WE'LL MISS: CALEB, THE FAMILY MAN

The death of family patriarch Caleb Nichol left a big hole in the Cohen clan on The O.C.. He always seemed to be adding to the family, whether through another marriage or an illicit affair. And how can we not miss the guy who gave us such great monikers as "Kiki" and "Juju."

Island Romance

Walk hand-in-hand along one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Sea breezes and the fragrance of tropical flowers add to the Caribbean magic. Relax in cool and spacious luxury accommodations with breathtaking views. The Buccaneer is the perfect place for your romantic island vacation.

Good marriage life

Romance and a good sex life help fuel a marriage, so it cannot be neglected. I think it’s a good idea that we recharge our romance from time to time to keep the flames going…
Sex and romance in marriage does not have to be boring and predictable, but fresh and exciting!

We make time for the kids, work and church activities, but not for romance in our marriage…all our energy and time is spent on other parts of the marriage life and none for romance, then we wonder why so called happy marriages run into trouble, why the love is lost after sometime and you hear couples say “we have lost that spark we use to have” or “the honeymoon period is over”.

The rules of re-engagement are as follows:

1) It is more than sex!

2) Sight… Turn your bedroom into a love nets (the bedroom is not just for sleeping) make it into your little oasis hide away. Decorate it with fresh flowers or artificial ones whatever suits your fancy…keep it clean and clear of clutter.

3) Smell…Get the room smelling fresh. Smell affects the way we feel and react, so get that going again…Find out about aromatherapy oils…a woman should always be smelling fresh…and guys we like you just as fresh and clean too.

4) Sound…Music is always a great mood changer… get the right sound going be it jazz or any other instrumental, find out what you both like to hear that is relaxing…Ladies, your voice is another great tool, so use it, tone it down , let him know you are in a romantic mood.

5) Taste…They say the way to a man’s heart is his stomach, well if, even Esther knew that, and we saw how being the perfect hostess did the tick for her in disarming her enemy. Cook him is favourite meal just for him or surprise him with something different an example could be finger food, like feeding him fresh fruits (yes I said feeding each other)

6) Touch…Oh! Yes the touch…from the moment we are born the touch is important. When a child is hurt they run to their mother for a hug to comfort. Touch helps form a connection between husband and wife, do you notice how when you are not happy with your spouse you don’t even want to touch them or be touched by them. A touch, like a kiss or a hug arouses the tiny blood vessel beneath the skin. Remember it’s your own wife or your own husband. Giving each other massages is a way of connecting by touch, you can either learn how to give a good massage or just go with what you feel so you don’t need to be an expert, but it can be handy in learning pressure points to add to the relaxation.

So let’s get back to the rules of engagement and reconnect with our HUSBAND OR WIFE.

When You Know She's Mad

Did You Forget An Anniversary?

This one is a little more complicated. It does involve using a calendar for the major events, like your wedding, however women sometimes have a tendency to romanticize events that we may consider trivial. Remember she still has the corsage from her senior prom pressed in a book and the ticket stub from her first concert with what’s his name.

If it’s your wedding anniversary, see the solutions above for the forgotten birthday. You may also want to add an additional gift depending on how many years you’ve been married. If it’s one of the minor anniversaries (like your first date) then you’re probably not going to figure it out. We don’t understand why they’re so sentimental and they don’t understand why we’re not. If you want to restore harmony then fall on your sword and apologize.

Admit that we as a gender are mindless pigs, inherently stupid and everything we know is wrong. A small sentimental gift will usually suffice in this instance. Roses aren’t necessary, a small bouquet or a heart shaped locket would be better. And Don’t Forget the Card. In each of the above scenarios, a card is still warranted. Write a heart felt message in the card not just "Love Bubba". Tell her how you really feel and how miserable life would be without her. Tell her how beautiful and wonderful she is. Be sincere. It may sound corny but women never tired of hearing it.

Vacation Romance

A sunset over Simcoe Lake adds to the romance for this couple on vacation in Ontario, Canada.

When You Know She's Mad

Did You Forget Her Birthday?

Bad move Nimrod. This one is almost too stupid to talk about here. She only has one birthday a year. Find out her birth date and WRITE IT DOWN. The Calendar Is Your Friend! Assuming you have some type of calendar; paper, electronic or written on the walls of your cave (if you truly haven’t discovered technology yet), there’s no reason to ever forget it again. This is bad but it’s fixable.

Is today her birthday? If it’s not evening yet you still have time to save the day, but you have to act fast. Quickly put together a romantic dinner at her favorite restaurant or have it catered at home.

Was her birthday yesterday? Worse, but still fixable. Look at the calendar (sorry, we’ve already determined that you don’t know how to use a calendar). Ask someone what day of the week it is.There’s a 71% chance that it’s a weekday. You’re just going to move dinner to the weekend. Of course, since you have more time to plan, it had better be more elaborate. Invite another couple or two and now it’s a surprise party.

Was it a week ago or longer? Then you’re screwed.Admit that you’re an unfeeling emotionally deprived moron and never really deserved any one as special as she is.Make her believe that you really mean it and that it will never happen again. Now it’s time to make it up to her and the more elaborate and expensive the gift the better. If you can’t console her with chocolates, delight her with diamonds.

When You Know She's Mad

But Why?
It really helps to have this bit of information.
Some women will tell you right from the start what you did that upset them.
Some like to extend the torture by not giving you a hint.
You could ask, but you’ve tried that before and it usually didn’t work. You got that most infuriating of all answers,’ "If you don’t know, I’m not going to tell you".

Damn! You just made things worse. This is not the time to make assumptions or start mentally rolling through all of the possible indiscretions she may have found out about. What ever you do, don’t start apologizing for things she may not know about yet. No point in giving her more reasons to be mad. Start simple, first check the date.

When You Know She's Mad

Everything about her says she’s mad. The tone of her voice tells you she’s mad (if she’s speaking to you). The way she’s standing tells you she’s mad. If she's throwing things at you or turns away when you touch her, you know she’s mad at you. When she’s mad, your life is miserable, and the longer it takes you to rectify the situation the worse it’s going to get.

We’re men and we’re fallible. They’re kind, loving, sentimental and forgiving. We’re pigs. We lovie them just the way they are but to them we'll always be a work in progress. We don’t have to understand them, just love them and treat them with respect. Sometimes loving them means that we have to apologize for a real or imagined injury. Forget about whether you were right or wrong. It doesn't matter, and sometimes being right makes things worse. You’re really apologizing because she's sad. And when she’s sad YOU will be miserable especially if you're the reason.