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Three Simple Steps to Having a Great Day!
Many times I close an email or an article by saying, “Decide to have a great day!” Most of the time, I end my Blog by saying, “Decide to have a great day!” I really mean it! Decide to have a great day. You should make that decision as soon as possible every morning.I’m sure you’ve heard expressions like, “Well, let’s see what the day brings.” Is that to say we have no control over whatever happens today, good, or bad? Are we just supposed to watch and see what kind of day comes toward us?Does, “whatever the day brings,” mean that if you have a bad day, it was just meant to be, because that’s what the day brought? I say[......]
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Choosing Family Camping Tents
There are countless adults who will say the most memorable part of their childhood was the family’s camping trips. Whether the sleep out took place in the backyard or involved a more in depth planning and execution process, camping is near and dear to a lot of peoples hearts. It makes sense that as those children grew up and had families of their own that they would want to continue the tradition and take their children of exciting camping trips as well.
Of course to make this dream a reality, the most important piece of equipment is one of the family tents. These tents have evolved over the years into virtual paradises of home like co[......]
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History And Purpose Of Education In The United States
Education of the Minorities By the late 19th century educational debates were still raging on “who was to be educated?” and “how this education was to be carried out?’ Such philosophers as John Dewey and (closer to us) Jean Piaget understood that “all knowledge has a social origin, and the interest of the child are the primary source of learning” (Spring, 1989). The same author said that after the Civil War black leaders, particularly W.E.Dubois and Booker T. Washington debated not the importance of schooling but the kind of education for the Negroes. Mr. Washington, considered by many as a traitor, would acquiesce with the 1895 Plessy v Ferg[......]
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Mother Cow Report Card
In one respect, possibly the best person to do a preliminary assessment of a cow protection program is an accountant, because of his or her training to evaluate performance in terms of names, dates and numbers. These factors reveal a lot about the quality of cow protection, even before the project is visited.
Let’s evaluate the Mother Cow program by a set of standards (abbreviated here) that I posted a year ago. The point here is not to attack Mother Cow, but rather by revealing positive standards of cow protection to promote the defense of Dharma in all cow protection programs.
MONITORING AND RECORDS
1. The entire herd should be cou[......]
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Working for the Future
Sometimes I wonder if my online home business is going anywhere. I question if I’m doing anything right or if it’ll just become another one of my failures in life. I’ll admit, there have been times where I’ve felt that I should cut my losses and move on. But then I think about why I’m trying to succeed in making money online in the first place.The idea of pulling in money from the internet has fascinated me for the longest time. The thought that I could sit on a computer and do a minimal amount of work, compared to having a real job, and earn money I that I can put in a bank, buy whatever my heart desired, or help others out, was a thought th[......]
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- News-Society
I have a question for you: When someone signs up to receive your ezine or other Free Taste of what it is that you’re offering, where do they end up?
Do they see a polite thank you page from you? Or do they see the default confirmation page from your list service? Or do they see nothing and are left wondering if the registration went through?
People who are signing up for your list expect to see a page afterwards as a normal part of the transaction. On that page, it’s important to thank them for signing up and make them feel good about their decision. Also, if you’re using a double opt-in for your list, let them know that they need to confirm their subscription before they will receive the information they requested from you.
But there’s much more you can do with this page, so why not leverage it? Here’s a few ideas as to how:
1. Add Tell-A-Friend
Most people are happy to refer you to someone else they know who might benefit from what you’re offering, if you’ll just ask them.
You can do this easily by simply asking them to point others to your sign-up page, or by using a simple referral software program, like TAFPro, which creates a simple form to fill in with a name and email address of the person they are making the referral to. Once they hit send, an email gets sent directly to the recipient and a copy comes to you as well.
This is a great way to add new subscribers to your list without you having to do more work.
2. Make another offer
The best time to make an offer to someone is when they are already engaged with you. Someone who has just signed up to receive information from you is likely to be interested in something else you have to offer. Use this page to make an offer on one of your lower ticket items in your funnel. By doing so, you’ll gain sales that you wouldn’t otherwise.
3. Ask a question
This is a prime time to gather a little market research from your readers. Ask a simple question, like “What’s your biggest challenge with X?” (X being your niche or what it is that your offering). Add an email link where they can send their answer, and then use this information as you continue to develop offerings for your target market.
Doing this also helps in starting to build a relationship with your readers, and it keeps you up-to-date as to what they are struggling with right now so you can offer the solutions they most want.
4. Refer them elsewhere
Hook up with a colleague to start trading some thank you page traffic. On your thank you page, say something like, “I know you’ll also benefit from (name of ezine) published by (name of publisher).” Then give them instructions on how to sign up. Your colleague would do the same for you on their thank you page.
I implement all four of these strategies on various thank you pages, which are helping me build a stronger relationship with my readers, find out what it is that they most want my help with, build my list faster and easier (while helping a handful of colleagues build theirs), and make more sales by making more offers.
I encourage you to leverage your thank you pages this way in your own business. Making them work double-duty for you will absolutely create the same results for you that I’m enjoying, so pick one and start working it today.
© 2007 Alicia M Forest and ClientAbundance.com
Read more: Make Your Thank You Pages Do Double-Duty
Dear Lucia,
I’m dating a man who is 5 years younger than me and not settled in his life yet. He is definitely the pursuer in this relationship, calling me, setting up dates and even surprising me with events for us to do. I’m 32 and he is 27 although we don’t look much different in age. Should I stop seeing him because of the age difference? When does an age gap become too big? Anonymous
Dear Anonymous,
Until recently, a woman dating a man that was more than a few years younger was rare. Luckily, this is rapidly changing. In their book, “Older Women, Younger Men” authors Felicia Brings and Susan Winter write, “Older women/younger men relationships are far more prevalent and far more successful than society at large would have us believe. The theme that the social order reinforces often is the message that these relationships are a bad thing-and even under the best of circumstances-are only a temporary thing. Popular movies…suggest…in those rare cases in which a woman is older than the man, such couplings end badly, sadly or tragically. The truth is, we’ve been sold a bill of goods…Our research…confirms that older women/younger men relationships are an increasingly viable (dare we say common) phenomenon”.
You said you don’t look much different in age. This tells me he is probably your first younger man, otherwise you wouldn’t be so concerned about what you look like together. As long as he treats you well and you have great chemistry, who cares what you look like as a couple? Your friends will know what the age difference is so the only people you’re concerned about are strangers. You can’t live your life trying to look good in the eyes of people you’ll probably never see again. Besides, they’re probably jealous!
Secondly, you mentioned that he is 27 and not yet settled. These days, most 27 year olds aren’t settled – male or female. You have to ask yourself some questions: When do I want to be married by? Do I want to have children? When? Is he motivated and working towards security and stability or is he still into behaving as if he were in college? What are his long term goals? What are your long term goals? If you want to be married within the next 2 years, then you need to ask yourself if he could possibly be the one. If not, are you willing to simply stay and enjoy the moment, knowing that eventually you’ll have to move on? Not every relationship has to lead to marriage.
Finally, when does an age gap become too big? Well, 5 years is not that much of a difference at your ages (as opposed to if you were 22 and he was 17), and will become even less so as you get older. I have a male friend that is more than 10 years younger than me and we click on many levels. If he didn’t have a girlfriend, I could definitely see myself dating him and I think he probably feels the same. It’s not about age – it’s about compatibility.
In the end, to have a great relationship you need to have two people that appreciate each other and feel lucky to be together, no matter what the age difference may be. To quote the late Aaliyah, “Age ain’t nothin’ but a number”.
Lucia is a dating and relationship expert, columnist, lecturer and host of the TV Show “The Art of Love”.
With over 20 years experience on the relationship market, Lucia has dated men of all nationalities in six cities, four countries and two continents. Her practical know-how makes her the perfect candidate to dispense relationship advice – after all, in almost every dating dilemma she has been there, done that and lived to tell about it.
For more articles or to ask Lucia a question, go to: http://www.theartoflove.net
Read more: Should You Date a Younger Man?
Shade trees do not all necessarily shed their leaves in the fall (deciduous), but some shade trees are evergreen, and others can be classified as flowering trees. The fact that shade trees can cool temperatures in the surrounding landscape and cool off houses during the heat of the summer is well known. Some evergreen trees also provide shade all year, a factor that may be undesirable in some cases during hard winter freezes, when an evergreen shade tree may block off the heat rays from the sun that might melt snow and ice from a house roof or prevent infra-red light from warming rooms inside the house. Extreme southern states home owners in the United States may prefer shade on homes and buildings year round, and such evergreen shade trees as Live Oak tree, Quercus virginiana; Laurel Oak tree, Quercus laurifolia; and Darlington Oak trees,Quercus hemisphaerica, would be desirable for planting near houses.
