No Smoking Here! 6+ months!

Can you believe it?? I'm barely believing it! Over 6 months of not smoking. Over. Six. Months! That's half a year!

I started working out again, and I'm trying to establish a routine that works for my schedule (which is CRAZY).

So far, I've worked out 9 out of the last 11 days. Woohoo!

Okay. For anyone who hasn't kept up with this blog from the beginning: I decided it was time to quit smoking, when I did an obstacle course run, and felt like I was going to die, before even STARTING any obstacles.

It was before even a half mile. Of course, I was climbing a hill, that is meant to be skied (skiied?) down. The kicker? I was BARELY walking up that hill.

My lungs were burning, and it wasn't from the August heat in Missouri. My pulse was off the charts. My eyes felt like they were buldging out of my head. I wanted to cough. Hell, maybe I did cough.

 I just remember, I didn't enjoy myself, during that run. I sign up for ocrs, because I think they are fun.  It wasn't fun. At all. I was embarrassed.

 And then there were the photos. Oh. Dear. God. The photos. My face was a scowl in every single one. I should have been smiling, and having a good time.

Nope.

Because why?

Because I smoked.

Because I smoked a pack of cigarettes a day.
And now?
Have a look:

I want to tell anyone who is struggling to quit, that you can do it! It takes 21 days to form a habit. Use the patch, finds something for your hands to do, for 21 days. You will be as amazed with yourself as I still am with myself. I only used the patch for 8-10 weeks. Now, I'm completely off of nicotine! 

Good luck, fellow quitters! 

❤

Tabbie

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.

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. 

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!