
Sooooooo it's official!!!! Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!
The move is ON!! The respective bosses (well one of them at least) have been told of our impending departure.
January roll on.........
Random Thoughts and Ramblings From The Voluptuous Lil Net Devil




Does everyone have a select group of people that they can relate to, rely on and call up at 3am when nothing makes sense?

Men's Complaints about Women
1. Women complain, criticize and nag too much.
2. They try to control and suppress men.
3. They are seldom happy.
4. They tend to withhold sex as a punishment or blackmail.
5. They do not think logically, but emotionally.
6. Their emotions are not predictable but change quickly especially due to hormones, during menstruation, pregnancy or menopause.
7. They tend to gossip.
8. They, too, create extramarital relationships.
9. They are not home enough (which for some men means - continuously)
10. They are not taking enough care of the home.
What Women Can Do to Help Their Relationship Partner's Feel Happier
Women can learn to:
1. Express their needs directly without complaining or nagging.
2. Trust their partner and allow him to function freely.
3. Focus on how grateful they are to have what they have.
4. Analyze situations from an even more logical point of view, especially when they suspect hormones are affecting them. (Or avoid reacting at those times.)
5. Avoid gossiping.
6. Be monogamous.
7. Find a balance between taking care of the home and asking the others for help.
8. Feel equal - neither superior nor inferior to men.
9. Understand that men have difficulty with communicating feelings and not take this personally.
10. Realize that their partner loves them even when he cannot be affectionate or tender.
11. Guide the man with their preferences in their sexual contact.
12. Radiate feelings of equality and self-confidence without competitiveness.
We need to transcend our differences and creating loving relationships.
"Why marry?" they protest. After all, these days they can get all the benefits of being hitched (joint bank accounts, home grants, insurance, sex and kids) without actually tying the knot.
But it's not only the gents who are forgoing marriage in favour of all the benefits without the commitment. The other day, while sipping my coffee, I overheard a conversation that had me a little mystified. A woman (in her mid-20s) was telling a friend that, although she loved her boyfriend, she had no intention of ever getting married.
"I don't ever want to be tied down like that," she said. "Plus I've seen first-hand what a bad marriage can do to someone through my parents, and I definitely don't want my life to end up that way."
"And what if he proposed?" the friend asked incredulously, to which she responded, "I don't know. I just don't think he will."
These days, with the institution of marriage on the rocks and the words "till death do us part" being more flimsy than Paris Hilton's bathing suit, it comes as no surprise that the latest numbers show an increase in the no-marriage trend ...
According to recent figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 31 per cent of men and 26 per cent of women will never marry, while The New York Times reported that a whopping 51 per cent of women are now living without a spouse, compared to 35 per cent in 1950.
Demographer William H. Frey said: "For better or worse, women are less dependent on men or the institution of marriage."
"Amen to that!" concur the single, independent femmes who buy their own diamonds, pay their own bills and don't need a ring or a man to make them happy. Why suffer? Instead, modern women would rather be single than suffer in an unhappy marriage, despite the fact that society (and pushy mothers) still expect a ring on the finger by the time they reach a certain age.
Yet the sobering expectation that one-third of marriages could end in divorce now, compared with 28 per cent in the mid-'80s, shows there's plenty of reasons to shy away from signing that marriage certificate.
Recently divorced reader Peter (who was left with nothing and had to move back in with his folks), reckons that, while the institution of marriage is not yet dead, the need for it is.
He writes: "With equal wages for the women, and automated easy care homes for the men, neither gender NEEDS to get married as they did 50 years ago ... Some women still talk about getting married but men generally talk about getting laid. And, surprise, surprise, many modern women talk about casual affairs these days too."
Stephanie Coontz, author of Marriage, A History, concurs, yet says that the marriage backlash started back in the '60s with the invention of the Pill, domestic devices and more women going to work. The bachelors found they no longer needed a wife for domestic purposes, women found they could have sex without attachment and marriage no longer defined adult life.
Yet over on the other side of the sexual fence, it seems the battle to legalise same-sex marriage continues.
Evan Wolfson, gay rights activist and author of Why Marriage Matters, argues this: "Gay people have the same mix of reasons for wanting the freedom to marry and needing the protections and responsibilities of marriage as non-gay people do." And therefore governments should not prevent such unions.