Pine trees are also valuable shade trees for houses and landscape gardens. Such perennial shrubs as Camellia japonica and azalea shrubs must have year round shade for proper flowering. The camellia shrub and the azalea plant will survive only on rare occasions if planted in the full sun. The dogwood and redbud trees benefit from pine tree shade where they flower abundantly. The cherry laurel tree, Laurocerasus caroliniana Ait, is an evergreen shade tree that is covered with fragrant white flower clusters in March. The cherry laurel tree is a fast growing tree, sometimes growing 6 feet per year. Eucalyptus trees, Eucalyptus cinerea, are evergreen shade trees, but the ‘Silver Dollar’ eucalyptus tree usually is limited to planting in the warm temperatures of zones 8-11. The exceptional menthol fragrance of all parts of the eucalyptus tree makes it especially desirable where smog and other air pollution is problematic. The loblolly bay tree, Gordonia lasianthus, is often called the loblolly bay magnolia tree, and the flower fragrance, white color, and form look like a miniature flower bloom of the magnolia.
The southern magnolia tree, Magnolia grandiflora, is an outstanding shade tree known for the gigantic 1 foot wide fragrant white flowers during the summer and the glowing green waxy magnolia leaves that provide dense shade. Because of the dense shade and the mats of succulent roots that rise to the ground surface (like cypress tree roots), few shrubs or perennials can be successfully planted and grown underneath the Magnolia grandiflora trees. Other shade trees that could also qualify as beautiful flowering trees are black locust, Robinia pseudoacacia, shade trees that are covered with fragrant white flower clusters-just following the appearance of the fern-like, light green leaves. The black locust trees leaf color changes to bright yellow in the fall, and the wood has been used as waterproofed split-rail fencing for centuries. The empress shade tree, Paulownia tomentosa, (Blue Dragon Tree, also Princess Tree) is also a flowering tree that produces gigantic blue-purple flower clusters triangular in shape. The empress tree is known as an extremely fast growing shade tree that has been promoted by former President Jimmy Carter. The wood is valued as very strong and light weight; desirable in the Far East for furniture manufacture and wood carving.
Read more: Shade Trees, Flowering Trees, And Evergreen Trees For Landscape Specimen Growing
“Brush your teeth or you’ll have a heart attack!”
This is not an admonishment that I either heard as a child or ever made to my own children or patients. However it is becoming increasingly evident that maintaining good dental hygiene and treating periodontal disease is one of the easiest and most important things that we can do to prevent heart disease, stroke and several other illnesses.
Periodontitis is defined as inflammation of the supporting tissues of the tooth. These tissues include bone, the periodontal membrane and the gums. Gingivitis (infection of the gums) is a common cause of periodontitis as is the dental plaque that forms on the other periodontal tissues. Periodontitis has been known for centuries to be responsible for a large proportion of dental problems but recent research has shown that its deleterious effects extend far beyond the mouth.
In a recent article I wrote about a condition called chronic systemic inflammation which is a low grade, pervasive form of inflammation that damages the endothelial linings of arteries and has also been implicated in causing harm to a variety of other tissues and organs.
Periodontitis is a very important cause of this sinister inflammatory process and is associated with infection and inflammation of the periodontal tissues and the release of bacteria, toxins, protein acids, pro-inflammatory chemical messengers and other harmful compounds into the mouth and blood stream. Once in the blood stream these agents stimulate a systemic inflammatory response that in turn causes problems a long way from the mouth. Some of the most important targets of periodontitis-induced systemic inflammation are the blood vessels – especially the endothelial linings of the arteries.
These inflammatory agents cause narrowing and rigidity of the arteries that results in reduced blood supply to the heart, brain, kidneys and other organs. In addition, systemic inflammation is thought to contribute to an inflammatory process in the arterial endothelium itself. Inflammation in this important part of the blood vessel aggravates the formation of cholesterol plaques in the arteries and ultimately causes the rupture of these plaques – events that result in heart attack or stroke.
The theory of the effects of periodontitis on heart disease and other illnesses is backed up by several very recent clinical trials.
One study found that those who had recently suffered a heart attack had far higher levels of pathogenic bacteria in their mouths than those in a non-heart attack control group. In another study arterial blood flow was measured in those with periodontal disease before and after intensive treatment for their periodontal disease. Interestingly, the arterial blood flow in these patients diminished slightly over the first few days following the treatment but a few weeks later it increased substantially and was significantly better than that of the untreated control group.
Read more: Periodontal Disease and Heart Attacks
Creating and posting your profile to a website specialized in online dating can be your chance to meet your soul mate. But how can you tell you covered the essential points in your profile or what proves you your profile is a complex one ready to attract many persons? Here are some steps you can follow this assuring your success.
1. Don’t pretend to be something that you are not
You should not be afraid to show what you really are as you are unique.These 150 words can bring about an exquisite personality if you are sincere. Don’t try to be something you are not as online dating is encouraging the most intimate feelings to come out. You can tell everything about yourself with no reason to be ashamed of: it is impossible that you won’t find someone to be attracted to your real-self.
You should state loud: I really believe I should be sincere to myself and others because I believe in trust and I am not afraid of being criticized. At least one quality can be found here: I am honest no matter what. I know that there are persons who will disagree but what I can do least is state my own belief and principles because they make me what I am.
Online dating can be understood as a commercial for your person but a sincere one with no trace of manipulation and mischievous intentions. For once in your life you can be 100% proud of what you are.
2. Be unique and original
You must have confidence in yourself and strongly believe that you can be yourself without stopping to be original in the mean time. You should fear what is average, common and usual and come up with something which is entirely fingerprinted by you in your profile for online dating. All your passions may be stated because they are unique and matching only with you. These are important for the person reading your profile so as to make a clear idea of what you really are. However if you feel the need to be outstanding or at least different do it. This will not be considered outrageous but original.
3. Try to think like the person reading your profile for online dating
If you do this you will get rid of that vital need of our’s for coming along everybody’s expectancies. You should always think of what you want that person to be like, according to your own standards. Try to be funny if you are looking for a person with a good sense of humor-that person will respond only to a person who is not boring.
Online dating cannot be criticized as it is the best way to make friends with no connection to some persons you already know. Why am I saying this? Because when you are introduced to a certain person you can never be sure of the opinion he has about you as you don’t know what he was told. Online dating helps you create your own image with no alterations.
If searching for the perfect match date give a try to online dating on http://www.date-find.info/
Read more: Major Tips for Online Dating
Before you can even get to first base with your new found lust object you have to negotiate the difficult and nerve wracking chat-up process. Study these common chat-up blunders and make sure you don’t make a mistake that will kill your chance of success with the opposite sex:
1. A bit of awkward silence is not the end of the world, so don’t get too worried about you’re going to say next. If you do, you won’t be concentrating on what the other person is saying and you’ll lose the plot.
2. In our self-obsessed culture most people don’t listen – they just wait for their turn to talk about themselves. To make a really good impression all you have to do is listen. People really love it if you show some genuine interest in them.
3. To be a good listener you don’t necessarily have to agree with everything single thing that comes out of their mouths just to be nice or to avoid conflict. You’re entitled to your own opinion.
4. Conversely don’t constantly belittle or discount what the other person has to say. They are also entitled to their opinion, and needing everyone to agree with you is a sure sign of insecurity.
5. Be aware of your body language. Try to be relaxed and allow your body to be open to the other person (don’t cross your arms for example). Some eye contact is good, too.
Charles Cuninghame is a website copywriter in Sydney, Australia, and an online dating enthusiast.
Read more: From Dud to Dating Success – How to Avoid the 5 Most Common Chat-up Blunders
A depilatory is a liquid or cream that is used to remove unwanted hair from the body by applying strong chemicals to the hair follicle which dissolve the hair.
As the search for an ideal unwanted body hair removal method involves both men and women, a depilatory offers an economical, easy method which can be performed at home. There are certain drawbacks however, and depilatory hair removal products may not suit everyone, especially those with sensitive skin or anyone prone to allergic reactions.
The following information will help an individual first of all decide whether they want to try a depilatory, and secondly, if they do decide, what guidelines need to be followed for best results.
Section One: Answers To Frequently Asked Questions
How does a depilatory work?
A depilatory contains chemicals with a high degree of acidity (low pH) such as sodium thioglycolate, or calcium thioglycolate. They react with the protein structure of the hair and break it down. Depending on how coarse the hair is, the process takes from 5 to 15 minutes during which time the hair is dissolved into a glop which can then be washed away.
