...

Sandi, Separate your quit from your life. The 2 do not go hand in hand. It is completely and totally separate. No matter what goes on in your life..... your quit is something that completely stands alone. Kinda like a teddy bear. Imagine holding and protecting this teddy bear. You dont' want ANYTHING to affect this teddy bear. Court dates, brothers, taxes, work....nothing can hurt this teddy bear. That is your quit. And in time, you will see how much LESS stress you have because you have taken one of the most toxic things out of your life. It's amazing. Keep going. You're right where you should be. And I have no clue why the lines on my post look like this.

Just wanted to open a welcoming thread for day 5 !!! You are doing so good. And yes, it does stink..... it smells so freaking nasty. And to think we got enjoyment out of that. You are more than halfway through your first week !!!! Do you realize how strong you are ? A week ago, you couldn't go four hours without one. Heck, one hour after your last one.... the junkie in you was already plotting your next smoke.... your next round of suicide. And look at you now. You don't realize it but your eyes are beginning to see how truly horrid this addiction is........ and you have saved money !!! Keep going..... one day at a time. I'm SOOOO proud of you.

Thank you !!!! I seriously could not have done this without y'all.

Thank you. And yes, at 2:30 today, I will be one month. It's calming down ALOT !!! I was actually gonna post yesterday evening how good yesterday was. For the first time, I actually FELT like a non smoker. It was nice. And then I came home. And my son made me so angry. We got into a battle. I swear sometimes teenagers and chores don't go in the same sentence. And I wanted to go have a smoke. It was so stupid. My thinking was "why am I even fighting this ?" I turned this one argument over chores into a decision to NOT save my own life. It's amazing how much our brain tries to trick us any way it can. I kinda picture it like a predator..... waiting for the perfect opportunity to attack. But I didn't go smoke. The rug rat and I made up. Well, only cause he almost got grounded. And then we went to bed. And all was good this morning. It does help seeing Sandi's posts..... you keep going Sandi. You're doing awesome !!! It helps me affirm that I made the absolute best decision of my life. I remember those days so well...... and I never ever want to go back there. Bring on MONTH 2 !!!!

I absolutely LOVE this post !!!!

Anxious is good. Your changing your life. And that's always a scary thing. Shows how strong you really are. Pissed off is good. Get mad. Stay mad. Stay furious that you ever allowed yourself to succumb to this addiction this long. Change it. Male co workers that smoke..... Ask every one of them if they could turn back the hands of time, would they still have smoked that first cigarette ? I can guarantee you EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. OF. THEM will say...... No. I have this same issue at my office. We call it the "hole" cause we have to hide that we smoke. I love the "hole". We laugh, smoke and then go back to work. Kind of a nice break. Now I walk around, get in the car and drive, go get a sweet tea. And I'm finding I like that much much better. Remember that we didn't smoke cause we like it. That's a lie. We didn't smoke cause it's relaxing...... Are you relaxed now ? THIS that you are experiencing would happen every 20 minutes until you got your fix. That's not relaxing. That's enslavement. Tell one of those guys they can't go smoke right now. Or for the next 4 hours. And then watch them freak the hell out. That's not enjoyment. And they sure as hell wouldn't be relaxed. They aren't going out there cause they want to. They are going out there because they HAVE to.

When I get home tonight, I will help you make a banner. I never really believed in them but now, it's kinda cool to see what I haven't smoked. And right this minute.... I have not smoked 868 cigarettes and saved $325.48. And I have saved 3 days, 14 hours and 47 seconds of my life. (The banner below is not COMPLETELY accurate as it uses a different time zone but it's close enough). I hope I don't get the flu on those 3 days. That would really suck..... Lol

Sandi, you are doing so awesome amazing. Keep going. It does get better. Have you ever read what is ACTUALLY in a cigarette ? Now have you ever sat down to eat a bowl of formaldehyde ? Or drank a glass of ammonia ? Or sniffed some arsenic ? No. You havent' and your logic for not doing it is REAL. Cause you know that it will 1. Give you cancer. 2. Make you sick as a dog. 3. Kill you. Well, smoking it does the same exact thing. Is that next cigarette worth your life ? No ma'am, it's not. You have a beautiful life. You are doing awesome. Keep going. You have made it over half way through hell week. And you NEVER have to go through it again. Like Bakon said..... Embrace every feeling, every tear, every ounce of suckiness about this. Cause truth be told, every bit of it is you healing.

Is it sad that the only things I recognize are "Chips" and "Charlie's Angels" ? Either y'all are alot older than I am or I didn't watch much tv.........

How can you do this ? Sweetie, you ARE doing it. You're doing it right now. And the way you KEEP doing it is the same way you do everything else. One day at a time. All you have to do is today. That's it. Just today. The fuzziheadedness will go away. I promise. It's sucks going through it but the end is so much better. Keep your eyes on the prize. A new and healthier YOU !!! And there are some videos that Suzerac posted. Joel's videos..... watch them. They will help you find your strength when you don't feel like you have any.

And I have heard that smoking eases up IBS symptoms also......until the cancer hits.

I did just that. This neighbor will smack dab talk herself into a coma. And I had picked up some Dr. Peppers for her (she has 3 babies under the age of 4 so it's much easier for me to get her something from the store instead of her) and when she came walking up to my car, the first words out of my mouth were "Don't you bring that cigarette over here." She threw it off then. Girl, I'm not letting anything mess this up for me. Not ever again.

I like this. I'm putting this in my signature.

I wish every smoker could see this.......

I'm sorry Saze. I'm getting distracted with the kid and the dog...... I'm ok. I gotta get it done. Have a good night and thank you.

I'm doing ok. I tried the chat room. It wouldn't load. I'm on my iPad. Just having crave after crave. Dealing with a sick pup, neighbors husband left her and she's using me as a sounding board (while smoking one cigarette after another which is understandable as she is upset and that's what smokers do) and my mind is screwing with me. And I have canker sores and my ribs hurt. But on a good side, I bought 2 leather recliners today. Got rid of my sofa and looking to buy another one. Found out to fix my son's truck is going to be 100's less than what I thought it was gonna be. And I'm still smoke free. Just a tough day. Tomorrow will be better

Uggggghhhhh !!!!!

I am focusing on many other things today. I'm not going to smoke. It's just weird how I almost expect it to be normal for me to smoke. Look at my hand, huh ? Lol. That one made me giggle. I can't wait to reach the other side.... Where all of this is behind me. That will be the BESTEST day in the world !!!!

Yes ma'am, I am.

Yes. That explains it. But if it's too much of a temptation..... don't play. You're doing great. Keep protecting your quit with everything you have.

Congrats girl !!! You are doing it....... Keep going.

So today..... I want to smoke. I am not romancing it. I am not even thinking about the negative or "positive" aspects of it. I just want to smoke. And I know why. I have so much to do that I feel very disorganized. And I don't know why I think smoking is going to help that. I'm not connecting the dots. But for some reason..... I'm thinking that one cigarette would be ok. Edited to say: I am not going to smoke. Just another day to barrel through. And I'm going to do it with shopping. lol

That is semantics. You hang around the playground long enough, you WILL eventually play with the toys. Stay away.