With This Ring I Thee Wed?

The post that I wrote this morning on engagement rings made me think about something else on the subject.  I have heard of women who after accepting the marriage proposal request to take the ring back to the jewelers to get another ring they like better.  These woman feel that the engagement ring picked out by their fiance is not to their liking at all.  Some women want a more elaborate diamond setting.

I personally want the engagement ring that my future husband picks out himself for me.  No matter what it looks like I would not want any other ring. To me the engagement ring is a token of his love and is not about representing my favorites in jewelry.  I would hope that in choosing an engagement ring for me that he thinks about what I would like, but whatever he gets for me I would treasure because I am sentimental in that way.

What are your thoughts?

 
 
   

Will You Marry Me With This Ring?

This morning as I was on my way back home from Trader Joe's I was listening to a radio program in my car that gave me an idea for this blog post.  The radio program is hosted by a man and a woman and each day they ask a question for listeners to call in and answer.  The question this morning was directed at women.  Say you have been dating a man for some time and he pops the question.  The engagement ring he presents to you he gave to another woman that I loved and proposed to before he met you.  He took the ring and had it melted did, redesigned and the diamonds reset into it differently before he proposed and presented it to you. 

The questions is would you accept the ring or would you be upset that he did not buy you a totally different ring?  

While I was listening to iut, all of the women who called in said they would not want it because it first belonged to another woman that he made memories with.  The female host of the radio program said she would happily take the ring and I agree with her.  I would take it too.  YES, I would.

 The way I see it is that he melted it down, had it redesign and reset differently, so to me the ring no longer is associated with the other woman.  Once it was all melted down it amounted to parts and the parts no longer appear the same after it's reconstruction.  

 

The women callers though were adamant that they would not take the ring and that it was insulting.  I think that it takes quite a bit of thought, time and money to have a ring melted down and redesigned, which shows me that he was only thinking of ME and not the woman he was first in love with.  What I wouldn't want him to do is take me to the same place that he proposed to the first woman.  It had better be a different restaurant...LOL  For me it doesn't need to be anything fancy either.  He would not have to come up with something original or different.  All he would need to do is tell me straight from his heart to mine how he truly feels about me, how much he loves me and that he never wants to spend another day of his life apart from me.  After all that he can pop the question. .......

....and I will happily say YES as he slips on that beautiful ring that he had redesigned especially for ME.

What would you do?

 

Happy Valentine's Day 2013

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you.  True love never ends and expands into more love.

 

"Lock and Key" by artist Kevin A. Williams.

Jax and Brenda's Love Story - Love Without End

Do you remember Jasper Jax and Brenda Barrett from General Hospital?  I remember them well and will never forget this couple.  To me the Jax and Brenda love story was one of the very best in all of soap opera history.  The writers of this storyline did an awesome job with the dialogue.  Jax and Brenda expressed their love for one another so profoundly.  Jax and Brenda meant so much to each other every moment of every day.   
 

 Jax and Brenda were expertly played by Vanessa Marcil and German born actor Ingo Rademacher.  Ahem....btw, Ingo is the same height as my favorite British actor.  You already know his name. 

The very handsome Jasper Jax was a corporate raider who moved to Port Charles and tried to steal another woman away from her husband.  Jax met Brenda who became his best friend.  Jax fell in love with Brenda and it turned into a romance that warmed your heart and made your head spin.

Here are some of the dialogue that Jax and Brenda spoke to one another:

 Jax to Brenda:  "When you came to tell me that we were over I said that I was going to prove how smart I was by wishing you well and walking away. Well, I lied, Cause you broke my heart. And that's not an accusation, it's the truth" 

 Jax to Brenda:  "What I am trying to say Brenda, is that every time that I look into your eyes I feel that I am looking into my own soul. Everything about you delights me. Everything seems to be exactly as it should be...the laughter in your eyes, the touch of your lips, the warmth of your skin, the way fit we so perfectly in bed together and being here with you right now feels like every second of my entire life has been leading up to this moment. "

Jax to Brenda:   "I'm no one's consolation prize, I come first, or not at all. The trouble with keeping your eye on the goal is that you sometimes miss what's right in front of you. For instance, you've missed the only man who will ever make you happy."

