Good morning Lifers! It's been crazy here and I couldn't tell you what day it is,

My mom had her surgery last Monday and I brought her home on Thursday afternoon. We got part way home when we realized they did not bring her walker down with her when they discharged her so we had to double back to get it Anyway, the weekend was pretty crazy--my sister drove in from VA and both of my brothers were at the house so it was a 3-ring circus for a bit. I'm actually glad to be back to work!

I've been trying to follow the Core plan and it was going well until Saturday/Sunday and I figure I've used up all of my 35 WPA's. On a good note, I went to the Wellness Center and met with the fitness specialist and she's going to work up a program for me for toning. I was able to do 15 push ups in 30 seconds (man did my arms/upper body ache on Friday!) and she also did a strength test, and body composition. It'll be interesting to see if the numbers change. I did go back yesterday and walked a mile and then used the eliptical machine (I love it!).

So how was everyone's Easter?

Susan: Are you feeling better??

Lisa: I hear the weather down your way has been warm. I'm anxious about heading down in May--6 weeks from today!!!

Pam: Hope all is well with you and that Lauren is doing well.

Lala: Did you have Easter at home or were you traveling?? Can't remember!

We're supposed to hit the 60's tomorrow and Thursday--can't wait! It'll be great walking weather. Have a good day ladies!

It is beautiful here today--70's and sunny (finally). We had the wettest March in a long time. Usually this is the dry time of year and we worry about brush fires.

Easter was very nice. I visited with my parents and sang with them in their choir. I ate too much Easter Day, but I'm back on track.

Melissa, you had a lot of company. No wonder you were busy. I hope your mother is recovering well from back surgery--that's a slow process. I hope the weather here holds out for you and is not too warm in May. I've never tried the Core plan and I'm not really sure how to do it. I've heard some say that it's difficult to find anything to snack on. Wow! that's a lot of pushups. I can hardly do one; no upper body strength.

lala, I don't know if you've returned to the States or not. Let us know.

Hi, Pam and Susan.

Buonasera y'all.

I had a nice long message typed out last Wednesday night and poof it never posted.

Alora.

Back at home after a good 19 hour trip (four hours in the Chicago airport even in the First Class Lounge with food and champagne does not beat getting home earlier in my book). Nevertheless, we're home.

We had a nice trip, it was lovely and sunny our first day in London, had a nice putter, a nice visit with the family, a decent night sleep, a irritating time at the airport the next day, one campari and soda at Piazza Farnese and boom I was sick with a cold. Defective.

Spent the next two days lying around trying to get better. Did a few things, but basically laid low. Went back to London/Cambridge at 4am on Monday am for a two day workshop on the stuff we're working on, got home late on Tuesday. Hung out with friends who came in on Monday, did the tour leader thing through Rome -- most sights except for the Vatican Museum and the Colesseum (er, those are too crowded for me), took a day trip to Orvieto ate lots of gelato and tried to relax. Didn't work too well as DP had a proposal due on the next week and we had to spend time working on it.

Suffice it to say, my 12 day trip turned into a 2.5 day vacation.

Next year, we're going to the Antarctic away from the internet and work.

However, the weather was nice, the food was splendid, the divine and Rome as usual was Rome. Even with the dollar in the toilet, its still pretty darn cheap compared to London, Paris or Berlin.

Okay, enough about me...

Melissa -- Here's to hoping mom has a speedy recovery. I think core is a good thing to try and mixing up the exercise with the elliptical is good. I hope you have recovered from all the houseguests.

Lisa -- I'll take about 10 degrees from you. We have had non-stop rain since we left. Its good, but cold here.

Hi to Pam and Susan!

Okay, ci vediamo ragazze!

Ritorno a lavoro!

lala

Another beautiful day in sunny Florida. I got Spring Fever yesterday and took the afternoon off. I worked in my flower beds which really need work! Then I just sat on the back porch (the one without a screen!!!) and read. I'm reading a book called Obsession. It's a medical mystery. I like those sometimes because I learn a lot about the human body. It's interesting. I finally got Birth of Venus from the library and that's my next reading adventure (thanks to lala's recommendation).

lala, Buon giorno and benvenuto agli Stati Uniti! Orvieto looks fabulous; been to Italy twice, but never there. Mmmm, gelato. I could just taste it. Sorry about your cold; that is a bummer. I'm headed to Phoenix at the end of April and I bought the product, Airborne. I heard it really works. You take it before you get on an airplane and it keeps those recycled germies away (I hope). I gave it to DH when he returned from NOLA with a cold and it really helped. It can be used in both ways.

Antarctica?? That sounds interesting, but too cold for me. DH has a friend who just ran the Antarctica Marathon a few weeks. We haven't gotten a report yet.

I was on the WW website yesterday and saw a great recipe for Moo Shu Beef. Has anyone tried it yet? I'm going to give it a whirl--6 points.

Hi, Melissa, Susan and Pam.

Good morning ladies! It's a balmy 60 degrees here and the sun is shining

I'm finally recovering from the company and am getting back into some sort of a routine--it's a little crazy. My mom is coming along and I think she'll feel even better once she gets the staples out of her back. She's tough and she's taking it easy so she doesn't over do with things.

Lala: Welcome back!!

Lisa: Sound like you had a productive afternoon yesterday. I was able to get a hold of some grouper here and it was fabulous--I forgot how good it tasted! Our local market has it this week and I'm going to stock up on it because it tastes so good.

