Author Archives: Fawn Weaver

About Fawn Weaver

Fawn Weaver is the USA Today® and New York Times® bestselling author of Happy Wives Club: One Woman's Worldwide Search for the Secrets of a Great Marriage, adopting the same name as the Club she founded in 2010. The Happy Wives Club community has grown to include more than 900,000 women in over 110 countries around the world. When she’s not blogging or working on her next project, she's happily doting over her husband of nearly eleven years, Keith.

Creative Date Nights in Minutes

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On The Dating Divas website, we are all about creative ideas that will help strengthen our relationships. One of our FAVORITE things to talk about is…

…DATE NIGHT!

We are strong believers in dating your spouse!! That one-on-one time to connect {or re-connect} with your sweetheart is crucial to a healthy relationship. A date is simply spending time with one another – BUT it can be so much more! I love treating date night as the one day of the week where we can create a wonderful memory that will last us through whatever the new week brings. In order to help YOU create these fun {and lasting} memories, we decided to bring you FIVE of our fun date ideas. Three of these are fun to do with just your spouse and two are a BLAST to do on a group date. I wanted to share more than one idea with all of you… as I know we all have different tastes. BUT – I have to tell you, these are fit for ANY age group! {Just ask my cute parents who about died laughing when we had a “Minute to Win It” group date night!}

You can click on any of the titles to get more information about each creative date idea. Here we go…

Love On the Run

This is one of our most popular date ideas because life is SO fast-paced for everyone nowadays. People are super busy and we don’t always have the time to put together a fun date night. Just like grabbing fast food to go… you can put together a DATE night “to go!” :) Grab a gift bag, print off the darling free printable to glue to the front, print off the list of fun “date ideas on the go” that you can refer to… and gather the materials needed for your NEXT date night. When it’s all prepped, you can hide it away as a surprise for you sweetheart OR place it somewhere visible & mark your calendar! Either way, it will be the start to many more great date nights to come! Oh, and the best part? Your sweetheart gets to plan the NEXT one! {Yeppers, we included “His” & “Her” tags to help out with this…}

The Bookstore Date

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This one is even EASIER to plan and it’s 100% free! What’s not to love about that? All you need is the free printables included in the post and a local bookstore! Voila! The easiest date night you have ever planned. Now, if you are thinking, “But my husband doesn’t like to read…” or maybe YOU don’t enjoy reading? I promise this will STILL be fun! I am an avid bookworm and my husband is an avid book-avoider… and he absolutely LOVED this date! In fact, we had so much fun, he suggested doing it again! On the downloadable printables, there are six tasks listed that you and your spouse get to complete while at the bookstore. They take quite a while since you just MIGHT get caught up in enjoying each one! Head on over to our original post for more details on the different tasks.

Couples Minute to Win It

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If you have some fun-loving friends around, then a group date is a blast to organize! Based off the hit TV show, “Minute to Win It,” this date is sure to keep you laughing all night long! With each couple already forming a team, the goal is to complete the hilarious tasks within a minute. Some of the tasks are done by one team member and some can be completed by both. I have played this with my friends multiple times, with my family, and I even had my students playing these games during one of our parties {I teach 5th grade}. Every time, it is a complete hit! My ultimate favorite is called, “Face the Cookie.” The participants place a cookie on their forehead and have to maneuver it down their face and into their mouths withOUT using their hands! Soooo funny to watch and you would be surprised how many of my little 10-year-old students were able to do it! {LOL}

The “Funky Town” Date

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Another FUN group date that is for extreme EXTROVERTS is the Funky Town Date. When I was in College, I think I must have dated the most outgoing & creative guys on campus! I can’t believe HALF of the crazy things we did on our dates! I took a few of my most fun memories and combined them into what we now call… “Funky Town!” It was even BETTER experiencing these hilarious activities with my husband and our crazy friends! From eating with crazy utensils, to going to a thrift shop & choosing ridiculous outfits for each other, and ending the night with bowling… with a TWIST – we created an unforgettable memory! This date was one of my all-time favorites!

