It’s Sunday and Sondra and I spend most of our Sunday morning reading the ever growing local Paper, The Austin American Stateman. This Sunday the paper is at least two times the size of last Sunday’s paper. Why, you might be wondering? The ads baby. We have ads from most every mall store, Target, Wal-mart and Costco in Austin.

So this starts the conversation between Sondra and I, “Are we doing a Christmas list this year?”. We started this a few years after being together. Only once has this worked out for us. Mostly we troll around the Mall looking for something the other might want. Also looking for something we might want for the house.

I generally have a very hard time coming up with a list of 10 items I want. I know there are plenty of things I need like clothes, etc. Then there are things I do want like a PSP or the new PS3 gaming system. But how does a 40+ year old male sell this to their spouse? Best to keept he list safe with clothes and books I guess.

So here is my list of some items I need/want for Christmas

• New Jeans – Last year I did receive cash for some jeans. I spent this on something else. Try again?
• Vacation – Sondra and I have not been on a vacation since the Samuel’s Cruise in 2005. We are just too busy with work.
• New TV – The current TV is my 32″. We have talked about getting a new 50+ flatscreen. Something for the house
• New living room furniture – I do not like our current couches. Maybe we can shop for a replacement.
• Membership to a Gym – We have a new Gym, 24-hour Fitness opening in the area. We also have Gold’s and YMCA (with Racquetball courts). Lets’ get fit.
• Finally get a Passport – This is related to the second item above. We’ve talked about it. Let’s get this done, finally