If you’re a woman, you probably believe that the way you spend Valentine’s Day with your partner says a lot about where your relationship is headed.  And if you’re a man, you’re aware that your Valentine’s Day date will be the most over-scrutinized date of the year, so it’s imperative that it’s not just a good one, but a great one.  Here are some date ideas for Valentine’s Day- or for any day that you want to make a really good impression.

Adventurous Date Ideas:

- Hot-air ballooning.

- Mountain climbing (even if the nearest mountain is a few hours away, you can enjoy the private car ride together).

- Hiking.

- Sky diving (for a specifically intimate experience, jump together in a single parachute).

- Skiing or water-skiing (depending on where you live and the weather in your area in February).

Romantic Date Ideas:

- Create a treasure hunt in which your girlfriend will amass various trinkets such as a teddy bear, jewelry or flowers, and end at a fancy restaurant.

- Re-enact your first date.

- Moonlight walk along the beach (which, incidentally, is still romantic even in cold climates, as long as it’s not too cold outside).

- Home-cooked picnic (if it’s too cold outside, consider setting up a blanket on your living room floor, and heating up the fireplace).

-Limo ride around the city (with drinks, of course, since you won’t be driving).

Cute date ideas:

- Volunteer together (few things are more romantic than showing your compassionate side.  Let your partner see that you can be giving to others, not just to him).

- Apple picking.

- Drive-in movie.

- Karaoke (in which you each pick a song to represent your relationship).

- Plan a cheesy Valentine’s Day date with flowers, chocolate and a fancy dinner (it may be over-done, but most women agree that it’s still adorable!).

If you’ve ever tried online dating you probably know that finding a person of interest can take time, energy and effort.  And in all honesty, you’d probably prefer to spend these things on your date, not on finding your date.  The new Apple iPad, however, can make it possible for you to look for a suitable partner from nearly anywhere.  While some versions of the iPad only have WiFi accessibility and will require being near a hotspot, the ones with 3G capability will allow singles to have internet access anywhere, which means that they needn’t wait to get home from work in order to fire up their search.

The biggest negative about the iPad is that it doesn’t have a camera of USB port, so it may be difficult to upload profile pictures or create a complete profile if you haven’t had one before.  Still, if you already have an account at an online dating site you will be able to access it from anywhere and browse the profiles at your convenience.

I predict that in the coming months as the iPad becomes more available and popular we’ll see an increase of singles looking for love on the train, bus or in the park during their lunch break.  If I may be so sly to suggest it, why not peek over to the screen of the iPad next to you – who knows, if that person is also looking for love, you can strike up a conversation, and you may not even need an online dating site!

With Valentine’s day quickly approaching, your mind may be racing with ideas of how you can romance your partner.  But, if you’re like one of the millions of people who are unhappy in their relationship, you are more likely to be thinking about how to dump your partner and find a new one before you’re stuck all alone on Valentine’s day.  According to a survey conducted by Cupid.com, January is an extremely popular month for breaking up, because most people are reluctant to do the deed before the holiday season, for obvious reasons.  And, although breaking up is seldom pleasant, there are a few ways in which you can minimize the discomfort (and hopefully the emotional turmoil).  Here are some practical suggestions for how to break up with dignity:

1. Break up in a public place. While it may not be entirely comfortable to break the bad news in public, it may encourage your (ex)partner to keep yelling or crying to a minimum.  Hopefully, by the time he or she is able to let out the emotions, the potency will be significantly reduced.
2. Return your ex’s property on the spot. It’s always appropriate to return property that doesn’t belong to you, but doing it during while you’re actually breaking up will prevent you from having to see you ex in the immediate future.
3. Don’t be cruel. Explaining every precise reason about why you’ve decided to break up will not make your ex feel better.  It may, in fact, cause him (or her) to become further depressed.
4. Be honest. While you needn’t provide a laundry list of reasons that you’ve decided to beak up, it’s helpful to tell the truth.  Dancing around the issue or lying about your motives will only leave unresolved issues that will prevent both you and your ex from moving on properly.
5. Don’t spill the beans in advance. Even if you’ve been planning the breakup for a long time, don’t discuss it with too many people.  The process will be significantly more grueling if your partner finds out about it from someone else.
6. Be prepared. Although it may be unpleasant, there’s a chance that groveling may be involved.  If you’re sure that you’ve made the right decision, don’t be swayed by the begging or pleading.
7. Don’t suggest being friends. While many people have only the best intentions when they suggest remaining friends with their ex, studies show that in most cases, this friendship can hinder the healing process.
8. Don’t use email. Breaking up via email may be suitable if you’ve only gone on one or two date.  But if you’ve been seriously involved with someone (or even moderately involved) for a reasonable period of time, an email break up is completely déclassé.  Sure, it may sidestep some of the discomfort, but it may also create a reputation that you’re less than proud of.
9. Don’t point blame. The trite “it’s not you, it’s me” is never a good way to break up, even if you’re blaming yourself.  Likewise, blaming your ex can only lead to self-deprecation and guilt, neither of which are productive emotions.
10. Don’t be afraid to look ahead. It may be difficult to look ahead while you’re in the process of breaking up with someone, but keeping your eye on the future can provide hope instead of despair during this difficult time.

