Sober Not Somber Hour

Hey. Hey. Welcome to Sober not Somber hour. How is everyone today on this Tuesday, early August? Well, it's the 12th now, so not so early. Yeah. Hi. Oh, hi. I've a joiner and you know what, it's cool when people join. I love to be able to say your name when you join in. So if you have a handle that is not clear, clearly has your name. If you would drop it in the chat, say hi. Welcome. Yeah. Hey, Nikki. Hey, Luke. So I am just back from a road trip to Colorado and today's Sober not Somber hour is on the theme of savoring through the senses.

Wow. So my thoughts around this are to encourage you. Hi Amar. To kind of check in with where you're at in your environment. So so much of what we experience in our senses are through our external environment. So I'm thinking about that in terms of this, this recent trip, it was incredible. I had 6 days with my 22 year old daughter and it's hard to come by time with her. So we really did have an amazing vacation and I, you know, was looking forward to this for quite some time and just relaxed into it.

And I did find, I will say that my senses were heightened as we went from Minnesota to Iowa through Nebraska and ended up in the mountains of Colorado. So humidity levels in Minnesota, if you're from here, you know, it's miserably humid and that effect and. And one of the things I noticed as we climbed elevation, the highest elevation we were at in Colorado was over 11,000ft. And I noticed like a dryness. You know, your skin feels dry, your lips feel dry. Everything is just in your parched. You need to drink more water.

So na beverage of choice. There was a lot of water. Today I'm going to highlight and sip this while we're chatting. Earl Giles. So this is a classic ginger beer. They created this, you guys. I just did an amazing NA mixology class with them end of July. And there's another one coming up on Thursday, August 28th. So I'm going to pour this as you drop in the chat how you're savoring this August. What are you doing to slow down? Oh, speak, wonder you say love Colorado. It's your other home. Yeah. Want to make it my other home as well.

So biggest thing I noticed, no mosquitoes. It was lovely. I could do yoga outside on the deck at this Airbnb we were at. And I, I savored every moment. That is so good. Oh my gosh. This is called Death by Ginger. A little lime oil and salt. 110 calories. So not super low on the calories for a 12 ounce serving. But you know what, it's refreshing. So, yeah, decaf afternoon coffee breaks. That's a great way to savor through the sense of taste. I personally feel like being on a road trip and getting out of your daily environment and routines is a huge way to appreciate how to savor more.

And what I found is, like, literally all of my senses were engaged. And from the way that things felt and the way that I experienced them to the, I guess I would say even getting in the water. Right. So, like having water around and feeling that and like we were paddle boarding Evergreen Lake on. And I just noticed, like, being able to lay flat on my back on the paddle board and, like, put my arms in the water. Like, water is really healing. And that's a sense. That's a sense of like, touch and feel on your body.

That is so completely relaxing. Yeah. So I. I'm just curious who's. Who's getting out, who's taking a break this August and slowing down. That was my whole conversation last. Last week too, is just taking time to just be in some of the ordinary moments and then also just figuring out how to slow things down in this month in particular before things ramp up again this fall and get so busy. Oh, yeah. Speak, wonder. No mosquitoes, zip, zero, nada. It's incredible. I am highly allergic to them. So every time I get a mosquito bite, it like itches for days.

So not like, I always thought I was not a camper, but it turns out I could camp. Camp in Colorado and be fine. So I appreciated not having the sense of a mosquito bite. Yeah. Yeah. So just coming back to that. And I think I did a. I did a lot of deep breathing. If you've ever driven in the car. Like, my daughter's a really good driver, but the terrain out there in the mountains, like hairpin turns where you need to slow down to 15 miles an hour and you're climbing and you're literally are right on the edge of a cliff, It's a little bit jarring.

For us Minnesotans who are used to more of the flat, flat surfaces. And Ava, my daughter, was just like, taking it all in and I was enjoying driving. I was very, like, engaged. And what we did, instead of listening to music, a lot of the times we just rolled down the windows. The air quality, like, was better than Minnesota and it was cooler. And the nighttime lookout mountain kind of hike we did and came down from the mountain, all you could hear was just like nature and like just the sound of all of that happening as you're zooming down the mountain.

Exhilarating. So I forget, like, we were listening to music so much that we. I just was like, let's turn it off and just listen to what's happening in the environment. I would encourage you to do that as well. Just be at peace with it. The other, the other things I noticed were obviously the water and being able to just be in calm and peaceful water. That's an incredible sense to experience if you have not. And I would say I don't. I think it's rare to like get some of these experiences in Minnesota or wherever your home is because you're just kind of used to your environment.

So it is good. It's very good to change it up. I also noticed, speaking of the sense of taste, that Colorado is moving forward in their NA options in bars and restaurants. So it was awesome to have some really great NA out there. I just posted on my Instagram stories, like a whole capture of our experience there. And I would say at most of the restaurants we were at in bars there was great at A options. And I of course, always let them know that I really appreciate that. So we went to one place called Dino's and like Winter park and they had like a, you know, non alcoholic margarita, but it was made with seed lip and it was all these ingredients and then like a tahini rim.

All the stuff that I look for in a quality na. So I appreciated the sense of taste and having non alcoholic options. Leaning into friendships. Carrie says, yeah, friendships are huge right now for me. I think I've shared. I've been going through a relationship breakup over the last month and friends have been there. They are amazing to just lean into and really appreciate that. I think sometimes when we have so many relationships and things going on and family that friends can sort of take a back burner.

But oh my gosh, they are so important to savor. And I, I would say relationship wise, you know, working through the breakup, but also being with my daughter, like being with your adult child like that, those are moments to savor for sure. I mean, we, we actually had such a great time. There were heightened times where our sleep schedules are not the same. I did not savor those moments. I'm very, you know, get up early and plan. And that did not happen every day. But I tried to roll with it and I, um.

We made it work. We made it work. So, yeah, I encourage everyone to think about, you know, yeah, speak, wonder, hang in and lean into your friend tribe, that's for sure. I've already scheduled some stuff for myself this week because coming back, back from a road trip and an amazing vacation can be an assault on the senses. Like, oh, no, here we are, you know, back to reality. And that can be tough. That can be hard. So makes me, you know, savor and cherish those moments away even more. But, yeah, it is time to kind of slowly set into the week.

And I just want to, you know, thank you all for being here and, you know, encourage you to figure out ways to savor this month of August. And what kind of senses do you want to enact more? I mean, there's so many stats on how unused, like, most of our senses can be, but they're powerful, and when you have, like, a way to being more internal and get more connected. So I feel like that is a perfect way to kind of end this conversation and wish you good, you know, good things in August and new ways to savor.

We'll do a little na. Cheers to that. This ginger beer is amazing. Have a great Tuesday, y'. All. Bye.