Mod Squad Weekly Thread 10th Nov

[j-vo]

Mod Squad Weekly Thread 10th Nov

Evening all,
No, I can't hide my obsession, and I have to share just one more book that I forgot to tell you about that I just ordered and am half-way through (I'm so ashamed!). But some of you may not know who she is. Maureen McCormick (aka Marcia Brady) Here's My Story. I loved watching Marcia on the Brady Bunch in the early 70's (not only am I bearing my issues but now my age!) and she was like the girl you wanted to be. Pretty, popular... Well, she had a pretty rough life after leaving the show and spent years addicted to cocaine. It's a good story (not the best) and again, I can see that I'm not alone in beating the beast.

Deebs - I also gave up reading for years. I used to read (not obsessively on one topic) all the time until I got lost in AL. I'm so glad to have it back, the only difference years later is that I have to wear bifocals! Enjoy your youth if you're still there! I didn't know that about Marian Keys. Interesting.
And the food thing - I hear you on that one. But unlike in my AL days, hangover hunger was always needing greasy hamburger and fries and all the fattening foods I could get my hands on. I'm enjoying healthy foods and not passing these good foods up because I'm afraid I'll lose my AL buzz.

Lila - what are enneagrams? Enlighten me please.

Startingover - good luck at your marathon. We're going to a different kind of marathon. On Sat. there is a running/walking marathon for my son's friend's mother is trying to beat carcinoid cancer. Here in the states, the treatment is not FDA approved yet, so the family needs to raise money to get the treatment in Switzerland. She's a young woman, 38, with three little boys. She's such a strong person and tonight when I saw her on the news talking about the upcoming sat. event, I just filled with so much emotion and cried. She only has 12-18 months to live without the treatment. Then I thought how greatful I am for my life and that I'm not wasting it or damaging it. We are in control of our health for the most part. Some people like my son's friend's mom are not.

Zed, thanks for letting us know we don't have to hold back or make you feel uncomfortable. Watch out now buddy! I agree with whoever said that the 30 days is an important kick-off to modding. Taking the L-Glut and Kudzu will help get through the 30 days. You're right to choose a low-stress time, one in which you have a good chance for success. Good luck Zed. And your posts take me longer to read than one of my novels! Please, don't take this the wrong way. I enjoy them. You're such a funny guy.

Have a good night modders. Eve, I hope you're feeling better. I'm feeling lost here without my twin!

[Eve11]

Mod Squad Weekly Thread 10th Nov

Peri,
When I started the first time around I ordered the kudzu and cd's
I only listened to the one cd about controlling your drinking and just never got around to listening to the others. I started the kudzu but didn't take regularly. I ordered and read the book. I came to the boards for only a short time and never developed a rapport with the folks like I have this time around.
I left the boards (why?... I'm not sure) Maybe just never felt real connected to anyone and didn't feel the draw to come back.
Quit the boards and believed I was modding but just didn't work the program. Without the support of someone (other than spouse being co-dependent and helping all he could) I just wasn't doing well.
Returned recently Sept 08 and re-read the book, started the l-glut and kudzu (forget to take at times...take about 85% of the time) and loaned out my cd's.
New plan: Re-read the book again (to help with posts I'm thinking about doing), getting the tapes back so will listen to them, will continue L-glut and kudzu.
Because I am a binge drinker I don't have the intense cravings so haven't gone the med route.
Can't say I don't have bad cravings here and there but have noticed the two times I've over drank due to cravings (got started and didn't want to quit at my goal) I had not taken the kudzu or L-glut that day.
Am going to really pay attention to that as the supps really may be making a difference for me as I have had drinks on other days when I've taken supps and I'm able to quit at my goal without a problem.

[Eve11]

Mod Squad Weekly Thread 10th Nov

Which parts of MWO do you use?

periwinkle;466102 wrote: would you mind sharing which parts of the MWO program you used, still use as far as supps, meds, cd's, etc?

