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Show Up at the Door and Wag Your Tail, Too.
Does your first impression measure up at home? When your loved ones step in the door, do you stop what you’re doing and greet them? Do you make them feel important and valued?
Let’s take a hint from the professionals.
Do you like being greeted at the door of WalMart? I do. A friendly welcome sets the tone for my shopping. It focuses me on a warm human being instead of a chilly store. WalMart knows that first impressions count, so thrifty as they are, they spend the bucks to have someone say, “Hello, welcome to WalMart.”
When I come home, Scooter (pictured) and OOdles bark and wag their welcome. As you can imagine, we’re delighted to see each other after a day — or an hour — apart. They have no concept of time. “You’ve been gone FOREVER, and now you’re home!” Wag, wag, wag! I love that first impression so much, I could bottle it.
But they’re not my favorite door greeters. My partner, Gaelyn, is. I just love seeing her peeking around the garage door, setting a playful tone for the whole evening.
And when Gaelyn comes home to me, I join the dogs at the door. I don’t bark, but I do wag and say, “I’m so glad you’re home. I’m happy to see you.”
Like the folks at WalMart, we know that first impressions count. Forget apples for keeping doctors away. A greeting a day keeps the grumpies at bay.
Who’s the official greeter at your place? It’s too important a job to leave to the pets. Show up at the door and wag your tail, too.
The Most Romantic Movie You Never Heard of
Blog by Tracey E. Bennett, Queen of Conversation
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Remember Ravel’s Bolero from the movie "10"? This video is its visual equivalent. It’ll make you want to grab your honey and KISS! Or dance, maybe in the sheets. The music’s great, too.
OK, turn down the lights, turn up the volume, and bring on the most romantic movie you never heard of.
What are your favorite romantic movies? My top one is American President. Remember when Annette Benning came out of Michael Douglas’s bathroom wearing only his white shirt? Hot! Hot! HOT! Santa brought me a shirt just like it (warm, warm, warm!)
Today’s paper nominates these must-see romantic movies:
- Shakespeare in Love
- Titanic
- The Notebook
- Like Water for Chocolate
- Ghost
- P.S. I Love You
- Love Actually
- Don Juan De Marco
- Say Anything
- Moonstruck
Feel free to add your favorite romantic movies to the list. Or favorite scenes…
Good Valentine’s Day Books and Relationship Books
Here’s a list of good Valentine’s Day and relationship books. Two of my very favorite relationship books are:
The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate
Falling Into Manholes: The Memoir of a Bad/Good Girl
I also enjoyed Elizabeth Gilbert’s new bestseller, Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage. This meditation on marriage moves from “We don’t want to” to “Oh, we’ve got to” to “Yes, we want to marry.” It’s warm, insightful, informative, and of course, beautifully written.
Love Her Right: The Married Man’s Guide to Lesbian Secrets for Great Sex!
(Click on the blue titles to get book details from Amazon.)
OK, here’s a longer list from Sam Horn. Take it away, Sam…
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Well, Valentine’s Day is around the corner.
Are you looking for a book for your significant other? Want a fun “how to” book to either find the love of your life or bring more love into your life?
The biggest-selling book on romance and relationships in the past couple years is:
Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment
Here are a few of the other intriguing options out there:
Better off Wed?: Fling or Ring – Which FInger to Give Him? – Alison James
The Man Plan: Drive Men Wild – Not Away – Whitney Casey
What Was I Thinking?: 58 Bad Boyfriend Stories
I Used to Miss Him…But My Aim Is Improving: Not Your Ordinary Breakup Survival Guide
1001 Ways to Be Romantic: Now Completely Revised and More Romantic Than Ever
What Your Mama Never Told You: True Stories About Sex and Love
Finding the Love of Your Life
Dating and Mating: Reading the Body Language Signals
Stumbling Naked in the Dark: Overcoming Mistakes Men Make with Women
What Men Won’t Tell You but Women Need to Know
How to Duck a Suckah: A Guide to Living a Drama-Free Life
And of course, two of the granddaddys:
Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus: The Classic Guide to Understanding the Opposite Sex
He’s Just Not That Into You: The No-Excuses Truth to Understanding Guys
That best-selling book by Greg Behrendt not only spawned a movie and a new career as a talk-show host, it inspired several copy-cat books such as:
He Just Thinks He’s Not That Into You: The Insanely Determined Girl’s Guide to Getting the Man that She Wants
Be Honest–You’re Not That Into Him Either: Raise Your Standards and Reach for the Love You Deserve
And, if you want a daily supply of smart posts about dating, mating, relating and romance, be sure to check out the witty, insightful blog by The Dating Goddess: http://www.datinggoddess.com/
The Dating Goddess has a loyal following and has been quoted in the Wall St. Journal. After reading a few of her fun and fascinating books (Date or Wait: Are You Ready for Mr. Great?
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Visit Sam’s blog: http://samhornpop.wordpress.com/ and friend her on FaceBook.
50 First Impressions in the 50th State
50 women are running for office. They all want to be your representative in the state capital. Who would you vote for? How do you decide who gets your vote?
