Archive for August, 2012

Wednesday I promised you I would have something for you to do with your sweetheart over Labor Day Weekend that will bring out the laughter and passion in your relationship without spending a lot of money.

Make sure you have these items already on hand:

• Candles
• Sexy Lingerie
• Romantic Music
• Bottle of Bubbly (Champagne, Wine, Beer or Sparking Cider)
• Blank Card

In the morning hand your sweetheart a card that you have written in:

“It’s Labor Day Weekend sweetheart and all I want to do with you is to have some physical labor of love with you all weekend long!”

Light the candles, turn on the romantic music, pour your bubbly of choice and wear that sexy lingerie you both enjoy seeing you in.

Have a very sexy, passionate and enjoyable Labor of Love Weekend together that will make you smile, giggle and laugh all weekend long.

Keep those sparks flying!
JoJo

© 2012, Surprise Kiss. All rights reserved.

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“Anything that makes you smile, giggle or laugh, buy it or marry it.”

Great saying isn’t it? I purchase this saying on a wooden sign over the weekend to hang in our bedroom. It is hung in a place where I can see it every morning, just a little something to remind me the importance of keeping the laughter in our marriage going.

With all the stress of daily life have you forgotten to smile, giggle or laugh with your sweetheart on a daily basis? Has your marriage gotten too serious? Make a promise to yourself to stop being so serious with your relationship and life. Look at the good things in your marriage and the ones that aren’t so perfect find a way to giggle or laugh about it. After all nobody is perfect.

Come back on Friday and I will have something for you to do with your sweetheart over Labor Day Weekend that will bring out the laughter and passion in your relationship without spending a lot of money.

Make sure you have these items already on hand:

• Candles
• Sexy Lingerie
• Romantic Music
• Bottle of Bubbly (Champagne, Wine, Beer or Sparking Cider)

See you on Friday with a sexy and passionate evening that will make you smile, giggle and laugh. You will remember why you married each other.

Keep those sparks flying!
JoJo

© 2012, Surprise Kiss. All rights reserved.

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Your dream of having a romantic weekend away is always worth the $5 a week you are saving for a year.

Keep those sparks flying!
JoJo

© 2012, Surprise Kiss. All rights reserved.

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Here is something to start this weekend and have it completed by next weekend. It will boost your marriage and remind you both why you fell in love in the first place with the other person. Get a small notepad for each of you and then tell your sweetheart what you want to do with it.

Tell them that every day you will both write down the things you appreciate about the other person and also when you think about them during the day for a whole week. You are to write the positive thoughts and things you see the other person doing for you or other people, i.e. friends, family, strangers.

Then next weekend go out to your favorite coffee house or place where you can have a glass of wine or beer along with an appetizer and read the list you gathered on your small notepad for the whole week about the other person.

Too many times we only notice the negative things we do to each other and other people but there are so many good things we all try to do that go unnoticed. It is important to let the other person know you notice how wonderful they truly are.

The biggest upside to this little exercise is you will both feel good about the other and your marriage too. Talk about making each other feel special and loved.

Keep those sparks flying!
JoJo

© 2012, Surprise Kiss. All rights reserved.

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Last week I told you how I am able to always pay my bills on time and still have some money left over to have a little fun with my husband.

Today we are going to talk about our credit cards. What do you do with your credit cards? Should you close them out or keep them open when you are trying to pay them off?

The Today Show had financial expert, Sharon Epperson, talk about what to do with those credit cards and how it affects your credit.

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

Sharon gives you great advice on what to do with your credit cards but not how to stop spending. Decide which ones you want to stop using and put them away where you can’t easily get to them. That way they aren’t in your wallet and even when you are tempted to use it you won’t have it with you.

So grab those credit cards out of your wallet and stash them in a place you can’t easily get to. Before you know it you will be on the road to paying your bills down and being debt free.

No money hassles and no money fights with your sweetheart.

Keep those sparks flying!
JoJo

© 2012, Surprise Kiss. All rights reserved.

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Giving up one Starbucks or one lunch at a fast food restaurant every week for a romantic weekend away on your anniversary is a very loving thing to do for your marriage.

Keep those sparks flying!
JoJo

© 2012, Surprise Kiss. All rights reserved.

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I have an idea for a date I bet you have never thought of doing. It is very different and it will make you and your sweetheart feel like you are doing something good for society. It won’t cost you anything and after you can plan on going out to lunch knowing you are helping someone in need.

