Can I quit smoking using Electronic cigarettes?

Although I am not a heavy smoker, I have got to the stage where I am totally sick of smoking all together.

The only problem is, I enjoy the actual routine of having a cigarette in my hand and smoking it. 

I tend to enjoy this routine the most when I am driving, especially when I'm traveling to and from work...

Roll up, roll up! I prefered smoking "rollies"...

Until now, I have smoked roll up cigarettes. I much preferred these to actual cigarettes for several reasons:

• I enjoyed rolling them.
• I could light a roll-up cigarette, take a few drags of it and put it down, and it would go out.
• I could control how thin I wanted to make them.
• They were easier to smoke than normal cigarettes.
• They were lighter in weight than a normal cigarette.
• They were a "healthier" option* compared to normal cigarettes... 

* I say roll ups are healthier because they have less chemicals in the tobacco than a cigarette does. My reasoning is the fact a cigarette is designed to stay lit until it burns out, it contains more chemicals to stay alight...

Although I smoked roll-up cigarettes because of these reasons, I was still not enjoying them...

As far as my health is concerned, I am constantly coughing and trying to clear my throat and in the mornings I wake up all phlegmy and bunged up. 

I often feel sick in the mornings and I have occasionally thrown up because of the catarrh and horrible mucus stuff building up in my lungs.

It's not good for my health and not a good image when I am coughing and clearing my throat constantly whilst having conversations with customers at my work.

My electronic cigarette!

I heard about the electronic cigarette from Jan's brother and her sister who are trying to quit. 

I thought it sounded like a good product to try.

The idea behind the electronic cigarette is that it doesn't contain any tar or toxins, doesn't emit smoke or ash, is a non flammable product and still delivers nicotine to quell the actual cravings associated with cigarettes. (You can find out more information at http://www.10motives.com/ )

As for my smoking habits, I decided I wanted to try one, as I thought it would be perfect to keep in the car, enabling me to have a few puffs on my journeys to and from work, without having to actually light up and smoke!

I bought one today from Tesco. (It costs £5.99).

It claims to be the equivalent of about 30 normal cigarettes. 

My initial reaction is that it feels a lot heavier than a normal cigarette. However, once you get used to it, the weight isn't much of an issue.

The device is fairly large - it is very similar to smoking a super-king size cigarette. 

(I probably have noticed the size and weight more because I am used to smoking roll up cigarettes).

It tastes quite similar to a cigarette, and the device emits a vapour when you inhale, so when you exhale there is actual smoke! 

The E-cigarette has a glowing tip and creates realistic smoke to exhale!

It seems to be much better than any other imitation cigarette I have tried, and the fact I still have the "smoke" (a harmless vapour rather than a poisonous cloud of cigarette smoke) makes the sensation seem that much more realistic! 

The tip also glows, similar to a real cigarette. (Although the device I have has a blue tip rather than a more natural red one)...

I'll see how I get on with it and keep everyone posted!

Are you trying to quit smoking? Perhaps you have quit? Whatever your stories about breaking the habit are, leave your comments below!

- TheLittlerich

Nobody said being a parent is an easy task...

Nobody said being a parent is an easy task...
Almost every day, your children will teach you a new lesson! I thought I would share some of the lessons I have learnt by being a parent with you.

  

Daily life...

 

Hidden motives? Dominic and Makayla

1. If a child is playing and making lots of noise, everything is ok. It's when they go quiet you know they are up to mischief...

2. A child who unexpectedly wants a cuddle from a parent or sibling doesn't always just want a cuddle - there is usually a hidden motive!

3. If a child falls, they will cry... However, they will first check to see the parents reaction beforehand to see how much sympathy they can milk out of it!

4. No matter how big and macho a man thinks he is, if a toddler hands a pretend telephone to him, he will always put it to his ear and say "Hello?!".

Cleaning and decorating...

Your hoover sucks, Mum!

5. No matter how good your vacuum cleaner is, a 6 month old baby will always find bits on the floor shortly after you have hoovered it!

