Good morning everyone!

Hope everyone had a great weekend! We had snow yesterday morning and it made driving a little tricky. I'm hoping this is the end of it but I know we could have more *sigh* The time change is also rough--I didn't want to get out of bed this morning--I'm having a hard time waking up!

It's hard to believe that this coming Sunday is Easter! Where has the time gone?

Anyone have any plans for the holiday? We're heading to my sister-in-law's later in the afternoon and then we'll have dinner there. I'm making a shrimp dip that's easy and low in points.

Hi Melissa, Pam, lala, Domina. Hope you had a good weekend. I ate too much but I'm back on program today. Sigh, some Monday morning I'll have something different to report

Sorry to hear about the snow episode Melissa. It snowed here this morning too in between rain - must have been a temp fluctuation. Anyway, it certainly didn't stay. We made a lot of progress over the weekend as far as the snow goes; it rained non-stop.

Of course, that put a crimp in our running plans. My sister and I did go for a run yesterday but not with the half-marathon group and not for 16 km. It was pouring rain at 8 a.m. and I mean pouring. We decided to wait a while and run in the neighbourhood. We only got 6 km in but there were a few tough hills in that mix. We were soaked to the skin and just couldn't stay out any longer.

The murder mystery on Saturday nite was a hoot! I'll try to post a picture when I get home tonight so you can see my "artist" look.

DH and I are heading to New Brunswick for the Easter weekend. My sister may come with us if she can get Friday off. We'll head to my parents' first for a few days, then see his family on the way back home.

Hi everyone,

tiring weekend here. I can't say it snowed. It was about 75 on saturday and 63 on sunday. I can't complain. I pulled my first rhubarb and we have to harvest asparagus this week.

Friday night the younger girl next door had a par-tay. Suffice it to say, we called the fire department at 11:30 and the police came for a visit. I went out at 12:30 to tell the young gentlemen (?) who were shouting obscenities back and forth at each other in front of my house that they need to shut up. Suffice it to say, we had a call into the landlord on Saturday am, a nice discussion with the folks that bought the house on the other side of them and the other neighbor about the noise, the fact that her dear male friends had played baseball with a raw chicken breast found in one neighbors yard and a roll of jimmy dean sausage found in the next neighbor's over yard.

The landlords went over yesterday, told them they were one infraction away from eviction. Hmm, they haven't even been in the house for a month and then talked to DP. DP went over and talked to them and got the big sister's number to call. Little sister is in big trouble. Turns out she has the par-tays while big sister is on dates and tries to get rid of her friends before big sister comes home.

She is a waify pushover, she will be dog meat when it comes to dealing with real life I tell you.

Suffice it to say, we didn't get any sleep and were dragging on Saturday. However, we got bunches of things done, so I am pleased.

Easter -- hmm. We are doing brunch for 15, easter egg hunt on saturday for small squirmies and a easter egg hunt for larger bunnies on sunday. Should be fun.

Melissa -- please post your shrimp dip.

Susan -- I am soo impressed that you and sis are sticking to it even if you don't have the gang to run with. Please post pics.

Okay, I'm hoping the Pam and Domina are okay.

Here's to a on program Monday ladies.

lala

Hi Everyone,

Well I'm happy today because the sun is actually shining after 6 solid days of rain! Very cold and windy though, will spring ever come to New England??

Melissa I too can't believe Easter is here already. I will be having the family over for dinner. If everyone shows up there will be 11 of us. When you came to Springfield with your sons basketball team did you get a chance to visit the Basketball Hall of Fame? I work in Springfield, actually pretty close to the Hall of Fame.

Susan Well I didn't have a very OP weekend myself. Went to New York to see Mamma Mia ,which was absolutely terrific, and then of course we went out to dinner. Needless to say, I better be a good girl this week. I really admire your determination with your exercise.

Lala Sounds like you have the neighbors from H***. Are they college students? I would keep calling the landlord every time they are having a party. If they are keeping you up, you should keep him up. Nothing agrivates me more than an absentee landlord who has no concern for the people living next to the "rental property".

Domina Hope you had a nice time in Nashville.

Well time to sign off and have my lovely 6 point lunch!!

Pam

Susan: for going out and running the rain! I would never have done that!

Lala Your temps sound wonderful! Before long we'll be experiencing the same thing (maybe in May/June). We have rhubarb along our back fence and we did plant some asparagus but ours won't be ready for quite a while. I did get some fresh asparagus yesterday and baked it in the oven with a little olive spray & garlic--it's so good that way! I hope the landlord stands behind his words and doesn't let things get out of hand. Keep calling him whenever there's a problem, he'll get tired of it.

Pam: It's sunny here, too, but only 32 and with the windchill it's probably about 27...brrr. I went out for a brief walk at noon. I went on a bus trip to Springfield for the Division II playoffs--we didn't get to see anything--we got to the hotel, changed, went to the game, had a party after the game (we lost) and then boarded the bus early the next morning and headed back home. We spent more time on the bus than we did in Springfield. It was a fun experience though.

