MRSinPA

My engagement ring was about $20. We picked it out together (I'm a sterling fan). I don't think money should matter. It's timing. He may just not be ready yet. And i will tell you THIS from experience: no matter HOW much people try to explain the amount of time, work, and money that goes into making a wedding happen, you will never really be prepared for it! LOL! Again, all of that info depends on the couple. A destination wedding costs more than getting hitched at the courthouse! Some places you pay per guest, and some places you pay a basic package price. Locations prices vary, clothing costs vary, catering costs vary... It really just depends on what you choose to do.

It is completely dependant on a person's lifestyle! If i worked a lot of went to school full time, there's no way that i would have time to drive more than an hour each way more than twice a week, you know? In my PARTICULAR instance, my SO was 3000 miles away, so I'd say that was pretty long distance for most people! LOL!

It's important for you to remember that he has a LOT going on! As you said, he works, and has school, and probably has a lot of other things that he has to do in his life on TOp of having a great (although difficult) relationship with you. LDRs are very emotionally starining on most people, especially when they don't feel that they have enough time to spend communicating with the person they care about. SO, it falls on you to help him out here! You have to try to be patient. He may not always have a chance to respond to your emails or call you, but you need to start going the extra mile. Send him one message a day. NO MORE THAN THAT! Send him a BRIEF message saying that you love him and you hope he's doing alright and that he has a great day. Or just let him know you're thinking about him. do that for a week. After that, start sending him two messages, one first thing in the morning and one in the evening. Don't hound him with messages. when he's able to, he'll respond. I can almost guarantee you that he thinks of you and he probably wishes he had a lot more hours in the day so he could spend more time talking with you. I had the same problems in my LDR. I had to learn a LOT of patience, but eventually it all worked out.

I really think it depends on the people. Some people like being committed without having a legal bind. And some people hold great value in fully committing every part of their life to a person through marriage. For me, personally, I think that legal binding is very important.

I know how you feel. I weigh nearly 50 lbs more than what I should. For a while I was just trying to deny it, but finally I got so self conscious that I couldn't even stand to be intimate with my husband because I was so embarrassed! My husband didn't MIND my weight gain, but he knew i felt bad about it and he wanted to help me. He has been a great encouragement. Luckily that was the motivation I needed to do something about it! All it really takes is the will to eat better. Snacking here and there is fine, but try eating lots of veggies and fruit, and drink lots of water. Just doing that will help you feel better, and then maybe start working out! Just keep in mind that the main concern here is your METAL health! You won't see physical results right away, but you will definitely feel better and your personl view of yourself will start to improve! Just by eating better and walking, I've lost 4 lbs in two weeks.

In my experience, hanging up on a guy during a "heated conversation" is the emotional equivalent of kicking them in the balls. It takes them a bit to recover.

I mainly use myspace to find old friends and keep in touch with current ones! Being 3000 miles from home, it's a great way to still feel connected. And there's a lot of great groups!

I loved the way we talked. We had an LDr for two years so we really had to communicate. He was so funny, and smart, and deep, and very very witty! And he cares a lot about our life together. I can't stand guys who seem apathetic towards their relationship. My husband puts a lot into us.

Being in an LDR can have a very harsh effect on some people. I was in an LDR for nearly two years, and at times it was heart-breaking to be so far away from him! It usually takes a great deal of emotional and mental stamina to continue in an LDR, and some people just aren't suited for it!

OKAY!!!!!! So, guewss what! I was pretty much in your same situation! My first advice to you would be this: if you can handle the distance, I wouldn't detach yourself from your feelings! If you both really care for each other, there is really no harm in putting a label on it! Here, i'll tell you my story: I lived in Oregon and accidentally met a guy online that I ended up being very interested in. Unfortunately he lived in Pennsylvania. On TOP of that, he was 8 years older than me. Needless to say, neither family was very comfortable with this. Like you and your lady, we talked online and on the phone for hours every day for a long time. We had a lot of ups and downs as we tried to deal with the stress of being so far apart, but we just kept on working through it. Finally we were able to spend three weeks together. It was amazing, but it would be another 8 months before we saw each other again. but by the time those 8 months had passed we knew what we wanted. He proposed and we were married 7 months later. I tell you all of this because you should NEVER let what other people think determine how you live your life. You are a legal adult, fully capable of maiking your own decisions. Your parents will disapprove, of course! But believe it or not, they will have to accept the fact that you can make your own decisions! It sounds like the two of you have real feelings for each other, and you'll never know where you're headed until you can spend time together.

I disagree, Allan. MOST people have friends or family that they go to when they need to talk to someone besides their significant other. sometimes it's because they don't want to unload all of their burdens on the person they love, and sometimes they need to bounce ideas off of an unbiased party before speaking to their SO. MY main question how does your boyfriend feel about this guy? If he's okay with it, then I would say there is NO reason to end your friendship. But if he's uncomfortable, I'd say that you should work towards letting the two of them get to know each other better. The more he knows, the less he has to make up in his mind. And if he ends up feeling very uncomfortable, do everything you can to compromise. Maybe hang out with GROUPS of friends while your boyfriend is away instead of just one guy. If you really love this guy, you'll do your best to make it work. I'm not saying bend over backwards; it's your life too and you have the right to hang out with who you please. But if you want to keep both men in your life, you'll probably have to work at it a little.

I think it's a bad idea to assume that there's something up. Even if that's true, you'll only make yourself feel worse by trying to guess what's going on. As much as this may suck, my advice to you would be to think of HIM. It sounds like he's having a problem and it may not even have anything to do with you; sometimes people just don't know the best way to express what they're feeling, and they end up accidentally hurting people they love. I would focus on doing your best to love him, even though you're upset. It's possible that he's feeling exactly like you do for some reason, and having you BOTH feel down just makes matters worse. Be the bigger person and try to turn it into a positive thing. Be the problem solver.