El Bandito

Sickening... Another looker! Im getting intimidated by all these beautiful people..(and she's a Somerset girl too :D )

Its amazing - as smokers we spent a fortune on stuff to look and smell good - then spent a fortune on cigs to make us look horrible and stink... madness

The Power of Three... sure I heard that somewhere....

:o Lucky bounder - what?

Soooooz! Answer the bleedin' question! Do YOU want to quit full time? I am not trying to be a pain - just to get you to work out for yourself what you want. Do YOU want not to smoke? How does the habitual quitter tag make YOU feel? I agree that beating yourself up is pointless - but I also think that if you see the relapse/quit cycle as an option - you are likely to take that option. If you want to be 100% quit - that option needs to be off the table.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Nice. Looking good. Currently in the frame are some Paul Smith frames that looked good yesterday. Then some Prada of a similar style today (both with female sign off!) Going to do some more research.

In less than 30 posts. Quality.

Oooops Marti. I am afraid this one goes on ice. :(

Great work Sarah! Raaaahhhh.... Cough cough...hurts my throat this roaring....

Great work IAM!

Congratulations Anna!

Colonel Blimp is a kind of amalgam for me... .Florid face, whiskey nose, big tum and booming voice -"HALLO! MY NAME IS BINKY - and so is my wife, WHAT?"

Hey Sue! It is great to hear from you. I have a vision of you writing that post with one eye shut - and of you checking in after dinner with one eye shut. I remember your last post relapse return - and a very sheepish return it was. You seemed worried that people might lay into you for choosing to smoke again. Maybe its me - but this return seems a little more defiant? Soozie - it is completely your call. I am only guessing - but the fact that hubby comes home full of energy wanting to party, laugh, catch up with everyone and just live the whirlwind for a couple of weeks - is incredibly difficult for you. Fantastic in that he is back and its rock n roll time - challenging in that he includes cigarettes in that whirlwind. At least a part of you wants to be like him. He goes back to the rig - and is a different person. Highly disciplined - no booze, no smoking. He has no interest in quitting smoking - he does it every month already. He thinks that you are slightly insane for posting on here. (Still only guessing) Part of you sees him put down his pack - disappear and have no thought of smoking until he is back home again - and thinks "Perhaps I will do that too" Soozie - I don't know. 1. Is that on/off thing what you really want? 2. Can you do it? I know that I could not - if I am going to smoke on the weekend - I'm going to smoke during the week too. Very quickly - I will be back on a pack a day. And increasingly - I don't want to (nobody more surprised than me). Excuse the pun - but the smoke is clearing - I can be rock n roll, a laugh a minute, full of beer and NOT want to smoke. Again - guessing, but are you going for the "I might just have one after dinner until the pack runs out"? Or - "I'll put them in the cupboard for hubby when he comes home"? I am not going to judge you Sue - not now, not ever. You tell me - do you want to quit? As in full time quit? Do you want support? Do you want a hug - or a kick up the arse? If you want to quit. You will.

Roman eh? Explains his knowledge of Dragons. (See my missus' family) Always a little sad that the English don't make much of St George's - anyway - HAPPY ST GEORGE'S (you sassenach wee barstewards)

Now - you may see a portly ageing rocket surgeon in a skirt - but in my mind's eye I am the lithe athlete, full of vim and vigour. Of late - I have found myself squinting a little at my computer/ipad screen - and complaining that writing is getting smaller in the newspaper. So - I booked an eye test. Blimey - those things have come a long way! All sorts of funky things going on...(must blog about that) - but to cut a long story short - I need to wear glasses for reading or computer work (i.e. every waking minute!) "Why?" I wailed "Simply old age Sir" responded my kindly optician, a Sikh gentleman called Singh. As he got up from the floor straightening out his turban, he suggested that I might want to ice my knuckles - oh and perhaps have a look at some of the spectacles out front. I apologised - suggested that he might want to reset his nose and work on his diplomacy and tact. 43!! Old Age? Honestly! Seems a little previous to me... Still - I have decided to embrace the change. Option 1: Round frameless. Harry Potter and Hagrids Love child. Option 2: Stylish Italian Fashion Guru. Fat designer, with lecherous tendencies (needs to be teamed with hair gel and designer kilts) Option 3: A monocle. Further develop my inner Colonel Blimp Option 4: A vintage Pince Nez. Herr Sehrupmyownassenschnitzel Option 5: Nip down to Walmart and pick up a pair for 50 cents Decisions decisions.....

(And the Georgians) He was a Turk you know...

Sushi - Cheesecake - Banana Pudding? I'm definitely in. If pushed - I might be persuaded to tap my foot to some music...

Nice post T. I agree with all of it. Sometimes - despite all of our best efforts - we fall back to plan B. In my case - "Brute force and ignorance"... The biggest surprise is that it is doable. Millions have done it before us and millions will after.

Sounds incredibly exciting. When does it begin?

1 Morning all

Hi Evelyn - You go to therapy to make things better. I know that you have said it can be a crunch - but it is positive. Can you wait for your Taxi inside? - Perhaps read a magazine? Do you have some boiled sweets that you can suck? But - at the end as you say - it's simple - NOPE

Wahay! Well done Rachael. Ninja crave - put on its ass. Great work.

Welcome Laura! Congratulations on a great decision. Now read read read! The key to beating this addiction is education - and it is all here..

-8 Morning