Today is day 12 and surprisingly I am great. I feel great, cravings are minimal and I have learned not to depend on the cigarettes no matter what. To be perfectly honest the first day was a bitch but after that it wasn’t really that big of a deal. I had pretty much made up my mind that this is the way it was going to be and this is what I wanted to do. The first day I was ready to pack it in completely but I stuck to my guns and said that I can do this. The second day was a piece of cake really and I thought, well ok I am still in for a big shock. Not so, I have been fine and surviving now with ease. Sure every now and then I want one but I just think about something else and this has really been a lot easier than I thought. I have tried quitting in the past and always failed because I was never really ready too I was quitting for the wrong reasons, not for me…therefore I failed miserably.
  The first weekend I really felt was going to be a challenge because there are certain times where you just want to smoke. For me it is after waking up, after a meal, driving, with alcohol, and after sex. Those are the most important smoking times for a full fledged smoker. Well that first weekend I decided that I wanted to have a couple of beers. Nothing crazy just 2 or 3, right? I was leery though as not wanting to discourage the progress I had already made. So I thought what the hell, and drank the first beer. Not too shabby, lets have another, and finally a third. After the third I was really to the point where I wanted a smoke but I was ok and it passed rather quickly. I watched a little TV and went to bed.
  Now the first Saturday I knew was going to be tough because I was making the trip with Ms. AZ to see my step-dad down in Tucson who was getting some treatment at the University of Arizona Medical Center. Tucson is about a 2 hour drive from where we live. A normal trip like that I would smoke about every half hour or so while driving. I grabbed a Mt. Dew and some Beef Jerky for the road and we were off. We talked and listen to music all the way down and I really did not have even one real craving for a smoke. Later that evening on the way home from Tucson, and feeling relieved after seeing my step-dad was fine I had a really big craving and just popped a piece of gum to pass the time.
  Being as it rained almost all day on that first Saturday (and it was the first time since October 18th 2005 that Arizona had any rain, that’s right 140 something days with no rain whatsoever) the Northern part of the state received its first snowfall of the entire winter. I was not really thrilled about getting right back in the car and making another long drive after the prior day’s activities but Ms. AZ and I really wanted to take my son up to the mountains to play in the snow. Therefore back in the car yet again. This time was even easier we had plenty of snacks and a whole group of friends and family had decided to join us so we kept busy all day and really had no chance to even think about wanting to smoke.
  As the remaining days passed we tried different things to see how we would handle them. I had a couple of stressful days at work which I though would really cause me to break down but I just kept myself busy and thinking about other things while agitated. We also decided to take a trip to the bar to semi-reward ourselves for a job well done. We got pretty shitfaced to say the least and that would be what I consider our only moment of weakness. While at the bar and being surrounded by smoke I really was a lot calmer than I originally thought I would be. The smoke actually irritated my eyes and for the first time I really noticed how terrible my clothes smelled when I got home. That night while on a decent drunken binge we were bull shitting with my brother’s girlfriend and we had a few drags of her smoke which made me light headed and it tasted pretty shitty at that. Like I said I was pretty ripped at this point so I will admit to having a moment of weakness but you know what….Fuck it. I think I have this beat. I may falter every now and then but who cares.
  I so far have pulled this off and I don’t miss it while enjoying the money I am saving as well. Food is starting to taste better and outside of the fact that I have gained almost 10 lbs as a result of my appetite increasing and metabolism slowing down I know that this is only temporary. I feel better everyday and I am will get back in the gym to start getting back in shape. I really can’t wait for the days where my lung capacity increases and I don’t get so short of breath so quickly. So like I said I think I have this beat….anything is possible but I was really ready this time and I think my smoking days are truly over. Sorry it took so long for the update!!!!!
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