Self-Care and Summer Fun

After a year of sobriety, imagine the complexity of savoring that first drink and the flood of memories it brings. This episode dives into my rollercoaster summer, embracing everything from trips across states to a special surprise Comic-Con visit for my son, LJ. Discover how a busy schedule of self-care and family moments has redefined my understanding of personal joy and fulfillment, even as I navigate the bittersweet challenge of breaking my year-long hiatus from alcohol.

Ever wondered what a wild cruise adventure looks like? Picture this: hot Patron shots in the Bahamas, karaoke sessions gone hilariously awry, and the delightful chaos of reuniting with hard liquor. My best friend stepping in for my mom made our trip even more unforgettable, turning every espresso martini into a story worth telling. From California's craft cocktails to high seas high jinks, you'll laugh, wince, and maybe even find yourself craving a slice of cruise pizza by the end of this episode.

But it’s not all fun and games—there’s a serious side to cruise life too. Sail through the unpredictable waters of cruise ship rules and the baffling trend of passengers getting into trouble. Why risk a dream vacation over easily avoidable mistakes? Reflecting on these incidents, this episode underscores the importance of balancing fun with responsibility. Make sure to enable notifications for our latest updates and follow us on Instagram and YouTube for more behind-the-scenes action. Stick around for a special mention of Doja Cat's "Get into it," our song lyric of the week!

Chapters

• 0:35 Summer Adventures and Self-Care Journeys
• 9:06 Tipsy Tales on the CruiseShip
• 16:25 Cruise Revelations and Self-Care Lessons
• 27:44 Cruise Ship Trouble and Rules

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:35

Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of the Gag Is Podcast. I am your girl, charli Shante. One day I'm going to come on here and I'm going to have it all the way together. Y'all, I promise you I am. But, yes, welcome back to another episode of the Gag Is Podcast. Thank you for joining me on this new episode. Happy Friday to you.

Speaker 1: 0:55

Oh man, y'all see I got a lot of energy today because I've been resting. So you know we're going to jump right into what it is we got going on. This is going to be a doozy, it's going to be a two-parter, so this week and next week, and then you know how we do it. So, yeah, so we are concluding summer and I talked about this last week, but I think I want to go a little bit more deeper into, you know, the summer, some of the things that we did, some of the things that we didn't do, my thoughts about the upcoming school year, different things like that. So, if you have not already, go ahead and grab your snack, grab your drink. I got mine right here, so let me go ahead, take a little sip so my mouth doesn't get dry. Um, and we do that thing like that. So grab whatever you need to grab, let's get into it.

Speaker 1: 1:57

Um, don't I look darker, cause you know your girl been in the sun, fun in the sun? Um, I have been. I have been somewhere every other weekend. Since the last, the second to last weekend in May. I've been on plane, trains, automobiles and cruise ships. Just got off a cruise a couple days ago. That's why I got the 10 feature. If you're not following my personal page on Instagram, smartfit__oke, then you missed a good time on stories because I was doing it up.

Speaker 1: 2:44

But, like I said last week, as y'all know, I was sick, and so every time it was time for me to record, I was sick, and so I missed it. So I just ended up taking a summer to kind of just relax and reset and just get things in order. But in the meantime of trying to do that, I kind of I kind of overdid it a little bit. So this week we're just going to talk about, you know, the summer and you know, self-care for yourself. Then next week we'll get into, you know, open houses this week, and so that's something in itself, and then we'll start, you know, flowing as the kids get back to school.

Speaker 1: 3:29

So, like I said, I've been traveling, I've been traveling and you know, since I took a little quote, unquote, little break from the pod, you know I just been traveling and just being in my happy girl era, you know. And you know, every time I get tired I always tell myself I'm like. You know, I pray for days like these. You know, I pray for days where I could just wake up and I can go travel. I can go travel with my kids, I can go travel with my family, so I can't complain. Travel with my kids, I can go travel with my family, so I can't complain. I can, but I shouldn't complain about the things that we've been able to do this summer. And normally I always build my summer around my kids, but this summer I built it around me. I built it around me.

Speaker 1: 4:16

I took some time for me. I did the things that I wanted to do, the things that would make me happy. I went places, I seen people, just the things that make me happy, not saying that I didn't want to be around my kids, but it had been so long that I have done something for me, um, and I was being happy that I was like you know what? And while I have this free time. I need to take this time and do something for me. I'm like we have the family cruise coming up, um, so you know you'll be able to spend time with your kids then. But you got to take time for yourself and I y'all I out partied myself and a time was had. Okay, like I was. I went to Cali, I went to Texas, and something interesting happened. I keep it all the way, 100 with y'all. Something interesting happened while I was out there having my personal me time.

