And woot, vw! That's great -- and amazing. I know how incredibly, insanely stressful the past couple of years have been for you, and if any smoker on earth deserved a no-scolding pass on account of too much other shit to worry about right now, it'd have been you.

And I love Deena's spicy brains, and I want them around and working at top capacity for as long as I can get them.

But, ucch. Judgy strangers are creeps, and I kick them in the shins. kick kick. Like such.

Let's not slide over to the Righteous Anger Of The Repressed Smoker just yet.

No, no. Not wanting to slide. Just sayin' is all.

I give full range for the people who love me and want me to stick around for quite awhile to weigh in. It keeps me not smoking. Mostly.

ION, while we were in the doctor's office, the doctor asked if any of us were vomiting or nauseated or had diarrhea.

Yeah, I'm wondering if what I had was really food poisoning. I've heard of many cases recently (Cindy included, I think) of major stomach wrenching.

(ION, I'm going through my message book looking for a fax number of a tenant and I keep finding little notes from various calls to my dr during pregnancy. "5:00 Dr Feit Ultrasound", "Benadryl, cortisone, pills or cream". Feels like a million years ago.)

No wonder I'm still single. I've not met the one I'd eat twigs and acorns to live for, yet.(Of course to get them to...well, to get them to, I'd promise to and manage for a week or so, but once we'd...the temptation would be there to eat garbage again.) I did offer to go on a funky diet if Mom wanted to after the tumor, even admitting I'd probably be weak, but she said "Hell no," so that was that.

Smoking is one of the more addictive things there is, and there's certainly anecdotal evidence that it's harder to quit than alcohol or heroin. It contributed to my father's really ugly death at 68, though, and I wouldn't wish his last years on any of you. I didn't even wish his last years on him, and he was not nice person.

STILL NO EMAIL. Does she just want to screw with my head, by saying she'll go out with me, but then not talking to me? WAAAAAH! Have called, left message on voice mail. Now to be tortured by TWO electronic devices, email AND cellphone, not ringing.

YAYAYAYAY RAQUEL! Also, v. amused by Mr. Raquel. Atomic mass units of baby? Hee!! And I suspect that there's some stories to be had, of giving birth in a foriegn land...

The fact that they ALL haven't died from cheese-filled arteries is a freaking miracle, I tell you what

Mmm, cheeese....

How about...DADD: "Dads in Denial about Diet"?

Ooh, I'm in--my dad has a belly so big he's looked like he's 9 months pregnant for the past 20 years. He's got diabetes and high blood pressure. And he still won't exercise, and loves him a bowl of butter pecan. My mom and siblings and I figure he's going to keel over one of these days--we're kinda hoping it's quick, rather than long drawn out failures and shit.

The man ate bacon every morning and loved sausage gravy and biscuits with fried eggs and fried apples

Ooh. Now that sounds yummy!!

got a prize in the Grilled Cheese International that Kristin posted about

mmmm, Grilled Cheese. (I think there should be a lot of gratuitous cheese mentions, in my post. Just because Cheese is Good)

She says he's (Aidan) going to be brilliant.

Aww, Deena. That's good, at least! So sorry you have to keep having shit happen!

I think my sister's still not smoking. She quit around Christmas. I don't nag her about it because I know that mother nagging her about it just makes her try to be sneaky about it when she is smoking, but she went on the patch this time, which is good.

My brother smokes, but that's the least of his bad habits, and I'm not close enough to him for nagging to even cross my mind.

I'm an ex-smoker who would occasionally have a social/drinks cigarette, but probably won't go back to that post-baby.

And woot, vw! That's great -- and amazing. I know how incredibly, insanely stressful the past couple of years have been for you, and if any smoker on earth deserved a no-scolding pass on account of too much other shit to worry about right now, it'd have been you.

Thank you and thank you. Quitting actually wasn't too difficult, which is surprising. Although, when things get tough it is one of the first things I turn to. Except, right now, my asthma is so bad that one little puff sends me hacking up a lung. So, smoking? Not in my best interest or very comfortable.

Two stories, though, 'cause I've always got a story or two. When I was public aid back in 1996, I got no cash. So, my parents gave me $20 a month for spending money. They called my therapist because they were concerned that I was spending my money on cigarettes. She's like, "Um...I think she has many other things you should be more worried about. We'll worry about the smoking later." Also, my therapist was a smoker, so...

My friend J is trying to stop smoking. I keep trying to tell her that I think that is the least of her problems right now. I mean, I totally support her quitting, but I'm not sure she should add the stress right now.

Oof. Poor J. The only thing I can think that might be good about her quitting now is that she has so much crap going on that's not totally under her control, it may be making her feel a little better to have one very concrete, specific, purely physical thing to wrestle with and gain control over.