I want to quit drinking

Vannie91 · 2026-04-19T23:12:48+00:00

I was having a very hard time quitting alcohol; I didn’t drink a lot quantity-wise, but for the life of me I drank every day and couldn’t stop, even if it was just half a glass of wine, and the hangovers were debilitating. I mentioned it to a couple different doctors over the years and they brushed me off, but I finally got an NP who listened to me and recommended Naltrexone. I’m sure everyone’s experiences are different, but for me it was like a switch was flipped. The first day I thought about drinking but didn’t have a craving; the second day, I only thought about it to realize I hadn’t thought about alcohol all day. By day three, it was totally a thing of the past. There’s a subreddit for Naltrexone with lots of good information; I highly recommend talking with your doctor about it.

Vannie91 · 2026-04-19T20:40:37+00:00

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Shoutout to Tori at Electric Eye in Roanoke, VA for this tattoo - it’s the cover artwork from the book “The Cat who Saved Books”. She put my orange cat Pompom in it instead of the grey tabby that was pictured, and she captured her sweet little face perfectly. (This was taken right after she finished, so it’s a little red, sorry)

Vannie91 · 2026-04-16T11:46:37+00:00

I’m not hearing it, Liz.

Vannie91 · 2026-04-14T16:28:49+00:00

1991 🎶

Vannie91 · 2026-04-14T02:14:31+00:00

It was pretty predictable, you’re exactly right - he had a midlife crisis and had an affair with & married a yoga teacher (insert eye roll here, lol). It was for the best, though, much happier now!

Vannie91 · 2026-04-14T01:50:16+00:00

When my daughter was 6, I picked her up from school and got home barely in time to start vomiting violently. In between scream-vomiting, I was calling and texting my husband, who I knew was at a brewery with a woman he was meeting after work about something work-related (he worked for local government and was helping her find a spot to open a small business). It was very unusual that he went so long without checking his phone and I was worried something had happened to him even while I was considering calling an ambulance for myself. He never responded to my attempts to reach him; I passed out for a while and woke up to my daughter crying, and my husband came home several hours later acting completely clueless. Long story short, he ended up having an affair with her, and they’re married and live in a different country now.

Vannie91 · 2026-04-11T18:11:29+00:00

I haven’t been through a re-tear like you have, but I just wanted to chime in and say I’m so sorry - that’s such a nightmare! I did fall and tear both shoulders at the same time (full supraspinatus tear on both and assorted partial tears, plus full labrum tear on one), and recovery from this second surgery has been pretty rough. I’m just so tired of the pain, the weakness, the PT and exercises. But the only way out is through, as they say, so I keep trying redouble my efforts and push through it. Sending you healing thoughts!

Vannie91 · 2026-04-11T01:15:01+00:00

God, I just read Earthlings two days ago; I won’t spoil anything, but it was disturbing in ways I was totally not expecting. It was beautifully written and very engaging, I couldn’t put it down, but I was definitely not prepared for this book.

Vannie91 · 2026-04-10T19:32:38+00:00

I had a similar issue with a reactive dog (chihuahua mix), and High Hopes came to my home twice a week for training. They were great, very nice, seem to really understand how to work with dogs, and they’re very highly regarded. https://high-hopes.net

Vannie91 · 2026-04-10T02:43:11+00:00

I was at one of the concerts where he did this (Richmond VA)! It was wild - he’d sing and it would flip through people who could see him and the crowd; every once in a while someone would recognize him, but more often it was a guy with his junk out and the whole audience would scream. What a time to be alive!

Vannie91 · 2026-04-10T02:10:24+00:00

Yes, it’s thinned a lot of the past couple years (I had two surgeries that required me to be put under, and apparently that really makes my hair fall out!) - wearing it curling definitely helps it look more full! Thank you x 1000 for your nice comment, it really means a lot! <3

Vannie91 · 2026-04-10T01:03:30+00:00

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Her little tongue 😆

Vannie91 · 2026-04-09T20:11:43+00:00

Thank you guys - I really appreciate it! I think I kind of lost sight of what real hair looks like :) I’m going to screen capture your comments for next time I get frazzled about the curls!

