OH MY .... Thank You Marie. I am in tears. Exactly what I need so I will just let it all go and thank you. Angel, Blessing. Phillip [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 2/17/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 328 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 8,215 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $2624 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 54 [B]Hrs:[/B] 8 [B]Mins:[/B] 45 [B]Seconds:[/B] 25

HEY there, just popping in to put in a couple of links and celebrate a couple of little tiny things. First ... The Swim club gave me an award for most improved swimmer! TAH DAH hooray. I even posted a thread here. [url=http://www.stopsmokingcenter.net/support/viewmessages.aspx?Forum=1&Topic=34700]If I Hadn't Quit ...[/url] Second ... OOOOHHHH I am excited and HAPPY The Stop Smoking Club, I mean Centre inducted me into their Hall of Fame this Month December 2006. WOOHOO! Here is the announcement thread... [url=http://www.stopsmokingcenter.net/support/viewmessages.aspx?Forum=14&Topic=34656]December Hall Of Fame Recipient![/url] Here is the Bio I really don't know who Roger is at the end and I'll take all the credit for him ... LOL ... and know that my quitting and my grasp on life is totally dedicated to my sister. [url=http://www.stopsmokingcenter.net/community/success%5Fstories/success_detail.aspx?id=77]HALL of FAME - Phillip aka RiverdaleMan[/url] So my dear Louise, my protector and my inspiration. I hope you can be proud of me as you look out from Heaven. I surely know that that is where you are, Heaven. I love you always and could not have had a better and more loving sister. So there really is more and more because Celebration, Thanks Giving and Gratitude play such a huge part in all of this for me, so, 14 more days and off to Venice with a few days in Florence and other parts of Tuscanny. MMMM and one little day trip to the Dolomite mountains. Love, love, love the mountains. I am so excited and happy and this really is a fantastic reward and I am humbled by the concept that the ultimate reward in all of this is LIFE and living. So Living I shall do. I am truly thankful every day cause I choose LIFE. Hope you keep choosing LIFE. Ciao Phillip :) [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 2/17/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 289 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 7,240 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $2312 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 47 [B]Hrs:[/B] 4 [B]Mins:[/B] 42 [B]Seconds:[/B] 20

So just a few more hours and then I am on that big blue bird. I will wake up soon in the land of Byzantine churches, renaissance dogal palazzi and pigeon filled squares and caffe con latte. MMMMMM This is so not about being quit. YET it really is about being quit. The glee of this guy getting a life back is pretty awesome and that glee is what I can share here. That I have grabbed my life back is pretty awesome, for me. LOL I really do feel so much more confident of staying quit. At this point is there a turning back, would a I want to go through all of the past 10 months to give up what I so much have right now. NO! I must say that my mind does wander to what having a smoke would be like and then I get a grip and wander back to the land of the living. I don't feel so bad about having those wandering thoughts anymore, it is simply my mind wandering. I know that I can get back on track in a moments notice. A few short weeks ago I know that I judged those smoking thoughts pretty hashly and I know for me that to lighten up is to get back on track. Took some time to figure that out and it took that time. So, off I go. Back soon. Don't know what the connection will be like for the next while, so... I do wish everyone a wonderful Holiday season. I will be back and I will post when I can. I am looking forward to the New Year and beginning fresh from the start all clean and fresh smelling, able to breath and swimming with newfound strength. Ciao Phillip ;) [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 2/17/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 296 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 7,407 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $2368 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 48 [B]Hrs:[/B] 6 [B]Mins:[/B] 58 [B]Seconds:[/B] 42

Thanks imallclear. Yes the miracle is that I am still alive. I am grateful for that everyday. Ciao Island girl I am so sorry to hear of your lose. I hope you are well. Phillip [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 2/17/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 283 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 7,075 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $2264 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 46 [B]Hrs:[/B] 2 [B]Mins:[/B] 52 [B]Seconds:[/B] 22

