About Relationship Branding Every year I make a new anniversary logo for my baby (I'm a graphic designer wannabe). This year is our 21st Anniversary—"Lucky 21" as in the best hand you can get in blackjack. While, I don't believe in luck in relationships I do believe we have a winning hand. I'm her Ace (her number one). She's my Queen... The Wampum Queen to be precise.

This annual logo is part of what I call "relationship marketing" and creating one's own "GREAT Relationship brand." Each year the logo is different but the branding aspect that is always the same is the "I heart Kara" part of the logo. From a marketing and design standpoint it is important to maintain consistency and continuity in your brand and in your branding. I believe this principle holds true in our relationships. You don't need a logo for your relationship, but do you know your relationship brand? Is it clearly identifiable to each other? What does your relationship represent? What does it mean to each of you? Every brand carries a promise. What does your brand promise to each other? Do you maintain the integrity of your brand?

Facebook link to prior anniversary logos.

21+ Roses Every year: X # of red roses per year married for years loved; and one yellow rose in the middle symbolizing our friendship where our relationship began (we were friends for 5 years prior to dating) and the friendship that continues in the midst of it all.

The Annual Playlist: Kara Songs Every year I make Kara CD's of songs for our anniversary and call them "Kara Songs." Here's this year's list, and most of the lyrics with some comments follow below. Also, see previous year's here....

My Valentine Paul McCartney

Kara's a believer. She has faith things will work out. Always. And she's also always right. It always does work out. She also believes in me. Thank God she's always right.

What if it rained? We didn't care She said that someday soon the sun was gonna shine. And she was right, this love of mine, My Valentine

As days and nights, would pass me by I tell myself that I was waiting for a sign Then she appeared, a love so fine, My Valentine

And I will love her for life And I will never let a day go by without remembering the reasons why she makes me certain that I can fly

And so I do, without a care I know that someday soon the sun is gonna shine And she'll be there This love of mine My Valentine

What if it rained? We didn't care. She said that someday soon the sun was gonna shine and she was right This love of mine, My Valentine

I'll Be There The Jackson 5

Lovin' You More Every Day Etta James

How Deep Is Your Love The Bee Gees

As Time Goes By Natalie Cole

I Love Your More Than Words Can Say Otis Redding

Strawberry Swing Frank Ocean

When we were kids We hand-painted strawberries on a swing Every moment was so precious then

I'm still kicking it I'm daydreaming on a strawberry swing The entire earth is fighting All the world is at its end

Just in case an atom bomb comes falling on my lawn I should say and you should hear I've loved, I've loved the good times here I've loved our good times here

Say hello then say farewell To the places you know We are all mortals, aren't we? Any moment this could go

Cry, cry, cry, oh, oh, oh, even though that won't change a thing But you should know, you should hear That I have loved, I have loved the good times here And I will miss our good times here

Spaceships are lifting off of a dying world And millions are left behind while the sky burns There wasn't room for you and I Only you, goodbye, goodbye

Now the sky could be blue, I don't mind Without you it's a waste of time Could be blue, I don't mind Without you it's a waste of time

Could be blue, could be gray Without you I'm just miles away The sky could be blue, I don't mind Without you it's a waste of time

As You Wish Aqueduct

This song is a fun nod to The Princess Bride movie and the "As you wish" = "I love you" which is a central tenant of The GREAT Relationship Work--loving, willing ego-less service.

CHORUS: Pleeeeease, I beg you for my life, For true love waits, You see I must survive, Good nite, sleep well, Good work today I'll probably kill you in the morning.

But for tonite (pleeease) I beg you for my life, For true love waits, You see I must survive, Good nite, sleep well, Good work today I'll probably kill you in the morning,

But for tonite...

As you wish, Hearts and candy glitter and gold, is what I'm dreamin' of. As you wish, Reeses peanut butter cup, is what I'm waitin' for, As you wish, Certainly upon my return, my love won't be ignored.

CHORUS

To the pain, First I'll cut your feet off and then, the hands above your arms. To the pain, Next you'll lose your eyes, it goes, everything, it has to go. To the pain, Except your ears, you wanna hear people scream: "Dear God what is that thing?"

CHORUS

The Blower's Daughter Damien Rice

I love this hauntingly, sweet, melancholy and passionately desperate song. The yearning. Of course, for me, the last line doesn't apply. But I can't take my eyes and my mind off of my baby.

