I visited a friend in London this past weekend. While I was there, I ate lots and lots of yummy chocolate and cheese and baked goods. I basked in the idea that national health care was a given. Even more, the UK National Health Service doesn't rob women of their reproductive rights by allowing religion to dictate what health services are covered; except for in Northern Ireland, termination (abortion) services are covered. After a horrible week in the US, where Democrats sold out women and allowed religious lobbies to impose their beliefs on my health, I thought about defecting. London is perfect! Well, except that even in the UK, women are told that you need set aside your own preferences and needs if you want to get and keep a man.

What do you do when one spouse wants another child and the other does not? Add advanced maternal age and one fallopian tube to the equation and you have a recipe for disaster. I am an only child and in my ideal world would be the mother of two children. However, my desire may not be fulfilled. My husband is not too keen about having another child, I've heard every excuse from the economy to sleep deprivation and am honestly at my wits end.

Rather than an overall theme this month, I find that my short list of posts from the Sex and Relationships BlogHer Blogs comes in pairs. And so I bring you: Two darling dogs, Two Facebook friends, and Man Hair... times two. Did she rescue him, or did he rescue her? BlogHer kdsalyer writes about her dog Bear in her post, Rescued:

There's a lot going on in my life these days. My apartment is a mess due to renovations that I am convinced will never end; I need a job; I didn't use my time as an unemployed person to write a best-selling book; I don't understand why Americans hate it when people want basic rights and let themselves be co-opted by special interest groups; I feel like I can't read a newspaper without wanting to poke my eyes out (or run away and live as a hermit in a cave); etc., etc. Usually, when I am frustrated, I become completely preoccupied with whatever is stressing me out, and it permeates all areas of my life. However, I've been surprised to find that my libido declared, "carpe diem," and moved ahead despite my typical one track mindedness.

Months ago, I noticed that comedian Steve Harvey had a relationship advice book on the New York Times Best Seller List. I sighed loudly. My husband asked me what was wrong. "It seems that once again I screwed up and didn't follow the rules - I forgot to act like a lady. You'll probably leave me any day now." My husband rolled his eyes and went back to reading the Wall Street Journal. I put the book out of my mind.

So, do you do it?  Pet the mouse, comfort the kitten, make with your muffin, play with the little man in the boat, dive for the pearl, pleasure yourself.And if you’re in a relationship with someone else, possibly a fella, do you do it when he’s around, or just by your lone self?  Is this a hey, this is hot come and watch, kind of thing, or is it a “Damn, I’m tired and need to put myself to sleep,” kind of thing?

Sometimes, I'm amazed at my capacity to still be shocked by the things I see. For instance, while seeking mindless entertainment on TV late one night, I settled on Paris Hilton's BFF. In this "reality" show, young women and one guy compete to become Paris's new best friend. (Because of course the best way to find a loyal friend is to pit women against each other, but whatever.) Mindless entertainment I sought, evil women bashing I got.

I don't have an orgasm every time I have sex. This simple fact has been part of who I am for as long as I can remember - or at least since I was 16. I don't approach sex as simply a vehicle to ride to orgasm. For me, it's so much more and it's enjoyable whether I climax or not. This works wonderfully within a long-term monogamous relationship where sex occurs frequently. Casual sex is an entirely different beast, though, isn't it?

With BlogHer '09 fast-approaching, join us for an introduction to some of the women who will be speaking at this summer's hottest blogging conference. This week's highlights: Twanna Hines and Ree Drummond. 

Going through the last month of post in the BlogHer Sex & Relationships blogs, I found ten that I really liked. I simply can't choose, and I don't have a theme, so I'm going to try to pair them together. Let's start sexy! I'll call the first pair of posts "OUT & IN." Raerity lets it flow By the Law of Attraction:

My husband is seven months younger than I am. We were fairly young (for New Yorkers, anyway) when we got married, but the seven month age difference and when the wedding fell on the calendar meant that he was only 23 when we tied the knot, and I was half-way to being 25. "I robbed the cradle!" I liked to exclaim, although the funny thing is that he looks older than he is and I look younger than I am (or at least I used to, anyway). This was years before it was cool for women to partner with younger men. Yeah, I'm so ahead of the fads...

For someone like me, living in oh so open-minded Northern California, the tabloid press stories about celebrities’ sex lives are kinda puzzling. Every week, there’s a story outing some star’s sexual life:“Gavin Rossdale’s ex-girlfriend is a man!”“Lindsay Lohan is gay!”“Will Smith is secret love of Tom Cruise—and his wife Jada’s on the down-lo!”“Lady Gaga’s Poker Face is about how she really likes girls!”