About Relationships

Love truly heightens every emotion. From recognizing the love for another person, one can almost instantly feel the change in perspective in their lives and their aspirations for the future. However, much like any other foundation, love must be founded on solid grounds for a relationship to grow. Taking care of love and relationships will require work from both parties and a conscious effort on a daily basis.

But just as it is a mystery as to why the love bug hit you, falling out of love is also a mystery. Some people don’t even realize when they are falling out of love because it happens so gradually. For others, it is just too obvious to be ignored. Falling in love may be confused with infatuation or a strong first impression, but falling out of love will hit you head on.

- During the honeymoon stage, you spend a lot of time communicating whether it is just through the phone or email. However, when falling out of love this communication greatly decreases. Communication will decrease both in quality and quantity. The frequency greatly decreases and you can see that it may not be as thoughtful or special as it once was.

- Time spent together also decreases in quality and quantity. What used to be a regular weekend date schedule now turns into every other week or once a month. For couples living together, the time spent together or outside the home decreases as one may be unavailable for most time for one reason or another. There seems to be less quality time as well as time spent together may be bland or boring. Sometimes, each person is so engaged in their own activities and responsibilities that they don’t make time to do things together.

- Time is now spent with other people compared to the times spent together growing the relationship. The other partner may also be found talking about other things and other people and rarely mentions the other partner.

- The communication is different than it was before and no longer feels special anymore. Before, spending time together was filled with fun and laughter. When falling out of love, the communication no longer seems fun or happy anymore. Sometimes, communication can even be more negative, filled with arguments over little things.

- One may also feel that the partnership is falling away because they feel they don’t know the other person on a deeper level and that decisions are made individually instead of working it out together.

- The other person may also feel more moody as feelings are being gauged and monitored at this point. What is truly ecstatic in one moment can turn into a feeling of sadness or emptiness for no reason at all.

- A simple but very helpful sign is having that gut feel that the relationship isn’t the same as before. Knowing that this is a true gut feel and not just paranoia will help you see whether your love is now faltering or not.

Criss White is a professional article writer for relationships, wedding, and various other topics. To view some heart wedding favors or to get some cinderella wedding favors, visit Bridal and Wedding Favors.

This concept of happiness is something everyone aspires to have every now and then. They engage to relationships thinking that it is a way to make them happy. They never realized that it could make them unhappy at the end of the day. There is no constant happiness or an idea of happy-ever-after like fairy tales. Though we all want or most of us want to live in a fairy tale, it is just impossible. Life is not a fairy tale. It is for real. The objective should not be to live like that. It should be to live life at your best and make the most of it. Living a life without any worries is a kind of life every person wants to have. Perhaps, a self defense product with you could make you feel like that when you walk in the street alone but life is more than that. Like, there is always an interrupted bliss of problems.

The struggles and hardships of life make it more challenging to live life. I don’t think it is sane for someone to want happiness all the time. There should be some sort of struggle. It is normal for people to quest or to search for something more. I think it is fun that way. It is the idea of being lost. When you are lost, you want to find your way back. Happiness is relative. What may be happiness for you may not be happiness for me. It is way different for every individual. So there is no template of happiness. We all live with our desires and dreams. If something makes us happy, then I think it is worth keeping and remembering. We all have our best days. And it is not always a best day in everyday of our lives. Maybe you think happiness is when you have friends with you talking about the realities of life and what not. Or someone you could talk with about love and relationship. These are just simple things that create a moment of happiness.

You may feel weird sometimes when you do stupid things but it is part of growing up. You will just find yourself laughing when you realize you are being stupid or something. Life is a choice. We are given so many choices. It is a matter of knowing what you want or desire. Happiness may not come now in your life but it will come soon. Just be patient. Your partner might be also waiting for you if you are desperately looking for someone you can share your life with. Yet again, it is a matter of waiting. Do not push things which are not meant to be the way you like it. Everything has a course. Just take it easy and enjoy every single thing you engage yourself in. It is not a kind of game that you play randomly. Do not take life seriously. You should smile and laugh and have fun with the best people in your life. In addition, it is also a time for you to think over things and refresh your thoughts about the possible things that offer happiness to you. These maybe are the things that you deem important and in your priority list to accomplish and nurture. I think little things that you do every day means big things to other people already. And I think that’s happiness as well.

