The Model Info Center

Proposing marriage to your beloved is a very big step. You get the ring, but then you don’t know when, where, or how to actually pop the question. You want it to be an event that both of you will remember for a lifetime. Some things to consider are listed below.

1. Being creative. Creativity does not have to cost a lot of money.

2. Including romance. Find out what she thinks is romantic and then make it happen.

3. Being sensitive. Do not embarrass her by being very public about the proposal when she is a very private person.

4. Saying the wrong thing. Be careful not to say the wrong thing.

5. Picking a place. Consider very carefully where to propose.

6. Picking a time. If she is not a morning person, that is probably not the time.

7. Getting help from friends. Don’t be hesitant to enlist the help of others.

8. Making it memorable. She will tell the story many, many times.

9. Using a video camera. Decide if you want it recorded. You may just want someone to use a camera.

10. Getting down on one knee and not forgetting the ring!

There are many ways to propose marriage to the one you love. With a little effort, it will be a very memorable and happy event. Take the time to research and decide on the perfect way to propose.

Copyright © 2005 Susan Daniel and Debbie Overstreet

About Susan and Debbie: Susan and Debbie are internet marketers. You can review more articles and Web sites on marriage and weddings by visiting http://www.ultimateweddingsite.com

Ah! It’s the wedding night. You’ve cut the cake, drank the toast, danced the dance, and now, at last you are completely alone. Unlike the bride and groom of the past.

In those days the wedding night was deemed to be very much a part of the wedding day celebration. In some cases the couple would be literally placed in the bed by their friends. In others, while the two were seemingly alone, the beating of instruments or domestic utensils, together with encouraging advice bellowed at full blast outside their window, never let them forget their wedding guests’ presence.

The necessity for all this hullabaloo was explained as keeping bad luck away from all that happiness that the couple had acquired in finding each other. But everyone knew it was all meant to aggravate and frustrate the newly married couple. It has been suggested that Henry V111 was never quite as potent on his honeymoon as he could have been because of the lack of privacy that went hand in hand with being a ruler. Give him an anonymous inn and a comely wench, and he was twice the man, creating little Henrys with no trouble at all.

The romantic lover understood that the fortitude of the bride in the face of the previous night’s outrage, deserved some consideration.

Waking up in the morning after a good night, the husband would hand to the object of his passion, something that would be a reminder of the experience for the rest of their life. It could be an extravagant piece of jewellery - perhaps a family heirloom worth a small fortune. Or it might be a deed to a prized piece of real estate. In any case, the generosity of a husband at such a time was legendary and not often repeated there after.

The less bashful bride would have thought deeply about it long before the wedding day, and was not beyond asking for a specific gift. At such a time it was always, “Whatever your heart desires is yours, my dear.” He might have added, as some of them did, “Ask wisely.” We’ve all seen those operas or read those myths and fairy tales where the bride would ask for a favour that eventually, and sometimes immediately, turn her life into a disaster. But if the headstrong bride didn’t know her own best interest, it was hardly the fault of her lord and master, be he a Bluebeard or a husband with a past.

Democracy and income tax has pretty well put a stop to these extravagant, and sometimes deadly gestures. Though, for all we know, perhaps the very rich and famous are still into tossing a chateaux or a directorship at their brides. But for the rest, to commemorate that first night as they should, all they need is a little bit of creativity.

Vlady Peters, who is a Civil Marriage Celebrant, is an author of three books, “The Complete Book of Australian Weddings”, “The Small Organsiation Handbook”, and an ebook “Honeymoon! A Sizzle or a Fizzle” which you can see on her website http://www.vlady-celebrant.com

Flower bouquets the button hole and centre pieces will always be one of the star attractions at weddings. Flower posy/bouquets denote a blossoming maiden which evidently helps reflect her feelings and emotions. The planning of the wedding bouquet takes just as much careful thought behind getting it right for on the day as that of the wedding gown.
Whatever race/religion, bouquets will still always be seen as a tradition to be kept. The more of natures natural beauties lining church pews/aisles will send out a lingering aromatic fragrance and a vast amount of colour to brighten up your day.

