A Brand New eBOOK is Here!!

  For weeks the Learning Domestic Discipline staff has been planning and preparing several special promotions for the readers and supporters of the site and its entities.  In fact, one could even say we've been working on them for months, considering a number of the promotions include a BRAND NEW eBOOK!!

TAKE ME TO THE PROMOS!

  My wife and I are pleased to present our brand new domestic discipline eBook, "Domestic Discipline Boot Camp For Beginners", on a PRE-RELEASE special for a limited time only.  After February 28th, the eBook will not be available again until the middle of spring.

  For the entire month of February ONLY, our brand new eBook, "Domestic Discipline Boot Camp For Beginners" will be available in three of five promotional packages offered exclusively through www.learningdd.com. 

  All five packages will be offered at a ridiculously low DOORBUSTER price until 11:59pm EST on February 1st ONLY.  After that, the packages will be offered at the discounted promotional price.  Don't be late and miss out on the best price of the month!

  Upon purchase of any of the five packages, you will be emailed a download link for the book(s) and instructions for your new LDD Network membership.  You will also be automatically entered into a raffle drawing for a $100 Amazon.com giftcard + a free 1-year membership to the Learning Domestic Discipline Social Network.  The five packages offer anywhere from 1-4 raffle tickets, depending on which package is purchased.  The more raffle tickets you acquire, the better chance you have at winning the prize!

Additional Raffle Information:

• The raffle drawing will take place on March 8th, 2013.
• The raffle winner will be announced via Twitter and LDD blog.  The winner will be personally notified via email, and wll have 48 hours to claim the prize.  If the prize is not claimed within 48 hours, a new winner will be selected and the same process will be repeated until someone claims the prize.

NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY TO ENTER THE RAFFLE DRAWING!!

• 1 Raffle ticket will be given to anyone who shares the LDD promos via any social media (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) EXCEPT a blog or a website. (Proof required via email to admin (at) learningdd.com)
• 2 Raffle tickets will be given to anyone who shares the LDD promos in any form via blog or website (written post, widget, sidebar link, etc.). (Proof required via email to admin (at) learningdd.com)

  ***If you have any questions or need any help with your purchase, the LDD customer service team is standing by to help.  Email contact (at) learningdd.com and our customer service team will be happy to assist you as soon as possible.***

  We're so excited about the pre-release of our new eBook, and we hope you are too!  This eBook would not be possible without the readers and supporters of Learning Domestic Discipline and its entities.  Additionally, these promotions would not be possible without the dedicated LDD staff members working tirelessly on them.  My wife and I would like to personally thank our readers and our tremendous LDD staff members for everything they've done to make these promotions, and this book, possible.  Thank you all so very much.

-- Clint & Chelsea

TAKE ME TO THE PROMOS!

Some BIG News: Learning Domestic Discipline is HIRING!

When my husband and I first began Learning Domestic Discipline we had no idea that it would eventually become what it has. In just under 2 years we went from having blogs to a full-blown website, blog, social network, and forums that have all recently hit a record breaking number of traffic (and caused our bandwidth to completely overload!). While we are extremely grateful for everything, we are also extremely overwhelmed.

My husband and I have a list (a really, really long list) of things we want to implement into Learning Domestic Discipline over the course of the next few months, the next year, and beyond. Some projects are MAJOR (and life changing!) while others are minor but we still feel are important. After a lot of discussion, we have came to the realization that we just cannot do this on our own anymore.

So, we have decided it's time to bring in some backup! Clint and I will always remain the founders, operating owners, CEO's, whatever fancy name you want to give us, but we need YOU all to help us pull off our grand vision for the site! Despite how heavily we still plan to be involved, we need a lot of help because we have finally realized that running Learning Domestic Discipline really is a full time job. What you may read on our blog, or see on our site is a very small portion of Learning Domestic Discipline. What goes on behind the scenes is an incredible process, and we would love for you to be involved. 

Right now our team has 2 incredible employees who we are so grateful for. But, we are searching for a few more part time (with the potential to go full time in the future as we continue to expand) people.

