I love Jackson Hole!!!  And antler art . . . I saw a chandelier made from antlers that was so cool looking.  Would go great in a woodsy cabin.  #goals

I had a bad craving yesterday, not for nicotine but for smoke.  It was so weird and out of nowhere.  I ended up borrowing my neighbors portable fire pit and making an extra smoky campfire in our shared driveway.   This seemed to do the trick!    The craving passed and I woke up this morning with pride that I didn't have "just one cig" like I've done in the past.  

I am glad for the collective wisdom on this site--what I've learned here is that cravings always pass and you just have to say NOPE to smoking in response to all of them.

Have a great smoke free weekend everyone!

Lisa, 

I see what you mean about the new PT. It’s the special PT place. How was it for you? Did they feel confident they’d be able to help?

I had dizziness problems after the first brain surgery did something to my auditory nerve. I saw a specialist who did some stuff. They didn’t have goggles, but they did some different movement stuff. One thing they did was throw me on a table (for lack of a better description, lol) and my body gave quite a response! It did start making a difference after seeing them a few times, oddly. I really hope your person figures out what’s going on and helps you! I still have some balance issues, but I think it’s mostly because I have a weakened core. I don’t need my cane anymore, though, which is a huge thing. Well, I used it when I had the splint because it was so important I didn’t fall, but then I put it away again. 

I really hope you didn’t lose power again! The storms really have been awful. We’ve been so fortunate to not be where the snow is horrible. We were hit bad with the rain and wind over New Year’s. Our county had over 100 trees comes down over 2 days time and lots of flooding along with some fatalities.  That was right about when I quite smoking, actually. I was outside smoking as the wind was whipping around like crazy, thinking I was completely insane.

I asked my dad about Michigan the other day, which resulted in him calling me to tell me all about it, haha. So apparently we lived in Gobles and also in Bloomingdale. He wanted to tell me all about some rivalry between the two towns and how it was about some fight about electricity. Apparently that was a big deal to him back in the 80’s. I also got some interesting stories about my brothers doing strange boy things like lining up with their friends on porches to pee out into the snow and see who could go the furthest. I could’ve done without that thought about my brothers, really. I guess that’s a variation of a watermelon seed spitting contest??

Anyway, today is my 2 months! I noticed a few of us have been close to big anniversaries and had some bigger cravings. I guess it’s normal to do that close to those dates, maybe? I dug up my cross stitch bag and am going to try a little bit today. It will really depend on how the angle works out, but hopefully I can at least make it work for at least a bit at a time. I’d sometimes only do 10 minutes at a time or less before, so that would work now. I’m determined to get this thing done before June! I keep seeing tiny mistakes and wondering if I’ll have time to fix them or if I’ll be able to leave them and hope they aren’t noticeable, lol.

I hope your weekend is restful.

Jenny

Erika,

I can’t imagine the odds of Lisa and I having this Gobles connection. That town is crazy small!! I find such things absolutely amazing and they make me happy. 

You’ve never dressed your cats up in gazebos?? I highly recommend it.

I really hope you get to see some moose!! I think my best chance was when we visited Maine in January, but it just didn’t happen. We didn’t spend a lot of time outside cause it was so cold!! I didn’t stand much of a chance of seeing one when I spent a week in Nova Scotia in July. It was as hot as California that week and I’m sure the moose were hiding as far in the trees as they could go. A nice park ranger shows us moose antlers, so that was kinda cool. Kinda. Oh!! I did see an authentic Canadian deer running on the side of the freeway, which is apparently a rare sight to see! My friend couldn’t believe it! A rare Canadian deer sighting! Apparently they’re the same deer as we have, but they live in Canada. Still, pretty cool, eh?

Jenny

Erika,

I love the campfire in the driveway idea!! What a creative solution to get that smoke smell without having that “one” that you think will make you feel better. Love it! Yay!!

Jenny  

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