insanity!

I still feel the urge to smoke, once in a while, but, it is just a tiny little pang, that goes away easily, once distracted. Yay!

65 days

Well, I never switched to the step three patches. I probably should have, but, I didn't.  I am doing great. 

Now that I'm officially off of nicotine, altogether, I am giving up soda. This is something that I wanted to do, right after I started the nicotine patch. I was told it wouldn't be a good idea to give them both up at the same time. So, as I was no longer smoking, I started to drink more and more soda pop. Just the other day, I had a whole 2 liter of soda, before 1pm. 

What. The. F*ck? Seriously.

I decided it was time. 

So, I brewed 2 kinds of tea. Black tea (no sugar), and green tea, with pomegranate and blueberry, (also sugar free). I am taking water seriously, again. I am making it a point to drink at least 100oz each day. (I started that yesterday)

So, as of yesterday, I am down to one 12oz can of soda, or less, per day. And, that's if I even want it, because I am not allowing myself to have that 12oz can, unless I've had at least half my body weight (in ounces) of water. That's about 80oz, so, yeah. I think I'll add another blog, to keep track of my body weight/inches etc while giving up the pop. Oh! Yes! That sounds fun! 

So, until my next craving for a nasty, nicotine filled, poison stick, I'm out.

 Onto my next journey. 

I hope I've inspired at least 1 person to quit smoking. It's not that hard, once you find the thing that works best for you. 

nonsmoker title for 55 days. GO ROYALS!

I've been a bit preoccupied, lately. I've been planning birthday parties, and Halloween parties, and game nights (for the elementary school), book fairs, and teacher luncheon preparing, dish washing, and laundry doing, daughter's  room cleaning (omg! THAT made me want a cigarette, more than ANYTHING has), dinner cooking, grocery shopping, and best of all... NETFLIX WATCHING WHILE BUBBLE BATHING! ha.

But, seriously, The WORLD SERIES is going strong! 2-2.
Big Royals fan, here.
I want the Royals to come home, and win the thing.

Is that asking for too much?! Last night was hard to watch. Tonight is awful. Bumgarner is a beast, and that's not great, when he's playing for the opposing team. >':o

Shields is doing pretty good, tonight, aside from the two runs, that have been allowed. =/

Okay. So. The room that was cleaned, today. Sorry, no "before" picture. Just an "after".

So, the bed (from IKEA) and bedding set (Walmart) were my daughter's birthday present. She loves it. I'm jealous. ;)

And, the lovely little screen shot of my nonsmoking status. 

I really hate when Bumgarner is pitching. This gives me a headache.

Stay Royal!

53 days!!!

I've been very busy. Very very busy!! Still haven't smoked!! Yay!!

day 45

Step 2 has gotten a lot easier. I haven't had any cravings. I'm not as cranky, or irritable. Big plus for my family, especially my husband.

I'm working 4 nights, then I'll be on vacation!! By the time I'm back from vaca, I'll be done with my patches. Or very close to done.

Not much to say. I'm still a quitter.

Day 44

ROYALS sweep the O's!!! Kansas City is in the WORLD SERIES!!! HOLY SH*T! 


Nope, I till haven't smoked, either. 

days 42 & 43

Holy crap! For a couple of days after stepping down to step 2 of the patch, I was cranky.  And by "cranky" I mean a nasty, angry, b*tch. No joke. I'm glad I wasn't at work for that business. Everyone would have been thinking "Hot damn, Tabbie is a real b*tch!" 

I clipped some coupons on Sunday. I kinda laughed about it, because there are only about 2 or 3 that I'll actually use. I'm giving the rest away. 

I have figured out what I am going to be for Halloween. I'm going to be a punk rock prom queen. Fun!  I really wish u owned a pair of combat boots. That would perfect the costume.

That's all, really. 

day 41

Somewhere, I messed up my days. ha! 

It has been 41 days, since I last smoked. I just put my second step 2 patch on, today.

