Why Chocolate for Valentines Day?

Valentine's Day is many things to different people- a chance to start new relationships, rekindle old ones, or remind that special someone how wonderful they really are. Others feel it is just another "Hallmark" holiday where they are expected to do something for unknown reasons. Regardless of your hopes, expectations, or reservations about Valentine's Day, chocolate has long been a favorite gift for lovers.

Since the days of the Aztecs chocolate has been used as a gift. Today a box of luxurious quality chocolate says a thousand "thank you's", "good luck", or "I love you". Chocolate can be given as a way of saying "congratulations", "I am sorry" or "get well soon". On Valentine's Day chocolate clearly says "I LOVE YOU!" Chocolate is more than food, it not only fills your belly but also makes you feel soooo good. Elaine Sherman wrote "Chocolate is heavenly, mellow, sensual, deep, dark, sumptuous, gratifying, potent, dense, creamy, seductive, suggestive, rich, excessive, silky, smooth, luxurious, celestial. Chocolate is downfall, happiness, pleasure, love, ecstasy, fantasy ... chocolate makes us wicked, guilty, sinful, healthy, chic, happy." What more could you want to say to your lover on Valentines Day? Even the scientific name for the tree from which chocolate is derived, Theobroma cacao, translated from Greek, means "food of the gods".

Why does chocolate evoke so many feelings and emotions for us? Chocolate has long been associated with passion, romance and love. This association may go all the way back to the Aztecs. They believed chocolate was a source of spiritual wisdom, incredible energy and elevated sexual power. Chocolate was widely used as a nuptial aid and was widely served at wedding ceremonies. The Aztecs did not know chocolate as we do today; they consumed the cocoa as a drink. Reports indicate that the Emperor Montezuma consumed large quantities of the drink every day and always fortified himself with a cup before entertaining his harem. The explorer Cortes reported to Carlos I of Spain that chocolate is "... the divine drink which builds up resistance and fights fatigue. A cup of this precious drink enables a man to walk for a whole day without food." From the earliest times, chocolate was considered a substance of power and a source of vitality.

Chocolate has been a subject of study since the first shipment from Veracruz arrived in Spain in 1585. But modern science has made some interesting findings that may help explain our lust for quality chocolate. Chocolate contains organic substances known as alkaloids. The most important of these substances is theobromine, which works as a stimulant to the kidneys. Stimulants in chocolate also affect the central nervous system, with effects similar to caffeine, which is also present in chocolate. A chocolate bar may contain as much as 200 mg of theobromine but only about 25 mg of caffeine. Another important substance found in chocolate is phenylethylamine, which is part of a group of chemicals known as endorphins. Endorphins have an effect similar to amphetamine and are found naturally in the human body. When endorphins are released into the bloodstream, the mood is lifted and feelings of positive energy are reached. The sensation known as "runners high" is caused by endorphins released during exercise. Phenylethylamine levels in the brain have also been linked to "falling in love". One more chemical found in chocolate is seratonin. Seratonin is known for its calming properties. The presence of these chemicals may explain the multitude of feelings chocolate evokes.

Debra Waterhouse, author of Why Women Need Chocolate, conducted a survey and found: 97% of women reported cravings, 68% of which are for chocolate, 50% would choose chocolate over sex, and 22% were more likely than men to choose chocolate as a mood elevator. These findings could easily be interpreted as a result of how chocolate makes us feel. I don't know why more women choose chocolate than men, for I am a man and I love chocolate.

Critics would say that the benefits of eating chocolate are small when compared to the sugar and fat contained in a chocolate bar. The best chocolate, dark chocolate with high cacao butter content has no added fat, as well as a high percentage of cacao solids and correspondingly less sugar. Although chocolate will never be considered a health food based on its nutritional value, it is still good for you! Good for your heart and soul-anything that helps relieve stress and makes you feel so good must be.

Receiving a nicely wrapped box of chocolates causes a sense of anticipation. The pleasure of unwrapping the box, the sensual smell, lifting the soft seductive papers, the look of the smooth dark chocolates. When it finally passes your lips and starts to instantly melt filling your mouth with exquisite pleasure. The taste and smell flood your senses with overwhelming ecstasy. Eating it slowly, taking time to enjoy and savor every bit. What better way to start off an evening of love?

