Hi, It's been a while since I started a new thread so I hope that this works. Hi Marnie and welcome to our group. I am in Ohio and it got cold again after all the nice 70 degree days that we were having. The pear and magnolia trees are all in bloom and they are so pretty. All the spring flowers are in bloom too so I hope the cold doesn't hurt them. I am so ready for this. I am at a standstill weighwise. I think I have too many carbs so I am going to try to cut down but not out. I love all that bread and stuff. I got a yoga video that also uses the exercise ball. I like it but occasionally I fall off the ball. Definitely use it only when I am home alone so I don't get laughed at. lol I have to go back to the old thread and see what's going on. Hope you all are having a nice weekend.

Peggy: Thanks for the new thread. 3 pages gets pretty long.Hope you have some more spring weather soon.

Marnie: I don't think I told you about me. I live in Florida, retired music teacher. We live in an adult park and am busy most of the time. Have 6 grown children,(2 mine, 2 my D.H.) 14 combined grandchildren and now 2 GGchildren. Our blended family has worked very well. Love the Florida weather.

Karen: I'm sure that things will work out for your Dad. We'll remember him and your Mom and you in our prayers. I know a gentlemen here where we live, who had the same problem, had a colostomey(sp) and is doing well, and this was about 4 or 5- years ago. It always seems that the person who is having the surgery is cooler about it that all the relatives. God will take care of him.

Hi everyone. We just got home from a concert done by an Over 55 Jazz Band. They were really good, and played all the good old ballads. The songs were all either by Gershwin or Mancini. A fun afternoon.

Hope your weekend was good. Tomorrow we are going on a mystery cruise, lunch and theater, where the diners get involved in the play. Never been to one like this, so am looking forward to it. I'll report later. Ann

G'day all,

I am still in New Zealand and having a great time.
We arrived in the South Island last Saturday. This is the most magnificent country side I have ever seen.
We stayed the last 2 nights at a little village 'Franz Josef', it is at the foot of the Franz Josef Glacier. Unbelievable to wake up in the morning to the sight of snowcapped mountains on your door step. We took a helicopter ride yesterday morning around the mountains and it landed near one of the glaciers for 30 minutes or so before taking off again. Words cannot describe how magnificent it was. We also did lots of walking and I now have bad blisters. DH has gone on a 4 hour hike on the glaciers this morning, it is a magnificent day, I am sure he will really enjoy it.

I notice the previous post went for 3 pages, I will go back and have a read until my money runs out. This internet terminal you have to 'feed' with change/.
Also noticed we have a new member Marnie, welcome!

Slavika I just have to say how pleased we are not to be in a motorhome, the motels we have stayed at have been great and when I see people in Motorhomes I think to myself I am so pleased I can have a comfortable shower etc.

I have also talked dh into another little project, I use the 'loo' 1001 times per day and I am always on the look out to find a ladies. DH is to take a photo of every 'comfort' stop. Initially he thought it was quite funny but he now feels a bit strange loitering outside the ladies toilets taking photographs

Hope you are all well, healthy and happy.
We should be arriving home in Australia next Wednesday week.

Cheers
Maria

PS Lily website impressive, will ask you a few questions about it when I have more time, GREAT JOB!

Peggy: I have an exercise ball to. Its quite comical to watch me
Im so un-coordinated! But I kepp trying!

Ann: The mystery cruise sounds fun. Let us know how it goes!

Maria: Its sounds so pretty. I do hope to go there some day. Sounds like you are having an awesome time!

Looks like it is getting back to spring again. Wonder how long it will last this time

Good morning all: Our mystery cruise was great fun and a lovely day on the water. I have to brag a bit - I picked the perpetrator of the crime. Of course several others did, and so all those names were put in a hat for prize drawings. Alas! I did not get a prize, but it was just enough to know that I guessed the murderer.:

Today will be a busy day. All sorts of afternoon apointments, the best of which will be a massage. I do look forward to those.

After all the eating I did yesterday I have to hang my head in shame. After the cruise, and lovely lunch, we were taken out for dinner for my dh's birthday. But I was so full from lunch I made my dinner a cup of soup and a shrimp cocktail. But the scales this a.m. were not kind to me. I think a little magic subtraction would be lovely: Just a wild dream.

