I was in Jackson, WY last year and it is filled with elk. They turn antlers (they shed each year) into everything from jewelry to furniture. 

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,