three. Dad always had a bottle of happiness tucked away.  

My mother was my physical and sexual abuser. I learned early to escape into a quiet place in my mind. Shutting down reality became my best defense mechanism. Mom was a nurse and Dad a TV repairman. I spent work hours with a paid caregiver. She became my protector from the abuse of my middle sister. That was until my mother decided I was old enough for my sister to babysit me…I was 7. I lived in a constant state of fear between my mother and my sister. I had assigned duties to keep me busy. Dusting, sweeping, doing dishes, feeding and watering the chickens and so on when the chores were done my sister would lock me in the closet. This is when I starting feeling like a Princess…Cinderella.  

Dad and Mom had saved enough money to make a move up in the world. They opened a Television and Radio Sales and Repair Business. Mom kept the books, made sales, and Dad did his thing. Moves always make things better…right…not. I was alone with my sister much more and her abuse because more intense a least the pantry at this house had a window. Dad was fixing more than TVs when he made house calls. So when Mom caught him, her rage increased and so did Dad’s drinking.

Mom bought the local Dairy Bar to get away from Dad and the TV business. Mom worked so many hours she was exhausted most the time. What a blessing for me! I now had an out of the house job. I was eleven. My middle sister graduated and moved out!! More good news!!

After my oldest sister’s second baby, she suffered postpartum depression. She ran away and we got the kids. So I become a surrogate mother at 13. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise. At 15 I finally stood up to Mother to protect my niece and nephew. I settled into my adult childhood. I attended school, worked, and took care of the kids. I was still living a fairy tale life. At last my knight in shining armor showed up! He came from a large family so he didn’t mind that the kids had to go on dates with us. We fell deeply in love. And with perfect timing my sister came back. Wow things were looking up in my life! God answered my prayers!

He joined the Army in July 1972 and we got married in October a month before my eighteenth birthday!!! I was the happiest I had ever been. His first overseas assignment was Korea. We paid my way over. Life was beautiful. My oldest son was made in Korea. Albert was born stateside in March 1975 and 263 days later Daniel was born. Life was amazing!! More good news, we were going to Panama. What a beautiful country!!! My husband was moving up the ladder! Rubbing elbows with all the right people. He began to put together his paperwork for Warrant Officer. He came to a bump in the road. He needed special favors to help him get promoted and I became a bargaining chip. My storybook life fell apart. I had such low self-esteem, I did what he asked. At that moment I turned my back on God. I started smoking marijuana and drinking to cope with what was happening. I escaped into that quiet place in my head. If you don’t acknowledge it, it isn’t real. He got his promotion and we were assigned to Fort Huachuca, AZ. He was always TDY sometimes up to a month at a time, so I basically was a single mother. I became very active in the Officers Wives Club, the Warrant Wives Club, and Army Community Services. At night I would drink and smoke grass to ease the emptiness growing inside of me. I accepted the unfaithfulness and the loneliness. After all isn’t that what a loving wife does. I was trying to do all the things I thought was right. So many wrong choices! I found out I had cervical cancer and began treatments. They were ineffective so I had a hysterectomy in 1979. I was 25.

We were assigned to Italy. I was so excited! I knew this was going to be the “dream come true” assignment!!! He went over first. We were apart almost 5 months when he found a house and I finally got there! What a nightmare! Within 24 hours of my arrival I found out about an unknown affair in Arizona, the new one in Italy (I was a day early and he had a date that night) and my son fell out a window and was rushed to the emergency room for 7 stitches. I spent my first night in paradise drunk and left alone. A sane person would have gotten back on the plane and left…but this was me. Once again I did what I thought a good wife was supposed to do. Besides Italy had great food, Sambuca, and Hash…Italy was a beautiful Country! I arrived in Italy weighing 110 lbs I left tipping the scales at 200. I blamed it on killer munchies!  

Each new assignment after that was more of the same except the TDYs got longer. We were always left behind. In 1995 I became very ill. During an ultrasound they found a tumor. The cancer was back. They took out the tumor and my gallbladder.  God spared me again and I still put a man above Him.

We spent a total of 26 years in the Military before he retired. Things got even worse after retirement. He got his first civilian job and quickly became a work-a-holic. We started a woodworking business to help us spend time together after his full time job. His brother fell on hard times so he took him on as a partner. Once again I was replaced. My health went downhill. I was diagnosed with Diabetes, lupus, fibromyalgia and bipolar disorder. They made a pill for all of it. I kept stuffing my feelings and my face. At 350 lbs I went in for gastric bypass. I lost down to 120 lbs. 