Spring Olympics

This one can be just for you & your husband OR you can turn it into a fun group date. Yes, we posted this in the SPRING, but it would be fun to enjoy the weather one last time before the chill of winter hits! By utilizing supplies around the house, you will be able to put together your OWN Olympic Games! The thought of sitting on a skateboard & using a plunger to “paddle” away completely cracks me up! If the ideas contained in this post aren’t totally up your alley, then use your creative juices… look around your house and make up different events. Don’t forget to run by the Dollar Store to grab some Olympic Medals!

Now that we have you all set for your next FIVE date nights, you might be wondering what our website all about! I told you a little above….but in case you were curious….our website is what happens when a BUNCH of super crafty friends get together & come up with solutions for strengthening their marriages.

We blog about amazing & creative date ideas, fun gift ideas for our spouses, quick & easy romance ideas, CRAFTY tutorials, and MUCH, much more!! ANYTHING that would help enhance our already ROCKIN’ marriages!! We even decided to share tips on how to look good for our man AND ideas on how to keep things HOT in a certain room…..

…but you are gonna have to visit our website for THAT! {WINK!}

Stop on by The Dating Divas to get more ROMANCE tips so you can keep dating that amazing spouse of yours! We love spreading the word about our blog….and we hope it will strengthen YOUR relationship as much as it has ours!!

Thanks again for letting me hang out with the “Happy Wives Club” crew today!

Enjoying Date Night at Home

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“When was the last time you went on a date with your husband?” was a question posed by a member on our community board. For several people, it had been over a month. Mainly, because babysitters are expensive and getting out of the house can sometimes be easier said than done.

Coming to the rescue…one of my favorite marriage sites on the web. I’m honored to have them guest blogging for us today. Introducing…

My name is Erika and I’m here from The Dating Divas. Happy Wives Club has asked me to guest blog today and I thought I’d share with you one of my favorite date ideas. That’s what we do at The Dating Divas. Our goal is to strengthen marriages one date at a time. The Divas also like to give you some quick and easy romance ideas, a creative date once a week, intimate moments, anniversary and gift ideas and so much more. Check out this idea to get you started with a weekly date night.

I’m like you; my husband’s schedule is busy and he’s often gone on the weekends, money is tight, and we have two little munchkins (one being a newborn.) With all of that going on, date night often ends up being at home after the kids are in bed. So why not have date night on Wednesday? Wonderful Wednesday! No rule that Date Night has to be on the weekend.

So the kids are in bed and you don’t want to stay up TOO late with work the next day, so what should we do for date night? The DATE WHEEL! I put together a Date Wheel that you just have to spin to pick what you are going to do.

You just print, cut it out, and stick on the date options and you are ready to go! The options are interchangeable (stick them on with Velcro or tape or magnets) so you can change them out depending on your mood or availability. I even left a few blank so you could create your own ideas to use as well!

Oh and a word to the wise, I laminated mine. This way I can reuse again and again without printing a new one. I can also use a vis vis or dry erase marker to write on the blank option cards. Thanks to the fabulous Aileen, of Lil Buckaroo Designs, for creating this printable date wheel. You can DOWNLOAD for FREE the Date Wheel with instructions of how to put it together to use for your next date!

Sticking with the inexpensive and easy theme, I sent my husband a text earlier in the day informing him that date night was happening TONIGHT!

Once the kids were in bed, I pulled out the Date Wheel and explained to him how it worked. We added a few more of our own ideas and then I let him spin.

This was perfect for us because half our battle on date night is deciding what to do. Neither of us wants to decide and we’ll usually just end up in front of the TV. But all of these ideas are EASY at home dates and don’t take any prep work. We had so much fun playing games and are looking forward to next week.

Sometimes the best dates are the simple and inexpensive ones. Wednesdays may be my new favorite night!

Thanks to Fawn and Happy Wives Club for letting me be here today!

…

Erika, thank YOU for sharing this great tip with us. We greatly appreciate you stopping by and kicking off the discussion today.