I got 50 first impressions yesterday by volunteering at the Ready to Run training for women who are considering running for office in Hawaii. One by one they approached our check-in table.
- 23 were nicely dressed; 9 looked the legislator part already
- 5 stated her name clearly without being prompted
- 6 spelled her name without being asked
- 11 smiled
- 8 were enthusiastic and energetic
- 5 seemed to “own the space”; they seemed powerful
- 5 made excellent eye contact
- 7 walked purposefully to our table
- 1 asked our names
- 1 couldn’t get elected mosquito catcher
"Validation" – If You Love Love Stories…
If you love love stories, you’ll adore this award-winning movie. It’s 16 minutes, so get some popcorn and Kleenex.
Just for fun, leave a comment about what you think the main point is. Enjoy!
Can New Teen Mom Bristol Palin Teach Abstinence?
Here’s a conversation topic in keeping with Mother’s Day:
Can teen mother Bristol Palin (whose mom is governor of Alaska), teach abstinence?
The folks who brought you National Teen Pregnancy Awareness Day thought so because they made Bristol their poster child, er, poster mom. She said, “Regardless of what I did personally, I just think that abstinence is the only way you can effectively, 100 percent foolproof way, you can prevent pregnancy.”
My mom had another foolproof way. She told me to take an aspirin on my dates…and hold it between my knees.
Why bother with abstinence-only sex education? Research shows that these programs, which were used throughout the Bush 2 administration, did NOT reduce teen pregnancies.
And yet, there is a great need for effective education. Of all the first-world countries, the United States has the highest rate of teen pregnancies. About 750,000 American teens get pregnant every year. Eighty percent do not marry the child’s father.
Ask your friends and family these conversation questions:
- Do you think that others learn from hearing people, such as Bristol Palin, talk about their mistakes?
- Have you learned from what people say or from what they do? Can you give examples?
- Why do you think just-say-no sex ed bombed?
- If you were in charge of a program to reduce teen pregnancies, what would you do?
Here’s a closing riddle for you:
What do they call people who use the rhythm method of birth control?
The answer is hiding in here: pxaxrxexnxtxs
Singer Susan Boyle Gives a Big Tip For a Great Blind Date
She’s frumpy. She’s spinsterish. She’s 47 and never been kissed.
And when she walked on the stage of Britain’s Got Talent show, Simon Cowell smirked. So did the audience. When she said, “I want to sing like [Broadway star] Elaine Paige,” you could practically hear everybody thinking, “Fat, frumpy chance, Sister!”
And then she sang “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Miserables.
Talk about stunning! Smirks turned to smiles. Smiles leaped to their feet and clapped.
If you’ve been underwater for the last few days and don’t mind getting more water in your eyes, listen here.
Susan’s story has a few morals:
- It’s never too late to go after your dream, especially when you have the pipes for it. (Isn’t that right, Paul Potts?)
- Don’t judge the book by its cover girl.
- The right woman can make Simon Cowell smile.
And now we go from a British stage to…
The Ultimate Blind-Date Experience
Picture yourself in a personal development workshop. It’s the morning of the first day, and you don’t know anyone. For the first exercise, you’re blindfolded and led to a chair facing a woman, also blindfolded. You’re supposed to spend 5 minutes getting to know each other. Say anything you like, have fun, but don’t touch and don’t peek.
Your blindfold buddy asks, “Have you read any good books lately?”
As a matter of fact, you have, both fiction and non-fiction. This stranger is so easy to talk to. She’s sparkly and funny, definitely her own person. You’re sure it’s the attractive woman from row 2. Then the bell rings. Five minutes are up. You and Ms. Sparkly exchange pieces of paper with your names on them, but you can’t look yet.
Gentle hands lead you to the next person and the next and the next. Wow, you’re having a good time. When the final bell rings, you eagerly search your pocket for that first piece of paper.
It says “Susan Boyle.”
Dear reader, did you see this result coming? I made up the ending, but the story is basically true. The workshop happened, and the people who took part were shocked—shocked!—to learn that the folks they most enjoyed talking with did not fit their pictures.
That is, had they been sent around the room to pick interesting people to connect with, they wouldn’t have chosen the folks who were so much fun to talk to in the dark.
Draw your own conclusions, and leave them in the comment box.
Happy Valentine's Day articles
These three Valentine’s Day articles will help you enjoy this special day of romance: Click the titles to read the full article on my website.
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Romantic Valentine’s Day date ideas don’t have to bust your budget. Here’s a recipe for cooking up a memorable occasion with a few simple and cheap ingredients. Dazzle your sweetie with a feast of sensory delights. The most important one—good conversation—is free.
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If you want romance, connection and closeness on this most romantic of days, listen up! Valentine’s Day is the most important date day of the year. And that’s not just Hallmark speaking. Your sweetie believes it, too. You want to score points and stay out of the penalty box. So play hard and fair, and stay away from the 5 big mistakes. They include 1) not planning until the last minute, 2) choosing a gift that sends the wrong message, 3) buying the wrong clothing size, and 4) blowing the chance for true intimacy.
