"when i think of home...

...i think of a place where there's love overflowing." i love that song from the musical the wiz. as i have been able to spend time in chicago visiting family and doing some legal things to live in italy, well, i've learned even more about home. what is home? when i was younger and until i got married, home was the place you belong. no matter what happens, home is the best place to be. it's comfortable and compares with no other place.

when gabriele decided to send me back to chicago for thanksgiving and to get legal work done in person rather than via snail-mail or e-mail, i was torn. it was kind of exciting to think of seeing chicago again and seeing my family and hanging out with chico. i cried. quite a bit. i didn't want to leave gabriele. our whole relationship was long-distance and so when we finally got married i hoped i wouldn't have to do that again. and i've just started feeling like a real wife with my own kitchen and home responsibilities. i kept asking gabriele if he wanted me to make him some ragu and put it in the freezer before i left so he could eat it with pasta while i was gone. he had to constantly remind me that he can still take care of himself. :)

since the beginning of our marriage gabriele has taught me that home is our home now. us together, is our home. chicago isn't home, cormons isn't home. i think often it's just weird to leave home behind and realize that when you are married you and your spouse are a family. being away from gabriele for almost a month solidified all of the things he has taught me before. i miss home. i miss dinner and chats with my husband and i miss my life in italy.

america is where a lot of family and friends are. but italy is where my family is. italy is home.

lucky

this year gabriele and i experienced the best day of our lives...so far. we were sealed in the lds chicago temple on saturday, august 7, 2010. it seemed like a long wait after having a 14-month engagement, but as the days dwindled time felt like they went too fast. when it finally came life felt a little unreal. but so wonderful. i was stressed and it sounds terrible but most of the day i was just waiting for a nice nap.

the temple is really the only thing i'd like to talk about. it was without a doubt the most important part and the most amazing part of the day. being in the temple with the love of my life on your wedding day was for me the greatest thing i have ever experienced. there were no doubts and there was no fear. there was a love that was beyond earthly that overcame me. being in the sealing room was almost surreal as it was hard to believe that God's plan for his children and for families is so perfect, so eternal, and so complete.

Heavenly Father has a plan for each one of us. He has a plan for families. happiness and joy are eternal. i don't think you can ever quite know exactly what that means, or how important it is, and how serious it is until you are kneeling at the altar.

then you really know why it was so important to prepare to come to the temple. even if it was important before, you really see it then.

of course there were parties in chicago and italy to follow. and those were wonderful and the food was incredible. but fun and food and laughter are still fleeting moments. what happened in the temple is what lasts forever. i am so grateful for it. gabriele helps me to remember often that we are a family now. that family is forever.

to learn more about temples and eternal families, please don't hesitate to visit: www.mormon.org be curious! but look to the source! true happiness found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ is worth it!

thousands of people around the world every day are surrounded by precious things. diamonds, gold in its various colors, silver, ruby, emeralds just to name some of them. i have a simple sing, yellow gold with a somewhat of a crent on it in yellow, white and red gold with a small cubic zirconia in the middle. it was the last gift that my grand mother gave me before her passing away. well actually she gave me money and i decided to buy something that would last forever as my sweet memories i have of her.

mankind since the beginning had the attitude and the need of, i'd like to call it, showing off. covering themselves with gold. covering their houses with gold.

i used a picture of a diamond because diamonds are most often source of great pain for many people. technically diamonds are not rare. as in the world there is plenty of it. it's that all the speculation that man does that gives a piece of carbon turn to something precious and epensive. and a must have thing.

people are killed because of diamonds and gold. well they are killed for many other reasons but this time i'd like to focus on this subject. when a society becomes too welthy, when they live for money, and gold, then most likely that society is going to fall.

now we know that a diamond is forever, as well as gold and silver. did we ever wondered why wedding bands are usually made of gold?

