Fabulous Life of "Real Cinderella"

A true fairytale of celebrity wives.

 Imagine this:

One day you're working a simple job as a waitress in a restaurant. A handsome, wealthy man walks through the door and starts chatting you up. Next thing you know, you're being flown across the country to keep up with a whirlwind romance. Before long, you're married and living a life of luxury you could only dream of months before.

Being ripped from obscurity by a wealthy, handsome man seems like every girls fantasy, but only a few lucky girls get to live out such a fairytale in real life. Here's the story of three girls who met their Prince Charming in their own real-life Cinderella story.

She started out working hard as a bartender to make ends meet as a single mom. But then one day while Matt Damon was filming in Miami, he swept in and scooped up Luciana Barroso so that she never has to struggle again. Two years after they met, the two married in New York City Hall with Luciana's seven-year-old daughter in tow. Now, two more kids later, Luciana is living a dream with houses in Miami and New York City, vacations around the world, and a new career as an interior designer.

When they met, she was a 19-year-old Muslim waitress earning $10 a day at a hotel in Belarus where she began working only two weeks before. But when she was told to take an orange juice to the presidental suite of the hotel she was working in, she didn't know it was for Sheik Saeed bin Maktoum al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai. While he only intended to be there for a skeet shooting competition, the Prince quickly extended his stay and within two weeks, Natasha Muslimorova married into one of the richest ruling families in the world. After their hasty marriage, the two took off for Cyprus for the next stage of his shooting competition via luxury motorcade and yacht. But this isn't your typical Cinderella story, as Natasha's husband won't be the only one in competition -- she'll have his first wife to compete with for the Prince's attention.

While at the Slip Inn Bar in Sydney during the 2000 Summer Olympics, a simple girl from Australia met a charming man that was traveling with the Danish sailing team. Commoner Mary Donaldson from Tasmania was soon part of a long-distance relationship with Frederik, the Crown Prince of Denmark. After three years of dating, Mary was formally presented to Frederik's mother, Queen Margrethe, who then announced her consent of their marriage to Parliment. Within a year of their engagement, the two wed and had a ceremony that even included a horse-drawn carriage through the streets of Copenhagen. Now she's in next in line to become the queen of Denmark, resides in a royal palace, and receives a $1 million-per-year allowance.

"Boyfriend Time"

by H.Wight

How to balance time between a boyfriend and friends/family.

So, you have your first serious boyfriend and you are crazy about him. You are on the phone for hours, even when most of the time is just spent breathing. You want to spend as much time as you can with him, but it is very important to not forget about your family or friends, either.

Certain holidays should always be spent with your family. These include: Thanksgiving, Christmas/Hanukkah, Father's & Mother's Day, Easter. Fourth of July could go either way and holidays like Halloween, New Year's, and Valentine's Day could be spent with your boyfriend and friends. Do not let him talk you into going to his family's house for the major holidays. You might think it would be more fun just because it will be different. However, who knows if you will be with this guy forever and when you look back, you will regret missing holidays with your family to spend it with someone who is now an ex.

If you spend everyday after school or work with your boyfriend, you will miss out on things at home. Your parents are only going to be cooking dinner for you every night for so long. If you have siblings you will miss precious time with them. When you or they go off to college you will not be able to ever go back to how your relationship was with them before. Do not change your everyday occurrences to suit a boyfriend. If you have family game night on Thursdays, make sure you still attend it. If you want to, invite your boyfriend along, but makes sure that he knows how important it is to you.

Losing a girl friend because of a boyfriend is one of the worst mistakes a girl could make and you will always regret it. Do not ditch your friends at lunch to sit with your boyfriend and his friends every day. Switch off between the two tables, or try to have the two tables join together. Weekend time is the most important, because your friends are use to having you around for all of it. Now that you have a boyfriend, it is most likely you will spend at least one of the free days with him. Make sure to not spend the entire weekend with your boyfriend. If you do, pretty soon your friends will stop calling and asking you to hang out, because they assume you will say "no". If you do have to tell your friends "no" to weekend plans a few times, make sure you tell them why. It is best to make sure that your friends understand you are not "ditching" them, but just trying to split the time they are use to having in half. If you and your boyfriend do break up and you spent the last year ignoring your friends, guess what? They will not be there for you now, because why should they? You were not there for them, because you spent all your time with your boyfriend.

Yes, boyfriends are a lot of fun to have around. What girl does not want someone telling them how pretty they are all the time? Yet, boyfriends come and go, especially high school ones. Your friends and family are the ones that will be there for you when your heart is broken or when you have to break someone else's. Always try to remember that you can not take family and friends for granted, because of a boyfriend. In the end, they are the only ones that are sure to be there.

First Date Do's and Don'ts

 by: Anna H.


How To Nail Your First Impression
First dates are always nail bitters -- you never quite know what to expect. With summertime upon us, first dates are often outdoor activities and sometimes they can even be parties where you meet your date's friends and family right off the bat. A luau-themed party sounds like fun when you are flying solo, but it could be the subject of your next nightmare if it's the setting for your first date. Read our tips on how to nail your first date (even under these intense circumstances) and you'll be on your way to a successful first impression.

