Surprise Kiss

Posts Tagged ‘relationships’

I get asked a lot if I ever use the money I have been saving for our anniversary on other things? The answer is “On occasion I will use it for something else.” I try to keep it for only our anniversary but there are times when we have had to use it for an emergency purchase or something we felt was more important than going away for our romantic rendezvous.

There are times when we need cash right now and the only spot we are willing to pull from is our little stash. When I pull the money out of our savings I will put a big post-it-note on my calendar saying how much money I pulled and will try to put back the amount back as soon as possible but there are times when I can’t.

Last year we chose to spend less on our anniversary by booking a hotel on Priceline for $50 and spent the rest to purchase a new ceiling fan we wanted for the den. Or there was the year I had saved over $700 so we could go to a very expensive inn in Sonoma, CA for our anniversary but chose to do something different with it.

The company I worked for had a company get together at Disneyland for the weekend. We got to go to Disneyland and California Adventure for Larry and me paid by the company. Also they were able to get discounts at all the all the Disneyland hotels. Well Larry and I decided to bring our two youngest grandchildren with us. I talked to Larry and asked him if he would mind if we used our money to stay at the Disneyland’s Grand California Hotel and Spa with the grandkids. He said sure.

We all had a wonderful time with the grandkids and going to both theme parks and we got to stay at the most expensive and elegant hotel Disneyland offers in Anaheim.  Even the grandkids enjoyed staying there. Our grandson at the time was about 15 years old and commented on how nice the hotel and rooms were. You could tell he appreciated we stayed there.  Our grandson is 20 years old now and recently he commented on how special it was to stay at Disneyland’s Grand California Hotel and Spa. He knew we had chosen to spend our anniversary money on them instead.

The moral to the story is, don’t feel bad if you chose to use your money for something different than what it was intended for. If you have to pull out money for an emergency or want to spend it on something else then go ahead and do it. Just make sure you don’t do to every year. Try to put the money back if you can or do like we did and have an enjoyable anniversary but on a smaller budget.

Keep those sparks flying!
JoJo

© 2010, Surprise Kiss. All rights reserved.

Love your sweetheart. Love them like they are the only one you will ever love. And they will be. Keep saving your $5 a week for your romantic rendezvous.

Keep those sparks flying!
JoJo

© 2010, Surprise Kiss. All rights reserved.

So you think you know everything about each other. If you want to keep things new and fresh why not get to know each other all over again. After being married for so long don’t you know your spouse better than most people? Well you probably do but you can make it feel fresh again.

Choose a new up to date song that is special to both of you – Your first song will always be special to you both. It is “your song.” But did you know you can get that special feeling when you find a new song every few years. Search on line together if you can’t think of anything. Because you have more than one song that has been added through the years every time you hear your special songs you will both bring back that “loving feeling.”

Find your unique code – The next time you are going out why not create your own language or a sign that only the two of you know. Touch the tip of your nose to say “I love you” when you are in a crowd. Or your earlobe to say “Lets make love.” Learn the sign language for “I love you.” You will feel more intimate when you use them and it will make you feel closer to each other. The best part is you and your sweetheart will be the only ones who know what the other is saying.

Choose a new nickname – You may already have a nickname for each other but finding a new one is another way to add a sense of newest to your long term romance. Keep the old one but add a new one to your vocabulary every so often. Nicknames are usually silly and by adding a new name you add another dimension of playfulness. Try to choose something that makes both of you laugh.

Whether you choose a new song, find your unique code, choose a new nickname or do all three you will have a sense of newness and intimacy though out the years of your marriage that most couples don’t have.

Keep those sparks flying!
JoJo

© 2010, Surprise Kiss. All rights reserved.

How do you meet your spouse’s love needs? I am not only asking you about your physical relationship but more importantly what do you do to make them feel loved. Do you keep trying to show them how much you love them but no matter what you do they still tell you they don’t feel loved? Well maybe you are not speaking their love language.

I just finished reading “The 5 Love Languages” by Gary Chapman. In his book he reveals the five distinct languages we all use to express our love for someone. When you understand each other’s love language you will know how to effectively and consistently make each other feel loved.

This book will help you clarify not only your love language but your spouse’s. You will learn the five distinct languages we all use to express love:

• Words of Affirmation
• Quality Time
• Receiving Gifts
• Acts of Service
• Physical Touch

At the end of the book there is a profile test you and your spouse can take to find out your primary love language. It will take at least 15 to 30 minutes to complete. Once you both have taken the test you will have a better understanding of how you and your spouse feel loved.

