Friday, July 16, 2010

German Wedding Customs

It is fun to incorporate customs from other countries into your wedding day. If a bride or her groom has German heritage, it would be nice to include some of the traditional highlights of a German wedding into your nuptials. Many of the basic concepts are similar to the elements of an American wedding, but there definitely are some unique Germanic customs.

First of all, a German wedding celebration typically lasts for days, not just an afternoon. As is common in many European countries, a civil ceremony is a requirement for a legal marriage. This ceremony at the courthouse normally takes place within a few days of the bigger church wedding. The civil service is small, with only a couple of witnesses and the bride in a simple dress of skirt and blouse.

The night before the church wedding, there is an event called Polterabend. This German custom involves smashing plates and china (but not glass) as a sign of good luck for the married couple. The idea is that these plates will be broken, but never the marriage. At the end of the fun, the bride and groom have to clean up all of the shards and pieces. The Polterabend usually turns into a fun, informal party with the couples' friends, family, and neighbors.

Some parts of the church wedding will look familiar to Americans, but certain things are done differently in Germany. One big difference is that the couple proceeds up the aisle together without any bridesmaids, flower girls, or groomsmen. Remember that at this point, the bride and groom are already legally married. The religious ceremony is usually on the long side - up to an hour and a half - and includes a full Mass (for Catholics), a sermon, and singing.

The bride and groom's attire is not all that different from what Americans are accustomed to seeing at a wedding. The bride wears a white bridal gown, although trains are often short or omitted altogether. If the bride decides to wear a veil, she will keep it on at least through the first dance at the reception. One thing that might surprise a lot of people, is that German women do not normally have engagement rings. Instead the couple chooses matching wedding bands as bridal jewelry, which are worn on the right hand instead of the left. Of course, the bride will still wear bridal jewelry, such as earrings and a necklace, to compliment her wedding gown.

As the German newlyweds leave the church, they will be showered in rice. Throwing of rice is an ancient symbol of fertility, and the German custom is that every grain of rice that sticks in the bride's hair represents a future child. The couple makes their exit from the church in a flower bedecked car, followed by a procession of the guests, who tie white ribbons to their car antennas. There is lots of happy honking of horns, and the passing traffic will honk back for good luck.

The wedding reception is an all night affair in Germany (again, this is true in most of Europe). The party begins with cake, tortes, and coffee while the couple has their wedding portraits snapped. This is followed by dancing, the formal dinner, and more dancing until dawn. By all accounts, German wedding receptions sound like really fun parties, with games, toasting, and plenty of beer flowing. The couple's first dance, by the way, is traditionally a waltz. One interesting German tradition involves the couple attempting to saw a log together. How well they manage the task is supposed to demonstrate teamwork, and how well they will work together at chores in their marriage.

The fun does is not quite over when the party winds down. When the newlyweds leave the reception, they will get to see what sort of mischief their friends have created in the bridal suite. A favorite trick is to take apart the bed. Sometimes revelers will also fill the room with balloons, or do other funny things. (Of course it is not only Germans who like to mess up the bride and groom's hotel room. I recall sneaking up to short-sheet the bed and writing "Kilroy was here" on the sheets of my aunt and uncle's room. For the record, I was more of a witness than a participant - I was only twelve years old.)

A German wedding ends with a honeymoon just as an American wedding does. Beaches are popular destinations, and a great place to relax and unwind from the wedding whirlwind. After all, once you have cleaned up the smashed plates, sawed the log, and danced until dawn, who wouldn't need a little rest and relaxation?

Friday, July 9, 2010

Celebrating the Divine Feminine

In the ancient world the Divine Feminine, or Goddess, was often portrayed in three aspects: maiden, mother, and old woman. We live in a very different world today, but it is worth looking at these three aspects because they are still important stages in a woman's life -- even though they don't encompass all that a modern woman is. Moving from one stage to another marks a significant and irreversible natural shift in our bodies and our female being.

Now you might be thinking, This all sounds like the old maxim, "Biology is destiny," and who wants to be defined by that anymore? Well, yes, it does sound that way - unless you also consider these three stages as spiritual shifts in our lives.

What might the spiritual nature of each phase of the Goddess have been like?

We can imagine something of this from looking at Minoan civilization, dating from about 3,000 to 1400 B.C. The Minoans lived on the island of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea. Abundant archaeological evidence exists for this society's reverence of a Goddess. Murals found at Knossos, a town in Crete, show plant life in exuberant growth around the central image of a female deity. Animals and humans are depicted as part of this abundance. These paintings reveal reverence for the generative powers of Earth.

