As promised, I’m sending some link love back to the bloggers who entered our Romantic Ideas Link Contest this week:
There’s still time to enter the Romantic Ideas Link Contest if you’re an RSS subscriber or a blogger. It’s quick, easy, and a great chance to win some cool free stuff . . . why not enter today?
The word “romance” is both powerful and personal, and inspires unique memories, reactions and emotions in every individual who hears it. It defines a quality of life, a type of story, a class of languages, a kind of art and music, and exciting and mysterious qualities that are difficult to define.
Since Romance Tracker’s mission is to deliver fresh romantic ideas to our readers, we’re going to dedicate a series of posts to the all-important question: what exactly is romance, and what does the word “romantic” mean?
Today we’re going to explore the Romantic Period, a period of history that produced some of the world’s greatest works of art, literature and music.
Romance as a Time Period
In the history of culture, the Romantic Period was a span of about a hundred years that started near the opening of the 19th century and ended near the opening of the 20th century. While art, literature and music created during the preceding Classical Period was based on order and strict rules, Romanticism inspired productions of raw emotion and unbridled imagination.
Authors, artists and musicians of the Romantic Period were surrounded by political unrest, revolution and fresh new ways of interpreting the world, and it shows in their work. While artists of the Classical Period produced works inspired by reason and their employer’s wishes, Romantic artists created works of art based on a new concept: their own feelings.
Some historians say that the Romantic Movement was inspired by revolt against the aristocracy, order, politics and scientific reason that defined the preceding age. This desire to concentrate on individual experience and emotion is said to have been intensified by the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution.
Artists of the Romantic Period
Some of the more famous Romantic composers include Ludwig van Beethoven, Frederic Chopin and Felix Mendelssohn. Their contemporaries in literature and art included Nathaniel Hawthorne, William Blake, Francisco Goya and John William Waterhouse.
The groundbreaking literary, musical and artistic methods developed during the Romantic Period remain with us to this very day, and even our contemporary culture is saturated with concepts and melodies inspired by Romanticism.
So the next time you hear the word “romantic,” remember that it has many definitions . . . not all of which are rooted in passion or love. The romantic artist is one who creates masterpieces inspired by raw individual emotion, but that emotion doesn’t necessarily have to be love.
This is really cool! Liz Strauss at Successful Blog has completed the Blogging Metaphor Project, and Romance Tracker’s post on 10 Reasons Why Blogging is Like Dating has been chosen as one of the ten winners.
Even cooler: as a winner, Romnace Tracker is going to receive an autographed copy of Lorelle’s book “Blogging Tips–What Bloggers Won’t Tell You About Blogging.” It’s strange to learn that I’ll be getting a free copy of this great book, because I was actually already thinking about ordering it!
I’m sure “Blogging Tips” will help me improve Romance Tracker and make it even better for our regualr readers. Kudos to Liz Strauss for running such a super blog project and inspiring so much good writing! I’m going to reproduce the entire list of entries below, and I hope you check them all out if you get a chance.
Frequent readers of Romance Tracker may have noticed that our RSS subscriber number has been inching closer and closer to 100 in recent days . . . in fact, as of today, 99 readers have signed up for the Romance Tracker Feed!
That’s a totally awesome milestone, especially since Romance Tracker’s Technorati Authority ranking also hit 199 today!
To celebrate hitting 100 RSS subscribers and Technorati 200, Romance Tracker is going to give a little something back to our readers and fellow bloggers who helped us get there.
Today we’re launching the Romantic Ideas Link Contest and giving you an easy chance to win hundreds of dollars worth of prizes and advertising here on Romance Tracker!
Before I tell you how to enter, let’s see the prizes:
RSS SUBSCRIBER PRIZE ($20 value)
BLOGGER FIRST PRIZE ($110 value)
BLOGGER SECOND PRIZE ($90 value)
BLOGGER THIRD PRIZE ($30 value)
HOW TO ENTER
So, how do you enter the Romantic Ideas Link Contest and qualify for these great prizes? It’s super easy!
