Fit for Love Part 3: Couples Gaining Weight By Ashley McIlwain Have you ever noticed how a lot of people gain weight once they get married? In a recent episode of Dr. Oz, he reports that studies show couples are two times as likely to become obese after getting married. There are several contributing factors
Sundrenched Summer Photos By Steve McIlwain Hubs here. Summer days are drawing to a close. In just a couple short weeks (shorter for some) school starts back up again and another crazy school year begins. For others summer breaks are a distant memory and June through August are merely hotter months. Regardless, the thought of
Fit for Love Part 2: Why Fitness Matters By Ashley McIlwain According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, thirty four percent of all adults over the age of twenty in America are obese with another thirty four percent being reportedly overweight. There is an obvious problem with the overall health situation of Americans.
Knowing When You’ve Found The One By Ashley McIlwain It’s a question that I get asked a lot … how do I know that the person I am with is “the one?” I wish there were an easy, fail-proof checklist I could give people who ask me this question; it would make both of
Last week I celebrated my birthday. As I mentioned in A Celebration of Life, birthdays are kind of a big deal in my family. That’s because they aren’t just some annual ritual that happens to include cake and presents. No, birthdays are an opportunity to count your blessings, which is exactly what I did this
I remember lining up in the kitchen with my two sisters at my mom’s command. Someone had done something they weren’t supposed to, and it was time to find out the crime and culprit. So, as the three of us stood there wide-eyed looking at my mom, she would simply say, “Who did it?” We
For better or worse. I clearly remember standing before God, family, friends, our pastor, and my handsome groom vowing to love him for better or worse, among other things. It’s funny though how in the moment you can easily imagine and commit to the “for better” part, but you selectively disregard the “or worse” portion.
“What are you most dissatisfied with about our marriage?” she asked. It was a simple question, albeit somewhat out of the blue. Ashley and I were driving home after spending a day at a museum. I sat there partly terrified, thoughts racing through my mind for the right answer. Difficult conversations are not exactly my
I flipped down the passenger side visor to glance at myself in the mirror. Ugh. How could I forget to put on a stitch of make-up? I looked over at my husband and apologized for my ragged appearance. He just laughed and reassured me saying, “You know I think you are most beautiful when you
The fourth and final of the Four Horsemen is stonewalling. In his book The Marriage Clinic, Gottman defines stonewalling as occurring "when the listener withdraws from the interaction" (p.46). In other terms, stonewalling is when one person shuts down and closes himself/herself off from the other. It is a lack of responsiveness to your spouse
