Marriage Missing its Spark?

If the fires of passion in your marriage have been reduced nearly to embers, then you are not alone. One of the most common problems that can damage a marriage is the loss of spark?or spice, or whatever you like to call it. It's really not so easy to get yourself or your partner "in the mood" once you have become very familiar with each other. Of course, it's wonderful to be familiar with your spouse because familiarity is the basis of intimacy. But intimacy is not the same as passion, is it? Routine is the culprit. If the proper countermeasures are not deployed against routine's assault on your relationship, then it will drain all the passion right out of your marriage. Routine is a tenacious killer of passion?a suspect in the deaths of over 1 million steamy romances. I know routine comes in very handy for showers and oil changes, but it has no place in the bedroom.

Fight it! Fight boredom and routine! It's going to take a little effort to rekindle those flames, but armed with the right tactics you will succeed! Some of the ideas I will mention may seem rather basic, and most are simple and easy. Just try them. You have already begun to make more of an effort by reading this article; now don't just think about how nice it would be to do some of these things with your spouse?the only way for this to happen is for you to take action!

Have you ever noticed how a change of venue can be very exciting? That's right?just being together in a place that's not your bedroom can have an almost magical effect. Use this strange phenomenon to your advantage. Get yourselves a nice hotel room on a Saturday night. First have dinner, and then go for a swim in the hotel pool. Be playful and flirty with your spouse. Don't put any pressure on them; just be affectionate and playful throughout the evening together and let things happen naturally. A hand on their thigh, a whisper in their ear or a kiss on the neck are all great for reminding your partner what's waiting for them. Now, go up to your room and let the strange surroundings take effect.

Try reading your spouse an erotic bedtime story. Let it be spontaneous. Don't let them know it's a sexy story before you begin, maybe even disguise the book with a different cover. This can be an easy way to get your spouse to try something new. If they hear it in the story, then it might be their idea to try it. Most people of either sex find erotic stories to be very arousing.

Bring a video camera into the bedroom. Be careful, but have fun. Actually it's the element of danger and the sense of voyeurism that makes this exciting.

Buy a sexy little costume to surprise your spouse with. Ladies, men always have and always will love the sexy French maid outfit. Men, never let your wives see you in a dingy pair of tighty-whities.

Write notes to your spouse. Hide a romantic message in a briefcase or handbag. In fact, it's little romantic gestures that help lay the groundwork for romance building. Let your partner know that they excite you. They will be excited knowing that you're excited. Send flowers for no special occasion, just to delight the love of your life.

The key is just making a small effort. Changing things up for excitement, and making little romantic gestures. When your spouse sees you making an effort to bring back the passion, they will make one right along with you.

Slade Hartwell, Webmaster at http://www.ezromantic.com

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U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, left, waves to media as she arrives at Palam technical airport in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2008. Rice arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday in Washington's effort to ease tensions in the region after a three-day terrorist attack that left 171 people dead in Mumbai. U.S. Ambassador to India David Mulford, center, and his wife Jeannie Mulford are also seen in the picture. (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan)AP - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday as part of a U.S. effort to ease tensions in the region after a three-day terrorist attack killed 171 people in India's financial capital.



Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga.,  gestures as he speaks during  an election-night party Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2008 in Atlanta. Chambliss defeated Democrat Jim Martin in a run off. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)AP - Georgia Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss handed the GOP a firewall against Democrats eager to flex their newfound political muscle in Washington, winning a bruising runoff battle Tuesday night that had captured the national limelight.



Defense Secretary Robert Gates holds a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2008. Gates said that U.S. and British citizens were the targets of the violent siege in Mumbai, although most of those killed in the city, the nation's financial capital, were Indians. He also said Tuesday that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, had gone to the region to meet with officials.  (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)AP - Defense Secretary Robert Gates signaled a willingness Tuesday to forge ahead with two key priorities for the incoming Obama administration: accelerating the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and shutting down the Guantanamo Bay detention center.



Trader David O'Day works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2008. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)AP - The government must toughen its monitoring of the $700 billion financial bailout to ensure that banking institutions limit their top executives' pay and comply with other restrictions, federal auditors said Tuesday in the first comprehensive review of the rescue package.



In this handout photo provided by the Tracy Police Department, the booking mug for Michael Schumacher, 34, is shown. Schumacher, and wife Kelly Layne Lau, 30, were arrested late Monday, charged with torture and other counts after a bruised, terrified 17-year-old showed up at a gym with a chain locked to his ankle, claiming he had just fled his captors, authorities said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Tracy Police Department)AP - A Girl Scout leader and her husband were arrested after an emaciated, terrified and nearly naked 17-year-old showed up at a gym with a chain locked to his ankle, saying he had just fled his captors, authorities said Tuesday.



Chart compares the percentage of military service members getting divorced this year and last; 1 c x 2 7/8 in; 46.5 mm x 73.025 mmAP - The divorce rate among soldiers and Marines increased last year as military marriages suffered continuing stress from America's two ongoing wars. There were an estimated 10,200 failed marriages in the active duty Army and 3,077 among Marines, according to figures obtained by The Associated Press for the budget year ended Sept. 30.



