I'm Brilliant

Me- That's a bumble bee.

Patrick- Yeah, but it's solid black.

Me- Well it is..........

Patrick- What's the difference between the black ones, and the yellow &  black ones.

Me- They're different colors.

(Patrick came close to dropping the propane tank he was carrying while laughing.)

That's the kind of genius it takes to raise children with brilliant, curious minds like Patrick's. Not a lot of parents are as sharp and full of knowledge like I am, and they would find questions like Patrick's frustrating, and difficult. Just be glad I'm raising him. I have the tough answers. 

Looks Taller to Me

Hair Cut

Me- Got my hair cut. 

Georgia- I know. 

Me- Like it?

Georgia- Nope.

Me- What? 

Georgia- I hate it. 

Me- (laughing under my breath) why do you HATE IT?

Georgia- It's cut all short on the sides, and long on the top.

Me- Yeah, true, that is true. It is a bit short on the sides, and longer on the top. Soooo, that's no good huh?

Georgia- I hate it.

Me- I usually get it cut this short don't I?

Georgia- I don't know, but I don't like it.

Me- Yeah got that part.

Suzi- Georgia be nice.

Georgia- Whaaaaattt? I hate it. 

Good thing I have a healthy self esteem. I feel sorry for the boys who have or will fall in love with this girl. She's going to break some hearts with that ruthless candor. I will do my best over the next 20 years to make sure she's a good spouse, who has learned to bite her tongue a little more often. I'm not too worried though, we've got time to work on this. 

Horror Movies

Sitting here in my hotel room, and a commercial for a horror movie is on T.V. Who the heck watches those? I don't get that at all. I hate them. HATE them. Isn't life full of enough horrors? I really don't need to pay money to be scared, and I certainly don't find that feeling entertaining.

Smiles Everywhere

School is almost out, and you can see it on the face of all the kids. The biggest smile has to be Suzi's since she is the homework enforcer.

Still Mr. Fast

Sam told woke up excited to run the mile the other day. "Dad we are running the mile at school today." Me "You seem fired up about it." Sam " I am!" Me "Going to kick some butt or something?" Sam "Heck Yes!"

Sam had the fastest mile in the school. He was the fastest with his buddy Shane at the beginning of the year when they tested. They had the same time. He told me he beat his buddy here at the end of the year by a couple of seconds. Of course in order to be the fastest in the school he had beat out all the 6th graders! I can't keep up with him, and he's only going to get faster.

Georgi

As we were trying to decide what to eat for dinner.......well, it was really a discussion of what the kids were going to eat for dinner, because Suz and I were going to go out an eat Thai that night. So as the kids were debating in the car about what they wanted to eat for dinner, my favorite quote of the ride was Georgi's "Patrick, it's not all about you."

I just about wrecked the car I was laughing so hard.

Homer J

"Remember Marge it takes two to lie. One to lie, one to listen." Brilliant

The Deep thoughts of Jimi and Sean

When my brother Jimi and I were young I remember we loved to talk in bed for hours in the summer. We talked about everything, everything, and everything. Our conversations at times were funny, sometimes heated, and at times what we thought "deep."

I remember Dad coming down stairs and telling us to shut it. I'm sure he used a more friendly phrase.....the first time anyhow. If he had to make more than one trip down stairs I would suppose it would include some heat.

Jimi turned me on to the Beach Boys. We loved them, and we talked about the lyrics of their songs. We loved them because they sang about the girls, cars, and the beach. In our opinion what else was there to sing about? He would really love to talk about the meaning of songs, me....not so much. I can't tell you much more than the chorus of most songs. Even the ones I love. I'm the guy who sings everything wrong, and the chorus over and over. If I don't know the lyrics, it's going to make for a short discussion about the meaning of the songs. After Jimi and I started talking about the meaning of songs, I started reading the lyrics if they came with the album.

Well the Beach Boys albums we had didn't have the lyrics published that I remember. I remember one night that we talked about the song "little deuce coup." It was way cool. However there was a lyric we couldn't understand. The correct lyric reads "and she purrs like a kitten till the lake pipes roar." What the crap did that mean? I couldn't hear "lake pipes roar." I didn't know what they were saying, and Jimi didn't either. It kept us up man. Late. Still don't know what "lake pipes" are but I sleep fine anyhow. Thanks to the Internet I looked up the lyrics yesterday because I remembered that conversation. Seems trivial to you but that memory is 22 years old! Strange that I would even remember it.

