Date Night Wines

One of our favorite vlogs, WineLibraryTV recently had an episode (451) on date night wines. This episode was targeted toward the pre-married crowd, but we say, why not use these tips to impress your spouse? On the show the host, Gary Vaynerchuk and his special guest, Twanna Hines sampled three different wines, a rose, white and red. One of the big tips from Gary was to break out of your regular box--no, not box wine--you know, the standard Merlot, Chianti, Chardonnay,and try something a little different. For example, they sampled a Barbera d'Asti wine, which is a red Italian wine produced from the Barbera grape variety. To watch the episode, click here.

What's your favorite wine?

Pathetic Pride

We came across this article from Women's Health magazine and thought it was pathetic. A husband who's been faithfully married for 23 years discusses how he's ashamed to admit that he's been faithful to his wife and that he's not actively looking elsewhere when he's around his friends. Really? What kind of friends does he hang out with? The entire article tries to walk a tightrope on how he's the regular cool guy in the bar who makes comments about cute women and how he still really loves his wife--yet he's ashamed to admit it. I wonder if his wife is ashamed?

Mom's Diets Affect Baby's Sex

The foods that a woman eats before she's pregnant could have an affect on what sex her baby will be according to a new study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, a British medical journal. Eating potassium-rich foods including bananas, having a hearty appetite and not skipping breakfast seemed to raise the odds of having a boy according to the study. The research involved roughly 700 first-time pregnant women in the UK. The women were asked about their eating habits in the year before getting pregnant, according to this article in USA Today. Fifty-six percent of women with the highest calorie intake before pregnancy (but still within a normal, healthy range), had boys.

Women who ate at least one bowl of breakfast cereal daily were 87 percent more likely to have boys than those who ate no more than one bowlful per week. The study did have its detractors and also some who said this new research coincides with other signs of a mother's habits predicting their baby's gender. Read the full article here.

Green Resources

April 22nd is Earth Day, so there's understandably a lot of attention on green, like this post for example. Anyway, making a commitment to being green is more than a once a year thing. We thought it would be helpful to give you some resources that will help you think green all year long.

Treehugger.com
CNet Green Tech Blog
AutoBlog Green
The Lazy Environmentalist
City Hippy
Great Green Baby
EcoFabulous

Man Surgery

Can you guess what the fastest growing cosmetic surgery for men is? Here's a hint, the number of surgeries has increased by 225 percent of the last five years for men, while it's only increased by 2.5 percent for women. According to the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery it's the removal of varicose and spider veins. An article in Business Week magazine attributes the rise to the rising pressure on men to age gracefully. Really? Do you feel this way? Here's an article we wrote on wives who want their men to be more "metro" (click here).

Husband and Wife Soldiers Bunk Together

In a new change in policy, the U.S. military is now allowing husbands and wives to live and sleep together in a war zone. This rule took change back in May 2006. This article from the AP says that there are more than 10,000 couples in the military, although it doesn't specify if "couple" means married. Not that it matters. The military is attempting to boost morale, as well as improve the divorce rates that continue to offer its own mounting numbers of casualties. This article tells some first person stories and also addresses some of the risks, such as an increase in pregnancy.

TV in Bedroom is Bad

A new study published in the journalPediatrics offers a whole bunch of reasons why having a TV in the bedroom of adolescence is a bad idea. We realize that this study was done with teenagers in mind, but listen to the affects and see if you agree that it would also be a good idea to tame TV in the married bedroom. For starters, it leads to more TV viewing (of course), less time spent with the family (hopefully this doesn't apply), less time exercising (very possible), lower fruit and vegetable intake (hmm), and more sweetened beverage consumption (hmm again). Do you have a TV in your bedroom? We did an article a while back with Paul C. Rosenblatt, author of "Two in a Bed". In the article, he addresses this specific issue. Click here to read it.

Husbands Create 7 Hours of Housework

A new study by the University of Michigan says that husbands create an extra seven hours of housework for their wives. Men on the other hand have it a little better, wives save them about an hour of housework. Okay, men have it a lot better. The study found that men tend to work more outside the home, while women take on more of the household labor. Unfortunately, the study doesn't explain why the numbers are the way they are. The report goes on to say:

Overall, the amount of housework done by U.S. women has dropped considerably since 1976, while the amount of housework done by men has increased, according to Stafford. In 1976, women did an average of 26 hours of housework a week, compared with about 17 hours in 2005. Men did about six hours of housework a week in 1976, compared with about 13 hours in 2005.

Who does the majority of housework in your home?

Financial Risk Taking Linked to Sex

A new study by a Northwestern University finance professor found that when men were shown erotic images, they were more likely to make a large financial gamble than when they were shown scary or neutral images--like a snake or stapler. The study took brain scans of the participants and found the brain was stimulated in the same area with both money and sex.

A former commodities floor trader says the connection makes a lot of sense considering the euphemisms used on the trading floor, such as "massaging the market." Vegas makes so much sense, doesn't it?

Mixed-Race Marriages Boom in Canada

New Census data in Canada was released and it showed that 289,420 mixed-race couples were married in 2006, a third more than in 2001. Nearly 75 percent of Japanese are likely to be in a mixed-race marriage, while South Asians and Chinese are least likely. This article (click here) from The Star in Canada interviews several couples of mixed race. These couples talk about some of the difficulties they've faced. For example, one person mentioned that his relatives didn't speak English very well, so communicating with them was difficult. The article also has a video you can watch. Are you in a mixed-race marriage? We'd love to hear from you.

A Few Minutes of Sex is Best?

A study of sex therapists published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine suggests that the optimal amount of time for sexual intercourse is three to 13 minutes. This time does not take into account foreplay. That's a good thing because as our Sexpert Dr. Trina Read has said on numerous occasions, it takes roughly 15 minutes for women to get fully aroused. The 50 members of the Society for Sex Therapy and Research did say, however, that one to two minutes is too short. The author of the study said that it's okay if one partner's ideal time is five minutes and the other's is eight. He said, "That's okay." Read the full article here.

How Much Does a Pregnancy Cost?

The numbers are a few years old, but interesting nonetheless. In 2004, the average uncomplicated pregnancy cost was $7,539 according to numbers from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project. So where is the money going to? 77 percent went to pay for the hospital delivery ($5,819), 16 percent went to prenatal visits ($1,178), 5 percent went to prescribed drugs ($392), and 2 percent went to other prenatal stuff ($151). Have you found that your pregnancy cost more or less than what they're reporting. Again, this data is going on four years old.