IDEAL WEDDING SHOES

Shoes are one of the important things that support your appearance when she got married. How to choose the right wedding shoes? What should be considered?

For the bride, choosing shoes is one important step that needs to be done after having a bridal gown. Choosing the ideal shoe is difficult, but if you know what to look for and needed, the search will not be too difficult.

Obviously, the type of wedding you're having will affect your wedding dress, and it should play a role in your wedding shoes as well. An evening wedding and a glamorous gown will open the door for strappy evening sandals, while a city hall or pantsuit wedding would be a fantastic excuse to break out beaded mules as your bridal shoes.

The truth is, bridal shoes is one of the most important accessories to put much thought in because it is what the bride will be wearing all throughout the day on her wedding day.

It is true that there are hundreds of different bridal shoes to choose from, and finding the right one is going to be a challenge.

It all boils down to the personal preference of the bride, incorporated with her own style and taste in relation to the wedding theme and gown.

 It will also depend on how extravagant the bride wants her bridal shoes to be.

IN CHOOSING THE PROPER BRIDAL SHOES TO WEAR, THERE ARE SOME THINGS THE BRIDE HAS TO CONSIDER. HERE ARE SOME OF THE IDEAL BRIDAL SHOES’ STYLES TO CHOOSE FROM:

YOUR DREAM WEDDING GOWN

When you start with the wedding preparations, wedding gowns is something that absolutely can not be lost. Choosing the right wedding dress of luck is certainly a task that is full of confusion. Well, the type of the bride’s body, personality and most importantly what kind of clothes can be well are important factors to consider when choosing the wedding dress. While many prefer the glamorous wedding dresses, which could be a bride-to-be who loves to keep it simple and sober. Well, if that is soft look that suits you most, then there is a series of patterns of simple cheap wedding dresses you can choose. Yes, wedding gowns do not always have to be very flashy and glamorous. You can have a simple wedding dress very well designed to be an aspect that is class apart. Let me tell you that the dresses simple wedding has become a popular trend in recent years and most brides are opting for that look soft and elegant rather than funky and striking appearance.

When it comes to choosing a wedding gown for your big day, there are many factors that you will need to consider before choosing a dress or gown. Lots of aspects can change the way you look and you will have to decide before hand, what kind of image you want to create, knockout gorgeous, sexy, romantic, casual, princess like, enchanting, vintage or totally unique.

Choosing an inexpensive wedding dress doesn't mean sacrificing style and beauty. Today's budget-minded bride has numerous options when it comes to finding an inexpensive wedding dress that looks like a million bucks.

You've probably had a vision of your ideal wedding dress in your head since you were a young girl... and now that you're engaged, it's time to actually find that dress. But what if you're on a tight budget and that dress costs several hundred or even thousands of dollars? Remember, you'll also need to budget for your veil or headpiece, lingerie, shoes and jewelry. With an open mind and a little legwork, you can find an inexpensive wedding dress that's beautiful, elegant and works with your budget.

So, here are some of the styles and options that you can see and choose from…

More than fifty years later, it is still considered one of the loveliest dresses for a bride ever made. Grace Kelly wedding dress. Grace Kelly inspired wedding dress.

Simple But Elegant Wedding Dress

The wedding dress is fairly simple, but elegant in it's own way. With embroidery that comes down in a "V", some subtle beads underneath the bust, and a fun-stitched train, the dress gives off a traditional flare, but still unique.
In the picture there is an underskirt, but tried it on without it and the dress looked 100 times better--the style doesn't look right with poof.

2012 LENTEN CALENDAR

Lent is the Christian season of preparation before Easter. In Western Christianity, Ash Wednesday marks the first day, or the start of the season of Lent, which begins 40 days prior to Easter (Sundays are not included in the count).

Lent is a time when many Christians prepare for Easter by observing a period of fasting, repentance, moderation and spiritual discipline. The purpose is to set aside time for reflection on Jesus Christ - his suffering and his sacrifice, his life, death, burial and resurrection.

FAMILY LENT CALENDAR EXPLANATION:

FEBRUARY 

22 Feb – Take your family to an Ash Wednesday liturgy and wear the cross of ashes all day.
23 Feb – Tape a drawing of a vase on the fridge and label it, “Lent”. Each day draw a flower in the vase and watch Lent blossom.
24 Feb – Share a meatless family meal. Discuss your Lenten offerings to be sure all are doable and sacrificial.
25 Feb – Choose a family Lenten offering, such as giving up desserts, attending daily Mass, or praying a family Rosary regularly.
26 Feb – After Mass today, explain the Gospel and the homily in terms your children can understand.
27 Feb – Contact Catholic Relief Services (877-HELP-CRS, www.catholicrelief.org) to see how you can help any of their ongoing projects.
28 Feb – Invent a new family prayer you can say together each day.
29 Feb – Take stock of how your Lenten fasts are going, and refresh your commitment to them.

