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Thank you, everyone! It’s hard to believe a whole year has passed. I feel good, and continue to be motivated to improve my health and well being. The support of this group has been, and continues to be invaluable. I could not have attained this milestone without all my friends here. Kat

Getting all of my ducks in a row to start my next project. I'm building a small greenhouse on Boo Acres. I already have more than enough cedar to frame up the house. Yesterday, I picked up a truckload of old windows from a friend of mine that flips houses. All the windows cost me was a case of Yuengling beer...a good deal. We're starting small and learning on the fly, but becoming increasingly food independent is more important now than ever.

G’day NOPE .....Not One Puff Ever.... (replace Ever with Min,Hour, Day as required)

NOPE!

Guess wot... for something new I'm baking bickies....lol. special request from one of the blokes at work for his daughter.... here's a pro tip though....when stiring boiling butter to see if it's burnt enough DO NOT splash yaself cos it burns like buggery.

Congratulations and well done Katgirl!

We don't have Strawberry Festivals...maybe us Liverpudlians should ...

We had our Strawberry Festival last month. I over indulged

Oh !!!!.... Count me in ...I love Strawberries.....Sounds lots of Fun .!!!!

Day 4! Going strong.

NOPE…

Welcome to the Lido deck!!!!!

NOPE!

NOPE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NOPE

Okay, this is embarrassing, but I dreamt of you last night. A purple walrus, what is down with that? I also dreamt of Opah? Do I just have people on my mind I don't know but care about? Is it because I am struggling too? I do not have a clue. The only thing I know for sure is that I care about how others are doing. I care about their struggles. It makes me keep fighting for sure. I am blessed to have one friend here that I talk to that listens to me bitch, whine and moan about all my troubles. I am surprised she has not sent me a bill for services rendered. The point I am trying to make is that this place works. We can come here and throw our struggles to the wind, discuss our difficulties whatever they may be, celebrate any wonderful things that come into our life. We can count on acceptance, advice, congratulations and support. I know you have had a hard time with this as have I. I want to smoke, right here, right now but I am not going to do it because I am here typing these words. I know that strength is coming, I just need to be patient for the next post that will calm my shattered nerves. Just realize it is okay to struggle, it is okay to ask for help, it is okay to be patient for strength. That is the only way to get thru this, one minute at time, I know you can do it because I am doing it. I am patient!

Nope...no freaking way!!!!

NOPE…

Hey gang. I am starting from square one again. I relapsed but now quitting for good. I am using the CDC online resources called Quit For Life. It has some new tools like 24/7 chat. I am finding it very helpful. So I am two days into my quit. Help me make it the last quit for good. Thanks

Congratulations ...1 year smoke free .... Take a look at the view ...it's wonderful ... I'm so happy for you ....Let the Party Begin .

Congrats, @Katgirl! Feels awesome to make it to the Lido Deck, right?? Time to party!

One foot in front of the other @Kdad, you got this!

Some older chicks know stuff stuff

Well, you are the second purple being in my life, the first was Barney, my son's favorite. I may be crazy but I am consistent.

LOL! The Walrus is from Sweet Pickles, my daughters favorite books. Thanks for the comforting words.

Good for you! The more support the merrier! The 24/7 chat seems beneficial- is it w quitting counselors or other quitters? Get it done!! L4L

NOPE!

Congratulations Katgirl, welcome to the Lido deck. Let's party.

Way to go, @Katgirl! 12 months, what an amazing, life-affirming change. Looks like there is a party in your honor starting on the upper deck!

Sorry about the relapse but good on you for getting back to quitting. As Curly Howard once said...

@Katgirl

Me and Boo...love these Lido Parties ...

Congratulations on 1 year smoke free, @Katgirl Celebrate big today. This is an awesome accomplishment.

Mindset is everything. Once you commit, really commit, to never smoking again you find the way. Godspeed Kdad.

Perusing an online article with 77 recipes you can put together using strawberries. The Tennessee Strawberry Festival is underway here in my neck of the woods. We've got a parade. We've got live music. We've got a classic car show. We've got a "distinguished young woman" pageant. We've got vendors selling arts and crafts. And of course, we've got strawberries for days. If you're in the neighborhood, swing by and say hey.

One year ago you made a great decision and today you get to celebrate it! Congratulations!

Congratulations @Katgirl, you old pharte! Welcome to the lido deck I hope you celebrate today because you deserve it!

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. Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/10482-filling-the-voids-repost-by-hermine/

Thanks for bumping this, @jillar. Now that I'm well beyond the chemical withdrawal phase of my quit, I'm noticing that my actual urges to smoke have not gone away. They are more manageable - and I have a stronger toolkit for coping with them. But The deep desire/urge to smoke persists. This post points to part of why. One factor that contributed to my smoking was trying to numb-out and evade some inner conflicts (and some outer ones, too). Another was unmet needs. Now that I've quit smoking, I'm called into a deeper reckoning with these forces in my life. Ouch. I believe that denial is "nature's shock absorber." It serves a purpose in our psyche, and shouldn't be entirely avoided. I used smoking to serve this purpose, but quitting does not mean I have to be relentlessly hammered with discomfort. Talk about a disincentive to keep the quit! All it means is that I need to come up with some different ways to take a break or shift my energies when needed... ways that don't entail sticking something toxic in my mouth and setting it on fire. As @Boo has said elsewhere on the forum (and I'm paraphrasing), there are 999 things I can do with this moment, and just one thing I can't do - smoke. Here's to focusing on the 999.