Does anyone else have a great stay-at-home date suggestion? What do you think about Erika’s date night tip? I loved it! What about you?

Purpose

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Looking for more information about the Happy Wives Club? Try the About Us page.

“We come to find true happiness not by what we receive but by what we give.” –Fawn Weaver

In marriage, as well as in life, long-lasting happiness comes to those who purpose to give more than we expect to receive. I’ve never met an inherently selfish person who was happy. And by that, I don’t mean happy for a moment because of a new car, new job, new house or something of that sort, but one in which genuine happiness resides in their home and life. I believe there is a reason for that and it lies in this universal truth that we were all created to give.

It is for that reason the PURPOSE section of this site is near and dear to my heart. This is where we will showcase organizations making a difference around the globe; those you, your husband, and your family can be proud to partner with to make this world a better place.
From my family to yours…thank you!

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Skip that latte, weekend movie trip, justice, snack, whatever..to feed a child.	Join Slavery No More as they fight to end human trafficking worldwide.
Protecting millions and proving for the poor is possible.	Join Slavery No More as they fight justice to end human trafficking worldwide.
Skip that latte, weekend movie trip snack, whatever…to feed a child	Protecting millions and proving for the poor is possible.

Win a Disneyland Trip for 2!

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**This giveaway has ended. Winner has been announced at the bottom of this post.**

Welcome to the new Happy Wives Club! In honor of the launch of our new site, we are offering our members and readers the BIGGEST GIVEAWAY we’ve ever done! By far!!

…as in something that would make you literally JUMP UP & DOWN on your couch when you see it?

And YES – that is exactly what you are going to want to do because WE are hoping to make one VERY LUCKY couple’s dream come true!! We’ve joined forces with some amazing bloggers in Blog Land to give you a WEEKEND away allowing you and your spouse to be kids again.

INTRODUCING…

THE. BEST. GIVEAWAY. EVER!!

Are you becoming giddy yet? Feeling like a kid again? GOOD!! Then it’s time to introduce to you exactly what this FABULOUS getaway includes!

DETAILS:

One lucky couple will be flown from anywhere in the Continental U.S. to Los Angeles, California where they’ll be whisked by limousine to enjoy 4 DAYS AND 3 NIGHTS at the luxurious Crowne Plaza Anaheim Resort. The red carpet will be rolled out for you from the moment you arrive and the general manager of the Crowne will personally handle your DISNEYLAND PARK & CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE ADMISSION on the day of your choosing.

If that were all we were giving away, that would be enough. But that’s not all!

Upon arrival at the hotel, you will be given $100 DISNEY DOLLARS to spend however you please at Disneyland Park and its neighboring park, California Adventure. Aren’t you just dying over this prize??

But we’re still not finished!!

When you arrive to your guest room, expect to see a beautifully wrapped package on your bed. What’s inside you ask? A brand new SONY HD CAMERA (worth $479) for you and your honey to capture all your moments together. I bet you’re thinking that has to be the entire prize package. We have ONE more trick up our sleeves…

We’re still not done!

You won’t have to fret even for a moment about making any of these plans yourselves. Along with this fabulous trip, admission into both Disney parks, a brand new Sony camera and Disney Dollars, you will be given a PERSONAL TRAVEL CONCIERGE who will make all your travel arrangements, coordinate your Disneyland Park and California Adventure excursions and make sure your camera and Disney Dollars are waiting for you upon arrival at the hotel.

FINE PRINT: Travel must occur between May 2013 and April 2014. Disneyland Park blackout dates may apply.

HOW TO ENTER:

Time to get your “click” on & follow all of the blogs who made this giveaway possible. One word, you guessed it, PINTEREST!!! It’s becoming a common household name & ALL of these talented bloggers have their own Pinterest boards that you should definitely be following!!

JUST THINK OF THE AMAZING THINGS ALL OF THESE BLOGGERS PIN EVERY DAY!!! Sheesh, inspiration overload… at it’s best!!

There are just TWO {2} steps to enter the giveaway…

#1) Click on each image {or name} below to follow each fabulous website on Pinterest!

