Archive for May, 2012

Lisa Freeman, Editor-in-Chief, for ShopSmart Magazine was recently on the Today Show and talked about websites and apps to use when traveling. It is worth your time to watch the video and then check out the websites and apps.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

These websites and apps are great for using not only when going on a family vacation but also when you and your sweetie are planning a romantic weekend away or maybe a little impromptu one nighter together.

Websites:

AAA Club:  www.aaa.com
US Parks:  www.us-parks.com
Trips with Pets:  www.tripswithpets.com

APPs:

Hotel Tonight
Priceline
YP

Make your romantic travel plans easier by using one or more of these websites sites and apps.

Keep those sparks flying!
JoJo

© 2012, Surprise Kiss. All rights reserved.

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Saving $5 a week for a romantic weekend is delicious because you will never want the weekend to end.

Keep those sparks flying!
JoJO

© 2012, Surprise Kiss. All rights reserved.

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Memorial Day Weekend is here! Hopefully you are taking my suggestion of Disconnecting to Reconnect (see Wednesday’s post, 5/23/12) and have a gadget free 3 day weekend. So now what are you going to do without having all your electronic gadgets?

Search your local newspaper or the internet (OK, you can use it for only one reason) to find out what type of festivals are going on in your area.

There are several things going on in our area:

• Strawberry Festival in Arroyo Grande
• West Coast Kustom Car Show at the Santa Maria Fairplex in Santa Maria
• Friday night Kustom Car Cruz in Santa Maria
• Art in the Park in Morrow Bay
• Firestone Winery is kicking off their Summer Concerts starting with Friday, May 25th

As you can see we could stay busy all three days and including Friday night. All are free except West Coast Kustom Car Show. If you look I think you will find lots to do that won’t cost you a lot of money with your sweetie and family.

Amongst all the activity that may be going on in your area try to fit in some private to make “Whoopee” between the two of you.

Have you ever tried to make the pleasure and anticipation last a little longer? No? Here is a suggestion to start the anticipation in the morning with your sweetie by teasing each other with a little pleasure but don’t let things go all the way until later in the evening.

Write a note and give it to your sweetheart the night before you go to bed:

“Hey there sweetheart, let’s start the morning off with a little tease and anticipation and the fun will end with a memorable evening together.”

You won’t be able to keep your hands off each other all day long!

In the evening:

• Light the candles
• Turn on the music
• Sexy lingerie or maybe nothing at all

Enjoy what your area has to offer and plan for a very pleasurable morning and sexy evening that will be a Memorial Day weekend to remember.

Keep those sparks flying!
JoJo

© 2012, Surprise Kiss. All rights reserved.

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Do you find yourself addicted to your iPhone, iPad and Laptop? Well you are not alone. This weekend Larry and I finally were able to get out of town to celebrate our anniversary and one thing we noticed is how many people are on their electronic gadgets while sitting with other people.

Case in point:

A father and his daughter were sitting outside of Starbucks on Sunday morning and they were both on their iPhone as we walked in to get our coffee.  As we walked outside with drinks in hand they were still texting and searching the internet with their iPhones instead of talking to each other. What a lost moment for both of them to reconnect and find out what is going on in their lives.

We went out to dinner and again we noticed a large group of men having dinner together and several of them were on their iPhone instead of interfacing with the other men.

Numerous couples either at restaurants or little coffee houses were doing the same thing. They were either on their iPhone, iPad or the computer and not talking to each other.

And of course let’s not talk about the people who are texting and driving. Talk about being disconnected with their driving and the road!

People feel they need to be connected to their gadgets to stay connected to people but in reality they need to disconnect to reconnect with people.

So this Memorial Day Weekend disconnect to reconnect with each other. Have a gadget free weekend with your sweetie. You will be surprise to find out how much fun you can have with each other when you put down your gadgets.

Keep those sparks flying!
JoJo

© 2012, Surprise Kiss. All rights reserved.

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Your smile is your best accessory to your marriage. Saving $5 a week is the best savings you can do for your marriage.

Keep those sparks flying!
JoJo

© 2012, Surprise Kiss. All rights reserved.

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In October, 2010 I wrote this article and thought it was a good one to revist. Sometimes it is good to be reminded of the importance of bring spontaneity in our relationship.

Do you feel like your marriage is in a rut? You do the same thing every week. Boring!!! You have forgotten what it feels like to do something different. You have gotten into a comfortable routine. Well why not have a min-adventure?

Did you know studies have shown mini-adventures and change things up a bit? Try something different, something you haven’t done in a long time or something completely new. When you do this it creates a new neural path that can activate the production of dopamine (the attention hormone) which can help you appreciate each other.

Larry and I had an unexpected mini-adventure one weekend. Larry went to work, in the morning on Saturday and I worked on straightening up the house and then fixed lunch. When Larry got home and after we had lunch he suggested we run up to Arroyo Grande to get some fresh fruits and vegetables. I had plans we would work on the house and our small vegetable garden but figured why not. Let’s drive up to the Arroyo Grande Village and listen to the free entertainment under the gazebo. Purchase the fresh produce from our local farmers to use in our dinners this week. We hopped into the car with our cooler in the back R & B playing on our XM Radio while we talked about what we needed to get to compliment our meals for the week.