Want to help us out and join our team? Awesome! Here are the current 2 positions we have open. *Please note that we will be rotating positions on/off this entry, and our site, as openings become available, so feel free to check back*

Marketing Manager

There are several new entities of Learning Domestic Discipline, as well as several current ones, that we need help marketing. Tasks would include:

• Marketing the Learning Domestic Discipline brand on numerous different websites.
• Manage Google Adwords
• Market/promote several new Learning Domestic Discipline entities (which are currently a surprise so I can't list them here, sorry everyone!) 
• Help with WordPress SEO
• Manage Facebook ad account 

and much more. 

We would ideally love someone who has a background in marketing (whether professionally or on the side for other websites/small businesses). We would also love someone who currently practices domestic discipline, and who has a great knowledge of different web marketing platforms. 

Project Manager

We have a lot in the works for Learning Domestic Discipline and we would love to have someone help us logistically make some of these ideas work.

The exact task list would heavily depend on the project. Clint and I will most likely be the ones doing  the exact project, but we would love to have someone who could help us with things like:

• Brainstorming new ideas 
• Working closely with our other employees on task lists relating to that specific project
•  Making sure project requirements are completed by specific deadlines
• Helping contact companies, or people, who we may need involved in certain projects.

and much more. Please be a "team player" and easy to get along with, the ability to work around extremely tight deadlines, and available to contact (either by phone, text, email, etc.) easily as things may arise. 

Sorry we have to be so vague. We just have a lot of really big ideas that we can't let out of the bag now, but that gives you a small idea of what we need. 

REQUIREMENTS

 In addition to the above specific job requirements, you must:

• Be ok with signing an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) form
• Live in the United States (for tax reasons)
• Have a basic knowledge of domestic discipline

IF INTERESTED please email us at contact (at) learningdd.com or by filling out this contact form. Your email must include the following:

• Experience
• Desired pay range (either weekly or biweekly)
• Amount of hours you can work per week
• Availability 
• A good way to contact you (email, phone, Skype, etc. are all fine)
• What you feel you can bring to the table

Please do not leave the above information in the comments. It must be emailed so we can easily sort through it.

Thank you all so much for making Learning Domestic Discipline what it is today. Although we are beyond overwhelmed, we are extremely grateful. 

Also, if you live out of the United States of America but are still wanting to get involved, we would love to have you volunteer! You can also email us at contact (at) learningdd.com or fill out this contact form. 

We hope you all are as excited as we are for the future of Learning Domestic Discipline. From the beginning, we have aimed to make this your community, your place to go for questions, advice, feedback, and support, and this is just another branch of that. We are excited to involve you in everything we are doing!

Sincerely,

Clint and Chelsea

It's the Little Things That Matter Most

**You can also read the entry on our new site by clicking here**

Happy New Year everyone! It feels like forever since I've wrote on our blog. We have some really exciting things in store for 2013, especially when it comes to Learning DD. Our site, forums, and network are continuing to grow each day and we are loving getting to meet so many new people who share in "this thing we do" with us. 

If you're new to Learning Domestic Discipline, I first want to welcome you, and I secondly want to let you know that this isn't the typical style of entry that we post. 99% of what is on this blog, and our site, is domestic discipline related. However, this entry is more marriage/relationship (only) related, and not necessarily domestic discipline. I hope you all don't mind if I still share it. :) 

A week or so ago I was browsing around on Facebook (which is a site that I rarely ever "browse around on", by the way, but since someone "tagged" our son in some photos from Christmas, I naturally wanted to go look at them) and noticed this story going around. I'll warn you now that, although it appears on all the "investigative sites" I've visited that this is a true story, obviously I can't be certain since I don't know the person who wrote it. However, I still think it's worth sharing. It's a story about a married couple, and like I said, although it has nothing to do with domestic discipline, there are some important elements which I think all couples can take from it (and we can talk about those after). 

Without further ado, here is the story:

“When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her hand and said, I’ve got something to tell you. She sat down and ate quietly. Again I observed the hurt in her eyes.