 

MARCH

01 Mar – Before eating your family meal together, ask each person to say a spontaneous prayer.
02 Mar – Pray for the people in the world who can’t afford to have meat as a regular part of their diets.
03 Mar – Turn off the Television, unplug the computers, and take the phone off the hook for half an hour to pray the family Rosary.
04 Mar – Before Mass today, pick a saint represented in one of the statues in your church and find out more about him or her during the lent.
05 Mar – Collect stuffed animals or soft pillows in good condition and bring them to a local nursing home. Older folks love soft things to hug.

LOVE & LIFE

 

  

  

Visa-Free Countries for Philippine Passport Holder - P2

If you’re a Filipino and a holder of Philippine passport who likes traveling and exploring the beauty of the world, but hates the visa requirement to some countries, frown no more for you can still go to wonderful places without hassle-visa-appointments.

Below is the list of countries where Filipino Passport Holder can enter without a prior visa formalities requirement:

Countries in North America

Costa Rica Up to 30 days Country list (click Philippines)   +63-2-818-6740 / +63-2-816-7851

Haiti Up to 90 days Embassy of Haiti in US   embassy@haiti.org (US)

Saint Vincent Grenadines Up to 30 days Website   mail@embsvg.com (US)

COUNTRY IN EUROPE

Kosovo Unlimited for valid passport Site of embassy in the US   embassy.usa@ks-gov.net (US)

Visa-Free Countries for Philippine Passport Holder - P1

A Philippine passport is a travel document and is a Primary National ID issued to citizens of the Philippines. It is issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Philippine diplomatic missions abroad, with certain exceptions. Besides facilitating international travel and conferring diplomatic assistance to Filipinos overseas, a Philippine passport is considered a primary form of identification in the Philippines, particularly because there is no national identity card system in the country.

The passport is a popular target for counterfeiters,  due largely to the relatively liberal visa requirements accorded to Philippine travelers to destinations such as Brunei, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and other APEC and ASEAN member nations. Due to this, the Department of Foreign Affairs started issuing maroon machine-readable passports since September 17, 2007, and biometric passports since August 11, 2009. The green colored cover non-electronic passports are still acceptable until they expire. Philippine passports are printed at the Security Plant Complex of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

Below is the list of countries where Philippine Passport Holder can enter the country that doesn’t require a visa:

Countries in Asia

Country   No. of days allowed          Official Webpage      Embassy Phone Numbers in the Philippines


Brunei Up to 14 days none  +63-2-816-2836 / +63-2-816-2837

Cambodia Up to 21 days Homepage    +63-2-818-9981 / +63-2-810-1896

Hong Kong Up to 14 days Visa requirement page (See Table)

Indonesia Up to 30 days Visa exemption page  +63-2-892-5061

Israel Up to 90 days Visa exemption PDF  +63-2-894-0441 / +63-2-894-0443

Laos Up to 30 days Exemption table  +63-2-852-5759 / +63-2-852-5979

Macau Up to 30 days Visa free countries webmaster@macau-embassy.org (US)

BASIC YOGA POSES - Part 3 of 3

The benefits of yoga are extensive. Not only does yoga affect the physical aspect of the body, it addresses the mind and spirit as well. Daily exercises are a great way to help relieve the stress of your day and can bring a sense of well-being to your life.

PART 3 OF 3: Basic Seated Pose Sequence: 15 step sequence of postures to use as a foundation in your basic yoga practice.

11. Roll the hips back to the floor and pull the left knee into Half Wind Relieving Pose

A. Interlace the fingers around the left knee. Tuck the chin into the chest with the head on the floor and pull the knee into the chest avoiding the ribcage to the left.
B. Press the low back, shoulders and back of the neck into the floor. Relax the legs, keep the elbows close to your sides.
C. Breathe and hold for 2-5 breaths.

BASIC YOGA POSES - Part 2 of 3

There are many different styles of yoga being taught and practiced today. Although all of the styles are based on the same physical postures (called poses), each has a particular emphasis. Here is a quick guide to the most popular types of yoga that can help you decode the schedule at your gym and figure out which class is right for you.

PART 2 OF 3: Basic Seated Pose Sequence: 15 step sequence of postures to use as a foundation in your basic yoga practice.

