Forbes put out their list of Richest People in America today. Of course there were the sure in's like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett but one name surprised me, Mark Zuckerberg. He is the biggest gainer in percentage terms, he more than tripled his fortune to $6.9 billion. If you don't know who he is, take a look:

He's one of the co-founders of facebook. Who knew!?

Hey Mark, can I talk to you for a minute? How you doin? I want to congratulate you on making the Forbes Richest People In America list. Quite an accomplishment. Let's cut to the chase, I'm single and tired of working everyday. You're single and rich. See where I'm going with this? I know you have a girlfriend but let's face it, if you haven't married her by now, you probably won't.

If I'm going to be perfectly honest here, I'm not attracted to you physically but your almost 7 Billion dollars makes me take notice.

I think we should enter into a lucrative business agreement. You marry me and allow me to live the life of luxury and I will in turn turn the other cheek when you want to go out and indulge in a little extra curricular activities. Know what I mean? Deal?

Call me.

Tee

I'm sure most of you have heard of the North Carlina woman that sued her husband's mistress awhile ago and WON. She won $9 million dollars. Apparently there are about nine states that recognize an old law called Alienation of Affection that gives a wife the right to sue a mistress involved in an affair with her husband.

Since this ruling there has been a lot of going back and forth on whether this law should even still be valid or whether or not suing this woman would even be worth it. I don't have all the answers but I will say this, I think there should be some sort of penalty for the mistress.

Sure many of you feel that the mistress doesn't owe the wife anything but there should be some decency code that we should all live by and violating that should come with consequence. The Mistress might not owe the wife anything technically but what ever happened to respect and decency?

Sure the husband gets his "just deserts" by losing his wife and family structure and in many cases sever financial obligations but the mistress who knowingly goes after a married man should not get off scott free in my opinion.

Maybe more rulings like the one in North Carolina would curtail such behavior in the long run.

Hmmmm...a decency clause? Hmmm...... I don't know, what do you guys think? Am I way off base in my thinking?

This question applies to both men and women....Are You A Captain Save 'Em? You know what I mean. You pick a mate, consciously or unconsciously, that you feel the need to help, save or rescue.

If I am going to be completely honest here I have in the past picked men that needed someone to save them from themselves basically. They needed help and I want to help people that are close to me so we kinda gravitate to each other. I always have to make sure the people closest to me are OK.

I actually just came to this realization and I had an Ah HA! moment once I did. I looked back on all of my relationships and the majority of the ones in my adult life have been with men that needed saving. Of course there were some that didn't fall into that category but by and large most of them did.

Now that I know this about myself I can work on changing the type of guy I attract by not putting out that "save 'em" vibe.

Do you find yourself always trying to save the people closest to you?

I was drifting around the blogosphere reading some of your blogs and I came across a post on Naked With Socks On where he talked about couples creating dating contracts and I thought this was a fascinating subject and decided to write about it on my own blog. Yeah I'm a blog topic thief what can I say.

After reading NWSO's post and subsequently reading the February 23rd NY Post article I was quite intrigued.

Apparently "The number of unmarried couples living together shot up 88 percent from 1990 to 2007, according to the US Census Bureau." according to the article. I had no idea that many couples lived together without the benefit of marriage. The more I thought about it though the more it made sense to me. 50 percent of all marriages end in divorce and many people get married for the wrong reasons to begin with so there is no wonder why people are afraid to take that marriage plunge.

With so many couples living together without being married it does leave them pretty vulnerable legally. Many a couple have squabbled over who gets the bedroom set, who gets the couch, who ends up with Fido, who pays what bill and so forth. It can get pretty nasty. Many states don't have provisions in place to protect couples that are not married. Hence the advent of the pre-prenup or the cohabitation agreement or as some call it a "cohab".

The more I thought about it the more it makes sense. If I were living with someone and we both put our all into building a home together you bet I would want to make sure my rights were protected.

These agreements can be formal and drawn up by an attorney or they can be as informal as a mutually agreed upon email.

I think this is a really great idea. If I ever decide to "shack up" with someone in the future (not that I am looking to do that) I will surely lay out in no uncertain terms who gets what and how things should get divided.