What is the difference between a depilatory and an epilatory?
A depilatory removes hair on the skin’s surface. An epilatory such as waxing or tweezing removes the hair from below the skin’s surface taking out the hair follicle.
Why does skin feel so smooth after using a depilatory?
A depilatory acts as an exfolient, removing the dead skin cells on the skin’s surface which accumulate every day and which often feel rough. After hair removal with a depilatory the skin feels softer and smoother. Additionally, many depilatories contain moisturizers such as Baby Oil, Almond Oil, Green Tea Extract and Aloe which contribute to softer smoother skin.
Which should I use – a cream or a liquid?
A depilatory lotion or liquid is designed for larger areas of the body such as the legs, underarms and bikini area. A depilatory cream has a thicker consistency so it can be applied to specific areas without the risk of it running on to skin you don’t want treated. A cream is therefore ideal for the face.
How long before hair re-grows?
This very much depends on the individual. The time can vary from many days up to two weeks. The chemicals in a depilatory reach down into the pores of the skin thus removing hair below the level of the skin. As a result, the hair takes longer to grow back so the results generally last longer than using a razor.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using a depilatory?
The advantages are that depilatories are easy to apply, widely available over the counter, and quick to use. The disadvantages include possible allergic skin reactions to the strong chemicals, the messy application, an unpleasant odor, and widely variable results.
Is a depilatory safe to use during pregnancy?
In short, the safety of a depilatory during pregnancy has not been established. As depilatories contain strong chemicals which the body can absorb through the skin and which can subsequently affect the whole bodily system, some doctors advise avoiding depilatory use during pregnancy and while nursing.
Section Two: 10 Guidelines For Best Results
1. Never use a depilatory where there are cuts or abrasions on the skin or when skin is sensitive from sunburn.
2. Always test a small area of skin first such as a small patch on the inner arm below the elbow. Keep the application on the skin for the time recommended in the instructions and then wait for twenty four hours. If there is no irritation or allergic reaction such as redness or broken skin then use the product on a wider area.
3. If your hair is dark and coarse, be aware that your hair may be more resistant to chemical depilatories than a person with light, fine hair.
4. If possible, use a depilatory after a warm bath or shower as the hair is softer and the pores of the skin are open.
5. Do not rub a depilatory into the skin. Just apply a generous, smooth, thick layer onto the skin.
6. Important: Follow the timing instructions very closely. You may wish to set a timer and remove the chemical immediately the timer signal goes off. Taking this precaution will help avoid burning or damaging the skin.
7. If the skin becomes itchy or irritated stop using the depilatory and apply a soothing gel such as Aloe Vera or an anti-inflammatory skin cream.
8. To minimize irritation, try not to exfoliate before the hair removal session through scrubbing, or using a mask or cleansing agent. Be sure to follow up with a thorough rinsing and apply a moisture-rich cream.
9. After using a depilatory, apply sunscreen to areas that will be exposed to the sun.
10. Some recommend not using a depilatory more than every 28 days to avoid damaging the underlying layers of skin as a new outer layer of skin is formed every 28 days.
In Conclusion: A depilatory provides an easy, fast, convenient, economical method of hair removal. The use of skin care products afterwards can limit the potential skin damage and speed up skin recovery.
Read more: Depilatory Hair Removal: Key Facts You Should Know
You may be the smoothest operator ever to grace a singles barstool, you may have the looks an extra on The O.C. and the sensitivity of the Dalai Lama, but if you’re terrible at tonsil hockey or a let down at the lip-lock, then you’re just not gonna make it in the romance stakes.
According to John L. Ferri, author of Sex in the Romance: A Review of Romantic Encounters of the Close Kind: “Kissing is an art and a highly individual and personal expression of affection and love.” Scientists tell us that kissing signals our brains to produce oxytocin, a hormone that gives us that gooey-all-over feeling we experience when making mouth music. If done properly it’ll make you as horny as hell and is a bloody good indication of how you’ll be in the sack.
So it’s very important to get it right. Nothing turns a prospective bed mate off faster than a lousy kisser, such as the “Niagara Falls”, who produces enough slobber to wash your car, or the “electric eel”, whose tongue travels so far down your throat it begins to choke you. While everyone must develop their own technique, here are a few general pointers to ensure you keep them coming back for more.
Good breath is essential. OK so a taste of mouthwash is a dead giveaway you were anticipating a bit of nookie, but that beats the hell out of ashtray breath.
A bit of sensitivity goes a long way. Your smooching partner is probably not going to tell you how they like to be kissed, so you’ll have to use trial and error (hopefully not too much error). Experiment with taking and following the lead, a mixture of tenderness and aggressiveness and kissing different parts of the body and face. Be playful and have fun!
Remember a good kiss is its own reward. Just enjoy it and don’t get too caught up in thinking about what it might lead to – just let nature take its course.
Charles Cuninghame is a website copywriter in Sydney, Australia, and an online dating enthusiast.
Read more: Essential Dating Technique – The Fine Art Of Kissing
Flowers are simply amazing because of their beauty, their grace, and the amazing impact they have on most women. Since receiving flowers is most women’s dream, regardless of how many times they have received them, men should know what flowers to give their girlfriends on different occasions throughout the year. Yes, that is right, flowers should be given throughout the year and not just reserved for Valentine’s Day. The reason for this is when women receive flowers they feel special, and if you are giving flowers for a special occasion then making your girlfriend feel extra special is very important. Also, flowers may be given for no reason at all and this will certainly make your girlfriend feel as if she has the most amazing boyfriend ever.
Girlfriend’s Birthday
Your girlfriend’s birthday is right around the corner or worse yet today, and you are searching for the perfect gift. However, the best gift you can give is the gift of flowers and fortunately no matter how serious your relationship with your girlfriend there are many types of flowers that are appropriate and will help you take your relationship to the next level. The reason why is because flowers are powerful and women are enchanted by them. Women love to tell other women they received flowers, it shows their boyfriend is confident, really interested in them and cares for them no matter what flower is given. Although, there are some flowers that are especially great birthday gifts.
For example, honeysuckle is a good birthday gift because it symbolizes happiness. Carnations in red symbolize passion and pink symbolize your girlfriend is always on your mind, so either choice is a great choice. Gerber daisies and wildflowers are both great selections because they are beautiful, bright, and are not interpreted as “coming on too strong” if the relationship is new.
Girlfriend’s Graduation
Your girlfriend may be graduating from high school, college, or an advanced degree program, but regardless of the degree she is receiving she will love to receive flowers. This shows not only that you are proud of her, but also that you care enough about her to buy flowers that are appropriate for this special occasion. For example, for your girlfriend’s graduation forget-me-nots are great choices because they represent true love as well as memories. Caladiums are good choices as well because they represent delight and joy while white carnations signify good luck and sweetness. Of course, pink flowers stand for happiness and graduation is a happy occasion and a perfect reason to give your girlfriend pink roses.
Valentine’s Day
Red roses are the best flowers for Valentine’s Day and the type of flowers most women want to receive on this special day. The relationship you have with your girlfriend may affect the color of roses you buy, however. Red roses should be reserved for longer relationships where the couple is passionately in love. Pink roses are appropriate for a newer relationship because they symbolize the relationship and happiness, but do not put any pressure on the girl regarding your feelings other than to let her know you really like her. Any other color of rose is appropriate as well, especially if your girlfriend is passionate about a certain color. Primrose is another good flower choice to give your girlfriend on Valentine’s Day because it is in essence saying you cannot live without her the exact sentiment you want to express on the day of love. Carnations are also appropriate and the color you choose should represent your feelings. Red signifies passion, pink that she is on your mind and white sweetness.
Christmas Flowers
Christmas is always a hectic time and finding the perfect gift can seem overwhelming in a sea of shopping malls. However, a thoughtful gift that will be appreciated is flowers. The best flowers to give at Christmas time are orchids, holly, poinsettias, and the Christmas cactus as well as any red flower. The orchid signifies thoughtfulness and charm. Holly and the Poinsettia are two Christmas related flowers that are always used for decorating and as a result are readily available and a great gift for your girlfriend. A Christmas cactus is also a good idea and is a flowering cactus that generally blooms around Christmas time, although it can bloom at any time of year.
Copyright @2005, 4th Media Corporation
You have permission to publish this article electronically free of charge, as long as the bylines and links in the body of the article and the bylines are included.
Natalie Aranda is a freelance writer. She enjoyed the online shopping experience with florists in Leicester, UK and florists in Nottingham, UK and flower delivery to Plymouth.