David Eisen is owner of Euphoric Chocolate, come visit us at [http://www.euphoricchocolate.com] Our large variety of novelty chocolates, chocolate truffles, and elegant gift boxes are the perfect touch to add to any occasion. We can help you creat the perfict wedding favor, bridal shower favor or baby shower favor for your special event.

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Book for Valentines

Choosing the right books for Valentine's Day gifts can be a tricky thing to do sometimes. There's the usual rash of trashy paperbacks, poetry books and suchlike at this time of year, and it can be tricky to figure out what your significant other would actually enjoy and read. Valentine's Day is a great time of year for buying new books for your loved one, and it's also a good time for you to experiment with different kinds of books for them.

A good idea to game the right Valentine's Day gift books for your partner will be to get them one or two books that you know they will enjoy, along with the title the they may not originally thought of reading themselves. That way you know you've gotten something they will enjoy, but you're also safe in the knowledge you may have introduced into something they will come to cherish.

There are countless hundreds of books choose from via retailers both online and on the High Street, and you're literally spoiled for choice when it comes to books you can buy your loved one on Valentine's Day. Whatever you do choose for your partner this year, be sure to include a small inscription from yourself inside the first few pages of the book you buy.

This personalises the gifts for your significant other and ensures they will have something to remind themselves of you and the time you spend together in years to come. Books with romantic inscriptions inside them can become much loved possessions as a relationship matures and evolves.

Plus, they can be enjoyed again and again, making them very economical Valentine's Day gifts as well. Have a look around at the many books that are currently on offer for Valentine's Day, and see which would best suit the interests and personality of your loved one. With the right books as gifts for Valentine's Day you can be sure that your partner will want to keep on turning the pages of your relationship and get to that happy ending.

Lucy is a hapless romantic and budding Chick Lit author with a passion for passion! You can easily find more great Valentine's day ideas for gifts and activities online!

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Great Inexpensive Ideas for Valentines Day

For Valentine's Day, you want a gift that shows just how much you care. The only problem is you've been hit by the economic downturn, and don't have a budget for lavishing expensive gifts on your sweetie. You'll be happy to know there are many cheap Valentine's Day ideas that will make your honey and your wallet happy.

Depending on where you live and the size of your budget, some inexpensive Valentine's Day ideas might include a romantic getaway. The Christmas rush is over and many places have off-season rates. If you can travel on a flexible schedule, Priceline.com might have the perfect trip at an affordable rate.

You can get inspiration for inexpensive and romantic gift ideas for Valentine's Day with a search online. Smartmarriages.com has a list of 50 Cheap Valentine's Day Gifts for Your Sweetheart (Without Looking Cheap). Depending on the weather, one suggestion is to have a picnic, either outside or indoors. Burn a CD of favorite songs - it shows you took the time to think about what your relationship means. Even though most restaurants have dinner deals this time of year, a great, loving and inexpensive alternative is breakfast in bed, lunch together or a romantic dinner that you have prepared yourself.

There are smaller, inexpensive gift ideas for Valentine's Day, too. With some planning you can select pictures of the two of you, then buy picture frames at a dollar store and present your "year in review". Or buy a number of smaller gifts from places like online stores and have "Fourteen Days of Valentines" instead of just one. Here are a few different cost-effective ideas to show your sweetie how much you care:

- Make chocolate or candy together instead of buying the over-priced box.
- Plan your garden together so you'll have beautiful flowers all year instead of just one day.
- Make your own card and say what you really feel instead of spending money on one that someone else has written.
- If you do go out for dinner, cut down on costs by having a drink or appetizers at home or, even better, plan a "very special" dessert.
- You can highlight a significant event in your relationship by starting a charm bracelet or even a "charm box" that you can buy one meaningful charm or item for each year.

Clearing your schedule so you can just talk and spend time together is perhaps the best gift of all. Once you start thinking about it, you'll see that you can find cheap Valentine's Day ideas that can actually increase the value of your relationship.

There are many Valentine's Day gift ideas for everyone and finding the right one for your budget just got easier. Evelyn Oakley found the perfect unique Valentine's Day gifts for everyone on her list.

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Sexual Golf

Sexual Golf is a wonderful way to connect with your lover.  Check out this and other Great Sexy Challenges by Clicking the link below. 

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Challenges In Your Relationship

In coping with relationship problems, old information becomes new and novel information tends to become old or tiring after a while. If you have struggled with romantic troubles long enough, it is more than likely that you can now start to see this. There is a distinct repetition of advice, remedies, solutions, and suggestions on dealing with relationship stress or unhappiness.