Peri,
As I re-read this post you were specificially addressing this question to Ask. I gave you info on what I've done thinking it was a question for everyone. Anyway, that being said...it is a good question for everyone so what have others been doing?
Eve11

[periwinkle]

Mod Squad Weekly Thread 10th Nov

Eve, by all means, I think it applies to all of us. I think it's good to analyze what parts of the program we are doing or not doing. I encourage all to reply to that question.

Mine is simple, everything recommended in the MWO book except the Calms Forte because of my antidepressant meds. I have missed my cd's a few days along the line. I have not fully adhered to my planned excercise schedule. Otherwise, I have taken every supplement, every heaping teaspoon of AllOne powder, every pill, and added some acupuncture for good measure. I have posted on this forum way more than I ever thought I would. A few days I have lived on this forum. It is my new addiciton [Lol]. I have local friends that I gab on the phone to about it. I think I need a support program to learn to moderate the MWO forum and program! Seriously folks talk about OCD, I think I'm the poster child OCD for MWO!

Eve it's great to hear from you!

periwinkle :l

[vera-b]

Mod Squad Weekly Thread 10th Nov

Just a quick check in on a Wednesday dear Modders,

Got home from work very late tonight, and both girls were on the phone needing to talk. It's all good - just girls needing to check in with Mom. So wish I had a similar relationship with my own mother. Anyway, everyone here sounds pretty good. Zed, you're the man of the group. Be proud. I so enjoy your posts from China. Please keep informing us. And Sun and Starting - you're the commanders here. Just give your orders and . . . the squadron will march forward.

Peri - You and I must be close in age. Either that or you are wise beyond your years. Frankly, I hope it's the former. Good luck to you if you can do the 30 days AF. That's no small task, and I would imagine you'd feel very differently about AL once you got through it.

And to all the Wednesday modders, may the peace and grace of the Lord be upon you tonight. Don't always wear my faith on my sleeve, just thought a little blessing wouldn't hurt. See you tomorrow.

Vera-b

[DeeBee]

Mod Squad Weekly Thread 10th Nov

Morning Squad!

On my side of the world today is "phuza Thursday"... phuza is zulu for drink. The local radio station are the ones to blame for this. Encouraging people to go out partying on a Thursday!! I find myself switching stations as I can handle all the dof-dof music they play to get everyone in a party mood.

Boxer Boy, I can understand you wanting to try this the natural route but the way I see it is we need to arm ourselves with everything we can in order to beat this. Yes the Topa is not for everyone, personally I had great sucess with it. When I first joined, I researched Kudzu in China as I knew hubby was going over soon and the exchange rate to by from the States was too much for me. Long story short hubby found Kudzu for me quite easily in Hong Kong. Have you considered joining as a Subscriber? You then get a free copy of the book and a big bottle of Kudzu.
The other suppliement I highly recommend is Milk Thistel to cleanse the toxins. My GP was staggered at the difference in my liver tests after 3 months.

J-Vo, what a wonderful gift to give someone! I would love to join a walk for Cancer - I must keep an eye out for anything in my local paper. My youngest Aunt has Stage 5 cancer and has stopped all treatment. She is tired and wants to go now. My oldest Aunt has recently been diagnosed with breast cancer but she is such a fighter that she won't allow it to beat her. I too am having treatment for a couple of things at the moment, one of the being stage 3 cervical cancer and next month I go for another punch-biopsy. This is something that I have really put on the back-burner for the last 2 months as I refuse to allow myself to get beaten by it. Did you know that you get a new cervix every three months? So that is what I am praying for!

Eve, I think connecting with peeps here played/plays a huge role in my journey to sobriety. The advice and info alone is invaluable. If you get a chance go and read some of RJ's old posts. I spend yesterday afternoon in the archives and the amount of info there for us modders is unbelievable. Unfortunately I had to quit in order to make dinner for the family (damn) but if I find the relevant threads again I'll bump them up for us to read.
There was also some great advice from RJ on how to cope during the festive season. This is something I want to give a lot of thought to and come up with a plan before the gazillion Xmas party's begin.

Vera, thanks for the blessing. I am spiritually lost at the moment so could do with all the help I can get. I am pea green with envy thinking about Boxer Boy's father teaching him spirituality. My father was a Free Mason (what ever that is) and spent hours in the bathroom reciting "brother this and brother that" so that is the extent of my spiritual upbrining. My FIL is a staunch athiest and will spend hours argueing (with a brandy and coke in hand) religion if anyone just gives him a little eye contact.

Starts, count me in. I would love to be involved any way I can.

Panadooool, BooooozeHag (no more) where are you guys? Come out come out where ever you are.

And Vladster, Hope you get time to check in with us today... we're missing you!!

[Lila]

Mod Squad Weekly Thread 10th Nov

hi all
Deebs, I didn't know about the cervical stuff. I hope everything is okay. I am sure not drinking is helping a lot. Let us know how things are if you would like.
Vera, don't worry about being spiritual. I had a horrible nightmare, I just woke up, so it is nice to read something like that. It was a HORRIBLE scary nightmare. I am out of my St Johns Wort, am waiting for my Vitacost shipment, and I think my brain is just being, well getting off the SJW, and doing strange things. It is powerful stuff. Hopefully I get it today. I am already getting fearful about life and all.
Eve, it is nice to hear that everyone just doesn't do things perfectly. I am working on following the MWO program more closely. Last night I didn't even take any supps, I was so tired. I had one beer - not bad. Today I will take all the supps.
Sunbeam, yes, I have to finish my leaves. We got most of them, then we had mushy snow, and it wasn't so fun anymore.
J-vo, enneagrams are one of my favorite of the self help genre. It is an ancient system based on the idea that due to our childhoods and relationships with our parents we are one of 9 personality types. It shows for each type how one behaves at their healthiest, and how one behaves when they get unhealthy. You could look it up on Amazon - my fave author is Donald Riso. But Marsha Brady sounds like a fun read too. I used to watch the Brady Bunch when I was little. Who knew they were so far from who they portrayed onscreen? Celeb reads can be fun reading. The last one I read was about Tom Cruise. It was very creepy.
Boxer Boy! how are things in Beijing today? How are you doing today? I love your avatar!!
Startingover, I hope you are doing well. You sound like you have a lot on your plate at the moment.
have a great Wed everyone!!
Lila

[DeeBee]

Mod Squad Weekly Thread 10th Nov

Thanks for caring lila. For now I am not focusing on it. There is nothing I can do about it (medically) so I am focusing instead of growing spirituality, which is why I love it when you teach me things like enneagrams.... I've been rolling it around on my tounge, I would hate to say that fast after a couple of toots LOL.
Oh and I think Tom Cruise is just creepy - period!

[j-vo]

Mod Squad Weekly Thread 10th Nov

Good morning,
I usually post in the evening after work, but I have meetings until evening, so here I am already.
DeeBee, I'll pray for you. I didn't know that you were fighting that. You are a strong person. You WILL beat that.

Lila - I will look at the enneagrams. That sounds pretty cool. And I liked the younger Tom Cruise. He's a fabulous actor, but he thinks he's "all that." So does his wife Katie.

Have a super day everyone. Lila, hang in there. Sounds as though you're feeling the cold and dismal weather conditions that I'm experiencing now. It brings a person down. We need to be careful of this time of year - and yes, Deebs, having a plan in place for the upcoming holidays is a must.

A quote from Maureen McCormick (aka Marcia Brady)!!! Gosh, everyone quotes these well-known authors, and I'm quoting Marcia, Marcia, Marcia! Oh well, here it is:

"I began to realize that life, despite moments of happiness and joy, is really about discovering priorities and dealing with unforseen differences, obstacles, inconveniences, and imperfection."

[Lila]

Mod Squad Weekly Thread 10th Nov

Ah, at least I am not into cocaine!!! I have never even tried it. Still, wise words.
My SJW is in Omaha - I just checked the UPS tracker. Hope it gets here soon before I get afraid, mostly about money. It really keeps me calm and sort of rational. It is scary when I think about getting a job after Christmas, and I keep reading about the economy. I get scared about things. But people get jobs, I am sure, maybe they are just not as easy to come by?

