Leon Scott Baxter's Blog, page 23

Really? That Exists?

I stumbled upon this site (ThisIsWhyImBroke.com) recently and I can’t stay off of the thing. It’s a compilation of the most creative, innovative, state-of the art and fun products on the internet. You can find items for as low as a couple of bucks and upwards of over a million dollars.

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Most of the items are not “romantic” per se, but there are a few that I found:
• Underwater Hotel Room Reservations for $15K
• Glow in the Dark Underwear
• The Aquarium Bed (see above) for $11,500
• Two-Person Umbrella for $19.95
• A Double Patio Longer for Two (in the concept stage)
They do actually have a page exclusively for “Romantic Gifts” that includes an anti-gravity wedding for $18K. But there a hundreds of more items, and if you know your sweetheart well, you are guaranteed to find something to float his/her boat from the $190K actual Batmobile to the $14 Fundies or the $2 cassette tape iPhone cover.

I don’t think I can do this site justice. I just suggest you click on this link and check it out for yourself. It’s amazing the things that are available today, and if you can’t find something for your partner on this site, you need to get them out of the house more.

He’s Not Romantic

Please Help Me

Doomsday: Come and Gone

Yesterday, December 22, 2012, people all over the world celebrated that the world had not come to an end as some say the Mayan calendar predicted. [image error]

Doomsdayers have been predicting that the world as we know it would cease to exist four days before Christmas in the year 2012. People prepared for this. Some quit their jobs. Others pulled their children from school. Some hunkered down in bunkers with canned foods and rifles. And, there were some who just didn’t want to live through the end of the world and took their own lives.

Still others thought they should go out with a bang. So, they held “The Last Day” parties, headed off to Disneyland and got married.

When we all woke up yesterday, some were more surprised than others. They hugged their loved ones, held “The day After” parties, and still more proposals took place between couples.

It’s funny how a silly rumor can make some of us really appreciate the lives and loved ones we have. So, I suggest we live each day as if it were our last (in a sense). I don’t mean we quit our jobs, pull our kids from school and have a party every night. But, I do mean we wake up every morning appreciating that we have another day together, that our loved ones are still with us, and we should definitely be appreciative of our significant others. If we are contemplating taking “the next step” and need a push, use the idea that we don’t know what tomorrow holds for us. If we are in love, why not commit today? And, if we are already committed, let’s be sure we acknowledge how lucky we are everyday, not just “the day after” doomsday.

To Keep You Company While I’m Away

I’m not only America’s Romance Guru; I’m also a proud father. My nine-year old daughter, Maya, started a business recently, and it’s taken off. She makes these incredible little toys called Wigglo Pets, that respond when you touch them.

So, I’m thinking, “How can I tie this into relationships so I can feel good about putting it into this month’s newsletter?” Then, it hits me. Wigglos are the perfect stocking stuffer if you are away from your partner often, if you are in a long-distance relationship, or if your partner really wants a pet and for some reason just can’t have one.

Wigglos Pets are soft, come in different patterns, don’t need to be fed, never need walks and won’t ever need to visit the vet. They come in male and female versions (eyelashes or not), and they actually move when you pet them. Thus the slogan: “The Pets that Love to Be Petted”. To see them in action, watch this 60-second video.

You can learn all there is about Wigglo Pets and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/WiggloPets). You can also contact Maya there to place an order, or you can purchase through Etsy.com and Fiverr.com.

Any gift you give can be romantic if you know your partner, or you have a good backstory for it. If Wigglos fit the bill, consider getting one so your partner will see their newest pet poking its head out of a stocking on Christmas Day.

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Coupon Clipping Leads To Proposal

I do the grocery shopping in my house. I don’t literally shop in my house, but I am the one who goes to the store and buys the food…not my wife. I head out every Sunday morning to my local Vons because I like[image error] to have control over what we eat the next week. I also am a frugal guy and I believe I am a good shopper when it comes to price per ounce, sales and coupons. As a result, I might save 25 – 45% on a Sunday shopping excursion. But, that’s nothing compared to the fanatics on Extreme Couponing (yes, I do watch it now and again). These folks will regularly save upwards of 90% on huge shopping trips, and sometimes even get a car full of groceries for free.

So last week, I’m watching an episode and there’s this couple who wants to tie the knot, but she (the couponer) won’t set a date until they couple has saved enough for an engagement ring. So, to “save” enough dough they decide to go shopping (strange logic, right?). They need an additional $500 set aside to be able to afford the ring. Therefore, their logic is, if they can save $500 at the grocery store using coupons, they will be able to afford the ring (I’m not knocking it, not spending money isn’t quite the same as acquiring it to make another purchase, but that’s neither here nor there).

They get to the checkout counter and start racking up savings. They hit their goal and the couple is elated. Unbeknownst to the woman, the man assumed that they’d hit their mark and he had already purchased the ring. So, at the checkout counter, he gets down on one knee and proposes to her right in front of the gum and tabloids. She can’t control herself. She’s so delighted. She accepts and the presumably live happily ever after surrounded by 712 rolls of paper towels.

When I saw him proposing to her at a grocery store, I was at first disappointed at how much his venue lacked romance. But, then I changed my tune. I always say that romance is not about what you do,m but about how your partner responds to what you do, and for that to be successful you need to really know your partner. If I had proposed to my wife at check stand seven, I may not be married today, but this guy knows his fiance. He knew that by asking her to marry him after the biggest savings of her life would be memorable and loving and romantic. Kudos to him

It just goes to show that romance is not necessarily about flowers, jewelry, and a french dinner. Know your partner and you can create romance out of the mundane.

In Love With My Best Friend

Four Years and More Trouble

He Left Me for Her…Again