February Freedom Fighters ~ week 4

[dill]

?Friendship is born at that moment when one man says to another: "What! You too? I thought that no one but myself . . ."?
― C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

Greetings All and welcome to the fourth and final month of February!

A special welcom back to you, DG. It's very good to see you. I have thought of you very often and wondered how things were going for you. I somehow had little doubt tho that you were still sober!

Rusty, it was nice of you to let us know of your intention to stop posting. I appreciate it. It's so much better than when one just "disappears" as I myself have done in the past. If you ever change your mind, or want just to pop in from time to time, we will always be glad to "see" you. You have been a very important member of the thread and have often been a breath of sunshine for me.:h

Star, I am still listening to Daniel Amen's book. I am a plodder! I just don't seem to get the time for reading or even listening to books these days. I think you can probably guess why! But I do need to get on with it because I have a book on hold at the library called, Voyage to Alpha Centauri. It's a sci fi, as you may have guessed. I will check out the author you mentioned and maybe will have time to get around to one of her books sometime in the future.

Papmom, it's a tough call on the treadmill. Going to Planet Fitness would serve the purpose plus serve a social function too. But the convenience of the treadmill at home is hard to beat. May I suggest you "try" Planet Fitness while you ponder the purchase? And EXCELLENT JOB getting through your work issues and coming out smelling like a rose!

Lav, the water is high here, too. Our pond is on the verge of over-flowing and the creeks are rushing with water. It feels like Spring (but I know it's not).

Cyn, thinking of you and hoping all is going well for your Mom.:l

[Doggygirl]

February Freedom Fighters ~ week 4

Greetings fellow AF travelers!

Dill - is Sci fi your favorite genre? Mr. Doggy is the sci fi lover in my family!

P3 - HOW ARE THE PAPS?? I need a good doggy catch up. I vote for whichever exercise solution you think you will be most likely to do. I have finally given up sporadically used gym memberships and am doing pretty well at the moment exercising to videos at home. LOL I recently bought the complete "Sweatin' to the Oldies" collection which made me feel 100 years old. :grannypants:

Lav - did your basement stay dry? Weather this winter has been cRaZy, yes?

Star, Cyn, Rusty and all - I look forward to catching up and getting to know you all better.

I finished my Associates in Addiction Studies. When I finished my internship the agency offered me a job as an Assessor. It's working out well so far - I work two days a week and am on campus two days a week working on my Master of Social Work. I guess the most shocking thing about going back to school later in life is discovering how POOR the writing skills are, on average, among the younger students. I will add the disclaimer that I am going to the least expensive University in this area, but still. I often wonder how these people got accepted into a Masters level program. There was a LOT of writing to be done as part of the application process. They must have all had ghost writers. This has only become my concern due to a high number of group projects. (is there a puking smilie??)

Anyway.. life is good. For the most part. I'm going to see my Mom today. I'll save that drama for my journal, I think. :nutso:

Have a good day everyone.

DG

[Lavande]

February Freedom Fighters ~ week 4

Thanks for pulling us into week 4 Dill
I had so much on my mind this morning I never even gave it a thought!

The birthday party turned out great today! Everyone was happy & the birthday girl showed up wearing her own party hat :H Can't believe Lily is turning 3, that means Will turns 3 in six weeks!!!

DG, thankfully all the water is staying outside but the ground is super saturated. The snow is still melting, I don't know where all this water is gong to go. More snow is predicted for next week - crap
I'm really happy to hear you are doing so well, I knew you would!!!
My DIL is finishing graduate school in May & is applying for jobs. She's feeling a little nervous :H

Hope everyone had a great AF Saturday like I did!

Lav

[dill]

February Freedom Fighters ~ week 4

Hello All,
Lav, I'm glad the party turned out so well! I can't believe Lily is 3 already. Where on earth does the time go and how does it go so fast? It is wonderful that you have celebrated all of your grandkid's birthdays AF. BTW, I really am getting a lot out of the Change Your Brain, Change Your Life book. Although I have enjoyed listening to it, I think I am going to have to get a hard copy. There is so much info in it that I find I want to refer back to but can't because it's audio.


DG, I like sci fi but I like any kind of good book be it sci fi, historical fiction, mystery, whatever. I share your concern about the level of skills our young people are coming out of school with and I have never been a fan of group projects. It usually ends up on the shoulders of one or two of the stronger more motivated students and the others get a free ride. In this case that would be you! I think it is laziness on the part of the professor to assign group projects. Try not to let yourself carry the whole load! Well done on your Associates and the Assessor job. I'll bet you are great at it. Do you find lots of folks being assessed to be in denial or are most open and sincerely seeking help? Since you were last here I have retired from my job in education. My retirement coincided with my son and his two children moving in however so my retirement has been anything but boring!

