Slow Down & Sip a Cup of Tea {Your Marriage Will Thank You}
This past Monday didn’t just represent the start of a new week for me but rather the beginning of a new life. When I wrote Monday’s post about the need for women to give ourselves permission to have ‘Me’ time, I didn’t realize just how much it would impact the days that followed.
Over the weekend, I noticed during a dinner with friends on Saturday and lunch with family on Sunday that my husband and I spoke an awful lot about how busy this season of our life has been. The hectic, breakneck pace of our lives have been overwhelming, we told them. We never seem to have enough time in the day, we bemoaned.
There is no doubt this has been a rough few months. And it’s undoubtedly been one of the busiest seasons of our lives. But -and it’s a huge but- I realized this weekend that we are a part of the problem.
Our words breathe life. God made it that way and no matter how hard we attempt to change that, it is what it is. Life and death are in the power of the tongue. And we were speaking fatigue into our lives.
What if our crazy, wacky, make-you-want-to-bury-your-head-in-the-sand kind of busyness was a result of us talking about how busy we are all the time? And what if verbalizing this single phrase, “There’s not enough time in the day,” was the very reason our days were falling short of the necessary waking hours.
Is it possible the reason there never seemed to be enough minutes in the day to complete our tasks was because we were making that so? There are 1,440 minutes in a day and I hadn’t been able to carve out 20 minutes a day to check in on friends and family (a goal I set a month ago). Really? What’s wrong with that picture? Everything.
So on Monday I proposed something to Keith, “Let’s not mention one time for the next two weeks how busy we are. Let’s only say, ‘I have enough time in my day to complete the tasks that are important for that day.’” Keith is one of the people who taught me about the power of words so the moment I mentioned this, he realized the importance of us making this change…immediately.
Life changing. Schedule altering. This week, I’ve taken time to sip tea each morning and read a little of Rick Warren’s, “What on Earth Am I Here For?” I’m feeling whole again. Keith and I aren’t spending our mornings talking about our hectic schedules. Instead we’re spending them looking at the boats that sail past our window and speaking words of affirmation into each other’s lives. We’re enjoying more time together and learning how to be okay with the undone.
And I must tell you, it’s been a wonderful week.
Question: What is a great lesson you’ve learned recently that is helping you better prioritize your life?
Until tomorrow…make it a great day!
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.
Giving Yourself Permission for ‘Me’ Time {& Link Up}
Have you ever thought, “Gosh, I just need a little ‘me’ time,” and then felt bad about feeling that way? I wonder if that’s a natural thing for women to feel. Whenever I think about wanting more ‘me’ time, I immediately begin thinking about all the things on my to-do list that are still incomplete and the thought of ‘me’ time disappears like a vapor; as quickly as it came to mind.
But we need me time. I’ve never met a woman who didn’t need it. I most certainly do. So how do I schedule a bit more personal time without feeling bad about it?
Last night, Keith and I were having dinner with two other couples. One of the wives -a type-A woman like me- said something that really struck home. ”Sometimes we have to learn to be okay with the undone.” She went on to describe what she called the “haunting of the undone.”
Every time I look at my to-do list and see all the items not finished, something deep inside of me just cringes. ”When will I ever get to the bottom of this list?!” I think. But maybe the point is we don’t have to complete everything. Maybe it’s just a list that continues on for the rest of my life and I have to be okay with allowing some of the items on there to go undone for the day and trust I will get to them soon.
When my to-do list takes precedence over time with my family, that’s a problem. And when setting aside a bit of me time causes me to feel guilty, that’s when I know, it’s time. It’s time for me to set down my lists, not worry about checking off a single item, and just check in with myself.
Am I giving myself the amount of downtime I need to be the woman, wife, friend, sister, and daughter I most long to be? Asking myself that question at this moment, I know the answer is no. But I also know I can pause right now and come back in thirty minutes and change that answer to yes. I just need to decide to do it.
I need to give myself permission to love on myself. I need to learn to be okay with getting to the end of the day and only having half of the items on my list checked off. I will get to them tomorrow. They aren’t a matter of life and death. They can wait. But what cannot wait is my innate need to feel whole, to feel complete and to feel loved. If I’m rushing to and from, living my life by a list, none of those things will happen.
So today, I give myself permission to schedule a little ‘me’ time. Which will undoubtedly lead to a better ‘us’ time with my husband because he will have all of me (not just the bit that’s not thinking about my list). My home is meant to be my still point in a turning world and it’s time I fully embrace that. The world…can…wait.