We were married 36 years when he finally found the love of his life…and it wasn’t me. I was lost after the divorce! I had dedicated my entire life to a man, to his dreams. I knew how to be Mrs. E, but I didn’t even know who Pam was anymore so I decided a move would fix everything. I flipped a coin heads FL tails AZ. I lived out of my car for six months. The party was on! I found two new men - Captain Morgan and Jose Cuervo. I was on a mission of destruction. All I wanted to do was die and I almost accomplished it in July 2008. I was behind the wheel, blacked out drunk and caused a major accident. By the Grace of God I was the only one injured. I broke my ankle in three places, eight ribs and had facial damage. My first DUI - what a doosey! I started going to AA and did some counseling. I was sober, but still empty. 362 days later I thought I had everything under control. Besides I wasn’t really an alcoholic…I never hid bottles, I didn’t drink every day, never missed work or was ever drunk at work…I was a social drinker. Socially unacceptable!! I got worse every day!!! My weight dropped below 90 lbs. I was totally out of control. Hello DUI #2. Then DUI #3. 5 days in a turtle suit and 6 months in Lee Co Jail. I finally hit rock bottom. 

That is when God was able to take my brokenness and start putting me back together in His design. God put all the right people in my life. I got much needed life coaching and AA meetings while in jail. I continued counseling and AA meetings when I was released, 90 meetings in 90 days, but the best was yet to come. I was led to Grace Community Center for Community Service. I started serving at the Thrift Store. That is where I found out about Celebrate Recovery. The first night I went to Celebrate Recovery I was overwhelmed! They were all so nice and I even got a free meal. Then we went into the sanctuary for what they called large group. The Worship Band played a song then this big burly biker dude came out! He welcomed us, prayed, then the Worship Band began to play again, oh my they all went Pentecostal on me!! I checked to make sure I knew where the nearest exit was if the snakes came out! 

That night was testimony night. I can’t even remember who it was but they started telling my story! To think someone else had lived through the same hell I had walked through! They had even been in Jail. That night I recommitted my life totally to Christ. Whatever it takes Lord I will give it!!! I want what these crazy people have!!! I started attending Celebrate Recovery every Tuesday and Friday Women’s Codependency on Tues and Women’s Abuse on Friday’s, a Women’s Twelve Steps for Christians Meeting on Wednesdays, An AA Drop the Rock Meeting on Thursdays. The layers of my onion started to peel. Some of those layers were stank! Some days the only way I made it was by taking it second by second. I attended Sunday and Wednesdays at Grace Central Campus. What an awesome place! It was like old home week I saw so many that I had spent time with in jail. All of us being changed and loved by God!!! I realized that everything I had been through was now being used for the Glory of God. The Bible declares emphatically that not one tear of his children falls to the ground. David said, “Put my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?” (Psalm 56:8). The tears of the godly are so precious to him, he preserves them. If God preserves my tears, will he not preserve me? That every test is now a testimony as it states in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 

I started volunteering anywhere and everywhere I was needed. I attended an Emmaus Walk and then a Kairos Outside Weekend. God doesn’t call the equipped; He equips the called. I soon realized, as I began to learn to understand and listen to God’s voice that everything I was doing wasn’t where God wanted me. I surrendered to God becoming His obedient servant. He led me to Celebrate Recovery, Kairos Outside, and prayer. He led me to Grace Cape Coral Campus! I use the gifts He gives where He sends me for His glory. Galatians 2:20 “I am not the one living now…it is Christ living in me. I still live in this body, but I live by faith in the Son of God. He is the one who loved me and gave Himself to save me”! I now realize I am a Princess, a chosen daughter of the One True King. The beauty of the gift God gives us is that it is for everyone. All you have to do is ask. Once you receive it it then is yours to give away. 

I would not trade the best day in my old life for my worst day now. God promised us beyond our wildest dreams.  In my whole life I have had lots of acquaintances, drinking buddies, and false friends. I prayed for God to bring me real friends. I have had one real friend my whole life until I went to Celebrate Recovery. As I looked around the room I saw Brothers and Sisters that are there for me no matter what. All I have to do is pick up the phone. Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight." It is never too late to ask God for freedom from bondage. To release you from the prison you are living in. 