Last night, I dreamed that I was at my brother's house, and we all went outside, and I smoked a cigarette. I forgot that I quit, until I was putting the cigarette out. I was so pissed at myself. My goodness. 

My dreams aren't crazy, but they are very vivid. I'm thinking I might be getting sick, because I've been absolutely exhausted lately. But, then again, I was never sick when I was smoking, and I'm pretty sure my immune system should be kicking ass, even more now that it isn't being completely poisoned by thousands of chemicals. Right?! Maybe I should research that? Meh. 

Overall, quitting with the nicoderm patch has been easy. Like, too easy.  

To anyone who wants to quit, and has tried everything else, I recommend the Nicoderm CQ patch, for sure. (Walmart even has their own brand, called equate nicotine transdermal system) This has been, by far, the most  successful method for me. 

And I wish you luck, if you choose to become a quitter, as well. 

38 and 39 days

Well, it is officially busy season, for me. Birthdays, and class parties, and work, oh my!

Still not smoking. I find myself wondering when I ever found the time, before. It's pretty amazing how quickly you fill your time.

Yesterday was my birthday. Yay! Had breakfast with my little one, then we went to the movies, for the BoxTrolls. Pretty great message in that movie. I recommend. Then, spent the evening with some of my family, celebrating our birthdays. Good times. 

That's pretty much all for today. =)

Days 36 and 37

Agh! Okay. My goal was to make a blog, every day, as I am quitting. I am failing...

At blogging every day. ;) 

I am still not smoking, which is ahhhhmazing.  Yay ME! I feel great. Every now and then, (these last 2 days) I think, "hmm... I kind of want to smoke a cigarette." Just because. No reason behind it at all. I haven't given in.

That's a lot of money saved, and a lot of minutes added back to my life. ;) 

Other than that, nothing else to add, besides: 



days 34 & 35

It's less than a week until I step down to step 2 of the nicoderm CQ patches. So, in less than 5 weeks I will be weened from nicotine, completely!

I'm getting a little scared.

Thoughts run through my mind, like "What if I start having cravings again, when I'm not getting as much nicotine,  transdermally?" 

And many others like that. 

As of right now, I am determined to keep this up. I don't want to smoke anymore. I don't want to be nicotine's little bitch, ever again. 

Now, don't take that the wrong way. I'm not saying smokers are nicotine's bitches. I'm saying I was. It controlled everything I did. 

I would eat really fast, when my family and I would go out to dinner, just so I could smoke a cigarette before they were done eating, and before they were ready to leave. 

I would let Meg sleep an extra 10 minutes, so I could get in that morning smoke. 

We wouldn't leave for places on time, because I'd stand outside of the car, smoking a cigarette, just to get my fix.

Is that not the most sickening thing?

 I mean there are worse things in this world to become addicted to. Some people are alcoholics, and struggle with it every single day of their lives, whether they are still indulging, or fighting the good fight.

Some people are addicted to harsher, more frowned upon drugs, like meth, coke, crack, or heroin. 

Some are struggling with prescription medications, and that battle is one I was terrified of. I can see how easy it would be, to become addicted to muscle relaxers. This is the reason I always refused painkillers, anytime I was in the ER. No, Dr. Thank you though, aleve will work just fine. And anytime they did prescribe me painkillers, I would throw the scrip away, right in front of them. Ha! 

But, my addiction? It comes with multiple ways to quit. How lucky am I, to have so many options, to help me succeed? Where many of the options have failed, I am praying this one continues to work. I'm hoping the patch, along with my will and determination, can win this war. 

Btw, I keep having dreams that I am smoking. Sometimes, since I'm a very active sleeper, I want to tie a bell to my ankle, just to make sure I'm not sleep smoking. (I would go outside)

Anyway. That's all for this round. 

XOXO 

33 days!

This quitter is really quitting, everyone! Just in case you were wondering. 