Read more: New Love: Show Your Feelings with Flowers
Are you fed up with traditional telephone service and being at the mercy of the companies who constantly increase the rates on long distance, as well as local phone privileges? It may be time to find a different way to place a call to your family and friends. Broadband phone service is an increasingly appealing concept replacing the common telephone company services of Sprint and AT&T. Also known as VoIP or Voice Over Internet Protocol, broadband phones are another way of referring to an Internet phone.
How an Internet Phone Works
When speaking on an Internet phone, your voice is transformed into a digital signal, which travels across the World Wide Web in packets before it reaches whomever you are speaking to. These packets of data are converted into an analog signal before the person on the other end hears what you are saying. A broadband phone isn’t much different from a regular phone. You won’t be using any exotic, high tech receivers and you don’t have to change all of the phone jacks in your home. To place a call over broadband technology, all you have to do is pick up the receiver, dial a number and wait for someone to answer on the other line. You can also benefit from the same services you have grown to love, such as caller ID, call waiting and voicemail options.
Long Distance Calls
One of the main reasons people are making the switch to broadband telephone services is because the cost to place a long distance call is quite impressive. Most Internet phone services offer a flat rate that allows unlimited calls throughout the month. These calls can be placed to anywhere in the U.S., as well as Canada. Some companies also offer reasonably priced international calling plans.
Broadband Phone Service Providers
You will find a variety of Internet phone service companies springing up to pick up the pieces of unsatisfied traditional phone company customers. Local cable providers are also taking advantage of this service by offering digital phone access through some of their service packages.
Requirements
In order to enjoy a broadband phone service, a high speed Internet connection is needed. This can be accomplished through cable or DSL access.
A Few Disadvantages
Since your phone service will be provided through the Internet, this means that during thunderstorms and power outages, you run the risk of losing your telephone access. When the power gives out, so does your phone service because it is connected through your computer. This also means that if an emergency should arise during this time, you will not have a way to communicate to the outside world, by phone that is. Also, 911 access is not available for all broadband phone users.
Read more: Why You Should Consider Switching To A Broadband Phone
So you are planning your Wedding Day and its going to be perfect. You have the flowers, cake, invitations, your dress, his outfit, and favors sorted. Your own fair hand has written your Wedding Vows, funny or otherwise, so you are ready to get underway, but what about your Wedding Music?
Your Wedding Music will be the audio background for the entire day so it’s important to have Wedding Music that you really like. There’s the prelude to think about first. What kind of Wedding Music should be playing for your guests as they assemble in the venue for the ceremony? Many people will choose a restful, classical piece for this part of their wedding such as,
Adagio from Santana in E-flat by Mozart,
Air from Water Music by Handel or
Air on the G-String by Handel.
These are gentle pieces that provide a soothing backdrop and excellent start to you Wedding Music choices.
The next choice to make is what Wedding Music do I walk down the aisle to? Goodness this is a big choice. These days you do not have to have the traditional Wedding March by either Wagner or Mendelssohn although these are still very popular. Listen to Harry Conick, JR singing Ave Maria, Canon in D by Pachelbel or Arioso by Bach before deciding on your entrance Wedding Music!
When the moment comes that bride and groom are joined together as one the Wedding Music can be “their song”, something more uplifting like the Beatles and Let It Be or something spiritual and heavenly like, my personal favorite, From This Moment by Shania Twain and Bryan White.
During every ceremony there are pauses and its nice to fill those pauses with Wedding Music especially chosen. Sometimes a soloist will fit the bill and Ave Maria or the Lords Prayer can do justice to the moment. Maybe you would like just music and Spring from Four Seasons by Vivaldi or O Mio Babbino Caro by Piccini are both excellent choices.
Now as husband and wife you are about to step out into the world and what is the right Wedding Music for you to do that to? Still very popular is the Wedding March by Mendelssohn but you by no means have to choose that. Ode to Joy by Beethoven or Inseparable by Natalie Cole can express the feeling of that moment.
Just because the ceremony is over and you are actually married don’t think the picking of Wedding Music ends there. Oh no…you still have the reception to deal with!
You have a cake to be cut and smushed into your other half mouth and a popular Wedding Music choice is…Bride Cuts the Cake by Average White Band. How Sweet It Is by James Taylor, I Got You Babe by Sonny and Cher and Love and Marriage by Frank Sinatra are all understandably popular. As a choice of cake cutting Wedding Music I was surprized to discover that the Theme Song from “Jaws” by Ronnie Neuman is also well used!
Right moving along we now need first dance wedding music and again Shania Twain and Bryan White are very popular with From This Moment. Amazed by Lonestar and Breathe by Faith Hill are also in the top ten as is Truly, Madly, Deeply from Savage Garden. This is a song that becomes a cherished memory, so handle with care. My first dance was to Three Times a Lady although in later years my husband will tell you it was The Lady in Red!
First dance as man and wife is over so we can move on to the wedding music for the rest of the evening. Maybe a mix of romantic numbers like Always by Bon Jovi, Every Breath You Take by Police or My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion and some party style wedding music such as the ever popular YMCA by Village People, We Are Family by Sister Sledge and Celebration by Kool and The Gang. These are bound to get the party started!
We can start to get a little soppy with some Mother/Son and Father/Daughter wedding music choices like Wind Beneath My Wings by Bette Middler or Unforgettable by Nat King Cole. Can You Feel the Love Tonight by Elton John is another music choice I think works well for the occasion.
Now the evening is drawing to a close, bride and groom are about to take to the floor for their last dance so what wedding music is appropriate? My personal thought is something undeniably romantic like I’ve Had The Time Of My Life by Bill Medly and Jennifer Warnes or Wonderful Tonight by David Kersh. Or there’s always Last Dance by Donna Summers or Time of Your Life by Green Day.
That’s is then, you now know how much wedding music you have to decide on. You may find that the DJ or band that you have organized for your reception will have a fabulous selection and you just pick out a particular few pieces of personal wedding music to be played a key moments or you may want to decide on everything. Before making a decision on your wedding music, listen to as wide a variety of music, tunes or songs as you can and whatever you pick may your wedding music be the perfect soundtrack for your perfect day!
Lorna Mclaren has an information and resources website at http://www.a1-ourwedding.com where you can get inspiration to help you organize your Wedding Day!
Read more: Your Wedding Day Music – The Soundtrack for Your Perfect Day
Have your romantic aspirations flat-lined? Do the objects of your affections keep slipping out of your fingers? Are you over the singles life? Do you despair that you’ll never find a soul mate? In short, is your love life an abject disaster?
If this sounds all too familiar, you’ll have to make some changes to get out of your rut. The only way to a satisfying love life is through dedicated action.
The first thing to do is to survey where you are at. Determine what you want and ask yourself how you should go about getting it. Remember this simple truth: If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.
Your comfort zone might offer some safety, but you’ve got to take a few risks to get what you truly desire. When moving in a new direction it’s natural to have some apprehensions. But ask yourself honestly “What is the worst thing that can happen?” It is really that bad? It is really that likely?
Make an undertaking to put some effort into your love life. Begin each day with the question: “What can I do today to make my love life better?” Maybe it’s going to one party every week to meet new people, maybe it’s asking that sexy stranger out, or letting all your friends know you are on the lookout for a lover. But whatever it is, just do it.
Charles Cuninghame is a website copywriter in Sydney, Australia, and an online dating enthusiast.
Read more: Your Dating Comfort Zone And How To Bust Out Of It
Your wedding dress:
Start shopping right away. You won’t feel rushed or pressured into buying something, and you’ll be able to shop smart.
Simple plain dresses are usually less expensive then the ones with lace, pearls/beads etc..
You could buy a plain dress and add lace, beads etc.. yourself. Or get someone to do it for you.
Rent or borrow a dress. If you like your mother`s, sister`s or friends dress ask them if you could borrow it. But don`t be offended if they refuse as a wedding dress is very sacred to most women.
Look around second hand shops/charity shops. You`ll be surprised at the amount they get given, and they are usually inexpensive.
The venue:
Book the ceremony/reception well in advance you may be able to negotiate a better price then you would if you left it to the last minute.
Have your wedding on off-peak months. November to April rates will probably be reduced. Christmas weddings are more expensive though so if you are planning a Christmas wedding you will have to cut your finances.
Instead of a grand ballroom or banquet hall, think less-expensive venues, like publicly owned buildings and parks, registry office, the church or temple hall, the backyard, the beach, a restaurant’s private room. You may have to get a permit to marry in a public place, but it will be less than a private banquet room.
