The Most Gorgeous Royal Wedding I've Ever Seen

Royal Wedding Day has arrived!  My Husband spent the night at work (field exercises), so Buoy and I woke up at 4am CST and turned on our coverage of choice…Clinton Kelly and TLC (oh, The Learning Channel; how far you’ve come).  I put together some pictures and my personal commentary because I know you're dying to hear it.



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 THE GUESTS’ ATTIRE: I liked Mrs. Middleton’s dove gray dress and jacket: cautious but lovely.  I thought little brother James’ contrast collar/burgundy tie/lemon yellow vest was very English and spiffy.  Camilla’s dress was alright but I thought the color washed her out.  Princess Beatrice came in with some kind of wack-a-doo carnival game on her head (I certainly hope she did it for a laugh).  Between her and Chelsy Davy's (Harry’s on-again-off-again girlfriend) teal prom reject, they looked like they were the unholy offspring of Ke$ha and Coco Chanel.  According to TLC, Princess Anne turned to her husband during the ceremony and said of Kate, “I think she’ll make him very happy.”  Victoria Beckham looked like the Wicked Witch of the West's hefty bag.

PIPPA’S DRESS: Little sister Pippa wore what looked like Kate’s second choice wedding dress.  I mean, obviously Kate had her wear ivory, but I found it too slinky and distracting.  She was sweet with the little bridesmaids, though.  And the half up/half down hair was pretty, but I wish Pippa didn’t look so much like Kate today.

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THE QUEEN’S DRESS: Her Majesty looked just like herself; fresh but boxy.  At first I thought the canary yellow was too much, but I suppose every eye would switch between the bride and the Queen anyway so she might as well wear her favorite color.

HARRY & WILLS: So cute together!  You can tell they are best friends.  William had to face the altar the whole time, but when Kate got to the doors Harry turned back and said to William, “Right, she is here now.”

KATE & MR. MIDDLETON: I love a devoted dad on his daughter's wedding day.  Kate was gripping her father's hand and trying to breathe steadily as she went down the aisle.  He kept asking if she was OK.  Adorable.

The Abbey was beautifully decorated; I loved the trees.  It made it more like a Parisian boulevard than the slightly intimidating tomb of the British elite.  And of course, Kate's gown was a stunning take on modern bride and traditional princess.  Very Grace Kelly (which I love, since that's what I went with my own wedding gown).  There was no “obey” in the vows, which I took out of my ceremony, too.  Girl power!

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WILLS & KATE: Absolutely beautiful with each other.  While they were at the altar it was nice to see the prince struggling with facing forward…he kept sliding his eyes to the side to see Kate next to him.  Prince William said to Kate and she came up to the altar, “You look stunning, babe.” She said, “Yeah?” and he replied,“Yes, it looks fantastic; it’s beautiful.” I guess she kept her dress a surprise for him. How cute! Wills also joked to his father-in-law, “We were supposed to have just a small family affair.” Mr. Middleton looked properly bewildered the future king of England was being silly. 

The prince blinked a lot during his vows.  Tears?  No.  But I like to think he was on the brink.  I love a slightly teary-eyed groom.  Kate held up remarkably well.   I think her “tell” is licking her lips; she did that quite a bit on the altar.  I think they are really in love and happy.  Apparently she turned to him as they got into the carriage after the ceremony and said, “Are you happy?”  And he kept checking in with her and giving her little supportive looks and suggestions.  I loved it.  I loved them!  And when she came out on Buckingham Palace's balcony and said, "Oh wow," it was so touching for her to be affected that way.

Then they drove away in that Eco-friendly Astin-Martin with the balloons and the JUST WED license plate...so freaking cute without being saccharin.  I adore the both of them. 

Yes, I cried.  Yes, I'm making a big deal out of this.  But life is so crappy sometimes it's just refreshing to see two people under immense pressure have eyes only for each other.  I can only hope Prince William and Princess Catherine, the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge, make each other half as happy as they made me today watching them :)

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Getting Down Music

From the naughty to the lovely, these songs are a must for your make out session.

