Lingerie Wars

A recent article from the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) says that lingerie wars are starting. For the last 20 years, it says Victoria's Secret has owned the market, but apparently the secret is out and other retailers are ready to fight for the rising demand. For husbands wanting to treat their wives or wives wanting to surprise their husbands the prices have dramatically come down. For example, Target says prices or lingerie in their stores have come down from a high of $21.99 and now start as low as $7.99. So men, no more excuses about feeling goofy walking into a Victoria's Secret. There are new players in the game and here's a list of some of them:

- Target
- JC Penny
- Khol's
- Lane Bryant
- Sears
- DIllard's
- Macy's
- Kmart

AAA Expects Pleasant Travel For The Fourth

It's that time of year again to gas up the old ride and head out to your vacation-time destination over the Fourth of July weekend. But what about those awful gas prices that seem to never stop going up slightly down and then back up even higher. According to Triple A (AAA), not only are gas prices on the decline they are forecasting record travel this Independence Day. In a recent AAA survey, Fourth of July travelers intend to spend the entire week on their holiday trip this year. In fact, the largest share of Fourth of July travelers are planning to leave Friday, June 29 or before. So get ready to ask the big Boss man for those extra day... hey, it's what everyone else is doing. For more AAA stats and statistics click here

Greatest Movie of All Time

The American Film Institute put out their list of the 100 greatest films of all time and once again, Citizen Kane is No. 1. Creeping up into the No. 2 spot is The Godfather, and Casablanca rounds out the top three. The newest movie in the top 20 is Schindler's List (1993) at No. 8. The newest movie on the list is The Lord of the Rings at No. 50.

What's your favorite movie? Do you agree with this list? See the whole list by clicking here. Go to our message boards to talk about it. Click here.

Committed Men and Woman Find Sex Equally Appealing

An April issue of the journal Sex Roles here found that although the bachelor may have sex on his mind more than his single female counterpart both men and women, in committed relationships, share very similar attitudes when it comes to getting it on. The study, conducted by Tom Tiegs and colleagues surveyed 208 women and 131 men regarding their sexual behaviors and attitudes in four categories with questions ranging from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree." These are the kind of studies that get us excited. For more, visit our new content partner yahoo.com here.

Foreclosures Hit 50-Year High

If you're not talking about the crazy gas prices then you're probably talking about the crazy real estate market. Well, a new report from the Mortgage Bankers Association says that foreclosures for the first three months of 2007 is the highest it's been in more than 50 years. Poor lending practices are taking blame for exacerbating the problem. California, Nevada, Florida and Arizona are credited as the force behind this surge. Click here to read the full article.

Have you lost your home or have any tips you could share with other readers?

Save on Gas, Carpool

Are the $3+ gas prices starting to tick you off? It may be surprising then that a new Census Bureau report came out indicating that the share of people driving alone to work increased slightly to 77 percent between 2000 to 2005. What also may be surprising is that seven of the top 10 metro areas for carpooling are in California. The about of commuters using public transportation virtually stayed the same. The city where there are the most single drivers are Canton, Ohio. Click here to get all the information.

Healthcare Rankings By State

The 5 lowest ranked states for healthcare also have twice as many premature deaths occur than the top 5 states. Do you know where you state ranks? A premature death is defined as a death before the age of 75 that could have been prevented or prolonged with proper care, according to this article from USA Today. Unfortunately for the South, all bottom 5 states call it home including, South Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

The number one state? Hawaii. As if life wasn't good enough living on the rainbow state, they also have the best waves and healthcare. To get the full list of states ranked, click here.

Interracial Marriage Pioneers

Forty years ago Tuesday, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Mildred Jeter (a black woman) and Richard Loving (a white man), overturning laws prohibiting interracial unions. Mildred, who took Richard's last name after they got married spoke with the Associated Press about this historic event. The Lovings were living in segregated Virginia when they got married and quickly found themselves in jail. When all was said and done, they had created the foundation for the changing face of America. It's scary to think that just a few decades ago, interracial couples went to jail for their love. We should be thankful for the courage the Lovings have shown.

Click here to read the full article.

Taking Her Name

A while back we blogged about a California man who wanted take his wife's last name, but found the process near impossible. This same story inspired a Senator in Oregon to propose an an amendment to a marriage certificate bill that would clarify the name-changing process for grooms and for couples who wish to adopt a hyphenated name. Currently, there is no space for the groom to indicate what he wants his name to be. Only six states allow such. The amendment would allow both the bride and groom to clarify their new names. Senator Vicki Walker summed it up best, "we are no longer a patriarchal society." Click here to read more.

Warning Signs of a Troubled Marriage

We're here to help. So are the folks over at About.com have put together a bullet point list of warning signs your marriage may be in trouble. There final bit of advice may be the most important: Don't wait to seek professional help! Without further adieu here's some of the list:
- The two of you bicker a great deal.

- You are withdrawing from one another.

- You don't fight fair.

- You no longer have fun together.

- You have nothing nice to say to one another.

- You don't talk with one another about your problems.

- You don't respect one another.

- You can't agree on goals and values.

There's more on their website. Click here

Folic Acid Doesn't Prevent Precancerous Polyps

You know how these things go, one day you hear one thing, the next day the results are opposite. You may have heard about this before or not, but apparently high doses of folic acid do not prevent precancerous colon polyps in people prone to them and may actually increase the risk of developing the growths, a new study from Hitchcock Medical Center reveals.

It's the latest evidence that taking too many vitamins may be harmful. Last month, a study linked heavy vitamin use to fatal prostate cancer, and other research has shown beta-carotene pills can heighten smokers' risk of lung cancer.

The results surprised scientists. Previous studies showed diets low in folic acid led to a higher risk of colon cancer. Now researchers speculate that some folic acid helps as long as the colon is free of microscopic cancer cells. Feel better now? Click here to read the full article.

Depression Is Less With Marriage

A new study out of Ohio State University says that individuals who are depressed prior to getting married, report that their depression lessens after they're married. The study, published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior says that depressed people report less marital happiness and more marital conflict, which is an obvious indication that marriage isn't the end all be all solution for depression, but it does seem to help according to these findings.

Project Everlasting

Matthew Boggs, whose parents divorced, was jaded about marriage. But he noticed his grandmother and grandfather, who had been married for 63 years, where still madly in love. To find out what was the secret to a long and happy marriage, Boggs and his friend, Jason Miller, traveled 12,000 miles around the U.S. to talk to what they call the "Marriage Masters," couples who have been married 40 years or more. In their new book, "Project Everylasting," Boggs and Miller share advice from the happy couples.

This article from iVilliage goes on to give 7 tips from the authors including: There's no such thing as a perfect marriage, only perfect moments, Never Stop Dating, The Discipline of Respect and more. What's your secret to marriage? Click here to sound off on our message board.