It's Quitting Season! Choose Change Now!

It's quitting season! Why not use the excitement and momentum of the upcoming New Year to accelerate your quitting smoking? 

With the winter holidays approaching, I thought back to years past when at family gatherings, the smokers would gather outdoors to take a cigarette break, away from the rest of the family. As a child, I watched this strange ritual, listening to the coughing and knowing that it was probably not healthy. Never did I expect that one day, years later, I would become part of that circle and be partaking in this same ritual. 

It wasn't until many years later that I decided to quit smoking - to quit once and for all. I tried a couple times over the years but I was never successful. One of the main motivating things that made me decide to quit for good was my health. And once I had children, I found myself with yet another reason to quit the habit.

I thought a lot about breathing. I hated waking up in the morning congested and I thought back to the times before I was a smoker, and how it felt to breathe freely and not have a cough. I was determined to quit and to once again be in control of my health. 

I decided to use NicoDerm® CQ® patch to help me quit. 




It was the psychological attachments that I really struggled to get through. For example, I thought a lot about the rituals that came along with smoking. Just as when I would stop periodically through the day to smoke a cigarette and take a "smoke break", after quitting smoking I changed that smoking break habit into stopping periodically through the day to take a "breathing break" or a "fresh air break". 

Breathing exercises really helped me get through cravings. I found that the moments or minutes during cravings were vital because of my increased vulnerability to giving in. That's the moment when you have to take the bull by the horns and take control and really own it, and make the decision that your personal strength is stronger than any craving. I found that the NicoDerm® CQ® patches helped to control my cravings, and kept me in check from slipping up and giving in.

The NicoDerm® CQ® patches were the real reason for success when quitting smoking. I started with the strongest or highest dose of patches.

I felt a little bit anxious at the thought of moving to a lower dosage. That was the old smoker in me creating fear out of the unknown. But once I actually started using the next lower dose, everything was fine. Once again, the smoking demon was losing its control over me and I was gaining my control back. It was a really good feeling. 

2 weeks later it again was time to step down to the NEXT lower dosage of the NicoDerm® CQ® patch (always use as directed). I again felt a tiny little bit of apprehension but, once again, just as with my first step down, once I actually used the lower dose patch within one or two days I was completely fine! I was so happy with my progress. Stepping down to the next lower dose when I was ready helped me feel in control of my quit. I was winning. I also downloaded quit smoking apps on my phone so that I could watch my progress and gauge my success. (Be sure to check out and register for MyQuit™, which is an email support program based on where you are in your quit journey and customized for your chosen product - because the support you need in your first week is different than the support need in your last!)



As of writing this, it's been over a year and a half since I quit smoking. I've never felt better. As a matter of fact, my health just keeps improving. I know that if I had continued to smoke, my health would have probably just declined. Not only do I feel good physically, but also I am mentally strong. I've battled a huge monster, the smoking addiction, and I won. 

Now that I am a non-smoker my hair, skin, and clothes always smell fresh and clean, as does my car and my workshop. I save a tremendous amount of money and time. I wake up in the morning and can take clear deep breaths of air. Last winter was probably one of the first where I didn't get sick with a winter cold as I usually would when I was a smoker. 

But probably one of the greatest things since quitting smoking is the feeling of freedom that I now have since smoking no longer has any type of control over me. I don't have to run out late at night or at inconvenient times because I'm running out of cigarettes. I don't have to look for places wherever I am where I can go to smoke a cigarette. I don't have to worry about getting the smoke smell out. No more getting sick with and Googling symptoms because I feel congestion in my chest. 

But probably most importantly, is I've shown myself and my children, that I am stronger than smoking. I've shown both my children and myself that you can accomplish anything as long as you put your mind to it. There is no greater gift you can give yourself – and your family – and no better way to start the New Year, than by loving yourself enough to quit smoking. If I can do it, you can too. Start a new family tradition this holiday, gather together and be healthy.

Register today for the MyQuit program, and get a $5 coupon via Quit.com website! 

BONUS – Coupons.com is offering a separate $15 coupon starting 12/18, available for download during November/December that can be used at any retailer that sells Nicorette® and NicoDerm® CQ ®.

