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Nope dilly dilly!?

So Jo, I have the honour of posting your six month celebration! I know how you prefer a low key affair, so just a simple congratulations you're doing great ... Yeah right, I've had to kiss many butts to get this gig and it's worth it, but there is no way I'm leaving it at that! So time to extol the virtues of our Jo, you may want to grab a snack while we run through this. Ah, see you already have. Okay, so where do we start? Ah yes, we probably want to double check those numbers. Is it really six months? Well to double check let's go to Bob Murray, the man to take the last mark and kick the last kick of that 66 final. Bob, do you reckon that's 6 months in the bag? And while we're at it Tony and Umpire what about youse? Yep, so Bob confirms it's 6 months and you're right up there, Tony reckons you're a legend and the umpire's happy with that. For the more sparkly amongst you this is what it looks like without the football code. Taking a moment to be serious. Jo thank you for everything you do here and I'm sure many others will want to join me in wishing you heartfelt congratulations on 6 months quit. I can't think of a more deserved celebration than yours today and it's great that you're half way to that famed lido deck. I'm grateful I'm on this journey with you and mitey proud to call you my friend. Celebrate well!

Nope!

G'day all NOPE to start the day C

On this glorious bank holiday Monday I say NOPE... @notsmokinjo in Britain it's a spring holiday meant to be a day to enjoy the last of spring but it doesn't actually finish until the 21st June..!!

NOPE

NOPE!

NOPE, I'll Pass

I'd like to start by thanking the academy... oops wrong speech... Um seriously best start handing out the thank youse... cos youse all have said some nice shit and stuff... @Sslip a wise person once told me to just smile and say thanks so... Thanks?!?!! ... but seriously that is the most awesome woohoo I have ever seen... I love the Saintas shout out, spesh with all the sixes and the have Barassi as the goal umpire... I love frickin Barassi.. even if he never played or coached my Saintas... Ron Barassi Jnr changed the face of foot and its because of him we have the father-son rule...and vegemite.. my biggest love and weakness (shh don't tell the kid).. thank you very much for my unexpected woohoo. And I am so blessed to have you as a friend... a certain Pork Chop may need to lift his game (although the kid did ask if you had caught my crazy) @Wee fluffy me thanks for all your support from the very start, and the laughs and my every growing vocabulary of Scottish slang.. and I am so excited by my cake, how do you have time to bake a special cake with one star for every month AND deal with ya garden, and ya weens, and making morris dancing costumes... there will be cutting of the cake and sharing quite soon so if ya still mowing ya back yard I'll make sure I save you a slice. @Boo thanks seppo thought there might be a special post for me in the Babe thread, but maybe later. Seriously though thanks for all you contributions in the serious threads, always something positive in there to draw on when needed. @Doreensfree thanks Doorski... I am glad I found here too... not sure that I would be making these thanks if I hadn't. Thanks for all your sage advice and funny, funny, endorphin releasing posts... you make my journey easier. @MrTitwank my darling plague mask bedecked Pork Chop... thanks for leading the way and showing me how to be awesome. @WeegieWoman they say a picture says a thousand words... and that one summed us up.. I know you will always have my back just as you know I've got yours. Thanks for being such an awesome quit buddy and your unique and clear views and advice in the serious threads and your awesome humour and wit in the fun ones. You make this quitting thing fun. @reciprocity, now woohoo master have you been giving sslippity-doo-dah secret training sessions???? Here I was thinking I could slid past this monthiversary without a woohoo and then ^^THAT happened... not that its not awesome or anything but just, wow.... anywhoo... thanks for everything you have done from the very early days to help me with my quit, your humor and support and friendship is greatley appreciated... and the learning of the hockey... my dad is most impressed. @Cbdave... thanks mate, especially for your daily NOPE... I kinda feel like my NOPE doesn't count until I see yours there too... cos, well witness... and I think you seeing my Nopes makes it that way bit harder to contemplate tossing the quit, so thanks for inadvertently keeping me on the straight and narrow. @catlover thanks mate, and thank you for your brilliant NOPES every day... I hang out to see what you will post... and your speed on some of those smarter games is impressive. Thanks for helping to keep me occupied in games so I don't dwell on other stuff. @Joe7 Thanks to Lucky Joe with an E-pendage... thanks for leading the way.. @jillar .. the very first person on a quit forum to 'speak' to me... the very first person, ever in my quit to give me a woohoo for hitting a milestone... thanks for letting me catch a ride on your shoulders until I was ready to stand (well most of the time) on my own two feet... you my dear are an absolute star and my naughty partner in crime.

NOPE!!!

NOPE!!!!

#NOPE

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NOPE not today.

