We're all feeling the pinch of the recession, and we're all making cutbacks - but this doesn't mean that romance has to go out the window. You may not be able to afford to whisk her off to Barcelona for a weekend; you probably can't afford to pay for a golfing break in France for him - but there are hundreds of affordable - or even totally free - romantic things you can do for one another. Here are our Top 10 ideas for romance on a budget:
1. Create a Spa day at home. Every woman loves to be pampered at a Spa, but the cost of this can be astronomical. So why not create your very own treatment centre at home? Buy some inexpensive massage oils, read a book on technique (or find info on the web), and then spend a night massaging your loved one's aches away. The spa sauna can be replaced by a steaming bath, and you'll already have robes at home too!
2. Draw your loved one's portrait. Totally free, and totally romantic. Don't worry if you're not a budding Leonardo Da Vinci, as it's the effort that has gone into it that counts, not the final result. There are many guides available on how to draw a portrait - try Amazon, or just give Google a go. You'll be creating a masterpiece in no time.
3. Pen a poem. Poetry is timeless - a romantic cliché that really works. Don't think that it's just for women, either, as lots of men love receiving poems. It doesn't matter if the last time you wrote a few lines was when you wrote that limerick back at school - just sit down, think about what that special person really means to you, and write.
4. Take them back to the place you met. Now, if you happened to meet in the Penthouse of the 6-star hotel in Dubai, then this probably would break our budget - but if you met in the supermarket, in the park, or virtually anywhere else, this is a great, simple and inexpensive idea.
5. Create a treasure hunt. Bear with me on this, because it doesn't sound too romantic from the title, but it really is. Simply design a treasure hunt around your house - or, better still, combine it with the tip above and do it at the place you first met, or somewhere special to you both. With each clue, include a few words about how special he or she is to you, and make the final prize be...you!
6. Rent a special film. And by this I don't mean 'The Specialist' with Sharon Stone, I mean a movie that is special to you both in some way. Perhaps it was the film you saw on your first date, perhaps it contains 'your song' - whatever the reason, if it holds a special place in your heart, then a romantic night in front of the TV is a cheap and lovely idea.
7. Take a passport photo of yourself. And not just any passport photo - hold a sign that reads 'I Love You' in the photo booth. Present your loved one with this memento for them to carry in their wallet at all times - they're really romantic gifts for her or him.
8. Cook a romantic meal. Yes, this does happen to be perhaps the cliché of clichés, but it really is one of the best. It needn't be expensive, either, as sourcing some top quality ingredients is always a lot cheaper than a Michelin-starred hotel. OK, you may not be an award-wining chef, but as long as you have candlelight and your loved one, then the night will be perfect.
9. Surprise them at work. Turn up in their lunch hour, or just when they're about to finish for the day, and go for a walk or a small bite to eat. Not only will it be a surprise - which everyone loves - but it also shows that you love them so much you just can't keep away!
10. Write a love letter. Another timeless tip, and one that doesn't cost a dime. Simply get out your writing paper (remember that stuff?), your nicest pen, and write about how you feel. When it's done, you can either leave it on her pillow in the morning, send it to him at work, or present it to her yourself (perhaps with a rose in between your teeth too!).
~Alan Law
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
Is Chemistry Real?
Is Chemistry Real?
Definitely...Absolutley!
For years I have been wondering if "it" that unexplainable chemistry that you hear about but don't find every day, where the connection just simply clicks actualy existed.
For all those who have pondered the same question I am here to tell you that YES, it is out there. It may not be easy to find and definitely is not something that happens every day. Its more of those once in a blue moon, one in a million type experiences that sweeps you off your feet and leaves you on the edge longing for more.
Chemistry at its best is something that is so chraged, people are wondering if they need to pour water on you.
Definitely...Absolutley!
For years I have been wondering if "it" that unexplainable chemistry that you hear about but don't find every day, where the connection just simply clicks actualy existed.