What do yo think? Would you ever draw up a "cohab"?

Over the last several weeks, I’ve had conversations or have read an unusually high number of blog posts that make mention of a large number of people growing up in single parents homes and that seems to be the norm as opposed to a two parents home.

It seems that coming from a two parent home is quite rare these days. Out of all my friends only 3 of us had both parents in the home. I was blessed to have been raised by both of my parents in the home until my father passed away in 93.

I can’t help but wonder how this sad state of affairs came about. It was such a gradual shift in society that none of us really saw what was happening until it was too late.

Many years ago it was the standard to have both parents in the home growing up not the exception but somehow we lost sight of that. How?

Was the feminist’s movement of the 60’s responsible? Was our lowered standard regarding sexual responsibility to blame?

I obviously have more questions then answers. It’s just a shame that kids have to grow up in a world where they think that being a single parent is normal and the way things should be.

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not talking about people that became single parents out of circumstance (divorce, widowed) but those that chose to have babies without being married and in many cases with people they hardly know.

This situation was brought to the forefront this weekend when I attended a babyshower for my girlfriend Clueless’s young niece.

As I was sitting there taking survey of my surroundings and the attendees I noticed something very interesting. Clueless’s niece, the nieces older sister and their mother (Clueless’s sister) all had children out of wedlock. All of them.

Did these young girls follow their mother’s path because she hadn’t taught them a different way? Are we all doomed to follow in our parents footsteps, repeat the same mistakes our parents did? How do we break that cycle?

How do we let our kids know that having both parents in the home raising the kids together is much more beneficial to the child’s overall well-being? Our kids are being shortchanged and it saddens me.

Recently on Twitter there were a barrage of tweets going around on the subject of women feeling bitter when the man they had been with for many years, in some cases, leaves them for another woman and marries her pretty rapidly.

Now let me make myself perfectly clear, if I was dating a man for say a year or three and he suddenly leaves me for another woman then shortly after that marries her, I'd be pretty damn bitter. Suffice to say he'd better get someone to start his car in the morning and taste test his food but I digress.

Now let's go a step further and say we were together for 7 or more years then he leaves. I'd have no one but myself to blame in that case. After 8 years its pretty clear the guy is not interested in marrying me so I should have extricated myself from this relationship a long time ago. Let's be honest, it does not take a guy 5, 6, 7 or more years to decide if he wants to marry you. It just does not. If he truly wants to marry you he would have made his intentions very clear much earlier. I hate to be the one to tell you this but he is only biding his time until the right one comes along.

Ladies, if you stick with him for all those years without the commitment of marriage and that is clearly what you want then you are cheating yourself.

I have a policy that if I am with a guy for 2 years or so and he has not broached the subject of marriage I am vacating pretty damn quick. I'm not wasting 7 plus years on a man to have him leave for another woman and marry her within a year. No, that will not be me. Those are too many precious years wasted that I can't get back and that is what causes bitterness. The wasted years.

Take heed ladies, don't waste precious years on a dead end relationship. Find someone who will be glad to marry you, not because you coerced him.

I was listening to a nationally syndicated radio personality this afternoon and the subject of cheating came up on his show.

There was a caller that said that she is not responsible for another person's relationship or marriage. I was completely stunned. There were other callers that cosigned this woman's sentiment.

It dawned on me that she used that line as an excuse to justify sleeping with married men and that enraged me. You say you are not responsible for another person's relationship or marriage but what about respecting it.

I supposed that respecting someones marriage or relationship is old fashioned.

I was perusing the blogosphere when I can across a post that asked the question “Would You Marry A Virgin?

There were many responses to this question from one end of the spectrum to the other.

Personally, as a woman, I would not ever want a virgin. I teach for a living I sure don’t want to go home and have to teach as well. That's just what I need, a guy that doesn't know where to put what, when and how fast or if he should put it there or over here. No thanks buddy.

Most of the men, surprisingly, said they wouldn’t want to marry a virgin either. It seems that beyond the ego tripping that goes along with “knocking off” a virgin they pretty much feel the same way, they want a partner that is experienced and is not so inclined to have to teach them how to please them in bed.