Speaker 1: 5:21

If y'all remember back in I think it was March or April I celebrated one year of sobriety and as I was up front with y'all, I said that I didn't know how long it was going to last or what the end goal was. But I decided to have a drink and for a long time I beat myself up. I was like, oh my God, like you were so sober and you know you, you had a drink. And I was talking to my best friend. She was like, girl, she's like it's a drink, she's like it's not the end of the world. And then I had to remember that the reason why I stopped drinking was not because I had a problem, it was just. I woke up one morning I was just like I'm not gonna drink anymore. And so I had a drink and you know, I didn't feel any way about it. I tell you one thing I tell you it hit different because after I had and I only had a glass of wine, and after I had that glass of wine I wasn't driving, I was in a car. I was like this hit different. So that happened over the summer. And then, once I got over my feelings with that, I was like you know what, let's turn this thing up a notch.

Speaker 1: 6:42

I ended up taking the kid to Comic-Con and this was a surprise trip for LJ. Lj didn't know about it. I've been playing for the last 10 months and it finally came. So we went to Cali and we literally left on a Friday evening and came back on a Sunday evening. 10 out of 10, don't recommend, because two days after that one, two, two and a half days after that, we ended up going and getting on a cruise in Florida. So I've gone from Florida to California, back to Florida in a matter of 48 hours and then getting on a cruise ship and I don't recommend.

Speaker 1: 7:31

Like we took a red eye and, um, I don't recommend if, if it like I was just trying to. You know, I don't know what I was trying to do. I don't know what I was trying to do. I was, I was doing too much. That's what I was doing.

Speaker 1: 7:50

But we had a amazing time and each time I was doing something, I'm like you're putting you first, charlotte, it's about time that you put you first. It's about time you started doing stuff for you. And you know, like I said a couple of days ago, we just got off the cruise. So I'm tired, I'm very tired. You know, um, we got, or we had, um, well, we got meet the teacher coming up and this is gonna be interesting because new face is starting high school and he's the baby. And you know, um, we're not sure how I feel about that, but that be in, we'll talk about that in next week, but for this week, let's talk about these vacations. Omg, y'all, let me tell y'all I'm so glad that I'm independent and I can just talk to y'all. How I want to talk to y'all and y'all are going to. Y'all understand. Y'all understand the transparency. I keep it real with you. There's never no fluff when it comes to me. So let me tell y'all.

Speaker 1: 9:06

So I went on this cruise and I went with my family, right, and I went with my best friend too, because I was like you know, unfortunately my mama didn't get to make it, so my best friend took a spot and I was like this is going to be something, this is going to be a movie. And a movie is exactly what it was. I do not recommend if you take a hiatus from drinking. I don't recommend that you start with hard liquor. It don't work for you.

Speaker 1: 9:37

I just came out the gate and I'm going to tell you what happened when I was in Cal. Uh, I just came out the gate and I'm gonna tell you what happened when I was in Cali. I was eating breakfast with my cousin and they had espresso martinis and I was like I need to see what all the hype is about these espresso martinis. And I got one espresso martini and when I tell you it sent me, I was like, oh my God, I got a new drink sent me. I was like, oh my God, I got a new drink, I have a new drink. And I think I got. I don't want nothing else to drink.

Speaker 1: 10:10

And so on the cruise the first day, as soon as we got on the cruise, I was like let me get some Patron. Now I don't know why I thought when I got on this cruise they was going to have 1942. Not sure why. I thought that I was like y'all got 42?. He was like we got Patron. I was like ain't quite my choice, but I'll take it. Ship hadn't even left the port yet and I was going off to Patron. So I was like all right, this is cool. But I was drinking water because it was hot. Like the devil was like what's up girl? I was like, hey, it was hot.

Speaker 1: 10:42

So we um, we go through and we stumble upon this pizza. Because I was like I'm a little hungry. And I was like, hey, nick, I was like let's get some pizza. Tell you what that pizza had? Had us both in a chokehold. The entire cruise, okay, the entire cruise. Like this ain't. No, oh, I'm just going to eat this pizza because I'm drunk. No, this was some pizza, pizza for your ass. I say all the time that pizza had something in it. I don't want to say what the connotation that I use, because I don't want y'all to report me talking about it. I'm talking about drug use and stuff. I don't know what this pizza had in it, but this pizza was bombcom. And so the next day we went to the Bahamas and got off. Tell you what, take me home when I get like this.

