long week

It's been a long week. Took about 3 days to get over the jet lag from the trip. I caught a cold in Spain and I am still not over it yet, almost, taking all kinds of meds. I think I gave it to Angela because she now has a cold and of course, it is my fault.

Had a follow up visit to Doctor this week about some test results:

• Cholesterol - fine
• triglycerides - fine
• liver - fine
• everything else fine, but
• My PSA was a 10. This is an indicator for prostate cancer, the normal range is 4 to 10, but since my dad had this type of cancer, I need to follow up with a Urologist.

No one wants to find out they have cancer, and I am praying I do not, but I know God is in control. My dad has been clean for several years, so I am not really worried about it.

Brandon lost his job at Nationwide due to cut backs, so he is thinking about going back to school to teach.

Corey still working for A&F, seems to like it

Tyler and Rachel doing fine with the granddog, Dodger. Tyler found out about a new program through the University of Memphis that after 2 years, he could become an assistant principle, which is the next step of his professional journey. This is huge, because without it he would have to go back to school for his Doctorate.

Angela doing fine, except for the cold. I found out she held a "Big daddy's out of the country" party for her lady friends while I was gone last week, didn't even save me any dessert!

That's all for now, taking a Bruno's pizza home for dinner. That was our favorite place to eat when we were dating, and we also ate there on our wedding night.

Press On!

It is a small world after all

To close the loop on my trip, I continued the tradition of eating my last meal in a foreign country before heading home at Burger King. Do you think I could a commercial or sponsor contract for this? I went the the BK in Granada and ordered my meal in Spanish, quatro, grande, coke. Yes a number 4 combo meal with a coke.

After dinner, I did some shopping. I picked some some EVOO for Angela. If you do not not know what EVOO is, you are not watching the food channel enough. While I was checking out, there were 4 college girls next to me talking. Since their English was so good, I could tell they were not from Spain. In taking to them I found out they go to the same college as my niece Jordan! Not only that they knew her and were good friends with her! It really is a small world. I was just glad that I said something and talked to them.

The trip home started in Granada at 5:00 AM Saturday their time, which was 11:00 PM Friday in Ohio. 1 hour flight to Madrid, no problems, 10 hour flight to Chicago, no problems, land in Chicago and it was snowing. My plane was stuck in Milwaukee for about an hour, delayed total of about 2 hours before it got to Chicago, got home about 10:00 PM Saturday night, very long day.

Glad to home, back to work tomorrow, busy week, PRESS ON!

Need a place to go to dinner?

I would recommend this place, I ate there last night, probably the best meal the Angela did not make with the best view imagined.

http://www.lastomasas.com/en/

Why you should always order your own food

Last night I went out with some people who would be attending my class today. There were 3 Dutch, 1 Irish, and 1 USA (me) in attendance.


The Irish guy knew of a good Spanish place to eat. So we started on a 15 min walk to this beautiful, but small restaurant. As you could imagine, no one knew any English, and no one in our group knew Spanish, so I knew it would be interesting.



1 of the Dutch guys thought he knew Spanish, he ordered a starter (appetizer) for the group and then told to waiter to "surprise us with 5 dinners". The waiter had a puzzled look, so to make sure I got something, I pointed to what I wanted, the menu was in Spanish and English.

To make a long story short, I was only one who got any dinner. The waiter did not bring the other guys anything after the appetizer. I felt bad an offered to share, but the Dutch guy was so confident their food was on the way they did not want to eat mine. BTW : I had monkfish with prawns and clams, very good.

When the waiter cleared my plate away the dutch guy realized that was all that was coming and went into the kitchen, found a busboy that he thought understood English and ordered 4 more dinners. About 10 mins later, they brought 1 dinner with 4 forks!

At that point, it was already 1030 PM, remember Spanish people start dinner after 8:00 Pm. I was tired and had to teach today, so I left and walked aback to the hotel.

At breakfast this AM I asked what happened after I left. 1 of the other Dutch guys went and got a menu and pointed to what I had and ordered 4 of those. They finally got their food about the time I fell asleep. They got back to the hotel about 12:30 AM, they looked a little tired today.

