Simple Sparkle

Last night another ordinary night was made extraordinary... just by our love. Getting ready for the next day and ready to go to sleep, Eric to Chanel outside before bed to do her "business". When he came back in, he took me outside because there was something I just had to see! When I went outside, what I saw was nothing short of AMAZING! God made our life literally sparkle with a million fireflies.




We just stood there together, the three of us, looking into the wooded wetland area in astonishment of something so simple, yet incredibly beautiful. All the talk recently about plans, future, money, savings, everyday little stresses all seemed absolutely a waste of time compared to that moment, right there.




As I stood hand in hand with my husband and our little furry baby by our side, I couldn't help but feel so incredibly blessed... and that for just that one minute, God was telling me he does answer all prayers. We just need to take the time to stop our planning, our neurotic controlling-of-our-own-life behavior long enough to listen.

We live in a world where there is so much pain, uncertainty, and confusion that everywhere you turn you have one of two choices, you can see bugs or you can see sparkle. I prefer to live my life amongst the sparkle...

Adventures in Sushi, Furniture and Barbie Dolls

I know, I know... I haven't blogged in FOREVER! I am going to PROMISE to blog more often (okay Emily?). In any event, rather than try and go back and catch up on all that I have missed I am going to start with this weekend and continue writing about our life from that point on!

What a weekend to start back up on! Memorial day and our 3 day weekend was anything but relaxing! We were here there and everywhere this weekend! Friday, May 28th would have been our wedding date had we not won the Dream Windy Wedding Giveaway last year. So Eric and I celebrated that night with a wonderful dinner at our FAVORITE restaurant, Sushi Thai - Libertyville. We toasted our date night with what combined two of my favorite things - Champagne Saki! It was sweet and oh so fabulous!

Whenever we go we always get the steamed pot stickers as an appetizer! They are to die for delicious and served with the most fantastic peanut dipping sauce!

We try to be adventurous and try different rolls each time we go. This time we had the spicy cra, crunchy shrimp roll, red dragon and as always we indulge in the playboy roll - it is by far the best roll ever made!

We adore the chefs at Sushi Thai who clearly love the art of making sushi. If you are ever in the area, or live up here - you simply must try it! (P.S. Monday - Wednesday, from 4:30 - 5:30 all rolls are half off for happy hour, happy indeed). Friday night ended with the classic date, of a movie following Dinner. We went to see Sex in the City 2, and I have to say... I was really disappointed.

Saturday was a busy busy day! We woke up early to take Chanel to the groomer - as she was in desperate need of a summer 'do. (She was very upset with us all day Saturday, as she hates going). We then had breakfast together, and ran what seemed like a million errands! We got our new plasma (our 1st anniversary) gift to eachother, a new entertainment stand, new fabric to upholster for my "design on a dime" accent chair finds (pictures of the finished chairs to post next week), put together the t.v. stand, and went to Marilu's to help put her bed together (she is in the midst of a beautiful home renovation project).

Sunday we cleaned up the mess from putting together the new entertainment center and finding new homes for all of our nicknacks on our old entertainment center. - Its amazing how different your home looks with just moving what you already had around a bit. We finshed the afternoon/evening at Marilu's again putting together some of her new office furniture.

Monday, we woke up early went back to Marilu's to finish the office with the assembly of the desk and it all looks so urban chic in her office! We then prepped a couple of appetizers and went to a cook out at Aunt Roe's dear friend, Pam Meckler's. I brought a southwestern dip and the cutest appetizer ever - shrimp on a Barbie.

So while the weekend was anything but relaxing it was a lot of fun and very very productive.

