Good morning: Another stellar day in the Northwest. And I'm taking the day off! Why? A high school classmate of mine has this big hairy audacious goal of playing every golf course in the state. I told him if he was ever over on my side of the mountains, let me know and we'd go play Gold Mountain in Bremerton, rated the favorite golf course in Western Washington by the public.

The opportunity to do something you love with people you want to spend time with should not be missed. Yes, I have my cell. with me and email comes to my phone. But I'm going to also enjoy the day with my best friend in the 3rd grade. I think it's important to take advantage of these opportunities. They don't come around very often.

So enjoy your day today. I was having lunch with a guy yesterday I really admire. I referred to him as Mr. Bellevue because he has done so much to promote the city and the Eastside. He commented to me that he finally was going to be able to start taking weekends off soon. I told him that was good. I don't know about you but I've had a pretty good year and also taken a lot of time to do other things. So what do you have planned this week? Is there room to take time out and away from your business? If not, see if you can break away. You'll come back refreshed and ready to hit it again! Have a great day!