Speaker 1: 11:38

Nick understood the assignment because we was like, all right, when we get to the beach we're going to take some shots. So we took some shots of Patron and if you're new here, I have a citrus allergy so I can't take no lime. And then they use lime salt sometimes. So I had a shot of Patron with no lime and no salt. So just straight gangster. And it wasn't chilled Patron, it was just straight hot Patron. And it was like chill Patron, it was just straight hot Patron. And it was like 90 degrees outside. I had a little bead sweat on my forehead but I was like we're going to take this shot. And when I tell you I took that shot and it wasn't even a shot, y'all, because he was freehand porn that was like a shot and a half close to a double shot. And when I tell you I took this shot, and I started doing the Harlem Shake because, baby, that shot was hot, I ain't had nothing to chase it with. I got me an angry orchard. I chased it with that and I was like, okay, boom, cool.

Speaker 1: 12:38

So we go about our day. It is raining, we sitting under umbrella watching it rain in our swimsuit. Patron still ain't kicked in yet. And I was like, oh, I am good, your girl is good, I still got it. Time, go on, we get back to the ship. We go eat dinner. And I was like I'm going to get me espresso martini. So let's calculate that that's one shot of Patron, one angry orchard, for this particular day day.

Speaker 1: 13:08

So I gave me espresso martini and I was like, oh my god, it's so good. Are you supposed to eat the coffee beans? I eat the coffee beans because I'm, because what I want, to experience the entire drink. And in my mind I was like, well, if I eat the coffee beans, it'll soak up the alcohol. I don't think that's how it worked. But in my mind I was like, well, if I eat the coffee beans, it'll soak up the alcohol. I don't think that's how it worked, but in my mind that's how it worked. So then, there I was For reference.

Speaker 1: 13:37

Y'all ask Nick anytime I start a story and I say so. There I was Just understand. It's about to be some fooling that occurs within their story. So we both order espresso martinis. You have to come watch this on YouTube because I'm going to insert some clips and y'all will see. We both got espresso martinis and I'm just like just drinking my last. Oh, this is so good. And so Nick didn't end up drinking hers. She's like, girl, finish it, not a problem.

Speaker 1: 14:06

So then we was like, oh, we're gonna go do karaoke. And I was like, cool, we had to walk from where we was eating through the casino, through a bar, to get to where we was going. Oh, excuse me, can I get espresso martini? I'm like I am good. So I ended up doing karaoke that night and I ended up singing Waterfalls and I feel like that's the only way I did karaoke, because had I been sober, I don't think I would have did karaoke.

Speaker 1: 14:42

And my cousin ended up doing karaoke too, and we were sitting by this lady, and so when we come back, the lady was like y'all are cheaters. We were like what are you talking about? She's like oh, your family can just sing. What? This is karaoke? I didn't know that there was a cash prize. Like how do you cheat in karaoke? Somebody tell me how do you cheat in karaoke. So she was like y'all are cheaters. And I was like ma'am, goodbye. I can't say exactly what I. This is a. This is a friendly podcast, so I can't really say what it was that I really said to her, um, but, um, I was like okay, and so we ended up going, leaving the show.

Speaker 1: 15:25

And guess where we went? Nick, you want to go get some pizza? I'm telling y'all this pizza was addictive, and I'm talking about every time we went. It was, none less, nothing less than two slices at a time. It was between two and four slices each time we went. The pounds that I gained are justified. I just got to work on a strategy to unbig my back now. Um, cause, cause, a time was had.

Speaker 1: 15:53

So that brings us to the next morning and I'm feeling boy, I'm feeling sauced up, and I was like all right, cool, we're going to go eat some breakfast. I'm going to sober up a little bit. I didn't found this Tylenol Motrin combo pill, so I was like I'm going to take two of these right here. I said I'm going to be good, so I took two of those. I was like I'm going to put some food on my stomach. Oh, I forgot.

Speaker 1: 16:25

So the day that we went to the Bahamas for breakfast I had a mimosa. So now let's go back and tally it up. A mimosa, a shot of Patron, an Angry Orchard and three espresso martini. Oh yeah, I was drunk. Definitely. Now that I think about it, I was drunk, feeling good. So, anyway, we go to breakfast and I was like I'm drinking water, I don't want no juice, I don't want no coffee, I need some water. So I eat breakfast and I'm like Nick, I'm like I gotta go back to the room, like I am fucked up, like I gotta go back to the room.