What do you think a society with reverence of the Divine Feminine might have looked like?

Let's imagine what a Minoan woman might say about the Maiden phase of the Divine Feminine. Let's call her Minah.

"Our young girls hold the potential for our society's future. They come from the spirit world to grace our society with their potential, talent, and skills, which blossom with our teachings.

"Our girls are like earth's spring season, the handiwork of the Goddess. She graciously gives us our maidens for the good of our society, just as She gives us seeds to germinate and flower.

"We have a celebration of our maidens at the full moon just before spring. Everyone comes to our pole festival. The girls do a circle dance around the pole and interweave ribbon streamers hanging from the pole.

"All come to dance, feast and watch the bull game. For this occasion our best girl athletes perform feats on a bull's back. Our bulls are trained to work with our athletes. The bull is a sign of the masculine principle. The cooperation of girl athlete and bull shows union of the creative powers of female and male. For we see that all life is created through the union of male and female every spring season.

"Our daughters carry the potential of the mysterious power of creation. We see the female as the active creative principle which we call Goddess. Our maidens are therefore She whom we adore. Our girls carry the lineage of our society, from mother to daughter.

"Our girls are well-educated. We expect them to contribute their gifts and learning to our culture. They learn the lore of the natural world, rhetoric, music, dance, writing, athletics.

"They learn to delight in the body, and from a very early age they eagerly await their coming sexuality. But we don't regard menarche as the first time a girl becomes important in her own right as a woman. We celebrate our daughters' seed nature, long before their menarche, just as we thank and celebrate the Earth Mother for the seed power she gives us to reproduce life.

Girl Guiding

Way back in my past, when I was at boarding school, I joined a Brownie Unit. I remember vaguely plaiting hair and walking on stilts, mind boarding school was so boring that I also learnt to knit and crochet ( no not at Brownies)- and yes, we didn't have TV back then, leastways only the seniors did.

When my eldest daughter turned eight, I was approached by the local leader and invited to check out Guiding. My eldest just loved it and the following year, my second daughter also joined.

Before long I agreed to help out, then I became a leader myself. I think the old maxim is true, "Once a Girl Guide, Always a Girl Guide".

In the year 2000, Australian Guiding went through a revolution, deciding to make the break from the traditional English program and create one of it's own. Like most things, this came with a mixture of good, bad and flaws that showed up later. Good was a program designed more for our conditions, lots of outdoors stuff and more contemporary badges. Bad was the dropping of 'girl' out of the name to be just "Guides" - Yes, it has been returned. Flaws that are showing up are things like the lack of progression, which I hope will be tackled in their latest review.

Despite all this however, my girls have gained a great deal from this wonderful organization. Both have continued on to becoming Queen's Guides. Over the years, the Guiding movement has developed a great deal of their character, teaching them many skills both practical and the more intangible such as leadership, goal-setting and teamwork. They both have developed friendships which have gone much deeper than most of those formed elsewhere and I have no doubt these special Guiding Friendships will last them throughout life.

My girls haven't been the only ones to benefit from Guiding. I have had the opportunity as a Leader to participate in many activities that I wouldn't have dreamed of doing before, rock-climbing, abseiling, high ropes, and bush-walking - opening a whole new world for me. Not to mention the fact that I have been honoured to be a very special part of a number of girls lives - girls who one day may 'vaguely remember doing something at Guides'!

Saturday, July 3, 2010

How to Get a Sexy Girlfriend

After spending countless days fantasizing over the sexy girlfriend of your dreams, you decide it's finally time to approach her. You psyche yourself up, and can hardly wait to meet her. But now is the time to prepare. Do not rush.

Do your research first...

Find out how to attract her. You don't want to go in without a game plan. This could result in an awkward situation in the bar at best, and a black eye at worst if you've read some of the garbage circulating the web on this topic.

While it's quite a bold statement, spending a few minutes and reading this article could literally change your life in terms of your skills with women. It's one of the smartest investments you'll ever make.

If you're still with me, congratulations. You're now far ahead of 97% of your peers.

Before we dive into the content, I urge you to read this article fully, all the way to the end.

To help encourage you, I have a special "prize" at the end. Kinda like Cracker Jacks.

To get the most out of this article, skim through it to get a general gist of it, then come back and read it again. Bookmark this page, and refer to it in the future.

