Keeping a calendar might make you feel square, but it can save your marriage. For starters, penciling in what needs to be done and appointments you have keeps you both organized and unable to blame each other when someone forgets something. For instance, my husband went to a hair salon and made an appointment to have our son's hair cut. He forgot the time as he was walking out of the place. Then, he was supposed to change the appointment because his work schedule changed, and he forgot to call the salon. All this would not have happened if he had simply written it down. When all was said and done, he was annoyed that I didn't remember all this stuff myself. But I wasn't the one who took charge of this appointment. He has resigned himself to keeping a calendar moving forward - and not blaming his wife for things she has no control over. (Amen!)

Another reason calendars help married people is that they allow us to track our schedules, so we're sure to sneak in time for the two of us. For instance, you can schedule date night or even sex. You might look at your calendar and notice that you're spending far too much time at work and not nearly enough time with your spouse. Get a calendar and start marking it up. It could make an improvement in your marriage. Of course, you don't have to be old-fashioned like me with my paper agenda and pencil; you can use the calendar on your computer or phone. It will beep to remind you of your sexy date with hubby. Hubba Hubba.

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People who visit this site often debate whether to wait for marriage to have sex or whether you need to have sex beforehand to see if you are sexually compatible. Recently, a freelance writer for Salon shared her opinion as a young woman who waited for marriage and ended up divorced. In fact, she blames waiting for marriage to have sex for the failed marriage. The story is compelling and well written and features a vivid description of how she fell for the abstinence movement as a teen, even if she did not fully buy into the whole marrying Jesus part of the deal. Whether you agree or not, I recommend reading the story. Feel free to chime in here to share your thoughts.

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Babble recently posted a story about how brides can reuse their wedding dresses after the wedding. Some of them have been talked about before, such as Trash the Dress photo sessions. Others, however, are clever and creative. For instance, what about turning your dress into a pillow for the marital bed. Or wearing pieces of your dress as a headband or tulle skirt? There are all sorts of ideas, with beautiful photos, in "25 Ways to Recycle Your Wedding Dress." It'll have you itching for an excuse to get another wedding dress to make more of these pretty goodies.

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Today I had a fascinating phone conversation with an elementary school physical education teacher, who has learned to live with bipolar disorder. Jonathan Nelson nearly lost his marriage before getting diagnosed, and he has lots of experiences and advice to share about how to keep your marriage intact despite your mental illness. What I appreciated about the talk was Nelson's candor and the fact that he opened up about how close his marriage came to ending. I also really want to promote one of his objectives in writing the book, Straightjacket Memories (Compare Prices for the book), about confronting bipolar disorder and what it did to his marriage. His goal is to remove the stigma associated with mental illness and teach people to think of it as you would any other disease that requires medical attention. He wants us to care about the mentally ill, rather than avoid them or judge them. I say, "Right on." I feature a Q&A with Nelson about his experiences in "Marriage and Mental Illness," which also includes tips for those who are married to someone with a mental illness.

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