Follow All	Follow All	Follow All
Follow All	Follow All	Follow All
Follow All	Follow All	Follow All
Follow All	Follow All

#2) And THEN, fill out the form below. Voila, you’re done!!

**Form has been removed as the Giveaway is now over. The winner is Mindy Braun. Congratulations, Mindy!**

*This promotion is sponsored and administered by the Happy Wives Club and is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Pinterest or Disneyland. We hereby release Pinterest and Disneyland of any liability. NBC Universal, iVillage, and all its subsidiaries are not administrators of this promotion and thereby are fully indemnified against any action arising from this promotion. This Giveaway will run for two weeks starting Wednesday, March 13th at 5:00 AM PST and ending Wednesday, March 27th at midnight PST. Once the giveaway ends, winners will be chosen using Random.org and contacted within 24 hours by email. This post will be updated with the winner’s name once we’ve heard back from them. Winners will need to respond within 48 hours to claim their prize or another winner will be chosen. This “Recapturing the Magic” contest is open worldwide, except in Puerto Rico and everywhere else where prohibited by law. Winners must be of full legal age in the jurisdiction in which they live. Airfare is provided solely from within the US (international winners must arrange own travel to a state within the Continental US).

Best Spring Trips for 2013

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Waikato, North Island, New Zealand

From Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, it’s about an hour’s drive south to the northern reaches of the Waikato region—a 25,000-square-mile mix of rolling farmland, black-sand beaches, volcanic mountains, and glowworm-laden caves. Fans of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey flock here to tour the Hobbiton Movie Set in Matamata. Read more..

Tulpenfestival, Noordoostpolder, Netherlands

Late March through mid-May, precise rows of blooming tulips unfurl like crayon-colored ribbons across the flat Dutch landscape. While not as famous as North and South Holland’s Bollenstreek (Bulb District), central Flevoland is home to about 5,000 acres of bulb fields—tops in the country. Most of the fields are located in Noordoostpolder—the Netherlands’ youngest tulip-growing area—located about an hour’s drive northeast of Amsterdam. Read more…

Kentucky Bourbon Trail Tour, Lexington to Louisville, Kentucky

All bourbon is whiskey, but only U.S.-distilled corn whiskey meeting exacting standards (like being aged in new, charred white oak barrels) can be called bourbon. The seven distilleries comprising the Kentucky Bourbon Trail tour—Four Roses, Heaven Hill Distilleries, Jim Beam, Maker’s Mark, Wild Turkey Bourbon, Woodford Reserve, and Town Branch—produce about 95 percent of the world’s bourbon. Read more…

For more great places to venture to in spring, see full article here.

13 Great Adventures for 2013

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13. Borneo (Sarawak and Sabah, Malaysia)

It hosts the highest mountain in SE Asia, Mt. Kinabalu; the largest concentration of wild orangutans in the world; the greatest rainforests on the planet; some of the deepest caves; and of course the ambitious Dayaks, always looking to get a head.

12. Costa Rica

It has been called the Happiest Place on Earth and is infused with a spirit called Pura Vida. It pours with the best rafting in Central America, has the best eco-lodges, more zip-lines than anyplace else on earth, great surfing and some of the finest primary rainforest left.

11. Ireland

Yes, it has the best beer in the world, the oldest scotch distillery and the first Irish Coffee, but it also offers up some of the most dramatic scenery in Europe, great hiking and mountain biking and, in Belfast, the new stunning museum, Titanic Belfast (at the bar next door you can order a gin & Titonic).

