Hello readers,

As I've been in Mexico all week, and made the mistake of trading a little bit of CROX before the earnings (at the moment I'm writing this on Thursday...even though this note will be published Friday, it's down more than $25, or 1/3 of its value, in one day), it occurs to me that I need a little break from political and economic blogging, and from my day job.

Since I'm still me, I'm just talking about a couple of days, not a couple of weeks, so for those of you who care to read my few thoughts for today, please read on. And for those of you who really couldn't care less about such trivialities (at least trivial as they apply to you), I fully understand and I hope you'll check back on Monday for more of my usual fare.

Yesterday, after the CROX news came out and I realized roughly how much money I was losing, my 22-month old daughter, Lili, looked at me and asked "Daddy alright?". And I thought to myself, how could I possibly not be alright with that infectious smile and beautiful, guileless voice beaming up at me?

I'm in Cozumel, looking at the ocean on a rather windy day and wishing I were smart enough not to have my computer on. On the bright side, I haven't actually spent much time on the computer during this trip...just some trading yesterday afternoon and this morning. But still, with vacations so hard to come by at this phase of my life, I should be making more of it.

Lili is now asleep for her afternoon nap. Kristen...in her 7th month of pregnancy with our second (and hopefully final) child...is going to have a snack and a rest. I'm going to lie in the sun, jump in the pool, and read a bit.

Even with losing some money in CROX, life is good. I fear that I may be so buried in my work, my writing, my own little world that this good life may pass me by before I realize it. I hope I get better at balancing what is necessary with what is important.

So, friends, thanks for listening. Feel free to comment if you like. I'd enjoy hearing your thoughts. But if your time is too precious to take minutes typing on a keyboard, I completely understand....