A Look Back at 2023

Perhaps this year I will plan a bit better. I hoped to post this year-end recap on January 1, 2024, but life had other plans. If I made New Year’s Resolutions, planning ahead just might be one of mine. Better late than never …

2023 was a year of ups and downs, but that’s what makes life interesting, right? As I looked back at the year in preparation for this blog, I was surprised at what a decent year it was. I found myself smiling at so many of the memories. I truly believe that there was more good memories than bad last year.

2023 was a year of accomplishments for me:

I read more books last year than I have in a very long time. There were so many good ones (many of them I reviewed here)!
I completed a full semester of my Bible classes and am ready to start the 5th semester (of 9).
Then there were the projects my father-in-law and I completed. We turned a closet into a nook, put in an entire new deck on the porch, and built a fence for the puppy.
I also completed a course on Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
I participated in 12 installments of Turntable Talk for Dave Ruch’s A Sound Day site
I contributed a few songs to my friend Nancy’s The Rhythm Section site
I taught a couple classes on Sleep Medicine at a local college
I wrote my 1000th blog

There were a lot of new things in 2023 for me:

Sam and I both got new vehicles
I got a new schedule at work when I switched to afternoons
We got a new driveway and sidewalks because of that construction mess on our street
We added to our family with our new puppy, Daisy
A new diagnosis of ADHD and long term depression for me. This brings many challenges.

There were so many wonderful times with family and friends:

Ella celebrated birthday #3
Andrew celebrated birthday #2
Dante turned 21
Dimitri turned 16 (and I golfed with him for his birthday)
I celebrated my birthday with a princess party theme (picked out by Ella) and wore a tiara!
Our family enjoyed a nice day at the beach in Caseville
We enjoyed a great day on the Halloween Train with Aunt Margaret and Uncle Walt
My brother and I got to spend some time together thanks to his visits up to Michigan (He even contributed a nice guest blog)
Sam and I enjoyed a night out with a nice dinner and then seeing a Golden Girls play
My radio buddy, Cam, who I hadn’t seen in decades, came up and we had a great time reminiscing over coffee
My Goddaughter, Marissa, got married
The family enjoyed a night at the Detroit Zoo enjoying their Christmas Lights display
I had all my kids over on Christmas Eve and it was nice to have them all together. It may sound crazy, but we all sat on the couch and watch the Christmas episode of Shaun the Sheep and laughed like crazy together.
I also got to enjoy my first ever Daddy Daughter Dance with Ella.

Andrew certainly kept us busy this year. He’s been through the ringer. This year he’s had an MRI, an EEG, a few Sleep Studies, throat surgery, a swallow study, received a diagnosis of mild cerebral palsy and is now wearing braces on his legs. Between doctor appointments, he’s been doing speech therapy, and physical and occupational therapy. We spent a lot of time in the car this year. Thankfully, we continue to work on things and his prognosis is looking great.

I was finally able to hold the amazing portrait of Ella and Andrew in my hands this year. My friend Belita sent me many photos as the portrait progressed and my excitement built with each one. It is so beautiful. I need to get a frame for it, so I can hang it up on the wall.

As a bonus, the Detroit Lions have given me the best season I have been able to witness in forever!.

In 2023 I wrote 274 blog posts and this site had almost 31,000 views. As I looked back at the most popular posts, I was surprised to see that there was a new “Most Viewed” blog. The 6th blog I ever wrote for this site somehow always was the most viewed blog every year. It was a blog I wrote with some of Red Buttons’ funniest lines:

“Never Got a Dinner”!

That blog came in at the third most viewed this year (Over 700 views). The second most viewed blog was a holiday themed blog about one of my favorite Christmas specials:

The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974)

The Year Without a Santa Claus blog just beat the Never Got a Dinner blog (750 views) The new champion, and most viewed blog this year was also holiday themed and got an amazing 4841 views!

My Top 20 Favorite Christmas Characters

I have to wonder why it got so many views. I do think it is cool, though.

As a loyal reader and visitor to this blog, I want you to know how much I appreciate you. Thank you for reading and commenting on my posts. Thank you for making 2023 something to remember.

As we continue in the new year, I pray it is a good one for you and me. That being said, I’m going to do something that I really have never done before on here.

