That's Probably A Sin

An Italian couple in Rome were caught having sex in a confessional box while the morning mass was taking place. They were arrested for obscene acts after they had been drinking all night and taken their love a little too far. The couple later met with the local bishop to repent and were given forgiveness for their act. After the incident was behind them, the bishop celebrated a "mass of reparation" in the cathedral where the confessional box incident took place to make up for the sacrilege. Click here to read the full AP report.

Hospitals Do Poorly on Breast-feeding Support

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave U.S. hospitals an average score of 63 out of 100 for their support of breast feeding. The report says the states in New England and the West Coast had the highest scores, while hospitals in the South recorded the lowest scores. Of those states, Vermont and New Hampshire were tops, both with a score of 81, while Arkansas sat at the bottom with a 48. The MSNBC article says:

Breast-feeding is considered beneficial to both mothers and their babies. Breast milk contains antibodies that can protect newborns from infections, and studies have found breast-fed babies are less likely to become overweight than those fed with formula.

Have you had a recent experience like this? How would you grade your hospital's breast-feeding support?

Limited Edition Lingerie

If you're looking for a little something special to surprise your wife with, a German web retailer Edition12 is releasing limited edition lingerie. Each lingerie collection is sold with only 120 pieces available, while all lingerie is only available for one month and each piece has a unique number assigned to it. The only problem is that being a European company, they run on the Euro, which is kicking the butt of the U.S. dollar. So the $190 euro lingerie will run you roughly $298 U.S. bones. The good news is that they offer free shipping worldwide. Enjoy!

Marriage Counseling Online

You thought eHarmony was just for people looking to hook up? Well, it used to be, but now they've added eHarmony Marriage, an online program to help couples work through their troubles. This article from The Christian Science Monitor says couples get started by filling out a 40-minute online questionnaire covering issues ranging from finances to housework, trust, family relationships, and spirituality. Each partner answers separately. Their responses generate a computer report outlining their strengths and weaknesses as a couple. Couples pay $150 for the program, which typically takes six to eight weeks to complete. This sounds like a good first step for couples to take if their marriage is in trouble, of course, after reading through our archives of articles! Les Parrott, who created the program says this computerized therapy isn't a replacement of face-to-face counseling, however. Is this something you'd consider?

The Story of a Marriage

A new novel by author Sean Greer tells the story of a young housewife and her life in the 1950s. The novel is titled, "The Story of a Marriage" and is shaped by the era including racial desegregation and the execution of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg (American citizens who were executed after having been found guilty of conspiracy to commit espionage in relation to passing information on the American atomic bomb to the Soviet Union). NPR has an audio interview with the author and also an excerpt from the book (click here). Here's a little piece from the excerpt:

We think we know the ones we love.

Our husbands, our wives. We know them--we are them, sometimes; when separated at a party we find ourselves voicing their opinions, their taste in food or books, telling an anecdote that never happened to us but happened to them. We watch their tics of conversation, of driving and dressing, how they touch a sugar cube to their coffee and stare as it turns white to brown, then drop it, satisfied, into the cup. I watched my own husband do that every morning; I was a vigilant wife.

Perfect Husband Tips

Best Life magazine author Hugh O'Neill has written an article giving numerous tips on how to be the perfect husband. Do these tips work? Apparently for O'Neill they do, considering he proclaims to be the world's best husband. I actually think it's pretty cool that he makes this claim. Why not be prideful in being a great spouse? Anyway, here are some of his tips:
1. Kill the words "never" and "always." O'Neill explains that they're gas on fire words.
2. Save and focus your "husband" attention at pivotal times throughout the day. For example, when you come home from work and meet up with your spouse, that's a good time to focus your energy on being a good husband.
3. Laugh at your wife's attempts at humor. O'Neill says it's a sign of respect.

O'Neill has more tips, but you'll have to click here to read them. Also, what's your best tip for being a good spouse? Click here are start a discussion.

4 Parents Sue Baby Bottle Makers

Four Ohio parents have filed a federal lawsuit against Evenflo, Avent America, Handicraft, Playtex Products and Gerber Novartis claiming the bottles were made from a harmful chemical and that the companies knew that a chemical were associated with health problems but didn't disclose the risk. The chemical, bisphenol A (BPA) was identified by the U.S. National Toxicology Program in April showing "some concern" that the chemical caused changes in behavior and the brain, early puberty and possibly precancerous changes in the prostate and breast. This report prompted Wal-Mart to stop selling bottles with BPA by early next year and Toys R Us has said it will purge its shelves of BPA-containing bottles by year's end. Saying all that, here's what the article from the Washington Post says:

Many of the studies that have reported higher levels were conducted under unrealistic conditions, said Dr. Norris Alderson, the Food and Drug Administration's associate commissioner for science.

"Although our review is ongoing, there's no reason to recommend consumers stop using products" with BPA, he said.

Coffee May Be Better For Health Than You Think

A new report by the Harvard School of Public Health says that coffee is loaded with antioxidants and that helps with heart disease. The study is based on the coffee drinking habits of 41,736 men and 86,216 women with no history of cardiovascular disease over 18 years for men and 24 years for women. The results showed that women who drank two to three cups a day had a whopping 25 percent drop in heart disease compared to non coffee drinkers. The authors of the study say, however, that more research is necessary to suggest people should drink coffee for their health. Saying that, the evidence is piling up that drinking coffee does have its benefits. From the USA Today article:

In 2000, researchers at the Mayo Clinic found that coffee intake was linked with decreased rates of Parkinson's disease. In 2004, Harvard researchers reported that it significantly reduced the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. And a 2005 study found that coffee could help prevent the most common type of liver cancer, according to the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Now that's eye opening.