isn't gold one of the most precious and lasting metals? shouldn't marriage in a theorical and practical way last forever? i was always into symbols, because symbols are the easiest way to explain a concept. wedding bands are round because a circle is a symbl of eternity. so shouldn't marriage be eternal? if we combine both symbols we have that marriage has to be eternal and long lasting. i separate the those things even though might sound the same for a reason. eternal is because marriage is eternal as time. long lasting because gold never gets rust. it doesnt' fade away or change with time. a piece of gold keeps being a piece of gold even if we leave it under a storm or a hurricane. iron might get attacked by rust. it will dissolve.

why am i saying these things?

a wise man once said that precious materials as agold and silver should be used to help us remember the importance of a place or a person in our lives.

precious metals or rocks should never be used to enrich ourselves, rather should be used to enrich the memory of the moment or the sacredness of a place.

when a guy gives his girl an engagement ring, that ring is more than gold and diamond, it is a promise of eternal love. no matter how big the stone is, no matter how much gold is in it.

when we'll leave this life, gold will stay right here on earth. but we will bring with us every single emotion we had. especially love.

humanity when doesn't have glod or stuff proclaim themseves to be poor. but when i talked to the one of these poor people he said that no matter what he was still the most rich man on earth, when i asked him how was he the most rich he said: "because i have the most beautiful wife. and we are in love. and love is something that you can't buy with gold."

what i really want

i'm getting married in a little over a month and i'm really happy about it. most of all i am excited to start a family. i was on the phone with my older sister the other day talking about my fertility (or rather, my potential lack of fertility according to doctors). i told her how i took a marriage/health/sex ed. class at the health center at byu and how disappointed i was that so much seemed focused on birth control. and when i met with the nurses after the class they were shocked when i said i didn't want a prescription for it. when i said, "no," they said, "are you ready to have a baby???" as if i didn't know that that's a possibility when you don't take birth control. i replied, "yes, i want to have children as soon as possible." why is it that we always talk about family and then instantly prevent having one? i'm not saying i'm against birth control. not by any means. i just think that if we really trust in God, and we trust in the plan He has for our families, why would we try to take control of it with a pill right from the start?

i guess i think so passionately about it because i have been told by two rather esteemed doctors that i will likely have difficulty conceiving. this makes me rather emotional and actually leaves tears down my cheeks as i write. i don't think i've ever wanted children so much as when i did when i was told it might be hard to have them. i do understand that just because a doctor said there was a good possibility that this is my fate, doesn't make it certain. but it does make me value the blessing of children and treat discussion of them with more respect. and i am so grateful for gabriele and his desire to accept a child as a great blessing, whether one comes quickly or not so quickly. we have heard of a few couples who were "surprised" or "not expecting" or "not very happy" upon discovering they were pregnant and gabriele always said, "finding out you will have a child should always be a joyful occasion."

this is a topic that has been close to my heart for over a year now, and i can honestly say that i'm getting married because i want to start a family. this is my greatest desire and i trust that in the Lord's plan for me i will be able to do so, sooner than later.

history.

to the knowedge of all people around the world.

i was pondering lately about some serious thing. hehe fun, uh?

we hear that some people in america and around the world follow the ideals of nazism praising Hitler and stuff.

To me that is stupid. Well first of all because they don't really know who Hitler was, second because I believe they don't really grasp the atrocity of what happened. In Italy nazism is uncostitutional and in Germany I believe to be illegal, anyway, it's sad that people follow such ideal.

Understanding what happened it's not that simple. Many people here don't understand or know.

I think I have been blessed to have the opportunity to study about European history and I got to go to two of the camps where Hebrews where taken as prisoners, awaiting to be killed.

When we think about these camps, often we think about pain and suffer. I have been to Mauthausen in Austria on a field trip at school. Well how can I express exactly the feelings of that place. Most of the knowledge we have is that people there were killed. True, but yet not accurate.