Brenda to Jax:  "When I married you the first time, it was because I couldn't have you any other way. And I knew even then that you were too important to lose. You told me that I'd learn to love you. And you were right. I do love you. I want to share my life with you. You can trust me,Jax."

Brenda to Jax:  "Every day, every hour of every day you mean more to me." 

Brenda to Jax:  "But, if I loved you then I didn't even know it. And you didn't know it either. And you didn't mind. You were patient with me. You waited for me to come around. And now I guess its my turn, isn't it? Here I am. I know that I am so madly in love with you. So I guess now its my turn. I'll wait for you this time."

Jax to Brenda:  "Nobody leaves. Whatever happens, nobody leaves." 

Videos

This is a video of Jax and Brenda dancing in the rain.  Listen to what Jax says to Brenda though before they dance.   It will ignite a fire in your heart and make you blush..

In this touching video, Jax lovingly tells Brenda that she doesn't have to prove anything to him.

This video takes place earlier in their relationship.   Jax is leaving Port Charles because he cannot be in the same city with the woman he loves who is not returning his feelings.  Jax ends up asking Brenda to marry him and gives her 14 days to decide and give him her answer. 


I miss Jax and Brenda, and as far as I am concerned, no other daytime soap opera has had such a compelling love storyline.  When Vanessa Marcil left General Hospital I continued to watch the show for a little while, but it just was not the same without Brenda.  GH did bring in other love interests for Jax, but I never liked any of them.  I have not watched GH in over ten years.  Vanessa Marcil did return to the show for a very short period of time.  What the show's writers did to the Jax character later on was awful too.

It is nice to take a walk down Jax and Brenda memory lane once in a while.  I hoped that you enjoyed it too.    


A few more Jax and Brenda quotes that you will love:


Brenda: "No one has ever loved me the way he loves me. One time Sonny said to me that we were like drug addicts and that we were just addicted to each other. And I think that he was right. ‘Cause I always thought that that sick feeling inside of me was what love felt like. And Jax is just showing me that that is not true. You know with Jax I don't have to trick him, or beg him, or want to die for him to love me. He just does." 

Brenda: "Its because of the way you look at me. You make me feel like I'm treasured."
Jax: "You are."  

Color Blind and Married 63 Years

Jake and Mary

The stories of these three couples are incredible.  First there is Jake and Mary.  Jake is originally from Trinidad.  Jake met Mary while he was stationed in England as part of the American forces.  Mary's father told her that of she married Jake that she would no longer be a part of the family.  Mary was 19 when Jake asked her to marry him.  Mary accepted Jake's proposal and her father threw her out.  Mary and Jake were married in 1948 and remained happily married for over 60 years.  

 Shafique and Pamela

Shafique is from Bangladesh and Pamela is a Londoner.  Pamela's mother was fine with their union, but her father was against it and refused to show up to witness his daughter marrying Shafique at the register Office in 1965.  Shafique later became the favorite son-in-law after Pamela's father saw how well he took care of his daughter.

 

Jaz and Primrose

Jaz is a Sikh who grew up in Britain.  Primrose is from Zimbabwe.  Jaz had to stand up to his family about his relationship with an African girl.  Zak's parents were lining up prospective brides in India for Zak while he was dating Primrose.  Zak insisted that he wanted to marry Primrose.  Luckily for Zak, when it came right down to it, his parents just wanted him to be happy.  Zak and Primrose were married in 2009.  

To read the full stories of these couples click HERE.  The article is dated October 6, 2011, so Jake and Mary would be married now for 65 years.

 

Solomon's Song of Songs

Solomon's Song of Songs

The Song of Solomon is one of the shortest books of the Old Testament, but it is a very beautiful and sacred text.  It is sometimes called The Song of Songs, or The Canticle of Canticles.

Many traditional Christians believe that The Song of Solomon is about Christ's love for his church, but to me that is a cop out.  No matter what translation you read it in, to me, it is clearly the colloquy of a woman of dark skin and a man who are very much in love, attracted to one another and about to be married.  

