HI!
I hope everyone is doing ok.
Today, while I'm on the gazelle, I was thinking, what am I getting out of this? I exercise like a maniac, diet (not as good as I should) and I'm not getting anywhere. So, I look at my calendar, which is where I post my weight, how much I exercise and sometimes my food and I found out that Jan 1, I weighed 18 lbs. more than I do now. I guess, I finally figured out the importance of keeping a journal, of some sort. I also realized, I have really increased the amount of exercise I am doing compared to a few months ago. My eating is the problem area, so that is what I really need to work on. DH brought me 2 crispy cream donuts this morning, but I didn't even want them, so he ended up eating them. That was so refreshing to me. Besides, last night DD #2 brought over some jelly belly jelly beans and I'm afraid I ate enough sugar for a year. So I really need to stay OP now.

Aleka, how is your back? Is the weather any better? It has remained cold and wet here for several days now. I can't plant anything and I'm just staring out the window like a cat looking at a bird, waiting to get out there.

Anne, how are you and your family? How was your dinner?

Cheryl, hi and hope things are well with you.

Got to get some lunch, Nikki

I hope you all had a great Easter. It was a beautiful day, nearing 70 deg. DH & I went out for Easter dinner and my eating was not very good. I had mashed potatoes, and had cherry cobbler for dessert. All that sugar was delicious

We still have piles of snow in the front yard, but a lot has melted. My flower garden is free of snow and with all the warmer temps we've been having I see some green shoots sticking up.

nikki, you have come a long way and you are doing a great job. Good for you for not wanting the Krispy Kreme donuts. I put on about 3 of the 4 lbs. I lost while on the Grapefruit Diet. That didn't take long, nothing surprising there! I've been watching Suzanne on HSN these past couple of days. Everytime I see her doing Somersizing I get really motivated to give it another try, then my motivation starts to go a little bit. I've taped a couple of SSzing segments to occasionally watch to keep my motivation strong. We'll see how it goes. My back is doing ok. It's still bothering me some. I am doing some back stretches and doing a little walking which helps. The pain is different now. Instead of it being constant, every once in awhile I get a zing that lasts about a second or two, and the zings seem to be more to the surface than deep like the pain was before. Now, aren't you glad you asked? Thank you for asking.

ANNE, how did your weekend go? I noticed on our calendar that today is Easter Monday in Canada. What is Easter Monday? How did your Easter Dinner for your family turn out?

Cheryl, did you pick up your kitties on Fri.,? If so, how many did you come home with? How was your Easter?

Take care and enjoy the rest of the afternoon.

Aleka

No kittens, as of yet. I was supposed to get them Friday, but Stewart and I got up at 4:30 a.m. and went fishing. I have discovered that i LOVE, LOVE, LOVE fishing!!! I'm gonna try again this week

OK, y'all, I want to start doing something, and I hope y'all don't think I'm crazy for it. I want to try to start running/jogging. More jogging. When I'm feeling good, and not stressed out at all, I have these dreams where I'm running for miles and miles and it's GREAT. I want to see if I can really feel that way in "real life." I went on a website called coolrunning.com and printed out a schedule called "Couch to 5k" that's supposed to help a person train to run 3 miles in 3 months. I'm so excited about this that I can hardly contain myself. I'm a little scared, too, though, because I'm afraid it's gonna end up like all the diets I've started and I'll lose interest before I really even get going and just sort of fizzle.

Nikki, 18 pounds since January is wonderful!!!!!!! Yes, those journals are a good thing! Ummmmm, Krispie Kremes. There's a KK factory in Memphis, and sometimes Stew's dad will stop and get fresh boxes on his way home from work. Yummy!

Anne, thanks for the Easter well wishes. Ate w/two families. One of them (his) fights constantly. Great food, though

Alice, warm weather--whoo-hoo!!!!! I'll bet you're soooo glad! Hope the back is better. Don't over-do!

Dang Wal-Mart for having half-price Easter candy. I could literally make myself sick eating those Cadbury Cream eggs. Blech....

