Let's hear some cheers for the newly crowned Mrs. Delaware United States! Francine Edwards, who was announced as the winner this month, happens to have a platform that certainly caught my attention. There are several interesting reasons why I am cheering. Not only is she an assistant professor at Delaware State University, but she also won at the age of 43 when many of her competitors were "mostly in their late 20s to early 30s,..." according to MiddletownTranscript.com. Drumroll, please... 

The biggest reason why I am rooting for Edwards is that her platform is "Blended and Blessed: Step Parent and Step Family Support," according to the MiddletownTranscript.com, "Townsend woman crowned winner of 2012 Mrs. Delaware United States." (photo of Francine Edwards by John Dodd)

This is one stepmom that I really hope to interview on my RemarriageWorks show on The Stepmom's Toolbox Network. And, according to the article, her strategy for the fitness part of the competition involved P90X with her husband. She had me on the first round of applause; P90X with her husband is just icing on the cake. Congratulations Mrs. Delaware! And, good luck at the annual Mrs. United States Pageant in August.  I'll be cheering for you as you help bring awareness to the needs of stepfamilies and blended families.  

On Monday night during the "Eat, Drink and Remarry with StaceyLu" episode on my RemarriageWorks show on BlogTalkRadio, I had the pleasure of interviewing Stacey Tucker, author of the popular blog, Saying it Out Loud, and the book, Eat, Drink and Remarry: Stacey Lu's Guide to Planning the Second Time Around.  The podcast is now available for you if you missed the live call. 

You'll hear StaceyLu's top three tips for planning your second wedding and her top three tips for your remarriage. And, you'll be sure to crack a smile when you hear StaceyLu's funniest moment as she planned her encore wedding. Enjoy! 

Listen to internet radio with Stepmoms Toolbox on Blog Talk Radio

If you know anyone who is getting remarried and/or planning his or her second wedding, tune in to my RemarriageWorks show on BlogTalkRadio tonight at 8 p.m. EST.  Don't be surprised to find out that getting married again can be much harder than you anticipated. My special guest, Stacey Tucker, author of Eat, Drink and ReMarry: StaceyLu's Guide to Planning the Second Time Around is here to help! 

Stacey Tucker will share how to get through your encore wedding plans with humor and insight. You will hear Stacey's top three tips for planning your second wedding and her top three pieces of advice for your second marriage. 

During tonight's show, we will also be discussing our funniest experiences related to our second wedding planning, along with our most frustrating and challenging times. You'll see why the second time around isn't really the second time around.  Don't miss this enlightening conversation! 

A big thank you goes to two of our great sponsors for this show:  

SteppingTwoGether - Tools and Resources for Individuals, Couples, Marriage Educators, and Counselors 

Cruise-Ship Wedding - provider of all inclusive, affordable, and unique weddings!  

Do you have teenagers in your stepfamily? Are you struggling with your spouse over parenting teenagers in your blended family? Tune in tonight at 8 pm EST to my RemarriageWorks show, "Parenting Teens in Your Blended Family." I'll be interviewing Al Betz, author of Outfluence, The Better Way to Influence, and founder of Outfluence LLC which offers coaching, training, and public speaking to teens, families and other audiences interested in improving communication. 

Al Betz is an entrepreneur, author, and a public speaker who believes in hard work, inspired performance, second chances, and always moving forward. Join us as Al offers tips and wisdom about understanding teens and communicating with them. 

There are five kids in our blended family.  At one time, four of our five kids were teenagers all at once. Looking back, I'm not sure how we survived! I'm eager to hear Al discuss some tips to help parenting and step-parenting teens go more smoothly. This topic ins't covered often enough. You can tweet your questions to us @RemarriageWorks. And, if you are going to be an instant stepmom or stepdad of a teenager, you may want to especially tune in so you know what to expect.

Do you know anyone who is planning their second wedding? engaged to remarry? having an encore wedding in the next year or so? If you or anyone you know is planning to get married again after divorce or widowhood, you have to check out an exciting contest from WINC FM in northern VA/DC. WINC FM is giving away an encore wedding (aka second wedding). This could be a great way to start off on the right foot with your second chance for happiness! The contest package includes some fabulous prizes.