Some of my immortality

Truly inspired by something I "stumbled" upon I thought I would share with you all some of the things I truly believe in.
1. You should spend less time thinking what others thing of you and more time thinking about who you are, what you are all about and what you are doing.
2. The most fulfilled people are those who have chosen to make a life, not a living.
3. Know and understand that there will be challenges and difficult times. Don't waste your time trying to avoid and run from them - welcome and embrace them - knowing that God has a plan.
4. There is nothing that I can do to avoid the plan that God has for me. I can only open my heart and myself up to his will.
5. There are no coincidences in the world. Everything has a purpose. Watch closely and listen. The lyrics to the next song you hear, the text in the next article you read. The story line of the next movie you watch. The chance utterance of the next person you meet. - All of it will speak to you if you are willing to listen.
6. Worry is just about the worst waste of mental activity there is. Aside from hate, which is evident self-destruction. Worry is pointless. Spend less time in the what if and more time in the what is.
7. Each relationship in our life helps mold the person we are. It is the most sincere form of chemistry in the world. Some people will come into your life and blend perfectly to make something better then there was before. Others will come in and act as toxins to destroy you. - You chose who you wish to make up your personal chemical compound and who is not worth the wasted energy.
8. The most difficult thing for people to do is to hear their own soul. There are many people who will in fact go an entire lifespan avoiding it. They will die not ever understanding who they truly were.
9. Life is a creation - not a discovery. Stop "looking" for your life and start "making" your life.
10. You can choose to be a person who has resulted simply from what has happened or from what you've chosen to be because of what you have done about what has happened.
11. Every thought you have, have ever had, and ever will have is an copy right of yourself. It is a sincere form of your pure energy. It's energy never dies. Ever. It leaves your being and heads out into the universe where it lives on forever. It is your soul immortalized.
12. Don't live a life focused on the negatives in life. Examine the positive things in life and that will be a life worth living.
13. You can not change another person - in truth you can not even change yourself. You can only develop and grow from what you are right at this present moment. Wishing or wasting energy trying to change someone is about as useful as running towards a sunset hoping to touch the sun itself.
14. Build a stronger faith in something you believe in. Do not fear it - work to understand it. Surrender to the peace knowing you will never understand it.
15. Believe in something because you have lived it - not because you have read it.

"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbors house"

Its the absolute truth that in the age of Facebook and Twitter, people in our generation are completely consumed with social networking. Is all of this point and click activity bad for our mental health?

I was listening to talk radio this morning on the way to work and the topic was a recent University Study which mentioned that sites like Facebook are causing mental overload on our brains. According to the study, it is not comprenhensible to our brain to have more then 150 "friends". While some of us attempt to keep up "face" by having hundreds, even thousands of friends - its really not possible to do so. Read the article for more information. You can find it at www.infocera.com.

I would argue that this is the new way to "keep up with the Jones'". It's addicting to log on and "keep in touch" with all of our "so-called-friends" but really, what does this do for us? Each and every time I log on my news feed is full of what everyone is doing, from how many times they go to the bathroom and who is having another baby. I AM JUST AS GUILTY. And I will tell you, it is mentally exhausting.

We all possess ownership over our own insecurities and the things we wish we had, but do not have yet. Be that a ring, a wedding, a baby, a house, a better job, new appliances, or a new car. Each time I seem to evaluate my own goals and gain momentum on my own belief in their reality - I am suckered in by my own addiction to log on to this little crack addiction we affectionately call Facebook and I am instantly overwhelmed with everyone's status updates about how fast their lives seem to be advancing.

This is where the age old truth, "you only hear/see what you want to" comes to life. In the midst of all of the "We're pregnant", "We got the house", "I got a promotion with a raise", status updates are the "single relationship status'", "I just lost my job", "my friend just stabbed me in the back" status'.

I guess it's because mentally I only wish to put myself in the same category as those who are doing well for themselves and care about their future, but I never seem to see any of these "fall back" status updates - I instead only see what I sometimes (not always) feel is other's lives passing me by. Little do I know, or really care how any of these people came to be where they are at this very moment. For all I know, some of these "friends" who seem to have it all already could be up to their ears in debt, their lives full of sleepless nights and their marriage not so much the fairytale it seems to be. - Afterall, the people I am really talking about are the "friends" who really are not friends at all, but rather people I knew once upon a time at some point in my life, and we have since gone our separate ways and our only current common ground is the previously mentioned crackbook. So, really I have no idea what happens behind the closed door of their new home. So why should it or does it bother me?

I wouldn't call it jealousy. - As truth be told it's not their life I want. But as a member of a society that is full of self-driven 20 somethings who are each and everyday achieving more then the generations before them did - I see this "status crazed portal" as a mirror reflecting all of my own personal goals being achieved by others before me. It's not jealously, because I wanted it for myself and my family before it was posted by someone else - and although we wanted it at the same time, I wanted to acheive it first. Is this wrong? "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house". - I think I just answered my own question...

I know I'll get their eventually. I think the first thing I need to do though, is limit my "friends" list to that only of those I ACTUALLY consider friends. And second, focus on my own speed, not someone else's. - because afterall we don't know if that person took a short cut to get there, tooks someone else out to finish first, or maybe they just deserve it more, at this very minute, more then I do. But that is not to say that I don't deserve to eventually have it too.

The couple that weighs together...stays together!

They say that you are more successful in your ventures if you do them together, right? Well Eric and I have both set weightloss and a healthier lifestyle as resolutions for the new year. Between my love of cooking and both of our love of food, we have both gained the "happy weight". (You know, the weight that they say you gain when you are happy. Also known as the comfortable weight).

In any event, we have started working out and eating right. I work out daily at the office before work. We started working out together in the evening. Eric was fighting off a terrible cold the first two weeks of the year, so last night was our first offical work out together. It felt really great to work out together. We don't really do the same work out, we are just at the gym at the same time. It really just feels great having someone there to motivate you and support you along the way.