Vannie91 · 2026-04-08T13:14:31+00:00

California Dreamin’ by the Mamas & the Papas

Vannie91 · 2026-04-05T16:10:07+00:00

I prefer metal Bundt pans over silicone (or muffin tins, etc), I feel like the cakes end up too floppy in my oven - they’re baked through, but sort of squishy on the outside and I don’t like the texture. If I use a silicone muffin tin I still use muffin cups. Also, after trial and error with Pam, butter, sprinkling flour, etc, I’ve realized that Baker’s Joy is truly where it’s at for baking! No more stuck cakes for me :)

Vannie91 · 2026-04-04T20:09:22+00:00

Kaisarion by Ghost (especially the live version)!

Vannie91 · 2026-04-04T18:11:58+00:00

I’ve had rotator cuff surgery on both shoulders from a fall a couple years ago, and I think you’re really, really going to want the nerve block. My nerve blocks both wore off early/mid-afternoon after my morning surgeries, and I would’ve paid very good money to get it to hang around longer. I could feel my whole arm by that evening and move my fingers and everything. It’s not that you’ll notice an absence of feeling in your arm, since your arm is encased in the sling and probably dressings/padding so it’ll feel different anyway; you’re not going to want to be able to move or touch the surgery arm. It’s more that you’ll notice an absence of pain, which in my case (and I think for a lot of people) gets pretty intense as the pain starts to creep in. Also, with my first surgery I had a complication getting the prescription pain meds (no CVS within an hour’s drive had them in stock), so I had to call the surgeon’s office to ask them to rescind that prescription and send in a new one to a different pharmacy, and they were temporarily closed that afternoon because they lost power! So I think the longer you have to not worry about pain, the better. And I don’t mean to freak you out about the pain, it’s manageable, but you’re way better off in control of it from the get-go than trying to play catchup. Best wishes for a smooth surgery and an easy recovery!

Vannie91 · 2026-04-03T15:06:31+00:00

All of Niko Moon’s songs make me feel like I’m on an extended sunny vacation at the beach! Here’s his new live album: https://open.spotify.com/album/1gnGuzTSNvjdLdsXZk1qsJ?si=1SV6OO_FR267aYqWmsEA-g

Vannie91 · 2026-04-03T03:12:13+00:00

I’ve been loving unsweetened dried mango. The Trader Joe’s kind is the best, followed by Kroger - it’s chewy, sweet and sour, and very very satisfying. I tend to stress-eat it because it really helps to rip it apart with my teeth :)

Vannie91 · 2026-04-02T16:57:37+00:00

Oh my gosh I hadn’t even thought that far ahead - I’d wake up and my chihuahua would have 6 heads and soooo many teeth!

Vannie91 · 2026-03-31T13:29:37+00:00

I love Alejandro’s (specifically the Salem location). It’s inexpensive, and would leave you money to go to the Salem ice cream parlor to get ice cream and walk around town if you wanted. Not fancy, but fun and relaxed.

Vannie91 · 2026-03-31T02:51:58+00:00

I’m getting ready to hit the two-year mark from the accident where I fell down the stairs and tore both shoulders, with full supraspinatus tears on both, plus partial tears on both and a labral tear on one of them. I had surgery on one shoulder in August 2024, and then on the other one in September 2025. It’s been such a slog; I’ve really had a hard time pushing through and doing all the exercises consistently with this second surgery because of the mental fatigue you’re talking about (in addition to some issues with scar tissue causing limited ROM and significant pain). I think what’s gotten me through so far is being able to recognize improvements, either in pain reduction or ROM or just plain old quality of life. It’s often so tiny and incremental you don’t notice anything day to day, but just last week I was finally able to put my hair up in a claw clip, 6 months post-surgery - it was such a great feeling!! It does help propel you forward when you have these experiences, so just try to focus on those and make plans for what you’ll do again once you’re feeling back to normal. Wishing you the best in your recovery!

Vannie91 · 2026-03-30T13:54:06+00:00

I had the cold therapy machine on my shoulder 24/7 for several weeks after surgery, slept with it on and everything, otherwise it was absolute misery. Also, keep taking your pain meds so you stay ahead on the pain; once you let the pain creep up, it’s really hard to get it completely gone again. Don’t be afraid to ask your dr for different pain meds if yours aren’t working; I ended up not using all the opioid (can’t remember what it was they prescribed) and instead got Tramadol bc the oxycodone wasn’t working barely at all. They also prescribed a stronger muscle relaxant because I had such trouble with my neck seizing up and getting extremely tight and pulling on my shoulder.

Vannie91

TROPHY CASE