Still winning

I'm going inbetween here. I never saw a way to not get email either, that said, for me! No problem, I like the reach out it gives me. All good. Privacy must be respected though. Total agreement Flip it: I literally posted to Susana yesterday, to reach out and help and support. I said I wish someone had of cared enough about me when I relapsed to reach out rather then going ah, smoking, ok. I needed a brass band and a bit of dragging :) Now, can we all take our bat and ball home if the other kids aren't playing nicely?? Loves to all. xx

Nope :) Not a chance!!

Ideal christmas gifts. Home made traditional fudge: Tin Condensed milk (397g) 150ml milk 450g light brown sugar (can use dark brown but it just ends up much sweeter and not as nice a colour) 115g butter, actually unsalted butter seems to work better taste wise BIG TIP - keep it moving most of the time otherwise it sticks! Bung it all in a saucepan and turn the heat on medium to warm it through and melt the sugar. Whack up on full heat, keep it moving, scrape sides of pan as you go as well. it needs to look like a bubbling volcano for 8-10 minutes, it will start to get stiffer (oo er) Turn heat off If you want to make it vanilla fudge, add a tablespoon of vanilla essence now. Stir for another 8 minutes. No pansy stuff but not hulk either - somewhere in the middle. It will get stiffer. Tip it into a tin lined with greaseproof paper, more then one if needs be, you want it to be about an inch thick. Leave it to air dry and lift it out of the tin Cut into squares and jobs a goodun. Ideal for christmas gifting and I even made them for wedding favours once :)

Wow, just had to google...England needs alfredo sauce in it's life... big up!! What a "beef chuck pattie"?? This sounds GOOOOOD

Oh and croutons are easy to make if you want to add to soups. Sharp knife, slice of bread. Cut into small cubes. Drizzle olive oil over them to cover. Pop in the oven to cook at regular cooking temp Turn them over. Takes about 10 mins.

Coming into autumn now, so thought chicken noodle soup for coughs and colds recovery :) Cook chicken in oven wrapped in tin foil or grill if prefered. Dice into smallish pieces. Boil 1 1/2 pints of water in a saucepan Add two chicken stock cubes (or follow guidelines if using stock pots) I use Knorr. Add to boiling water and stir until melted in. Turn down to a high simmer. Add egg noodles, any brand, I use sharwoods, as much as you want. Add chicken, as much as you want. Thyme and Sage are great herbs for colds, so I add these in, couple of pinches of each. You could also add roasted garlic too but I can never be bothered (garlic also great for flu's) Comes out quite watery but literally you feel better with every spoonful. Keeps in the fridge for a day but not as nice but add boiling water to it before reheating as the noodles absorb the water if left.

day 3 level 1 of 30 day shred and a gruelling 1 1/2 hours of gardening... little bit broken lol.

Room for a little one?? Sounds amazing!! I'd love to go on a cruise. You will absolutely have to report back as well as celebrate.

Good on ya Joe, you are all kinds of fabulous as is a 10 month quit!! Congrats hun. xx

I really liked Rachel Caine so started that series and was let down tbh. Nowhere near the vampire stuff she did :( Have you read the otherworld series by Kelley armstrong? That's fab!

I'm sorry you're going through some bad stuff sam. It is very true our quit gives us back inner strength and self worth. It becomes an entitiy in it's own right that we will literally fight to save. Good work on the mindset. xx

Wow, this post just gave me goosebumps!! GREAT idea!! Beth you got a job on :) How rewarding though, brilliant. xx

Cheers for the warning Aine! That said there is a lot of talk round these here parts about 3 and 6 months and some reconsidering at 9 and 12. The quarter thing. 15 times a day is a lot to be coping with, that sounds pants! I'm really sorry for you that you're getting that. I actually found last month tough so every quit is different. All I have to offer you (and I) is that we really don't want to smoke, so to actually smoke, would be the wrong move. Nowt else but to wait it out. Which sucks, but after what you've been through of late a few craves are a lesser problem unless you let them take control of you. You can choose to be stronger then that. Keeping you both in my thoughts and sending strength. xx

Oh gods Leanna, Olly murs is my guilty pleasure, I bop and everything, shhhh

A lot of us seperated the addiction part of our brain from the rational part that wants to quit. Ladybug called her's Smokey and used to talk/swear/yell nope at it. Ava, was it you who did something similar? I think it's really good to seperate them out! For sure I do, although I never named it, I often refer to it as nico-demon or the junkie, both terms I heard here and fitted for me :) Do whatever you need to for clarity. PS never be afraid to post, post a ton of stuff, everything you think of!! Gives us all a chance to support you, also you never know who's reading. I lose count of the amount of times I got a pm saying thank you for posting that, I feel the same. Also for new quitters it helps to see hints and tips of how to cope, or what might happen. Plus it gives me and anyone else a chance to post too - which solidifies our quit :) WIn win!!! x

Day 2 level 1, 30 day shred. 10 mins of yoga just to stretch, feeling a little tight.

Strangely I thought it would go the yes way...most of my scottish buddies that talk were saying yes and pushing hard. That is pretty closely divided though. So on a day where everyone said NOPE, I'll join, Nope from me.

Well done evelyn. That's all it takes. Acknowledge the craving and refuse to give in to it. Naps are great for that too! x

I can completely relate to this "wake up". It's one of two EUREKA moments in my quit, how fab you got it this early on. You just kicked one of the key factors of a relapse, cigs will not trick you again that they will help!! I am so pleased for you. Also I felt a bit of grief actually, it's ok if the thought makes you delighted but also a bit sad I think. Nancy, I love this post for me too. I remember the sheer dissapointment with relapse time. The excuses that faded far too quickly. x

Miserable, a little but not lonely or crying. I have actually suffered with anger rather than sadness. I can be sad and deal ok with that, however people have taken me for granted, basically used me to make their lives better, easier, more entertaining, that's not ok. When I need to work something out I hermit, retreat and go insular...it's how I'm able to process everything, my way I guess. Now I have thought it all through and decided a battle is the wrong way. Friends don't do much for me, I am too different. I don't fit into a mould :) I have two close girlfriends and Chris (who I'm now with) and Lee. These 4 people are my backbone. Plus my two daughters. I would quite happily deal with no one else tbh, those guys are more than enough so I have no worries. I genuinely love time alone to learn, read, meditate etc. Thanks for caring. xx

It happens chick, chin up, chest out and start again today. The few lbs may well shift quicker as they are recent. Lots of water too, flushes those extra pounds :) x

Rest week over, knee was really sore so took a week off of all but gardening and some walking. So restarting now with knee support on in case, Day 1 Level 1 of 30 day shred.

Finally the mobile library in the sticks has 13, the last installment from Kelley Armstrong on the otherworld series. Got this morninh, lunchtime I'm on chapter 8, only stopped to exercise lol. Need to pace myself though as it's one of those series I never want to end and I will miss the charecters.

I am pleased your wish came true Bassman, freedom is no small price. I'm pleased your words that quite clearly come from your heart, solidify your journey, and the journey of others. Keeps shielding :)