Catering:
Look around for caterers. Get different quotes before you decide on one.
Choose cheaper entrees, like prawns instead of lobster, vegetables like broccoli instead of asparagus will cut the cost, too.
Cut down on courses. If you’re having a cocktail hour, do you really need an appetizer course? Do you need soup and salad?
Instead of waiter service, have a buffet bar.
Think ethnic! Mexican, Indian, Italian, or Chinese food is fun and much cheaper per person than the traditional wedding menu. See if your favorite restaurant caters.
If you are having a themed wedding create your menu around the theme.
Have the wedding cake only as dessert and eliminate any other sweets (eclairs, pastries, etc.).
Consider a wedding breakfast or brunch (omelettes, muffins, pancakes, French toast), or a tea (a variety of tea flavors, finger sandwiches, scones and jams, etc.) to save money.
The more tiers and decorations your cake has the more expensive it will be.
Buy your own drink it will work out a lot cheaper then paying the caterers or venues prices.
Photos:
Compare hourly fees and package deals to see which is more cost-effective for you.
Give disposable cameras as wedding favours. Then you can get copies of the days events from family and friends.
Have a professional photographer take the formal pictures and shoot the ceremony have guests take all reception photos.
Visit your local college`s photography department and check out some of the students’ portfolios. They will do your photography a lot cheaper and just as good as a professional
Ask friends and family to video the big day for you.
Flowers:
Use flowers that are in season and/or locally grown they’re less expensive than out-of-season flowers that must be shipped to your area.
Have bouquet with just a few large flowers, like orchids, tulips, lilies, or sunflowers, tied with a ribbon.
If you are marrying at Christmas or Easter, your church may already be decked out beautifully.
Arrange to share the cost of ceremony decorations with the couple marrying directly before or after you that day.
Use silk or dried flowers instead of fresh ones in table centerpieces.
Music:
DJs are less expensive than live bands.
Ask a family member or friends child to sing at the reception.
Hire music for the evening reception only. People are usually to busy chatting to notice any way.
Ask at the local college/university for young musicians.
Invitations:
Send invitations that are light enough when completely assembled to require only a single stamp for mailing.
Make your own invitation cards. They are cheaper and more personal.
If you are having a themed wedding make cards to do with the theme.
Transportation:
Limousines are cheap enough to hire for an hour. Find out in advance how long the ceremony will take.
Only hire a limo for the bride and groom have attendants driven in relatives’ cars, or have them drive themselves in groups.
You might be able to hire a horse and carriage for just as less. Check the Yellow pages for any in your area.
We hope these are of some use to you. Good luck
Find more articles at http://www.media43.com
Read more: Wedding Budgeting Tips
Did you hear the one about the groom that got so drunk the night before his wedding he passed out during the nuptials?
What about the bride who deliberately chose ugly, clingy sheath dresses for her overweight bridesmaids just so she could look like a supermodel in comparison?
We’ve all heard wedding horror stories — true tales of etiquette faux pas and heinous manners. But a classy, considerate bride does not indulge her ego, overlook her bridesmaids’ feelings or point out the poor taste of others, according to Gail Dunson, coauthor of “Bridezilla: True Tales From Etiquette Hell” and a certified protocol and etiquette consultant.
Dunson has heard hundreds of stories about wedding guests gone awry, tacky gifts and friendships ruined by wedding disasters on www.etiquettehell.com, the Web site she manages with partner Jeanne Hamilton.
“There are a lot of misguided people out there,” Dunson said. “The only thing that matters is getting down to the end of the aisle and exchanging vows. Everything else is superfluous.”
CORRESPONDENCE CRIMES
Unoriginal thank you notes for wedding gifts is the most mentioned correspondence crime, Dunson said.
“People buy tacky thank you notes and say, ‘Thanks for the gift. Love, Jane,’ or go to services on the Net that generate the thank-yous for them,” she said.
So, mass-mailed acknowledgements of wedding gifts are in poor taste, but what if the gift itself is tacky?
“The bride writes the most creative thank-you note possible,” Dunson said.
After that, the bride can do anything she wants with the present. Put it in a closet, smash it with a hammer in the backyard or give it to charity — just don’t tell the gift-giver what happened to their thoughtful thingamajig, Dunson said.
Mentioning gifts in the invitation is another nuptial no-no, Dunson said, which also includes sending registry cards, asking for money in lieu of gifts or any other presumption that a gift will be given.
“No one owes you a gift because you’re getting married, and no one needs to be told where to get you a gift,” she said. “Get it out of your pretty little head that you are owed gifts. People will give gifts because we will toss them into Etiquette Hell if they don’t.”
“A registry is fine as long as you don’t advertise it,” she clarified. “If people want to know where the bride is registered, people will ask.”
“It’s fine to put on the invitation, ‘No gifts please.’ Anything other than that leads the guests to think something else,” she said.
BRIDESMAID BLUNDERS
Because bridesmaid responsibilities generally include buying an outfit, planning the wedding shower, getting a gift for the shower and finding a gift for the wedding, the honor can be quite costly.
“Bridesmaids need to realize that saying yes carries responsibilities of time and resources,” Dunson said. “It’s more than pictures and parties. It’s an expensive proposition.”
What if the bridesmaids aren’t up to the challenge?
“You do not want a pain in the butt on your wedding day. There are enough details to take care of. You don’t want someone uncooperative,” Dunson said.
“The bride can ask her to step down, but doing so is usually a friendship breaker,” she said.
When ousting a bothersome bridesmaid, be honest, talk about your concerns, but don’t blatantly ask her to step down, Dunson said. See what you can do to make her job easier, or give her the chance to bow out. If she can’t spare the necessary time and money, maybe she would be better suited to simply coordinating a party or being an usher.
“You really have to be diplomatic if you want to preserve the friendship,” Dunson cautions.
But, the biggest bridesmaid blunder isn’t always on the bridesmaid’s part. Sometimes the bride herself is the one trampling on good taste.
Choosing dresses will be biggest decision the bride and bridesmaids do together, Dunson said, and she has some tips for the bride before the big shopping trip.
“Do some preshopping, but don’t get set on any ideas,” she said.
Instead, let your attendants have a say in the outfits they have to wear.
“These are not Barbie dolls to dress up. These are your friends. They need to look nice and be comfortable,” Dunson said. “It’s not about the dress, it’s about the friends.”
She suggests choosing outfits from the same designer line so everyone can find a style they feel confident in — a style that suits their body.
“If the bridesmaids look gorgeous, the bride is going to look gorgeous,” Dunson said. “If the bridesmaids don’t look good, I guarantee tongues are going to be wagging. The bride is the one who ends up looking ugly for her attitude.”
RECEPTIONS GONE WRONG
“Please don’t think the reception is a place to get money from your guests,” Dunson said.
Receiving lines for guests to hand envelopes of money to the groom, satin purses to collect cash for dances with the bride and cash bars are traditions past their prime, Dunson said.
“To actively solicit money is just a heinous faux pas,” Dunson said. “Asking your guests to bring out their wallets will certainly put a sour taste on their tongues. Guests are not paying customers. They are guests.”
The cake smash is another tradition Dunson would rather the bride and groom do without.
“We’re not against fun,” Dunson said. “We’re just against public displays of tacky.”
Find more articles at http://www.media43.com
Read more: Wedding Is Time For Everyone To Mind Their Manners
Do opposites really attract? I believe there is some truth to this. At first the euphoria of a new relationship brings much elation and happiness, even in a relationship that is unpredictable as is with opposites. But after five years into the marriage will this now “old found love” still be alive and strong, and will these opposites still attract each other?
The first thing young people should know before getting married is that there is no such thing as Cinderella and Prince charming marriages. It just doesn’t work like that. At first the slipper fits, but later, after trials and tribulations, the slipper becomes too small.
There are no exceptions to this rule.
It is very crucial that couples develop and grow together through the daily grind of work, career, children, circumstances, and marital issues that can and will affect marriage tremendously.
Couples should believe in the same issues and concerns that become readily apparent in marriage. They need to deeply and thoroughly discuss the subjects of career, family, religion, etc, before saying those “I do’s”.
For younger couples who have never been married before, I really want to stress how important it is to communicate how you both feel about certain topics of importance and the roles each of you will assume in the marriage.
Lets take a look at just a few compatibility issues that might affect couples during marriage.
1) Your future husband thinks he would like to hunt for the sport of it, and is now an avid hunter and happy camper in the woods, but you have become involved in the conservation of animals. Will you know how to handle this incompatibility issue every time it comes up in your marriage? Or would you want to?