Not smoking has left me with lots of time on my hands. I'm not complaining. I'm just trying to find fun things to do, to make that free time more fun. 

So far, I have:

Perfected the art of "bathroom selfies".

Yes, I totally taught my kid how to take bathroom selfies. Ha!

I have started going to stores, just to earn kicks. Have you ever heard of shopkick? You look crazy, walking through stores, just scanning items, with your phone, but, whatever. It's incredibly addictive! 

Then, there are these other two apps I downloaded, one is called Ibotta, and the other is called checkout51. Both pay you for scanning receipts, after you go shopping. Pretty crazy! I'm no good at couponing, so, these will suffice. 

And, when I'm feeling into it, I have yoga and workout apps, ON. MY. PHONE! (Both free!!)

As a matter of fact, all my apps are free. I'm too cheap to pay for an app. Haha! 

Oh yeah! And two other apps I have are for finding out if the food I buy is organic, nonGMO, and for skin products, to find out the health and  environmental risks! Such fun!

So, now you know what I've been up to. 

(Avoiding housework)

;)

day 31 and 32.

 So, on day 31, I put my nicotine patch back on. I wasn't sleeping well, so, I looked it up. Good ole Google. ;) I found that it was possibly a result of nicotine withdrawal. Yuck! Who knew? So, I have it on, and will be starting step two next week. 

I know, when I started this process, we kept thinking it was such a long process, and how expensive it was, and everything. Now, I know how much was saved by not buying cigarettes, and, we are still coming away on top. The patches  are only "more expensive" because you can't buy a single patch. You purchase your entire week's worth, or two weeks worth, so it sounds more pricey. I think, so far, we have only spent about $100 on the patches. That was the entire step one process. That's only a little more than half of what I would have spent on cigarettes. 

Pretty amazing, huh? 

$160.00/month can mean:

1. Better car. (Trade one in for a car that may cost a little more, in payments, but, will be more reliable. Like, I don't know, trading my Toyota corolla for a Jeep?)

2. Extracurriculars for Megan. 

3. Obstacle course races. (With that much extra money, if all I spent it on, was obstacle course races, I could get in 2-6 races a month! That's 2-6 NEW T-SHIRTS A MONTH! haha.)

4. Family nights AND date nights. (Probably 2 each per month. We are pretty cheap)

Now. Per year? 

If we took that money, and put it in a special bank account, and kept it around for a rainy day, (or a sunny, sunny, tropical vacation), it would build up to around $1,800/ year. That's rounding down to savings of $150/month. 

What could we do, for a family of 3, for $1,800??? 

I'll tell you.

A F-ing LOT!

I mean, we live in Kansas. There isn't much around here that is super expensive. Well, that I know of, anyway.  Again, we are pretty cheap. (Easily amused, I guess?)

Okay. So, things I consider expensive, that may not be too far fetched, now:

Great Wolf Lodge. Maybe a family staycation, in the winter months sometime. I don't know?! I'm still on the fence on this one. $279/night for 2 adults and 1 child, in a regular two bed, room. That's a month and a half of not smoking. 

How about a real vacation, for a family of 3. We'll stay in the US for our first "big" vacation. I really want to get an RV, and take a month off of work, during summer, and drive around the united States. I've always wanted to do this. 

How much is an RV (that runs!)? Nothing spectacular, but not like the one from that Robin Williams movie, either. 

  

This looks promising, yeah? 2 years, and something like this, could be mine! (Ours?)

http://kansascity.craigslist.org/rvs/4697963432.html

I'm leaning toward opening a separate savings account, now. Lol! 

Okay. You all get my point, right? 

I slept all day, of day 32. 

Nice, huh? Super interesting. I don't even remember my dream. =P

*Off to the bank, to open that vacation account*

29 days and 1 Month (30 days)

So, I am slowly not paying as much attention to what's going on differently, since I quit smoking, and started the Nicoderm CQ patches. I clear my throat less than before.