Imagine if someone took away from you everything you had. personal belongings. your identity, your dignity, you'll have a small idea of what those people had to go through. people were tortured just for the pleasure to inflict pain to another person.

all around were signs where was explained what happened there. they gave them numbers because they where not counted as people. less than animals. on a wall there was a written where a man wrote 3 times his full name saying that they will never take that away from him. he was killed 2 days after.

many argued on how many hebrews were killed during the time between 1939 and 1945 history says 6 million other say 10 million, skeptics say less than a million. no matter how many where killed. it was the way they where killed. the act of it. the idea of annihilate a human being just because it's different because of religion or political views.

sad to say that i didn't really understand this until i went to one of these camps. i couln't sleep at night. to me, with the knowledge i have of this now, i think people that are ok with or carry on this ideal ar just idiots.

i'm sorry if i have been so depressive with my post but some things must be let known.

History should be taught in schools so that mistakes that were made in past are not to be made again. this is the point of history after all.

less is more...thanks mies

as i have consistently contemplated my life in the future, i have set aside some thoughts and goals that i find fitting for the life gabriele and i will have with our family. i want a simple life. and that doesn't mean we have to barely make things work within our means because in all honesty, i don't think that will be the case. always seeing people with insatiable desires makes me want to have all the money in the world and still choose to live a simple life. why? because money or lifestyle do not make you happy. and those who seek to keep up with the jone's can never get enough of anything to be truly happy. and i want to be happy. another reason (and most likely the reason why i write this entry) why i want a simple life: i HATE clutter! my days are spent cleaning out our house. there are things we buy but never use or have never used. nice things sometimes, but useless. once you get a "big" house you fill it up. even when you're in a small place, somehow you end up acquiring a whole bunch of crap. where does this all come from? and paper? don't get me started about paper! i want to apply mies' less is more principle in my daily life. is that book cool? yes, but i don't need it. is that sweater 80% off? yes, but i have enough already. shoes of course will be my weakness. and i will love living with the satisfaction that no, i don't care what you have or how much you have and how much nicer it is than what i have, i love the little that i have. and because i have so little my house is clean! or my tiny apartment, whatever the case may be. :) of course if you love what you have too, then i'm happy for you, and most likely excited that you have what you want and that it makes you happy. ;)

and now that i'm just babbling...why do we get so attached to THINGS? i mean sometimes i hesitate throwing something away or giving it away because even though i paid 10 bucks for it it's worth 60. or someone gave it to me but i don't like it, but they gave it to me. obviously there is way too much that goes on in this head of mine. maybe my mind is what needs de-cluttering. (or whatever). in any case, part of this idea is really having power. the power to choose. i always think of that scene in schindler's list when schindler says that real power is having every justification to [do something] and you don't do it. i know it's a stretch, but i've always loved that scene because i think we can really change our lives if we see the power we have. i repeat what i said earlier: i would love to have all the money in the world and have every justification to live a lavish life, and choose simplicity instead.

p.s. i adore this picture of mies.

smarty pants

i was in alan's room today doing some cleaning/uncluttering. as i went through all of his ap assignments and tests, i got to thinking. alan and i are really smart. let me continue before you think this is a entry praising our God-given intelligence. what i thought about was the fact that alan and i always beat ourselves up for not doing as much as we could do with the brains we were given. we've never been bad students, but we haven't ever really been stellar either. our grades have generally been better than average, but they've had their run up and down the scale.

what kills me is that i had a nearly flawless last semester of college, and i didn't try as hard as i could have. if i tried, i would have had a fantastic college career! why do i write this? i guess it's to say that i'm ashamed of not taking advantage of being smart. and i have seen throughout my life that the concept that getting good grades isn't always about being smart, it's about knowing how to study/take tests/work hard, etc. is true.

i don't mean to come off like i'm super great because i'm smart, or conceited. i am the first to recognize and admit that there are plenty of people ahead of me when it comes to brains. i'm just saying we all have talents and great potential, and we can do so much if we choose to. that's all.

(as a side note: alan is significantly smarter than i am!)

Thoughts!!

must admit the past 2 weeks were wonderful.

Claudia came to Italy after about 4 months we didn't see each other. Needless to say it was beautiful to have her by me. We had the chance to prepare the last few things before our wedding, crazy, at this moment we have 84 days left till the BIG DAY.

