So I've been playing with DSS and here are a couple of cut files I've made...

This is a 4x6 scalloped frame.

A 2.5 inch scalloped circle.

And a pretty little corner flourish.

All of these are made with the George and Basic Shapes cartridge

I am HORRIBLE at taking pills. I guess the fact that I was able to take the Zyban twice a day for almost 2 months shows my committment to quitting smoking. I know that's not really saying much.

Anyway, I haven't taken any since last week, and I'm still good to go.

LOL! Soon, I'm going to have to take the focus off quitting smoking and put it on quitting food. GAH! I'm up 4 lbs. Not a lot, I know, I just don't like the upward trend, when I am already on the overweight side as it is.

One addiction at a time :)



I have not had a cigarette in One month, one week, five days, 11 hours, 20 minutes and 12 seconds. I have said NO to 1086 cigarettes. I have saved $434.72. By not smoking, I have saved 3 days, 18 hours, 30 minutes of my life

Well, I'm trying to post a pretty picture to show what I spent $60 on, but the darn internet is being finicky. It's nothing too exciting.

I've been saying for a long time that I wanted to try making some wine. We've made beer in the past, but it really wasn't very good. But I've had home made wine before and it's usually been good. So, I went out and bought a kit.

http://nthomebrew.com/catalog/images/mango.jpg

Hey. I can't give up all my vices.

Now that I do miss about smoking...

You go out to where all the smokers go, and you can shoot the shit, chit chat.

You can meet people.

How in the HELL do non smokers meet people.

No. Really. It's been 20 years. OH Cool. Have you ever heard of the Divorcee that wonders how to meet people after 20 years of marriage. THAT'S WHAT I'M GOING THROUGH. This is definitely a Hitched thread. Lets see what they have to say...

So, other than the little "incident" I've been smoke free for... One month, 11 hours, 38 minutes and 44 seconds. I have said NO to 787 cigarettes. I have saved $314.85. By not smoking, I have saved 2 days, 17 hours, 35 minutes of my life. We are going to take the leap and go out for beer and wings tomorrow night. Haven't been since before Christmas. This will be quite the test. Well, maybe not so bad. You can't smoke indoors at the bars anymore, so I would have to physically get up and put my coat on, get a cigarette from someone, and then physically go outside. Plus it's supposed to be yucky out tomorrow, so I really am not going to want to go out in the weather. While watching the news the other night ATV. There was an article about the smoking ban in Halifax. Besides butts being left on the ground, and making a mess of the streets, restaurants are having to contend with patrons taking drinks outside, even though it's illegal, and other patrons skipping out on bills. Some restaurants are making smokers leave their credit cards so they don't get stiffed. I wish I could find some information on the net about it though.

I've been tagged by Chelle at justplainchelle.blogspot.com. The name of the game - once tagged, you must list 5 things that your blog readers don't know about you. Then you must tag another 5 people, post the list on your blog, and leave a comment for them on their blogs so that they know they're IT! I don't have time right this minute to make the list, and tag 5 more, but I wanted to acknowledge that I was tagged. 5 Things you don't know about me.
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I have tagged the following 5 people.
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I have not had a cigarette in Three weeks, five days, 10 hours, 52 minutes and 36 seconds. I have said NO to 661 cigarettes. I have saved $264.53. By not smoking, I have saved 2 days, 7 hours, 5 minutes of my life

OK, Now that my little hissyfit slash mental breakdown is over with, lets get back to the business of getting rid of this crappy shitty habit. So what do we have... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have not had a cigarette in Three weeks, 13 hours, 35 minutes and 41 seconds. I have said NO to 539 cigarettes. I have saved $215.66. By not smoking, I have saved 1 day, 20 hours, 55 minutes of my life

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I have said no to 532 cigarettes. I have still saved $215.66 by not smoking. We'll just change the wording around a little bit and I still have something to be proud of.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I have only had 7 cigarettes in Three weeks, 13 hours, 37 minutes and 36 seconds. I have said NO to 539 (minus 7) cigarettes. I have saved $215.67. By not smoking, I have saved 1 day, 20 hours, 55 minutes of my life (minus 35 minutes)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Obviously stress is one of my triggers. I didn't think it was going to be, because their was a couple of stressful incidents the very first day, but I made it through them. But I guess as time goes by, and the junkie gets a little stronger, and the bad effects of smoking get pushed further back into my memory, I have to watch out for those triggers. Have to work on finding ways to work around stress, that doesn't include eating.

Yup. I caved. The Junkie got the better of me, that bastard. I am so mad at myself. Eighteen days down the tubes. Now I have to start all over again. That is so frustrating. I didn't even enjoy it. I just wanted it, and I had it. Well, not even it. I had 7 freaking cigarettes. 7 of them. WHY!!!!!!! I could kick myself in the ass right now. And now I'm sitting here crying because I let myself down, and those around me that were rooting for me.

