The afternoon before a date is like the foundation of a building. Get it right, and the rest seems effortless. Get it wrong, and you end up wishing you'd never started. Preparation is all, you see – your dazzling wit and angelic face won't get you a snog if you had a faceful of garlic for lunch, even on a really good hair day. Read on for a few more ways to sabotage a date that hasn't even started yet. 1. Conduct a private investigation Hit your mental back button to a world before Google or Facebook. Pretty much the ... Read More ...

Let's say you're single. But not happy about it. You're tired of seeing everyone else fall in love. You want your piece of the pie. So, you're out there, looking for romance. It's not easy, either. How sure are you that you're looking in the right place? Maybe while you're busy trying to meet people at the laundromat, Mr. or Miss Right is at work. Think about it. Romance can come from anywhere. Finding it is the hardest game you'll ever play. And more often than not, it shows up where you're not looking for it. That can really suck. ... Read More ...

There is no surefire, 100% guaranteed way to know if someone likes you as more than a friend. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. There are, however, certain signs you can look for that will give you a pretty good idea if your friend or acquaintance is interested in being more than friends. 1. Test his/her Personal Space Everyone has something called "personal space". It is like a bubble around us that we don't like people trespassing into. If someone gets too close, we instinctively move away, and if they get too close again we move away again. When ... Read More ...

All of us have experienced it at one time or another. We come home from a first date, swimming in euphoria, sure that we've just spent the first night of the rest of our lives with our true soul mate. Mr. or Miss Destiny. The One. And then, we never hear from them again. As we sit by the phone, waiting for that second date call (or call-back) we first begin to doubt the efficiency of the phone company. Then we start to wonder if Mr./Miss Right had to suddenly leave the country in the middle of the night, without ... Read More ...

You've met someone who stirs you in ways you've only imagined. E-mail from them arrives in your mailbox and you smile. Their voice on the other end of the line makes your stomach flutter. The sight of them makes all your worries seem unimportant and their happiness all that matters- until you hear a child scream for them and they have to deal with the situation in another part of the house. You snap out of your amorous state of mind and anxiously wonder if you are ready to deal with the other part of their life- the kids. I'm ... Read More ...

Well, it's bound to happen. Who hasn't wanted someone they work with? And how many of you have gone for it? And how many of you have succeeded? Dating at work is a challenge. It's tough. It's work. But, it happens all the time, and it's not a bad thing. For as scandalous as people try to make it, it's not much different than what we were taught our whole lives. Growing up, all the new and interesting people you met were at school. For up to 18 years, school IS your life. You start off eating and sleeping there. ... Read More ...

How do I know if he (or she) is interested? Good question. From the email I'm getting, this is something on lots of people's minds no matter the age or gender of who is asking. How do you really know if someone likes you? What are the signs you should be looking for? How should you act, what should you do, and so it goes. These questions are as complicated as the people asking the questions are and that's pretty darn complicated! The honest answer is that there is no way to really, 100%, know how another person feels. Sometimes ... Read More ...

I've written several articles on dining dilemmas for GetRomantic.com and they seem to be the most popular so I'm doing one more on some of the basic do's and don'ts that I haven't yet covered, so get ready to eat! This is a no frills information article when dating and dining. Just remember to keep your elbows off the table! Do watch your manners! Remember this is the time to impress! Watch yourself and eat with your mouth closed and don't be picky. Do scoop soup away from you. Scoop your soup from the front to the back. This does ... Read More ...

Are you considering the possibility of using an Online Dating Site to find the Date or Love of your dreams? Yes? Well, did you know that the most important part of finding your special someone through online dating is your profile. As explained in my book "the Ultimate Online Dating Handbook" even if you plan on being proactive in your search, you will still need a stellar profile. Why? Mainly because anyone you email, wink or nod will most likely use your profile as a way of deciding whether or not they wish to respond to you. So, how do ... Read More ...

Have a Picnic You could surprise your partner with this, or plan it together. Bring a blanket, finger foods (berries, raw vegetables with dip, chips, shrimp, pieces of fruit, etc.), a tape or CD player with batteries and romantic music, your favorite drinks and fly repellent. Great places for picnics are secluded fields, beaches at sunset, beside a lake or pond or under a tree. If you want to suprise your partner, set up the picnic ahead of time and ask your partner to go for a walk with you, make sure the walk leads to your picnic and let ... Read More ...