Suddenly I didn't know how to open my mouth. But I had to let her know what I was thinking. I want a divorce. I raised the topic calmly. She didn't seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me softly, why?

I avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw away the chopsticks and shouted at me, you are not a man! That night, we didn't talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find out what had happened to our marriage. But I could hardly give her a satisfactory answer; she had lost my heart to Jane. I didn't love her anymore. I just pitied her!

With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement which stated that she could own our house, our car, and 30% stake of my company. She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. The woman who had spent ten years of her life with me had become a stranger. I felt sorry for her wasted time, resources and energy but I could not take back what I had said for I loved Jane so dearly. Finally she cried loudly in front of me, which was what I had expected to see. To me her cry was actually a kind of release. The idea of divorce which had obsessed me for several weeks seemed to be firmer and clearer now.

The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing something at the table. I didn’t have supper but went straight to sleep and fell asleep very fast because I was tired after an eventful day with Jane. When I woke up, she was still there at the table writing. I just did not care so I turned over and was asleep again.

In the morning she presented her divorce conditions: she didn’t want anything from me, but needed a month’s notice before the divorce. She requested that in that one month we both struggle to live as normal a life as possible. Her reasons were simple: our son had his exams in a month’s time and she didn’t want to disrupt him with our broken marriage.

This was agreeable to me. But she had something more, she asked me to recall how I had carried her into out bridal room on our wedding day. She requested that every day for the month’s duration I carry her out of our bedroom to the front door ever morning. I thought she was going crazy. Just to make our last days together bearable I accepted her odd request.

I told Jane about my wife’s divorce conditions. . She laughed loudly and thought it was absurd. No matter what tricks she applies, she has to face the divorce, she said scornfully.

My wife and I hadn’t had any body contact since my divorce intention was explicitly expressed. So when I carried her out on the first day, we both appeared clumsy. Our son clapped behind us, daddy is holding mommy in his arms. His words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to the sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her in my arms. She closed her eyes and said softly; don’t tell our son about the divorce. I nodded, feeling somewhat upset. I put her down outside the door. She went to wait for the bus to work. I drove alone to the office.

On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on my chest. I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that I hadn’t looked at this woman carefully for a long time. I realized she was not young any more. There were fine wrinkles on her face, her hair was graying! Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a minute I wondered what I had done to her.

On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt a sense of intimacy returning. This was the woman who had given ten years of her life to me. On the fifth and sixth day, I realized that our sense of intimacy was growing again. I didn’t tell Jane about this. It became easier to carry her as the month slipped by. Perhaps the everyday workout made me stronger.

She was choosing what to wear one morning. She tried on quite a few dresses but could not find a suitable one. Then she sighed, all my dresses have grown bigger. I suddenly realized that she had grown so thin, that was the reason why I could carry her more easily.

Suddenly it hit me… she had buried so much pain and bitterness in her heart. Subconsciously I reached out and touched her head.

Our son came in at the moment and said, Dad, it’s time to carry mom out. To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had become an essential part of his life. My wife gestured to our son to come closer and hugged him tightly. I turned my face away because I was afraid I might change my mind at this last minute. I then held her in my arms, walking from the bedroom, through the sitting room, to the hallway. Her hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held her body tightly; it was just like our wedding day.

But her much lighter weight made me sad. On the last day, when I held her in my arms I could hardly move a step. Our son had gone to school. I held her tightly and said, I hadn’t noticed that our life lacked intimacy. I drove to office…. jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door. I was afraid any delay would make me change my mind…I walked upstairs. Jane opened the door and I said to her, Sorry, Jane, I do not want the divorce anymore.

She looked at me, astonished, and then touched my forehead. Do you have a fever? She said. I moved her hand off my head. Sorry, Jane, I said, I won’t divorce. My marriage life was boring probably because she and I didn’t value the details of our lives, not because we didn’t love each other anymore. Now I realize that since I carried her into my home on our wedding day I am supposed to hold her until death do us apart. Jane seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then slammed the door and burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove away. At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet of flowers for my wife. The salesgirl asked me what to write on the card. I smiled and wrote, I’ll carry you out every morning until death do us apart.