Here's the recipe for the dip:

SHRIMP DIP
24 Servings at 1 POINT per serving.

2 Cans Tiny Deveined Shrimp
1 8 oz. package Light Cream Cheese
1 8 oz. package Fat Free Cream Cheese
1 Tblsp Horseradish
1/4 cup chopped onion

Drain and rinse shrimp and soften cream cheese. Combine all ingredients and shape into ball and refrigerate. Serve with a side of cocktail sauce.

Note: I didn't shape it into a ball but rather put it in a nice dish & chilled. I served it with RF Ritz crackers. I made my own cocktail sauce (horseradish, ketchup, worcestershire sauce) because I like mine a little hotter than what you can get in the bottle.

Hi, everyone. It's pretty here today. I agree that the time change has thrown me for a loop (I needed it bad.)

I had a good time in Tennessee. The flowers and trees were blooming. The forsythia and wisteria were beautiful. My friend asked what I wanted to do while I was there. I told her I was there to visit her and anything she wanted to do was fine with me. We stopped by the theater because she is directing a show (Neil Simon's Plaza Suite) and then we went shopping!! We definitely shopped till we dropped. It was fun. We also went out to eat a few times (definitely not OP, although I tried to eat salads at some of the meals In general I was an oink Well, back to OP today.

Yes, Melissa, please share your shrimp dip recipe.

Susan, good for you for running even in the rain. I do not enjoy running or walking in the rain. The murder mystery sounded like fun. Yes, post a photo somehow.

Pam, sorry about your weather. You said what most folks have said about Mamma Mia--I'm glad you liked it. Maybe some day I'll see it.

lala, you have some great plans for Easter weekend. I am so sorry about your neighbors. That is just awful. I agree with the others; keep calling the authorities until they're forced out.

I really don't have any plans for this weekend. Because I'm in the choir at church, I'll be doing a lot of singing, that's for sure.

Hi everyone,

I have a lb. of zucchini that I am going to transform to bread and take over as a
gesture of goodwill to the neighbors some night this week. I hope that this may help. I think the older sister has pretty much read little sis the riot act, so my hope is that things will be calmer.

I am going to start a journalling thread again. I hope others will jump on in.

Funny thing, jacques had his first accupuncture appt. today. DP took him, apparently he bayed alot and then looked like a porcupine, but he seems okay today. The vet gave him more naturopathic stuff, should be interesting.

lala

Hi, everyone. Another beautiful day here. I'm going to a get-together tonight with some of my singing friends. We're planning an upcoming show. Before that, I want to go to WW for my WI. I'm not looking forward to it as I know I'm up a pound or two. I need to go to scare me into eating right.

lala, mmm zucchini bread; one of my favorites.

Hello to Susan, Melissa, and Pam.

Good morning. I have news!! It isn't raining!!

I did my 5 km indoors on the treadmill last nite since it was still soggy outside. I hope things clear up today; we do hills tonight. I'm uncertain of the number - eight or nine - but it matters little when you get into those numbers

lala: That is truly neighbourly of you, given your experience on the weekend. Let's hope things settle down; there's nothing worse than feuding with the folks next door.

Good luck with the weigh-in Domina. I think that's what's been missing for me; I'm not going to meetings to "face the music", and in trying to do this on my own, things are just getting worse. I think I'll resume weekly weigh-ins when I get back from vacation.

Melissa: The dip sounds good. Unfortunately, I can't get fat-free cream cheese in Canada - at least not in Nova Scotia.

Pam: We're in the same boat weather-wise. I know spring will get here but it seems like it's an eternity away. We did lose a lot of snow over the past few days though.

I went for my 5th tanning session last nite and got slightly burned. I'll have to cut back on the time - this was a stronger bed and I guess I'm not fully conditioned yet. It's nice to have some colour.

Weather Report: It's not raining here, either! Sunny and a cold 27 but they're calling for the temps to climb into the 40's. Perfect walking weather. They are calling for rain later this afternoon/early evening but that's okay as long as I can get out over my lunch hour!

Domina: Glad to hear you enjoyed your trip to TN! I wouldn't worry too much about eating out--it sounds like you did the best you could with the situation and sometimes you just need to enjoy yourself.

Lala: Hopefully big sis has made a big impression on little sis about being considerate. You'll have to keep up updated on if the acupuncture works for Jacques.

Susan: The original recipe calls for light cream cheese and it makes it 2 points per serving instead of 1. Be careful with the tanning bed--you don't need to get burned & be miserable. I used them a long time ago before I went to FL one year, I will admit it was good because the lack of sun here and all the sun there would've made a bad combination since I tend to burn within 20 minutes of being outside.