Joseph Pressley is a certified TASER instructor and a Tae Kwon Do black belt and a father of two. He is the co-founder of BestStunGun.com which provides a good variety of Pepper Spray and Stun Gun for personal protection. To learn more on how these products can save your life, please visit http://www.beststungun.com.

When your boyfriend ends your relationship, all you can think of is getting him back as fast as possible. That sort of mind set will cause you to make mistakes and eventually end your relationship for good. If you want to get your ex back, you have to know how to get back in his life. That will require you to contact him and that is the tricky part.

If you try to force yourself back into his life by telling him you cannot live without him, he will pull farther away. So, you will have to exercise patience and take it slow. He broke up with you for a reason and to get your ex back, you need to give him a reason to want you again. The ideal way of having contact with your ex is to make him contact you.

You can do that if you have the patience and discipline to give him up for a while. How long should you give him up? This is where many women lose the battle. You have to have no contact with him for at least a month. That might seem like a century to you, but it will take that long for your ex to begin to miss you. Unless you can make him miss you and want you back, it will be over.

You need to make him want you back, and the only way that will happen is to let him experience life without you. As long as you keep trying to get him back by staying in his face that cannot happen. In order to get back in his life, you have to get completely out of his life for a while. Nothing will get an ex boyfriends attention faster than being ignored.

When he broke up with you, he expected you to come after him, crying and begging. If you have already been doing that, you need to stop immediately. If you have not been chasing him, don’t start. By ignoring him and disappearing from his life, he will be curious as to why you are not trying to get him back. Before long, he will be wondering if you have found another boyfriend.

All of this will take a month or more, so as I said to begin with you have to have patience. But, after the suitable time has passed it will be time to make contact with him. There are many ways of doing that, the Internet offers several, such as face book, my space and of course email. You might even think of sending a text message or giving him a phone call. But, the best way to contact your ex boyfriend after a breakup is face to face.

You know where he hangs out, so it should be easy to ‘accidentally’ run into him. You will want to look your best and act surprised to see him. Be cheerful and friendly, but don’t hang around. After some small talk tell him you are sorry, but you are meeting some people and have to go. Then add that it was nice seeing him and you would like to talk some more. Tell him he has your number and feel free to call.

This is an easy way to establish contact with your ex and get things going, so you can get back in his life. When the communication starts again, it will not be long before you will be dating again.

If this is the man for you, don’t give up. There are other proven methods to make him love you like never before. Bad mistakes can ruin your relationship for good. To avoid these fatal mistakes, you need proven steps to get your ex boyfriend back and keep him. What you should and shouldn’t do can be found at this Helpful Site.

Honesty is the best policy. That is a mantra that many live by and almost all of us have heard it at some point in our lives. But do we really believe in it or is it just something we say? Is being honesty a thing of the past? Do we live in an era where cutting corners and not being honest rule our lives?

I have lived the last year of my life being honest. Sometimes it has worked for me and sometimes it has not but I’ve done it just the same. I was forthright with a woman sometime ago and she told me that I should probably not tell as much. I was like really? “Thought y’all women wanted an honest man?” Well I took mental note of her advice…didn’t use it but I listened. LOL. Some will say they want a man who is honest and forthright yet when confronted with such a man…they may question things said or it becomes too much and they move on. One of my partners feels that you don’t need to tell a woman everything, not be dishonest, just don’t tell her everything. Guess you can say the situation dictates.

I do believe there must be honesty. When a person is honest, it creates a level of comfort for them and their partner. It creates intimacy and true intimacy is in the moment honesty, being comfortable enough that you can be open and honest with your partner; knowing fully well they will accept you…no matter what.