This is a great book to read together at the end of the day after all the kids are in bed. Take the test after you have read the book. We took the test and my husband’s love language is Acts of Service and Physical Touch. Mine is Quality Time and Physical Touch. After 43 years of marriage we intuitively understood it but it was nice to know we were on the right track. I am glad I took the time to read this and I think you will be too.

Keep those sparks flying!
JoJo

© 2010, Surprise Kiss. All rights reserved.

During your wedding ceremony did you pay much attention to what your pastor or minister was saying, or was it just a blur of words? If you had a traditional vow ceremony you would have heard this paragraphed spoken at the very beginning of your ceremony by your minister.

“Marriage is the union of husband and wife in heart, body and mind. It is intended for their mutual joy – and for the help and comfort given one another in prosperity and adversity. But more importantly – it is a means through which a stable and loving environment may be attained.”

I started to think about what this paragraph means and one sentence in particular. “Marriage is the union of husband and wife in heart, body and mind.” If we are in a marriage do we really become as one, one heart, one body and one mind? Don’t we have a right to be individuals also? I don’t think it means we have to think and do the same things always. What it does mean is we need to be involved in our marriage. We need to be connected.

So many couples disconnect themselves from their marriage, blaming it on to much to do. It is so easy to say we are overwhelmed with having children, working and soccer games, dance lessons, etc. You are exhausted and are too tired to be involved with your spouse. After all, your spouse is an adult and can take care of themselves. There is a point when you say “What about me” but did you ever think your marriage may be saying the same thing? “What about us! When are we going to connect?”

When you look at your marriage you may want to ask these questions, “Are we keeping it alive? What are we doing to let each other know you care and love them?” Don’t let your marriage become separated and shrivel up and die. Be proactive, take the time to sit and talk to your spouse without the kids around, even if it is only for 10 minutes a day. You need to show how much you love your marriage and being connected everyday is one way to do that.

Another way to stay connected is to be playful and childlike. To Live, Laugh and Love together!

St Patrick’s Day – Romantic Idea

Don’t forget to get the items I mentioned in my blog, “Have a Little Fun” for St Patrick’s Day. They are listed below. Couples will be green with envy when they find out about your romantic evening.

• St Patrick’s Day card or get some green paper and make your own card.
• Play money (Monopoly Money) $100, $1,000 bills etc
• Something sexy to wear in a green color if you have it

Tomorrow is the big reveal! You will learn what to do with the items above.

Keep those sparks flying!

© 2010, Surprise Kiss. All rights reserved.

Last Sunday night I was at the Fashion Bug giving a talk on “Helping Couples Remember the Romance” to a group of women. The assistant manager, Cynthia, had set a beautiful table with yummy goodies for everyone to enjoy. The stuffed chocolate dipped strawberries were the hit. I asked Cynthia if I could share her recipe with you and she said “Yes.” This would be a great recipe to make for Valentines Day for your sweetheart.

Cynthia’s Stuffed Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

1 pint of fresh strawberries
6 oz really good dark chocolate
8 oz cream cheese (bring to room temperature)
½ cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons orange or almond flavored liqueur or ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Wash strawberries and then dry really well. Completely remove the stems and core. Slowly melt chocolate in a bowl over a pan of boiling water, stirring often. Do not let the bowl touch the boiling water. There should be only about two inches of water or less depending upon the size of the pan. Once chocolate has melted insert a toothpick near the top of the strawberries. Then hold toothpick and dip strawberries into chocolate and twirl around leaving a little of the red showing at the top of the strawberries. Be careful not to get any chocolate in the center hole. Lift strawberries and let the excess chocolate drip off them. Lay the dipped strawberries on a parchment lined cookie sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile combine softened cream cheese, sugar and liqueur or vanilla extract in a small bowl. Fill a plastic zip lock bag with the cream cheese mixture and clip corner at the bottom of the bag to use as a piping bag. Once chocolate has harden on the strawberries pipe cream cheese mixture into the top of the strawberries.

Enjoy! These are very sensuous, delicious and different from your ordinary chocolate dipped strawberries.

*Don’t forget to get the items I mentioned you needed for Valentines Day in my blog on “Are You Ready.” You will be told what to do with the second set of items on February 12th. If you liked my Christmas idea you will like this one!

