Today I interview my sister, Katie Elliott, about her marriage. Katie and her husband, Jimmy Lavita, were co-artistic creators of 3rd Law Dance until his death in 2017. Katie continues to direct the company now on her own. Together they built an artistic life where “new ideas are generated through the push and pull in movement, emotion, and ideas that create dynamic working relationships.”Today you’ll hear:About how seeing your partner for exactly, precisely who they are will deepen the love you shareYou’ll hear why trying to change your partner stops the flow of love, and how you can surrender your need to change themFinally, you’ll hear the secret to receiving love. Hint: it’s the opposite of having a recipe and getting what you thought you wantedConnect to Improve Your Relationship CommunicationVisit the show notes here.Please subscribe to my newsletter here.  Follow me on Tik Tok.Reach me at 970-210-4480Connect with my guest here.

Looking for a good date night option?Consider a date that includes water. Water dates have rebooted my marriage multiple times. Water is calming. Water is invigorating. And water invites each of you to show up and notice what is real. In this episode:We’ll talk about the three roles in your relationship: Partner, Lover, and Friend and how they are each impacted by the waterI’ll tell you a story about how a water adventure reset my marriage after a troubled timeAnd I’ll suggest a specific water date for your relationshipHabit for Your Happily Ever AfterFind a body of water and put yourselves in, on, or beside this water. Then notice what you need from the water.Date Night DiscussionThis week instead of talking, allow the water to offer you the silence of being together. Allow yourselves to NOT talk and notice how much you say to one another by sharing an experience of silence. Connect to Improve Your Relationship CommunicationVisit the show notes here.Please subscribe to my newsletter here.  Follow me on Instagram.Reach me at 970-210-4480

How do two people go from meeting in a Dairy Queen as teenagers, to cultivating a connection so deep that their marriage can withstand a major life change?Today we get to hear from my niece and nephew, Chris and Megan Tidd. They are childhood sweethearts, and they’ve been together 23  years. During those years, they’ve raised two wonderful children and, in addition to careers as engineer and teacher, they’ve both gotten graduate degrees. You’ll hear how they:Pay attention to their monthly “anniversor” to remind them of the commitment they made to each otherYou’ll hear how they deal with the *opposites attract* element in their relationship to form a helix of interconnectionAnd why acknowledging the Hole Megan was feeling in her heart is crucial to furthering that connectionHabit for Your Happily Ever AfterFor this week’s habit for your happily ever after, I’m wondering if you have a desire to mark your “anniversor?” If you had a monthly rhythm to acknowledge your vows of commitment, what would it be?Connect to Improve Your Relationship CommunicationVisit the show notes here.Please subscribe to my newsletter here.  Follow me on Instagram.Reach me at 970-210-4480

Is it difficult for you to feel loved? To feel truly and deeply loved?Today we explore what happens to your relationship when it’s hard to love yourself.I’ll tell you about the deep hole of loneliness I carried from childhood well into adulthoodHow you can begin—or continue—to feel worthy of loveAnd how worthiness—and what I call The Love Well—is the key ingredient to allowing you to receive the deep love you crave.Habit for Your Happily Ever AfterThis weeks habit for your happily ever after is to identify how you can build your own Love Well.Connect to Improve Your Relationship CommunicationVisit the show notes here.Please subscribe to my newsletter here.  Follow me on Instagram.Reach me at 970-210-4480

When you have a conflict with your partner, do you react to what they're saying rather than respond?In this episode, you’ll meet Mary Beth Luedtke, a licensed professional counselor candidate practicing in Grand Junction, Colorado. She is also a dear friend.Mary Beth is here to talk about how our emotional intelligence impacts our relationships:You’ll learn about the “forbidden” emotions of our childhood and how those unidentified emotions turn into the “issues” that clog up our relationships.You’ll get a habit to help you become more skilled at emotional intelligence so you can recognize these emotionsAnd, finally, you’ll hear how my world opens up as I practice this habit for you to hear.Habit for Your Happily Ever AfterThis week's habit for your happily ever after is to become aware of your emotions.Nuance helps enormously. How specific can you name your emotion? See how the specificity increases your awareness as you attempt to feel those emotions?Date Night DiscussionThis week, have a discussion with yourself about your emotions.How many emotions can you name?Of those emotions, how many different ways can you name them? How many different ways do you feel joy, anger, or sadness?Connect to Improve Your Relationship CommunicationVisit the show notes here.Please subscribe to my newsletter here.  Follow me on Instagram.Reach me at 970-210-4480Connect with my guestConnect with Mary Beth here.