Thankyou yes ... Could do with a little extra love today..just a bit extra stress with the mother in law. I,m all good though x

6 Months is such a great milestone. Congrats Jo! Be sure to reward yourself today. You're doing this like a rock star! Keep it up

whoop whoop.. 6 months already Jo it doesn't seem that long at all.. I want to take this opportunity to say.. I luv ya missus? you are a true team player and a total star, thank you for everything you do in this place though I often wonder if you are an alien life form because you NEVER seem to sleep...? (not that there is anything wrong with aliens right enought, I get on with anybody or any thing so Please (see I'm polite too) remember that when you take over the planet..????) I hope you do something to treat yourself, maybe a trip to get a wee rum baba ? But in the meantime I made you this..xx

You all good there @catlover ? ... ??? So nothing important happening today my fellow NOPErs... the puppy who thinks he is an electrician has chewed through both the mobile and laptop chargers overnight.... he is nearly 1.. not happy Jan... So globally it is Amnesty International Day. The US and UK both have long weekends, not sure why for either... maybe someone will share. So, cos our girl @catlover has back to back double posted and seems to be needing some love today this NOPE is for you... So as the pvssy said... its a resounding NOPE cos nothing controls my life but me. Topic of the day: Hot Things... only limited by your definition of hot.

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Morning NOPEsters.... well its still pitch black outside but I'll pretend its a nice lovely day... the potential is there... it is definately a wearing of red thongs day (on my feet people, on my feet) need me some colour... so besides being awesome and smoke free, and noping what does today hold???... its is UN World International Peacekeepers Day... where we remember all those peace keepers who help police the world.... In Aus, its wear white to work day to remember all those lives touched by suicide, so I actually had to go buy something white cos I didn't have anything.... and it is Biscuit Day... events on bickie day include extreeme dunking challenge, a symposium on creamed or not creamed... so here is a special shout out to all the Biscuits I've loved before... there is the Monte Carlo, the Iced Vovo, the Kingston.... omg I just got frickin topic of the day peoples.... So before I rush of to do the mum thing an get the kids lunch ready... I need to do the most import thing to start my day.... I hereby pledge that on this most auspicious day of the biscuit I will NOPE cos nothing controls my life but me. Topic of the day: Biscuits (in honor of Biscuit Day)

G'day NOPE makes my day C

NOPE!!!!

Wowsers 6 months already! What an amazing quit you got going on...... Thanks for all the fun you bring here too, it keeps us all smilin .. Celebrate big time!

Gday Jo Congratulations! You deserve this! Well done Chris

Great work jo!

Good job incontinentia buttocks. Keep doing awesome.

Yaaaa....half way ..to the Lido .... So glad you found your way here...carnt imagine this place without you chuck .... I'm sure the train will give a little back today...for all you do for us ... Have a great day...do something nice..after all..you've worked so hard to get this far..xxxx

Nice work Ozzie. Congratulations.

Posted 12 April 2014 - 09:56 PM It's no big deal to be an Old Pharte. Sure, it's nice to achieve that milestone and receive all the accolades, but it's not hard anymore to not smoke. By one year, you are far into your new life as a nonsmoker and you don't have to struggle to stay that way. By one year, the benefits of your quit have improved your life and your lifestyle. You are reminded every single day how great it is to be a nonsmoker. Your bank account is bigger and your health is better. And for many of us, there is a whole new way of life outside of just getting rid of the cigarettes. We have discovered new activities we love, we eat better, we have a new found confidence, we're proud of ourselves. What's so hard about all this? You know who are MY heroes? That person who has been lurking here and has finally made the choice to quit. And those who just got past that magic 72 hour mark, or hit their one month milestone. My heroes are the people who have blind faith and believe us when we tell them it will get better. It's those who get up every morning and log onto the QSMB to make the daily pledge because they know that's the only thing that will keep them from smoking that day. It's the person who is out the door to buy cigarettes but instead turns around and posts that SOS. Newbies, you are why this board is here. You are the ones that are the big deal here! So, cheers to all those brave souls who one day will join us on the lido deck. You're in the trenches now, but keep on climbing and if you need help reach out and we'll grab your hand. Because you are why we do what we do.