We finally got to buy our wedding bands, and I must admit that they are pretty cool! special, UNIQUE. heheh. Most people will be so jealouse. They better be. They are just perfect and wonderful! To see the bands, though, you must wait.

Anyway we had the chance to be in Zadar for a day and even though the weather was crappy we had fun together.

Can't you tell? Don't we look so hot? hahh

well we didn't just go down to Zadar, we have been in Venice,

Verona

, Ljubljana, and other places, weird to say that we ate at McDonald's in every city we have been to except for Zadar, but just because Zadar isn't provided with one. They should though.

We have done so many things that I really can't write on this blog, it'll take too much time, we had a great time together.

These past weeks made me even more sure of my choice to marry Claudia because I felt so good around her. As a matter of fact, we were meant to be together and whoever saw us in these days may agree with me.

Seeing her leaving at the airport was hard but while I was driving home I kept thinking about the time we have left before marriage and truly it's not that much. Time goes by fast. It happened when she was here and I'm sure it will pass fast also the time that separate us.

Maybe I should stop with this absurde cheesyness. But then again this is my blog and I write whatever I want! haahha

Thanks to Claudia I'm happy and in love. The two most amazing feelings a man could possibly have.

Thank you darling. I love you!

ethnicity...revealed

for a long time we have wondered exactly what our origins are. we know it's easily put at 50% polish, 50% mexican. we knew our mexican side most likely had some european blood because of our facial structure and overall look. well, looks like the results are in. i was informed by my mother who did some research that the brian and ubalda peters' children are:

50% POLISH

32% MEXICAN

12% FRENCH

6% SPANISH

interesting, huh? all my life i've gotten random comments on my ethnicity. actually, all us kids have. denise especially. :) so if i do the math right, my children will be:

50% ITALIAN

25% POLISH

16% MEXICAN

6% FRENCH

3% SPANISH

in other words...very european! although i remember telling ivana all of these percentages and she though i was crazy because people in europe don't do that. but i'm like, we do that all the time.

procrastination

i'm just about the best at procrastinating. it's the night before the last day of school and i'm watching captain ron just because it's on t.v. i tried to make myself a little more motivated by making a task list on my pre. i have about 8 things to do and while i've started almost all of them, i'm certain i won't be done until the last minute tomorrow.

yes, i'm procrastinating so much that i'm blogging about it. and it's not even like my assignments are difficult. it's just a lot of writing. i write. it's one of the main things i do. but i just don't feel like doing it now, other than right here.

okay, well, i should actually try to be productive. but i'm going to italy in two weeks, how am i supposed to focus?! and i'm planning my wedding little by little each day. which reminds me, i found the perfect etsy seller to custom make shoe clips for my wedding shoes! i ordered my veil, and i'm still deciding on favors. i'm nearly done with my wedding site, and am ready to send some save-the-dates. wedding list: still not my favorite thing.

this is life

sometimes i just don't know what to write in this blog.

recently i pondered about marriage and being able to share my life with the person i love the most.

of course i can't expect it to be easy. too many things are unknown. we don't know what future holds for us. often i think that i am not good enough. then claudia always finds a way to make me shut up. eheh. needless to say my life wouldn't be as happy without her. i realized that it doesn't really matter what the future holds for us as long as we are together facing difficulties and good things of life.

many couples just run from hard times. i personally think that obstacles in your life just make you grow up. gain more experience.

to use a practical example: as an electrician i usually get in contact with the reality of the job. on paper it's always easy to make a wire pass from a room to the other, then when you see that two rooms are separated by a 1+ foot concrete wall you realize that it won't be that simple. i'm pretty sure that whoever gets to this point for the first time in his life wants to quit, but the job has to be done. the wire won't pass alone through that wall. so you think and eventually you'll be able to find a solution so that that wire can go to the other room. well the hard part of thinking and finding a solution gives you experience, so you know that next time when you face the same problem you'll already know what to do. did i make sense?

so in life, trials are unexpected and most of the time are not as easy as they look. but together, with a little bit of patience you'll be able to overcome difficulties and if the same problem comes to you a second time you'll already know how to deal with it.

