Sadly, I will no longer be writing new articles for A Good Husband, effective immediately.

I want to take a moment to thank all of you for your time, talent, and contributions.  From readers, commenters, and contributors, to advertisers and evangelists, I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to all of you.  Please feel free to share the content that is of use to you with attribution back to this site.

The past 15 months have allowed me to learn more about marriage in general and my relationship with my wife than any other point, and I feel truly blessed to have had the opportunity.

Circumstances have dictated that I focus my time and energy on other projects that have arisen.  I’ve been an actor for years and things are picking up there.  My day job is working for an internet marketing firm, so there’s that, and I’m also still active in other spaces online.  Please feel free to follow me on Twitter to keep up on future projects.

One last thing about marriage:

Love your wife fiercely.  Be overwhelmingly loyal to her.  Because of this blog I have met so many wounded souls who are the victims of terrible choices.  Their stories break my heart and make me wish that I could do more to help.

Even more than those wounded souls however, I have learned that many, many men burn with the desire and intention to make their marriages great.  That knowledge alone gives me hope and courage for the state of marriage.

If you are curious about my next project, check out TheAbundantArtist.com, where I teach artists how to sell art online.

Robert Stadler's Question Mark Installation in Paris

I’m taking an open call for reader questions.  Ask any questions in the comments section below, and I will post my responses as blog posts over the next week.

Any questions are fair game, even personal questions (if you care).  I reserve the right to not answer anything too invasive.

What marriage advice do you need?  What are you dying to know about marriage?  What are you dying to know about your husband or wife?  What are you dying to know about Mormonism, theater, or yours truly?  Let me know!

I wanted to share with you two pieces of reading material that I recently came across.

Seeing the Everyday Magazine.  I believe that long term marriages are not built on doing great things, but instead on noticing your wife each day and appreciating the little things that make life wonderful.  Jared from Seeing the Every Day sent me a review copy of the magazine, and it’s definitely worth looking at.  The focus of the magazine is on the little pleasures that you remember.  You know, those stories that you sit around and talk about fondly years later?  It’s a very visual and tactile magazine (great photography and printed on fine paper).  Check it out!

The other thing is the Hero Principles E-Book.  I, like most men, have a bit of a hero complex.  I want to be seen as a knight in shining armor to my wife.  Justic Marshall sent me an email to let me know about his e-Book and his practice.  He’s a certified life coach and therapist who specializes in helping men.  Peruse his e-book and you might find some different takes on how men can turn around their relationships.

And the winners are:

Matt Schmunk 51 Votes

CJ Grisham 32 Votes

Michael 31 Votes

Jude & Natasha 28 Votes

Weasel Momma 28 Votes

I will be emailing your your gift codes soon!  Congratulations and thanks for playing!

Even if you didn’t win, remember that you can still get 20% off and a free vase by ordering flowers via this link.  Offer expires March 1, 2009.

Thank you everyone for all of your awesome comments on the Proflowers Gift Card giveaway!  I will be compiling the list and creating a voting poll today.  Be sure to come back and vote for your favorite romantic story, and get a chance to win $70!

In the meanwhile, check out these two awesome articles on how to man up in your marriage.

Three phrases all husbands should use more often by Art of Manliness.

How to Spot & Defeat the Four Marriage Killers at Simple Marriage Project.

Reader JF left a comment on Could You Forgive Your Spouse for Cheating?

My wife had an affair (mostly an emotional affair and some kissing, but no sex) and I feel that we are dealing with it well except for one thing. The man she had an affair with is one of her only friends and they have swapped childcare together (we both have 3 year olds). They did a lot of childcare together and have swapped kids to give the other a break. I truly believe my wife is over him ad would not do anything again (we’ve had a lot of stress in our lives leading to the affair), but she wants to remain friends with him; he’s her only childcare support; and while she understands that I don’t want my kids near him, and while she accepts that, I know she wants me to move past it.

My question for you, readers, is this: Is it okay to remain friends with the person that you cheated on your spouse with?

This Good Husband is about much more than just marriage advice.  He does a lot of things besides be married.  The editorial board is exploring options on what to write about in addition marriage (and yes, things to add to the tagline).  Some of the suggestions are:

• My work in sales/sales advice.
• The world of the Theatre.
• Mormonism.
• Internet Marketing.

All of these topics have been touched upon at some point over the last year, but I’m thinking of writing more overtly about these things.  The question is would you, the reader, be more interested in reading about those things here on A Good Husband, or on a seperate blog?

Vote on the side panel, let me know any thoughts you have in the comments below.

Let me know what you think of the new Good Husband site design.  Also, check out my wife, Liss, on Girlfriendology’s latest podcast.  Listen to it, visit the podcast page and Stumble, Digg or otherwise give a little love to my wife and her first media interview.  In case you didn’t know, she is the person behind The Fascinating Woman - some love her modern take on old traditions, some think she’s hopelessly out of touch with modern times, but either way, I find her endlessly fascinating.

Just like it’s the little things that make a marriage great, it’s the little things that make a marriage hell.

I once heard someone say that you should find out something that annoys your spouse and make sure you do it every once in a while. Now, I can say with absolute certainty that I have this skill down pat - without even trying. I do it without thinking, but I don’t think that it helps, you know what I’m saying?

I like to perform in plays.  It’s a passion that I have, and I consider myself a professional.  The problem, of course, is that I also have a day job.  When I am in rehearsals for any particular production I tend to be very busy and when I am home, I have a tendency to be distracted and busy.  It becomes easy for me to forget to take care of my most important relationship - my marriage.

Women need emotional attention. Many men have the emotional attention span of a mayfly (for those who don’t know, the average lifespan of a mayfly is less than 24 hours, so their attention span is necessarily short).  When emotions come up for men, we roll our eyes and shrug it off.  This eye rolling is hurtful for women and not constructive in marriage.  While a man may brush off a bad dream or a quarrel, women will agonize over its meaning and need to discuss it.  Men, we need to give women the attention they are due and make sure we validate their feelings.

Open the door for your wife. It may seem like a trivial thing, but not opening the door for your wife, making a meal for yourself and not for her, leaving your dirty socks everywhere, and a thousand other little careless things make a big difference.  Some relationship therapists talk about an emotional bank account.  Every interaction you have with your spouse is either a withdrawal or a deposit.  Think about your day.  You’ll recognize which ones are withdrawals and which are deposits.  Make sure your bank account is positive.

For my marriage, the little things that kill are: failing to follow through on tasks I take on, failing to be forthcoming with my own emotions, leaving my biking clothes on the floor, or leaving sinks full of dishes.

What are the little things that kill in your marriage?

Merry Christmas to you and to your family.  God bless you and send you a happy New Year.