Men can’t help themselves!
"My boyfriend and I had a huge fight the other day.  We had gone to a party with some friends and there was this woman there who had obviously had breast surgery.  I didn’t know they made them that big and apparently neither did my boyfriend. Anyway, he couldn’t take his eyes off her chest and to make matters worse, he walked over to her to get a closer view.  I was furious!  We didn’t talk the whole way home.  He slept on the couch that night.  The next day, when I got home from work, there were cutout footprints taped to the floor leading to the bedroom.  On the nightstand were a dozen long stemmed roses and a bottle of champagne.  Over the bed was a sign that said,  “I am sorry , will you please forgive me?”  He was lying in the bed and wearing one of those plastic “boobie” costume.  I laughed so hard, that I had to give in.  Men really can’t help themselves. Hey, I looked too!"
- Jenny, Cincinnati, Ohio

Relationships are a puzzle
"After a particularly big fight, I decided that just saying “I’m sorry” wasn’t going to be enough.  I took a picture of myself holding a sign that said I’m sorry and I love you.  I cut up the picture and sent it to him with a note that said,  “Relationships can be such a puzzle sometime.  Put this one together to reveal the message.   He called me when he put it together and said “I hate it when we fight.  I love you, will you marry me?” That was eight years ago and we now have two children, a dog, a parakeet and live in the suburbs."
- G. Ross, Philadelphia, PA

The way to a man’s heart…
"When we first got married, we bought a brand-new car which was the car my husband usually drove.  He was a salesman and needed it for business so I got to drive the pickup truck.  On Saturdays  and Sundays I got to drive it.  The second Sunday I drove it, I wrecked it.  I knew he was going to be really mad because he had to leave early the next morning.  He was! We rented a car from one of those el cheapo car places (the only place we could find open).  When he left I went to the florist and ordered a bunch of I’m sorry and I love you balloons to send to him at work.  He was soooooooo embarrassed, but it did soften him up a little.  It didn’t hurt that I had dinner waiting and greeted him wearing only a bow tie and served him bow-tie pasta.  We had dessert in bed.  Needless to say, he didn’t stay mad.  This is now a ritual and whenever one of us gets in the doghouse, the other gets to do the cookin’…"
- Donna, Zion, Ill

Getting’ Naked
I was over some friend’s house and five of us (three girls and two guys) decided to take a swim.  We had been doing shots of tequila all afternoon and so swimming turned into a naked pool party.  Well my boyfriend at the time was working so he couldn’t get there ‘til late.  When he did finally arrive, someone said to me “hey, I think your father is here.”  Seems he had gone around the back way, looked over the fence and saw us all frolicking in the pool.  He told my friend “tell her to get the he-- out of there RIGHT NOW.”  I left with him cause I could see he was not too happy.  The next day, he was still mad at me.  Of course, by then I had sobered up and couldn’t understand what the big deal was.  I told him so.  That didn’t help. I decided to send him a six-pack of Budweiser with only five cans of beer, sort of as a joke. He worked as an auto mechanic and I new the guys would all drink it after work.  I wrote a note on it that said, “there are only five in here ‘cause one’s missing, just like the other night.  Well he didn’t get it and moved out the next day.
- Kathleen, Hollywood, FL

Watch what you say!
I am a vice president at a construction company.  One of the women who work in the office seemed to always get under my skin.  Our professional relationship was very strained to say the least.  One day during a “heated” discussion, she called me a control freek.  Without thinking or missing a beat, I said “Well, you’re FAT!”  She was stunned and walked out of the room without saying another word.  I went home and told my wife what I had done and asked her what she thought I should do.  She said, why not send her flowers? So I called the florist and asked for a BIG arrangement to get me out of some big trouble.  The flowers were a great idea and they did soften the blow.  After that, although we still rarely saw eye to eye, we disagreed less and were able to be  more civil to one another.
- Greg, Fort Lauderdale, FL

Declaring Independence
Men don’t really like independent women.  My very nature and strong will often get me in trouble.  I have become really good at apologizing, just don’t yell at me.  My ex-husband used to love to argue (men really are from Mars) over anything just to set me off!   When I would get really mad at him and not talk to him for a few days, he would send me flowers.   We probably would still be married but we were too young and I didn’t really appreciate the gesture.  Today I am much more mature and would love to find a man who sends me flowers.  Even if they do die, I don’t care, I love flowers!  