Question: When was the last time you set aside a little ‘me’ time? How did it feel?
Until tomorrow…make it a great day!
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.
Which Married Celebrities Should We Interview?
Have you ever wondered if it’s possible for women in Hollywood, successful authors, ultra-successful businesswomen, etcetera, to also be happily married? I certainly have. I’m fairly certain I know the answer but I’d still love to find out.
Most often, when I interview happily married women and write about their lessons (aka secrets of their successful marriage) here, they are women you’ve never heard about. Not because they aren’t successful in their own field of business or in maintaining their home, but mainly because it’s a large world out there with over 6 billion people.
Chances are, the only people we all know (or at least feel as though we know), are the ones plastered on magazines everywhere we turn. This got me to thinking. Maybe it’s possible for us to shrink our world just a little bit.
We’re a fabulous community of more than 100,000 members worldwide and I’d like to introduce you to some of the women you may have already seen on television or in the movies, but who are -more importantly- happily married with wonderful families.
I reached out to a few yesterday by Twitter: actress Candace Cameron Bure, actress Meagan Good, reality television starlet Khloe Kardashian Odom, author Amy Tan, author Elizabeth Gilbert and author Gretchen Rubin. And now, it’s your turn to tell me which ones you’d like to hear from.
Which actress on your favorite television show or movie is married (in real life)? What author have you read about who seems to have an amazing family life? Tell me and I’ll seek out an interview with them. Yes, we know, everything that glitters isn’t always gold. But every now and then, what glitters is actually gold so let’s interview them and find out.
Some may say no, a few might say “I’m too busy,” but something tells me we’ll get alot more “yeses” than anything else. So let’s go for it!
What I love about asking you this question is when I first began this Club, I interviewed women happily married 25 years or more and asked for their secrets to a great marriage. I’ll be reviving that as a part of this series and posting their interviews, as well.
So here’s one more question for you. Would you prefer to watch the interviews (meaning, an interview via Skype), hear the interviews in a podcast format or read about them here? Enter your answers in the comments section below and we’ll announce who will be our first interview shortly. Excited!
Until Monday…make it a great weekend!
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.
Perks of Marrying Your Best Friend
Chocolate. Pork. Soybean products (including, but not limited to, soy milk, vegetable oil, margarine, tofu, shortening). All gone.
It’s moments like these I’m reminded why I love being married to my best friend.
Yesterday, I had my long awaited appointment with an allergist. During my travels around the globe, in search of the secrets to a happy marriage, I came away with many great secrets and one huge frustration. Pimples. Lots and lots of pimples.
Months after returning to the States, the pimples simply would not go away. Finally, I decided to go to the dermatologist for the first time in my life. He recommended I see a nearby allergist.
Have you ever been to an allergist? I went for the first time yesterday and let me tell you, it’s quite the experience! The nurse numbered my left and right forearms, 1-through-20 on each side. Then she proceeded to prick me with a small needle next to each number. After waiting twenty minutes for results, I thought I was in the clear. None of the places where she pricked became inflamed.
Then came the second round. An entire tray of needles -much longer than the first round- were required to determine what food allergies I might have.
Alas, this time three of the areas where she gave me shots became inflamed. And then the doctor came in to give the results. No more chocolate (are you kidding me?), pork, or soybean products. Have I ever told you I’m lactose intolerant? Yep, just add that to the list of things I can’t have. ”So what do I put in my drink at Starbucks?” I asked. ”I suggest you carry around small cartons of rice milk in your purse.” Sigh…
Before I even left the doctor’s office, I called Keith, “Honey, you will never believe what happened!” After reading off to him the list the doctor gave me of all the things I should no longer eat (the soybean product list is pretty long), he paused and joked, “Well, at least I’m not allergic to wheat! Then we’d never be able to eat together.” Laughter ensued.
Learning at the age of 36 that you have to cut out more than two-thirds of the things you eat on a daily basis (including the non-dairy creamer I put in my coffee): difficult. Having a husband who makes you laugh so hard about it you forget the diagnosis: priceless.
QUESTION: Have you experienced a time when you received bad news (even something as trivial as food allergies) and had your spirits picked up immediately with just one quick phone call to your husband?
Until tomorrow…make it a great day!
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.
