1. Avoid large, public chat rooms where anything can (and does!) take place. Some people frequent these areas just to see what they can get away with. Instead, focus on smaller, more targeted web sites or chat rooms that match your interests or lifestyle. There are many online dating sites that cater to specific hobbies and several offer free trial memberships.

2. When you find a chat room, dating site, or forum that matches your interest, introduce yourself with only as much information as you feel comfortable giving. Don’t plaster your phone number, address or any other personal information on the site. Wait until you meet someone with whom you truly “click” and have spoken to them for awhile. Common sense and that “gut feeling” are great indicators for when something just doesn’t seem quite right.

3. Participate in the forum or chat room regularly. Keep it “low-key” until you start forming friendships with the regular members there. Be honest, and be yourself – after all, being natural is what will endear you to a particular mate.

4. Keep your correspondence limited to e-mail and chat until you get to know the person well enough to feel comfortable sharing your phone number and talking for the first time. If you need a good ice-breaker, start off the chat by talking about the forum or chat room where you met and any special interests that brought you two together.

5. If you decide to meet each other in person, choose a neutral, public place. You may even choose a town or city that’s not the same as the one where you live. Restaurants, parks, theaters and other public places where people gather often are a good place to start. Alternately, you could choose to attend a special event in your area together, perhaps a concert, festival or fair. Either way, let friends or family know where you’re going and who you’re going with, as well as what time you’ll be returning so they’ll know how and where to reach you.

6. If you’re interested in a few online “matches” that come your way, consider setting up a post office box and a free e-mail account to share information with each other. That way, if you come to find that you really don’t “click” with this person, you won’t feel as if you’ve given any personal contact information away.

If you follow these six tips, chances are you’ll have a great time with your cyber date. Remember to be honest and be yourself! If you do, chances are that you’ll find that perfect special someone who enjoys you for who you are!

When is your wedding?

The date and location of your wedding is crucial when choosing the cake. For example if you plan on having your wedding in the summer at a hot location, things like mousse, or even ice cream cake might be out of the question Ask your baker what types of cake are in “season”

How big will the cake be?

Wedding cakes can come in all shapes and sizes. Traditional cakes which have several tiers are normally a great choice, and one your guests will remember. Depending on how many guests you have your options are limitless. Of course the biggest factor in deciding how large your wedding cake should be, is knowing how man guests you will have. The following website gives a great reference on how large your cake should be.

What’s your flavor?

Depending on the style of the cake, you have many different options. If the cake is multiple tiers, many people are choosing to have several different kinds of cake. Each level can be different, offering something for everyone. With wedding almost anything goes when it comes to the cake.

What kind of Icing?

Traditionally icing has been white or a light cream color. However today, many are matching their icing color with the overall theme of the wedding.. The actually icing can be a simple sugar and flour recipe, or even a rich cream cheese icing. There are many great icing ideas online which are sure to please even the most picky guests.

Decorations

Decorating a cake is only limited by your imagination. Some couples design the cake around the d¨¦cor or theme of the wedding. While others give the cake a unique look, with crazy and outrageous decorations which define who they are. Most Depend on what you need, bakers decorate cakes with the look of lace, embroidery appliqu¨¦ or elegant drapes or swag.

Your wedding cake should be as individual as you. The worst thing you can do when choosing a cake is just “settling.” Shop around a bit, decided on the cake, style and decorations, and find a baker who is willing to accommodate you. Many couples even order their cakes as much as 6 months ahead of time to insure they get what they want.

When engaging in a relationship with another person there is always going to be things that you do not agree upon. You want to have the ability to compromise so both partners are getting their wishes met. This may mean one night you watch football, and one night your partner watches a movie you enjoy. It might mean that your partner can agree to try a dish that you enjoy cooking. In any organization with more than one person in it, there will be more than one opinion, work with your partner to see that both of you can compromise on different subjects. If someone isn’t willing to compromise, they are not willing to acknowledge your wants and desires. If they can not acknowledge your wants they are likely not emotionally developed enough for you to have your needs met.

Open and honest communication is one of the more desirable qualities you want to have in a relationship. Watch to see that your partner is not secretive, nor are they willing to tell lies to avoid certain subjects. For example, if a partner is married, and fails to tell you that, you can rightfully assume if they can lie about big things, they can lie about small things. While you may not like everything your partner may say, freedom to be honest should be there in your relationship. Likewise, you need to be open and honest with your partner; a relationship based upon false truths is not likely to be successful, because both partners do not have the correct frame of reference in the relationship.