The Beach Boys, awesome. The kicker is that the next summer Jimi and I were together he had moved on. The Beach Boys were for babies. Now he was a Beatles fan. Apparently they were much more sophisticated. Well, that lead to a summer of arguments while we laid there waiting to fall asleep. I'm certain Dad came downstairs more often that summer to tell us to cork it while we were arguing about who was cooler or smarter Mike Love, or John Lennon. Too Funny. Rock on Jimi!

In Case You Forgot.....

....What I looked like when I started my new life style. This picture was taken Sep 07. Yikes. Did I get stung by a bee? All over?

Daddy Daughter Dance!

I had two beautiful dates tonight! We had a fantastic time at the school dance. I was proud of all the Dads, Uncles, and Grandpas out there shaking their grove thing. The little girls loved it! I spent the whole evening on the dance floor. Talk about good exercise try keeping up with two dates for 2 hours of dancing. Should have checked with my doctor before engaging in that kind of activity. Georgia, and Hannah were wonderful dates.

We started at In & Out, then danced our buns off, and finished with Cold Stone. I'm beat, and I can't wait for next year!

My Photo Site

I take a ton of pictures. A lot of my favorites I put here on this blog, and will continue to do so. But for some reason I liked the idea of having a site for just my pictures. So I did.

May 08

Greatness!

Sick of the price of gas?

You might want to get one of these! I've been reading about this car for a while and wondered if it would ever make it to market. Hopefully we will see much more of this in the near future. Here's their website.  Read about it's performance. It will amaze you how different electric cars perform from a gas powered car. 

It's Official.....

I've been working on changing the way I live. The motivation came from a scare I got from the doctor last year. I was afraid that there was something seriously wrong with me. I was so afraid that I didn't want to go see the doctor and see what might be wrong. Seems nuts for a guy who spends his time in doctors offices day in and day out. But my own mortality had hit me probably for the first time in my life. I don't know how to convey that reality except to say at 38 I finally realized anything could happen to me, and I wasn't helping my own cause.  

Finally I went to go see my doctor, and we did a TON of tests. Blood, sonograms, MRI, colonoscopy, and poked and poked. After a close investigation the doctor did find a couple of things, but nothing scary like cancer or a tumor. The problems he did find should be helped with a life style change. 

At that time I made a decision that I was done with living the way I was living in terms of the food I eat, and the low commitment to excise that I had. 

I set some goals, and created a vision of who I want to be. That vision has evolved a bit on the go as I learn more about myself, and will probably continue to evolve as I age. Every day for the last eight months my vision of who I am going to be has motivated me to get my butt out of bed, and guided my decisions about what I eat. 

Why I tell you this is because, the great part is that it's not hard at all. I have loved it. There is no hardship because I believe in something bigger for myself. I am headed someplace great, and I know I am going to get there. I am giving myself a much better life, and hopefully a much more enjoyable future.  I have a clear and compelling vision of who I'm going to be (this time) and that has made all of the difference. Without that vision I know nothing would have changed. 

FYI my lifestyle (I'm not on a diet) does not include running marathons, or never eating things I enjoy. It's about doing the right things for myself when I know I should, and enjoying that. Still have a ways to go, but I'm loving every step.  

Personal Trainer Suzi

Suz and I don't get to exercise much together. Our schedules during the week are so different. This weekend Suz and I went out and ran together. I tell you what, she kicked my butt. I chased her for an hour, and the space got bigger and bigger as the hour progressed. 

We had a good time, each of us with our own ipods listening to our own music or favorite talk show.  I usually listen to a podcast of my favorite morning talk show. She listens to music. This morning I listened to "Train". Love there music. The only thing Suzi asked was that I not run and dance, or run and sing while running with her. Every time I would start she'd say "stop." Now I know where Georgia gets it. Georgia doesn't like when I sing in public either. I say "ROCK ON!" whenever you feel like it. 

A Great Reason for a Hike

Beautiful stuff out in the middle of the moutains near Santa Cruz.