This October I will have 5 years alcohol and drug free!! God answers our prayers. Surrender to His perfect timing. Every day is new and beautiful. I am not perfect far from it, but I am better than I ever have been. I along with dear sisters we have recently completed a one year step study. Working the 12 steps along with the special people God chooses for us is so rewarding! I can’t put into words the bonds you make and the personal growth you achieve. This program works if you work it. Regardless of age! Never give up before the miracle happens!!! It will happen!!! All you have to do is take the first step. Reach out your hand and trust God!!!

Remember:

All things are possible through Jesus Christ.
To trust God is leading you exactly where you are meant to be.
To use the gifts you have received, and pass on the love you have been given.
That you are a COG-POW (a child of God person of worth)!         
Recovery is there for each and every one of you no matter your age or situation!
Enjoy God’s peace. Let His Presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, and be happy.

From Being Powerless to a POWERFULLY Great Coffee Cake

I don't know why this is so fuzzy and I cannot figure out how to sharpen it, so here are the words
It began innocently enough, as many things do. A little bit of fun without much thought. When you failed to notice the subtle currents and slipped in deeper. You still had a chance, but now you're adrift and wonder how you lot control.

HOWEVER.......

Today, by being powerless, I choose to accept the things I cannot change. By changing the things I can, I am not helpless.

This is one powerful coffee cake! It was published in the LA Times YEARS ago. I tried to find a copy of it, but I could not. My mom also had a healthier version, but when I asked for a copy of it, she said she threw it away long ago because we NEVER made it that way!  So, here is the original recipe - would be GREAT for Easter brunch!

                                                                    

MERK'S COFFEE CAKE

(From COOKS.COM)

1/2 c. shortening I used butter flavored Crisco, but plane will work
3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
2 c. flour (all-purpose)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. soda
1/2 pt. sour cream (dairy type)  which is 1 cup

NUT MIXTURE:
6 tbsp. soft butter
1 c. brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. chopped nuts I saw a recipe that had walnuts in it so that's what I bought,    but I think pecans would be yummy

You may want to make the nut mixture first, so it is ready when the batter is done. I did it the opposite way and the batter sat while I made the nut mixture. I'll do it the other way around the next time.

Cream shortening and sugar. Add vanilla. Add eggs one at a time and
beat well after each. Add dry ingredients alternately with sour cream. Pour
into well greased and floured bundt or tube pan, 1/2 of batter. Sprinkle
with 2/3 nut mix. Add remaining batter. Sprinkle remaining nut mix on top.
Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in pan and then
remove from pan. MINE WAS DONE IN ABOUT 40 MINUTES, SO CHECK IT OFTEN! When a toothpick comes out clean, it's done! About 12 minutes later......

I know it is called COFFEE Cake, but a hot slice is best served with a cold glass of milk!  

ENJOY!! (I did!)

When you make this, please leave a comment on how it turned out for you!

If anyone has the healthier alternative recipe, please share! 

Work It Wednesday - Take the first step!

The first step of any recovery program is to admit you are powerless over your addiction (alcohol, cocaine, heroin, prescription drugs) and that your life has become unmanageable.  

To purchase this poster visit our website
www.streetchicks.net

Powerless pow·er·less
adjective       

1. 1. Without ability, influence, or power
2. 
   
3. 2. Devoid of strength or resources

   
   

Unmanageable

un·man·age·a·ble

adjective

1. 1.

    Difficult or impossible to manage, manipulate, or control

   2. Difficult to keep under control or within limits

No one wants to admit that they are an addict!  It is not something that we strive for, but it unfortunately happens.  One of the hardest things to do is to admit to our self that we have a problem! It is only after we humbly admit defeat that can we begin the process of recovery.

Not sure if you are an alcoholic or drug addict?

Here are just a couple of questions to ask yourself:

1. Have you ever decided to stop drinking and/or using for a week or so, but it only lasted for a couple of days?
2. Do you wish people would mind their own business about your drinking and/or using, and stop telling you what to do?
3. Have you ever felt that your life would be better if you did not drink or use?

Still not sure, take one of the following assessments. 

National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence has these self assessments: 

 Am I an Alcoholic?

 Am I a drug addict?