I went out with a lot of women in the last year and have been honest with them all; though some may not agree. I had met a female on match and grew quite fond of her. But we did have one fundamental difference in opinion in one particular area. I don’t believe in placing all of my eggs in one basket, in short I choose to date until I’m sure that the individual is the one or until we have “the talk.” She on the other hand, did not. So after making my view clear, I simply chose to leave it at that. I figured I had made it clear how I felt and that I was not going to change my stance. Shawty, a good friend of mine made a very good point the other morning when we talked. She said I have the ability to think about things without my emotions. She is very correct and I have used that in my dating. I even had another friend question my “selection” process because it sounded cold or emotionless. She said I sounded like I was willing to settle.

Well my lady friend and I talked a lot and she came out to meet and see if there was any chemistry. There was, so much that I went out to spend x-mas with her since my ex had our kids. Well long distance relationships are tough to maintain especially when you have nothing but phone contact. Well linking up became difficult and around the beginning of the New Year we had an argument and for me…it was a flag. We just seemed to argue more and didn’t connect as we did prior to x-mas. In the end we never recovered. I was honest about what I wanted from a relationship and so was she, but after two failed marriages, I simply choose not to compromise on what I want; that included being honest. So we went back to that fundamental difference and she wanted to change I however felt that it was a difference that you can’t change. What you believe is what you believe and is a core value. Core values do not change.

Now there is one thing I don’t think you should ever be honest about…and that’s cheating. Now, this is requires emotionless conceptual thinking from this point forward. So think about what I’m about to say and try and do so without emotions. Cheating and then coming clean doesn’t do anything for anyone except the cheater. It gives them some relief and it allows them to clear their conscience while the party that was cheated on is typically devastated. Why do they get to use the “honesty play” to get the weight off their back? I think this is one case where lying is a must and should be implemented at all cost. I mean you did the dirt…you should have to live with the consequences of your actions. If it haunts you…then good, it should do just that. So is honesty the best policy? How much honesty do you give and when is it ok to be dishonest? Those are questions that only you can answer.

Life long interracial dater and father of two.

Posted: December 24th, 2011
Categories: Dating
Tags: advice, Dating, honesty, interracial, lie, Love, relationship, truth
Comments: No Comments.

Halloween. Every year it’s a challenge to be creative and accommodating to my I’m-not-wearing-that sweetie at the same time.

I love creative costumes. My ex was cooperative. He once allowed me to dress him as a topless dancer. The boobs I made for him out of balloons, cut up pantyhose, and baby bottle nipples would have been more convincing had I been able to get them the same size. Regardless, the costume was a big hit and I suspect-based on how well he carried it off-that my ex rather enjoyed the wig and the fishnets.

Dale, my adored husband, on the other hand, is not so cooperative. Not in a million-make that a trillion-years would he wear the topless dancer costume. If Dale had his way, we’d nix the costume thing entirely. He’s rejected some great ideas. For example, I once suggested we dress as the bottom-line and the headline. One of us would wear a big butt (think of the Fruit of the Loom guys) and the other would wear a big head (think of Mr. Potato Head). Each would have a big black line diagonally crossing it. Cute and, if I say so myself, downright clever. Alas, my creativity has gone unrealized. Deep sigh.

The Halloween-costume-thing isn’t the only difference between us. I adore board games. Dale is bored by them. He loves fun in the sun. Breaking a sweat makes me cranky. He’s a classical musician and won’t watch American Idol with me. I read legal thrillers; he reads nonfiction about things like the history of cod fishing (really) and from that you can only guess how “similar” our taste in TV is. Although our differences are sometimes a source of frustration, there’s a really cool thing about having differences and it’s this:

While I’m never going to read a book about cod fishing, I enjoy the more interesting tidbits Dale shares with me. He’s not going to read the latest legal thriller, but he enjoys it when I read a particularly good bit of prose to him or share an interesting plot twist. I’ve heard music I might never have otherwise known about. I tell Dale enough about what’s happening on American Idol for him to be up-to-date and conversant with coworkers. In other words, each of us shares the highlights of our interests with the other. That gives us something to talk about and makes us more interesting, not only to each other, but to the rest of the world. It helps broaden our horizons. For example, I love opera because Dale introduced me to it and can tell me the story behind every one of them. And that’s just the beginning of how, by sharing our differences, we’ve made our lives fuller.

