A year or so ago I had a startling epiphany. Maybe you’ve already discovered this life truth (though likely never speak of it), but for me, the realization was profound: Every. Thing. Is. Manipulating. You. You’re being manipulated constantly by every person, every image, every interaction you have. But there’s more. YOU are also a […] Read more…
Oh Valentine’s Day. It’s ironic that that’s the day when I began this blog. 5 years ago today. How things change. How we all grow. For better or worse. For BOTH better and worse.
Many people start blogs. I’m not original in that. Some start blogs to make money. Some start blogs as a personal creative outlet. Some start blogs because they feel compelled to write and feel that they can’t help but do anything but. Read more…
If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, or subscribe to my emails, you’ve probably already seen this announcement. Or even if you saw it, you might not have taken much notice. But guys. I started a NEW website. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know, I have a hard time keeping this blog up-to-date, how in […] Read more…
While I also cover heavier marriage issues in my blog, this post deals with something a bit lighter, but still very important to the success of marriage relationships: Spending Quality Time Together, aka Date Night.
If you’re in a rut of trying to come up with ideas for date nights, or if you don’t really have time for date nights, or you don’t want to spend the money to hire a babysitter, these at home date night subscription boxes take care of most of the work for you. Read more…
I’ve said this before, but the best part of doing these date night box reviews is that they FORCE KP and I to spend concentrated, focused time together. That probably sounds pathetic, right? Here I blog all about marriage all the time and I don’t even have these awesome regular connection times with my own […] Read more…
In my head I’m saying a different word. I know I know, I shouldn’t swear. And I typically don’t. But shoot. Do you ever know what you’re supposed to do but you also know the ramifications of doing what you’re supposed to do and so you don’t want to do it? That’s where I am. […] Read more…
KP and I have been The Fantasy Box customers for years, and more recently began occasionally reviewing their boxes. I was extremely excited when I recently found out their recent line of boxes geared specifically for those couples wanting to spice up their TTC, postpartum and pregnant sex life!
I’ve mentioned this a few times elsewhere, but it took KP and I two years of TTC (trying-to-conceive) before we conceived our first child.
Let’s talk about TTC for a moment. Read more…
I’ve been working on my “instagram following” lately and finding other marriage instagramers. Which yes, basically means that I spend way too much time on insta following people and hashtags and trying to bump up my engagement levels there. I know you’re like, whatevs Ronni. I’m like whatevs too. But apparently it’s what we gotta […] Read more…
It’s a shame that we lump all the different kinds of love into the same word, obfuscating the differences between, and the beauties of, each kind of love that one is likely to feel in their lifetimes.
It’s also a shame that when most people think of “love” in the context of modern-day marriage, they assume that the love they have for each other will always be the same love. Almost everyone who enters into marriage does so under the guise of “being in love”, but I have a shocker for you:
The kind of love that you get married for is not the same kind of love that you’ll end up staying married for. Read more…
This has been one of the coolest little projects I’ve ever taken on. For awhile now, I’d considered writing a blog post about Why Get Married? Why Stay Married? (if you don’t understand why these questions are different – you’re probably either not married, or haven’t been for long.) similar in vein to my Why Have Kids? post. But knowing that I have the propensity to dive into topics a bit too deeply than most people care about, lol, I had another idea: What if I compiled a list of why other couples chose to get married and why they continue to stay married?
And that’s what I did!
I first reached out to some of the marriage bloggers I knew and liked. Surprisingly, several of them responded. So I started reaching out farther to more bloggers in different niches. I asked around in some of my blogging facebook groups – would anyone like to contribute? Bloggers I followed on Instagram but had never spoken to – I left them a message on their website. Read more…
Since I started blogging in the marriage niche, I’ve been fortunate to stumble upon a lot of other marriage blogs. Some marriage blogs I enjoy and consider to be some of the best marriage blogs, others blogs are not really my thing or what I’m looking for. Unfortunately, many marriage blogs I’ve found are:
• Written solely with a Christian audience in mind and only relatable to a Christian audience.
• Blogs that ONLY talk about the happy moments of marriage and feel unrealistic.
• Simple, pat, and cliched answers that don’t address the depths of where marriage struggles often end up.
• Focused on more general topics such as dating, relationships, sex, or weddings, rather than marriage itself.