Unless you can come to an agreement of some sort about this major difference in character, then I don’t think you should get married.
2) Your future husband wants three or four children, but you’re not sure about even having one child! Are you willing to compromise your own wants and needs and give in to your husband’s desires? If not, I would advise you to hold off on getting married.
3) Your future wife has taken the position that she wants to have a career and maybe adopt a child later. You want her to stay home with your children. Is this going to work? No, it is not, and again, this can become a major problem in the home if it isn’t cleared up before marriage. If the issue cannot get resolved, I don’t think you should get married.
4) Your future wife is a Catholic and you are a Mormon? Are you prepared to deal with the stresses involved in such religious variation? Or maybe you will marry anyway and think you can change their beliefs after you’re married? Think again.
With these few compatibility issues all said and done, I still believe that two people can be opposites, and the marriage still be spiritually and mentally healthy.
It all boils down to the people in the marriage. Couples who are mentally and spiritually healthy are better equipped to deal with major issues that will involve them throughout the marriage.
Meaning, the marriage is based upon the foundation of love, commitment, honor, trust, and acceptance. These aspects for a sound and healthy marriage are what God designed marriage to be based upon!
On the flip side, if couples are going through problems of incompatibility there is no room for self-righteous behavior or control issues. This kind of behavior will wreck havoc during matters of difference. If a spouse becomes too intolerant and self-righteous the couples in the marriage cease to grow together and differences NEVER get resolved.
So what can we do BEFORE getting married that will help the marriage to be healthy and strong?
Lets ponder some pre-marital questions.
1) What will your responsibilities be in the marriage? Discuss together and share your thoughts with your future husband/wife. Agreement on these issues is very important. Know before hand what you’re getting into.
2) Express issues of importance with each other through proper communication. No marriage can withstand the perils of miscommunication or no communication at all.
3) Know what your spouse expects from you. What will your role be? What will your responsibilities be? What do you want for your marriage?
4) Know that you will be committed to you spouse through think and thin. If you go into marriage thinking that you can always get a quickie divorce, you have already gotten a divorce before you even said your “I do’s”!
5) Faults come out after marriage. Be prepared. Accept your new spouse for who they are.
It all comes down to taking your position in marriage seriously. Today many couples walk halfheartedly into marriage thinking they can get out of their responsibilities whenever they want. But this is wrong thinking and should not even be an option. Will the glass slipper ever fit?
Angie Lewis, author of new release, Journey on the Roads Less Traveled
http://www.spiritual.journeybooks.4t.com/
ISBN 1413788904
http://www.heavenministries.com/
Available Amazon and any online bookstore.
Read more: Will the Glass Slipper Ever Fit?
The war between brother and sister began as the chess board was placed on the center of the table. Tension filled the air with every move. Mom worriedly looked at our faces hoping and praying that we would finish our game in peace and not in another fight.
Any game my brother and I played together was certain to lead to a continued standoff. A complex theatrical challenge that could put either of us over the edge throwing the game into the air and snorting as if we were two bulls in an arena daring the other to win the next game.
The Chess game has always been a great way to illustrate the battle that each of us face. A complex arrangement of opposing forces positioned to challenge the players to prove who is the best and who is the biggest loser.
Unfortunately, unlike chess, the world game is not so plain to see. It has been disguised to catch a person by surprise. It throws the way we think, off balance just enough to teach us a revelation that we would not have understood without the challenge.
Because our world game is so unexpected it can keep us on the edge of our seats wondering exactly what else can go wrong. I suppose that is the reason why my being gay caused such a stir in my very religious family.
You see I grew up loving God and being taught all the religious values a student of Christ could understand. I was taught to love and to be compassionate to all people.
I was faithful and committed and I loved to serve God from camp to choir to testifying before people how good God was. But then a game formed and pulled me into a valley that required more than what I was taught.
A challenge to love a person in a way that suddenly positioned me against the very church I loved. A game of life that stirred war between what kind of love was right and what kind of love was sin.
I was not prepared for the battle that began to stir. I was thirty-one years old and up until this time I had lived a perfect life. I married as a virgin, had three children and attended church faithfully.
The spirit within me changed making me feel things I had never felt before. My eyes saw a face and the heart of another woman and I wanted her more than the blissfully peaceful life I had once been a part.
I didn’t know that when I followed my feelings of love, that I would open a door to a war that would turn my entire family away from me. I had no idea how everyone could change from praising my every move to wanting me to suffer for ever thinking I should give into this kind of love.
I had been raised that God was love, but now according to everyone I ever knew, the love I was experiencing supposedly was wrong. I didn’t understand because this love was better than anything I had ever felt before.
A fight of epic proportions raged around me. People who had loved and knew me since I was a child looked at me and despised me. Church people who were to show compassion and care, stalked my every move to prove to the court system that I was gay and thus unfit to be a mother to my children.
My ex-husband in a fury of emotions slammed a car door into my leg over and over again while our pastor and a deacon watched him vent his rage. I couldn’t believe what was happening to me. Just a few months before they had loved me and sought my help in educating others in the love of Jesus Christ.
I thought that love equals God and hate is Satan. Here I was loving for the first time and people who were to be the example of God’s love could do anything they wanted to me and not feel ashamed.
I wasn’t prepared for the fight I would face or the challenge I had to just stay alive! The court stripped me of my children. In protest I ran with my kids and was thrust into jail.
God came to me in a real way by sending me an Angel from heaven to encourage me to not give up. He said, “My Ways Are Not Human Ways Trust In Me, God Has Spoken!” He sent me messages of encouragement telling me that it was man and Satan that was hurting me, not God. “For God Is Love”!
John 15:18-20, “If the world hates you, just remember that it has hated me first. If you belonged to the world, then the world would love you as its own. But I chose you from this world, and you do not belong to it; that is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you; ‘No salve is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you too; if they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours too.”
This kind of war was not like any chess game I had ever experienced. It was an unseen war between spiritual forces of good versus evil. It was a war that gives revelation to some people and brings the worse out of others.
Because of the harshness of my reality God educated me in understanding the differences between love and hate. God opened my mind up to the concept of seeing our world as a game. A game pitting people against each other so they would come to a truth that would lead them to choose to do right.
God showed me scripture verse after verse proving to me that our world is under the rule of Satan. Satan was given control in order to test men through the evil experiences found in this world.
However, not all tests result in a person doing right. Many tests reveal the hearts of men who choose evil. When a person chooses evil, darkness comes into their lives and prevents them from understanding the truth.
It is a tool used by Satan to lead people into using the world for what they can get from it. That is the reason that people during the time of Lot perverted themselves in sexual ritual.
It was like a sex party. Crowds of people would take part in the excitement of this pagan ritual. Taking a sacrifice of a human life to use for this ritual had two fold benefits. One, they appeased the requirements of the temple god and second, they received the pleasure of the sexual act.
The men of Sodom went to Lots home in order to use the angels in their perverted rituals of fertility. These two men were beautiful beings and offering them in this ritual was considered to bring great blessings upon their community.
Worshiping and practicing rituals to gods that are not gods is leading people away from God. It allows Satan to win the game of life for evil and prevents people from understanding the difference between good and bad.
Our world must have clear differences! What happened to Sodom and Gomorrah had nothing to do with homosexuality. It have everything to do with Satan leading people down paths that would keep them from understanding. Evil paths of sin that lead to godlessness!
Sin equals darkness. Sin makes people hate. Sin prevents people from knowing God. If sin is allowed to grow it can destroy good peoples lives and prevent God’s children from winning their game of life.
God had no choice but to take action against theses cities in order to destroy the blindness from reaching out and capturing more and more towns. God sent fire from heaven to destroy this evil pagan ritual.
Exodus 20:3-6, “Worship no god but me.
Do not take for yourselves images of anything in heaven or on earth or in the water under the earth. Do not bow down to any idol or worship it, because I am the Lord your God and I tolerate no rivals. I bring punishment on those who hate me and on their descendants down to the third and fourth generation. But I show my love to thousands of generations of those who love me and obey my laws.”
Sodom and Gomorrah were destroy as a result of godlessness. It had nothing to do with God not creating homosexuals!
The Chess game took on a form of war that led to a truth. A truth that was disguised so that the evil found in the hearts of men would be revealed.
Good men recognize love and do what is right, but if you are not careful a good man can be used as an instrument of hate.
Read more: The Battle Over Love
When little girls spend their math classes daydreaming of weddings (instead of winning the World Series — not to say you can’t do both), what do they dream of first? The perfect wedding dress, of course: a gown in white satin with a bustle and sweeping train, the perfect embellishments, and the perfect shoes.
