Friday, June 16, 2006

Date Idea: Outdoor Theater


Mountain Theater
Originally uploaded by kimretta.
Summer is a great time of year for entertainment. One thing we really like doing is attending outdoor plays and concerts. If the weather is nice, it can make for a really nice, out of the box, date. If the weather is not so nice, it can be one of those thing you laugh about over the years.

We have attended several concerts and plays over the years including:
* A rock concert in the mountains
* The symphony playing as part of the 4th of July celebration
* Semi-professional plays presented in a mountain amphitheater
* Amateur plays in local parks
* Local bands playing in a plaza

Again this year there are lots of different events to choose from, with all sorts of price range. Many local events are free or inexpensive enough to bring the whole family. Others are more expensive and might be appropriate for a special occasion like an anniversary.

Some tips for attending outdoor events:
* Be prepared for changes in weather. The tempurature might start out hot and end fairly cool. A blanket, umbrella and jacket are always a good idea
* Bug repellent
* Some events allow lawn chairs, others do not. Find out in advance.
* Arrive early. Many outdoor events are first-come seating.
* Bring a deck of cards or other entertainment to pass the time while waiting for the event to begin

Step outside the box and enjoy some fine entertainment in the great outdoors. If you know of any inexpensive outdoor events that people might like to attend, add that information as a comment to this post.

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Romantic Tips for Married Couples: The Book



You may wonder why its been so long since my last post. I will tell you. As noted earlier, there have been over 250 posting to Romantic Tips for Married Couples. As much as I have enjoyed writing these tips for both husbands and wives, a website leaves a few things to be desired. The most obvious is it ties you to the computer and to the Internet. The information isn't available everywhere, you have to access it from the computer which is tied to the Internet. Believe it or not, not everyone lives on the Internet.

About this time, I decided to do something special for my sweetie's birthday. My sweetheart loves gifts that are not just store bought. She likes gifts that have some personal investment involved. As I thought about it, I realized I had invested almost 10 years studying and 2 years writing about romance within marriage and had learned quite a bit on the subject. With the help of a friend, I pulled the postings from this site into a real, printed on paper, book. This book is dedicated to my sweetie and the preface is written to her explaining the origin of the book and how I feel about her.

Don't get me wrong, I love having the website. A book does not allow for as much feedback as the website. Also, a book is static. Once written, that is all there is. The website continues to grow and expand over time. The website compliments the book by giving additional ideas not found in the book. The book expands the role of the website by providing this information outside the cyber world and giving it a physical manifestation in the real world.

The book itself is about 6 inches by 9 inches and over 125 pages in length. The table contents lists each article and well as the date that it was printed. The posting date proved to be an interesting aspect of printing the book. Some of the posting assumed some sort of time frame like Christmas time, or Valentine's Day, or some other day of the year. This assumption didn't translate will into print. The next printing of the book will probably better address that issue.

This first printing of the book was a short run. There were only 25 copies. Of those first 25, less than 10 remain. If you wish to get a copy of this book, email me at m0smith@gmail.com. They would make a great gift for newlyweds.

The cost will be $9.95 plus shipping. As stated above, there are only a few left. Once these are gone, you will have to wait for the next printing. This price will probably also go up with subsequent printings.

Thanks to everyone for your wonderful comments.

UPDATE: Bad news: the first printing is all gone. Good news: The books is now available on Amazon for $14.95. It has been renamed, updated, reorganized and some fun illustrations were added.

Monday, June 05, 2006

The Meaning of Love


Love!!
Originally uploaded by fanz.
Love is one of those interesting words in English. It has so many meanings. Consider the following:
* I am in love with my wife
* I love my children
* I love my dog
* I love pizza
* I love this hotel room
* I love autumn
* The score was 20-love

Obviously I don't love my wife in the same way I love pizza. Yet, we use the same word to express the deep abiding passion that exists between husband and wife as we use to express the flavor of some food. Looking in the dictionary, there are over 17 different meanings to the word love. I can be a noun or a verb, active or passive.

There are two separate phrases involving love to consider. The phrases are "in love" and "for love". "In love" means deeply or passionately enamored. "For love" is defined as out of compassion; with no thought for a reward.

In love describes a state or feeling. I am in love with my sweetheart. That describes how I feel about her. It is an emotional state. However, as noted before, emotions are transitory. Emotions only exist in the here and now.

For love describes an action and a purpose. Think of all the things you do just because you love your sweetie. How many things does your sweetheart do for you? It is these acts of selfless benevolence done "for love" that engenders being "in love".

To remain "in love", do things "for love".