i know that it's hard. believe me, a thick concrete wall may make you feel like it's easier to quit, but i assure you that you'll find other walls on your path. plus i guess that everytime you pass a hard time in your life you get stronger. like muscles. the more you work the more they grow stronger, and if the first time lifting 20 pounds might be too difficult the second time it's much easier. and so on the third and the fourth. meanwhile the 20 pounds will still weigh 20 pounds you'll be able to lift them with less effort than the first time.

well life as a married couple you have a huge help.. you are in two. and believe me everything done in two is easier to do. we just need to be patient with one another and help each other.

i have to thank claudia, because without her i wouldn't be able to go through a lot of things. she was and is there everytime i need her. still don't know how she does it but i'm glad she does!

life with her is fantastic and i look forward to spend it with her 24/7. i love her and all my happiness i have is a result of the love she has for me. A LOT!

thank you love for all that you do for me. i love you.

venice...how i missed you.

it's official. it's booked. i am going to italy! yes, that's right. my birthday surprise from gabriele is a trip to visit him after i graduate. i am really happy. thank goodness i get to see him again before we get married in august. i've been feeling not-so-good about there being 7 months between the last time i saw gabriele and the day we get married.

i'm mostly excited to go house shopping. isn't that just cool? we have to make a trip to the embassy in florence. and we'll probably make a quick trip to croatia. because we can. :) i'll also look for a job. teaching or tutoring english i hope. all of this makes me even more impatient and gives me an even more serious case of senioritis. but i'm almost done with all of these projects.

i am so happy and feeling so blessed right now. these months are gonna fly by. and i am really looking forward to that. i guess i should be better at planning my wedding. well, my dress finally came in and my mom will pick it up in a few days. so that was good news. now i just have to finalize "the list." i don't much like that. i want to have a small wedding, but i can't seem to keep it under 120-ish. eh. we'll see. i ramble. anyway. italy! yes!

yes!

i am so excited. like really excited. like this time i mean it. i just found out what my "surprise" birthday present from gabriele is! i can't wait. okay, so i guess it's not a surprise anymore. not to me, at least. but it's one of those things that you can't completely leave as a surprise. either way, i'll probably write about it when it's all figured out, but for now, you might hate me, but it's a surprise to you.

march. best month ever.

march is my favorite month. st.patrick's day. my birthday. gabriele's birthday. spring. what isn't there to love about this month? it's passed by super fast for me, and umm i'm definitely not complaining. i can't wait to get married! and you know what, i deserve to say that because i have been engaged for a long time. i'm just saying that so you don't think i'm impatient! which of course i am by nature, so it's okay. currently i feel a little silly. i just finished an episode of lost, i'm on my bed drinking cedevita and chewing dubble bubble eggs. maybe i'm happy? haha. my jaw hurts from all this gum. anyway. i've been wanting to write something recently. just to write. i love gabriele. and hey it's my blog, i can say what i want. i hold back the pda on facebook and in public because i think it's stupid to bug other people. but here i feel more free because i don't know exactly what the purpose of my blog is, but it's kinda like a casual journal.

i have to give gabriele credit for being one of the most patient human beings on the face of the earth. the only reason he can't escape is because he loves me. poor thing! i have times when i feel like crap and i feel lonely and even if i call him at 3 in the morning, he will get up and come on skype within seconds telling me that he loves me and asking me what he can do to make me feel better. and who can resist his bedhead??? and i always feel terrible (which he hates) because i just need him and the only way i can be happier is if i talk to him. i don't know how he does it but he is there whenever i need him. and i am so thankful for that! he always says he doesn't do enough or he wishes he could do more for me or give me more. i always ask "what more do i need?" each day i grow more and more in love with him. and even though i tell him this all the time, maybe he'll be convinced that i really love him if i put it in writing.

so in conclusion, march is a wonderful month. i'm loopy today, if you couldn't tell.