My faith is something that you are aware of. I am always open to a good conversation about my faith. I make it no secret that I believe the Bible and am a Christian. I understand that you may not be. That is your choice and I am not in the position to judge anyone for what you believe. That being said, I watched a message from a pastor friend that really was powerful. I’m going to post the video here on this blog. Feel free to watch if you wish. If you don’t want to watch it, that’s ok. Consider this the end of this blog post.

If you do want to watch, let me set it up for you:

In the 1990’s, William Strauss and Neil Howe wrote a book about the historical cycles in America. It was called The Fourth Turning.

It is really a fascinating read! Bryan Ross taught a message about the New Year and if the cycles of history continue to follow the pattern, 2024 could bring some issues. His message was full of information and really helped me to be at peace and ready for what history might cycle back our way.

Keep in mind that the book itself is not a biblical book about prophecy or anything like that. It looks at the cycles of history. Pastor Ross presents this info honestly and then answers the question of how we should prepare for it.

Thanks for reading.

Christmas 2023

Christmas has come and gone. I hope that you and your family had a wonderful holiday! We had a lot of fun moments, for sure. Here is my Christmas recap.

I want to start by saying that this had to be the least “Christmassy” Christmas in a very long time. Part of that could be that there was no snow on the ground and it was about 50 degrees. The sounds of the holidays were certainly there (musically), but it was very difficult to get into the Christmas “mood.”

That being said, I had Friday off and I needed to get a few last minute things for my sons. They had asked for a couple video games and I couldn’t find them. I could have ordered them, I suppose, but all the sites were saying that they would not arrive until January. So I improvised. I took Ella and Andrew with me and we went shopping. I found them some things (that I am sure they thought were not fun) that were more … adult.

Dante’ is 21 and Dimitri is 16 now. I got them things I knew that they could use or needed. It’s hard when you ask them what they want for Christmas in the fall and they have no clue. Or better yet, you find out that the thing they told you they wanted, they went out and bought for themselves with the money they made working. I didn’t want to do gift cards. That just seems easy, boring and requires no thought. I couldn’t help but remember when I started getting the more adult gifts….sigh. The Christmas magic fades too soon.

It was nice, however, to have all the kids together on the morning of Christmas Eve. I made a big breakfast and we had some good conversation. Dimitri had to work that day, so they weren’t at my house more than a few hours. It is a rare occurrence to have them all together in one place.

Christmas Eve night, we went to Sam’s folks for dinner. It was quite a spread: turkey, ham, meatballs, mac and cheese, baked bean, potatoes, and just about every dessert you can think of. Sam’s mom set up some cups on a table for the kids to toss cheese balls in to win prizes. Afterward, $200 in play money was handed to each person and gifts were auctioned off. I won the bid on a nice “evening in” bag – popcorn, candle, candy, hot cocoa and slipper socks. We also played a board game called “Something Fishy” or “Sounds Fishy” where you had to lie about a question that was asked. It was a fun night.

We left later than we expected and got home to get the kids in bed. Before we could do that, we had to leave out cookies and milk for Santa. One of our neighbors (the one who has the box to mail Santa letters – and answer them), messaged me to say that they had something special for Ella and Andrew. I went over Friday and they handed me a beautiful board for Santa’s milk and cookies.

Once the cookies and Egg Nog were in place (we were out of milk and I told them that Santa liked Egg Nog), the kids were off to bed. It was then that Santa began building toys! Ella asked for a Barbie Princess Castle and Andrew wanted a train table. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, as it only took me about 3 hours to put every thing together.

The dog started barking earlier than normal and I was up to let her out. Andrew was up first and he ran to get Ella because Santa had arrived. For one brief space of about an hour, we felt like it was Christmas. The magic of watching them walk out and seeing their toys ready for play! Wow, do I remember that feeling! It is one of the most powerful memories in my life. That initial walk out to the tree … pure magic!

They were so excited that they didn’t open another present for some time!

Ella got this HUGE Barbie. It is almost as big as her. She loves it!

Andrew loves to take pictures with our phones and his tablet. We found a cool camera that he had a lot of fun with.

Christmas day was nice because we just got to chill out at home. After we played a bit, we watched The Polar Express together. It is such a great movie. We napped because we were all up early, and then got ready for dinner. A Christmas Story was on and I had yet to see it this year, so I watched as we cooked up our ravioli dinner.

Sam’s folks stopped by to see they kids and what they got for Christmas. After they left, we ate and got ready to call it a night. Sam and Ella were in our room relaxing and I was out in the living room with Andrew. I was getting ready to turn off the TV, but he was engrossed in The Wizard of Oz. He couldn’t take his eyes off it. When the commercials came on, I told him we’d have to finish it another day and we went to bed.

