Flowers & Chocolate

I was talking to my Nephew who just started school at BYU the other night and the topic of boys and girls came up. Somehow flowers and chocolates came up too...hmmm....shocker?! I think not :) Anyways, I know that sometimes you boys think that flowers and chocolates are cliche' and to tell you the truth, they kind of are, but I want to throw this out there...they are still important. Or at least the concept of flowers and chocolates are important. Girls want to feel special. We want to feel like you did something for us that is different than what you do for all the other girls in your life. Show us that romance is alive. Show us that we're worth the extra effort. Just don't tell us to keep it between the two of us. That just makes us wonder why you don't want people to know about it. For example, I had a guy send me flowers at work and in the note ask me to keep it between the two of us. That just put me in an awkward situation. I had to lie to everyone at my office about who the flowers were from and it made me wonder who else he had sent flowers to in our office! FOR REAL?!?! Don't do that, don't take what should be a wonderful, give us butterflies, make us blush gesture and turn it into something shady and overused.



Of course it doesn't have to be flowers and chocolate. It's not about flower and chocolate, it's about romance and chivalry. So if you're dating a girl that like motorcycles and guns, plan a date where you pick her up on a motorcycle and take her to the shooting range. Maybe she's more into football or basketball...then send her a t-shirt from her favorite team. Maybe you see something in the news that makes you think of her or worry about her, then send her a text message! I had a guy do that just the other day and it just made me feel special. I loved it! So it's really about those little somethings that make us feel unique, that reminds us that you're thinking of us. Take a couple of minutes, think about things you can do, write them down and then do them! Good luck boys!

Huh???

The other day I was visiting with some friends while our Bishop entertained us with stories of how he and his wife started dating. He commented that usually if a girl had a lot of interest from other guys he would bail, but that he had made the decision that he was going to get married that year and so none of that mattered anymore. He had a goal in mind and he was going to do everything to meet that goal. This came as a revelation to us girls standing there listening to our Bishop. You see we had always been told that guys liked girls that seemed to be in high demand, that there was competition for. What our Bishop was saying, and what the guys standing there were agreeing with, is that guys actually don't like the idea of competition and will walk away if there are other guys there vying for a girl's attention. SAY WHAT?! Yeah, pretty big information for us girls! So I'm putting it out there to you boys that may actually be reading this....which do you prefer? I can understand not wanting to fight for a girl's attention, but if there aren't any guys hanging around does that make you shy away as well? Which one is better for us girls to do...hang out with boys or don't? Please, please, please explain yourselves!

Jumping to the end???

Do we jump into a relationship to meet the status quo? Marry because our friends are getting married? Overestimate our feelings for someone based on the need to be in a relationship? I sometimes have to wonder if people just pretend to be happy to get married, or rather, not pretend, but actually convince themselves that they are truly happy, not knowing what else is out there. In the orders of one of the Bachelorettes “I feel like I’m just setting myself up to get broken hearted, but I haven’t been in love in so long that it’s just fun to feel it.” I’m sorry, it’s fun to feel it?! WHAT??? Seriously, that is not love people, that is purely lust and desperation to be in love. So put your little hormones on ice and figure out if you have a real connection with that special someone that you’re interested in before you start ncmo’ing it up and proposing marriage.

Except---What Men can do to create romance.

"When a man doesn't understand a woman, he tends to focus on the big ways to fulfill her all at once but will then ignore her for weeks. While good communication provides a healthy basis for a loving relationship, romance is the dessert. The way to a woman's heart is through doing lots of little things for her on a consistent basis. Here is my "short list" of twenty "kitchen-tested" things a man can do to create romance.
1. Buy her cards or write her a note.
2. Bring her flowers.
3. Buy her chocolates.
4. Bring home little surprises that say you were thinking of her while you were away.
5. Give her random hugs.
6. Be affectionate at times when you are not wanting sex.
7. Light a candle at dinner or in the bedroom.
8. Put on her favorite music.
9. Notice what she is wearing and pay her a compliment.
10. Take notice of the foods and restaurants she likes.
11. Plan dates ahead of time.
12. Put the remote control n mute at the commercials and talk with her instead of scanning through the channels.
13. Look at her when she talks.
14. Don't interrupt her or finish her sentences.
15. Notice when she is upset and offer her a hug.
16. Help her when she is tired.
17. Help her with her domestic chores.

18. Call her when you are running late.
19. Call her just to say "I love you." (OR TEXT...that works too!)
20. Plan little celebrations and do something different."
Mars & Venus: Together Forever by John Gray

To touch or not to touch?

