Addiction x 2

When I first considered starting a weight loss blog in June of '09, I also thought about my smoking habit.  Which one did I want to tackle first?  I knew I wasn't going to try to beat both addictions at once....so I chose the weight.  In my mind, I was closer to a heart attack or stroke due to obesity than I was lung cancer.  So I started with the weight loss thing, and after a year and a half, haven't made a whole hell of a lot of progress.  It started wearing on my mind this past fall....and I figured if I waited to lose the weight before I tackled the smoking at this point....well...let's just say I'm sucking at the weight loss thing and decided to give the quitting smoking a shot. 

I have tried to quit smoking several times in the past, and obviously failed at that big time.  The last time I tried was about 5 years ago.  I'm ready to try again.  I've been praying for the strength and resolve to actually do it this time, and never go back.  If you're a praying person, I'd appreciate you sending some my way.  As hard as it has been to beat the food addiction, I feel like the smoking one is worse in a lot of ways.  But I'm 38 years old and it's beyond time I get this done.

I'm glad that Dwayne is going to do it with me.  He went out to Walmart this evening and bought a box of the Nicorette gum to aid with the cravings.  We also had a talk about how people tend to gain weight when they quit smoking, and he saw the stress in my eyes.  He told me to just try not to stress, and we'll take it one day at a time...together.  I'm glad I've got him.

I'm really looking forward to 2011.  I think with a lot of hard work that my side business that I'm starting, The Errand Fairy, has real potential.  My first goal is to gather enough steady clients to be able to go part-time at my current job.  The next goal is to save up around $2500 as a down payment on a "new to me" used car.  My current car is a 1992 Honda Accord and it's seen better days.  Things are going wrong with it, and it's getting to where it's going to cost more to repair it than the car is actually worth.  My third goal is to grow the business big enough to carry all of my bills, and be able to completely quit at my current job.  I hope to reach all of these goals this year.  It's exciting and scary all at the same time...but I'm ready for a new challenge.

Weight loss?  I asked Dwayne to get the scale battery when he went to buy the Nicorette today, but he forgot it, lol.  My best guess is that I'm around 250-255 lbs. right now, judging by the fit of my clothes.  I know how bad that is, and I'm trying to focus my mind on not getting any fatter w/ this quitting smoking venture.  I changed my goal about a month ago.  Instead of trying to get to 170 lbs., my new goal is to just get out of the 200's...I want to see 199 lbs. on the scale.  So I've got around 50-55 lbs to lose to get to goal.  Some days it doesn't sound like much at all....other days it sounds equivalent to climbing Mt. Everest.  I still want to lose the weight...I want to drop those 50 lbs. this year.  I want to become a non-smoker, and stay that way, this year.  And I want to start a business, become fully self-employed, and keep all the bills paid this year.  These are the 3 main things I want to make happen this year...and I'm glad I've got this blog to share all of it as my year unfolds.

I hope all of you had a fun time bringing 2010 to a close.  Dwayne and I stayed in tonight with Baby Scarlette, drank a couple of mimosas, followed by some coffee, cuddled up in front of the TV in our comfy little apartment.  I'm looking forward to going to bed in a few minutes and waking up a non-smoker.  Let's all pray I can keep it that way.  Happy New Year, my friends.  Let's make it a great one.  :)