Sex Detox by Ian Kerner, Ph.D

Is your sex life stuck in a rut? Would you rather watch Grey’s Anatomy reruns instead of getting busy with your partner? Are you single and casually sleeping around and feeling like you want more but are not sure how to get there?

Sex Detox by Ian Kerner, Ph.D is a book that challenges you to take a 30 day hiatus from sex. No sex for thirty days, of any kind, except masturbation. The goal is to “recharge desire, revitalize intimacy, and rejuvenate your love life.” Kerner walks you through each day and provides exercises, quizzes, and some deep thinking about your past relationships and your relationship now, if you are in one. The book is divided into two sections: sex detox for couples and sex detox for singles.

Since I am in a couple, I only skimmed through the single section. The couple’s section does make a lot of sense. I can see where taking a break to re-evaluate where problems in your sexual relationship are occurring could be very helpful in getting your sexual life back on track. The exercises provided are well written, and are not just fluff. They get you thinking about the first time you had sex, your relationship with your partners and how past partners might have perceived you as a sexual being. They help you determine what made you attracted to your partner in the first place and how that has changed over time.

I could see myself reading this book, but I’m not sure Geo would. First off, it has a bright pink cover (although I read a proof so to be fair, I’m not sure if the actual book is going to be the same.) Also, I don’t think he would participate in deep breathing exercises and write in a detox diary. That’s just not his thing. Kerner says you can participate in the sex detox without  your partner, and even without telling your partner that you are doing it. I have a problem with that, if you are having sex more than once a month. I don’t think you should withhold sex from your partner without letting them know what is going on. I would be hurt if it was done to me, even in the name of bettering our relationship.

One positive of this book is that it is written to include many different lifestyles. One of the first couples profiled is a male gay couple, and the author takes special note to say that when he discusses things to do with your parents, he is discussing the people you were raised by, and not necessarily your birth parents. It is not assumed that the couples in the book are straight, married people and I appreciate that. He also mentions that if you are victim of sexual trauma, a sex detox program should be coupled with receiving therapy.

I wasn’t convinced to take a sex detox after reading the book. I do think I will go back and do some of the quizzes and exercises just to help me see where my sex life could use some improvement.

See what other bloggers are saying at Parent Bloggers Network. Read more about the book here and visit the author’s website.

Printakid Personalized Books for Children

The Parent Bloggers Network invited me to participate in a Printakid Blog campaign. Printakid makes personalized books for children and since we are running low on new books to read at bedtime, I thought this was a great idea.

The book we received is called “A Wacky Christmas Journey.” The story is somewhat strange. It is about Snowbaby and how a reindeer sneezes and accidentally moves her letters to the Naughty pile. The reindeer confesses to Snowbaby and they set out to remedy the situation, which ulitimately leads them to the Sea Elephants who are guardians of the Naughty/Nice list.

(Sea Elephants? Is this some strange tradition I’d never heard of??)

To be completely honest, the story is quite strange and it is certainly not one of the best children’s books I’d ever read.

However, the personalized factors made up for the weird story in the eyes of the kids. I liked how the title pages say that the book is made for Snowbaby and include a personalized message from me. I like how it includes her hair color and eye color, however, there is no way to make the child appear as a toddler, so Snowbaby looks six or seven in the story. You can include names of family members, so Bubba appears as well as Callie and Bug.

I’m all about anything that holds a child’s attention and makes them want to read. And this product does that. They want to hear the story because it is about them, and really, what do little kids like more than things that center around them?

That Baby DVD/CD

With such a wide range of ages riding in my car, we seldomly listen to music that was designed just for kids. The teens really can’t stand much of it. And to be honest, neither can I.

That Baby CD is an exception. We received both the That Baby DVD and CD. The DVD has the songs from the CD playing while various images appear on the screen. There are children playing, singing and dancing, as well as puppets, photographs, and cartoons. It is like some of the other popular kid’s videos out there that are set to music, except That Baby DVD is set to songs you will recognize. It features acoustic cover songs by artists like Fleetwood Mac, Neil Diamond and Joni Mitchell.

The DVD is about 35 minutes long and it is the perfect length for you to pop on while you clean the bathroom or start dinner. Snowbaby is a big fan of seeing other little children and babies and was riveted to the DVD. The CD is cute too, as it is designed to look like a record.

And the That Baby DVD is responsible for Snowbaby’s first spontaneous singing experience. We had watched the DVD a few times, and I put it on and she immediately started singing the song, “Happiness Runs.” Now she sings it quite often.