Wife and Husband Wrestle for Olympic Gold

This weekend is the Olympic team trials for U.S. wrestlers. By the end of today, we'll know which women will represent the U.S. in the Olympics in the sport of wrestling. Patricia Miranda has been there before. She is the first American female wrestler to ever win an Olympic medal, a bronze in the 2004 Athens Olympics. Her husband, Levi Weikel-Magden is also a wrestler. The two met at Stanford University when they were both on the wrestling team. He later became her coach and has encouraged her to come out of retirement for one last shot at Olympic gold. This article from the NY Times tells how this husband and wife team got to where they are today, through illness, law school, sweat and sacrifice. It also tells the struggles of mixing their professional life with their home life. One highlight from the article is a story of how Levi brought home some new toothbrushes and then proceeded to try and tell Miranda how to use them. Miranda's reply, “You can’t coach me on how to brush my teeth!” Watch out Levi, she'll take you down.

Today is Loving Day

On June 12, 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the conviction of a married couple named Loving (how appropriate, right?)--he was white, she was black. They violated Virginia's law against interracial marriage. Based on the ruling, interracial marriage became legal in all 50 states. Isn't it amazing that only 41 years ago couples would go to jail for marrying someone of a different race? So thank you Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving for standing up for love. To read more about this monumental landmark case and the holiday that's celebrated today, visit lovingday.org.

Why We Divorce

We know that budgets are getting pinched tighter every day in this economy with food prices rising, gas prices rising, the dollar value depreciating and so on. That's why it's more important than ever for you and your spouse to bond together and don't start a blame game for any financial hardship that may be rearing its head. A study by divorce360.com found that financial woes were the second most common reason for divorce behind only abuse. Just behind financial issues were sexual issues. Now may be a good time to make an appointment with your financial advisor to help weather the current economic conditions. It's better to see a financial advisor than a judge in divorce court.

Happy Marriage Means Better Sleep for Women

Wendy M. Troxel, a psychologist at the University of Pittsburgh has found that women in happy marriages get 10 percent better sleep than women in unhappy marriages. The question that Troxel asks now is, which comes first -- does the unhappy marriage lead to poor sleep, or does poor sleep contribute to a bad marriage? Troxel and her colleagues reviewed data on about 2,000 married women who participated in the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation. The women were an average age of 46 years. This just seems to offer one more reason to never go to be angry. Read more here.

Newlyweds With Baby Battle Marital Dissatisfaction

Erika Lawrence, a psychology professor released a study funded by the US National Institute of Mental Health that says newlyweds who have children, even those who planned to have children in their early years of married have a much greater drop in marital satisfaction than newlyweds who do not have kids. This article from the Times Online doesn't offer an explanation on why, but it does make sense if you think about it. When you have a child, your attention must be on them. Even when you put forth an effort to nurture your marriage, it's bound to lose time to the new child. That doesn't mean don't have children. The study goes on to say that after 18 months, the marital satisfaction rebounds. So keep this in mind when your first baby is on the way--continue to focus on each other and your marriage.

Army Wives Return Sunday

Lifetime's hit show, "Army Wives" begins its second season this Sunday at 10pm EST. "Army Wives" shines a light on many real issues that face military families today including post-traumatic stress syndrome, single parenthood, alcoholism and infidelity. These issues are a far cry from the guns and explosions most military shows center around. This second season gets more authentic too. The U.S. military has allowed the show to use some of their equipment and film on real bases. If that weren't enough to get new viewers interested, presumed presidential nominees Barack Obama and John McCain have filmed promos for the new season. Go on to our social network and talk about the show with others.

Yikes! One-Third of Married Moms Cheat

Cookie magazine and the AOL Body website conducted a poll of 30,000 moms. The shocking results revealed that 34 percent of married moms said they had cheated on their spouses after having children. Moreover, only 36 percent said they are as attracted to their husbands now as when they first married. If that weren't enough, more than half say even if they haven't cheated, they've considered it. Lastly, 69 percent said they would have sex with their husband even if they weren't in the mood.

If these numbers are in fact true, I'd say marriage is in a state of emergency. That means one out of three marriages is broken. If you were selling a product where one out of three items sold were broken, you'd put a screeching stop to what was going on, find the problem and try to fix it. Let's find the problems and fix them because a good marriage is worth it. What do you think the problems are?

Tech and Internet Don'ts for Marrieds

There's no doubt that technology plays a huge part in our lives. If you're a young married couple, you might find that it plays an even bigger role in your life considering the Facebook profile you must keep up with, the websites you read daily, the podcasts you listen to and so on. This column from Connected Internet offers four items to look out for when you're married. 1. Don't spend all day blogging. 2. If you must blog, make some money doing it. 3. Don't make any major tech purchases without first consulting your partner. 4. If you have made a purchase, wait a while before you even consider your next one. Each one of these points is given more thought and explanation that you can read here. What's your bad technology habit and how has it affected your relationship?

Rock Band Video Game Saves Marriage

Rachel Shukert was in a marriage rut. She typed in, "my husband" "addicted" "video games" "HELP" into the search engine and found salvation amongst hundreds of results. She read many bits of advice, but nothing that seemed to work. Then, her husband brought home a new video game, Rock Band, and asked if she would play with him. She did and she like it, and she was good. If your husband plays video games, you should definitely read this first-person story from Slate, click here. We've said it on numerous occasions, it's important to (a) respect your partner's hobbies and interests, and (b) participate if and when possible if it's something you enjoy as well. Rock on!