Hey, there’s a contest going on over at Romance Tracker for free blog reviews, linkbacks and books. All you have to do is link back to them using the anchor text romantic ideas.
It’s that easy! Drop me a note to let me know you’ve put up the post and I’ll automatically enter you in the contest to win one of the blogger prize packages. It doesn’t matter what your blog is about, as long as it’s family friendly.
Oh, and as an extra bonus, I’ll post a link to your site as soon as you enter the contest, regardless of whether you win one of the prize packages or not. Free link love from a PR 4 site using any anchor text you want . . . not a bad deal!
SO, WHEN WILL YOU GET YOUR PRIZES?
The contest will remain open until Sunday, July 15, which should give everyone plenty of time to enter. Once I’ve received your entry, I’ll drop your name into a draw bucket and pull out the random winners when the contest is over.
WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU WAITING FOR?
The Romantic Ideas Link Contest couldn’t be easier to enter, and your chances to win some cool free stuff are pretty darn good! Shoot me your name if you’re an RSS subscriber, or post a sentence or two about the contest on your blog today.
I’ll be looking forward to hearing from you!
Here at Romance Tracker, we get hundreds of visitors a day searching for romantic ideas to improve their relationships . . . and something tells me that a large percentage of them have marriage and weddings on their minds. I’ve been meaning to write a post about romantic weddings, but I’m far from an expert (I haven’t even been down the aisle yet!). That’s why I was so excited to find a great wedding blog run by real wedding experts: Wedding Fanatic!
A blog about weddings is a great idea, and Wedding Fanatic writer Katie Olson and marketing manager Brandon Laughridge have a potential success story on their hands with this relatively new site. What makes me think that Wedding Fanatic is going to take off? Well, Katie and Brandon’s blog has a number of things going for it.
Wedding Fanatic has a clean, easily navigable layout and well-organized categories that offer great ideas and tips for anyone considering a trip to the altar. From funny wedding stories to honest assessments of wedding planners, Wedding Fanatic is a fantastic resource for planning the perfect romantic wedding.
Katie Olson recently started her own wedding planning company operating in Columbia, MO and Kansas City, MO, and Wedding Fanatic is a wonderful compliment to her new business. Having a passion for your topic is key to creating a successful blog, and it’s obvious that the creators of Wedding Fanatic have the passion and talent to make their site a success.
Liz Strauss at Successful Blog has posted her third and fourth batch of submissions in the Blogging Metaphor Project, and I’m copying the list below. It’s a great project and I encourage you to check out the links if you get a chance.
Romance Tracker’s post on 10 reasons why blogging is like dating was included in the first batch, and it brought us some nice traffic. Kudos again to Liz for thinking up a great blogging project!
If you’re one of the many people out there who think that holding hands is a simple, boring routine that adds nothing to a marriage or romantic relationship, think again! It’s time to stop worrying about public dispays of affection . . . and start learning how to hold hands!
Hand holding, if done correctly, can add a new dimension of intimacy and excitement to your romance . . . but only if you let it! There are tons of romantic ideas to transform regular hand holding into a passionate, playful experience that can add a much-needed spark to your relationship from the very first caress.
That’s right: there’s more than one way to hold hands with your wife, husband, boyfriend or girlfriend . . . and lovers can find a unique method specially suited to add romance to any situation. Use the list below to come up with your own romantic ideas for holding hands with your sweetheart, but don’t stop there! Combine techniques, experiment and come up with your own hand holding ideas specially suited to your unique romantic relationship.
Top Ten Hand Holding Techniques
1. The Passive Hand Hold
This is hand holding in its simplest form: your sweetheart’s hand gently but firmly cupped in yours. It’s most appropriate for public environments where you want to remain tasteful and avoid looking “clingy,” but is still a great, effective way to add physicality to your romantic relationship.