I was watching Pride & Prejudice the other night, the A&E Version. It’s one of those ones that I watch when I’m sick and just want to cuddle up in a blanket. Every time I watch it something new jumps out to me. This time the line that jumped out was one spoken by Charlotte Lucas in Chapter 6. She says “It may perhaps be pleasant," replied Charlotte, "to be able to impose on the public in such a case; but it is sometimes a disadvantage to be so very guarded. If a woman conceals her affection with the same skill from the object of it, she may lose the opportunity of fixing him; and it will then be but poor consolation to believe the world equally in the dark. There is so much of gratitude or vanity in almost every attachment, that it is not safe to leave any to itself. We can all begin freely -- a slight preference is natural enough; but there are very few of us who have heart enough to be really in love without encouragement. In nine cases out of ten, a woman had better shew more affection than she feels. Bingley likes your sister undoubtedly; but he may never do more than like her, if she does not help him on." (Italics added) The thought crossed my mind…What if Charlotte was really onto something here? Should we show more affection for people that we are interested in than normally we would? Is that the way to secure a relationship?



Last night I was talking about physical contact with a friend and explaining why I’m not a touchy person. I view hand holding and cuddling as indicators of a stronger interest in someone than friendship. I’m not one of those girls that likes to be touched continually by friends. Yes, we all have those days when we need a hug or someone to reach out and hold our hand for a minute, just to let us know that someone cares, but as a friend, I don’t want this to happen all the time. A hug in greeting or when saying goodbye is always acceptable, however, constant physical contact can lead to mixed feelings that can sometimes be confusing and cause friendships to end when one person becomes more invested in the relationship than another.


I would have to say that if a boy was interested in me and he started flirting physically it would get my attention. I’m not sure that I would enjoy it profusely, but I would be aware of him. And yes, a portion of not enjoying the attention could be attributed to not being interested in the guy. I can, however, also see how this could lead me to develop an interest in him. We all want to feel accepted by someone and physical flirting communicates that acceptance, and can result in opening one’s heart to feelings.


So I ask...once you have decided that you are interested in someone would it be better to express more interest or less until you know the feelings of the other person? Is it beneficial to make clear your interest in hopes that the other person will return your feelings or should you play it safe and keep the friendship as it is? What are the pros and cons of this type of flirting?

Firehouse Car Washes-Fundraiser!

Hey all you local Utahans--it's that time of the year that you finally WANT to have your car washed! Firehouse Car Wash has teamed up with me to help me reach my fundraising goals for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I'm selling 4-Alarm washes for $30 & 3-Alarm washes for $20. Firehouse Car Washes are seriously AMAZING!!! You won't regret this donation for a minute! If you'd like to buy a wash, or two or three, leave a comment or text me or call me or facebook me :) and I'll set your voucher aside.


4-Alarm: Voted "Utah's Best Wash" by Utah's best customers! The 4-Alarm gives your car added shine with water-whisking Weatherguard Protection. We'll shine and protect our dash with conditioner, too. We guarantee you'll leave delighted.


3-Alarm: Now you can cruise I-15 with pure confidence! Get the mud off the bottom and enjoy the shine of Weatherguard Protection. Be a superstar with tire shine and clean rims! We'll throw in an air freshener - you're welcome!

Race for the Date to Date for the Race Silent Auction--Spread the Word!

I'm Auctioning off Dates with my friends! Yep, you read that right! You can be the lucky "owner" of a night under the stars with one of 14 AMAZING people!



The date will take place on either July 22nd (Forever Strong) or July 29th (The Goonies). We will be doing one big group date (28 people in total) where we'll be going to the Utah State Capital for their "Movie Under the Stars" series and some other activities that night that will be announced later.



The Auction itself will be done on Facebook through messages. All dates start at $25 and increase in increments of $10. Two people will be auctioned per day, one guy and one girl. A "day" will be from 10:00 am - 8:00 pm.



To make a bid send me a message with either a current bid or with your maximum bid if you're not going to be around to make additional bids during the day. The Winner will be announced & messaged by 8:30 pm every night.



If you are the lucky winner you will have until the auction opens the next day (10:00 am) to issue payment online at http://pages.teamintraining.org/dm/rnrseatl10/mwootton or make arrangments with me to bring me a check or cash. If you do not meet the deadline the next bidder in line will receive the date.


The Auction will start on Saturday, June 5th and will conclude with the last people being auctioned on Friday, June 11th All proceeds will go to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and are 100% Tax Deductible!



I'll be posting a list of the participants later today and tomorrow, so keep your eyes open!





*If you're married you can't win the date for yourself, but you can win it for your single friend or family member that lives in Utah and would be available on the day of the date.


** If you don't live in Utah but do know people who do, please invite them to the Auction, the more people that know about it the better the results will be!