I usually think of myself as a rather healthy person, with few chronic problems and those few that I do have are usually injury related (my spinal fusion for example) than immune-system related (getting sick, allergies, etc). And whenever I've had an illness, my body's first response was to make me sleep extra so that my body could fight of the virus or bacteria. In fact, that was one of the first symptoms that I had developed sleep apnea. I was sleeping so poorly that I was having a lot of trouble fighting off illness and bouncing back from injuries. It's weird how, if a problem crops up … [Read more...]

Rachel doesn't seem to like flashy birthdays, but she did consent to a family party with some presents.The girls helped me pick out an ice cream cake with a picture showing a ton of puppies around a cake and balloons. Showing that they now fully get the concept of a pun, they had the cake lady put the inscription "Happy Barkday, Rachel!" on their in pretty script.Happy barkday, Rachel! You're ... what? ... 245 years old in dog years?Love you! … [Read more...]

Rachel Raises a Toast - to more Liquor!I hope you enjoyed our little anniversary celebration and the chance to hear all that great music on the General Jackson cruise into downtown along the Cumberland River. The past year has gone so fast. Things that I thought might be tough have been easy and [gasp] fun. I hope it's been as fun and easy for you. Thank you for marrying me, Rachel. Thank you for loving me. Now, let's raise a toast to many more years together! … [Read more...]

When Rachel and I were trying to figure out which breed of dog to get, we knew that it's personality should match that of our family. When knew a lot about dogs, but we also knew that we wanted a dog who we'd have to vacuum around. I'm just sayin'...Jelly Bean, the 6-week old Basset HoundThese really energetic and athletic dogs - terriers and sight hounds like greyhouds and dalmatians - are great for the right people. We need a dog whose first preference is to lay around, closely followed by taking a nap. You could also reverse that order of priorities and we'd still be happy. Of course, all … [Read more...]

Both Rachel and I have noticed how I've been unable to get through the day without a nap. We'd also noticed that, even after 10 hours in bed, I was essentially exhausted upon waking up in the morning. What gives? This isn't normal, is it?Well, a night at the local Sleep Study Clinic revealed that I was indeed having a hard time getting any rest, despite the amount of sleep I was getting. The testing showed that I experienced an average of 30-40 apneas per hour and 5-8 restless leg motions per hour. The clinician said it was a wonder I was able to get up in the morning, since a night's … [Read more...]

So there I was, in the spring of 1971, happily coloring in the living room, minding my own business. My mom whisks into the room with an armload of flowers and pussywillow buds to create a flower-arranging masterpiece. Here's what a pussywillow bud looks like:It's about the size of a lima bean but, as you can see, it's covered with a soft, downy fuzz.Now, for some reason which only God knows why, my mother turns from her flower arrangement and says to me "Kevin, don't stick any of these pussywillow buds in your nose!" And with that she whirls away, into another rooms to do, again, only God … [Read more...]