Monday, April 27, 2009

Five Golden Gifts to Keep Your Wife Smiling


Of course your wife's gonna nag you - when was the last time you bought her a proper gift? If your memory fails you, it's about time you went hunting for gift ideas all over again. Here's how to satisfy your partner without spending a packet.

Gift Idea Number One - Order a bouquet of roses.
One of the best ways to ensure she gets in a good mood is to present her a bouquet of red roses. Order your bouquet of roses online to save yourself the hassle of looking all over for the right piece. Ordering online will also enable you to get substantial discount from cut flower stores on orders over a certain amount.

Gift Idea Number Two - Bake a Cake.
Give her some time off and bake a cake for her. It isn't terribly difficult for even the worst of cooks, and all you need is a good recipe, a proper oven, and the ability to stick to the recipe whatever your mind says! The fun, adventure and sheer love resulting from your gift will be worth every effort.

Gift Idea Number Three - Buy a soft toy.
Soft toys come in all shapes and sizes, and fairly good ones can be got at pretty cheap prices sometimes. Keep looking on your market visits, and you may just land up with a great piece that is worth much more. You can also browse the internet on popular sites like ebBay for discounted pieces.

Gift Idea Number Four - Outsource some trinkets.
Women simply love trinkets. Ask your friend who's going on a holiday to any exotic place to get you some souvenirs. You can then surprise your wife by gifting her an ebony piece from Kenya or a shell from the Bahamas when you never moved out of home yourself!

Gift Idea Number Five - Get tickets for the show she really wanted to see.
You've been giving some reason or the other to give it the slip. Get a couple of tickets without telling her. The time you'll spend together will be the greatest gift for her.

Use these simple gift ideas to enliven your marriage without spending too much cash, and look forward to happier times with your spouse!


Article by: Jasnaf Nagpal

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Feng Shui Tips for the Bathroom


The bathroom has a bad reputation in feng shui, and in some ways this is deserved, as you will discover. But it's not all negative. Comfort, cleanliness, and convenience are key ingredients to good feng shui, and our modern bathrooms provide them all.

One of the challenges posed by the modern bathroom is that there's no good place for it in the ba gua* [the feng shui map of a space], which long predates indoor plumbing. We can look at the ba gua and see at a glance that the Family area would be a good place for the living room, that a home office is well-placed in the Knowledge, Wealth, or Career sectors, and that the Marriage corner of the house is a great place for the master bedroom. But where does the bathroom go?

The bathroom is a little out of place anywhere, although some locations are more troublesome than others. The thing to keep in mind is that bathroom plumbing has a draining effect wherever it is located.

Some very difficult bathroom locations are next to or above the front door and on the second floor directly above the kitchen. These locations are particularly difficult because:

- A bathroom in the front hall, close to the door, can drain chi away before it has a chance to circulate through the rest of the house.

- A second-floor bathroom above the front door floods the main entry to your home with negative energy.

- The water energy in a bathroom above the kitchen will extinguish the hearth's fire energy, and flood the entire kitchen with negative energy. This is potentially damaging to both health and prosperity.

The worst location for a bathroom is in the center of your home, where it will destabilize the energy of the entire home. If you suspect that the bathrooms in your house are affecting important spaces, there's no need to panic. Use these simple feng shui remedies to help keep your health, wealth, and happiness from flowing down the drain:

- Problem: bathroom in an important feng shui area (wealth, fame, marriage, etc.)
Solutions: a full-length mirror on the outside of the bathroom door helps deflects chi so it won't be drained away; keep sink and shower drains closed when not in use; keep the toilet seat/lid down when not in use.

- Problem: bathroom in the center of the home
Solutions: paint the walls red, and place a stone, large crystal, or other earth-type object (such as a heavy ceramic bowl, vase, or statuette) in each corner to help stabilize the energy; a mirror on the outside of the door is highly recommended for this bathroom location.

- Problem: bathroom over the front door or over the kitchen
Solutions: hang a faceted crystal in the center of the room; place a three-inch round mirror on the ceiling directly above the toilet to visually reverse the downward flow of water (use double-sided tape to hold the mirror in place); place earth-type objects in the corners of the room to stabilize the energy; add an image such as a bird or tree to the downstairs area below the bathroom to help lift the energy there.

