“Dine with the Dolphins” at Miami Seaquarium offers couples looking for a unique yet memorable Valentine’s Day experience, the opportunity to enjoy a delicious candlelight dinner under the stars in the company of some very special dolphins.

From 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., this Valentine’s Day, Miami Seaquarium invites sweethearts to take a break from the ordinary and enjoy their Valentine’s Dinner overlooking the dolphins at Dolphin Harbor.  And as an added bonus to the spectacular four course dinner that will be featured, for only $398 plus tax, the unique Valentine’s Day package includes two Sea Trek Reef Encounter and Dolphin Odyssey experience certificates, plus two annual passes to the park – a value of $695.

The Sea Trek and Dolphin Odyssey gift certificates are good for up to one year from the time of purchase, while the annual passes are good until December 31, 2012.  Space is limited.  Reservations will be taken on a first come, first serve basis. To make reservations call 305-365-2501 or for more information visit https://www.facebook.com/events/341724992517562/.

Unveiled at Miami Seaquarium in November 2011, the Sea Trek Reef Encounter is a helmet diving experience that allows guests to become one with the park’s reef aquarium, while moving in ethereal slow motion in a near zero gravity diving system.  Sea Trekking, developed by Sub Sea Systems, Inc. can be experienced by non-divers, ages 10 and above – no certification or swimming skills are necessary.  In the magnificent Reef Aquarium at Miami Seaquarium participants may Sea Trek as deep as 15 feet under the sea.

Dolphin Odyssey is a one and a half hour experience, which includes feeding, touching and learning about these magnificent animals plus the opportunity for a deep-water interaction with a dolphin.

Miami Seaquarium, South Florida’s most popular tourist attraction, is a family-oriented marine-life park open to the public 365 days a year. The park provides visitors with a greater understanding and appreciation for marine life through shows, presentations and exhibits. More information on Miami Seaquarium is available at www.miamiseaquarium.com.

One of the parenting tips that work best is giving your children quantity and quality time. When you spend time with your kids, try to engage them in meaningful conversations. Try to build fun and healthy communications and relationships while the kids are young.

In many homes, parents do not really talk to their kids when they are young. But when the kids become teens, these parents desperately want to talk to their teens. But the opportunity is not there anymore. Try not to become average parents. According to statistics, an average American parent spends less than fifteen minutes a week in serious discussion with their children.

Practice and develop good habits. It is important that you push your kids to exercise their faith and put into action the lessons that they have received. For example, it is one thing to learn about charity and caring, but it is another thing to volunteer some time to visit nursing homes and serve the elderly. Or participate in building a house for the poor.

Aristotle, the famous Greek philosopher, said that virtues are acquired by the development of habits. At first it may feel like a duty to maintain good habits but it will become easier as time goes by, and soon they will exercise good habits effortlessly.

Be a good role model. It is hard trying to teach children something when we do not do it ourselves. When they hear you lying about something, what kind of message are you sending to your children? Because action speaks louder than words, your kids will probably imitate our good and bad habits more than listening to our words.

Be involved parents. Involved parents are parents who monitor their kids’ media consumption, know whether the teachings in school are in line with their values and are acquainted with their friends. You should have a good rapport with your kids. Nobody is perfect but the more you become involved in your children’s lives, the better your chances of raising them to be good citizens.

Have a strong and healthy relationship. Having a strong and healthy marriage or relationship is not only good for you but also for your children. A thriving family unit is a good deterrent for anti-social behavior.

One thing for sure: it is hard enough to raise a child with two parents, let alone a single parent. Research shows that two years after a divorce, many boys have trouble concentrating, do poorly on intelligence tests, and have difficulty with math. Should your relationship break down ensure that your children continue to have full support from both parents.

Get connected with other parents. We need support and encouragement from other parents and you’ll no doubt learn new parenting tips from them. It is good to know that you are not the only ones who may be struggling. You can encourage one another to hang in there and continue to do the right thing.

The week is now widely observed during the third full week of September (Sept. 18-24 in 2011) as “Unmarried and Single Americans Week,” an acknowledgment that many unmarried Americans do not identify with the word “single” because they are parents, have partners or are widowed. In this edition of Facts for Features, unmarried people include those who were never married, widowed, or divorced, unless otherwise noted.

Single Life

Source for statements in this section: America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2010

99.6 million
Number of unmarried people in America 18 and older in 2010. This group comprised 43.6 percent of all U.S. residents 18 and older.

44.9%
Percentage of unmarried U.S. residents America 18 and older who were women.