I tried to be more in the moment this year. I neglected to take a lot of pictures. Playing with the kids, chasing them around the house, snuggling them in our bed….yeah, those were the moments! It was a Merry Christmas for us!

Oh, and as a Christmas bonus for guys like me who have been waiting a long time … The Detroit Lions clinched the division. Merry Christmas!!

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas with your family. I can’t wait to read about it!

Holiday Thought –

Going through some folders today and came across an old “Show Prep” folder. It was full of stuff I used for the radio show when I was on the air. The headline read: “During the Holidays, You’ll Need a Break From Your Family After Just 4 Hours!”

The story went on to talk about how it takes about that long for family to get on your nerves: lack of privacy and family drama are to blame. On the bright side, 95% of the people in the survey agree that spending time with family during the holidays is important.

Our family has been through a lot this year. Here is something to think about as we get closer to the holidays….

When you are at that point where you “need a break” or that family member is “annoying you” or someone is telling the same story again – remember this: This may be the last holiday you have with them.

The holidays are generally a happy time for many of us. However, it can also be a very difficult time as we remember those family members who are no longer here to celebrate with us. What I wouldn’t give to have my mom or my grandparents here for one more holiday! I know my wife and her family will be thinking of Grace this holiday season. I have so many friends and relatives who have lost someone close to them in the past year. So let me offer up this:

Cherish every moment with those you love. Engage in conversations. Embrace the annoyances. Listen to that story one more time. Instead of running away from those moments and regretting it later, LIVE it and remember it for when those people are no longer here with us.

Friday Photo Flashback

It is another installment of my “Friday Photo Flashback.” This came about when a writing prompt suggested going through photos and finding one that stands out or brings about some sort of memory.

The one I have chosen to look at today is one that just stands out to me as “neat.”

The handsome young chap in the above picture is yours truly. I really love this picture of me. I have absolutely no idea why I am wearing this sailor suit. I don’t know who bought it for me. I don’t know if this was taken on Halloween. I just don’t know much about this picture. There may or may not be another picture of me in this same outfit at my dad’s college graduation. I may be mistaken.

This is where I open things up to my relatives, who may be able to help me. They can correct me if I am wrong.

From what I can tell, this is my Aunt Lois’s house. I could be wrong. It just seems to have the same layout that I remember. The last time I was at her house I was probably 11 or 12, so my memory could be very wrong.

If I had to guess, I am somewhere between 2 and 4 years old here. I am always in awe of the furniture in these old pictures. To my left in the photo is a coffee table (I think that’s what they referred to them as). I’m going to guess that those are fake flowers in a pot. That looks like a lace doily underneath it. For some reason or another, doilies were quite the thing in the 70’s. It seemed like they were under lamps, flower pots, and anything that sat on a table or end table.

The round table behind me in the photo looks like a table on top of a table. I can’t really tell, but it looks like there is an area to store things like maybe the Family Bible between the two round table tops.

The lamp on the top (with a doily under it) looks familiar. I wish I could see the lamp shade, not that it would make that big of a difference. I wonder if this lamp wound up in my Aunt and Uncle’s place in Caseville. I can’t really understand why it looks so familiar.

It seemed like every relative of mine had some sort of rocking chair in their house. This one here sort of reminds me of my great grandma’s rocking chair. That, in itself, makes me wonder if this was taken at her house. I just don’t know. I suppose there is the possibility that this was taken at my grandma’s house, but I really doubt it.

The last thing I notice is the folding chair. Folding chairs were often brought up from a basement or from out of a hall closet for when there was some sort of family get together. I really don’t recall having big get togethers at my aunt’s house, but maybe there was. The presence of the folding chair suggests to me that this had to be taken on some sort of holiday. That might also explain the sailor suit.

I’m anxious to see what I learn from a few of my relatives regarding this photo.

One thing is for sure – this photo is probably the only time I’ve been in a military uniform!

Inspired by Blogmas

A few blogs that I follow, started to talk about “Blogmas” a week or so ago. From what I can tell it is a list of 25-31 Blog post ideas. Sort of a daily writing prompt that are all Christmas related. I did a search for “Blogmas” and read through a few of them. The list seems to vary a bit, but mostly contains the same prompts. The idea is to blog about each of these prompts daily. Some of the lists stop at 25 (Christmas Day) and some end at day 31 (New Year’s Eve).