Enough foreplay, lets begin.

While it's certainly possible to meet a possible future sexy girlfriend during the day or else ware, the primary focus of this article will be how to get a sexy girlfriend from the bar or club; and take her home with you. All you gotta do then, is walk her to your bed.

In order to successfully take a woman from the bar to your bed, here are six (6) steps you should follow. They are:

* Open

* Attraction

* Rapport

* Venue Change

* Extraction

* Sex

Open

Yes, yes, I hear you. "Give me a pickup line!" you say. Sorry no can do.

I can't simply tell you a magical line that will unlock the key to her heart and simultaneously spread her legs and lubricate her.

It doesn't exist. It never has, and it never will. Keep your distance from anyone who tells you otherwise. They just want your money.

Ironically enough, the opener is usually the one thing the "newbies" at this generally spend the most time learning. But if you really want to be able to attract the woman of your dreams, you must understand that the opener is the LEAST important part of the interaction.

The whole purpose of the opener is to start talking to her, usually with an introduction of sorts.
"Hi, my name is-" works just as well as one of the many elaborate openers you may have heard of.

Infact, it'll probably work better as the "pickup" industry is quickly going mainstream.

Gimmicks such as opinion openers, basic questions, observations, cold reads, and random nonsense will work as well. I've covered these, and many other tidbits in our free newsletter which you can sign up for at the bottom of the page.

Lets move on.

An important thing you should do right off the bat is set a false time constraint. It doesn't need to be elaborate. "hey, real quick" works fine. The purpose of this is to make you come across as less threatening.

What you need to do next, is TALK.

Talk quite a bit. Initially, you'll have to talk about 90% of the time, while she talks for 10% of the time. This is a non-threatening way of letting her "sample the merchandise" before she becomes emotionally invested in the conversation.

There are many good ways to do this, such as:

* Speaking about multiple random topics

* Asking her random (funny) questions Attraction

Now that you've started to talk to her, you must let her become attracted to you.

"How do I 'let' her get attracted to me?" While it may seem like poor word choice, its not. You can't force a woman to do anything.

But you can guide her. ;-)

Some fun, quirky things you can do to raise attraction are:

* Teasing

* Cold reading

* Eye Contact

* Giving her a funny nickname

* Teaching her something( -- even better if it's something you're passionate about.

* Talking about multiple topics in quick succession -- may seem weird, but it works.

* Play games with her -- the more silly, the better.

* Misinterpreting what she says to be a sexual innuendo -- do NOT overuse this.

* Physical Escalation

I saved the most important factor for last: Physical Escalation. With girls, physical interaction is chemistry itself.

The best way to physically escalate is to take two steps forward then one step back.

Begin escalating physically at the very beginning, otherwise you'll seem very creepy if you try to do it later on.

Start off lightly, and ramp up the physicality as the night goes on.

If you want her to want you, you have to let her know that you want her too. Write that down.

The bottom line is: Escalate intelligently.

There is a limit to how physical you can get at a bar or club, but it does set the bar for further physical intimacy later on in your bedroom.

When you're starting to get better at this you can use my techniques on physical escalation which you can find in our newsletter.

Rapport

At this point the girl of your dreams will be all into you. It is time to develop rapport, and create a connection between you two.

So far you've probably been talking for 90% of the time. Now you've got to slow it down to 50%, and let her contribute just as much as you are.

This will give you a chance to get a genuine connection with her.

One thing you must take note of, is that even though you are both contributing equally, you must control the direction of the conversation.

Cut off negative, political or religious topics and move to something else.

Simply put, the more you get to know each other, the more rapport you will have.

Venue Change

If you move a girl from place to place, it'll seem to her like she's spent more time with you and known you longer.

You can do this in the club or bar, by moving her to different areas of the club or bar. You can also take her somewhere else, like to a fast food place to eat etc.

The easiest way to do this is to start off small, like moving her from one part of the club to the other. Then you gradually work your way up to Taco Bell, then eventually your home.

If you plan on taking her someplace else to eat, mention it early. Wayyyyy before you actually want to go.

You can just say "I'm hungry.", and repeat it a couple of times later on. Then when you say, "I'm hungry, lets go to Denny's", she wont object.

One final thing in venue changing, is you must OVER sell wherever it is you're going. Make it seem much cooler than it actually is.

Another final thing (Ha ha, I mean it this time), is that it should be someplace you're comfortable with and frequent regularly. If you know the staff, it's a major bonus.

