Too Good To Be True?

One of the perks of Candy's Daily Dandy is that occasionally someone will ask me to try their product for FREE and then tell you guys what I think. Sometime I bite at the offer and sometimes I don't. But when the people over at Vapor4Life asked me to try their e-cigarette, I practically jumped at the chance.

An ex-smoker for years, and even more recently, I had seen these electronic cigarettes and had wondered what these things were all about. Smoking safely? Sounds like an oxymoron to say the least. After a brief email exchange, I was told to go to the website and choose my "Nicotine Strength" and my desired"Flavor".

Hmmm, this posed a interesting conundrum for me. Because I have successfully kicked the habit, I am no longer addicted to nicotine and I have no desire to become addicted to nicotine again. When I logged on to the website, I was overjoyed to learn that I could choose zero nicotine strength and I then went on to choose apple cinnamon for my flavor. As promised, the little package arrived on my desk in a few days.

So what is it exactly? V4L.com describes their product as such:

"An e-cigarette is a battery powered device that vaporizes a liquid solution to create an alternative to smoking. The V4L e-cigarette is a two piece system consisting of a re-chargeable battery and cartomizer. The cartomizer is a cartridge with a coil built in that heats up a solution, which contains nicotine and flavoring. "

My battery is a chic, black, longish, cigarette looking thing with a fab gem stone at the end that illuminates purple when you inhale the vapor. My cartomizer is a pinkish red, short "filter" looking piece that screws onto the top of my black battery. I couldn't wait to try this sucker out. My battery needed to be charged before usage, and when you attach the battery to the charger and plug it into the outlet, a small light illuminates red until your battery is fully charged. I then attached the cartomizer and took my first inhale from the device.

It wasn't what I had expected at all, and at first I was disappointed. I think I half expected it to taste like a apple cinnamon-y Marlboro Light. Maybe, I thought, I might have made a mistake by not getting some nicotine. But I continued to play with my e-cigarette. Soon I was pulling good "vapor hits" and even blowing smoke rings! All of a sudden, it became somewhat soothing and satisfying and I felt like I had found my groove with this device. Who needs nicotine?

The research on e-cigarettes is all positive, as found in an article by the United Health Organization who concluded “In the short time that electronic cigarettes have become popular, the number of people who have been able to quit smoking and stay cigarette free have risen by an estimated 300%. No other methodology has proven so successful in such a short period of time.” There are also studies that claim that nicotine can be as harmful to your health as caffeine.

I have to say that owning this little device is quite advantageous for someone like me who is orally fixated, (Heff and Bama insert joke here). It quite possibly keeps me from reaching for a sugary treat, and satisfies that occasional urge to smoke that seemingly never goes away. It's cool and fun and I'm thinking it will make a great gift for that person you want to help kick the habit. I think the initial $70 to $100 dollars for a starter kit are well worth it for your health.

Thanks V4L! I highly recommend this product!

Is It Wrong That I'm Jealous?

Of course it's wrong!!! Sometimes I don't even recognize myself....

I'm sure you've seen this by now. It's the most insane thing I have ever seen!
Yet, I find myself longingly watching this kid's technique. He's got it down.

It's so disturbing and wrong, yet I can't look away. He reportedly smokes 40 cigarettes a day which amounts to a two pack a day habbit. Sounds pretty expensive, and super bad for this child's health, but his father says, "I don't see the problem".

And I still can't look away.

It's just so rediculous, that I'm mesmerized by the image of this child smoking a cigarette. It's so crazy watching this baby smoke and I know by posting it here, watching it over and over again I am contributing to the glorification of this tragedy.

Yet I can't stop myself. May God bless us both!

Happy Memorial day weekend bloggers! Lay off the butts this weekend, if you can.

You're Fired

I'm feeling a little empowered today, because much like The Donald, I fired everybody.

I fired my lawyer, I fired my ex-ASS-husband and I fired this whole Divorce/custody/support cluster-fu*k (I didn't say it) my life has become lately. I have been free of that cancer/man for over 5 years, yet I still find myself in court paying money to get HIM to pay money. At this point I'm completely upside down and still fighting for principle. Guess what?

I'm done and you're fired.

Hey, deadbeats are people too, right? There was a time, long ago, that he was trying to get me to pay him money. You heard me right, me pay him, but the judge kinda laughed at that one. Ridiculous litigation sometimes brings about those kind of responses in judges. And looking back, that's exactly what I have been doing all this time. Participating in ridiculous litigation.

You're either an active, interested, participating co-parent or you're not. I realize that no matter how much money I spend on trying to make sure he holds up his end of the bargian, a deadbeat's still a deadbeat and history shows that is a fact that is not going to change. So for my children's sake, I fired him and I fired everyone else who was bloodsucking off me in the name of so-called justice.

Yesterday I went in pro se (sans attorney) and it was like taking candy from a baby. I have sat in a probate courtroom duing the last five years and seen hundreds of women go before the judge pro se. I've seen them come in dressed down, dressed up and win and loose for whatever reason and I decided I no longer wanted to participate in this game any longer because it only hurts the children. As long as I am on this earth, my children will be my priority and that's all that really matters. I can't legally bully their father into making them a priority...anymore. I don't need a laywer because the laws are what they are, and I'm not asking for anything more than nothing.

Yesterday was proof of that. I need no law degree to stand before a judge and let him hang himself.

Done.

Fired.

I'll be fine and so will they and that's all that really matters. Because I will make sure.

It's Over Between Us

I'm done with you.

WE are no longer a WE as in, you and me.

I've decided that I'm better than you and that I know better. I left you some seventeen years ago when I was young and had plenty to live for. But when the horrid events of the "Big D" happened 4 years ago, I sought you out for comfort. And you didn't disappoint. No, you were there to give me the satisfaction and comfort I needed. The proper crutch that numbed out the pain. And we rekindled our old love affair again. Just you and me.

I guess I need to thank you for that because you kept me from doing "stupider" things. I guess even then I knew better, but when it came to you, I was weak. You offered me a casual danger that fed my edgy side and fueled my addiction. And you got me through the worst times providing the perfect shoulder to cry on no matter how hard I cried. Slowly you gave me my strength back, because I knew I could count on you to always be there for me. I could control you.

But what I realized is that I couldn't control me when I was around you. And as life got better, I shouldn't have needed you any more. But still, I kept you close. I never wanted to let you go because I was afraid I wouldn't be OK without you in my life. And that you controlled me more than I wanted to admit. You smell, you look bad, you're dirty and I hate that I love you so much. But I love me more, and you've overstayed your welcome for far too long.

I chose November 1st and I stuck to it; just 24 hours free of you.

Will I make it? I pray to God I do. But somehow, I think the worst is over. I think that if I can make it through your little reminders in my head throughout the day, clean, that I will succeed and I will survive. You're just a bad habit and habits are made to be broken.

And soon you will just be a distant memory of a love we once shared.