There are few occasions in our modern world where a woman finds herself in a position to wear a no-holds-barred ball gown, much less a crystal tiara, and all too many where she’s called on to wear to a neutral suit or uninspiring “biz-caz” combo. No wonder that with so many brides, their wedding plans start with the dress.
Many of these brides are lucky. They may search high and low, braving chilly department stores and pushy bridal shops, but eventually they come face-to-face with The One. They know this is The One because they start crying, or their mother or friends all start crying at once. Suddenly the rest of the planning … the theme, the tone, the right kind of venues … it all springs to life.
Other brides aren’t as fortunate. They’ve searched just as hard, working their way through shops across three or four states, but they haven’t found The One. Instead, they’ve found three or four Contenders, all of which are serviceable and nice, but not earth-shattering enough to tell them that now is definitely time to stop the searching and get on with the planning. These brides have it harder.
Even if you’re the first kind of bride, buying the dress is such a momentous decision that you run a risk of falling into that wallet-skinning category known as the Two-Dress Bride. Here are some tips for picking the perfect dress and avoiding that awful fate.
- Bring the entourage, but don’t buy. It’s fun and useful to bring your mother, friends or sisters on the dress-shopping expedition. It gives you a buffer against an overbearing sales staff, and it’s fun to see if your impressions of perfection are shared by your loved ones, not to mention how they’ll love being part of such an important decision. But no matter how enthusiastic everyone gets over a certain dress, don’t buy in the heat of the moment. Give yourself time to reconsider and buy with a cool head later, alone. The vast majority of dresses are non-returnable, so when you’ve bought it, you’ve bought it.
- Don’t buy too early unless you must. Bridal gowns can take four to ten months to come from the manufacturer, but there’s no reason to buy over a year ahead of time, unless your chosen style is going to be discontinued. Give yourself some time to sit on your decision. Once you pick a gown, you’ll see a hundred others nearly like it. You’ll become a walking encyclopedia on that style of gown. All the better if you still have room to choose.
- If you’ve bought “The One,” stop shopping. Any more window-shopping at this point will only lead you down the road toward the dreary land of Two-Dress Brides. What you need to do instead is remember that blissful feeling of having tried on The One. Go get The One out of the closet, put it on and stand in front of the mirror. You’ll remember exactly why it’s The One.
- If you’ve bought “The One” and can’t stop shopping, get a second opinion. Show your first and second choices to other brides. Be honest — tell them you’ve already remortgaged your condo for the first dress, but you think this second dress might be It. They’ll be truthful, too — the first one was better. You’ll feel reassured.
- Don’t tell yourself “I’ll sell the old dress and choose a new one.” This old saw of the Two-Dress Bride just won’t work. You’ll never get more than a fraction of what you paid for your first dress if you bought it new.
- Don’t be afraid to aim high — no matter what your budget. Some brides knew from the start they wanted a designer label, but life just didn’t cooperate by making them heiresses. Yet all is not lost if you’re willing to shop courageously. At any given moment, a better-heeled bride is selling her once-used St. Pucchi or Ulla-Maija on eBay. She paid thousands upon thousands, but you, smart shopper, will pay half that or less. To take this road, you must shop earlier than other brides so you’ll have a choice of gowns. Always pay with a credit card so you’ll have recourse if the dress doesn’t arrive in acceptable condition, and again, shop early so you can buy another if necessary. Shop courageously, but not recklessly.
- Shop online, but never send a check. Bridal gown businesses sometimes have a way of disappearing overnight. No matter what the proprietor tells you, never make a purchase as large as a wedding gown without the chargeback protection of a credit card. If they say they can’t take plastic, move on.
- Don’t hold out forever for The One. Some brides never find The One. What they do find is a few dresses they look beautiful in. If you’re this bride, try starting your planning from the theme instead of the dress. You’ll probably eventually get sick to death of dress shopping. When that happens, “good enough” really will be good enough. Concentrate on other aspects of the wedding that mean a lot to you, like the venue, the food, or the inevitable adoration of your soon-to-be husband.
About the Author
Blake Kritzberg is proprietor of “FavorIdeas.com”. Stop by for a huge selection of wedding favors, Bridezilla’s weekly adventures, and free resources for brides. Learn more about daisy theme weddings and angel weddings.
Read more: 8 Tips for Picking the Perfect Wedding Dress
Where do I start? I receive numerous inquiries requesting information. First, I understand that the average person is gathering information to try and make an educated decision that is right for them. I’m sure many people only know what they’ve read in numerous wedding magazine articles about wedding videography and photography. I’ve read most of these articles and they range from generic to sheer nonsense- especially those articles with the checklist of important questions to ask a videographer. What one has to understand is that the person writing the article is not an expert on wedding videography. Until they were hired to write an article about wedding videography or photography to fill the spaces between advertisers looking for business, they probably knew little more than anyone else on the subject. So, in short, take what you read as a starting point and go from there.
The first question many people ask – What is the cost for a wedding video?
The short answer is, most good videographers will start at around $2,000.00. Unfortunately the wedding industry is full of people with the “get rich quick” attitude that brides are a captive audience. This ranges from the person who went out and bought some video equipment along with some videos and books on how to make money shooting wedding videos to those “wedding companies” who make a lot of money booking scores of budget conscious brides with great prices, “one stop shopping” with photos, video, and a DJ! A significant portion of the wedding industry is marketing to a predictable consumer mentality. They realize a significant number of people will shop only by price, regardless of value, esthetic quality, and long term enjoyment they would have gotten by choosing someone who’s life depends on the quality of their work.
For those who tend to be more discriminate and place a little more value on quality, you will have some decisions to make an you’ll be glad you did. The reality is, if you’ve looked carefully at finding the right photographer, you probably won’t be impressed with the plethora of people offering the cheap wedding videos.
Cost and Value:
Unfortunately, objectivity and art are not as easy as choosing between Wal-Mart and Kmart to buy a DVD player or some other exact same item. In many cases, your investment to hire a really good videographer is almost intangible when comparing the talent, expertise, and investment in time required to produce a video that’s worth watching and in some cases, the costs will be very comparable. One can’t begin to compare the end result of the stereotypical wedding video and photo companies cashing in on the “Wedding Industry” and those a truly talented videographers and photographers who love their work and work hard to provide couples with something beyond the ordinary.
A full time videographer, who’s life depends on the quality of their work will be able to provide much more value in the finished video. The budget videographers who book scores of brides at “great prices” absolutely can’t afford to invest anywhere near the required amount of editing time and detail to create a video that compares with what I, and other talented videographers will provide.
Doing anything above the all-too-common, mediocre wedding and event videography requires a real skill, a creative eye, excellent editing capabilities, and talent. You don’t study and watch videos to be a talented videographer or photographer. It’s like the musician playing a concert in front of a couple hundred people – either you have it or you don’t!
Shooting the video is only the beginning of the process
Creating a finished product that is cinemagraphic, emotional, romantic, and yet relaxed is an art and consideration should be placed on its long term value. You wouldn’t hire a band that can’t play.
Style – the most important question
As you investigate the more talented videographers it will become evident the the individual personality of the videographer, the quality of their work, and their editing style will be a major part in your decision process. The more talented videographers will have a wider range of style.
When I create a video for a client, I consider the person, the venue, and their event as a whole as part of my editing style. Each person is different. By working with a more limited number of weddings per year, I can afford to be objective in setting the mode for the video
Generally, my work is more of a detailed cinematic documentary. Most of the events are “in real time”.
To produce a video that tells a story in real life requires a full time job just in editing. The video must have life and it must provide a full overview of the event. I like to shoot in a relaxed photojournalistic style.
This allows me ample footage to create a dramatic video with precise detail, and still keep the storyline moving. I also offer “short form” contemporary style videos, that are focused on a more romantic style. Many clients like to have both the documentary style along with the 15 minute romantic highlight video to share with friends. Unfortunately, I see just about everyone now uses “documentary” and “photojournalism” buzz words in their advertising. Hopefully, they aren’t just throwing out words people want to hear and really understand the concept!
Spectacular audio quality
Audio quality is the most overlooked and often the most noticeable shortcoming in wedding video. Your videographer should be able to provide at least four wireless microphones for any event. Concentrate on listening for more than the vows. Demand to hear examples of readers, instrumentalists, vocalists, and string quartets. Your wedding will be a beautiful experience. Don’t allow on-camera microphones to record your event. Make sure your videographer understands the principles of acquiring good audio for your video.
