Chrysalis

jazz

pasties ( :) )

clown

trumpet

hops

radiator

Warm

waterski

trudge

DD's link is titled "42 Reasons Dogs Will Always Be Better Than Cats". I don't agree that dogs are better than cats, but these sure are some good points to think about. My favorite is Reason #10. :) Thanks, DD!

Wonderland

Evelyln, have you considered switching from the gum to the patches for a while? In some ways, the gum is very similar to cigarettes. You remain addicted to the nicotine, of course. But when you finish chewing a piece of gum and throw it away, you start to build build up a craving for nicotine just like when you finished a smoke. The craving continues to intensify and you are "jonesing" for a fix until you chew another piece of gum. When you do, you get a "hit" of nicotine and the a-a-a-a-h of relief. All of this reinforces a dependence on nicotine gum just the way it did for cigarettes. With the patches, on the other hand, you get a slow steady stream of nicotine. It's enough to minimize the withdrawal symptoms but not the periodic "hit" of the gum. Also, you eliminate the stimulus-response behaviors associated with gum. If you are very sensitive to nicotine and really worried about withdrawal symptoms, I suggest that you switch to the patches for a few weeks or a month and then taper off them. [by the way, if you find yourself having "amazing technicolor dreams" while on the patches, remove them at bed time and put a new one on in the morning. I got some amazing dreams when wearing the patches at night and that disturbed my sleep.]

Gate

priestess

padre

fraternal

Kirstin, isn't it amazing the irrational tricks Nicodemon tries play on us? Here you've had such a great quit so far and such great get-togethers but Nicodemon is trying to get you to put a negative spin on all that just because the photos were taken outdoors! I mean, how ridiculous would it be for you to ruin your quit just to get your photo on Facebook??!! From now on, make sure you take a couple of photos INDOORS at every get-together. Personally, I have missed being in lots of photos because I was OUTSIDE smoking when all the photos were being taking INSIDE! Isn't that the more usual scenario? You're doing great! I'm sorry that many of your friends and relatives are still smoking. But as Mart said, I you can show them the way you could encourage them to quit, too. You're looking at those photos, and looking at how many of your friends smoke, and Nicodemon is trying to get you to use that as an excuse to ruin your quit. Don't do it! Hang tough! Give yourself lots of credit for keeping your quit during some times when you were tempted to smoke. And above all, Keep The Quit!

connected

I'm not usually much of a documentary fan, but I just saw one that knocked my socks off! It's called "Virunga" (the mountain range in The Congo where mountain gorillas live). It has all the drama, suspense and production values of a feature film plus the intimacy and educational value of a top-flight documentary. According to their official blurb: "VIRUNGA IS THE INCREDIBLE TRUE STORY OF A GROUP OF BRAVE PEOPLE RISKING THEIR LIVES TO BUILD A BETTER FUTURE IN A PART OF AFRICA THE WORLD'S FORGOTTEN AND A GRIPPING EXPOSE OF THE REALITIES OF LIFE IN THE CONGO." Check out the trailer on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Wu-vjWd7Tb8

Hey, Gabby, once you have pulled all of the weeds out of your garden, use this:

laugh

That is one cute kitty! If you pay for transporting him to the States, I'll take him!

giggle

pampered

Woo-hoo, Tracey! You made it! Congratulations on your one year anniversary. It's been such a pleasure traveling this path with you. Thank you so much for paying it forward to the rest of us. Now go have a SUPER celebration today but remember-- you have to save a place for me on the lido deck. I'm a comin', baby!