10. Ethiopia

Ethiopia is the Tibet of Africa, with an average elevation of 8,000 feet and some of the highest peaks in the continent. It also is the source of the Blue Nile, running through The Grand Canyon of Africa, and the Omo River in the south, along which some of the most intact tribal cultures in the world survive… for now. It is the only country in Africa never to be colonized, and so the cultures run deep and untainted. The Queen of Sheba ruled in the north. The Ark of the Covenant is supposedly hidden here. Good luck…

Read the rest here…

Cayman Islands

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For a long time now, the Caribbean has held a special place in my heart. The Bahamas was my first foreign country that I ever stepped foot in at the age of eleven and I have returned to the island chain over twenty times since. I have also visited Aruba, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands. Personally, I believe that many Americans have become jaded with this region, since it is in such close proximity. However, to me it is easily one of the most beautiful and vibrant parts of the world! Read the rest here…

Soon & Very Soon

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You thought we meant a Po’ Boy sandwich, didn’t you? Nope. We meant “Poor boy!” Or better yet, “Poor us!”
When contractors workers set out to build a new construction, it never seems to get built on time. Welcome to our experience of building this site.

PLEASE RETURN LATER TODAY…

OUR CONSTRUCTION WORKERS TELL US IT WILL BE DONE (**WINK**)

Please Pardon Our Dust…We’re Moving!

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**Please take a moment to vote to name Happy Wives Club the #1 Marriage Site on the web. It takes less than two minutes and we’d truly appreciate your vote.** VOTE HERE

When I began this Club on March 4, 2010, I built the site using a standard Squarespace blog template. It wasn’t perfect, but I didn’t know how to build a website and never thought to hire someone to do it. That changed last year when the number of people joining this club, as well as the amount of readers visiting daily, increased dramatically. I knew it was time to give you all something so much greater than this regular ole’ template.

On Wednesday, we will be unveiling a brand new Happy Wives Club site. Website address (URL) will remain the same but you’re going to notice alot of changes. For one, I will no longer be the only person writing for this site. I’ve invited some of my favorite bloggers and writers (who are also Happy Wives Club members) to join me in creating the perfect content for you. We want to be a place you can come to for great resources and to escape the negativity and pessimism so often felt in the outside world.

Happy Wives Club has been and always will be a place where you can be free to be you, live an awesome life, be positive and optimistic about your future, and not be told by anyone to “dumb it down.” Here, you have complete permission to be happy and not feel the need to apologize for it (now, there’s a new concept).

I’m excited to introduce you to the new team and even more awesome is the giveaway we will be hosting in honor of the grand occassion. I don’t want to give it away, but I’ll give you a small peak into the HUGE contest. Let’s just say, it involves an all-expenses paid trip to the one place you and your husband can feel like kids again… That’s all I can say. You will have to wait until Wednesday -3/13/13- to learn more about the giveaway and to see our awesome new site. See you then!

Until Wednesday…make it a great day!

COMMENTS: With more than 98,000 Happy Wives Club members already actively engaged on our Facebook Community page, what better place to share your thoughts? Join me there and let’s continue the conversation.

JOIN US: If you haven’t already done it, what are you waiting for? Join the club! It takes only a few seconds and, of course, is free.

God Bless That Man!

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I love my husband. He’s the most wonderful, supportive and loving person I’ve ever known. And I know he loves me if for no other reason than his enormous patience.

When Keith and I married, I didn’t cook. I knew how to cook (following a detailed recipe to the “T”) but just thought it was a big ole’ waste of time. A few months into our marriage, I decided I wanted to make him a delicious dinner. So many people gave me cookbooks as a wedding present (including Keith ) so I figured they must be trying to tell me something.

So I pulled out the cookbook with the most interesting cover, best colors and pictures throughout and decided that would be the day I’d cook for my honey. The cookbook I chose…drumroll please…Emeril Lagasse’s, “From Emeril’s Kitchen.” Couldn’t I have at least started off with the Betty Crocker book someone bought me?

Of course not, because I love a good challenge. Which is also the reason I didn’t choose something simple like roasted chicken. I had to try the Lamb & Feta Cheese Lasagna recipe. Really? Out of all the recipes to choose from I pick one that involves lightly roasted pine nuts, freshly chopped rosemary and oregano leaves and something I’d never heard of before that day, prosciutto.

So let me tell you how my cooking adventure went that day. I got up with all the excitement in the world and pulled out Emeril’s cookbook. I created my grocery list and headed to Gelson’s supermarket.

