When a natural disaster hits, many of us reach for the fastest relief we know: alcohol. In this episode, Jaime and her mom Jules share a real-time update from Packwood, Washington after historic flooding and evacuation, and talk honestly about why the bar felt like the obvious move for so many people and what changes when you’re alcohol-free.

Jules is just weeks away from one year alcohol-free, and she opens up about the brief moment the thought crossed her mind during evacuation and why she chose clarity instead. Jaime shares how disasters can trigger anxiety, catastrophizing, and the urge to numb, plus the tools that help you stay grounded when everything feels out of control.

This conversation is a reminder that alcohol doesn’t make hard things easier, it delays them. And that being alcohol-free can unlock something powerful: presence, service, and the ability to truly show up for your people.

In this episode, we cover:
• Why people congregate in bars during storms and crises
• How alcohol impacts anxiety, sleep, and decision-making under stress
• Jules’s craving moment during evacuation and how she worked through it
• Community support, donations, and showing up for neighbors
• What changes when you stop numbing: confidence, focus, and self-trust
• Cozy coping that actually helps (yes, Soup Jules makes an appearance)

Key Moments:
00:00 Flood update from Packwood
06:51 Jules nearing one year alcohol-free
07:22 The craving moment during evacuation
10:13 Bars, disasters, and the pull to numb
15:20 “Would you be doing this if you were still drinking?”
20:12 Soup, comfort, and resilience
23:30 You can do hard things, alcohol-free

If you’re navigating anxiety, overwhelm, or a tough season, you’re not alone. Keep going.

Please rate and review if this episode resonated with you, and share it with someone who needs this reminder today.

• Website: https://amazinglyalcoholfree.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/amazinglyalcoholfree
• Sign Up for Jaime's Weekly Newsletter

• Join Amazingly AF Dry January
• Join The Confidence Club

What happens to the holidays when alcohol is no longer the main event?

In this episode of The Amazingly AF Mother Daughter Podcast, Jaime and Jules talk honestly about what the holidays used to look like when drinking (and even cocaine) were part of the “fun”… and what’s different now that they’re both navigating the season alcohol free.

Jules shares memories of Christmases centered around booze and the constant fear of being “found out” by her kids and grandkids. Jaime opens up about holiday drinking on the drive home, trying to juggle family expectations with hangovers, and why she refuses to miss the magic of Christmas with her kids now that she’s sober.

They also get practical about how to actually get through the holidays without drinking: listening to your body when you’re burnt out, saying no to things, having a plan for social events, and using Jaime’s 5 Daily Sparkles to stay grounded, proud, and present.

Topics covered include:

• What the holidays looked like when alcohol was the priority
• Jules’s memory of doing coke at Christmas and being confronted by her dad
• Why so many moms feel like they have to “hold it all together” while numbing out
• The chaos of shuffling between houses, expectations, and family dynamics
• How Jaime used to white-knuckle it through events just to drink on the way home
• What’s different now that both of them are alcohol free for the holidays
• Noticing “glimmers” and small moments of joy when you’re no longer numbing
• Why 90% of our time with our kids happens before age 18 (and what to do with that)
• Jules’s fear of relapse and how she manages triggers as she approaches one year AF
• Tools for the holidays: knowing your greater why, playing the tape forward, saying no
• How Jaime’s 5 Daily Sparkles help you feel steady instead of spiraling
• Journaling, gratitude, and building self-respect one tiny habit at a time

This episode is for you if the holidays feel triggering, you’ve always associated this season with drinking, or you’re trying to create new traditions that feel calm, connected, and actually enjoyable without alcohol.

Key Moments

• 00:00 – Intro and quick update on Dry January + The Confidence Club
• 01:18 – Jaime’s “I needed a break” day, half marathon fatigue, and choosing rest over burnout
• 03:44 – Jules on learning self-care for the first time in almost 70 years
• 06:04 – What the holidays used to look like when drinking started early in the day
• 06:54 – The Christmas memory: snorting coke in the bathroom and getting called out by her dad
• 10:19 – Chaos, driving between houses, and trying to “keep it together” while half drunk
• 12:54 – Jaime on old holiday patterns: road beers, hangovers, and missing the magic with kids
• 15:33 – Noticing glimmers and small joys now that they’re not numbing everything out
• 22:53 – Mel Robbins stat: 90% of the time you spend with your kids is before age 18
• 26:11 – Jules on thinking she only had a couple of years left if she kept drinking and using pills
• 28:18 – Being an empath, big feeling

• Website: https://amazinglyalcoholfree.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/amazinglyalcoholfree
• Sign Up for Jaime's Weekly Newsletter

• Join Amazingly AF Dry January
• Join The Confidence Club

What happens when a mom realizes her daughter’s teenage drinking story looks a lot like her own?

In this episode of The Amazingly AF Mother Daughter Podcast, Jaime shares how her own relationship with alcohol began in 7th grade, mirrors parts of Jules’s story, and how those patterns quietly shaped their family for decades. From hiding beers under the bed to throwing house parties when her parents were out of town, Jaime opens up about how alcohol became her shortcut to confidence, belonging, and being “the fun one.”

Jules shares, for the first time on the podcast, a painful high school experience involving sexual assault, the shame that followed, and how it explains why she was so fiercely protective (and sometimes rage-filled) when she caught Jaime drinking as a teen. Together, they connect the dots between generational trauma, silence around alcohol, and why so many families repeat the patterns they swore they’d never repeat.

They also talk about what’s different now that Jules is almost one year alcohol free, how she’s finally processing decades of buried memories, and how both of them are intentionally breaking the cycle for Jaime’s kids and all the grandkids.

Topics covered include:

• Growing up in a “normal” drinking culture on one side of the family
• Jaime’s first beer in 7th grade and chasing popularity with alcohol
• Hiding beers, house parties, and learning to “clean up” the evidence
• Why Jules reacted so differently to her sons drinking vs. her daughter
• Jules’s high school assault and the devastating shame that followed
• How that trauma shaped the way she parented and tried to “protect” Jaime
• What it feels like to finally remember and process events after quitting drinking
• How community, coaching, and honesty helped Jules actually share her story
• Teaching kids that alcohol is “poison” without making it taboo
• Breaking generational patterns so the grandkids have a different legacy

This episode is for you if you grew up around alcohol, have complicated feelings about your family, or are trying to give your kids a different story than the one you lived through. You are not the only one, and it’s never too late to change the script.

Key Moments

00:00 – Intro: why Jaime and Jules started this podcast
01:10 – Growing up in a drinking culture on Jaime’s mom’s side
02:20 – Jaime’s first beer in 7th grade and linking alcohol to confidence
03:45 – Hiding beers and the middle school dance moment
05:20 – The first big house party and “cleaning up” the evidence
07:10 – Being the “cool little sister” and how older siblings influenced drinking
08:45 – Jules catching Jaime partying and why the rage came out
10:30 – The double standard between sons drinking and a daughter drinking
13:15 – Jules shares a high school assault for the first time
19:08 – Feeling your feelings instead of numbing them
22:23 – Growing up in a “don’t talk about feelings” family
25:51 – Breaking the generational pattern for the grandkids
26:29 – Charlotte’s “we don’t buy that, it’s poison” moment
28:53 – Final encouragement

• Website:

• Website: https://amazinglyalcoholfree.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/amazinglyalcoholfree
• Sign Up for Jaime's Weekly Newsletter

• Join Amazingly AF Dry January
• Join The Confidence Club