I once worked with a woman, who happened to be my supervisor at the time, who shared with me that she was a virgin when she got married and wished she hadn’t waited. I found that very interesting to say the least.

What do you think? Would you prefer to actually marry a virgin or someone with experience? If you were a virgin when you married how did that work out for you? Come on, you can share, it’s just you and me………..and hundreds of readers. No need to be shy.

Weddings are not what they used to be. I remember not so very long ago that when you attended a wedding you were in the same room as the bridal party. I guess things have changed my friends.

I attended a wedding this weekend that had all the makings of a beautiful event. A quaint restaurant located on a marina overlooking water and boats docked at the pier. It was lovely.

That was until we walked into the venue and realized there were no seating cards so it was a free for all in regards to where to sit. Great. I already had some trepidations about going as I was attending solo and wasn’t sure who I was going to be seated next to.

Seating fiasco averted the ceremony began and the party started marching in. Imagine my sheer shock when they marched into the room adjacent to where we were. We had to view the entire wedding through a glass window pane. Good times.

Well blog buddies, I attended my uncle's wedding in GA. Yep, my uncle Peter that I blogged about got remarried this weekend and the entire family converged on GA.

It was actually a really nice wedding but you know I had some serious blog fodder for you upon my return.

First, when I am traveling on a plane, sitting in my seat with my eyes closed, that is not an invitation to engage me in a very mundane conversation. Leave me alone. Don't get me wrong, I'm a very friendly, people lovin' person but sometimes I just don't want to be bothered. If my eyes are closed...stay clear!

Secondly, these damn airlines are gouging us terribly and they are blaming it all on higher gas prices. This is ridiculous. They are using higher gas prices as an excuse to charge us for every little thing. USAirways charges you to check your bags. They also charge you for drinks now. This makes no sense at all. If gas prices go down will they return to offering us the same service they once did? I think not. How in the world can they in all good conscience charge us for sodas and juices? I am so upset about that I can't even see straight. USAirways can kiss my ass. Delta charges you $50 for a second checked bag. Bitches. At least they still give free peanuts and sodas.

Thirdly, my pain is the ass brother told me and my mother that he was going to pick her up at 9:00pm on Thursday to make the trip to GA. Can I tell you that he didn't get to her until 4:00am!!! She was in her room, sitting in her wheelchair, dressed, up all night from 9:00pm to 4:00am waiting for him!!! I can not tell you how heated I am about that. Would it have killed him to have called her to say he was not going to arrive until 4:00am? Everyone knows that if you tell my mother that you will be there at a certain time she will be ready and waiting for you. Oh I am so infuriated I can't even write. How are you going to have this woman sitting up all night waiting on you. The assisted living facility had to call to make sure someone was going to come get her because she was waiting so long. OOOOOHHHHH!!!!

Renewing of wedding vows should be a meaningful event …….right? It’s pretty significant right?

Well, a couple of weeks ago a friend of mine and her husband decided to renew their marriage vows in church on a Sunday. Several of us (friends and family) gathered at this church to witness this event and to lend our support.

Let’s backtrack a minute shall we? About 7 ½ years ago hubby (we’ll call him Dumbass) cheated on his wife and tore their family apart. They have two children and have been married for 11 years at that point. The wife (we’ll call her Clueless) was so devastated by Dumbass’s indiscretion that she put him out of the house. He eventually moved in with the bimbo he cheated with. For the next three years Clueless and Dumbass were apart but communicating for the sake of the kids. Clueless never stopped wanted to reunite her family. Dumbass didn’t really seem all that interested in coming back into the family fold. He seemed quite happy with Bimbo.

Well, as fate would have it, Dumbass fell ill. He had a minor stroke. See how fate and karma work? Anyway, Clueless sees this as her golden opportunity to take her wifely duties to heart and reunite the family at the same time by bringing Dumbass back into the home and caring for him during his recovery.

It’s now been four years since they’ve been reunited and from the outside things look fine between them. He’s fully recovered and has since commenced to working two jobs to keep the family afloat while Clueless stays at home and runs a small daycare that really is not bringing in much money.