OK. My last couple of posts have been crappy, bitchy posts. It's time for some good talk. Lets see...
I don't have to stand out in the cold anymore.
I'm not wasting my money.
My house doesn't stick of stale smoke.
LOL, I get to sleep in instead of jumping up and having a smoke.
I don't like beer. Go figure, now that I can actually taste the stuff, I don't like it. OK, it's probably not THAT bad. I certainly wouldn't turn one down.
I'm not in a state of constant thirst. That's probably not a good thing because now I have to force myself to get in 8 glasses of water a day.
I bought a couple of books with my saved money.
That horrid smokers cough is almost non-existent
The sinus congestion is going away.
That's all for now I guess.
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I have not had a cigarette in Two weeks, 15 hours, 15 minutes and 58 seconds. I have said NO to 365 cigarettes. I have saved $146.35. By not smoking, I have saved 1 day, 6 hours, 25 minutes of my life.

If I had nuts, I'd give my left one for a cigarette right now. Cravings haven't been this bad since I started. It's driving me nuts. I have 10 bucks in my pocket and I could so march down to the store and get a pack. The problem is I don't want a pack, I just want one. If I buy a pack, I'll smoke a pack. I don't want to smoke a pack. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have not had a cigarette in One week, five days, 16 hours, 39 minutes and 38 seconds. I have said NO to 317 cigarettes. I have saved $126.94. By not smoking, I have saved 1 day, 2 hours, 25 minutes of my life

See, now I could really go for a smoke right now. I won't. I'll just whine about it here instead. My boss is driving me bananas. Like he does every month end. My nerves. My nerves. My nerves. He doesn't spend any time working on accounting / month end related activities during the day. He gets ready to work at 5pm when everyone else is getting ready to leave, and then he wonders why I get pissed off and don't work any overtime. He's never in his office. He's fucked off somewhere. So, I circumvent and I don't wait for approvals. Which I know is wrong, but I could sit at my desk all day twiddling my thumbs waiting for an approval. Literally, not doing anything because I'm being held up waiting for approvals. There is not enough time to get statements done as it is, without him gone all day. This is a kicker. If I've heard it once, I've heard it a million times, "You have to let me know what's going on" So, I do. Then he asks what's going on, and he says, I don't read my email because I get so many of them. OK, so you're not going to read my email, and you are never in your office. How am I supposed to let him know what's going on. That's some fancy magic I'd like to see. Well, I feel somewhat better now. At least I don't want a smoke anymore. Oh look, it's quarter to start working time. *eye roll* ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I have not had a cigarette in One week, one day, 17 hours, 2 minutes and 42 seconds. I have said NO to 217 cigarettes. I have saved $87.10. By not smoking, I have saved 18 hours, 5 minutes of my life

OK, so I did the math (I'm an accountant, what do you expect me to do) It's not pretty. In my 20 years of smoking, I smoked in access of 7300 packs of cigarettes, at a cost of more than $54,000 dollars. Thats sickening...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have not had a cigarette in Six days, 20 hours, 1 minute and 43 seconds. I have said NO to 170 cigarettes. I have saved $68.34. By not smoking, I have saved 14 hours, 10 minutes of my life

I went to see my Dr on the 18th of December looking for a prescription for Zyban, I didn't know how it worked and I had heard a few horror stories about people taking seizures, but I felt I was desperate and I was willing to try anything. The Dr. informed me that it helps alot for some people, a little for others and not at all for still others. Great I thought, another waste of money. I've quit before and quitting in the past had literally left me as a basket case. One time, if I remember correctly, Luc went out and bought me a pack a cigarettes because he didn't know what to do with me, I was such a wreck. I started taking it that evening, two weeks before my quit date. While I was still smoking for those two weeks, I found that I just wasn't enjoying smoking like I used to. It was becoming a pain in the ass to smoke. A couple of times, I thought I would quit before the 31st, but I always wound up buying another pack of smokes. I thought "This is going to be tough, I don't know how I'm going to do it." So on the 31st, armed with a no alcohol New Years attitude, and my package of nicorette inhaler (My nicotine replacement choice), I was bound and determined to not smoke anymore. We went to a party, which I probably shouldn't have gone too, because after 20 years of smoking, knowing that in just a few hours you are going to smoke your last cigarette ever, is pretty emotional. It was pretty hard to try and keep a smile on my face, and I don't think I was doing a very good job. I woke up on the first, and I had no desire to smoke at all. But even weirder than that, I didn't have any craving for nicotine either. A 20 year pack a day habit was gone. "poof". Just like that. I'm absolutely amazed at how these little purple pills work. I've only had to use the inhaler a couple of times in the last six days. Don't get me wrong. The habit wasn't gone, but I knew I was going to make it. And compared to the many catastrophic attempts in the past, that last cigarette will be my last. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have not had a cigarette in Five days, 15 hours, 23 minutes and 36 seconds. I have said NO to 141 cigarettes. I have saved $56.41. By not smoking, I have saved 11 hours, 45 minutes of my life.