And so it is Just like you said it would be Life goes easy on me Most of the time And so it is The shorter story No love, no glory No hero in her sky

I can't take my eyes off of you I can't take my eyes off you I can't take my eyes off of you I can't take my eyes off you I can't take my eyes off you I can't take my eyes...

And so it is Just like you said it should be We'll both forget the breeze Most of the time And so it is The colder water The blower's daughter The pupil in denial

I can't take my eyes off of you I can't take my eyes off you I can't take my eyes off of you I can't take my eyes off you I can't take my eyes off you I can't take my eyes...

Did I say that I loathe you? Did I say that I want to Leave it all behind?

I can't take my mind off of you I can't take my mind off you I can't take my mind off of you I can't take my mind off you I can't take my mind off you I can't take my mind... My mind...my mind... 'Til I find somebody new

I Will Keep the Bad Things from You The Damnwells

I will keep the bad things from you I will keep a straight face honey You can keep your last name if you want to And I will give you all my money I could take a plane right to you if i could just stop running What if all this was true

I will keep the bank from calling I will keep those bastards from you I will keep your smile from falling This time the casualties were few 'Cause we kept the bastards brawling we kept our hearts from view This time we're problem solving

Catch it while you can It's the feel good hit of the summer Catch it while you can 'cause there won't be another

You keep the band names coming I'll make the jokes real funny We'll keep the skeptics humming and someone else will take the money We'll keep the hamsters running I'll be the sour in your tummy Who'll wipe the nose that's running

Catch it while you can It's the feel good hit of the summer Catch it while you can 'cause there won't be another

I will sleep above the covers I will love you like no other I will be your dad and mother I will give you older brothers I will feed you fries with steak sauce I will keep the price below the cost I will lead the way from all is lost I will keep the bad things from you

Catch it while you can It's the feel good hit of the summer Catch it while you can 'cause there won't be another Won't be another

I'll keep the bad things from you I'll keep the bad things from you I'll keep the bad things from you

You and I Wilco (feat. Feist)

You and I, we might be strangers However close we get sometimes It's like we never met

But you and I, I think we can take it All the good with the bad Make something that no one else has but

You and I, you and I

Me and you, what can we do When the words we use sometimes Are misconstrued

Well, I won't guess what's coming next I can't ever tell you The deepest well I've ever fallen into

Oh, I don't wanna know Oh, I don't wanna know Oh, I don't need to know Everything about you

Oh, I don't wanna know And you don't need to know That much about me

You and I, we might be strangers However close we get sometimes It's like we never met

But you and I, I think we can take it All the good with the bad Make something that no one else has but

You and I, you and I You and I, you and I You and I, you and I You and I, you and I

Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Baby Barry White

Business Time Flight of the Conchords

A hilariously brilliant play in the style of the above Barry White song.

I Think I Like You Donora

I think I like you I'm pretty sure I do I'd go for Thai with you if you asked me to

I think I like you I'm pretty sure I do I'd drink Black Labels with you if you'd ask me to

I think I like you I'm pretty sure I do I'd watch C-Span with you if you'd ask me to

I think I like you I'm pretty sure I do I'd turn some records with you if you'd ask me to

Hard-Headed Woman Cat Stevens

I've said for years: "Strong men love strong women. Weak men call strong women 'b----'" I've got me a hard-headed (strong-willed, assertive, confident, self-assured) woman. Best kind there is. But one is enough. ;-)

I'm looking for a hard headed woman One who will take me for myself And if I find my hard headed woman I won't need nobody else, no, no, no

I'm looking for a hard headed woman, headed woman One who will make me do my best And if I find my hard headed woman I know the rest of my life will be blessed, yes, yes, yes

I know a lot of fancy dancers People who can glide you on a floor They move so smooth but have no answers When you ask, "Why'd you come here for?" ("I don't know") "Why?"

