The Orange Buzz

This month, I’m spreading some of the happy orange buzz with a piece I wrote in the November 2010 issue of Health magazine. It’s not about dating but I think it’s worth mentioning because (a) Meeting Your Half-Orange is mentioned at the end of the piece and (b) the quest to get comfortable with our relationship to food is similar to the one we have with love. In the end, it’s all about balance and finding the healthiest, happiest balance for us. As you’ll see, my balance involves indulging in tubs of movie theater popcorn and I’ll never apologize for that.

Read How I Got Over Food Guilt here on the Health.com site.

—Amy

Last night, I went to an event featuring writer Darin Strauss reading from his incredible new book Half a Life. In fact, today I did a post on “love scars” on The Dating Optimist.com, about how the book can inspire all of us to face our painful love scars and move forward to a better life.

The author, Darin, is blogging about his book tour on Powells.com, and today, he gave Meeting Your Half-Orange a shout-out for how optimism can help in life.

Thanks Darin, and best of luck with the rest of your book tour!

—Amy

If you don’t yet have a copy of my book, or you really want another to give to a good friend who could use a dose of optimism, check out this fun Parenting.com Book Giveaway. Just share your worst or funniest dating disaster and you’ll be entered to WIN!

And while you’re at it, enjoy the dating success story of single mom writer Christine Coppa. But I warn you, her posts are addicting!

I had to love this story I just came across from writer Abigail Pickus, who writes a column for The Jewish Week about her dating life called “Abigail in Love (maybe).” In this column called “Am I Still a Dating Optimist if I Throw Away All of My Dating Books?” As she talks about reading my book as well as others, I think you’ll appreciate her frustration with not just dating, but dating books that tell you how to do dating right.

In the end, Abigail says she’s decided that because even Meeting Your Half-Orange, which she liked, doesn’t have the formula for love, she’s going to live her single life without dating books from now on. As she writes:

“In other words, people, I am done with all the dating books. Even the nice ones. From now on I am only reading books that are going to engage my mind and imagination – not give me another formula for finding love. That I will just have to leave to fate.”

What do I love so much about a cool woman who isn’t saying, “Run and buy this book”? That, inadverently, she’s come to the conclusion to live her life in the way I want all of you to. She’s not going to obsess over her dates and her single status. She’s not going to scan online for advice on how to flirt her way to marriage. And she’s not going to buy a book a week on how to change herself for the right guy. Instead, she’s going to read and do things that engage her mind—in other words, she’s going to engage in what Meeting Your Half-Orange readers know are “gratifications,” those activities that make you feel smart and strong and fulfilled. Follow Abigail’s lead and make those same day to day choices for yourself that lead to eudaimonia, the gratifying happiness of being satisfied as your true self.

If you’re feeling like this writer and want to just toss your books into the trash, go ahead and do it! (Be gentle with mine, though, would you?) Then start fresh by living your day to day the way you want to. Read the books you want. Watch the movies on your Netflix list. Make the vacation plan you’ve been putting off until you met “the right person.” The more you live life as your true self and the more truly, eudaimonically happy you are, the better the energy you’re putting out there, and the easier it will be for your half-orange to recognize you as the happy, kick-ass person you are.

Are you a single parent? Then this new Parenting.com story offers my dating advice for you! Even if you’re not a parent, there’s some insight here about where to meet the right partner and just how honest you should be on your online profile. It’s my way of spreading the orange buzz to even more people. I think it’s pretty good stuff. Check it out and see what you think!

Just click on Amy’s Dating Tips for Single Parents or click the image of the story below to be directed there.

-Amy

Here’s some Orange Buzz that came from a reader of the book who has a fun and fascinating blog about her solo life in Alaska. She calls it “The After 30 Part…” I want to give Nicholle a big thanks or spreading the word about the book, especially because she says Meeting Your Half-Orange “is the ultimate bible for single women in this world.” Wowee, what a compliment, the book is beyond flattered!

I hope you enjoy Nicholle’s blog as much as I do, and I hope that knowing about this reader’s journey through the ups and downs of dating optimism will bolster some of you other people on your journeys, before 30 and after.

—Amy

I recently did a podcast interview with the wonderfully wise Annie Kaszina, Ph.D. an NLP Master Practitioner and Emotional Abuse Recovery Expert. Annie works to empower women to get out of emotionally abusive relationships and discover the gift of why they truly are. She wrote a great post about why to embrace dating optimism when you’re stuck in a bad relationship.

First, as you already know to your cost, there are no magic wands; and lemons don’t turn into oranges,” writes Annie. “Second, ‘your’ half-lemon is very happy to be a half-lemon; he enjoys being so sour as to be thoroughly unpleasant.”

See? She’s smart. And she has the most mesmerizing British accent, I could listen to her speak for days. See if you feel the same! You can listen to our chat about reaching out for the love you deserve and read more about her work at her site www.emotionalabuserecoverynow.com.

Enjoy!

I’m so proud to see that my little iPhone App Half-Orange Optimisms—the companion piece to my book Meeting Your Half-Orange—was found and featured in the New York paper The Daily News! Here it is, found and featured, yet another way to keep the Orange Buzz going with a little pep talk in your pocket!

“We all need pick-me-ups now and then,” the writer says in her review, “especially if we’re prepping to put ourselves out there.” She’s right. So if you have an iPhone and you’re working on your dating optimism, give the App a go and see what you think!

—Amy