Tuesdays with Muerte

*Rockstar dating coach and marriage & family therapist, Alisa Snell , does it again with this outstanding post on how YOU need to communicate so your significant other will feel comfortable receiving what you have to say, or to sharing what they have a hard time sharing*   To talk in a way that your partner will listen, and listen in a way that your partner will talk, follow the five steps below. Women, before you make a complaint or express a need: Smile and act confident that he will respond well and that you both will work the situation out. Touch him. Express your gratitude for what he does right. State your faith and trust in him and in the goodness of his intentions. Tell him what you would like him to do. For example, if he arrives twenty minutes late for the third time that month, greet him with a soft smile, warmth, and confidence. Express your appreciation for some of the things he is doing well. Then, later that evening, touch him on the arm an...

#5. Time flies by in moments. A question you think you only took 15-minutes to complete, really took you AN HOUR! You're doing homework and suddenly, it's 5am! You're 5-minute-alarm-clock-snooze magically turns into 2 hours and you literally don't know how. #4. You're mentally space out (resembling a zombie more than a living, functioning person). You bake cornbread muffins, but instead of turning the oven knob to BAKE, you absent-mindedly turn the knob to BROIL and proceed to fill your domicile with smoke and sadness. You sleep in two-hour spurts whenever they are available.  (Noon-time? No problem.) You try to open your car without your keys and can't figure out why it won't open. (#notsafetodrive) #3. Your body physically degrades and you lose spacial awareness. The blistering white screen of a word processor starts to burn your eyes, like a vampire exposed to daylight. You bonk your head on things as you bob and weave down the hall...

Stock Image Remember last month's email on "healthy relationships?"    Here's another stellar message  I received thanks to my subscription to Alisa Goodwin Snell's free email list ,  " It's NOT YOU—it's your technique. "   Her webpage  doesn't give as much info as her personalized monthly email do.  But it does offer an detailed outline of the hour-long podcast which is  worth checking out! . (I've highlighted my favorite tips in the email below.) Dear Bryan,   Many singles worry about when to reveal their past sins, education level, family dysfunction, or financial problems. They want to be fair and honest with the people they date. They also donʼt want to waste their time to later discover their date has out-of-control issues. Their concerns are understandable, but how and when they reveal or ask about issues can make or break a new relationship. This process can be navigated in a respectful and honest manner if singles kn...

I'm going to reward myself at the end of the semester by purchasing one of these films. This will be an EXTREMELY difficult choice.  Let me walk you through my thought process: Who benefits from this decision (stakeholders?) Me (primarily) My friends My family Of those who would benefit, which film would be most universally enjoyed? Money is important to me, so which is the least expensive? Which films are most rare?  Which would I have the most difficulty accessing? Would I prefer to see one over the others? I prefer blu-ray disks. What about the quality of the release?  Two Blu-rays.  Is the encoding on one better than the other? What do my friends and family say? What does my gut tell me? Willow (Blu ray/DVD Combo) Best Price — $14.99 on Amazon Release Date — March 14th, 2013 Sandlot (Blu ray/DVD Combo) Best Price — $ 14.96 on Amazon Release Date — March 23rd, 2013 Children of Dune (I don't think the Blu ray is avail...

Image Source:  Etsy School is crazy! My fingers are literally starting to bruise and blister from the amount of typing I'm doing. My buns have settled on the plastic base of my cushioned swivel chair.  I can't remember the last time I watched a tv show.  (And that's saying something!) Here is a list of school work I will need to have completed before Friday morning: Anderson, Video editing (2-3 hours) Anderson, polished script (1 hour) Yanchar, QUAL paper (8 hours) Yanchar, Read article for Mon (1 hour) Yanchar, Read article for Tue. (1 hour) Yanchar, Read article for Wed. (1 hour) Yanchar, Read article for Thur. (1 hour) Williams, Patton chapter 10 on google.plus review (2 hours) Williams, Expert text on google.plus review (2 hours) Williams, Eval article review (2 hours) Graham, Business Decision Presentation (8 hours) Graham, CA commenting (30-60 minutes/day) Rich, website development (2 hours) Williams, read and comment on online class disc...

After reading Jeff Hofmann's  blogpost  and having a conversation with  Anna Hargadon  this week, I wanted to share my views on the role of agency in dating as a Latter-day Saint: Scriptures to Ponder: DC 58:27-29 - God commands us to be agents and not wait to be commanded Matt 25: 14-30 - The Parable of the Talents; We are not directed on how to use our gifts. D&C 58:26-29  - "...men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness; For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward..." Some folks (many of whom were raised on a steady diet of Twilight and Saturday's Warrior) believe in the concept of "THE One."  In a nutshell, if God desired us to have soul mates, He would have handed over the reins of mortality to Lucifer. "If you are walking the journey with Jesus, p...

Exploring Shame at BYU I recently had the opportunity to look at data from a BYU "Shame" study conducted by some Counseling & Psychology professors (CPSE department).  Their comparative analysis provided evidence that BYU students (overall) feel less shame than students on other university campuses.  This got me thinking...people feel and manifest shame in many different ways.  How do BYU folks manifest shame? DeviantArt First of all, why do any of us feel shame? Zoobies (pseudonym for BYU students) are raised to be judgmental from a young age—constantly being asked to discern between good and evil. We are able to make this distinction by paying attention to the light of Christ, which some refer to as a conscience ( Moroni 7:16-19 ).  When we act against our consciences, or choose evil, we experience a "whip" of guilt from that divine light within us to let us know we are off track. Through the Atonement of Christ, we can repent and be forgiven of our t...