Its recently come to light that Dumbass is back out there cheating again. With not one woman but THREE different women now. His DUMBASS told a close friend of the both of them about these three women. This friend is conflicted because he really likes Clueless but doesn’t want to hurt her.

It is my firm belief that we women KNOW when our men are out there cheating whether we what to acknowledge it or not. We know. I knew when my husband was cheating. Clueless knows too. She told a mutual friend of ours that she had a dream that Dumbass was cheating on her again but she brushed it off as nothing more then a dream. Yeah….ok.

Anyway, fast forward to this marriage vow renewal ceremony. We are all gathered to witness these couples renew their marriage vows before God, friends and family. I am sitting next to my girlfriend T (we’ll call her Crazy because she cracks me up ALL the time! Lol) Anyway, so Crazy and I are sitting there together and we keep giving each other the side glances because we know this whole thing is a farce. The Priest tells the men to repeat after him, “I promise to love, honor and be faithful…” SCREECH!!!! Stop the presses. Dumbass looks his wife straight in the eye and says those very words with a straight face! Wow! Then for dramatic purposes he begins to tear up. Yeah…right.

Crazy and I just side glance each other and nearly bust a gut trying NOT to burst out laughing hysterically.

The whole service lasted 3 hours!!!! I was out done. Crazy leans in to me and says, “I’m gonna pray this man shuts up.” She then leans up close to the pew in front of her and puts her hands together as if to pray and then says, “Lord, please stop….” That was it. I turned away from her and just cracked up laughing. I couldn’t hold it in any longer. The woman in front of us turned around and scowled at us as if to say “Shut the hell up!” then turned back around. Crazy almost got us thrown out of church!!!

It was planned days prior that after church we’d all go out to dinner at a local restaurant. Why did Dumbass all of a sudden become too tired to attend the dinner? Hmmm…yeah…ok.

At dinner Clueless says, “Did you all notice that Dumbass started crying in church?” Crazy and I look at her and simply say, “Yep.” Clueless says, “Dumbass is going through some thing. I don’t know what but he’ll work it out.” Hmmm…could it be that he was feeling guilty for lying in church in front of GOD?! Could it be he promised to be faithful but he doesn’t know the meaning of the word?

Crazy and I just look with blank stares. You know what the hell your husband is going through. You just don’t want to face it again.

I don’t think men realize just how serious marriage and kids are to some of us women. No one wants to spend the rest of their lives alone. Most of us want a spouse that will be there waiting for us when we get home armed with a warm smile, kiss and hug along with a “How was your day honey?” It gives us warmth, depth and purpose.

There are some of us that are so serious we’ve made dating and marriage an art form.

There are a few in our society that actually are not the marrying type and that’s ok but for some, the thought of not finding a mate is quite disturbing.

I have a really good friend that lives in Charlotte NC. She moved there with the sole purpose of finding a husband and having kids because North Carolina is touted as the Mecca of single men.

Well since she’s moved there almost 2 years ago she hasn’t had any real prospects to speak of until very recently. She met a promising man; they went on 4 dates mind you. My friend regales tales of laughter, great conversation, mild flirting and a definite connection. This man went away for a 6 week overseas vacation. After which time, my friend, thinking he’s surely back by now, called and left a message on his voicemail to call when he got a chance. He never called. She is now left wondering what went wrong. Is there something wrong with her?

This has forced her into a depression. She has even decided to begin seeing a therapist to help her deal with the looming knowledge that she may never have the husband and kids she so desperately wants.

Why is it so difficult for some to find a date much less a spouse and others seem to effortlessly fall into multiple marriages?

I wonder if my friend is taking this all too much to heart. When I begin to wonder that I then try to put myself in her shoes and realize that the thought of being alone for the rest of my life is very disheartening to say the least. I do have an understanding of where she is coming from.

I’ve been married before so I am coming from a different perspective. When people find out I’m divorced a sense of “Aaawww...I’ve been there too” or “I so totally understand.” envelopes the vibe of the conversation and it seems cool. But when we meet someone in their late 30’s and older that have never been married we wonder “What is wrong with you?” Even though I feel that is a terrible way to think I find myself wondering the same thing. “Why haven’t you been married before? What is wrong with you?” Sad I know.