Tomato paste. Check. 1 1/2 pounds of lamb. Check. 1 pound of lasagna noodles. Check. 1 pound of ricotta cheese and 6 ounces of feta cheese. Check, check. I was feeling good until I realized there were certain things on the list I simply couldn’t find at Gelson’s like the prosciutto.

So I headed to the second store, Vons, and continued my shopping. Why couldn’t I find prosciutto there either? Nowhere in the fresh produce section was prosciutto to be found (okay, stop laughing at me). And why could I not find fresh rosemary or oregano leaves in the seasonings section?

Finally, I purchased all the groceries I could find and headed home to take inventory of what I still didn’t have. 28-ounce can of diced tomatoes in their juices. Check. Oh, wait…why does the recipe also call for a 14-ounce can of diced tomatoes? Didn’t see that one. But why didn’t the recipe just say I needed 42-ounces of diced tomatoes. I was already starting not to like cooking and I hadn’t even fired up the oven yet.

But I wasn’t going to let anything keep me from preparing this special dinner I set out to make for my hubby, so I returned to the store — for the third time — to pick up the remaining items on my list. Up and down the produce isle looking for the prosciutto, I finally broke down and asked the produce man where I could find it. Looking a bit baffled he said, “Ma’am, the proscuitto is in the deli section.” What would it be doing in the deli section, I thought to myself.

Ah ha! Prosciutto is a meat not a vegetable. Okay, one problem solved. Now, about those lightly toasted pine nuts and fresh rosemary and oregano leaves. After realizing the fresh leaves were in the produce section (not the seasoning isle) and the pine nuts would have to be purchased untoasted, I finally had everything I needed to begin cooking.

By now, it’s in the middle of the day and I’ve been shopping for ingredients in this one recipe for several hours. So I begin to prep. First, I needed to determine how to toast the pine nuts since that wasn’t in the recipe. Do I put them in the oven or the skillet? I decided toasting sounded like something I could do easily in a skillet.

Chopped the fresh leaves, cooked the lamb, boiled the noodles and began to pull everything together. Somewhere in the midst of all this, Keith called to see how my day was going and boy did I give him an earful. Not only did it take me three trips to the grocery store but now that I’ve prepped the food, there are literally pots, pans and dirty chopping boards all over the kitchen. What a mess!

Keith could hear the discouragement and frustration in my voice so he gave me a gentle “I love you” and I got back to cooking. After an hour or so of prepping came the moment of triumph. I could finally layer all the ingredients into the 9″ square glass pan and exclaim “Victory!” Then I looked at the dish and thought, “All that for this tiny amount of food?”

Nonetheless, I was finally done and could put the lasagna into the preheated oven (at least I knew how to preheat an oven ) for 50 minutes. Halfway through the baking, and in the middle of me cleaning two sinks full of dishes, Keith returned home with a beautiful bouquet of white roses. I thought, “God bless that man!”

The end of the story is the lasagna came out and was one of the tastiest either of us have had and it all seemed worth it. Sort of. Keith swears that experience traumatized me because it took me another 5 years but what I made brought the house down!

It was a slow cooker take on my aunt’s amazing 3-ingredient Roast recipe and to this day it’s a family favorite. Make this at home…I promise you’ll thank me for it.

1 – Beef Roast (I bought a 2.5 lb one on sale for less than $8)

1 – 10oz. can of Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup

1 – packet of Lipton onion dip mix

That’s it. That is the entire recipe. And the best part about it is it is fail-proof! All you do is rinse the beef with cold water and then pat it dry with a paper towel. Put a pan on the stove large enough to fit the roast, turn the pan on high and pop the piece of meat right in the middle. You only want to brown it so flip it over after 30 seconds or so. Do this on both sides of the cut of meat and then turn it on its side and brown each side. This whole process should take 2 minutes max.