WINC FM, out of Winchester VA, our media sponsor for our upcoming Remarriage Showcase for Encore Brides, which will be held at River Creek Club in Leesburg, VA on March 10, is having an encore wedding giveaway on-line now!  Prizes include, but are not limited to: 

• second wedding invitations custom-designed by Carla David Design; 
• a Luxe Wedding Experience package from the extraordinary event planning company, A Splash of Elegance; 
• wedding photography by Jones Photography; 
• a wedding gown from the fabulous new bridal couture boutique, Soliloquy;  
• flowers by Graceful Flowers;
• music by Music Unlimited;
• the fine venue Piedmont Club in Haymarket, VA, a ClubCorp club; and, 
• if you are going to have a stepfamily, four coaching sessions from The Stepmom Coach, Claudette Chenevert.  

Even if you aren't located in northern VA/DC, consider making it a destination second wedding! (Please note: travel and lodging are not included.) 

All you have to do is submit a video that is 30 seconds or less telling WINC FM why you deserve an encore wedding. If you or your fiance' have had some rough times, and I'm guessing you may have if one or both of you is getting remarried, check out this opportunity. 

WINC will be announcing the winning couple at our Remarriage Showcase for Encore Brides on March 10. 

And, for those of you who may be wondering.....

Q: How are second weddings any different from first weddings?

A: I invite you to check out my article, "Top 5 Reasons Why Remarrying Brides Deserve Their Own Bridal Show." 

Q:  What? Are you kidding me? What's up with RemarriageWorks.com, WINC FM and these sponsors? Are they promoting divorce?  

A:  ABSOLUTELY NOT!  Here are the plain facts.  Nearly 100 million people in the U.S. are either considering remarriage after divorce or widowhood, or are already remarried. Over 1000 stepfamilies form daily. The divorce rate for second marriages is between 60-70%, and that rate is even higher than the divorce rate for first marriages. Our mission at RemarriageWorks.com is to help remarriages and stepfamilies succeed. Remarriage and stepfamily living and blending families can be a challenging road, an often very rewarding and joyful journey, but it can be very tough and often takes a lot of hard work. 

We want to make the remarriage journey a little easier for you by bringing you credible and valuable resources, inspiration, and hope with a positive twist!  If you like this, please spread the word about our efforts and WINC FM's encore wedding giveaway contest.  I really think the time is coming where we can start supporting healthy remarriages and stepfamilies from the start!

For stepmothers who may be struggling with stress or depression and for stepparents who have lost all hope of being happy or at peace in their stepfamily, my RemarriageWorks.com radio show, "RemarriageWorks: Stepmom's Prerogative, Changing Mindset" on January 2 featured a special guest, Mindset Coach and author of Life As An Onion: The Journey Back to Your Core, Renee Canali. During the interview, Renee made some great offers to help those of you who are looking to step into 2012 with a fresh perspective in your stepfamily life. Now Renee is offering even more tools to help you at no cost!   

Renee Canali and I explored how our stepchildren reflect back to us what we need to change or adopt in our relationship with them, and she shared some exercises to help you shift your mindset and help you think about you and your role in your stepfamily from a different perspective.

During the call, Renee graciously offered a FREE 30 minute coaching consultation by phone, and for those who buy her book, Life As An Onion: The Journey Back to Your Core she offered her free report. 

Now it gets even better than that!  I invite you to listen to the show and take advantage of Renee's valuable offer, including a coaching consultation at no cost from Renee.  Plus, for those who leave feedback in the comment section under the podcast or right here (below) in this very blog, you will receive a complimentary downloadable pdf copy of Renee's ebook, Your Greatest Asset is Your Mindset, based on a presentation she gave at the National Institutes of Health. 

If you've been wanting to feel better, improve your stepparenting, and/or look at things in your stepfamily in a positive way, I hope you take advantage of this! I've personally been a client of Renee's, and it has made a tremendous difference in my life. (By the way, I am NOT being paid for this endorsement.) I want more stepmoms and stepdads (or even future stepmothers and stepfathers) to know about a resource which can help them work through some challenging stepparenting times. It's free. Why not give it a shot?