61%
Percentage of unmarried U.S. residents 18 and older who had never been married. Another

23.8 percent were divorced, and 14.4 percent were widowed.

16.4 million
Number of unmarried U.S. residents 65 and older. The elderly comprised 16.5 percent of all unmarried and single people 18 and older.

88
Number of unmarried men 18 and older for every 100 unmarried women in the United States.

59.1 million
Number of households maintained by unmarried men or women. These households comprised 45 percent of households nationwide.

31.4 million
Number of people who lived alone. They comprised 27 percent of all households, up from 17 percent in 1970.

Parenting

35%
Percentage of women age 15 to 50 with a birth in the last 12 months, as of 2009, who were widowed, divorced or never married.

11.7 million
Number of single parents living with their children in 2010. Of these, 9.9 million were single mothers and 1.8 million were single fathers.
38%
Percentage of opposite-sex, unmarried-partner households that included at least one biological child of either partner.
792,000
Number of unmarried grandparents who were caregivers for their grandchildren in 2009. They comprised about three in 10 grandparents who were responsible for their grandchildren.

Unmarried Couples

6.5 million
Number of unmarried-partner households in 2009. Of this number, 581,300 were same-sex households.
Dating

393
The number of dating service establishments nationwide as of 2007. These establishments, which include Internet dating services, employed nearly 3,125 people and generated $928 million in revenues.
Voters

38%
Percentage of voters in the 2008 presidential election who were unmarried.

Education

85%

Percentage of unmarried people 25 and older in 2010 who had a high school diploma or more.
25%

Percentage of unmarried people 25 and older in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree or more education.

The list was compiled using Match.com’s unparalleled data on American singles to pinpoint top locations where women with children have had more success meeting someone through Match.com than those without kids. The number one spot where single moms rule the dating scene was claimed by Yonkers, New York with Alpharetta, Georgia coming in as a close second.  Below is the full list of top 10 cities:

1. Yonkers, NY
2. Alpharetta, GA
3. Newport News, VA
4. Beverly Hills, CA
5. New Haven, CT
6. Schenectady, NY
7. Olympia, WA
8. Fairfax, VA
9. Green Bay, WI
10. Rockville, MD

Results from a recent study by Match.com showed that single parents in the US are dating more (21%) compared to singles without children (16%). The study also looked at how these singles felt about issues such as the appropriate amount of time to wait before introducing children to your new partner and how to tell a child about a new romance. Specific results include:

• Single Parents are dating more than singles without kids: 21% of single parents are currently dating someone versus 16% of singles without kids; 35% of single parents have been on a first date in the past year versus 27% of singles without kids
• How/When are single parents introducing kids into the mix: 25% of singles would wait 2-3 months before introducing the person they’re dating to their kids; When the time comes to introduce their partner to their children, 58% of singles said they would first invite their children and date to an activity outside of the house

The study was commissioned by Match.com to better understand the behaviors and interests of modern day American singles.  An independent group of 5,200 US singles were polled for this study which was designed by the world-renowned biological anthropologist Dr. Helen Fisher and underwritten by Binghamton University.

National Marriage Week USA is a new initiative as part of a decade-old international marriage week movement in 12 countries during the week leading up to Valentine’s Day, and has built a new clearinghouse of hundreds of events nationwide to help people strengthen their marriages.

“Furthermore, 29 percent of all couples studied say that the Recession has deepened their commitment to their marriage, 58 percent say it had no effect, and 13 percent say it has not deepened their commitment,” reports Brad Wilcox, director of the National Marriage Project’s new survey about marriage and the economy. For full report, go to www.nationalmarriageweekusa.org/news/.

“We want to get the message out that marriage is beneficial for both personal and national economic stability and for raising more well-adjusted children,” says Chuck Stetson, CEO of National Marriage Week USA. “Marriage breakdown costs taxpayers at least $112 billion a year.  Forty percent of all American babies are now born outside of marriage. We have an alarming drop in the marriage rate from 79 percent of all adults married in 1970 to 57 percent today. Combined with our 50 percent divorce rate, family breakdown is costly to the nation,” continued Stetson, citing earlier research from the Institute for American Values. “In these days of economic hardship, policy leaders and individual Americans need to get serious about our efforts to strengthen marriage.”

“Marriage pays,” says National Marriage Week USA executive director Sheila Weber.  ”Research shows that marriage makes people happier, live longer, and build more economic security.  Children with married parents perform better in school; have less trouble with the law, less teen pregnancy and fewer issues with addiction.”

