When I was getting divorced, one of the biggest tasks, after agreeing on a custody arrangement for the kids, was dividing up all of our material things. The car, the house, the pots and pans.

There was a lot of back and forth with our attorneys as we figured out what stayed with me and what was to go with my ex-husband.

It wasn’t pleasant and it wasn't easy -- but then again, divorce is never easy -- but we accomplished it without having to go to court.

What wasn’t decided in the attorneys’ offices? Which friends would remain with me and which ones would go with him. Figuring that out was simpler than I initially thought it would be. Especially once I came to terms with the fact that we couldn't all remain friends.

Here's how it went:

Not everybody thinks that getting married a second time is a good idea. Maybe they were burned badly in their divorce and they don't want to get hurt. Again. Or they have kids and think it's better to raise them without a step-parent.

After my divorce, I always assumed that I would remarry. I still believed in the institution of marriage. And I had seen how wonderful the second time around could be. My parents divorced when I was in high school and a few years after that, they both remarried. And they've been happily married to their spouses for more than 25 years.

When I married my second husband, I was surprised by how easy it was to be a wife again. And I don't mean that in an old-fashioned kind of way. I mean making the commitment, living under the same roof (and not just sneaking in a few nights when the kids were with their other parents), and sharing in the decision-making for our newly blended family.

So here are 10 reasons second marriages rock:

Aww! How sweet is this photo of Jennie Garth and her three daughters, Luca, Lola, and Fiona, which was taken at a school graduation this week? OMG. They're such a beautiful group of girls, aren't they?

She's always been someone many of us have admired and looked up to, but seeing Jennie embark on her journey as a single mom only makes us adore her even more.

Yep -- her divorce from Peter Facinelli has been finalized, so the next chapter of her life is official.

Because cheaters don't already feel awful enough for what they do, they should all know that screwing around behind your partner's back is an act worse than suicide, so says the general public. Affairs are apparently no longer the sexy roll in the hay, movie plot thing to do. But don't tell that to Brad and Angelina. They did do it years ago so it's clear times have changed. It's better to just get divorced. I guess if you are unfaithful and then get divorced, you might as well die.

Even worse though ... if you are unfaithful, file for divorce, and believe in human cloning, you might as well swallow a shovel on fire and put burning toothpicks in your eyes and wait for your slow death. These findings are all based on a poll that makes you lose faith and realize the awfulness in humankind.

Do you remember the first time you were naked with a guy? I don’t mean the first time ever. I’m talking about the first time with someone new, like after a break-up. Maybe you were nervous. Maybe you felt a little self-conscious about baring your body.

Or, if you were me, baring your body to someone for the first time since you had been divorced, you felt very self-conscious.

Before my foray in to sex after my divorce, the last time I had been with someone new was when I was in my mid-20s. And it was with my first husband-to-be. Before kids, before two C-sections and breastfeeding had taken their tolls on my body.

So here I was, in my mid-30s, with a post-kids body, getting ready to be intimate with someone new. I was nervous and my usually latent insecurity was making itself known.

After your marriage ends, whether you and your spouse were together for a few years or for many, it can be hard to regain your independence. You shared everything with your partner. Your hopes, your dreams, your bed ... and yes, your bank account.

When I got divorced, getting used to being the only adult in a household of three wasn’t that easy for me. I had relied on my ex-husband for a lot, whether it was dropping the kids off at school in the morning or running out to the bank to get money for the Tooth Fairy or bringing home a paycheck.

But I very quickly learned a few things that were really beneficial to me in the months after my divorce. Like asking for help doesn't mean you're helpless. And feeling strong physically can really help with your emotional well-being.

Here are 8 simple tips to help you stand on your own after a divorce:

For most people, getting married is a forever kind of thing. No one ever vows "'til death do us part" with the intention of only being together for a short while. But the reality is, sometimes life intrudes and things happen and 50 percent of marriages end in divorce.

We read a lot about dating dealbreakers and reasons a person might break up with a boyfriend, but there are very few marriage dealbreakers. After all, one person might be willing to put up with something that had caused another person to leave months before. Debt is one of those things. But there are others, too.

Here are 7 marriage dealbreakers that have caused many a divorce for all the right reasons:

When I started dating after my divorce, I quickly found out that it was easier to date guys who had kids. Not for the instant playdates, because the guys I went out with didn’t meet my kids, but because they understood the demands of parenting and the trials of co-parenting.

And before I fell in love with the divorced dad who became my second husband, I went out with a handful of these men.

There was the guy whose kid went to my kid’s school. The guy whose custody schedule matched mine. And the guy whose ex-wife I ran into at the grocery store, where she gave me the evil eye and the once-over. (Hey lady, you were already divorced when I started dating your husband. Consider yourself lucky to be rid of him. He’s no prize.)

Some of them were doozies. Child-like, selfish, emotionally stunted. Whew, it was almost enough to make me want to spend my nights alone with a cat. So to save you a little time, here are 5 types of divorced dads to stay away from: