Day 23

Still on track. Cravings are down to about a 3. Spoke to my bother before class yesterday. He was very encouraging but really we had great time talking bout memories from our childhood...like block salt lugao

Day 21

Sunday June 24, God still rests on Sunday and Shelley smoked. The routine appears to be working. One day I'll either intentionally  or unintentionally stop my Sunday slips. I'll keep doing this till that happens or this breaks, right now it's working. It's almost midnight...

Off to day 22.

Day 20

I'm making a habit of missing a couple of days before posting. however not much has changed.   It's Saturday 6/23 and I'm still on track. scheduled to slip tomorrow unless i forget  to buy  some which falls in to place with my plan that I would accidentally forget slip day and make that a new habit.

Off to Day 21

Day 18

Missed  a couple of days, three to be exact. But this is becoming routine, so can't say I'm going strong it's just settling down. it's just the way it is now.

Day 15

Doing well, a day after my 2nd slip only proved to strengthen my resolve. I am back to my quit routine. My urge today remains at a 5.
I've generated good momentum and feel like I can keep this going. 
Today is another good test, I start a new class today. School usually sets my urges higher than normal because of the stress of school work combined with the kind of people I have to deal with to complete group assignments.

Off to day 16

Day 14

God still rested on the seventh day and Shelley still slipped.
Urge still low at about a 5 but decided  to continue this routine because routines are easier to change than habits.

Off to day 15

Day 13

Skipped Day 12 but it would read the same as this entry. Urge is  steady at 5 only coming on at times like a heavy meal  and driving for too long. I contemplated skipping out on my 'slip' for Day 13 but I think I'll trust the process, It's worked so far, can't stray from what got me here. Day 14 is slip day and I'm in a groove right now.

Off to day 14

Day 11

Still clean, my urge is down to a 5 today.  the hardest ones to get rid of is the urge to smoke while i drive and after I have a large ass meal.  The other day I had a steak at D.K .  This was a tough challenge, however I made it through without one puff.

Off to Day 12, Friday 6/15

Day 10

3 days after my 'slip', momentuim continues to grow. my urges appaear to be less in severity down to a 7  on urge tracker.  I may not need to 'slip' again. I don't even ned to use the patch or nicotine gum anymore, I use normal gum...which is way cheaper than nicotine gum. 10 bucks for 20  vs $1.87 for 80...this not only getting easier but cheaper as well.

Off to Day 11

Day 9

2 days after my slip  and my resolve continues to grow.
Gum and  patch work well together
Another day down and another to go.

Day 8

A Day after my 'slip', I recommitted  back to the quit and did not have a strong urge today, I rated it as a 6  and went about my day without a smoke.  I had a 'buyer's remorse' kinda feeling after smoking all day on Sunday.  I believe this one slips is all I'm going to allow from this day forward. Although I recommitted to the quit, I felt like stepping backward by smoking all day.
Perhaps that was the one thing that I needed to strengthen my resolve.

Off to Day 9.

Day 7

And on the 7th Day God rested and Shelley slipped.
Smoked my first cigarette in a week, it still tastes good, as time goes by and I lengthen my slips, it will start taste even worse. (This is the plan) I know I'm re-firing  my nicotine receptors but I believe in this process. I've tried to quit in all different ways. I won't know if this work unless I do it. I've always slipped giving into an urge, let's what happens if I intentionally plan it. I'll allow myself all day to indulge

Day 6

Skipped a day again. I spoke too soon when mentioning that I didn't have any morning urges. Day 5 was probably my peak urge since I quit. I hated the world  this day. Drank lots of liquid..no liquor of course but lots of water and juice.
Day 6 greeted me with a morning urge similar to Day 5. I am hating the world again today. Increased my nicotine gum usage to quell this problem.
To assist the urge fight, I'm allowing myself to eat junk like shakes and ice creams. Surprisingly not putting on weight  considering that EVERYTHING tastes better...even water. AND to combat over-indulging in soda, I've stocked up on flavored carbonated water. I'm not soda free, have allowed myself a fountain drink here and there...One thing at a time..smoking first.

Another day gone by, Day 7 is my scheduled slip. We'll see how that cigarette tastes Sunday morning.

Day 4

My urges remain high at about a 10. However, I find it's getting better, I don't crave for a smoke first thing in the morning. My sense of taste is better, I no longer cough nor do I weeze. I find that accepting the pain makes i easier to dismiss my urges. In the past i'd fight it; but more i fight, the more it fights back and i would cave. 1 cigarette  turned into 2  etc... this would escalate, I'd buy the 1 telling myself that I'd give into the craving just once, but I'd find a way to justify the second pack. Hence my planned 'slip'. Instead of giving in, I scheduled it. My goal is that one day I will no longer stick to this scheduled date as i do in other parts of my life.

Day 3

I skipped a day of posting however Day 2 would look similar to this one.
My urges remain high  rated a 10 on the urge tracker  found on the Hawaii Quit  website.
I've smoked everywhere on this island so 'removing yourself from familiar smoking areas' does no good, I just accept that these first few days are painful and will soon come to pass.
I journal about this as a way to stay busy since boredom is one of my smoking triggers.
I never thought anyone would read  this stuff but got some encouraging words from my brother Rolly. I take it he must be bored to be reading this jive.  Read away  brother...

I still plan on having scheduled 'slips'; which I've planned for  Sundays.
My body is greatly resisting this choice since I've been smoking since I was 17. I'm now 37 and think that 2 decades of carcinogens is enough. Our dad died because of smoking. In fact I've outlived him already, he died at 35. This gives me 2 years on him and counting. I remember buying smokes for him since back in the 80's, theer were no laws against minors buying cigarettes, which were Benson & Hedges menthol lights  for $1.35

I don't blame him for my picking up the habit. However seeing how easy and cool he did it. Made my transition to a smoker's lifestyle that much easier.

I hung out with kids that smoked and one day a friend asked me to hold his cigarette while he took a leak. By the time he was done, I smoked his cigarette to its butt, no coughing or gagging, I picked it up pretty easily. This of course led to buying my own pack since I had to payback the one I smoked.

I was pretty sneaky about smoking, many never knew. Not even my brother, whom I told about 2 years ago. Once i told him about that, I opened the flood gates on other parts of my life...of course things he never knew but only made sense once he considered how seldom I was at home.

A lot of things have  happened in 20 years.

Day 1

This is day 1 of my quit...again.
I've tried to quit smoking a million times before. I believe I will succeed this time.
I have supplemented my decision with the patch, nicotine gum and support from the Hawaii Quit Line.
I also am trying something not recommended, I will plan to have intentional 'slip' days.
instead of slipping to have a smoke, I plan to have one or two or three.
I have been know to cancel plans, making 'slip days' a part of my plans, makes it succeptible to cancellation.

Here goes, I have smoked my last cigarette til 'slip day' which I anticipate will be every Sunday until completion of this goal

6/03/12 - Day 1