“Most folks don’t know where to go to get the help they need,” said Weber.” We’ve created a new clearinghouse of hundreds of marriage classes and conferences all around the country to help couples strengthen their own marriage, or to help others.

Here Kendra reveals some romance tips which will make you top of the class come Valentine’s Day:

Gifts:

• A Valentine’s card, whether it’s cute, classy, traditional or tacky, is considered the most important item to receive on Valentine’s Day- don’t neglect such a simple touch! Upload photographs to one of our Personalised Valentine’s cards to make it extra special.
• A home-made gift shows thought, consideration and creativity- think along the lines of home-made muffins, a personalised photo frame (so they can frame your thoughtful personalised Valentine’s card of course!) or a delicious three course dinner for extra brownie points.

Messages:

• What you write in your personalised Valentine’s day card says way more about your relationship than what you buy.
• Personalised messages and private jokes show openness and the ability to be honest about your feelings, but remember to keep it clean as other people may well end up reading it!
• If you want to write a poem, avoid channelling your inner cheese and remember it doesn’t have to rhyme to be romantic – so just give it a go. If you want a hand our online Valentine ‘s Day range always have a couple of verse options to choose from.

Dates:

• Dream dates are all about personal touches and don’t just have to be about wining and dining, and splashing the cash!
• Personal grooming should be a given- but a bit of effort (a nice new shirt/haircut/new underwear) will not go unnoticed and get you extra brownie points boys and girls!
• A home-cooked meal, foot massage, bubble bath or even agreeing to watch the football/ Desperate Housewives are all activities that are easily achievable and just as effective as love hearts and roses.
• Why not create a personalised invitation for your date to make it really different?

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins responded with the following statement:

“According to the study, only five percent of Americans under age 30 do not plan on marrying.  This doesn’t sound like ‘the end of marriage,’ as some are claiming the survey indicates.

“There’s certainly reason for concern about some trends – such as the increase in the percentage of births that occur out of wedlock from five percent in 1960 to 41 percent in 2008. At the same time, some interpretations of the data expressed in the media are distorted. A decline in the percentage of adults who are married is largely because people delay marriage, not because young men and women are foregoing marriage completely.

“Two-thirds of Americans are ‘optimistic’ about the institutions of marriage and the family.  Far fewer say that about schools, the economy, or ‘morals and ethics.’ It’s not surprising that most people consider single parents or cohabiting couples who are raising their own children to be ‘families.’ The question is whether they are the kind of families we should seek or, as a society, should foster and encourage. If a couple is not raising children, Americans are still five times more likely to declare them not to be a family if they are a same-sex or cohabiting couple than if they are married.

“The research is still clear – married husbands and wives, and their children, are happier, healthier, and more prosperous than people in any other household setting. Time Magazine’s Belinda Luscombe gets it right in the end when she says that ‘marriage is still the best avenue most people have for making their dreams come true.’”

Finding a partner can add a great deal of happiness to your life, but it takes consistent effort to find him.

Finding The Right Man For You: Dating Advice for Women by Lawrence J. Danks suggests many ways to make a search more effective, including:

1. Get Out

Unless a woman is searching online, she’s not going to find a partner at home. How many men have you met in the last month? Put yourself in situations where you are going to meet many more men.

2. You Talk First

Don’t wait for men to talk to you. You talk first! Talk to three new, interesting men a day. Stay alert to chance meetings.

3. Take a Hard Look at Your Requirements

Look for character and what’s going to make you happier in the long run. Don’t get hung up on things like age or height.

4. Improve Your Appearance

Dress up more. You’ve got a lot of competition. Doesn’t what a man looks like make a difference to you? It does to men too.

Lose weight if you have to, for your health, and so the man who loves you will be likely to have you longer. Women who get their weight into a more acceptable range attract more men.

5. Move Ahead — Don’t Stay Stuck

Don’t let a bad divorce experience keep you mired in sadness. You still have a whole lot of living to do, no matter how old you are.

6. Use Online Dating

Don’t walk when you can run. You’re holding yourself back. Where else can you scope out 100-200 men in an hour?

7. Use Dynamite Photos and Write a Captivating Personal Statement

Excellent photos are very important. It’s what stops traffic. Write a strong personal statement. Answer questionnaires thoroughly. Open up your heart. You will touch the hearts of the right men.

8. Be Open to Moving If You Can

Being willing to go where a man is can increase potential candidates. Any flexibility helps, even if it’s only to a different part of your state.

9. Be Patient and Be Happy With or Without a Man

It can take time to find the right man – much longer if you don’t work at it consistently. In the meantime, do what you enjoy and be grateful. You might meet the man you were looking for just living your everyday, happy life.