I know many fine feathered friends But their friendliness depends on how you do They know many sure fired ways To find out the one who pays and how you do

I'm looking for a hard headed woman One who will make me feel so good And if I find my hard headed woman I know my life will be as it should, yes, yes, yes

I'm looking for a hard headed woman, headed woman One who will make me do my best And if I find my hard headed woman

Baby Likes a Love Song Malcolm Holcombe

Kentucky Woman Sun Kil Moon

Kentucky woman She shines with her own kind of light She'd look at you once And a day that's all wrong looks all right And I love her God knows, I love her

Kentucky woman If she get to know you She goin' to own you Kentucky woman

Well, she ain't the kind Makes heads turn at the drop of her name But something inside That she's got turn you on just the same And she loves me God knows, she loves me

Kentucky woman If she get to know you She goin' to own you Kentucky woman

I don't want much The good Lord's earth beneath my feet A gentle touch From that one girl, and life is Sweet and good Ain't no doubt I'm talkin' about

Kentucky woman If she get to know you She goin' to own you Kentucky woman

Nothing I Can Do Ben Taylor

First morning ever to have seen the sun Must have run the other way Until she found that it was only getting earlier that way When she spun one-hundred eighty degrees And beheld the sweet light rising through the trees She fell to her knees and she began to smile, because She had been in darkness for a long long while, She said...

There is nothing that I can do but belong to you Heaven and Earth and I find myself Singing this song for you As luck would have it, it just so happens that there's Nothing I'd Rather do

And the first lesson ever to have learned its way Must've been suprised All I can say is im just glad that I survived, And the first river to have met the sea, I beleive he must've sighed, said All this rambling I'm glad to finally find, that After all I haven't just been wasting my time.

There is nothing that i can do but belong to you Heaven and Earth and I find myself Singing this song for you As luck would have it, it just so happens that there's Nothing I'd Rather do.

Just so long as your flying around high Whatever you find out in the sky dont forget to fall down sometimes I'm easy to find, look around you It's a good thing that I finally found you.

There is nothing that i can do but belong to you Heaven and Earth and I find myself Singing this song for you As luck would have it, it just so happens that there's Nothing I'd Rather do.

You Will Be My Ain True Love Alison Krauss & Sting From the Civil War movie Cold Mountain

You'll walk unscathed through musket fire No plowman's blade will cut thee down No cutlass wound will mar thy face and you will be my ain true love and you will be my ain true love

And as you walk through death's dark veil the cannon's thunder can't prevail And those who hunt thee down will fail and you will be my ain true love and you will be my ain true love

Asleep inside the cannon's mouth the captain cries "Here comes the rout" They'll seek to bind me north & south I've gone to find my ain true love

The field is cut and bleeds too red the cannonballs fly round my head The infirmary man may count me dead when I've gone to find my ain true love I've gone to find my ain true love...

Love Is Alive Gary Wright

Well, I think it's time to get ready To realize just what I have found I have lived only half of what I am It's all clear to me now

My heart is on fire My soul's like a wheel that's turnin' My love is alive My love is alive, yeah, girl, yeah

There's something inside that's making me crazy I'll try to keep it together 'Cause what I say may not happen the same way Now could be forever

My heart is on fire My soul's like a wheel that's turnin' My love is alive My love is alive, yeah, girl, yeah

My love is alive Woo hoo, my love is alive

There's a mirror moving inside my mind Reflecting the love that you shine on me Hold on now to that feeling Let it flow, let it grow, yeah, yeah

My heart is on fire My soul's like a wheel that's turnin' My love is alive My love is alive, yeah, girl, yeah

Feels Like Home Randy Newman

Something in your eyes Makes me wanna lose myself Makes me wanna lose myself In your heart

Something in your voice Makes my heart beat fast Hope this feeling will last The rest of my life

If you knew How lonely my life has been And how low i've felt for so long If you knew I wanted someone to come along And change my world The way you've done

It feels like home Feels like home to me Feels like i'm on my way back Where i come from Feels like home Feels like home to me Feels like i'm on my wayback Where i'm from

With your embrace Down a long dark street And a sigh of wind in the night It's alright Cause i have you here with me And I can almost see The dark feels light

If you knew How much this moment means to me Ad how long i've waited for your touch I you knew I wanted someone to come along I never thought i'd love anyone So much

Feels like home Feels like home to me Feels like i'm on my way to where i come from Feels like home to me Feels like home to me Feels like i'm all the way back where i come from Feels like i'm on my way back to where i belong

I Will Stay With You John Legend

We've been together for a while now We're growing stronger everyday now It feels so good and there's no doubt I will stay with you as each morning brings sunrise And the flowers bloom in springtime On my love you can rely And I'll stay with you

Though relationships can get old They have the tendency to grow cold We have something like a miracle Yeah, and I'll stay with you

And there will be heartaches and pains, yes it will But through it all, we will remain In this life, we all know Friends may come, and they may go Through the years I know I will stay And in the end I know that we'll find Love so beautiful and divine We'll be lovers for a lifetime, yeah And I'll stay with you I will stay with you

