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Quit Day 13:

Spent an hour or more at the motor sports dealer yesterday and more time on the 'net reading what others have to say. What a learning experience! I may have found an atv that would do most of what I want to do. When I arrived back home, I booted up and walked the back property and realized that some ideas I had would not work with any kind of machine. Some compromising would be necessary. Hard to tell with the snow covering. The neighbor has an ATV very similar so I went over and spoke with them, too.

New would cost about $12,000 total for the atv and accessories. Add in the cost of some sort of shelter for it (shed) and a wider, stronger bridge across the creek and now it looks very expensive. It would be MUCH cheaper to just hire the work out. Maybe a used one will pop up? Looked at a couple at the dealer and they appeared very worn and weren't priced that great.

Twostep said:
When we had property I had a small one with a trailer. Less likely to get you into mischief!
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Had a small tractor with trailer back in the day; loved it. From what I am reading, though, on this property, parts of it are very steep, rocky, hilly terrain, it may struggle. It would be a lot cheaper, that's for sure. I have to stay as small as possible to fit between trees, make turns, etc., yet have enough power to push snow around.

I will let this idea sort of simmer for a bit.

Anybody here have experience with this?
 

If it's of any inspiration to you ... on this day (Jan. 29th 2017) 8 years ago at 8:30 AM, I smoked my last cigarette!
I was a pack a day smoker and in those 8 years since I quit I've kept $36,500.00 in my wallet, and that's calcuated at the cost a pack of smokes was back then and I've avoided smoking 73,000 cigarettes so far.

My point here is that if I can do it, there's no reason YOU can't do the same thing. I'd smoked for decades and couldn't imagine ever quitting. Today, I can't imagine why I smoked all those years! Shocking how our perception changes isn't it?

I read the post you made on Day 11. Shows a great understanding of what you're doing and why. Loved your #1 item:
"Number One: Tired of cigarettes controlling my life. Where I go, what I do, planning everything around smoking. This is the absolute number one benefit of quitting for me. Sure the health improvements, money saved are great but Freedom from my addiction to nicotine .... that's the very best!!

You and I might be very different people in many ways @GoodEnuff but we absolutely have one thing in common: with just one puff we would both destroy our precious quits and be right back to where we started with an ashtray in front of us puffing away on a tube filled with tobacco so please keep in mind how far you have come because it would be a travesty to throw that all away for just a perceived moment of pleasure.

It's getting a little easier for you to maintain your quit now that you're two weeks in and it will keep getting easier the longer you stay quit. Be assured you will still have hurdles to get over but they become much less frequent and less daunting as you move forward. Cerlebrate every day you remain quit and reward yourself for those milestones you reach. It's the most important thing you have ever done for yourself!
 
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Quit Day 14:

This morning was the first time to wake up and not immediately think of smoking in a panic mode. What a nice way to start the day! That's the Good News.

The Bad News is I have not only not lost the two pounds I had gained before starting this, but have gained two more! Sh*t! So now I have four pounds to lose. Apparently, I have not been careful enough. I think it is all the sugar in the very increased amount of coffee I have been having. Now, less coffee, less sugar and have switched to Stevia. Not wild about that but it is a temporary sugar solution (I hope).

I am leaning towards getting the ATV sooner rather than later for the strangest reason. Even though I could pay cash for it, I don't want to take that much from savings. IF I put down about 50%, finance it for 12-18 months, the money I was spending on cigarettes will cover the monthly payments. I am very careful with money and I know that if I have that payment to make, I will not spend even more on cigarettes. I wouldn't even notice the difference in the budget.

It's a matter of finding the right incentive, lol. The drawback here is does it make sense to spend $12,000 on something for fun? Not in my book but it will also be a very helpful tool so there is my justification. I will sit on this until tomorrow.

One of the big attractions of the ATV is that it seems like it will be FUN. Having fun is not something I do; everything must have a purpose and a goal and be productive in some way. I have been this way all of my life. Work, work, and more work, or if there is no work to do, then think of what work may need to be done even if it's just improving something that doesn't need fixing.

In the past couple of years, I have seen people going out and having fun and they seem so happy and thought maybe I should do that but I don't know how. Seriously, I don't know how. I do puzzles but that isn't "fun" because the goal is to get it all assembled. Most reading is about learning things; if it's fiction, then it's about mentally analyzing what the author is saying or "who dunnit". I do enjoy a good concert or play but I do not like being in crowds. When I lived in the city, I had season tickets to the symphony; a friend had season tickets to the theater. That was nice but not available here.