For all those who have pondered the same question I am here to tell you that YES, it is out there. It may not be easy to find and definitely is not something that happens every day. Its more of those once in a blue moon, one in a million type experiences that sweeps you off your feet and leaves you on the edge longing for more.
Chemistry at its best is something that is so chraged, people are wondering if they need to pour water on you.
Monday, May 4, 2009
What is Romance?
Being romantic is hard work. Some people think that romance is easy, that anybody can be romantic with very little work. This is not true. To be romantic there are a lot of things you must know about romance and a lot of situations you must prepare for. For example, you and your beloved plan a date for next Friday night. You ask where she'd like to go. "Oh, I don't know," is her reply. "Surprise me. I know you'll think of something special." What do you do? Give up? Read on and learn the secrets of romance.
What Is Romance?
Romance is a nebulous thing with the curious property of being describable but not definable. We won't muck with your head and try to suggest there's an ultimate definitive definition out there. Some people will try to do just that and come up with some tidy little definition, like, "Romance is showing you care." Sure, it sounds good at first, but although draping your coat over a puddle and asking if she remembered to brush her teeth that morning may be actions triggered by this same motivation, they rate distinctly differently on the romance scale.
Although it's not so much a definition, as it is no more precise than the word "romance" itself, one way to describe romance succinctly is "what women want out of a relationship." In other words, men aren't romantic, and if you're a man, that's why you need this guide. If you're a woman, of course, you were born with an innate knowledge of this stuff and need not read further.
But though romance may not be definable, there are still some hard fast rules. Below, we have documented many of the atomic elements of romance. Mix these ingredients up, and you've got it.
Intrinsic Romance
Some things are inherently romantic, like hearts. This is very useful, because you can pile things upon the object of your affections and win romance points without expending any additional effort or thought. The trick is to figure out what is romantic and what is not. There is a basic rule of thumb to follow: if it's cool, it's not romantic. For example, high powered rifles are not romantic. Science fiction is not romantic. DVD players are not romantic unless they're playing Sleepless In Seattle.
But a whole ton of things are intrinsically romantic, and you should use them to your advantage.
Cute Things
Teddy bears are romantic. Puppies are romantic. Cherubic baby archers are romantic. Those photographs where two little kids exhibit an unnatural affection for each other and only the roses are in color are romantic.
Taking advantage of the intrinsic romance in cute things obviously depends upon recognizing which things are cute. The rule is simple. Small things are cute. If you see a food product in a grocery store that comes in a smaller package than usual, get it, because there's a very good chance it's cute. The same goes for travel size shampoo, toothpaste, and so on. Find a store that sells doll house stuff, and your supply of cute things can be limitless.
Low Light
Candles are romantic. Sunrises and sunsets are romantic. Any kind of low light, you see, is romantic, hence why dinner dates after dark are more romantic than lunch dates at noon. Combine low light sources, and it stands to reason that the air of romance will be so thick, your beloved will be blind to anything else but the radiance of her shimmering knight in armor. Open the curtains on a sunset and light some candles, and you might even be able to get away with watching a football game during dinner.
Red
Red is romantic, because red is the color of love and passion. Consider roses. Red roses mean, "I love you." Yellow roses mean, "Let's just be friends," which is synonymous with, "You are irritating, and I hate you." So you do not want to be wrong. Get her red roses, red ribbons, red balloons, red teddy bears, red puppies, and red tickets to the World Series, and she'll fall hopelessly under your spell.
Background Music
Background music is romantic, and note the word "background," because not just any music is romantic. For music to be romantic, it must be too soft to hear. Also, it may not be lively or funny or good. Elevator music is the most romantic genre of music out there.
Chocolates
Chocolates are not only romantic, they're complimentary. When you give a box of chocolates to your beloved, it says, "You could pig out on this tub of lard and bloat out to three tons, but you'd still be the apple of my eye." It doesn't matter if it's true -- it's the message that counts. But the real reason to give your loved one chocolates is because any loved one worth her salt will turn right around and offer you some. It's a win-win no matter how you look at it. Buy her a red one shaped like a heart, and you're in like Flynn.
