Happy New Year everyone! Welcome to another month and another year.

I'm back at work today and that's a shock to the system after 10 days off. At least it stops me from eating and snoozing all day!

New Year's resolutions? I don't make any as a rule. I just want to concentrate on getting back on the treadmill and eating well again. I used to run but had a foot injury in June and its only now that the swelling is down enough to get my trainers back on again. So I'll take it slowly and build up again. I bought myself a new iPod nano after Christmas as the incentive to get back on once more. This way I can listen to podcasts and music and it may keep me there longer.

Happy New Year-- havent logged one for a couple of day, had a nasty stomach flu. it was aweful but feeling much better now. i really dont like to make new years resolutions either. if i had to i guess to be a better person or something. work on my art, i would like to start on a path with my art to draw professionally, not so much to make a living but just sell something or get my name out there or something like that. but other than that i am pretty happy with everything.
Lori

Happy New Year's, Everyone!!! I didn't make any resolutions this year either. I never follow them so if I do not make them then I cannot break them right? I guess if I did want to start anything this year it would be to quit smoking...but not sure I want to do that either.. (Its the only bad habit I have). I also want to do well with my online art class and finish it off and like Lori said get somewhere with my art. Not necessarily to make money but just be known. I have been studying my butt off though. So I really haven't drawn anything since Christmas Eve.
Lori, glad you are feeling better. The flu is just downright nasty everywhere right now. Thankfully, I think it has finally passed in my home.
Jeanette, start back out slowly with that foot of yours, you don't want to cause anymore trauma to it and hurt it worse and resulting in any type of surgery. Our family has a problem with the knees. I think because my family on my dads side are very TALL. Alot of strain to hold the person up...

My resolution for the new year is 9 mega-Pixels.
(I bought myself a new digital camera for Christmas)

I'm hoping to pursue my photography hobby more in earnest, now that I have a real camera. I also want to continue improving my doodling skills, of course. Perhaps I will combine the two by shooting some pictures to use as drawing references.

These are both things I do for my own personal enjoyment in my <sarcasm>COPIOUS amounts of</sarcasm> spare time. I made the mistake of taking all the fun out of a hobby by turning it into a job before in my life. I don't want to do that again. Besides, I'm not nearly that good an artist.

No New Year's Resolutions here. I don't make them. Just want a happy and smooth year with lots of artwork in the mix and no major disruptions.. This year is special in that my husband and I will be celebrating our 20th anniversary. So we have decided to take a really nice vacation this year. Just haven't figured out where yet. lol

Congrats on 20 years together. We will be celebrating our 25th this year.

I am not a New Year's Resolution kinda gal either. I am hoping for a year with a lot less stress in it. It will be the first in six if that happens.

Chris

Happy New Year everyone. Lovely to see so many NON resolution people Bf and I are trying to buy a house so everyone please please keep your fingers crossed for us! It has been a whirlwind of activity around here so no special drawings yet. I had started the challenge and it went phhhhhhhhhhttttttttttt when I turned my coffee over on the drawing. Sorry Dude but your brother looks slightly American Indian and Martian crossed after his coffee bath. So I am starting over in the morning and AFTER coffee.

Spring chickens!! It will be our 30th anniversary in October. And I guess this is also a kind of special year for me as it is what some people call my Crown Year - I'm 53 and I was born in '53... good vintage year if only if I say so myself!

I don't usually make resolutions either and would rather just get down to business. Having said that, the start of a new year is usually always a good time to start picking up the pieces again. So this year I shall go on trying to regain my health, well, at least keep it from deteriorating further.

It is impossible to predict what might happen over the coming twelve months but my intention is to live my life as best I know how... keeping my mind active, doing the things I have always wished to do but never got round to doing, being more adventurous in my way of thinking.

Pammy - good luck with your house

Venus - good luck with quitting.... I know how tough that can be.

Jeanette - is the treadmill working yet? I know mine should be too!

I don't make resolutions but I do have goals set for art for 2007. I'll share them with you in another thread and we'll see what others hope to achieve too.

