2009

Now that 2008 is out of the way, I am looking forward to a great '09.

In summary, 2008 was sort of a transition year. For starters, we dropped Jake off at the MTC on January 2nd for prepartion to serve his mission in Ecuador. Coming on the heels of New Year's this really didn't give any of us much time to reflect on the holiday season of '07 or really even prepare very well (me anyway) for his departure. My loneliness afterward was gut wrenching. I was so sad. Alec and Tiffany had just been married and they moved to Utah so our once busy home became eerily quiet....nearly overnight. I was crushed. A quick trip to Petland fixed that and within days of losing Jake, we then had a 9 week old Golden Retriever....I named him Buddy. This was our 3rd dog to go along with the 4 cats who made our home one big circus. Buddy lasted about 8 months before we decided to give him up to a lovely family who always longed for a Golden Retriever. Buddy is now the center of attention for 2 little boys; he tags along on the mom's daily jog; manages to pull out the father's newly planted flowers and small bushes and, I'm sure, gives the Oswald family back more love than they ever dreamed of getting from a dog. I was glad that move worked out so well for everyone.

In May I was diagnosed with a severe case of sleep apnea. Each night I now go to sleep wearing a mask that is hooked up via tubing to a bipap machine (aka The Magic Sleep Machine) to help me get the proper amount of oxygen my body needs to keep all the major organs working properly. Within days of first using the MSM, the affects were positive - lifechanging. GREAT! Janae actually sleeps better now too since the MSM is much quieter than my Fred Flintstone-like snoring.

At work, 2008 was another fun challenge. More than ever, we helped clients navigate through some very difficult economic times. Our staff, as always, did a great job of obtaining bids, lowering costs, and working hard to provide our customers with the best insurance program availale at the best price. I'm grateful to have a job that allows me to work from just about anywhere as long as there is cell phone service and wireless internet access. I'm blessed to have excellent people that have worked with me for a long, long time.

The year also saw Alec return to school and continue his education after serving two years on his mission in dusty Piura, Peru. Alec's studies are so hard they actually make me laugh. It's good there are people like him out there in the world.

My golf game saw some great rounds and some not so great rounds. My best round of the year was a 73 with most scores coming in between 75 and 82. The year was highlighted by trips to Pebble Beach and Valhalla. Everyone knows about Pebble Beach and it's nice and all that but Valhalla is a gem of a course built in Louisville, Kentucky. It recently hosted the Ryder Cup. This is a competition held every other year where the best professional golfers from the United States play the best golfers from Europe. Not only is the name "Valhalla" really cool, but he course is gorgeous - in that mid-western tree and green sort of way. Also played the famed Olympic Club in San Francisco - the course is better than Pebble but no ocean. It's famous because it has hosted some 1/2 dozen US Opens, US Amateurs, and other world class golf competitions.

My own golf game has declined a bit recently. I haven't played much in the past 2 months with distractions being the holidays, cold weather, and super busy work schedule. The time is coming where I hope to get out 2 to 3 times a week. I have a lot of clients that like to play so I can kill two birds with one stone; take care of business on the golf course. I never quit working!

Toward the end of the year we moved Janae's mother in with us as a result of an on-going illness. We have plenty of space at the house, and Janae is great caregiver. Her sister Christine has been out for about a week now and her return to her family in Illinois is up in the air right now. We have some home health care people that come by the house several times a week so that takes a bit of the load off of the gals. A lot of visitors have stopped by to see Joyce - many from far away. It's great that family members have made the effort to make these trips to see Joyce one last time. We have all been touched by the outpouring of love and tenderness that has been exhibited by everyone.

2008 was historic for the implosion of Wall Street. Greedy corporate CEO's whose only goal was to inflate their company's stock price were exposed as liars, cheaters, imposters and thieves. Stock prices were inflated due to poor information yet these men all profited by playing this game. It's a shame that so many working class families were wiped out due to the greed of those who were supposed to lead these companies. Hopefully we have all heard the last of this sort of crap and that our nation will bounce back stronger than ever.

The most historic event, arguably, was the election of Barack Obama as our nation's president. He is the first black ever elected to our country's top political office. While I disagree with the man's politics, I have grown to like him. I look forward to seeing what his goals are for our nation and how he will face the numerous challenges the people of the united States face at this time.

GoBama



My tribe just finished watching the 2009 Sugar Bowl. Utah wiped the floor with Alabama 31-17. Two things came to mind while watching the game: So called football experts, including the national media, give zero respect (with the exception being USC) to football teams west of the rocky mountains, and the hype and accolades generated for Alabama was most definitely alcohol induced. No way should Alabama have been ranked #1 for 5 weeks. They are a top 10 school at best. Tonight's game is yet another reason why a college football playoff is needed. Wouldn't a Utah-USC national semi-final look good? On the other side would be the winners of the Texas-Ohio State game, and the Florida-Oklahoma game. Now we're talking.