Archive for April, 2012

The Rules: Negotiating Fair Play on Facebook and Elsewhere (Marriage & Social Media)

Posted in Communication on April 30, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

When Cliff and I started dating – oh so many years ago – we were living in different cities. At the time, Facebook was but a glimmer in Mark Zuckerberg’s teenage eye. Texting wasn’t common – in fact, only I had a cell phone and it was just for emergencies. And while Tweety Bird was more »

Read Full Post »

Hats, Dried Beans and the Missionary Position

Posted in Books & Culture on April 27, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Over the last several years, state marriage laws have obviously received a good deal of attention. Given this blog’s focus, it’s high time we weigh in. So this will probably be controversial in Kentucky, but I support my wife’s right to purchase hats without having me try them on first. Also, I would argue that more »

Read Full Post »

You Didn’t Marry a Mind Reader (#truish)

Posted in Advice & Tips, Communication, Truish on April 24, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

  You expect your best friend to finish your sentences, right? So shouldn’t your wife know that “Ohio State plays on Saturday,” means “Cancel plans with the babysitter, we’re going to watch the game”? Shouldn’t your husband know that “What do you want for supper?,” means “Isn’t it your turn to cook?” Direct communication is more »

Read Full Post »

Adult Sexting: Does It Help Or Hurt Your Marriage?

Posted in Research, Sex on April 23, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

As the mother of future teenagers, I confess to being more than wee bit frightened of raising children in the digital age. We have older nieces and nephews, and have already heard of regrettable exploits by their friends: smartphones + hormones = dangerous combination. So it was with a generous sigh of relief that I more »

Read Full Post »

Coats, Puppets and Instincts

Posted in Communication, Parenting on April 18, 2012 | 1 Comment »

Amber and I recently watched “Being Elmo,” a documentary about Kevin Clash. I will admit a certain degree of skepticism heading into this particular film; after all, we generally try to avoid Sesame Street once our two year old heads to sleep. But the film pleasantly surprised us. Clash’s story is downright inspirational, a reminder more »

Read Full Post »

An Eighth Reason to Seek Marriage Counseling

Posted in Advice & Tips, Divorce, Fighting, Happiness on April 16, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

PsychCentral just ran a great article – Seven Reasons to Seek Marriage Counseling. You can find much more detailed content on their website, but here’s a high level summary of their reasons: 1. Communication has become negative.  2. When one or both partners consider having an affair, or one partner has had an affair.  3. more »

Read Full Post »

What’s Playing in Theater B? Anne Lamott’s Lessons in Turning Off the Negative Self-Talk

Posted in Books & Culture, Happiness on April 11, 2012 | 2 Comments »

A friend just loaned me the latest Anne Lamott book, Some Assembly Required. For those of you that aren’t Anne Lamott fans … why the heck not? She’s brilliant and sassy and real in a guttural way that makes me both adore her and want to refer her to a nice counselor. I’m only 20 pages into more »

Read Full Post »

How Much Do You Trust Your Husband?

Posted in Communication, Fighting, Housework, Sex on April 10, 2012 | 1 Comment »

A few years ago I took a day off work to deep clean our carpets. (I really know how to have a good time, huh?) I rented a steam cleaner from the local Home Depot, and went to work on the stubborn spots on the stairs, the ground in dirt in the hallway, and the more »

Read Full Post »

I Need A Hero

Posted in Books & Culture, Communication on April 9, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Earlier this week, some words from David Foster Wallace appeared in my facebook news feed: “The really important kind of freedom involves attention, and awareness, and discipline, and effort, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them, over and over, in myriad petty little unsexy ways, every day.” Our more »

Read Full Post »

Know It All

Posted in Communication, Happiness on April 5, 2012 | 3 Comments »

One of my co-workers recently told me a story about her parents. Apparently, they really enjoyed watching Jeopardy together. Most families have rituals of some sort, and that was theirs. Ours is more likely to involve chocolate and The Daily Show, but I digress. Jeopardy came on at 7 p.m. every evening, and the family more »

Read Full Post »

Older Posts »