 Chapter 1.

Oh, give me the kisses of your mouth,
For your sweet loving is better than wine,

Your juices are fragrant,
Your essence pours out like oil,
This is why all the young women want you.

Take me with you, let us run together!

The King has brought me to his chambers.
Let us delight and rejoice in your love,
Enjoying each caress more than wine,
They are right to love you so.

I am dark and beautiful, Oh Daughters of Jerusalem
Dark as the tents of Kedar, lavish as Solomon's tapestries,
Do not see me only as dark,
for the sun has stared at me,
My brothers quarreled with me,
They made me guard the vineyards.
I have not guarded my own.

Tell me my only love,
Where do you pasture your sheep,
Where do you rest them in the heat of noon?
Why should I wander among the flocks of your companions? Loveliest of women,
If you wander,
Follow in the tracks of the sheep,
Graze your goats in the shadow of the shepherd¹s tents,

I see you, my love, as a mare,
Among Pharoah's chariots.

Your cheeks as beautiful as jewels
Your throat encircled with beads
I will make you golden earrings studded with silver.

When the King lay down beside me,
My perfume gave forth its sweetness,
All night my beloved sleeps between my breasts,
A cluster of myrrh,
A spray of henna blossoms,
from the vineyards of Ein Gedi. How beautiful you are my friend,
Your eyes are doves.

And how beautiful you are, my beloved,
and how gentle,
Wherever we lie, our bed is green,
Our roofbeams are cedar, our rafters, fir.



Chapter 2.

I am the rose of Sharon
A lily of the valleys. Like a lily among the thorns,
So is my beloved among the young women.

And my beloved among the young men is
Like an apple tree among the trees of the wood.
In that shade I delight to sit
Tasting his sweet fruit.

He brought me to the tavern,
And his banner over me is Love.

Cover me with blossoms,
Refresh me with apples
For I am in the fever of Love.

His left hand beneath my head,
His right arm embracing me,

Daughters of Jerusalem, swear to me
By the gazelles, by the deer in the field,
that you will not awaken Love until it is ripe.

The voice of my beloved: Here it comes!
Leaping over the mountains, skipping across the hills

My love is like a gazelle, a wild stag
He stands there on the other side of our wall, gazing
Through the windows, peering through the lattice

My beloved calls to me: Arise my friend, oh beautiful one,
Go to yourself...

For now the winter is past,
The rains are over and gone,
Blossoms appear in the fields,
The time for singing has come.
The sound of the turtledove
Echoes throughout the land.

The fig tree is ripening
Its new green fruit,
And the budded vines give of their fragrance,
Arise my friend, oh beautiful one,
Go to yourself...

My dove in the clefts of the rocks
Hidden by the cliff
Let me see who you are,
Let me hear your voice,
Your sweet voice,
Your radiant face.

Catch us the foxes,
The little foxes that raid our vineyard
Just when the vines are in bloom. My beloved is mine and I am his.
He pastures among the lilies.
Before the day blows on,
And the shadows flee,
Turn away, my love,
And be like a gazelle, a wild stag
On the jagged mountains.

Chapter 3.
In my bed all night I long
For the one that my soul loves,
I seek him but do not find him.
I rise and roam the city,
Through the streets and through the squares
I search for the one that my soul loves
I seek him everywhere but do not find him.

Then the watchmen who circle the city find me.
"Have you seen him? Have you seen the beloved of my soul?"

Scarcely had they passed when I found my soul's beloved,
I held him, I would not let him go
Until I brought him to my mother's house
Into the place where I had been conceived.

Daughters of Jerusalem, swear to me
By the gazelles, by the deer in the field,
that you will not awaken love until it is ripe.

Who is that rising from the wilderness,
Like a pillar of smoke,
Fragrant with myrrh and frankincense
From the powders of the merchant? Here is Solomon's bed,
Surrounded by sixty warriors,
The heroes of Israel,
Each of them skilled in battle,
Each with a sword on his thigh
Against the terror of night.

King Solomon built a pavilion
From the cedars of Lebanon,
He made its columns of silver,
Its cushions of gold,
Its couches of purple linen,
And the daughters of Jerusalem
inlaid it with love.

Oh daughters of Zion,
Come out and gaze upon King Solomon
with the crown his mother gave him
on his wedding day,
the day of his heart's rejoicing.

Chapter 4.

How beautiful you are, my friend,
How beautiful!
Your eyes are doves behind the thicket of your hair,

Your hair
Like a flock of goats
Trailing down Mount Gilead.

Your teeth like a flock of ewes
That come up white from washing,
All of them alike, all shining and present.

Your lips like a scarlet ribbon
And your voice so sweet.

The curve of your cheek
like a pomegranate
hidden behind the thicket of your hair,

Your neck is a tower of David
Built to perfection,
A thousand shields hang upon it,
All the armor of heroes.

Your breasts are two fawns, Twins of a gazelle,
Pasturing among the lilies.

Before the day blows on
And the shadows flee,
I will go myself to the mountain of Myrrh,
To the hill of frankincense.

You are all-beautiful, my friend,
There is no blemish in you.

Oh come with me my bride,
Come down from Lebanon
Down from the peaks of Amana
Down from Senir and Hermon,
From the mountains of the leopards,
The lion's den.

You have ravished my heart,
my sister, my bride,
You have ravished my heart with one glance of your eyes,
With one bead of your necklace.

How sweet is your loving,
My sister, my bride,
How much better than wine!
Your oils, more fragrant than any spice.

Your lips, my bride, drip honey,
Honey and milk are under your tongue,
And your clothes hold the scent of Lebanon.

An enclosed garden is my sister, my bride
A hidden fountain, a sealed spring.
Your watered fields are an orchard of pomegranate trees
laden with delicious fruit,
flowering henna and spikenard,
spikenard and saffron, cane and cinnamon,
with every tree of frankincense,
myrrh and aloes,
all the finest perfumes.

You are a garden spring,
A well of living waters
That flow from Lebanon. Awake north wind! Oh South wind, come!
Blow upon my garden
and let its spices stream out.
Let my lover come into his garden
And taste its luscious fruit.

  Chapter 5.

I have come into my garden,
My sister, my bride,
I have gathered my myrrh and my spices,
I have eaten from my honeycomb,
I have drunk my wine and my milk.

Feast, friends, and drink till you are drunk with love!

I was asleep but my heart stayed awake.
There it is... the sound of my lover knocking: Open to me, my sister, my friend,
My dove, my perfect one!
My head is wet with dew,
My hair drenched in the damp of night. But I have taken off my robes,
How can I dress again?
I have bathed my feet,
Must I dirty them?

My love reached in for the latch
And deep within me, my heart stirred.

I rose to open to my love
My hands dripping myrrh
My fingers flowing myrrh
On the doorbolt.

I opened to my love,
But he had turned away and was gone.
My soul fled when he spoke.

I looked for him, but could not find him,
I called, but he did not answer,

Then the watchmen who circle the city
Found me,
They beat me, they bruised me
The watchmen of the walls
tore the shawl from my shoulders.

Swear to me, daughters of Jerusalem
If you find my beloved,
You must tell him
That I am in the fever of Love.

How is your lover unique
Oh most beautiful of women?
How is your lover unique
That we must swear to you?

My beloved is radiant and earthy
He towers above ten thousand.
His head is burnished gold,
The wave of his hair
Shiny black as the raven,

His eyes like doves
By the flowing rivers
of milk and plenty.
His cheeks are a bed of spices,
Treasures of sweet perfume,
His lips red lilies
Wet with myrrh.

His hands are rods of gold,
Studded with topaz,
His body is polished ivory,
Inlaid with sapphire,
His thighs are marble pillars
On pedestals of gold.
Majestic as Lebanon,
A man like a cedar!

His mouth is luscious,
He is all delight.

This is my beloved
And this is my friend
Oh daughters of Jerusalem.


 
Chapter 6.

Where has your lover gone,
Oh most beautiful of women?
Where has your beloved turned?
and we will seek him with you. My love has gone down to his garden,
To the beds of spices,
To graze and to gather lilies.

