No More Bayer the Smokey :)

(note: for those who don't know, Bayer was my maiden name)

I don't know what led me to it, but I just knew it was time. I had visited my doctor for something else and, when I said I was still smoking, he suggested Chantix. I told him it was too new but I'd think about it. After a month, I went back again. It was suggested again by the other doctor in the office. Again, I said it was too new but I'd think about it. She turned around and said to me "Jenn, the side effects are no worse than the side effects of smoking." I had never thought of it that way! Here I was, concerned that a new drug was going to do some type of harm, or worse, kill me when I had been slowly harming (and probably killing) myself for about 16 years! I was scared to death but at my next visit I told my doctor I was ready.

Chantix is a freakin' miracle drug! Well, it was for me anyway. I started taking the medicine and set my quit date -- you're allowed to smoke the first week you're taking the meds. By my quit date (07/07/07 -- yes, I picked that date on purpose) I had already significantly cut down on how much I was smoking. I had my last cigarette around 11:55 PM on July 6th so that the 7th would be my first full smoke free day. I'm not going to lie - it was tough at times. It took all my strength not to give in but I was so determined to do it this time. Jolly Ranchers became my best friends - they really helped me get through some bad cravings. Now, technically, you're supposed to take the meds for 3 to 6 months. After about 1 month, I realized that I kept forgetting to take the pills so I finally decided that if I forget to take them and am ok, I'm just going to stop taking them. So today, I have been smoke free for a little over 8 months!

It's still difficult sometimes. I'll be in the middle of something and all of a sudden I'll think "boy, a cigarette sounds really good right now". You have to keep on your toes and remind yourself that you quit, your reasons for quitting and, in my case, that it just tasted really nasty.

That's all for now! Next post will be about going vegetarian. :)

Whoa there! Who ARE you?

I saw a friend last week-end that I hadn't seen in probably a year and, when I was telling her all the stuff I've done (or stopped doing), she folded her arms and blinked her eyes (a la 'I Dream of Jeanie') as if to say "What happened to you?". So, for those who I don't know or maybe haven't talked to in a long time, I've made a few BIG life changes over last 7 months or so.

For the quick and dirty and for those who don't care about the details, here's a list of the changes so far:

• Quit smoking 07/07/07
• Became a vegetarian 10/15/07
• Becoming more "green"

I'll do separate posts with the stories around each for those who are interested in the details.

Adoption Day!!!

Yay! I finally did it! I adopted Kesi! She is an almost 4 year old orangutan that is being taken care of by the great people at BOS International!

Do you want to help them? An easy way to help if you're short on funds is to avoid purchasing items that contain palm oil. It is believed that Kesi lost her left hand when a palm oil plantation worker killed her mother. Read the labels on almost EVERYTHING you buy - palm oil isn't only in food!

To find out more, go to the Orangutan Outreach website: http://redapes.org

Welcome!

This is my first blog and will be exactly what the title implies...random thoughts and questions I may have at any given point in time.

People say I have a vivid imagination and a very strange thought process and I look forward to sharing it with you! Please leave comments and questions of your own, otherwise, I'll be blogging to myself. Which I guess isn't too different from talking to yourself, which I do all the time!