Blog Posts by Redbook

What you gonna do, what you gonna do when they come for you? Retired veteran policeman Richard Wallace II, author of An Educated Guide to Speeding Tickets, explains how to drive away ticket-free.

• When the officer asks if you know why you were pulled over, feign ignorance. Admitting your blunder only gives him confirmation that he should write you a ticket.

• Avoid the classic traffic excuses. Stay away from old standbys like "I'm late for work," "I was following the flow of traffic," or "I have to go to the bathroom." He's heard them - and ignored them - a thousand times before.

• Create a human connection with the officer. "You only have a small window of time to turn on the schmooze - and that's from the moment the officer approaches your car to the time he returns to his vehicle with your license and registration," says Wallace. Use that interval wisely: "Look the officer in the eye and give an explanation that evokes empathy." Try "My child is at day care, and I have

Everyone's got one . . . a celebrity couple crush, I mean! Whether you pine over the presidential pair of Mr. and Mrs. Obama or get fluttery over the flaming hot Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, following the ups and downs of your celeb couple crush is always fun. Personally, my favorite celebrity couple is by far Jennifer Westfeldt and Jon Hamm-even though they're anything but tabloid fodder. Super talented, super cute together, and they've been together for 10 years. . But, whether the stars you love have less-than-ideal romance records, they're still great sources to learn from.

Protect Your Relationship from the Outside World
Thanks to reality TV, there are countless examples of couples that have opted to share a little TMI (too much information) with the public, from basic bodily functions (hello, Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson) to the pouty he-said-she-said of every little fight.

Read more about how to stop TMI getting in the way of true love


Don't Get Blinded by Romance
In

Because one of my jobs is to blog about sex and relationships, I'm hardly a good control subject to answer this question. Because I think about sex a lot. Most of the time it's in the abstract-what will make a good blog article? Is that really something people can do? What?-but occasionally, my daydreams go into the hot-and-heavy territory (I used to have the dirtiest daydreams in college in my Moral Philosophy class-what does that mean?)

Click here to read about how often real women think about sex!


But, thinking about it and doing it are two different stories. And, while I'm not about to share my getting busy routine with the world, REDBOOK found plenty of women-2,500-who were! Here, the behind-the-bedroom-door truth:


How Often Do You Have Sex?
35% Once or twice a week.
5% Once a day - at least!
25% Three to six times a week.
19% Two or three times a month.
10% Once a month or less.
6% I don't have a sex partner right now.

How often would you like to have sex?
43% Three to

I don't know-call me frisky, but I feel like there's something so liberating about the weather (finally!) being warm. From dining al fresco (even if it is just leaning up against your local ice cream shop) to being able to stargaze after the sun goes down, the great outdoors makes everything a little bigger, a little brighter, maybe even a little more romantic.

12 Things Men Find Really Romantic

Here, to get started, is a list of sexy-summer activities. What do you think? What have you done?


1. Spread out a blanket and stargaze.

2. Make out in the back row of a movie theater.

3. Share a milk shake.

4. Get cozy in a rowboat at the local lake.

5. Steal away for a park-bench lunch together on a workday.

6. Enjoy carnival games on the boardwalk (then have some fun under the boardwalk).

7. When you get home from your day, kiss like you've been apart for a month.

8. Wear matching flip-flops.

9. Dedicate an entire day to being naked together.

Any more to add to the list?

RELATED

The other day, I noticed my bank account balance seemed a little higher than usual, not down to the precipitously low number it can sometimes dip down to right before a pay check comes in. Why was this? Did I get some windfall check I didn't remember depositing? Did I have some ATM fairy-godmother helping me out?

No. I haven't been dating.

Even if I'm only paying for a beer or a glass of wine, dating is expensive. It's cab rides and a round of drinks and buying a new just-in-case dress. It's a bagel the next morning if I've had more than two glasses of wine (whenever I drink, I need heavy carbs the next AM to even seem halfway normal) and it's grandly offering to pay.

While I've cut back in some ways-I definitely no longer get a new wardrobe for a date-the $15 manicure or the $10 taxi adds up. I've also found-and I'm wondering if this is true for you-that men are much less willing or eager to pay on a date. This is something I'm actually fine with. I know a lot of people disagree,

When I was twenty, my best friend at the time got married. Her husband was seven years older and was in the army and had just gotten back from a tour and I COULD NOT understand why she was marrying him-she was so young!

I also felt jealous and betrayed. I was single and confused and not sure what I was doing with my life, and she was getting married and seemed so happy. I wasn't very nice to her at all, she didn't put me in the wedding party (rightfully so!) and even though I went to her wedding, I wasn't as nice as I could have been.

We lost touch after that and she moved, but our parents remained friends. She had a baby this year, and I sent her a present, she sent a thank you, and we began slowly reconnecting via e-mail.

She and I really did grow up together. We would walk to school together, would carpool, and would spend hours talking. I went on her family vacations, we worked at the same summer job-a lot of time spent together, which is why I'd like to keep that channel of

You know how in movies and TV shows, it's the girl who has the one-liner zinger, combined with a condescending glare, who ends up having a guy fall at her feet? Think Sandra Bullock's character in The Proposal. Think about the way Meredith acted toward McDreamy in the first episode of Grey's Anatomy. Think any movie that takes place in a high school. The girl every guy wants is usually the one who makes the guy cringe the most, who publicly embarrasses them, who wants it to be as obvious as possible that she does not like the guy.

Then, it turns out she actually does like the guy, but just doesn't know what to do with her feelings, so it comes out in a funny one-liner.

Anyway, I'm wondering-do you have any REAL-LIFE examples of when a bitchy comment, gesture, or or glare actually works as a flirting technique?

I don't.

The other night, I grabbed a glass of wine with my friend Annabelle. She's smart and pretty and funny and self-assured, and has the annoying tendency of unleashing

A friend of mine recently received a semi-panicked phone call from her ex. Apparently, he'd made a pork tenderloin, and, not wanting to throw the juice or the remaining, inedible pieces of meat into the trash, threw the remnants down the toilet, flushed, and-SURPRISE-clogged it.

He tried using water to unclog the pipes. He tried using a plunger. He even tried using a coat hanger to fish the pieces of meat out (and keep in mind that this is a man who lives in an apartment that has a sink, we're not talking about someone living in a remote cabin in the woods!) and then finally, he called his ex. Who told him to call a plumber.

We love men, but-admit it-sometimes, in their quest to get things taken care of with as little fuss as possible, they can go overboard. I once dated a guy who, instead of using pillowcases, put t-shirts on his pillows. All of his pillows had little sleeves-that way, he didn't have to worry about cleaning his bed linens. Another friend of mine once dated a man who