6. When choosing carpets, always go for dark colours as they are the best colours to hide the dirt kids will bring to them. Avoid white or cream at all costs!

7. Re-decorating your house when you have a child under 5 is pointless - they will be more than happy to "help" you strip your wallpaper off the walls, or add interesting crayon patterns to your decor - even if you don't want them to!

Other observations...



Woo! This box is great!

8. Despite a slide having a perfectly good set of steps or ladders to climb up, a child will always attempt to clamber up the 'slippy' part instead!

9. No matter what present you get for a child, they will usually think the box that it came in is much more fun to play with than the present inside!

10. For the first 12 months or so, a parent will look forward to their child being able to walk and talk...
However, after these milestones have been reached, a parent will forever want their child to sit down and shut up!



Have I missed any parenting lessons out? Do you have any other advice you wish to share? Please leave your comments below!

- TheLittlerich.





What can I write blogs about?

Blogging this year hasn't been high on my list of things to do.

The main reason is because my laptop hasn't been working since mid 2011 and I've not got round to getting it sorted...


However in the occasional times I have decided to write a blog, my mind goes blank and I can't think of a subject to voice my opinion about.
Sometimes I get half way through writing a blog and then I give up, sometimes I write a load of nonsense and then delete it all before I publish it...

Sometimes I simply don't get round to the publishing part of writing a blog, and when I do, the topic is out of date; I feel that publishing it would be a waste of your time and mine...

So if you have any suggestions for topics I can write about please either email me alazystudent@hotmail.com or leave a comment below!

- Thelittlerich

Why is public transport such a public inconvenience?

I've not written a blog in over a week now. I must admit I've not really had any inspiration for a topic I should write about... I have been quite busy though.

Since my last blog, we have finally managed to get a new car! It was a cheap purchase from EBay, nothing special but it has already given us all a new found freedom!

Being able to jump in a car and just go to wherever you want, at your own time and pace is so much easier than using public transport.

I know public transport is the only way for some families to get about, and I am not going to slag anybody off for not having a car... However, in my opinion I hate public transport for three main reasons:

1. Travelling isn't convenient. If you use public transport to a destination, you have to go via various different routes. Busses need to stop at the bus stops on the route. It can take much longer to go to your destination. You are also at the mercy of timetables. If it's late how long do you wait?

2. You have no choice as to who you share your journey with. Daytimes brings masses of elderly people and screaming kids. If your travelling at night it's abusive drunks, junkies and aggressive dick heads.

3. The price. I recently went into town with Jan, and we both paid £2.80 each for a daily ticket. Spending over £5 for a trip into town is much more than we'd spend on petrol and parking!

I know that the government wants everyone using public transport, however in my opinion it's not the best option - much of the time public transport is inconvenient, expensive and slow.

A car can go door to door at a time that suits you and it will go directly. For public transport to really be publically convenient, it would need to be cheaper, more reliable and easier to gt from one place to another.
I can only see one way for both of these criterias to happen: Get a car / use a taxi!

I'm glad we are on the road again!

Is the loss of the humble milkman the downfall of society?

Photo courtesy Ryan Stanford. 

(c) 2011 rjnitro@hotmail.co.uk

Sunlight starting to show in the sky.

The early chirp of the first birds to awaken.

The gentle hum of the electric motor of the milk float.

The clink as empty glass bottles are collected, and bottles full of fresh milk are delivered to the door.

The occasional "Good Morning" exchanged between the postman and the milkman...

A beautiful sunrise

It's a scene that I always think of as slightly magical...

I don't know why, but the thought of having a bottle of milk delivered to the door in the mornings invites images of a picturesque rural village setting, with a friendly atmosphere and peaceful lifestyle.

Sadly, this isn't an image that occurs very often any more. At least, not in large towns and cities!

People are always looking for the cheapest, quickest and most convenient option, and this means large supermarket chains the main source for a large proportion of everyday grocery shopping, it's no surprise that smaller shops and door-to-door delivery services are reducing in numbers.

In large cities and town this seems fair enough, but in my opinion rural areas should be left alone.

I grew up in a small village in which had no large supermarket. 