Have a great day. Ann

Hopefully this will work. Karen alerted me to the fact that a new thread had begun (Thank you Karen!) I just cut and pasted this post from an earlier thread - sorry. Still in learning stage!

Whew! Just read all the posts from March 22nd.

Thank you all for such newsy posts. I think I have all your names now: Lily, Peggy, Karen, Ann, Slavika, Maria, Glenda, Trudy, Jenye and me. Did I forget anyone? Hope not.

Is there a newsletter we receive? I know I get something from WW each Monday, but rarely read them - I just store them in a folder with every intention of getting back to them! Anyway, I read about an oat & apricot bar that sounded good. Does someone have that recipe?

Monday is my weigh-in day. I really thought I was going to be up yesterday, but low and behold, I was down 2.2 lbs!

I agree that Atkins is not the way to go. My husband is doing it right now, and he has lost close to 30 lbs. I believe he misses the carbohydrates - especially big salads. We'll have to wait and see what the "jury" says. I know I have to eat less carbohydrates: especially sugar and white flour. I believe they increase my appetite.

I like the point system at WW. Somewhere in the 1980s I got my "Lifetime" gold key, and then proceeded to pack it all back on. I am so determined to get it off once and for off. I do have periods of "poor me" your can't have as much of that as you would like, but basically I know it is a program I can live with. I will rely on help from Karen and Lily as I understand you are both involved in the organization. From time to time I've thought it would be good to be a lecturer or a weigher, just to keep me close to the program (not to mention the scale).

I know I'm rambling, but wanted to thank you again for the nice welcome. I am married to Jerry and the mother of Zach (25 years); I work part-time as a legal secretary in a small law firm in downtown St. Paul, MN.

That said, I hope you all have a great day and week.


__________________
Walk toward the sunshine, and the
shadows will fall behind you.








_

Marnie good morning.
The recipe for the "Oat and Apricot Breakfast Bar" came from a WW Newsletter a couple of weeks ago. You can register online and receive their newsletter free of charge in your email every week. This isreally a nice recipe except that I don't like apricots so I substituted other dried fruit for it, (like raisins and cranberries) To register for the newsletter just go to:
www.weightwatchers.com

OAT AND APRICOT BREAKFAST BARS
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup uncooked quick oats
15 pieces dried apricot halves diced
2 tbsp sunflower seeds
1 tbsp reduced-calorie margerine, melted
1/2 cup fat free egg substitute

Instructions:

1. Preheat over to 350. Coat 8" square baking pan with cooking spray
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, oats, apricots and sunflower seeds.
3. Whisk together margarine and egg substitute. Quickly mix together wet and dry ingredients. Spoon into prepared pan and smooth top.
4. Bake until firm, about 20 minutes. Cool completely before cutting into 8 rectangles. Yields 1 bar per serving.

Points
Serves 8
points per serving 3

Marnie: I dust the top of the bar wirth icing sugar when it has cooled. I hope you like it. Slavika

Thank you for the recipe, Slavika. It sounds good. I think I'd use raisins as well.

I'll have to try it.

Ann: Thats great you picked the perpetrator! But ALAS, no prize? How sad
I wanna go with you to the Massage. I love them! Havent been in a while.

Marnie: I dont think 3FC has a newsletter. Not really sure on that. Congrats on your loss! 2.2 is super!
I would miss Carbs to. Im actually trying to cut back on them right now. I think Im getting way to many from looking at my Journals. Could never live with out them tho. Sounds like your DH is doing good tho.

Best get to work.

