RELATIONSHIPS

As I was driving home this afternoon, I spotted a dog running frantically through my neighborhood. I stopped the car and spent fifteen minutes trying to lure this creature, who couldn’t decide if he’d rather play with me or bite me, into the backseat. After several minutes of painful squatting and embarrassing baby talk, he finally ran the other way and hopped into another good samaritan’s car. It was a waste of my time but I had to stop. After all, he did need my help, right? I mean, he was a dog and it’s not his fault that he was scared and indecisive so of course, I would do it again. Unfortunately for myself and a whole lot of other women, the outlook on wasting our time to help those who may not want it, extends to grown men as well.

Happy Wednesday, ladies!

I started Hump Day off with my weekly parenting segment on Global TV. Today we chatted Monster Mother In-Laws. If you are currently dealing with Jane Fonda as your Monster-In-Law, I shared some tips and strategies.

All jokes aside, if you struggle with difficult in laws, please tune into today’s segment for tips on how to establish peace in the home.

Swiping to make your next best friend? Tinder-Style dating-style apps are helping women make new friends.

Yes, that was my topic for this morning’s weekly Global TV segment.

For years, I have been clinging to the sage words of one of my writing teachers, repeating them both aloud and internally, like a sacred mantra. Writing, he told me, is 10 percent talent, and 90 percent tenacity. That is likely true of most things in life. Whether searching for a literary agent, a publisher, a dream job, a relationship, persistence is clearly the way to success.

Somewhere in that equation though, I wonder if a certain percentage should be assigned to serendipity, that fortunate happenstance that surprises and delights. Serendipity, it would seem, was working for me recently when a new business acquaintance of mine was headed to New York City from his home in Vermont.

A big congratulation if you’re the owner of a brand spanking’ sparkly new engagement ring!

Wedding planning is very exciting but there are times when it can be incredibly stressful as well which is why a handy wedding checklist will be the thing you turn to again and again.

In today’s post, I give you a step-by-step wedding checklist to help you keep on top of everything. It’s based on a 12 month period, but it will give you a really good idea of what to do and when.

It’s time to GET OFF THE FENCE and plan your wedding!

By Guest Blogger Arlene Dickinson

I decided to share this because, well, it’s the holidays. Enough said.

I can’t imagine I am the only woman over 50, not married or in a serious relationship, that has been told by some well-meaning friend that it would be so good for me to find someone.

Find someone?

Is there a specific spot that I should look? Is there a lost and found pile that I can dig through to see if someone in there belongs to me? Perhaps there’s a room full of eligible smart kind men in a building somewhere I can’t locate. Of course I am kidding. I know people are well-intentioned when they say it.

Sometimes you need to take a step back in order to have the courage to walk forward and get what you want. In the case of one woman Sandy (not her real name), she took a six-month break from her marriage and it not only gave her the space she needed, it gave her the marriage she wanted…. a saved marriage.

Postnuptial agreements – they’re all the rage!

Just kidding, no they’re not.

We’ve all heard of the prenup.

But what about the postnup?

Yes, that is what some lawyers are recommending for spouses who put their careers on hold to have their children.

Prenuptial agreements have become so common among the 1 percent they are considered practically a given. But postnuptial agreements, those negotiated after a marriage has already taken place, are still rarities and an object of curiosity for much of the population. According to experts, however, their popularity is growing. In a 2012 survey conducted by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, 51 percent of divorce attorneys cited a rise in postnuptial agreements during the past three years. Perhaps an even more interesting number is the 36 percent of attorneys who noted an increase in wives initiating the requests.