Oh well. Onward through the fog.
 
GoodEnuff said:
Quit Day 14:

This morning was the first time to wake up and not immediately think of smoking in a panic mode. What a nice way to start the day! That's the Good News.

The Bad News is I have not only not lost the two pounds I had gained before starting this, but have gained two more! Sh*t! So now I have four pounds to lose. Apparently, I have not been careful enough. I think it is all the sugar in the very increased amount of coffee I have been having. Now, less coffee, less sugar and have switched to Stevia. Not wild about that but it is a temporary sugar solution (I hope).

I am leaning towards getting the ATV sooner rather than later for the strangest reason. Even though I could pay cash for it, I don't want to take that much from savings. IF I put down about 50%, finance it for 12-18 months, the money I was spending on cigarettes will cover the monthly payments. I am very careful with money and I know that if I have that payment to make, I will not spend even more on cigarettes. I wouldn't even notice the difference in the budget.

It's a matter of finding the right incentive, lol. The drawback here is does it make sense to spend $12,000 on something for fun? Not in my book but it will also be a very helpful tool so there is my justification. I will sit on this until tomorrow.

One of the big attractions of the ATV is that it seems like it will be FUN. Having fun is not something I do; everything must have a purpose and a goal and be productive in some way. I have been this way all of my life. Work, work, and more work, or if there is no work to do, then think of what work may need to be done even if it's just improving something that doesn't need fixing.

In the past couple of years, I have seen people going out and having fun and they seem so happy and thought maybe I should do that but I don't know how. Seriously, I don't know how. I do puzzles but that isn't "fun" because the goal is to get it all assembled. Most reading is about learning things; if it's fiction, then it's about mentally analyzing what the author is saying or "who dunnit". I do enjoy a good concert or play but I do not like being in crowds. When I lived in the city, I had season tickets to the symphony; a friend had season tickets to the theater. That was nice but not available here.

Oh well. Onward through the fog.
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Congratulations on reaching Day 14 !!! This is a great success for you and you should be proud. I believe you can make it through this day.

I loved hearing how you felt waking up this morning and thinking over new plans for yourself. You're a smart lady with no shortage of courage.... yay for you!
 
Quit Day 15:

Am really torn about the ATV. What if, what if, what if...the desire to smoke is lurking around. I need to make this decision and hope for the best. I know my husband would have jumped on it, that's for sure. He was definitely a toy guy.

Going to town today for fresh groceries and a few other items.

Not much else to say. All is well.
 
GoodEnuff said:
Quit Day 15:

Am really torn about the ATV. What if, what if, what if...the desire to smoke is lurking around. I need to make this decision and hope for the best. I know my husband would have jumped on it, that's for sure. He was definitely a toy guy.

Going to town today for fresh groceries and a few other items.

Not much else to say. All is well.
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Would you be using it as toy? Are you used to riding it or sill it be trails
 
Quit Day 16:

Twostep said:
Would you be using it as toy? Are you used to riding it or sill it be trails
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Was planning on using it for both work and play, although not the crazy rugged trails. There are a few tricky places here on this property but that can be remedied with chainsaw, pry bar, and some fill.

My major concern is that I have a history of falling in love with something, purchasing it (RV) thinking it was the perfect one, then after a year or two, realizing it wasn't. Then I would trade/sell it for a different one. I have been thinking about this the past couple of days because I don't want to make that mistake again.

Lots of new info and I am sitting on this decision for a while. There is no rush.

Meanwhile, still want a cigarette but am under control, so far.
 
GoodEnuff said:
Quit Day 16:


Was planning on using it for both work and play, although not the crazy rugged trails. There are a few tricky places here on this property but that can be remedied with chainsaw, pry bar, and some fill.

My major concern is that I have a history of falling in love with something, purchasing it (RV) thinking it was the perfect one, then after a year or two, realizing it wasn't. Then I would trade/sell it for a different one. I have been thinking about this the past couple of days because I don't want to make that mistake again.

Lots of new info and I am sitting on this decision for a while. There is no rush.