Yes, I got back on the treadmill Rose and it wasn't too bad. But last night it acted up and I couldn't slow it down or change any settings or even stop it with the controls. I had to pull the little magnet emergency switch to cut the power to make it stop. I hope (well maybe ) that it isn't broken. My husband will have a look at it today. Last night it wouldn't do anything.

Its a second hand machine that I bought about 2 years ago for half the original price. Yes, its had a fair bit of use by me, but shouldn't give out this early. But, I think if it does, I may buy an elliptical trainer instead of another treadmill.

I have tried the elliptical trainers a time or two....To me they are far more 'work' than the treadmills. Proably get a better work out, but I really love walking, especially outdoors.

Chris

hi everyone-- i think finally the flu has left my house. i certainly hope so. it went through my whole family. but now i think everyone is back to normal for the most part. i am still a little weak and tired. but i really didnt have time to recuporate because as soon as i was done then i had to take care of everyone else and when boys get sick they are babies, especially my husband.
i love walking too. i want a treadmill, they are so expensive i just dont know when i could get one. but we have a rec park with a board walk. through the woods and now they just opened up a metro park with wet lands and stuff and we also have a state park with lots of paths so its really great. i want to go to the new metro park to see what thats like.
i smoke to venus--bad habit. i do plan quitting but it is so scary for me. i am so afraid that i am going to eat an eat. and it is so hard for me to lose weight now. when i was younger i could drop a few pounds without even thinking about it. my next dr appointment i am going to ask him about this new pill they say takes away the nicotine craving. i dont know how good it is. i have tried the patches and they did not work for me at all. i thought about trying the lounges (cant spell) cigs are getting so expensive and i think i spend about 100.00 dollars a month on them and i could spend that on something else like art supplies. that would kill me either.
Lori

Lori...I feel you. I talked to Painter just the other day about smoking in my house. Its hard to quit when others around you smoke too. As far as gaining weight that is my biggest fear!!! I have a huge family of very obese women. I mean really big. So I don't want to look like that. One of these days though I will. Glad, everyonr in your family is better.

Lori - If you are serious about quiting smoking - feel free to pm me and I'll support you 100% I quit 2 1/2 years ago and if I can do it....anybody can. I can give you some pointers and encourage you as much as possible. NOT hahaha

Think of all that money you'll save, as well as health benefits.

Lori you could buy a treadmill with $100 a month payments!

I quit smoking some years ago too and haven't looked back. The first week is the difficult one, after that, its just down to breaking habits. But most of all you have to want to do it yourself. Nothing and no one else can tell you to do it. Goodluck with it, the support system is in place.

thanks, that is very incouraging. and painter i will pm to get some tips. jeanette your right i could do a treadmill with those payments, probably half that. i never thought of that. thanks everyone. love it here
Lori

Good luck to you too Lori! I know how it is trying to quit when there are people in the house who still smoke. My husband still does but we have agreed that if he wants to smoke he can only do that in his study... the smell still wafts through but it's not as bad as if he were to be smoking all over the place.

Some tips that helped me.

1. Don't just suddenly quit... set yourself a date and peter out to it.
2. Never smoke while doing something else, even drinking something. If you want to smoke, leave everything and go out for a smoke... make it something you do consciously.
3. Try to light up your first smoke later and later in the day.. say 15 minutes later each day.
4. When you feel like a smoke, drink a glass of water and wait 10 minutes.. see how you feel then.
5. Prepare diced veggies and have them ready in the fridge... having something like that to munch on will keep you away from eating something unhealthy.
6. Even if you don't eat more you might still gain a little (nicotine has the effect of burning something like 200 calories a day apart from being an appetite suppressant)... so - increase your level of activity.

Your walks sound nice so make the best use of them. But that said, not all treadmills are expensive. Sure you can get a top models with all the bells and whistles and pay hundreds for it but a basic model should not be all that much. I paid less than $300 for mine and things like that tend to be much more expensive here than they are in the US.

Once again... good luck to all the quitters. It can be done - I used to be a 40 a day person!

ducks in and sees the smoking conversation and the Q word. Ducks back out to have a smoke and spray perfume. Oh and mustn't forget the breath mints!