My ability to smell has become, almost annoying. I can smell when my husband is smoking a cigarette outside in our front yard. (when the windows are open.)

I can smell my dog, better than I could before. He really is smelly. blah!

I am breathing easier. I am sure it will get even better, as time goes by. I am looking forward to it! =D

A bit of information. Today (right now) it is Thursday, really early in the morning. I am not gone down to step 2 or step 3 of the patches. I took my patch off, Monday afternoon, around 3pm-ish, and have not put another one on. I have patches, leftover from step one, for just-in-case situations, but, I kept thinking, Gee Wiz guys... ha! I just kept thinking how badly I wanted to rid my body of the nicotine. be gone!

One thing I have noticed, since removing the patch, is that I am now UNABLE to sleep, soundly, during the day. Now, some of you may read this and think, "So what?!" but, I work NIGHTS.

UGH. So, I haven't slept well, Tues, or Wed, and that is not great. I need to sleep. I mean, I have slept, but, I woke up every hour, all day Wednesday, and same with my nap on Tuesday (about a 2-3 hour nap). I am hoping I nod off, after dropping Megan off at school, and not waking up, until it is time to pick her up. (It's the small things, in life, that really matter. You know, like.... uhmmmm... sleep!)

I figured I would include a little bit of information, about where I am according to my quit time app on my phone. I always post the one about cigarettes not smoked, money saved, and life saved, but I never really show any facts about not smoking. Crazy. I  might change things up, and include the name a description of one ingredient from a cigarette, with each post. Who knows??

There are over 4,000 ingredients in a single cigarette. Pretty crazy, huh? And, of those 4,000+ ingredients, 69 are KNOWN CARCINOGENS! Yikes!

Well, That's all for today, I guess.

Until next time, Good Morning, Good Afternoon, and Good Night. =)

PS. Nicotine withdrawal can cause insomnia, uh oh! *Putting patch on, like a good little girl*



28 days later

No no. Not the zombie movie. ;) It's been 28 days since I had a cigarette! Ha! Wow! Almost 1 whole month. Over $150 saved! I am so, incredibly proud of myself. Quite frankly, I am impressed! 

This isn't my first time trying to quit. This is my first time SUCCESSFULLY quitting! And. It. Feels. Gooooooooood. 

 I am so excited! Yesterday, I didn't have my nicotine patch on for most off the day, and I became quite a nasty b-word. Well. Today, I took my patch off around 3pm, and haven't put a new one on yet! Nor, have I gotten cranky or irritated. I'm stomping this addiction! 

Fixing my chemical dependency. 

I was going to give up soda as well. I was told by many quitters to wait, and conquer one evil at a time. 

So, nicotine (and the other 400 chemical poisons included in cigarettes), had to be the first to go. Bye bye! 

I really want to sign up for another OCR, as a reward. *wink wink* 

There's one here in Kansas, called the Timber Challenge. 

They have a new one, to make 4 runs per year. 

The one I want to do next, is in  the dead of winter. The coldest month in Kansas. Hello, January, fire and ice OCR! (side note* it's only a 2k with 20 obstacles in January, but I can run multiple times!!!)

Okay. I got sidetracked, again. I'm always going off on another subject. 

That's all. Until tomorrow!

P.s. my whole body is sore! Owie!

27 days!

It's been 27 days since I quit smoking. It's been 50 days since my last mud run. Until today. Today I did a 6k OCR. 

I didn't feel like I was going to die, ever, during this race. The one I did 50 days ago, I thought I might die while climbing the first hill. 

Funny story. So, I had my nicotine patch on, when I left for the race, today. 10 minutes into the race, it came off. I didn't put one back on until 4:15pm. My race time was 8:30am. The end. Just kidding, but, that's the funny part.

I was doing great, until I got home, around 1:00pm. I started getting super irritable, and highly annoyed. (Sorry, babe.) 

