The Day Loans Blog

Ok Jim, you have convinced me that lingerie is a perfect gift for my gal, but I don’t know diddly squat about lingerie. How do I know what she likes? How do I know what size she is? How do I pick the right lingerie for my gal? (If I haven’t convinced you, you probably haven’t read my article ” Lingerie an Intimate Gift for Two” also published here at Ezine)

Hey don’t worry, I can help you, I am in the business. I will teach you how to pick stunning outfits that fit your gals figure and personality. Now you will find plenty of articles out there that talk about choosing lingerie. They talk about different types of lingerie, they may even talk about getting the right size. I will tell how to do that, AND match her personality, something many of these articles leave out.

Lets start with the basics. Size first. If you already know your girls size you are way ahead of the game. If you are like most guys, you don’t have a clue. One method is to ask your lady’s mother, sister, or best friend. They most likely go shopping together and already know each others sizes. “How do I ask a question like that of my mother-in-law”? Well, you can phrase it something like this “Mom (or whoever), I am trying to pick (your gals name) up something special, but I need some information. What size dress does she wear? What size are her bust? (you may already know that, even if you don’t know the rest) Is that dress Size considered small, medium, large, x-large, xxl etc..? What size shoes does she wear? ” Write the answers down.

Another method and, I prefer this method because you get an idea of her taste too, is to take your gal clothes shopping. “But I never go shopping with her” just tell her you have something to pick up too, and maybe you can go together. Then all you have to do is take note of what she tries on. If you can’t tell what size outfits she tried on, just ask the clerk guarding the dressing room while your gal is inside, or offer to pay for it (you can always say your in a hurry to get out of there, she will believe that) and look at the tags when you go to the register.

“Ok, I have her sizes, now what”? We still need to know more about her shape. This is very important. Lingerie is used to highlight what she has, pretend she has something she doesn’t or hide something she doesn’t like. Questions we have to answer are:

*Does she have a big butt? If so, does she like it or hate it? *Are her breast big, or small? If big, is she proud of them? Do they droop?

*Does she have a big stomach? Does she have stretch marks? Does she have great abbs?

*Does she have great legs, or is there a lot of cottage cheese?

*How do the back of her upper arms look?

*How about her neck, is it a turkey?

I know these are some tough questions, and some of you may be laughing, but you have to ask yourself these question in order to accomplish your mission. By the way, I DO NOT recommend writing those questions down- you don’t ever want her to find that paper. Just keep them in mind as you look at lingerie. If it’s something she doesn’t like, you are going to want something that covers it, if it’s something she is proud of, then you want something that will show it off. If it’s something she wishes she had, you need something with padding, or pushup effect in that area, or it just might need extra support if it has just fallen.

“Ok, I have her sizes, and I know what she wants to hide or show, now what?”

We still have to figure out what style fits her. Hopefully, if you’re buying lingerie for a gal, you know something about her. Yep, you guessed it, more questions:

*How often does she wear dresses? -If often then we can look at gowns or lacy things.

*Does she wear shorts a lot? If yes- Thongs and boy shorts are options.

*Is she strictly a blue jeans and t-shirt girl?- If yes, then we don’t want anything too frilly.

*Does she like flashy or sparkling things? - If so, then a sparkling material will be nice.

*Does she like wearing leather?- If so this open a wide range of idea’s

*What type of music does she like? - If rock, or punk- Look into the leather or vinyl options, if Country, or rhythm and soul, look into traditional types.

Now you should be armed with enough knowledge to go shopping… Huh?.. No? Still confused? No problem, just walk up to the sales clerk, look them in the eyes, and tell them the answers to the above questions. Don’t be afraid that is why we have sales clerks. Or, go to my web site, click contact us, type in the answers to the above questions, and Edie and I will pick out a few outfits for you to consider and email the pictures, discriptions, and links back to you. Hey, thats what I’m here for.