The ones I read yesterday were under the title “Christmas Tag.” In essence, you answer the 20 questions and then tag a blogger to answer the same. I won’t tag anyone at the end of this blog, since I am technically not officially committed to “Blogmas,” but I liked some of the questions on the list and thought they would make for good reading (even though I may have answered a question or two in more detail in past blogs). So here goes:

When do you start getting excited for Christmas? I would say that I probably start getting in the Christmas mood right after Halloween. Many radio stations begin playing Christmas music then. I could listen to Christmas music any time of the year, but hearing it on the radio starts to get me excited for the season.
Is Christmas your favorite holiday? I would say yes. I have so many wonderful memories of past Christmases. I love that people’s attitudes tend to be happier during the Christmas season. There just seems to be a lot more joy around Christmas.
Do you prefer to stay at home or travel for the holidays? I guess I prefer to stay home – or close to home – for the holidays. When I read the question, travel seems to insinuate going out of state or a lengthy trip. Most of my family is within a 60-90 minute drive, so that really doesn’t seem like travel to me.
Be honest: do you prefer giving or receiving gifts? Definitely giving. I love to see the look on a person’s face when they receive a gift from me. I wouldn’t consider myself the best gift giver (trying to buy anything for my wife is SO difficult). I like to have some sort of idea of what a person wants before I shop for them. As far as receiving gifts – I never really feel comfortable when someone buys me something.
Do you open any presents on Christmas Eve? I have every year since I was a kid. We always went to my grandma’s house for Christmas Eve and opened all our gifts. During my first marriage, we always let my sons open one gift on Christmas Eve (usually Christmas pajamas). Today, my sons come over the day before Christmas Eve and Christmas Eve morning is our “Christmas.” They spend Christmas morning with their mom. My daughter and my son will have some gifts to open Christmas Eve morning with their brothers and then more for Christmas morning.
Have you ever built a snowman? Yes. Quite a few actually. I remember loving when the snow was “good packing” and you could build snowmen and snow forts. Just recently, my daughter and I started a snowman, but she was so excited to play in the snow, he was never finished. Can’t wait for our next opportunity to build one.
Do you decorate the outside of your home for Christmas? Yes. Usually the front and side porches. It is by no means the best on the block, but I’m happy with it. One day I hope to be courageous enough to climb up on the roof and do more. For now, I’m happy with it.
Is your Christmas tree real or fake? Fake. In all my years, we’ve never had a real tree. I enjoy them when they are at someone else’s house, though. I enjoy the smell of the pine tree. I am not sure that if we ever got a real tree that I’d be comfortable with it. You know, fire hazzards, bugs or animals possibly still being in them, the fact that you have to water it each day, and stepping on pine needles for months after….
Most memorable holiday moment? How does one even begin to answer this question?! I have so many from childhood, and now even more with each of my children. I just couldn’t narrow it down to one.
What do you like to do over Christmas break? What break?! I have a couple days off and work the rest of the days in between. I wish that I could stockpile vacation time up so I could actually take more time off during the holidays so I could spend it with family.
Which holiday traditions are you most looking forward to this year? One thing that I have come to really look forward to is driving through the Holiday lights display at Crossroads Village on Christmas Eve night. It doesn’t change too much every year, but I always love going through and seeing the lights.
Best Christmas gift you’ve ever received? Urgh – again, very difficult to chose one. Maybe it was the Atari 2600. It also could be the cribbage board my grandpa gave me. Or it could be the gold trumpet charm from my mom. Stretch Armstrong? I just can’t narrow it down.
What is your all-time favorite holiday treat? Toss up between Pignolata (loved when my grandma made this!) or cannoli. Both were staples at Christmas time (along with many many Christmas cookies).
Your favorite Christmas movie? I would say A Christmas Story or any version of A Christmas Carol. (Christmas Vacation could easily be in there, too!)
Your favorite Christmas song? Man, all of these “favorite” questions are just to difficult! Dean Martin’s Marshmallow World is a definite favorite! Santa Claus is Back in Town from Elvis, Mel Torme’ The Christmas Song, Doc Severinsen’s Jingle Bells, the list goes on and on!
What makes the holidays special for you? Family! Spending time with my family is all that matters! Sharing those special moments with them is everything!
What would be your dream place to visit for the holiday season? I’ve never really been away for the holidays, but I know some places go all out. Disney, Branson, and so many other places really have some amazing things going on. Maybe one day we’ll be able to check them out.
Do you make New Year’s resolutions? Do you stick to them? I used to. I don’t really any more. I shouldn’t need a new year to want to make changes in my life. For many years, I would make them and would fail miserably at them.
You have been granted one Christmas wish, what will it be? I would wish to make a difference. Included in the wish, I would wish to be a role model for my children, a good friend, a good husband, and a man whose faith helped lead others to the Lord.
Who’s “it?” At this point on the list you are supposed to pick someone to answer the same questions. If you are so inclined, you may do so. If not, I hope you enjoyed my answers.