What to take into consideration when choosing your wedding bouquet:

1. By choosing seasonal flowers you will save time and money, if you insist on blooms out of season then you may find they have to be shipped in from another country.
Time is important when you order and receive the flowers, you will want them fresh therefore a stronger sweet smelling scent.

2. If you have silk flowers in mind then better still this way you are guaranteed your particular favourite flower no matter the time of year so no need to put the wedding on hold.
3. Do not make the mistake of letting the bouquet outshine or cover your figure if you are of petite frame the reason being is, your posture maybe affected thus giving off the wrong image of how your wedding gown should look. If the elegant style of the gown is to stay then make sure to choose pastels instead of strong vibrant colours.
(Depending on the wedding outfit of course)

4. Make sure that your flowers still hold up for late afternoon photo shoots should your wedding service take place in the morning.
A preferred method by brides to keep the flowers fresh while not posing in front of a camera or piling on the pounds at the wedding feast, (who cares now you got your man)only joking is to have a bouquet holder close at hand. Ask the florist for advice on which flowers wilt more quickly than others, by having this information under your garter you will at least know the ones to avoid.

5. On your first visit to the flower shop don’t let the florist conjure up what they think you have in mind, they are not mind readers, It is only you at this point knows what you are looking for. Make it easy on both yourself and the florist by taking a photo of the style and design of the bouquet, another good idea is to bring along a sample piece of gown fabric so that the wedding coordinator/florist can select the correct shade of flower to compliment the wedding dress. Additional touches to Bouquets include ribbons lace beads or pearls.

6. Say it with flowers and mean it, why not choose a flower that has special meaning? Take the Stephanotis which stands for happiness in marriage, then we have the Rose denoting love and being true, another fabulous flower is the Tulip with a meaning declaring perfect love, why not have them all if your betrothed means that much to you.

7. Bouquets are becoming more personalized these days so design yours to suit your personality, everyone else is so why not you. Clusters of flowers more widely known as nose gays can vary in sophistication and will fit any personality. Beauty prevails in the flower cascading bouquet which is seen a lot at traditional weddings.

Flowers where the stems are wrapped in ribbons are called Hand-tied bouquets. It is these bouquets that bring a casual aura more often to garden ceremonies. We also have the Contemporary bouquet where flowers are arranged tastefully in a style with no geometric form but still as gorgeous as any other hand held bridal piece, normally used in sophisticated weddings.

8. If your choice is Roses, Lilies, Orchids, Tulips, Stephanotis or Daisies for your bridal bouquet then you have just picked the top flowers that have dominated many a wedding in the past and in the future to come.

Hours of research brought me to this fabulous site and hey what do you know everything you could possibly need is all here to make your wedding day special..Well worth a visit dont just take my word for it www.your-wedding-planning-help.com.

Here’s a favorite tradition of our family in outdoor Halloween decor:

RING OF GHOSTS

Materials:

3 Twin-sized Sheets
3 Four foot lengths of flexible 1/2 inch PVC Piping, Wooden Stakes or Dowels
3 Small White Plastic Garbage Bags
Masking Tape
Newspaper
String or Twist Ties
Black Marker (optional)

Instructions:

1. First, determine a good location for your ghost gathering. Find a wide open area, or you may decide to group them around a tree or light pole.

2. To make the ghosts’ heads, crumple up newspaper and stuff the three small plastic trash bags to the desired size.

3. Stick one of the PVC pipes into one of the bags and wrap the neck with masking tape to secure. Repeat for the other ghosts.

5. Cover each ghost head with a sheet, gathering with string or a twist tie under each head. The head should be in the middle of the sheet, so the outer edges can be attached to the neighboring ghosts.

You can make taller or shorter ghosts, but you must adjust the size of sheet you use to accommodate. Our ghosts will be just under 4 feet tall.

4. Push the PVC piping into the ground in a circular formation about 1-2 feet apart. The sheets should touch the ground and cover up the support. You can also use wooden stakes or dowels, but your ghosts won’t have as much movement as they will with the PVC piping.

6. Finally, knot the ends of the sheets together to give the impression the ghosts are holding hands. Because the PVC is flexible, your ghosts will now bob and sway in the wind!

7. If desired, make Casper-like faces on the sheets with black marker.

We have 3 children, so we always make 3 ghosts, but you can connect as many ghosts as you wish!

They’ll look like they’re playing a spooky game of “ring-around-the-rosy”!

FLAGPOLE SPOOKS

These spooky decorations are easy if you have an angled flagpole attached to the front of your house.

Scary Flagpole Ghost: Hang a “Scream” style mask off the end of the flagpole. Tie a white sheet or a generous length of white tulle around and behind the mask. This scary creature will appear to be flying as his white garment flutters in the wind.

Flagpole Frankenstein: Hang a Frankenstein mask off the end of the flagpole. Tie a dark colored trash bag tied behind it. Shredding the trash bag around the edges will add to the spooky effect.

Flagpole Witch: Hang a witch mask off the end of the flagpole. Attach a witch hat to the mask, then tie a dark colored trash bag tied behind it. Shred the trash bag to make the witch’s robe flap in the wind.

Patricia B. Jensen is a mother of three and kids party enthusiast. She is the webmaster and owner of Kids-Party-Paradise.com - a complete resource for kids party ideas including invitations, cakes, decorations, games, costumes, favors, and food. For all the latest party news, read her Kids Party Blog. Subscribe to the Kids Party Paradise Newsletter and get timely updates on popular new party ideas and themes, and so much more…

I can not tell you how many times I’ve called my mom and said “mom I just have to have your recipe for such and such”. It’s been a slow accumulation of recipes, but she chuckles each time I realize I need yet another recipe from her.

Now that I have an adult daughter of my own I really wanted to pass the recipes on to her also. Many of these recipes she’s been eating since she was old enough for solids. My daughter also has a recipe book from her aunt on her dad’s side.

Recipe scrapbooks can be given to aunts, uncles, cousins, children etc. A 6×6 scrapbook works wonderfully. They are large enough to hold a 3×5 index card. You can also use an 8×8 scrapbook and have the recipes on paper, instead of index cards.

I think it’s a great mix to combine photos and recipes. For example, a group family photo at the beginning of the album is a great way to start off the album. If you’ve asked for recipes from multiple family members, put a photo of the recipe submitter on one page and the recipe on the opposite page.

It’s also a great help to have a shopping list. Consider the actual recipe on one page and a shopping list on the opposite page. I very often take a recipe to the market with me and shop off the recipe page. By creating the list, the recipe book holder just needs to remove the shopping list page and take it to the market.

Another idea is to create a bit of history with your recipes. If you’ve had several family members contribute recipes, consider having the recipe on page, photos on one page and a bit of information on the author on a 3rd page. Most scrapbooks are very expandable, so there is room for many pages in one album.

All of my cookbooks have measurement charts and converters in them, so when making a recipe album, it’s great to add this information to either the back or the front.

Recipe albums are a great gift for both the new bride, especially if the gift comes from her husband’s family with recipes for all of the dishes he grew up with and for the college graduate setting up their first home.

Audrey Okaneko has been scrapbooking for several years. She can be reached at audreyoka@cox.net or visited at http://www.scrapping-made-simple.com

It is a known fact that advertising is made to attract our eyes. Marketers work very hard to plant visual memories in your mind. They use anomaly phrases, rhetorical questions, sexy images and ironic text. There are many reasons why this is done but the biggest reason is that it works. Our eyes are often caught and our brains captured for a moment while we digest the advertisement. Since the advertising world has done such a good job in making us look and think there is a slight hesitation in our gaze and direction of sight. This of course is the world’s best time to snap a shot or grab an image of a human on a surveillance camera.

