johnny5

NOPE - Not One Puff Ever

Congratulations on 11 months smoke free, @abbynormal You are doing great. Looking forward to seeing you on the Lido Deck!

Happy Birthday @Martian5

NOPE - I don't smoke anymore.

Awesome job, Jack! Congratulations!

NOPE - never again.

Congratulations Steve! That first month is the hardest and I'm glad you are already seeing the benefits to quitting. Keep up the great work!

NOPE

I'm grateful for having gone through a very warm, pleasant, and drama-free Thanksgiving this year (last year was a complete different story). I'm also thankful that I can experience life (the good and the bad) without obsessing over how I'm going to get my next nicotine fix. And I'm grateful to all of you "beautiful, smoke-free creatures" (a great line Sazarac uses a lot) that inhabit this place. I hope you are all doing well this holiday season.

Awesome job @HeatherDianne That first month is the toughest and you have conquered it. Keep taking it one day at a time and it gets easier and better.

No need to delete the post. The holidays can be a stressful time and it is good to have a lot of information about keeping the quit during them. It sounds simple but really NOPE is the way to go. Make sure that you realize that nothing is worth blowing a quit over and do whatever you need to keep your quit and never taking another puff. It may involve avoiding alcohol if you are in stressful situations where drinks are available. I would definitely advise this early on in your quit. It may involve going into gatherings with relatives that you know you clash with by having the attitude that nothing they will do will lead you to smoking. You will not let them have that control over you. Families are a beautiful but stressful thing. Most of my family is somewhat normal but there are plenty of clashes and alliances when the whole family gets together. The one group that really stresses me out is one set of grandparents that are in their early 90's but have always been very manipulate, controlling, and deceitful. I had a big falling out with them a few months into my quit and I thought really hard about lighting up. I decided that I was not going to let them have that type of control over me. In fact, I was so angry with them that I refused to let the have that control over me. If there are relatives that go out of their way to piss you off, use that anger and stress to strengthen your quit. Promise yourself that you will not let them have that control over you. Quitting smoking is all about gaining control of your life back anyway.

A good song often played around Thanksgiving

NOPE Happy Thanksgiving.

Wow, congratulations on 2 years smoke free, Jo. Thanks for all the support you have given others and for all the fun that you add to this place. Do something big to celebrate today.

NOPE - I don't smoke anymore.

I may have posted this before but this is 8 year old Japanese drummer Yoyoka Soma performing Led Zeppelin. Good stuff.

NOPE

I'm really sorry to hear about your relapse and crash, Vivianne. I'm glad you are starting your quit again, though. A smoke free life is worth fighting for.

My vote was for the Dylan version too but, like Boo, my introduction to the song came from GNR. And yes, their cover of "Sympathy for the Devil" was horrible.