Today marks 1 full week of NO SMOKING!  This little adventure has actually been easier than I thought it would be.  Work has actually helped a great deal.  My team members (most of them) are ex-smokers so they have been very helpful and encouraging to me with the quitting process.  I’ve been using the Nicotine patch and that has significantly lessened the withdraw symptoms and I’m using my health insurance web site that has a smoking cessation program on line with articles and interactive tools to keep myself busy.  I’ve quit before (for about a year) but I don’t think I really had the same motivation to quit as I do now.  The reasons to quit are many but I think for me one of the most important reasons is realizing the amount of money I was sucking away each week.  Figure an average of $5 a pack and generally I was smoking 6 packs a week.  That translates to $30 a week or $1560.00 a year I was spending just to support an unhealthy habit!  There are SO many other things I would rather spend my money on right now!  This week, just to congratulate myself, I went out and spent $30 on a new pair of jeans.  I NEVER buy things for myself because I never had the extra money to do it.  When open enrollment comes around this fall for my retirement 401K program at work, I have decided that I will contribute the $30 I would have spent on smoking to my 401K.  I’ve got some catching up to do with the retirement program…this will help!

I took the dog for a hike up to Pyramid Point yesterday.  It was just beautiful.  The colors are starting to come out and there is a little chill in the air.  That hike is no joke!  Steep grade and not a great trail.  The payoff is great though, you can see for miles up there.  Check out the picture!

Jirar comes home tomorrow for a couple days.  He’s found his groove now as a flight attendant and seems to really like his new job.  I’m glad he’s found something now that he really enjoys.  I hated seeing him just get pissed off dealing with dip-shits at Meijer.  That’s one thing about retail, your job will only ever be as good as the people you have to work with every day.  If they don’t want to be there, it can be awfully hard to find the motivation to succeed yourself.

Anyhow, now I’m off to split wood.  I will be trying to write as much as possible as I continue my efforts to quit smoking.  When I have something to do all the time, the urges are less and I get a LOT more done!