Still winning

10 months is amazing Doreen, I am so pleased for you...and your foot. Your gentle calming ways really helped me so on a personal note, thank you for always being there for me, but I see also for everyone else too. Occasionally people are just precious and that's how I think of you. May you be free and well. xx

Brilliant work, 11 months is all kids of fabulous. Massive congrats. x

Massive congrats dors. xx

Melody, brilliant work. Like others have said those sneaky bug*ers calling them natural?! It's just a new improved way to drag you in. I'm with Tracey, I tried a "herbal" cig once, thought I was gonna lose a lung haha, I crack up thinking back but god it was awful!! Pleased you were still on guard. xx

So pleased to celebrate your 11 months Petra!! Massive congrats. xx

loads!! lol Milly & Bella, my babies :) When they laugh or smile or cuddle or anything really Chris My friends then family Any awesome scenery (ocean, mountains, forest etc), basic natural beauty People who smile at you All forms of healing, crystals, reiki, angel All children because they are so genuine Most animals- as per above re children When I can help someone Working in the garden growing things I can use or eat Having a clean house - really rare with people in it Someone who offers you a hand for no reason other than they can Food and Wine Whisky or Brandy for special occasions Birthdays Christmas Eve/Day - for the special memories more than the religious aspect Motor Racing days unless rainy (I'm fickle) Treating the people I love Stopping now, could keep going haha. Loving reading others lists :)

nope, not today.

If I was alone I would switch from foot to foot repeating nope. clicked my fingers. smoked through a straw cut smaller. sing. clean something.

nope.

9

Nope.

Shhhh, youwill wake up feeling better but be really nasty to her and blame the quit!! haha. You have done AMAZING, massive hugs. Nicotine is done and it can never have you again!! It's massive news and you need to hold onto that. You could face actual withdrawal, nicotine is a drug and you stared it down. I am so excited for you to get to the place where the craves are merely thoughts and annoying, and then where we don't thin about it at all!! We could smoke always but we choose not too. Go Brittany!!

The emotional thing is very real. We all cried more. I like to think we cry out some toxins, it helped me cope with the emotions taking me by storm. Day 3 is a toughie hun. The fact you are hanging in there says you have today covered and that's all you think about for now ok. Today the nicotine is trying desperately to keep you, it's a battle and you are winning already by doing nothing more than not smoking. If possible flipping your thinking on the better times of the day helps - when you are not craving to smile and think look at me the non smoker now and embrace that, it's what we want after all!! Power of positive thinking and the healing of tears which is simply our bodies way of releasing pent up emotion. Hugs. xx

nope. No words for what those poor men were asked to face for freedom, respectful. x

Wow, I would wake an hour before the children and chain smoke like 10, it was my favourite smoking time with a cup of tea. I would drop them at school and then smoke again, massive relief from the craves. Now I sleep an extra half hour :) I also genuinely feel pity for every parent/child combo I pass on the way to my job (a mum) on the school run. Poor guys, the kids and the parents. Hopefully they'll all find the way one day. For now, we are free and it feels pretty good. xx

"give into the crave"?! Dos he think he's clever or something. Don't you bloody dare follow that imbeciles advice! Of course I know you won't but Jackie can you say something to him about being appropriate? Or accidently on purpose trip him up?! xx

oh Tracey nooooo! They are always all a bit :wacko2: haha

That inspires me to hold on even tighter. Thanks Charlie and welcome to the board. xx

Day 3 battle on. The nicotine can only hold onto you if you let it, you are doing AMAZING. I think you are spot on with thinking "if I hold on I won't have to do this bit again" - I don't doubt this thought process saved and moved forward a lot of quits!! However, it's ok to also think fr every crave I face down I make that part of my trigger weaker and that's the truth of it. Every situation (like thecartoday) that you say no too makes it a little weaker...so next car journey it will be a thought rather than a trigger if that makes sense. The message to hold now is the craves won't kill, but smoking could well do and we are Mums, we can't be playing russian roulette with our health anymore. Strength vibes to you. xx

I'd like to say that's sick...but once I got some 10 year old sealed packs of cigs, all different brands that my grandma had kept when she had a shop - yep I smoked them inbetween my regular cigs, yikes!! I'm feel for you that you couldn't throw away 13 but addicts will be addicts I guess, let's just make sure it's never us again.. xx

calm before the storm (literally, sat will be mad apparently). NOPE to smoking on this sunny day.

I would like to advertise!! I have a quit buddy, he is all kinds of awesome and a month ahead of me, he saves my sorry quit butt every day. I tried to offr my services to a nwer quit but my call has gone amiss. I'm not good with this, my "proper" job is to help people and I've lost one. If a newer quitter wants someone to bounce off of, may I suggest me? I'm a bit of an oddball but I want to make life happier and smoke free for someone like my quit buddy has for me!! Open invitation for a new quit buddy?!

Mason, I'm a ticker retard :( Have you got it. How you quittin, cold turkey, nrt etc...this I can help with?!

I feel like I ought to sing a rendition of Elton John's "I'm still standing" and I smile at this. I had so many failures with quits I'm not sure I've fully taken in that I don't smoke. Yet I have, I KNOW and have known for sometime, truth to tell, that I'm done, no more smoking. I'm not sure of the point of this blog?? lol. So me, I start writing with no idea of the end game. I wish I was one of those together people who always had a plan :) It's my magic number coming up next though. I'm approaching 3 months. Now the 3's have not worked in my favour to date. It confuses me. At 3 days I stood shaking and sobbing staring out a packet of cigs, I genuinely laughnow but at the time it was dreadful! I danced through two weeks wondering what the drama was, only to get slapped down like biatch at 3 weeks. Idon't think my kitchen floor has ever been so clean as it was on week 3!! Yikes!! But 3 is my lucky number, it's my elusive winning number in the grand scheme of life - but yeah, I hear it's a right old bad time in quits. Ah whatever, I say bring your worst, I have faced the worst time and time again. If I ever doubt that I only have to walk to the next room in my house and listen to COPD and know, smoking did that. God, what if my girls smoked cause I'd set a precedent that it was ok!! No way, not now not ever. Today is a good day, I can cope. But even at my weakest I won't smoke, I won't let me - you guys won't let me. I commit myself to a year to this board, I do it on my own blog. I will pay it forward, I will accept the journey feels awesome and troubling, I will not smoke. I still believe we all deserve more.

Amazing!! Biggest mental battle I always think. Loving your attitude and honesty with yourself, keep that, you need to just take on step at a time, sometimes that's minute by minute, sometimes hour by hour. But you get past this and you simply tell yourself you can do ANYTHING, anything you like except smoke....that's a whole lotta options. The biggest win is the extra time, especially as you have children too, I really enjoy days out now because there's no hunting for a smoking area!! It will just get more brilliant day by day. Hang on! Did you get soem fruit juice in? A lot of the "craves" are actually blood sugar dips as your nicotine played with your system in a million ways but you take control of it back now. Takes about 3 days to re-adjust. Some people feel a lot more tired in the same time period as well and it's the same problem, those blood sugars are easier to handle when they are under control. xx