Are you a stepmom struggling with stress or depression? Have you lost all hope of being happy or at peace as a stepparent? Did you know there's a possibility that you can start turning these feelings around today? You're not alone! Tune in to my RemarriageWorks.com radio show coming up tonight, January 2, 8-9 p.m. EST.  We'll be discussing some ways to start the new year off with new perspectives in your stepfamily life.  

My guest will be Renee Canali, The Mindset Coach and author of Life As An Onion: The Journey Back to Your Core. We'll explore how our stepchildren reflect back to us what we need to change or adopt in our relationship with them. Renee will share some family exercises to help you step into 2012 on the right foot. 

Tune in to the Stepmom's Toolbox mini-network on January 2 at 8 p.m. EST! You can change how you look at things today and feel a lot better! 

Are you getting remarried? Or, planning a second wedding? Or, have a friend who is? Last night I had the sincere pleasure of interviewing two incredible women on the RemarriageWorks.com show on the Stepmom's Toolbox mini network on BlogTalkRadio.com. In this free, downloadable podcast of "Here Comes Support for the Remarrying Bride," you'll hear top tips that you should know before your second wedding day.  

My two guests were Christy Borgeld, founder of National Stepfamily Day and Martha Wiles, a wedding planner and encore bridal specialist. Christy Borgeld, as mother of the groom, has just experienced planning a wedding in her own blended family and offers some valuable suggestions on working through stepfamily challenges during the encore wedding planning stage. And, Martha Wiles shares some really unique ideas about planning second weddings, including suggestions if you and/or your future spouse have children.

You can also catch some of their fabulous insights about remarrying, second weddings, and stepfamily blending in my book, Journal for Stepmoms as they have each contributed some helpful information to it. Tune in when your schedule allows; it's a great way to kick off your second wedding planning. Enjoy and best wishes to you on your remarriage journey!

If you missed my interview, "Mediation Can Help in Divorce & Remarriage" last night on RemarriageWorks.com's show on the Stepmom's Toolbox network, it isn't too late to hear it! You can listen to it or download it on BlogTalkRadio.com. A sincere thank you goes to guests Jim Pope and Ann Warshauer of the non-profit Northern VA Mediation Service for a very enlightening interview.  Enjoy!  Coming up on our next show on Nov. 7 is an interview with Christy Borgeld, the founder of National Stepfamily Day plus a special surprise for remarrying brides. 

When I was going through a divorce over a decade ago, I associated the word "mediation" with "giving in." And, in no way was that going to happen! In my view, I had been wronged, and things weren't going to be even. I was in such a different mindset then, and just the thought of my sitting on the living room floor, jousting, and divvying up our joint collection of CDs and "...one stuffed Pikachu for your house, and I get the stuffed Barney for mine" is horrifying. Whether you are divorcing or remarried, tune in to my next RemarriageWorks show (the Stepmom's Toolbox) on 10/3 to learn how professional mediation can help you.

On 10/3 at 8 p.m. EST, on our new RemarriageWorks.com BlogTalkRadio show, our topic will be "Mediation Can Help You in Divorce and Remarriage." Join me as I interview guests Jim Pope, M.S.W., J.D. and Ann L. Warshauer of the non-profit organization, Northern Virginia Mediation Service. As professional mediators, they will address: the ABC's of mediation, not only divorce mediation, but how mediation can help you in your remarriage and stepfamily life.

Are you facing a sticky or downright high conflict situation with an ex? Are you frustrated with shared joint custody problems? Are you absolutely stressed from child support, or lack thereof? Do you need a co-parenting plan? Does your child still want to see her step-grandparents after your ex has divorced again?

Thanks to our show's sponsor, IDEALS of Kentucky, tune in to our show on 10/3 at 8 p.m. EST, and hear the facts about mediation, and how it can help you in your divorce and remarriage. We'll even discuss if and when it doesn't work. I am sure it is a much healthier process to explore than tugging on Barney's arm or even worse. Very sad, but true in so many cases.