Big Basin Redwoods

Shot this picture close to midnight as I was climbing into my sleeping bag. I love how the camera catches things a totally different image than what I could see with my eyes. It was close to pitch black when I shot this photo.

The Flames

Mmmm for Josh. Joshy Likes!

Patrick's Birthday dinner. If it's a little over cooked, someone in the house likes things a little toward the well side. Has nothing to do with my BBQing ablity inspite of what my children say. They might state that I don't know how to cook anything that isn't well done. To that I say......you cook then smarty pants.

Mitt's Top 10 Reason for Leaving The Presidential Race

10. There weren't as many Osmonds as I had thought.

9. I got tired of the corkscrew landings under sniper fire.

8. As a life-long hunter, I didn't want to miss the start of varmint season.

7. There wasn't room in the campaign for two Christian leaders.

6. Word leaked out that nobody had bothered to search my passport files.

5. I'd rather get fat, grow a beard, and try for the Nobel Prize.

4. I wanted to finally take off the dark suit and tie and kick back, in a light-colored suit and tie.

3. Once my wife Ann realized I couldn't win, my fund-raising dried up.

2. I took a bad fall at a campaign rally and broke my hair.

1. There was a flaw in our campaign theory that as Utah goes, so goes the nation.

 

82 Degrees

Oh what a beautiful day! Sun was perfect. Not too hot, certainly not too cold. Just came in from outside it's 11:00 pm and it's currently 79 degrees. Makes me want to sit outside on the bench Grandpa Paul got for Suzi on our front porch.

Lodi is a Much Safer Town Now

A Conversation I Heard Upstairs

Sam: Mom is it too late to take a shower.
Suz: Sam....hurry!
Georgia: NO SAM! You're going to make us late again. Don't.
Sam: Georgia, I'll be fast.
Georgia: Ugh.

I love all the passion on Sam's showering at 7:26am. I vote he should shower, but it won't make me late for work.

American Idol

Suz has hooked me on this show. I've been cheering for David Archuleta this year, and he's been doing quite well. I was nervous and excited about him singing Angels tonight. One of my favorite songs for years. Robbie Williams is relatively unknown in the US, but a big star in the UK.

Little concerned Simon might not like it, but I think Simon liked that David choose an English artist.

Go to itunes and look up Robbie, money well spent. I think most of his music is fantastic.

Robbie Williams- Angels

Aunt Annie's Comment Starts A Brawl

So Suzi reads me Aunt Annie's comment regarding Luke to which I respond, "honey, it's not sore joints. It's the tumor behind his leg. It get's sore from getting knocked around for a couple miles." All 4 children are standing in the room when this exchange takes place. They all know he has those lumps, and maybe they have heard me talk about the tumors, but maybe they have never put two and two together.

Sam asks "does he have cancer?!" All 4 kids eyes on me, and I answer "no....well......I don't think so. The vet say's probably not."

Sam states "you should get it removed." Hannah "yeah dad get it fixed." I answer "well that would cost thousands of dollars, and I don't think I want to do that."

I then make the mistake of saying "listen if he has cancer it won't make a difference, and if he doesn't I don't want to have it treated because it costs a lot of money." (FYI he has more than one tumor.)

Sam then tears up and says "Does he have cancer or not! Dad it's LUKE. You have to get it fixed!" Hannah falls down and starts crying. Georgia is getting teary too, and Patrick does what Suzi does when she gets nervous. He leaves the room. Hannah askes "what are we going to do if he has cancer?" I shouldn't have answered that question. Not smart. Hannah "Why would you put him down!" Me, "listen, he doesn't have cancer! I don't think....so let's not worry about that."

It takes me a good 10 minutes to get everyone calmed down and reassured that Luke is going to be ok. Everyone is still convinced I'm a bad guy. I make a statment to calm things down "listen guys, if Luke is relatively healthy and the tumor becomes a big problem we'll get him taken care of." Now looking back at it, I'm sure I will be held to that.

Guilt

I have no problem leaving the dog to go for a run. He tries to make me feel guilty, and most times it doesn't work. However there are times I go to the treadmill in the garage if his guilty looks get to me. 

