If you’re having trouble viewing my video, you can also click here.

Look forward to another year of growing friendships.

“You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson.

When I opened my comments this morning, Kaci from MY THREE SONS, gave me a beautiful gift. Her kind words made me realize how we can touch people with our written words.

You see Kaci is a single mom raising three sons: 14, 13 and 3, and she wrote: “I have a little story that I wanted to share with you. Last night my 14-year-old son was sitting with me in the living room and he was looking at my blog. He was asking me questions about some of the wonderful blogs I follow and we got to yours.”

Kaci wrote how she’s had numerous conflicts with Coltan, including one on mothers’ day last year, when he was rude and nasty and complained and whined the whole day. “So I have gotten my feelings hurt on more than one occasion with his behavior and words,” she wrote.

Now this is where I come in.

Coltan started reading a blog post I wrote, the one about what does number 11 mean?  I talked about my 21-year-old son coming back from college and that it had been 361 days since I last hugged him.

Kaci’s son looked at her and said, “You mean, you moms really count stuff like that?”  Kaci replied, “Yes, Coltan, a hug or a simple I love you means so much to us.”

Coltan continued reading the part where my son made a comment that truly hurt me, and suggested that he might be joking.

As some of you may know, I recently purchased a video-flip camera and am attempting to become a vlogger.

Last night, my German friend Inge, kindly agreed to record my three-minute DimeStory at a cozy restaurant in Laguna Beach called Picayo’s.

I wrote about DimeStories before, and briefly, it allows writers to share their work in front of an audience, and improve their skills.

Inge did a great job filming, but next time, the camera needs to be a little closer so the built-in microphone can pick up my voice a little better.

Please enjoy and comments are always welcome.

Please visit Rob-bear and his recent post on Christmas (p)resents. You’ll see why?

What do you give your husband after 23 years of marriage?

It seemed so easy when we first got married, but as time goes by, I know what he doesn’t care for, and those are exactly the things I enjoy giving him.

Clothes such as nice jeans, shirts to wear when we go out to friends or for a nice dinner, ties for work, or even new shoes.

I think many husbands become stubborn as they age. They get stuck in their old ways and won’t “modernize” their look. Take gym shorts, my husband has been wearing the same four pairs of gym shorts for the past eight years. He likes them because they’re soft, and they stop above the knee. The problem is they’re so worn, and look old and tired. Last year I bought him some new shorts which he told me to return as, “My old ones are just fine.”

No, this is not my husband but you get the picture.


Most things my husband enjoys, he buys for himself. Stuff on e-bay, like camera parts, for the movie he’s working on every spare second he has. I never seem to find the right component he needs, so I’ve given up.

Last year was hilarious, we ended up buying each other the exact same gift: A Garmin GPS. The only difference was that I bought the better GPS, so we ended up returning his gift, and now we’re both sharing mine.

I just read an article on the Five Gifts That Never Fail. Do you agree with that list?

#1. Pajamas
#2. JC Crew
#3. Magazine Subscriptions
#4. Of the month club (for example, where flowers or a pack of coffee is delivered to you once a month, throughout the year.)
#5. Fudge

What is your favorite gift to give, and what about to receive?

It doesn’t take much to get me excited these days. All I need is a sign that says, YouTube, E-mail, Facebook and EASY, and that’s enough to get me to buy my own Christmas present. “Duke, I just purchased my own flip video camera so now you don’t need to buy me anything,” I said to my husband who has a professional camera, but makes it sound so complicated, I’m scared to touch it. He looked at the Flip box, then Googled it for reviews. Imagine what I felt when it received far more positive than negative reviews. Now I can do my own thing without asking my husband for help.

ANNOUNCING THE WINNER OF THE ORGANIZING CONTEST
My second attempt, shorter and different lighting. I cannot seem to edit the fumble at the end. Anyone know how to? The scissors thing didn’t work.

And the winner of the $15 gift certificate is: You’ll have to listen to my video. Sorry!!!! Do you tend to buy your own presents or let your husband/wife purchase them? Next time I’ll make the video shorter, and edit. I’m still learning.