Russian Giant And His Tiny Wife

"Here’s a guy you don’t ever want to pick a fight with: Nikolay Valuev, who, at 7 feet tall, absolutely towers over his opponents (before pummelling them to oblivion). But in fact the Russian giant is a sensitive soul who wooed his wife with love poems and likes a bit of Miss Marple. His wife is tiny [5ft 2in] and they have two small children."





Read the full story at smilepanic.com

Narcissism Often Prods A Cheating Heart

"What motivates cheaters? What are they thinking? How can smart people do such stupid things? With John Edward's recent confession of infidelity, these questions are all over the news. Oprah is even doing a show on why men cheat.

Most people believe that when partners cheat, it's a symptom of a bad relationship. They ask, "What was he or she not getting at home?" You can even find experts urging scorned women to snap men out of their doldrums by surprising them with something sexy . . . to be more "kittenish" so their tomcats are less likely to prowl. What a bunch of sexist hooey!

I'm not saying that adding some spice to your usual routine isn't a reasonable antidote for sexual boredom. But it won't keep a cheater from being unfaithful if the motivation for the infidelity is a fundamentally flawed self-esteem accompanied by an insatiable thirst for attention, novelty or excitement. Narcissistic entitlement, devoid of empathy, is often at the heart of infidelity. The narcissist seductively idealizes the new love interest while denigrating what they have at home.

So what are cheaters thinking?" The answer is - they're probably not. The truth is that we don't usually cheat because of something missing in our partner; we cheat because of something missing within ourselves.

But regardless of the motivation, there is no justification for an affair."

Read the full story by Dr. Sandra Scantling at courant.com

How not to be a jerk during your next fight

"I can sum up in three "acts" the breakdowns and breakups of most relationships since the beginning of time:

Act 1: You hurt me.
Act 2: Because you hurt me, I now hurt you.
Act 3: Because you hurt me, I now hurt you and so you hurt me again and so I hurt you -- and downward spiraling we shall go.
John Gottman, the famed founder of The Love Lab (a family research laboratory where where couples are studied), says he can consistently predict how long a relationship will last, not based on how well a couple gets along, but by how well a couple doesn't get along.

A relationship is only as strong as how well the two can deal with their weakest moments and how well they handle conflict."

Read the full story at CNN By Karen Salmansohn from Oprah.com

Simple ways to not be a idiot during your next fight:

0. Apply Bible principles of love and respect.

1. Pick the right time and the right place, in private.

2. Avoid harsh start-ups such as starting out blaming or calling your partner bad names.

3. Always be virtuous. Don't be cold, pridefull, angry or become hysterica.

4. Instead of trying to win arguments, try to have a winning relationship!

5. Put in the "virtue of discipline" to calm yourself before you begin talking. Be calm and reasonable and your mate will be too.

6. Close a difficult conversation by sharing memories of good times and/or your partner's good qualities. You can catch more Bees with honey than with vinegar. A few kind words can go a long way.

Romance the old fashioned way

Diamond In The Rough Funny 3D Animation Movie

True Love

My husband and I got married at eight in the morning. It was winter, freezing, the trees encased in ice and a few lone blackbirds balancing on telephone wires. We were in our early 30s, considered ourselves hip and cynical, the types who decried the institution of marriage even as we sought its status. During our wedding brunch we put out a big suggestion box and asked people to slip us advice on how to avoid divorce; we thought it was a funny, clear-eyed, grounded sort of thing to do, although the suggestions were mostly foolish: Screw the toothpaste cap on tight. After the guests left, the house got quiet. There were flowers everywhere: puckered red roses and fragile ferns. "What can we do that's really romantic?" I asked my newly wed one. Benjamin suggested we take a bath. I didn't want a bath. He suggested a lunch of chilled white wine and salmon. I was sick of salmon.

What can we do that's really romantic? The wedding was over, the silence seemed suffocating, and I felt the familiar disappointment after a longed-for event has come and gone. We were married. Hip, hip, hooray.

Read the full article from National Geographic magazine

7 Reasons to Travel With Your Kids

Photo above by Telluride

Young families everywhere take note: include your children in your travels. Explore the world together. Here’s why.

"Traveling gels a family. While life, work and school can get in the way of togetherness, a family getaway makes a team of you all. You’re in the same boat, car, train, or plane and negotiating everyone’s needs at close quarters is a chance to get to know each other again in a new way."

Check out the 7 Reasons

Guys you have lost the coin toss but perhaps not the war. Are Romantic Movies Bad For You?

Researchers are beginning to ask whether the make-believe world projected in "rom-coms" might actually be preventing true love in real life.

They found that problems typically reported by couples in relationship counseling at their counseling center reflect misconceptions about love and romance depicted in Hollywood films.

Relationship counselors often face common misconceptions in their clients — that if your partner truly loves you they'd know what you need without you communicating it, that your soul mate is predestined. We did a rigorous content analysis of romantic comedies and found that the same issues were being portrayed in these films," the university's Dr Bjarne Holmes says.

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