Who doesn’t like to say and hear those 3 little words: “I love you”? They express our feelings of love, passion and intimacy for our sweetheart. But you would be making a huge mistake to rely only on words to show your love and affection for your sweetie; since it is what you do – more than what you say – that really counts. Read on if you are ready to let your actions speak louder than your words.

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If it isn’t bad enough that money is the root of all evil, money is also the #1 reason why couples fight. Many times fights regarding money are not really about money; these fights often represent issues about control and power in a relationship.

On the other hand, sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar – and fights about money are indeed, about money. So here are a few very practical and easy tips for avoiding these money fights or for handling them in a constructive and healthy manner when they do arise.

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Let me get right to the point. “What’s stress got to do with sex”? Everything!! What? “Everything”! Absolutely!!! Stress is pretty high up there as on one of the top reasons for why couples are not having sex! So I thought it would be important to identify some stressors in our lives that might be getting in the way of, or actually completely killing, our sex drive.

Some people are capable of doing many things well while under stress; but being in the mood for sex and/or feeling sexy usually isn’t one of them.

So enough jabbering here and let’s get on with identifying 5 common stressors that decrease or eliminate one’s sex drive. (And remember, some of these sex drive killers have nothing to do with how you feel about your partner – what a sense of relief!).

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Romantic relationships are a partnership of two people who have decided to share in the joys and sorrows of a committed life together. Married couples take the vows: “For better or worse, for richer or poorer” – Stop right there. People say vows similar to the ones just written but do we really mean them? – especially the part about “for richer or poorer”? Even though we say these words – if we are totally honest with ourselves we really mean: “but I hope it’s for richer”. Common sense dictates no one in their right mind wants to be poor. I mean honestly, get real.

Following are 7 simple ways or guidelines for handling money issues throughout your relationship so you don’t have to end up fighting about money. Consider these guidelines to be your relationship tools for keeping the spark alive in your relationship whether you are dealing with the “richer” or “poorer” times in your relationship.

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Doesn’t it drive you absolutely crazy when someone wears sunglasses indoors? I know I don’t like it at all. I can’t help but think: “What are you trying to hide?” When someone does not allow me to see their eyes I always feel a little queasy when I look at them. This queasiness is magnified a thousand times if I am trying to have a conversation with someone who is wearing sunglasses. All my uncomfortable feelings about someone wearing sunglasses is squarely based on the fact that I cannot see their eyes. This inability to see someone’s eyes and not be able to make eye contact with them when having a conversation leaves one with the same feeling: “What are you hiding from me?’ or “what don’t you want me to know?”

It cannot be emphasized enough the value of making direct eye contact when communicating with our partner.

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Fighting – or conflict if we want to get a little fancy with our words here – is a normal – even healthy part of any intimate relationship. You know this is true. Unless you are a “Stepford Wife” or “Stepford Girlfriend”; do you remember this movie? The one where the wives were killed and replaced with robots who were programmed to look and act like the perfect wife? Ugh, gross – I am cringing. Anyway, since you are not a Stepford Wife (thank goodness) – you and your partner are not going to feel and think the same way about every issue and/or situation that comes along. In other words, you and your partner – both having a mind of your own, are bound to disagree and hence, fight at times.

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I would be willing to bet you that even Cupid has had a couple of fights with his/her partner – leaving a few arrows piercing his heart. So if the quintessential lover, Cupid, can’t avoid a fight or two, is it any wonder all couples fight? The secret for a happy, romantic relationship is not the ability to avoid fighting (an impossible task for mere mortals like ourselves) but how we fight. Yes, there is indeed a right way to fight. Read on and discover Dr. Patty Ann’s 7 simple and effective ways to fight and resolve conflict between you and your partner.

1. As the emotional heat gets turned up, and you know you are only heading down the path of an all-out blow-out between yourself and your partner, give your self a time-out. Before you enter the emotional point of no return, where all your reasoning and common sense flies out the window, take a deep breath and you and your partner should both agree to walk away from the argument until you both cool off and calmer emotions prevail.

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It is amazing how many myths are out there for keeping romance alive in your relationship. Woman’s magazines, radio talk shows, TV shows and newspapers are filled with inaccurate information dealing with relationship advice, some of which includes the topics of  how to keep your romance alive, how to keep your man happy, how to skyrocket your sex life, how to…, how to…, how to…and on and on and on. And what is so incredible is that so much of this information is wrong, false, and inaccurate and yet it abounds in mythical proportions. I often wonder if their is there some “myth maestro” out there who spends his days and nights making up all sorts of crap about everything under the sun. Then he throws this absurd information out there –  “spins it off as truth” and then watches as  peoples relationships unravel within the midst of all this erroneous information.

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All relationships require some effort and creativity to keep your s-e-x life fired up. Many couples make the mistake of focusing on the frequency, or lack thereof, of the sex in their relationship. This approach will get you no more sex in your relationship than talking about money will actually get you money.

The key for re-igniting your sex life is to focus on the intimacy in your relationship and the sex will come. Concentrate on improving the intimacy in your relationship and the sensual aspect of your relationship will naturally be re-ignited. Relationships that have sensual closeness experience increased intimacy. These are the emotions that act as a spark needed to re-ignite the feelings that connect us to our partner. These sparks are the connections that lead to the firing up of our sex life in our relationship. Without these sparks our sex life crumbles to ashes, taking our relationship with them.

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Listen up now. The single best way to increase our sense of attachment to our partner is to increase what is nicknamed: “the love hormone”. Sounds simple, right? Well it is.

The formal name for “the love hormone” is known as oxytocin. When we experience happiness, we experience an increase in this “love hormone”. When this “love hormone” is increased in our body, we experience an increase in our sense of attachment to our partner. So what’s the best way to increase oxytocin… our “love hormone”?

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