After weeks of feeling frustrated about my husband not taking me out on dates, I decided to do something about it. My problem was that I didn’t quite know how to approach it without nagging him, while also clearly communicating the depth of my feelings. I wanted him to know that date night is important to me. I took some time to think it through and found a way to handle it … [Read more...]
5 Vacation Rules for Couples – Use Them If You Want to Have Fun Together
I have traveled alone for years...which I highly recommend you try to do at least once in life.) I've also traveled with friends, in groups, with family, and with my boyfriend (now husband) and each type of travel experience has its challenges and benefits. However, the one that is often the most delicate is traveling with your spouse or significant other. Many couples go … [Read more...]
Seven Strategies that Saved My Marriage
I’m going to be totally honest with you: sometimes, I am annoyed when folks say they want a marriage like mine and Don’s. What they don’t know is that we experienced many ups and downs in our marriage. The 'downs' seemed to last forever. We’ve experienced the difficulties of blending a family, numerous periods of unemployment, a child going to jail, alcoholism and an emotional … [Read more...]
A House Divided; The Do’s and Don’ts of Family Football Rivalries
Yes!!!! Football is back!!!! I’m so ready to cheer on my Cowboys!!! Luckily, my husband is a Cowboys fan, too, or else we would have some serious rivalry going on in our house. But I recognize there are couples who do indeed cheer for different teams. Most of the time, it's just a playful rivalry. But in the game of football, it's easy for emotions to go high. In these tense … [Read more...]
The Importance of QT with Your Teenage Daughter
Recently, I had the opportunity to go shoe shopping with my 13-year-old daughter. She has an important event coming up that she has been looking forward to and she needed some shoes to wear with her dress to the event. She had already found a pair of shoes and had her heart set on them. But when we arrived at the store, we found out they didn't have the shoes and other … [Read more...]
Husbands: 10 Things You Should and Shouldn’t Get for Your Wife on Valentine’s Day
With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, some of you guys are probably wondering what gift to buy you wife. I polled some of the ladies and below is a list of things they do NOT want to receive. If you have already bought any of these items, please return them ASAP. Any appliance. Do not come home with anything she can clean or cook with. Flowers. Plastic or real. No roses, … [Read more...]
5 Things that Change with Marriage…and Why It’s OK
"I'm just afraid everything will change!" Yup…that seems to be the number one fear of most men as they start to entertain the idea of marriage. Maybe it's the horror stories they've heard from other men; or maybe it's the transformation they've seen some women undergo after marriage; or maybe it's just a lack of understanding of what marriage is really all about. The … [Read more...]
3 Quality-vs-Quantity Time Activities That Could Save Your Marriage and Family
Does mom time matter? That was the topic of an article published in the Journal of Family and Marriage earlier this year. The Washington Post explained the study in detail. But here’s the gist: Researchers claimed that the amount of time spent with mothers is not linked to the well-being of children ages 3-11. The study points to similar findings for father time. Now, I don’t … [Read more...]
22 Amazingly Easy, Step by Step Tips on How to Speak Your Mate’s Love Language
Couples often miss out on opportunities to bond with and express love to their mates in ways that are truly meaningful to them. When connecting with their mate, couples must be intentional, considerate, and selfless and learn the difference between pleasing their mate by doing what makes their mate feel good versus doing what makes them personally feel good. In order to do … [Read more...]
REALITY CHECK! These 5 Things Get The Best Of You While Your Mate Gets The Leftovers
Why does it seem like sometimes we treat everyone else better than we treat our mates? So let me get this straight…the person you CHOSE to spend your life with, to cherish, to love, to have and to hold and to love until death do you part is the person that you treat with the least kindness, patience, appreciation, and support? YOU OUGHT TO BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF!! Okay, … [Read more...]
5 Rejuvenating Things Every Wife Needs To Do Without Her Husband
I have always been that girl who needs a good deal of personal space. I don’t have commitment issues and I am perfectly capable of deep love; I just don’t want anyone—not even my husband—around me all the time. Sounds harsh? I promise I am a really nice person. Sometimes I just need to be alone so I can collect my thoughts. Not much has changed over the years. I mean, … [Read more...]
3 Ways to Repair Your Marriage That Won’t Cost a Thing
Marriage is a journey and along the way, you will have to make repairs. Before you spend money on courses, retreats, and counselors, start with these three basics of a sound marriage. Instead of investing your money, these tips require you to invest your intention and time. Be on time. I know that I have a tendency to run late when it comes to my personal life. I’m on time … [Read more...]
The 4 Most Valuable Lessons on Happiness I Learned from My 10-Year-Old
When I think about the things that made me happy as a child, it was usually simple stuff like the ice cream truck, playing jump rope with my friends or drinking Kool-Aid. Have you noticed how it seems to take so much more to make you happy the older you get? I’ve had to really ask myself why that was as I went through some changes in my life that caused me to re-think my … [Read more...]
8 Ways that Black Women Can Improve Their Relationship with Money this Weekend
Growing up in a household led by a single-mother who immigrated from the Caribbean and was partly responsible for supporting some of her siblings make their way to the United States, I saw firsthand how her role as chief financial leader (CFL) and head emotional caretaker (HEC) left my mother emotionally burnt out, overwhelmed, and financially depleted. I think part of the … [Read more...]
3 Ways to Avoid Growing Apart In Marriage
I’ve heard of couples who divorce because they have grown apart and wondered what they could have done to save the marriage. Some of them grew apart after the kids left home, some grew apart while they still had kids at home, and some of them have no kids at all. I think a couple who has grown apart can make their way back to each other if they want to. So I’ve come up with … [Read more...]