~LOVE~The Crooks' Wedding~LOVE~

It is wonderful when you see love...real love.  It is a gift when marriage is about real love.  In the case of my dear stepdaughter and my new son-in-law, LOVE was the center focus of their wedding and will continue to spearhead the marriage.  As I write this, they are travelling in The Poconos enjoying their honeymoon.  I do hope they are having a great time!  Their wedding was gorgeous.  The theme of the wedding was "Red Roses".  On each table at the reception were personalized m&m's housed in the hollow of a plastic car.  Each table also held a camera in a paper-covering with red roses.  The centerpieces of the table were exquisitely appointed 2 ft glass vases, lit...with a Red Roses bouquet at the top.  Everything was elegant.  From the moment you stepped into the reception, you were relaxed and comfortable.  The dj had great energy and dancing took a center focus, as a major part of PuertoRican culture.  I for one thoroughly enjoyed watching all my loved ones dance...they are such great dancers!  As awkward as I felt, I spent a bit of time out there with them and even danced with 3 gentlemen myself (she's still got it folks!)

The ceremony itself was serene.  Guests quietly reflected while awaiting the arrival of a Bride so beautiful she was heaven-divined.  The wedding party was perfect in their red and black and white.  Every man, woman and child was in awe as they stood for that Bride...escorted by both Mom and Dad, and greeted by an eager Groom.  There was a lot of Love by the Lake that day.  The Limo driver, photographer and videographer were all a special part of this day...they operated so smoothly and gently that they never took a moment's focus from the Bride and Groom or the other important elements of the day.  Instead they captured tender moments everywhere and enhanced the enjoyment of the day!  The Coordinator of the day, Ms. Tracy Hill from Crystal Lake Golf Club, was exceptionally graceful and reassuring!  Her waitstaff gave us the utmost care...especially Hailey and Ryan who served in our rehearsal dinner and also on the Wedding day.  Hailey served us generously, even standing in the cold with us while we completed the professional photos and giving her jacket to the shiverring flower girl!  The level of professionalism shown by each and every vendor was beyond anything I have seen before.  It has made such an impact on me!

In preparing for the day, the Bride and her entourage arrived by Limo 2 hours ahead, and were given a special room to prepare themselves.  The Groom and his party spent some time in the Pub (mostly just in the doorway), out of sight of the Bride.  The Groomsmen and the Bridesmaids each carefully protecting the Groom and Bride from accidentally seeing each other.  The Father of the Bride paced nervously with the Ring Bearer and several of the younger Groomsemen entertained us on a nearby piano.  All the while, the photographer and videographer captured special moments that would otherwise be forgotten!  It was Sunny and warm with a slight breeze all day and into the evening.  As the sun disappeared, the temperatures plummetted but we would not notice as the party busily heated-up the dance floor.

The arrival of the Wedding Party to the Reception was met with excitement.  The Bride danced with her new Husband and also her Father.  Guests buzzed around the head table and showered loving words and hugs and kisses to their favorite people of the day!  The food was delicious that night.  I myself had an exceptionally wonderful Vegetarian dish, but both the Chicke and Beff looked delicious as well.  There were no complaints about the food at our table...nor the service!  The Garter/Bouquet-catch proved to be the "show" of the evening.  I thoroughly enjoyed myself, calling it a night at a whopping 9pm!  The Father-of-the-Bride and I had to usher home a very sleepy Ring-Bearer and Flower Girl.

My favorite part of the entire weekend actually didn't happen until the following day.  The Bride and Groom came home!  Let me explain...the Bride has been living with us.  Their honeymoon was to start on Tuesday and so on Monday, they had arranged for visits and dinners and a little downtime.  I am glad to say that their downtime was here at my home.  I feel it has been a privilege to serve them and be a part of their special wedding period...however long it lasts!  My children SO adore their Sister and their New Brother, that we could not keep them apart.  But as is their generously loving nature, they warmly embraced the kids and allowed them to play with them and rest with them and ended up having some very unexpected bonding time!  We sadly saw them leave....knowing they are happy and that we are forever changed...by their Love.

~namaste~

A Wonderful Night to celebrate!

Tonite was fantastic for so many reasons.  The last 7 months have been greatly focused on creating the evening that we just had and the one to come on October 23rd as well!  My whole family and I have been engaged in helping create the Wedding Weekend that is now underway.  I have a lovely stepdaughter who has become a dear and sweet friend to me over the years, and she is getting married in exactly 12 hours.  As I write this it is 3am on the morning of her wedding.  As I lay restlessly shifting about, I realized my time was better spent in meditation and reflection and in creating this memory in writing. 

To start with, the location of this Event truly made the greatest difference in terms of it's overall success.  As you can see from the above photo, Crystal Lake Golf Club in Burriville RI was exquisite!

The Staff of Crystal Lake...Tracy Hill and our servers Hailey and Ryan...saw that our comfort was their desire.  They thought of every last detail and any questions or problems were addressed instantly!

Here I am enjoying the view from our private balcony.  Directly across from where I am standing-across Crystal Lake- is the very beautiful location of the Gazebo where Daly and Justin are to be married.  There is a brick patio at the bottom corner in view...this patio is outside of the ballroom where we will celebrate tomorrow's formal reception.

The theme of the Rehearsal Dinner tonite was Tuscan/Italy and I emphasized natural things such as the Sunflowers and herbs and vegetables from our garden.  Actually, our sunflowers did not grow very well.  Instead I ordered these from my favorite RI florist LiRog on Broadway in Providence!

