Last time I got antibiotics I had strep, proven with a swab. In fact, we recently bought our own home strep testing kit to avoid going to the doc without a reason. There's good reason to get antibiotics if you have the strep bacteria. It can turn nasty in ways you really don't want.

Your comments about ear infections are interesting. We have had a run of ear infections in the last week. 3 people in the house. In all three cases the doc (different in each case) prescribed antibiotics, and within 24 hours things were much better. You think the ear infections would have gone away that fast without them? I'm trusting the docs and results on this one.

I think you're right that a lot of people run to the doctor when it's not necessary, particularly for children. I don't believe we tend to do that. In fact, Terry hates taking the kids to the doctor so she resists as long as possible. And from what I've seen, doctors are not handing out antibiotics right and left. It seems like those days are past. Doctors know not to hand them out without good reason. You take a kid in with sniffles and they'll run a quick strep test and if it's negative send you home with instructions to come back if things aren't better in a week.

As for my weight loss (nearly 25 pounds at this point with about 40 more to go), it's just a result of eating right. Exercise doesn't really lead to weight loss, just healthier body parts, and I haven't yet integrated that into my life in a regular way. I'm waiting for Cerner to get a gym opened up at my location, which should be sometime this summer. My mode of weight loss right now is simply counting calories and not eating more than my self-defined limit. You can't go wrong with that.