Merry Christmas

I love being in Houston with family. I miss Poodle and Fernash, but I'm sure they are enjoying their skiing trip to West Virginia. I miss Lindsey, but I'm happy that she can spend the holidays with Brandon's family. Christmas is always a wonderful day for our family. And now with grandkids, we have some funny stories.


We gave Caroline and Devin little bikes for Christmas. They were in the office at Ryan's home, where Ryan keeps his carbon-fiber road bike. We took Caroline and Devin into the office and asked them which bike they thought was for them. Caroline took the pink Princess bike. Devin looked around, then pointed to Ryan's bike. But we convinced him it was too big for him. So he took the 'Cars' bike.

And it appears that my children remember what they have always given me for Christmas, as I received a bottle of dry-roasted peanuts, one bottle each from Bethany, Ryan, and Carrie!

May the Spirit of Christ, which is the Spirit of Christmas, be with you always!!

It´s a Tough Job, but Somebody Has to Do It, Part 2

What do Memphis, TN; Punta Cana, Dominican Republic; Paris, France; Provo, UT; Houston, TX; Huatulco, Mexico; and Beverly Hills, CA have in common?

These are places I've traveled to since mid-October of this year. And only the trips to Provo and Houston were vacation. The remainder of the trips were for business. Next week, I will actually spend Monday through Friday in the office, for the first time since the end of October. A week from tomorrow, on Monday 21 December, we leave to celebrate Christmas and the New Year in Houston. I'll return to the office on 7 January, 2010. Then in mid January, I'm off to Orlando, for business, of course.

It´s a tough job, but somebody has to do it!!!

Only a Physician Would Notice

I have become almost addicted to sleeping with a fan. I like the 'humm'. We were at Ryan's home Saturday night. I went to bed at about 11:00 pm. And as always, I turned on the fan. MTB stayed up later to read a book. I knew when she came to bed, but fell asleep very quickly. I woke up a few hours later, and she was gone. I assumed I had been snoring, which happens regularly. And I fell asleep again.

On Sunday morning, I commented that I must have been snoring quite loudly, since she had to leave and sleep on the couch.

MTB: 'No, you weren't snoring.'

DTB: 'So why did you leave?'

MTB: 'The fan was mimicking a heart murmmer, and it wasn't a benign murmer. It drove me crazy, and I had to leave."

Only a Physician would notice.......

It's a Tough Job, but Somebody Has to Do It!

What do these cities have in common?

Moscow, Russia; Munich, Germany; Paris, France; Altanta, GA; Miami, FL; Panama City, Panama; Charlotte, NC; London, UK.

These are just a few of the cities that have direct flights to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.

What do these things have in common?

A river; wide, tree-lined streets; pedestrian-friendly walkways; very clean streets; well-behaved children; a great subway system; musuems; a tower; great pastries and cheese.

These are all things we found in Paris, France.

And what do Punta Cana and Paris have in common?

Two places that required a work-related trip in the last two weeks.

It's a tough job, but somebody has to do it!!!

p.s. -- MTB will post pictures of Paris to her Blog and to Facebook.

The Apple Didn't Fall Far From the Tree

MTB tells me Annie is combining words to make sentences.

"Reed buy donuts."

Annie, you are just like your Grandma!!!

Our Baby has a Baby.

Lindsey is now a Mom. Most people who follow my blog will have already seen the first pictures. But just in case you haven't yet seen them, click here .

Getting Older, Part 6 (Part 5 was 'Age Wins')

I have found a new weapon in my constant effort to stay young as long possible: Lose weight. I've lost about 15 pounds over the last few months. I can now do more pull-ups, and run and ride through the hills faster than I could in April.

Obviously, there is a point of diminishing returns: I can't lose weight forever, nor can I stop time. But I'll take what I can get!!!!