Cheryl

Good Evening Ladies:

The dinner was great,excellent, problem is, with all the left overs I made a pig out of my self today too Oh well come Tuesday it will business as usual!!

Aleka, Easter Monday is just an extension of Easter Sunday. It
is like a "mini season".

Nikkic, Kristpy Kreme donuts. man oh man are those awesome!!
You are great stuff to be able to resist those treats!!!

Cheryl, you go girl!!! Jogging is great! Glad you are getting your
kitties on Friday, won't be long now!

Back to work Tuesday ladies Holiday wen't way to fast........

Talk to you all Tuesday.

Anne.

The weather has surely changed today. It's raw and we're supposed to be getting some rain that will last into Thurs. AND they say we may see SNOW!!! Accumulating snow, no less!

ANNE, how was your first day back to work? Hope it went well for you. Glad that your Easter dinner went well. You have been doing great with your exercising, so I'm sure you did ok with all the holiday eating.

Cheryl, that's great you're thinking of jogging. Go for it! When are you going to start? Sorry you couldn't pick up your kitties last Fri., but it's probably for the best they stay with their mother for a while longer. I bet you can't wait until this Fri. Only a few more days to go.

nikki, hope everything is going well for you.

Take care and have a good day everyone.
Aleka

Good Morning All:

I have just heard the world health organization has advised
against travel to Toronto because of the S.A.R.S epidemic
I tell you, it really is not a very nice feeling. I was over in the
main hospital building the other day to pick up my sons medication
and I felt like I was part of a Sci Fi thriller. It was really really
creepy.

My dad has four more treatments left after today so we will
be glad he won't have to make the daily journey down town
each day especially with all this going on!! Poor dad, his back
looks just awful from the radiation. It turns my stomach to look
at the big burn he has suffered. He can't even stand to have his
shirt on when he is home because of the pain.

Aleka, it is so cold here you wouldn't beleive it. Will this ever end?

Hi Nikkic, hope you are well.

Hi Cheryl, any more news on the kittens?

Anne.

ANNE, the travel advisory to Toronto has been all over our news for the past couple of days. I was thinking of you as I watched it. Thankfully your Dad only has a few more treatments to go. OOOH, your poor Dad. Have they given him any kind of salve to put on his burn? It's raw here, it's about 48 deg. right now with on and off rain. They were saying that in the mountains of northern NH may see about 1"- 3" of snow overnight tonight. I hope they weren't referring to where we live. We live in central NH, so it depends on how far north they were talking about.

nikki and Cheryl, what have you guys been up to?

Take care and have a good afternoon.
Aleka

Hi,
Sorry I haven't checked in the last couple of days. I've been planting my gardens and I'm exhausted. I can sit up at the computer for only a little while, then it gets so painful, I have to go lay down.
I planted my strawberries, 40 plants and covered the garden with land fabric and straw, so I won't have to weed it. It's more work to start with, but well worth it later. Plus, it helps to conserve moisture.
Today, I planted lettuce-6 varieties, spinach, kohlrabi, jalepenos, celery and eggplant. I was trying to get to the tomatoes, but I ran out of steam. I also planted a few flowers. While I was in the soil, I cut my finger on some glass. I know I should wear gloves, but I've always loved the feel of the soil in my hands. When they filled in this yard with dirt, I swear they used dirt from the dump. It's full of glass, garbage and rocks. Kind of takes the fun out of getting my hands dirty.
DH planted my apple tree for me yesterday and mowed the yard today. It all looks so nice.
I have one more garden to plant after the tomatoes are in the ground. It's suppose to start raining tonight, so I'll have to wait and I can use the rest. The lady at the greenhouse asked me if I was going to plant today and I said yes, she asked me if I was afraid it would snow again. I said, it might, but plants are cheap and if I have to, I can replace them. Man, I hope that doesn't happen though. I feel like I'm in a race to get this done. Before I know it, the weather will turn hot and humid and completely impossible to work outside. It is really hard to breathe when it gets like that. Thank God for ac.

Aleka, I bet your really tired of snow. I hope it doesn't come your way.

