support needed

Well, 2004 was a craptastic year for me, and it ended with my husband
and me having bouts of the flu and bronchitis. One good thing did come
of it, though: I quit smoking on Christmas Day.
Since I'm on a shame spiral as of late (horrible haircut, holiday
weight gain despite being sick, darn it, blah blah blah blah blah...)
and since I still feel like crap physically, I'm hoping my alt.fashion
acquaintances can lift my spirits by pointing out all the
alt.fashion–related positives to quitting smoking, like having more
money to spend at Sephora (that one occurred to me even before I quit
smoking)!
I don't need any congrats or encouragement to stay quit, just a lift in
spirits, please.
Thanks in advance,
–Marcia

Marcia ––
congrats! But screw Sephora; that's the small stuff. I don't know how
much you were smoking, but if it was a pack a day, you'll be saving
about $2000 a YEAR. That's a nice vacation. Or a piece of furniture.
Or one heck of a designer dress. Hey, if you're looking for a new
home, that kind of money (not quite $200 a month) on a mortgage could
bump you up to a nicer place!
Barbara (who has unsuccessfully tried these arguments on Mom)

"Ethylene" <ethyle...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1104784191.613239.73...@c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
Well, Marcia, I don't think you're asking for too much. So here goes.
My major contribution is the money. You KNOW how much those packs and
cartons cost. I have several people in my family who smoke and I hear them
lament all of the time about cost.
You will smell wonderful and win friends! O.K. maybe just smell wonderful!
But that is a serious improvement. Give yourself 6 months or so without
smoking and you'll start noticing the smell on other people.
If you really want to reward yourself for not smoking, then put away the
money every day or week that you're not spending on smoking and spend it on
a big present for yourself (maybe at the end of the year) as a reward for
breaking a bad habit and improving your health immensely! The money will
not seem like much in the beginning but it won't take long for you to become
excited at how much your saving in your fund and you'll have added incentive
to not begin again.
HTH,
Jamie
P.S. I'm with you on the horrible haircut thing. But I have to say that I
have (and have had a charmed life otherwise). I'm not rubbing it in, just
being thankful. I wish good luck to come to you this year!

––On Monday, January 03, 2005 12:56 PM –0800 Barbara
<mom_2_...@hotmail.com> wrote:
Those were good ones! Let me add –
– being able to smell – everything! – perfume – food – wine
– no yellow teeth to bleach
– not smelling like a ashtray
– fewer wrinkles to botox later down the road!
– smaller, cuter purse because you don't have to carry cigs!
Christine

<<being able to smell – everything! – perfume – food – wine>>
I wish that when you stopped smoking you couldn't smell anything and
food tasted worse!
This contribution is not really fashion related, but cutting my
cigarettes to 3 to 5 a day from a pack, means that I don't have to leave
a restaurant, play, movie, or social event because I want to smoke.
But this is: I don't set fire to myself any more. [Not a joke] I
never dropped a burning ash on an item of clothing I hated. I ruined one
expensive sweater, part of a 3 piece outfit, the first day I wore it.
Once I set my hair on fire, but it was really only a few strands of a
bang.
And finally...you can't believe how confident you'll feel and how proud
of yourself you'll be when you quit.
It really works on more than one level.
Lily

"Ethylene" <ethyle...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1104784191.613239.73...@c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
The most important thing IMO is you are giving yourself a chance to live
a longer life. Your skin and health will improve, your ability to
breathe will be better and you can look forward to a wonderful smoke
free life. You can't put a price on your health.
Audrey

Congrats on joining the smoke–free crowd. Forget the money saved...
you're adding years to your life.
val

"Ethylene" <ethyle...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1104784191.613239.73...@c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
Marcia you will look and feel soooo much better down the road since you are
quitting smoking. It wrecks your lungs and your circulation (which is why
the skin of smokers looks so horrible later in life and they have so many
more medical problems including back pain) so try as you might to fight
aging, smoking is totally counterproductive. Your skin will look a lot
better and you'll feel better in your clothes and makeup!
And, besides, you woudln't really choose an oxygen tank as an accessory if
you had the choice.
I would suggest what my mother did: Take the money you would otherwise spend
on cigarettes and put it aside in a drawer. Do this each week on a specific
day. But wait for a long time before you do anything with the money. A year,
maybe 8 mos. if you can't wait a year to spend it.
Claire

On 3 Jan 2005 12:29:51 –0800, Ethylene wrote:
Being thoroughly practical–minded, two things about not smoking:
#1 – You can save the money for your retirement
#2 – You'll feel like doing something with it when you retire!

what they all said plus knowing that you are doing great things for others
too.
1) you set an example for others that you can stop smoking.
2) you aren't the cause of any more second hand smoke
3) your doc and family will be thrilled that you will be around longer
which means you can enjoy all the things that you always wanted to do
4) your insurance (health/life/car) premiums should go down over time too!
5) plus you will just feel better.
Congrats on such a major accomplishment!
Stevie

"Ethylene" <ethyle...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1104784191.613239.73...@c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
Keep up the good work. It's so hard to quit, but it's incredibly rewarding,
too. (Been there, done that. And my daughter, who turned 21 recently, quit
smoking a few days ago!)
I'm trying to convince my daughter and her quitting buddies to get their
teeth cleaned. It's a great feeling. Also, why not start hunting for a new
perfume? Everything will smell better; it will be an adventure to sniff out
a new favorite scent.
Choose to "not smoke" one cigarette at a time. It's a lot easier than
saying "I'll never have another one."
Congratulations on your brilliant decision!
cofarb

Thanks to each and every one of you for replying! Every one of your
points were well–taken. I am finally beginning to feel well and look
better (from recovering from bronchitis, not from quitting smoking... I
do realize beauty gains from the latter are cumulative!) and I'm
feeling more like myself. I like the idea about putting the money
aside –– there are many, many things I could do with that $4.50+ a day.
I do want to get my teeth whitened asap, so I'll probably do that soon.
Thanks again for your help. Can't wait to go out with my cute little
cigarette–free purse and new perfume (and of course in the long term,
for the higher probability of good health)!
–Marcia