Posted 30 March 2015 - 09:14 AM by hermine (qsmb) Quitting smoking leaves us with a terrible emptiness that, for a while, we don't know exactly how to handle. And we may even ask ourselves if we will ever be able to fill these voids with anything. What helped me to get over this was eventually understanding that the source of the problem wasn't the absence of cigarettes, but the mere existence of those terrible feelings I was dealing with. They were there all along, but I was trying to cover them all up with smoke... The moment I stopped smoking, I started to realize and acknowledge all those things that were wrong in my life and I've been trying to get rid of by hiding behind a curtain of cigarette smoke. But they didn't disappear, they have been watching me silently and now, as the smoke cleared, we are starting to make eye contact again. Should I light a cigarette so I become blind again? Or should I finally tackle the beasts? The answer is clear. I will attack. So ask yourself, as you are ripped by this feeling of emptiness: is it ok that a small piece of paper filled with tobacco has become such an important part of my life? Is it ok that I have become emotionally attached to a small piece of paper filled with tobacco?! Don't hide behind the curtain of smoke again. Don't choose to run again. Make the most of the fact that you are finally capable to see your life as it really is and you finally have the chance to fill those voids. Fill your short and precious life with people, places, hobbies and knowledge. Put things that actually matter inside those voids, because blowing smoke inside them will never, ever, make them disappear.

Posted 20 June 2014 - 03:14 AM No I'm not trying to hypnotise you or play Jedi mind tricks. I'm talking about relapsers or quitters who continue to have smoking thoughts and desires. Nobody WANTS to go back to smoking. They quit because they want to quit (for whatever reason). What they want from time to time is to smoke. And what that means is something else. It means all of the things that people "like" about smoking: A break in the day Stress relief Bonding time with buddies Anxiety relief Thinking time Reward for finishing a job etc And it also means not having to THINK about not smoking all the time. Gawd I remember that. I remember thinking - "When will it ever end?...I just want to stop thinking about not smoking!" I see people saying it here all the time "I don't want to fight with myself any more! When will it end?!" But it's not that you want to be a smoker again. I reckon most smokers don't want to be smokers! If you gave someone a choice between being a smoker (with all the expense and smell and health fears and social shaming etc that goes with it) and being a happy non-smoker - of course they would choose the latter. But most smokers simply don't believe they can be happy without smoking. They believe they LOVE and need their cigarettes too much to live without them. And when we quit it (generally) takes a lot of retraining for the brain to dismiss all of that addiction thinking and learn that we can actually get all of those good things in other ways without all the bad stuff you get with smoking. Some people are lucky and once they make the decision to quit, they are solid in it. Easy peasy. But lots of people struggle. And that's OK. The struggle is part of the process. Embrace it as part of the process. Look at it as the price of freedom. That's basically how I did it. I wanted freedom most of all. Freedom from smoking addiction and everything that went with it. The price became easier to pay over time. It took less. Every now and then I have a "want" to smoke but it's fleeting and easy to dismiss. Because I KNOW I do not want to be a smoker. No way. Make a commitment to yourself. A promise. Promise yourself that you will never be a smoker again. And don't worry if you want to smoke from time to time. That's fine, because you know that it's really about something else and you definitely don't want to be a smoker again. No way. Ewgh.

Counting my dollar since I quit smoking ? NOPE...

NOPE - I don't smoke anymore.

So very happy and proud for you, Jo! You are rocking your quit and leading the way for so many others. In honor of the day, I called some of your family in to celebrate!!

I just looked up the word "seppo." According to the interwebs that is Aussie slang for an American who is full of shit... Fair enough. Well, it is your special day...Here's some eye candy for you!

Much better than our faggots then Ok front done.. killer is the back..... a mowing we shall go.. a mowing we shall go E - I - Addio.. oh fluff this for a game of sodgers...!!

Yesterday was a perfect example of why I'm dedicated to the whole health and fitness thing now. The mix of strength, endurance, and mobility work makes a day in the mountains a whole lot more enjoyable. Physical fitness is a quality of life issue. You're a trooper Doreen. Any lady who will pack a canoe up a steep trail for you is a bonafide keeper.