Extraction

Now there's only one step left. You gotta bring her home. This is a simple step if you've done everything else correctly.

Just mention something cool at your place that you'd like to show her. Here are just a few examples...

* Musical instrument -- if you can play it, a guitar works wonders

* Pet that can do cool tricks

* French wine collection

* Cool mixtape

* Art collection -- nothing boring please -- Preferably something you made.

Make sure it's not something you want to impress her with, like an expensive house or car.

Instead, show her something cool that expresses your unique personality.

Oversell what you want her to see at your place, but don't overdo it.

If you do all this right, she'll be at your place in no time.

Tips in Successful Erotic Dating With Sexy Girls

Quite a few guys had been attracted to hot girls for their hypnotizing beauty. World-wide-web is just one in the easiest resources to search anything. Now this has become the shortcut to many males for exploring a potential wife. Attractive ladies are incredibly unusual with adorable character. This became an ad-on for them.

Attractive ladies are beneficial at decorating homes extraordinarily. To get the attention of sexy women, western guys ought to do a great deal of factors. Culture and other beliefs make the distinction for erotic dating in hot women. If you desire to persuade sexy women through on-line erotic dating, you've got to follow certain pointers for the effective erotic dating. Difference in culture and trends.

The very first essential thing to recognize is that attractive girls are from several environments, lifestyles and trends. For the first day with enthralling women, you could have to be open-minded and enthusiastic to find out new things. Many men think of winning girls love with funds. But this can be incorrect with respect to alluring women. It really is essential to investigate the desires and expectations from the girl you would like to date with. Grooming, most girls have been attracted by well-groomed, neat and well-dressed adult men. That is the exact same with sexy women. They had been being loved and attracted by well-groomed adult men.

Create a good feeling Most on the ladies really enjoy to have gifts and affection while proposing. According to attractive lifestyle, attractive girls are supposed to bind in adore of a man who shows signs of excellent adoration. Expectations of alluring ladies involve men to become wine and dine; also men shouldn't start without having having correct plan on typical basis. This means that adult males ought to be aware on the fact that with no maintaining a relationship throughout the life, its waste of fixing to dates and giving presentations.

The essential point would be to make an excellent relation and be real to produce an impression. Study the language It is extremely challenging to communicate though erotic dating having a hot girl due towards the language dilemma. Both will have a fantastic confusion caused by two languages. This can be 1 from the barriers that ought to be broken by males. enthralling ladies work tough in learning English to impress adult men. It would be very good and impressive to study sexy for sexy women. This also depicts your personality which you are trying to study the lifestyle and traditions for your possible wife. It truly is also significant to search the spam less websites though researching for a day with enthralling girls. Web is a single of the resources which give beneficial outcomes for browsing a sexy partner.

A trustworthy web page will probably be helpful for meeting credible alluring women which are waiting to get a chance to enjoy. Males typically want to have communication prior to getting started to day. That is provided by quite a few internet sites. By knowing the requirements of the people, a lot of other internet websites are even generating money by means of spam and fraud data. So, be very careful although selecting a internet site. At the same time, there are many stories of adult men getting a effective day over the world wide web. Be matured in acquiring your really like for any prosperous erotic dating. In addition to this, many males do not apologize for finding a attractive girl on the net and possess a date with great relationship.

Friday, July 2, 2010

Emo Hairstyles

Emo Hairstyles are becoming more and more popular nowadays - What has led to such an increase in people wanting to adopt this new emo haircut? For starters, bands such as Green Day and My Chemical Romance have transmitted the message that these emo hairstyles are the new fashion.

Not only the above but they are becoming more common on TV, on the streets and everywhere else you might look. I suppose it's because the society's independence is growing. More teenagers now have more freedom than 10 years ago. Afterall, the main message that emo haircuts convey is the freedom of expression.

An emo haircut allows the person, whether it is a girl or a boy to shape their hair in any way they want from highlighting their white blonde hair to a classical short mullet style. This type of haircut can never go wrong as it represents a person's personality. Many emo people spend a long time in front of the mirror working their socks off to achieve that perfect haircut they are after.

Not only have the emo hairstyles become more popular but they are now also considered more 'sexy'. You can see various images of emo hairstyles and compare them to other type of haircuts and see which you find more attractive - I am not saying that all types of emo haircuts are 'cool' and 'cute' but a high majority of them are. If a person knows exactly they are after then they are going to achieve it and be unique on the streets.