Bathrooms are places for purification and cleansing, so a clean, sanitary bathroom strengthens and supports this important energy. A dirty bathroom, on the other hand, emphasizes the negative qualities of this room. If your bathroom occupies any of the more challenging locations described above, it is essential to keep it sparkling clean, tidy, and well-lit.

After implementing the necessary precautions described above, you can further improve the chi of the bathroom by making it as pleasant a space as possible. This is where you begin and end the active part of each day, so the more attractive and inviting you can make it the better.

Most of us live hectic, stressful lives, and are in serious need of soothing places where we can relax and unwind. A clean, tidy, nicely appointed bathroom invites you to soak your worries away in a hot bath with lavender-scented bath salts. Make this pampering experience even nicer with candlelight, soft music, and a pile of fresh fluffy towels with which to dry off. All-white bathroom decor can seem cold and clinical; add warmth with pastel-colored towels and accessories, colorful scented candles, and attractive artwork.

Author : Stephanie Roberts (Alpha Books, 2004)

Monday, April 13, 2009

You Can Laugh At Marriage Worries If You Follow This Simple 3-Step Plan


Any successful businessman, entrepreneur, or college graduate will tell you they were successful because they had a goal and a plan. If your goal is to protect your marriage from the worries that many couples face, then you need a plan for success. Here is a 3-step plan to help.

Step #1 - Open Communication

The best offense in warding off the intrusion of an affair is to have a rewarding, satisfying marriage that meets the needs of both partners. As you discuss ways to keep your marriage strong, you will garner strength to prevent an affair from happening. Thus, open communication is critical in your marriage.

It is also important to commit to letting each other know if you are feeling vulnerable or if a situation has the potential of turning in a direction that may get out of control.

Common situations that could create temptations are business trips, business parties or at work in general. It's important to discuss as a partnership what boundaries should be set to avoid undue exposure to temptation.

Step #2 - Resolving Money Matters

Statistics show that 43% of all married couples argue over money issues. This data speaks loudly of the major reason most couples fight. I

If one is frugal and the other spends money like it's going out of style, it can't help but create problems in your

marriage. Therefore, the earlier you and your spouse talk about spending habits the better.

It's important to establish spending expectations, set goals and decide on a short and long term financial plan for your family.

Step #3 - Take Time For Intimacy

Even though you both have busy schedules and you may not feel like you have enough time to get the basics done each day, take time to be intimate.

Sex is a basic human need that has to take priority over other things. As you set this as a priority, the other things in your life will fall into place as your marriage is strengthened.

Some of the most successful people know the importance of having balance in their lives. They are the ones that set aside time for their family, recreational activities and work.

By keeping a balance, you are able to side step marriage worries and be more effective in every aspect of your life.

As you include these steps in your marriage plan, you will find that most of the problems other marriages face are not even a concern to you and your spouse.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Be Thankful for a Faithful Husband


If your husband is faithful, you have much to be thankful for. Faithful husbands are in short supply. While 3 out of 4 wives assume their husbands are faithful, only 1 wife in 4 can truthfully make that claim. According to statistics, 3 out of 4 men cheat on their wives. 2/3 of those wives (approximately 26 million women) have no idea their husbands are having an affair - despite the presence of numerous telltale signs.


A Rude Awakening

Every year countless women who thought they had faithful husbands, are shocked when their husbands ask for a divorce or simply move in with another woman. Others are dumbfounded to discover from empty bank accounts that family funds were used to finance an extramarital affair. Still others are astonished to learn that they’ve contracted a sexually transmitted disease.


Why the Wife is the Last to Know

Why is it that the wife is always the last to know? Could all these women be in denial? How could a wife not know her husband is having an affair? If a wife has no reason to suspect her husband it’s easy to miss or misinterpret the warning signs. Especially if she’s unfamiliar with the 21 categories of telltale signs.


Reasons to be Thankful

Not every married man is a cheating husband, though the overwhelming majority of them are. Nevertheless, there are still many faithful husbands around. If you’re married to one, you have a lot to be thankful for.

•You can be thankful that your marriage and family are intact.
•You can be thankful you don’t have to agonize over the decision of whether to leave your husband or stay with him and try to get your marriage back on track.
•You can be thankful the years you’ve invested in your marriage have not been in vain.
•You can be thankful that you don’t have to deal with the devastation and the emotional
trauma that infidelity brings.