Addiction is a disease.  The only choice we have in the matter is whether or not to take the first drink. Once we have the first, our addicted brain simply wants more until it is at the brink of insanity, sometimes death. It cannot stop. As the song goes 'One drink is too many, and one more is never enough'.  We become POWERLESS!

The unmanageable part comes in when we have hit 'rock bottom'. This varies for everyone, but far too often it means that we have lost everything and/or done time in jail. We finally admit defeat and seek help. 

Here's what some of my friends are saying when asked "When did you realize that you were powerless over your addiction and that your life had become unmanageable?"

• When I realized that you didn't have to drink every day to be an alcoholic
• When I saw I couldn't do anything anymore without a drink I had enough!
• I was sick and tired of being sick and tired! My life was controlled by drugs. There was nothing left for me to do but to reach out to the hand of another addict and my higher power, Jesus Christ.
• When I lost pretty much everything - my job, place to live, friends and custody of my kids!
• Jail, lost jobs, lost relationships, more jail, and living on the street
• I realized that drinking made me break out in handcuffs!!!!
• When I woke up in the hospital getting a blood transfusion (because I was in severe liver failure), then waking up in a rehab facility to learn how to walk again and the whole time thinking only a day had gone by and it had really been 2 WEEKS! Words can't describe how scary that is!

So, are you ready to admit that you are powerless over your addiction and that your life has become unmanageable?  If so, congratulations! You've taken the 1st step!! Now find your way to a recovery program where you will find that you are not alone. Here are some links to find a meeting near you:

Alcoholics Anonymous

Narcotics Anonymous

Cocaine Anonymous

In addition to the 'Anonymous' program of your choice, you may want to attend Celebrate Recovery.  Celebrate Recovery is a recovery program based on God's word. To find Celebrate Recovery near you: http://crgroups.info/

You've spent a lot of time on your addiction - now spend some time on your recovery! Go to a meeting! Go NOW - what are you waiting for?

Sunday Stories - Tattoo Dee

Hi! I'm an alcoholic and drug addict and my name is Dee. I am hoping that by telling my story today there might be a woman out there that hears what she needs to hear and most of all that you will hear a message of HOPE.

I started using drugs at a very early age. I was raised in Europe up until the age of 5 and things are a little different over there. From there my family moved to Longboat Key, Florida. Which is actually an island, and the kids there were referred to as 'Island Kids'. By the time I was 12, I was drinking and smoking pot, which quickly lead to using LSD. I either needed to be the best of the best or the baddest of the bad! At 14, I didn't just run away from home, but managed to hitch hike across country to California. This was right at the end of the whole hippie movement, so instead of love beads I was met by junkies and became a heroin addict. 

It didn't take long to get arrested for possession. I was in the LA county jail, 5'11" tall, about 90 lbs, white as a sheet, malnourished with track marks.  Since I was a juvenile, they called my parents, who sent a plane ticket to fly me back to Florida. There I went into a Juvenile home for 6 weeks or so, but as soon as I was released, I was right back at it. My parents tried the geographical relocation to help me stop. But I would steal booze, pills, anything to get high and end up in jail. We moved again, and I met my first husband. A guy who drank and drugged just as much as I did. At 16 I had my first son, had another, then the marriage broke up. My ex-husband took the kids and I did not see them for over 10 years. I was married again, to another man who drank and drugged, divorced and married again. I was charged with drunk and disorderly conduct, ended up in a psych ward, had numerous blackouts and DUI's. I was court ordered to attend meetings. Everyone saw that I had a problem but me.

That was the start of a 30 year period of going to meetings, getting a sponsor, being sober for a while, and going right back to it for no reason at all. Relapse has been a big part of my sobriety, but I was told 'No matter how many times you fall down, you CAN get back up and try again'. Towards the end, I was mixing alcohol with heroin, I would get drunk/high, go to sleep and hope I would just not wake up. I was just tired of living that way. Then one day, I found myself with no job, no apartment, no money and no gas in the car. I was 56 years old - how did this happen?

I felt lost! I didn't know who I was. I had no identity. I'm DONE, I've had it! All I felt was hopelessness and dispair. It felt like a HUGE hole in my chest that kept opening and opening until Dee wasn't there anymore. I was a black hole!

