Tips for Staying Sober on the Fourth of July
Celebrating Holidays Without Risking Your Sobriety
Fourth of July barbecues and other social gatherings will be difficult to attend while recovering. You might start to reminisce about the old times and it may only go downhill from there if you don’t do anything to change your thought process. If you find yourself struggling during this holiday, you are not alone. There are many other recovering addicts feeling the same as you. Help is only a meeting, function, or phone call away! Don’t make staying sober hard, make staying sober fun!
Take this opportunity to not only celebrate the holidays but to celebrate your new life as well; your first Independence Day sober! Here is a list of tips to help:
Tip #1: Plan Ahead
Planning how you’re going to stay sober during the 4th of July can save you a lot of frustration, especially if you’re planning on going to a party that will have alcohol. Before you attend the party, call and ask questions. Assess if there will be activities to keep you busy. Asking questions can help you mentally prepare, and that’s half the battle.
Tip #2: Bring Your Beverages & Snacks
Bring your own food and drinks if you feel like there won’t be any that you can enjoy. This way, you have non-alcoholic choices ready.
Tip #3: Bring Someone to Hold You Accountable
An accountability partner can be the difference between a good time and a disaster. If you bring someone who has the sole purpose of helping you get through the function sober, it can be very helpful. An added benefit is that you have someone to talk to the entire time.
Tip #4: Have an Exit Strategy
When things get uncomfortable or you feel that your sobriety is about to be risked, make a plan to leave. Unfortunately, not everyone understands the sober life.
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Fun 4th of July Recipe by The Pioneer Woman
Ingredients
For the cake:
2 1/4 sticks of unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan
3 c. sugar
6 extra large eggs, at room temperature
1 c. sour cream (not low-fat), at room temperature
1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3 c. all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
1 tsp. kosher salt (use 3/4 teaspoon regular salt if kosher salt is not available)
1 tsp. baking soda
For the icing:
1 1/2 lb. cream cheese (3 8-ounce packages, not low-fat), at room temperature
1 lb. unsalted butter (4 sticks), at room temperature
1 lb. confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 half-pints blueberries
3 half-pints raspberries
Directions
For the cake:
Preheat the oven to 350˚. Grease and flour a 17-by-12 1/2-inch sheet cake pan. (Note: this recipe may be halved for a smaller pan, as this recipe feeds an army.)
In a bowl with a mixer, mix the butter and sugar together on high speed until light and fluffy, about a minute or so. Add the eggs, two at a time. Mix after each addition. Add the sour cream and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cornstarch, kosher salt, and baking soda. Turn the mixer to low and gradually add the flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture, one scoop at a time. Mix after every addition. Keep adding the flour mixture until just combined. Do not over mix!
Pour the thick cake batter into the prepared pan. (It's much thicker than regular cake batters.) With a knife or offset spatula, spread the cake batter evenly over the pan.
Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, 20 to 30 minutes.
For the icing:
Add the cream cheese and butter to the bowl of a mixer. Whip to combine. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Mix until thoroughly combined, scraping the sides once during mixing.
Put about ½ the frosting on the cake. Mark off the area of the stars with a toothpick. (No need to be proportionately accurate; just guesstimate.) Prepare a pastry bag with a large star tip and fill up to 2/3 with icing. Fold down both corners to keep the icing from spilling out of the top.
Grip the folded-down end tightly under your fingertips and start squeezing two lines of frosting at the bottom of the cake. Make two rows of raspberries on the cake, then add another two lines of frosting.
Keep repeating: two lines of frosting, two lines of raspberries, two lines of frosting, etc.
Fill the square in the corner with a nice layer of blueberries. With the star tip, squeeze little dollops of frosting all over the blueberries to look like stars.
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