Always Kiss Each Other Good Night by Sandra Magsamen

Don't let the magic fade after years of marriage. Sandra Magsamen, author of "Living Artfully" and an expert on making meaningful moments, offers advice on how to make love last ─ including ending each day with a smooch, for real.

If you ask 100 people to share a bit of advice regarding how to make a happy marriage, I'll bet you'll get 100 different thoughts on the subject. I'm pretty sure that everything from housekeeping to home wrecking would be covered in the responses you'll hear.

In my experience, the advice people share comes mostly from their own lives, and more often than not it's advice they might want to consider taking themselves. The advice I have to impart certainly falls in that category. I've been married 26 years and, without oversharing, can honestly say it's been a pretty darn fine ride. Don't get me wrong — there have been difficult days, lessons learned and obstacles faced, but I've always known that's pretty much how life goes.

The way I see it, life is a journey. Sometimes it's stormy and you get caught in a downpour, sometimes you dance in the sunlight and occasionally you get to see a big, bright, beautiful rainbow. What makes the journey so interesting is who travels with you and how you decide to travel. I'm pretty sure the bumper sticker that reads, "The joy of the journey is not in reaching the destination but in the ride," is one of those simple truths and is most assuredly an ancient wisdom.

If along the journey you meet someone you want to marry, my advice in a nutshell is, "Never forget to kiss each other good night." I know it seems like surprisingly basic and pleasant advice, but it is also time-tested and downright good for you.

Let's face it: We are running so fast through life. Our days are packed with work, chores, obligations, dirty dishes, laundry, phone calls, text messages, the Internet, e-mails, high gas prices, low stock prices and more to do than we want to. Although we have every intention of putting our partners first, sometimes we get swept up in the tsunami of life and they get washed out with our good intentions.

Without knowing it, we suddenly find ourselves floating in a sea of things to do and, although not intended, our relationships are taken for granted. We don't plan it — we really don't even see it or feel it — but before we know it, we have floated away from each other.

When you never forget to kiss each other good night, you create a life raft, and you can't float away so quickly because you acknowledge each other, pause, connect and express your love. The golden rule seems to work here. If you treat your partner the way you want to be treated, you'll have a really great shot at creating the kind of marriage that you want. If you stretch throughout the day my advice of never forgetting to kiss each other good night and create small ways to put love in your life, you'll build intimacy and closeness and your kindness and care will honor your partner and grow your relationship.
There are as many ways to connect and express your love as there are stars in the sky. I am not talking about the big stuff like the gift of jewelry or throwing surprise parties. I am suggesting you infuse and nourish your relationship with small, thoughtful, meaningful acts of love. Let your imagination run wild. Be creative, playful, romantic, silly and, above all, be yourself.

1. Tape a little love note on the bottom of your loved one's glass of milk or juice. Watch as he or she finds the treasure at the bottom of the glass.

2. Start the day off by bringing your partner coffee in bed or with a little love by making heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast.

3. Say thank you for the little things you share.

4. Be gentle and conscious about creating a relationship and a home that is a safe, loving oasis.

5. Instead of dinner at the dining room table, surprise your partner with a picnic on the living room floor or in the backyard if it's a beautiful evening.

6. Wrap a candy bar in a note that says, "You're my sweetheart," or "You're the sweetest thing in my life" or "Have a sweet day."

7. Leave a little note on the steering wheel that reads, "I love you with all of my heart."

8. Have a CD of you partner's favorite music or a book on tape they have wanted to hear waiting on the dash of his or her car, with a note, telling him/her to listen.

9. Surprise him or her at the office with a special lunch brought in for two.

10. Send a text message that reads, "Thinking of you" or "You're hot" or something sassy and sexy.

11. Cut a bunch of flowers from the garden or just one and place in a vase on the night stand.

12. Leave a little note under the pillow that simply says, "I love you."

13. Create a simple, elegant, handmade card by cutting a heart out of a paper you like (a piece of wrapping paper, newspaper, tissue or floral wallpaper) and gluing it to a blank card. Fill the inside of the card with quotes on love.

Try these ideas and create a million more of your own. Each of these gestures is a small acknowledgment of the love you feel in your heart, and they will resonate with the one you love. I promise you these little acts will multiply in a big way. Simple, heartfelt acts beautifully break through the chaos of your days, infusing them with a gentle order. Time slows, and the person you touch will feel inclined to pass along this newfound sense of happiness and love.

How to Get Thicker Hair by Erin Quinn.

