Merry Christmas!

I will be out of the office December 24th after 12 noon and will be back on January 7th.

If you need to reach me during that time, please shoot me an e-mail.

Have a wonderful Christmas and a happy new year!

I am actually proud of myself as I made a mid-year resolution to read more and so far I have kept it. This must be a good sign that my New Year Resolutions have a chance of lasting more than two weeks.

Of course there are the standard resolutions to eat healthier, exercise more, etc., etc., but this year I have two specific resolutions that will take first place.

1. To cook more ... not so much that I won't dine out as much because the reality is we will continue to eat out, but because I really enjoy cooking. Perhaps if I cook because I like it and not because it is "my duty," our family will both not eat out as much and be inclined to eat healthier. We'll see.

2. I want to be more positive about everything. I think today's society gives us many reasons to be grumpy and discouraged--the economy, politics, fast food, busy schedules--and on and on and on. So even though I don't intend to be obnoxious or fake about the true hardships of people around me, I hope to be thankful for the things that are good.