After 3 days of doing nothing but sitting on the couch feeling like nothing, a friend called. I was so broken that I couldn't put two coherent thoughts together. I had never been like that and was scared to death. She asked if I had eaten anything, and I said no. She told me to eat, then call her back. So I did. Then she told me to shower and call her back. I had no choice but to do what she said. She continued this for 3 days, and finally got me to a meeting. It was in those rooms that I first heard people talking about doing some of the same things I had done. I had never talked about a lot of it, because I was ashamed and thought I was the only one.

I moved to a half way house and managed to stay sober for just over a year. I found myself with no job and no possessions. I had lost all of my stuff on the outside, but on the inside stuff started to come back. I started to reconstruct myself from the inside out! I went to every 'A' meeting available - AA, CA and NA. I did a lot of listening, got a sponsor and worked the steps. What I really had a hard time with was feelings. One ex-husband hung himself due to addiction and another died in a boating accident.In the past, I had done everything possible to cover them up in the past to avoid feeling any. My sponsor assured me that they were just feelings and the only way to get through tings was to walk through them. 

I started rebuilding relationships. I had given up a child to adoption between my first and second husband with the condition that he was told about me when he turned 18. As it turns out, his adopted father was an undercover narcotics detective. He actually found me when he was 17! We have met and I am looking forward to spending a few days with him here soon.  I made amends with my family. But the most important relationship I have now is with GOD.

The one thing I do the most now is tell my story. It's not because I like talking about me, but maybe I can help just one other person that has no hope. I didn't either until I worked the 12 steps. I try to help people as much as I can. 

I have had to learn how to let go and forgive myself for things I did while using. My disease of addiction was stronger than anything! Stronger than the love for my children, stronger than any hopes or dreams I had. Stronger than any relationship. Now it is NOT! 

So, no matter what you think you've done that is so bad, there's somebody out there that's done it too, or even something worse.

It can be done! There is HOPE!

My Cup Runneth Over - with Hope and Peanut Butter!

Feed Me Friday - Feeding your Body and Soul!

First, HOPE for your soul - this poem is for the lost and the found.

Second, for your body - Reese's peanut butter cup knock offs. If you make either of these recipes, I want to hear from you!

Since Easter is right around the corner, and my FAVORITE thing to find in my Easter basket is a Reese's Peanut Butter egg (YUM), I am sharing a healthier, but just as YUMMY (or I wouldn't eat it!) version. This recipe can be found in the Street Chicks Cookbook (available on our website - just click the link to your right) and is courtesy of The Nourishing Gourmet, Kim Hams.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 2 Tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/3 cup chopped peanuts
• 4 oz semi-sweet chocolate pieces (which is 1/2 cup)
• 2-4 Tablespoons honey

1. In a small bowl combine peanut butter, coconut oil, vanilla, 2 tablespoons of honey and nuts. Mix until well combined.
2. Drop by heaping teaspoons into mini cupcake pans and place in freezer for 15-20 minutes while you prepare the chocolate topping.
3. Place chocolate pieces into the top of a double boiler (or a heatproof bowl that fits on top of a pot you have) along with 2-4 tablespoons of honey.
4. Place about 2" of water in the pan and the heatproof bowl on top of the water. Bring water to a simmer and allow the chocolate to melt. Remove bowl from the double boiler. ****(I just melted the chocolate in the microwave - just remember to only microwave for a few seconds at a time, like 10-15, stirring before adding more time, or you will burn your chocolate! YUCK!)****
5. Drop chocolate by spoonfulls over the peanut butter mixture and place back into the freezer for about 20 minutes. Take out and use a butter knife to pop them out of the cupcake pan.

Store in fridge or freezer.

But who needs to store them?  JUST EAT 'EM! If you're feeling generous share with friends!

Here is my experience making these and I want to start by saying that they really did taste GOOD!! 

First, I don't understand why there is so much coconut oil in the peanut butter mixture. If any of you can explain that, please comment and let me in on it. It made the peanut butter mixture kind of lumpy, so I had to work those out with a spatula.  Also, once they are 'set' in the freezer, they seemed to melt very quickly when I took them out.

I used a mini cupcake pan with 12 cups, and this mixture filled each to the brim without any leftover. I was going to try and just put drop fulls on waxed paper or use some alternative to the mini cupcake pan, but the peanut butter mixture is very thin and would not have held up on waxed paper. You could probably find some other container to make them in if you don't have the mini cupcake pan - might even work to put it in a 8x8 square pan and cut them.

