pinning for love: can pinterest get you a date?

When I saw an article about this exact topic posted on my friend's Facebook page recently, I can honestly say that I thought it was a joke. Finding love on Pinterest? Really?

Well apparently, Sean Roberts (pictured on the left) is quite serious. It started off as a bit of a joke between co-workers, with Sean laughing about getting a date via Pinterest because of how many women use the site. His female co-worker "pinned" a photo of Roberts (with his contact information and "Repin my cute coworker! He's single and ready to mingle!" in the description) on one of her boards. His photo was repinned several times over and he received numerous phone calls and emails in the days that followed.

While Roberts has yet to find his one true love (Are you interested? Check out his Pinterest page), he plans to continue to use Pinterest in this manner in hopes of finding her one day...

the "silly love" photo contest

Sorry, but you cannot enter your photo to this contest anymore. BUT! You can still vote for your favorite "Silly Love" photo by going over to the album on my Facebook fan page and "LIKING" your favorite.

About 6 months ago, I had a "This is Love Photo Contest" on Jen's Love Lessons and it was huge success, with several entries and lots of traffic on my blog and Facebook fan page. And, I think everyone really enjoyed getting their friends to vote for their favorite photos.

Well, I think it's high time for another contest (YAY!).

I decided to title this photo contest "silly love" for two reasons. First, I like to have fun and I think that having fun with your partner (whether that be doing fun things together, laughing on a several-times-a-day basis, or just not taking yourself or life too seriously) is key to any long-term relationship. And second, because my (almost three-year-old) daughter's new favorite phrase is, "You silly, Mommy/Daddy/Brudder." She says it all day long in the cutest little voice that makes you just want to eat her for breakfast. So, since I like to have lots of good fun that is funny (yes, that was a Dr. Suess reference) and since I'm hearing the word "silly" several hundred times a day, it only seemed natural to have a photo contest about having fun in love. Are you interested yet?

Here are the details:

1. Take a photo (or send me a photo you already have) of something that you think epitomizes  having fun in love. It can be a photo of anything- you and your partner, your kids, your pets, your friends and family, anything!
2. Email it to me at jenslovelessons {at} gmail {dot} com-- put "Silly Love Photo Contest" in the subject line. Please get your photo to me by March 29, 2012 at 5pm.
3. I will create an album on my Facebook fan page with all of the submissions on March 30th.
4. I will then open the album for votes. Anyone will be able to "LIKE" a photo to cast their vote (which means that anyone can vote for as many photos as they want, but they can only vote for each photo once). You can also advertise your photo on your own Facebook page to get more votes (i.e. "likes").
5. I'll keep the album open for votes until April 13, 2012 at 5pm.
6. The owner of the photo with the most "likes" will receive a $50 Restaurant.com* gift card!!!

*Restaurant.com is an awesome website where restaurants in your area can offer gift certificates at 15%-60% off their actual value. I will buy a $50 for $25 gift certificate to Restaurant.com and then if you win, you get to go on Restaurant.com and peruse through the restaurants in your area that are offering a $50 for $25 gift card. And don't worry, the selection is pretty decent; especially if you live in a large metropolitan area. In the end, you will receive a $50 gift card to a participating restaurant of your choice.

Sorry, but you can only submit ONE photo to this contest.

Pretty sweet, huh? I think so.

So, get out your camera or start searching through the thousands of pictures on your hard drive for a photo to send me. I'm waiting...

ice loves coco: just entertainment or a lesson about marriage?

I vote the latter. And this is not just because I like the show (which I do).

Based on both my personal and professional opinion, Ice-T and Coco Austin have a pretty incredible partnership. Their E! Channel show (Ice Loves Coco) lets viewers take a peak into their personal life together, which is sometimes crazy, but always filled with love.

Although a lot of people might look at them and think that they're superficial or just a couple of TV stars who are looking for their 15-minutes of fame, let me be the first to say that Ice-T and Coco have a really great marriage and that they can teach you a thing or two about how to successfully share a life with another person. In fact, I use them as an example of excellence several times when I teach my undergraduates about relationship maintenance. Ice-T and Coco seem to truly understand what it takes to keep a marriage afloat. Don't believe me yet? Below are three important lessons about marriage that you can learn from watching Ice-T and Coco.