One of the best methods of insuring that images are captured is to place them behind power advertising promotional signs. So often surveillance cameras are put up on corners of buildings or on ceilings. We saw after the 7-7 London Transit Bombings images of perpetrators used by police investigators to track down the other links of suspects and perhaps even prevent future attacks. As we study the human eye gaze innate characteristics and the time of visual recognition we see that some images take the mind-eye visual registration a second extra. This is enough time to catch a really good image of each passer by for use in face recognition software to use for searching databases of “Watch List” humans who are most apt to be problematic to our civilization.

Often if a person of ill intentions is casing a location, doing a dry run or preparing for an evil act, they will avoid cameras when they see them. One concept is to put up cameras in plain view, which are dummy cameras or decoy cameras. When someone avoid them they will look away causing an anomaly or someone who has something to hide. Then as they look away we would be wise to hide a hidden camera in a somewhat shocking advertisement, behind a glass or plastic encased ad. As the person looks away he or she is hooked on for a second longer on the image. Bingo, we got the image even if they attempted to avoid every camera in the place. This would work in Stadiums, Shopping Malls, Board Walks and Airports. Think on this.

“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

oceanfront real estate south carolina

No place in the US quite has the beaches that South Carolina does. See South Carolina sits along the golf stray which keeps the waters off South Carolina warm and comfortable. It’s also been blessed with numerous barrier islands and miles and miles of white sandy beaches. With a mild year-round climate, it’s always a great time to visit oceanfront real estate in South Carolina.

For ever you go in the US, people are looking for oceanfront property. Snow wonder living near the ocean, where you can hear the waves crashing in, is a very relaxing and stress-free way of life. With the natural ambience found in South Carolina it’s even more relaxing. Ever since the first settlers came to South Carolina, two things became synonymous oceanfront real estate South Carolina.

There are many different places to look for oceanfront real estate South Carolina. Johns Island is always popular with tourists, locals, and those in search of a better life. Kiawah Island is also quite popular with those who love golfing. Seabrook Island is a private resort island that features everything anyone would like in oceanfront real estate South Carolina.

While the South Carolina beaches may not be as worldwide popular as the beaches in Southern California, Florida or even Hawaii, they are arguably much more scenic and much more inviting. Of all the states, the oceanfront property South Carolina has is some of the most beautiful, breathtaking, relaxing and stress-free. These beaches are the epitome of quality value and a better way of life. The only way to truly experience them is to check them out for yourself.

5.

The Old and Dying

When my mother died, it was like blowing out a candle, almost as if she was ready for a vacation. When death comes, I hope it is that simple for me; perhaps living was much harder than dying, at that moment (time and place) for her; Christ being in her corner, she felt much safer, she wanted to go, she just wasn’t sure if she had enough wind to blow, to blow out the candle. Thus, it proves: the old and dying are wiser.

#1161 [2/2/06] A Prose Poem

6.

A Light Sleepy Winter
[In Minnesota: February 7, 2006]

Outside the snow is light; it’s been a thin winter. Now being February, I don’t think the earth fell to sleep this season; tired as it may be from a busy summer and fall. I suppose it can wait and get its sleep next year, and freeze us all to hell.

#1189 2/7/06

7.

Before Us Humans

Before us humans, God created other humans, do not fret; heaven has its own ways, its own breath. In any case, these humans of long ago put their handprints on many a walls; built many a stone shelters; built things yet not seen.

I think they were sayingin their own cleaver way: “Look, we were here before youwhoever you areenjoy the scenery: it’s a short stay.”

#1188 2/7/06

See Dennis’ web site: http://dennissiluk.tripod.com

Every wedding day is a special day. But what makes that day memorable to guests is your presentation. From simple affairs to elaborate occasions, one of the best ways to present your special day is with a theme. A theme pulls all the elements of a wedding together into a singular spectacular event.

A theme can be limited to a simple color scheme or be elaborate and unique as a St. Tropez theme with Parisian flavor. Choosing a theme in the early stages of wedding planning is important. This way the bride can work personalized colors and theme into every aspect of her important day.

Themes can vary from the understated and elegant cocoa, ivory and gold, to a festive, colorful tropical theme. One of the first places to start out with your theme presentation is with your invitations. A “Save the Date” announcement or official invitation is an opportunity to present your guests with spectacular theme-based stationary. Sending your guests a custom keepsake invitation is like giving them a small piece of artwork.

Invitations and accessories can be customized to your theme by featuring your colors, textures and small additions like flowers or seashells. The theme can be continued on your special day in your church and hall decor, table linens, table decorations and table number. Take home keepsakes can also mimic your invitation and theme. Theme can even be carried onto the wedding cake. Imagine your wedding cake decorated with theme elements instead of traditional frosting flowers.

Your special day can become truly memorable with early planning and a fantastic theme that repeats itself throughout your wedding day.

Have you ever wondered what makes cheating spouses cheat in the first place? They certainly didn’t get married with the intention of being unfaithful to their spouse, so why did they do it? Many “infidelity experts” on the internet these days are offering solutions on how to find PROOF that will expose your spouse or catch them “in the act”. But instead of putting 100% of your effort in finding solid proof, your energy would be better spent understanding what went wrong in your marriage. It’s fairly common for “chronic” cheating spouses to give up on a relationship the moment things start to become a little difficult. Rather than admitting and accepting that there’s a problem in their marriage, they look for someone else to fulfill their needs. These “needs” could be anything from a physical connection to strictly intellectual relations leading to an emotional affair. Affairs take place because one spouse’s needs are no longer being met by their partner. Cheating spouses are then drawn to someone else who WILL (temporarily) meet those needs. What increases the chance of an affair taking place is when a man marries a woman who idealizes love and spends her whole life going in and out of marriages in search of her “perfect soul mate”. Soul mates may exist in romance movies but in real life, it takes work to create a lasting relationship. Like it or not, marriage is WORK…but it doesn’t have to be “hard” work. If you want win your spouse over after an affair, you need to know how to meet his/her needs.

Every couple goes into marriage with expectations of each other that are NEVER CLEARLY DISCUSSED simply because they don’t REALLY understand, nor can they clearly explain what their own expectations are…let alone their spouses! Cheating spouses cheat because they’re in search of unmet, yet unspoken deep emotional needs. It’s as simple as this….. If YOU aren’t meeting your spouse’s needs, they will find SOMEONE ELSE who WILL!

This fact is also one of the reasons why most affairs don’t last. Let me explain…

When your spouse met this other man/woman, they THOUGHT that this other person was meeting their needs, but what was really happening is they were blinded by the “Romance” stage of a relationship.

You and your spouse went through this stage also. If you think back to the beginning of your relationship, you may not have noticed at the time, but the two of you were on your BEST behavior.

Looking back, it might even seem like your spouse was a different person back then.

The reason?

There is actually a chemical released in your brain that makes you feel “infatuated” with this other person. It would even be safe to say that cheating spouses can’t think straight when they’re caught up in this “biological phenomenon”.

This is also why some couples make irrational decisions early in their relationship, like going off to Las Vegas and getting married on a whim. Down the road, after the Romance stage of their relationship is over, many of these couples eventually get divorced.

So if you’re worried that your cheating spouse is “in love” with this other person, chances are, the affair is VERY short lived…which means you STILL have a chance to win over your spouse!

You owe it to yourself (and your children if you have them) to give your marriage a second chance. In fact, here’s a statistic that might give you some inspiration….

A study from the Institute for American Values found that “almost eight out of 10 couples who avoided divorce were happily married five years later.”

If you can just get over this affair, this obstacle in your marriage, and start meeting each other’s needs, I promise you, your marriage will be much stronger and more fulfilling than it was…even BEFORE the affair took place.