Progress (ie. a pat on the back)

In my on going quest for a better life, I've reached a hell of a milestone.

One year ago today, I quit smoking.

::happy dance::

It wasn't always easy and I still get the occassional urge to smoke. There are still days when I'm driving and I catch myself with one hand rooting around in my purse, unconciously searching for a pack of cigarettes. And I've developed one hell of a Tic Tac addiction in the meantime.

To answer the two most common questions I get:
1) No, I did not use any products. I quit cold turkey.
It was just my time. I had been thinking about it for a few days due to the fact that a mere 5 days earlier, I had been diagnosed with skin cancer. Ironically, I then came down with a severe case of bronchitis and the beginnings of pneumonia. I knew, that if I wanted to be healthier to help me fight when/if the time came, I had to quit smoking. So I did.

2) Yes, I put on a lot of weight.
In the first 11 months, I put on 30 lbs. Honestly, I hadn't worried about gaining weight throughout the process because I knew I had to quit smoking. That was the most important thing and I didn't want to get bogged down by something else. But I figured I had the no smoking thing down pretty good after 11 months so when I hit the scale and saw I hit the 30 lb mark I said, basically, 'fuck this shit'. And making two little changes in my life seems to be working: I walk 2 miles on the treadmill every morning and I switched to lite beer. This last month, I've dropped 7 lbs leaving me only 23 more to go before bathing suit season. Woohoo!