Are we so rushed in this life that we forget simple good manners such as saying "please" and "thank you" and "you're welcome"? Are we so rushed we have to chew our food and talk at the same time because heaven forbid we wait one itsy bitsy minute to swallow before making our point? Are we so rushed we have to cut each other off mid-sentence to interject a thought? Are we so rushed we can't wait and hold the door open for the person entering behind us?

Is there one person in the back of your mind that you're constantly meaning to call, but oh, it can wait one more day and then one more, until you've gone six months without contact? If you have a friend you haven't connected with since last summer, reach out. Send an email, make a call or better yet, write a letter! Think how fun it is to receive snail mail other than bills.

One of my favorite hobbies is thrift shopping and oftentimes my second-hand treasures inspire my creativity. With the busy holiday season behind me, I may have some time again to get crafty, second-hand crafty! Check out some of these second-hand items and the inexpensive crafts you can make using them.

I read this quote recently: Fear can keep us up at night but faith makes one fine pillow.

I was driving a young man named Derrick to get a hair cut today. Derrick has been homeless off and on for the past year and approached me last summer to see if I could give him community hours for his probation officer. I was leading a project to paint our little town and the work was overwhelming. Derrick showed up every day to volunteer and to help me get the town shining bright.

The man slowly looked up. This was a woman clearly accustomed to the finer things of life. Her coat was new. She looked like she had never missed a meal in her life. His first thought was that she wanted to make fun of him, like so many others had done before.

Let's revive Friday Nite Girl get togethers in 2010! Make time for girl time and girl talk and strengthen the bonds of your friendship. Make it a goal (a New Year resolution!) to have more fun with friends. Then send your story with pictures to me at d@delilah.com. Take a look at Camille's letter - the perfect blend of food, fun and friends:

I am the self-proclaimed Queen of Sappy Love Songs. People call and write to me each night for all kinds of reasons, celebrations, dreams and goals. However, they also share the troubles of their heart, or dilemmas that grate on their last nerve. It just comes with the territory. When people call in to make a dedication for a loved one, or request a song to heal their heart, quite often it comes with a story, and some of those stories grow from a dilemma.

Let's face it, winter's wrath has arrived. And so has cold season, which can bring a wrath of its own into your home. When one kid gets sick in my home, you can bet it's going to spread thru all the rest in time. I should just have a year's supply of Kleenex socked away somewhere.