Make Sure You’re Not An Unsuspecting Wife

Given the rising rate of infidelity, you owe it to yourself and your marriage to make sure you’re not one of those 26 million unsuspecting wives. But how can you be sure your husband isn’t having an affair? By familiarizing yourself with the early warning signs.


Your Marriage May Depend on It

The future of your marriage may one day depend on your ability to spot the warning signs of infidelity. There are numerous things you can do to save your marriage if you spot the telltale signs in time. But if your marriage turns out to be unsalvageable, you can still take steps to protect yourself legally, financially and sexually. You can also prepare yourself mentally and emotionally for the devastation that lies ahead. At least you won’t be taken by surprise. But the first step to solving a problem is knowing the problem exists. If a wife has no idea her husband is cheating, by the time she finds out, it may be too late.


So if your husband is faithful, be thankful. Faithful husbands are few and far between. If you’re not sure, be thankful you happened upon this article. Make it your business to find out where you stand before it’s too late. You’ll be thankful you did.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Whats in a Kiss


Just think of being in front of a warm cracking with you partner in your hands, with a kiss and a cuddle. But have you ever thought about why people kiss? It could be a greeting or a sign of affection, but we all kiss.

Origin of the kiss

The strangest theory on the history of the kiss that I have heard finds its roots in the age of the cave man. It is thought that in primitive times that a mother pre-chewed the food for her baby and transferred it 'in a kiss'. Although this could never be proved, it would explain why the kiss is a sign of affection, between mother and child and latter, adults.

Another theory that I found was that the kiss was reflected in the Ziller Valley of Central Europe, where the exchange of pre-chewed tobacco between a male and a female was common. The young man would let a tip of the piece of tobacco, or spruce resin, etc rest between his closed teeth and invite the girl to grasp it with her teeth -- which of course obliged her to press her mouth firmly on that of the young man -- and pull it out. If a girl accepted the wad of pre-chewed tobacco, it meant she returned the boy's love.

The third theory that I found was from a religious or sacred origin. There have been examples from around the world as early as 2000 BC, that show that people could have brought their faces together to symbolise spiritual union. Even in the culture of Indians, it was believed that the exhaled breath was part of the soul, and by two people bringing their mouths together, showed the joining of their souls. (Another variation on this believed that kissing evolved from the smelling of a companion's face as an act of greeting. )

Kiss through history

Even without fully knowing where the kiss came from, it is well known that the kiss has been with us for a long time.

In the sixth century in France, dancing was one way to display affection, but every dance was ended in a kiss.

Apparently, Russia was the first to incorporate the kiss

into the marriage ceremony, where a promise was sealed with a kiss.

The Romans kissed to greet each other. On Roman emperor showed a persons importance, by what part of his body they were allowed to kiss, from the cheek to the foot.

In 16th century England, the clove-studded apple originated. An apple was prepared by piercing it with as many cloves as the fruit could hold and then a maid then carried the apple through the fair till she spied a lad she thought worth kissing. She would offer him the apple, and once he'd selected and chewed one of the cloves, they would share a kiss. After that, the apple passed into the man's possession, and he would venture off in search of another lass to continue the game with.

At one stage it was even thought that people found kissing pleasurable because when the two lips met during kissing, an electric current was generated.

A kiss is a kiss

Now days, kisses range from small pecks on the cheeks as a greeting, to an the use of the lips and tongue as a sign of passion. It is that action that when two people embrace, causes hormones are released into the blood stream, inducing a sense of euphoria that you feed in the sweetness of your lovers mouth.

It's a kiss that brings every fibre of your being alive, turns your stomach over, sends Goosebumps up your spine. It's a kiss that forgives your misdemeanours and smiles at your mistakes. Ingrid Bergman puts it together in that
"a kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous".

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Gas Vs Diesel


Do you love your wife, but she seems cool and stand off-ish. I'll tell you a secret. She's as frustrated as you are. It's a fact that sex in a long term relationship lasts about 5 minutes on average. Maybe less if you have kids. That's depressing! But here's the good news. You can change that in YOUR life. Are you ready for the tip that could revolutionize your sex life forever?

Your wife is a diesel engine and you run on gas. (I heard you snicker, that's not what I meant.)

Some of you may not be mechanics but I'll explain.