This is so motivating and in fact, it's what I kept handy on my phone when I first quit. I would look at it several times per day as motivation to keep it moving and not look back. Within ... 20 minutes Your blood pressure, pulse rate and the temperature of your hands and feet have returned to normal. 8 hours Remaining nicotine in your bloodstream has fallen to 6.25% of normal peak daily levels, a 93.75% reduction. 12 hours Your blood oxygen level has increased to normal. Carbon monoxide levels have dropped to normal. 24 hours Anxieties have peaked in intensity and within two weeks should return to near pre-cessation levels. 48 hours Damaged nerve endings have started to regrow and your sense of smell and taste are beginning to return to normal. Cessation anger and irritability will have peaked. 72 hours Your entire body will test 100% nicotine-free. Over 90% of all nicotine metabolites (the chemicals nicotine breaks down into) have passed from your body via your urine. Symptoms of chemical withdrawal have peaked in intensity, including restlessness. Unless use cues have been avoided, the number of cue induced crave episodes experienced during any quitting day have peaked for the "average" ex-user. Lung bronchial tubes leading to air sacs (alveoli) are beginning to relax in recovering smokers. Breathing is becoming easier and your lung's functional abilities are improving. 5 - 8 days The "average" ex-smoker is down to experiencing just three cue induced crave episodes per day. Although we may not be "average" and although minutes may feel like hours when normal cessation time distortion combines with the body's panic response, it is unlikely that any single episode will last longer than 3 minutes. Keep a clock handy and time the episode to maintain an honest perspective on time. 10 days The "average" ex-user is down to encountering less than two crave episodes per day. 10 days to 2 weeks Recovery has likely progressed to the point where your addiction is no longer doing the talking. Blood circulation in your gums and teeth are now similar to that of a non-user. 2 to 4 weeks Cessation related anger, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, impatience, insomnia, restlessness and depression have ended. If still experiencing any of these symptoms get seen and evaluated by your physician. 2 weeks to 3 months Your heart attack risk has started to drop. Your lung function has noticeably improved. If your health permits, sample your circulation and lung improvement by walking briskly, climbing stairs or running further or faster than normal. 21 days The number of acetylcholine receptors, which were up-regulated in response to nicotine's presence in the frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital, basal ganglia, thalamus, brain stem and cerebellum regions of your brain have now substantially down-regulated. Receptor binding has returned to levels seen in the brains of non-smokers (2007 study). 3 weeks to 3 months Your circulation has substantially improved. Walking has become easier. Your chronic cough, if any, has likely disappeared. If not, get seen by a doctor, and sooner if at all concerned, as a chronic cough can be a sign of lung cancer. 4 weeks Plasma suPAR is a stable inflammatory biomarker that helps predict development of diseases ranging from diabetes to cancer in smokers. A 2016 study found that within 4 weeks of quitting smoking, with or without NRT, that suPAR levels in 48 former smokers had fallen from a baseline smoking median of 3.2 ng/ml to levels "no longer significantly different from the never smokers' values" (1.9 ng/ml) 8 weeks Insulin resistance in smokers has normalized despite average weight gain of 2.7 kg (2010 SGR, page 384). 1 to 9 months Any smoking related sinus congestion, fatigue or shortness of breath has decreased. Cilia have regrown in your trachea (windpipe) thereby increasing the ability to sweep dirt and mucus out of your lungs. Your body's overall energy has increased. 1 year Your excess risk of coronary heart disease, heart attack and stroke has dropped to less than half that of a smoker. 5 years Your risk of a subarachnoid hemorrhage has declined to 59% of your risk while still smoking (2012 study). If a female ex-smoker, your risk of developing diabetes is now that of a non-smoker (2001 study). 5 to 15 years Your risk of stroke has declined to that of a non-smoker. 10 years Your risk of being diagnosed with lung cancer is between 30% to 50% of that for a continuing smoker (2005 study). Risk of death from lung cancer has declined by almost half if you were an average smoker (one pack per day). Risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus and pancreas have declined. Risk of developing diabetes for both men and women is now similar to that of a never-smoker (2001 study). 13 years The average smoker lucky enough to live to age 75 has 5.8 fewer teeth than a non-smoker (1998 study). But by year 13 after quitting, your risk of smoking induced tooth loss has declined to that of a never-smoker (2006 study). 15 years Your risk of coronary heart disease is now that of a person who has never smoked. Your risk of pancreatic cancer has declined to that of a never-smoker (2011 study - but note a 2nd pancreatic study making an identical finding at 20 years). 20 years If a female, your excess risk of death from all smoking related causes, including lung disease and cancer, has now reduced to that of a never-smoker (2008 study). Risk of pancreatic cancer has also declined to that of a never-smoker (2011 study). http://whyquit.com/whyquit/A_Benefits_Time_Table.html

NOPE!

#NOPE

This is right whete i am at. Thx.

Congratulations jo on being half a year quit. And for all you do here, you have really showed everyone the meaning of paying it forward and for that I thank you. You give me a smile and giggle everyday with your wit and wisdom and it's truly an honor to call you my crazy friend

- 9 .. food porn thread is up and running.

D1cks... Used properly a dick is always hot.

I agree that it's a really good sign that you're trying to think through some of the dimensions of this in advance and develop some strategies in case things get dicey. I guess I just want to strike a slightly different note/tone, though (to complement not to undermine others' remarks): that is, given the circumstances you describe, it's possible you WILL have some very unsettling stretches during and even after his visit, despite the terrific advice you've gotten and your best of intentions going in. This is an enormously powerful addiction with deep affective registers, which, at one (glorious!) month quit, you're still unraveling. His presence and all it conjurs may twist and obscure its meanings and your commitment. I say all this in large part to remind you to be vigilant, humble, and absolutely ruthless in your abstinence. Regardless of how the visit goes (and I hope it's awesome), nothing is more important than the quit. Christian99 About 16 1/2 Years Quit