OK, so I am back. Almost eight months to the day that I last left off. At first I was having computer problems, but when I got it back, well, I just didn't have anything to say.

Does it suprise anyone that I am in the same place 8 months later? Not me, but maybe that is part of the problem. I've actually gained some weight and haven't done much of anything else. I've been bored to tears and really depressed. Some days - usually for long periods of time - I can hardly get out of bed, while other days I'm fine.

The cause of these depressing episodes? Nothing has happened in my life. Not. One. Thing. I haven't done ANYTHING to progress my life forward. I work in a job that I don't really like. I stopped going to school at the beginning of the year so that I may get a full time job but that didn't pan out. So I am bored - I mean really bored - and not challenged anymore.

So the new year is going to bring about changes in my life. Now that I have identified the problems, I can work about changing them.

So here is the one of thing I am going to work on now:

Quit Smoking

This is my number one priority. I've been smoking, almost continually, for 18 years. I quit when I was pregnant with my daughter and then again for a year but made the mistake of thinking that I could have just one. What a huge mistake. It won't happen again.

I just realized that I don't even enjoy it anymore. It now just feels like this huge monkey on my back that I can't shake off and am weighed down by it.

OK, so here goes!

There! Did you see it? I JUST QUIT SMOKING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I woke Emily up and had her throw away a full pack of cigarettes, and a few extra left over from the previous pack, in the garbage can outside, in the rain.

The monkey is off my back.