For a guy, it doesn't matter how "cold" it is in his world, if you turn him on, in five minutes he's rev-ed up and ready to go.

Diesels don't work like that. If it's cold out it might not start at all. If it starts, it rattles and grumbles and takes forever to warm up, but boy, does it go once it gets warm! You never jump in a diesel and turn the key, NEVER! The glow plugs have to warm things up just to get started. And you never drive a diesel cold. It's sluggish, doesn't respond well and performance is mediocre at best. But who's fault is it the driver's or the the engine's?

There's nothing wrong with gas engines. There's nothing wrong with diesels. They are just different. If you treat an engine according to what it is and not by how you think it should be, you will have better results. Is this starting to make sense to you guys?

A diesel's response time is much better when she's been plugged in. Have you "plugged" in to you wife lately? Husbands, you set the tone of the evening the minute you walk in the door. You wife is just as tired as you are, both mentally and physically. But she still has four hours (or more) to go, as you plomp down in your chair.

If your boss came into your office, rattled off a to-do list for you, then proceeded to sit down in your chair, put his feet up on your desk, and tell you how you are doing the tasks wrong, how would you feel? Bitter, angry, resentful? If this happened day after day, wouldn't you either become resigned and uncaring about the criticism or become so angry that you'd feel like quitting? Are you beginning to see where this is going? Does it shed some light on some of the anger or pain that you see in your house?

So, let's play out a typical evening in everyday USA. You walk in the house, past the garbage that stinks (making sure to mention the smell), past a wife up to her elbows in supper and dishsoap. You complain because supper's not ready, walk past the frig to sit down (then ask if she could bring you a drink), Then kick off you shoes into the middle of the floor and growl at the kids because their toys are all over the floor (next to your shoes).

In your first five minutes home, you have set up an evening of stress, tension and anger. Now, is it any wonder that you aren't getting the response you want at bed time? Really.

Now, let me replay the same five minutes, showing you how to plug your wife in for the evening.

1. You walk in the door, hang up your coat, kiss your wife on the side of her neck and gently touch her hip.
Whisper in her ear that you missed her or your glad to see her.

2. Find ONE nice thing to say about her, personally, that you can complement her on. Women are so use to doing all day long. It's so nice to have our husband notice that you curled your hair or put perfume on today. To be noticed as a person is so nice. "Those jeans look nice" or "Your hair is so shiny" whatever works! If it's one of those days when she looks like a banshee in a bathrobe, tell her she has beautiful eyes.

3. Take out the garbage without being asked (or commenting on how full it is) and put a bag in it when you are done. Or empty the dishwasher. Do one small job so she doesn't have to. It takes five minutes, but the investments worth it . Trust me) N

4. Put your shoes away and your clothes in the hamper and get your own drink.

5. Now, make one positive comment about the house:" Thanks for washing the car," " supper smells good" The counters look nice"

6. Pat her bottom or rub her shoulders then go plop into your chair.
See?!

That wasn't so hard. It took 10 minutes of your evening to plug her in. Now keep up the momentum. She's plugged in and warming up. At supper, offer to cut up the kids' food or wash the kids or set the table. After supper, load the dishwasher while she washes the pots.

Now you have done three things on her to do list, and built her up on the way. She has time to sit with you on the couch or take a shower before bed or time to read or time to get the kids in bed on time.

She has a minute to breathe, and you gave that to her. That's one of the best gifts my husband gives me is time and energy. Because these are things I'm running short of by 6 pm. When he does this stuff it refreshes me. I want to go to bed early, and sleeping is not what's on my mind. No matter how cold and hectic and frazzling my day has been, if he walks in with a kiss and a kind word it starts to warm me up. It makes our home a safe place to be. Not one more job and one mask to wear. When he walks in and does this stuff, I'm thinking about the snuzzle on my neck while I'm working on supper, not the fact that he's watching TV, while I slave away in the kitchen.

I'm sure it's not enlightened of me but that doesn't matter. It is what it is. My husband's actions affect my moods and my thoughts. Most every woman I know feels the same.

His helping me even a little warms me a lot. At first, you might meet with some skepticism. If she's not used to this kind of behavior from you. She'll probably keep her walls up awhile, to see how long this lasts. Hold steady. When she sees that this is a pattern change for you, you will see a big difference in you home life and your love life.

Article By: Enid Neel