Anne, I hadn't heard about the advisory. I never watch the news anyway. I am sorry to hear about that and also your dad's suffering. I'm sure he will be so glad when the treatments are completed.

Hi Cheryl, hope your doing well. I think running/jogging is a great way to exercise. It is hard on the joints, so take care and don't over do it. I haven't been able to run since I was in high school, for one reason or another. That's why I love the gazelle. I get the same feeling as running. What an achievement to be able to run for 3 miles. You go girl, as they say

Take care eveyone, Nikki

Hi there,

We're getting snow flurries this morning. I can't believe it! Luckily it isn't sticking to the ground.

nikki, you sound like you've been really busy planting your garden. That's wonderful exercise. What will you do with all the fruits and vegetables after you pick them? Will you can a lot of it? Hope you didn't get any snow.

ANNE, I've been hearing more advisory warnings about traveling to Toronto and China. It must be very frightening for all of you. I saw an interview with Toronto's mayor and he seemed visibly upset about the advisories.

Cheryl, you'll be picking up the kitties tomorrow! Are you excited? Let us know how many you take home with you.

Have a great day everyone.
Aleka

Hi,
It started to rain last night and it's still raining now. It's a good rain, not a flood and it's soaking in

Aleka, I don't know what I'll do with all the vegetables, give them away or freeze them. Believe it or not, I've never canned. My mom use to can all the time, I never learned how. I know I could read a book and figure it out, but it seems like a lot of work. We have a big freezer in the garage that is empty now, so that's where it will go, if I have anything to freeze.

The morel mushrooms will be up soon, if they aren't already. Do they grow out there? I know they are in Wisconsin and Illinois. They also grow in Missouri, but they are afraid to eat them as they also grow the ones that look identical and are poisonous. I haven't been able to walk in the woods and hunt them for years, but I think I'm in much better shape now and I'm really looking forward to it. They are really delicious.

Anne, I hope you doing ok. I can't imagine the amount of stress your under.

Hi Cheryl, what kind of kitten are you getting? I love cats as you know.

Take care everyone, Nikki

Good Evening All:

It was a lovely day here in Toronto (weather wise). It has been
8 days since there have been any new cases of SARS in our
city. Of the 260 folks with the illness 136 are out of hospital
and well again. Inspite of the ban, we are coming out of this
epidemic. If we go another 12 days the health emergency will
be officially over so keep your fingers crossed for us

Nikkic, it sounds like your gardening season is off to a wonderful
start!

Aleka!!!snow flurries!!! We'll probably be next!

3 more days of treatments for my dad thank God
the end is in site!!!!

Talk to you all Friday.
Anne.

We're gearing up for 2 or 3 days of rain. Yesterday we had a gorgeous day, so DH & I took off for Maine. It was nice to get away.

ANNE, that's great your Dad has only a few more treatments to go. I saw on the news that they closed a hospital in China on account of SARS.

nikki, I don't know how to can either. The fall before my mother passed away she & I canned some homemade relish from a recipe handed down from my great-grandmother. It was fun and I have that memory. It was the first and only time I ever canned anything. I don't know if we have morel mushrooms in our area. I'm really not a mushroom person. How are the frozen dinners coming along? Have they worked?

Cheryl, did you pick up the kitties? If so, I bet you're having a great time with them.

Take care and have a great weekend.
Aleka

Hi,
I spent the last 2 days in the garden. Today, I planted my tomatoes, basil, sunflowers, a few more flowers and got some more of the garden prepared for tomorrow. I'm hoping to get the rest of it in before the next series of rain storms come through, it's suppose to last a week.

Anne, I sure hope that there are no more cases of SARS and that the restrictions are lifted soon. Glad to hear your dads treatments are almost over with.

Aleka, I have temporarlily quit dieting. I haven't had the time to even care about what I'm eating. I think after tomorrow, I'll get back on track. I quit exercising too, I seem to be getting plenty in the garden. Actually, I'd much rather eat the frozen dinners, but DH has been wanting me to make food, like hamburgers and steaks and to tell the truth, it would be so much easier if he'd just eat those dinners.

Got to go, take care, Nikki