In what seems mostly like a flamebait publicity stunt, dating site BeautifulPeople.com has removed 5,000 users from the site, because they put on extra weight and could no longer be deemed “Beautiful”.

“As a business, we mourn the loss of any member, but the fact remains that our members demand the high standard of beauty be upheld,” said Robert Hintze, founder of BeautifulPeople.com. “Letting fatties roam the site is a direct threat to our business model and the very concept for which BeautifulPeople.com was founded.”

“The countries where most overweight people were expelled from are the US, Britain, Canada, Poland, Germany, Italy, France, Denmark and Turkey,” said the press release.

In the e-mail sent to the banished users, there were suggestions for boot camps and workout facilities so the users can get themselves back in shape.

This dating site declares itself as “an exclusively beautiful community, founded for the purpose of creating personal and professional relationships… an elite online club, where every member works the door”.

If you consider yourself beautiful and think you can meet the standards of this snobby site, you might want to give it a try. Otherwise, there are plenty of great dating sites that won’t check your weight and won’t ban you on the basis of your looks.

Dating can be very exciting. It’s an opportunity to meet new and interesting people, and sometimes we can really hit it off. Online dating in particular, opens the door on many new acquaintances. Now, we are all for meeting new people, of course! Dating is fun and can help you find your partner for life. Still, there are a few things a woman should notice and beware off when dating new people – especially on blind dates and dates that originated from dating sites.

Remember – in many cases, you are meeting complete strangers. Though most of them are probably good men, you should always be careful and even a bit suspicious – until you get to know him better.

Dating Safety Tips for Women

1. Meet in public places: Set your first date (and even the second and third) in public places – a restaurant, a coffee shop or a bar. Don’t go to his house or invite him to yours, even if he sounds absolutely amazing.
2. Be stingy with personal information: Don’t give him the entire details of your life immediately. You might want to disappear after a date or two, and your home phone number and full name provide easy ways to track you. Settle for giving him your cell number and don’t give your home address until you get to know him better.
3. Stay away from the married: We are not telling you this to be pious. A person who lies and cheats his wife, is almost always bound to be untrustworthy in other matters.
4. Avoid the pictureless: Some people are shy, which is perfectly OK, but still – a person on a dating site that won’t post or send his picture should arouse suspicions. He might not be who he claims to be.
5. Choose a reputable dating service: There are many dating sites out there. Try and stay in the mainstream, and go for well known dating sites. The questionable men are more likely to lurk in small, lesser-known sites. Some of the good online dating sites are chemistry.com, match.com and lavalife.com.
6. Take it slowly: Don’t rush into anything. You might think you know the man because the online chat has been exhilarating, but remember to use common sense when you decide to connect in person.
7. Trust your instincts: This is probably the best advice we can give you regarding safety in dating – trust your gut. You intuition is your best guide. If it doesn’t feel right, if he acts weird or if you find out that he lied to you – break it off.

A lot of us work long hours, work from home or just have very little time for leisurely activities. As time passes, seems like it gets harder and harder to meet new people and go on dates. That’s why dating sites have become so popular – they allow you to meet new people in abundance, and take the first steps without ever leaving the house.

Still, there are other cool places to meet new people, and if you want to try diversifying your acquaintances, here is a list of places to meet new and interesting people.

7 Places and Ways to Meet New People

1. Museums: Not only geeks and art freaks hang out in museums. A lot of people enjoy spending their spare time admiring fine arts. Many museums have special events and members only events – try and join those and meet many new people.
2. Sporting Events: If you have a favorite football, basketball or baseball team – try to attend games when you can. You can meet other fans and other interesting people who love sports.
3. Book Clubs: Check this out at your local library or online groups. Reading books and discussing them is a great way to meet new people with common interests.
4. Volunteer: Help the elderly, volunteer at animal shelters, give free lessons to people who can’t afford it and so on. Volunteering will help you meet many new, wonderful people, who contribute their time and resources to the community.
5. Adopt a Dog: Walking with your dog daily guarantees you’ll meet many new people – some of them animal owners or just animal lovers in general. Dogs are a great subject for first conversations.
6. Take a Course: Learn a new craft, a new language, take computer lessons or photography courses. These are sure-fire ways to meet new and active people with many common interests.
7. Organized Tours: Traveling in a group is great fun, and a wonderful opportunity to meet new people. There are actually many tours that are organized especially for singles – try and join one of those.

Meet new people online

Blackbox Republic launched a brand new private dating site for people of all orientations and lifestyles. The site combines features of social networks with the personal elements of a standard dating site and creates a place where people can share their unedited personal life and later meet up in person.

Blackbox Republic is a totally private, invitation only network. Anyone can join, but you must be vouched for by an existing member to gain wider access to the community. Content can be published to all members, or sent only to specific groups of friends. You can also post more public content to existing social networks like Twitter and Facebook from within the application.

