Forging Ahead and Changing Routines

It's been almost 3 weeks since I started my month long quest and honestly things are going pretty well. Last night I was looking in the mirror for really the first time in a while and was amazed at how good my eyelashes looked. My eyebrows seem to take longer to come in and they are still pretty thin but my eyelashes look great and I'm back to really only needing a tiny bit of eyeliner and a bit of mascara to make them look "normal". Awesome.

The short update: I have not smoked at all and honestly dont even want to. The exercising took a little hiatus last week as I've been battling a horrible summer cold (and when you stop smoking you put on a few pounds which I have definitely done- about 5 maybe so I desperately need to start working out again- hopefully tomorrow), I've been sleeping MUCH better and despite what could be a pretty stressful time I'm doing shockingly well thanks to changing all my routines. I swear that has been the key.

It seems that when I tend to get into a good routine, particularly at night, where I sit and relax or watch TV, I tend to not be on guard enough with trich and find myself pulling. I think it's important, for me at least, to keep switching it up. When I find I"m getting too comfortable I need to somehow do things differently. Whether its watching TV in bed rather than on the sofa, or moving to a different area of my apartment, reading before bed, just something, it makes a big difference for me and I tend not to pull as much. And when I do get an urge, GETTING UP seems to really help. My fall back is cleaning- if I need to do something to keep myself distracted for 20 minutes or so (which is about how long it really takes the urge to subside just a bit) i'll tackle a closet, a cabinet, my fridge, something. But that's just what works for me these days and I know how easily trich can come up and bite me back in the ass. I'm just hoping to get through each day.

A better week

My weekend slip forced me to do some serious reflecting on my progress and I think I've gotten myself back in gear and am now moving forward. I have not given into the urges and pulled (from anywhere) since the weekend. I attribute part of my success to getting back into the routine I set up about 6 weeks back- I've been waking up early (6am- just cant do much earlier)and working out, drinking less coffee (not a LOT less, but less), eating a bit healthier (less processed sugars), etc.

I have to admit that there is something about waking up early that really seems to help. It sets the tone for the whole day by giving me a chance to start my day off more relaxed and then, by the time I get home, I'm exhausted and spend less time in "compromising" situations where I'm more inclined to pull.

Another thing that really helps is the face washing routine. I recently decided to add to my regular routine and splurged on this expensive exfoliating treatment by Kate Somerville called "Exfolikate" that is significantly more than I would ever normally spend on beauty products (I promise that I have ZERO affiliation with this product so this isn't a bad plug or anything- http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P232915&categoryId=C20650). You put it on your face twice a week for about 30 seconds and it literally tingles and stings all at the same time and then leaves your skin SOO soft. My skin/pores have cleared up dramatically and after I use it, especially since its so expensive, I never want to touch my face b/c I don't want to waste the product!

The last thing I've added to the mix was a Rubix cube- yup, you read it right. I was at a friends a few weeks ago and we were splitting a bottle of wine (ok, a couple bottles) when I noticed he had a Rubix cube on his coffee table. I picked it up and was distracted for the next two hours, trying to beat that damn toy. When I was in Barnes and Noble last week I noticed they had one for $10 so I decided that if it helped me keep my hands busy, it was worth the $10. It's been pretty helpful although I will admit that I get so frustrated by the damn thing that my focus isn't quite what it was when I a bit liquored up.

Anyway, that is the update on the last few days. Hopefully I can keep up the progress!