The weather here is giving my allergies/sinuses a bit of trouble--got up this morning with a stuffy head & a slight headache. The dampness is not my friend! Short week for me--tomorrow is my last day until next Tuesday. I worry when I'm off work because I tend to graze more at home; I like having a schedule. I have an appointment to get my hair cut on Thursday morning and I need to get 2 new tires for my car and get the studded tires off before the 15th of the month.

Hi everyone,

I can't say I envy that cold weather, but I could do with a few hotter days in the summer.

Its moderately lovely here today. I have my first golf lesson, so I skipped the gym this am and will go later on if I need cardio.

Susan -- try and not burn, those tanning bed burns are not much fun. I could use a bit of color on my fish legs.

Melissa -- Lucky you for having a few days off. I understand the schedule thing. I hate being at work, but it is easier to stay on track.

Domina -- I would get to a meeting. I know I should. I saw my leader at Trader Joes. I had a pint of chunky monkey in my basket (not for me), I was embarrased.

Hi Pam!

Okay, gotta go and meet the floor guy. We're having our wood floors on the main floor of our house redone this summer. Whoo hoo. Thanks mom and dad for buying a condo and not living in it.

lala

Hi Everyone,

Well a busy day here for me, meetings, meetings and more meetings. I'm really trying to decide when I will be taking some vacation time this month. I'm hoping it will be the week of the 19th (daughter's school vacation week) if I can pull everything together here. I would like to go on some day trips with her and try and get some things done at home!!

Melissa thanks for the shrimp dip recipe. I will be giving it a try this weekend. Its cold out here also, but I'm going to try to get a walk in this afternoon. Other than having a bad eating day on Saturday, I've been OP for the most part but the scale is refusing to budge. I really would like to lose the 3 lbs I put on over the winter. I've joined a "spring melt down" at work. Everyone who joins must participate for 8 weeks and gets weighed in once each week at the health club in our office. The goal is to lose 5% of your total weight over the 8 week period. Hopefully, this will keep me honest.

Lala Very nice gesture on your part to bring the bread over to your neighbors. Jacques receiving accupuncture must have been an interesting sight!! I wasn't aware that vets performed this type of therapy on animals.

Hi to Susan and Domina, hope you are both having a good day.

Well, I should get going, the next meeting starts in 15 minutes. I had a light lunch today so hopefully my stomach doesn't growl too much!!

Pam

Hi all.

Well, it was an 8-hill repeat last night at the half-marathon clinic. I'm happy to report that I did it! We had a rather tough 4 km run to the hill, then 8 times up and down, then a run back to the store. I only had difficult with the 4th repeat, otherwise I must say I did very well. This training thing appears to be working.

Pam: Your spring melt-down program sounds like fun and a good way to get some motivation. How many of you participate?

lala: I checked out your journal and your wrap from yesterday sounded delicious. I made some appetizers with flour tortillas for Sat's party and I need to eat the leftovers. I'm stuffing them with whatever I find in the fridge. Today it's chicken and a jalapeno cheese slice. What's new on the neighbour front?

Melissa: I just noticed your numbers yesterday. You are doing great girl. So far below your WW goal. That's terrific!

Domina: How did weigh-in and your get-together go last nite?

I'm out of the office tomorrow at a meeting, then four glorious days off. I can't believe that I only have Tues & Wed to work next week before we leave for Cuba.

Hello, everyone. Well WI was as I expected--up 2 pounds. That shocked me back to reality. I know what I need to do (now do it, Lisa).

Our get-together was a lot of fun. We set up our musical program; it's going to be great. There will be lots of Broadway tunes.

lala, yeah!! Golf lessons!! You will really enjoy it. Just don't get frustrated. It takes practice like anything else. Let me know how you do. I'm hoping to get a game in this weekend.

Susan, you are doing so well with your running. Good for you.

Pam, aren't meetings great?? (for what??) If people have an agenda and stick to it, they're all right, but the problem is that folks get off on a tangent and try to solve every problem right there (Ugh).

Melissa, thanks for the recipe. It looks good.

Good morning!

Pam: I did get out for a walk yesterday at noon--35 minutes worth so it was good. It wasn't as brisk a walk as I would've liked but it was movement. The shrimp dip is wonderful!

Susan: I have a feeling that my weight is going to be up today--I feel puffy and my shoes were a little tight this morning when I put them on. I need to get rid of the snacks in the house! I'm pleased with where I've been maintaining and want to stay here

Domina: Like you, I'm going to Take the hit and move on and get myself back on track.

Lala: Hi! Hope things with the neighbors are going well.

My obstacle is being off Thursday through Monday. I need to keep busy and stay on track. I just need to focus and plan. We can do it!

It should be a quiet day here in the office--a lot of the students have already left for break so the campus is pretty quiet, this afternoon will be even quieter--my boss has meetings