The Most Intrinsically Romantic Thing Ever
Based on the data above, the single most romantic thing in the universe can be calculated scientifically. It is, simply, a small red candle made out of chocolate and shaped like a teddy bear holding a heart with scribbles all over it that plays a tune when you wind it up. Toss her one of these at sunset on your way to a frat party, and you'll be able to stay out all night and still strengthen your relationship.
Impracticality
Practical things are not romantic. Why do you think blenders and toaster ovens are so notoriously unromantic? Because they have an alternative use, of course. But get her a poofy thing that sits on her dresser behind her jewelry box, never to be touched or moved again, and she'll melt in your arms.
Personal Stuff
Romance is personal. To be romantic, you must be personal and do personal kind of things. It's sort of romantic to buy a mooshy greeting card for your loved one, but to be really romantic, you should sign it. As far as birthday presents and so forth go, you can make the gift personal by carefully considering your beloved's interests and choosing a gift uniquely suited to her personality. Flowers always works.
Your Time
One of the required ingredients of romance is your time. Nope, there's no way out of it.
Blindness
An important part of romance is selective blindness. You must not acknowledge anything about your beloved that could possibly be construed as a fault. If a nightmare suddenly woke her up from a twenty minute nap after four straight days of not sleeping at all, don't even say she looks "tired." If "radiant" isn't the least of your comments about her appearance, you're sunk. If she's rude to someone without cause, prattle on about how much nerve that other person had for being such a big fat jerk. If she spilled pizza sauce on her chin, don't say a word, nor give any other indication that her complexion is amiss. Paradoxically, if she gets home, looks in the mirror, and finds it still there, she'll hate you for not telling her, so you'd better find a surreptitious way of removing it without her ever noticing -- and afterward, keep that stray globule of pizza sauce your best kept secret to the day you die.
Remembering Birthdays and Anniversaries
Remembering your beloved's birthday and your anniversary isn't so much romantic as it is a stay of execution, for surely you'll forget someday, and when you do, you'll find out how not romantic cold shoulders and tears are. Your safest bet is to find someone whose birthday is on Christmas, then marry her on New Year's Day, because nobody forgets those days.
Pet Names - DOnt ever call me a PET...period!
Style
Even if you get all the essentials of romance right, a lack of style could still foul you up. Try to be as "suave" and "debonair" as you possibly can, as this is the optimum romantic style. Be as much like James Bond as you can, except for the infidelity, compulsive gambling, chain smoking, and killing people parts. Be elegant, humble, refined, independent, thoughtful, responsible, compassionate, spontaneous, reputable, graceful, polite, literate, entertaining, discreet, funny, upstanding, sensitive, fun, sophisticated, pleasant, selfless, reverent, and genuine. And if you can't, fake it. And don't overdo it. Subtlety is essential. If she doesn't notice, you can always find an opportune moment to work a whispered pointer into the conversation, such as, "Notice how elegant, humble, refined, independent, thoughtful, responsible, compassionate, spontaneous, reputable, graceful, polite, literate, entertaining, discreet, funny, upstanding, sensitive, fun, sophisticated, pleasant, selfless, reverent, and genuine I am."
Better yet, follow the old adage, "Show, don't tell," and demonstrate these admirable attributes, each in turn, so she'll be sure to take notice. Wear a tuxedo, bow to the object of your affections, kiss her hand, and say, "Why did the chicken cross the road? But seriously, you are looking beautiful today, and may I suggest we adjourn and spontaneously give thanks to God while I empathize with your inner woman in private, if indeed you'd consent to receive the fervent attentions of my lowly self? And afterward, we could go to Disneyworld."