The saying "thin is in" may be true for laptops, cell phones, and, up to a point, models, but it's never been true for hair. Most women would happily have plump hair, but nature doesn't always work in our favor. Even those born with thick hair may be vexed by thinness at some point in their lives. Some hair thinning is temporary, such as the kind that occurs during pregnancy. When a woman reaches her 40s, hormones cause the diameter of each hair strand to shrink, while the number of active hair follicles starts to decrease. If your scalp is visible in patches or your part is noticeably wider, see a dermatologist to determine whether there's a medical cause. For less severe cases, products and styling techniques can make hair look thicker -- or fatter.

Wash
Wash hair with a volumizing shampoo that contains protein.
Follow with a lightweight conditioner labeled for fine or thin hair, and apply it just from the ears down. Once out of the shower, gently blot your hair with a towel.

Prep
Apply a volumizer that has panthenol or resins throughout damp hair.
Spritz on a heat-protecting spray, avoiding the roots, then gently untangle the hair with a wide-tooth comb, starting at the ends and working your way up.

Blow-dry
Remove your dryer's nozzle, then set the heat to medium.
Flip your head upside down and blow-dry while running a vent brush through hair. When hair is almost dry, flip your head up and finish drying with a medium-size round brush.

Add Volume
Working in small sections, lift your hair off your scalp with your fingers as you aim the dryer, set on cool, at your roots -- this roughs up the cuticle to build volume.
Do this all around your head, then lightly smooth hair with a brush.

Strengthen
Once a week, do a hot-oil treatment on damp hair -- it's lighter than a mask and won't weigh down hair.
Pick one with jojoba oil, which protects against breakage, and proteins, which fatten strands. Avoid applying to roots.

Products

Protein-containing volumizing shampoo and conditioner leave deposits to thicken each strand. We like Biolage Volumathérapie Shampoo and Conditioner and Garnier Fructis Body Boost Shampoo and Conditioner (Biolage, matrix.com; garnierusa.com).
To reduce breakage, use shampoo and conditioner with strengthening provitamin B5. Try Neutrogena Triple Renewal Volume-Boosting Shampoo and Conditioner or Pantene Pro-V Full & Thick Shampoo and Conditioner (neutrogena.com; pantene.com).
For fine hair that's color-treated, try Pureology PureVolume Shampoo and Conditioner (at left) or Nexxus Dualiste Color Protection + Anti-Breakage Shampoo and Conditioner (pureology.com; nexxus.com).
For maximum benefits, apply a hot-oil treatment before shampooing. We like Queen Helene Jojoba Hot Oil Treatment (queenhelene.com).
Cheat Sheet

Shampoo hair with a volumizing formula; apply a conditioner for fine hair from your ears to the ends. Blot hair with a towel.
Work a volumizing spray or mousse throughout damp hair, then spritz a heat-protecting spray everywhere but the roots. Gently comb hair, starting at the ends and inching up.
Flip your head over; blow-dry hair without the nozzle on medium heat with a vent brush. When it's nearly dry, stand up and finish with a medium-size boar-bristle round brush.
Switch the dryer to cool, then lift hair with your fingers. Point the air at your roots for several seconds to build volume. Repeat all around your head, then brush the hair.
Once a week, apply a hot-oil treatment containing jojoba oil and proteins from just below the roots to the ends.
Tricks of the Trade

The right haircut makes a difference. Ask your stylist for minimal layers (heavy ones can look flat), or try deep bangs.
Condition very fine or sparse hair before shampooing -- you'll get just enough moisture without weighing hair down.
To boost volume, set dry hair in Velcro -- not hot -- rollers for ten minutes
Revive limp hair with dry shampoo. then massage your scalp with your
When wearing a ponytail or the hair no more than twice to
Certain supplements help strengthen Doctors advise 500 milligrams 1,000 micrograms of biotin per hair loss, see your doctor.
Toolbox

Some volumizers bulk up hair; some weigh it down and end up being counterproductive. For lightweight lift, try Fekkai Root Lifting Spray, L'Oréal Professionnel Texture Expert Mousse, or Suave Professionals Volumizing Mousse (fekkai.com; lorealprofessionnel.com; suave.com).
Heat-protecting sprays work by coating the cuticle with a lightweight silicone. Redken Hot Sets 22 Thermal Setting Mist and Tresemmé Thermal Creations Heat Tamer Spray won't weigh down fine hair (redken.com; tresemme.com).
Dry shampoo makes hair look thicker. We like Big Sexy Hair Volumizing Dry Shampoo (sexyhair.com).
A vent brush, such as the Goody Ouchless one, helps add fluffiness while you blow-dry (goody.com).
Scunci Smooth and Shine round brush, which is made with boar bristles, is gentle on fragile hair (scunci.com).
Battalia by Spornette Velcro rollers (below) add bounce but won't flatten the cuticle, as hot rollers can (folica.com).