Natural, Comfortable, Relaxed
I like to refer to myself as a photojournalist with a video camera. When you think about it, this is the key to how I get great footage. When we think of the “Life Magazine Photos”, we think of drama, good composition, and telling the story as seen through the lens.
Molesting the Guests
This also means that I do not “molest guests” at weddings… Frankly, my clients certainly don’t want me sticking a bright light and a microphone in their guests’ faces and asking them to “say something to the bride and groom”, having them to do interviews, or having the bride and groom pretend they are doing “this or that” for the video. Too many people including myself and my wife have “been there, done that” with this type of videographer at a wedding. Frankly there are much better things to do with a video camera and my talent would be wasted chasing people around doing interviews.
People look their best when they are acting naturally. By staying in the background, yet always there, I tend to go relatively unnoticed, but still get great footage. I am a minimalist when it comes to lighting and attracting attention. Most of my work relies only on ambient room lighting. Many photographers I work with have even commented on my ability to get great candid shots. These are the shots that really make a great video, people in real life, being who they really are. Most people are not actors, everyone looks best when you let them be themselves.
Good Camera Skills
This is the key to being a good videographer. To have a good video, you really have to display excellent camera skills and composition. This is the primary key to having a video that is dynamic, exciting, and realistic. My professional background consists of music, photojournalism, industrial photography, and television production. Now well into my second decade specializing in wedding, event, and corporate videography , you can be assured that I come with both the necessary experience and the appropriate background.
The internet and Bridal Magazines are literally full of new faces doing wedding video every year. However, their ads would make it look like they’ve been doing wedding videography for years. In case you’re wondering, there are numerous images taken directly from tape on this site that are over ten years old!
Anyone who buys a camera and takes out an ad in a wedding magazine instantly considers themselves a wedding videographer. The same holds true for some photographers and other companies in the wedding industry that buy video equipment and hire weekend people to shoot video. Anyone can pick up a camera and point it and take a video. Unfortunately, the end results often look like it too!. Don’t be fooled by dazzling special effects and computer animation. Many people tout these capabilities in their advertising, but all of the effects usually seen in wedding video are usually just a substitute for good editing and the ability to build a story line.
State of the art equipment
I come to a job prepared for just about anything. This includes multiple cameras, an extra broadcast lens and 8 professional wireless microphone systems for capturing audio from all sources at both the ceremony and reception. I have the availability to record at least 6 channels of independent audio simultaneously.
I use the Sony DSR-390L, a completely digital camera shooting on the larger DVCAM digital format. It features three newly designed 1/2 in., 410,000-element Power HAD CCD imaging devices that provide an unbelievable picture quality with an unprecedented lowlight sensitivity of 0.4 lux minimum illumination – in other words, the camera will see in the dark. The major advantages I offer with this latest camera is that in many situations, absolutely no additional lighting other than normal room light is required. The camera sees what we see! This is a significant advantage when trying to maintain a low sense of visibility around guests.
By processing video signal data at three levels — brightness, hue, and saturation — the TruEye process assists in the reproduction of natural skin tones and basically sees what the human eye sees at any given light level.
Several fellow videographers in the area are using the Sony DSR-300, a fantastic camera also. It has the larger imaging devices, same audio capabilities and uses the larger DVCAM tape. Basically the only differences are minor and the new cameras will have a slight edge in low light performance.
Some videographers will use the Sony DSR 250 which is one in a class of stripped down cameras offered by most of the manufacturers geared specifically for the “wedding event market”. This camera still offers a significant improvement over the older SVHS video cameras, but it only has small 1/3″ imaging devices resulting in much less resolution and poor low light performance when compared to cameras with larger imaging devices.
The highest majority of typical wedding videographers use the smaller, much less expensive “handycam” style of video cameras. While these cameras do a nice job for their size and relatively low cost, they have very small 1/4″ CCD imaging devices, offering relatively poor low light performance and less image quality. Other serious limitations are the lack of a professional lens, the ability to adjust exposures, and limited audio functions. These cameras do have their place. For situations where there is plenty of light, like a garden wedding or daylight situations, the picture is pretty good and their smaller size makes them easier to use over longer periods of time. I keep one in my collection to use when ever I feel that the lighting conditions and shooting situation is just right.
All editing is done on professional Media-100 systems and over 500 gigabytes of disk storage. This system allows editing at very high data rates for optimum picture quality. Don’t let computer editing be confused with the idea of special effects and animations. I do not do the stereotypical wedding video with pictures popping out of hearts and tacky special effects. My work is clean and dramatic.
Video is mastered to DVD and backups are kept for a limited time on full sized DVCAM digital tape. We can still provide VHS to those clients who require it, but the cost of DVD players today can be well under $100.00 so it makes no sense to use tape.
Unless you choose wisely, your wedding video could be a haunting disappointment.
Remember, your videographer will be with you throughout your wedding day! Choose someone you feel confident will interact well with both you and your guests. You will find that your photo album and video will compliment each other. You should arrange to reserve your photographer and videographer as soon as you secure your reception site. Some dates can be in reservation over a year in advance. Seek out the highest quality and hire the best photographer and videographer that you can afford.
Find more articles at http://www.media43.com
Read more: Choosing a Wedding Videographer
While each person’s situation is unique, there are steps to follow that are common to all in the event that you and/or your spouse decide to file for divorce. Here is some general divorce advice:
The process of divorce results in putting a legal end to a marriage. Although divorce proceedings differ from one state to another, most states follow a specific order:
A divorce will begin with a document called a Petition (or Complaint in some states) that formally notifies the court and the other spouse that he or she wishes to end the marriage. This document also presents an overview of terms, such as child support, custody and visitation rights, spousal support, property and debt division, and last-but-not-least, attorney’s fees and costs.
Opposing papers or a response is then filed by the other spouse. In some states, if a spouse does not file opposing papers within a certain window time from when the petition was issued, the spouse can lose the right to have his or her side of the case presented in court.
Next, temporary orders lay down the short-term rules while the case is pending. The discovery, or legal procedure of gathering information about each spouse, can either be quick, or lengthy, costly and time-consuming.
Finally, a case can either be settled by an alternative dispute resolution, or it will need to go to trial. A divorce that goes to trial will typically most emotional and difficult, particularly for the children.
Your best source for divorce information is an experienced attorney. A lawyer can give you divorce information that is relevant to your specific needs. Some lawyers even specialize in divorce for men and others are familiar with issues pertaining to women and divorce.
Developing a rapport with your attorney is an important step in understanding the entire divorce process. The more knowledge you have, the better-informed your decisions will be.
In acute bronchitis the most important is to stay calm and relax. Camomille tea and chicken soup are said to be the best remedies.
Because sometimes bronchitis is mistaken with a simple flu patients try to treat it on their own. Emergen –C style vitamins, Robitussin may help you to cough and expectorate and have a good sleep during the night. You should stay in door and in warm places (in bed) and let your organism to take care of it. Hot baths and plenty of fluids are of great help, when you sleep maintain a half sitting up position so as to cough less.
Eating honey is also heplfull because it may soothe the throat. For acute bronchitis you do not need antibiotics so the infection will disappear in one week, if you have fever you may take aspirin, do not smoke. For a secondary bacterial infection antibiotics are prescribed and maybe an inhaler and an expectorant. Theraflu and tea with lemon and honey, hot toddies with bourbon are helpfully. For some people with bronchitis hot baths instead of steam are better.
Codeine is the most wanted ingredient when you have acute bronchitis. It has been explained why cough suppressants are not useful, you drown with your own secretions that can’t be eliminated.
If you have trouble breathing in the Emergency Room you may be given an albuterol breathing treatment, an inhaler, and some prednasone. Bronchitis may complicate with pneumonia and that is quite severe, especially in children which are not supervized by parents and they do not treat well or at whole their bronchitis. That’s why important to have rest and warm.
Sometimes only the rest and the home care won’t help so try to visit your doctor and buy your drugs, even more important is to take them. If you notice that your health is not improved in one week than you may suspect a complication, the most probable one is pneumonia. A cough may continue for several more weeks, the progression of chronic bronchitis, on the other hand, may be slowed, but an initial improvement in symptoms may be achieved.
For those with chronic disease and very young children preventive measures have a high importance so immunizations are highly recommended. If you are unsure about what type of medications are in over-the-counter cough syrups you should ask the pharmacist for an explanation.
If you have these symptoms you are likely to develop acute bronchitis: dry, hacking unproductive cough that may change to a loose cough with increased mucus, runny nose, sore throat, back and other muscle pains, chills and low grade fever, headache and general malaise (feeling unwell). Wheezing after coughing is common.
Read more: Intense home care in Acute Bronchitis