Not Having Food On Your Head
It's disturbingly common for romance counselors to neglect to mention this essential romance ingredient, in spite of how terribly important it is. Other romance guides blissfully skirt around this important tip, potentially leading their unwary followers to a fatal misstep. The unfortunate fact is that if you do everything else right but have a chicken pot pie oozing down over your ears, it's not romantic at all. It's embarrassing to the object of your affections, and embarrassment overrides romance. So when you've set the mood, the lighting, the background music, and put yourself in a chivalrous frame of mind, don't forget to make sure there are no edibles above the neck, or your efforts will be in vain.
~Samuel Stoddard
What Is Romance?
Romance is a nebulous thing with the curious property of being describable but not definable. We won't muck with your head and try to suggest there's an ultimate definitive definition out there. Some people will try to do just that and come up with some tidy little definition, like, "Romance is showing you care." Sure, it sounds good at first, but although draping your coat over a puddle and asking if she remembered to brush her teeth that morning may be actions triggered by this same motivation, they rate distinctly differently on the romance scale.
Although it's not so much a definition, as it is no more precise than the word "romance" itself, one way to describe romance succinctly is "what women want out of a relationship." In other words, men aren't romantic, and if you're a man, that's why you need this guide. If you're a woman, of course, you were born with an innate knowledge of this stuff and need not read further.
But though romance may not be definable, there are still some hard fast rules. Below, we have documented many of the atomic elements of romance. Mix these ingredients up, and you've got it.
Intrinsic Romance
Some things are inherently romantic, like hearts. This is very useful, because you can pile things upon the object of your affections and win romance points without expending any additional effort or thought. The trick is to figure out what is romantic and what is not. There is a basic rule of thumb to follow: if it's cool, it's not romantic. For example, high powered rifles are not romantic. Science fiction is not romantic. DVD players are not romantic unless they're playing Sleepless In Seattle.
But a whole ton of things are intrinsically romantic, and you should use them to your advantage.
Cute Things
Teddy bears are romantic. Puppies are romantic. Cherubic baby archers are romantic. Those photographs where two little kids exhibit an unnatural affection for each other and only the roses are in color are romantic.
Taking advantage of the intrinsic romance in cute things obviously depends upon recognizing which things are cute. The rule is simple. Small things are cute. If you see a food product in a grocery store that comes in a smaller package than usual, get it, because there's a very good chance it's cute. The same goes for travel size shampoo, toothpaste, and so on. Find a store that sells doll house stuff, and your supply of cute things can be limitless.
Low Light
Candles are romantic. Sunrises and sunsets are romantic. Any kind of low light, you see, is romantic, hence why dinner dates after dark are more romantic than lunch dates at noon. Combine low light sources, and it stands to reason that the air of romance will be so thick, your beloved will be blind to anything else but the radiance of her shimmering knight in armor. Open the curtains on a sunset and light some candles, and you might even be able to get away with watching a football game during dinner.
Red
Red is romantic, because red is the color of love and passion. Consider roses. Red roses mean, "I love you." Yellow roses mean, "Let's just be friends," which is synonymous with, "You are irritating, and I hate you." So you do not want to be wrong. Get her red roses, red ribbons, red balloons, red teddy bears, red puppies, and red tickets to the World Series, and she'll fall hopelessly under your spell.
Background Music
Background music is romantic, and note the word "background," because not just any music is romantic. For music to be romantic, it must be too soft to hear. Also, it may not be lively or funny or good. Elevator music is the most romantic genre of music out there.
Chocolates
Chocolates are not only romantic, they're complimentary. When you give a box of chocolates to your beloved, it says, "You could pig out on this tub of lard and bloat out to three tons, but you'd still be the apple of my eye." It doesn't matter if it's true -- it's the message that counts. But the real reason to give your loved one chocolates is because any loved one worth her salt will turn right around and offer you some. It's a win-win no matter how you look at it. Buy her a red one shaped like a heart, and you're in like Flynn.
The Most Intrinsically Romantic Thing Ever
Based on the data above, the single most romantic thing in the universe can be calculated scientifically. It is, simply, a small red candle made out of chocolate and shaped like a teddy bear holding a heart with scribbles all over it that plays a tune when you wind it up. Toss her one of these at sunset on your way to a frat party, and you'll be able to stay out all night and still strengthen your relationship.
