Fat Tuesday

So... I haven't talked about this much because I'm sort of "in the closet" with some of my Internet friends. Which is funny you know, because I'm coming out of the closet about being a smoker so I can tell you I'm quitting. Tomorrow is my official quit date. Not that it's a joke, but what better day to quit smoking than April Fool's Day? Casting off a particularly harsh foolishness and hopefully embracing some of the fun silly kind. I've quit a few times in my past, for over a year at a time, so I know I can do this...but any support and hugs and love you can offer would be appreciated. In the mean time, I'm being extra nice to myself today. I'm enjoying a big fluffy coffee drink and getting my hair done later. I don't think I'll be flashing anyone, but this is really my version of Fat Tuesday. Bidding a bit of gluttony adieu. (I'll probably continue to take care of my hair in the future though...just so you know).

I've been prepping for my quit date for a few weeks now. I've cut down quite a lot and I signed up for the Iowa Quitline program. The counselor there is nice, but really doesn't care too much about knowing the people he talks to, as evidenced by the fact that for two weeks now he's asked me the same questions over and over. And doesn't seem to remember me much at all. But he did give me a bit of good advice that I never would have thought of doing in preparation for quitting. Yes I knew to cleanse my smoking spaces and throw out all my "stuff." I realized that I needed to change my patterns (for me it meant giving up smoking in the car before quitting...since that is pretty much the only place I've been allowed to smoke anyway). But he told me, "Now if you have to take your cigarettes with you, you should probably put them in the trunk of your car, so you can't just grab them." This to me was brilliant. I left them there full time, so that no matter when I decided I wanted a cigarette, it had to be a big process. It really did help me change my patterns.

Happy Tuesday, my friends.