122 Rules by Deek Rhew

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

All I Want for Christmas is You!



Ready to dive into the Christmas season and win some free books? Then come join the fun in the 12 Indies of Christmas Blog Hop and Giveaway! Each day an indie author has been posting on their blog. Like their Facebook page, follow them on Twitter, so forth to increase your chances of winning! Today is the final day and my lady, Erin Rhew and I, are posting about long distance relationships over the Christmas season!

Before we get to it, take some time and read about our fellow authors peeps. Stay tuned, at the end of the article you can enter to win some free books! Talk about making the season bright!


December 12th - Zane Sachs
December 13th - Kira Adams
December 14th - Chess Desall
December 15th - Kai Strand
December 16th - Zoe Dawson
December 17th - A.G. Porter
December 18th - Joy Penny
December 19th - Mary Waibel
December 20th - Cynthia Witherspoon
December 21st - K.K. Allen
December 22nd - Ann Everett
December 23rd - Erin Rhew & Deek Rhew

As some of you may know, Erin and I dated long-distance long before we ever saw one another in person. We had technology helping us, but it was tenacity, a longing to be together, and that we were best friends long before we became an item that kept us connected. Getting to know this amazing woman is--yes, I am still getting to know her and will be until my final days--one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life. Since we lived on opposite sides of the country all we could do is talk, after all traditional dates--movies, dinner, so forth--were not an option. Her dad said what we had was an old-fashioned courtship. We talked, on average, about 4--yes, 4!--hours a night for months and months.

However, being authors we managed to squeeze in real life and more "traditional" dates. We watched movies together, the Super Bowl, the ball in NY City drop twice (she was on the east coast and I on the west after all), played games, wrapped Christmas presents, cooked dinner, browsed the web, worked on budgets and on writing projects, on and on and on. All the while getting to know each other. So, how did we do all of this? Well, a bunch of tenacity, a deep love for one another, and a splash of technology!

So, here is a little disclaimer, the next section that describes the tech was written by my lady. You can find the original post on her blog. Since she did such a great job I decided to just copy it with slight modifications in the names. Heck, I even stole the name of her blog post! LOL!!! Enjoy!


1) FaceTime: Erin and I just can't say enough good things about FaceTime. In fact, this tool helped us fall more deeply in love with one another. There is something to be said for talking to your romantic partner every night on the phone for hours. BUT even more can be said for seeing and talking to your romantic partner for hours every night. My dad said Erin and I "courted" in the old fashioned sense of the word since all we could do was talk and get to know each other. Anyhoo...for Christmas, FaceTime is a great way to feel connected despite the distance. We used it to wrap presents, watch Christmas movies, and open Christmas presents. Being able to see one another's faces as we revealed the gifts we'd created or found for one another was almost as good as being together...almost.

2) TeamViewer; Erin and I used this computer sharing mechanism to see one another's screens for making gifts and watching movies. We tried synchronizing our TVs together, but watching the same movie over TeamViewer worked a lot better. 

3) GoogleDocs: This program allows you to share documents and even work within the same document. Erin and I were able to plan Christmas lists together, create gifts for others, and keep track of our Christmas budget using this amazing tool. 

4) Text: Texting is always great for that in-the-store-oh-my-gosh-what-color-My-Little-Pony-did-your-niece-want situation. Just snap a picture, text it, get confirmation, and purchase. Unless you're in Target. They seem to have a 3G death trap or something. Try to hook up to their free wifi, but be aware it drops you like a hotcake after only a few minutes. Sigh...

5) A shared Amazon account: Erin and I share an Amazon account. One of us would put together a cart for family members, and the other would go in and check it. Even though we are married and live in the same house, we still use this option. It's a great way to stay within budget, get two day shipping (we are Prime members), and keep the other person in the loop. Just remember to add both addresses and make sure you're shipping to the right house if you're apart. ;) 


Now that Erin and I are married and getting to spend our first Christmas in the same geographical location, I thought I'd share some of our favorite moments. Enjoy!!!

Erin is just stunning in her hat and coat. Ready for the cold weather!

Celebrating next to the ginormous tree in the middle of the city

Sneaking in a selfie in a jazz club we stumbled upon. Sssshhhhhh

When we were wrapping presents, SOMEBODY couldn't wait to see what she got.

Even in the rain, my lady is gorgeous.

Wet and bedraggled selfie

Beautiful mural of lights in the city

OMG the tunnel of lights!!! I think we could have moved into it and never been bored.

At some friends house....yep, this is what ya got!

Ridonk elfie selfie!

Erin as Psycho Santa!
Awwwww of all places, Deek found Jesus at Walmart

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Thursday, December 11, 2014

12 Indies of Christmas Blog Hop and Giveaway


Ready to dive into the Christmas season and win some free books? Then come join the fun in the 12 Indies of Christmas Blog Hop and Giveaway! Each day starting tomorrow an indie author will post on their blog. Like their Facebook page, follow them on Twitter, so forth to increase your chances of winning! Erin and I will be promoting our fellow authors as well as participating on December 23rd with a very special blog post, so stay tuned!

Learn about exciting new authors and win some free books! Remember the fun starts TOMORROW!!!


December 12th - Zane Sachs
December 13th - Kira Adams
December 14th - Chess Desall
December 15th - Kai Strand
December 16th - Zoe Dawson
December 17th - A.G. Porter
December 18th - Joy Penny
December 19th - Mary Waibel
December 20th - Cynthia Witherspoon
December 21st - K.K. Allen
December 22nd - Ann Everett
December 23rd - Erin Rhew & Deek Rhew