Prizes/ Coupons/ Celebrating Reconciliation / Hundreds / Auditions - 4/11/08

[Smartmarriages]

- ON-SITE COUPONS/DOOR PRIZES AT THE CONFERENCE
- CELEBRITY RECONCILIATION
- HOW TO SURVIVE YOUR MARRIAGE
- CALL GIRL AUDITIONS
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- ON-SITE COUPONS/DOOR PRIZES AT THE CONFERENCE

ON-SITE COUPONS
I'm working on the On-Site packets and the Plenary Session Door Prizes and
it reminds me to give you a HEADS UP. Some conference attendees don't open
their packets till they are on the plane - going home. Then they call AFTER
the conference to ask how they can get the specials that are advertised in
the on-site Packets. Often, they can't. For instance, I just received the
Prepare/Enrich insert and see that with the insert you can stop by their
exhibit and pick up a FREE copy of the Couple Checkup.  With the PlayBack
insert, you get $100 off the prices advertised at their booth.  Without the
insert, you pay the full price.

DOOR PRIZE DRAWINGS
Ditto for the Door Prize Drawings.....you need to know that you have to show
up - you MUST be present in the Ballroom during the drawing TO WIN.  And
these are lallapalooza $$ prizes.... People often ask me on the last day of
the conference, "When are you going to do the door prize drawings??"  They
assume we're going to do them at the end of the conference - as at so many
other events.  Nope, we do them throughout, 5 mins BEFORE the EACH keynote.
For instance, the PREP folks will give away their complete set of NEW PREP
DVD Media Pack. The Pack includes the Fighting for Your Marriage 4 DVD Set,
The Montage DVD, and the Understanding Commitment DVD.  This will be given
away before the Howard Markman, Scott Stanley keynote "Let's Get Real:
Marriage Education for Individuals" on Friday morning at 8:30am.  So the
door prize drawing will be at 8:25am.

Other prizes include FULL training series - like the Family Wellness 3-day
Instructor training plus all their DVDs and materials; a three-day Divorce
Busting Workshop; the full "Love: What Everyone Needs to Know" Series - a
$500 value -- that kind of prize.

There will be a complete schedule of WHICH prizes will be given away WHEN in
the on-site packets.

If you are registered for the Conference, your name is in the door prize
box.  You're automatically entered.  BUT you must be present to win.

EXHIBIT DRAWINGS
MANY of the Exhibits ALSO hold their OWN door prize drawings. For these,
bring plenty of business cards so it's easy to enter. Exhibits will usually
have a fish bowl or basket for entries and will post the prizes and drawing
times on a sign.  

The list of Exhibits is growing - see exhibitors so far at:
http://www.smartmarriages.com/exhibitors.html
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- CELEBRITY RECONCILIATION

We so often bemoan the celebrity divorce rates and the examples these set.
Many of you submitted the good news about Sean Penn. So yes, I agree, news
like this does have an influence on the public and we should celebrate it.
-d 

> Sean Penn, Wife Withdraw Divorce Papers
> 
> SAN RAFAEL, Calif. (AP) ‹ Sean Penn and his wife, Robin Wright Penn, have
> withdrawn their divorce petition.
> 
> A Marin County Superior Court commissioner has dismissed the divorce
> proceedings between the couple, who call the community of Ross, Calif., their
> home.
> 
> Neither attended Tuesday's hearing, and no comment has been released on the
> latest development.
> 
> The dismissal came a day after they attended an Eddie Vedder concert at the
> University of California at Berkeley, where the actor reportedly went on stage
> to dedicate a song to Wright Penn.
> 
> They filed for divorce in December.

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- HOW TO SURVIVE YOUR MARRIAGE

How to survive your marriage: Sex and romance
>From Hundreds of Heads

-- Married? Here's some advice on keeping the romance alive from the book
"How to Survive Your Marriage" (Hundreds of Heads Books,
www.hundredsofheads.com, $13.95), straight from people who've done it:

"Sometimes, you need a change of scenery for romance. And it's something you
have to plan. We don't have spontaneous romance. We were able to get away
about a year ago to do some hiking in North Carolina, but we had to plan for
three weeks just to get a few days away. We had a fabulous time, but it
wasn't easy getting there. And when we're away, we have one rule: No talk
about the kids. To enjoy romance, I think you have to revert to the time
when you didn't have kids."
- Jane, Brooklyn, N.Y.

"To me, romance is not about flowers. I don't like candy or the typical
candlelight dinner. That doesn't do a thing for me. I'm always like, "Can we
turn on the light so we can see what we're eating?" Try cooking a meal in
the nude and, uh, eating it on the coffee table in the living room. It has
to be a different place. It's not what props you use, it's how you feel. You
have to find a place where you feel uninhibited. When we were younger, it
was just about sex. We didn't have to be romantic, we had energy. Now it's
about more than that."
- Cathy Westmoreland, Churchville, Va.

"We go on really nice vacations. We have two weeks of time-shares in St.
Martin and go every year. We have a few drinks and relax and we get into
conversations that we never have when we are home. Sometimes I make him tell
me things that he likes about me, and vice versa. It's our time to
`rediscover' our relationship."
- Shari Sugarman, North Babylon, N.Y.

"Travel like college students. Put backpacks on and go somewhere like you
have no responsibilities. We packed only what we could fit into our
backpacks, got on a plane and spent a month in Thailand. We felt like we
were 18 again."
- Tom Fishburne, Minneapolis, Minn.

"We have little nicknames for each other. Most of them are in Spanish. I'm
from Mexico and I call him `tortuga' and `chaparrito.' We don't have English
names at all. I say them and he repeats them and I laugh. Instead of calling
me `chaparitta,' which is the feminine form, he calls me in the masculine
form. And then he calls me "mi vida," which means `my life.'"
- Barbara, Puebla, Mexico

"So many men don't have a clue what women really want - like a single rose
for no reason. That's one of the things I love most about my husband."
- Barbara Stevens, Gatlinburg, Tenn.

Hundreds of Heads Books' survival guides offer the wisdom of the masses by
assembling the experiences and advice of hundreds of people who have gone
through life's biggest challenges and have insight to share. Visit
www.hundredsofheads.com to share your advice

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- CALL GIRL AUDITIONS

This is from the Washington Post, April 9, 2008 reporting on the trial of
Debra Palfrey and her escort business, Pamela Martin & Associates.

> Each woman said that after she applied to work for Pamela Martin & Associates,
> she was sent to the home of a longtime client, who then reported to Palfrey on
> whether the woman was suited to be an escort.
> 
> Huang was one of the "testers," as prosecutors call them.
> 
> He testified that Palfrey asked him questions: "Was she enthusiastic?
> Passionate? Was she a dead fish? Something along those lines." He said Palfrey
> "wanted an honest opinion."

> Full article: http://tinyurl.com/445oyq

I'm not saying there's a lesson in this, BUT.....the Bunny Ranch in Nevada
reports that the #1 item on the menu is "The Girlfriend Experience" - a
woman who will just spend time with a guy, sit on the couch and watch TV and
cuddle, and act like she likes him.  Palfrey wants to be sure her escorts
are enthusiastic, passionate....not acting like a dead fish. Also note that
this is all sex "by appointment".....nothing spontaneous here. And, that
there are menus. Hmmmmmmm.....an observation.   - diane

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12th Annual Smart Marriages® Conference, Hilton San Francisco Hotel,
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Pre-Conference Training Institutes June 30-July 2
Post-Conference Training Institutes July 6
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