Thank you DD, Lady, Brenna, & Rusty! I've enjoyed reading your posts. The traditional methods may not work here... my machine is fast, bumpy, and boring as heck. Impossible to read... easy for the mind to wander bad thoughts about smoking, unlike the wood shop when post's are there DD. As for the non-smoker vrs ex-smoker trying to quit, I know that it's a change in thinking Lady. And I know I will cross that line someday when my mind lets me. I'm preplanning Brenna... it's the only I have a chance to suceed! I'll try singing Rusty... worst that can happen is I'll scare away anything within a 1/4 mile area. Take Care, Ron [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 3/12/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 36 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,275 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $243 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 5 [B]Hrs:[/B] 15 [B]Mins:[/B] 28 [B]Seconds:[/B] 45

Thanks Josie, KahneKrazy, Pam, & Shevie, Headphones won't work as I need to be able to hear Firemans Pager and Cell phone as I'm a computer support/repair person. I like your idea of the "Mind Puzzles" though Pam... Hmmmmmm.... It starts this week for me... maybe tomorrow... we'll see. Thanks for the advice and cheers! Ron [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 3/12/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 36 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,282 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $243 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 5 [B]Hrs:[/B] 16 [B]Mins:[/B] 9 [B]Seconds:[/B] 19

Hi All, After being this long into my quit, I know that it's the "Triggers" that bring on the cravings. For me to deal with the big cravings, I either come here and read posts, (I have some printed out as well), Hang out on the IM till I find someone there... (as I have said B4 I wish more people used this resource as it can be a really big help, even though it isn't the best compared to other sites out there), or hope I have family or friends around to help me through. I've figured out how to handle triggers associated with driving, after eating, working the garden, working in the wood shop, during/after fire calls, and a host of others. I've got a new one... my toughest one that I'll face. My summer work is Lawn Care. That means 8 to 10 hours per day sitting on a lawn mower. Sometimes it's 4 to 6 hours straight w/o a break. I've always had the Camels to keep me going... I haven't figured out a way to outsmart the triggers yet. Any advice? I can't read on it, can't wear headphones either so my other "Coping Skills" will not work. Ya, I can chew gum... suck on a lollypop... I don't know if thats gonna do it. I very much want to keep this quit, I don't want to go through this "Hell" all over again. I'll listen to and try any advice given to me. I know that there is someone out there that has a good idea!!! [color=Red]N.O.P.E.[/color] Thank you, Ron [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 3/12/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 36 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,275 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $243 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 5 [B]Hrs:[/B] 15 [B]Mins:[/B] 21 [B]Seconds:[/B] 7

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and encouragement!! I know it breaks down to the mindset... thats why I came here for advice. With you people behind me... I won't mess up this quit. N.O.P.E. Ron [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 3/12/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 37 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,307 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $249.75 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 5 [B]Hrs:[/B] 18 [B]Mins:[/B] 51 [B]Seconds:[/B] 57

Hey DD & bluepanda, Look at your stats!!! You two rock! Thank you for your posts! I'll try the pattern thing bluepanda, commerical mowing is a bit different than home. But it's another good idea!!! Thanks! DD... I'm doing good. I don't know if I'm a good "role model" for you. But Thank You. And please take my hand and walk this journey with me. It's something we don't want to do alone. Together we are strong. Ron [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 3/12/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 37 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,310 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $249.75 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 5 [B]Hrs:[/B] 19 [B]Mins:[/B] 9 [B]Seconds:[/B] 16

Sing, Ron, Sing!! Whether U can carry a tune or not..........the mower will surely drownd out your voice. Sing Out Load! Picture thiS.............Ron, boppin' along singing..........100 bottles of beer on the wall.......etc. Singing always helps lift my spirits.......make a beautiful noise...........the hills are alive with music...........and not smoke. Cheers, Pat [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/2/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 107 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,614 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $428 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 14 [B]Hrs:[/B] 1 [B]Mins:[/B] 41 [B]Seconds:[/B] 53