You are probably ready for some new tips that truly do work for you. With that being said, here is list of standing remedies for handling the highs and lows of ongoing romantic endeavor.

A barrage of remedial approach exists for coping with relationship stress, but here are the big three:

Respecting Individual And Personal Boundaries While Maintaining The Right To Choose

The reason why this becomes difficult for couples is that companionship mindset centers around the concept of "teamwork," that is, making decisions as a unit rather than individually. When overlooked or underestimated, this aspect of relationship unity can escalate into further misunderstandings. It happens because "regulations" for emotional matters tend to become less than clearly defined issues, and couples must intentionally speak about them, using wisdom and spiritually peaceful intent.

Negotiating In The Art Of Considerate Compromise

You many view this aspect of coping with relationship problems as a derivative of developed interpersonal and communication skills. Recalling that, even though you may be married living together in committed fashion, you are still two individuals whose personal characteristics and histories were formed long before ever coming together. Much of this previous experience will shape your beliefs regarding how to cope with or handle the bumps in your romantic experience, as well.

Yet, couples need to talk about things -- actually, they have no choice but to share both the negative and the positive feelings that occur during a shared existence. This is the nature of living together as one entity. Even sex is included here. For instance, many times a gracious lady might be shy or maintain a fear of being chastised for talking openly about her sexual drive, dreams, or desires.

She may even go so far as to keep this hidden even from her own husband. Some of this type of behavior occurs as the result of small spats of guilt or squeamishness being embellished early on in authoritative upbringing. Here, contradictions arise as the other "righteous" mate also believes that speaking openly about sexual matters is a much more ethical plus practical way to handle differences and to increase intimate satisfaction within the relationship.

As you can see, a number of conundrums are possible within the realm of coping with relationship issues and problems. Yet, the simplest rule of thumb for dealing with married or otherwise committed romantic cohabitation is to become more skilled at accepting the innate differences that you and your mate naturally possess. There are sound ways to work along with your distinctly unique character attributes in order to push your relationship to much higher ground.

This brings up the concluding responsibility:

Maintaining A Spirit Of Resolve

This remedy includes making it a strong part of your romantic commitment mission to intentionally move through relationship trials and tribulations with an eye toward mutual resolution. You can do that by focusing on present problems and creatively solving them... forgiving and forgetting past injustices once assuring that they no longer exists... and finally, remembering to nearly always present some award or praise for ongoing and even past romantic achievements that the two of you have undergone.

Does this information help? You may also wish to take a look at the list of world class hardback and paper back books that help you relieve relationship stress plus solve complex romantic problems with growing sweetness and skill. Plus, Check Out The Hand-Held Book Reading System That Can Help You "Kindle" Your Romantic Fires Again!

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Smudge Sticks Great To Use To Clear Negative Energy

Cleansing yourself and your environment of negative energies.

We all lead very busy lives, always on the go whether it be to work, to school, socializing, having visitors over to your house, shopping and even talking on the phone just to name a few. In all that we do in our daily lives we are constantly in contact with other people, different environments and spaces.

Wherever people have been they will leave negative energy behind as well as positive energy but it is the negative energies that affect us greatly. A person may be having a bad day and not feeling very positive, they may be angry, they may have had an argument, feel unwell and so forth. Over time these negative energies will accumulate within your home, work place and also within your own self, causing you to feel quite unbalanced and stagnant.

Everyone is affected by these negative energies although some of us are more sensitive to them than others, especially children. You can feel quite drained, tired and lacking energy or alternatively hyperactive, restless and irritable, something that we quite often see in children, not able to settle or have difficulty in sleeping, not feeling quite like your usual self, feeling uneasy but not able to identify what's going on, lacking motivation, emotionally all over the place and generally on edge. Everyone experiences these negative energies differently, whether it be mild, moderate or severe.

So it is very important to cleanse yourself and your environment, both at home and work so as not to be affected by these energies and to maintain peace and balance.

A simple and effective way to cleanse yourself is:

White Sage Smudging.

It is well known to increase the vibration of any space, person or item therefore cleansing, purifying and clearing negativity in all forms. Smudge sticks can be used to cleanse, purify, and protect a person's aura, the home or business. Smudging feathers which are used to gently sweep and direct the smoke in a more traditional way, (as the North American Indians do) although using your hand in the same manner is also perfect.