To start you up, you need to use the sliders at the homepage, and tell the system what kind of partner are you looking for, what’s your status and what vibe are you in. The site is well designed and fun to navigate through.

“People are used to sharing their lives online but have a problem knowing where to put the more private and personal things they want to share,” said Sam Lawrence, CEO and co-founder. “The only choices before now were advertising-focused public spotlights like Facebook, or online personals sites built around chemistry tests and splintered by race, sexual orientation or religion. We are aiming for something radically different.”

First dates can be really unnerving. You are not only meeting a new person, but you probably want to make a great impression. Nowadays, a lot of first dates happen after an online chat in a dating site, so you DO have some information and impressions regarding the person that you are meeting. Still, online photos in a dating site aren’t enough, and making the first date a good one, is rather important.

Here are few tips for first dates – some are for men, some for women and some are for both. Remember: take it easy and have fun. After all, it’s just a date

First Date Tips

1. Be confident (but not overly so):  Women tend to enjoy confidence in a man, while there are many men who won’t like a coy woman. So, be a part of planning the date – decide together where to go and what to do, and don’t be afraid to voice your opinion.
2. Keep it simple: You’ll be nervous enough without making a big show. Choose a familiar venue, or do something that’s easy and enjoyable.
3. Don’t go to the movies: The dark scenery of a movie theater can be very romantic, but it’s not an ideal setting for a first date, in which you want to talk and get to know each other. Movies are good for later dates.
4. Easy on the perfume: Girls and boys – don’t overdo the Eau de Cologne! You don’t want your date to faint, right?
5. Brush your teeth: Go for a mouthwash, too. Better safe than sorry!
6. Don’t give them the 3rd degree: Keep the conversation light and amusing! Avoid talking or asking about old boyfriends, girlfriends or any other Exes. This is a first date, not a criminal investigation.
7. Go for comfortable clothing: We are not suggesting that you wear dirty jeans and a torn t-shirt, but you should wear comfortable clothes. First dates are tense enough, you don’t need the extra pressure of a tight dress or too-new shoes.
8. Guys, pick up the tab; Girls, insist on going dutch: Someone will come out victorious at the end, but that’s the way it should be. Guys should suggest or insist on paying, girls should at least make a courteous move towards your purse.
9. Listen, don’t just talk: Yes, that goes for the both of you!
10. Turn your mobile phone off: Taking calls from your friends or reading texts is very rude and shows lack of interest. Only keep your phone switched on if you’re expecting a VERY important call.

We’re not so superficial as to say that looks is everything, but we are human. Thus, we know that when looking at profiles on dating sites, people scope out the pictures first. Beauty and attraction are a matter of taste, but you can still upgrade your online dating profile by choosing the best picture of yourself to attach to it.

Online Dating Profile Picture Tips

1. Choose a photo that YOU like: you should feel comfortable and happy with the photos that represent you on dating sites. Don’t choose a picture just because you think others might like it.
2. Clear and focused: this might sound obvious, but for some reason, too many people choose blurry, dark images, in which you can hardly recognize any details. Unfocused pictures aren’t artistic – they are just poor quality.
3. Take a picture of yourself doing one of your favorite activities: If you have a hobby, get someone to take your picture while you are engaged in it. It will almost always present you in a positive light, because you tend to look happy and active while doing something you love.
4. Just you: most of the pictures in dating sites profiles should be of you – and just you. Especially avoid pictures with your Ex or any other member of the opposite sex. Pictures with other people deleted or blackened to hide them aren’t very impressive either.
5. Color it: color images are better than black and white. We have the technology, so use it!
6. Don’t take it yourself: if possible, ask a friend to take your picture for you. Self-taken pictures look exactly like that – with odd angles that rarely flatter you.
7. No nudity: some men think it’s attractive to post nude or semi-nude pictures in dating sites. First of all, most sites will ban you or delete the image. Second, it doesn’t make a good impression. Put decent pictures, and take your clothes off when the right time comes.

Best Dating Sites

Dating sites are trying their best to attract customers and to keep them in the site. It seems like the usual gimmicks don’t work anymore, and so the dating sites are going for niche interest points. After hearing about a dating site for food lovers and a DNA-based dating site, we now have a new dating site for animal lovers.

The site, Love Me Love My Pet, designed specifically for those who love their furbabies, feathered, slithery or scaly friends and who would like an easier way to connect with those of like mind.

Love Me Love My Pet was conceived and started out of a small home in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, by husband and wife Tom and Jodie. The O’Brien’s said they saw a need after many of their animal loving friends had difficulty finding their Mr or Mrs Right – simply because they could not find the right person who had the same passion for animals as they did.

You don’t actually have to own a pet to join the site. Animal lovers in general are all welcome in this site. The site presents cute features such as “Paws”, which are greetings you can send to someone for free to indicate you would like to contact them.

If you feel animals and pets are an important part of your life, you might want to give this site a chance. If you feel like checking out more mainstream dating sites, here’s a list of the best dating sites around.