When you get to your mid-20's, a funny thing starts to happen. Your friends start to change. They stop saying "I" and start saying "we." You get invited over on Sundays for brunch instead of for football. And they're buying artwork instead of posters. Yeah. They all start getting married. It's like a cult. Instead of handing out flowers at the airport, they're handing out florists' business cards and pictures of their receptions. You've rented more tuxedos or bought more bridesmaid dresses in the past year than you have in the past 10. Every weekend from Memorial Day to Halloween ... Read More ...

I once saw a guy take a lemon wedge off the plate provided and begin to squeeze the lemon so that the juice would go into his iced tea. As he cranked down on that wedge one of the lemon seeds popped out of the lemon, travelling at the speed of light, and hit his date smack on the middle of her right breast. Mortified, this poor guy dropped the wedge into his glass, which overflowed for a minute onto the table, popped up to help his date without pulling his chair from the table which unsettled the table. As ... Read More ...

Want to quintuple your odds of winning in the dating game? We surveyed a variety of top experts and learned five unbelievably effective secrets to make the opposite sex come running. Here's how you can use them to work for you: Be the Center of Attention Want to be the one who gets noticed? Stand in the center of the room. According to Dr. Albert Mehrabian, the author of several books and nationally-known expert in the field of spacial psychology, where you are in a room (and what you're doing) has a lot to do with your ability to attract ... Read More ...

Is shyness or insecurity keeping you from having what you want? Here's how to get over it. Men agree that one of the most attractive qualities in a woman is when she's self-assured, likes herself, is comfortable with who she is, likes how she looks and most importantly, she's happy. It's impossible to be all those things when you're shy or insecure. And being happy and being shy are two opposites. Being shy is a state of mind and can be changed with practice. The more you describe yourself as shy, the more you believe it is who you are. ... Read More ...

Mistletoe. Holiday parties. New Years kiss at midnight. This time of year can be challenging for singles. With such an emphasis on family togetherness and couples exchanging heart-felt gifts, it's hard not to hear the message the holidays are not for me. At family get-togethers you get grilled about what's going on in the romance department. In-laws, whose company you cherished all year long, become reminders that you don't have a "special someone". No singles shopping for gifts appear in the barrage of holiday commercials. If you are single, and not dating anyone, these holiday images can lead to emotions ... Read More ...

Yeah, yeah. It's absolutely true that online dating worked out pretty well for me, ultimately. But having given it some thought, I wanted to come clean with you about something. It's not like every single date was a blissful stream of perfection. Sure, I met lots of great women and had a blast for several years…culminating in meeting Emily on Match.com. But along the way, especially at the beginning, I certainly encountered my share of sometimes hilarious and sometimes downright nightmarish situations. Here are the four most memorable ones 1) Not What The Doctor Prescribed Very shortly after my divorce ... Read More ...

It's not the first date, it's not even the second date, but after you've been dating a person for awhile and you are finding yourself really consumed, wondering if this could be "The One" and thinking about the future. This is the hot and hazy time in dating and I think so much fun! Wanting to be with the other person, loving every little thing. This is the time the dreams start showing up. Not the good dreams of naked bodies and all that stuff, though you have those dreams too, but the lifestyle dreams. This is when you begin ... Read More ...

With the ever growing popularity of the Internet, online dating has blossomed as a way for men and women to meet each other. To show the popularity of this trend, simply go to Google and type "online dating site" into the search box. At the time of this writing, Google returns over 6,890,000 different sites in their listing. Research shows that over 8 million women visit various online dating sites looking for that perfect man. The sad part about that is research also shows that out of every 10 men who post a personal ad on a dating site, only ... Read More ...

Ah, a first date. The sweaty palms, the nervous ticks, the silent prayer that you don't end up with something in your teeth. Nothing can be quite as unsettling as trying to impress a person on a first try. The reason for this is simple: you're afraid you'll say the wrong thing or - even worse - have nothing to say at all. Yes, an uncomfortable silence can turn a date sour in no time flat. Because of the fear of this, people on first dates often exhibit a sense of unrest, and a desperation to keep the conversation going ... Read More ...

What would you do in the following situation? You are on a date with a new person. You feel like you are in the hot seat because this person is attentive and asking you lots of questions. You're trying to make a good impression, you want to put your best foot forward and you may be required to answer, or at least be asked, some questions you'd rather not discuss. How do you handle this? Let's go through a multiple choice! Choice A: (This really isn't a choice it's a reaction to being put on the spot and it happens ... Read More ...