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Good morning my lovely fellow Nopers, Welcome to the weekend. That time where we can all put up our feet, have a sleep in and just chillax until Monday comes again... or live in reality and do all the tasks at home that have been neglected all week. All around the world today is International Midwives Day... and most of us would have a midwife to thank for being here or for our kids being here so yay midwives (don't stress no midwives in action shots). On my home front (Victoria) it is Shine A Light On Road Safty day, a day were we're all asked to have our headlights on during the day as a silent witness to the trauma and horror that comes from not safe roads. Considering she is looking a lot grey and overcast out there the headlights should be on anyway, but its free, it costs nothing and if even one person wonders why and decides to be a bit safer on the roads all the better. So to a world with out Midwives and to a world with unsafe roads I say.... NOPE Oh and for you North Americans... Happy Cinco de Mayo... which google tells me is the celebration of Mexico's defeat of the French during a battle in the 1800's or a celebration of Mexican Culture in the USA... What ever it remember that its one tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor.... but well done to the olden day Mexicans who told the French army.. "NOPE" .. although they probably said "No, ni una sola bocanada." (well that's what google says) Topic of the Day: Songs that you love.

NOPE!

G'day NOPE back at you, your late young lady! C

So I made it to the 1 month mark! Yay! But I do not want to write about celebrations right now. My post is about the last 2 days, which have been exceptionally tough. It is as if the addiction is playing tag with my conscience. Round and round they go with my feeble self hanging in the middle, at times by nothing less than a thread. It started on Wednesday mid afternoon and was so bad that I had to take a personal half day, and a leave on the following day (Thursday). I used up all my arsenal but nothing worked. At times I caught myself sitting upright on the bed looking at the ceiling, and there were times when I was talking to myself, encouraging me bent over the kitchen sink. Last night I went through two huge Cadbury's candy bars along with gulping coffee, which I used to diffuse the craves (Hell I was reaching out for anything). Sleepless, tired, anxious and irritated, that has been the story of the past two days. In the past 48 hours I have cried, thought about punching the wall or hurting myself to see if the pain helped, ran so hard that my legs cramped up, paced about at 3 in the morning. I am just glad I came out strong. Now I am not writing a memoir or sharing a day in the life of (in this case, 2 days), I am sharing this for two reasons or realities rather. The first one being the reality of the crave. People think that after 15 days or 25 days or their quit, they are out in the clear. This is when the crave strikes, when you have dropped your guard. No Matter how long you are in your quit, the lesson is not to drop your guard! The second one is the reality of addiction. I have always considered myself to be a strong man, but the quit has broken me down in so many ways. This shows how submissive you have been to the addiction throughout that even when you have quit, you are at its mercy. Therefore never lost out on your resolve. Take care, keep safe and stay quit!

NOPE!!!

May the fourth be with you! That's right sticks & chicks... its International Star Wars Day because all day long we can say May the Fourth be with you and not sound like complete nerdstickles. And while we have all the force with us, lets think about the humble chooks in there battery cages just so we can have some nuggets... may the force be with them too. So as I say NOPE today, I will use the force because it is strong within me. Topic of the day: Star Wars and its Sci-fi buddies.

Good morning. I pledge NOPE today.

Nope!!!

NOPE not today.

Nope

Howdy!

NOPE

nope

¡ NOPE for Cinco de Mayo !

Revenge of the 5th! #NOPE

NOPE...

NOPE!

Good morning all, This morning on my drive to work, I had to stop and get gas. And while I was pumping gas, thoughts of going in the store like I usually did, and buying a pack of cigs and having just one or two kept circling through my mind. Then I would just throw the rest of the pack away and pick my quit back up. Addiction is insane. That doesn't even make sense. I don't want to smoke, I want to quit! Yet, I try to convince myself to smoke? I am still amazed that it wasn't until these past few days that I didn't realize I was addicted. I thought I enjoyed smoking. I thought I wanted and chose to smoke. I am almost 65 years old, a reasonably intelligent (? :)) person and yet live in denial about cigarettes? I had "heard" about what smoking did to your lungs, but I never let it penetrate. I never looked at pictures of what smoking did to your lungs and what they looked like...until yesterday ?. I regret for not valuing my precious lungs more than my cigarettes, for not valuing time, for not listening. Yet, even as I embrace my lungs, time and life there is a voice in me that says...have a cigarette. But NOPE, not today.

may the nope be with you

NOPE!!