But! I didn't want to smoke a cigarette, or put another patch on.  That is major progress. Sometimes, it surprises me that I don't freak out and want to smoke.  I think about it but, stool only thinking about it in a past way. Like, "Now is a normal time, that I would go smoke." Or, "I would have smoked at this point." 

Okay, back to the fun stuff. I have a great picture of myself, after the race, with my lovely Aunt Toni, and who else, other than... Sasquatch?!

For your viewing pleasure:

In case you're wondering, that's me, on the right, in the bright colors. =D

26days!

Well. I've made it through 26 days, without smoking! Today, when I left to run some errands, I forgot to put on one of my patches. 

I didn't even want a cigarette. I did get a little irritable, but, it was okay. Yay me! 

Off to the birthday party. Fun times! 

24&25 days!

Well. I'm so incredibly late at posting, I'm going to keep this short and sweet.

I've made it 25 days, without smoking! I'm going with 25 days, because I'm about to go to bed, and sleep the rest of day 25 away.  ;P

Wow! 445 cigarettes! That's insane! 

23 days

Today was a long day. Not in a bad way, it just seemed to go on forever. It could be worse. It could have been a terrible day, that lasted forever. I had no urges. I even went without the patch for a few hours.  

I had a good hair day. And my makeup was flawless, which is surprising, because, I messed up the eyeliner on one eye, causing it to be super thick, but, it worked out just dandy. I thickened the other side up, and it was pretty darn even. (Which, by the way, never happens!) 

Not much to say. 

Okay. No smoking X23 days. Amen, and goodnight! 

  

22 days!

So, I've gone 22 days without smoking! Amazed, I am. 

Now, I've heard the saying, "It only takes 21 days to form a habit," from multiple people, since I have started down this path I've chosen. 

Does that mean it also only takes 21 days to break a habit? Not likely, eh?

So, about habits. I haven't picked up any new habits, which is a blessing, and could be  potentially dangerous. At 1 and a half weeks of being a quitter, I lost 5lbs. I was stoked! 

You all know the rumors, right? "When you quit smoking, you are going to gain weight!" 

Not me, I thought. 

Hello, extra weight! F-u 3 ways from Sunday! 

Not only did I gain my 5 lbs back, but I added 10 lbs to that, as of Saturday night (or Thursday night, I can't remember). All I wanted to do was cry. Now, I started out, excited to be able to do a work out, without losing my breath. 

I haven't really formed a habit, out of working out. Smart cookie, I am. 

Ugh! I am so happy that I'm not smoking, but so so so not happy that I'm gaining weight. 

November 2012, I decided to be a vegetarian. I did it. I quit meat, cold turkey. (Pun, much?)

Now, I would LOVE to go back to eating as healthily as I was while I wasn't eating meat. Sad news, TABBIE LOVES BREAD!! And cheese. God I love cheese! If I could learn to be a healthy vegan, I would try, but, I need to keep my cheese. At least, I think I do. I'm pretty sure, if I went a week without cheese, you'd catch me, binge eating cheese, by the end of that week.

I know, I sound like I'm rambling, but there is a point. Really, I promise. 

So. Back to forming habits. Replacing bad habits with good ones. 

I'm no longer smoking, so let us replace that habit. Maybe, every time I would typically smoke, I'll do stretches. You know, yoga style. (I downloaded a new yoga videos app.) 

And... Here's the kicker, my friends. 

Maybe every time I want to eat crap food, I will do 3 burpees. That should help, right? Maybe that's what I need to do. (If you have no clue what a burpee is, I suggest looking it up, so you can feel my pain)

 I could set an alarm to go off, every hour, on the hour, reminding me to do my stretches. Or maybe I could set the alarms at every 90 minutes, and just do the stretches, AND the burpees. 

Who knows, maybe by this time, next month, I'll be vegan? My husband will be so annoyed with me, but, he will support me 100%. 

I will let y'all know what I choose to do, tomorrow. ;)

Until then, good morning, good afternoon, and good night. 

21 days

 Oh. My. Goodness. It's been three whole weeks! No smoking! Yay me!