Have a great AF day everyone!

[Lavande]

February Freedom Fighters ~ week 4

Good morning kids!!!

Is it just three of us Dill & DG :H

Dill, I saw Daniel Amen on PBS & really enjoyed his talks. That's what lead me to his books
I keep copies of some of my favorite books on the Kindle reader app on my iPad. I have Rick Hanson's books there too.

DG, those group projects in college & grad school are ridiculous. My DIL just went through one & it left her miserable. Hope you get thru yours OK

Greetings Star, papmom, cyn & lurkers.

No big plans for today, just clean up & rest up I hope.
Have a terrific AF Sunday everyone!

Lav

[Stargazerlily]

February Freedom Fighters ~ week 4

Good morning, I actually slept in so am arriving late this morning.

DG, wow, you are really doing well. How cool to have a job in the field, and going to school. Group projects always are hard, but when I was in school, we assigned everybody their own part, then presented. So, together but if you did not do your research, your part of the presentation was poor. Hope you are enjoying the learning process, I miss school.! I too exercise at home, no time for workouts at the Y anymore.

Dill, loved the quote, we are all friends here. I feel like I know DG, used to read her posts and herstory on being AF was the best. It made a big impression on me. We have a lot of melting, flooding and roads buckling, but it is good to actually see the grass in some places.

Lav, that birthday party sounded fun. You are so blessed to have your grandchildren close. Did you serve food and cake? I am making white chili today but making my own spices as I have to be careful. Thanks for the websites that tell you how to do that.

Going to church, estimate on flooring in the basement, and cooking. I go to my new job tomorrow for a few hours, want to be rested and ready. Wish me luck.

[Doggygirl]

February Freedom Fighters ~ week 4

Happy Sunday!

Lav - I can't believe the g-kids are THREE!! How about some pics from the b-day party?? What type of work is your DIL hoping to do? Hope the water continues to stay OUTSIDE! How are the chickens?

Dill - I just looked up the amazon description of "change your brain.." - sounds very interesting. Especially come summer when I'm not in school, I can see I will be looking to you all to recommend some reading! :beach: (well, I won't be on a beach but it sure sounds nice doesn't it!!) Amen to your comments about group projects. That was definitely the case with most of them last semester. Especially the ones involving a paper. Since so many people truly cannot write, it absolutely falls on one or two if a paper is to make any sense at all. As far as teacher laziness, in some cases that is absolutely true. One of my teachers this semester has a small group doing the lecture every week. What? The blind leading the blind is OK in that class I guess!

People who come into treatment are at different places in their own process. Some don't yet see a problem at all, some are conflicted about whether there is a problem, some want to make changes, some don't, some are ambivalent - there is definitely no one size fits all. If there is a common theme for those who see some sort of problem is that there is a part that wants to stop, and a part that doesn't. I can relate. I sure felt that way in the early stages. The biggest problem we see these days is heroin addiction. That is the drug of choice for probably half of the people I see these days. It's a very insidious drug and seems extremely hard to kick. Heroin users describe the high as "being covered in a warm blanket." I can see why that feeling is attractive to people. Sadly, a lot of people end up on heroin after first getting hooked on prescription pain killers. Beware the doctors.

Star - what new job are you starting tomorrow? Obviously I missed the back story - any chance for a summary of what happened? Good luck!!! The group presentation I'm involved in tomorrow is as you described - just a presentation (no paper) so we were able to just divide it up and let everyone get their own s&!t together. We'll see how it goes. I decided I am simply not going to stress over group projects this semester. They will be whatever they are. I'm trying to put a lid on my inner over achiever LOL!

Hello all to come! I'm off to check one more thread and then get busy with homework. Have a great day everyone!

[Lavande]

February Freedom Fighters ~ week 4

Here's the seriously happy birthday girl Lily:



I still need to sort through some other pics. I think there's one of Lily & Will in a kiddie fight over a cupcake :H
DG, my DIL is finishing her MSW. She has a certain specialty children & family but I think she is going to have to get started anywhere she can
I started with a brand new flock of chicks in September, the old girls 'retired' to the Amish farm down the road. The new girls have started laying already - fun!!

I think if all the 'Dr. Feel Goods' were better at assessing pain & better at pain management there wouldn't be so many people hooked on opiates & out on the street buying heroin. But that's just my opinion
I firmly believe in treating real pain effectively but to write scripts without doing proper assessments is just plain careless & harmful in the long run.

Star, yesterday I served Turkey Bolognese with GF penne pasta & tossed salad. I baked GF cupcakes & cookies & decorated them all with Lily's favorite 'Hello Kitty' theme.