Keep those sparks flying!
JoJo

© 2010, Surprise Kiss. All rights reserved.

Celebrate the small things in your marriage and keep saving your $5 a week!

*Don’t forget to get the items I mentioned you needed for Valentines Day in my blog on “Are You Ready.” You will be told what to do with the second set of items on February 12th.  If you liked my Christmas idea you will like this one!

Keep those sparks flying!
JoJo

© 2010, Surprise Kiss. All rights reserved.

Be fearless when romancing your spouse and keep saving $5 a week for a weekend of love.

*Don’t forget to get the items I mentioned you needed for Valentines in my blog on “Are You Ready.” You will be told what to do with the first set of items on January 29th and the second set of items on February 12th.

Keep those sparks flying!

Keep those sparks flying!
JoJo

© 2010, Surprise Kiss. All rights reserved.

On Wednesday, December 30, I told you what I would be doing with my husband on New Year’s Eve. Well we had a change of plans, my daughter and I had met at Starbucks in the morning to work on my website and while we were on the web a little add popped up talking about a New Year’s Eve dinner at  Creekside Brewing Co in San Luis Obispo. We decided to click on it and see what the menu was like and where it was located.

Creekside Brewing Co is a small microbrewery located on a side street in downtown San Luis Obispo. The New Year’s Eve dinner menu looked very interesting and unusual. It was a six course dinner with beer tasting. It is kind of like a wine tasting dinner but it was less expensive. They said dinner started at 7:00 PM and ended at 9:00 PM. Early enough for us to get home before the real partiers got started. It sounded like something the guys would enjoy, so we called and made reservations for dinner.

This spur of the moment decision turned out to be one of the nicest New Year’s evenings we have had in a long time. The gourmet dinner was absolutely delicious and we learned from the brew master so much about pairing your beer with your menu. It was so much fun to taste the beer before we tasted the dinner and then eating dinner and drinking the beer. Some of the beers were very strong but when you paired it with something like a spicy shrimp and pozole corn it was outstanding. One of the most unusual items on the menu was the homemade gelato made with coffee, chocolate and stout. They served the beer with the same stout used in the gelato. It was a very dark beer served in a brandy glass. Who would have thought gelato and beer would go together but it did.

Eric was our brew master and he made it a very interesting an enjoyable evening. We totally enjoyed learning about the beers and how they were made and what type of foods to eat with it. Our husbands are still talking about what a great evening they had and how good the food was. My daughter & I were the designated drivers so we would take a couple of sips of the beers and let the guys finish off what we didn’t drink. We kept it a safe and fun evening. I will never look at beer the same way again.

For those who are planning on visiting or who live on the Central Coast I would highly recommend the next time you plan on going out to make it a point to have dinner there and enjoy the beers they have to offer. Ask your waiter what will go well with your dinner. You won’t be sorry you asked. Check it out : www.creeksidebrewing.com.  And for those who don’t live on the Central Coast check to see if there is a microbrewery near you and have a memorable evening enjoying their wonderful beers and food.

I know of so many people who once they have made plans are not willing to change things. They are so regimented it is sad. If we hadn’t decided to change our plans we would not have found out how good this place is and would not have had such a memorable New Year’s Eve. So when you have an opportunity to change things out, as long as it doesn’t affect other people,  go ahead get a little crazy and have fun. Change your plans!

Keep those sparks flying!
JoJo

© 2010, Surprise Kiss. All rights reserved.

Yesterday I talked about our family tradition of lighting the candles. After everyone has eaten and we are more stuffed than the turkey could ever be. We will sit down to watch a wonderful Hallmark movie of a courageous woman and her son. This is based on an incredible true story set in 1944 during World War II.

The mother and son are in an isolated cabin in Germany’s Ardennes forest. Three American soldiers and three German soldiers are forced to confront the realities of war, face to face, person to person. What they discover is the true meaning of courage and true spirit of a blessed night. What I enjoyed so much was how undaunted this woman was no matter what was thrown at her. She stood her ground.

The name of the movie is “Silent Night” You may be able to pick it up at your local Hallmark store or I got it at: www.amazon.com

If you are looking for something a little different to watch, I highly recommend that you get this and cuddle up with your spouse and family to watch this wonderful movie.

Keep those sparks flying!
JoJo

© 2009 – 2010, Surprise Kiss. All rights reserved.