Fireworks!

Well, another Bonfire Night comes around, and still on your own?

Perhaps it's time to give your love life a rocket, and put a bang back into your life!

I read an interesting article about taking a risk recently.

"Most of us like to feel reasonably safe. But if we shut down our lives to doing only "safe" things, we cut off our potential for growth and accomplishment.

Plus we drain our lives of all excitement. No excitement in our lives makes for the biggest stress of all - boredom. When facing any risk in life, weigh it on a balance scale. What do you stand to gain if you succeed and what do you stand to lose if you fail?"

This is just so true! It is so easy to slip into doing the safe, easy option, and not step out of your comfort zone. But by doing this, you miss out on so much. 

So my challenge to you is this -

Everyday, if you get a chance to do something you wouldn't normally do, go somewhere you wouldn't normally go, or meet people you wouldn't normally speak to, just DO IT! See what new opportunities and adventures it brings! And believe me, you'll feel so much better for doing it! It's called living life!

Don't Be Left At Home!

So you've recently split up with your husband or wife. Sometimes it can feel like the world has ended. But believe me it hasn't.

You only have to look at one of the online dating sites, to see that there are thousands of other people in exactly the same situation as you. So as a single parent, take a look at Dating for Single Parents UK, and you'll see that you're not alone!

Sometimes it takes a while to get over a breakup, but don't feel too sorry for yourself, and let life pass you by. It's your life, so live it! Get out and meet some new people - it's amazing how good it will make you feel. Not all dates will be fantastic, but that's life. Never be afraid to experience it!

Be assured, there is someone right just waiting for you out there.

To Call or Not to Call?

To Call or Not to Call

So that first date is over it was great you want to see her again – now what?  When can you call, is there a right or wrong time to do so?  Should it be right away or should you wait a couple of days?  It truly doesn’t matter.

If you want to call immediately, she might think that it’s endearing, on the other hand she might think you are a psycho.  The fact of the matter is, do what you would normally do.  If you don’t always do what you would anyway, then you aren’t really being yourself are you?

The worst thing that you can do for your relationship life is to hide who you are because it is a deception.  Always be honest so that you can reveal exactly who you are and what you are all about.

If you don’t want to smile, don’t smile.  If you want to wear sweatpants to your first date… well that’s probably not really classy, but maybe you aren’t classy.  Maybe she likes sweatpants right

So if you want to call then go ahead.  If you would usually wait a few days or if you get busy and don’t think about calling, then that’s fine too.  Don’t change anything about you unless you want to.

Don’t try to act a certain way because you think another person wants you to do that.  If it isn’t how you would normally behave then don’t do it.  Be yourself with everything that you do.  That includes dating.  Now, this might mean that it could be a lot more difficult for you to find a mate, but when you do, she will be the exact girl for you.

Thanks to http://dating.be2gether.com/ for this article.

5 Dating Tips For Moms

By La Buena Vida 

Being a mom is the hardest and most time consuming job in the world. From changing diapers to feeding your kids , cleaning –and for some moms juggling a full-time job – it’s easy for moms to get overwhelmed and exhausted. It’s also easy for them to forget about their own needs – especially when it comes to their dating life!

 I’m here share my dating expertise with all of the single moms out there! I hope these tips will help you  find the man of your dreams! (Or just someone cool to hangout with)

 Tip 1: Join an Online Dating Site: This shouldn’t be the ONLY way you meet men, but your schedule is tight these days, and sites like Dating for Single Parents are packed with nothing but single men! I’ll share more tips on how to get noticed on these sites in a future post, but for now I suggest you sign up, upload a bunch of gorgeous photos of yourself, and fill out your profile.

 Tip 2: Practice Flirting: Many people don’t think about this, but flirting is an actual skill. The more you practice flirting, the better you get. If you’ve been out of practice for a bit and can’t leave the house much – just start flirting! Flirt with anyone. Flirt with the pizza delivery guy, the postal worker that drops off mail in your building, etc. It doesn’t matter who it is—just practice interacting with men and flirting! When the guy you actually like comes along, you wont be nervous and you’ll flirt like a pro!

 Tip 3: Leave the Kid (and Day-Day Domestic Stuff) at the Door: Look, this is YOUR time to loosen up and just have fun. Sure, you will eventually want to share the cute things your kid does with the person you’re dating, but when you first start seeing a guy, just focus on the fun of getting to know someone new and let him romance you! In the early stages of dating, always keep it light, fun and exciting. Once he’s into you, he will want to hear all about it!