2. The Intertwined Fingers Hand Hold
A step up from the Passive Hand Hold, Intertwined Fingers provides a firmer grip and an increased sense of intimacy. This type of hand holding is perfect while taking a romantic walk together, but it can have a downside of sweaty palms!
3. The One-Finger Hand Hold
Holding just one of your lover’s fingers is a more romantically playful method for times when you’re feeling flirtatious. This is the easiest hand hold for your sweetheart to pull away from, but is still a great way to add some fun intimacy to the mix.
4. The Massaging Hand Hold
Turning a simple hand-holding session into a relaxing massage is a wonderful romantic surprise to give your sweetheart. There’s an art to romantic massage, and an unlimited number of ways you can caress your lover’s hands and give attention to each finger. This hand-holding method is best used while sitting down!
5. The Two-Hand Hold
Here’s another technique that is tough to do while standing, but one of the best ways to add some serious physicality and intimacy to hand holding. Taking your sweetheart’s hand in both of yours will give them a deep sense of security, importance and calm.
6. The Palm Caress Hand Hold
This method is an intimate, secret way to tastefully caress your lover without being noticed by others around you. Starting with the Passive or Intertwined Fingers technique, use one of your fingers to gently rub your sweetheart’s palm in an up-and-down or swirling fashion.
7. The Kissing Hand Hold
The Kissing Hand Hold is perfect for intimate situations when you’re alone with your special someone, and is often combined with the Two-Hand Hold. Clean hands are perfect for kissing, and you should never be afraid to shower your lover’s fingertips, palms and wrists with romantic pecks!
8. The Gentle Pinching Hand Hold
This one isn’t right for every romantic relationship, and can be a little too playful and rough for some couples. But gently pinching your lover’s fingertips and palms, if done correctly, can be an exciting, fun experience for you and your sweetheart, as long as you make sure you don’t do it too hard.
9. The Warm-Up Hand Hold
When it’s cold outside, there’s no better way to warm up your fingers than by having them caressed and rubbed lovingly by your favorite person in the world. Don’t make your sweetheart use a heater when you have two perfectly good, warm hands to help them out! Combine this technique with the Massaging Hand Hold for a great effect.
10. The The Morse-Code Hand Hold
This is the most unorthodox and interactive hand-holding technique, but can be a heck of a lot of fun if you and your lover can master it. Agree ahead of time of a phrase that you want to share with each other silently–such as “I love you”–and assign it a number of squeezes that correspond with the syllables in the phrase. Your sweetheart will remember that when you squeeze three times it means “I-love-you” . . . and can respond with a four-squeeze “I-love-you-too”!
I was happy yesterday to get a phone call from an old friend who said he came across Romance Tracker by doing a Google search for something having to do with romance. He was surprised to see my smiling mug here on the site and called to ask me how long I’d been blogging about old-fashioned romantic ideas.
I started Romance Tracker only four months ago, and it’s a great feeling to have an acquaintance randomly stumble upon the site while they were looking for romance advice! The huge amount of daily search traffic we’re getting from people looking to add romance to their relationships is really encouraging, and the call I got from my friend was great inspiration to continue posting.
Just like me, my friend is a man who is proud to be an old-fashioned romantic. Unlike me, however, he hasn’t had the good fortune to find the woman of his dreams just yet. I’m sure it will happen eventually; he is a great guy and an elected official with a successful future ahead of him. But like many romantic people, my friend is discouraged that there just doesn’t seem to be many true romantics left in the world anymore.
There are more romantic people out there than ever before!
I disagree with him, of course, although I do understand his frustration. It can take many years for a romantic person to find that perfect someone, and until that day comes it’s easy to find yourself thinking that you’re the last person on earth who really cares about romance. Today’s society and pop culture doesn’t really give a whit about true romance, as flipping through the cable channels or listening to the radio will quickly show you.
That doesn’t mean, though, that there are no romantic people left in the world! On the contrary, I believe that there are more romantic people than ever before surrounding us. With the media and pop culture becoming so crass and cynical about romance, the truly romantic couples out there are learning the value of keeping their relationships private and finding pleasure in simply making each other happy.