10. Believe

It’s never too late to find love. I’ve heard women say they will never meet anyone. If you think like that, you’re going to be right. A woman married who was ninety-two. She was with her husband for four years. There is always time – if you keep hope alive and do what needs to be done.

Finding The Right Man For You: Dating Advice For Women
(Helpful Media) ISBN:978-0-578-04809-3
Retail: $13.95

Source: Helpful Media

You want to have all of your bills in order when you are going through a divorce. You need to make sure that you are thinking about all the bills that you have and that you are keeping them straight.  It is important to have these bills paid so that you can keep your credit and good name after the divorce.  You do not want to start out your new life with bad credit because this will only make things more difficult later on.

You will want to think about the bills that you have together with your ex. These bills have to be arranged for payment. You need to figure out how you are going to handle them so that you are getting them sorted out before you go your separate ways. Sometimes these bills are sorted through before the attorney and the judge settle the divorce.

Getting through a lot of the hassle of figuring out the bills is something that you have to do. You must make sure that you are protecting yourself so that you are able to be financially ready to take on the role of supporting yourself and making your new life better.  This is something that you must do for your own protection.  You are on your own now and need to watch out for yourself.

There will be other issues to think about like the house payment and the car payments. You will want to discuss this with your ex partner so that you can get these things figured out and settled for when the divorce takes place.  Other payments will include things like the car insurance, health insurance, life insurance and any 401K plans that you may have in place. This is something that you must be thinking about when you are going through the life changing experience of divorce.

Of course the one thing that you must think about is what you can now afford and what you cannot. You need to think about the things that you can take on and what you are gong to have to have to make ends meet once you are divorced.  There are many issues that you to have to address so that you are able to survive on the income that you have coming in.  If you have to make sacrifices for a little while then that is what you have to do.

You may also have to pay your attorney fees.  Some times when you are in a divorce you may find it to be necessary to hire an attorney.  This is the best way for some couples to get their point across a little bit easier.

You will want to start make payments as soon as possible. This will allow you more time to get your debt paid off so that you are free and clear of any bills from your divorce.

Your bills are going to accumulate and you want to be aware that you can get into debt fast when you are someone that has gone through a divorce. You will want to make sure that you are careful so that you are not putting more strain on your finances that what you need to have.

This is all part of rebuilding your life once you are divorced and improving your entire life and well-being.

There are millions more women looking for a partner, than men looking for a mate. Women over thirty-five face further competition from younger women, and limit their choices even more by wanting a man to fit into a narrow age range, to be at least three inches taller, be Jewish, or be Catholic, be open to living with pets, and often much more. The result: an already limited supply of men gets shrunken to a smaller universe to choose from.

Larry Danks, author of Finding The Right Man For You: Dating Advice for Women, says, “With all the women looking for a partner, a woman needs an edge. Women often get dating advice from their girlfriends and female relatives. What they rarely get is a male perspective. There is a man for just about any woman who is willing to conduct a conscientious and well-founded search to find him. I wrote the book to try to make the process more effective.”

The twenty-eight-chapter guide provides many helpful suggestions on how to meet more men, including: “You talk first”; and dating after divorce or the death of a partner: “Exercise caution, but don’t drag things out unnecessarily and miss a far better life you could be having.” Danks suggests over two dozen considerations to help recognize the right man, including: commitment and companionship, unselfishness, his family and friends, looking to the experience of others, learning to listen, and being able to feel safe being yourself. There are also chapters for women who date and have children and face time pressures at work and at home.

“Women should substantially increase the number of men they meet and keep their standards high, but be willing to lose some requirements such as age, height, religion if possible, and income. Look for character, develop a plan and work at it consistently. And as important as it is for women to avoid loneliness and to find increased happiness, it’s a distant second to guarding personal and financial safety,” Danks says. Two separate chapters cover those topics.

The author didn’t try to do this project alone. His book was reviewed by female advisors who gave valuable insights. Danks says, “It’s helpful for a woman to visualize walking along a beautiful shoreline at sunset, hand in hand with the man she loves. That can rekindle efforts to find the right man. The result can be a happier woman – and a happier man, too.”

“Finding The Right Man For You: Dating Advice for Women”
Lawrence J. Danks
Helpful Media, Perfect Paperback, 245 pages, June 2010

Retail: $13.95 – (Amazon: Preorder price: $9.41; B&N: Member and Internet discounts)

ISBN-10: 0578048094
ISBN-13: 9780578048093