Ron, I was just working on a new post talking about believing in yourself and I kept coming up blank. You are one of the quitters that influenced me to try to write something and then I see your post here. I guess I will just address it right here on your thread since I was mainly trying to write it for you anyway. You are 36 days into your quit. That is a period when I personally was very depressed. Others around me were doing great in their quits and I wasn�t. I was lonely, angry, depressed, tired of fighting, and my cravings always lasted for more than five minutes at a time. I wanted to feel normal again and I wanted to feel better. I know you hear over and over again that attitude is the key to success. It is true. I believed that, my problem was I didn�t know how to get the right attitude. Here is what I learned: Stop looking for the cravings. Stop anticipating them. Stop expecting them every time you do something you haven�t done before. Believe in yourself, Ron. You are quit. You said on another thread that you don�t feel like an ex-smoker or non-smoker. Why not? You haven�t smoked in 36 days. You ARE a non-smoker. You have made it through the toughest part of the quit and you still haven�t smoked. A crave only has as much power as you give it. When you feel a crave coming on, dismiss it immediately. Don�t even entertain the thought. Laugh it off. Sounds crazy I know but it works. This takes practice. When you are on that lawn mower and start to think of smoking, think of how nice it is that you don�t have to anymore. Think of how you can breathe now and how your life is changing. Reflect on the last month or so and how far you have come. That should put a smile on your face because you have accomplished so much in such a short amount of time. You are still very early in your quit and the changes are really going to start happening. You are about to find out things about yourself that you never knew before. It is an exciting time in your quit and life. Put the smoking behind you Ron. You don�t smoke anymore. I reached out for help like you are doing and that wasn�t easy for me. By reaching out, I learned a lot about my quit and a lot about myself. Keep searching Ron. You will find what works for

Ron, Why can't you put the phone and pager on vibrate? That way, you can listen to headphones and can drown out the noise of the mower and STILL be able to get your calls when they come in? For me, whenever I have to make a LONG drive, I love it... as long as I have music to listen to. It's nice to be able to be by yourself and not have to worry about anything except what's on the road... or in your case, the lawn! ;p I say go for the headset and "feel" your calls when they come in. Crave the Quit! Pam Crave the Quit! Pam [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 10/28/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 171 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 4,293 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $706.23 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 12 [B]Hrs:[/B] 11 [B]Mins:[/B] 5 [B]Seconds:[/B] 45

Ron, Why can't you listen to headphones? I mean, I know that the mower is probably very loud, but can't you use headphones to drown out some of that noise? Next, my idea is to go online and find some really hard mental puzzles... they sometimes have them in reader's digest and you can always find some in newspapers or online. Find some really hard ones to try to figure out while you are mowing. Some of them can take hours of thinking them through to figure out the answer... others may only take a few minutes. But that's something that doesn't require pencil and paper that you can think about all day long. I remember when I was in 6th grade, I bought a book called "two minute mysteries" (that took a HELL of a lot longer than 2 minutes to figure out!!!!!) but those are meant for 5-6 graders, so those might not work... but I bet there are books of harder ones for adults too. Something like that can occupy your mind all day long if you let it! Crave the Quit! Pam [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 10/28/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 171 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 4,288 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $706.23 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 12 [B]Hrs:[/B] 10 [B]Mins:[/B] 45 [B]Seconds:[/B] 6

Ron, Personally, I choose Cinnamon Sticks. You can buy a bottle of them in the dollar store. If you get them at the grocery the price is outrageous. They don't have any calories, they have a bit of a bite to the tongue so they don't seem like air. You can puff on them when you need air. You can chew on them when you are hungry and there is just enough sweetness to satisfy a sugar crave. Plus they are not illegal, frowned on, or ugly looking. If you get tired of them you can just throw them away, they are biodegradable and no one cares if you throw them in the grass. Cheryl [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 7/4/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 288 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 6,934 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $820.8 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 37 [B]Hrs:[/B] 18 [B]Mins:[/B] 50 [B]Seconds:[/B] 14