We all want the best relationships possible, don't we? Often times, it's the simplest of things that can throw a relationship off track, or for that matter, keep it solid. This is true whether your relationship is with your spouse, someone you are dating, or a friend.

I came across this article on "7 Ways to Improve Your Relationship" and think its great advice. It certainly follows the subject matter we've been discussing. We talked about kindness and break ups recently, but what about kindness in the everyday way we deal with the people in our life. Taking people for granted is a natural occurrence, but on those days when you can stop and really, truly, appreciate them... wow, it makes such a difference.

It's no secret that I dated for many years. Many, many... many years! Haha. I was independent and didn't want to settle for something that wasn't quite right. On one hand, I had a blast dating. On the other hand, however, I began to wonder if there was someone right for me out there. I envisioned some great guy living across the globe wondering the same thing I was: Where is my soul mate?

I'm telling you all this to get you to look at your life as if those very special people you cherish weren't there. How would you feel? What you do and say if you knew your time with them was short?

In case you need some inspiration, I've got another giveaway. The book Little Ways to Say "I Love You" has several examples of how to show your love for spouses, friends, kids, and yes, the people you are dating.

Want to win it? Simply leave a comment on this post and let me know you'd like it. Make sure to fill out your email address so I can contact you if you win. I'll choose a winner at random on Friday, May 16th and will announce the winner the following Monday.

Well after reading all the entries for the He's Just Not That Into You book I have to say we've all had some harsh break ups! I actually cringed upon reading them. Yikes!

Thank you all for sharing your stories. I received notes saying their ex broke up with them via text message. Some had their friends do their dirty work for them. But by and far the worst way to learn about your break up is simply by not hearing from your boyfriend or girlfriend. I don't understand why people can't just sit down with their love and say, hey - I care about you but it ain't working out.

Some folks got dumped on their wedding day (never a cool thing.) Some moved and never told their partner where they'd be! And one person got dumped on Valentine's Day, but not before their ex suggested one last roll in the hay. Harsh.

Breaking up kindly is one of my hot buttons. I hear so many stories of folks that get dumped in the harshest of ways that I've developed a real pet peeve about bad break up behavior.

To that end, about a year ago I wrote an article about How to Break Up With Someone and also one that asked: Are You a Bad Breaker Upper? Let's all learn from this and realize that if we end things on the most positive terms in one relationship, the good feelings and proper closure will help us in the next one.

In the meantime, I know you are all wondering who won the copy of He's Just Not That Into You. The winner is Terri, who wrote:

"I got dumped at a Christians couple retreat in the mountains. Left a note on the Bible and took the car. We were told no cell phones or anything else to distract us. No phone, no car, and 2 days left. I got a ride home with a couple who preached to me the entire way. 2hours!!!"

Oooh. I can sympathize! Terri, please contact me at: cherieburbach@yahoo.com and give me your information so I can send your book out.

In the meantime, I'll have another contest coming on Friday. Come on back then and remember, kind break ups are best!

Singles have tons of great ways to meet people today, but this idea is really unique. A new service allows folks to see how many singles reside in a zip code. So if you're looking to move, you can do a quick check to see if there are available guys or girls in your desired living location.

Now, here's the problem with this. You can live by available people, but the key is meeting them. So you'd still have to be active in clubs, go grocery shopping, or even go on the Internet in order to get an introduction to someone new. Still, just knowing one area is packed with singles may be incentive to move there over another locale.

What do you think?

We've been talking lately at The Dating Weblog about getting dumped. As if it isn't bad enough when it happens, there are times when you might even wonder "what happened?" If things seemed to be going along fine, or if you thought you'd at least work it out, why then does the other person just want out?

More than that, why does someone just stop calling? I'll admit I've been dumped this way, and wanted to tell the guy, "Why didn't you just tell me you weren't interested anymore? I'm not a baby, I can take the truth."

But it seems that some guys and girls would rather go for the "stop calling" route instead of just being honest in the first place.

Well, there's a new website that may be able to help. Why Was I Dissed is a website where both the dumper and dumpee can log on and give their side of what happened.

Here's how it works. The person who got dumped can log in and submit the "offender's" name and email info. Why Was I Dissed contacts the dumper with questions they can then pass along to the dumpee as to what went wrong.

Users can sign on and get their answers for free, or if they want to talk to the "relationship doctor," they can schedule a chat with licensed psychologist Dr. Craig starting at $4.95.

The theory behind this is that Why Was I Dissed is a third party where both people can speak freely about what happened. The process is meant to provide closure.

Let's start a discussion on this. Is this something you'd be interested in? Would it give you the answers you need? Will it encourage people to be more straightforward when ending a relationship? What are your thoughts?

Have you read the book, He's Just Not That Into You? It's a great dating advice book from Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo. The book, in case you aren't familiar, came about from an episode of Sex and the City, where the character of Miranda wonders about a date she had where the guy didn't follow up with a girl. Carrie's boyfriend at the time, Burger, tells her simply that the reason the guy didn't call was that he "just wasn't that into you."

Miranda thinks this is the best advice ever, and a new catch phrase is born. Behrendt was a consultant on Sex in the City and provided this line. Never one to miss an opportunity, he then parlayed the success of the episode into a book.

While He's Just Not That Into You [Simon Spotlight Entertainment, 2004] doesn't provide any earth-shattering revelations, it does provide a straight-forward answer from a guy about the question every single woman has wondered at one time or another: Why hasn't he called?

The book was so successful that they decided to make a movie out of it. He's Just Not That Into You - The Movie will be released later this year, and will star Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Connelly, Drew Barrymore, and her new love, Justin Long.

If you haven't yet read the book, I highly recommend that you do so. To give you a little incentive, I have a free copy of the book I will give to one lucky winner. To enter, simply leave a comment on this post saying the worst way you've ever been dumped, dumped someone, or heard about someone getting dumped. Let's share these bad stories to encourage us all to be nicer when we end a relationship!

Remember to add your comment below. I will choose one lucky winner by end of day on Tuesday, May 6th. I'll announce the winner May 7th. Good luck.

Are you looking forward to the new Sex in the City movie coming out next month? I know tons of gals (and even guys) who are anxiously awaiting the movie's release.

I came to the show late (seeing the heavily edited version on TBS rather than HBO) and was surprised to find that I instantly got into it. I say "surprised" because, as a dating writer, I think the show gives dating a bad name. I know a few gals who feel worse about their life after watching it, because they don't jump in the sack every few minutes with a new guy and don't really care to blow their entire rent money on a pair of shoes.

However, I get why this show is so appealing to girls everywhere, including me. It's about women who think dating sucks and want to find Mr. Right and aren't afraid to complain out loud about it. There is an instant likeability to the characters because we root for them more than we envy them.

I caught an interesting tidbit from the Telegraph about the upcoming movie and TV show. Please note there are a few speculations in the article, which could serve as spoilers if you've heard absolutely nothing about it.

The article starts at the very beginning, with Candace Bushnell (pictured above), the New York newspaper columnist who serves as the basis for Carrie Bradshaw. Bushnell says of her column, "My girlfriends and I were all in the same boat. We had lots of adventures and dated all these crazy guys, and my girlfriends said, 'If we don't laugh about this we'll go insane,' so that is how Sex and the City came to be written."

And maybe that's what made the show such a huge success that we could laugh along with the characters and in doing so feel okay about the dating mistakes we might have made as well.

So let me ask you, will you go see the movie? And if so, what are you hoping the movie brings to light about the characters?