Ladybug

Hi Laura....nice to meet you! Welcome! You will meet some amazing people here and you will learn more about them. Stay close to the board, get to know us and let us know you. You will read inspiring stories...you will find all the information you need. We all have something in common...we all are ex-smokers and understand you! A good friend send this to me when I quit. I called it my Quit A-B-C....it might help you as well! My smoking A-B-C’s and D’s A friend sent this to me in the early stage of my quit and it became my guide! I don't know who wrote it and I don't know if it has been posted here before.....I apologize if it is a double post...but it helped me a lot and I thought I share! The A's: •Avoid situations you know you cannot handle •Alter your response - change the flavor of your coffee, sit in a different room, meet your friends in a neutral (nonsmoking environment) •Accept that some days will be tougher, and that by sticking it out you will get stronger. The B's: •Believe in yourself....you can do this. •Behave! You don't have to be a total brat....it's not going to kill you. The C's: •Cope with it and write down how you feel. •Calm down. There is no reason to panic you don't need cigarettes. The D's •Delay your next craving for as long as possible by: •Distracting yourself - keeping busy is extremely important. Go for a walk, or pull out your guitar. •Drinking lots of water or some herbal teas, keep it in your mouth for a while, enjoy the sensation. Chewing gum can help too. •Deep breathing. An easy way to relax. You might have done this 200-300 times per day when inhaling smoke. Emergency Coping Plan: AVOID the situation. Identify the situations when you normally smoke or chew, or feel cravings. For most, high-risk situations include work breaks, finishing meals, having coffee or being in a bar. Plan how you will avoid these situations for a few weeks. Plan for alternate activities. LEAVE the situation. If you find yourself in one of these high risk situations, leave if you can. And, leave before you get a craving. DISTRACT yourself from the craving. If you find yourself in a situation you can't leave and you get a craving, distract yourself from the craving by: Thinking about something else, like your Benefits of Quitting (or how much money you’re saving every week, how your body is healing itself). Doing something else to distract yourself like drinking water or deep breathing exercises. Thinking about an upcoming event in your life, such as a vacation. DELAY acting on the craving If you can't keep your mind off it, then make a deal with yourself that you will wait 5 minutes before you give into the craving. The craving will usually pass in a couple of minutes anyway. If you delay, the craving will go away. Use SELF TALK A craving may be accompanied by negative thoughts about your ability to resist it. Use positive self talk statements to combat your negative thoughts. Talk loud if you have to

Our Jen (Ava) will be smoke free for 1 year on 4/29 So guys...let's start a countdown for her. 7 days to go I get the marching band for the music!

My parents had superpowers ...they said they could have me flying into the middle of next week! I believed them....I never questioned their powers!

sometimes it's just plain willpower and you just have to bite the bullet. "I am doing this no matter how I feel...so shut up Smokey" :-)

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(((MQ))) I think we are all proud of you!

Follow the forum .....only 12 people do so far. Aine signed up first ..and it was a great idea. The most of us have smart phones and can go online quickly for a response. Go...do it :-)

I join you ...let's go....there are few people I would like to talk to

we are awesome....this board is awesome :-) Rachael's SOS got 25 replies in under 30 minutes....that's just stunning. I am so proud of all of us, if I may say so!

Nachos :-)

so you are telling if I watch the news and they talk about a cigarette costume being arrested ...it's going to be you :-)

Icecream

Don't you dare and throw your quit away......THEY are not worth it. Your quit was easy as well.....like mine. I think we won't get that lucky another time. I am not going to risk it and neither will you! I know you won't smoke, you don't really have cravings...you are just very angry right now. Go out tonight, do something special. Don't let people get to you! Treat yourself nice...celebrate your quit with something special and tell Smokey to F*** off. http://www.quittrain.com/topic/659-my-name-is-nicotine/

Pioneer's Woman's Hamburger Soup...love her recipes

Nutella cookies

that's always good :-) Use it lol

TPAM is a nice Scorpio :-)

Welcome to the club lol I was never crazy about sweets...but love them now! I bought me some truffles and enjoy one a day (part of my gourmet diet lol)

No worries...I got jealous, it's the middle of the afternoon..."Gosh she is lucky..where is my husband?" Then I saw you are in England....good! Not jealous anymore....life is back to normal :-) Ice Cream: Soft, cold and flavorful, wouldn't ice cream make the perfect after treat? You're already in a sweet, happy mood, so adding ice cream could add to you and your partner's sense of romance. Sharing this treat could amp up the romance level to the point where you get to our next option... not sure what they are talking about :D

I met Pope Benedict XVI when he was still Archbishop Ratzinger....he came to our boarding school.....he send me in time out. I didn't like him :-)

Laughing here

I remember my lunch in a brown paper bag I remember buying candy for 1 penny Going to a shop and spending the penny was exciting! I always had chores! All the kids drunk out of one bottle and nobody got sick! If you weren't good in something, you had to learn to live with the disappointment.

I do yours...and you do mine

A man feared his wife wasn't hearing as well as she used to and he thought she might need a hearing aid. Not quite sure how to approach her, he called the family doctor to discuss the problem. The Doctor told him there is a simple informal test the husband could perform to give the doctor a better idea about her hearing loss. Here's what you do," said the Doctor, "stand about 40 feet away from her, and in a normal conversational speaking tone see if she hears you. If not, go to 30 feet, then 20 feet, and so on until you get a response." That evening, the wife is in the kitchen cooking dinner, and he was in the den. He says to himself, "I'm about 40 feet away, let's see what happens." Then in a normal tone he asks, 'Honey, what's for dinner?" No response.. So the husband moves closer to the kitchen, about 30 feet from his wife and repeats, "Honey, what's for dinner?" Still no response. Next he moves into the dining room where he is about 20 feet from his wife and asks, "Honey, what's for dinner?" Again no response. So, he walks up to the kitchen door, about 10 feet away.. "Honey, what's for dinner?" Again there is no response. So he walks right up behind her... "Honey, what's for dinner?" (I just love this) "Honey, for THE FIFTH time, CHICKEN!"