Life Isn't as Serious as Our Mind Makes it Out To Be

I am reading a great new book right now called "A New Earth, Awakening to Your Life's Purpose" by the talented Eckhart Tolle.

Honestly, it was really hard to get into at first. He dives right into talking about the message behind the book, how to get the best use out of the book, etc. I'm not a big fan when authors do that- just let me get to the point myself.

It is when he starts writing about Ego: The Current State of Humanity in which I can't put the book down. I will be highlighting certain parts and quotations that speak to me as I read the book. I will put my opinion on some but there others that are strong enough to stand on it's own. I do this for my sake but also because when I find a new book that I enjoy reading, I want others to know about it. If It speaks to me, then it may speak to others.

"Every ego confuses opinions and viewpoints with facts, it cant tell the difference between an event and it's reaction to that event. Only through awareness-not through thinking- can you differentiate between fact and opinion. Only through awareness are you able to see."

"Whatever you fight, you strengthen, and whatever you resist, persists." This one is my favorite and speaks to me the most.

"life isn't as serious as our mind makes it out to be"

"Thinking is only a tiny aspect of the consciousness that we are."

"Words, no matter whether they are vocalized and made into sounds or remain unspoken as thoughts, can cast an almost hypnotic spell on you... You easily lose yourself in them, become hypnotized into implicitly believing that when you have attached a word to something, you know that it is." This rang true to me because of the emphasis we all put on words. Especially now with the hot button issue of bullying. On a daily average 160,000 children miss school because they fear they will be bullied if they attend classes.On a monthly average 282,000 students are physically attacked by a bully each month. Since Social
Networking has taken over, bullying has become something else.

I don't know what gives kids the right to say cruel things to others. It has a lot to do with parents. So if you are one, don't gossip first of all and don't do it in front of your kids. They learn it from some where and you have to be the ones to teach our kids what's right.

This is what happens when I find a great read. I love just re-writing the words - I get more out of it and hopefully it speaks to others as well.

Please feel free to comment when you find a great read or a quote or anything you find that speaks to you.

Do You Still Need Date Night Out?

Yes, I really asked that question. Because that question came up when Chris and I went out to dinner the other night.

We had our first night out in Maui as husband and wife and we went to Bocalinos, Mediterrean with a fusion of Italian. It was a new place and I have been dying to try it. The building is lit up from the inside and looks so modern from the outside. We sat at a table right in the middle and secluded. I started off with a Merlot and Chris had his Longboard.

The menu was comprised mostly of delicious sounding tapas - trust me we wanted to try them all - chicken egg rolls, baked oysters Provencale, calamari fritti, New York steak pupu. They also have a Koi Sushi Bar. But we ended up going with the Spicy Sausage - which turned out to be more of a meal instead of a tapa - otherwise the sausage was seasoned perfectly, pasta was cooked well and the tomatoes were juicy complimenting the spiciness of the sausage. Then we split the lasagne (you can never go wrong with lasagne) The meat sauce had a nice blend of tomatoes and herbs and the lasagne layers filled with meat and cheese just melted in your mouth. Granted it was a great dinner, but LOTS of carbs, which need to be run of as we speak :)

The whole night we talked about our day, our thoughts on different subjects and brainstorming potential new business projects. I enjoyed just sitting there talking about anything and everything with Chris. We weren't distracted by our new AppleTV, phones, or anything else around the house. It was a nice feeling.

So on the way home, I told Chris "I had such a great time, thank you." A thank you always goes a long way, even in a marriage :) And he said he did too of course. Then I was like we should go get a drink somewhere. This is where the whole question comes in, he said "But we have drinks at home, we can just go home." If I wanted to go home, I would've suggested it lol!

Then we started to discuss the whole date night out vs staying out home. Studies have proven that date nights can be beneficial to not only marriages but relationships. That's why I feel that it's always important to have your weekly/monthly date nights out. It strengthens the bond between you two and raises your bodies natural endorphines which has the ability to produce feelings of well-being ( the same feelings one has when you start dating).

You don't have to go to the most expensive restaurant or hot spot. Just a place that's special to yall, maybe somewhere yall when on your first date or a favorite burger joint. As long as you're getting away from the distractions at home then you're good to go. If your schedules are super busy, then plan it that week AND it will give you both something to look forward to.

Christopher and I also have our weekly Taco Tuesdays which is something we both look forward to! And super easy on the wallet! Because you just pick up the stuff on your weekly shopping trip :)

When was the last time you had a date night out with your significant other or even your friends or siblings? Take time our of your "busy" life and do something good for yourself and those special in your life.

And you're welcome in advance!

We Got Married!!!!!

Wow, with out realizing it, it has been about a month since I last wrote on my blog. I was a little busy getting.... MARRIED!!!!!

It has been an exhilarating, amazing, joyous, hectic, fun-filled, etc month!

Back to the married part: Christopher and I got married on October 9, 2010 with a beautiful ceremony at the gorgeous Sacred Heart Co-Cathedral Church followed by the most amazing and perfect reception at America's Reception Hall. Pictures on FB, but will post photos on here later. The same question I get asked a lot is "So was it everything y'all hoped it was?" Yes, it really was. We were so grateful to be able to fly back to Houston and have our wedding there. What made it even better was that my entire family from Argentina (cousins, aunts, uncles) were all able to come down and be apart of it. We truly are the luckiest two people and had the most amazing time celebrating our love in front of our friends and family.

Looking back, we loved everything about our wedding. What wasn't to love: flowers were gorgeous, BM and GM looked spectacular in their dresses and tuxedos, moms and dads looked even better, our readers were GREAT, ceremony and the Father were incredible(minus my dad's cell phone going off!), my dress was beautiful and Chris loved it, Chris looked SO HANDSOME!, reception hall was out of this world (Thanks to Christian Cabello! I definitely recommend him!), food was great, dancing and music- well let's just let the pictures explain that one, our cake and the Grooms cake(homemade MAC cake) was awesome, homemade dessert table even better! and the fact that we had all our family and friends, well, that's all we can ask for!

It hit me, when we were saying our vows to each other; when we put our rings on each other and walking down the aisle as Mrs. Christopher Skiles. I can't put it into words how amazing our time was there. We have so many amazing memories from the time we spent with everyone and look forward to the next time we are all able to get together! The times we spend with each other will forever be in our hearts and memories. Thank you to everyone who contributed to making our wedding day the most memorable and amazing time.

No, we didn't take a Honeymoon. We both took time off of work and aren't able to take more time off and we're saving up as well. We also live on Maui, hello! So what we may end up doing is see if we can visit some of the other islands and make it an ongoing honeymoon. No rush. We have the rest of our lives to be together :)

Now we are back to the daily grind: working at the Grande Wailea and designing the wonderful and always artistic MauiTime.

Keep us in your prayers as we both venture off to try new things and await the next chapter of our lives!