I was adamantly against getting a four-wheeler, an ATV to tow us around the 2 acres and haul loads to help with the yardwork. I was convinced it was an unnecessary expense that might make us lazy. We got one anyway, because my way is not always the final way.

What I really didn’t expect was that the four-wheeler would become the source of one of my favorite little joys in life. Let’s face it; once you get to a certain point in life, things become predicable, repetitive and somewhat boring. I’ve found that busy doesn’t always equate to quality time spent, and you have to find joy in the little shit in life.

If you’ve ever argued with your partner about money, you’re not alone. According to a 2014 American Psychological Association “Stress in America” survey, almost a third of adults with partners reported that money is a major source of conflict in their relationship.

Many people approach splitting the bills from specifically a “split” perspective, meaning they take the bill total and split it evenly down the middle so that both partners are paying the same amount of money, or they cover a similar number of bills in an effort to create fairness. Neither of these approaches are fair if you and your partner don’t make the same amount of money.

Cue, my favorite money-related formula that I learned from famed financial advisor, Suze Orman. She believes (and I agree) that partners should pay an equal percentage of money toward bills together, not an equal amount.

If one woman is struggling with something, chances are that another woman has had a similar struggle and made it to the other side, enough to be able to share advice.

Let’s dig into some “advice” from more than 3,000 American women (age 18-93) who shared details of techniques of sexual stimulation and penetration techniques they use to enjoy solo or partnered sex.

This “advice” come in the form of a research study published in 2021 in the psychology journal, PLoS One. The data came from the second OMGYES Pleasure Report, a cross-sectional, online, national probability survey of women’s sexual experiences and discoveries.

A Case for Having (Decades) Older Friends

I know a lot about menopause and perimenopause. I know what it’s like to have hot flashes so bad that you sweat through your sheets. I know a lot about managing the death of a parent, watching your grown children get married, celebrating a long-overdue divorce by buying your girlfriends matching hats that say “thanku next.”

Yet, I’m too young to have gone through “the change,” my parents are still married, my children haven’t yet graduated high school and I’m insanely in love with my husband who I know feels the same about me. I am wise beyond my years because I am fortunate to have friends in my life who are older than me, some by decades.

I struggle to find scientific research that shows the value of having friends who are decades older than you, but I know it’s valuable because I live it.

Findings from a research study published in the Psychology journal, PLOS One, indicate that if you want to have a better relationship and better sex with your heterosexual partner, you’d benefit from identifying and understanding each other’s love language, and working to express love in the way that each other desires.