Sexy, Sensual Valentine's Surprise

The surprises are selected and all ready to go for 2012's Valentine Surprise. We had lots of new products to choose from this year, and we think you'll agree - this year's surprise is better than ever.

Wishing You a Wonderful Holiday

From all of us here at Intimate Surprises, we wish you a joyful holiday!

Keeping Boredom (and infidelity)At Bay

Is there really such a thing as "affair-proofing" your relationship? Probably not, but studies show that one thing helps - couples who manage to avoid cheating are also having lots of great sex. Not just lots of sex, but lots of really good, rewarding, connecting and fun sex. This means that you have to find new and innovative ways to stay erotic throughout your marriage. Sure, it's fun now. But when you're tired, cranky or frustrated with each other, you still have to get creative and find ways to please each other in bed.

According to the studies, one way to keep it fresh is to have one new fantasy with each other every couple of months.

But why wait for every couple of months? Every month sure sounds better to us!

What Ever Happened to Kissing?

A new survey by the British Heart Association has revealed that nearly one in five married couples go without kissing for as long as one week at a time. And when they do finally lock lips, it will last no longer than five seconds for 40 percent of them.

It's not all bad, though.

Five percent of those age 45 and up squeeze in more than 30 kisses per week, which averages out to just over four per day. So, not counting a presumed "good morning" and "good night" kiss, that leaves two others. Even younger couples age 18 to 24 -- not necessarily married -- make some time for romance, with an average of 11 kisses per week, or less than two per day.

Ladies, Try a Little Tenderness?

Cuddling and caressing help boost satisfaction in long-term relationships, according to a new study of couples.

The study also found that tenderness is more important to men than to women, that men are more likely to report being happy in their relationship, and that women are more likely to be satisfied with their sexual relationship, said the researchers from the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University.

Better When You Both Work?

Could it be that when both husbands and wives have a purpose outside the home, they're more comfortable together inside the home? Or maybe the age-old adage that "absence makes the heart grow fonder" is true.

For better or worse, researchers from both the University of California-Los Angeles and Utrecht University in the Netherlands found that the happiest marriages involve husbands and wives who are both stimulated by challenging jobs.

Is Your Relationship Wilting?

“A relationship flourishes in enriched soil,” says Aline P. Zoldbrod, PhD, a Boston-based certified sex therapist and a member of the faculty of the University of Michigan Sexual Health Certificate Program. But if you uproot your marriage and repot it in sand by not making time for each other or spending too much time fighting, it runs the risk of wilting away.

“Between work obligations and kid obligations, the only ‘we’ time couples have together feels more like a corporate board meeting than an intimate conversation between friends or lovers,” Zoldbrod says. “In an un-emotional climate like this, deeply satisfying sex is impossible.”

What needs to happen to resolve this marriage problem: Make time to do exciting things together. Hire babysitters, take a weekend away without the kids, or get tickets to an interesting place or event.

Ease Your Pain

Just looking at your partner (or even a photo of your partner) can help ease pain.

When anesthesiologists showed people taking part in a study photos of their romantic partners or photos of attractive strangers, or asked them to engage in a word game, they found that looking at romantic partners significantly dulled the experience of pain.

Go Ahead, Argue

Avoiding arguments does a marriage no favors, according to recent research. Although couples fight when their marriages are failing, research suggests that arguments are not in themselves symptoms of bad marriages; rather, it is destructive arguments that bring couples down. Quarrelling well is the best remedy.

Every argument has one virtue: like a volcano, it releases pressure. Some rows are cathartic, others make fine foreplay. Many also uncover a point of conflict, clarifying feelings about issues and communicating them unambiguously to a spouse.

If a couple knows how to argue well, their marriage will improve. Marriage expert John Gottman concluded from his extensive studies of newlyweds that those who started their marriage refusing to tolerate "negativity --- those who insisted on gently confronting each other when, say, the other was contemptuous or defensive – wound up happy and satisfied years later."

Obsolete or Just Evolving?

A recent Pew Research Center survey showed that 39 percent of respondents believe marriage is becoming obsolete. That's a dire prediction, but is it true?

“I don’t think marriage is a dying institution,” says Carolyn Kaufman, PsyD, an assistant professor of psychology at Columbus State Community College in Ohio. “I do, however, think that the way we see marriage is changing. What most people don’t realize is that the way we see marriage has changed many times in the past. There was a time marriage was all about securing an heir with a particular heritage or about a man getting a particular woman’s dowry. Marriage is a constantly evolving concept.”