I came across a Cosmopolitan article via msn.com that was titled, “The Secret Happy Couples Know.” The article gives a bunch of fun ideas for a couple to do together to keep their relationship fun and full of life.

I was excited to see this, because as I mentioned before, we can get a little bit boring on our date nights.

As I read through the list I thought that “becoming margarita connoisseurs” would be a lot of fun. We have spent time trolling through You Tube and laughing our heads off. We also spent part of our date last weekend in Value Village. Matthew found a t-shirt with the logo “Frick N’ Eh Beer” which he purchased (and then wore to Bible Study. Yes. Yes, he did.)

There are a few other suggestions in that article that I think we need to try out.

How about you? Any ideas to bring back the punch-drunk love?

I was shuttling the kids around the other day when Pink’s song, “So What?” came on the radio. For those who haven’t heard it, Pink and her husband have split up. In the song she sings about spending all of her money so that he doesn’t get any of it. (It’s a really fun song to sing at the top of your lungs when you’re having a bad day. Or so I’ve heard.)

It got me to thinking about the divorce rate not only among celebrities, but among those of us who are mere mortals. From what I have seen, divorces can get pretty messy when it comes to the division of assets. Who gets what, who is paid what, who looks after who financially after all is said and done.

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As I mentioned in my last post, Wednesday was our ninth wedding anniversary. He worked all day and arrived home with a bouquet of fresh flowers. I kissed him hello, put the flowers in a vase, then…left for the gym. On my way home I stopped at the local ice cream parlor and picked him up a huge piece of German Chocolate Cheesecake. When I arrived home we sat on the couch with the kids and watched American Idol.

Don’t fret; we’re going to celebrate our anniversary in style this weekend.

Celebrating our anniversary always involves dinner out, whether it be on the actual day or the closest weekend. As for gifts, we don’t usually buy them for each other. The first few years we were married, we took turns buying “larger” gifts for the two of us. The year that we bought our house I bought a meat smoker because my husband had been to Texas and fallen in love with the flavor of smoked meat. The next year I asked if we could splurge and completely outfit our yard with flowers and hanging baskets (we do that every year now, but things were tighter financially back then).

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This past little while my husband and I have been guilty of…coasting. We have both been pulled in many directions with work, life commitments and kids that our relationship has taken the brunt of it. Nothing is wrong and we aren’t having any problems, but we have just been a little disconnected. Not physically (I’ll stop there), but emotionally.

By the time we survive the day, get the kids to bed and finish chores/work that needs to be done we are tired. If we aren’t quite ready to call it a night we will curl up on the couch and watch one of the many shows that have piled up on the PVR. While the cuddle time is nice, it is not exactly what I would call “quality time.”

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While perusing the Internet for a relationship article I came across this one on MSN titled, “Always Kiss Each Other Goodnight.” One of the quotes from the article made me nod and smile:

When you never forget to kiss each other good night, you create a life raft, and you can’t float away so quickly because you acknowledge each other, pause, connect and express your love.

At the risk of sounding more street than my white background could ever live up to, I have but one thing to say.

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Matthew and I have come to a place in our lives where we are feeling burdened with all that we have on the go. I have three part-time jobs, as does he. We balance our work load so that one of us works while the other one deals with school drop-off and pickup, groceries, errands, meal preparation, etc. One of us is working while the other one parents, and then we make the switch so the other one can attempt to scratch a few things off of their to-do list.

There are also many evenings spent with dueling laptops on the kitchen table after the kids are in bed so that we can try to keep up. Throw in kids’ activities and an attempt to keep in touch with our friends, and we are feeling as though every spare minute of our lives is full to bursting.

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I read a post over at The Frisky about an airline that wants to hold in-flight wedding ceremonies. As for me, the thought of getting married in a squishy airplane cabin with recirculated air has absolutely no appeal. Can you imagine trying to use the tiny airplane bathroom while wearing your wedding dress? But, eh. To each his (or her) own.

The post mentioned some other kooky wedding places, such as a candy shop wedding, a Taco Bell wedding, Barbie weddings and a Hello Kitty wedding.

Would you/did you have a “unique” wedding, or attend one at some point?

On my last post, my friend Jen left a comment (You know, before the comment gong-show happened) which included the following:

And I love that there is someone on the internet writing about how much she loves to serve her husband, even in small ways. It’s rare.

I nodded in agreement and then thought that the majority of people who read this column might find that phrase a little odd. A woman who serves her husband? That’s just crazy talk. We are women! In 2009! We are equal, if not better than our husbands! I’m not going to serve a man.

I wholeheartedly disagree with that train of thought.

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This past week I had a post up over at The Daily Grommet which is all about the cookies that I make for my (chocoholic) husband and (by default) my (chocoholic) children. The kids refer to said cookies as “Daddy’s Cookies.”

If you know me at all, you know that I crave salt a million times more than I crave chocolate. I like chocolate, yes, but would choose a bag of Doritos over a cookie any day. I’m not even kidding. Though cookie dough comes in a close second…

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