This is the kind of DVD and CD that you won’t mind listening to whether it is in the background of the living room or in the car. I actually prefer the CD because it is just really nice music to listen to, but Snowbaby enjoys the DVD a lot as well.

You can check it out at here. If you type in “PBN” while checking out, you can get 20% off!

Both the DVD and the CD come with a no questions asked return policy as well as free replacement of discs that “get scratched, fingerprinted or smeared with peanut butter.”

You can see what more bloggers think about That Baby DVD and CD on the Parent Bloggers Network. 

Beauty Confidential

I must have been absent the day that all the girls learned how to do their hair and do their makeup.

Granted, I grew up during the “Big Bangs” era but somehow I never learned to do much else with my personal appearance other than tease my bangs into a five foot arch hanging over my head.

In fact, one time–I must have been in 9th grade or something–I decided I didn’t like my bangs. I didn’t want bangs. My solution? I would cut them off. So I took the scissors, put them as close to my scalp as possible, and snipped off my bangs.

Unfortunately, this didn’t go as well as I’d planned. In fact, I told the kids at school that my bangs had CAUGHT ON FIRE.

Seriously.

So that should give you some background on how hair/makeup/skin care challenged I am. (Very.)

The Parent Bloggers Network sent me Nadine Haobsh’s new book, Beauty Confidential, and I am not joking when I say this book has changed my life.

First, she mentioned that parted down the middle hair looks good on virtually nobody. Hmm. So I got out of the shower, parted my hair on the side, straightened it and WOW. It made a huge difference. My hair actually looked like it had a hair style now, instead of looking like an unruly mop.

Then, I read all through her sections on how to apply makeup. The first few times I did it, it took me awhile. I really liked the hint on applying eyeshadow with your fingers. Following the advice in the book, I was able to actually put on makeup that looked good. I was very impressed. By the time the week was out, I could do it in about 3 to 5 minutes and it truly made me feel better about myself. Since I changed up my hair and put on a little makeup, the comments about how young I look have diminished a lot which makes me happy.

This book is great. It explains things in step by step fashion. It tells you what to expect when you go various places, from getting a bikini wax to how much to tip the shampoo girl. It is written in a friendly tone so you feel like you are chatting with someone who truly gets it. She even gives you specific product information and  a guide to how much the things cost. She gives you tips on when to splurge and when the $3 stuff will work just as well.

This is, by far, the best book I’ve read on beauty tips ever.

Kids are Americans Too–Review

The Parent Bloggers Network asked for reviewers who would be able to read Bill O’Reilly’s new book “Kids are Americans too” with an open mind.  I figured I could do that.

And I tried. I really tried.

But man, Bill O’Reilly and I just are not BFFs. We aren’t.

It is not that the book is awful..it is suprisingly a lot less offensive than I thought it would be. But it is just not good.

First, it is a rather short book..not even 150 pages. It is selling for $24.95. That’s a lot for a book marketed to teens. I didn’t even pay that much for the last Harry Potter book and that was what, 700 pages?

And sure, if you are a Bill O’Reilly fan, you might pick up this book with a big picture of O’Reilly and a little Fox News screen…but my girls found nothing appealing about the cover. And yes, don’t judge a book by the cover, but with teens I think it is somewhat important.

O’Reilly starts off the book by saying that “Many American kids are complete morons. So are many American adults.” He goes on to say that his definition of moron is someone who is too lazy to figure out what being an American is all about.

You know, I actually give kids more credit than that. I think teens are a lot more politically aware than we give them credit for. And personally, I wouldn’t read a book that started off by making a blanket assumption about kids, especially when that assumption is that many are morons.

The book seems to be targeted to teens, but it is really dumbed down. This book could easily be read by Bug, but I think she has enough of an understanding how the government works that she would be bored. And while I give O’Reilly credit for trying to make the topic more “teen-friendly,” I don’t think it is necessary to assign cute nicknames to everyone like “The Supremes” and “The Philadelphia guys.”

Like I said before, I just don’t think teens are dumb. They need a book that treats them like intelligent young adults, instead of morons that can only handle political matters in 20 second bursts.

I will give O’Reilly credit, though. He doesn’t shove his views down your throat as much as you would think he would. He certainly isn’t unbiased though, but hey, it’s his book.

If you are a Bill O’Reilly fan, you’d probably like the book. Otherwise, pass on this one.