2011 will be remembered as a tough year for many Americans given the status of the economy, I am still blessed, however, my wife and children are fine and healthy and through the challenges of the past year my bills are paid although I gave a bit on my credit card than I would like. Hopefully, the worst is behind us.

The time has come for me to get a bike. Why you ask? Well, it seems clear my running days are over. I like to go out and run at least once a week and go for long walks at least three times a week. At this point, clearly my feet are not going to able to hold up. Through the later portion of year I have been battled plantar facetious. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the ailment it involves the tendons beginning to separate from the bone on the bottom of your foot which occurs more commonly as you get older. Over time as the condition progresses walking becomes very painful. If I stay off my feet meaning no major running or power strolls I will be fine as these activities pound my naturally high arches. My problem is I enjoy and to a large extent need to exercise on a regular basis.

This brings us to one of the major benefits of periodic physical activity in my case is keeping my blood pressure under control. I need to do a better job of monitoring my blood pressure throughout the year. Who wants to get a heart attack 15 years from now when all you had to do was think about preventing future problems now?

I am looking forward to next year as I plan to visit Japan with my family. Because of circumstances during the last few years I have not had the opportunity to make the trip.

I am still taking a Japanese class every Monday. My objective is to be able to engage in a decent conversation with my in-laws in Japanese. I will need to express every day ideas in proper Japanese grammar to achieve that goal. I can do simple expressions but I am not where I want to be in regards to my conversation skills. I realize patent will be required as this will take time. In the end, at this point I still do not possess enough of a basic grammar foundation to allow myself to master fundamental communication. So without a doubt there is work to do.