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Today is the start of the long journey home. It has been great but I am ready for reality. I have seen some great sights, met some lovely people and done enough shopping for the next three years. The smokefree thing has not been too hard thanks to the lozenges. I will have to look at my weight when I get home because America seems to be built around eating places.

See you soon in a couple of days.

PS: I think I may have provided my Canada son with motivation to quit. If I can do it after 48 years he should be able to quit after 15. He has strong financial reasons for being smokefree.

I'm quite excited, 2 weeks smoke free! It feels amazing, those gym workouts are helluva lot easier than when I smoked, I can walk up and down the stairs at uni without getting too puffed (still have around 15kilos of spare flesh on me, but that comes off when you have lungs that work!) Oh and I smell goooooood. My colleagues have noticed I'm not as fidgety as when I was a smoker, I'm more calm and collected.

A couple of weird things that have happened to me. One is annoying... I can't sleep a full night's sleep! I'm not on patches, and use gum only when I really need to, so is this just my body being all happy it's not getting filled with poison, and being all happy? (if so I wish it would stop... I need some sleep!) Is anyone else finding this?

Also, I haven't had a coffee in nearly a week - I have found that since stopping smoking, no matter how I try to make my coffee, I can't make it right (I'm a blonde with two legs/milk and two sugars kinda person) and I haven't had any since last week. This isn't so bad, I'm not missing coffee at all really, and have found that a combo of no coffee and stopping smoking has helped clear up my skin (not before a breakout of pimples... grrrr). I now seem to drink a lot of tea, but I specifically like rooibos tea at the moment, and chai lattes from the cafes.

I have found that when I talk to people, I say I have stopped smoking, not that I gave up smoking. It's a bit of a mind shift; if you've given up smoking, it's like you had to, or you don't really want to stop smoking. However, if you say "I stopped smoking" it's more affirmative, and that you are in control of your journey to being smoke free. It may work for you, it may not - but it's given me more power to keep going!

Well, it's late, I get up early tomorrow, so I have to empty out my tea cups from the office and get into bed. Sweet dreams all!

I had a ‘moment’ last week, decided I was well and truly sick of being a pessimistic cry baby and that things were going to change. You know that song where they sing “always look on the bright side of life” and then do that chipper whistle? I need to find the lyrics and replace This Old Man with that song.

Something I read in a blog a while ago stuck with me… “once you stop hiding behind the smokes you are faced with living”. I guess that’s where I am now. There are days where I think I can’t do it and I want to go back to hiding.

But then I think of all those mounting smokefree days, of my awesome blogging friends, those people who stuck by me and believed in me right from my first failed attempt.

And my new book of life, the chance to be who I want to be, has become a huge motivator… I can do anything because I’m beating the demon! My wee flame is burning stronger and some days I even think I feel an inkling of that peace I so desire.

So yeah, bring on all the ones I say!

To say i never thought id see this day is not entirely true. .. when i began my quit journey i was out to give it my all! i went thru a personal tragedy- well actually a couple and i swear to you that i could have picked up a cigarette at that precise moment and just like that all my hard work would have been in vain. Why didn't i you wonder? oh god i was so tempted. but honestly smoking doesn't make problems go away. To celebrate one year (and lets not forget my one day!) i went for a 9 k walk and a 20k bike ride! TO EVERYONE ON THEIR QUIT JOURNEY... I wish you lots of luck - you owe it to yourself to be smoke free :)

The best thing about living in the wopwops (country) is the nearest supplier of cigarettes is a good 40 minute drive from here! Didn't even think about the sticks until I got home from work, so straight to the fridge for me! I knew it would happen (like the many other times ha ha) so last night I got bz cutting up lots of carrots, celery and fresh fruit to munch on when I usually have that smoke.
6 days until the NRT arrives by horse and cart, hopefully! Until then my house may be the cleanest in the country, in and out!
Love this site. It's awesome reading everyone else celebrating milestones achieved! Good on you all. I look forward to the inspiring stories to keep me going in the days ahead.

...760 cigarettes not smoked and $649.80 saved.

Been so busy, haven't noticed that 38 days smoke-free has gone past.

Still the best desicion I have made.

Hope all is well with everyone.

I am so pleased & happy for my eldest daughter. She had her 3rd boy at 18:23 tonight. Haven't got all the details yet. This makes our 9th grandchild. Ok this has absolutely nothing to do with smoking. So lets just have a nice event blogged instead for a change eh :) Mind you he doesn't smoke hehehehehehehehehe

Well I have reached 42 days smoke free.