Our differences also allow some separateness. Dale shares fun in the sun with his friends when they go hiking or cycling, giving me the opportunity to drag out my craft supplies and make scrapbook pages for my granddaughters. When Dale comes home, he tells me all about his day and I display my handiwork for him to praise.

Differences make you interesting and open doors for you to broaden your own interests, point of view, and horizons. Differences. Embrace them.

Speaking of differences, that gives me an idea for this year’s costumes. I’ll go as a neat freak and he can be an explosion. Hmmm . . . do you think he’ll go for it?

Shela Dean is a Relationship Happiness Coach, speaker, and Amazon bestselling author of Frequent Foreplay Miles – Your Ticket to Total Intimacy, available through Amazon.com and other booksellers. Shela’s common-sense approach to relationship advice has helped many couples improve emotional intimacy.

The first thing you need to decide when choosing a diamond engagement ring is what type of ring you want to buy. The second consideration should be your budget. Shopping for a solitaire ring is different than shopping for a cluster ring or diamond band. And the criteria for how to shop for each of these items varies as well. You want to stay within a budget so you can feel comfortable about your jewellery purchase.

Decide on how much you want to spend before you go shopping and stick as close to your budget as possible. This not only narrows your choices and saves you time, it prevents you from having “buyers remorse” later on.

You will want to spend a little more for a quality piece that is well made and contains the highest quality stones you can afford. Cheaper jewelry is often not made as well, leaving the jewelry vulnerable to breaking or dropping stones. Also, the jewels in budget jewelry are often inferior which becomes obvious when you wear the piece.

For a diamond solitaire ring, the quality of the diamond is important. First, determine what size solitaire you can afford. Diamonds are sold by the carat weight, with one carat representing 200 milligrams of actual weight. The larger the carat weight, the more expensive the stone. The C in the word “carat” represents the first of four words beginning with C (or the four C’s ) that are used to measure a diamonds worth.

Then second thing you should look for in a solitaire is the color. This is the second of the four C’s. Diamonds come in many colors, both natural and lab created stones. Diamonds come in almost every color under the sun, including brown, yellow, pink, blue and red. Colored diamonds are referred to as fancy stones. Natural fancy stones (as opposed to lab created ones)of high quality are extremely rare, however, and therefore very expensive. The most expensive diamond in the world is a blue diamond from India that sold in December of 2008 at a Christie’s auction for $24.3 million. Most people are on a budget and therefore choose to stay with the white or clear diamonds. These stones are graded on how pure the color is. Pure white, with no tinge of yellow, are the highest valued stones.

After you have decided on the carat and color of your diamond, you need to consider the third C on our list or clarity. Most diamonds contain microscopic bits of carbon spots known as flaws. Some of these spots can be seen with the naked eye and some are invisible unless the stone is viewed under magnifying loop. The fewer these flaws, visible or not, the higher the value of the Diamond. The highest valued diamonds are those with no flaws or F for flawless. Most diamonds fall in the VS category, or Very Slight inclusions only visible with magnification. You can buy a VS diamond of half a carat or more for a reasonable amount of money if you shop around.

The last factor you need to decide on is the last C in our list or Cut. The cut of a diamond has a huge effect on how it presents. If the cut is wrong, the stone will not sparkle or show to its full potential. The cut must be extremely precise and delicate to release the diamonds brilliance by reflecting the most light. Choose your cut wisely.

There are many varieties of diamond shapes you can choose from, but the quality of the cut is the most important factor to consider when choosing on one. The cut diamonds are rated as “Very Good” “Good” “Fair” and “Poor”. Choose the best grade of cut you can afford, as the more a diamond sparkles, the larger it appears. If you consider the four C’s, do your homework and stick to a budget, you will end up with a high quality diamond piece that will give you years of pleasure.

Why its important to avoid conflict diamonds in Edmonton engagement rings or Vancouver engagement rings is a topic that warrants continued debate. The Canadian Jewellery Directory enforces a code of ethics among Canadian Jewellers.

Looking for commitment in all the wrong places, or from the wrong people? You may have just missed some vital clues. The following are some of the things you should look out for in a relationship.

