Chrysalis

Don't worry, Wendy, Sazerac was like this before she quit smoking, too! ;)

Great photo! Great looking dogs!

Well, Gemzee, it's nice to know that even you have SOME limits! I began to think that you are Superwoman or something! You go conquer Level 2 now, you hear??!!

Hey, Becca, don't hate us, join us! Go for a walk around the block or do a 20-minute Youtube exercise video and post about it here. Heck, what else are you going to do with all that time you saved by not smoking? Come on, jump in! :)

Hi, Wendy, good to see you here! I think you have done excellent preparation with your NRT and you are well on your way to complete freedom! Stay close to the board and post whenever and whatever jumps into your mind.

A couple of months ago we decided to stop paying for cable TV (which was lousy and expensive) and just go with Netflix. We're saving a bunch of money and Netflix is fine. So all is well. Except that the other day my husband got really irritated with me because I kept asking him to "pause" the video so I could say something (naturally, being the man he has to have control of the remote so I can't pause the playback myself). I got insulted and angry that he would bitch about pausing the video for me to say something every once in a while. We almost escalated to all-out war but fortunately we figured out the problem in time. The deal is... for some reason most guys think that sitting in the same room together watching the TV constitutes "togetherness". To be fair, my husband really goes out of his way to watch programs that I like so that we can be "together". But for a woman, watching TV in the same room is not "togetherness". For a woman, "togetherness" means talking to each other. Always. When we had cable TV, I would think of something that I wanted to say but I would politely wait until a commercial before I spoke. We would always mute the volume and talk during the commercials. But now that we're watching Netflix there ARE no commercials! In order for me to feel my kind of "togetherness" we have to pause the playback and talk a little. So DH and I made a deal-- he won't get mad if I periodically ask him to pause the video so I can say something. In turn, I won't make comments about people's appearance as in: "Gosh, he's gotten old!" or "I am so sick of seeing anorexic blondes held up as role models!" He really hates pausing the video for such comments. (Unfortunately, if I can't criticize how people look there isn't much else I CAN say! No fair! :( ) Anyway, just a little slice of life from Mars and Venus. B)

Actually, this reminds me of a valuable lesson I learned some years ago. I had a chronic cough. My doctor ordered a chest X-ray. The radiology clinic said that the doctor's office would call me if there was anything of concern. I hadn't heard anything after 10 days so (being a control freak) I called the doctor's office. After the typical, "If we didn't call there's no problem." speech I insisted on them reading the radiology report to me. They looked. They couldn't find it. The doctor's office claimed that they never got the X-rays or the report (yeah, right, blame the X-ray clinic). The lesson for me from then on is to NEVER allow a doctor's office to say, "We will call you only if something is wrong." If they don't call, maybe something IS wrong but they lost the report. I always require that they call me and tell me the report results. Most of the time I make them send me a copy of the report (which is my legal right).

You're right action, the lead apron is impervious to X-rays. The only time that I, as a patient, have worn a lead apron was when I was getting dental X-rays. They wanted to make sure the rest of my body was protected. As for chest X-rays to look for lung cancer, I've heard it said that by the time a tumor shows up on an X-ray it's too late to do anything about it. Blood tests are even worse. CT scans or PET/CT scans are the best technique for finding tumors in soft tissue. They are expensive and are not ordered unless you have some type of symptom. If having a chest X-ray would put your mind at ease, fine. But to get one every year would be unnecessary exposure to radiation that wouldn't find very small tumors, anyway.

I haven't watched a zombie movie since the great Boris Karloff retired (shows you how old I am!). But you youngens enjoy! :)

What is TWD?

Oh, my! What an upsetting thought! I'm telling you, you military wives have my respect--you have to deal with so many things the rest of us don't even have to think about. Thank you and Mr. DD for your service. (((HUGS!)))

I quit smoking at the end of March. In April, I started riding my bike 2 or 3 times a week. At first, I could only go about 1 mile in 15 minutes before I was totally done for. :( However, I kept at it and got to where I could ride for 30 minutes if I stopped to rest twice for 2 minutes each time. Today for the first time I rode 3 miles in 30 minutes non-stop (ta da!!!). Baby steps, baby steps, but I'm making progress. :)

Now that I think about it, I have less desire to drink since I quit smoking. I used to have 1 or 2 beers at home most nights. Now I tend to drink iced tea or a glass of milk most nights. My guess is that my main reason to smoke was to relieve stress and that is the same reason I drank. Once the nicotine-induced stress was gone, so did my desire to drink. I still like to have 1 or 2 cocktails when we go out dancing because it relieves my inhibitions (you should SEE my uninhibited dancing!! :pleasantry: ) but that's about it.