Suzi can't get out of the door. She complains about how he looks at her, and then before you know it she's got the leash and dog headed out for a run. She's so nice. 

I'm not cold hearted. He's getting old. After a run he's sore and limps around for the rest of the day. 

Busy at Work

So it's been a crazy past month with the preparation of launching a new product. Is crazier a word? You may have noticed a news article regarding Vytorin & Zetia. It's creating some big waves in the Cardiovascular arena, which is the disease state I work in and have for years. There are some real differences of opinion on the topic, and to try to cover them all in detail might be a bit confusing, not to mention I don't have much time for it. However, I'll give you my opinion and do with it what you may. 

In my humble opinion, these results from the Enhance trial are from Heaven. Much of the primary care medical community has focused on one aspect of treating lipids(LDL), and missed the bigger picture. These results will really encourage Health Care providers to look at treating LDL & HDL. There are fantastic results using this type of treatment (see Arbiter 2 & 3, HATS, FATS, FATS 10 Year Follow UP, CTT, and Barter Reprint studies), and fortunately I work for the company that has the best solutions for treating beyond LDL (Niaspan, Advicor, Tricor & Simcor). So I've been very excited about what is going on at work with the launch of a new product in the lipid area(Simcor), and with this news about Vytorin. 

So here is a little advice if you have heart disease, diabetes, or a family history of heart disease. Know your LDL, HDL, & Trigs. Have them ALL treated to goal. I would suggest HDL being treated to above goal. Men at least a 45 & women 55. This is an extremely simple way of viewing a very complex problem, and if you would like to talk more about it, I would love to help you understand the importance of managing this part of heart disease. For you, your family, or friends. 

Hope your all doing well! Go for walk. 

16 Years!

Amazing, beautiful, fun, too fast, perfectly lovely 16 years. Suz deserves great congratulations. Love you Suz

Longer or Smaller

Hannah gave me a hug last night when I came home from work, and she locked her hands behind me. She looked at me and said, "I've never been able to touch my hands behind your back!" I said "your arms must be getting longer!" She said "no your getting smaller." I'm sure it's a little of both.  

Busy

I've had a crazy busy March! Didn't forget my blog just haven't had time. Seattle first week of march, Chicago second week, had meetings all over the valley this week, and Dallas next week. Starting to feel like a travel expert like Grandpa Paul.

Sam's Hungry

Sam: Mom you haven't gone to the store since last monday.

Mom: Eat a piece of fruit, you snacker. An apple, there's a bag of oranges on the floor from the neighbors.

Georgia: Or a banana!

Sam: No. 

I don't remember knowing my mom's shopping schedule. Who pays attention to that. 

Friends

Spring is Coming!

Boy I have Nice Kids

I sprained my ankle playing ball last night. While I was there on the floor of the gym waiting for the pain to go away I swore I'd never play it again.

While I was at the doctors making sure nothing was broken Sam and Hannah polished my shoes for me. Isn't that nice~

Moroni

Suz

Big Sam is 11!

Summer Is Not That Far Away

Just a reminder. I know it's cold and wet, but summer is close.

Morning

Some of those who made it through the night.

Snow Camping

We took the troop snow camping. Quite an adventure. Patrick, Sam, and I got up late. About 5, and they all got there around 2:30. This is the leaders cave.
I didn't sleep in it. Too crowded, and I'm not a good sleeper. I snore way too loud. I didn't have time to build my own cave, and I'm not sure I could have slept in it anyhow.
Brian did a lot of the digging on the leaders cave. It slept 3 that night. Started with four. One went to the car.
This one of the boys cave. Patrick slept in this cave with 3 other boys. So they put down a tarp inside the cave. Then they each had a therma pad between their sleeping bag and the tarp. The got in their bags, and wrapped themselves in another tarp.









Patrick was saying that their cave was very deep. It went for "miles". I try not to think about it. I slept in my tent with Sam. The cave he was going to sleep in was 75 yards from the camp! I don't know what those guys were thinking, but there was no way I was letting him sleep out there. He and I slept great, well he slept great. I slept for about 15 minutes that night. This is a shot of Patrick coming out of his cave in the morning. He survived a 12 degree night time temp. Reported that he slept fine. Maybe in a year I'll be interested in doing it again.