Mika Howls for a Walk

Job Benefits

As most of you know I switched jobs a few months back. I now work for ARUP Laboratories and I love it. One of the perks of working here that I thought others would be interested to know is that every month we swap out older computers. They are usually 4-5 years old or so. I am allowed to haul these guys home if I want. I just need to sign out for them and I can take them home. They won't have a hard drive in them as we need to keep them around or destroy them according to HIPAA laws and such but if anyone would like a newer computer for the price of a hard drive (and possibly a windows license) I can get you set up. Hard drives start around $50 and Windows will be around $100. This wouldn't include anything other than the computer tower. If anyone is interested let me know and I can get something started for you.

Team Natalie

So I need help for Team Natalie. Natalie has been struggling to lose weight. She doesn't feel like she has any support. I have started to get up with her and crack the whip and help her get up in the morning and work out a little bit. I can be the workout Nazi in the mornings. What I need from everyone else is a support team. Someone to check in on her at least a couple of times a week and see how she is doing. She works during the day so texting or an email would work best for her. If it's after 5 you could call her. She just needs to feel some support from friends and family so she doesn't feel like she is alone with this. When you talk to her if you are noticing that she is losing weight tell her that you noticed. Being around her all the time it is hard for me to see if she is or not, but those of you that only see us every so often can see it easier. I'm not trying to make it about her weight, but about her health. I'd like to keep her around for the next 50 years or longer if I can. I want her to have a better quality of life, and the best chance of having kids and being able to run around with them. If anyone has some ideas for healthy meals send them to us. We are trying to eat healthier. If there are any meal ideas that are quicker and healthy we are open to the idea. Cooking until 7 or 8 at night takes it's toll. Your support will greatly help us out!

A New Buddy

So we already had two dogs. A couple of Pomeranian's. I really haven't wanted another dog. My wife likes to look on KSL and send links to me and say "Please?!". My answer has always been no. A couple of weeks ago we have some friends that landed themselves a little wiener dog. They joked that we would end up with him. They have a two year old, and a 3 month old so adding a puppy to the mix was a little much. A couple of days ago my friend told me that they were going to put him on KSL, but would give us first dibs before they did. My wife did her usual "PLEASE?!". I know that she wanted me to have a dog. I asked her if it would end her quest in finding another little fluff ball to add to the pack. She said yes so I consented. She went and picked him up and brought him home.

At first I just said yes because I wanted to stop getting links to other dogs on KSL every so often. I'd met the little tyke a week before and he was groovy but I wasn't fond of the idea of having three dogs. They are kind of like a cell phone plan. The more you add they are only a little more work, but we are pretty good at neglecting the ones we have. The only saving grace is my schedule is about to change as far as work goes so I'll be home every so often. After having him for a couple days now nothing has gone terribly wrong. They have had a couple disagreements but there hasn't been any blood yet. They get along fairly well. Our next order of business is to get him fixed (which our friends so kindly said they'd pay for). He at least understands the concept of fetching (something the other two snub). When we took him on a walk he knew how to walk in a straight line. He is pretty well behaved. I just started calling him Buddy. I can't really say why but he responds to it so it works. He looks like one of the wiener dogs my parents had. He is a ball of energy and won't sit still for anything but when he is asleep. It'll be interesting, but he's here to stay.

Buddy, Mika, and Sophie in their "gated community"

A Poem for Grandma

Merry Christmas!

This is a poem that my wife just wrote for a gift to my grandma:

It was the night before Christmas, and all through the house,

the doggies were sleeping, and so was the mouse.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care.

And presents galore were piled everywhere.

The adults and children were all warm and tucked in their beds,

as visions of new cars and Ipads danced in their heads.

And Grandma in her curlers and I in my robe,

had just gone to bed after traveling home.

When outside there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from our bed to see what was the matter

Away to the window I flew like a flash

I tore open the shutters and threw up the sash

A star in the sky shined bright on the fresh fallen snow

Gave the earth a new brightness to objects below

When what to my wondering eyes should appear

But an angel in the sky ever drawing near.

She shined like the star that shone so bright in the sky

And as she drew near, I could see tears glistened in her eyes,

She came close to the window, and took my hand

And whispered “Let me show you something that should be special to man”

And before I could even realise,

I was with the angel soaring through the sky,

As we flew in the darkness, I looked up at the star

And before I knew I was looking at a scene so pure

There below us in the glimmering light

Shone the town of Bethlehem in the late night

The new star rose so high and bright in the sky

And I could see the shepherds on their hill arise

There were multitudes of angels descending from above

Shouting praises to God and his newborn son

But when I looked to the angel I knew that was not all

And before I knew it we were descending to a cattle stall

There lay the Christ child all wrapped in his swaddling clothes

As his mother and Joseph stood very close

Mary gently placed a kiss to the childs cheek

And the baby softly cooed in his sleep

Tears came to my eyes, as I fell on my knees

And I looked at the angel who then started to speak

“Many forget in the joy of the season

That our Saviour's birth is the reason

That we have our families, and joy in our hearts

That we have the greatest gift that only he can impart

The gift that he gave us, he gave with his blood

He shed it all for us because of his love

He gives his love freely to all man

All he asks in return is to remember him

So please don’t forget what happened this night

That your Savior was born in a stable divine

That because of his birth and because of his death

That we have this blessing of

“Peace on Earth and Goodwill to men”

Grandpa's Funeral

While we were on our voyage with my wife's family my Grandpa died. He had been in the hospital for a few weeks after heat surgery. He had gone up and down quite a bit it seems. He was doing better one day and worse the next. We went and visited him twice while he was there. Once when he was asleep and the second time when he was so drugged up that he was pretty delusional. It was hard for me to see him like that. My grandpa has always been a very sharp person. He always made time for his family and made it a point to spend time with each and every one of his family members (and they are not a few in number!). That was about all I could handle. It's not that I didn't want to see him. It just wasn't enjoyable for me to see him like that. We were about to be on our way home and my mom called and told me that they were going to let grandpa go. We all kind of knew this was coming so it wasn't a big shock. In a way we are all happy that he isn't having to struggle to hang on anymore. The sadness comes from grandma being left alone for a time until she can rejoin him when the time comes. Grandpa had been in the Navy in World War II so Grandma got a folded flag and a few of the Navy detail to help with the burial.

This one is a real heart breaker to me.

Grandpa we will all miss you and look forward to seeing you again. We love you.

Bryce Canyon and Zions

About mid August we went with my wife's family in the motor home to Bryce Canyon and Zions. We also crammed four dogs in with us. I had never been to Bryce before. We stayed at Ruby's Inn at the campground. The weather was quite pleasant. I felt like I was in a foreign country most the time because the native language seemed to be French. When hiking around only about 1 in 50 people we passed spoke English and most of them tended to have an accent. It was fun hiking around and exploring a little bit. I took quite a few pictures. We stayed two nights at Bryce.

We saw this furry little critter on the trail.

We all had a grand ol' time at Bryce. Fun was had by all. We packed up and went and stayed a night at Zions National park as well. We then entered a difference foreign country. We were no longer in France, but Korea. I guess a lot of foreigners get the chance to cruise around and tour a lot of the country.

Needless to say we didn't try the soup of the day.

After having a good hike the day before and getting to Zions we were already a bit tired. Add on the fact that it's a burning inferno at Zions and that pretty much kills the rest of the energy that you may have. We just did a short little jaunt up to the lower pools and back. The motor home had A/C so we all crammed snugly into it to squeeze what we could out of the air conditioner. It was fun but it's always good to get home as well.