Nope! And good morning all.

Nopity, Nopity, Nope.

And a cheeky wee NOPE from me and chewy

NOPE

NOPE!

Surviving The Great NicotineFree Fog Some people experience a mental fog soon after they quit smoking or using nicotine, others don't. It can last from a few hours to a few weeks or longer. My fog wasn't consistent, showing up unannounced and somewhat dismaying. Who am I kidding ? It was disarming and seemed impenetrable. I couldn't have made thoughtful decisions and was glad they weren't necessary. My fog lasted over a month and lingered far too long. Not what you want to hear, I know, but remember, this was only my experience. Everyone's quit is unique, much has to do with attitude, general wellness, behavior/lifestyle, nutrition... Keep some tricks in your tool box to help you, just in case, and keep your blood sugar up. Antidotes ? forced walks, cold air, intentional breathing, too much coffee, 'embracing the suck', attention to my blood sugar, alerting people that might be affected, not stressing out about it...understanding that it will pass. Duration and Density ? On a scale, (10) drastically impaired to (0) normal. -For three days, with OTC help and Whisky, I flirted with informal catatonia (10) -For two weeks, I had little concentration, I wasn't making executive decisions or problem solving (7) -At four weeks, I slowly wakened to lethargy (3) and indolence (2.5) -It tapered off so s l o w l y, it was hard to mark but, that could have been my inattentiveness. pfftt. Have you experienced The Great Smoke Free Fog ? What helped you ? How dense was it ? When did it clear ? Enjoy this lovely short film and listen to Sounding the Sumburgh Foghorn in The Shetlands.

Sunny, calm down. breathe a few breaths. You are not going to get that 'ahhhh' from nicotine any more. that is GONE. You can get that 'ahhhhh' feeling from LOTS of other things that won't KILL you. Breathing is good. and Oxygen gives me the most reliable, "AHHHHHHHHHHH". Breathe, baby.

NOPE

Hi DV.... First congrats on your fabulous one month smoke free...!!!!! As smokers we fed ourselves a crap load of chemicals every day..for decades.... Your body and brain is kinda confused...it's having to function in a entirely different way.... They call quitting a journey of up and downs....this is for sure... Be patient and kind to yourself.....the magic will happen....... Keep telling yourself..how amazing you are... Grabbing this addiction and kicking it's butt !!!!

Here!

NOPE

Gday NOPE C

NOPE!

NOPE!!!

NOPE!

#NOPE....

WOW! You're half way to the Lido Deck today b.n.e. That's fantastic. You are really building a great quit. Congratulations to you as you push forward to that full year

Great work M5!! 4 months is a really solid quit. Getting there 1 day, 1 NOPE at a time And, I just love the message you have for that Nicodemon ?

Great job Rory 4 months smoke free is a great accomplishment. Celebrate all your hard work today!

Cinco nopes for me: NOPE, NOPE, NOPE, NOPE, NOPE!!!!!

He grabbed his helmet in front of yous?

I call this ................. Saturday Night ?

Nope?

Reading all the posts since yesterday also listening to news and needing a coffee..?

Thank you all for the encouragement. Wow. That is hopeful! And as I look at my week, it is right on. The "firsts" without a cigarette were tough for me this week, but once I did something for the first time without smoking and deprogrammed the trigger, it became easier and easier. Like waking up in the morning, first cup of coffee, driving to work, breaks, before lunch, after lunch, driving home from work, after dinner with coffee, before going to bed. Those things I had done for years always with a cigarette were tough the first times not having one, but now they don't trigger my crisis. Yet, this was the first time I had to fill my car with gas, where many times I would buy a pack and it became a crisis. Thanks for that perspective ! I will prepare myself for these firsts or at least understand what is going on.

Present, accounted for, and starting to get busy outside.....

I'd pop over and have a wee peek if I was you, yeah ? but be warned it's a wee bit red looking...?

Great post @onthemark ... I hadn't really thought about it but this quit, from the moment I decided to see how far I could go I have said "I have quit smoking", not trying to, no quitting... just I have quit... I do think there is a big difference with the language you use and your psychological attitude to your quit. I also agree with Sazski above ... using "i'm trying" is junky talk... your establishing your failure right from the get go, quitting with a built in get out of jail free card. @Lin-quitting bonus points and a gold star for quoting Yoda on May the 4th be with you day.