Impracticality
Practical things are not romantic. Why do you think blenders and toaster ovens are so notoriously unromantic? Because they have an alternative use, of course. But get her a poofy thing that sits on her dresser behind her jewelry box, never to be touched or moved again, and she'll melt in your arms.
Personal Stuff
Romance is personal. To be romantic, you must be personal and do personal kind of things. It's sort of romantic to buy a mooshy greeting card for your loved one, but to be really romantic, you should sign it. As far as birthday presents and so forth go, you can make the gift personal by carefully considering your beloved's interests and choosing a gift uniquely suited to her personality. Flowers always works.
Your Time
One of the required ingredients of romance is your time. Nope, there's no way out of it.
Blindness
An important part of romance is selective blindness. You must not acknowledge anything about your beloved that could possibly be construed as a fault. If a nightmare suddenly woke her up from a twenty minute nap after four straight days of not sleeping at all, don't even say she looks "tired." If "radiant" isn't the least of your comments about her appearance, you're sunk. If she's rude to someone without cause, prattle on about how much nerve that other person had for being such a big fat jerk. If she spilled pizza sauce on her chin, don't say a word, nor give any other indication that her complexion is amiss. Paradoxically, if she gets home, looks in the mirror, and finds it still there, she'll hate you for not telling her, so you'd better find a surreptitious way of removing it without her ever noticing -- and afterward, keep that stray globule of pizza sauce your best kept secret to the day you die.
Remembering Birthdays and Anniversaries
Remembering your beloved's birthday and your anniversary isn't so much romantic as it is a stay of execution, for surely you'll forget someday, and when you do, you'll find out how not romantic cold shoulders and tears are. Your safest bet is to find someone whose birthday is on Christmas, then marry her on New Year's Day, because nobody forgets those days.
Pet Names - DOnt ever call me a PET...period!
Style
Even if you get all the essentials of romance right, a lack of style could still foul you up. Try to be as "suave" and "debonair" as you possibly can, as this is the optimum romantic style. Be as much like James Bond as you can, except for the infidelity, compulsive gambling, chain smoking, and killing people parts. Be elegant, humble, refined, independent, thoughtful, responsible, compassionate, spontaneous, reputable, graceful, polite, literate, entertaining, discreet, funny, upstanding, sensitive, fun, sophisticated, pleasant, selfless, reverent, and genuine. And if you can't, fake it. And don't overdo it. Subtlety is essential. If she doesn't notice, you can always find an opportune moment to work a whispered pointer into the conversation, such as, "Notice how elegant, humble, refined, independent, thoughtful, responsible, compassionate, spontaneous, reputable, graceful, polite, literate, entertaining, discreet, funny, upstanding, sensitive, fun, sophisticated, pleasant, selfless, reverent, and genuine I am."
Better yet, follow the old adage, "Show, don't tell," and demonstrate these admirable attributes, each in turn, so she'll be sure to take notice. Wear a tuxedo, bow to the object of your affections, kiss her hand, and say, "Why did the chicken cross the road? But seriously, you are looking beautiful today, and may I suggest we adjourn and spontaneously give thanks to God while I empathize with your inner woman in private, if indeed you'd consent to receive the fervent attentions of my lowly self? And afterward, we could go to Disneyworld."
Not Having Food On Your Head
It's disturbingly common for romance counselors to neglect to mention this essential romance ingredient, in spite of how terribly important it is. Other romance guides blissfully skirt around this important tip, potentially leading their unwary followers to a fatal misstep. The unfortunate fact is that if you do everything else right but have a chicken pot pie oozing down over your ears, it's not romantic at all. It's embarrassing to the object of your affections, and embarrassment overrides romance. So when you've set the mood, the lighting, the background music, and put yourself in a chivalrous frame of mind, don't forget to make sure there are no edibles above the neck, or your efforts will be in vain.
~Samuel Stoddard
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