[DeeBee]

Mod Squad Weekly Thread 10th Nov

I just took the test to see what type I was on the enneagram - a Type 2. Ouch there is some stuff there that really hit the nail on the head!

[DeeBee]

Mod Squad Weekly Thread 10th Nov

Lila, hang in there! Take a relaxing bath, cuppa tea, and stay close if you are feeling anxious:-)

[Lila]

Mod Squad Weekly Thread 10th Nov

thanks Deebs! Isn't the enneagram something? I am a Type 4. Very tragic and sensitive, misunderstood and all, ha ha! Well, herbs certainly are powerful! Don't I know it!
Lila

[zed]

Mod Squad Weekly Thread 10th Nov

boxer boy

Hello Squad,

Interesting thing/ test. Didn't know about this. Very interesting. Just took it. I'm a type 2. Deebers - you and me, girl. Looks like we're on the same big boat. The boat of Helpfulness. What a frickin' burden, eh? You are amazing...

Lila dear. I know that feeling and I guess we all do. It's all in the breath. "No hindrance in the mind, no hindrance and therefore no fear..." That's a line I repeat/ think to myself often. It's kind of a chant if you will. It's been some time since I've woken up from a nightmare. But I have and it's a horrible feeling. Gosh. Hope you sleep better tonight. Easier said that done, but try some breathing exercises before you sleep. Simple. Just concentrate on your breath, on slowing your breathing down to relaxed-mode for 5 mins or so before you fall asleep. You can be laying in bed already or sitting up, whatever. Just the stillness helps. And traveling with your breath on its journey through your body and back out. Calming.

I switched off my central heating a/c and on again, and now it's making all sorts of funny sounds.

Ladies, the weather here in Beijing has been awful for the last few days. Grey curtain of smog so thick. Cold. Grey. The works. Was like that this morning too. And then at lunchtime I go out and see that it's a BEAUTIFUL golden sunny day, with the leaves fallen everywhere and golden sunlight and a mild warmth almost in the air. Super. Just what I needed. Made my day, that. Was like that all afternoon. Now it's night and I'm hoping tomorrow will be nice also. And the weekend... but that might be asking too much. It's rarely so nice here more than 2 days straight! Anyone want to experience serious seasonal depression, come live in Beijing! We're on the edge of Inner Mongolia here. It's bitter. Of course the Mongols scoff at us, and with good reason too. This place is like the Bahamas compared to Mongolia in the winter. Brutal stuff up there. I've flown over Mongolia and looked out the window. The place is one unending sheet of ice. That sheet actually goes on and on and on... next stop after Mongolia? Siberia. Something to see... I once flew over Western Siberia, heading east (on my way back from Europe). It was around 4 in the morning. Completely dark outside. Pitch black with a million stars out. We were flying back to China, so flying from West to East... into the morning... then suddenly, I kid you not, I am looking out the window at the horizon to the East in front of us... and the first ray of light flies out over the horizon into the night sky. The first light. Picture that. A pitch black sky with a million stars at 39 thousand feet up. Stars at eye-level. The Ural Mountain range below barely visible below. Just some white snow-capped peaks. Complete and utter desolation all around for as far as the eye can see. Just a vast emptiness and nothingness. And then that ray of light. Morning.

To me it was like the first light ever. Like I witnessed the creation of the world. Of course, this happens every morning. It's just about waking up early enough, or being high up enough in a plane over Siberia

But my point is that it was SO Beautiful. Just a thousand miles of emptiness below. No houses, no farm land, no human habitation whatsoever. Just desolation, mountain ranges and endless land covered with snow almost all year round. I'll never forget that. I looked down and thought, "Now that's winter. That's cold. No one, nothing can live here. No animal, no plant. Nothing. Got back to Beijing and thought, "ah, it's so nice, so warm here."