2 more nights and then coming home!

Press On!

travel day

We left Sligo about 8 PM Tuesday and drove to Dublin and stayed at the airport Radisson hotel.

I got up this morning very early in Ireland to fly to Spain. In fact it was so early some of you were probably still awake. I got up at 5: 00 AM Ireland time which was midnight in Ohio. I thought about calling all my family and friends, but decided it was not worth the risk, since I will be coming home this Saturday (YEAH!)

About the only other thing I wanted to mention about Ireland was how hard the beds are. Think of sleeping on a rock or the old medieval torture device the rack and you will know what I mean. That may explain why Irish people drink so much, to numb the pain caused by sleeping on a torture device.

Flight to Spain was uneventful, slept most of the time. Arrived at the Granada plant after a 2 hour drive.

I am traveling with an other Abbott employee, who lives in Ireland. We got to the rental car place in Spain and all they had left were cars with automatic transmissions. David, who is 36, told me he had never driven a car that did not have a manual transmission, very weird. At least the cars in Spain are like American cars, driver on the left, and you drive on the right side of the road. After he accidentally slammed on the brakes about putting me through the windshield, we were fine the rest of the way.

Another interesting thing about Spain I forgot, was that lunch is at 2:00 PM and dinner tonight is at 8:00 Pm. There people flying in today for my class tomorrow from the Netherlands, so we will probably eat with them.

Classes Thursday and Friday and home Saturday. Wonder what Angela has been up to? I know some of my friends from church (Sam?) will update me Sunday.

See you then.

Ireland Day 2

Here is the link to the hotel I am staying at. www.clarionhotelsligo.com

A couple of interesting facts about the hotel from my perspective:

1. It is an old mental hospital
2. The heat comes on at 7:00 PM in the evenings and goes off at 8:00 AM
3. The floors are numbered, 0 = ground floor, 1 = second floor, 2 = 3rd floor
4. The rooms numbers do not match the floor they are on, for example all the rooms on the 1st floor which is the ground floor start with 2xxx, the second floor they start with either 1xxx, 3xxx, 5xxx to 8xxx.
5. My room is on the 3rd floor starts with 4xxx, very odd
6. I had to wait 90 min yesterday to get a room, due to the valentines weekend crowd. They said every room in the hotel was full on Saturday night. So I took a nap in the lobby and watched people checkout.
7. My room is huge, 3 separate rooms. The sitting room is a large as my CONNECT Group room at church.
8. The bedroom has both a twin bed and double bed in it.

Class today went fine. Teach again to tomorrow then 3 hours drive to Dublin to stay the night. Have an early flight out Wednesday AM for Spain. Jet lag worse today than yesterday.

Ipod is now working! Reading Winners Manual by Jim Tressel, so far it is a great book.

Press On!

Hello from the Emerald Isle

Made it to Ireland with no problems. Hate that I had to give up my Valentines Day with Angela, but duty calls.

In keeping with the family tradition, Angela headed to Columbus for shopping and dinner with Brandon and Corey before my plane even landed in Washington, DC. Have not check the with Park National Bank to see how much it will cost us, but glad they all had a good time.

She did buy a web camera at Circuit City. Don't know why we never thought of that before to keep in touch with Tyler and Rachel. Angela said she plugged it in and talked to them last night.

Only odd thing so far, is when we went to the gate to board the plane for Dublin, there was no plane. It was the first time I have ever gone through a boarding gate and got on a shuttle bus. Kind of defeats the purpose in boarding by rows. Same thing when we landed in Dublin, we had to get off the plane using a ramp. Can't figure that one out.

Watched a couple of movies, Wall-E, and Righteous Kill, both were OK. Could not get my iPod to work. It comes on, but nothing plays. If anyone has an idea on how to fix it, please respond to this blog.

So, it will be a hectic week, Ireland till Tuesday, fly to Spain on Wednesday, then in Spain till Saturday, fly home Saturday. Thanks to Andrew Roth and Michael George for teaching my class today and next Sunday.