That evening I arrived home, flowers in my hands, a smile on my face, I run up stairs, only to find my wife in the bed -dead. My wife had been fighting CANCER for months and I was so busy with Jane to even notice. She knew that she would die soon and she wanted to save me from the whatever negative reaction from our son, in case we push through with the divorce.— At least, in the eyes of our son—- I’m a loving husband….

The small details of your lives are what really matter in a relationship. It is not the mansion, the car, property, the money in the bank. These create an environment conducive for happiness but cannot give happiness in themselves.

So find time to be your spouse’s friend and do those little things for each other that build intimacy. If you are not in a relationship now, remember this for the second (or third) time around. It's never too late."

Powerful stuff, right? After reading this, your reaction may have been the same as mine at first - something similar to "how could you not know your wife had cancer?" However, this post is a lot deeper than that and the "moral" of it goes far beyond that. I'd like for you to consider the following thoughts:

1. Always be honest with your spouse. I'm sure some of you are thinking "yeah, duh" but seriously think about this. Are you always honest? Not only about the "big stuff", but about your feelings? I think, a lot of times, so many of us answer "I'm fine" to the question "how are you?", but very rarely are we ever when we answer that. I'm guilty of it, and I know a lot of others are also. It's important to be honest about your feelings with your spouse (or partner), always. They deserve to know how you're feeling. In the article above, there was a lot of dishonesty, things being hidden, or feelings being suppressed. Granted the outcome was probably much bigger than something any of you all will ever experience, but it still makes you step back and think "how often am I truly honest with my spouse about my feelings, emotions, and thoughts?"
2. Nothing should come before, or in place of, your spouse (except your children, or God, if those apply to you) in my opinion. Once again, I'm sure a lot of you are like "yep, I got that too" and on a bigger scale, you probably do. Bigger things like infidelity (like in the above article) probably aren't occurring in your relationship (at least I really hope not..) but I think it is often times too easy to put things like work, school, technology, sports, friends, etc. ahead of your spouse. I'm not saying those things aren't important, but if it is causing you to be withdrawn from your relationship/marriage it is a problem. In the above story, the husband was so withdrawn from his own marriage (due to the affair he was having) that he was completely in the dark as to his wife's health or feelings. I think it's important, in the day to day life, to remember to always take time out for your marriage whether that's something like a date night every now and again, a night "unplugged" (turn your phone and computers off and just be with each other) or just spending time really communicating/talking with each other. I think a lot of people will be amazed at how withdrawn they really are from their marriage/spouse, even if it doesn't seem like it at first.
3. Remember why you fell in love in the beginning. Marriage, and relationships, take a lot of work and there will be trials/tribulations along the way. That's life, and that's something that domestic discipline may help to lower, but it will never completely resolve any form of conflict to ever arise within your relationship. However, I think it's really important, in those moments of conflict, to remember why you fell in love in the first place. What drew you to your spouse? Yeah, he/she may have really made you mad today, but what do you love about them? I'm aware that, especially in times of tension/anger, it can be hard to remember that, or it can be something that you don't care about. But if you begin to approach drama, conflict, and anger after remembering why you fell in love with your partner in the first place, there's a great chance your overall demeanor would be different. 

       Awhile back, on a 5 Things entry, I shared with everyone what I think is        a genius idea. Because it pretty much directly relates to #3 of the above list. 

On your wedding day (if you aren't married), your anniversary, or another special day, you and your loved one write letters to each other (explaining why you fell in love with the person, whatever else you want to say...you get the idea) and then take a bottle of wine, a gift card to somewhere you love...something that you guys enjoy, and put the letters and the object in a box, and seal it up (then, place the box somewhere out of sight, like underneath your bed). Then, on your first big fight (or, really any heated argument), take time to yourselves and calm down, then open the box together and read the letters, drink the wine, make the dessert, watch the movie (whatever you put in there) and it will help you remember why the two of you fell in love in the first place. 

Sorry to sidetrack from the usual domestic discipline entries, but I felt the above was important information to share.

I hope that everyone is having a great start to 2013! 

-Chelsea