Lisa,

so great you’re getting so much sleep! All those days of cold, then noise at your son’s place, I’m sure you needed it very much. 

Nice that your sinuses have calmed down some. Hopefully they will again. Not fun stuff when it’s weather or allergies and not fixable. 

Yes, that dependency of needing to smoke is definitely something I don’t miss at all. Climbing into bed, wondering if I’d be “needing” to get up in an hour to go back out? That wasn’t fun. 

You’re going to get another dot tomorrow! I was thinking of your smiley face stickers and how your February calendar page must look. Are you going to rip it off and hang it next to your calendar? Would be nice to have it visible somewhere. 

Btw, which state are you in? If you don’t mind me asking. I think you said before? I’m thinking Michigan or Massachusetts, but I was wrong on my guess with Erika. Memory isn’t great, but I’m hoping I can get a better idea where we all are.

Jenny

Erica,

Congratulations on 2 months today !!!    You are a 2 star gal now !!!

I wondered about you when Minnesota was having that blizzard.  Yeah, I was really challenged with the ice storm we had and all the other non perks that came with it.  Before I quit , that was something that I would deal with by smoking even more and that would make my anxiety even worse .  I didn't realize smoking was making my anxiety issues worse until I quit.

                                             Lisa

Hi Jenny,

I am Michigan gal.  I have lived here my whole life and in the same area.  I stayed here because I wanted to be near family.  Have you always lived in California ?

My 4 week and 1 month are on the same day tomorrow.  So I guess I skip the 4th dot and move on to the star ? What do you think ?  Yes, I am going to cut out February on my mini calendar and put it up on the wall.  I need to see it and it looks fabulous, so full of smiley faces.  March will get green smiley faces , February had pink ones.

                                            Lisa

Hey Lisa... I definitely feel you regarding the anxiety that accompanies a smoking habit. I am still using 6 nicotine lozenges a day, and I am noticing that when I do get anxious, it is not usually the stressful situation or stressful person that makes me anxious.  It is the urge to pop a lozenge and the wait that comes with being able to have one. I am trying to find new ways to cope with boredom, laziness and everyday minor stresses or uncomfortable situations. I think I need to get my passion back for wanting to quit the lozenges. I used to use 12 a day. I have been telling myself that I have done a good thing by cutting my intake in half, but at the end of the day, I would like to be quit. I read Leo's Top Ten Tips for quitting and it moved me and made me feel hopeful again! There are a lot of positive things to do and more positive ways to think than waiting and depending on a nicotine lozenge in order to fill a space or boredom or loneliness or to pump yourself out of a little laziness. With that being said, I am off to chew some gum!

You are so so so right, Lisa.  My anxiety went from a 6 to a 2.  It's exhilarating!  Or . . . serene I should say.  Lol.  Thank you for reminding me about the double star!  And congrats on your star!!!!  I loved reading about your decorated calendars--such an awesome idea.  

Hope your gutter wasn't too badly damaged.  Glad it was just the corner that got hit.  We are two midwestern gals who are due for a pleasant spring!   Maybe not until May though according to Farmer's Almanac.  But that's soon enough.  This past month flew by.  I wonder if living my life from smoke to smoke was making time pass slower.  It sure seems that way.

 OK, have a wonderful evening!

-E

Lisa,

Yay, I guessed right! Well, I gave 2 guesses, so I suppose my chances were good. I actually lived in Michigan for maybe 4 years as a small child. I think it was a tiny town called Gobles. We may have lived in a couple towns, really. I don’t remember much, since we moved from there when I was maybe 5. I remember making tunnels in the long snow mounds that the plows made. I also remember dressing our cats up in our gazebo, lol. My 2 main memories of Michigan. We were in Tennessee before that, then came to California, so it’s pretty much all I know. 

Ah yes, February is the month for moving straight to the star! Yay!! I love that you’re putting up your calendar page. On to the green smiley faces! I really love you have a paper calendar. So many people don’t anymore. I have a moose one my friend in Canada sent me. I have a tiny moose obsession. I really want to see one in person someday. A live one. I’ve seen taxidermy ones and they just aren’t that cool.  

Jenny

Hi Jenny,

My son actually works at the schools in Gobles.  Gobles is about a 25 minute drive from our town.  Our town is much bigger than Gobles. I hate the winters here but like the other seasons.  

My youngest brother lives in Colorado.  He sent me a video of about 20 moose walking on a somewhat busy country road.  It was cool.  The moose were oblivious to the traffic , they were on a mission I guess.

I have to get some housework done and prepare papers for my 1st PT appointment tomorrow at the new to me place.  I am not motivated to do anything .  Maybe a cup of coffee is required. I have a crap load of medical appointments this month .  It is stressful for me and burns me out.

A month without smoking today .  Yay me.

What has been up with you?