Pray for family of Dave Smith from our church who passed away suddenly. Dave and his wife Linda are good people. She will need lots of support and prayer.

It is 5 hour ahead here so I am going down to dinner.

Press ON!

Grandparents!!!

Relax, Tyler and Rachel only got a dog. German Shepard mix I think. They just wanted the protection and friendship a dog can provide. wonder if this means the honeymoon is officially over? The are starting to act like a typical middle class couple in America.

Corey got a new job, some kind of store setup and modeling for Abercrombie and Fitch. They are based in Columbus. About 10 hours a week, he said. He and roommate Eli seem to be getting along fine, nothing too funny to report, that he has told us anyway.

Brandon still working hard. I did his taxes for him and he gets back more than I do this year! At least he is taking us out for dinner when he gets his refund. Martini's sounds good!

Angela went back to work Monday. I woke up and my clock said 6:15 AM and she was still in bed. I woke her up and told her, she jumped up and was headed downstairs, when I realized I was looking at the alarm setting, the actual time was 1:23 AM. I was in big trouble. We went back to sleep and the batteries in her alarm clock must have been low, because the alarm did not go off. She was almost late.

Nothing much going on with me. Got back on Wii fit last night after being off for a week. Thankful only gained 0.2 pounds. Getting ready to head to Ireland and Spain next week on business. Those trips are fun, but they are also tiring.

Press On!

Fireproof the Movie Returns

Our church 1st Baptist Church of Heath, Ohio, http://www.firstbaptistheath.com/, is hosting a free showing of the movie Fireproof. The following was my review from last September:

"We went with 6 other couples from our CONNECT group (Sunday school class) to see the new movie Fireproof. It was made by the same church in Georgia that did Facing the Giants and a few others. Overall it was pretty good, it does a good job of reminding men (and women) that keeping a marriage alive and growing is a continual process and that it takes 2 people to make it a success.

If one person is a "giver" and the other is a "taker" no relationship can last very long.I am very lucky to be married to a wonderful woman whose heart is a big as the sky. Who takes great pride in keeping a clean house, laundry under control, and meals ready, even though she works full time and is turning into a "counselor" for family and friends. Because of my love for her I try to help out around the house especially with laundry and dishes, but I could do better. One of the things I love about Angela is that she does not keep score. We are a team and we both are the better for it."

This is a wonderful movie for any married couple, if you have not seen it, you should plan on attending this Sunday @ 5:00 PM.

That's my boy!

Our oldest son, Tyler, teaches 5th Grade English in Memphis, TN. Today he won the following award.

"Give the award of a lifetime. Give the National PTA Life Achievement Award—the highest honor from the nation’s largest child advocacy organization—to the person who daily lives out his or her commitment to children.

How will you say: “Thank you for your outstanding service to our children”?
Give the award of a lifetime.

Give the National PTA Life Achievement Award—the highest honor from the nation’s largest child advocacy organization—to the person who daily lives out his or her commitment to children.

Recognize and thank that special person you know who goes above and beyond for all children—the one who acts as a tireless advocate for children’s education, health, and well-being."

Way to go Tyler, we are very proud of you!

A Crazy Week it was

If you have not heard, it was long week in the Salyer household.

It started on Tuesday, when I went for my 1st colonoscopy. People told me that the prep was worse than the procedure, and that was only true because you sleep through the procedure. My sister-in-law Pam sent me a copy of a colonoscopy journal from a news commentator Dave Barry. Here is an excerpt:

“Then, in the evening before the procedure, I took the MoviPrep. You mix two packets of powder together in a one-liter plastic jug, then you fill it with lukewarm water. (For those unfamiliar with the metric system, a liter is about 32 gallons.) Then you have to drink the whole jug. This takes about an hour, because MoviPrep tastes - and here I am being kind - like a mixture of goat spit and urinal cleanser, with just a hint of lemon.”

I agree. When I woke up, Angela said I talked a little funny, saying things like "is this heaven? Are you my angel?" to Angela. All I remember was Angela spilling the fries in the car on the way home. Pastor Dear called that night and said I was still talking kind of funny, all I remember was they gave me some good stuff, because I do not remember a thing, thankfully.

