Happy two month, Jenny!!!!!!!!   Yayyyyyy!!!  Also LOLOLOL about rare deer in Canada.  

Adding cat costumes and a gazebo to the "smoking rehab cat cafe" idea.  I need to do a business plan ASAP.  Just need to watch some more episodes of Shark Tank first I think.  

That's still way cool, Lisa!  Elk are the best. 

And did I forget to say congrats on a month?  You're doing so great! 

I hope your weather has been ok.  We're supposed to get snow tomorrow night.  There's nowhere left to put any more piles of snow!  The parking lots all look ridiculous!  

Erika 

Lisa,

I think I missed your comment about them being elk and not moose. 40??? That’s quite impressive! Wow! I’ve never seen an elk, either. Colorado would be much easier for me to visit. I’d definitely love to see elk. From a safe distance. Very, very safe if there were 40+ of them. Yikes!

Jenny

Hi Jenny,

Congratulations on 2 months !!!!  Yay !!!!  I am so happy for you !!!

I am very tired and stressed and anxious , but remain smoke free.  I will be back Sunday .

                                                   Lisa 

Yes, the craves always pass, Erika.  I think over the years, the nicotine craves get mixed with the habit and what we think is enjoyable. Not sure i can tell them apart. 14 months for me. I still get craves but they are more fleeting and less frequent. I still carry a zero-nicotine e-cig. Rarely use it but I feel better having it in my pocket.  

Jackson Hole was very nice, though the sloops were hard. Even the blue was relatively hard. 

Enoy the day all,

Hi Jenny,

Well , my first impression of the new PT place is that I am in the right place and they might actually be able to help me.  They are very specialized in Vestibular therapy and they only see this type of need.  The Guru owns the business and has earned accolades and awards in the field. She also has had vestibular issues herself in the past.  The appointment for the evaluation was way too long though (for me) .  I ended up being there for 2 hours instead of 1 and the winter storm was in full swing when I got out and the roads were really, really bad.  The first 1/2 hour I sat in the waiting room which my lower back did not like .  Also, I would not show up 30 minutes late , dont make me wait 30 minutes on you.   Anyhow, a really cool thing there is they have a therapy dog there that belongs to the owner/guru.  Her name is Minnie and she is a Labradoodle.  Very loving and soft dog and mellow.  She sat right next to me during my appointment and I got to pet her during most of the appointment. This Wednesday they will throw me around on the table and use the goggles 

That is awful that you have had brain surgery and more than once.  I can see how that could effect a persons vestibular system.  The vestibular system includes the brain, the ears, and the eyes and all 3 need to be able to work together.

Your county got nailed earlier this year.  100 trees are a lot and with flooding, that is sad about the fatalities.  During the ice storm we had and in a near by town a firefighter was killed .  A tree fell on a wire causing the wire to drop  and he got electrocuted.  There was a huge funeral for him today at that towns High School.

Sounds like your Dad might of enjoyed that conversation of your family past in Michigan ?  Boys do silly boy things.  My BFF raised 3 girls , a whole different scenario there.  I dont remember anything about an electricity fight in the 80s. The early part of the 80s I was otherwise engaged,  I was a teenager hanging with my friends and overly into teenage boys .

Were you able to tolerate the cross stitch ?  Did you get your Sushi ?  I went to Rite Aid last night and got an indoor sunflower  growing kit  and  Oreos and milk for my one month reward.  

My craves and smoking thoughts have been frequent since Thursday night.  So far today and tonight have been better. I WILL NOT SMOKE !  I WILL NOT SMOKE !   I wonder if there is some correlation to the bigger anniversary dates ?  I know my stress and anxiety have been up - medical appointments do that to me .  I need to do better with that response , I have a lot of appointments this month .  

I hope you had a good weekend.

                                              Lisa  

Erika,

It is great to finally be at a month ciggy free.  I have been struggling with frequent craves and smoking thoughts starting Thursday night but today and tonight have been better.  I WILL NOT SMOKE ! I WILL NOT SMOKE !

We had a snowstorm Friday.  The roads were awful.  That extra wet heavy snow. I did not lose power - yay.

