Blog Posts by The_Stir

meditation circleHave you ever heard of a yogasm? It may sound like the punchline to a joke, but having an orgasm in yoga class is apparently rather real and slowly becoming all the rage. In studios across New York and California, women are coming into class to bend, breathe, and strengthen their bodies and coming out of class, well, very satisfied.

It's not the goal of yoga, but it seems to be happening more and more, and it's not just women who benefit. Men can, too. On a physical and biological level, it makes sense. When a yoga teacher tells you to squeeze your pelvic muscles, or pull up from your root chakra, or whatever woo-woo words they use, you are, essentially, working your pelvic floor muscles, also known as doing Kegel exercises.

More from The Stir: 25 Ways to Have An Orgasm

Knowing this can help you and your partner feel tingly and sexier than you ever felt before. And that's good for when you're not in yoga class too, because honestly, it might be weird to have an orgasm in

It seems science is always trying to diss the female orgasm. Everywhere you look, there is another article saying that the orgasm isn't biologically necessary. Well, it may not be, but it's no "bonus," either. It's pretty crucial.

CNN recently had a piece discussing the female orgasm. They posed the questions: "Does the female orgasm, like the male orgasm, have its own evolutionary raison d'etre and contribute directly to reproductive success? Or is it just an awesome bonus?"

More from The Stir: Breathing Can Help You Reach an Orgasm

Their conclusion is that the female orgasm -- while awesome -- serves no real function, but because the male orgasm is so vital to life, it (like nipples on men) is something that both males and females have evolved to have. They may be right. But I still call BS.

This kind of research -- even when it comes from a good place -- seems to let men off the hook. But here's a memo: Just because the male orgasm happens to make a baby

Every few years it seems there is some article that comes out proclaiming that marriage is obsolete, all men are awful, or they only want stupid women. Not surprisingly, these articles are often written by single women.

The latest installment is from Kate Bolick and ran in The Atlantic. The premise is multi-faceted but can be generally pared down to this: Being single is becoming the preferable choice for many women. And while I love the general idea -- not everyone needs to or should marry -- I never understand the need to impugn all those who make different choices.

Not all men are either deadbeats or playboys and not all traditional marriages aren't working.

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Bolick says the stigma of the single woman may soon fade and I hope that is true. Because then maybe we won't have to be subject to all the name calling on both sides. If Bolick is right and marriage is changing (open marriages are becoming

Paging Linus! The Great Pumpkin is in serious trouble this year, because as you may have heard, there's apparently a pumpkin shortage looming over the East Coast! What does this mean for Halloween décor? What if there aren't enough jack-o'-lanterns to go around? Will Jack Pumpkinhead have to spend this season as the Headless Horseman?

The short answer is: No! All sorts of other items can be pressed into service. I went to my local Safeway and bought up everything that looked carve-worthy, and so can you! Of course, you already thought of acorn squash and dried apple dolls, right? So I took it a step further.

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Now, I live in California, where we have pumpkins aplenty and a wider assortment of local winter fruit ... so this is a little unfair. But maybe I can inspire you. Or make you jealous. Or make you laugh! Either way, feast your eyes on the spoooookiest fruits you can carve faces into this Halloween.

An interesting statistic about the women and men of Generation X -- babies born between 1965 and 1978 -- shows that a huge chunk of these 33- to 46-year-olds are not having babies of their own. A startling 43 percent of Gen X ladies are not having children, and 32 percent of Gen X men. Granted, we're not the Baby Boomers, but that's still a lot of adults deciding to forgo parenthood.

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As a card-carrying member of Generation X, it has not escaped my notice that many, many of my friends remain child-free. When I try to think back to my own mother's friends, I can't recall any of them not having their own children. Yet I would say probably 43 percent of my female friends don't have kids.

What the heck is going on?

One article expressed the opinion that Gen Xers are overworked, underpaid, and just don't have the expendable income that is required to raise children. As an overworked, underpaid mom myself,

Now that I'm past the whole gestatin' kids thing, my friends are all amping up to have their first babies. Having started younger than everyone I know, this isn't terribly surprising, but it does make for an interesting case study. My friends, of course, don't have any idea that I'm watching them gestate, taking notes and remembering those days not-so-fondly. I imagine if they did, they'd probably unfriend me.

(Probably a wise move on their end.)

Anyway.

More from The Stir: Are Boy Babies More Disgusting Than Girl Babies?

Here's my list of things I wished someone had gently bothered mentioning before I'd gotten knocked up.

1. People brag about getting knocked up on the first try. This is especially problematic when you're one of the lucky few (raises both hands) that doesn't.

2. Water can give you wicked heartburn.

3. Your growing belly will become public property. While it starts off as kinda cute, if you're one of those PERSONAL SPACE people, like me,

You've read about the $39,000 backpack. And the $51,000 manicure.

Well now, allow me to introduce you to the $19,000 shoelaces.

What makes these shoelaces worth $19,000, you ask?

For one thing, these shoelaces are 24-karat gold.

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For another, according to the Today show website, each set was made using "ancient, artisan jewelry techniques ... handmade by Colombian workers and takes 120 hours to produce."

Best of all, you don't have to worry about your next-door neighbor getting a pair just like yours -- production is limited to ten pairs, and one has already been sold, according to Today, to "someone in the rap industry."

I'm putting my money on Jay-Z.

More from The Stir: A $2.5 Million Bra Demands Some Pretty Extraordinary Breasts

If you decide to buy a pair of these luxurious laces, they will be delivered by security and laced for you anywhere in the world.

Now that's

Sooooo.

The other day here in Nashville, it was about 81 degrees. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. I came across an expensively-dressed women in a to-die-for draped top, designer skinny jeans, and ...

Rain boots.

Hunter rain boots, but still. Rain boots.

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It looked really weird to me, like wearing a bikini in Antarctica. Or wearing ski bibs in Tahiti. And she's not the only one I've seen lately wearing rain boots on sunny days. It's a "thing." So I'll put the question to you:

Are rain boots appropriate when there's no chance in hell of any rain?

I mean, my college-aged stepdaughter has been wearing her rain boots whenever she felt like it for years, but she's, you know, quirky. And 20 years old. It seemed really weird to see a woman in her 30s doing the same thing.

On the other hand, I love all the cute rain boots out there lately. I bought a pair of Hunter boots two years ago and