The “Overlap”

We are now three days from Christmas. Remember back in October when folks were all up in arms about people putting Christmas stuff up? I remember blogging about how this year we could use some happiness and approved of the “early” holiday cheer.

I was reminded of a cartoon which shows up every year (in some form or another):

I was reminded of the holiday “overlap” after reading one of the blogs I follow. The blog’s author, Beth, posted it here:

overlapping.

Personally, I have yet to walk into a store that has the Valentine’s stuff out, but I know that come December 26th, it will start showing up! I don’t know about you, but I don’t even start thinking about Valentine’s day until mid-January or early February.

I’ve never really understood the reason to rush a holiday? A month in advance is plenty. Now, Christmas may be a little different in that some people start saving money for Christmas as early as January (yes, 12 months early!). I know plenty of people who Christmas shop all year long. I would think that of all the holidays, Christmas is probably the biggest, at least where gift giving is concerned. Every one is buying gifts for someone.

I’ve never received an Easter Gift bigger than a basket with candy, a Labor Day surprise, a Fourth of July gift, or even a President’s Day gift. The only times I receive a gift is my birthday, my anniversary, and Christmas. Still, the retail stores are quick to usher in the next holiday even before one is over! I don’t get it.

In commenting back and forth with Beth, she brought up a good point. Why don’t they just have “Holiday” stores. One store – with everything you need for every holiday? At least you could walk in there and not wonder “Why is the Halloween stuff out in April?!” You’d expect it to be!

Thanks Beth, for the inspiration. I’m off to buy Valentines…..

Blog # 300!!

Another Milestone

Well, here it is – my 300th blog post. To be completely honest, I have a few more than 300, but some were kept private. So this is my 300th “published” blog. Over the past few blogs, I knew this milestone blog was coming, and wondered just how a blogger celebrates this kind of achievement. I found that most look back and reflect on stats.

I don’t know about doing that. Does it matter that the most popular day my blog is viewed is Thursday? Are you impressed that in the first 299 blogs I have written 64,488 words? Does it thrill you to know that each blog averages about 921 words? I highly doubt that means anything to you.

A Short Reflection

300 blogs. It is amazing to actually look back and see the wide variety of content that I covered since beginning this blog:

The blog is full of many posts about music – some about specific tunes (Tune Tuesday) and some filled with many songs.
There have been many blogs about television – whether it be actual shows or just theme songs.
I have also written many blogs about movies – some as part of blogathons hosted by other bloggers and some of my personal favorites.
There have been blogs about holidays from throughout the year – some contain specific memories and some are just general thoughts.
I have written special blogs to family and friends – my mom, my dad, my grandparents, my godfather, my kids, my wife, and my lifelong friends.
There have been no shortage of radio stories about listeners and coworkers.
Some blogs were just full of random thoughts and observations.
There were blogs about celebrities – some funny, some musical, some just for the hell of it.
I shared the love story of my wife and me.
I shared with family and friends the news on our miracle baby and blogged about the days that led up to her arrival.
Of course, after she was born, there have been many wonderful stories and things to share about her as she continues to grow up.
I was honored to have my brother write a guest blog for me (and hope to have more in the future).
I opened up about many personal things – my divorce, thoughts on suicide, the changes in my personal life, reflections on life and death, my faith, and so many other topics I kept to myself.
There have been some “Question and Answer” blogs that contained things asked of me by friends and family.

Looking back, I am impressed with myself. Who knew I had it in me?

