Stay strong! The first year off the nasssty ciggies was the worst, but it does get easier. On the other hand, the craving never really goes away.

Keep at it. You'll be better off all around.

CAUTIONARY TALE: You don't want to turn into my mother-in-law - no one knows exactly how much she smokes. She usually lights up as she's stubbing another and has packs in every room at all times. I'd say AT LEAST 3 packs-a-day. Everything she touches stinks - she sends cash to the boys and the cash reeks. We have to change the money or wash it because if we put it in their banks or in my purse, etc. then everything stinks. Any gifts we get have to be aired out and/or washed. We have to wash any clothing we bring to her house afterward, even if they were never worn because they smell so bad. She won't go ANYWHERE where smoking is prohibited for more than an hour (she can barely make it through Mass once a week), if at all and then she bitches the entire time about her "rights". She won't fly anymore because of that. She doesn't like to travel long distances by car, so my boys rarely get to see her. She chooses smoking and her own comfort over a realtionship with my kids. She also isn't thrilled that we won't let her smoke in our house, so they stay in a hotel and she spends most of her time out on the patio - no matter what the weather. She smokes with the windows up in the car when we are in the back seat. One of my boys told her to her face the last time we visited that smoking was bad and yucky and she should stop because it was unhealthy. That went over like a "you know what" in a punch bowl. She changes the wallpaper in her entire house every three years "because they make it so cheaply these days that it turns yellow". You can't convince her that it is the nicotine that does that. The sad thing is she's the cleanest person I've ever met. She vacuums EVERYDAY, she polishes the faucets several times a day, etc. She burns candles all the time and insistes that she's not a "dirty smoker whose house stinks" as she is flicking ashes into her palm. (yuck) She's a very bitter woman that looks 15 years older than her true age and made of yellow leather with a voice like a man. Lovely. She's a nice woman otherwise, but no one wants to be around her because of this unpleasantness.

Be strong!

That thing about the stinking money made me chuckle. :-)

Momotrips, have you been tempted to tell her "Presents? We don't need no stinkin' presents!"?

That would be funny. But its still sad and disgusting.

Johnny, that's hysterical! We have to be somewhat accomodating about it because, well someday she will die and leave us lots of money and WalMart stock.

I'll take her stinkin' money because they have more than God, but, I guess it really is "dirty" money and needs to be "laundered". Yeah, I know, boo, hiss.