Good morning everyone!

It's a chilly 8 degrees here but the sun is shining!

I had a horrible day of eating on Saturday evening--did well all day long and then after dinner it all went down hill...I wasn't happy about it but I figure it's over with and yesterday I was able to pull myself together and stay on track. I'm planning on getting outside at noon today and do a little walking. The temps are supposed to get up into the 20's so it won't be that bad.

Lala: Hope you had some fun in London!

Susan: How was your weekend in Toronto? There is so much to see/do there. We were there this summer and didn't even touch the tip of the iceberg in terms of seeing things.

Domina: Hi!

Not much going on here--it should be on the quiet side this week. Catch everyone later!

Melissa, eight degrees??? That is cold. Having a cool wave here--60's. It's sunny and pretty (sorry, I'm not rubbing it in).

The Shakespeare show went very well. We had fun playing. On Saturday night, DH and I went to a bar and saw some friends who just formed a rock group. They were very good (pleasant surprise). I hope to see them again. They play classic rock.

I went to WI on Saturday and stayed even. I was thrilled after how I had been eating. I've been eating way too much chocolate.

Hi, lala and Susan.

Hi everyone,

I had a great weekend, but I am partially pooped from my dfw-sea flight. I hate that connection. I had to cab it home too, that was a pain in the keester.

Anyhow, I'm back and really happy for that. The house seems to have experienced some sort of explosion while I was out, so I'll be spending part of today getting things reined back in.

Susan -- I hope you have recovered from your trip.

Melissa -- Yikes, it is cold. I understand the food meltdown, I was pretty good until the plane ride home, can you believe it?

Domina -- Sounds like you had a good weekend, in terms of chocolate eating, I had about 10 kisses overall and that is it. I'm giving up chocolate, vending machines, diet coke for Lent and doing a couple of good deeds above and beyond.

I'll post a quick trip report. It was pretty interesting this time.

lala

Good morning.

Toronto was great. We saw Mamma Mia at the Royal Alex and Diana: A Celebration - the life and times of Princess Diana. The most amazing thing about it was the roomful of condolence books received following her death.

The only disappointment with the weekend was it was too cold to run outside with the Beaches Running Room Club on Sunday morning - -28 with the wind chill factor. A bit much for my asthma. Instead, we turned it into a mini spa morning. The Royal York is a great hotel!

Melissa: I can identify with your Saturday night. Had mine last nite - into the turtles big-time. I could kick myself this morning.

Domina: You're doing really well with maintenance. Keep it up! And I don't begrudge you the warmer temperatures. Someone has to be happy! We're expecting a blizzard tonite/tomorrow

lala: How's your Mom feeling?

Argh, had a post dissapear.

Welcome back Susan. Sounds like you had a great time. I love a good spa.

Mom is doing great, they are on their way up here right now. I think they're over Lake Tahoe actually.

Good day yesterday and no jet lag, I'm happy.

more later,

lala

Hi everyone! The temps have been a little better--today it's a balmy 30 and by the weekend we might even see the 40's (I'm sure it'll get cold again ) and I'm happy for the half-way decent temps. I've been going out on my lunch hour and walking, although not nearly as much as I'd like to!

I was up .6 at WI today and am a little bummed--I was hoping to be down a little. Greedy aren't I??? Anyway, I'll work on that this week. The weekends have been my demise lately. I need to keep track better and plan.

Susan: I've heard Mamma Mia is really good--I'd like to see it. Sounds like you had a good time!

Domina: Good for you for staying even!

Lala: I haven't even thought about Lent--now I'll have to start thinking in terms of what I'd like to do. So, how does one avoid getting jetlag when flying? I'm worried about when I return home that I'll be a walking zombie

A mere 10 days and I'll be on my way...the butterflies have begun!

Melissa --

As soon as you get on the plane, set your watch to London time. As soon as you get to London, get going. If you can check into your hotel, take a shower, change your clothes and start walking and exploring. Don't let yourself take a nap, you'll be toast later. Trust me.

Have the hotel give you a wake up call around 8 am, keep on a schedule, take a nap in the pm if you want, eat dinner at a normalish hour, get 8 hours a night.

When you get on your plane home, change your watch again, try and keep your windowshade up if you can. I had to punch (I wish) a guy out on Monday who insisted that I close my shades. He was clear across the cabin facing the other way. I like to fly in the middle of the day in the light. Its normal.

Drink lots of water, don't eat too much (easy these days), pack a couple of snacks and wear comfortable clothing and shoes.

As soon as you arrive home, unpack (my new obsession) and put away bag, start a load of laundry, look at mail, give dog/husband/cat/children scritches and presents, take a shower, brush teeth, put laundry in dryer, get ready for work the next day and
go to sleep.

This is my normal routine. Sick isn't it?

I can be unpacked in about 3 minutes now.

lala

Gee, I lost a post too (I think).

lala: 3 minutes is about right. I arrived home Sunday nite at about 7:30 pm and realized that I had forgotten all about a short, overnight business trip planned for Monday. I transferred the make-up bag and jammies and threw in a change of clothes. It was all over quickly, except for the whining

Melissa: Don't sweat the minor gain - it's just a normal fluctuation. If you can follow lala's advice, you should be fine. We'll all be for you.

