It's Been Over A Year....Whoa!!

Well, hello again!

First I'd like to say that time has flown by so quickly that it doesn't seem like it's been over a year since I've posted.  I never meant for that much time to speed by...but it has...and to my regular readers...I'm sorry. 

I found myself caught up in my new business...carnival life...then working full time throughout the winter at a "regular job" and before I knew it, another season of festivals, crafts shows and fairs had started. 

Well, some things have changed and I am no longer working full-time through the winter so I can finally take a breath and get back to blogging.

To those of you who have continued to come to my page and read the random thoughts that run through my head...I thank you. 

Now down to business, or rather whatever random thoughts I have rattling in my head today.

Winter Blahs:

I spent the last week under the weather...in fact I was sooo under the weather I couldn't even get outside to enjoy the last couple of warm (30*?) days.  For 8 days I ached, coughed, blew my nose, moaned, whined and just generally was a miserable person.  I didn't even want to be around me.  But time and chicken soup and blankets and tissues took care of me and now I'm back to normal.  Just in time for the snow and temps in the teens. 
But that's okay cause I love the snow.  But with the chill factor 11* I couldn't throw the Frisbee for Maggie for very long.

Breaking down the past year:

A couple things have happened in the last year that I wanted to mention because they were good things and I love good things. 

In 2012 my daughter, Amy, helped me with the concession stand but with her work schedule she just couldn't commit to all the shows I wanted to sign up for.  I needed someone to help and help came

along.  My future son-in-law actually decided to go into business with me.  Now I have a partner. :) Plus he can do all the heavy things that I struggle with like lifting and hooking up the propane tanks, climbing on top of the trailer to set up the sign and lights and drive the big old truck...whew!  We had almost twice as many shows this past summer (2013) as we did the year before and we had so much fun. 

Another really good thing?  I finally was able to quit smoking! I've smoked since I was 14 yrs old so if you're trying to figure out what that means, it's been 51 years of being hooked on cigarettes.  I've been experiencing what I think are some symptoms of emphysema - lots of coughing, out of breath simply climbing the stairs and no energy.  I've tried cold turkey, the patch and Chantix twice, but nothing helped.  I enjoyed smoking so even with help I wasn't going to be able to quit without the right mindset.  Then I met a woman at one of our craft shows that was using an electronic cigarette.  After pumping her with all sorts of questions, I went right out the next day and bought the same one she was using.  Not one of the cheap ones in the drug stores but a good one. 

The Talon from Revolver.com

This is the kit I bought and it came with everything I needed to quit.  They matched me up with a liquid they thought would be similar to my brand.  From the first trial puff in the store, I knew this would work.  It tasted and felt like I was smoking my regular brand.  That was the first weekend in May and now, 7 months later, I'm still using it.  Since that first puff I haven't had one cigarette.
There is nicotine in the liquid that I've chosen (there are some without it) but I did my research and nicotine is not a carcinogen. It's the chemicals in the cigarettes that are the problem. 

Will I be hooked on this since it does have nicotine?  Probably, but this one's not going to kill me. So for those who enjoy smoking too much to be able to quit, this may just be the solution for you.

Okay, I'm getting down from my platform now and moving on...


Quotes of the Day:

Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana. ~ Groucho Marx

By working faithfully eight hours a day you may eventually get to be boss and work twelve hours a day. ~ Robert Frost

Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I've done it thousands of times. ~
Mark Twain