There are many qualities that make relationships good support, compromise, and open and honest communication is just a few of these qualities that you may desire in a relationship. Engage only in relationships where both partners can openly discuss their wants and needs, this can take practice. Remember loving relationships grow and only become better, eliminate those who do not meet your needs when they continually fail to support you, will not compromise, and will not be honest. These three qualities alone will help you nurture and develop a deeper relationship with your partner.

There are a few things you should think about when displaying your bouquet. In particular, you must be very careful about displaying your bouquet next to a window. But I’ll tell you more about that later…

Anyway, there are 3 ways you can display your bouquet: in a display cabinet; on a shelf; or on a table.

Displaying In A Glass Display Cabinet

The ideal way to display your silk bouquet is in a glass display cabinet. This works really well with a picture of your wedding behind the bouquet, so that your flowers have a backdrop for other people to admire them in their full extent.

Displaying On A Shelf

Another place to display your bouquet is on a shelf. Try and use a high shelf, so that the bouquet is out of the way – you don’t want people knocking it over! A couple of small wedding photo’s either side of the bouquet will look great, and will really draw the eye to the display.

Displaying On A Table

If you have a posy, then you can display it in a vase, on top of a table. Try and use a table out of the way (A corner table, or dining table maybe), so that the posy doesn’t get in the way of your everyday routine. If you place blue and white stones at the bottom of the vase, it will give the impression that the flowers are sitting in water. It looks spectacular, and is definitely worth a try.

Whichever way you to decide to display your bouquet, there are 4 simple rules you should pay attention to:

1) Put the silk bouquet in a place where it will draw attention. A well displayed bouquet makes a great talking point, and will remind you of the happy day every time you see it.

2) Make sure the bouquet is out of the way. You don’t want to be knocking it over, or pushing it aside all the time. Perhaps you’ll be careful, but what about your children, or your pets?

3) KISS – Keep It Simple Stupid. Many people get carried away when setting up their bouquet display, and add too many photographs and other wedding items. This makes the display look cluttered, and the bouquet stops being a focal point. You want the display to be VERY simple, so that eye is drawn to the the bouquet.

4) Be sure to avoid direct sunlight hitting the bouquet. Direct sunlight is very bad for silk bouquets, and will make them fade and lose their color. Ideally you want natural room light. If you have your bouquet anywhere near a window, make sure the sunlight doesn’t directly hit it!

Initially, you’ll want to keep all communication by email and get to know a little more about the other person. Email also gives you time to think about what you want to say whilst allowing you the distance and privacy to keep things from moving too quickly. And just like your daily post, you’ll be surprised how much you will look forward to checking your inbox to see if you have new mail!

Once an email friendship has been established you may feel comfortable enough to talk over the telephone. Take your time over giving out your telephone number though, if you decide that you don’t want to pursue the friendship you can’t take your number back.

Ok. Let’s assume that you’ve emailed and chatted on the telephone. You’ve decided that you really like this person and would love to meet up. Stop right there! Before you get carried away with the excitement that the prospect of new love brings, read these important dating safety tips prior to taking the final step of meeting that great new date:

• Always tell a friend where and when you are meeting.

• Don’t give out personal information unless you feel confident to do so, especially your home address.

• Never give out personal financial details. Never give or send out money to someone you’ve just met.

• If travelling to meet, make your own arrangements for overnight accommodation and don’t give out the name or address of your hotel.

• Follow your instincts. If you feel unsafe of unsure of your situation, never be embarrassed or afraid to make your excuses and leave.

On the whole, just like in everyday life, most people you meet via the Internet will be genuine but it is important to be aware that some may not. Just following a few basic rules will ensure your safety. You might even want to arrange to ‘check in’ with a friend to let them know how the date is going – if your friends are as nosey as mine this will be the first thing they ask you to do!

Finally, relax and enjoy yourself. You never know, it could be the start of something beautiful.

There’s one common mistake that people make that often kills conversations at a reception before they can even start. It’s easily avoided, but I’ve seen way too many receptions ruined because of this one simple mistake. But I’ll discuss that later – first I need to cover the seating arrangements…

When setting the seating positions, you should start with the bride and groom. Place the bride and groom together, with the groom on the left hand-side of the bride.

From here there are 2 standard ways to set up the guests:

With the first way set the Chief Bridesmaid and Best Man to the right-handside of the bride. Then place a groomsman and a bridesmaid to the left of the groom, and then another groomsman and a bridesmaid to the right of the bride, and so-on until the bridal partly are all accounted for.

The other standard way is to just have guests arranged boy & girl around the table.