A picture is worth a thousand words
After our first big argument, I made a collage of all the pictures we had taken together.  I gave it to her with a note that said “let’s not fight, you were right!”  We made up immediately.
- John H., San Mateo, CA

Singing telegram
The last time my wife was mad at me I called and left a singing telegram on her cell phone.  I sang one of  her favorite songs, Lady in Red.  When she heard it she called and said she loved me and we made up.  
- Louis Donato, Miami, FL

Close to you
"Remember that commercial where the guy has to leave his lover really early in the morning, before she wakes up?  The guy’s friend is waiting outside for his friend to come down, and this dude is taking a picture of himself.  He blows it up on the computer, writes a note on it and lays it on his pillow next to her.  It gave me the idea to do something similar when my girl and I got into a fight.  I don’t even remember what it was about, but she was really mad. I did the same thing. And I wrote a note that said “Even when I’m not here I want you to know I’m still close to you. I’m sorry.”  Wish I could have seen her face when she woke up and found my picture ‘cause she called me and we made up."
- Shawn W., Atlanta, GA

Virtual Apologies
"When my boyfriend and I have an argument, we will often make up by sending romantic e-mails online to one another.  He usually starts out sending a virtual bouquet, then shortly after, he might send a romantic poem. Every half hour he will send a short note, saying things like I love the color of your eyes, they are like the Grand Canyon or a beautifully written note of apology.   The last message of the day ends with an instant message telling me how much he loves me.  After that, I can’t wait to get home to the mad with the big blue eyes and jet black hair."
- Margo Sheppard,  Maine

Presents Are No Substitute For Being Present!
"For many years I have done extensive travel as part of my financial practice. Early in my marriage this caused me to miss many important occasions with my wife and family, I would try to make it up to Pat by buying her something beautiful such as jewelry. Being the practical man that I am, I thought jewelry was a good way to stay out of the 'doghouse.' Boy was I wrong! After I missed our third anniversary in a row, she put her foot down and gave me a list of 22 days a year I HAD to be home. Since then, I have done my very best to honor her request and although I still buy her jewelry to make for the now very few times I am not there, she lets me know that jewelry is no substitute for my presence. She still accepts the jewelry!"
- Alan Jotkoff, CPA, Pembroke Pines, FL -

Put On A Happy Face
"One Halloween after taking my daughter trick or treating, the doorbell rang. It was very late and I couldn't imagine children still being out at that time of night trick-or-treating. I said, 'Who is it?' The voice on the other side of the door said, 'It's my birthday.' I opened the door and there HE stood. My boyfriend with an open trick-or-treat bag and this angry scowl on his face. I just stood there trying to look happy to see him. I was, but I was also upset. You see, I had forgotten his birthday! After what seemed like an eternity... I put on a Happy Face. He still wasn't smiling back, so I said to him, 'You look so cute when you're angry.' I filled his bag with candy, said Happy Birthday, and finally got a smile out of him! Although he was upset for a while, my sense of humor and sincere regret sure helped to get me out of the doghouse!
- Dana Wilson, Milwaukee, WI -

"My wife loves growing things and has been 'hinting' that she really wanted a greenhouse. I told her it would take up too much room, that it was too big. After all, 30 feet by 20 feet is a little bit much. She was not happy with that answer and as a result has not been as friendly toward me lately. One day while walking along Las Olas Blvd I stopped at one of those gift shops. Inside was a miniature greenhouse with real plants in it. I bought it for her and brought it home. Needless to say, she was very happy. And so am I, because it only takes up 30 inches by 20 inches! The irony is that when we were first married (20+ years ago) I wanted a bicycle that we couldn't really afford. We had other priorities, like food, rent, and electric.... That Christmas she bought me a miniature bicycle for our Christmas tree. I got my bicycle and she got her greenhouse. Relationships are full of compromise. In order to stay out of the Doghouse, one must know when and how to compromise."
- P.L. - Miami, Florida

"I was engaged to this guy and we had set up a joint savings account. One day I decided I wanted to go to San Francisco, so I took money out of our joint account and went on a trip. When I got back, he was really mad at me and wouldn't talk for two weeks. To punish me he wouldn't take me anywhere we just stayed home. He made me promise never to do that again, but after that our relationship just went downhill. He never really trusted me again and I thought if he's going to act like this before we get married, what's it going to be like after? So you could say, I got out of the doghouse when I got out of the relationship. It turned out to be less than I hoped for, you really learn a lot about someone when money is an issue. I am just glad I found out before we got married."
- Marie - Miramar, FL

"My husband usually gets in the doghouse when he forgets my birthday or our anniversary. He usually remembers a day or two later when someone reminds him. That's okay, though because he generally makes it up to me by sending me two dozen of the biggest, most beautiful, fabulous red roses! Big red roses always do it for me!"
- I.M. - Miami Beach, FL

"When I first met my wife, I was a wild and crazy guy - into motorcycles. She was (and still is) the complete opposite. She is always well dressed and me, well let's just say that most of the time, there's dirt under my fingernails. When she finally decided she would go out with me, I picked her up on my 'chopper' (motorcycle), which did not impress her any. The date didn't go too well; we ran out of gas about a mile away from her home and she had to help me push it to a gas station. Then we got back on the chopper to go out and the front pipe came off, shot a flame and caught my pants leg on fire. To top it off, I took her to a biker bar and she freaked out. In order to get her to go out with me again and stay together, she said I needed to get a driver's license, get a job and get a set of front teeth! So that's how I got out of the doghouse with her."
- John MacNanamee - Pembroke Pines, FL
"PS. We've been together 25 years (dated for 3, engaged for 18 and married for 4) they say that opposites attract, I guess it's true!"