The wedding service in the Greek Orthodox faith is an ancient and beautiful ceremony, which has been celebrated in its current form for centuries. The wedding ceremony is full of symbolism and is a great experience if you have never attended one before, because it is likely to be quite different from other weddings you have attended in Western Europe. The service is also rather unique because the bride and groom do not make vows to each other - their presence together in the church is taken to mean that they are serious about getting married.

The Beginning of the Wedding

In most cases the wedding guests will wait with the groom outside the church until the bride arrives (a few sneaky wedding pros will go into the church early to secure a good seat). In the Summer, when most weddings take place, it is not unusual for ceremonies to be arranged back to back, so the guests attending a marriage will often stand around with those who have just attended the previous wedding as they prepare to leave. Wedding dress commentators among the crowd will get to consider and discuss at least two brides and maybe even a third as they leave the church - bargain! Meanwhile, the nervous groom waits for the bride at the entrance to the church, often holding her floral bouquet. He hands it to her as they meet and they then go inside together followed by the guests. There is no separation of the guests into guests of the bride and guests of the groom - everyone sits together and in the case of small churches, many people prefer to stand in a spot where they can get a good view of the proceedings.

Service of Betrothal

The wedding ceremony itself is in two parts: the Service of Betrothal and the Ceremony of the Sacrament of Marriage. The exchanging of rings is the focus of the Service of Betrothal. The priest blesses the rings by holding them in his right hand and making the sign of the cross over the heads of the bride and groom. The rings are then placed on the third fingers of their right hands. The “Koumbaro”, the couple’s religious sponsor, then swaps the rings over between the bride and groom’s fingers, three times. A number of rituals in the ceremony are repeated three times and this symbolises the Holy Trinity: God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Ceremony of the Sacrament of Marriage

This Ceremony consists of several key parts. First, several prayers are said and then as they come to an end, the priest joins the right hands of the bride and groom. Their hands remain joined until the end of the wedding ceremony, which symbolises the couple’s union.

The Crowning

The bride and groom are crowned with thin crowns, or “stefana”, which are joined by a white ribbon and have been blessed by the priest. The crowns symbolise the glory and honour that is being bestowed on them by God, and the the ribbon symbolises their unity. The “Koumbaro” then exchanges the crowns between the heads of the couple, three times.

The Common Cup

The crowning is followed by a reading of the Gospel, which tells of the marriage of Cana at Galilee. It was at this wedding that Jesus performed his first miracle, changing water into wine, which was then given to the married couple. Wine is given to the couple and they each drink from it three times.

The Ceremonial Walk

The priest the leads the couple, who are still wearing their “stefana”, three times around the altar on their first steps as a married couple. The “Koumbaro” follows close behind the couple holding the “stefana” place. At this point the couple (and anyone standing nearby) is usually showered with rice, which was earlier handed out to the wedding guests. The priest will often make use of the bible he is holding to give himself some protection!

The Removal of the Crowns

When the Ceremonial Walk has ended, the priest blesses the couple, the crowns are removed and he then separates their previously joined hands with the bible, reminding them that only God can break the union which they have just entered into.

Wedding traditions

Much of the information available on Greek Orthodox wedding traditions is a little outdated and contains generalisations that give the impression that certain traditions are followed by everyone who gets married. Some of these traditions are set out below

- Rolling a baby on the marital bed to encourage fertility.

- The throwing of money onto the marital bed.

- The pinning of money onto the bride (and sometimes also the groom) at the wedding reception.

Although these rituals are seen as traditional, fewer and fewer young people marrying today are following them, because they are seen as old-fashioned. Many people do not wish to put their guests through the ordeal of other people being able to see how much money they pin on the bride, for example. Although money is still a very common, as well as practical, wedding present it is often given to the couple before the wedding day or to a third person at the wedding reception, for safe-keeping. Greeks living in the more remote parts of Greece and abroad, who will naturally feel more strongly about doing things the traditional way, are more likely to follow these traditions than those living in Athens, for example. Like weddings everywhere, Greek weddings are changing. At the time of writing, there is a growing fashion to go and get married on an island and I recently heard someone say that he was looking into getting married in a ski resort. He was wisely advised by a friend “You had better first ask the priest if he wants to perform a marriage up a mountain”!