Remember: true romance in relationships is subtle, not flashy. And for that very reason, romantic couples can sometimes be hard to find. But it doesn’t mean they aren’t there!
The secret to meeting a romantic person
But what about finding a romantic man or woman who isn’t taken yet? Do romantic single people really even exist in the world anymore?
Of course they do! And they aren’t really that hard to find, either, no matter where you live. The problem facing most people who are looking for a romantic boyfriend or girlfriend is that they are looking in the wrong places.
There really is a guaranteed way to meet a person who values romance as much as you, and this is it: surround yourself in a romantic environment. No, I don’t mean you should cut out a bunch of little paper hearts and hang them all over your office. But I do mean that you should commit yourself to living a romantic lifestyle to attract other people of the same mindset.
No, you probably aren’t going to meet a romantic person in a bar.
It may be easier to meet single people at bars and clubs, but do you really think that you’re likely to find a romantic person at one of those places? By spending your free time in activities and places that truly interest and inspire you, you’re much more likely to eventually come across another single person who values the same.
It may take longer to find someone by immersing yourself in what you enjoy, but when you finally do begin a relationship it will be with a person who has similar interests, similar passions, and a similar love for romance. By taking your time, you’ll guarantee yourself a more stable, more fulfilling and more exciting relationship.
Be proud of being romantic . . . and you’ll find that special someone!
So take heart if you’re one of the many single people who feels doomed to never finding that special someone who is as romantic as you are. He or she is out there, I guarantee it, and you’re going to find them sooner or later.
But by surrounding yourself in a romantic environment and letting yourself do the things you love to do, you’ll help make that day come sooner . . . rather than later!
Becoming involved in a serious romantic relationship can be a pretty overwhelming experience, especially if you’ve never had the privilege of being in love before. It’s hard to think of many things that deserve to be treated with more seriousness and commitment than the romance you have with your boyfriend, girlfriend, wife or husband!
The problem with thin skin
Like everything in life, though, it’s possible to take your romantic relationship or marriage a little too seriously. One of the most important ingredients in a successful relationship is the ability to laugh and have fun even in the face of problems. Thin skin, chronic jealousy and an inability to take stress in stride will all chip away at your relationship and make your sweetheart less likely to trust and share things with you.
External stresses are inevitable in even the best relationships. The words and actions of others, random events and even financial worries can be unpleasant to deal with, but taking them too seriously gives them power over your life and your happiness.
You decide how you feel!
Remember: no person or event has the power to make you upset or unhappy. The only person who decides how you’re going to feel . . . is you! Worrying or obsessing about things that you have no control over–and that your sweetheart had nothing to do with–lets those things affect the health of your romantic relationship.
Now why in the world would you want to let those pitiful outside influences have any control over the happiness of you and your special someone?
Trusting your sweetheart
For some people who take their romance too seriously, the root of the problem is fear that their relationship is going to end. That’s an understandable worry for anyone who values their relationship, but getting bent out of shape over any small event makes a breakup more likely, not less.
Trusting your lover, and being confident that they assign the same amount of importance to your relationship as you do, is the first step in denying outside influences any control over your happiness.
Rather than immediately getting offended or stressed out over something, ask yourself: does this really threaten our relationship? Is my sweetheart really someone who would let this have a negative affect on our happiness?
When you come to the conclusion that the answer to both questions is “no,” make yourself a promise that you won’t let this event have power over your happiness by taking it too seriously.
By learning to take things less seriously and laugh at events that are out of your control, you’ll make your sweetheart feel more trusted, more understood, and more loved.
Liz Strauss at Successful Blog has posted her second batch of submissions in the Blogging Metaphor Project, and I’m copying the list below. It’s a great project and I encourage you to check out the links if you get a chance.
Romance Tracker’s post on 10 reasons why blogging is like dating was included in the first batch, and it brought us some nice traffic. Kudos again to Liz for thinking up a great blogging project!