New Connections

If you have a Facebook, you know that they will occasionally give you friend suggestions. They will offer up “People You May Know.” Many of those suggestions stem from mutual friends. There are people that pop up and I have 65 mutual friends with them because we went to the same high school together, or we both have the same radio friends, etc…

With this blog, we don’t have that feature. However, through searching things for things like movies, TV, music, and such, I have found many bloggers that share my interests. I follow quite a few blogs and continue to add more to my “read” list. Some of those bloggers offer up personal stuff like I do on occasion. Some respond with personal stories to my personal blogs. Through that, I feel like I know many of them.

Max is a good example of this. He has blogged about things I remember and vice versa. We also share many of the same musical tastes. He actually helped me set up the index on the side of the blog. Since doing that, more of my older blogs are being read than before. We swapped e-mails and eventually phone numbers. When I called him to talk about the index and creating some pages, it was like talking to someone I had known for years. How cool is that?

Lessons Learned

After 300 blogs, I think it is important to note some of the things I have learned since the beginning. If you are a new blogger, maybe some of my observations can be useful to you.

Even with spellcheck, I make mistakes. I found going back through some older blogs that there are some typos. Some are spelling mistakes, some are grammatical. My one radio buddy, who also works for a newspaper, told me I need an editor. He then proceeded to tell me I couldn’t afford him! I need to be better at proofreading.

There really is no way to know which blogs will be popular. I have written blogs that I think will get a great response, only to see that is not the case. At the same time, I have written blogs that I feel are just “ok” topics, and had a ton of hits on it. You never really know. It hurts your ego a bit when a blog you think is great is barely read, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.

Keywords matter. I try to include as many “tags” as I can with each blog. I have found that this will ultimately lead to more followers and readers. My most read blog? It is about a scammer. I got an e-mail saying that someone noticed I spelled a word wrong and said I should download some app. With research, I found the app is actually something you want to avoid. The keyword “Scam” or “Scammer” has lead to many reading that blog and some even commenting saying that they got the same type of e-mail.

The personal blogs I wrote about suicide, divorce, staying positive, dealing with a narcissist, and depression led to many new people following this blog. Some went as far as to reach out and share their own stories about those things. You know, sometimes, it helps to know you aren’t the only one dealing with those issues.

Each blog represents a moment in time. It represents what I felt at a certain moment in time. Early on in my therapy, I was angered easily. I didn’t realize how certain things by certain people triggered it. I was not a pleasant person. Over time, I have learned to not let those things trigger anger. I have learned coping skills. I am a different person than who I was.

Think about your favorite TV show. Did you like it immediately? The first time I watched Seinfeld or Cheers, I was not impressed. Over time, I came to enjoy the shows more. At one moment in time, you may feel one way, and over time you can feel another way.

Many of my blogs are memories that I want to preserve for the future. Other blogs are about things I have observed. At the time, I felt a certain way about things – over time, my thoughts or feelings might change. It helps to keep that in perspective.

Write about what you are passionate about! Chances are if you are passionate about it, a reader will find it interesting. This same principle was suggested to me when I worked in radio. Share things that “make you feel!” Some readers love my musical blogs while some prefer my more personal ones. I am passionate about everything I write, however, not all things will appeal to everyone. Anyone who comes to this blog will see my love for all things entertainment, but also see my love for my family and my children!

Another principle from radio that translated to writing a blog is to simply “observe life.” Look around and take notice. A successful stand up comedian is one who observes little things, talks about it, and the audience says “Oh yeah! I have noticed that too!” George Carlin was a master observer! Take those things that you observe and relay them. You know the whole “which way should the toilet paper roll go on” thing was simply something that someone wondered about, right!?

I always loved the above Far Side Cartoon. It points out another lesson I have learned. Be yourself. You don’t have to agree with everything I write. That’s ok. You have a right to disagree with me. However, when I write, I’m going to be myself.

While it can sometimes feel like work, I find blogging to be fun. I enjoy writing. I also enjoy hearing from readers who comment on my blog. That’s as much fun as writing them.

There are some blogs that I just sit and write. Others (most of them), it takes time to plan out. Either way, I try to give myself time to think it through and get the flow. It takes time and sometimes, you have to MAKE time to write.

So there you have it ….

Blog #300. As a follower, I need to say thank you. I am truly glad that you are here. I always welcome your suggestions. How can I make this blog more enjoyable for you? Would you like to be a guest blogger? Please feel free to let me know. What do you like? What don’t you like? Feel free to suggest other blogs I might be interested in. Feel free to share this one with others.

Thank you so much for reading. Here is to the next 300 ….