I quit 40 years ago. Cold turkey.. I prayed hard!!! LOL I only smoked for 6 years but I was a 4 pack a day girl. How I smoked 80 cigarettes a day, is beyond me but I was a chain smoker. Of course I would wake up in the night and have 1 or 2 then go back to sleep.. I found I carried a pencil around in my hand just to keep something in my fingers. (too bad I didn't draw back then) A few times without thinking, I started to put the pencil in my mouth. I think the hardest part was to keep my hands busy so I took up embroidery. I had a bizillion pairs of pillow cases and the greatest hippie bell bottom jeans that you ever saw., I even had friends asking me to do their jeans. And I did... Quitting was the hardest thing I have ever done, but I didn't look back and after the first 3 days it got easier and after the first week, I knew I could do it and after 2 weeks, it was a done deal and even the cravin was gone.. I will never even try one again because I enjoyed it too much and don't want to go through that again. Besides, when I quit they were only 22 cents a pack.. Ha Ha Ha Does that age me or what?

WOW!!! 22 cents a pack???? That is a big difference!! I pay like $ 4.85 a pack. I only smoke an average of a pack a day. Alot of times I noticed when I keep myself occupied with my art I let them burn out more than anything. I am 31 and started smoking when I was 16. I had a really, really horrible childhood. I grew up in the foster care system and not my real parents if that helps you to understand. So smoking was my theropy when I was younger and just continued into adulthood.

Rose your advice sounds awesome!! I may try that soon.

Lori...Painter also has some wonderful advise for quitting the bad habit!!! I am waiting until my next doctors appointment to get his opinion on some of the methods that Painter and I discussed!!! I think I go back next month. So I better enjoy them while they last because this year they are going...BYE-BYE!!!!!!

Wow, Venus - you actually said it!! You said you were going to quit this year! I am sooooooo proud of you. I will stand by you 100% and if you get crabby or grouchy just yell at me instead of your hubby and kids. hahahahahahahahaha Ask your hubby to confine his smoking to another room or outside if you can. It will help some, at least until you get over the initial stress of it all.

Rose has some excellent ideas - here is one that I used to help with the problem of needing something to put in my mouth all the time. I cut plastic straws in half and kept a supply in my purse. Now this is going to really sound stupid - I would actually sit down and inhale on the straw and treat it like a cigarette sometimes. I know that seems crazy but you know what? it helped. When I was home and would get stressed out and need a cigarette, I would go outside and sit in a lawn chair and "smoke" my straw. hahahahaha There was a lot of tension released by the inhaling and exhaling. Makes sense when you think about it.

One of the worst situations for me was the fact that my car would not start unless I had a cigarette! hahahahaha The straws really helped me through that. Now my car runs perfectly fine. When I would draw or paint I would let them burn out in the ashtray very shortly after lighting them. What a waste. But I think that was the "going thru the motions" of smoking.

Pammy, Lori, Venus - whenever you are ready - pick a day (just like Rose said) I'll support ya, as I am sure others on this board will too! As Martha says "Its a good thing". hahahaha LOL

Ohhh Painter, that straw is a wonderful idea... I wish I would have thought of it in 1966. LOL I know what you mean about the car not starting. You are sooo funny.. My mom is 81 and smokes. She only smokes in her garage and has never smoked more than half a pack a day in her life. She didn't start until I was grown though..
Here is a pic of y mom at 81 and she does not dye her hair. It's a good thing smoking aged her like I told her it would.

Wow Cyn, your Mom looks great! Hope you get her genes! I can't believe she still smokes at her age too. And her hair! unbelievable. My mom just turned 84 and she doesn't look that good.

Nope, I didn't get mom's genes. I figure I just had too much fun out of life. Mom is 5'4" and a skinny 100 pounds. I'd be jealous if she wasn't my mommy. Ha Ha I'm 5'8" I usually weigh in at about 125 to 130. That is, until Christmas hit me in the scales this year. But like I said, I will be 60 next month, though most guess me at 40 to 45. ..
Come to think of it, when does a person go from lying about their age, to accepting their age, to being proud of their age? My mom brags and I haven't even accepted mine yet so she laughs at me.