It seems odd to me that, while some are so passionately fighting for it, others are fighting against it. But perhaps Hollywood hunk Brad Pitt had it right when he said: "Angie [Angelina Jolie] and I will consider tying the knot when everyone else in the country who wants to be married is legally able."
Perhaps since he's already been married once, Pitt has taken on board the wise words of Oscar Wilde who said: "Marriage is the triumph of imagination over intelligence. Second marriage is the triumph of hope over experience."
This week's video is in response to reader G-Gal's question:
"Dear Ask Sam,
"I have been going out with my bf for almost a year, we are a lovely affectionate couple and are constantly cuddling, kissing, playing etc..
"The problem is our sex life has kind of dwindled in the last 6 months through a combination of travel, illness, stress. We spend 24/7 together and though we have not officially moved in together, we are together all the time.
"The sex has been good, but he has had a problem 'getting it up' sometimes and the stress in our lives from a variety of factors ain't helping.
"I am in my 30s, my sexual peak, and want and enjoy sex now more than ever. We have spoken about this before and he doesn't seem to think it is an issue. I don't know what else to do without seeming like a sex-crazed girlfriend - I am out of ideas... please help!
"Signed, G-Gal."
It seems she's not alone. Lately I've noticed a plethora of similar comments from people of all ages and sexes complaining about mismatched libidos. Some say their partners are too demanding, others say their partners aren't giving enough, and most are confused as to how many times is normal anyway ...
I can understand G-Girl's frustration. A friend of mine is in a similar sexless position, and finds it extremely tough and embarrassing to confront her boyfriend with the situation.
"What if he's just not that into me?" she continually asks. "What if we're not meant to be together? Surely if our libidos are this mismatched, then we're not right for each other?"
Well, no. According to research, 90 per cent of couples experience mismatched libidos at some point in their relationship, while 60 per cent of women are dissatisfied with their sex lives because the fact is they're unable to have an orgasm!
I can see why neither women wants to talk about it either. Lately it does seem that if one wants more sex than one's partner's willing to put out, then one could be suffering from severe sex addiction.
That's right folks. If Sienna Miller's crude observations are anything to go by, the fact that she noted she was constantly "too tired" at night to please Jude Law didn't matter. Because he asked for it, she told the entire world that he had a troublesome sex addiction.
(Of course we're not exactly sure if Simone Warne was lying when she declared the same about her ex-husband, but neither blokes have had their addictions proven psychologically. Yet.)
The rise of the DINS
Experts reckon that if we don't make the effort to improve things between the sheets, we're in danger of becoming bona fide DINS: Double income, no sex couples.
"In this day of fatigued jugglers, dual-income and hard-working couples, stress is one of the biggest libido killers," warns sexologist Gabrielle Morrissey. "And the distress call for 'more sex, please' or 'more excitement and passion, please' can often be met with a sigh or a groan (and not the sexy kind, either)."
As the popular saying goes: abstinence makes a heart wander. Yet, rather than allowing mismatched libidos to push a partner to stray, it seems there's something that can be done to ease the situation.
Introducing Spicy Sex, which, says author Gabrielle Morrissey, is "moaning, panting, screamingly great" action in the bedroom. (Remember the last time you experienced that?)
But it doesn't have to be all leather chaps, whips and wax either. Gabrielle says that "simply trying one new thing can bring about a world of difference to your intimacy, and inject your libido with a higher energy."
Want more fuel to enhance your libido? How about purchasing a high-end luxury toy? After all, Parisian femme fatales are touting them as the new must-have accessory.
While the chic Passage du Desir (Route of Desire) store is selling out of the luxury toys at a rapid rate, we now have our very own Aussie-based luxury toy maker Black Label, which is getting local women's knickers in a tizzy.
After talking to a few girlfriends about their sex toys, label creator Bliss found she was amazed at how many people already had them.
"I move in reasonable social circles and every one of my friends has at least one toy in her drawer," she says. "And thinking that while most of them did the job, they all looked kind of tacky. So I decided to create a more luxury, up-market brand."
While one of the most popular toys in a mini-vibrator, Bliss acknowledges that toys might not be for everyone.
"I don't think sex toys have to be a vital part of a relationship," she muses. "Some people get along just fine without them, but they sure come in handy."