We all know the blissful feeling of starting a new romance. Boy meets girl, boy likes girl and the two fall deeply in love. As their relationship develops, girl starts to envision the day that boy will get down on bended knee and ask her to be his partner for life. She daydreams about their life ahead. As more of her friends begin to settle down, girl believes it is just a matter of time before her turn arrives to get a place on the happily-ever-after train. Never one to take matters into her own hands, and make it clear to boy that time is ticking, girl waits. And waits. Soon, girl begins to wonder if he’ll ever commit, or if she should simply give up and move on. Are there any particular signs girl could have seen to determine whether boy was ready to settle down with her? As these questions continue to run through her mind, girl knows that either way, something will have to give.

Is He Commitment-Friendly?

There are men who don’t have a problem committing and those who will never commit. There is a general window when a man is most likely to commit. This is usually within two years after completing his education, whether it is at the undergraduate level or higher. This could also be true for a major milestone in his life. A man who intends on settling down is more likely to do so afar achieving a big goal because he feels well established and able to deal with the next phase of his life. The more financially secure he feels, the more open he will be to committing.

The temptation to quit when things get hard is natural. And it is during such times that commitment becomes more of a decision than a feeling. Any woman desiring to be in a committed relationship should have a clear idea of the values she wants her potential partner to have, and pay attention to warning signals throughout the relationship. Women fall into the trap of choosing the wrong man. If you get a sense that there is something wrong with him, like having had a string of past relationships, or children by different women, leave him alone immediately. Getting drunk can be fun, not when the mortgage is due. If you are hoping to settle down and have been in a relationship for more than 12 to 18 months without any sign of commitment from his end, it is time to re-evaluate. If you do go ahead with it, make sure you are ready to live with the consequences.

Contrary to the go-getter characteristic afforded men, most commitment-friendly guys need to be cajoled when it comes to committing. It comes down to a fear of rejection. You have been going out with a guy who adores you, whether or not he says it. He enjoys making love to you, but additionally, he likes hanging out with you. Nonetheless, he has not committed himself fully. …He is definitely terrified about commitment. So if you are in a relationship you hope will lead to marriage, make sure that your man is aware of it. Men will tend to react negatively when a woman brings up the idea of cementing a relationship, however, by doing so, the man will know where she stands and he can proceed from there. Men are much more likely to propose or pursue a relationship when they know they will be welcome. If you don’t bring it up, the chances are slim that he will.

Women have been conditioned to believe that men are supposed to do all the initiating, which is simply not true. Remember, however, that while it is OK to plant the idea, there is a fine line between getting your point across and nagging your man about your ticking biological clock.

As your relationship develops, make your boundaries clear where fidelity is concerned. Many women are afraid that their man will get uneasy if they insist on fidelity. Your man would like you to desire only him… albeit your guy may dissent or behave as if the statement is daft, he will definitely be relieved and take one gigantic stride in the direction of commitment.

What About Her Will Make Him Commit?

When a man is ready to commit, he cedes some of his independence, especially with regard to decision-making, to you. Your opinion of the things you both do matters a lot. When a man is running stuff by you, he is having you fulfill one of the more critical functions of a wife: vetting and validation of your decisions. Trust, loyalty and a simple acceptance of who (not what) he is, are qualities a man needs when it comes to settling down with his woman. If he feels that his relationship is lacking in these areas, he will not be ready. But ceding some of his independence is a gradual process. If a man feels that he is losing too much of his independence too fast, he is likely to pull away from you. Give him the confidence that he’s still a guy and can nonetheless travel light, up to a point, by being easy about time he requires away from you. Your guy will desire to know that you’re your own person. Even though men appreciate feeling required, those who are open to commitment are equally pleased when they realize you are able to run your personal ship without having their assistance.

Your opinion of who he is, personality-wise, starts to matter a lot to him when he is ready for commitment because he is opening himself and his vulnerabilities up to you.

Signs to Watch Out For

1. Ask, ask, ask. Make your goals clear to your man. If he still doesn’t get it, he’s not getting it anytime soon.

2. If it feels like you are constantly swimming upstream when it comes to getting your man to fully commit to you, you’re working too hard.