Cyn I turned 38 Christmas Eve so let me know when I get to the acceptance part PLEASE! I am still in the "OMG I just turned 38!!!!!" stage. LOL

he he he support is good but who is posting bail moeny if I quit LMAO Cause I just know someone is gonna have some bodily injury if I have no nicoteine

Pammy I know how you feel!!! I can be a major #@^*& without mine at times too. Then I can go a whole day at times without even smoking at all go figure. I f I know I have enough of them I hardly smoke, but if I am running out I feel the need to go buy more before I run out. Its weird I tell you. We just have to be strong minded if we wish to succeed with it I guess. I know I am strong enough and then I start thinking (which like I have told Jeanette...I really shouldn't do.. ) "Do I want to quit right now or later when I won't be so stressed with everything I want to accomplish"? So I will have a good talk with my doctor next month.

I quit smoking years ago when I started to plan a family ...paranoid that it could cause something to go wrong ...then once I had my baby... thought well I shouldnt smoke cause I will have the baby in my arms most of the time .. then once that was not a issue ... i thought ... no need to start back up .....then after I had my girls and they were older .. i went through a stage and i started to smoke again .. and my girls were no strangers to smoking being my whole family smokes ... but my daughter once said ... mommy can I smoke someday ? and I was like .. ummm well I hope you dont ...and after that I decided .... it was not worth it ... but I dont think that if the parents smoke the kids will .. or visa versa ....I found out something neat and I took a chance at this ..okay one day my daughter started asking me about smoking pot ( we are very open here and will talk to our kids about anything ) and then it seemed she was asking more and more .. well my husband being a well ... lets just say he has enjoyed a smoke or two in his life knew right off she was fighting with it .. so I did my best with how to handle it .. and I told her everything and she ask me if she did it would I be mad .. and I said to her .. no of course not .. but I would be dissapointed ....well the day came and she said mom I tried smoking pot ... my gut hit the floor i did not know how to react .. ok I was pisted off lol but I couldnt let her know .. it was hard but I said well did you enjoy it and she said yes I did ... could my gut go any farther then the floor ... it felt like it did lol ... and I said well ... please understand that i do not want it in my house .. and I can not keep yuou locked in your room to keep my eye on you .. I am dissapointed but what is done is done ....when she would go places i would worry .. and about a month later .. she came to me and said .. smoking pot is so stupid mom ....what do people see in it .. and we talked .. she dont do it any more .. I always wondered was it because I did not fight with her over it ....no idea .. this was all off subject lol sorry .

This stuff with kids is so hard. When my kids were little I couldn't wait to go back to work. Now that they are older, I swear there is ten times more things to worry about and to be there for. I think you handled it well Kim. My boys are just getting to be teenagers. I am working real hard at trying to get them to talk to me about stuff. You know little things like sex, drugs, smoking, drinking, etc. All of my boys are the king of the one word answers, so it is not an easy job.
My 12 year old recently got a girlfriend. I only found out because they were talking on MSN. I check their conversations on a regular basis. He didn't want to talk about it but I finally told him "we either talk or you never get to date". Amazing how that worked.
Oh and don't you love all the new lingo for everything. I recently had to find out what "freaking" was. Not quite what it sounds like, but about as close as you can get to that, on a public dance floor with the help of friends surrounding you while you "dance".
Hmm, back to smoking. I have never smoked, but every once in a while I thought maybe it would help me to lose weight. Then I would get a picture in my head of me with a cigarette in one hand and a chocolate bar in the other , and I would quickly drop that notion. My husband has tried quiting several times, I know this is not easy. So I wish you all luck in this.
Well this is what I consider the end of the holiday season. My son's birthday is on the 3rd of Jan. We had a big party for all the Jan. birthdays today. I host this party most years and consider it to be my holiday party for my husbands family (as this is usually the first time in the holiday season that we have them all over). We had thirty people over for dinner and cake. All the birthday people brought food for dinner and the others brought appetizers if they wanted to. After this I'll start taking down the Christmas decorations.
Paulette

To all ya smokers - there is no putting it off until you are in a less stressed out mode. That doesn't work. You just have to pick a date and stick to it. Myself, I picked a date and planned my cigarettes to the last pack. When they were gone, they were gone. We live out in the country so there is no running up to the corner store.....Its about 4 or 5 miles to town from here. That helped also.

