Thursday Thirteen - 13 Tips on Romance for Him part 1

1. Tell her she is beautiful.

2. Hold her hand at any moment . . . even if its just for a second.

3. Hug her from behind.

4. Leave her voice or txt messages to wake up to.

5. Wrestle with her :)

6. don't go hang out with you ex when shes not with you, you might not relize how badly it hurts her.

7. If youre talking to another girl, when you're done talking, walk over and hug her and kiss her....let her know she's yours and they aren't.

8.Write her notes or call her just to say "hi".

9.Introduce her to your friends . . . as your girlfriend.

10. Play with her hair.

11. Pick her up (she loves it).

12. Get upset if another guy touches her and she doesn't like it.

13. Make her laugh.

Be sure to visit Romance Writers Behaving Badly for a T13 on Mae West!

Tasty Tuesday - Chocolate Diamonds

A chocolate diamond is a brown diamond, one of many types of colored diamonds. Most chocolate diamonds come from diamond mines in Australia. The natural occurring brown color is thought to be created by the earth's pressure on the diamonds deep in the earth. Chocolate diamonds, perhaps due to their new name, seem to be gaining in popularity however. A brilliant marketing scheme to help sell an abundance of low color diamonds was to rename them to "chocolate diamonds." People who never gave brown diamonds the time of day, now are looking at these diamonds. They want to be able to say that they own a chocolate diamond. It's different. It's a conversation starter and more than anything else, it's still a diamond! There are also different hues of fancy colored diamonds.

For instance, the hue of a brown diamond is designated into the categories: Chocolate – light brown diamonds with no other discernable color Champaign – sparkling warm golden brown
Cognac – deep reddish/orange
Cinnamon – light pinkish brown
Honey – deep yellow orange
Clove diamonds – deep olive brown

Chocolate diamonds look great with gold and also colors like blue and green. These really make it stand out.
Chocolate pearl diamonds – this is a very elegant mix of dark brown and white that reminds many of the chocolate diamond’s namesake. Chocolate diamonds & turquoise – a very daring, but stunning mix with different textures to enhance the overall effect. Chocolate diamonds & white diamonds – this is a very common mix, but still very brilliant. Chocolate diamonds & other colored gems – again very common, but so much variety, any piece of jewelry is practically its own unique piece.

Banner contest

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Gotta love living in Michigan.

We started Spring Break with snow and ice.

We ended Spring Break by breaking a temperature record set in the 1920's by hitting 85 degrees.

Last night I slept with the windows open. The wind blew through the trees and instead of sounding like dried bones rattling, the branches thudded as if they were soft and coming back to life.

The spring peepers sang all night; despite keeping my boys awake, I found it to be music lulling me to my dreams. When I lived in northern Michigan, I became so used to the shrill peeper call that if I didn't hear it, I couldn't sleep. Ahhhh.....peace.

But the summer-like temperatures aren’t going to last. A cold front is expected to move through central Michigan, dropping temperatures to a much more normal range, in the low to mid-60s with lows in the 40s.

Seriously?

Sometimes I wonder if the state's weather is the result of Mother Nature on PMS. It certainly has "mood swings". For the moment I will enjoy this lovely breather. I open my arms and embrace Spring. I inhale the scent of Mother Earth as she wakes. I feel strength pour into my weary, cold soaked body.

Happy Spring to all.

Here it is, Monday. I've been up for four hours and have swept/mopped the floors, did five loads of laundry, and tidied the kitchen. Then I noticed how dry my hands were. Here's a few tips for those dishpan hands.

* Rub olive oil into your hands before cleaning. Especially if you wear cleaning gloves - which is a very smart thing to do, but not everybody feels comfortable wear those big ugly yellow things.

* Silicone Glove is a lotion sold by Avon. Many women (and men) state how this seems to protect their hands. (My Mom used it all the time, but Dad preferred Corn Huskers he purchased from the pharmacy.)

* Mix together 1/4 cup of ground almonds, a beaten egg, a handful of comfrey root, and a tablespoon of honey. Coat your hands with the mixture, pull on an old pair of leather or cotton gloves and wear overnight. Rinse your hands in the morning and repeat this for a week. Your hands will feel very soft and supple.

* For bad nails, immerse fingertips into a bowl of warm olive oil for 30 minutes a day until you see an improvement. (I did this prior to my wedding and I had amazing nails!) If olive oil is a bit sparse in your cupboard, fill a small bowl with water and add just enough oil to cover the water. Warm carefully.

* For stains that won't go away, rub hands and nails with the pithy side of a piece of lemon zest. Leave for a minute and then wash off.

* If you cook with cast iron or have a large wood cutting board, use lard to bring the polish back. Afterwards, rub your hands together and enjoy the softness in your skin.

There are so many products on the store shelves for dry, cracked, itchy, red... whatever state your hands are in. Through my confusion I think back to the work my grandmothers used to do, yet their hands, skin and hair was always nice. Perhaps in the old wives' tales there may be some truth!