Entries Tagged 'True Life Story' ↓

I’m in a training session for work this week on change management. Basically the class is about how to get people to embrace change in an organization. It comes down to making people aware that a change needs to or is going to take place, build desire around the change, making sure people have the knowledge to implement and the ability to implement the change and reinforce the behavior.

Today in class we had to write about a change we wanted someone to make. The challenge was it was supposed to be a person away from work. Well in a room of mostly married people, the theme was pretty apparent - those annoying little habits our spouses have. As we shared the change we wanted to facilitate, the person leading the training said something very telling. She said “You see, everyone in the room is only looking at the problem through their own scope and not taking into account how the change effects the lives of the person of whom we’re asking to change.” And she’s right! Talk about being narcissist! When we ask our spouse to make a change, we really only see how the change changes OUR lives and not theirs.

It was a good piece of marriage advice that I got from the most unlikely of places - corporate training! The next time you ask your spouse to make a change, take time to find out how your request will impact them and make sure the change really needs to take place for your to feel complete.

Technorati Tags: corporate training, marriage, advice, husband, wife, change

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I knit. Randy does woodworking. These two hobbies go together like oil and water in terms of being able to do them together. There’s no way I’m going to sit in the garage knitting (especially with GOOD yarn) getting it messed up with sawdust and wood chips just for the sake of togetherness. It’s ok because we have activities and hobbies we do together. We both like to hike, although we don’t get to do it as much as we’d like. We both like doing redecorate/home improvement projects. It’s fun sitting down and figuring out how we’ll tackle the next project on the list. And we both love gardening.This past weekend we spent most of Saturday out working in the flower garden. I see you oogling the picture at the beginning of the post. And yes, that is a bouquet I put together from the flowers we grew together.I love that we each have our own thing because it gives us something to learn from one another, but I’m also glad we enjoy doing activities together.Marriage is about compromise, but it’s nice that we have activities that we agree on too.What do you and your spouse like to do together? Is there anything your spouse has gotten you into that you weren’t interested in before marriage?

Technorati Tags: hobby, hobbies, gardening, knitting, marriage, husband, wife, love, activity

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Arkansas parents, you can now rest easy because an old law allowing anyone to marry with parental consent has recently been repealed. No longer can your three year old beg to marry their preschool sweetheart. And we KNOW how persuasive the argumentative skills of a toddler can be! Um….yeah…

The 2007 bill that originally stated “In order for a person who is younger than eighteen (18) years of age and who is not pregnant to obtain a marriage license, the person must provide the county clerk with evidence of parental consent to the marriage.” The exact wording of the revision wasn’t made clear. Certainly the months leading up to this change were riddled with hillbilly jokes. Poor Arkansas….first the Clintons, now this. Continue reading →

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If you haven’t already noticed from previous posts, I am a reality show junkie fan. I don’t know, there’s something oddly soothing about seeing people on TV who are willing to air their dirty laundry. Makes me feel superior because I have nothing to hide. Hehehe…

Anywho…I have been tivo’ing on ABC and recently took some time to catch up. The premise is simple - “Hosted by comedian Pat Bullard, ‘Here Come the Newlyweds’ is all about relationships, the differences between men and women, and the universal issues that every couple must face.” Whoever wins can look forward to winning several hundred thousand dollars to start their life together. Pretty sweet, huh?

I try to remember back 6 years ago when I got married and wonder how that much money would have changed things. Of course, things would have been easier financially but I think the pains of learning to budget together and eat the occasional ramen noodle was good for us! We didn’t have money to go out and do lots of things, but we had each other. I think that having money would have been a blessing and a curse.

Ones thing I love about Here Come the Newlyweds is the dynamics of the couples (except for the beautiful blond couple - I smell marital trouble in short order). All the couples really seem to care for one another and it’s nice to see happy people on TV. I particularly like the Moutras - a couple from Houston Texas who currently live with TEN other relatives. They NEED that money - bad! Whew - could you imagine starting your marriage off living with 10 family members?

Technorati Tags: here come the newlyweds, abc, reality tv, marriage, husband, wife, competition

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Remember when you were little and you brought your mom, dad or other family member to school to talk about something great they did? Maybe your mom was a vet or your dad had some glamorous hobby like skydiving. Whatever it was, you were so proud to share something spectacular about your parent. When was the last time you were that excited to share something good about your spouse?

I have a dear friend, whom I love as much as family is going through a divorce. She’s like “That Girl” with a 6 year old and she’s settling into a new condo. She’s determined to make in on her own, but there’s no way I’m not going to do what I can to help. And if that means I can volunteer my husband to help, so be it.

My husband is strong and very handy. I like and LOVE that about him. As I watched him cut boards for my friend my heart did a little dance. Then when he turned a pipe with his bare hands much to her amazement, I felt my chest puff with pride. He’s a pretty awesome guy. I know this always, but I need to recognize it more.

On the way home I told him how great he was and out of the corner of my eye I saw him sit a little straighter and I saw the slightest glimmer of a grin.

What does your spouse do that’s amazing? Does he/she have amazing kitchen skills? Are they’re awesome at financial stuff? Do they know how to make a house a home on a shoestring budget? Whatever your spouse is good at, take some time to let them know how much you appreciate it! If you think you’ve been spending too much time complaining about the stuff that your husband or wife does wrong to friends and family, maybe try to replace a few of those negative comments with positive ones!

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