You were all likely too busy to notice, but I took last week off from this corner of the Internet to focus on spending time with my family. The week was jam-packed with family, friends, and a whole lot of good food. Yes, I made all of it, but it turned out really well and I’m pretty happy about it.

In the midst of the chaos my husband and I even managed to eke out a date night. I got some bad news about a family member and I just needed to get away from it all. We called up a babysitter and got lost in a movie. It was exactly what I needed.

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I don’t know about you, but my husband and I are horribly romantic when it comes to love songs. Each year, on our anniversary, we present each other with a mixed CD full of our favorite ballads. Then we put in a CD and spend quality time on the bear skin rug in front of the fireplace.

(Insert hysterical laughter, here.)

This is not to say that I do not like love songs, nor do I dislike “quality time” (Ahem). Certain songs will speak to me, as it were, and I find myself having an affinity for them. One song that could have been written by me (If I could actually write songs) would be Push, by Sarah McLachlan. It’s a little older, but kind of apropos.

One of my favorite songs from 2009 is Lucky by Jason Mraz and Colbie Callait. Mock me if you must, but it’s a Happy Song.

It’s that time of year where the “best of” lists are coming out. I’ll throw it back out to you - what’s your favorite love song?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock (If so, how is that working for you?) you have heard that Tiger Woods has had multiple affairs. This all came to light when the news reported his minor vehicle accident after his wife had chased him out of the house while swinging golf clubs. (Ironic, yes.)

I was not at all surprised at all by the story as I’ve always viewed Tiger as the kind of guy who might play the field a little. Or a lot. I didn’t pay a whole lot of attention to the story because, meh. It’s Tiger.

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Each year, my husband and I give each other an extensive list of items that we’d like to receive for Christmas. We don’t expect to get every item on the list; it just serves as an aide to the one that has to do the shopping.

You see, he has no idea about photography gear or makeup and I have no idea about tools or snowmobiling/hunting accessories. With a list, I can walk into Home Depot, find a helpful young man, bat my eyelashes while pointing at an item on the list and walk out of there with something scratched off of my husband’s list.

Last week, my husband informed me that he had finished shopping for me and I was going to LOVE IT.

I hadn’t given him a list yet, as I honestly don’t feel like I “need” anything. Needless to say, my curiosity is piqued. Scratch that. My curiosity JUST MIGHT KILL ME.

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I came across an article over at Yahoo! Shine titled, “5 Secrets For A Happy Marriage” and I agreed with every single point listed. There is no “magic formula” to making a marriage work; it takes commitment and a bit of common sense.

1. Respect. Absolutely. While I may make jokes about things my husband does, they are always with his knowledge and are something that we both laugh at. I refuse to treat him disrespectfully, either online or offline.

2. Courtesy. My husband and I, in almost ten years of marriage, have never called each other names in a disagreement (Or, ever). We might say something like, “What you did hurt my feelings,” but would never say, “You’re a stupid jerk.” Statement number two is neither courteous, nor conducive to a resolution.

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I read an article over at the NY Times parenting blog Motherhood which was titled, “Fixing an Unbroken Marriage.” This quote struck me: “Do you fear the snakes in your own marriage? Are you clearer about your job as a parent than your job as a spouse?”

My husband and I try to make a point of having a regular Date Night. “Try” is the operative word here. My twenty-year-old brother lives with us (It’s awesome. Really.) and part of the “room and board” deal includes him babysitting for us on a regular basis. Dude done got himself a girlfriend who went off to University, which means that he’s been traveling a lot to see her.

This means that Date Nights have been few and far between.

We’ve finally realized that a Plan B is in order and have rounded up a few great babysitters. I’m returning to an office job full-time in January and we’ve been invited to attend the Christmas party. Tonight. We’re going to get all gussied up, have a fancy night out, and have a half an hour each way in the vehicle to just talk.

We need the time as just the two of us in order to have a better marriage. Always and forever.

How about you? Do you need to fix your (unbroken) marriage?

My husband and I have been calling each other “Honey” (or “Hon”) since pretty much the start of our relationship. I don’t know why we picked that nickname, as opposed to another one such as “Love” or “Babe.” It somehow got started and we’ve been rolling with it ever since.

Well, I don’t always call him Honey. If he’s out in the yard or workshopshop and I need to call him, it sounds something like this:

“Honey? Hon? Honey! Hon! MATTHEW!!!” I’m a keeper, that’s for sure.

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