Since the weather is "nice" we're going to grill outside tonight--chicken, asparagus and we'll toss in some baked potatoes...yum! I'm heading to my WW meeting at noon to see where I'm at; can't really tell since TOM arrived yesterday and I had a few run ins with chocolate, etc. over the weekend. This week will be a better determinant for the Core plan.

Hi to Susan, Pam!

quick response here as i am in weekly conference call...

Lisa -- we buy airborne by the case. DP takes it religiously. In this case I got this cold from my friend at work on Monday and I think by the time I got to Rome I was so beat it got to me...

The gummy sore throat things are great too.

lala

lala, Gummy sore throat things?? What are those? I'm glad you like Airborne. Lately it's been hard to come by here.

Melissa, hooray you can cook outside? It must be nice up there now. I'm glad your mother is coming along. Oh yes, when she gets the staples out, she'll feel much better. Funny you should mention chocolate. I had a run-in yesterday with chocolate and I can't blame TOM (that was last week). Sigh.

airborne gummies.

I've never seen those; they must not sell them here.

Hi everyone,

At home early, I am coughing so hard that I am having a hard time breathing. I am hoping resting my voice and trying to get a nap will help. I just had to answer some work email, so I thought I would check in.

Melissa-- I love bbqing and grilling. Have you tried grilled aparagus. very yum. I hope your meeting went well.

Hi to Pam and Susan.

lala

Lala: I love grilled asparagus! We made some up last night and it really brings out the sweetness of it. It's really nice here today but it's going to go downhill as the day progresses--temps are supposed to fall into the low 50's by late this afternoon. It's a balmy 62 and it's only 8:30! Take care of that cough--my friend was just diagnosed with pneumonia.

Lisa: I heard from my GF that you had a streak of some warm temps--she said it was even warm for her. My mom is coming along and I think she's a little frustrated by what she can't do. Hopefully she'll get the clearance to do some things next week after we see the doctor. Lisa, I can't remember if I mentioned t you or not, but I was able to get grouper here! It was sooo good so I stocked up

Well ladies, tomorrow DH has his surgery for his legs and that should close out the rest of the hospital/surgery visits (at least I'm hoping!). His is just a outpatient surgery so he'll be home in the afternoon/evening. It's been a crazy month and I'll be glad when things quiet down. I did go to my meeting yesterday and surprisingly I was down .4! I was so excited about it because I used all the 35 WPA's with the holiday (i.e. chocolate, pizza, beer, wine). I'm heading into week 2 of Core and so far so good.

Hi to Susan, Pam!! Hope everything is going well with you two!

lala, sorry about your cold; it sounds bad.

Melissa, I love grouper. It's gotten pretty pricey recently. Gosh, you have so many things happening. I hope DH will be fine. Congrats on the loss (pizza and beer, huh?)

Tomorrow's my off day. I have a hair appointment. Saturday will be some golf. Sunday is rehearsal; we open on Thursday, 4/7. My parents and sister are going to try to come over for the show.

Good news!! They started installing our screen enclosure. Hooray!!

Pam and Susan, where are you??

Hi everyone. Sorry I've been awol all week, but after missing so much time due to the flu, this week was crazy. I've just about got things under control.

We spent a quiet Easter weekend. DH started the renos on the downstairs bathroom, and I painted the linen closet as well as the one at the front entrance. Both were looking pretty grungy, so I'm glad they're done. I also started stripping the border off of the walls in the downstairs bedroom. That is going to be one h*** of a job.

I hope to start running again this weekend. I'm feeling pretty good for the most part, but have been slow getting back to the exercise. That's what happens after a 2-month break

My weight is out of control again due to tons of chocolate and no exercise. I'm using the weekend to regroup.

Well folks, I'm off tomorrow. Have a great weekend, and see you next week.

Hi everyone.

Lisa --our halibut is your grouper and the prices are up a bit this year. We have lots in the freezer so we need to eat before we buy anymore.

Susan -- things will calm down and get better, you had a big job change, followed by a vacation that was both relaxing and exotic, you came home to cold weather and got very sick and you are now starting to get better. I'm hoping that you see a few things budding out on your run.

Melissa-- Are you sure you don't want to run a cabulance service? Yikes. Best wishes for DH's procedure. Good for you on the loss....

I'm at work, trying to deal with some budgeting stuff and then maybe getting some work done. Someone is coming to clean jacques' couch (ours really) today, so I need to retrieve the boy. Its quite traumatic for him. We'll run some errands and maybe go for a short putter this afternoon at work.

We are doing our annual easter egg hunt and brunch this weekend. Candy is all over our house, but haven't even touched any. Its all in bags and as long as the bags are sealed, I won't open them. My mom is flying in on Saturday, so I'm excited...

Hi to Pam. I wonder if they are all off for the holidays.

lala

Susan, so good to hear from you. As lala said, you've been through it, so don't be too hard on yourself. Just go forward. Believe it or not, I've started running a little. I run one block and walk one block alternating. DH is thrilled!! (as you might imagine).

lala, good, keep that candy in sealed bags. I've had halibut--it's very good.

Speaking of food that's good for you, why is it more expensive?? Vegetable prices are out of sight. Seafood is costly. Chicken is also expensive. Aargh!

Here's the funniest story; I think I read it on 3FatChicks. This woman said that she knew she had a problem with candy when her 2-year-old and 4-year-old asked her why their chocolate Easter bunnies never had ears!! (She'd been eating the ears in the past).