Actually, this is a good time, there are no holidays for a while. I always had trouble drinking and not smoking. Or sitting in a bar and not smoking. It would drive me nuts. Fortunately, we don't do that very often.

I feel sorry for parents of teenagers now days. There are soooooo many issues to deal with. Its very difficult for them. I know, we have been having a problem with my oldest teenage grandson. His girlfriend broke up with him in September and he hasn't gotten over it yet. He comes home from school and stays in his room and cries! Now she is dating his best friend. That makes it worse. She's a very nice little girl but she doesn't know how to stay away from him because he keeps calling and begging her to see him. Its a shame and I worry about him not getting over her yet. He is very busy with school, soccer, band, and other outside activities and makes good grades and stays out of trouble and doesn't hang with the wrong kids. My son has talked until he is blue in the face and can't seem to get through to him that he has to get "over it" she's not coming back!
I know that this is not as big an issue as drugs and smoking and sex......but mostly I worry about the suicide rate in teenagers being so high and a lot of the time its because of the boyfriend/girlfriend relationship thing.

I so agree with Painter that it's just making the decision to quit that's the most important factor in actually quitting. I smoked for years also but finally quit about 10 years ago after my mom died of lung cancer. I used that pill (can't think of the name of it but think it's like Prozac or something but they also market it to smokers for quitting.) I don't know if it was psychological or if it really helped but it did seem that I didn't have the problems quitting that I'd experienced when I'd tried before.

Straws! Yes! I used them also & they really helped. Before I found the straws, I would go outside & take deep breaths of air when I wanted a cigarette.

But just make the decision to quit and stick to it!

My granddaughter goes back to Maine today. She's really a good child but is at the age (still) where she thinks she knows everything and one can only pray that the decisions our kids make are not catastrophic ones.

So many times I just say "thank God my kids are grown!" I don't think I have the courage to raise kids in this day and age. Kudos to all of you who are doing it!

J

Its hard raising kids and hard stopping smoking too. All I can say is that YOU need WANT to do so or it just won't work. You have to want to stop more than anything else. No one can tell you to, no one can help you. Drugs can ease the cravings a little, but to be honest within 3 or 4 days the nicotine is out of your body and its just down to changing habits then, which is difficult to do.

Seeing the angst kids go through over relationships is difficult too. Everything is so intense at that age. Its hard to know when to intervene and when to step back and let fate take over.

My daughter's birthday is in January too - the 13th - and her baby is due on th 18/19th, perhaps we'll have a double birthday to celebrate! I still don't know if my mind is wrapped around this grandmother role yet, but it will come in time. Being a long way away makes it more difficult. But I did give her a webcam at Christmas for my own selfish reasons. I want to see the baby! lol

Happy Birthday to all the little ones coming up ...Paulette dont start smoking to lose weight ... please ..my sister tried that at age 40 .. crazy never smoked a day of her life and decided one day i think I will smoke to lose weight .. now she smokes and is still over weight .. would rather have her not smoking a be over weight then to have started smoking .
and I agree with jeanette you HAVE to want to quit .. my mom is 65 and she still smokes ..has smoked almost my whole lifetime ... she should quit and the doctor tells her too .. but she dont want to and fails each time she tries .
J-Lynn was is welbutrin ? thats what my husband used and it worked great for him .

Painter,
Its just my opinion, but I think three months is too long. I would be very worried about him. He sounds like he should be a well adjusted teenager. Well adjusted teenagers should not take this long to get on with life. Suicide can be such a spur of the moment decision. I think it would be worth getting him someone to talk to. The crying thing is a little scary, bummed out you can expect, crying?? I hope I'm way off base, but at the same time therapy can't hurt.
Paulette

Kim,
I am absolutely positive that is what would happen to me. So I will never start smoking. Thank you.
Paulette

Paulette, I agree with you, 3 months is way too long to be crying over her. It is so bad that my son said he was even crying in front of his soccer team about it!!! That got my son so concerned that now he blames the boy s mother for not doing something about it. He suggested that she take away his cell phone but she won't do that. He suggested taking away the car keys. But she won't do that either. I will be seeing my son on Tuesday so I am going to suggest that he look into getting some therapy for him.