You’re Invited to Marriage Mondays {Link Up}
When people meet me at events, they usually assume I’m an extrovert. This has been a process. When Keith and I first met, we’d attend events together (because of both of our jobs, we were required to attend quite a few), he’d start mingling and I’d find a corner in the room and hop on my Blackberry. I wasn’t trying to be unsocial or unkind; I was just doing what came natural.
I’m an introvert by nature. Meaning, I am refreshed and energized by being alone. Downtime, quiet time and alone time are necessities in the life of an introvert. The downside with being an introvert is it is often misinterpreted at events and parties for being aloof or arrogant. I love people and never wanted people to confuse my discomfort at large events with not wanting to be around them. So I’ve worked on that.
Over the past ten years, since Keith (who is also an introvert, by the way) and I have been together, I’ve learned to be a gregarious introvert. Meaning, I put my natural introversion on the back burner at events and mirror the strengths of an extrovert. This learning has fixed one problem (people no longer get the false impression that I’m arrogant or aloof) but created another. By the time I leave a dinner or cocktail party, I am absolutely exhausted. It sucks the life right out of me.
There is, however, one type of party that gives me complete energy! And that’s our weekly link up party. Married bloggers from around the globe join us here to share their favorite posts from their own sites. What I love most about our link up parties is I learn so much from and about all those who link up.
Until now, our link up has been every Thursday. But with the launch of the new Happy Wives Club site, we wanted to shake it up a bit and invite more to join us (including you) so we moved the day and changed the name. So welcome to our very first Marriage Mondays. I invite you to join the blog hopping party with me by clicking on the links below that look interesting to you. Whether an introvert or extrovert, this kind of party is for everyone so enjoy!
Until tomorrow…make it a great day!
Welcome to the New Happy Wives Club
This week has been quite a ride. First, we rolled out a brand new site on our own server (which made us feel all grown up). Then we partnered with some of our favorite sites on the web to offer one of the most amazing prize packages ever (make sure to go here to enter to win an all-expenses paid trip for you and your husband).
As I began writing today’s post, it dawned on me that so many of you are brand new to the site and may not know how we began. First off, welcome. Secondly, I’m so glad you’re here. And thirdly, I’d love you to know the origin of this incredibly unique community.
Three years ago, I founded this Club as a counter to the onslaught of negativity surrounding marriage and wives as a whole. With smash television hits like Desperate Housewives and the Real Housewives of…You Name It filling up the airwaves, wives were being turned into caricatures and marriage was beginning to look like a death sentence. So I set out to change that perception and hoped to bring a million wives along for the ride
So far, more than 100,000 women have proclaimed, “I am a happy wife!” and I’m still on the search for more. Not Stepford. Not Desperate. Just those of us madly in love with our hubbies. By the way, if that describes you, please make sure to join the club!
What I love most about this community is being surrounded by like-minded women. A friend of mine said it best, “Your club gives women permission to be happy. To not have to apologize for a great husband or a wonderful marriage.”
Here at the Happy Wives Club, we free you from having to “dumb it down” for the sake of those with negative opinions about life or marriage. If women can sit around with their friends husband bashing and talking about all the ways marriage can go wrong, we should be able to do the same (on the opposite end of the spectrum). So in this Club, we talk about our wonderful husbands and all the ways a marriage can go right.
So for those of you who are new to the Club, and for those who have been here a while, we welcome you. We celebrate your marriage, we honor your family, and we are grateful for you.
QUESTION: Have you joined the 1,000,000 member challenge? If so, drop us a comment below and let us know you’ve joined the club!
Until Monday…make it a great day!
COMMENTS: With more than 99,000 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.
PLEASE VOTE: HWC was named one of the Top 5 Marriage Sites on the web by the readers of About.com and now we need your help to take the top spot! Vote for Happy Wives Club today (it takes less than 30 seconds and would mean so much to us).
Win a Disneyland Trip for 2!
**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 |
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#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).
Please Pardon Our Dust…We’re Moving!
**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.
When Life Brings Rain {My Umbrella’s Built for Two}
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.
Nominated for Best Marriage Site…Again!
Something pretty cool just happened and I’m so excited to share it with you! A few days ago, I learned the readers of About.com (one of the top 100 websites in the world with over 36 million visitors monthly) nominated the Happy Wives Club for the Best
Marriage Blog/Website on the web…again! This is the same Reader’s Choice award we won last year because fabulous readers like you took the time to vote.