- Using a white sage smudge stick, lighting it over a fire proof vessel so it burns and starts to flame, then blow out the flame and the smudge stick will then smoke.

- Sweep the sage smoke using your hand or smudging feather over your head and down through the front of your body and doing the same with the back of your body. You are basically passing the smoke through your aura ( the energetic field that surrounds your entire body).

- You can also do this with your other family members including your children.

This can be done daily, two or three times a week or on a weekly basis depending on what you and your family have been doing.

Be guided by your intuition and how you and your family are feeling and behaving.

A simple and effective way to cleanse your environment:

- Close all windows and doors and begin with sage smudging, lighting the sage in the same way as personal cleansing.

- Walk around your house, work place or business sweeping the smoke in every room. Take special care to smudge in the corners of the room as negative energy can gravitate to the corners, cupboards and cabinets very easily and create a very stagnant energy in the room. Be guided to go where you think negative and stagnant energy resides other than just the room itself.

- Once the house or space has been completely smudged you then burn Frankincense granule incense.

- Place a charcoal tablet in a bowl or incense holder filled with rock salt or sand used specifically for this purpose, using a pair of tongs hold the charcoal disc and light from underneath the charcoal disc whilst holding it over the bowl. Once the charcoal is lit (you'll know when it starts to spark) place it back into the bowl.

- Place a few granules of frankincense on the charcoal. Once it is smoking place in the room and allow the smoke to fill each room. You may like to have a few bowls of frankincense going at the one time especially if you are cleansing your home as every room needs to be done.

- Leave it burning in each room for about 5 - 10 minutes. When each room is completed open all doors and windows to allow the negative energy to be released.

It is important to perform the sage smudging as well as the frankincense for a proper cleansing. The sage will dislodge and lift the negative energies but it is the frankincense that ensures that these energies be released and leave the home or area that is being cleansed.

This can be done on a fortnightly or monthly basis depending on what is going on in your life.

It is also beneficial to cleanse in this way if you are moving into a new house, "cleaning out" the problems and energies left behind by the people who occupied the space before you.

There are many ways to cleanse but the above is a simple but effective way to clear and cleanse.

Debbie Fitzgerald.

Visit us at Unique Spirit for all your cleansing supplies.

We have Uniquely me cleansing spray, sage smudging sticks and smudging feathers, frankincense granules, charcoal blocks and more.

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Biting Foreplay?

This article is for those who have been suffering from premature ejaculation and are worried about being unable to satisfy women for that reason. The good news is that you can learn how to last longer in bed if you commit yourself to training for this skill.

What I want to introduce you to in this article is some basic things you can do during foreplay. It will be useful if you haven't taken much time for foreplay in the past and want to know what the basic moves are. If you already know these basics, then you can skip this article.

The reason why it's good to learn these basic moves is because if you learn them and get better at them, you will be able to satisfy women during foreplay. Compared to intense orgasms they can have through intercourse, orgasms during foreplay may be weaker, but they will be pleased anyway. Even these pleasures during foreplay can make you stand out as a man, because not many men can give women pleasure or even don't know how to give them pleasure. If you know that you can give women pleasure, you'll be able to feel less bad about ejaculating soon after you enter into her.

The basic moves in foreplay include the following:
Kissing - Her lips, neck, ears, breasts, and vagina are good places to kiss.
Touching - Move slowly from her upper body to her lower body. Imagine your hand is a paint brush and her body is a canvas. Touch her softly like a paint brush.
Hair pulling - This is best done when you're kissing her or she's giving you oral sex. Grab her hair from the hairline and pull it softly.
Biting - Bite her nipples gently. Biting the back of her neck is a good place to bite too. Make it soft.
Oral sex - You can lick her clitoris and vagina vertically, horizontally, or circularly. Also, you can do these moves while sucking her clitoris like vacuuming. You can put your finger in her vagina and see how her body reacts - if her vagina gets tighter, you are on the right path.
Fingering - Cut your nails short and be delicate. Be observant of how her body reacts. Stimulate her G-spot.

The best way to learn these skills is to have sex with your partner a lot and to be observant of her reactions. Be soft and slow in the beginning. By going slowly, you can tease her as well. Teasing her physically can be a great turn on for her.

I hope you'll get better at these skills and be able to worry less about premature ejaculation. If you want to be able to last long in bed, check this website How To Last Longer Sexually.

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