Ferocious Flirting: Making Marriage Wonderful

Do you like doing chores? Do you enjoy going to work? Do you look forward to all those things you hate to do? Whether you like it or not, there are certain things you have to do that you do not like to do. It might be dishes, laundry, yard work or just work work. A previous post discussed having passion for some things in your life. Today, we are not talking about those things, but the things we don't really want to do. As parents and spouse, there are some things that just have to be done. We, as the responsible adults, are responsible to make sure they happen. What is our attitude about these chores? Do we gripe about chores? Do we complain about work? Do we find ways to put it off, so we can complain and gripe about it more? Do we spend more time complaining than it would take to do the chore? What has this to do with romance and flirting? Chores and work are about as far from romance and flirting as you can get. The answer is enthusiasm. There is something about an e

We like to play different board and card games. Its a great way to pass some family time or even just the two of you. The downside to most games is that they are competitive. That is, if one of you wins, the other must lose. There is nothing wrong with that really. Life is just like that. As fun as being competitive is, its often more enjoyable and more rewarding to work together. That is where Hoopla comes it. Rather than competing against each other, all the players make a single team trying to complete a number of given tasks in a certain amount of time. The game consists of a bunch of cards with something on them. There is also a die with colors instead of numbers. Also included is a wind up timer. On your turn you roll the dice. The task is determined by the color that shows. Each task consists on getting the other members of your team to guess what is on your card. The color determines how you give the clues. One color means to draw it, another means to act it out

I went on a business trip to get some training in Chicago. Unfortunately, my sweetie was not able to come so I had to spend my evenings alone in a strange city. One of my friends had told me about the Art Institute of Chicago , so I decided to go see it one evening. I found out that on Tuesday admission is free thanks to the generous support of Ford Motor Company. What a great evening I spent there. From the Art of Flight exhibit to the ancient armor and the paintings. It was a really enjoyable time. I just wish my sweetie could have shared it with me. Of course not everyone lives in Chicago, I know I don't. But most places have art galleries and museums. Colleges and universities often have art displays and even some traveling exhibits. Even one of the malls here in town had a traveling Titanic exhibit here for a while. Another bonus is that you can often get in free or very cheap.

Mother's Day, they say, is a made up holiday. Just an excuse for the flower companies and greeting card companies to make money during an off season of the year. Well, we here Ferocious Flirting feel that made up holidays are just fine. Particularly holidays dedicated to how much we love and appreciate our sweethearts. My mother is not perfect, although just about. She was the perfectest mother I ever had. She protected me, even when I didn't think I needed protection. She tried to guide my chosen career in life, but for the life of me I can't figure out why she wanted me to be a physicist. Maybe I'll ask her later today. However, she did not stand in the way of me becoming a professional geek ( software engineer). Mother tried to make sure I married the "right" girl and when I found my own right girl to marry, she loved her too. My wife is perfect for me. As I watch her sacrifice herself for her children, I finally understand what my own mother sacrificed f

Twas the day before Mother's day and all through the land, sons and daughters were searching the land for a gift that was best of large or small for a woman who is the grandest of all One of my sweetie's favorite pieces of jewelry is a mother's necklace. It is a simple chain with a small ring with a birthstone, one for each of the kids. Many woman have either a ring or a necklace already. If you sweetie already has a mother's ring or chain, consider giving her charms soldered together to represent your marriage. It was not overly expensive but it is meaningful and unique. My sweetheart wears hers all the time. Its probably too late to order from Lifetime Mothers, a leading on-line retailer of mothers rings, bracelets, charm, and necklaces. but they still have some good ideas for another time.

As discussed previously, a personalized message means so much more than just saying it. Hand written notes mean more than email. Why? Its the difference between a work of art and a product off the assembly line. The work of art is one of a kind. It is unique and there will never be another one like it. Same with your hand written note. Same with your sweetie. My sweetheart and I came across some audio tapes we had. One I had recorded and one was sent to my sweetie. The family had so much fun listening to them. It had been a lot of years and we had forgotten what was even on them. Why not make an audio tape or CD for your sweetie? Rather than trying to sit down and recording a whole hour, record it in little sound bites over 2 or 3 weeks. Include on it funny things that have happened, things your sweetie has done that you appreciated , little things you are planning on doing , and how much you love your sweetheart . Once it is done, wrap it up and give it to your sweetie.

A friend of mine has dual citizenship in the U.S. and in Canada. This lucky dog gets to celebrate twice as many holidays as I do. He has 2 Thanksgiving feasts, although it takes me about a year to recover from just the one. The Canadians also have extra holidays like Boxing Day, Easter Monday and Canada Day. Just because my friend celebrates the Canadian holidays, does that make him a poor citizen of the United States of America? No, of course not. Especially when I get to celebrate with him. Looking south instead of north today we see that it is the Cinco de Mayo, which is a big celebration in Mexican history. Some facts about Cinco de Mayo : It is NOT Mexican independence day. It is actually September 16. It celebrates the defeat of a larger, better equipped French army by a smaller army of Mexicans in the state of Puebla. During the American Civil War, Napoleon tried to invade Mexico and add it to his empire. The US helped out the Mexicans, once the Civil War was over.

Whether you support the war in Iraq or not, the soldiers serving deserve our support. Most of us have a neighbor, friend or relative serving overseas. Why not spend some time together doing something for those soldiers.? See Any Soldier for ideas of what to send. They also can help if you want to send a package but don't know any soldiers.

There is a story of Johnny Lingo which you can read and has been made into a short film . The story is one of a Polynesian trader who goes bargaining for a wife. No one can understand when he offers the unheard of sum of eight cows for a girl that most consider not worth even two cows. Johnny, it turns out, is a good trader after all. People live up to or down to others expectations of them. Tell a kid they are stupid and they will believe it for the rest of their life. Treat a kid as if they are intelligent and they perform better in school. As quoted in ERIC Digest 116 July 1997 on Expectations for Students: Students tend to internalize the beliefs teachers have about their ability. Generally, they "rise or fall to the level of expectation of their teachers.... When teachers believe in students, students believe in themselves. When those you respect think you can, you think you can" (James Raffini 1993). Living to expectation applies not just to students, but to your swe

Many people do not know how to take a sincere compliment. Part of the problem may be that people do not receive compliments often enough to have practice gracefully accept them. Also, since they are rare, we wonder what it is the person wants from us. Is this really a compliment or am I just being buttered up? People also fear that accepting a compliment appears arrogant. What do people do when they receive a compliment. A common response is to put yourself down. Consider the this common exchange: You have a wonderful singing voice. I was off key. What follows is that the giver of the compliment feels the need to reinforce the compliment while the receiver feels the need to continue to put themselves down with each compliment so as to appear modest. The net result can be that both parties feel poorly with the exchange. How to receive a compliment. Simply say Thank you, that was very kind of you to say. Notice how the receiver does not appear immodest because they are thanking them fo