My Quit Post 1

On December 31, 2006, after 20 years of smoking a pack of cigarettes a day, I smoked my last cigarette. This blog is going to be about what I'm going through as I quit. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I have not had a cigarette in Five days, 14 hours, 55 minutes and 50 seconds. I have said NO to 140 cigarettes. I have saved $56.22. By not smoking, I have saved 11 hours, 40 minutes of my life

I'm at it again...

My new years resolution this year is to quit smoking. Well, I'm currently on day two. I'm using Zyban, and it is a godsend. I get the occasional irritation, but overall as long as I'm not thinking about it, I'm good. I'm not freaking out about never smoking again. It's pretty cool compared to the other times I've tried to quit.

Go Me!!

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I have not had a cigarette in One day, 15 hours, 57 minutes and 19 seconds. I have said NO to 41 cigarettes. I have saved $16.65. By not smoking, I have saved 3 hours, 25 minutes of my life

Zyban is my friend.
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Horoscope vs Tarot

Ok, so here is my horoscope for the day...

From astrology.com

Your friends will be the perfect accessory today, offering a refreshing breath
of honesty when you need it, and a sobering dose of reality when you get a
little too lost in your daydreams. The group of people you've chosen to surround
yourself with has been going through a lot of changes, but you are finally
getting close to your final lineup. Show some appreciation to the people who are
always there for you -- organize a group event.

I've been sort of comparing my horoscope with tarot cards. Because I'm still learning, I thought I would see where it would lead me. I've been getting pretty good at choosing a tarot card that relates to the horoscope.

So anyway, the tarot card that would be associated with this horoscope would be the 4 of wands. This card is all about celebrating and feeling good and surrounding yourself with friends.

My cards for the day...

LOL, funny. My first blog entry about my card reading for the day. And guess what I pull. Duh. Duh. Duuuuh.

Card for the day - Death

Well, first of all Death is not about physical Death. Otherwise it would be at the end of the Major Arcana, and not at unlucky 13. Death is about transitions. The end of something that will lead to the beginning of something else. Or it could also indicate a time of getting back to basics, cutting out excesses, and accepting the inevitable.

It's time to eliminate bad habits. hmmm. Which one of my many bad habits are we talking about here. My excessive eating? I just ate lunch, and then ate a great big box of chocolate covered almonds, and now I'm polishing off a bag of popcorn. *Groan* That's pretty excessive.

Present Situation - What's on my mind - Ten of Cups

Joy, peace and family. It's such a pretty card. A husband and wife revelling at the beautiful rainbow of golden cups. The two kids are frolicking in the grass. Everyone looks so happy.

Life is good. I have security. I have a wonderful family. I could do a little to lessen the stress, but, oh well, it can't be perfect.





The background for todays events - The Chariot

A king, riding on his chariot, after defeating his enemies. He's victorious. He's proud. His ego is a mile high. How did he win the battles? With strength of will, and determination.









I know what the cards are talking about now. They are talking about my meeting on Monday. I know that doesn't make sense, because the cards are supposed to be for today, but I am preoccupied with it. All my thoughts swirl around this issue. The two major cards. Transition. Door closing and a window opening. Victory. And family.

Summer's over

Son of a bitch.....

I just wrote a huge blog entry about the summer happenings and the internet crapped out on me. GRRRRR

Here are the highlights...

• We didn't get to go to the trailer as much as we would have liked. Luc works at the auction on Saturdays so we just usually went up on Saturday nights.
• Luc got his truck and plow. It's a 99 Blazer, fully loaded. I love love the heated leather seats. It's Chickenburger green (Go to the Chicken Burger in Bedford, you'll figure it out.)
• Courtney worked at the auction on Saturday. She made 50 smackers for her time.
• Helen went on maternity leave at work, and the summer has been heavenly.
• Lori quit, and moving to Canso. Yea, that's going to work out.
• Patrick's playing trumpet in the school band.

I think that's all for now.

Summer has begun...

Well, we have opened up the trailer, and have been spending our weekends there. It's just like there was no winter. Fran and Red are actually camped in the lot next to us. That's fun.

The neighbors again...

Monday morning, they put mothballs along the property line. My only thought was that if Daisy or the cat or any other cat for that matter got a hold of them, they would DIE!!!

So, I called the city. After numerous phone calls, it was decided that the Animal Cruelty Investigations should be called and the police.

Well we didn't here back from ACI, but the police did come out and talked to the neighbors. 5 minutes later, they were out picking them up.

I don't give a fiddlers F. Don't go around trying to poison animals.