Exhausted from a long day of volunteering at the Southern California Writers Association, and taking copious notes from Jerry Simmons’ excellent lecture, I drove home and was greeted by a sixteen foot metal arm, dividing my side of the garage, from my husband’s. At least the crane wasn’t blocking my spot, so I parked my car, walked into my air-conditioned house, and collapsed on the couch next to my husband.

“What’s the crane in our garage for?” I asked.

“I need you to be Vanna White and a Zombie,” my husband said.

“What?”

“I’m shooting a commercial to show how the crane works, and Jim agreed to let me film his Classic car.”

“You know I hate acting. Ask the neighbor’s daughter,” I said.

“She’s at work,” he said.

Duke always surprises me. An attorney by day, he dreams of a career in film, and spends most of his spare time either building cranes, writing scripts or discussing cameras on various forums.

When I left in the morning, I had no idea he planned on filming a car commercial later in the evening.

I tried to force my sons to do the commercial instead of me, but at 6′ 4″, I don’t think Austin would make a good, Vanna White.

Jordan convinced me to be brave and play the role.

“Mom, just move like Michael Jackson in Thriller,” he said.

Within the hour, I was standing on the street, neighbors watching, and cars slowing down, first pretending to show Classic car, then acting like a Zombie.

Enjoy the video, and YES, that is my voice, then Duke’s voice and YES, Duke made the crane from scratch and filmed and edited it himself.

Classic Cars of the Future Today! from Duke Marsh on Vimeo.

So have you done anything out of your comfort zone to help your husband or anyone else? I’d love to hear.

My three sons at Laguna Beach January 2009

Now please don’t get me wrong, I love my kids, but I’ve always preferred it when they were in school, especially when they were younger.

For years and years, I’d hear other mothers say, “I’m so looking forward to the summer when we no longer have hectic schedules.” For some reason, I never agreed with them. Well that may not be surprising, since I tend to have different opinions about many things–perhaps living in different countries does that to a person.

You see, I have the guilt thing going during the summer. I’m fortunate that I don’t have to be in an office at a certain time, however, I force myself to stick to a writing schedule. I also stick to a gym schedule every morning at 6 a.m., as I want my husband and I to stay fit for our older years. Since I cannot sit in an office chair for most of the day, without knowing that the blood is flowing in my veins first, I have a disciplined schedule for myself, whether or not my kids are on vacation.

The guilt kicks in when I know my kids enjoy me taking them out to breakfast, or to shop, or for a coffee or tea and a chat. Yes, two out of three sons are still home with me, and they enjoy my company–at least that’s what I keep telling myself. I feel like I can go for 2-3 days max without taking them anywhere, and then I have to entertain them. Besides, Austin, my 18-year-old is off to UCSB, a gorgeous campus on the Pacific coast– see some photos here University of California in Santa Barbara at the end of July. I feel guilty if I don’t enjoy his company as much as possible before he leaves for four years of college.

As far as sports and friends, Jordan, 15, comes to the gym at 6 a.m. with me to run, and Austin jogs, plays tennis or kickball with his friends. The rest of the time they like to stay home, watch TV or sit in front of their computer.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you have guilt like me?

Should I just quit feeling guilty?

Creativity, babies, great music and laughter, a recipe for SUCCESS.

I loved this ad. Very few ads have an affect on me, but this one certainly works. I’m heading out the door to buy some EVIAN water.

For those of you still wondering about the results of the exam I took for the FSOT, Foreign Service Officer Test– well I didn’t pass. Although a little disappointed, it’s also a relief as there would have been a timing conflict with my volunteering in Belize in October, The FSOT requires a six-month training period in Virginia.

Instead, I’ll watch the babies dance one more time to stay positive.

Have you already seen this ad?

Does advertising have an effect on your purchasing habits?

Do you remember the last time you laughed so hard, you cried?

Last night, warm tears meandered down my cheeks like lava trails. So what if my mascara messed up, I hadn’t laughed so hard since childhood. It was the kind of laughter you can’t control, it just takes over, and you can’t stop.

Jordan, my youngest son and I, have the same sense of humor. It seems strange that my 15-year-old son can make me laugh more than my husband. Sometimes I feel guilty about it, but he imitates my laughter to perfection–snort included–and I become a kid again. One giggle leads to another and quickly spins out of control.

If you don’t laugh, this Panda will make you smile.

We imitate others and so the following quote from Science Daily makes sense: “It seems that it’s absolutely true that ‘laugh and the whole world laughs with you’,” says Dr Sophie Scott, a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, UCL. “We’ve known for some time now that when we are talking to someone, we often mirror their behaviour, copying the words they use and mimicking their gestures. Now we’ve shown that the same appears to apply to laughter, too — at least at the level of the brain.”

So when was the last time you laughed? I mean really laughed?

Do you use humor in your daily life?

Are you good at telling jokes?