Sounds like fun? We did have fun but it didn’t stop there. After we went to farmers market we went to Starbucks for coffee. While we were enjoying our coffee our daughter called us to see if we wanted to meet them and the kids to go out for dinner at an inexpensive little Mexican restaurant and then we would go see a movie together.

We decided to opt out this time and instead drove up to Baywood Park for dinner. It is about an hour drive from our house along the coast. There is a great little place where they serve Thai food. It is called Noi’s.

When I say little I mean tiny. When you walk into the place you immediately see Noi standing there stir frying up all these delicious aromas. There is a small counter with two bar stools overlooking all the activity or a bar that runs against the wall for about six people. You can eat outside too. Most people order ahead and pick up the food to take home. We were lucky enough to sit at the bar overlooking Noi and her workers make magic with some vegetables, chicken, shrimp or tofu. Larry went across the street to purchase a large bottle of beer to share while we ate Pad Thai with chopsticks. Yum! We hadn’t been to Baywood Park and Noi’s in forever.

It was a nice unexpected treat, totally unplanned and a nice way to relax and have a mini-adventure that didn’t cost too much.

So when is your next mini-adventure? Change things up a bit, get out of your routine and discover why you enjoy each other’s company.

Keep those sparks flying!
JoJo

© 2012, Surprise Kiss. All rights reserved.

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I posted this one in Oct of 2010 and I had a lot of people tell me they like this date idea a lot and were going to look for their lost gift cards to do the same thing. Because of their comments I thought it was worth posting again.

As you know I am always trying to think of something for you to do as a couple that doesn’t cost a lot of money or no money at all. Well I came up with an idea rather unexpectedly and it won’t cost you a dime. Recently I was cleaning out my wallet and found a Wal-Mart, Applebees and a Marshall’s gift card I had forgotten about. Also, we have Starbucks and movie gift cards in a spot we can go to quickly.

Do you have any gift cards lying around you haven’t used yet? Did you know one in five people have gift cards they have forgotten about? Check your drawers and wallets to see if you have any lying around. You might be as surprised and as lucky as I was.

So I started to think about what I had and how I could turn this into a couple of dates. On the first date we went to Marshalls and found a new shirt for Larry and me. Then it was on to Wal-Mart to purchase some candy, a large purse to go with my new shirt and new jeans for both of us. Once we had complete our shopping it was on to Starbucks for a cup of coffee and a little snack to share.

On the second date we got dressed up with our new shirts and jeans.  I  put the candy we bought at Wal-Mart in my new purse and threw in a couple of bottles of water too. We went out to dinner at Applebees and then we went to see a movie with our movie card and since there is enough money leftover in my Starbucks card we had a hot chocolate afterwards.

Two date nights and no money out of our pockets. Don’t waste any time, start to look for those lost and forgotten cards and see if you can do the same thing. If there are none lying around then when someone asks you what you would like for a gift tell them a gift card. Put the cards in an envelope and a spot you won’t forget about so you don’t lose them. Also, check the dates to make sure you use them before they expire.

Keep those sparks flying!
JoJo

© 2012, Surprise Kiss. All rights reserved.

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Your marriage is good! Saving $5 a week for a romantic weekend away keeps it good.

Keep those sparks flying!
JoJo

© 2012, Surprise Kiss. All rights reserved.

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Did you know today is Twilight Zone Day and Eat What You Want Day? When I found out we had 2 unique celebrations in one day I thought it would be fun to incorporate it into an inexpensive date night with your sweetheart.

If you happen to be a Twilight Zone fanatic and already have the DVDs or you have Netflix and can download the series on your TV you will be able to watch the popular Twilight Zone series from the late Fifties & early Sixties tonight. If you are like Larry & I we don’t have the capabilities to download the series onto our TV and of course we don’t have the series lying around our house. So we will need to order the Twilight Zone series and have them shipped to our house to view on another night.

Just choosing which ones we want to view will be fun to do together.

You can celebrate “Eat What You Want” tonight though by going out on a date and enjoy something you normally don’t eat. I know Larry and I would enjoy a nice big slice of pie for dinner and I am not talking about chicken pot pies. I am talking about a fruit pie a la mode. Yum!

If you have Netflix and you can download the Twilight Zone TV program from the late 50’s and early 60’s then cuddle up with your sweetie and enjoy a little rest and relaxation together, while eating something you want to eat but don’t have all the time

Two unique celebrations in one day to enjoy with your sweetie and have a very unique date night.

Keep those sparks flying!
JoJo

© 2012, Surprise Kiss. All rights reserved.

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Hey guys Mother’s Day is this Sunday, May 13th, have you gotten her anything yet? What no money! No problem! The only thing you will need for this gift is your time.

Make her a CD of songs you know she will like. Here are some suggestions:

• Favorite romantic music she likes to listen to, i.e. Country & Western, R & B, Jazz, Rock, Classical

• Special romantic songs that you used to listen to while you were dating her

• Romantic songs that were played at your wedding

• Current romantic songs

In the morning hand her the CD you made all wrapped up with a ribbon and a card saying:

“Happy Mother’s Day sweetheart! After the kids are in bed tonight meet me by the fireplace and we will listen/dance to the songs I chose to show you how much I love you!”

When the kids are in bed light the fireplace, pour a glass of bubbly and turn on the music.

Romance, music and the love of one another will make for a very special and inexpensive Mother’s Day gift.

Keep those sparks flying!
JoJo

© 2012, Surprise Kiss. All rights reserved.

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