Month Off/ FunnyMarriage.com / Third Option /Facebook-Relationships Conference / Step Stigman - 1/22/11

Sat Jan 22 12:53:59 EST 2011

- LAST POST FOR A MONTH
- FUNNYMARRIAGE.COM LAUNCHES
- THE AMAZING THIRD OPTION
- ALSO IN CALIFORNIA, FACEBOOK & RELATIONSHIPS CONFERENCE, JAN 28 -30TH
- STEPFAMILIES: WHAT¹S IN A NAME

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- LAST POST FOR A MONTH
Just so you don¹t worry, this is to let you know there will be no posts to
the Smart Marriages newslist for a month.
Back at you at the end of Feb.    - diane
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- FUNNYMARRIAGE.COM LAUNCHES
Marriage doesn¹t have to be serious business  in fact, laughter and having
fun are some of the best ways to keep couples together. Susanne Alexander at
Marriage Transformation announces the launch of www.funnymarriage.com  a
place to collect and share funny stories, videos, songs, photos, whatever!
Coming soon: videos of Smart Marriages favorites Mark Gungor and Kerri
Pomarolli.  Forward this to your lists to encourage couples to subscribe,
share, and lighten up together.  Send her your stuff. - diane

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- THE AMAZING THIRD OPTION

Not only is Third Option an amazing program, but I had just recommended the
program to a caller in Chicago minutes before I saw this on the Newswire.
The Third Option was the recipient of the Smart Marriages 2005 Impact Award
for its teach-out-of-the-box, researched-based format  practical,
effective, affordable, couple- and instructor-friendly. It¹s all about
helping couples realize they don¹t have to choose between divorce and
endurance in a hair-shirt, miserable marriage  there is a Third Option,
learning how to transform their marriage.  Lay instructors easily and
enthusiastically teach the program right-out-of-the-box and one of its best
features is that it¹s designed to be taught as a year-round drop-in class
where only one partner can attend.  That means when someone in distress
calls for help you can put them in a class immediately  don¹t have to ask
them to wait months. If they have to drop in and out due to life¹s demands,
it works. If their spouse/partner won¹t attend, they can come on their own
(and the partner most often soon decides to come check things out.) It¹s
great to see that this wonderful program is being made available to couples
in California. :)  - diane

A Powerful Third Option for Marriages on the Rocks
ORANGE COUNTY, Calif., Jan. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Many married
couples dealing with hurt see only two options: painful endurance or
divorce. Thankfully, for couples in Southern California, there is now a
viable third option available: reconciliation through a powerful program
called The Third Option.

OC Marriages, in partnership with California Healthy Marriages Coalition
(CHMC), is offering The Third Option classes in multiple locations around
Orange County.  The Third Option is a group program that helps couples build
better marriages. It is designed for all married couples ‹ hurting or not.
For ordinary couples, the program teaches skills that foster even happier,
healthier marriages. For couples in crisis, it helps them deal with hurt and
find bridges to greater understanding and cooperation.  The Third Option
combines skill-building with sharing from mentor couples as well as support
from the group. The atmosphere is warm and caring, no RSVP is required, and
the classes are offered completely free of charge.

"When people come into the program we can almost visibly see the pain. One
of most effective ways The Third Option helps struggling couples comes from
our mentor couples. In most situations these are couples who have been there
and back with marital distress and emerged stronger on the other side. They
bring a powerful infusion of hope for everyone in the class," says Sylvia
Palda, LMFT and local instructor of The Third Option.

To find a class or for more information visit www.ocmarriages.org
<http://www.ocmarriages.org/>

For information on teaching The Third Option in your community go to:
http://www.thethirdoption.com/
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-   ALSO IN CALIFORNIA, FACEBOOK & RELATIONSHIPS CONFERENCE, JAN 28 -30TH
The Facebook and Relationships Conference featuring Jason and Kelli Krafsky
co-authors of Facebook and Your Marriage and specialists in technology and
relationship issues offers five different mini-seminars for five different
audiences (adults, couples, grandparents, teens and parents) throughout the
weekend (Jan 28-30) in Fullerton, CA. For info or to register for any or all
of the seminars, go to http://www.evfreefullerton.com/facebookconference or
call 714.529.5544.
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- STEPFAMILIES: WHAT¹S IN A NAME
The issue of ³step as stigma² comes around every few years. Takes on steam.
Fades.  It¹s very much like the discussions about what to call a live-in
partner. People don¹t like the term stepmother/stepson, etc and they don¹t
like calling their long-term cohabitation partner a boyfriend or
girlfriend....especially when they¹re over 50.  But, after all the hand
wringing and all is said and done, things usually revert to the status quo 
as this article in today¹s Washington Post pretty much concludes as it
closes with a quote from a blogger who says ŒAt the end of the day, I¹m a
stepmother.¹  

Between Cinderella and The Brady Bunch
Washington Post, January 22, 2011
Call them blended families, bonus families or para-kin. Just don't call them
stepfamilies. The term - seared into our consciousness through fairy tales
and Disney movies - is falling out of favor, even as the ranks of
nontraditional families are expanding.

A new poll estimates that at least four in 10 Americans consider themselves
part of a stepfamily, but a growing number reject that label, saying it
carries a stigma. . . .

Read the long article with lots of good stats and which quotes experts
Francesca Adler-Bader, Andrew Cherlin, and Paula Bisacre (all of whom live
in stepfamilies) here:
http://tinyurl.com/678n5cj

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