Regarding December 22

We will have our regular meeting this Friday. Hope everyone can make it!



Amanda

Something fun to do

Check this out and have some Christmas fun:

http://www.elfyourself.com

HIPPO Update

As of Friday, December 8, 2006, HIPPO Aftercare Group will meet from 3:30pm - 5:00pm. See the "Where We Meet" post for more details.

Gobble Gobble Gobble

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving to all HIPPOs. We all have so much to be thankful for and it is so important to remember.

Our bloat will gather again the Friday after Thanksgiving. See you then.


God, I am thankful for the people to whom I can relate in all situations.
I am grateful for all of them-
for those called "family" who provide community,
for those called "leaders" who give guidance,
for those called "enemies" who help me see my faults,
for those called "colleagues" who share responsibilities,
for those called "scholars" who teach important lessons,
for those called "helpers" who enable us to be of help,
for those called "comforters" who dry my tears, unafraid of my weeping.


The text of an old gospel song offers wise counsel:
"Count your many blessings, name them one by one; count your many blessings see what God has done."

A HIPPO of a good group

WOW! What a wonderful group today. It was great to see 6, yes 6, new members to our bloat. The addition of new faces gave us an opportunity to try out a potential new meeting room. Everyone keep their fingers crossed that we will recieve authorization to use this bigger space on a regular basis.

The next meeting is Friday, October 17.

We will take off the Friday after Thanksgiving.

Thought for the day..... Is this the "real" me or is it the "new" me?

Calling all HIPPOs

Heeeelllllooooooo HHHHIIIIIPPPPPOOOOOOssssssss...................








Well, we had a 2 week hiatas during Shuwanna's wedding and honeymoon. Ok, some of us took some time off. Last week was slim, but as always a great group session. Thank you Jill for your input and suggestions.

Hope to see everyone this Friday afternoon. That includes you Shuwanna....assuming work/life allow!

Goin' to the chapel.....

Best wishes and lots of love to Shuwanna and "Don" on their upcoming nuptuals.

Enjoy your day --- you deserve it.


Your HIPPOs

Just checking in

Calling all HIPPOs...... Hope to see you all at group on Friday.

Don't forget to mark your calendars for NEXT Friday, September 29. We will be staying after group for about 30-45 minutes to help Shuwanna celebrate her upcoming nuptials.

A-Z Inventory

We did a great exercise at group today....an A-Z inventory. It is a great way to focus on your positive attributes. Here is what you do....

Write each letters of the alphabet down the left hand side of a piece of paper. After that go down the list of letters and write a POSITIVE attribute about yourself.....or maybe an attribute that you want to work on. Don't dwell on a letter if you can't come up with something. Go on and come back to that letter later.

Once you have completed the exercise try taking an attribute every couple of days and put into practice on a conscious level. Then choose a different attribute, and so on, and so on.

**If you can't come up with "H", don't forget that you are a >>>>>>>

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Just a quick note to say that I am looking forward to seeing everyone at group on Friday.

Shuwanna, I am sure you have lots to share after your trip.

If you have not looked Shuwanna's site this week please do so...there is new info regarding group on it....plus a great post. LearningToLive (<-- click there)

Please think about me....

I am asking all of you to please be thinking about me on Wednesday, August 23. I will be over at the Partial Program speaking at 10:00. I am excited and nervous all at the same time. As many of you know, I feel called to share my story with others. I want others, especially those in any of the psych units at TCMC, to know that there is hope ----- the light at the end of the tunnel isn't always that of an oncoming train. I plan to share my experiences over the last year or so, the tools that I have gained and use....including Boundaries and "The Rules". I will also be sharing information about HIPPOs. I spoke with my therapist on Friday and she feels that I am ready for this and is 100% behind me.

I would greatly appreciate prayers for peace of mind, courage to share even the hard things, and wisdom to know what not to share. I will be anxious, I am sure, to share with all of you on Friday how it went.

I also want to say thank you to all of you in the group. Because of your input and support over the last several months I have continued on the road to recovery and healing.

Friday, August 11, 2006

Well, we had another good group this afternoon. There were 4 of us plus Shuwanna and Elizabeth. We will begin the Mood Journal next Friday. Not much else to report.

Shuwanna --- have a nice trip to California. We will see you in a couple of weeks.

hippogrover
aka Amanda

"Poopy Metaphor"

IWasJustThinking... has a great new post all of you should read. It is wonderful. Especially if you were at Shuwanna's group about looking at the world through Poop Colored Glasses

Mood Journal

Mood Journal

Beginning on Friday, August 11, 2006, we will begin a mood journal at group. There will be a 3 ring binder on the table in the room with instructions on how to fill out the journal. The binder will have dividers and notebook paper. Each group member will have a divider with his/her name. Please remember that the journal is to be confidential, so do not read other member's sections of the journal. The only people who can read all parts of the journal are Shuwanna and Elizabeth. I will attempt to explain how the journal will work but like I said, there will be instructions in the journal.

*Line one: write your name and the date

*Line two: write "Before Group"

*Line three: write "Today I feel"

*Line four: write "Physically" (and answer)

*Line five: write "Emotionally" (and answer)

*Line six: write "Spiritually" (and answer)

skip a line or two and then:

*Write your name and the date

*Write "After Group"

*Write "I feel"

*Repeat lines four, five, and six

This should prove to be a great project for each of us. However, for those of you who do not like journaling or this type of check-in ---DON'T SHOOT THE MESSENGER!! This was Shuwanna's brain child. Just kidding Shuwanna, I am excited about this and am looking forward to being able to see in writing how, if at all, my emotions and feelings change from the start of group to the end of group.

Meeting Check In

* We had a great group on Friday, July 28. We welcomed a new member to the bloat, "J" (for anonimity). J we hope you will come back, you have a lot to offer the group.
* Shuwanna----thank you for your time, we know it is very precious and wanted by many.

* On a personal note, I would encourage you all to check out WhitneySimpson.com. Whitney is a friend of mine and has really live through a lot and has a fabulous story to tell. She also has a blog site which is Whitney'sBlog . You can go to the webpage by clicking the title of this post.


If you have anything you want post to the blog ---- on the main page. Please contact me or Shuwanna.

Have a great one!!

Just something to think about

I encourage you to go to a blogspot that I have been following and read one of the latest posts. It is called "Connection". To link to the site simply click on the title field of this post.

amanda

Stressed???? Like Bubble Wrap

If you like bubble wrap and need to de-stress click on the title line above. Happy Popping!!!