1. Don't think too far ahead.
 Meeting your date's friends and family on your first date might make you think he's ready to get serious. But don't read too much into the situation! Have a good time and enjoy the company. If someone asks about if you are in a relationship, let them know that you are still getting to know each other. Just be sure you don't start talking about how you can't wait to see them at your wedding reception!

2. Do be willing to join the crowd. One of the best ways to make a good impression is to be a good sport. Maybe you aren't thrilled about having a waterballoon throwing contest with your dates little cousins, but don't let him know. Go into the situation with an open mind and give everything a try. Your date will notice your willingness to try things (even if they don't sound so exciting) and be attracted to you because of it.

3. Don't put on a show for the guests. By show, I mean a skin show. Just because it's an outside date doesn't mean you need to show off your new barely-there bikini. Keep your outfit respectable and don't let your date know too much about where your secret tattoo is before you've been on a few more dates.

4. Do try to have fun. If you go into the situation with a happy attitude and with the mindset that you'll have fun, you will! If you think that it's going to be miserable, most likely it will be. Not only will you have a terrible time, but your date will recognize it, and in the end, he might have a bad time too since he brought you along. So what if you would rather have it be just the two of you in a romantic setting? Have fun with this situation, and in the future you'll have plenty of time to live out your fantasy dates.

Dating Disasters

Bad Examples From Hollywood Chick Flicks

Sometimes, romantic comedies make dating look too simple. How often, after all, does your crush really stand below your window, holding a boom box above their head in a sweet, slightly pathetic attempt to woo you? (Plus, today he would probably just hold up his mac laptop and have Genius choose a song on itunes, which doesn't really have the same effect.) Instead of looking for perfect dating examples in chick flicks, sometimes it helps to look back on the cheesy romantic movies for dating advice on what not to do.

He's Just Not That Into You


Although Ginnifer Goodwin plays the adorably desperate Gigi Philips in this recent chick flick, her endless phone calls and oblivious pestering almost make you look away while she naively navigates through painfully awkward moments throughout the movie.

Clueless



Although this movie will always reign as the queen of 90's chick flicks, Clueless' happy ending comes only after a series of dating disasters. Though Cher ends up with Josh (her sort of half-brother, which always seemed a little creepy, but goes unmentioned throughout the movie), she first attempts to entice Christian. Try not to follow Cher's slightly faulty radar when it comes to choosing men, and avoid her first dating disaster when she invites Christian over to watch a movie, falls off her bed and fills the house with burning smoke.

My Best Friend's Wedding



Julia Roberts has managed to play nearly every likeable character, from the sweet younger sister in America's Sweetheart to the hard-working, ingenious single mother in Erin Brockovich. Yet Roberts shows a new, less angelic angle in My Best Friend's Wedding, when she tries (and fails) to entice her soon-to-be-married best friend away from his fiance (played by Cameron Diaz). Roberts continuously attempts to embarrass the fiance in ways that merely seem to make Diaz appear more adorable. Though Roberts still comes out likeable, her man-stealing attempts only backfire in her face.

Old Dating Rules You Can Break

Some rules are meant to be broken!

The rules of dating are meant to last through the ages, right? Wrong! The dating rules of years past don't always work in our modern-day relationships, and quite frankly, some rules are meant to be broken. Here are some common old-school dating rules that you can update to fit into your own modern-day love story.

Old Rule: You have to fix every problem immediately.


New Rule: You can allow some small conflicts to go unresolved.

We've all been told you should never go to bed angry, but sometimes it's better to just sleep on the problem. This isn't to say that you shouldn't let your man know how you feel, but you should accept the fact that you won't always be in perfect agreement on every matter.

Sometimes disagreements occur that can't be resolved instantly (or even resolved after some work). If it's something small like he doesn't hang up his coat when he gets to your place and instead throws it on the back of a chair, mention it once in a joking way, but let it go.
Most likely, it's a habit that won't end, and there's no point in fighting over it.
But if it's something big like his total disrespect of your family, take it up with him and hash out the situation.

Old Rule: You can't check out anyone else.


New Rule: It's OK to observe the scenery.
There's nothing wrong with noticing a hot guy when you're out, and just because you notice someone else doesn't mean you aren't into your man anymore. But that's not to say that you should stare at every guy that you see throughout the day.

If you notice your man checking out another girl, don't freak out. You could even comment on the girl by saying she's cute, which makes you sound more confident about your own appearance and adds to you own appeal.

Old Rule: You have to give him a complete run down of your day.


New Rule: Give him the highlights and let him ask more questions.
Sometimes it's better to give your man the Cliff Notes version of your day instead of talking about every single thing that happened. Mention the big stuff, but let him dig for the smaller details if he's interested (and trust us, he will be). If you torture him by telling every single detail of Jane's new haircut and Bobby's new suit, he's going to get bored easily.

Try to give your man a quick summary or even just phrases like "I saw your friend Mark today", but don't give him anything more. He'll be intrigued since you aren't letting him in on every single detail, and he's bound to ask about what else happened during your day. Plus, since he's asking the questions, he'll be much more interested in what you have to say.