My camera is limited but I did manage to snap these great shots of the table and other decor just minutes before our guests arrived.  The party favor, which can be seen in the first photo at the very top of my Blog, all shaped as a heart, is a little black bucket of chocolate-covered and Jordan almonds.  The sticker on it reads, "Daly and Justin...October 23rd 2011...Love"
I moved the favors from each place setting just minutes before the guests arrived because the table looked somewhat crowded.

The party guests are of course, very very important, however I did not have a proper camera with a flash to take pictures of them to include in this Blog.  Instead I have added the pictures I did take, which are of me and my children and also of the Bride-to-Be Daly.  The last picture is of Daly and Justin from last fall (2010).  Our guests totalled 26 people and represented most of the loved-ones and friends who are dearest to the B&G (Bride & Groom).

The food served was a pasta buffet...Salad and Italian Wedding Soup to start us off.  We finished off the evening with delicious cookies and coffee.  There was SO much food that we brought home nearly 5 containers and several small ones of just marinara.  Half of it went directly into my freezer...and this was all after our guests took some home! 

The festivities of the night were the food and the jukebox.  For a short time, some of the children sat at the bar and watched cartoons.  After the meal, our guests stepped out on the patio for some fresh air and some to smoke.  It was a beautiful but chilly evening.  We re-adjourned for toasts, headed off by my hubby David (the Father of the Bride and Host of the evening).

Toasting the couple proved an emotional task.  The B&G presented their honored guests with gifts of appreciation.  There were tears and laughs and lots of love to be felt.  I am pleased and satisfied to see that a person I love so much (Daly) has a strong center for her life.  She has a man who loves her...friends who will stand by her, both here and in NY...and a family who's love is undying.  It seems like this move is hard for her...it is hard for her to leave here and move to New York.  But after meeting some of the people that she will build stronger bonds with over there, I am confident that she will adjust.

So tomorrow they TIE the KNOT

I would like to end this by thanking David and Dama for bringing this lovely woman into the world...and for Justin's Mother to be remembered with respect and love.  Life is short...it is a blessing to live it with the ones you love.

~namaste~

What you Love, you say. What you say, you Love.

If it means that much to you, how will you keep it to yourself?  If I see my favorite ice-cream parlor has a stand setup on a street corner and they are giving away free ice cream for an hour...I am going to share that information.  Why?  Because I Love ice cream and I Love free stuff...and most important, I Love when people give something because it shows me they are inherently good.  So I will get my ice cream and happily walk along until I see a person on the street and I will be too excited to withold sharing it!  I will tell them to continue down the street where they can get their own free ice cream.  I will say it to every person I meet all the way home, because sharing good news makes me feel good and makes them feel good and allows us both to gain something good (and free!). 

Now, on some level, I am just a Maven or something else Malcolm Gladwell labeled people as in his famous book, "The Tipping Point". I happen to be the type who pollenate a selected area with my infectious chatter and sharing.  Not everyone is this way and not everyone feels compelled to share.  But we can easily see what a person's life is all about...what do they talk about most of the time?

I talk a lot lately about making connections.  How we make connections is primarily through language-communication.  So we talk...we share.  If we are already engaging in conversations, why not make them productive and beneficial to both parties, right?  Share the good news.  Share the Love.  Share the happiness you feel and see.  Say what you Love because what we focus our mind on we will talk about and also we will attract to us.

What you love, you say.  What you say, you Love.

~namaste~

I don't wait...I CREATE!

Well I for one believe in miracles.  I am not referring to only the miracles that can be created by the imagination of movie-makers.  I have to give a lot of credit though, to the creators of such wonderful and meaningful stories that give us all hope!  But miracles are truly all around us.  I consider it a miracle sometimes when I can get a challenging person who is never happy...to smile.  I consider it a miracle when I can sing my children three songs at bedtime and then hear silence for the rest of the night.  I consider it a miracle at times to get my children's father to sit and eat a meal at the table with us.  I consider it a miracle when my relatives all get together on a holdiay or special occassion and have a genuinely wonderful visit!

In my study of Kabbalah, using a program from kabbulah university online, today's lesson was about Miracles (hmmm...surprise, surprise!). The simple rules for finding oneself on the same frequency as miracles exists in the following list, which by following the steps allows us to overcome our Tikun  (a concept having to do with repairing the world by overcoming our personal emotional obstacles...from kabbalah):


1.  Inject enthusiasm
In every moment, in every action...before I partake of any opportunity to give, I deliberately inject enthusiasm into the moment.  This allows me to truly show love as I perform these tasks.  Rather than waiting for exciting things to happen so that I can move from melancholy to excited, I choose to feel excited without those things.  I was extremely relieved when I heard this lesson.  I have OFTEN felt this way...this lull...this wanderlust...this urge to do something or go somewhere to overcome my boredom.  I found myself creating vacation itineraries and pushing my budget to the limit to fullfill them.  Now I realize that it would simpley be better and more beneficial to visualize those enjoyable experiences during my meditations, thus raising my emotional state to that of joy and excitement.

2.  Think Big!
This is a tremendous challenge for me.  I often think big but then give up before I can come close to real creation.  I now realize that the reason this happens is that my passions are not of a pure heart.  My BIG ideas have to do with what is best for me alone and not the World as a whole or a larger community.  I will be working on this one.

3.  Mind over Matter
Ah, the ole MoM...yup.  It always comes back to this doesn't it?  It honestly does not matter what religion or belief system you adopt...you must overcome weakness.  The mental condition must master the physical condition and then there can be success!

It's a long road.  It's a fascinating road.  I want to push myself as far as I can, as hard as I can...to demonstrate that I am worthy of the things life has to offer. 

~namaste~