On Wednesday, we got up at 3:00 AM to head to Columbus for Angela's surgery. We had to be there at 6:00 AM. The weather was terrible and it took us 90 minutes to get there. The surgery went fine, but when the doctor came out to tell me the results, she went to the wrong personand told him that the ovary came out fine with no complications.

The guy looked very worried, shocked really, but I jumped in and told the the doctor who I was, she apologized and confirmed that Angela was fine. I later talked to the guy and found out why he was upset, his wife was in there for a nose job! I guess I would have been shocked also.

Anyway, we got home late afternoon, things went fine rest of Wednesday, on Thursday Angela got up and had trouble taking deep breaths. About 4:00 PM we headed back to Mount Carmel ER, where they checked Angela out. They found out she had a partially collapsed lung!!! They gave her some medicine and kept her overnight.

On Friday they did a stress test on her heart, all things came back fine. And we finally got home yesterday evening. What long and exhausting 4 days.

Thanks to Kim and Regina for bringing food and those that called and checked on us! Keep praying for Angela to get her strength back.

Good for the whole family

My company makes this, so please buy a lot!

What a 24 hours

It has been an interesting last 24 hours.

It all started with my car. It sounds like the heating blower is going out, when I turn it on it sounds like a very loud goose is being strangled, so I only run it when I have to. A new part will only be about $50 IF I can figure out how to put it on myself.

Then at 10:00 AM Wednesday, I supposed to have a business call with someone in the Netherlands. The phone rang, it was the Netherlands, so I had a 15 min phone call with someone about a project they were working on (they needed my advice).

When I got all done and said goodbye and hung up the phone, it rang again, from the Netherlands, it was the person who I thought i was talking to, apologizing for being late. I had a 15 min conversation with the wrong person and didn't even know it until the correct person called!!

Had a lengthy church council meeting last night, got home after 10:00 PM, talked to my queen a little, went to bed. Then the phone rang. At 3:30 AM! It was someone from my CONNECT group at church, but when I answered it, they had hung up. Angela (my queen), called this AM to make sure things were OK, and they claimed not to have called! He said he fell asleep on the couch and must have rolled over on it. We owe them one.

Today, so far, things are fine. Had another call with someone in the Netherlands, correct person this time. Confirmed details of my trip to Europe in February.

I feel like I have not slept at all, eyes burning, but Angela said I went back right back to sleep. Have another meeting at church tonight, hopefully short, but with who is conducting the meeting I am not optimistic.

Press On!

Back in the saddle

Being the good employee I am, and I like to keep my job, today I came back to work. And yes it was cold.

It took several attempts to get the car started, when I did the temperature gauge said the outside temp was -15 degrees. The temperature of my coolant in the radiator was -8 degrees!

I let the car run until the coolant temp hit 100 degrees and then I went slowly down the highway letting my 1992 Cadillac with 202,000+ miles warm up nice and slow. By the time I hit 161 the car was starting to warm up, and made it to work with no problems.

Until I went outside at lunch time. Angela was in Columbus (this is her short day), so we all met at Red Robin for lunch. When I went to my car to start it, nothing happened when I turned the key. UGH! Than a message came on that said the anti-theft system was engaged and I had to remove the key and wait 3 minutes.

I have had this car for over a year and didn't even know it had an anti-theft system. I'll have to ask Wally about it. It must work, because the car has never come up missing since I owned it, which is a good thing. I waited the 3 minutes and the car started fine. Corey said his car barely started and all of the presets on the radio had cleared themselves out.

At Red Robin, I got the usual, Royal Red Robin with a fried egg and bacon and cheese on it. YUM! Planning on an hour on Wii Fit tonight to make up for it, but it was worth it.

Also, today Corey told Angela he needed a calendar (why I will never know) and something else small, so they went to Wal-Mart where I am sure she bought him over $100 worth of food.

