I’ve been visiting family in the southern US for nearly a month now and the spring flowers are gorgeous, the days are warm and I see couples hand in hand wherever I go. I’m traveling alone this time as I left the hubby back home running the business, taking care of the pets and the house and doing everything I usually do.

As I look around at all the couples canoodling left and right I wonder am I homesick or am I reacting to the season and eager to do what the birds and the bees are up to? Worse yet, since I live in the southern hemisphere and it’s autumn going into winter, will I lose all these urges when I get home?

I’m open to all suggestions, I only have a week left.

A guy from our site was typing to me in chat yesterday and asked me if I wanted to “go private.” Now for any of you who’ve been in an Internet chatroom, that’s the message for “do you want to talk about sex and do some text sex pretending?” It’s not something I’ve ever found satisfying personally, but I know there are millions engaging in this activity every hour of the day on the net.

I asked the guy who messaged me if he got lucky often and he said that he considered it a game of numbers and every once in a while he’d get someone who said yes and a few times he was pretty sure they were men pretending to be women just so they could fantasize and get off online. I asked if he had tried making friends with the women before requesting a session of hot chat and he thought I was nuts.

“These are two strangers meeting in the night, why should we be friends?”

That’s a man statement if I ever heard one. Most women (certainly not all) need some sort of connection to a man in order to feel sexy. They either enjoy his company, admire his values, like his sense of humor, respect his intelligence or wit or just think he looks great in his jeans, but there’s something about a man that makes a woman choose him, even if it’s just for a quickie.

So, if you are looking for cyber sex online, take it from me, the men who spend a little time talking with a woman in a way that values her opinions and respects her as a human being, you’ll be fighting them off with a stick. I’ve seen it time and time again that the men who are friendly with women are always “going private.” They might be acting out of instinct but every man can learn what pushes a woman’s buttons.

We’ve all seen the crappy photos some people use on dating site to attract a new partner. All I say when I see them is who are they trying to attract? The absolute worst ones for me are the ones from rather good looking people and they’re dressed well and the hair and make up are good. Then you see the background. The bed is unmade, the night table has dirty dishes or a full ashtray, the closet’s open and full to the brim with clothes and crap and the floor is littered with dirty laundry.

Emphasize the parts you like about yourself. If you have nice lips, a good way to show them off is to tip your head upward so the camera is underneath your lips, which makes them look even fuller. If you don’t have full lips, a way to make them appear fuller is lots of lip-gloss with a little dab of shimmering white in the center of your mouth.

Hide your stomach. If you are nervous about your stomach protruding, then lie on your bed and reach the camera up with one arm in front of your face and lay on your side. It creates the effect of a really lean body behind your face.

For an interesting shot, pose near a sunny window but don’t have the window in the shot. Your body will soak up the light from the window and produce a warmly lit photo. If you have Venetian blinds, try letting the light through the blinds to cast a shadow of lines on you for a different look.

Nothing gets a motor going like a hot photo. Sexy photos don’t have to be nude or explicit and frankly, pictures with clothing that give a hint of what’s to come tell a much better story than a picture of your privates. Notice the photo in this article. Nothing is showing but doesn’t she look really sexy? You know what’s going on but there’s nothing explicit at all in this photo. Good nude photography - like good photography in any other area - means always striving for something different. It isn’t easy to pose in front of a camera and see exactly what you are doing, so a carefully placed mirror next to the camera can help a lot.

Good luck!

I was strolling the net looking for good blogs and I found one that has a good dating article in it. Most of the site is about making money, but I found something relevant to Feeling Flirty with “Flirting Online a New Age Eye Contact”

Ja Kel Daily Dot Com eventually wants to make money and is offering to link to your blog if you review his blog.

It’s a good blog, check it out!

Every week or so we get an email from current or former members telling us that they’re getting married and every time we receive one, J and I remember what it was like when we met through a personal ad on the net. It took us 8 years to decide to marry but we were older and from different countries so that was our excuse for taking so long!

This weekend I attended a wedding of two former SexyAds members. Dinky and Troublex. They met on SexyAds.com nearly 7 years ago and they were married this past Saturday in Orlando, Florida. What’s special about these two? Dinky is my daughter. She first placed an ad on our site and got a bunch of crap responses so I helped her re-write her ad and within a week she’d met Troublex. When he joined our family we got a son AND an attorney for our website. He’s been our attorney since they met but maybe now the rates will be lower!

The wedding was very special to me because she’s my daughter and any family wedding is special but this was more so because it’s the 2nd wedding in our family that started out on the net and this one was from OUR website.

If you’ve thought that online dating was filled with fake people or scammers, some might be but some can produce some long-lasting loving relationships. Don’t give up. Write to me if you’re having trouble!