A life saver for our hearts and minds, the dinner is a tradition that helps us stay sane and centered and one we hope to continue forever.

We love our weekly get-togethers because they give us a chance to unwind. We eat, we joke, we laugh...we take a break from the family gang, and most importantly, we gossip. Yes, gossip! What did you expect? After all, we are girls. ;-)

Usually light and silly, the conversation on this particular Wednesday, however, had a very kinky yet meaningful twist to it. I don't know what happened.

The discussion was like no other that we’ve ever had. Sultry tales and secret fantasies were flying all over the place…it was totally unbelievable. Anna, specifically, brought up a topic that I think we’ll be talking about for quite sometime.

As I was putting a few pastries out on the table, Anna began telling us about her latest romantic conquest.

Slow to unfold, the story took an interesting turn when Anna mentioned that that last Friday night, her new bo and she, decided to try a romantic date idea that I mentioned on my site.

WOW! That was a total shocker. Anna, the one who's constantly making fun of me for having my head too high in the clouds, decided to play with a romantic date idea that I suggested -- again, WOW!.

I was amazed and pleasently surprised. Who knew that my friends actually listened to me? ;-)

“Jule,” Anna said, “I have to thank you.” Not sure of what she was talking about, I continued to listen. “As John and I were discussing our individual approaches to love and came to the topic of choosing a romantic date idea, your words miraculously popped up on the computer screen:

“I love to love untraditionally, I love to laugh endlessly, and I love to live quirkily. I like to play, I like to imagine, and I like to be different. Wacky bits of ridiculous pleasure comprise my romantic life and I wouldn’t have it any other way…”

“And…?” I thought to myself.

All of us stared at her with perplexed looks on our faces as she continued to speak:

“…and he went crazy! All of a sudden he started coming up with these incredibly unusual things that we could do together – games we could play…scenes we could act out…characters we could become…It was truly amazing.

To keep up, I threw out a normal romantic date idea here and there, but he was just an endless machine of imaginative ideas. He was getting so excited that I thought he was going to propose. Swear to god!"

Hearing that, I should have been excited for being the passion muse for two people in love. However, instead, I couldn’t shake the idea that somehow Anna was still making fun.

Well, as it turns out, this time, Anna was serious. Having felt the true power of play in romance, she was ready to let go of her down-to-earth realism and prepared to prepared to embrace all kinds of nutty and romantic date ideas.

She was hooked. She was ready to try anything just as long as it brought her the ecstatic response from John that she had experienced the week prior.

Together with Anna's enthusiasm, the conversation took off. Fantasy, after fantasy, romantic date idea, after romantic date idea,…we began spilling our guts like never before. Who ever could have guessed that we were such a kinky bunch of gals? ;-)

Mary was tired of talking, Tracy missed her crazy teenage years, Anna craved to seduce, and I was interested in experiencing love and intimacy as someone other than myself.

We all wanted to feel free to express ourselves openly, creatively, and wholly without embarrassment, shyness, or insecurity. Unfortunately, it's not always easy to be daring while you’re still you -- in your own clothes, in your own home, and in your own life.

Well on that night, we finally realized that "enough was enough." No more hiding. The time has come to play.

We made a pact that from that moment on, no matter what it took, even if that meant becoming someone else for a day or a month, we would transform into the magnificent creatures that we are and dig out of the rut that we had created for ourselves. It was one of the best decisions that we've every made and one I suggest you consider as well. Releasing yourself from you can be an extremely liberating experience.

There are no recipes or rules to any of this, only the desire to reconnect with your partner. The magic can transpire through any medium such as acting, dancing, playing, or pretending. The key is simply to infuse a bit of art into all your expressions of love. Yup, that's it. "A bit of play will create a happy day!" ;-)

I invite you to start working on your playfulness by trying at least one (or all) romantic date idea from the list below. Each one is designed specifically for the imaginative at heart...and I'm guessing that describes you.

I'll continue adding new ideas to the list as I discover them. But please don't expect me to do all the hard work for you. I encourage you to begin creating your own plays and games as soon as possible so that you can start feeling the amazing sensations that you've been missing out on.

After you’ve experienced the extraordinary affects of your first couple’s game, you won’t want to be you, at least not for a while. However, lucky for you, you might not have to. As long as you keep playing…I’ll keep creating!