To be completely honest, I was so busy, today, that even if I were still smoking, I wouldn't have had the time, today. I have never had such a jam packed schedule. Like, EVER. 

So, here's how my day went. 

7am: wake up, get Meg ready for school. get myself semi decent, and acceptable for public outings.

7:50am: take Meg to school

8:00am: headed to the clothing donation center, to fold and hang clothes for families in our school district who may not be able to afford new clothes as often as needed. 

11:10: finish up, and head home for a few minutes.

11:40: leave for chiropractic appointment

12:50: lunch with Morgan

1:40: vintage stock, then Halloween store with the hubby

2:35: home for 10 whole minutes!! 

3:00 girls on the run

5:20: home for dinner

6:30: book fair planning meeting

8:00: grocery store for grape tomatoes (you're welcome MoMo)

8:30: to Morgan's to finish the coloring of my hair

10:10: HOME FOR THE REST OF THE NIGHT!!!

Goodnight. Hope I didn't exhaust you, just from reading this crazy crap. ;)

Happy Day! 

20 days.

20 days have gone by, and I have continued to be a quitter. That sounds like an oxymoron. 

$107.73 saved. 

1826 minutes of my life saved. 

Insane! Right? Well, i had a dream last night that was crazy weird. Very sexual. Probably Mitch's fault? Haha! Just kidding. I really need to do some research on nicotine and the effects it has on dreaming, if any. 

 I guess I'll look that up, when I'm done playing with my hair. ;)

Speaking of me playing with my hair... We are lifting the yellow out, tomorrow.      I'm loving it, but, it's a complete shock, every time I look in the mirror. 

I love Morgan McAnany. (The one who has fixed my awful haircut. Also, she's my Hubby's cousin.)

19 days. I'm getting excited!

I made it 19 days! 

I am starting to have more phlegm. I know, disgusting! I feel like I am always clearing my throat. I'll be j happy when that is done. Yuck. 

I had a weird dream, but can't remember what it was. Do you ever have those nights, where you wake up from a dream and know it was scary, weird, or fantastic, but can't remember a single detail? That's what this one was. 

I am kind of starting to like my hair, but, I am more excited to fix it. I figure it's one last hoorah before I'm "too old" to add crazy colors and have a crazy style. 

Maybe I'll grow up when...

I can't even finish that  statement. =P

I'll be the 90 year old woman with some crazy hair cut, colored a glossy fire engine red. Or purple. Who knows?! 

And I say 90, because, hey, I might live that long, since I'm not smoking anymore! 

I still haven't called my grandmother, and told her I quit, yet. I'm sure her sister may have told her, but, I don't know, because I haven't talked to her. 

I think I'll call her today. She is always telling me I need to quit, because cancer runs in our family. It seems like everyone in our family dies from cancer. No young ones, that I know of. My great grandma had cancer, some of her sons have had cancer. One of my grandmother's brothers is living with it, now. It's pretty scary, when you think about all the people, who share your genetic background, who have fought and won, or fought and lost the battle with cancer. 

Yes, I know. Everything causes cancer these days. Heck, the meat we eat. The genetically modified fruits and vegetables, and other foods we eat, shampoo bottles, toothpaste, and lotions.  It all causes cancer. 

I tried to go organic. My husband wanted to go along with it, and we tried. But guess what? I was spending over $100 a month on cigarettes! Who can afford that? Why do it, if I'm going to smoke cigarettes that contain hundreds of toxins, basically defeating the whole purpose of eating clean? 

So, that's my next hurdle. Once I'm done with the patches (which should be November 3rd, if all goes according to plan), we are going to gradually remove all nonorganic foods from our kitchen. (I hope)

Here's to 20 days, smoke free! 

18 days

It was a close one, today. But, I made it! I went to get my hair done, and it got butchered. Agh! Super short and super uneven. It's okay, though. 