How many times have you despaired of being understood? How many times do you repress your despair at being rejected by the person who is supposed to love you more than anybody else? And why do you keep those feelings inside you? Because you are afraid of creating a worse conflict if you speak up?

My best friend, Anne, was at the end of her rope. Of course she was developing ulcers and was taking some kind of pills for life. Of course she was unable to sleep and would toss and turn whole night, thinking that perhaps a new pill will provide relief!

When I finally met her, after 6 years of being distant because of geography, I could not recognize my old friend in this frazzled person I had in front of me. She looked older and spent. It took me some time before I had the courage to ask: What is happening to you? And she said “I don’t know how to face my husband with the zillion things that harass me in his behaviour, but I’m so angry at him that I could explode any time!”

What happens is that Anne doesn’t know how to confront him, she is afraid of his resistance and probably strong denial and thus she leaves a bad situation to escalate into a worst one, where her anger sits in a bed of despair and contempt. Or course, at this time, there is little love or respect left in her for her husband, who is oblivious to the depth of her negative feelings, of course! He thinks that she has stress ulcers! It took some private meetings with her to get to the bottom of her feelings and ask the question:

“Why is that you don’t confront him with his negative behaviour”? And her answer was: I never learnt how to face him! Because I was only told to be always nice and polite, I don’t know how to confront anybody when they do things that upset or damage me!

Is this a picture that you recognize? Could you identify with this situation, where you have neither the permission to confront, nor the skills to do it in a safe way? Are you afraid of any kind of confrontation, even a healthy one to defend yourself?

This is partially true: if you confront without knowing how to, in a respectful but firm way, you can get a worse response, and so confirm your fears. But, where does not doing a confrontation leave us? If we can’t confront, we stay frustrated and resentful, and the anger eats at us inside.

Meanwhile, the other person continues the offensive behaviour as before, because nobody told him/her not to do so! When at last we do confront, we do in such state of frustration that results are not encouraging, and the other person, taken by surprise, can react very strongly.

If you don’t tell the other person when and how she is infringing on you: * You are not in control of your life, * You have more stress. * You begin carrying emotional baggage of resentment. * The relationship deteriorates and the other person never has the opportunity to improve his behaviour.

THEN, if you confront:

* You get the control of your life back. * You are not a passive victim. * Stress level improves. * Mental health goes back to balance. * There is no build up of emotional baggage.

So, HOW do you confront someone about his/her inadequate behaviour? It is simple, not by reproaching the wrong behaviour, but asking for the right one:

If you are tempted to say something like: “You are a jerk! How do you dare to leave without asking me if I had my car repaired! You left me behind last night” It is better to say: “I need you to take better care of me. When we have only a car, it would be better to coordinate transportation among us. In this way, I will feel that we are really a good team.”

Main parts of this new response are: Focus is on “I” and not on “you,” because this expression feels accusatory, and because it helps highlight the issue of what are our needs that are being frustrated now.

The problem is described, as it is -a real transportation problem- in a calm way. And the solution is provided: “checking with each other is a good thing.”

Three take away ideas:

1. It is best to confront sooner than later, letting things fester is wrong. 2. It is best to confront skilfully, using this model. 3. Behavioural change requires that we keep confronting about the wrong behaviour up until the moment when it improves, and then we praise the new behaviour.

Wedding reception dollar dances require the bride and groom to slow-dance with each guest who is willing to pay a dollar or more for the honor of sharing in a special dance with one of the newlyweds. There are several benefits to hosting dollar dances during your wedding reception. Learn how to host Dollar Dances and discover several reasons why you should consider this fun idea as an option for your wedding celebration.