Because I am a Prince fan , I have to ask you if you have been to Paisley Park ?  

                                                  Lisa 

Lisa,

How exciting the new place sounds like it will be able to help. Yay!! Sounds like she has some serious expertise! I think they need to have the therapy dog start in the waiting room, though, huh?  Maybe a separate “waiting room” therapy dog for the people who have to wait 30+ minutes to be seen? I’d do much better waiting in a waiting room if I had a soft fluffy dog to pet. I really hope Wednesday goes well. You need some good days!

That’s so sad a town near you lost a firefighter in the storm I have so much love and respect for our first responders. It’s heartbreaking to hear of that kind of thing.

Yeah, my dad was very happy to call me up and talk about Michigan. It was sweet, really. I can only imagine I’ll be the same way if one of my kids brings up something they don’t quite remember and wants to know more about when they’re older. 
I’d heard my parents talk about Bloomingdale through the years, but I always thought they were talking about the department store, lol. 

Haha, you were paying attention to boys instead of town politics? Shocking!

I have yet to get my cross stitch out of the bag. It’s sitting there, right next to the couch and I just haven’t opened it yet. (It’s zipped closed to protect it from the cats, so it’s extra effort to get it out ) I think I’m working up the motivation. Tomorrow could be the day! I also didn’t make it to getting sushi, so I’m on a roll. Hee hee. Sushi roll…  It’s just turned into a do nothing weekend, which is fine. I’ll try out cross stitch tomorrow and pick a different day this week to get sushi. I mentioned the vegetarian and non-raw fish options to my daughter and she was actually intrigued, which surprised me. She may go with me and try some teriyaki chicken sushi, so that could be fun. Can’t say I’ve ever tried chicken sushi. I don’t care for the raw fish ones, though, so I’ll try the chicken.

Sunflowers will be fun to watch grow! I love that idea as part of a reward. The Oreos and milk sound like an immediate reward, with the flowers being the longer lasting part.  

I really do think the bigger anniversary dates bring on more craves for us. You’ve had all the extra stress, too, with so much going on, plus so much coming up on your calendar with the medical appointments. Definitely stick with your NOPEs and whatever plans have been working for you. It’s gotta ease up!

Jenny

Hi Lisa!  

We got the wet blanket snow too and it's supposed to keep coming all week.  Glad you did not lose power!  Me neither!  Fingers crossed for us this coming week.  

I love Prince too!  And yes, I went to Paisley Park once before the pandemic.  It is so magical, you can sense him there because they kept everything exactly how it was when he died.  His oversized sunglasses on his office desk, which looks like a slightly miniaturized version of a traditional carved mahogany executive desk.  They have a lot of rooms with dress forms featuring some of his favorite outfits.  I was gobsmacked to get a sense of how tiny he was--his voice and imagination and talent were so huge it seems like he should've been seven feet tall.  

In any case you should make the pilgrimage sometime!!!!!  I have a guest room!!  The Paisley Park gift shop is so cool--they sell black umbrellas with white PP logos all over them and the logos turn purple when they get rained on!  Dang it I just remembered that I lost my umbrella.  I should go back out there for another tour.  

OK take care and talk soon!

Erika

Hi Jenny,

Sometimes we all need a do nothing weekend (s).  Self care etc.  I used to have to protect my cross stitch projects too.  The years I had those projects going on we had 2 dogs and a cat so there was dog slobber and animal fur flying around. 

I would never eat raw fish.  I am not a daring eater.  When I was a kid my Dad would make dishes that had animals in it that he hunted but he would say it was something else.  After we ate , he would laugh and tell us what we really ate and then my brother and I would be disgusted.  Since we were only at his house every other weekend it was easier for him to get away with being sneaky like that with cooking.

It is a beautiful day here in SW Michigan.  Sunny and 46 degrees (warm for here for early March).  I got up too early though and I am going to have to try to get a nap in soon.  Wednesday and Friday I have PT.   The frequent smoking thoughts and craves I was struggling with have improved but you know still present at times .  I want them to be all done with , but that is not the reality of quitting smoking.

I hope you are having a good day.

                                                    Lisa