The evil that is nicotine...

I hate smoking, I really do. But it's an addiction and honestly? I do actually enjoy the occassional cigarette. Too bad I smoke 25 a day though! Probably 24 of the 25 I don't actually enjoy!

So last week Heather and I decided we would quit smoking. She's doing it because her boyfriend has recently quit and she wants to support him. There's many reasons I'd like to quit, but I can't truthfully say I'm doing it because I want to. I'm doing it because Heather will need the support of someone other than her boyfriend and I guess we can lean on each other.

Reasons to quit:

• My mum has horrible asthma, and seeing her in hospital after never smoking a day in her life makes me sad. I could so easily be there myself in a couple of years and I don't want to be.
  
• To be more healthy - It's easy enough to say, but I really mean it. When I have kids I want to be running around with them, and wheezing and coughing whilst doing it is not fun. When I play with my neice and nephew it's bad enough!
  
• Money - I hate talking about the credit crunch and all that jazz since I hear it at work every bloody day, but I want to have nice things and do some home improvements. By Des and I quitting smoking, we'll save around £70 per week, which will make a huge difference.
  
• Having a nice house and car. You know when you walk into someones house or get into their car and you can tell they're smokers? Yep, that's MY house and car! I try my best to keep on top of it, but it's evident that it's not working since I can even smell it myself!
  
• To smell nice! This is a big one in my job. As a smoker, I'm conscious that my clothes smell of stale smoke and also I constantly chew gum because I know my breath stinks of cigarettes. It's gross! When I'm working trying to train people, I hate that they have to put up with that! It's embarassing!

Reasons not to quit:

• That cigarette first thing in the morning, even if I'm choking on my own phlegm? Bliss!


• Those cigarettes after a big meal? Bliss!


• That cigarette on a coffee break at work after you've had to tell someone off or even worse, fire them? Bliss!


• The one right after sex?! You guessed it!

So here I am yesterday in my little dilemna...And I decided I wanted to redecorate our lounge. Not only is Kristy coming to stay in just over a week, but maybe, just maybe a fresh coat of paint is all it will take to convince me we should no longer smoke in the house!

So I grabbed the car keys and off to B&Q we went. A few minutes arguing over colours and there we were back home with a tin of white satinwood, 2 tins of magnolia and a tin of alzurian earth.

Even though it was 9pm, I got started straight away. I painted the fireplace and the daedo rails, skirting boards, doors, door frames and picture rails. Oh my god! What a difference! I cannot believe the place was that stained with nicotine! Gah-ross!

I must have painted for 3-4 hours last night, and then as soon as I woke up I was decorating again. So I guess it's been about 17 hours total. We're still not finished on one wall, but we need to remove the TV, Sky box, x-box 360 etc to get to it. That will be done before we head to bed tonight so it's all dry by the morning ready to put the electricals back!

So...to get back to my original point...I'm quitting smoking because my house was an embarassment! I thought I did a good job of cleaning it and wiping everything down each week and whenever else it needed it. I couldn't even tell that the painted wooden stuff was no longer white!

In usual Claire style, I present to you the photographs that make me shudder to look at: