[Seasaw]

Good morning. It's overcast here but temps are supposed to rise today and through the week. I have tulips up about 4 inches in front of my house.

Melissa: Did you get to Trader Joe's over the weekend? What delicacies did you find?

Lisa: How did you do in the 5k? It is great that you're entering races; good for the motivation and building the social aspect.

Pam: I hear ya on losing 5 lbs to have things fit properly again. I had to buy new clothes when I gained weight two years ago. I am slowly but surely getting out of them and back into my previous weight clothes. Darn! I said I wasn't going to keep various sizes in my closet anymore, but it looks like I've done just that.

I had a good weekend. Friday nite, went out to dinner with my sister and another friend. Saturday was a bit of a downer in that I had to see my ex to get the last of my things. But it's behind me now. The only thing left to divide up is photos and I intend to wait until I'm a whole lot stronger before I tackle that job.

Yesterday, ran 16 km in the morning, then had the running club over to my place for brunch. It was a nice way to christen my condo. BTW - I got a key to the clubhouse on Wednesday nite at the general meeting (I'm now on the board), and the heated lap pool should be done in about 6 weeks. This place continues to be the best gift I've ever given myself.

Now the work situation. After a long discussion, my GP has put me off for 1-2 months. It is clearly not a healthy environment right now for anyone, but the events of the past seven months have eroded my ability to deal with things constructively.

I had a long talk with one of my boss's superiors on Thursday. He is supportive. I've also got a line on another job and will put in an application for it. I don't think that working with the current boss is an option from what I've seen. I think we will certainly try to fix things, and I'll try to maintain a positive attitude, but I also believe it will be very hard for someone of his age and experience to change. He's two years away from retirement.

Waz up with you? Hi to lala, Austingal.

[MelissaL]

Good morning! It's sunny and 35 here this morning--temps are supposed to get up to 55 so we'll see. The weather looks great for this week with temps getting up into the 60's! Doesn't take much to make me happy!

I did get to Trader Joe's over the weekend--what a great place! I wish we had one closer but it's definitely worth the drive. I had scanned the WW boards to get some ideas so I went armed with a list I picked up: thai style green beans, sweet corn & roasted pepper soup, black bean soup, chipotle hummus, Greek yogurt, smoked chipotle salsa, artichoke & red pepper tapenade...and a few other things. DH and I had the corn soup on Saturday evening--it was great! The corn gave it a little sweetness and the chipotle pepper gave it a hint of heat. I'm already trying to figure out when I go back and get some more! The soup was low (80 cal, 1 fat, 2 fiber) so it's a great low point option. Also tried the hummus and it was equally tasty. Has anyone else had the opportunity to go to Trader Joe's?

It was a gorgeous day on Saturday so DH and I headed out and made several stops after Trader Joe's. There's a great little meat market in Cleveland that my mom and great aunt used to go to and they have the best German style brats, smoked leberwurst, and butter cheese. We had lunch at a microbrewery and I'll admit I didn't eat all that healthy. We got this awesome Asian nachos--wonton wrappers with shredded chicken with an Asian sweet/hot sauce and then drizzled with a wasabi sauce...yum! Our waitress said once we had them we'd want more and she was right! I had a grilled chicken sandwich so it wasn't that bad.

Didn't do a whole lot yesterday--I was kind of in a funk of sorts. I had ordered a pair of pants from LL Bean and either they changed their vendor or the sizing is off. They were way too snug! I have 3 other pairs of the same style of pants and they fit great. *sigh* So I went out looking for pants and was discouraged because they were either too big in the waist or too small in the hip area...aaaahhhhh! So I've given up for the time being.

Susan: Sounds like you had a good weekend. I hope your work issues get better--I know how hard it can be working in that type of an environment. The condo sounds great--the pool sounds like a great addition for you!

Hi to Pam, Lala, Austingal & Lisa! Hope you all had a great weekend!

We have a short week here, we're off Thursday, Friday, Monday for Easter.

[Domina]

Well, I'm back from my conference in Atlanta--a great city and I'm digging out from the paperwork that piled up--yuck.

It's warm and cloudy here today--we still need rain.

Susan, your place sounds so nice. Congrats on the long run. I finished the
5K last Saturday and had a PR! I knocked 3 minutes off my previous time. That was good.

Melissa, I've never heard of Trader Joe's and I don't know if there are any down here. It sounds great!

In Atlanta, I did not eat healthy--lots of snacking and sweets, but I did exercise every morning. They had a great health facility at the Hyatt--very nice hotel. Also did some great shopping at night. Went to a tapas restaurant and that was so much fun. A coworker and I tried four different ones and it was great to try something new. I did not sleep well last night mainly because DH's truck is DOA! We really did not need to be buying a vehicle right now, but here we are. We want a used car or truck for only a few thousand--not too many of those around. It's so hard having only one car. I take him to work and then go back after I'm done working to pick him up. That works all right till I have something else going on.

I'm headed to my parents' this weekend as I am singing at their church for Easter. DH has to work and he has a race, too. We found some friends to get him where he needs to go.

Also got some news about my dad--he needs surgery on his carotid artery. It's scheduled for the 25th. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Have a great Easter.