Respect is necessary.

Ice-T and Coco truly respect one another. They value one another's opinion. They acknowledge one another's thoughts, feelings, and point of view. They listen to each other. They play on the same team. They make requests instead of demands. They don't demean one another. They don't criticize and they don't make fun of each other. And, they are equal partners in their marriage; they do not have a parent-child relationship. Ice does not boss Coco around and Coco does not boss Ice around (and they don't nag either). They truly respect each other. And it's clear to anyone who watches them.

Spending quality time with your mate is key to building your relationship.

If you watch the show, it seems like Ice-T and Coco are always together. They actually like being around one another. In fact, Coco has openly said that she's never spent a night away from Ice-T. Now, I don't know if spending every single night together is the key to your marriage (some of us need a break from time to time), but wanting to be around your partner is a good thing. Doing things together can easily bring you closer as a couple and increase feelings of intimacy within your marriage. People want to be around others, especially when the other person is their partner-in-crime. Knowing that your partner enjoys spending time with you is comforting. Whether they're going on an extravagant vacation or just sitting on the couch together, Ice and Coco really love spending time with one another.

Spice things up.

Ice and Coco know how to keep it sexy in their marriage. They understand the importance of balancing predictability with novelty. They have things that they do on a regular basis in their daily or weekly routine. But, they also keep things interesting by spicing things up here and there. They go on little vacations, they do new activities that are outside of their routine, and they seem to have an active and satisfying sex life from what they say in the show. All of these things help strengthen their marriage.

So the next time you watch Ice Loves Coco on the E! Channel, look for these little marriage gems and try implementing them into your own life.

just for the love of it: a few interesting relationship articles

I'm teaching a small class at JMU this semester about communication in romantic relationships (and yes, it's just as fun as you're imagining). One of the assignments in our class is to find online popular press articles that are somehow related to the topic of that week and post the link to the article on our class Facebook fan page. We're only a few weeks in, but my students have already posted links to some really interesting articles. And because I like to share great ideas about relationships, I thought I'd post a few of them here (you're welcome). And if they continue to continue posting these funny, fascinating, and/or shocking articles, I'll continue to post them periodically over the next few months.

A Cookie a Day Keeps Impulsive Sexual Behavior at Bay
by Science of Relationships

The Power of the Candid Compliment
by SimpleMarriage.net

How do you decide who to marry? (written by kids)
by Strange Funny World

The Barry White Syndrome: Why are Deep Voices Attractive?
by Scientific American

A Little Too Good to be True: Deceptive Tactics in Dating
by Science of Relationships

it's the little things

Sometimes I sit back and think about my life. And I smile.

I have a great life. Don't get me wrong, there are things that bother me about it, things I wish I could do but can't (because of a lack of time, money, or motivation), and things that anger or sadden me from time to time. But when I look at the big picture, I'm pretty f-ing blessed. 

I have two healthy, happy, hilarious kiddos (and another one on the way), I love my job to pieces (seriously, a college professor is the best job in the entire world), and I have amazingly supportive and caring family and friends. But the best part of my life is the marriage I have to Hus. He's stinkin' amazing. Seriously; I have very little to complain about. My life with Hus is incredible.

And it really is the little things that make it so fantastic. For instance, Hus is heading up to Maryland tonight and won't be back until late tomorrow night to go to the D.C. Auto Show with a couple of his friends. And instead of trying to leave right after his car was washed and his bags were packed (about an hour ago), he decided to bathe and otherwise occupy the kids so I could have one last hour of peace before I was flying solo. He seems to always do stuff like that. And I love him for it.

Another example is how he will always ask me if I need something every single time he stands up. He may not even be going to the room where I need something from, but still, he will ask. And no matter what I ask him for, he never acts as if it's putting him out or annoying him in any way. 

And that's not all. Hus fills my day with tons of other little things that make me feel special, loved, appreciated, and secure. It's amazing to me how so many little things can add up to a life that I am ridiculously grateful for every single day.

Although things aren't always a bed of roses around here (and believe me, they're not), as Annette Funicello once said, "Life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful."