Mike, thanks for the bump. I'm glad your running is going so well . I hope your first holiday season in Tennessee is warm & happy. I think you're just staying there so that you can gloat about your weather. . Laurie, how's your pt progress? Roberta, it's good to hear from you. good for you that you're back at it. keep us posted. Eliz, "Oh, yeah, I'm no longer the interim alto soloist/section leader - I'm the real deal! Now all I need is to hit the lottery or find a day job at the shore, with a salary that will keep me fed, housed, and clothed, and I can become a Jersey Girl full-time!" yay! Linda! how are you? Teresa, how's the snow day progressing? I'm still fighting this stupid bug but am able to do more things. fri. just 3 on the TM. Sat. 7 along the river. cold!!! Yesterday the gym again... a little bit of everything. I was seriously wiped out by the time i was done (weight machines...my legs saying 'tell us you're joking') which let me know it's not quite over yet. I'll try to be a little cautious this week. don't want to be totally down again. It's very cold here, lots of snow & ridiculously windy. I say as I sit inside in the heat. So many people don't have power. can't imagine what that would be like right now. hope you're all doing well.

Good job, dg and Kevin! We should get extra points for running this time of year. I made it to the Y for 6.0 miles on the TM. The new TMs seem harder, which was discouraging me. So today I decided it to set it VERY slow (5.0 mph), and then I upped the speed a little. Took the pressure off and made the run more bearable. I figure I will adjust to running on it as the winter progresses. Looks as if I may be on it quite a bit!

Finished the food for tomorrow's soiree at school, the laundry, and the logistical plans for Christmas dinner, so I'm taking a little more time to check in more thoroughly. I almost feel like I live in the tropics after reading about some of the weather that so many of you have been dealing with. Oh, wait, it was 15 this morning and the high was 26 with sustained winds in the 20s and gusts around 40 today. Still, no snow here yet, so that sort of counts as tropical compared to where some of you are. I had two greta runs over the weekend. Saturday - 4.3 miles in temps in the low 30s; really raw and damp, though. Slight, but not awful wind. Warmer yesterday for 5 miles, and actually saw a bit of sunshine, but the wind was NUTS! I felt like I was nuts, too, just trying to run in what often felt like nature's treadmill, but there were a lot of surfers out in that craziness, too, and seeing them made me feel less like a masochist for running in those conditions. At least I was only getting tossed around by the wind and not the "dumpin'" waves, too. The quartet went really well yesterday. Got lots of compliments, so I guess I still have them fooled. Seriously, it was fun and I feel like I did well. A little sniffly today - have to do the diva thing with rest and water and more rest to stay healthy for Christmas Eve. Not sure where things stand with tenor-boy. Have decided that we're both too swamped with holiday concert mania to even think about social lives right now. Did I mention that he's also a music teacher? Yep, we both had more nights out for work than nights free last week. And he's traveling to see family over break, so we'll see what happens after the new year. Stay warm in the cold, stay safe on the ice, and if the crowds bug you as much as they bug me, stay as far away from shopping malls as you can for the next few days. Good runs and good short week, all. Eliz

What Roberta said. I'm off to the shore this afternoon for church tonight and the morning with my godsons. Then back tomorrow for dinner with my family. Can't wait for my first-ever Christmas Day run on the boardwalk! Eliz

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays Everyone, Eliz, enjoy your run tomorrow and I Hope your concerts all went well. 4 miles for me this morning. Mike

Good afternoon Everyone, Congratulations on the PE Kevin. That's awesome. My oldest son went through a period where he wouldn't even admit that he had parents. That's tough to deal with some times. Christmas was nice and quiet down here. Thanks for the nice wishes. 4 miles today. Merry Day after everyone, Mike

Kevin, congrats on the PE!!!! Yes, I felt very lucky to pass the first time, also! I got lucky - one of the questions was STRAIGHT out of the review guide! Hang in there with the family stuff. DH is one of 5 kids. It amazes me how the kids' view of their parents differs so much. A couple of them think my ILs were HORRIBLE, a couple think they were just OK, and one thinks they were fabulous. DH is in the "OK" camp. Now that his dad has passed away, at least all the kids have reconciled with his mom. In OUR family, I think DD10 and DS16 will think we were awesome, and DS13 will think he was terribly neglected! Hmm, maybe our views of our parents are partly based on the type of people WE are! dg, my run on Christmas Eve was outside - 6.2 miles in perfect conditions - 26 degrees, no wind, lightly falling snow, and snowy roads. Tomorrow I will hit the TM again with my friend with the injured hip. I'll let you know how it goes! We're off to the mall. Two of the Wii game cases we got in November were EMPTY when the kids opened them yesterday! At least GameStop believed us when we called them to tell them about it. $100 worth. Kind of annoying!

Hi guys. Sorry I have been so silent last week. Been busy with holidays and work. Mike, youre doing well! Whats this about an art fair? Kevin, have you been watching the roller coaster celtics lately? Cant believe they actually lost to golden state. Ugh. After I got divorced my oldest would hardly talk to me for nearly a year. But now she is a great kid! Dont think on it too much. That kind of negates the whole 'tights' term. lol. Post a pic when you get them exchanged. Theresa, I think you are getting better weather up there than we are. Are you going to run throughout the winter? Deb, whats the news with the tenor? Or is he an alto? L's, update us. Are you still running? I am still in PT. Good days and bad days. Heres the odd thing. I cant sit for more than 20 mins or so. Cant drive either. The hip and leg get stiff and sore and when I get out of the car I am walking like I rode a horse for hours. I was going to run Sat morning, slow and with walk breaks. But I woke up and it was freezing rain. Yuck. Why does anyone live in new england?! We have the worlds worst weather. How'd santa treat everyone? I accidently saw my youngests Christmas shopping list weeks before Christmas. She had on it everything she was buying for family and friends and she was sticking to it. Her sister was getting a Smashing Pumpkins concert dvd, a cookbook for her oldest sister and a band t shirt for her best friend. Guess what I was supposed to get???? A spatula! Lol. Too funny. But for some reason last minute she changed her mind and bought me a really cool yoga mat. I was pleased although one could never have enough spatulas. lol. I also got two sets of Celtics tickets. Laurie ps celts are up by 35 points right now!