just bumping this.. 2nd time to read this post thanks for taking the time to share... [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]8/25/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 153 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 3,060 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $459.00 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 16 [B]Hrs:[/B] 19 [B]Mins:[/B] 0 [B]Seconds:[/B] 49

Excellent post, Ladycigevistor, & so timely for all the newbies! [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]5/14/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 240 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 4,800 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $2,640.00 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 24 [B]Hrs:[/B] 16 [B]Mins:[/B] 43 [B]Seconds:[/B] 39

Very nice! ... very helpful advise. Your stats sure do look pretty, Lady. :) [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]7/17/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 539 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 40,425 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $10,106.25 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 48 [B]Hrs:[/B] 3 [B]Mins:[/B] 33 [B]Seconds:[/B] 21

Pat - Very true!! Especially being positive during your quit. I think that having a sense of humor and being positive is necessary to tackle this addiction. Without having fun and joking around on this website (many threads are too funny) I would not have stuck around. Probably would have continued to smoke if I didn't have the support from this website. Sending out a special prayer tonight for your mom and you! (((hugs))) [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]1/8/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 363 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 5,445 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $1,524.60 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 34 [B]Hrs:[/B] 12 [B]Mins:[/B] 52 [B]Seconds:[/B] 44

WOW Lady, Thanks for taking time to post & my prayers are for you & your family. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]8/25/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 134 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 2,680 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $402.00 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 14 [B]Hrs:[/B] 16 [B]Mins:[/B] 57 [B]Seconds:[/B] 6

Lady, Thank you so much for sharing your journey with your fellow members. It is sure to inspire many. Congratulations on your 1 year anniversary. We hope you have a great time celebrating it! Danielle, Bilingual Health Educator

What a great post! And this: [quote] I belive preparation made my quit unbelievably easy...I expected it to be much harder. [/quote] is so so so so so so true. Thanks for sharing your story. Wishing you serenity and an early happy anniversary. x T [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]1/1/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 370 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 8,510 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] �2,035.00 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 31 [B]Hrs:[/B] 13 [B]Mins:[/B] 2 [B]Seconds:[/B] 33

What a fantastic post, Pat. And thanks for explaining your name! Rusty :) [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]12/13/2004 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 1119 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 31,332 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $3,916.50 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 160 [B]Hrs:[/B] 0 [B]Mins:[/B] 38 [B]Seconds:[/B] 43