In conclusion, if you would like to find out more about emo hairstyles and other emo fashion then I encourage you to visit the website below. Afterall, all you need is some dye, scissors and maybe a razor to achieve the perfect haircut illustrating your personality!

So What Can a Hairdresser Do For Me?

A Hairdresser is the person whose job it is to cut or style your hair, to change or maintain your image as you desire. Your hairdresser does it using a mixture of hair coloring, hair cutting and hair texturing techniques. Hairdressers are often called hair technicians but can also be your beautician as well.

In the US hair dressers are usually known as technicians and stylists while in some countries like the UK, Australia and New Zealand, the term hairdresser is more commonly used. This profession may have its roots in the latter centuries of the English nobility as hair use to be a large part of their ethnicity.

Today's hairdressers are supposed to be alike fashion designers who put in their efforts to enhance your looks and overall appearance. They monitor your personality and after that, very carefully a hairstyle is devised to enhance the appeal of your personality.

A great haircut must maintain healthy hair that looks stylish and be easy to maintain while suiting your face shape and lifestyle. Your mirror is your best friend to figure out your features and kind of face shape you have. The best haircut style for you is determined by your face shape and a great hairstyle is always dependent on this fact. Therefore, the hairstyle that suits you is the hairstyle that will highlight balance and beauty and be the style that you can easily follow and style on your own. Your hairstylist should make maintenance of the hairstyle an important decision for your new look. Search as many different hair styles that are available, select those that suit your face type and go accordingly. Your hairstylist is often the best judge to determine the hairstyle suited for your personality.

A good hairstylist definitely desires to emphasize on your most beautiful features like high cheekbones, strong jaw lines etc., and likes to play down less approving features. The shape of the face is finding lesser importance from many hairstylists now days, but shape of the face is a good way to establish general limitation for a cut. If you don't know the shape of your face but eager to know it, then you are suggested tying your hair back, stand up close to the mirror and trace the reflection of your face with the help of a suitable medium (lip liner/ glass marker). Step back and have a look! The shape of your face will resemble a round, square, oval or heart shape.

It is very important to know the type of hair you have as well, whether or not it is fine thick, thin, etc, as this and the shape of your face are the two essential factors to keep in mind when choosing a new hairstyle.

Some of the more common hair cuts or terms are listed below;

Afro, A-Line, Bangs / Fringe, Bantu/Zulu knots, Beehive, Bouffant, Bun, Blowout/Taper, Buzz cut, Bob cut, Bowl cut, Caesar cut, Chelsea girl, Chonmage, Comb over, Cornrows, Crew cut, Crop, Croydon facelift, Curtained hair, Devilock, Dido flip, Dreadlocks, Duck's Ass or Ducktail, Emo hair, Fauxhawk, Feathered hair, Finger wave, Flattop, Flip, Fofa, French braid, French twist, High and tight, Hime cut, Hi-top fade, Horseshoe Flattop, Induction cut, Jheri curl, Japanese hair straightening, Khokhol, Layered hair, Liberty spikes, Long hair, Low and tight, Mohawk, Mop-Top, Mullet, Odango, Ofuku, Pageboy, Perm, Pigtails, Pixie, Pompadour, Ponytail, Quiff, Recon, Rattail, Ringlet, Ronaldo, Short back and sides, Shape-Up, Sidebang, Spiked, Side Spike, Tape-Up, Taper fade, Tonsure, Undercut, Updo, Shag and Wings.

Besides these, hairstylists are always devising many more new styles according to clients' personality and lifestyles.

Here are some tips for you to help with your new haircut

o If you have super thick long hair, maybe opt for layers to help reduce the bulk

o It is important to have your hair trimmed on a regular basis. Your hairdresser will advise you on the time frame but usually it is every 6-8 weeks. This will help to reduce split ends and will also encourage growth if you are trying to grow your hair.

o If you start to notice that the ends of your hair or your layers are starting to get frizzy, you may be overdue for a trim or a conditioning treatment.

o Make sure you talk to your hairdresser. Don't just assume that they will know what you want. If you can take with you some photos or cut out pictures from a magazine. A good hairdresser will be able to advise you whether or not a style will suit or may even be able to adjust a certain style so that it will look better on your face shape. Don't just walk in and say "I want a change"

o Avoid a major change. If you have always had long hair don't suddenly shave it all off. 9 times out of 10 you will hate it! But then again there have been people that have gone from long to short and have totally loved it. Again chat to your hairdresser; they are an invaluable source of information.

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