He was very Persistent - Charles Nelson Carter and June Eileen Davis

This story was sent in by Sally Stackhouse in response to the With Love Valentine Giveaway. I asked people to talk about the longest marriage they know about and Sally shared the marriage story of her parents though she wasn't eligible for the book, Always and Forever, Love - Success Stories of Marriage 20+years Strong by Otis G. Sanders (BTW, you can still enter for this giveaway - open to US residents). She later sent in the photos so I could share it with everybody.

My Bouari Weight Loss Experience Day 18 - Spa and Lunch out

Just a short update here. I'm still sticking to the plan, cutting back on the calories, but bulking up on the proteins, fruits and vegetables. It is still working, my current weight as shown above is 142.6lbs. I think it could've been better, but my cycle is wreaking havoc with me now, and I feel as bloated and constipated as a hippo (sorry hippo!)

Anyways, this past weekend marked the beginning of our anniversary thingies, and so I took Atala out for a spa treatment. Zouzou's Musings suggested that idea in reply to my What are you getting your love for Valentine post (thanks dearie). I made it a surprise, told him we were going for a walk and brunch. He laughed when we got to the spa place and so I knew I got it right. We definitely both enjoyed the amazingly relaxing full body massage. The venue was a lake front, and while we didn't have the awesome view during the massage, it was part of the foot soak and paraffin hand treatment. Wonderful, I tell you.

The New Standard for Dating - American Style Romance

Anytime I watch romantic Nollywood movies, I am always irritated; the couples act western for reasons I don’t understand. In such movies, when the lover boy – usually played by Ramsey Noah or Desmond Elliot (for the past fifty years!) – talks to his lady, his accent and intonation automatically becomes American. Likewise, the ladies try to “westernize” their behaviours, replying with their own yankee accents, twisting and playing with their hair, and laughing at EVERY joke the guy makes with a kind of “babyish” , “shyish” , cute , but yet hysterical laughter. 

Whitney Houston is Dead - Where do broken hearts go?

I was out most of today running errands and had not time to check my social media on my BB. Back home, I opened up my laptop, and what were all my Facebook friends talking about? RIP, Whitney Houston. What?! Yes, it is true. She passed away this evening at her hotel. She was just 48.

Nonplussed does not describe how I feel now. I didn't burst into tears like I did when Micheal Jackson died, but I'm close. I know she had her problems, but she has always been one of my favorites, and I was looking forward to the day I would go see her sing in concert. Hmm...another huge talent is gone. I hope she is now able to find the peace that eluded her here on earth.

With Love, Valentine's Day Blog Hop Giveaway

It's time for the love giveaway! The Valentine's Day Blog Hop is hosted by the Blog Hop Spot, with several other authors and bloggers taking part and lots of prizes to be won - see the full list of participants in the blog hop. To enter this contest, you have to be a follower of my blog either by Google Friend Connect, Facebook or Twitter. What's up for grabs?

Facebook Parenting - Father shoots Daughters Laptop

Do you think he went too far? The man seemed pretty upset in the video as he read the supposed posting his daughter made on her Facebook page before he went ahead to shoot the laptop. Of course, some of the stuff the daughter wrote were quite offensive, but to be honest, they're the kind of thoughts that pass through a lot of teenage minds. She thinks her parents are overworking her with home chores, and expresses a wish to be paid. Her mistake this time was posting those thoughts garnished with bad language for the amusement of her Facebook friends.

The dad is in IT and no, no..he didn't go snooping into the laptop, lol. I think that was why it was so painful for him. Old man spent 6 hours fixing the laptop, and $130 dollars updating the software so the daughter can do her schoolwork, and then replies from her FB pop up ridiculing his parenting. Not fair. He says his daughter is spoiled and I don't disagree that she needs discipline, but shooting the laptop? Hmmm...looked like overkill to me.

Dear Myne - I'm not Sure he's being Honest

Good day. Please I need some advice.

Some years ago, my ex-fiance got a girl pregnant and married her. I was hurt. I knew I needed time to trust again so I haven't been in a relationship for over 3 years. Early last year I was attracted to a potential boyfriend's best friend and to avoid issues I remained just friends with both of them. Met the guy I was attracted to again in late last year and the feelings came up again. I decided to open my heart again and I fell for him. He is a very principled guy, loves God, hasn't pressured me for sex but a part of me just feels that he isn't telling me something.

I met his Dad this new year and he invited me to a family gathering but I didn't go. My guy took offence and called me personally to express his anger. Instead of feeling like I was loved and accepted by his family, a part of me just felt that something wasn't right. My "boyfriend" is very secretive about his family so I did a little research and found out that his mum was a high ranking official and they were very conservative people, so I understood.

Success Stories of Marriages 20+ years Strong - Behind the Book

My Review: You remember how the other day we were discussing whether divorce was trending and Atilola pointed out that a lot of marriages were still going strong despite the stats. This book is a perfect example of this, and it is quite encouraging to know that these are real people like me, living everyday lives. The books is a coffeetable book, with wonderful full page pictures of the couples, and by the other side, their stories and the marriage lessons are well perfectly distilled. While the photography is amazing, what has me often opening the book to one couple or the other are the nuggets they share. The oldest couple, married 73 years are so cute!

You have read the first part of this interview with Otis Sanders, the author of Always and Forever, Love. In this part, he shares what motivated him to embark on a love and marriage project.

His crazy sense of humor keeps me on my toes - Kemi Macaulay-Newman

Kemi Macaulay-Newman, the founder of 9jamom.com, has known her husband Uche Newman for almost 7years now having dated him for about 3years before they got married. She says, "It just hit me we've actually spent all 3 anniversaries - the most recent one; another road trip to Myrtle Beach, SC. - with our son, lol! OK, next one has to be alone, geez!" With this, I wanted to know how this affected their relationship as a married couple. Enjoy Kemi's marriage avowals below;

I found love in a way I could never ever imagine - Real Love Story

This post was sent in by Atoskin of Life and Living Blog. She really enjoyed the Real Love Stories last February and wanted to share her love story with my blog readers too as a testimony. Enjoy her story;

I met "my timekeeper" as I fondly call him through his uncle. His uncle and my mum attend the same church so we have known them over the years. As a matter of fact, his uncle and my mum belong to the same society in church. After my last bloody break up, I decided that I would take my time and let God choose for me.