Knowing I'm running the risk of harping about my sex dry spell too much, I've decided not to write about it again until something gives. That is, starting right after this post — I just couldn't shut it down without passing along these nuggets of hilarious wisdom from a couple of good friends!

One says regular sex is like going to the gym: You know it's good for you, you should go, you always like it when you get there, and you feel great afterward. It just takes a lot of effort to get out the door...particularly if you haven't been there in a while.

Another points out: "There are so many external and internal expectations about sex that can doom it. Why can't we just unscrew our heads and screw!" 

Ah, friends. The best ones know when (and about what!) we could use a chuckle.

Rob is away tonight. He's undergoing a sleep study in hopes of uncovering why he wakes so abruptly in fear at night. Poor guy, he's probably sick in the head from lack of sex!

Which reminds me: A reader asked what, when many men would go elsewhere for what they aren't getting, is Rob's deal? How can he manage to go so long without it? I've imagined the worse: he's getting it elsewhere (highly unlikely), prefers internet porn (could be), prefers MEN (I won't lie — it has occurred to me). I've asked him point blank, but he's infuriatingly evasive.

Okay, lots more to figure out, but no more writing about sex until I've had some!  

My birthday is Sunday.  Although I won't say how old I'm going to be, I will say that I'm not quite 30, but it's getting pretty damn close. I know it may sound silly, but the 30 mark is really freaking me out. I want to have accomplished something great by the time I reach that milestone.

Some of you may remember that for my birthday last year, I got to go to family court. What a joy.

The year before that, I had to practically beg my husband to celebrate with me. I recall him saying that he had a lot of work to do, and wasn't sure he could be home. I remember watching him outside, from our kitchen window, pace back and forth on the porch, talking on the phone. I remember when he came back inside and told me that he had "worked it out" so that he could stay with me.

Apparently, "stay with me" meant make me dinner and then leave.

It wasn't until months later that I found out the truth. There was no work, there was no working anything out. Levi was seeing another woman. Levi went to be with another woman...on my birthday.

So, the last bunch of birthdays have been pretty crappy.

I'd almost like to just let this one pass by quietly. Stay home, snuggle in and watch Desperate Housewives. My friends don't want to let that happen.

And the truth is, I don't really want that to happen either.

So, here's to a new year of Faith, literally and figuratively. Here's to better birthdays. Now that I think of it, I really do have a lot to celebrate!

My best girlfriend finally broke it off with the married guy she'd been seeing for the past year. Of course she didn't know he was married when she started seeing him, despite suspicious signs.

That doesn't bode well for any of us.

While warnings seem redundant, and books like Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo's He's Just Not That Into You and Jamie Callan's Hooking Up or Holding Out spell out exactly what not to look for, it bears repeating: If a guy looks sweet, but acts sneaky, you should probably be wary. Has to run to catch a train after work? A tan line on his ring finger? Wants to meet for lunch, and go to hotels? Duh!

Even if it's just that little voice in the back of your head that keeps whispering, "This doesn't feel right," then it's probably not right.

The Internet is a constant source of distraction and deception. I've heard of more guys who either get hooked on cyberspace porn, or start to roam in places they shouldn't be. (Why do you think David Duchovny is being treated for sex addiction?)

It seems there's a web site now for almost everything. One of my "happily married" guy pals just met someone from a site that specializes in married couples seeking discreet affairs. A quick Google search, and philanderers.com is just a mouse click away.

My friend insists he's only looking for fun, not out to destroy his marriage, but I know differently. We FWW women can smell divorce coming a million miles away.

Because, divorce stinks; it smells like sex, lies, and the Internet.

I reserve Sunday mornings for the Globe, freshly ground coffee, and Rob. We typically banter about the news. But this week I kept mum while reading a Parade Poll Special Report "The Truth about American Marriage," wherein Leslie Bennetts admits that divorce in the news makes the state of marriage in the U.S. seem like a toxic mess.

Take for example the stories about John Edwards, Paul McCartney, and Alex Rodriguez. But if divorce has made the news more spectacularly more often in 2008, this is not necessarily indicative of the true state of affairs. In this national poll, 88% of respondents reported being happy or content in marriage.

With a divorce rate over 50%, that seems incredibly high! And something I can't relate to.

On the other hand, close to 30% of respondents described their marriages as "peaceful coexistence." Now that sounds familiar. And pitiful, no? It's a bit...lacking.

This I found somewhat shocking: Men are happier than women in their marriages. Nearly 70% of men said they "never" think of leaving, whereas nearly 50% of women say they do — sometimes daily.

Sex? 60% of men and 51% of women aren't having as much as they want. Frequency? According to Bennetts, 31% have sex less than once a month. But 27% have it a few times a week. Nice. But that leaves us wondering about the remaining 42%. Daily? Never?