What’s ironic about this year is many of you learned we’d been nominated even before I found out! With so many active and wonderful readers of HWC I should have known. But I didn’t. I saw a message on the About.com Twitter feed telling people to go to their site and vote for the best marriage websites on the web.
The message indicated they’d announced the top 5 finalist and were encouraging everyone to narrow that five down to one. Since we’d not been notified, I assumed we didn’t make the cut this year and another marriage site must have swooped in and knocked us out of the running.
When I went to About.com to cast my vote, I realized not only had we been nominated but had been named a Top 5 Finalist! Somehow the notification letting us know we were a finalist ended up in my spam email folder (darn that Norton anti-virus). Of course, as soon as I saw we’d made the top five, I cast my vote. Imagine my surprise when after casting my vote, I learned we were in the lead with 60-percent of the vote.
No, really. That is six-zero!!
How’s that even possible when I didn’t know we were a finalist? Well, you must have somehow known because someone’s been voting. So now that it’s official…let’s vote! The rules are simple. You go to this website and vote for the Happy Wives Club as your favorite marriage site/blog. And then you do it again, and again, and again, each day until polling closes on March 19th (you can vote once every 24 hours).
Thank you for being such amazing readers, family and friends (yes, even the hubby reads HWC). Because of you, we continue to grow -well beyond my wildest hopes and dreams- and it’s because of this growth we’ll be introducing the all new Happy Wives Club site next week (finally, a website that’s not a template 
). And with the launch of our new site, we’ll be giving away an all-expenses paid trip (yes, even airfare) to Disneyland in Anaheim, California! Finally, a vacation that will allow you and your hubby to simply be kids again.
More to come on this unbelievable giveaway next week. But for today, thank you for taking the time out of your day to vote! I’ll update you on March 27th after they’ve announced the winner.
Until tomorrow…make it a great day!
Why I Love My Husband (the never-ending list):
177. He went to visit a friend of ours in the hospital today to interview caregivers for her in spite of his hectic schedule. He’s just that kind of guy.
178. He finds peace in my presence (amazingly, even when I’m chatting away).
179. My dream has long been to have a view of the water from our home. And although we got a much smaller place than one might expect for a man of his size (6’4″, 240 lbs), we just moved into a place with a fabulous view (tight quarters but we’re both so happy here).
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.
Dear Mom {Why Your Conversations Are So Important}
On a radio interview yesterday, one of the listeners posed a question in the chat room I’d never been asked. She wanted to know where I saw this club 25 years from now. I must admit, that question initially threw me for a loop. That might explain my simple response.
My hope is in 25 years, the Happy Wives Club would have changed millions of conversations around the world. Giving women the confidence to unapologetically speak highly of their husbands and marriage, not worrying if it seems as though they are bragging or boasting, but recognizing that marriage needs a positive spokesperson among the deafening chorus of negativity. If our children are going to have any chance of enjoying this beautiful gift called marriage, we have to do our best to pass it down to them in a way that is untarnished.
When members of this club find ourselves in the middle of a group of women who are husband-bashing (sadly, the favorite pastime of so many) or speaking negatively about marriage, my greatest desire is we would be the ones to interrupt that conversation. That we would be the type of women who will push back on all the negative chatter. When it gets to a place where almost everything you hear about marriage is downbeat, it’s time for a group of women to counter that. And I believe we are just that group!
So thank you for helping us change the tone of marriage around the world. It will take a whole lot of people to course correct at this point, but I have no doubt we can do it. You + me + 999,998 more women changing the conversation worldwide. I began this journey searching for one million women just like me who love marriage and adore their husbands. Business women, housewives, entrepreneurs. Those who have given birth to every living creature and truly make the world go round.
We are a group of powerful women who just happen to also be in love. So let’s talk about that. Let’s live that out. If women are able to sit around and talk about how terrible marriage is -for hours on end- you and I have every right to speak about the flip side of that coin. We’re not bragging or boasting, we are simply sharing our positive marriage experience. And we should never ever feel the need to apologize for that.
Until tomorrow…make it a great day!
Why I Love My Husband (the never-ending list):
174. We are moving this weekend which can be extremely stressful. And I have 4 events over the 2 days we’re moving. That is tough. Keith has taken care of almost everything so I wouldn’t have to worry.
175. He sleeps…beautifully. Even when I’m on the computer in the middle of the night -just a few feet away- typing up a storm.
176. He loves me. Completely. Daily. Never assuming the love he gave yesterday will be enough to carry me through today.
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.