You are right, he is a very well adjusted boy but you never know what goes through their heads. Because of that "boy thing" where they only give one or two syllable answers. hahaha

This happened to a friend of mine a couple of years ago and it should be preventable. Her son was so cute and happy and well adjusted. All over a girl.

What really kills me is that my grandson is cute and popular and smart and all these little girls are calling him constantly and they all want to be his girlfriend. So its not like he can't find another girl. In fact, the first day back to school after she broke up with him, he had 4 girls call him and ask him out on a date!! They were waiting in line for him!!! hahahaha

Painter,
I can't help but wonder if something else is going on in the background that nobody knows about. Even if this isn't as serious as it sounds, he could at least get help dealing with his emotions. I wish you luck in talking to your son and him to his wife. Hopefully they'll realize that this is about him and not them.
Paulette

I think young teens make more of what is going on it effects them harder ... but we cant forget its effecting them no matter what we think .. or how small the issue .. I agree teens are dying over broken hearts every day .. they just do not understand it as we do ...my heart goes out to your son ... makes you want to crawl inside and just fill that spot that hurts .

Ok here it is folks: I AM QUITTING SMOKING!! I am working on my last pack now.
[font=Georgia][/font][color=#993399]I woke up this morning with my chest feeling all tight and icky, lit up and proceeded to cough like my poor old dog with pneumonia. Enough is enough. So it is time. *shaking in my boots* err slippers rather.

Someone once told me drawing is theraputic. So I am treating myself to a nice smaller sized sketch book and a new mechanical pencil to draw when I want to smoke. I bought myself a box of straws, and some carrots as well. Thanks for the tip!

Good for you Pammy! You're doing yourself a real benefit. You can do it. Just ask for all the help you need. We're rooting for you.

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Now that is a good idea, treat yourself to something like a sketchbook and mech pencil. I like the idea. Maybe you could save the $$$ and buy new art supplies like I did. Or when you feel like a cig, treat yourself to something nice. (not food)



If you are a coffee drinker, you might want to cut back on the caffeine too. (not quit entirely, just cut back on it) hahahaha

Hi everyone.....Pammy I hope this inspires you.....I smoked for 25 years a pack a day and quite 5 years ago cold turkey....Oh sorry I did try Zyban the pill .... and it did help relieve the withdrawl symptoms but has no nicotine in it whats so ever.....After being smoke free now 5 years I feel 10 years younger and feel like a new man. Not to mention I have about 200$ per month more. I only started sketching about 2 years ago but wish I would have started sooner...... when I got a bad craving I just went for a walk....it does get easier I think the first week is the hardest.. .... try hard and think of all the bad things about smoking when you have a bad craving and don't cheat that will just make it harder and longer to get it out of you......that is how I did it..... and think of all the good things you are gaining from quiting mainly your health..... Best of luck... Brian.

WOW! Good on you Pammy!!

Download this little programme - it's fun! It will tell you how many smokes you have not smoked.. how much money you have saved... it will even play a fanfare for each little milestone.

We're right behind you sweetie.

MUAHHH Thanks ya'll!! I know this is best for me in the long run. I have been thinking about it for almost 3 years now. Yep I am a procrastinator of the worst kind when it comes to this. But after the past couple weeks of paying attention to my body it is time to just do it! No more thinking or worrying over it. Heck I feel better just having made the decision. I have 6 cigarettes left in my pack and have put them in the Bf's desk drawer. I couldn't throw them out as if they aren't there I know I'll panick and want to run buy a pack. With them there the temptation to buy more will be gone.

So I am going for a walk and do some more housework !! Oh and I "lit up" my first straw a little bit ago!

Pens work too Pammy. lol

My treadmill is fixed again so I had to do my workout last night. It felt rather good I have to say and I even knocked a minute and a half off my mile. Even then, I'm still horribly slow compared to what I was before I had the injury to my foot but it will build gradually. I'll start a little work on the free weights inbetween now and get that in place as well.