Oh I'll stay with you through the ups and the downs Oh I'll stay with you when no one else is around And when the dark clouds arrive I will stay by your side I know we'll be alright I will stay with you Everything will be fine And I will stay with you Through the end of time I will stay with you

Heaven When We're Home The Wailin' Jennys

Don't know what time it is, I've been up for way too long and I'm too tired to sleep I call my mother on the phone, she wasn't home, and now I'm wondering the street I've been a fool, I've been cruel to myself I've been hanging onto nothing when nothing could be worse than hanging on And something tells me there must be something better than all this

I've fallen many times in love and every time it's been with the wrong man Still I'm out there living one day at a time and doing the best I can Cuz we've all made mistakes that seem to lead us astray But every time they helped to get us where we are today And that's a good a place as any and it's probably where we're best off anyway

It's a long and rugged road and we don't now where it's headed But we know it's going to get us where we're going And when we find what we're looking for we'll drop these bags and search no more 'Cuz it's going to feel like heaven when we're home It's going to feel like heaven when we're home

There's no such thing as perfect, and if there is we'll fnd it when we're good and dead Trust me I've been looking bu tonight I think I'll go and take a bath instead And then maybe I'll walk a while and feel the earth beneath me They say if you stop looking it doesn't matter if you find it And whose to say that even if I did it's what I'm really looking for

Toothpaste Kisses The Maccabees

Cradle me I'll cradle you I'll win your heart with a woop-a-woo pulling shapes just for your eyes so with toothpaste kisses and lines I'll be yours and you'll be

Lay with me, I'll lay with you we'll do the things that lovers do put the stars in our eyes and with heart shaped bruises and late night kisses divine

In My Arms Jon Foreman

Here, my dear This is where We'll shake the nightmares free

I dream to hold you in my arms I dream to hold you in my arms To hold you in my arms Wide awake in my arms

I think I figured it out We need to be together Like the shore and the sea We are not one thing We're drawn here together My ocean and me

I dream to hold you in my arms I dream to hold you in my arms To hold you in my arms Wide awake in my arms

Love we sleep apart For the last time For the last time

I dream to hold you in my arms I dream to hold you in my arms To hold you in my arms Wide awake in my arms Wide awake in my arms Wide awake in my arms Wide awake in my arms

Hold On, I'm Coming Sam & Dave

Don't you ever, be sad Lean on me, hen times get bad When the day come, and you know your down In a river of trouble, your bout to drown

Hold on, cause I'm coming Hold on, I'm coming

I'm on my way, your lover If you're cold, I will be your cover Never have to worry, because I am here You dont need to suffer, cause I am near

Say Hold on cause I'm coming Hold on cause I'm coming Hold on, cause I'm coming Hold on, I'm coming

Lemme hear ya'll You talk to me For satisfaction, oh, hold on Call my name, oh, call my name yeah for quick reaction Yeah yeah yeah yeah

Oh dont you ever, oh dont you ever, be sad, I want you to lean on me, when times get bad, When the day comes, and I know you been around, In a river o trouble, you you you you about to drown

Hold on I'm coming Hold on cause I'm coming Hold on cause I'm coming Hold on I'm coming (just hold on baby) Hold on, I'm coming (here i come) Hold on, I'm coming (take my hand) Hold on, (dont you ever) I'm coming (here I come)

Smile Uncle Kracker

You're better than the best I'm lucky just to linger in your light Cooler than the flip-side of my pillow (that's right) Completely unaware Nothing can compare to where you send me Let's me know that it's okay (yea, it's okay) And the moments when my good times start to fade

[Chorus:] You make me smile like the sun, fall outta bed Sing like a bird, Dizzy in my head Spin like a record, Crazy on a Sunday night You make me dance like fool, Forget how to breathe Shine like gold, Buzz like a bee Just the thought of you can drive me wild Oh, you make me smile

Even when you're gone Somehow you come along just like a flower pokin through the sidewalk crack And just like that You steal away the rain And just like that

[Chorus]

Don't know how I lived without you 'Cuz everytime that I get around you I see the best of me inside your eyes You make me smile You make me dance like fool, Forget how to breathe Shine like gold, Buzz like a bee Just the thought of you can drive me wild Oh, you make me smile

[Chorus]

(Oh, you make me smile) Oh you make me smille (Oh, you make me smile) Oh you make me smile

Til Kingdom Come Coldplay

Steal my heart and hold my tongue. I feel my time, my time has come. Let me in, unlock the door. I've never felt this way before.