7. Inhale the arms up and exhale forward into Forward Bend

A. Bend the knees enough to hold onto the feet or ankles. Round the spine and press the head in towards the knees.
B. Press out though the heels and pull back on the toes. Relax the head, neck and shoulders.
C. Breathe and hold for 3-6 breaths.

BASIC YOGA POSES - Part 1 of 3

Yoga is a scientific system of physical and mental practices that originated in India more than three thousand years ago. Its purpose is to help each one of us achieve our highest potential and to experience enduring health and happiness. With Yoga, we can extend our healthy, productive years far beyond the accepted norm and, at the same time, improve the quality of our lives.

In life, it is necessary to learn how to relax after a period of activity. People spend approximately one third of their time in sleep, trying to recoup the energy and vitality they expended during the day. Unfortunately, many never achieve this objective because they haven't learned the essentials of relaxation. Relaxation practices in Yoga are different than sleeping, but their benefits are similar, and the principles of deep relaxation can be applied with equal effectiveness to our sleeping hours as well as our waking ones. When properly done, deep relaxation can become a powerful meditation practice that helps to anchor and stabilize the mind's awareness in a pool of deep tranquility and peace.

HOMEMADE ITLOG NA MAALAT

Ingredients:

• 12 duck eggs (or chicken eggs)
• 1 cup sea salt (or rock salt)
• 4 cups water
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 1 star anise
• 2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns

CHRISTMAS PINOY BIBINGKA

No Filipino Christmas is ever without bibingka. They are inexorably associated with misa de gallo, the dawn mass on the nine days before Christmas. While they are more common as street food, they are so popular (even among tourists) that even five-star hotels serve them–using the traditional cookware–during the holiday season.

Bibingka, above, is a rice cake similar to the Western pancake in appearance. In taste, texture and way of cooking, however, they are very much different from each other. Bibingka is made from galapong, baked in a special clay pot, lined with a piece of banana leaf, with live coals on top and underneath. It is topped with slices of kesong puti (white cheese) and itlog na maalat (salted duck eggs). The newly-cooked bibingka is spread with butter and sometimes sprinkled with sugar then served with niyog (grated coconut). Galapong is glutinous rice soaked in water then ground with the water to form either a batter or a dough, depending on what the cooked dish is supposed to be.

Ingredients

4 eggs, well beaten

2 cups coconut milk

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup melted margarine

2 cups rice flour

2 tablespoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup coco cream, 1/4 cup sugar for topping

HEALTHY RAMADAN

Have a light meal:
Do not stuff yourself with food and drinks during or between Iftar and Suhoor. This contradicts the spirit of Ramadan and defeats the whole object of fasting. Health problems can emerge as a result of excess food intake which can 'clog' your digestive system.

At Iftar it is advisable to have a very light meal first — like dates and juices or soup and reserve the main meal for later after the Maghrib prayers perhaps or even after Taraweeh (special night prayers). The body's immediate need is to get water and an easily available energy source in the form of glucose for every living cell, particularly the brain.

What to eat:

• Due to the long hours of fasting, we should consume slow digesting foods including fibre-containing foods (which last up to 8 hours) rather than fast-digesting foods (which last for only 3-4 hours).
   
• Slow digesting foods contain grains and seeds like barley, wheat, oats, millet, semolina, beans, lentils, whole meal flour, unpolished rice, etc (called complex carbohydrates).

• Fibre-containing foods are bran, whole wheat, grains and seeds, vegetables like green beans, peas, spinach, the leaves of beetroot (iron-rich), fruit with skin, dried fruit especially dried apricots, and prunes, almonds, etc.

 

800-YEAR OLD OLIVE TREE IN ABU DHABI



Image Credit: Abdel-Krim Kallouche/Gulf News

Olive trees such as this particular specimen, part of the Olea Europaea species, are not common to the UAE, but grow wild in other parts of the Middle East.



This native of the Mediterranean region is not a common sight in the UAE. But an 800-year-old specimen has managed to make its way to the capital from Lebanon. The olive tree, which was originally brought here to beautify the surroundings, has now gone on to occupy the pride of place at the entrance of the future Rawdhat residential district in Abu Dhabi. Looking at the tree's journey to the capital.

Abu Dhabi: On the side of a busy highway in the capital, a lone tree with silvery grey leaves stands guard. The olive tree, a native of the eastern Mediterranean coast, has been in the UAE for only nine months. But it is already spreading its roots in its new home, and drawing the attention of everyone who passes by it.