I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine,
He pastures among the lilies. My friend, you are as beautiful as Tirzah,
Majestic as Jerusalem,
Daunting as the stars in the sky,

Turn your eyes away,
For they dazzle me.

Your hair
Like a flock of goats
Trailing down Mount Gilead.

Your teeth like a flock of ewes
That come up white from washing,
All of them alike, all shining and present.

The curve of your cheek
like a pomegranate
hidden behind the thicket of your hair,

There are sixty queens,
And eighty concubines,
And young maidens beyond number.

One alone is my dove, my perfect one,
One alone so luminous in her mother's heart.

Every maiden delights in her,
Queens and concubines praise her:

"Who is that rising like the morning star?
Clear as the moon, bright as the sun,
Daunting as the stars in the sky." I went down to the nut grove,
To see the new green by the brook,
To see if the vines had blossomed
And the pomegranates had bloomed,

And oh, before I knew it,
She sat me down in the most noble of chariots. 
 Chapter 7.

Turn and return, Oh Shulamit,
Turn and return that we may gaze upon you!

Why do you gaze upon the Shulamit
As she dances through the camp? How graceful your steps in those sandals,
Oh nobleman's daughter,

The curves of your thigh are like jewels
Shaped by a master craftsmen,

Your navel is the moon's goblet,
Ever filled with wine,

Your belly is a mound of wheat,
Fringed with lilies,
Your breasts are two fawns,
Twins of a gazelle.

Your neck is a tower of ivory,
Your eyes are pools in Heshbon,
By the gates of Bat-Rabbim,

Your nose, like a tower of Lebanon
That turns towards Damascus,

Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel,
And the hair of your head is like royal purple,
A king is held captive in its tresses,

How beautiful and how sweet is Love
In all its pleasures!

Your stature seemed tall as a palm tree,
And your breasts, the clusters of its fruit.

I said, "Let me climb into that palm tree,
And take hold of its branches."

May your breasts be like clusters
Of grapes on a vine,
The fragrance of your breath
Like apples,
And your mouth, like the best wine.

Let it flow smoothly to my beloved,
Gliding between sleepy lips,

I am my beloved's
And his longing is for me,
Only for me.

Come, my beloved,
Let us go out to the field
And lie all night among the flowering henna,

Let us go early to the vineyards
To see if the vine has budded,
If the blossoms have opened,
And the pomegranates are in bloom,

There I will give you my love.

The mandrakes yield their fragrance
And at our doors are all kinds of precious fruits,
Both newly picked and long-stored,
I have hidden them away for you.

Chapter 8.
Oh that you were my brother,
And had nursed at my mother's breast!
I would kiss you in the streets
And no one would scorn me.

I would bring you to my mother's house,
And she would teach me,
I would give you spiced wine to drink,
My pomegranate wine.

His left hand beneath my head,
His right arm embracing me,

Daughters of Jerusalem swear to me
That you will not awaken love
Until it is ripe.

Who is that rising from the wilderness
Leaning upon her beloved?
I awakened you beneath the apple tree,
In that same place where your mother
Conceived and gave you life.

Set me as a seal upon your heart,
A sign upon your arm,
For Love is as strong as Death
Its passion is as harsh as the grave,
Its sparks become a raging fire,
A Divine Flame.

Great seas cannot extinguish love
No river can wash it away,

If a man tried to buy Love
With all the wealth of his house,
He would only be scorned.

We have a young sister
And she has no breasts,
What shall we do for our sister,
When she is courted?

If she is a wall, we will build
A silver turret upon her,
If she is a door, we will bolt her
With beams of cedar.

I am a wall
And my breasts are towers,
But for my lover, I will be
A city of Peace.

Solomon had a vineyard
In Baal-Hamon,
He gave that vineyard to watchmen,
anyone would give a thousand pieces of silver,
for its fruit.

I have my very own vineyard,
So keep your thousands, Solomon,
And pay two hundred to those
Who must guard your fruit.

Oh woman in the garden,
All our friends listen for your voice,
Let me hear it now!

Hurry, my beloved,
Be my gazelle, my young stag
On the mountain of spices.

