LIFE

Dealbreakers...real or just another barrier to love?

It doesn’t take rocket science to know that appreciation makes even the hardest work go by more smoothly, however, it bares some serious examination at the notion that appreciation can affair proof a marriage. I suspect appreciation is an insurance policy against lots of potential relationship bumps and pit falls.

“The problem is my friends and family don’t like him.” That is how I started a recent conversation with a client. Honestly, that is how I’ve started many conversations with clients. Here’s the rub, that really is a problem.

My grandmother used to say, “Cows hang out with cows.” At age nine that adage didn’t make a lot of sense to me. However, through the years, I’ve grown to understand that everyone hangs out with people who are similar. If you aren’t similar to your peers in the beginning, chances are you will become more and more alike as time goes on. Marriage satisfaction is no exception -- and most importantly, it’s contagious.

The question of the day, “Will I have any luck on Match.com?” This question is interchangeable with any dating site of your choice. At least six people I know will read this article this week and think I was writing about a conversation with them. I get that question so often, I’m thinking about writing a brochure, keeping them in my purse, and just handing them out when the subject comes up. Part of the reason I get asked the question so often is because I wrote a book on relationships and I’m a relationship coach. The other reason is, I met my beloved on Match.

If you're relationship isn't top on your to-do list, it might be time to re-prioritize.

There's been a lot of talk lately about women's sexual health. Either we're not doing it, or we don't feel like doing it, or don't like the feel of doing it. I fall squarely into that third category, because when it comes to matters of the old in-and-out, my girl parts are afraid of boy parts. Sounds ridiculous, I know. But I have a doctor's note. My condition is called vaginismus. It's basically a gag reflex for your downstairs, or like the mythical vagina dentata, but without the badass peen-chomping teeth. It's goes a little something like this: Say I'm about to get down to business with my best guy. We're hot, we're heavy, we're headed to the bedroom. All casual-like he sidles his yang on up to my yin, and at the first whiff of that quivering member, we have a lockdown situation. My cooter shuts up tighter than a Chinese finger trap. Nothing's getting in. Not nobody, not no how.

Loving him isn't the best indicator of whether you should break up.

When we understand our motivations we might actually better understand love itself.

You may have noticed the new LoveMom logo popping up around YourTango in the past week. No, you're not hallucinating. LoveMom is a new blog we're launching on the intersection of love, life and kids. What does this mean? Primarily, it means that we're not bringing you your typical mom blog content.

Maybe the path to the best relationship ever is the path from one party to the next.

Can dating save your marriage?