*~*~* Five Tips for Happy Couples *~*~*

Since the big BIG day of the year is coming up (that would be Valentine's Day) there are always these little tidbits on Yahoo, or other sites about relationships, etc that pop up to make us all better spouses, girlfriends - whatever. Well - I gave in and read one of them a few days ago & I've since had the chance to relay what I gleamed to several of my friends & my husband. They are seemingly good ideas - this one article talked about the five things that couples should do to maintain/create a close relationship. Some of them are semi-obvious ... others, not so much. So I will recreate what I can remember from this and maybe something from it will strike you as GENIUS and help your relationship in some way.

1. Pray together. This goes for couples who are not of the same religion or if only one is 'religious'. The reason that this works to bring couples closer together is because in having prayer or meditation, most often you are asking for things/blessings for other people. It allows your significant other to see the self-less side of you and helps you focus on the things in life that truly matter. Generally speaking, when your focus is on trying to help others, or at least having other people in mind - it causes you as a person to be better.

2. Be goofy together. The basics of this are that you have to be able to be silly around your significant other. Whether that is having a belching contest or putting make up on your husbands face ---- something to be a stress reliever and that allows you to step back from the mundane tasks of everyday life to relax a little bit. ONE FRIEND --- who shall remain nameless (BGJ) said that she and her husband think its goofy to fart on each other. They REALLY love each other!!!

3. Have independent activity. This one talked alot about how sometimes, people will lose themselves in a relationship. That you become "wife Jennifer", "mom Jennifer", "worker Jennifer" and you lose independance for things you enjoy. This can be a hobby you've always had or a class you want to take ---anything. That allowing your spouse to regain or maintain a sense of themselves shows your love and concern for them and also allows them to have something that is "theirs".

4. Have a wind-down chat every night. One couple called it their igloo time. After putting kids to bed, close down the household, etc., they would meet in their bedroom and have their wind-down, what-happened-to-me-today chat. Sometimes couples think they don't "need" this because they know their spouse and feel as though they are in touch with each others lives (work, home with kids) without having to hear about it. BUT - being able to vent to your spouse is so important for trust and security in your relationship. Let it all out!

5. FLIRT. You have to constantly feed the flame of your relationship or it can die out pretty fast. This can range from subtle hints about them in a sexual manner, to dropping notes, etc. There was one example on there that I LOVED. It was a husband talking about why being flirtatious with his wife improved their sex life so much. He said "Let's put it this way: The way I see it, sex is like chocolate cake. After five days of eating chocolate cake, even chocolate cake doesn't taste that great, but after five days of talking about chocolate cake? That cake tastes damn good."