Really though, it doesn’t matter how the guests are arranged. Just arrange them however you think would work. It’s more important to ensure that:

* The bridal table is situated so it is in plain site of everyone at the reception.
* Everyone at the bridal table is facing the rest of the reception. It is important that no-one has their backs to the reception!
* There is ample room around the bridal table, so that guests can easily get to the table and congratulate the newly married couple.

The other thing to consider is the table decorations. Keep any table decorations small and to the center of the tables. Your guests want to be able to talk to each other and not around the centerpiece! This can’t be stressed enough! Sure, you want nice looking decorations, but making sure that everyone can talk too each other easily is much more important!

If you want to have candles then keep them low. Try candle-float bowls and maybe a few roses (or any other flower heads) floating in the bowl. Candle wreaths also look good, especially when placed on a small candle holder.

The bridal table centerpiece should be something just a little more elaborate than the decorations of the other guests tables but along the same theme. Again, make sure it isn’t too big! The guests need to be able to see the bride and groom!

In regards to the colors you use, try neutral colors like pink, cream or white, as these will match most color themes. The bridal table should have a white cloth, offset against a coloured table. Why not mix and match colours on the guests tables? This adds fun and makes things look happy and alive. Don’t be afraid to use color!

A final tip: Try not to make the reception too formal. Relax, and have some fun!

As outlined in my book “the Ultimate Online Dating Handbook” It’s easy to do, and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. As a matter of fact you can get started meeting new people for No Cost at all. And here’s the best thing. Once you’ve got the kiddies all tucked away in dream land you can head for your computer and have some Mommy (or Daddy) time. From the comfort of your own home you can get to know people. Pour yourself a glass of your favorite white wine, put on some soft music, and chat up a storm. You’ll find many, many new dating prospects without even leaving the house. Once you create your personal ad, and start responding to other ads your social life will be enhanced almost overnight! So guess what? She decided to give it a try. And, after chatting for just a short period of time she decided there were a couple of gentlemen who seemed “worthy” of her time and money. As she would have to pay the neighborhood babysitter for the evening.

All through her online experience she was careful to play it safe and keep her anonymity guarded. But, what about now? What happens now? Well, you still want to protect your anonymity. You must remember that giving out your personal information to someone you still don’t really know not only gives them access to you, but to your children as well. And, of course as parents we all want to be protective of our kids. So, Don’t Give It Out! Not until you’ve met this person a few times offline, and you feel comfortable with him. There is no point giving someone all your personal information and after the first face to face met you feel this person is not for you. And yes, this does happen. Sometimes those we met face to face may not be quite the same as when we conversed online and therefore you may decide he is not for you. Simply arrange for a place and time to meet and take your own transportation there and back home. Never let your date pick you up at home, and always tell someone where you are going, who you are with and when they should expect you home. Listen to your intuition! Your gut feeling is always right, and you’ll know when the time is right to give out more personal information. Also, an other great tool is doing a background check. This will tell you of any criminal or marriage records.

If you do find someone special enough to spend time with. Someone who can love your children too – Yes, you are part of a package deal remember. You and your kids. Start slowly having your children spend time with the two of you together. Any action you take is going to affect their lives as well. So they’ll need to be happy with your new friend also. You’ll need to be up front with them, on a level they can understand for their age group. Just listen to your heart, you’ll know when it’s the right time to introduce your friend to your kids.

Don’t spend time with anyone who can’t love your children too. As I said earlier you are part of a package deal. For any long-term relationship or even marriage it’s you and your kids.

In fact, when came to me for some dating advice, he told a story about the last woman he dated, how she literally stalked him for three months after their relationship ended, one day calling him a “Nazi,” the next calling him the sweetest guy on earth. It got so bad he decided to sell his house and move out of state. No joke, this is a true story.

However, this is NOT the first woman like this he’s dated. In fact, most women he’s dated are like this. Now, you might think this guy is bad looking and broke, a complete loser who just can’t “do any better.” The truth, though is this: the guy’s 6’2″, in good shape, could pose for GQ, and does very well financially. And, he can be a fun, witty guy to hang out with. Why then, did this guy come to me for dating advice?

There are actually several answers to this question (and we don’t have time to cover all of them today), but many of them have to do with what’s called “map/model of the world,” both his and theirs. We’ll talk about his in a later episode-for now, just realize your outer world is a reflection of your inner world. Obviously he’s got some work to do on his inner world, and he is taking my dating advice seriously, but for now let’s talk about map/model of the women he dates.

Just what is “map/model” of the world, and how will this help your dating? It’s simply how each individual human being views the world-the sum total of our internal representations. Let me give you an example that will clarify this. Let’s say you and I are listening to the radio and a particular song comes on. You hate it, but I like it. Why? Because we both have different maps/models of the world. Although the “input” (in this case the song) was exactly the same, the “output” (our reaction to the song) was different. Our “maps” create the differing output. How we view the world is different. How each man responds to my dating advice is different.

