Your heart is racing, wondering if the next time you hear those seven words, they will be directed towards you. What are they you ask? "Will you go to homecoming with me?"

That's right! Homecoming is just around the corner and, if you are one of those fateful few that have yet to been asked, just know you are not alone (at least I hope I am not!)

And for those of you who do have a date or who are thinking about asking, here are some helpful pointers and ideas:

If you are thinking about asking someone, ask their friends first. What I mean is, ask their friends to find out if anyone else is thinking about asking them. This way, you can size up the competition and speed up the asking process if your prospective date is about to be taken by someone else!

Also, ask their friends about their hobbies, interests, and quirks. You want to come up with an original and endearing way to ask them, and nothing works better than getting personal!

Many of my guy friends are stepping up their game this year to ask their girlfriends (or friends that are girls) in clever ways.

For instance, one boy popped the question on my friend's driveway in chalk. The irony is, before she got a chance to read it, it started raining! While the thought counts, so does the weather forecast. Hopefully his homecoming date forecast is sunny with clear skies and a 100% chance of yes!

Another one of my friends loves mangos. I told the guy who was going to ask her this little tidbit and he bought her mangos with a card that said, "Will you manGO to homecoming with me?" Thankfully, her answer wasn't "mangNO!"

Shop wisely. Many girls go to chain dress stores to get their homecoming dresses. While that is fine, most of them end up matching another girl at the dance, and all for a hefty price tag!

The past two years, I scavenged through hundreds of homecoming dresses at Macy's and was able to find my dress for....drum roll please.... $11! Talk about a bargain!

You can get your make up done professionally-for free! Just call a makeup brand at your local mall such as M.A.C, Estee Lauder, Dior, and Clinique and book an appointment to get your makeup done. Be sure to call about two weeks in advance so they aren't booked! These makeup sessions are free but it is recommended that you buy one of the products afterwards.

Coordinate with your date. Make sure that there are no miscommunications about what group you are going in, where you are going to dinner, and who is paying for what. Have this all settled a week prior to the dance so there is no last-minute drama.

Also, I made the mistake last year of withholding the color of my dress from my homecoming date. I didn't realize until much later that the reason he asked me what color my dress was was because he wanted to match his tie color to my dress. I also made the mistake of not getting him a boutonniere for the dance. Needless to say, I wasn't the best homecoming date.

Make sure you are respectful and courteous of your date and any third party involved in your plans on homecoming night. Girls, don't totally ditch your homecoming date because you are bored of him and would rather be going with someone else.

While there is nothing wrong with socializing, keep in mind that your date asked you to homecoming because he wanted to hang out and dance with YOU. At least save one dance for him.

Also, be sure to thank him for the mum, the dinner, and being a great date.

Be safe. While homecoming should be fun for everyone, keep in mind that there will be many after parties. As a rule of thumb, where there are after parties, there is usually alcohol.

Don't go to an after party that will put you in an uncomfortable or unsafe situation. Be cautious, especially when driving. Even if you aren't under the influence, it doesn't mean another driver won't be. Expect the unexpected.

Last but not least, if you find yourself dateless on homecoming, gather a group of single friends and hit the town, or make an excuse so that you will 'be out of town.'

Either way, just because you aren't going to the dance, doesn't mean you can't attend the before and after parties.

Go have fun, be grateful you didn't have to spend all that money on yet another dress, and that you aren't tied down!

Convince yourself and others that you are the life of the party and any guy would have been lucky to be your date!

Hopefully everyone's homecomings are filled with exquisite mums, ravishing dresses, Kodak moments, and unforgettable memories.

Like Dorothy would say, there is no place like home-COMING!