To give you something quick to listen to, we created this bonus of Mariah’s affirmation alphabet. Enjoy.Connect to Improve Your Relationship CommunicationVisit the show notes here.Please subscribe to my newsletter here.  Follow me on Instagram.Reach me at 970-210-4480Connect with my guestVisit Byron and Mariah's website here.

In this bonus episode, I talk with Mariah Edgington about how to receive or allow loving opportunities to reach your heart:You'll hear how in order to receive love, you need to first feel worthy of loveYou'll hear how Mariah's past affected her ability to receive loveAnd you'll get a practice to use to help you affirm your worthinessConnect to Improve Your Relationship CommunicationVisit the show notes here.Please subscribe to my newsletter here.  Follow me on Instagram.Reach me at 970-210-4480Connect with my guestVisit Byron and Mariah's website here.

In this episode, I interview the speaking duo of Byron and Mariah Edgington. They met when Mariah was an ICU nurse and Byron was an emergency services flight helicopter pilot.You’ll hear how, even with the best of intentions, Byron hurt his wife’s feelings for yearsWhy Mariah’s neurodiversity diagnosis is deepening their connection to each otherAnd how they expanded their love when Mariah cared for herself first.Connect to Improve Your Relationship CommunicationVisit the show notes here.Please subscribe to my newsletter here.  Follow me on Instagram.Reach me at 970-210-4480Connect with my guestVisit Byron and Mariah's website here.

Last week I gave you an example of Tyler and Alia and the three things from their marriage meeting. We did that workshop style so you could start and stop the recording while you and your sweetheart have your own Planning session. Today we’ll do the same thing, but we’ll concentrate on Reviewing the previous week.You’ll see the importance of time to review the plan you made, not so you find fault, but rather to help you understand what’s realistic and where you’re expecting too much from yourselves.You’ll get review questions so you and your sweetheart can review the week you planned last week.And you’ll see how reviewing thoughtfully enables you to make a more mindful plan for the upcoming week.Habit for Your Happily Ever AfterIn order to cement this habit of the marriage meeting into your lifestyle, this week’s habit for your happily ever after is to talk about why this meeting makes you happy.Or, if happiness is too big a stretch, talk about how you can see this meeting help improve your communication.Connect to Improve Your Relationship CommunicationVisit the show notes here.Please subscribe to my newsletter here.  Follow me on Instagram.Reach me at 970-210-4480

Last week we discussed why and how a marriage meeting can help your relationship. Today I’ll walk you through a typical marriage meeting to help you prepare for yours:I'll explain the Plan-Do-Review template that will help you navigate the nitty gritty details that, if untended, cause conflictThen you’ll see why discussing a Plan at the beginning of the week fends off conflicts before they have a chance to growAnd you’ll get true to life examples you can borrowHabit for Your Happily Ever AfterThis week’s habit for your happily ever after is to talk about why this meeting makes you happy. Or, if happiness is too big a stretch, talk about how you can see this meeting help improve your communication.Connect to Improve Your Relationship CommunicationVisit the show notes here.Read the full transcript here.View a graphic to help you plan here.Please subscribe to my newsletter here.  Follow me on Instagram.Reach me at 970-210-4480

Why is a marriage meeting to handle the details of life better for your relationship than a date night?Because the niggling details of life--like whose turn it is to clean the bathroom or who's in charge of dinner--cause tiny resentments when they're unclear.Resentment kills sexual chemistry.A marriage meeting is the place for you to regularly and predictably make the invisible details of life visible. Chaos of life? Handled. Habit for Your Happily Ever AfterUse of of the scripts I offer to intentionally ask your partner to sit down with you to have a marriage meeting.Connect to Improve Your Relationship CommunicationVisit the show notes here.Here's a link to the episodes I mention about the Partner and the Lover so you'll understand why tending to the details of partnership in your marriage will improve your sexual chemistry.Please subscribe to my newsletter here.  Follow me on Instagram.Reach me at 970-210-4480

Are there some aspects of your marriage that aren't what you expect?Today we talk to science writer, Christie Aschwanden, about uncertainty. I recently listened to her podcast from Scientific American titled Uncertain, and I was struck by the parallels in science and relationships.We’ll discuss the unknown perceptions we have that color the way we see the world and how those unknown perceptions can cause conflict in your relationship:We’ll discuss how being wrong can strengthen your relationshipI’ll offer you a habit to help you spot those invisible perceptions so you connect with your sweetheart more deeplyHabit for Your Happily Ever AfterThis week’s habit for your happily ever after is to use the phrase, “Tell me where I’m wrong.”Date Night DiscussionTake a look at the dress that broke the internet. What do you see? What does your sweetheart see?Talk about how weird it is that two people can both see the truth, yet see something so totally different.Connect to Improve Your Relationship CommunicationVisit the show notes here.Please subscribe to my newsletter here.  Follow me on Instagram.Reach me at 970-210-4480Connect with my guestVisit Christie's website.Connect on social media.Listen to UNCERTAIN.Listen to her other podcast Emerging Form.

As Taylor Swift warns us, we can sit on the sidelines of our life believing the bumps and the breakers, the hurdles and the haters, or we can shake it off.There’s strong science behind this. Animals shake to alter their state: so shake off stress, sleepiness, or discomfort. It will work for you too.Follow along with my 60-second shakedown and calm the stress caused by your relationship hurdles.Connect to Improve Your Relationship CommunicationVisit the show notes here.Please subscribe to my newsletter here.  Reach me at 970-210-4480

How do we cultivate resilience?Today we’ll explore 3 simple steps you can employ whenever you’ve encountered one of life’s bumps and you need to dust yourself off and start over:You’ll hear about the importance of shaking it off: literallyYou’ll get a 4-minute date night idea to recharge your battery so you can begin againWe’ll talk about the power of beginning again. And again. And again. Because being able to begin again is at the core of resilience.Habit for Your Happily Ever AfterThis week’s habit for your happily ever after is to find your version of shaking it off.Here's a link to my 60-second bonus episode to help you shake off your bad mood. Literally. Date Night DiscussionThis week’s habit for your happily ever after is to find your version of shaking it off.Do you want to rely on Taylor Swift and her song? Or do you need something different?Connect to Improve Your Relationship CommunicationVisit the show notes here.Please subscribe to my newsletter here.  Follow me on Instagram.Reach me at 970-210-4480

Do you need to have a heart connection with your partner to get turned on? Or does physical intimacy help you from that connection?In this bonus episode, Courtney Fae Long offers more ways you can experience loving physical connection.You'll hear Courtney's deeper discussion about this week's habit for your happily ever after,  and you'll hear her answers to my rapid fire relationship questions.Connect to Improve Your Relationship CommunicationVisit the show notes here.Please subscribe to my newsletter here.  Follow me on Instagram.Reach me at 970-210-4480Connect with my guestVisit Courtney Fae Long's website here.Connect on social media here.

Do you want more pleasure in your life and your relationship?Today we talk to Courtney Fae Long. Courtney is a leading-edge sexuality educator who teaches couples and individuals how to make magic in the bedroom.In this episode, Courtney walks us through the journey that it takes to transform from a caterpillar into a butterfly when it comes to receiving pleasure:We'll look at 3 types of sensuality that prime you to enjoy your sex life moreYou'll hear Courtney teach you how to ignite the fire of desire inside yourselfYou'll hear about a controversial way to up the emotion in your sex lifeHabit for Your Happily Ever AfterSchedule sex with your partner to enjoy all-day-foreplay.Date Night DiscussionThis week discuss how each of you experience sex and intimacy.Are you more likely to need to feel that heart connection in order to get turned on physically? Or does the physical intimacy help you open your heart?Connect to Improve Your Relationship CommunicationVisit the show notes here.Please subscribe to my newsletter here.  Follow me on Instagram.Reach me at 970-210-4480Connect with my guestVisit Courtney Fae Long's website here.Connect on social media here.

