Most of us have heard of John Gray and his book called Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. A few days ago I had the chance to hear Dr. Gray speak in person. It’s no wonder he’s been on every major talk show – he had all of us entertained and laughing with anecdotes while still giving us useful information.

One of the things he talked about that’s covered in his new book, Venus on Fire, Mars on Ice, is recent health research about the connection between hormones and relationships for both men and women. During his talk, he mentioned that a common way for men to rebalance their hormone level after a busy day is to relax on the couch and watch TV (yes, there is a reason they do this!).

He also mentioned that women have a very different way of rebalancing their hormone level to reduce stress. I was leafing through my freshly autographed copy of John Gray’s book and ran across a list of 100 ways for women to reduce stress and rebalance our hormone level and — you guessed it — a girls getaway is one of the items on his list. Here’s a few more of my favorites:

1. vacationing with girl friends at a spa
2. taking a cooking class
3. attend live theater or concerts
4. Getting a sun tan
5. Venus night out (taking time with a support group of women only)
6. enjoying wine tasting with friends
7. spending time at the beach, a river or a lake
8. getting regular massages
9. taking time to smell the roses and other fragrant flowers in the garden

We knew intuitively that girlfriend getaways and “girl time” made us feel better and reduced stress, and by reading this book we now understand why.

Via: John Gray

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day – one of the great holidays featuring two of my favorite things in this world – flowers and chocolate! 

As tradition goes for this romantic holiday, many of you lucky ones will be receiving flowers from an admirer.  To help you understand the symbolism and meaning of the flowers you receive, here’s a guide to the language of flowers.