SPICE UP YOUR HOLIDAY NITES

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Pier 1 Imports. All opinions are 100% mine.

Everybody seems to be on the go for weeks already in preparation for the holiday season...the women most especially. And maybe, just maybe, we are neglecting our men for quite a time already. And an idea came to mind upon seeing this Spiced Cranberry Candles, imagining the bedroom lit with them up until the bathtub. This could be the best gift you could give your better half, a sizzling hot nite together smelling of sweet berries.

Thanks to Pier 1 for such lovely ideas of gifts that I came across this candle as I was shopping for my friends and relatives gifts for our year-end Thanksgiving get together. Some cute stuffs like this Mini sock coin purses to give my mommy friends, those Assorted Flashing Light Bulb Pens for my nieces and nephews, and so much more that you can't find just anywhere. I especially have to buy those Pashmina wraps the elders would appreciate...I'd love to have them myself since it's such a great bargain. Almost everything is, actually. And if anyone of my friends are reading this, grab the Pearl Clutch for me which I really, really would appreciate (wink!) since it matches the new slippers I just bought a few days ago. Or preferring a Modern look for my home, Black and White usually fits in...like those gorgeous Capiz Checker Placemat. Pier 1 Imports really have a lot of possible holiday gifts! They deserve a "like" in their Facebook account as a way of spreading holiday cheers, I tell you! And they share this love by donating $1 to Toys for Tots for every fan they have. You can also further support Toys for Tots by dropping off an unwrapped toy and/or making a cash donation at the register which actually started November and ends December.

Wait no more. Start browsing through and get your candles to spice up your holiday nites at the same time see which to have for your gift giving.

MARITAL FIGHTS ARE DISEASE CAUSING

Marital fights can take years from your life. It puts your health in danger.

According to psychologists, the immune system takes a beating every verbal clash especially those ending in sarcasm and put-downs. These instances puts us in stress. And stress hormones, cortisol and norepinephrine, helps to react in physical danger but it also reduce our body's supply of disease fighting immune cells therefore too often release of these stress hormones is not at all good for our health.

Be informed though that researchers confirms that stress hormone levels and blood pressure rise far more in women than in men...apparently since we are more emotional and that we dwell more on those arguments. The longer couples are married, the higher the chance that they were having those arguments for a long time, thus the higher risk for them in addition to them at a vulnerable age to having different kinds of diseases.

GIVE AND TAKE IN A RELATIONSHIP

Men and women naturally were created differently. People have so much difference that it is common to have disagreements. After all we were raised by different families, we were used to doing different things and living in different ways. And so, in a couple's life together, there are more than a few adjustments made to live harmoniously. We call it "Give and Take". At times you give in and in another time it will be his time to give in.

I know of a couple who admitted that they are the exact opposite of one another. That they are amongst those who said to believe that "opposite attracts" in the early stages of their relationship. Yes they are at first having difficulty living with each other for the simple reason that when one likes this color, the other likes another. If one is the messy one, the other is the ever so neat better half. They had their share of tantrums and fights until they come to an agreement a couple of months after the wedding bliss have gone plateu...that they need to give in at times.

At one time, they argued on having the griller placed not outside the house but on the porch where the husband can grill while he drinks his brandy during days of needing to relax. Not that there is no way to vent out the smoke since it is open top with sliding glass door, but the wife insists that it is so out of place there. That she prefers it out in the garden because it looks better there. In the end, they agreed to let it stay in the porch as long as it will be covered when not in use. Husband bought her a real nice Grill Cover that matches her green couch cushions. She conceded this time, next time it's his turn!

WEDDING MONTH

December is one of the busiest month for couturiers, caterers, event coordinators and wedding planners. And this is especially true here in the country.

It simply is the month most couples choose to finally take the vow, to prove of their love for one another...to finally get married. I, for one, have this unfulfilled dream of saying "I do" in December. Maybe because this is the season when most relatives and friends are visible from their long time absence under their workloads. Maybe because the holidays is partly to blame for the pouring out of sentimentality of everyone. Or it could also be the unusually colder climate that makes people love cuddling more.

...and this is one reason why I love this month the most, being the romantic fool that I am (wink!) I find December as the Love Month other than the other months most believe it to be.

LOVING DAVID BENOIT