Speaker 1: 17:06

So I had been watching the Olympics, since you know it was Olympic time, and I was like support the Olympics. And you know it was gymnast weekend. So I thought I was in a gymnast in our hallway. And again, you have to watch on YouTube because while I'm talking, I'm going to insert the clip of me thinking that I was a gymnast and I decided that I was going to do a cartwheel and flip in the hallway. But, um, I didn't realize that. You know, I'm not short, but I'm not super tall. But I realized, for my stature and the length of my arms and legs, I wasn't going to be able to clear the ceiling, which resulted in me falling and I, I, I think I need a new hip. Um, I'm going. I don't know if you need to get stretched out. I don't need to get rubbed out. I don't know what happened, but I feel like I probably need a new hip.

Speaker 1: 18:02

But I was like at this point, nick, take me home when I get like this, please take me home when I get like this. And so she was like I'm going to use the bathroom. And I was like okay. And so you ever been drunk and you like, or hungover, you're like, if I just lay down, I'll be okay. When I tell y'all I was face down on the bed. And when I tell you Nick is a real one because she took the spare blanket from under the bed and just covered me up.

Speaker 1: 18:29

And when I tell you I was asleep for about four hours, four good hours, like only reason why I woke up? Because LJ came knocking on the door. He's like you, ready for sushi. I done forgot. I told the baby I was going to take him to get some dang on sushi and he's like it's one o'clock. You said sushi at one. I said that's today. He's like yeah, I said. I said, well, can I take a rain track? He's like it's cool. He said I got plans anyway. Okay, pimpin.

Speaker 1: 18:58

So this whole entire cruise, I ain't see LJ. Like I ran into him in the hall one day now, mind you, his room was next door to mine, but I ran into buddy. Coming back to the room, I was like what's up boy? Like like I ain't seen him and like he wasn't my child. He's like nothing. He's like just running the hallways with my new group of friends and I was like I ain't cool, like that's what's up, like, and like I would see him. Like I seen him in a pizza shop one day but he didn't see me. He was with his group of friends uh, his little cruise friends and I didn't.

Speaker 1: 19:33

I was like Nick was like don't say nothing. I was like I ain't. I was like if he say something to me, then whatever. Um, but I think I think I, for we had two days left on the cruise and I think I had one drink in between the two days like I was pounding, pounding water. Nick had bought some of the liquid IVs, but again, I have a citrus allergy, but so she bought the lemon lime kind, so I couldn't have that. So then she's like oh, I got this hangover stuff. The hangover stuff is lemon, oh, can't have that. So I had to tough it out with Tylenol motions and some regular, regular speckle of water. But she a real one, though, cause my girl was ready but I wasn't ready, and yeah, you know I said all that to say this.

Speaker 1: 20:27

Sometimes you got to stop and you got to let loose. Many times we end up being so reserved, because that's the image that everybody sees of us, that we're so reserved and you know we're so well put together but you never know what people are going through on the back end, like up up until and still going on. I mean, since last year I've had like a lingering issue situation going on, and it's just been. Sometimes it gets a little draining and you know I got so wrapped up in it that I wasn't taking time for myself, like it's okay to take time for yourself and it's okay to put your energy into a situation, because if you don't take care of yourself, then how can you put energy, your energy, into a situation? Because if you don't take care of yourself, then how can you put energy into a situation, and you know.

Speaker 1: 21:29

So I posted a few clips of me from the cruise and to know me is just to know that nothing in the clips that I posted is outside of my norm. Like, that's not how I act every day, and you know. You just have to know that I'm a fun individual person and I mean no harm, um, I don't drink all the time. I, you know, I would just ownership for five days and just had fun. And it was just something I needed because I needed to release everything that I had been going through and still going through. It was just becoming like over and over and over, like just day in and day out, and I didn't have clarity anymore.

Speaker 1: 22:16

And so when I came back off that cruise, I had so much clarity and on a few little clips that I did post, it was like, oh my gosh, like why are you like this? And I posted the clip of me taking a shot and me making a face and somebody's like oh my god, if I wouldn't want to drink something that will make my face turn up like that and just, and I just be like damn. Like are y'all like, are y'all miserable? Or something Like why? Like, I don't get it. Like, like I said, to know me is just to know. Just to know that I'm just a ball of fun and I don't mean any harm to anybody and I'm just naturally funny. That's just in my. That's just who I am as a person. I was with my family, I was with my best friend, I was with my kids. So I was safe, I was good, I was just living my best life.