Hello to all the new people, ((((huggs)))) to all the long time quitters and Magic boas to all my Magic Shipmates (quit buddies). I'd like to spend time here giving back in even a small way, some of the amazing support you've given me in the past year...however, I'm unable to do more than post occasionally right now. As some of you may know, I am busy helping my Mother with stage 4 cancer. You should know she is one of the bravest people I've ever met, and when she passes I will celebrate her wonderful spirit, her amazing life, the legacy she leaves behind and be grateful that her pain is over. She has been smoke free for over 16 years now and is still talking about the fact that quitting was the best decision she ever made...and she still recommends it to everyone. We just talked about it today...she told me how proud she is that I'm almost at my 1st anniversary. I hope she's here to celebrate it with me. Ok on to the business of quitting in 3 simple steps. Some of you will not believe this is even possible...but trust me when I tell you this is exactly how I did it...3 simple steps! These steps worked for me, but they may not work for everyone so take what you can from this post and leave the rest. Please don't get me wrong, I didn't say 3 easy steps, as I believe quitting smoking takes work. You should know it can be happy work...even enjoyable work if you're fortunate enough to have educated yourself and you have quit buddies with the same positive attitude that makes quitting...shhhh, don't say this too loudly....exciting and enjoyable. Yes, that's right, I said enjoyable. Sure we all go through tough times, but I have to say I can count the ones I had on one hand. The rest of my quit has been happy, fun work. 'Nough said...here's how I did it: Step 1 Make up my mind. No guff here. If you decide you are going to quit...you probably will. If you don't think you can...you probably won't. I only say probably because making up my mind was just the first step...there are 2 more steps that have led me to success. I made up my mind to do this no matter how difficult it would be. I found a date that was important to me (you might choose a date that's easy for you to quit on, like during a vacation). For me it was Jan 28th of January 2007 and it would have been my Father's 95th birthday. I made a promise to myself that I would not smoke, starting on my Dad's birthday because he would have been proud of me for finally taking the plundge after he'd asked me to quit so many times. I've stuck to my promise and renewed it every day since his 95th. psssttt....even if you're just here reading because you know you have to quit but you don't want to, you should know it can still be done. Some people have quit successfully even if they've screamed blue murder the whole time...it was murder...they were killing their addiction! Do a search here in the Intro section and find Bear's first intro. Start reading about how Bear quit because he's a shining example of someone who didn't really want to but has faced his fears, stepped up to the plate and done it anyways. I think at some point he finally did make up his mind to quit or he'd be just like the rest of us would be, sitting at this computer right now puffin' our life away. I'm sure he will tell us if I'm wrong :-) Step 2 Prepare Heavily, both physically and mentally. LEARN EVERYTHING YOU CAN!!! I can't stress this enough. I prepared for over a month. I wrote an eviction letter to cigarettes (ergo my name, lady-cig-evictor). I wrote a letter to my family asking for help. I made lists, pros/cons...etc, cut back and documented my cravings in my smoker's diary. I learned a lot about my triggers and started changing my routines to eliminate them. I read like a maniac here and read literally hundreds and hundreds of posts. I sat at my computer reading on this site and others until my eyes went buggy. I did many searches that weren't productive, but I didn't give up and finally I found what I needed....knowledge....it gave me the power to overcome my fears and I used this power to set myself free from my crippling addiction. Some of the good people here recommended the book "the easyway to quit smoking".....and when I read it, I finally understood I had a choice. I could choose to be an addict or I could choose to be a non smoker. I also learned that I could choose to be miserable or I could choose to be happy. For me the choices were simple. I stocked up on jokes (you can't crave when you're laughing), straws, candies, vegies, flavoured waters, herbal teas, simple rewards and a perscriptiption to get me through withdrawl. I took advantage of quit buddies and every available tool I could find to help me quit. I belive preparation made my quit unbelievably easy...I expected it to be much harder. Step 3 Quit. Sounds too simplistic to be true, but it was easier for me to quit once I'd begun to quit. I can't describe the peaceful joy I felt as I stubbed out my very last cigarette halfway through it. I made myself a sincere promise...no paper wrapped stick containing nicotine would ever touch my lips ever again. I gathered up all the tools and equipment my junkie used and threw them out. Then I posted my last words to cigarettes (I had nothing to say, I simply smiled serenely and crossed the road to freedom). I have never looked back. I've never had any really overwhelming craves to smoke and the thoughts of smoking are fewer and fewer every day. I had a few smoking dreams and those were enough for me to know how I'd feel if I ever lit up again. I won't...NOPE. Smoking is not an option. This journey of quitting smoking has changed my entire life. I used to think that I had to quit smoking to survive. When I quit, I realized that I'm stronger than any addiction and if I could quit smoking, I could finally start living!!! I've done just that. I have a new positive outlook on life. I left behind all the addictions and people that were holding me back. I've made a new life, and I'm happy to be free. You can enjoy this freedom too. I'd wish you luck with quitting, but it's not luck that makes a quit, it's knowledge, attitude and simple determination. :-) Pat PS I haven't had and don't expect to have time to congratulate each and every one of my "Magic" quit buddies on their first anniversaries, so I'm doing it belatedly and in advance. You know who you are. You know how much you helped me. Thanks bunches and way to go on reaching all our milestones. I'm proud of all us quitters! [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]1/28/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 343 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 13,720 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $4,802.00 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 41 [B]Hrs:[/B] 22 [B]Mins:[/B] 13 [B]Seconds:[/B] 0