Maria you sound like you are on a dream trip. How nice and how funny for your dh to lurk outside the ladies rooms. Are you going to post the best of the pictures? Marnie you had a good loss. Ann what fun you had with your mystery cruise. I want to go on a mystery weekend up at Lake Erie this summer. You always do the funnest things. Slavika thanks for posting the recipe. It sounds a little too good to me. Can you stop at one? I ran across a chicken recipe that sounded good. I will have to find it. Lily we should get together and see who can fall off the ball the most. I sure would die of embarrassment if I had to go to the er with an exercise ball mishap. lol I have to baby sit for my nieces kids tomorrow. I think we will make cookies-that should make a mess and keep them busy for a short time. They are bringing their dog too. Oh joy! The gas co is going to turn off the furnace for a short time while they do some more street work. Hoping that it isn't too cold. They will probably want to play in the construction sand mountain that is on the side of our house. You could lose people in that mess. Gotta run,

Wow. It has been kind of a long time since I have had the time to check on you guys. Hope everyone is doing okay. We almost have spring here today, but, of course, only yesterday the weathermen were calling for a freeze. How can we still have winter? Still wearing winter clothes on April 10th!

Marnie, so glad you have decided WW is the way to go. I have this feeling, even though I am not at goal, that if you have more than 10 pounds to lose, you need to lose it slowly so that you can stay on the program. Being on a specialty diet is okay for a short while, but over the long haul we just need everything, a really balanced diet. I tell you, if I am on a diet that says I can have everything but lettuce, I would crave lettuce.

We have been so caught up in the war. The atrocities we have heard of lately just mystify me--how can anyone be that evil? Those poor people!

Anne, no wonder you are so busy at your park. I had forgotten (if I ever knew) that you had been a music teacher. That is why you are in charge of so many things. I did horrible in math in school, but I thought you said you had 6 grown children, 2 for you and 2 for DH. Isn't that just 4?

I hope we are all starting the spring weather. Must be a reason Easter is so late this year.

Maria - hiking on a gracier! Your life is so exciting! My exotic life is about walking on a sidewalk around a lake.

Enough of my exciting life.
Glenda

Glenda: guess I forgot two. 2 girls for me 3 boys and one girl for dh. But the grandkids remain the same. 14. and 3 great grands. Can you believe it.

Hi everyone. More another time. Got scads to do. Have to go to a funeral tomorrow and said I would bake a cake for the luncheon for the family. Just got back from choir practice at church. Soing an Easter special. Never a dull moment. : Ann

and say hello And to let you all know what is going on with my Father. The tumor is cancer but the good news is it is all contained in one spot. That means it can be removed and every thing will still work when they get done The surgery has not been set yet. He has to see the urologist first, then all will happen very quickly. All of my Dads brothers and sisters are back in the state from wintering in TX and AZ. And all have phoned and talked with him. I'm glad they are all back it makes dad feel better when all are in the same place . He is the oldest now. What a difference a week makes. I'm back to being a optomist(?) again.

The weather has been beautiful here. It looks like the snow and cold are gone Yesterday I was out raking leaves for a while and even enjoyed that. This is the time of year that I love. No BUGS and NO SWEATY STICKY WEATHER .

I'm going to the spring staff meeting today. It should be interesting to see if all I've been reading about the program changes is true. And it is alway fun to see and talk to other Weight Watcher employees. Even my Bosses, Boss will be there. (did I say that right )

Got to get dress. Talk to you guys later
Karen

Karen: That is such great news! The surgery will not be fun thats for sure. But at least it is in one spot and they can get it. But at least he wont have to have one of those bag things. Is he going to have to have chemo or radiation also when its done? Sometimes they do that also.

Have fun at the staff meeting. Its a good one!

Glenda: Spring is never going to come I have decided! It was wonderful here for 2 days and now the rain is back. Dont think I will ever get to work in my yard. The rain always comes on the weekends of course!

Later!

Karen I am glad that you got good news about your dad. That has to lighten your heart. Does it get hot and sweaty in Minn in the summer? For some reason I thought it stayed cool. Glenda your life sounds as exotic as mine. This is another exciting Sat eve. lol Have to live through Maria. Maria so glad that you are enjoying your stay in NZ. Sure does beat India. We did a walk this morning for ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease. A neighbor lost her husband to this 2 years ago and only expected about 100 people to show up. She had almost 900 and the day was beautiful and sunny. It was for 2 miles through the neighborhood and was a good time. Of course the pastries from Panera and Krispy Kreme at the end helped. Have to go finish a book that is due at the library. See I told you it was an exciting Sat eve.