It seemed like Mom and Dad always wanted to vacation in the mountains when I was little. Those tall, tree-covered mounds were evil. They made me feel sick to my stomach. Over the mountain, down the mountain, around the mountain – I lived on Dramamine and never strayed too far from a plastic bag. When I grew up a bit, we visited other places – usually once a year. My dad lived for vacation. We went to Disney World when I was six. We went to the Amish country in Pennsylvania when I was sixteen. There were other vacations sprinkled in between which I cannot recall. With most of our family … [Read more...]

“You are such a jerk! How could you treat me this way? What did I ever do to you to deserve this?” I can remember shouting something like this to a boyfriend when I was in the depths of my teenage despair. Such drama. It may have seemed ridiculous to onlookers (i.e., my parents), but the pain was real. Real enough that I still remember the situation clearly into my 30s. “Just let it go!” Have you ever heard this statement after confessing your ongoing struggle to forgive an ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend? Have you said this in response to someone else’s struggle? Relationships, especially … [Read more...]

Sometimes I enjoy chewing on small mouthfuls of wisdom. How about you? Enjoy these quotes. I hope they give you some food for thought as you prepare for a lifetime of love. “Love is a cognitive, willful act. Feelings have very little to do with it, particularly around three o'clock in the morning when the baby needs changing or somebody has ‘lost it’ before getting to the bathroom to throw up.” – Kevin Leman, Smart Women Know When to Say No It may not seem romantic to consider that your future spouse’s love for you will not always be romantic. Sometimes you will feel very little for … [Read more...]

No matter how much one knows about relationships, there is always more to learn! ~smile~ Recently, I decided to peruse interesting marriage facts at facts.randomhistory.com. I picked some of the ones I found impactful to share with our readers as I think it is important to learn from other’s mistakes and to prepare for life changes and seasonal switch-ups! I love quick, power-packed, to-the-point bits of helpful knowledge! “Due to jobs, kids, TV, the internet, hobbies, and home and family responsibilities, the average married couple spends just four minutes a day alone together.” … [Read more...]

Do you ever just stop and think, “I want to love on my special someone today!”? These thoughts crossed my mind more when our love was new, but even now I have occasional bursts of “Let me do something special for my Eric just because I can.” It is the middle of the week. Maybe you are tired? Maybe you and your significant other had a rough argument last night? Maybe everything is going well and you just want to take every opportunity you can to make your honey feel adored. Below are a few quick and easy ideas for bringing a smile to your sweetheart’s face. Spend some time studying a … [Read more...]