Hosting Dollar Dances During Your Wedding Reception The first step to hosting dollar dances is to discuss your intentions with your disc jockey or musicians, and your wedding coordinator, if applicable. The DJ or musicians should plan to play a series of slow songs for the dances. This is a great opportunity for the bride and groom to personally select their favorite slow songs to be played.

The best time to begin the dollar dances is shortly before or after the cutting of the wedding cake. During the reception, the DJ/musician should announce that dollar dances are about to begin and explain that guests may choose to pay a dollar or more to share in a special slow-dance with the bride or groom. Gentlemen should be asked to form a line near the Maid of Honor on one side of the dance floor, while ladies form a line near the Best Man on the opposite side of the dance floor. The Maid of Honor should stand beside the Bride and collect a minimum of one dollar from each gentleman that wishes to dance with the bride. Bridesmaids and the Flowergirl should stand near the Maid of Honor and assist by organizing the line and by greeting each gentleman as he waits for his turn to dance with the bride. Meanwhile, the Best Man should stand beside the Groom and collect a minimum of one dollar from each lady that wishes to dance with the groom. Groomsmen, Ushers and the Ring Bearer should stand near the Best Man and assist by organizing the line and by greeting each lady as she waits for her turn to dance with the groom.

As the first slow song begins to play, the Maid of Honor should direct the first gentleman in line to begin dancing with the Bride. At the same time, the Best Man should direct the first lady in line to begin dancing with the Groom. Each guest should be given between thirty seconds and one minute to dance, but not for the duration of an entire song. Once each guest’s alotted time has expired, the next guest in line should be directed to kindly interrupt so that they may dance with the newlywed. Slow songs should continue to play and guests should continue to kindly interrupt until there is no one left in either line. Allow the last guest in each line to dance until the current song ends. The Best Man and Maid of Honor should place the collected money in the bridal purse or other place for safe-keeping, as a gift for the Bride and Groom from their guests.

Benefits of Wedding Reception Dollar Dances One of the most obvious benefits of Dollar Dances is the financial aspect. Whether there are 50 or 500 guests at the reception, the financial benefits can be quite helpful. The money collected from Dollar Dances is a gift to the bride and groom that may be used for wedding expenses, the honeymoon, household necessities or other expenses. With the cost of weddings continually on the rise, any amount can make a difference.

The second benefit of Dollar Dances is the opportunity to personally greet and mingle with guests. While efforts are made throughout the reception to visit with guests, one prominent complaint by wedding guests is that they did not get to interact with the bride and groom as much as they had hoped. This is a legitimate concern. Wedding guests designate time to share in the wedding ceremony and celebration. They bare the expenses of transportation, attire, a wedding gift, and sometimes even food and lodging. When keeping up with the event schedule and all of the excitement of the day, it can be difficult to allot one-on-one time with guests. While it is your special day, it is important to take time to say Thank You and acknowledge friends and loved ones for their support. It is equally important that guests leave your celebration feeling that they have truly shared your special day with you. Dollar Dances offer those opportunities while creating a light-hearted mood and a great setting to take some fun photographs that will surely be cherished.

Another benefit of hosting Dollar Dances during your wedding reception is to encourage all of your guests to get up and dance! It is true, many guests do not need any coaxing to get them dancing. When the music starts, they’re moving! But there are some who do not have a partner or they simply do not know how to fast-dance. Dollar Dances resolve these issues because the bride or groom will be their dance partner and the dance will be slow. Interacting with guests in this manner can help prevent them from feeling left out.

Some have referred to wedding reception Dollar Dances as tacky or a way to get more money out of wedding guests. But with all monetary benefits aside, the benefits of personally greeting and thanking guests, the quality one-on-one time and joy to be shared during those special dances, and the fun photos to be cherished for years to come make this interactive idea worthy of consideration.