I think she does this so he will not need to come home, but not sure. Don't get me wrong, we love all of the boys, but things get dirty quick when they are there. Last Sunday, Brandon came home to hunt with Charlie, when we got home from church, there was mud everywhere from Brandon's hunting stuff. When Angela asked him about it, of course it was not his, and he blamed it all on Corey. So from now on there is a $50 cleaning fee to hunters who make a mess.

Good news is that it will be 40 degrees warmer on Saturday, bad news it will still only be in the 20's with snow likely. So stay warm and be careful.

Baby, It's cold outside! Updated 4:30 PM

Working from home today, just have calls with people in Chicago at the mother ship (code for company HQ). Took part of my lunch hour and went outside and shoveled snow. It was harder than doing Wii Fit that's for sure.

Weather.com says it is 9 degrees, but feels like -8 degrees. Started up both cars and let them run for 5 min, in case we need to get out tonight. With no snow in the forecast, will try to get to work, if they lift the Level 2 Snow Emergency in Licking county.

Level 1 = Be cautious, roads slick
Level 2 = Stay off the roads, call ahead before leaving home to make sure things are open.
Level 3 = Too dangerous to be out, get a ticket if caught driving.

Bought an ergonomically correct shovel last year, looks weird but it does make it easier. I like it a lot. You can tell because it has an "S" shape in the handle.

Put some salt out, Angela said it was a waste of time, but did it any way. Well the laws of physics are still true and the driveway is melting off, what I could not shovel off. If the sun would come out, things would dry up some.

Get some hot tea, I like cinnamon stick tea from Bigelow, and relax. If you are reading this, it's warmer than being outside.

Sky Angel Cowboy

Thanks to Ron for sending this to me.

Questions for Pastor Dear

Our Sunday night services are now starting with a question that Pastor Dear answers. So far he has answered questions like: can someone who commits suicide go to Heaven, how old is the earth really, etc. He is doing a great job and always answer from the Bible only.

I got a chronological Bible for Christmas a few years ago which allows you to read through the Bible in the order that things happened, and you do it in a year. I am still Genesis and I have 2 questions Pastor Dear can answer sometime on Sunday night, you will have to come to church to hear the answers.

1. Why did people live so much longer in the Bible? Adam lived 930 years, Enosh lived 840 years, etc
2. Where did Cain get his wife? If Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel were the first 4 people on earth, where did the other wives come from?

Looks like a bad weather weekend, so bundle up and stay warm.

I am working from home today trying to get over a cold I have had since New Years.

Happy New Year!

It has been a whirlwind 2 weeks of vacation.

Tyler and Rachel came up for Christmas, had a great time with them. You can see the "ugly" sweaters Corey bought everyone on the video on the previous posting. Went shopping with them before they went home, just had a great time with them.

For New Years Eve, Angela's sister and most of their families went out to dinner. We got to meet Jordan's, my niece, new boyfriend, Patrick from Idaho. Really nice guy, easy to talk to and made a good impression on the family, whether he was trying to or not. We also took Brandon's new friend Julie with us, who also made a very good impression. We went to Martini's in the Arena district in Columbus. food was pretty high class, with high class prices. Dessert was great!

Since Angela had to work leading up to to New Years day, Pam offered to host the New Years day dinner at her house. We had the traditional pork and sauerkraut, watched some football and played a few games.

Today we all went snow tubing at Mad River mountain. It was fun but way too crowded. I only got to go down the hill about 5 times in 3 hours, all the other time was spent standing in line. We went back to a Mexican restaurant we happened upon last year in Marysville, Fiesta Grande. The food was GREAT! It was also the cheapest meal I have paid for in the last 2 weeks. Brandon continued his trend of getting a more expensive meal than everyone else, but we still had a good time.

Tomorrow is church with Pastor Dear going to announce some exciting news! As Chairman of the Church council I have an idea of what it will be, and I think people will be excited about it.

Either way, Monday is back to work! UGH! Corey moved out today and will be living in Columbus for at least the next year, while he finishes school and gets a job. So we are empty nesters once again.

So I hope you have a better year in 2009, regardless how 2008 was.

Salyer Christmas 2008

Sights and sounds of our Christmas Season!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!