                                                     Lisa 

Lisa, 

Your son works in the tiny town I grew up in? How crazy is that?? I don’t suppose you live in Kalamazoo? That’s the other city that sounds familiar to me, but I’m not sure it’s where we lived, too. I just looked it up and it’s 27 minutes from Gobles, lol. I’d have to ask my dad if we lived there, though. It may just be that my dad mentioned it was near Gobles, so I remember the name of it. It really is a cool word, right? I wish I remembered more from our time there. At least I remember 2 seasons. Snow tunnels for winter and dressing cats in the gazebo for summer.

I’ve been to Maine and wished to see moose while there and also Canada, but never to Colorado. Maybe I need to visit there, haha. Not where I would’ve thought of to look. I think my best bet is to visit some kind of animal reserve on a cool day. My friend in Sweden said they have a nice one where they can often be seen, but it seems a bit far away to go see a moose.  

I hope your housework and paperwork goes quickly today. A new PT place has to be a bit stressful. I don’t think I’d like to start all over with people who know nothing about all the stuff I’ve been working on. Or is it a good thing for you? Guess it depends on whether your old ones were doing a good job or not. Sometimes it’s nice to get fresh eyes on stuff, whether someone’s doing a good job or not, of course. I hope it helps! Sounds like you have a rough month ahead with a lot of appointments. Do you find it more stressful when it’s medical appointments? I think almost all appointments I have these days are medical appointments, so I can’t say if other kinds are less stressful for me. 

I seem to have a bit of a reprieve from medical appointments this month, now that I’m done with my marathon of procedures. I got the RF ablation done on my back the other day, so I’m waiting for that to help. I’ve heard everything from “it’ll be a miracle” to “it’ll take the edge off”, so I don’t really know what to expect. There’s a chance it won’t help at all, but I’m trying hard to pretend that isn’t really an option. With how much the steroid and anesthetic injections helped in the past, it really ought to help. It could take a couple weeks or more to start helping, so I’m being patient. I’m just annoyed while being patient. And hopeful. Hopefully annoyed? Is that a thing??

I was hit by a surprise craving today. Not super bad, but enough that it surprised me by how strong it was. I think I just wanted something to do and that was the thought that occurred to me. I’ve watched so much tv this past month that it doesn’t sound good. I’m thinking maybe my arm is good enough to try out my cross stitch again. I have the holder that will help with the left arm part anyway, so it might be just fine. Would certainly keep my hands busy and I desperately need something more to do. More than just for those occasional cravings, I’m just going crazy with restlessness these days. 

HUGE congrats on your one month quit!!! Yay!! Are you doing anything special? 

I’m still shocked your son works in Gobles… I want to tell my dad, but I still haven’t told him I ever started smoking again, so I’ll have a hard time explaining who you are.

Jenny

Hi Jenny,

We live in a town closely near Kalamazoo.  Gobles only has 1 elementary, and no middle school.  Middle school grades are in the High school.  Much less populated than the town we live in.

I have made a small amount of progress around here. Currently taking a break of many. The plan tomorrow was to have take out dinner with my brother later on after he takes me to my appointment.  Instead he might have to head home right away. We are suppose to get a snow storm tomorrow starting around noon. It is suppose to be 8 inches of that wet, heavy snow.  I am going to be super unhappy if I lose power which can happen with that heavy snow.  In the county I live in folks are still cleaning up big limbs and trees and other damage from the ice storm last week.

Watching the CBS World news earlier I see lots of States are having difficult times with weather including yours.  You had mentioned to someone else that where you are in California wasnt effected , good news.

I like the PT place I normally go to and darn it they know me well. I really like my usual therapists. I have had more than my share of PT since 2019. The new to me PT place has these video goggles to check for tiny small eye movements when they put me in different positions.  My usual PT place does not.  I still dont have a solid diagnosis for my vestibular issues and the goggles can help rule out a thing or two or rule in an unusual BPPV .  This PT gal I am going to see is suppose to be a vestibular guru.  All my appointments are medical and yes they are all stressful. I got a little break the last half of February because I was sick and the Dr office  I was suppose to have an appointment at last Friday lost power due to the storm so they cancelled. So this month is catch up and restarting PT. 

I hope the ablation helps your back and is in the miracle category and lasts for a long time. Enjoy your break from medical appointments.  I get hopefully annoyed and it is a thing .

Hopefully you can get back to your cross stitch soon , if it hurts I guess it is too early.  Sounds like you can use the distraction. I use to cross stitch a lot some years ago not sure if my hands could take it now and my eyes are a lot older.  I failed at crocheting a few years ago.  

I am not a fan of those craves .  The more stressed I get the more frequent they are.  I need to get back on track with the Calm APP. I was doing good with it and then slacked off when I was sick.

Crap, we just got upgraded from a winter storm watch to a winter storm warning.  My spell check is not working for some reason , so excuse any errors.  Long break is over and I am hungry.

                                              Lisa 

Congrats on a month, Lisa. 

Be well everyone, Paul