[papmom3]

February Freedom Fighters ~ week 4

OMG Lav, those cupcakes are adorable!! You are so creative!! And the pic of Lily-divine!! Glad the party went well and all had fun, despite some cupcake wars :H!!

DG-I am soooo glad to see you here!! I have thought of you often and even tried to contact you once or twice to see how you were doing.
You asked for a summary-you're getting it LOL!!
My paps are fine-getting older obviously-11, 11 and 8. My little one was diagnosed with Glomerunephritis and the beginning stages of kidney failure but is doing very well on meds and a restrictive diet. He is 11 and is still a Loudmouth and imp. Can't even tell he's sick thank god. MY Devil Dog is about the same. Its all about management with him and exercise which I'm trying to do more of with him. My Mickey is still the sweet laid back guy he always was.
I'm still quilting and have done a few more projects in the past year or so. I love it so much that I am going on a nearby retreat in April for a weekend.
This december I had a heart attack, was out of work for 5 weeks and am working hard to recover. I've lost 21 lbs so far (it might be 22 tomorrow) and I go to cardiac rehab twice a week. I graduate from there at the end of March and then go to Bariatric Boot camp twice a week for as long as I want. I'm not getting the surgery but I do use their nutritionists and the boot camp is available to me so why not take advantage? It's $10 a week and my insurance will cover it. I'm feeling really good and have totally changed my diet and pretty much kicked the sugar addiction, finally! I do allow myself one cookie every nite with my tea but that is it in terms of sweets for the most part. No more klondike bars or whoopie pies for me!!
Other than that, things are going well. I'm contemplating early retirement from the state but will need to find a different type of job as I can't live on retirement alone. Not enough years/age. I love my PT job as a raw pet food demo rep but have cut back my hours tremendously until I get stronger.
There, that's it!!
Dill, i think you and everyone else are right about Planet Fitness. Right now my treadmill seems to have straightened out so I don't have to make a decision right away but it's good to know it's right down the street if I want it.
Lots of water around here too. My deck is melting right up against the foundation so I have seepage in the laundry room. Trying not to stress about it as it's not like I can go out and move the snow anyway. It will dry out eventually.
It's been warm the past 2 days but I stayed inside today. Tomorrow the cold and snow return. Winter won't give up easily!!
Today I did some more organization in the kitchen to free up prep space on the island, laundry, finished the top of the wall hanging for the cardiac rehab center (need to get the backing/binding and quilt it all together), 30 min on the treadmill and I'm about to cook some salmon. Yum!
The pred and new meds have made all the difference! the rash is all but gone and I feel so much better. whew!
Back to work tomorrow-deadline fast approaching so lots to do. Also tomorrow I meet with my former colleague to explore any opportunities to go back to work there. More a info collecting meeting rather than job searching.
Speaking of jobs, good luck Star with going in to your new job for a few hours tomorrow!!

[Stargazerlily]

February Freedom Fighters ~ week 4

Good morning everyone...

Wow, it is really cold here, I could feel it when I got up. We are in for another cold week. It was nice to have some melting and sunshine. At least there is hope for spring.

Lav, what an adorable picture, she is so cute. I loved your menu, it sounded good and doable. What kind of salad dressing did you use? Sorry to be so insistnent, I am really changing what I eat and want all types of info. You are one of the few people who has do be as particular as I have to be.

Pap, how great to hear you describe your life changes in such an optimistic way...you are doing so well, even with real life getting in the way. Glad you took time for yourself this weekend and rested a bit, you deserve it.

DG, good idea to not stress too much about group projects. Do your part, and let the rest flow. Your assessment of your clients and where they are at was really interesting. I think just like on this site, you have to really want it, be willing to do whatever it takes, to get healthy and AF or DF. I can tell you love the field you are going into.

Have a great day all.

[Lavande]

February Freedom Fighters ~ week 4

Good morning friends!

Toddler cupcake wars are absolutely hysterical papmom :H
I also had problems with Will unwrapping gifts that weren't his!! It's hard to explain 'this is not your party' to a kid at that age!

Yep, it's frosty here too Star!!!!
Apparently the roads are icy as well, I'm hearing about multiple accidents on the local news

About the salad dressing - since you asked :H
Everyone is picky so it's easiest to let them choose their own. My daughter & I used the dairy & gluten free, the others think they don't like that so they use the bottled stuff from the supermarket :H Honestly, YB can be the biggest baby when it comes to that sort of stuff.
It takes time to change people's minds but if you're persistent - you'll succeed!!!

Think I'll wait a while until the roads are safer then make a run to Curves. I have some work to keep me busy until then anyway.
Wishing everyone a fabulous AF Monday!