What if protecting your marriage is actually causing deeper relationship problems?Your marriage is important to you. You want to ensure that what you’ve built with your partner will last. But fear for your marriage will do more harm than good to your relationship.In this episode, we’ll talk about why protecting your relationship is killing your chemistry:We’ll examine why you (or maybe your partner) shoot down the idea for a fancy date night: hint the answer is romantic.You’ll learn the difference between wanting energy that fuels your desire for a more exciting future vs protective energy that keeps you safely housed in the life you have today.You’ll get a simple strategy to change your self-talk so you can wake up your desire without frightening that Inner Lizard that’s always trying to keep you safe.Habit for Your Happily Ever AfterNotice what you want to create vs. what you’re trying to protect.One way to do this is to revive your want. Talk to yourself about things you have already.Date Night DiscussionThis week, talk to your partner about an Inner Lizard moment.Instead of attacking, or blaming your sweetheart’s Inner Lizard, show them so love.Connect to Improve Your Relationship CommunicationVisit the show notes here.Please subscribe to my newsletter here.  Follow me on Instagram.Reach me at 970-210-4480

Are you sick of having the "What's for dinner?" argument every night?My guest today is Jenna Lee Rude, the founder of the app Raised on Plants. She's here to offer practical tips to stop dinner-time disagreements and help you feel good about what you feed your family. You'll hear how:Meal prep doesn't have to be overwhelming. Prep quick-grab foods when you have time so that busy week nights are easier.It's easier than ever to feed your family plant-based foods that nourish them.Feeding your family is Big Work. It's important to be gentle with yourself as you work out a plan that fits with your values.Habit for Your Happily Ever AfterGo on a food adventure to find a new color of food to eat. Try shopping the rainbow, or choose a plant that you can introduce into your breakfast.Date Night DiscussionI invite you to listen to how Jenna and her family talk about food. How can you involve everyone who eats in your household to be a part of choosing the foods you eat?Connect with My GuestDownload Raised on Plants in the app store.Connect on Instagram.Connect to Improve Your Relationship CommunicationVisit the show notes here.Please subscribe to my newsletter here.  Follow me on Instagram.Reach me at 970-210-4480

Have you ever felt so tired you didn't know what you needed?Today, we’ll break down rest into 3 categories so you know how to treat yourself when you’re exhausted. Because not every kind of tired is the same:You’ll discover how exhaustion is wounding your relationship and why it’s critical to your happily ever after to learn how to give yourself the rest you need.You’ll understand why your dreams are dependent on rest as much as hard workYou’ll get practical tips for diagnosing not only the type of rest you need, but the specific sort of rest that rejuvenates you and launches you into a life filled with love and happiness.Habit for Your Happily Ever AfterNotice what kind of rest you need.Give yourself that rest.Keep giving yourself that rest until you’re ready to upgrade your level of rest.Date Night DiscussionThis week, talk with your partner about these 3 types of rest. What kind of recovery rest do you each value?Read the full date night discussion here.Connect to Improve Your Relationship CommunicationVisit the show notes here.Please subscribe to my newsletter here.  Reach me at 970-210-4480

Feeling pleasure allows you to grow as a human being. We all are taught how growing pains make us stronger. But we rarely talk about how growing pleasures make us stronger.My guest is the romance novelist Grace Woods, author of the trilogy: To Be Continued...This is a steamy book with some great sex scenes, but I was even more compelled by the character's journey. In this episode, we talk about:How you can stop resisting pleasure and develop a full capacity to whole-heartedly receive pleasureThe connection between erotic romance novels and relationship coachingHow pleasure can help you connect to your partner on a deeper levelHabit for Your Happily Ever AfterTalk with your partner and come up with your own "Purple" word to let each other know that you want more.Connect to Improve Your Relationship CommunicationVisit the show notes here.Please subscribe to my newsletter here.  Reach me at 970-210-4480Connect with my guestPurchase To Be Continued by Grace Woods.Connect on Instagram.