G’day Not getting any younger…. But still her

Not here often....but I'm here today....

I am doing really good no symptoms to speak of. I am hopefully going back to work on Monday

I can’t believe that Covid is still a thing! Somehow, I have avoided it, so far. I have not decided whether or not to get boosted again. Is it just with us permanently, now? Damn! I hope @Mac#23 and @catlover are both feeling much better. As for me, my shoulders are a little sore from my work on the heavy bag. The things I do to try to stay young……… Kat

Oh no @Linda, I so know the feeling. I spent $5200.00 trying to save my Cookie's life. We do anything for our babies. I'm sending healing thoughts to your Lily...............

Day 6 of Covid, annoying cough hanging on, but I,m up and having a wander around the garden today, it’s a lovely sunny day.

Hey !!!!Piggy.....you got to win one first ....cheating is not aloud ....

Polishing my Chicks or Sticks Trophy!

Dyed Easter eggs for the first time in what seems like forever tonight. Maddie had fun with it and Papa Boo has figured out that using a tarp like a drop clothe makes cleaning up after a toddler art project much easier. Some of our eggs didn't turn out perfect, but a good time was had. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Paas company is not only still around but making the exact same product they produced when I was a kid. Dye tablets. Those wire egg dippers. The "magic crayon"...It was like opening a time capsule. Not to boast but I dropped a little extra for the "Deluxe" kit.

El Bandito Posted April 14, 2014 Firstly - my apologies for a massive long post - but I kind of need to get this off my chest. I posted it in my blog - but then thought maybe it might be of use to someone here... Yesterday, my sister in law and her two sons came to visit. The plan is that the sister in law will stay with us for a couple of weeks - while the boys just came for the day. This is the first time that we have had houseguests since the house was refurbished before Christmas. It's quite exciting in a way. The day dawned warm and sunny - inspiring me to take the dog for a long walk and to venture into the garden for the first time this year. Lunch was eaten and wine was taken. A post prandial stroll somehow got diverted to the pub - where beer was drunk. Afternoon became evening with the help of several brandies. Long story short - I awoke this morning with a cracking hangover. Probably my first one since quitting smoking at the end of January. Conventional wisdom will tell you that hangovers are marginally better without the chemicals contained in cigarettes. I think perhaps that I am not convinced by conventional wisdom. This hangover feels pretty much the same as any other hangover that I recall. What has come as a complete surprise is that the hangover has triggered a massive craving for a cigarette. I have been awake for five and a half hours as I write this; and for every minute of those three hundred and thirty, I have been craving a cigarette. Now - I am not going to have one - I don't smoke. It is an obvious truth that non-smokers do not smoke - but it is a truth which I am having to remind myself of today. A lot. I have re-read many inspirational posts on the Quit Train.com and on Why Quit.com - determined to remove this illogical desire that I am harbouring for a cigarette. I am writing this blog post in an effort to reaffirm my determination to be a non-smoker. I can only suppose that for 30 years, I would have fought through any hangovers with the help of 'my little friend' the cigarette and that waking with a hangover this morning has re-triggered an old reaction. It does seem illogical - as if any condition illustrated how horrible it was to be a smoker - then the hangover was it. Hungover- I am always anxious, paranoid even. Two feelings that amplify the self-loathing that is never far away in any addict...but illogical or not - I cannot deny that all day today, I have wanted a cigarette. It could be that I am entering 'No Mans Land' which is how some people characterise a period where an addict moves from the "I'm quitting" period to the "Bored now". The logic is that family, friends and colleagues have become accustomed to the fact that the addict doesn't smoke anymore. Where in the early days everybody was a spectator, paying close attention to the addict and their struggle, now, it's old news. Never-smokers have no comprehension of the addiction, and smokers have conclusively decided that the addict was either never a 'proper' smoker or is miserable without their cigarettes. This last point is critical (I have just discovered!) because right now, I agree with the smoker. I am miserable. Right now - I can actually hear myself saying: "Yes, quitting smoking is tough, but it is doable. I quit for 77 days. But - at the end of the day, I enjoy it. Give me a cigarette please. I'll give you one back when I buy some in a minute. When I stop enjoying it - I'll quit again." I kid you not - I can actually hear myself saying that. I can picture myself reaching for the cigarette. I know which colleague I am asking for the cigarette... Here is the thing. I can picture myself doing it, I can hear myself doing it, but I am NOT doing it. Why am I not doing it? Really - why not? Well - there are several reasons. 1. I posted on a website that I visit this morning. I posted - NOPE. (So there must be something to this pledging :) ...) 2. I promised some people that I came to know is cyber space - that before smoking another cigarette I would post a SOS first. and I haven't. 3. If I did smoke - a lot of these people in Cyber space would be annoyed that I smoked, hurt that I did not post SOS and might even use my relapse as support for a relapse of their own. And while I know I can quit again - maybe that person couldn't. 4. Deep down - I know full well that I am hungover now. If I have a cigarette, I will still be hungover. And I will be incredibly annoyed with myself. So - I won't smoke. All of you - I am not naming names, because I would forget someone - but ALL of YOU saved my quit today. Thank you. Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/611-cigarette-anyone/