Boo

At least I know enough now to know that if they call me a "hoser", they are not making reference to my dangly bits.

Brushing up on my Canadian English. In my time on this board, I've become familiar with British slang. I can even understand most of Jo's Aussie slang now. Now, I'm working on a job with a group out of Manitoba. The foreman is an ex-smoker like myself. He explained that he "quit the darts." Apparently, Canadians call cigarettes darts. I told him that I started working out again when I quit. He explained that he only worked on his "Molson muscle." He patted his belly after saying that, so I figured that one out quickly Left and right are now Larry and Roger. The pisser is now a washroom. I've already had to explain a couple of Southernisms to him, so we have a bit of a dialect exchange program going here.

Nice work Kel.

Congratulations to Sal and the missus. Good job.

Congratulations Catlover.

Good job Rec. High class quit.

No one ever cranked this song up and said: Let's drive the speed limit and make other reasonable decisions.

Looking forward to a Saturday at home with absolutely nothing to do. The weather is going to be cold and windy with a chance of snow. Apart from feeding the donkeys, there's no real need to go outside tomorrow. My dog Cash is ahead of the curve on dealing with days like this. Has a bed right in front of the fireplace, lays there all day. He only gets up to eat and do his backyard business. That dog is a daily reminder that the simplest pleasures are the best.

Absolutely. Good job Kate.

I found those nagging, persistent thoughts of smoking to be the biggest pain in the ass of the quit process in the early days. One night I had a breakthrough moment, decided to stop fighting it and just let it be. It was smooth sailing after that. Your turning point moment might be sudden or it may set in gradually, but it will happen. Hang in and keep moving forward. You're doing well Gum_Addict.

On the subject of breathing techniques, I did the 4-4-8 breathing technique early in my quit. Inhale through the nose for a count of four, hold the breath for four, and exhale slowly through the mouth for a count of eight. I started doing this breathing technique early in my quit to deal with cravings. I no longer crave cigarettes but still find the breathing technique helpful from time-to-time. Taking a little pause for the cause to focus on your breathing is like hitting the reset button for your body and mind.

Good news: After you put in the time early in your quit, there's no real effort involved. You can simply enjoy being a non-smoker. Not smoking only feels weird for a while. Then you reach a place where not smoking begins to feel normal. Eventually, you will reach a point where not smoking is not a task but rather your new reality. Welcome to the Quit Train Gum_Addict.

Great Job Yoda.

Recognizing smoking as one big lie built on many other smaller lies is a vital part of the quitting process. Good job KEL, you have every reason to be thankful. I found this short video on neuroplasticity early in my quit. I've posted it before and here it is one more time...

Good job Kris. Way to hang in there.

Get comfortable with not knowing. Very few have all the answers right out of the gate. Most who claim to are full of shit. It's fine to wonder and wander a bit, you've got the rest of your life to figure it out.

Checking the weather in Florida. The Sunshine State issued its first falling iguanas warning yesterday. I'm 400 miles north of the Florida line so these warnings are little more than a fascinating oddity to me. However, if you are in Florida...heads up!

Not even a random thought. Just something I came across on the internet. A little girl playing a banjo for a dog who is clearly enjoying the show. Enjoy.

Way to go Gus.

Congratulations Angeleek. Good job.

Top-shelf quit BAT. Good job.

Round about late May or early June...it's time for peaches. I'm sure some of the peaches at the grocery store are fine. However, peach perfection is usually purchased direct from the farmer off the back of a flatbed truck. If you don't have peach juice running down your chin and aren't making m'mmm type noises...you're not doing it right.

Nicotine also quickly depletes vitamin C from the body. We were all in varying states of vitamin deficiency when we were smoking. Good riddance to cigarettes.

A fine cover of a Merle Haggard standard...