Speaker 1: 23:10

But when I got off the ship, I was able to have a lot of clarity on a lot of things, and so I said, um, on a lot of things. And so I said, from now on, I'm gonna have to start prioritizing me, because if I don't prioritize me, how can I be good for somebody else? I mean, it just doesn't happen like that. Um, you got to take time for you, and take time for you in the aspect that is suitable for you, not a diminished or minimized. You know, just to still be in a moment, something where you can like totally unplug and be just who you are in, in your element.

Speaker 1: 24:14

Now, granted, oh my gosh, because I was just running, running, running that I wasn't even giving my body enough time to relax and recover. So this week I promised Nick that I wouldn't do anything this week. I ended up sleeping 10 hours the other day and I didn't eat dinner or anything. And poor New Face thought something was wrong with me. I was just like I'm just so tired that I cannot wake up, and then I'm anemic on top of that, so that made it even worse. Um, but, you got to take time for you. But when you take time for you, uh, you got to make sure you build rest in there. So I'm I'm on quote unquote bed rest for a few more days and then we're going to pick it back up. And it's just been giving me time to hydrate and you know, just get some rest and different stuff like that. Like I'm still doing little tasks like laundry and you know, cooking and bathing and you know, and just the normal little stuff. But I'm not outside, I'm just keeping it kosher, keeping it kosher, keeping it kosher and just regathering myself. I have a lot of stuff coming up, so I definitely need um rest and shoot. After I record this, I probably finna go take me a nap. But yeah, so let's see what we looking like. It's four o'clock, oh, okay, I'm good on time, um, so, yeah, so you know what I'll make. I'll make next week a separate episode. I'm good on that, um, so yeah. So you know what? I'm gonna make Next week a separate episode. I'm not gonna make this Part of part two, um, part one and two, this will just be it's own stand alone Episode because you know, yeah, y'all get that fresh new Um content, you know, but, uh, yeah. So, um, let me see For a you can't make this up.

Speaker 1: 26:27

O M G, me and Nick were getting. We had went to breakfast. It was the morning that we were getting off the cruise and we would decided to go get breakfast. And we were walking back and Nick was like girl, the sheriff behind us, the police behind us, and I was like what you mean? And I look and she's like the sheriff, sheriff like the land police, not like the land police. I'm like girl, what? So I turned around. So I turned around, sure enough, it was a cruise police and two Miami-Dade sheriffs. And I was like, oh shit. So I kept walking and so I was like let me slide over to the side so y'all can pass. And I was like, no, you're good. I was like are we going right here? And I was like, oh snap.

Speaker 1: 27:14

So me and Nick trying to be nosy and like that's all you hear is knock, knock, knock, knock, knock. And then the people got up and opened the door and they pushed that door open. They were like miami-dade sheriff. I was like, oh snap, I don't know what these people did. Um, they ended up they they wasn't in handcuffs, so I don't know what they did. I don't know if they got like a court date to appear or something like that. I don't, don't, let me lie to you, I don't know what happened.

Speaker 1: 27:44

And then the night the first night, first or second night on the cruise I think might have been the second night A mom and her kid got jammed up. I don't know what happened, but I want to know. I don't know what happened, but I want to know what are you doing on a cruise ship to get in trouble, to get the police involved, so where you got it? Because when you get in trouble on a cruise ship and you're not in the port, that is federal. That's serious.

Speaker 1: 28:18

So I just need to know what y'all out here doing on these cruise ships, to where y'all like I've been seeing so many people in so many stories about people getting kicked off cruise ships and different stuff like that. Like how hard is it just to follow like the rules? Like you paid thousands of dollars to be on this thing to have fun with strangers and family and friends and stuff. And then you do like some BS to get kicked off or to had a police at your door. Like why would you do that? But um, yeah, it's just crazy. Um, but yeah. So that's all I got for y'all this week.

Speaker 1: 28:53

Remember, if you are not already, please make sure that you are turning on your notifications for your Apple, your Spotify, so when a new episode is released, you get that notification. Also, make sure you're following us on Instagram at thegagispod. Follow my personal Instagram at smartfit, underscore oki. And, last but not least, please make sure, after you listen to this, you go over to YouTube and you check out the visual, because I always add a little extra stuff in with the visuals that you can't get with the audio version. Now for the song lyric of the week. We got Doja Cat. Get into it. So, yeah, that's your song lyric of the week. And remember, I am your girl, charlie Shantae. This is the Gag is podcast. Bye.