I had one cut in mind, and it was a super short, cute, pixie type style. Like this:

Instead. I am going to be sporting a fauxhawk. 

Like THIS:

Nice, huh? Lol! 

So, I decided it's going to be black and purple, or blonde and pink. 

But, for real... It was a very close call, today. O_o

I even went as far as lighting a cigarette.

I didn't do it though. 

I let it burn, for a few seconds, then put it out. 

Serrrrrrriously close. 

17 days without smoking!

So. I have gone a full 17 days without smoking.

Yay me. I'm pretty sure my loving husband left his full pack of cigarettes home, today, to test me. (Lol!!)

I didn't give in, to the minor pang of temptation.

 Now, it's more of a curiosity thing. If I were to light a cigarette, after not smoking for this long, would I start coughing and hacking, at the first drag? Probably. 

But, I won't be putting that theory to the test. 

Since I quit smoking, I have had this major desire to cut all of my hair off. So, naturally, I was thinking "what? Am I crazy? No. I'm going to leave it long." You've seen my profile picture (or you have seen me in real life!) My hair was pretty long. If you haven't seen it, here:

Well, I got it cut. For those who read this, and aren't a part of my daily Facebook posts, here's the cut, now:

I have ALSO decided, it is not short enough. 

Here is what I'm going to get...

Did this desire to chop my hair come from not smoking? Maybe subconsciously, but, probably not. 

I just wanted to share, because I am a talker (typer?)

Well, would ya looky there, I went completely off topic. 

Here's to 18 days! That's 2 & 1/2 weeks! Whoop whoop! 

16 days in a row, without a cigarette.

No cravings. No issues. 

I'm trying to get ready for my OCR run that is coming up. It's September 28th at 8am. Or 830 am. KC Extreme Timber Challenge. I am excited. 6k with 45 obstacles. Fun!

I think I might just start doing burpees again. 

They are a beeeotch, but they do the trick. 

And I'll be able to breathe, while doing it. I'm ready to start signing up for next year's OCRs. Hehe. 

And, I'll be able to afford them, since 8 won't be smoking. Yeeeeeeyahhhh! 

15 days!

I've gone a full 15 days, without smoking! 

My taste buds, most definitely are coming back.

So is my sense of smell. 

Nothing really to report, outside of that. 

Here we go for another day! Another week. Etc...

2 WEEKS! 14 DAYS! WOW!

I feel amazing! I've made it a full 2 weeks!! 

We went to the Renaissance Festival, and had tons of fun. My family didn't have to wait for me to smoke, before going into each shop or other areas.

I didn't have to worry about blowing smoke in the wrong direction, either. Even when I smoked, I was very careful, to avoid smoking in areas where nonsmokers were. Especially kids. I was always avoiding kids. Mine included. 

I'm happy to say, I was "there" the entire time. :D

Now, my dream was really weird, and hilarious, and WEIRD!

I can't recall how it started off, but, I lived in an apartment near a downtown hospital, where I worked.

I was on the run. I had to be careful to always wear a mask of some sort when I went outside, to avoid facial recognition. 

I was too afraid to answer the phone, and it seemed like my dream phone was ringing through the entire dream. Megan existed in my dream, but was never around.  Which is good, because...

I kept trying to "get some" from Mitch, but he kept handing things to me, saying "put this in there, first.". WHAT?! NO WAY! O.o 

Needless to say, dream me didn't get "any"! Haha. 

I woke up, like wtf was that about?! So happy it was just a dream. So weird. 

I wonder if the nicotine patch is really the reason for my wild dreams? 

Here's to another week, smoke free!!

day 13

I already made a post about part of day 13. I made it the rest of the night, without smoking! 

This is going to sound silly, but, writing that blog  about my urges, when they were happening helped me stomp the urge. 

I did have weird dreams last night, but, nothing I can remember. 

Day 12/13

It's been 12 days. I pretty much slept the whole day 12 away. Haha! No issues there. 