Hi, everyone.

It was a chilly 42 degrees here this morning. This weather is so strange and now I've caught a cold. I'm sure that I got it in the flying germmobile last week returning from Salt Lake City. (Yuck). The trouble with me is when I get a cold (thank God, not often) it goes right to my throat. That is not good when one is a singer.

Melissa, lala is absolutely right about not taking a nap when you arrive in London. You really will be toast. Drink lots of water.

Susan, I want to see Mamma Mia also. Maybe some day. The spa sounds wonderful.

lala, I'm glad your mother is up to traveling. That's a good sign.

Good morning! It's going to be another gorgeous day here--it's almost Spring-like! I'm not going to complain. Domina, our high today is supposed to be in the high 30's, low 40's, tomorrow we'll have a "heat wave" with temps getting up to 46-47!

Lala: Thanks for the tips! We get into London at 8:30 a.m. so I'm sure we'll head to our hotel, freshen up and then head out. I figure I'll try and nap on the plane. I think London is 5 hours ahead of us.

Susan: I do well at packing under pressure; in fact I find I pack better that way. I'm going to take a lot of things that can be interchanged.

Domina: I totally agree about "germ carriers"--it always seems when I travel there's someone in the near vicinity who is sniffling/hacking/coughing. I'm trying to avoid getting sick so I've been washing my hands like crazy.

Well, I'm off to the doctor for my check-up on my BP. I'll post more when I return.

Well, this cold has really gotten me down. Poor me--How about a little sympathy?? It's so rare for me to get a cold, but when I get one, it's a doozy! I hardly slept at all last night and DH was awake every time I was.

I wish I were going on a trip. Well, we are going away (3 hours away) for DH to run a marathon. It should be a nice weekend. We're supposed to have temps in the 70's today.

Well, I'm snowbound at home. We've in the middle of a doozy (kinda like your cold, Domina). The province has declared a state of emergency. 48 centimetres of snow with another 15-25 forecast. Yikes - Mother Nature sure has it out for us. On the bright side, no work today and tomorrow is a scheduled day off, so woo-woo - extra long weekend (most of which will be spent shovelling the white stuff, no doubt)

Domina: Poor baby. Why don't you snuggle up on the couch and I'll get you a hot drink to sip. There, feel better?

Melissa: Hope your BP is under control. I envy your warmer temps.

lala: Great news re your Mom. Are they in town to check out the new property? Will they be living there part of the year? If so, won't it be nice to have them close by?

Well, gotta run. Actually, I think I'll start a nice fire and have a nap. H-m-m-m

hi everyone,

Domina -- get well soon. I understand the germmobile concept -- all that recycled air.

Please next time, consider investing in some emergen-C or airborne vitamin c fizzy drink and drink it before you get on that plane. My partner swears by it.

Drink lots of fluid, baby your voice, keep warm and stay home!

Melissa-- Are you flying to gatwick? If you are, after customs and immigration and all that you should be getting towards london around 9:30. You should be at your hotel by 10:30 at the latest. If you are coming to LHR, it could take longer.

Susan -- I am soo sorry its snowing again. I'm glad you can stay home and keep those fires going.

Well, I'm pooped. I didn't sleep very well, my cat caterwauled quite a few times. Turns out mr. dog had floofed down on her bed last night and unplugged her heating pad. She was not amused and neither am I.

I think my parents are coming over for dinner tonight. We're going to make pizza -- however, we have nothing at home, so its a lunchtime run to Trader Joes!

lala

Domina: I hope you start feeling better soon! Homemade chicken is a great cure-all. They were talking on the news last evening that the area is experiencing a lot of upper respiratory and viral infections (diarrhea/vomiting) which is normal for this time of year. I'm sure the warmer temps aren't helping in germ control here!

Susan: Sounds like a good idea cozying up in front of the fire...the temps here are at 37 and tomorrow it's supposed to be warmer. Just think of the AP's you'll earn shoveling snow.

Lala: We're flying into Gatwick and we're supposed to arrive around 8:30 a.m.

I've been having trouble sleeping but I think it's more the excitement of my upcoming trip that's hindering that area. On a good note, my visit to the doctor went well. She's pleased with my BP (120/84) and said unless I have any problems I don't need to come back for a year. Woohoo! She gave me my prescription and we chatted about London. She's been there before and told me to make sure I take my pills in their original bottles to avoid any problems with customs, etc.

Not much else going on here--I went out walking at noon and took advantage of the weather; working tonight at WW and then finishing up some laundry I started yesterday.

Hi folks. We got 95 cm of snow over the past 30 hours or so - 3 feet! Everything is closed here again today and it will likely take most of the weekend to get things moving again. After the hurricane at the end of September and this latest fiasco, we're starting to think we've made someone very, very angry.

Will check in later.