The wheels just keep on turning, The drummer begins to drum, I don't know which way I'm going, I don't know which way I've come.

Hold my head inside your hands, I need someone who understands. I need someone, someone who hears, For you, I've waited all these years.

For you, I'd wait 'til kingdom come. Until my day, my day is done. And say you'll come, and set me free, Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me.

In your tears and in your blood, In your fire and in your flood, I hear you laugh, I heard you sing, "I wouldn't change a single thing."

The wheels just keep on turning, The drummers begin to drum, I don't know which way I'm going, I don't know what I've become.

For you, I'd wait 'til kingdom come, Until my days, my days are done. Say you'll come and set me free, Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me. Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me. Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me.

Arms Christina Perri

I never thought that you would be the one to hold my heart But you came around and you knocked me off the ground from the start

You put your arms around me And I believe that it's easier for you to let me go You put your arms around me and I'm home

How many times will you let me change my mind and turn around? I can't decide if I'll let you save my life or if I'll drown

I hope that you see right through my walls I hope that you catch me 'cause I'm already falling I'll never let a love get so close You put your arms around me and I'm home

The world is coming down on me and I can't find a reason to be loved I never wanna leave you but I can't make you bleed if I'm alone

You put your arms around me And I believe that it's easier for you to let me go...

I hope that you see right through my walls I hope that you catch me, 'cause I'm already falling I'll never let a love get so close You put your arms around me and I'm home

I tried my best to never let you in to see the truth And I've never opened up I've never truly loved 'til you put your arms around me And I believe that it's easier for you to let me go

I hope that you see right through my walls I hope that you catch me, 'cause I'm already falling I'll never let a love get so close You put your arms around me and I'm home

Make You Feel My Love Adele

Bloom The Paper Kites

In the morning when I wake And the sun is coming through, Oh, you fill my lungs with sweetness, And you fill my head with you.

Shall I write it in a letter? Shall I try to get it down? Oh, you fill my head with pieces Of a song I can't get out.

Can I be close to you? Ooh-oo-oo-ooh, ooh Can I be close to you? Ooh, ooh.

Can I take it to a morning Where the fields are painted gold And the trees are filled with memories Of the feelings never told?

When the evening pulls the sun down, And the day is almost through, Oh, the whole world it is sleeping, But my world is you.

Can I be close to you?

Nothing Like You and I The Perishers

We spent some time Together walking Spent some time just talking About who we were

You held my hand so Very tightly And told me what we Could be dreaming of

There's nothing like you and I Nothing like you and I There's nothing like you and I

We spent some time Together drinking Spent some time just thinking About days of joy

As our hearts started Beating faster I recalled your laughter From long ago

There's nothing like you and I Nothing like you and I There's nothing like you and I

We spent some time Together crying Spent some time just trying To let each other go

I held your hand so Very tightly And told you what I Would be dreaming of

There's nothing like you and I Nothing like you and I There's nothing like you and I So why do I even try? There's nothing like you and I

Look What You Done For Me Al Green

Now that you're here with me I want to keep you free To do the things that you want to do The joy in life is loving you But now the day has come To let you know where I'm coming from, yeah

The best of my years will go to you It's the only thing that I can do But these things don't come overnight Lovin' you baby, and I think I'm right Let me say before I forget Lovin' you baby, it's where it's at, yeah

Ya baby, look what you done for me Ya baby, you set my heart free Oh, but I feel, ya I feel, ya

Sometimes I wanna leave, but then I say It wouldn't make sense at all anyway Forgive me baby, if I do wrong I haven't been a true man for so long Let be say before I forget Lovin' you baby, it's where it's at, yeah

Ya baby, look what you done for me Ya baby, you set my heart free, hey

Baby, do you wanna, do the thing that you oughta You've been very good for me And that's a fact, I say

Ya baby, look what you done for me Ya ya, you set my heart free Oh, no matter, baby what you done for me I got the feelin' that it's gonna, yeah

Ya, look what you done for me Ya baby baby, you set my heart free

[divider]

Birches Bill Morrissey

This song is #9 in The 52 Love Songs Project. See my full commentary on this song here.

Happy Anniversary Baby Little River Band

Of course, this is a post-relationship song, so it doesn't actually relate to us, but hey it's got a good beat and I can dance to it...