Meanwhile, still want a cigarette but am under control, so far.
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Take a day trip and visit another dealership.
 
GoodEnuff said:
Quit Day 16:

Meanwhile, still want a cigarette but am under control, so far.
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I salute you! I could never have done what you are doing.
For me, quitting had to be Number One Top Priority --couldn't even have coffee because I associated coffee with cigarettes. The only activities allowed were those in which I never smoked, such as bed, shower, the piano, eating, etc.
 
About 2013 I decided enuf was enuf, my wife and I both smoked like idiots, so I tried some of the methods, patch, gum,
pills, etc.....finally just went cold turkey and that was that...wife
smoked a while longer....can't say there aren't times when I think
of lighting one up tho...
 
Quit Day 17:

Have put the ATV/UTV idea on hold for now.

hawkdon said:
About 2013 I decided enuf was enuf, my wife and I both smoked like idiots, so I tried some of the methods, patch, gum,
pills, etc.....finally just went cold turkey and that was that...wife
smoked a while longer....can't say there aren't times when I think
of lighting one up tho...
Click to expand...
I am using the 21mg patch, will switch to the lower dose in about a week. Chewing a lot of regular gum, have my "toy" cigarette (silicone straw) to chew on, and a lot of coffee (most of which is decaf). Have started cutting back on the coffee, switching to herbal teas now, which is actually a nice change. Slowly weaning off these crutches, too. No big rush on those because if they help keep me from smoking cigs, it's still a better choice.

As always, weight gain is the #1 issue with this. I am almost obsessive about it. 17 years ago, I weighed 198#. Got down to 117# over two years and have kept it there until about a month ago. Gained back 7 pounds in the last month and am now in the process of getting it back off. If I have to choose between smoking and obesity, I choose smoking. But not today.

Am gonna put on some music and go do yesterday's dishes and other morning chores.

Best wishes to all!
 
GoodEnuff said:
Quit Day 17:

Have put the ATV/UTV idea on hold for now.


I am using the 21mg patch, will switch to the lower dose in about a week. Chewing a lot of regular gum, have my "toy" cigarette (silicone straw) to chew on, and a lot of coffee (most of which is decaf). Have started cutting back on the coffee, switching to herbal teas now, which is actually a nice change. Slowly weaning off these crutches, too. No big rush on those because if they help keep me from smoking cigs, it's still a better choice.

As always, weight gain is the #1 issue with this. I am almost obsessive about it. 17 years ago, I weighed 198#. Got down to 117# over two years and have kept it there until about a month ago. Gained back 7 pounds in the last month and am now in the process of getting it back off. If I have to choose between smoking and obesity, I choose smoking. But not today.

Am gonna put on some music and go do yesterday's dishes and other morning chores.

Best wishes to all!
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Yes, you sound obsessive about your weight. Make a meal plan for the week and have portion size snacks ready.
 
Quit Day 18:

Doing okay with the not smoking. Now I am battling the munchies, a lifelong war. Some days I win a battle, some days the food wins. As long as I can maintain this line, it is okay. But it is fighting the war on two fronts, not easy.

Tomorrow is the follow-up vascular dr appointment to get the results of the tests done last week. This is the guy who was very insulting about smoking cessation. He told me that vascular disease is caused by three things: "Smoking, smoking and smoking." Tomorrow, I am going to ask him that if that is true, then why have I been taking statins and aspirin for the last 29 years? Let's see what he has to say about that.

I need to get more exercise. I will go online today and see what places in the city have treadmills so when I am there tomorrow, I can take a serious look.

Most of the snow is melting around here; now I get to mop more often as the dogs are tracking in mud. This is usually just a spring melt thing. Weather forecast says 60F one day this week! This is February, usually the coldest month of the year. Very strange. At least I will be able to walk the dogs more often so silver lining. Yay!

So far, so good!
 
Twostep said:
Again, have bubbles ready to eat. Treat yourself and that does not have to be food. Foremost - keep busy.
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Bubbles?? And what kind of treats that are not food?? Absolutely YES to the "keep busy".

My relationship with food is very much like the addiction to cigarettes. I have learned over the years to deal with it most of the time. But I know that if I slip up just once, it'll be a battle thereafter. Can I have just one puff of a cigarette? NO! Can I have just one slice of pizza or one cookie? NO! Even fruit can trigger a binge.
 

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