[Domina]

It's a beautiful Spring day here--Happy Spring everyone. It should be close to 80 here today, but rain is on the way.

I made pizzelles over the weekend. Some of you may not know what they are. They're Italian waffle cookies, very thin and have anise flavoring. I've always liked them. I brought some into the office and I hear the folks asking what they were, etc.

This week is mostly play practice after work. It's also a very busy week at work, lots of customer meetings. This weekend I'm headed to St. Pete for Easter. DH has to work and I've been asked to sing at my parents' church.

I've been doing fairly good food-wise. How is everyone else? I think some of you are traveling.

Susan, I hope you are feeling much better.

lala, I think you're in Rome and I hope you're having a good time.

Melissa, I think you're on spring break; have fun.

Pam, did Lauren go back to school?

[MelissaL]

Good morning ladies! I'm not on Spring break--we have off Thursday-Monday for our Easter break. I was out of the office yesterday (Monday) because I drove my mom to Pittsburgh for her back surgery--everything went well and she sounded good this morning when I talked with her. Today I'm off for a funeral--DH's uncle died on Friday from cancer and we're going to the mass today, so I'll only have 1 day of work this week!

I'm attempting to do Core this week along with a friend at WW. I was able to get through the day with using 3 of the weekly points allowance. I've been making recipes out of the new Slow Good cookbook and so far they've all been good. I'm making a red lentil soup with Indian flavors for today. The picture looks good so hopefully mine will look the same. I'll let you know tomorrow how it tastes. It uses curry powder, cayenne, saffron, etc.

I'll post more later on BTW, it's sunny here today and the temps are supposed to get up near 45. I've also booked my tickets for FL in May...I can't wait!

[Seasaw]

It's been an interesting month of March.

As you know, I got home from Thailand at the end of February and spent the next week in a total fog from jet lag. Then I got the flu and it flattened me for an entire week. I returned to work last Monday but by mid-afternoon on Thursday, I was into full relapse - severe chills followed by high fever, headache, muscle pain, etc. I spent Thursday nite, all day Friday and Saturday in bed. On Saturday evening, I decided I'd had enough and drove myself to the emergency dept. (DH was away visiting his parents) I was kinda worried that I'd picked up some type of exotic bug while on vacation.

They looked me over and decided they'd do a test for malaria. It consists of three blood tests 12 hours apart, and they didn't want me to travel back and forth between home and the hospital because they would lose a lot of information (vital signs, etc). So they admitted me...

Pretty exciting nite there in emerg - they didn't have an available bed anywhere else so kept me there to enjoy the aftermath of Saturday night drinkfests, muggings, fights, etc. I finally got some sleep Sunday morning and woke up feeling better than I had in a long time (must have been the IV). But they wouldn't release me for the reason stated above, so I ended up there until Monday morning. The test results were negative - a big relief.

So I guess it was just an extreme case of the flu, and I'm committed to taking things really slowly until my body and energy levels recover.

I was amazed to find that it is the 22nd of March today, and I really haven't had a "normal life" since sometime in early Feb.

Lisa: Hope you have a great weekend with your folks. I'm doing OK on the eating front, but certainly not because of determination. There's nothing like the flu to keep the number on the scale in check

Melissa: Is this your first attempt at the core program? I'm curious about it, but it seems a little too far from my "normal" way of eating.

Hi to Pam and lala.

[Domina]

Melissa, I'm glad your mother is doing all right. Did she have disc surgery? My mother had that several years ago and did well. Sorry about your uncle.

Susan, I'm so sorry to hear about your health problems. Hospitals sure don't make you feel better, do they? Hooray for no malaria, but you've certainly been sick a long time. Sending good health vibes your way!

[McHoney]

Hi ladies,

I think Spring may have finally arrived. It is close to 50 today, but it looks like rain for the rest of the week. This weekend was kind of blah. I came down with a vicious head cold that kept me out of it most of the weekend. Still feeling kind of sluggish today. Glad I'm leaving work at 1:30 to bring Lauren to the orthodontist. Looking forward also to having Friday off...I love short work weeks!!

Lisa Thanks for asking about Lauren. She's doing great, she's back to school and has resumed all her other activities also. One of the great things about being young is you bounce back so quickly from most illnesses. Your weather sounds absolutely terrific. It looks like we may be going to Florida (Disney) in May. I love Pizzelle's. My mother in law makes them for us. They are so good in the morning with a cup of coffee!

Melissa glad your Moms surgery went well. How is your Dad doing? Let us know how your lentil soup comes out. I love lentil. Your temps sound similar to ours...hopefully winter is behind us!

Susan my goodness I hope you feel better soon. How awful to be stuck in the ER that long. I know this sounds strange but thank goodness it was only the flu! Please take it easy. I'm with you regarding the CORE program it just doesn't seem right to me.

Hi to Lala hope you are having a nice time.

Well ladies I just looked at the clock are realized I've got to be leaving soon. I'll talk to your tomorrow.

[MelissaL]

Hi everyone! Well, it wasn't bad this morning when I came into work but when I went to my WW meeting at noon the rain turned to ice pellets and the trees have a coating of ice on them. It's snowing now. It's supposed to clear up by tomorrow so hopefully the weather will be halfway decent!

Susan: Thank goodness you didn't pick up some exotic bug! Take it slow and easy so you can get your strength up. It's hard to sit back but sometimes you just have to listen to your body. I did try core back before they introduced it (we had to because of being employees) and I really didn't put my heart into it and I was really wary about it so I didn't follow it as closely. We'll see the results next week.

Pam: Glad to hear Lauren is back to her regular activities. Kids are so much more resilient that we are My dad is doing well; he's cut back quite a bit on the smoking and he told me on the drive back from Pittsburgh that he wants to quit by his birthday, which is this Saturday. It'd be great if he does! The lentil soup came out good, although DH asked if I was trying to burn him out--it was on the spicy side. I couldn't find regular curry powder so I got some hot and cut down on the amount. I thought it tasted good but he thought it was spicy. I think his chicken wings he gets are hotter!

Lisa: I guess you could call it disk surgery--she had a lamenectomy (?) where they put in titanium and screwed it to the spine. I talked with her earlier today and she said she might not be coming home tomorrow. Murphy's law is in motion. Friday I'm working and then DH and I have tickets to see Riverdance at 8 p.m. I can't wait!

I'm off until next Tuesday so it'll be nice, although it's going to be busy at home. Hopefully I'll be able to relax a little. I have my appointment with the fitness specialist tomorrow to learn the resistence equipment at the wellness center. I'll check in again and let you know how the Core program is going. I didn't think it'd work but so far I've been doing okay Have a great evening!

[McHoney]

Melissa I think once again we are experiencing the same weather pattern. Yesterday was beautiful 55 degrees today it is much colder and the weathermen are saying 6 - 8 inches of snow by tomorrow morning. I can't tell you how sick I am of cold and snow.
Glad your Dad is better and I hope your Mom can come home on Thursday. Enjoy your time off and Riverdance on Friday.

[Domina]

It's supposed to be warm here today--70's. Yesterday was a long day at work and then play rehearsal--I was bushed when I got home.

Melissa and Pam, sorry about your weather. Ice again?? Not my favorite thing.

Melissa, Hooray for your dad; maybe you had an impact on him. A lady in my office had a serious sinus infection and bronchitis last month and she started thinking about her smoking and she could feel like that all the time. Well, she quit, she did it little by little. I'm proud of her. I hope your mother does all right. That sounds pretty serious.

Let us know about the Core program. I've never tried it myself. I really don't understand it well enough to try.