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

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)

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.

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.