 Tip 4: Get Your Style On!: After a long day of changing diapers and feedings, it’s easy to forget about your own personal style. But never forget to go shopping and work on your look. You don’t have to be a supermodel, but your look: accessories, clothing, etc is extremely important for getting noticed. So, if you don’t have your own personal style, get one!

 Tip 5: Meet and Date Lots of Men: Men are everywhere! You can meet them while running errands, at the dry cleaners, supermarket, etc. I once told a guy a cheesy line at the dry cleaners about his clothes and he asked me out. I said, “those are a lot of whites – you should add some color to your wardrobe” (see, told ya it was cheesy!). But that got the conversation going…So if you’ve been out of the dating scene for a bit, don’t try to settle for the first guy that comes your way – date as many men as possible and find out what you like! Dating is a learning experience…

I hope these tips are helpful! Hit the comments and let me know. And get out into the world! College lectures, classes, gyms, etc. 

Stay True,

Dating For Parents

A new relationship is about two people who have found each other and fallen in love. But what happens when at least one of them already has a child?

It can be discouraging for a single mother to hear people say that it will be hard for her to find a man - at least until her offspring achieves a level of independence. It’s the kind of thing that other single parents tend to say - or at least the ones who haven’t undertaken to find a new partner after a split. But the truth is that things really can work out differently - a recent survey suggested that 92% of men would be ready to take on someone else’s children: in fact, they rather like the idea of a ‘readymade’ family. The survey went on to suggest that 40% of relationships involving a single parent actually result in marriage.

Forget the inferiority complex!
PARSHIP psychologist Nicole Schiller feels that single parents are more in need of encouragement and motivation than advice. Younger mothers in particular tend to feel they have to resign themselves to a single state. “They would do better to gather their confidence and go actively in search of a new partner,” thinks Schiller. Negativity is out of place, because there are plenty of people who are specifically in search of someone with children, either because they have children themselves and would like a partner who understands their situation, or because they feel that people without children have less to offer them. “Single parents are certainly not second-class citizens in the world of dating,” affirms Schiller. “There really is someone out there for you!”

Looking for a substitute?
Many single parents aren’t sure how to describe themselves in their online dating profile, thinking that they will deter approaches by referring to their situation. Admittedly, a certain amount of discretion is advisable … ‘Four children and two dogs are looking for a daddy!’ might be a bit too upfront, as would, “My wife has disappeared off the scene, so now I need a new mother for the triplets.” Nicole Schiller advises PARSHIP members to consider whether they’re looking for a new mother or father for their children or for a partner for themselves. Ultimately, what most people want is a partner who will accept their situation, not someone who is going to take on all the responsibilities. Schiller recommends referring to your single parent status in the context of your feelings or your everyday life: “My children are the most important thing in my life,” or “I spend the weekends with my 13-year-old daughter”. That makes the position clear without immediately raising the issue of adoption papers!

What do I tell the kids?
It is also of vital importance to talk to your children about the new situation and to get them ready for a possible change in the make-up of your family. With older children, it is a good idea to include them at a suitable stage in the process of getting to know your partner. At the least they should know if you are looking for a new relationship. This reduces the subsequent potential for conflict and for jealous feelings on your children’s part.

In general, if you have split relatively recently from you ex, then you need to tread still more carefully with your children. There is a greater risk that they will come out with something like: “But I’ve already got a mum/a dad. I don’t need another one!” Younger children tend to view any changes in their world as somewhat threatening, so they will often fear that their parent will have less time for them or that they will become less central to your existence. Don’t try and ‘sell’ the idea of a new relationship for you or your new partner - and don’t expect your child to be wild about the idea. You do need to make clear how important a new partner is to you, that you will continue to love your child just as much and that you will continue to spend lots of time with him/her.

What next?
So, when should you introduce your new love interest to your children? At the very latest this should be when you feel that a durable relationship is in view. If your new boyfriend or girlfriend doesn’t seem especially interested in getting to know your children better, then don’t rush things. Give him or her time to get used to the situation. Experts recommend staging the first meeting on neutral ground - say at a sports centre or a museum - so that no-one feels like an intruder. If your boyfriend of girlfriend doesn’t seem to hit it off particularly well with your kids, just be patient and gently make clear to him or her how important you consider it for everyone to get on with each other. And children generally come to realise of their own accord that happy parents are much nicer to live with.

