A Wedding Fit For A Queen

A couple in England are probably still pinching themselves after Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip surprised them at their wedding. Frances and John Canning jokingly invited the queen and her husband to their nuptials after they heard that the royals would be in the same town, Manchester, on the day they were to exchange vows. They received a reply declining their offer.

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip were in Manchester on an official tour celebrating the queen’s Diamond Jubilee. She has reigned as Britain’s monarch for 60 years. What the Cannings did not know was that the palace was secretly making arrangements for her majesty and Prince Philip to attend the wedding on Saturday. The royals arrived minutes after the vows were over and posed for pictures, chatted with the bride and groom, and told the bride how lovely she looked, as well as wished the newlyweds all the best.

Frances was thrilled to have the queen and prince at her wedding, saying, “We’re going to have to get a bigger wedding album now.” Husband John added that it was “one of the best presents you could wish for.”

I am not a fan of the Monarchy but I must say this adds a touch of sensitivity and a more human side to the oft aloof palace.  Good on you, Queen! More of that please.

Related articles

• Queen Elizabeth Crashes Wedding in England (people.com)
• Queen Elizabeth stuns bride and groom by accepting invite (cnn.com)
• Queen Elizabeth drops in on wedding (examiner.com)
• Wedding crasher: UK queen drops in on ceremony (hosted.ap.org)
• Her Royal Highness Wedding Crasher! (perezhilton.com)
• Gotta Watch: Queen Elizabeth surprises (news.blogs.cnn.com)

Valentine’s Ass

I made an ass of myself.  Me and my takes.  My big mouth.  My opinions.  My wife came home and ran down to the basement immediately.  She came back up with a slight look of guilt on her face.  I asked her what she was doing and got, “It’s none of your business!”  Which fanned the flames of my suspicions even more.

Later while she was getting dressed for bed, I again asked, “So what did you went to do downstairs?”  I got “Never Mind. You will know later.”  I remembered how she would hide presents for me at Christmas so immediately made the connection. “It’s not like it’s Christmas and you are hiding presents…”.  The look I got spoke volumes.  I had hit the nail on the head.  Without thinking, I plunged right in.  ”I hope you didn’t go buying gifts for me.  You know I really don’t do Valentines.  It’s just a stupid commercial day to make money for businesses.  We don’t need a day to profess our love.  We could do the same thing any other day.”  I got on a roll and let it all out about my feelings of such days and how much I hated it for making us men feel inadequate if we do not partake in the madness yadda yadda yaddda…

My wife turned to me and her look said it all, but my words were like Cupid’s arrow,  once shot, could not be taken back.  They hung like a noose in the air, awaiting my neck.  I would have been happy to oblige right then.  Without a word, she took off to bake some Valentine cookies for our son’s school.

I went downstairs a few minutes later to make amends and sweep everything under the rug and found her in tears.  I tried to apologize but that only opened up the flood gates even more.  Apparently she had the entire love day planned out with me receiving small gifts throughout the day and other acts of love.

To make matters worst, on the treadmill this morning, (I exercise before work) I found a rose and a stuffed  ’be my valentine’ dinosaur.   Way to take the zeal out of a workout…I felt like crap and rightly should.

You see, I am not a scrooge or spoil sport. I just don’t like commercial holidays that stress gift buying.  ”Buy your loved ones this ring and make her feel special”  Does that mean I can’t make her special if I don’t buy it?   It seems so fake and contrived but if it is special to my wife, then I should make it special to me also.  After all, she comes first.

So Happy Valentine Baby!

P.S  I am now tossing out my vuze on Valentine and from now on, will make sure it’s an extra special day me and my honey.  Promise!

Related articles

• Valentine’s Day… again! (lifereference.wordpress.com)
• ‘Twas the night before Valentines… (howitwassupposedtobe.wordpress.com)
• Oh, F***, it’s Valentine’s Day again. (forgotmyusername.wordpress.com)
• My Obligatory Valentine (loverevolutionblog.wordpress.com)

Losing Spiritual Mojo

Ever had a day or a period where you just cannot seem to arouse your spiritual self?  You read the bible, pray and do basically the same things that brought you spiritual fulfillment but now, for some reason you just can’t get going.  Your prayers that were so fervent before, lack soul.  Empty recitals. You cannot understand.  Why? How come? What have I done or not done?

You are not alone.

I consider myself a Christian, plain and simple. No frills. I love God and thrive daily to do his bidding.  I believe and trust in him.  I still consider myself an amateur in my spiritual walk.  I think I will always be an amateur, always learning how to know him more.  Even with all that, I still have my highs and my lows.

How do one have lows when they daily walk with God? I have no clue but I do and if you don’t, please share the secret.  I envy you.  The thing is, it’s not even a temptation, in case you were concluding such.  I don’t feel like engaging in anything sinful.  It’s just a feeling of disconnect.  Like HE hung up the phone while you were still on the line, without a goodbye.  Getting up to attend church becomes a chore, especially when there’s a hockey or football game on TV, I question my prayers, my beliefs and my walk.

When I get these temporary lows, I try to dive into The Word and talk to him.  Sometimes, this is like talking to a brick wall or talking to myself.  I find that the best thing to do is to keep doing what I always do until it passes. (Good thing that it does pass).

I think that this is normal for any christian, (I could be wrong).  After all, the Bible does say that in Genesis 6:3. (Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal;)

 

 

Soccer balls ban in Toronto school

Let me add my take here before I let you read it for yourself.  So apparently, a parent suffered a concussion while at a school, after being hit in the head by a soccer ball.  The school’s administration reacted over reacted by banning all soccer balls from said school.  Yes, soccer balls that kids play with.  Isn’t that going a bit overboard?  I for one is getting tired of all these quick band aid solutions to everything lately.  Instead of using this to teach the kids about playing safely, they confiscated their ball?  Should parents stop attending hockey games now or should they just stop using hard rubber as pucks? I’m done.  Read it all here.

 

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/injury-prompts-soccer-ball-ban-at-school-134022478.html

Related articles

• Parents cry foul after elementary school bans balls (news.nationalpost.com)
• Citing safety, Toronto school takes brave stand against balls (fullcomment.nationalpost.com)
• ‘Let them play ball,’ parents say of school’s ball ban (thestar.com)

My Magic Elixir

For the last few months, I have extolled the virtues of drinking warm water with lemon regularly.  I have had family and friends on it but unfortunately, not too many of them stuck around to see any noticeably change.

I drink a glass or rather a big cup of my Magic Elixir first thing in the morning, at least half an hour before eating a breakfast.  I will usually have another one sometime in the afternoon or evening.  (Mostly when I eat something greasy for lunch or dinner).  It has become a part of my lifestyle and through it, I lost 20 lbs within a few months.  (coupled with exercise, it’s 100% effective).

The beauty of this drink is that it not only helps you lose weight but also helps your body from PUTTING IT ON!  I sometimes over indulge on my favorite foods.  I step on the scale only to see that I actually LOST a pound or remained at my weight! (I am starting to sound like an infomercial).

Where did I get all this? I found it online while surfing for useless information.  Decided to put it to the test for the heck of it as it was inexpensive.  I use the real lemon juice from the bottle.   That or real lemons will do the trick.  I also add a bit of honey to my drink as it helps clear the throat.

Read here for some more info.

http://www.quantumbalancing.com/news/lemon%20water.htm