U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, archivist Ira Pemstein listens online to the newly released tape recordings from the Nixon White House, on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2008 at the Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda, Calif. Documents shed new light on just how much the government struggled with growing public unrest over the protracted war in Vietnam. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)AP - In Richard Nixon's time, all the president's men fretted about threats on every front: disquiet out on the streets, disloyalty inside the administration and trouble from political opponents who had to be discredited at any cost.



AP - An independent report on American higher education flunks all but one state when it comes to affordability — an embarrassing verdict that is unlikely to improve as the economy contracts.

Folk performer Odetta sings at the New Orleans Jazz Festival in this 1978 file photo. Odetta, the folk singer with the powerful voice who moved audiences and influenced fellow musicians for a half-century, died Tuesday Dec. 2, 2008. She was 77. (AP Photo, FILE)AP - Odetta, the folk singer with the powerful voice who moved audiences and influenced fellow musicians for a half-century, has died. She was 77.



Indiana Pacers forward Danny Granger, left, puts up a shot in front of Los Angeles Lakers forward Vladimir Radmanovic (10), of Serbia, during the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2008. The Pacers won 118-117. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)AP - Danny Granger scored 32 points and led Indiana back from a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit, and Troy Murphy tipped in a missed shot at the buzzer to complete an improbable 118-117 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.



U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, left, waves to media as she arrives at Palam technical airport in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2008. Rice arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday in Washington's effort to ease tensions in the region after a three-day terrorist attack that left 171 people dead in Mumbai. U.S. Ambassador to India David Mulford, center, and his wife Jeannie Mulford are also seen in the picture. (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan)Reuters - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday as part of urgent U.S. efforts to ease tension between India and Pakistan that has surged over the Mumbai attacks.



A foreign currency dealer stands in front of a screen displaying the exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and the Korean won at the Korea Exchange Bank in Seoul November 24, 2008. (Jo Yong-Hak/Reuters)Reuters - South Korea moved on Wednesday to help local banks through a cash crunch gripping the global financial system as central banks around the world were expected to cut interest rates again to support their fast flagging economies.



New trucks are displayed for sale at a Ford dealership in Encinitas, California in this November 11, 2008 file photo. (Mike Blake/Reuters)Reuters - A top lawmaker predicted Washington would approve a bailout for U.S. automakers after they submitted survival plans, and General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC said they needed an immediate infusion of cash to avoid failures.



President-elect Barack Obama meets with governors during a bipartisan meeting with members of the National Governors Association at Congress Hall in Independence Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania December 2, 2008. (Jeff Haynes/Reuters)Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama moved swiftly toward wrapping up his cabinet appointments on Wednesday with the selection of rival-turned-supporter Bill Richardson as secretary of commerce.



Incumbent Senator Saxby Chambliss (C) smiles after hugging his grandson John Baker and his mother Emma Chambliss after he had been told he was ahead in the run-off at his election night party in Atlanta, Georgia December 2, 2008. Chambliss won a run-off election in Georgia on Tuesday, CNN said, denying Democrats the chance for a 60-seat 'super majority' in the Senate that would have enabled them to pass legislation virtually at will. (Tami Chappell/Reuters)Reuters - Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss easily won a run-off election in Georgia on Tuesday, denying Democrats the chance for a 60-seat "super majority" in the Senate that would have enabled them to pass legislation virtually at will.



Defense Secretary Robert Gates points during a news conference at the Pentagon in Washington December 2, 2008. (Larry Downing/Reuters)Reuters - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who will stay on under Barack Obama, said on Tuesday he supported the president-elect's Iraq policy but declined to back his proposed timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. forces.



A station attendant fills up a bus at a gas station in Shanghai November 25, 2008. (Aly Song/Reuters)Reuters - Oil rose toward $48 a barrel on Wednesday, recovering from a tumble of more than $100 off July peaks, but the upside could be limited, with further signs of weakening oil demand expected in upcoming weekly U.S. oil data.



Senator Hillary Clinton along with daughter Chelsea (L) and husband former President Bill Clinton (C) speaks to supporters at her North Carolina and Indiana primary election night rally in Indianapolis, Indiana, May 6, 2008. (John Gress/Reuters)Reuters - New York Gov. David Paterson has famous names to choose from in picking a replacement for Sen. Hillary Clinton, including a Kennedy, a Cuomo and even another Clinton, as in the former president of the United States.



An anti-government protester waits for transport as demonstrators prepare to leave the Suvarnabhumi international airport in Bangkok on December 3. Hundreds of anti-government protesters have packed up and left Bangkok's airports after a crippling siege, as authorities assured angry tourists that flights would resume within 24 hours.(AFP/Hoang Dinh Nam)AFP - Hundreds of anti-government protesters packed up and left Bangkok's airports on Wednesday after a crippling siege, as authorities assured angry tourists that flights would resume within 24 hours.



Indians rest on the sea front promenade outside the Oberoi Trident hotel in Mumbai. Pakistan offered Tuesday to work hand-in-hand with India to track down those responsible for the Mumbai attacks but declined to respond immediately to a demand that it hand over 20 terrorist suspects.(AFP/Indranil Mukherjee)AFP - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in New Delhi Wednesday to try and ease India-Pakistan tensions over the Mumbai attacks, as US intelligence blamed a Pakistan-based militant group.




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