Second, I put honey in the chocolate, but I don't think it is necessary. I have made many things dipped in chocolate, and just us plain chocolate.

When I took them out of the freezer, I choose to remove them from the pan, and dunk in chocolate. That did not work at all!  The peanut butter cup started to melt in the warm chocolate and the chocolate would not 'stick' to it at all, I think because of the coconut oil. It made them slippery.

 So, then I just put some on the top and it looked like a mini cupcake. That worked pretty well, but I wanted MORE chocolate, so I tried to turn the peanut butter cup upside down, so the larger part was on the bottom, and smaller part on top. I was hoping to put chocolate on it and have it run down the sides like a glaze.

Once again, the chocolate just wanted to slide off. Partly due to the fact that they were melting, partly due to the coconut oil.  So I gave up on that idea, and just put a dab of chocolate on the top.

Once again, these were DELICIOUS dispite the fact they didn't look so good. I'm glad I was not planning on thaking them somewhere!

For those of you who don't care about having a healthy alternative, this reminded me of making Buckeyes (as in Ohio State Buckeyes). For those of you that didn't grow up in Ohio and don't know what those are, they are peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate to look like a buckeye.

buckeyes

You could also form the peanut butter mixture into a small egg shape and it would be like a Reese's Easter egg!


Recipe courtesy of Jiff







Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups Jif® Creamy Peanut Butter
  Or 1 1/2 cups Smucker's® Natural Creamy Peanut Butter
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 to 4 cups powdered sugar
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons Crisco® All-Vegetable Shortening

Directions

1. Combine peanut butter, butter, vanilla and salt in large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on LOW until blended. Add 2 cups powdered sugar, beating until blended. Beat in additional powdered sugar until mixture, when shaped into a ball, will stay on a toothpick. Shape into 1-inch balls. Refrigerate.
2. Place chocolate chips and shortening in microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on MEDIUM for 30 seconds. Stir. Repeat until mixture is smooth. Reheat as needed while coating peanut butter balls.
3. Insert toothpick in peanut butter ball. Dip 3/4 of ball into chocolate, leaving top uncovered to resemble a buckeye. Remove excess. Place on wax paper-lined tray. Remove toothpick. Smooth over holes. Refrigerate until firm.

Introduction by the 'Top Chick'

Top Chick

All my life I felt like I didn't quite fit in. Like I was always on 
the outside looking in.

I tried every method I could think of: playing sports, being 
funny, looking just right. But I just couldn't quite connect if 
you know what I mean. Then I found drinking and drugs and 
the people and things that go with it. At first I felt like I had 
found my place in the world, all my weird fears fell away. I felt 
powerful and that anything was possible. Then slowly but surely 
it started to turn on me. I dug in harder. I desperately fought to 
keep things together. I even had a baby that I later left with her 
Grandparents, till I could get it together enough to come get her. Problem is I never could get it together. As my alcoholism and drug addiction continued to progress I sank deeper and deeper into the ever darkening pit. Actually it’s more like quicksand. 

Jails, lost jobs, lost relationships, more jail, numerous humiliations and of course the street and all of its lovely little gifts – Ha!! I’ll never forget the street! Awful place for a woman. 

And then when sitting on curb truly believing that I had blown all my chances for help and that it was too late for me. It was over. No more fighting this was going to be my life. I gave up. 
I didn't know I was giving up but that’s what I did. But what I also didn't know that I was about to receive a gift. I was about to get sober. How the Hell did that happen?

Well that’s what Street Chicks in Recovery is all about. After years running the streets I saw a need to tell our story. Nobody knows our stories and very few people know we can recover, we do recover from the devastating effects produced by alcoholism and drug addiction. These booklets, comics and posters show how we did it.

We hope you enjoy our artwork and short stories. Please keep in mind we are not Harvard Grads – We are Street Chicks in Recovery and this is what happened to us.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Love and Peace: Street Chicks in Recovery

Thanks for reading our first blog!  Our initial goal is to post three times a week - Sunday Stories, Work it Wednesday (about a 'step') and Feed Me Friday - food for the body and soul - an inspirational message along with a nutritious recipe!  We look forward to your comments and suggestions, but most of all, we want to hear YOUR story!!