Visit the Nicorette® website at nicorette.com and nicodermcq.com

Visit Nicorette on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicorette
On Twitter: @Nicorette and @NicoDermCQ
On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/nicorette

Have you ever had to break a bad habit? How did you do it? Tell me about it in the comments for a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card!

*Behavioral support programs can increase the chances of quitting successfully.

Entry Instructions:
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You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
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This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older (or nineteen (19) years of age or older in Alabama and Nebraska). Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. The notification email will come directly from BlogHer via the sweeps@blogher email address. You will have 2 business days to respond; otherwise a new winner will be selected.
The Official Rules are available here.
This sweepstakes runs from 12/28/16– 1/28/17
Be sure to visit the Nicorette® Brand Page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ posts!

Moving Closer To Nature With Feline Pine

To be honest, before I tried Feline Pine™ Original Non-Clumping Cat Litter I never really put tremendous thought into what kind of cat litter that my cats used. As long as they used it, and as long as they were happy with it, I figured everything was right in the world. Boy was I wrong! My cats Sam and Sara recently had the opportunity to try out Feline Pine™ Original Non-Clumping Cat Litter and wow, what a huge improvement from the clay cat litter Sam and Sara had been using for years.

First off, you all know me as an Earth-friendly recycler. After all, it's what I do for a living! And whenever we can, our family uses products that are healthy, natural, earth-friendly or recycled. We just try to use products that are overall environmentally conscious. So if there is a choice between two products we will try to always choose the earth-friendly option whenever possible. Who wouldn't? 

Of course this means choosing chemical-free products whenever possible as well. Nowadays there are so many harmful chemicals in so many of the products that we use that it is actually kind of frightening to think about. If there's a choice to be made between a product that contains added chemicals and one that is 100% chemical-free, I will of course choose the chemical-free product. 

When I found out that Feline Pine™ Cat Litter was not only 100% chemical free but was also tree-friendly (Yay! No new trees are cut to make Feline Pine™ products). The litter is made from kiln-dried shavings reclaimed from lumber production, that’s when I knew it was right for our home.  And the cost for Feline Pine™ Original Non-Clumping Cat Litter was the same as the previous clay litter we were using, so that was not an issue.

How did it work? Well I think you'll all agree that there's nothing worse than a smelly litter box! Feline Pine™ Original Non-Clumping Cat Litter worked great to eliminate the litter box odors. What impressed me most was that there were no harsh chemicals, additives or synthetic perfumes in Feline Pine™ Cat Litter, so there wasn't any nasty chemical perfume or chemical smell either. When I discovered that the odor-fighting power comes purely from 100% natural pine, I was impressed. How does it work to combat litter box odors? The pine shavings are highly absorbent and bind directly to ammonia odors and lock them away for good. The pine smell really works, and I like that pine is a natural scent that comes from nature. 

Another thing I really loved about Feline Pine™ Cat Litter was that Feline Pine™ Cat Litter leaves no messy cloud of dust when I change the litter. There's nothing worse than that clay cat litter dust cloud! We have allergies in our house, so not having to deal with the clay dust cloud was an added plus. 

What did Sam and Sara think about Feline Pine™? I think they really liked it. I noticed that there was no smell on their fur, or litter stuck in their fur, which was another nice change. I like to walk around inside my house with bare feet. There's nothing worse than stepping on tiny pieces of clay cat litter that get tracked around the house from getting caught in my cat’s fur and paws! Feline Pine™ Cat Litter was a lot less messy then the clay litters for sure.

Using 100% natural cat litter is so important! If I can do something for my family and my pets I will certainly make that choice. You definitely should try Feline Pine™ Original Non-Clumping Cat Litter. 

Visit the Feline Pine™ Cat Litter website at www.felinepine.com, and on Facebook HERE. 

You can also sign up for a coupon here!

Do you use natural products for your cats? Tell me in the comments for a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card!

Entry Instructions:
No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
1. Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
2. Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
3. Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
4. For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.
This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older (or nineteen (19) years of age or older in Alabama and Nebraska). Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. The notification email will come directly from BlogHer via the sweeps@blogher email address. You will have 2 business days to respond; otherwise a new winner will be selected.
The Official Rules are available here.
This sweepstakes runs from 12/5/16– 1/10/17

Be sure to visit the Feline Pine Brand Page on SheKnows.com where you can read other bloggers’ posts!