Celebrating today another week. More days added to the meter. Despite what I felt earlier in the week and I was feeling all alone and tired more than 1/2 of H.A.L.T. I got through. With lots of support from my friends here and most particularly from a couple of friends live and in my face. Yesterday after lunch I had a conversation with a friend I have been close with for 25 years. She has the occasional cigarette and when I asked her about this she first got defensive and then we got into what was for her. I wanted to know how she could do that, have a smoke here and there. In the end she said that occasional smoke drives her crazy. That little smoke creates the whole big mess each time she lights up. In the end I felt sorry for her cause she is not dealing with the addiction and she is really a smoker. She was very surprised that I have been quit for better than nine months. H3ll I am surprised. I never want to go through the first few days or through the hard work that there has been scattered along this road. I found out more of what was going on with me on Thursday. I had a test. I had forgot (mmHmm yeah right) that I had this test and it was rattling around in the lower levels of my brain. The test was a swimming thing and I did really well. Still don't get to move off the D lane and that will happen in a short course of time. The subterrainian worry brought up lots of stuff, particularly about who and what I was. The other thing that was going on was that I was reading as I often read here and there seemed to be a theme of reward, no reward. "I am a useless junkie and I need to atone for the sin and not receive a reward." part of the story I began to tell myself. This story for me came big into my head and it took me some time to shift out and off of it. I everntually got to what exactly works for me and for me to keep doing what works. One big fat totally un believable reward off in the future, I am the donkey, Venice at Christmas is the carrot and I know that that carries me through. Huge how simple that is and not nearly so easy. As Rusty says just never light that next smoke. How simple is that? Well pretty simple and sometimes it is just a white knuckle roller coaster. Oh well today is better and full and ripe with life. So life

Thanks Penguin. I could call my MOM and she just giggles and wonders when is the next meal the next walk, the next... I so love her and I need to go it on my own from now on. I so know about this flu shot thing and I get a bit ucky for a day or so after I get it. I work with the public and I would rather have the shot that get sick from being at work. Thanks so much for responding. I know you care :blush: Phillip [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 2/17/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 285 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 7,142 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $2280 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 46 [B]Hrs:[/B] 13 [B]Mins:[/B] 23 [B]Seconds:[/B] 55

Why is it that when I am sick or beginning to get sick I want to smoke? ????? O great oracle, bring me the answers????? I got a flu shot today and I am having the usual reaction that I have. I feel fluish and have an uspet tummy and am a bit feverish, cold, clammy. I want to smoke. There is something wired in my head that when my body feels bad smoking will have it feel better. Now I know, know, know, that is just plain junkie talk. So I know I won't smoke and this urge, crave thought comes up each time something is physically wrong with my body. I went way back through my diary and each time is something different, a cold, flu, chest infection, bronchitis, each time one of these started I would be on here whining away. This time no different and this time I am beginning to realize that this is a pattern. Because I don't get sick every day and because each time I am sick it is something different. Last week or so and I had an infection that was pretty bad at least bad enough to go to the Dr and get something to clear it up. And I know I was here saying that I wanted to smoke.?????? So picking up on this pattern. What can I do differently. Had a nice bath, worked to sooth myself and worked to find what the source of this was. Off to work. Thanks for listening. Phillip [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 2/17/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 285 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 7,142 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $2280 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 46 [B]Hrs:[/B] 13 [B]Mins:[/B] 21 [B]Seconds:[/B] 0

Two more nights two more whole days and the Big Blue Bird is off. Typical holiday stuff, Rush, rush, rush ... Stress, stress, stress ... Ho, Ho, Ho ... AND No smoking here. Definatley no smoking in the new and fresh places. I will just have to fill myself up with gelato or find something else lovely to smell. I wonder how that will work in Venice? LOL :-p Off we go. Congratulations to all the new arrivals, more and more and more each day. Stick it through, as someone else here has said, the freedom is delicious! Ciao. Phillip [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 2/17/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 297 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 7,442 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $2376 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 48 [B]Hrs:[/B] 12 [B]Mins:[/B] 16 [B]Seconds:[/B] 12

Just popping in to celebrate Christmas a tiny bit early. AND giving myself a big cheer at 309 days quit. The first Christmas for me smoke free in decades. I am so happy with choice that I made and I feel for me such a new lease on life. I must also say thank you to all the great quitters here. If I can do this you can too. Cheers Hope you all have a lovely holiday full of warmth and love and the brightness of life. A fantastic and wonderful 309 days for me. From here in Florence. Merry Christmas all. Phillip

Feeling better off for a swim and Still looking to what this was from today. Thanks for being here. Phillip :blush: [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 2/17/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 279 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 6,996 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $2232 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 45 [B]Hrs:[/B] 14 [B]Mins:[/B] 30 [B]Seconds:[/B] 53