Make a date to donate blood and save a life, after go out to your favorite burger joint and pig out on the juiciest burger you want to eat.

You don’t know what to do or where to go because you have never donated blood before then look at the America’s Blood Center website.

America’s Blood Centers: www.americasblood.org

Do you want to know if you or your sweetheart is a good candidate to give blood? Click on the link below and find out if you meet the medical requirements to donate blood.

Blood Donor Guidlines:    http://www.americasblood.org/go.cfm?do=Page.View&pid=2

With Labor Day coming up in a couple of weeks I can’t think of a nicer thing to do for someone than to give them the gift of life. You never know when you or someone you know might need blood.

So stop by your local Blood Donation Center and find out if you and/or your sweetheart can give blood. Remember when you do something good together you feel good about your relationship.

Keep those sparks flying.
JoJo

© 2012, Surprise Kiss. All rights reserved.

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In my last blog I ask you if you and your sweetheart are in control of your money or is your money in control of you.  How did you answer my question? Did you say what money? There is never any funds leftover and we are struggling every month to pay the bills. We don’t understand where it all goes!

One way I try to stay within my budget and still find money to have a little fun is to separate out my monies. I have 2 banking accounts at the bank I do business with.

• One bank account is for our monthly bills, i.e., house payment, gas, electric, water, trash, gas card, credit cards, car payment, doctor bills, savings, etc.  I call this one our Household Account.

• The other bank account is for the things we can control in how we spend our money each month. This is used for groceries, clothing, gifts, going out to dinner, etc. I consider these expenses things we can control and change as needed. If we run out of money before the next payday then we make due with what we have on hand. This one is called Personal Account.

• Most importantly, the last thing I do and this is something I realize most couples don’t do is balance both bank accounts every week. If you are depending on the bank to do it for you then you are letting your money control you. You will never have a complete overview of your budget and you will never be able to figure out how to live within your means.

I know you are asking “Which account do I pull my $5 a week from for our romantic weekend away”.  Well it is taken from your personal account.

What Larry and I do is to have one paycheck deposited into the Household Account and the other paycheck is deposited into our Personal Account for the things we can control and change as needed every week.
 
Something as simple as getting 2 bank accounts at your bank/credit union can get you on the road to being in control of your money and your life.

Keep those sparks flying!
JoJo

© 2012, Surprise Kiss. All rights reserved.

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Saving $5 a week for a romantic weekend away  is such an easy thing to do to keep the romance alive in your marriage.

Keep those sparks flying!
JoJo

© 2012, Surprise Kiss. All rights reserved.

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Over the weekend I was at a specialty store buying something I needed when a couple with 3 small kids walked in and you could tell the husband was not happy about being there.  The wife went down the aisles and quickly grabbed the items she needed and then stood in line to pay for everything.

I was in front of her and her husband grumbled something to her and she told him “It is only money, don’t worry the money always comes.”  It wasn’t that I was trying to listen to them she was just close enough and said it loud enough for me to hear.

For some reason it didn’t settle well with me. I began to think “Is it only money and does it always come?” Money doesn’t grow on trees and it doesn’t miraculously appear.

As we know money is and will always be an issue with most couples. We all have different spending habits and values on how we should spend and save. How do you and your husband handle your money?

Are you always running out of money before your next pay check comes in or do you budget and keep track of your spending so you don’t run out of those hard earn dollars. Is money controlling you or are you controlling your money. I got the sense the wife was letting the money control her.

Then there are the couples who save and budget to the point of ridiculous. Their budget doesn’t allow for a little fun and frivolous spending. You could say they are also letting money control them.

Larry and I do a little of both. We save but we also enjoy life and spend a little too. We enjoy going out to dinner once a week and most of the time it is at a nice restaurant not a fast food or coffee shop, someplace where we feel like we are going out on a date. We get dressed up in a nice pair of jeans and fancy top; enjoy a drink or two during our leisurely dinner while enjoying the atmosphere of our surroundings.

I have taught you how to save for a romantic weekend away with just $5 a week. My next blog will be about how we budget and manage our money. It will help you to get on track in living a life where you are in control of your money not your money in control of you.

Keep those sparks flying!
JoJo

© 2012, Surprise Kiss. All rights reserved.

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