Random List of Songs to Get You in the Mood:

• "Can't Stop Thinking 'Bout You" by Martin Sexton
• "Secrets" by Alicia Keys
• "Giving Him Something He Can Feel" by Aretha Franklin
• "She Rides" by Danzig
• "Fortunate" by Maxwell
• "Say Yes" by Floetry
• "Delicate" by Damien Rice
• "Lay Lady Lay" by Bob Dylan
• "Didn't Leave Nobody but the Baby" by Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris & Gillian Welch (from the O Brother Where Art Thou Soundtrack) 
• "One Fine Day" by Natalie Merchant
• "The Nearness of You" Norah Jones
• "Like a Star" Corinne Bailey Rae
• "Comfortable" by John Mayer
• "A Long Walk" by Jill Scott
• "One and Only" by Teitur
• "Hallelujah" by Rufus Wainwright
• "A Sunday" by Jimmy Eat World
• "Georgia" by Ray Charles
• "Rude Boy" by Rihanna
• "Grey Blue Eyes" by the Dave Matthews Band

How Evolved are You?

A few days ago at the gym I saw a television advertisement for something called The Creation Museum in Kentucky.  From what I can tell, a Christian organization called AnswersInGenesis funds and runs the museum.  Apparently the building is devoted to the Earth's creation as described in the Bible. 

Frankly, I'm very confused.  The museum claims God created the Earth and everything in it in six days.  Adam, Eve and all the animals (including dinosaurs) lived together in the Garden of Eden and ate only plants.  It contains a number of fossils, the result of the Great Flood which only Noah and his family survived.

I don't know a lot about fundamental Christianity, since I wasn't raised that way (Lutheran Catholic mother who is more concerned with personal spirituality than church canon and a holiday Roman Catholic father) but I do know they take the Bible literally and consider it the actual words of God.  I know they reject the principles of evolution because A) human beings are made in God's image and therefore could never have looked like monkeys and B) if evolution was true, all monkeys would have evolved into people as evolution always ends in a creature's "perfect" form.

The following is completely editorial and I in no way intend to offend anyone.

My first issue with the Creation Museum is the Earth's age: 6,000 years.  According to most accepted scientific theories, modern homo sapiens (the classification of all human beings) began to appear about 200,000 years ago.  Anthropologists base this on fossilized bones...their shape and size matches our own almost exactly.

That's 194,000 years of struggle and hunger and childbirth and sex and love that apparently never happened.  If each of those people had a soul (as I personally believe almost all living things do) that's hundreds of thousands if not millions of souls God is "ignoring."  And considering "His eye is on the sparrow," I sincerely doubt that.

I suppose there is an argument that these bones are those of the people who died in the Great Flood, along with the bones of dinosaurs.

So let's move on to those dinosaurs.  The Creation Museum claims dinosaurs lived side by side in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve and ate only plants.  If God creates perfection and makes no mistakes, how could a Tyrannosaurus Rex eat plants without the necessary flat teeth for grinding them?  Meat-eating dinosaurs could not have possibly survived on plants...they couldn't have broken them down properly for digestion.

My last bit is about human beings being created in God's image.  As a person who spends a lot of time with animals, I can tell you they are far more Christian than any person I've ever met.  They love with abandon, forgive even the most grievous offenses, suffer willingly and require only basic necessities and love to survive.  Animals are made in God's image, and humans are devolved from their perfection. 

I came across this interesting article about how Chimpanzees give birth.  The baby emerges from the birth canal headfirst facing upward so the mother has an easier time lifting the baby toward her and clearing the airway.  This is almost exactly how human beings have babies.

I'll write more in the future about the correlation between science and religion and my own opinions about it, but for now I think I've given you enough to chew on.

 

Cutie Pie Penguin

Saw this on CNN and I had to share it.  Don't you wish you worked somewhere where baby penguins waddled around in the breakroom?

Happy Easter!

Peter Cottontail from his 1971 television movie, courtesy of
http://www.nydailynews.com

Happy Easter!

Christians worldwide celebrate Easter as Jesus of Nazareth’s resurrection from the dead.  It’s a time of rebirth and rejoicing; flowers are blooming, the air warms and the sun makes its presence known after a long winter.

Some fundamentalist Christians would probably be horrified to know the extent of Easter’s pagan origins and customs.  The very word (in English, that is) Easter derives from the old Germanic goddess of the dawn, Ēostre (also called Ostara and Ēastre).  European tribes celebrated her arrival around present day April, welcoming spring. 

The reason Christians celebrate the Christ’s resurrection around this time is because the New Testament states Jesus died just after celebrating the Jewish Passover feast (The Last Supper).  The actual date Easter is celebrated is calculated by the lunar calendar: each year Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox.  Early Christians were notorious for incorporating pagan traditions into Christian ethic to smooth the path to conversion.