3. Recent divorcees or people who have just come out of a long-term relationship are quicker to commit to a rebound relationship. Be wary of them if stability is what you want.

4. While waiting too long for a sign of commitment is not a good sign, the same is to be said of the opposite. Be very wary of a man who insists that he loves you merely after weeks of knowing you and is overly eager to commit in a short amount of time. Such declarations are usually not genuine.

5. If he is continuously keeping you hidden from his social and professional circles, something is not right. A man who is looking to commit will make it a priority to introduce you to his friends and family.

6. If he tells you that he is not ready to commit to you, believe him.

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Are you heartbroken by the loss of a love affair that you thought would last forever? No matter what others tell you at this time, you feel that you will never be able to recover from this jolt. Heartbreak can be very debilitating, and people who have just suffered a brutal end to a relationship can actually feel physically ill for a long time. Depression can have very physical manifestations such as pain in the chest, digestive problems leading to stomach aches, and insomnia.

You will get over being heartbroken eventually, but how long are you willing to wait for this to happen? If the process of getting over heartbreak takes too long, it can have a very negative effect on your life. You therefore have to get your life back together at the very earliest so that you can be ready to face the next challenge. There is more to getting over depression than just waiting for time to heal all wounds, and there are specific steps that you can follow to repair your broken heart.

At the very outset, you have to see things from a larger perspective. You have to understand that this is just one part of your life and that this is only a temporary phase, no matter how bad it seems right now. You should also allow yourself the luxury of grieving over the lost relationship because this will enable you to go beyond it. If this involves wallowing in misery listening to only romantic music while you weep copious tears, then so be it. You will emerge from it feeling much better since you would have released a lot of pent up emotions. It is most unhealthy to suppress these emotions and if you do so, they will be manifested in physical symptoms and ailments.

Your friends can play an important role when you are heartbroken. They should give to the time to grieve while they prevent you from doing things that are harmful to you. Many people resort to the artificial crutches of alcohol and drugs when they are heartbroken and this can leave them with lifelong addictions and a bigger problem than they had before.

This is also the time that you might feel tempted to take the help of ice creams and chocolate and this can cause you to put on lots of weight. Apart from being bad for your health, this can effectively reduce your chances of forming another relationship easily.

Your friends will also help you understand what went wrong with the relationship that caused it to break. Hopefully, this should help you avoid making the same mistakes in the future. There is no use in blaming yourself for what happened. Instead, you should try to see what you can do to save yourself from being heartbroken ever again in your life.

You deserve to have a happy life and if you follow these pointers you will emerge from this phase of your life as a much stronger person.

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Remember when you and your sweetheart first met? You counted the minutes until you saw him again. You called just to hear her sweet voice. The air was alive with the snap, crackle & pop of sexual energy. You couldn’t get enough of each other and you were always on your best behavior. It was easy to be playful.

Then, you settled into a routine and began to share everyday life. Being on best behavior is like holding in your stomach. You can’t do it forever. Eventually, the real you, foibles and all, made an appearance. It wasn’t and isn’t always pretty. Playfulness takes a back seat when he has to duck and take cover during your PMS tirade…or she has to put up with your road rage…or she promises but forgets to pick up your good suit from the cleaners and you have the most important meeting of your life the next morning…or he helps himself to a piece of the cake you made for a coworker’s birthday party…or when any one of the bazillion annoying things that can happen does.

What’s more, the mind-numbing fatigue that comes with everyday life has a way of squelching playfulness. When you were jacked up on new love hormones, you could shrug off the week from hell, strap on your dancing shoes, and let the good times roll. Now, when what used to be date night arrives, you too often find yourselves on the couch in your sweats, sharing delivery pizza and watching a Netflix DVD. Instead of lounging in bed after Saturday morning sex, you get a head start on weekend errands. It’s easy to slip into the rut you said you’d never fall into.