Once your roast has been browned, pop it in the crock pot, pour the can of soup over it, evenly sprinkle the onion dip mix over the entire top, cover it with the top and cook it on the lowest setting possible (on my pot it simply says “low”). Begin your day and 8 to 9 hours later – voila! One of the best tasting roasts you’ve ever had. The gravy is so delicious I burned the inside of my mouth not once but four times. I was so excited it turned out so well I kept tasting it directly from the pot (not a good idea, by the way).

And an added benefit to this roast was the extra gravy it made. If you have any leftover (I had about a cup leftover), add some Wondra Quick-Mixing Flour (directions on the can), put it in the freezer and when you’re serving rice, mashed potatoes, chicken or anything that can be spiced up with some delicious gravy, you’ve already got it in the bag (literally, the Ziploc bag).

Give it a whirl and tell me what you think!

When Life Brings Rain {My Umbrella’s Built for Two}

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I’ll be the first to admit I’m not the hippest person in the world. I’m actually quite corny. Once when Keith and I were staying at the ultra chic W Hotel in San Francisco, he was fully convinced the hotel might kick us out for being so unhip (apparently, the plastic I Love Lucy style bonnet I purchased at the nearby CVS to prevent the rain from messing up my hair, was quite faux pas). So let’s just say I don’t sit around listening to artists like Rihanna.

When Rihanna exploded on the scene just a few years ago (and before all her public relationship woes…sigh), she did so with a song that was so popular, you can still hear it played on radio stations routinely: Umbrella. Now, for the unhipsters like myself who could only understand the chorus (Under my umbrella, ella, ella, ay ay ay), I want to share with you the lyrics that precipitated this post:

Because when the sun shines, we’ll shine together
Told you I’ll be here forever
Said I’ll always be your friend
Took an oath,
I’ma stick it out to the end

Now that it’s raining more than ever
Know that we’ll still have each other
You can stand under my umbrella
You can stand under my umbrella

Sometimes when Keith comes home from a tough day and the weight of the world is on his shoulders, the greatest thing I can do for him is open my umbrella and welcome him inside.

At times, my days are just as trying and I want nothing more than to gain his sympathy for how exhausted I am. Recently, I’ve been working until after 2 o’clock in the morning every day, and at times I’ve wanted nothing more from him than a high-five or a “Honey, you’re kicking butt!” But that doesn’t always happen. Not because he doesn’t feel that way or doesn’t want to encourage me more than anything else in the world. Sometimes he too is simply exhausted. To mentally taxed.

For those times, I have to remember to welcome him into my arms and away from the cold and rainy world and offer him shelter from the storm. This action is always reciprocated at the times I need most. That’s one of the greatest beauties of a relationship with mutual love, admiration, respect and trust; we both walk around carrying an umbrella for two.

Until tomorrow…make it a great day!

Why I Love My Husband (the never-ending list):

180. He’s extraordinarily clean (although when he’s busy he tends to leave stuff lying around a bit more than usual).

181. I don’t fall in the toilet bowl in the middle of the night because my honey puts down the toilet seat.

182. He set up the internet in our new place today so it’s more consistent (and when your business is online like mine, this is one of the greatest gifts he could give).

183. He enjoys opening the windows with me each morning so we can listen to the sea lions together (oddly enough, we both find the loud sound calming).

**BLOGGER ANNOUNCEMENT: WE’RE LAUNCHING A NEW & IMPROVED HAPPY WIVES CLUB ON 3/13/13. IN HONOR OF THAT, LINK UP THURSDAYS WILL NOW BE MARRIAGE MONDAYS BEGINNING MONDAY, MARCH 18TH. PLEASE JOIN US THEN FOR A SPECIAL LINK UP & GIVEAWAY!!**

Join me in creating your own Why I Love My Husband list and share it on your Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest pages. Just grab the button below and tell everyone all the reasons you love, adore and cherish your husband.

COMMENTS: With more than 97,000 Happy Wives Club members already actively engaged on our Facebook Community page, what better place to share your thoughts? Join me there and let’s continue the conversation.

JOIN US: If you haven’t already done it, what are you waiting for? Join the club! It takes only a few seconds and, of course, is free.

Romantic Notes or Letter Ideas

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“Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.”
“Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.”