Thanks to Parship for this article!

My Single Band - Good Idea?

Good idea? Or not?

Would you wear one?

A company called My Single Band has invented a silicone band (similar to the charity bands except those actually do something useful!) that indicates the wearer is single. What's even more insulting: they cost £6! 

http://www.datingforsingleparentsuk.com

The Single BEST Online Dating Pick Up Line!

I previously wrote a post about the Best Online Dating Pick Up Lines, and I stand by it, but some new information has arisen and I feel it is my duty as a self-proclaimed dating advice guru to share it with you guys!

So, How Do You Determine THE Best Pick Up Line?

Science! Of course. A study was conducted by dating site Badoo.com and they claim to have found “the Holy Grail of online flirting.” Their site has over 187 million members and it’s constantly growing. To conduct the study they monitored the initial pick up line used in almost 200,000 online messages all over the world and analysed its success.

Badoo gave it’s users the option to use one of twelves different “icebreakers” (or pick up lines). These twelves lines were all a simple statement of compliment on either a physical feature or their appearance in some way. The success of each line was measured in terms of whether a response was received at all, and whether a successful conversation (going back and forth at least four times) was sparked. This combination equalled the “Compliment Success Index” for each pick up line.

Dear God, What Is The Best Line?!

“You have beautiful lips.”

Yep. That’s it. The pickup line that was the most effective overall was “You have beautiful lips.” However, the study also discovered that what women like being complimented on varies greatly depending on ethnicity and where you are in the world, so while “beautiful lips” worked the best overall, some compliments worked better in different parts of the world.

But, if you are unsure of the woman’s nationality, lips are the way to go!

But Why?

The reason complimenting lips is the most successful is because it’s out of the norm (the study showed that “beautiful lips” was only used by 7% of men). A compliment of the lips doesn’t seem like a canned compliment that’s being mass-messaged around. It seems more tailored to an individual; women are expects at detecting a generic message that is not customized for them.

It also works because it’s very forward without being off-putting. “I love your tits” is also bold, but I think you can see the difference. Complimenting lips is just bold enough.. it suggests you’re thinking about kissing (or perhaps something dirtier), but it’s not so bold as too be gross. Women love that forcefulness, but don’t want vulgarity shoved down their throat. Another similar, but bold, option in the study was “you have a beautiful mouth“. This option was used by 12% of men (the third highest usage), but only ranked 9th out of the 12 options on the ”Compliment Success Index”

A final thought on this, from my own perspective, is that it’s something we often work on. As opposed to saying I have a beautiful nose (which is something I can’t help one way or the other), saying I have beautiful lips reassures me that someone has noticed what I’ve been trying to get noticed since I was 14 years old, slathering on tinted lip gloss.

What Else Ya Got?

“You have lovely ears.”

That’s what will work best if she’s Portuguese (seriously!). If she’s Spanish? Fawn over her luscious, luxurious hair. Russian? Tell her how adorable her nose is. Found a hoser hottie (Canadian) or a lederhosen lady (German)?? Tell them how flawless their skin is!! Polish? Arms are a big hit, for some reason. Swedish? Compliment their figure. But just that.. their “figure”. Don’t take creative licence here and spew out any “Damn girl, you are fiiiiiine” bullshit, okay?

What Do American Girls Like To Hear?

As superficial as ever, we want to hear about how nice our clothes are, how snazzy a dresser we are, and what a great fashion sense we have! But hey, that goes for Italians, Brazilians, and Frenchies too!

“Beautiful lips” fared well here too, but complimenting our clothing was definitely head and shoulders above the rest. When I first read this, I thought it would be such a weird compliment to receive via online dating message, but the more I thought about it the more I think it would totally work. It’s out of the norm, and I think it would be particularly effective if you actually mentioned a specific piece of clothing from one of my photos. I personally love to know what men find me attractive. I make note to put that piece or outfit in high rotation!

Which Line Is The Most Over-Rated? 

The study found that the highest percentage of men (23%) would initiate a conversation with “You have beautiful eyes.” However, it was only the third most successful (behind lips and clothes). Eyes is a tired, old compliment. It’s bordering on cheesy, and it’s been heard a million times before. Give it a rest, then maybe it can have a comeback.

So there you go, boys. The best pick up line. Use it wisely.

Great article from http://www.wwwdatingguide.com 

Why not try using it here?