Lav

[Doggygirl]

February Freedom Fighters ~ week 4

Good morning! This will have to be quick for me... Monday's are my "long" day at school. I also have a meeting this morning at one of the local shelters about leading a recovery group for their Men's Recovery Program. Not sure if that will work out for a number of reasons but I would love to volunteer that time if it works.

Lav - AWESOME PICS!!! Wow Lilly sure has grown up! Cupcake wars. I think we need more pics??? So where is YB living these days? Doesn't matter as long as he is being a good YB I guess. (Is he being a good YB??)

P3 - I am so sorry to hear about your heart attack!! Wow that must have been scary. Sounds like you have really gotten motivated for some changes and that is awesome! Congrats on the weight loss. I have gained back over 30 pounds of the weight I originally lost after I quit drinking which is so frustrating to me. Your story has motivated me even more to get my s*it together with regard to my eating. Would love to see a quilt picture! Sounds like your pups are going strong. I'm glad to hear the one that is sick doesn't seem to be suffering with it. Dogs are amazing, aren't they? Sounds like DD will always be DD!

Star - I'm sort of dreading when things warm up because there is so much snow! And I'm sure the spring rains will come on top of it. Ugh. Better move stuff around in the basement and also get ready for a bunch of muddy paws.

Well - zoom zoom. Have a good day all. I've got my food all planned and packed - no C.R.A.P. (Calorie Rich And Processed) for me today. Did 4 miles with Leslie this morning already. A good start to the day/week.

DG

[papmom3]

February Freedom Fighters ~ week 4

Hey DG-you can do this! If I can, anyone can and PLEASE don't wait until you have no choice like I did!
I forgot to congratulate you on getting your AS degree and now going for your Masters!! That is just so freaking awesome! Are you doing an accelerated BS to MS program? I'm so happy to hear that you landed a great job right away too. That is really a testament to your work ethic and ability to connect with the clients (and you have always connected with the whole MWO family so that is no surprise!). I'm glad you're enjoying it!
Nothing like being passionate about your work and getting paid at the same time! Still looking for that connection myself.
Good luck on the group project. Never cared for them myself-someone always has to be in control and tell the rest how to do it. Yech. But I am a really good team player in real life LOL!!

Lav-were you able to get around safely today? I didn't wear boots for the first time this season-wore pumps- and all was fine until I got home tonite and my steps were a sheet of ice!! Must have been warm enough to melt some more off the roof and then the temps plummeted!!
Oh yes, the unwrapping of the gifts that aren't yours toddler syndrome! I remember it well!

Star-thank you for the nice words! I promise you Spring will be here soon. Winter can't possibly last until May could it? Just be careful out there! So, how did the trip into your new job go today???? Inquiring minds and all that!

Had a very good day today. Boss was out sick, I handled a couple more things on my own (jeez, you'd think I'd never run an office before!) and was very productive for the few hours I was there. Rehab went great-did some extra minutes on the treadmill and was complimented on my progress. However, with that came an admonishment that I will need to keep myself in check once this is over. Intensity isn't the name of the game. Hmmm, they know me too well and it's only been 8 weeks!! :H
My meeting with my old colleague went very well. I had no expectations and there isn't a position available at the this time but I know he will keep his eyes and mind open. I was able to articulate what I'm looking for and I did tell him the whole story. He also gave me a couple of ideas to look into. It felt good to just put my thoughts into words and get some feedback so mission accomplished!!!

Well, back to The Voice and Blacklist and then off to bed!

:l :h

[papmom3]

February Freedom Fighters ~ week 4

Here you go DG!!

Quilters Club of America

[dill]

February Freedom Fighters ~ week 4

Hello FFF's,

Papmom, thanks for the link. I know you posted it to DG, but didn't think you'd mind if I followed it too! It was really awesome! I saw a feature on the Nightly News last night about a woman who started a quilt company in Missouri called Missouri Star Qult Company. She is very creative and has made several Youtubes. Have you already heard of her? Here is a link to one of her tutorials. It's reall cool!:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lcy_p4pryE4

DG I am all too familiar with prescription drug addiction. It is at the core of my son's failed marriage. He is recovering but his wife is not doing so well. It is the reason for my current living situation with my son and grandkids all under roof. I'm very proud of my son for all he has accomplished in his recovery and I pray everyday it continues.

Lav, thanks for the great pics of the birthday party. Loved those kitty cookies.

Star, How did your first encounter with your new employment go? I hope you had a positive experience.

Cyn, hope your Mom is improving.

Rusty, :l Thinking of you.

I'm up early for no particular reason. But I'm enjoying the quiet. Morning is my favorite time of day. Today it's a dentist visit for grandson and then lunch at Cracker Barrel with and old friend/colleague. Have a great day All!