4 Ways to More Romance

So you want a little more romance in your life? You want your Honey to brag about you to her girlfriends? Then forget about the candles, the Tantric lessons, incense and mood music. You don't have to write a poem, serenade at her office, deliver balloons in a clown suit or go proposing on the Jumbotron at a ball game. My guess is these kind of things aren't quite your style. Too cliche, too cheesy. Too something. There's gotta be a better way. A painless, not too much effort or too embarrassing, a dude's method to romancing, charming and impressing the opposite sex. There is.

Just remember these 4 steps.

1. Exceed the expected.
2. Be creative.
3. Expend a little effort.
4. Create rituals.

Exceed expectations: My wife was expecting me to get her flowers, so rather than pop into a florist, I bought her daisy earrings from Tiffany's. In this day of cell phones, text messages, emails, do the unexpected -- write a letter and send it snail mail. And having learned Origami recently, if I had to do it today, I might fold some paper roses. Much cheaper.

Creativity: For our practical purposes, being creative means thinking just a wee little bit outside the box. In the old days, we made a mix cassette tape of our favorite songs. Today, you can mix a CD of not only your favorite songs, but tunes she might like, that shows who you are, what's in your heart, what moves your soul and body. Or if you got the money, buy her an iPod, and load it up with your special mix. If you don't have the money, hijack her iPod and return with the mix.

Think about what you would normally do, then do that with a twist. For example, on her next birthday, rather than buying a $6 card, make your own. Use crayons. Learn Photoshop. A mix of old school and new works great and it's a wonderful show of creativity.

A Little Effort: Not a lot. Cook her a meal. Take the kid to the park and give her a Saturday morning off so she can shop or get a pedicure or whatever. Another example: Once when I was leaving on a 7-day vacation, I left 7 notes (one for each day I was to be gone) for the girl I was living with at the time. I left instructions to open only one per day. This way, she knew I was thinking of her while I was away. This way, she didn't miss me too much. This way, she did miss me even more.

Yes, it took a little planning. A little effort. Not impossible to do.

Rituals: No, not a satanic kind. If you just started dating, maybe save all the Fortune Cookie messages from the Chinese restaurants the two of you frequent. Present them at a later time. My example: on our wedding anniversary, we always dine at a restaurant with a number of the anniversary. I pick and she doesn't know where we're going til we get there. For our first, we went to One Pico at Shutters on the Beach, then Carmines II (where we saw Frank Stallone, Sly's bro at the bar), we missed it on the third (it was the year of the baby), then Four Oaks (since closed), and finally 555 East American Steakhouse ... you get the idea. Corny, huh?

Think up some of your own. Later, I'll post some pictures of arts and crafts projects I've made for my wife and child. Just remember, all four steps takes just a little thought. And as they say, it really is the thought that counts.