If we wanted to go shopping we would visit the local convenience store. The shop delivered newspapers to the door, and if we wanted anything above and beyond that we had to travel to the nearest supermarket (about 6 miles away).

Now, I can imagine you are thinking this was a major inconvenience... However, when we decided to move into the village, we KNEW that there was only the local shops and amenities! If living close to a major supermarket was high on the list of priorities, we could've moved into the city!

It was through choice we decided to live in a rural setting, and this often meant sacrificing some of the large conveniences such as supermarkets, cheap local petrol stations and a MacDonalds on the cornet of the street. 

However, on the flip side of this we had a nice environment to live in, without air polluted by industrial and commercial properties. We didn't have the city rush hour traffic. We knew our neighbours, and everyone just got on without any hassles. 

We felt closer to the countryside and closer to nature! Oh, and we also had milk delivered to the door!

If a large supermarket chain had opened up in the village where I grew up, I'm sure it would've lost some of that peacefulness, some of the charm and some of the magic... 

It would have felt like it had been upsized from a village to a town.

It would've caused an increase in traffic, caused more pollution and inevitably led to the end of doorstep milk deliveries!

I believe people have less respect in towns and cities...

Personally, I believe that people living in a town or city have much less respect for each other.

There is an attitude in a city where everybody is out for themselves. 

Perhaps it's a good thing that milk isn't delivered as often to people in a city - what are the chances the bottles wouldn't be stolen or smashed before the indended recipient receives them!?

So to sum up my thoughts, I feel that if the humble milk man is forced to stop dropping milk off at your doorstep, the magic is lost and we'll all end up in a very horrible place to live! 

In order to prevent this from happening, I think we should all have our milk delivered to the door again! 

Who is with me?

- Thelittlerich

If today was your last day

It's wasn't a great day yesterday.
The car failed it's MOT on Tuesday and I asked the garage to give me a quote. I received a call from them on Wednesday morning and to my dismay it's going to cost more than we thought to get it through.

My girlfriend and I discussed our options, and came to the conclusion that as it is, we simply can't afford to keep up the finance payments, afford the repair bills and the running costs.
We worked out that in the long term it would be better to spend money on a cheap runabout car and replace it in a few months or so.

Although it was a sensible option, I admit I spent most of the day worrying about it...

The problem wasn't the fear of not having a car, but the fact that giving up the car we have was like admitting defeat...
I took the car on when I was working, earning a decent wage. Now the circumstances are different, and I feel as if giving up the car is like losing my "status" - It is a bit like accepting I am a failure in life.

I called up the finance company to find out what was involved, and I started to think about the benefits of ending the agreement.

I thought about having a different car every few months or so, and not having to worry about being able to pay for a car that really isn't worth the money - in the long run I started to realise it was a better,  cheaper, easier solution with less problems...

I admit once I changed my way of thinking about the situation I felt considerably better!

I started to listen to some music, and I heard a song by Nickelback - "If Today Was Your Last Day".

One line caught my attention in particular: Each day's a gift and not a given right.

As I listened closer I started to think about the lyrics of the song:
--------------------------------------
Against the grain should be a way of life.
What's worth the price is always worth the fight.
Every second counts, coz' there's no second try.
So live it like you'll never live it twice!
Don't take the free ride in your own life!
--------------------------------------

The song seemed really appropriate. It made me think about how easy it is to get tied down in the daily grind of life, worrying about the stupid irrelevant things to the point you are so wrapped up in them you miss the good things in life.

Before he went to bed, I sat with my son Dominic and we played about on a couple of guitars I have recently bought.

It was quite a short jam session, but he really enjoyed it, and so did I!

It made me realise that in order to really appreciate life you should take at least ten minutes each day forgetting it all!

Forget the bills, the housework, money worries, unemployment, ect...
They can't be completely avoided but don't spend every waking moment consumed by the negatives in your life, but spend some time each day doing something that you really enjoy or want to do!
Try getting up in the morning and telling yourself:
Today I will do something that makes my life worth getting out of bed for!
Let me know how you feel!

- Thelittlerich.