When playfulness disappears it leaves room for negative emotions such as crankiness, irritability and ill humor. That sucks. Playfulness inspires laughter. Laughter reduces stress and triggers feel-good hormones like endorphins. That does not suck. So, here are three ways to bring playfulness back and keep it alive:

Think like a child: Children find joy in play, often in the simplest things: a squirt gun, a Frisbee, a yo-yo, blowing bubbles, sidewalk chalk, a game of Twister, pillow fights, hide ‘n seek, a wading pool. Take a hint! It’s okay to act like children, even be silly, especially when to do so results is a good laugh or a fit of giggles. The cool thing about being playful adults (as opposed to playful children) is that it’s also okay if play takes you straight to the bedroom or, when you pull the cards out, you play strip poker instead of Go Fish.

Put fun on your schedule: Pick an activity (or two…or three) that will be fun for both of you and put it on your calendar as a regular, recurring event. Sign up for dance or cooking lessons, or join a bowling league or a co-ed softball team. It doesn’t matter so long as you both find it fun. Surprise your sweetie by scheduling a one-night stand and discover (or rediscover) the joys of hotel sex. Have a black-tie dinner for two and wear nothing but black ties. Use your imagination.

Flirt shamelessly with each other. Flirting is fun, sensual and titillating. Whisper in each other’s ear. Wink across a crowded room. Send suggestive text messages. Tuck her hair behind her ear. Adjust his tie. Dance provocatively. Whatever it was that worked in your dating days, just do it again. And, since you’ve past those early relationship days, you’re free to take it to a new level of sensuality and titillation! Toss caution to the wind and just go for it.

Playfulness. We can all use more of that.

Shela Dean is a Relationship Happiness Coach, speaker, and Amazon bestselling author of Frequent Foreplay Miles – Your Ticket to Total Intimacy, available through Amazon.com and other booksellers. Shela’s common-sense approach to relationship advice has helped many couples improve emotional intimacy.

Finding the perfect diamond engagement ring for the woman you love can be an anxious time. You want to ensure that she will love the ring so you want to make sure you do not make any mistakes when looking over all of the different kinds of diamond rings. When you start your shopping for the perfect ring, you should have the knowledge about what to look for to help you narrow your search. Below are a few tips to selecting the perfect diamond engagement ring:

1. The key to picking the best diamond for the ring is to understand the 4 C’s of diamond buying. The 4C’s stands for Color, Carat, Cut, and Clarity. Diamond carat is the measure of its weight. The carat weight is a determining factor in the price of the diamond which is helpful to know if you have to keep to a strict budget. The cut of a diamond means the angles and proportions that are created when the rough diamond is polished. Diamonds that have the following features: sparkling, have a quality reflection, do not contain any flaws, and are clear, will be assessed as a high quality diamond and will be quite expensive.

2. When it comes to diamond rings, there are many shapes and styles available. A relatively new shape called the ‘Princess Cut,’ is becoming quite popular. The Princess Cut is called a square/rectangular modified diamond. The most popular diamond shape is the round diamond. Other fancy shape diamonds include: heart, marquise, oval, pear, emerald, elongated, radiant and heart. There are even diamond rings that come as a single stone and rings with more than one stone in the setting.

3. It is important to find out the size of ring she wears. There are ring sizers that you can order to help you determine the right size ring to buy. You can also ask her friends and family for help on the ring size. As well, you can also temporarily borrow one of her rings and take it to the jewelry store or use a printable ring chart available on many jewelry websites. Another tip to determining her ring size is to press one of her rings into a small bar of soap such as hotel soap to get an imprint of the ring. Use a ring sizer to match the imprint.

4. It is important to select the right setting for a diamond ring. Different types of settings include White Gold, Yellow Gold, and Platinum. You also have to consider the quality of the metal such as 18K or 14K. Platinum will require periodic polishing. You also have to decide the best setting such as a single diamond setting, a cluster of small diamonds, or a three diamond setting. There are solitaire settings with 4 prongs, 6 prongs and bezelled settings.

When you begin shopping for a diamond engagement ring, the choices can be overwhelming. If you take the time to learn about the different types of diamond engagement rings that includes the type of metal and available styles, it will make the ring buying experience much less stressful. When you know what type of rings the special woman in your life prefers and you understand how diamonds are assessed and priced, the result will be a ring she will love and a sound investment.

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