As for our other Easter traditions: the Easter bunny, Easter eggs and the like, they all have to do with pagan celebrations regarding spring and the moon.  Birds lay their eggs in the spring, so their abundance during this season makes their use in rites understandable.

The rabbit in the moon, courtesy of http://www.cst.cmich.edu

As for the bunny: hares and rabbits have deep associations with the moon in many cultures.  One can supposedly see a rabbit’s shape in the moon, so they therefore represent everything the moon represents…fertility (I mean, they are bunnies, after all! Plus the moon controls female menstruation), rebirth (waning and returning after a period of darkness), playfulness and sexuality (the reason the marketing genius that is Hugh Hefner chose the bunny as the symbol of Playboy Magazine).  And of course, all the things on that list can also stand for spring!

So this year when you put on your Easter bonnet and paint your eggs and cuddle your bunny, remember our holidays are not just mass-produced excuses to buy candy.  They are long-standing examples of our human history and how we understand and celebrate our world.

Cheering Up Music

Here's a list of 30 songs that always make me smile.  These will help you get through your workout or your day!


Random List of Songs that Immediately Lift My Spirits:

• "If We Ever Meet Again" by Timbaland featuring Katy Perry
• "Love Shack" by the B52s
• "B.O.B." by OutKast
• "Diva" by Beyoncé
• "Must be the Money" by Nelly
• "Mayberry" by Rascal Flatts
• "Dude Looks Like a Lady" by Aerosmith
• "La Camisa Negra" by Juanes
• "Happy Boys and Girls" by Aqua
• "C'est La Vie" by B*Witched
• "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom" by Selena
• "Ça Plane Pour Moi" by Plastic Bertrand
• "That's Not My Name" by The Ting Tings
• "Cotton-Eyed Joe" by the Rednex
• "My Sharona" by The Knack
• "Do My Ladies Run this Party" by Cupid
• "Latin Girls" by the Black Eyed Peas
• "The Next Best Thing" by Nicki & Rich
• "Clarity" by John Mayer
• "The Big Bang" by Rock Mafia
• "Starry Eyed Surprise" by Paul Oakenfold
• "American Child" by Phil Vassar
• "King of the Dance Hall" by Beenie Man
• "Black Betty" by Ram Jam
• "Long as I Got King Jesus" by Vickie Winans
• "Alright" by Darius Rucker
• "Say Hey (I Love You)" by Michael Franti featuring Spearhead
• "Lady Marmalade" by Mya, Pink, Lil Kim, Missy Elliot & Christina Aguilera
• "Haven't Met You Yet" by Michael Bublé
• "Many the Miles" by Sara Bareilles

Countdown to the Royal Wedding: 9 Days!

Yes, I am waking up at 4am Central Time next Friday (April 29) to watch coverage of Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding.  And yes, I'm very excited about it!

The only weddings that are televised here in the United States generally have to do with reality stars...uber-Christian reality stars, got-knocked-up-at-16-reality stars, this-romance-is-all-for-the-cameras-reality stars and the like.  For God's sake, the last wedding I came across on the tube was Jon & Kate Gosselin's.  Bleh.

My mom was about my age when Princess Diana and Prince Charles got married.  She was unemployed and without children and home alone all day while her husband (my dad) worked.  Sound familiar?  I know, we're the same person.  She used to tell me about the dress and all the people lining the street and how everyone in England was so happy and hopeful for a little while.

Of course, at the time we didn't know Prince Charles had spent the previous night tearing up the sheets with Camilla Parker-Bowles...but they're married now, so bygones.

When I was a kid, there were two women in the world I wanted to be like: my mother and Prince William's mother.  I've since learned that neither is or was perfect and perhaps not the greatest role model at all times, but I'm never going to lose that idea of carrying oneself like a princess no matter who or where you are.  My mom has always carried herself like a princess.  And Lord knows no one looked more regal with a landmine mask on than Diana.

T-Mobile just released this killer advertisement featuring the upcoming nuptials.  It's a parody of that wedding video where the bridesmaids and groomsmen came dancing down the aisle in a choreographed clamor a few years ago.

See if you can pick out the VIPs: Charles and Camilla, Princes William and Harry, Princess Anne (Charles' sister) and Prince Edward and his wife Sophie.  Enjoy!

LOVE IT!