MarylandQuitter

I will not smoke today.

1. Cut the grass 2. Cut a mountain bike trail through the woods 3. Read a book and learn something new 4. Take time to listen to quiet. Shut off the TV, computer and phone and just close my eyes and listen. 5. Look at my short-term goals and see where I stand 6. Cook something new on the grill 7. Clay bar and do some paint correcting on my commuter car (it takes a beating in D.C.) 8. Workout, run or do something to move get the old bones moving 9. Walk around a garden center or nursery and find something new to grow 10. Call my old man and catch up (old man is a term of endearment with my Dad and I) 11. Prepare my meals for the week so I'm not stuck having to "get something quick to eat" and have fresh, unprocessed food to eat 12. Disassemble the cooking surface down to the burners of the grill to clean and inspect.

Don't ever lose this attitude towards smoking. It sucks. It stinks. It kills. You're doing great and are doing all the right things to stay quit. :)

I cringe whenever I hear somebody say that they're "going to try and quit smoking". I guess I cringe because it reminds me of myself and my failed attempts. Trying something should be reserved for things like bungee jumping, roller skating, different types of food etc., not something that is going to impact the rest of your life and is a matter of life or death. It's not hard to quit. We will make it as hard or easy and we want to, but make no mistake about it, trying it out for size ain't gonna cut it.

If you're wondering if you can do something, chances are you're only giving it 50% of your best effort. If you BELIEVE that can and will quit, you will. Aside from alcohol, I think stress is the biggest obstacle for people to deal with and not smoke. Alcohol is a choice but stress isn't. We all had to get it through our heads that smoking does not relieve stress. It's impossible that it can. Once you understand why you smoke it's a whole lot easier to never pick them up again. Like Rob asks people all the time. Where did you get the cigarettes from? When I relapsed, I had been listening to junkie thinking for about two weeks and finally went and bought a pack to relieve stress. Guess what? It didn't relieve anything and only added to the stress that I was already under. You see, I was 9 months quit, read Allen Carr, participated in support groups, had "quit buddies" and the whole nine yards and still relapsed. The reason was because I still believed that I got something positive from smoking. Since the lie was exposed, that 1 pack I smoked - I can say with 100% certainty that I didn't enjoy a single puff. That pack lasted me a week and even though I was still looking for my old friend who used to get me through the tough times, I realized I had been lied to and I was gullible enough to fall for it again, despite the knowledge and support. It never helped me with anything. Not one time. 99% of the time you don't want to smoke but at best, only 50% of you believes that you can quit. Right now you're taking the path of least resistance which is why you continue to smoke. Start changing the way you look at yourself and smoking. I will tell you with 100% certainty that you can quit smoking for good. Pledge not to smoke every single day and be as active as you can on the forum. Little things like this will help you more than you can ever realize. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swdfSNiud8I

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Congrats, Sharon!!

See, it's 99% mental at this point. Can't go wrong with the coffee either. :)

Hope you're okay. Running on an incline will help prepare you for running outside during the race.

That's great, rowly. Life is so much better without that filthy habit in it.

NOPE! Never again will I put that crap into my body.

Glad to see you back and committed to quitting smoking. Please let us know what areas are particularly troublesome for you because there isn't anything that you can be apprehensive about or are going through regarding smoking that somebody here hasn't already gone through. Pledge not to smoke each day and take it one day at a time.

lol I remember one post awhile back where Nancy said she was going to out for :pleasantry: a few drinks :pleasantry: and :pleasantry: paint the town :pleasantry: but once she got all likkered up, she turned into a wild woman. Pic below of Nancy's handywork after she's had :pleasantry: a few :pleasantry: .

Oh yeah, she's pretty stubborn too.

Have a great vacation and stay safe! I'd tell you to stay smoke-free but we already know that's a given. :)

Way to keep after it, Brittany. This has success written all over it. How are you feeling now that you have the worst of it in the bag?

How are you doing, Mason?

Often times what we feel and reality are two different things. You may feel like you want to smoke but in reality, your body doesn't want you to. You've shaken up your whole routine both mentally and physically by quitting smoking so expect that there are going to be times where your brain tells you that you want/need to smoke. You're doing great!

Cool, ya hippie. :good:

She loves Mother Russia, nail polish, bad coffee, sushi, loves to correct spelling misteaks, was legally blind at one point and is skeered of MQ.

Thank you! I forgot and then had to look at my profile! B)

Very glad to read this!!! Sounds like you're fed up with feeling like shit and are going to make it stick this time. You keep this attitude and you got this quit in the bag. :)

Thank you so much, Nancy. That little girl is the greatest gift and the most important thing in my life. My Mom always told me that I could never understand how much she loved me until I had a child of my own. I had no idea that a love so deep existed. So now we have the Chessie along with a Bengal cat and a mixed something or other that was tossed from a moving truck as a puppy. Most of his littermates were killed but he along with a couple others survived. My wife worked with the lady who saw it happen and my wife took one and they all were instantly adopted. He'll be 15 this year!

I've been intrigued with the Chesapeake Bay Retriever since I got my first dog, a yellow Labrador Retriever back in the mid 90's. The breed originated here in Maryland along the Chesapeake Bay. He will be shown in July as a couple of breedings sometime after that. As a former German Shepherd Schutzhund handler/trainer, what am I going to do with him? Have fun. The kids love him and although protective, he's very sweet and gentle. In the short-term, I'm going to work on his conditioning for the show next month and then we'll see what's next. Complete off-leash obedience training and then some water retrieving, swimming etc. As you can imagine, this region is very big on "Chessies". "Chesapeake Bay Retrievers trace their history to two pups who were rescued from a foundering ship in Maryland in 1807. The male "Sailor" and female "Canton" were described as Newfoundland dogs, but were more accurately Lesser Newfoundland or St. John's water dogs. These two lived in different parts of the bay area and there is no record of a litter being produced together. They were bred with area dogs, with more consideration given to ability than to breed, to create the beginnings of the Chesapeake Bay Retriever breed. There are few records of the breeds of these early dogs, but spaniels and hounds were included. Dogs from both Chesapeake Bay shores were recognized as one of three types of Chesapeake Bay Ducking Dog in 1877. In 1918 a single type, called the Chesapeake Bay Retriever, was recognized by the American Kennel Club, and there have been few changes to the breed standard since then." A couple pics of Zeus. With my daughter The next two were taken where I bought him

I know his grandma-ma don't like to be woken up in the middle of the night.