One of our wedding gifts, the scale Eric's Aunt Priscilla bought us has been getting A LOT of use since the New Year started. I absolutely love it! It's all in good fun when Eric and I shout out our weight loss for the day/week to each other each morning... and the secret competition between the two of us is all in good fun too! :) I must say, men have it so much easier then women!

Eric and I have been carpooling to work as well which has been wonderful - both for the enviornment and for spending more time together. Its nice to enjoy our coffee or breakfast on the go with our morning talk show and conversation. I think more people should do it, if their directions and hours allow for it.

That is really all for now...!

Bonne année et bonne santé !

As you count down the minutes to 2010, I invite you to reflect on the year ahead, but more importantly on the year we are closing.

Many of you I am sure have a fabulous evening planned of celebrating another year in our memories. Maybe you have been planning this for months, maybe it's an annual tradition to get together with the same friends, or maybe if you are like us, its just a quiet night together to reflect upon and celebrate the year you have had together.

Eric and I have decided that in the hustle and bustle of every single big holiday this time of year, Thanksgiving and Christmas, this night is just about us. A meaningful momentous night to reflect back and dream ahead about our life together. It truely is a holiday to celebrate the milestones of the year prior and how that will lead you into the year ahead. This year, has without a doubt, been a year about change for us. The engagement, the home, the wedding, the careers... we have been blessed in many ways. I think about that today and everyday, and I am grateful. It has definately been a year worth toasting tonight!

I remember last year, looking back, Eric and I had a similar night to what we have planned for tonight - quiet reflection and celebration just the two of us and we wrote down all of our New Year's Resolutions. We had just gotten engaged two months prior and were planning a May 2010 wedding. Eric wrote down that one of his resolutions was to be a wonderful loving husband. I giggled and said, "we won't even be married yet this year".

The irony of course is that we were married just 6 months later after winning the Windy Dream Wedding. I use this as an example of just how powerful a New Year's Resolution can be. Anything is possible if you want it bad enough. It often takes hard work and dedication, but I can assure you nothing will happen if you just sit around a wait for it.

It's amazing, year after year resolution lists are made and almost like clock work, we resolve to change the same things in our life year after year. I am as guilty as anyone of this. Each year, I say I am going to get fit, learn French, pay off all of my debt, be a better person, go to Church, and the list continues.

I think it's great to set personal goals for self-acomplishment. I think it's great to shoot for the stars, but to first make sure that you realitically have a means to get there. If the idea of New Year's resolution exhaust you I would like to offer the following advice:

1. Set yourself goals that are on a large scale but can be broken down into short term goals: i.e. "I want to loose 50 pounds in 6 months" seems much more obtainable if you say "I want to loose 2 pounds a week for the next 25 weeks"

2. Share your goals with someone else to make yourself accountable to someone. For me this person is Eric. Believe me, he has no problem calling me out! :)

3. And finally, if all else fails, reflect upon the past year and where your life is now. What makes you happy about where you are right now? How can you make more of that happiness in your life and bring that happiness into the areas of your life you are not as thrilled about?

I heard an inspiring quote I would like to share if you wish to apply it to your year ahead:

To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe. - Anatole France

We wish you all a year where we will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called "Opportunity" and its first chapter is New Year's Day.

Bonne année et bonne santé !

The Luna's

She's Engaged!!!

My (not so baby) baby sister is engaged!! I could not be more thrilled for her. Being a blissfully happy newlywed myself, I am bursting with joy for my little sister as she herself has now found the same kind or love and passion that I have been beaming with for over a year now since my engagement to Eric.

As many of you know she recently moved out to Florida in pursuit of love with a lovely man named Peter. Peter moved out to Florida this past summer for a very promising career opportunity. The two shared a long distance relationship for months before reaching the inevitable fork in the road, "do I stay or should I go". Candice, always fearless in her pursuit of anything, decided that if she was ever going to see where this was going to go, she would have to take the leap - to move that is. And so she did.

They have been living together in Florida in a charming apartment for over a month before Peter asked for her hand in marriage.

He proposed on the beach, one of my sister's absolute favorite places, and she, without hesitation said yes.

This holiday was truly special for me. Just days before the proposal, they flew home for Christmas. The happy couple stayed with Eric and I, so we were able to see them interact together in such a playful, charming way. I have never seen my sister so happy.

They are planning an April 2011 wedding! Candice has asked me to be her Matron of Honor, and I humbly accepted! As, I have already said I am so happy for the two of you. May you enjoy every second of this planning time, as it goes by so unbelievably fast. May your love be made stronger with every test headed your way and may you only know a life time of happiness! I can not wait to see your story unfold!