Can Networking damage a relationship?
I think that networking is a must, in any field, or career that you may be in. I feel that there is a fine line of course to the level of which the interactions are with any given person that you may come into contact with, be it male or female. I find that in my field, the majority of my interactions are with females, over 75%. I believe that although they are female and I may need their information for business purposes, the need for futher contact is not really needed. I think that you have to know your limits within your relationship, as well as the business world. Although there maybe several attractive persons that I do business with or come into contact with, the need to exchange personal information is not a necessity. I feel that any woman in their right minds would question the receipt of any other woman's phone number and or pictures. So with that I believe that it is good to be open about who you are involved with in business ventures and so forth. I feel that there should be a certain level of trust that 2 people have for one another. I think that there is no way possible for me to live in my everyday life and day to day responsibilities, if I am some how concerned with whom my woman is meeting, who she is networking with, or who is trying to take her from me. I feel that as long as I do all the things that are required of me as a boyfriend, within reason, than I would have to put my trust in her that she would not disrespect me in doing something out of line.

I feel that a relationship has to be completely open. You should be able to talk to this person about anything. The only time I would say a person would hold something back is if they have a mind on something or someone else, and that is a whole other matter in itself.

I think that a man gives signs as to the woman that he wants to spend the rest of his life with. He begins to make references to your futures together without being prompted to do so. He is more tolerable of things that that temporary boyfriends seem to get annoyed with. He also builds solid relationships with those people in your life whom you love the most. I feel the last comment is the most important. If a man can care less about those family members and friends whom you love so dearly, if he does not care to meet them, greet them, and make his presence known in your life as your man to them, then his long term thoughts with you, do not really exist.

These are just my opinions, take them for what you will. I am not a psychologist, just a young man in love, trying to do his best by the will and grace of God. I hope that this helps.

Being alone makes you strong. I doubt that. I think that the person who made up that saying did fully understand what they were missing in the abscence of a significant other. My feelings are that being alone only intensifies the feelings and emotions for a person to feel love and want to be love. It is always during those moments while in a relationship that couples begin to take one another for granted. Men start acting a little funny, women start holding back on what was once open for general use, men stop doing those things that made you fall in love with him in the first place . Bottom line is this, I am not an advocate of that saying Being alone makes you strong, but abscence in this case is really making my heart grow founder. I am thinking about all the ways in which I love this woman. From the things that drive me crazy with anger to the moments of shear delight. I am renewed each day in her prescence because I know that she was made for me. I can be comfortable in my GOD, am thank him daily for giving me a woman like her. She is monopolizing my thoughts, and the thing about it is. I dont mind.

I love her, and I cant wait till she comes home to me.

Experiment. I am going to try and write down on a pad full of those little sticky post its, all around the house all the things that I love about her. Then I plan to get some roses from the nursery and use one dozen to put into a vase as she walks through the door, and the other dozen will be for walking on and leading the way to a more romantic setting. I will let you know how it goes.

Reading to your lover. I have found this to be a rewarding and extremely intimate way to share time with my loved one. We have started to book called the "Love Languages of God". This book is written to provide individuals in relations with guidelines and recommendations on how to better understand the love languages of the other person. Typically we take turns reading the book chapter by chapter, with occasional intermissions to check and see if the other is sleeping or not. Since reading is neither one of our most favorite things to do, we have found that sharing the responsibility eases that tension of doing it on the constant basis.
For me reading to her makes me feel good. It helps me to hear myself read, and it sharpens my vocabulary. It is realy a win win situation. Especially since we are sharing something, and learning how we can better love the other person we are reading to. I am a firm believer that whatever a couple does together, helps them to stay together in those rough times. Will there be some, I sure there be. Have there been already? I would be lying if I said that there weren't. However, knowing that a person like herself, having the intentions of doing whatever it takes to make herself a "better person" in my eyes, because in her eyes she may not need to change, helps me to know that I may need to look a bit closer at our relationship and see what it is that "WE" can do to right the course of our love. Not that reading is the saviour to all relatioships and marriages, but I will tell you what, it sure is a good start.

Okay, so today's topic is going to be karats. That is how many karats does a man need to buy in order to make his future wife feel good. I thought about this subject at great length. I have also seen many of beautiful women in a variety of places with some of the most fantastic jewel stones that I have ever seen, and the first thing that comes to mind is, "what does her husband do for a living"? Now i am no Jacob the jeweler, but I dont know that the ring that your wife wears is a direct reflection of you as a man/ husband. I mean in this world were your woman is likley to get hit on everyday of her life, it places some sense of security in the heart of the man to know that he has sent out a representation of what he is capable of providing for his loved one.

So now I am going to flip the topic and clue you into the conversation and theory that the woman that I love has created and adopted as her own. She and her BFF, for those who dont know this means best friend forever, came up with a scientific calculation that details the size/ weight of the engagement ring. The breakdown goes as follows

One year = 1 karat
each month = .83333 of 1 karat

This calculation includes the engagement time as well. So if you are with a woman for a year, and you propose to her after that year date, you are required to provide a 1 karat ring plus the engagement ime period. Now I am not a fan of this theory. I believe that this theory either promotes pre mature marriages, or it places a man into a position that he may not be able to afford.

another calculation is that traditionally the ring should cost about 2 months of the grooms salary. With inflation, lol, and the high demand of bling bling jewelry, that number has conveniently increased in favor of women to 3 months.

I am going to hold firm to my belief that I plan to buy something that represents me as a man, and the love that I feel for this woman. I will not allow any crazy ideas of fancy to dictate the ways in which I choose the ring for my loved one.