I quit because I had a crystal ball. When I hit 62 I had to think long and hard about whether or not to collect Social Security "early". That got me to thinking about my retirement-- when, where and what I wanted to be able to do. When I was 63 my older brother was diagnosed out-of-the-blue with Stage IV melanoma; he was dead 10 months later. My father was a physical and mental mess (alcohol, diabetes and 4 packs-a-day cigarettes) who died at 56. My mother quit smoking at 60 and was fit, active and exercised every day and was still going strong at 85. So my crystal ball told me that: 1. I'm not going to live forever and the end could come at any time. 2. If I mimic my father and keep going as I am (overweight, smoking, couch potato) I will have a very boring, disabled retirement and I will die much sooner than needs be. 3. If I mimic my mother and quit smoking and get fit I could have 20 years of being happy, healthy and vigorous. As Jack Benny said, "H-m-m-m-m... I'm thinking! I'm thinking!" So the next time I was at my doctor's office I asked for a prescription for Chantix and I quit.

OMG, Comrad, I'm so sorry that you had to endure all that! I didn't know that someone could be a "non-responder" to anti-clotting medication. I guess that's a good thing to know. :( You must be one tough dude to go through all that and come out swinging. Take care of yourself, you hear? And let us know when you're home shuffling back and forth to the refrigerator again.

Is Tenerife one of the Canary Islands?

Uh oh!! I can't wait until YOU have teenagers! Or even toddlers! :sarcastic_blum:

Hey, Apeezy, good to see you again! Congratulations on your two weeks-- the worst is over and it gets better and better every day now. Good to have you along on our mutual journey.

I'm so glad that you had the courage to reach out when you were struggling. You are NOT alone and lots of folks really do care about you. Congratulations on keeping your quit during a very tough time. This upsetting time may not be over, so don't hesitate to shout out again if you need some hugs (or a kick in the pants). ;)

Wow, Sarge! It sounds like you are doing great! Over the last 3 years you have quit smoking, lost 50 pounds, built up your strength to 13 pull-ups and improved your cardiovascular fitness to < 8-minute miles. Oh, and it sounds like you are inspiring and supporting Mrs. Sarge to improve her fitness, too. That is fantastic! I hope you take the time to appreciate how much you have accomplished and to give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back. Enjoy those pizza rolls (but only once every 3 years :) ).

Leanna, you're a sweet kid but you need to accept the fact that friendship, like love, must be reciprocated to be real. This friendship is a one-way street-- you are being a friend to her but she is not being a friend to you. Even if she and her boyfriend don't have much money they could pay you SOMETHING towards rent. They could buy their own food. At the very least, they could keep the place clean. Do not kid yourself that they are your friends. They are not. They are using you.

Can I "Like" this twice??!! (ROTFL :lol2: 0

Leanna, Ross is right-- both your friend and her boyfriend are "takers" and they are not going to change. And you can kiss your $380 good bye-- you are never going to see that again. Sit down with your friend (Steve should be there with you). Tell your friend that you are so glad that you could help her out for a couple of months. However, you're sure that she will understand that you and Steve are a couple and that you need your privacy. She needs to find some other living situation by X date (I suggest 2 weeks. End of September at the LATEST.) If you really can't do it, Steve should do the talking while you are there. When your deadline arrives, CHANGE THE LOCKS (she might have made copies of your keys). If she still has stuff in your apartment, box it up and put it in a storage facility for 30 days (you pay-- if she wants her stuff she has to pay for the storage.) Do not argue with her about anything. Stay calm, tell her how its going to be, and do not get sucked into a discussion or try to justify yourself to her. Any discussion will just be her trying to get you to back down and let her stay. You have to understand that people like this have absolutely no pride and no conscience-- they walk all over anybody they can walk over and then laugh at the "doormats" behind their backs for being suckers. It's going to cost you money you can ill afford to get these deadbeats out of your life. The longer you put it off the more its going to cost you. Consider it money well spent for a valuable life lesson.

Good for you, Doreen! You had every right to have a smile on your face that day! Keep on smilin'. :) Yes, the expense is probably the main thing about smoking that made me feel like an addict. I knew that I would spend my last dollar on cigarettes to the exclusion of anything else. Back when I was smoking, I rationalized the expense by buying the cheapest cigarettes I could find and making sure that I never added up how much cigarettes cost me each month. Sad, stupid, self-destructive junkie! :sorry:

Pippa, I'm sorry that you've had such a battle the last few days. I know how exhausting and corrosive that can be. Here, have a hug. ((( :wub: Pippa :wub: ))) In the short term, yes, hang in there, practice slow, deep breathing, keep chanting N.O.P.E. and remind yourself that this, too, will pass. If this was just a one day crave, that should be all that is necessary. However, since this has been going on for several days, I think Susana is right--you need to look at what is going on in your life to cause this much distress. Then try to find a way to either fix it or accept it. I think that the Alcoholics Anonymous Prayer is very helpful at times like this. "Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." The hard part for me is accepting the things I can not change, particularly when it concerns family problems. I keep thinking that there MUST be a way to change things or (more often) a way to get a family member to change. But often there isn't. You were very smart to reach out here and express your distress. I admire that! Try to calm yourself and let whatever it is that is bothering you wash over you.