   

 

Being My Authentic Self

One of the things that I can absolutely attest to is that being your authentic self is one of the best things that you can do for yourself.  For the most part, I have never been much of a follower; especially when it came to my own personal values.  If something does not feel right and is basically against my values, I don't care what anyone says.  You will never get me to participate.  A perfect example of this is the taking of narcotics.  I have never ever tried any of it.  I have never smoked a joint.  When I tell people that you should see the looks that I get sometimes...LOL  However, to me, it was perfectly natural and normal not to deliberately indulge in anything that would negatively affect the life that is gifted to me.  In addition to that I was never fond of taking prescription drugs, so why would I take street drugs meant to alter my behavior and get "high".  I don't even like to take aspirin.

I can recall during my college years attending parties where marijuana was being passed around.  I never accepted it.  I had a boyfriend at the time who liked to smoke pot and I hated the smell of it.  I asked him to please not smoke when he was around me.  At first he respected that, but the day came when he picked me up for a date and his car had a faint smell of pot.  I was annoyed and made a remark about it.  His reply was that he enjoyed smoking pot and would I smoke a joint with him sometime.  I sat there thinking OMG is he kidding me????  He went onto say that if I cared about him I would smoke with him once in a while.  Now, the thing is that I never told him that he had to stop smoking it for me.  All I asked was that he not smoke pot when he was around me.   I also never made any self righteous speeches to him about being a pothead.  If he wanted to be a pothead that was his business; just don't do it around me.  So you can imagine my indignation when he started trying to turn ME into one.   What was wrong with that picture?  Lesson learned after that.....date men who share similar values to mine.

Several years later when I was in my mid-twenties,I went out to dinner with some co-workers.  We went to a really nice Italian restaurant near where we worked.  Somehow the conversation got around to smoking pot.  A female co-worker started telling the rest of us incidents of her silly behavior after smoking a joint.  The next thing you know all, except ME started talking about how drunk they got at past Christmas parties and the foolish things they did as a result.  Everyone (except me) thought it was funny.  After I said that I don't drink or take drugs, the female co-worker looked at me and asked me what I do for fun.   I replied that I have a great sense of humor, love to laugh, dance, etc and that I was already a blast to be around without needing to "enhance" myself with the use of drugs.  The female co-worker would not let it go at that.  She wanted to make fun of me and make me look like some type of weirdo.   I stood firm.  I let her know that she could take all the pot highs she has had and all the fun she has had getting drunk from alcohol and I was still ten times happier than she will ever be.  I don't know where that line came from, but it was the first thing that came into my mind.  After I said it, I smiled at her.  The female co-worker finally shut up and let me be.         
     

Always be your own authentic self.  If you try to be someone else you could end up looking like a fool or worse.

In this new year of 2013, I want to not only remain my authentic self, but also become happier, more joyous and free of limitations that impedes one's spiritual growth. 

I started reaching out to my Higher Mental Body more.  I desire it to become second nature to me to always look to and depend on my Mighty Beloved Magic Presence that is the Light that never, ever fails.  IT forever enfolds, sustains and protects me.  

My Higher Mental Body is definitely a female and I rejoice in it.  I have always celebrated that aspect of me.  My Goddess Being is never ceases to amaze me.  In the past when I was at my lowest She picked me up and gently carried me to rest and and to recharge me.  I like to call Her My Sunshine.  She lets me know that I AM a wonderful individualized expression of Divine Source.    

Another aspect of my authentic self is my deep love of the color pink.  I have a MAJOR love of pink.  Pink also represents the dispensation of Divine Love, Will and Grace and I say YES to that.  

In 2013 I want to pour more love to the urban city that I reside in.  I love retreating to the countryside, but there is no reason why anyone cannot experience, peace, love and beauty in the city too. 

The I AM Temple of Love and Light is a project so dear to my Heart.  May the Temple be raised as a place for all people to honor the Presence that is all of us.  I command and demand My Sunshine who IS the Light of God that never fails to guide me.  You know all things and can do all things.

 My Magic Presence already knows what I desire and require.

I offer up a toast to being my authentic self!  Thank My Sunshine!
 

Love Always