Very proud of myself, would love one sometimes but not giving in.

Family very proud of me.

Really helps reading the blogs and knowing I'm not doing it alone.

Thanks and keep strong xxxxxxx

I hear the price of smokes are going up in the budget this week or is it next can hardly wait these things give me so much fun as suckers moan and bleat about the price lol my boss tells me they are to be hidden from sight in july good i can hardly wait for that as well the majority of customers in the dairy i work in are there for smokes or a paper and with being a non smoker that evil little side of me gets great enjoyment listening to the reactions roll on budget make my day !!!!

four weeks.... yehaaaa

Hey all
Just was making the lunchs and forgot to get bread, What to do.
Aah got the breadmaker out not for bread for dough yes dough!
Made the dough, rolled it out put grated cheese, basil, garlic & corrainder and rolled up.
Baked, aah yummy lunch.
Smells so good I think I might need to taste test!

Every day I reach now is a personable best! I have felt pretty good during this past week, every now and again i would think "hmmm one puff wouldn't hurt" but i now know it will, so i quickly tell myself that this is not ok and that why would you put yourself through this all over again??? The secrets, lies, covering up and the money to mention a few.. its just not worth it for that ONE puff.

I have been taking the patches off every night and i forgot to put one on this morning and i have been fine all day, barely any cravings. Although I have had a constant headache today which I just cant shake and my word I have been super tired over these past few days! Anybody else had the same???

Hi I'm on day one and really new to this blogging, I'm and patches and have had about 6 gums and feel very sick to the point I want to spew :(
Did anyone else feel like this ?

Feeling really lonely today, like I did when I first stopped. Just want to cry.... I want a cigarette, but I know I'll regret it. So I won't have one. I don't even know what to say or even how I'm feeling. I'm struggling, like I knew I would. I'll get back up. But right now, just, here. Still here. Nothings changing.

Hi this is my second day of quitting I found it pretty hard yesturdayI slipped up and had one ciggy Today I've had no ciggies but plenty of bad cravings I've been using the text support plenty of times today and was advised to try blogging as well so here I am.I'm using lozenges and gum which is helping a little but still feel STRESSED can anyone help

Ok I have been smoke free just about 9 weeks and during that time I had a few days off the patches as was away etc and coped really well. I have been on the high dosage the entire time as I was told by Quitline this was the best for the first 2 months.

I finished the patches on Saturday all was good, then hit TODAY, work was stressful, I am hanging out for a smoke, grumpy....to be honest I feel like the first week I stopped smoking.

I came across this when browsing around different quote sites and thought, wow how true..

A cigarette is the only consumer product, which, when used as directed, kills its consumer.

This stopping smoking is a huge one for me. I am in a wheelchair from unrelated issues for the past 5 years. Smoking has become a greater crutch than the the old wooden ones I have.
It is rediculous that I am eating very healthily and taking care of everything else, and yet still have been smoking. It is almost as if it was my last defience, something I did because I wanted too, but health is beating me, so today is my first day without a smoke for almost 40 years.
In fact my first smoke was from a docter on the coffee break as a teenager, training as a nurse. Bugger given my age away!
I have done well today, and I love my partner to pieces and he me, but once he came in the door, I really, but really wanted a smoke, and that is not because he lit up. Is that habit, whatever, anyone else have the same stuff?
Anyway I sort of felt I needed to make my commitment public, and therefor e, also my potential failure, which might mean I don't
I so need to succeed at this. Thanks for listening.

well im actually at day 3 and the way im feeling isint that great anymore today, i so much want to just go buy some but then i think well ive made it this far so i can do it so many things going thru my head just feel like screamimg at someone.
Its like im fighting a battle with myself i want to dont want to im going crazy, ive been doing so well how can it feel so bad so fast , sorry for rambling but gotta keep busy. all of a sudden im not feeling so positive, but im going to try so hard to carry on

although its only day four its been a battle..eight years of smoking and getting in that routine of wake,smoke,eat,smoke etc is really hard to break.having emotional breakdowns makes it hard to see through the fog but gum,patches,lollies and amazing support from flatties,bf and colleagues have shown me their faith in me.hearing "im so proud of you for doing this" is making me power on.ive had headaches,nausea,shakes etc but then im able to run around with my kids at work and breathe!i know its going to be hard but i know going turkey is going to be a fight im going to win!