There is nothing wrong with any of these things above! And in fact are great fits for many couples depending on what they’re seeking. However, I’ve instead been on the lookout for these kinds of marriage blogs: Read more…
KP and I have done quite a few of these boxes over the past couple years and so I’m pretty familiar with how these role cards work by now. Buuuutt…
Can I be honest? I hate to say it, but when I got this Red Party box in the mail and opened it up and read my role card?? I wasn’t sure what I thought about this particular fantasy scenario.
It wasn’t anything bad. It wasn’t past any of my boundaries (more on this later). It just, well, it wasn’t my style. I didn’t think I could pull it off. It was out of my comfort zone. Read more…
I have been talking to the creators of WeConcile for awhile now. I am very excited that their site is now up and running and that they gave KP and I a preview in order to take a look at their WeConcile Online Marriage Counseling Program!
You know that I’m a big fan of honesty. Especially when it comes to the struggles about marriage. I’m also a big fan of marriage commitment and finding a way to work through the tough times. One of the main goals of this blog is to try to get marriage resources to those who might need it — something I wish I had had when KP and I were struggling. Read more…
If you’ve followed my blog for any length of time, you’ll know that I’m not shy about talking about the hard times that come with marriage. But I’m also not shy in my belief that coupes can work through those hard times. I believe that most people WANT to have a happy marriage and they WANT to save their marriages even when they get tough…they just don’t know where to turn. So I’ve complied this list of Online Marriage Counseling programs to hopefully help other couples in need. Read more…
We just got back from a quick 2-night stay in Las Vegas. Yes, with our two young kids. Yes, and while I’m pregnant.
Though Vegas might not initially seem the prime vacation spot in our given situation, it ended up being a perfect trip for us. And it could be for you too – just because you have young kids (or don’t or can’t drink) it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a Vegas Vacation and I’m here to show you how you can do it too! Read more…
KP and I have been doing the Crated With Love date night subscription boxes for the past several months. I’ve been reviewing them on the blog to help people get an idea about what one of these at-home date night box services are like.
So this past Friday night -after a long week- KP and I sat down to have our date night. Can I be honest? Both of us were exhausted, and probably would’ve preferred to veg out in front of the tv instead. But we’ve been busy and haven’t even had many nights to spend together lately, so out of commitment and obligation, we forced ourselves to set up the date box anyway.
And let’s just say our date night did not turn out as planned. Read more…
As many of you know, one of things I try to do in my blog is to be honest about the trials and hardships of marriage. But because it’s obviously the marriage I know best, I usually only talk about mine and KP’s marriage. However, something I’ve been wanting to do for awhile is to ALSO highlight other people’s marriage stories.
Today I’m partnering with Vanessa who blogs at Fit Foodie Mom Life as she shares about some of the struggles she’s faced as a military wife and how deployments and long periods of absences have affected their relationship. She also gives encouraging suggestions about ways her marriage in the military survives. Read more…
To make things simple, let’s for a moment think about our country as a rather simplistic dualism, made up of two groups of people: the right/conservative and the left/liberal. The two sides don’t always have to agree on things, but for better or for worse, we’re united together as citizens of the same country. And we must find a way to work together.
Hmm. For better or for worse. That phrase sure sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Read more…
A couple weeks ago, someone in my facebook feed posted about a facebook group they’d recently been in where women were complaining about their husbands. My facebook friend’s status scolded these women who were bashing and trash talking their spouses, adamantly stating that we should NEVER speak negative things about our spouses in public. Ever.
As to be expected, there were lots of “you go girl!” type of replies, and even more post likes and loves and general agreeance.
Buuut…
Instead of just agreeing with the post, it got me to thinking. Read more…
If you have not already read my post “When Marriage Is Hard. Really, Really Hard“, I encourage the read in conjunction with this list. I personally believe that marriage is a sacred, life-long commitment and I’m a strong advocate of couples sticking things out and working through the hard times together…even the really, really, hard times. […] Read more…
(I’m no grammar shark, but I *believe* that “affecting” is the proper word in the title, right? Not ‘effecting’. If I’m wrong, someone please **politely** correct me and I’ll fix it, ok?) A few weeks ago, I received an email inviting me to be part of an affiliate program for a website that specializes in providing […] Read more…