I am partway through day 13, and this has been the day for the books. I have had a good day. Most of my friends, and my husband are smokers. Tonight was the first night around my friends, since I quit smoking. 

At the point where everyone gets up, and heads outside, to light up, I headed outside too. No cigarette. No lighter. Just sat outside, testing my willpower, while my husband and friends smoked. I did it! I may have been gritting my teeth for a minute, and mentally smacking myself in the brain, but, I didn't give in to the urge.

 I have gone outside, multiple times, tonight, without lighting up. Each time I had the urge, I said something to Mitch, then rubbed my patch, as a self reminder, that I AM receiving nicotine, just in a different way. ;) Lol!! 

I went to the salon today, and got all of my hair chopped off. New me, new do, I guess. Not really new me, but the non smoker me. I like this me. I love this me. 

 I cannot wait for the day, when I no longer want to smoke, when I'm around smokers. 

Even though I wanted to smoke tonight, I didn't. That's huge! When I tried to quit before, I would always light up, with my friends. 

Now,  don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming my friends at all. It was my fault. I think the reason I would give in and light up, before was because I felt like I couldn't be outside, in the conversation, if I wasn't smoking, too. Well, I was wrong, and that was just an excuse. =P

No. More. Excuses.

Here's to 2 weeks!!

Day 11

It's been 11 days. Yes, I posted late 2 nights in a row. ;) Darn night shift. Lol! 

I got a little pissy today, but, I'm guessing it had more to do with lack of sleep, combined with lack of food, combined with not smoking. 

I saw my husband's pack of cigarettes, and really thought about smoking one. I THOUGHT about it. I did NOT do it. Yay me! 

My reward for not smoking... We rented Captain America Winter Soldier. It's not really my reward, but, it's what we are doing tonight. And I like it! ;) 

Have a fabulous Friday. 

10 Days! I won't be swayed!

It's been 10 whole days! I've been doing great with it. BUT, I haven't been around people smoking.

Am I going to find the smell terrible? Am I going to want to light up with my friends?

I'm hoping not, to the second question.

It's hard to judge whether or not I have a "craving" when I am working, because I work 12 hours, through the night, then sleep all day, then, go right back to work. I don't even THINK about smoking, when I am on a "work stretch". That's nice.

I enjoy not worrying about if I will smell like an ashtray at work.

Oooops, I forgot perfume, today! Hope no one smells the smoke on me. (no longer a problem!)

I am sleeping better, as well.

You want to know what I find the most weird? Watching TV or a movie. My daughter and I watched Avatar (the blue aliens, not the cartoon), without me taking a smoke break. I mean, that movie is LOOOOOOONG!! Amazingly enough, I avoided watching it, because it was so long, and I was thinking how many times I was going to have to pause the movie. So, I just avoided it. Weird, right?

My shows on netflix are going by faster, as well. haha!

I had a weird dream, yesterday, but, I don't remember what it was. It wasn't scary, or anything like that, just weird.

Nothing to note, health-wise, other than breathing being easier. I can walk up a flight of stairs without huffing and puffing, so, that's great! If I run, or work out, and my breathing speeds up, it's easier for me to get it under control.

Until next time, my friends...

Day 9, and I'm feeling fine.

So, I'm really late with this one.

I haven't had a cigarette in 9 days! I wanted one very badly at the start of day 9. I blame it on taking my patch off at bed time. O_o

That's all.

Day 8, and I'm feeling great!

Nothing to note for today, in the way of anything in regards to smoking. Aside from no cravings at all!! (And, obviously, no smoking)

I worked out. 

 I visited my bestie, and her twin boys today. 

I wanted to work out, again, but I figured that would be overkill, so I watched a few episodes of Hart of Dixie, instead. ;) I know... Real productive!! Lol! 

I think I'm going to start taking the patch off before bed, just to see how it effects my cravings. Taking it off will reduce the amount of nicotine that enters my body, soooooo... 

Until tomorrow, my friends.