Awesome Bloggers Wanted! {& Link Up}
Happy Wives Club continues to grow by leaps and bounds and we are looking for a few select bloggers to join our team! On March 11th, we will unveil an all new Happy Wives Club site (the first redesign since launching in 2010 using the same template you see now) and this time, we will do so with a much larger HWC team (which could include you).
If you are a member of this club, love to write (and may I add, are a good writer), we’d love to hear from you! We are looking for a few select bloggers who know their way around the kitchen for our new FOOD section. As much as I’d like to be considered an expert for that section, I make exactly 5 dishes. All are fantastic, will be featured in the new section, but I’d hardly say knowing how to make 5 dishes perfectly makes me an expert. SO, if you love to cook, this is the section for you!
For those like me who love to travel, have a bit of airline mileage under your belt, our new TRAVEL section may be perfect for you. No matter if you arrived by plane, train, or automobile, if it’s a place you think our readers might want to go, we’d love you to write about it.
Do you and your husband make unique and creative DATE NIGHTS a weekly affair? Does ENTERTAINMENT for the entire family float your boat? If so, writing for these sections could be right up your alley. If you think YOU would be a great fit, Apply Here NOW! Qualifications can be found at the top of the application form.
If your plate is full at the moment or don’t think these topics are right for you BUT you know of someone who might be a perfect fit, please share this link with them and encourage them to APPLY NOW.
Until tomorrow…make it a great day!
Why I Love My Husband (the never-ending list):
171. He never makes me feel bad when I make bone headed decisions.
172. He holds me up when I’m feeling exhausted and inspires me to continue.
173. He wraps me in his arms when I’m down (as I was yesterday) and lets me know that tomorrow will bring about a new day and that new day will bring about greatness.
‘);
COMMENTS: With more than 96,000 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.
5 Special Gifts for National Husband’s Day
On January 22, 2014, we sponsored an unofficial new holiday: National Husband’s Day. A special day set aside for the nearly 1 million women in the Happy Wives Club community to celebrate our husbands.
Initially, my hope was we’d be able to get a government official to proclaim the day on our behalf. Our team began working on that and quickly realized the many complications of getting a date named as a holiday officially. But who needs official?
National Peanut Butter Day is one of my absolute favorite holidays. No government official has yet to recognize that officially but that doesn’t stop me from indulging in a few more spoonfuls of that tasty stuff just at the mention of its national holiday.
So let’s celebrate our special day together!
To make it easy, we’ve come up with 5 special (and free) gifts you can give your husband today to commemorate the occasion.
1. Print this certificate. If you didn’t get a chance to print this off last year, you may still want to print it now to let your husband know you’re a proud member of this club and because of his love, you’ve sponsored this day honoring him. This is the original sponsorship certificate so it includes the original 2014 date. Here is one dated for 2015.
2. Customize this proclamation. If you printed the above certificate last year as one of the original sponsors of National Husband’s Day (or even if you didn’t), we’ve created a customizable proclamation for you to give your husband this year. Customize it. Print it out (legal size paper). Frame it. Then deliver to him a gift sure to make him proud. (If your computer doesn’t allow you to customize the PDF, print this one to handwrite his name and your name instead).
3. Print a customized Book of Love. This fantastic DIY coupon book from The Dating Divas is something sure to knock your husband’s socks off. Surprise him with this creative book that gives him all the things he wants most…one coupon at a time.
4. Write the perfect love letter. Have you ever written your husband a love letter? Not just a few words at the bottom of a card but actually write the card yourself? If not, today’s a pretty fantastic day to sharpen your writing skills. To make it easy, here are 7 ways to write the perfect love letter.
5. Spoil your spouse date night. There’s no better night than tonight to spoil your spouse. This date night is all about doing what your husband loves to do. No marital compromise here –this is his night!
Any excuse to celebrate those fabulous hubbies of ours is a good enough excuse for me.
Until tomorrow…make it a great day!
We’re SO close to our goal! JOIN THE 1,000,000 MEMBER CHALLENGE: 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.
THE NEW YORK TIMES® BEST-SELLING BOOK: It’s been described as, “Like Eat, Pray, Love but not down on marriage.” Make sure to check out the Happy Wives Club book. I had the great honor of traveling to 12 countries on 6 continents, interviewing couples happily married 25 years or more, with 1 mission only: to find out what makes marriages happy…and keeps them that way. It’s a marriage book like none other. Guaranteed.
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