Last year I lived in a traditional courtyard house in the historic quarter of Old Beijing. Just north of the Forbidden City and Tien'enman Square. I had a big old tree in my courtyard that bore fruit (a small date-like fruit) in the late-summer. It was so nice. But SO cold. No heating. My bathroom was other the other side of the open courtyard from my bedroom. So it's me getting up at 7am, -10 outside, crossing my courtyard covered in snow, in? you guessed it, my boxers and nothing else, to get to the shower. Bathroom is ice-cold. Had to keep the taps open slightly all winter so that the pipes wouldn't freeze up in the middle of the night... that cold.

This year in the Spring I moved into a nice, swanky apartment building in the Central Business District of New Beijing. I have a nice cozy studio apartment. No issues about the cold here. Got central heating. But I turned the thing off and now it's making funny sounds. Oh well. I'll just turn it off again and think of Siberia and Mongolia and my courtyard and waking up to go outside in -10 degrees to the bathroom. That thought will make me very warm.

Boxer boy... oh boy... you guys are not going to call me that now are you?! I deserve it I guess. Shouldn't have told you about the boxers. My bad.

Vera - please remember us in your prayers... thank you.

Gnite everyone. Friday coming up. Weekend. Oh boy. Got meetings. First one at 8.30. Still have about 2 hours work to do before that. And it's 12.30 in the morning already. Going to be a short night. But I have the weekend to sleep.

Cheers ladies.

[periwinkle]

Mod Squad Weekly Thread 10th Nov

Good morning squad!

I have my first migraine since starting the topamax, bummer! It started last evening and I still have it this morning. Even my prescription meds are only minimizing the pain for me on this one. So can I make the analogy here to our fight with AL? Even when I am doing all that I can to remain MF (migraine free) including avoiding all my known M triggers, drinking plenty of water, taking a preventitive drug topamax, I am still going to get a migraine from time to time. So those of us with AL problems may be doing everything we can to meet our mod goals, to avoid "slips" or going beyond our set goals, or whatever we choose to call them, and there may still be times when it is going to happen. That's why we are here! We help each other pull ouselves up by the bra straps. Zed I guess you're just going to have to buy a man bra :H.

DeeBee, I listen too all kinds of music, I'm a diverse kind of music lover. But I find that when a drinking song comes on these days like Jimmy Buffet's "Margaritaville" or something, it's best to just switch the station. They make it sound so glamorous don't they? Also, tv shows like Desperate Housewives (I can't miss an episode, pretty shallow I know). Early into my 30 day AF plan I realized why I usually sit down to watch the show with a glass of wine in hand, they drink a lot on that show! So now I sit down to watch the show with a sparkling grape juice in a wine glass. Whatever works right? On a serious note, I will pray for you DeeBee. I did not know about your other health issues. You really are going through a lot. I had a breast biopsy earlier this year following an abnormality in a mamogram. The 2 weeks between the mamogram and the results of the biopsy were the longest 14 days of my life. I could think of nothing else. It was benign. I can't imagine if it had gone the other way. I know people get through it. You are a fighter and you will fight through it. And now you have all of us praying for you and fighting with you.

Vera, I am 48. I don't know how wise I am. I raised 2 boys on my own, one with bipolar disorder. If that's not going to make one grow up and hain some wisdom... well. Thank you for the compliment, it always feels good. I hope to get through the 30 days AF. Today is day 25. God willing, if the next 5 days go like the past ones have then we'll see. I feel very healthy (except the stupid head today!)

Lila, those tests you are talking about always frustrate me because I seem to always bee all over the place and never seem to have 1 clear spot where I fit. I found a book a while back "The Secret Language of Birthday's". It goes into each personality for each birthday personality for every day of the year. Alas, they hit my personality to a tee. There are also Horiscope references, season of the year you were born, etc. It also talks about being born on the cusp of a zodiac sign and having traits of 2 signs. That's me!!! My b-day is Feb 18, on the cusp of Aquarius and Pices. I really have traits of both. I have all my life had difficulty making decisions. I finally found myself in this book. It finally made sense to me why I am all over the place in these personality tests too. Maybe I'll look into your test when I have some time just for fun.

I think I wanted to say some more stuff but I'm out of time for now. I need to run.

Catch up more later!

DeeBee I will be praying for you!

periwinkle :h