I'm dealt with the accountant this morning to get the year end stuff in place - never a fun tast - at least not for me. I really hate dealing with financials even thought it is a big part of my job.

Back to the grindstone for now.

Just make sure you don't absentmindedly grab a lighter and ACTUALLY light up your straw.
That'll probably kill you faster than cigarettes

Hi Everybody!!! i think my antibiotics for my strep throat Tuesday brought home from school Friday is finally kicking in. I woke up with a horribly soar throat Saturday and my ear was killing me. So basically I pretty much slept on and off and cried like a baby until Monday when I went to the doctor. So 24 hours of antibiotics and I have to say I am feeling much better and can actually swallow a little bit. As far as smoking goes I haven't quit yet but I have slowed down alot. I will get there!!! Pammy I am proud of you. Good luck and keep up the great work.

Kim, it was Wellbutrin or Zyban, actually, that I took to help me quit.

Way to go, Pammy! and you too, Venus. Maybe with your sore throat, it would be a good time to decide to quit. Actually, as something to maybe encourage you further - my daughter had some outpatient surgery on her ear yesterday to remove some scar tissue. This was caused by continuing ear infections & the ENT doctor said that smoking definitely contributed to the problem. Not only was there scar tissue, but there was also bone tissue loss & she'll have to have another surgery in 6 months to repair that if the scar tissue does not recurr. The scary thing is that her doctor said that she could see my daughter's brain pulsing once the scar tissue was removed!

I wouldn't wish this kind of thing on anyone but I certainly hope this episode encourages her to quit smoking & will do the same for you all too.

J

strep is aweful. i think i only had it once but that was enough for me. it hurts so bad-- i hope you get better soon.
wow with all this talk about smoking i just might quit. every since my dad passed i get panic attacks and like you venus i feel it when i am getting low in cigs. my dad had lukemia but also had emphazema and was on 100 percent oxogen 15 liters and thats the most that they had no more and he still couldnt breath--so i saw first thing what smoking does but its so addicting that i feel or felt i couldnt quit. just the thought of having those cravings makes me uncomfortable. he had quit smoking for many many years but when the lukemia got worse so did the emphazema.
jeanette i agree when someone really wants to they can. but i go back to the drs next month so i am going to ask about some methods. that straw method does make sense. for me i do think its a security thing, because when i feel an attack coming on i grab a cig thinking it calms me down so if i can talk myself into switch to a straw maybe just maybe that will work. no one else in my house smokes. my husband doesnt and so far my kids dont (that i know of) they are always on me about quitting. i just think if i cant quit after seeing my dad and because my kids and they are my world then i think how hard it is to actually quit. but thats negative thinking, which i am working on also. i dont know. has anyone tried that gum or anything.
Lori

Lori,
My Aunt has been chewing that gum for as long as I can remember. But she doesn't smoke anymore. Is that good or bad?????? I seem to remember you saying you would put up a picture of your boys as an avatar someday.
Paulette

boy do you have a good memory. i had forgot about that. i just am trying to get them together long enough to get one. i might have on christmas morning but i havent got them devoloped yet, will this weekend. and pick up a battery for my digital camera and if i didnt on christmas then maybe i can get my husband to hog tie them or something. i think that is a good thing with the gum, i think i might try that before my drs appointment. just to see if it will work. thanks paulette and i will get that picture up as soon as possible. wow great memory.
Lori

Good luck Pammy,
I have been smoking for around 25 years and this is the second time I have quit. I gave up 6 months ago and took up drawing to help me.
At the time of quiting I used chewing gum, lozengers, patches, drops that go on the end of cigarettes, cold turkey and Zyban. On my last visit to the doctor he said use Zyban again and patches at the same time. Well its 6 month later and I havn't had one yet.
So good luck again.

Olddad...what exactly is zyban and how does it work? I don't want to try the patch and the gum is just nasty. Also, after 6 months of using zyban and the patch do you still have cravings? Or do you think you are pretty much done altogether now? Just asking so i know what to make questions about for my next doctors trip. Thanks!!!