When you’re screening women to see if they’re worth spending time with, you want to uncover as much of their map/model of the world as possible. Why? Because how they’ve behaved in the past (based on their map/model of the world) is how they will behave in the future. And if the past behavior they’ve exhibited is bad, their future behavior will be worse. (Take my dating advice on this one!)

When my friend told me during this dating advice session about his experience with this “crazy woman” I asked how they met, what she said to him. It took me 15 minutes of listening to him for me to determine, simply based on what she said to him, that she was a “nonstarter”, someone I would NEVER start a dating relationship with. Why? Because she’d described several instances of psychotic/stalking behavior in past relationships. But, since he wasn’t actively uncovering her map/model of the world, and making decisions based on it, he got into a horrible relationship. I would have avoided dating her completely.

So just how do you uncover a woman’s map? By asking, “elicitation questions” and actively listening. You want to look for common patterns of behavior that reoccur in her past relationships. Awhile back I met a woman online and we met at Town Lake here in Austin for a walk. As we walked, I simply asked her about her online dating experiences. Over and over she said, “oh he kept following me, but he was a loser.” Then I asked her about her relationships, and she kept talking about how guys “cheated on her all the time.” How did she know they were cheating, I asked? Well, she said, because I would drive by their houses, and strange cars would be in the driveway. My dating advice to anyone who exhibits this attitude is… don’t walk, run!

Now, if I’d pursued ANY type of dating relationship with this woman, what do you think the outcome would have been? She would have driven by my house, looking for “strange cars” and then she would have accused me of “cheating.” And then she would have come to my place of work at odd hours to “confront me.” Why? Because that’s what she did with all the guys who “cheated on her.”

Obviously I never met with her again, even though she was cute. But many guys not heeding this very important nugget of dating advice would have, because they were paying attention to looks, not uncovering her map or model of the world. And the next six months of their lives would have been HELL.

Listening for map/model of the world is a valuable skill to develop, and some of the best dating advice I can give anyone. You will find that uncovering someone’s map of the world will save you much frustration. So¡­ I’ve got some homework for you guys. As you go throughout your day tomorrow, actively listen for

other people’s maps. Get them to tell you stories, and listen for recurring patterns of behavior, both good and bad. Develop this skill, and utilize it, and you’ll be able to avoid a lot of heartache, and enjoy a lot of pleasure.

If you haven’t already done so, now is the time to complete your Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FASFA, for short. This is a straightforward application published by the Department of Education, which gives lenders an idea of what sort of funding you are entitled to. The application process is fairly simple and can be completed online in minutes. Once you’ve filled in the necessary information, you should receive, within a matter of a few days, a confirmation letter, of which programs you are eligible for. This process is free and simple to do, and it is the cornerstone of securing financial aid for your college program.

Once you have this information, you need to contact the Financial Aid office at the college that you want to attend. There are many types of financial aid packages available, ranging from work study programs to government aid. The financial aid officer will be able to provide the necessary forms for the different lending institutions and should be able to guide you through the decision making process.

After you have completed your loan applications, they will need to be sent to the school for verification and processing. Many banks will not release the funds directly to the student, only to the college at the start of the term. This makes it easier- and safer- for both the college and the student.

Securing funds for college is a fairly easy process that needn’t be stressful. The key to the whole process is being well organized and making sure that you meet all of the loan deadlines specified by both the Department of Education and your college’s financial aid office.

These new personal values should be a guide for you. Everyone you meet while dating, whether online dating or the old fashion way, should be judged against the values that have begun to be instilled in you. Online dating allows you to meet a lot of people. Online Christian dating is the same. And a lot of times you meet people who claim to be Christians but given enough time they will show the contrary. Before making any kind of commitment with someone you need to know whether your personal values match up.

If your personal values do not match up with the person you are dating and there doesn’t seem to be any sign of them ever doing so, you should move on. As your own personal values become part of the foundation of who you are, so does a couple’s personal values together become part of the foundation that defines the relationship. If there is disagreement in the area of personal values you can expect trouble down the road. This is an extremely important aspect of Christian dating.

In a relationship the personal values of each person make up the personal value of the couple. So you need to be solid in your own personal values, and be satisfied that the person you are with meets your expectations in the personal values department. Don’t think that if you stay with them and help them along you might be able to change them. More love advice – accept people as they are, if you can’t move on. Find someone who has the same values that you do. And be careful of people you meet on Christian dating sites as you would any place else.