All you need is love

I must admit this year will be pretty busy.
I started school and I work full time as an electrician, in addition, I have some callings in church as well. I guess that would make me enter that group of people that are stressed.
And to be honest sometimes I feel pretty under pressure.
Work keeps me pretty busy during the day... like from 7 am till sometimes 7 pm. Then I study a bit. And some days I have to fulfill the calling I have. All this while getting ready for the wedding.
I guess one of the great things I learned on my mission is to make time effective. A good planning of the time I have is a good start to a better day.
Ok maybe I am not the person that, at night, sits down and plans every moment of his day, but I wake up already knowing what I'm gonna do that day.
One wise man once told me that planning if you don't have a goal is pointless. We must have a goal. And sometimes we must have a muse.
Amazing thing is that since I put to practice this silly principle I started having more effective days.
Not perfect. But much more effective than before.
So I was thinking, my goal is to finish school in a decent amount of years, and I do want to get married to Claudia. So I must work and study. Easy.
Easy to notice that my muse is indeed Claudia, because I have to admitt that since we are together I always got better and better in planning my time.
As I said before I'm not perfect but I do realize I am better at using the time I have than what I was 6 years ago while in high school.
It's a matter of time to get used to this, but once we start we will realize that our time is enough. And we get to sleep too. :)
Life isn't easy but we have been given the tools to make it special.
As for me, Claudia makes my life much better and, not to be cheesy, she is the reason for my happiness. Why? Because all you need is love, as The Beatles would say.
That is another thing we should never miss in our lives.
So here you are few important things to make life better.
Organize the time
A goal
A muse
and most important love. Love has to be so present that even if you don't have a goal, love should be your goal. How to be better for your spouse. For your children. For your family.

musings

i realize, almost certainly, that no one really reads this blog. the great thing is, i don't really care. i don't mean that in the sense that if you are actually reading that i dismiss your time and consideration in venturing here. i just mean that i'm not disappointed if you don't.

i think. a lot. it's just something all humans do all the time, is it not? i probably think too much. sometimes that's a good thing and sometimes that just brings a great deal of stress.

recently i've been thinking a lot about what makes me happy. like for real. none of that fake "i wanna act like i'm happy so people think i'm really happy but i'm not and i just want them to admire me" happiness, but the real deal. something i learned on my mission was simplicity. oftentimes, less is more. and the more and more i think about that, the more and more i come to the conclusion that i want a simple life. no clutter, no unnecessary crap. just what i need. a modest home with whatever makes it comfortable. and i'm training myself to have what i need and what allows me to be genuinely happy and not what i think will make me happy. it's tough sometimes. i am a girl and i like nice things. one of the biggest tests was something that happened about a week ago. gabriele has wanted to buy me another, bigger ring. i love my ring but i was tempted to opt for a significantly larger stone. we had talked about it for a while and just when gabriele was going to buy it i said no. we always talked about how a ring means more than just a stone set in gold, it's a symbol. i knew that ring wouldn't make me love gabriele any more than i do now, and it really wouldn't make me any happier. so i said no, i don't need it. to be honest, i have been happier ever since. it's dumb things like this that often try to get in the way of what's important. the most important thing is love. family. the gospel. the things that go beyond this life. i am so grateful for love, family and the gospel in my life. i'd never change anything that has happened to me. i'm the person i am because of my experiences. and i feel lucky. blessed because i got what is best for me.

buon san valentino

today is valentine's day. i can't say that i've ever really liked this "holiday." i've never been able to spend it with someone, whether or not i was single. that's the case for this year as well. but i guess i spend time nearly every day talking to the person i love, so that's what is most important.

this year gabriele sent me two dozen roses. i must say, i so love them! i've never really received flowers before, so to me, it's quite an event. it's funny, roses are gabriele's favorite, not mine. while daffodils are my favorite, they don't hold well. either way, i can now say that getting flowers makes any day better.

going "against" the commercialism of valentine's, at church we focused on the love of God. i really enjoyed all of the talks and lessons that emphasized a love greater than we can comprehend. and in the end, it's the greatest love. God loves perfectly. He loves us despite our faults. He loves us whether we are rich or poor or kind or rude. the fact that i know that He loves me is in and of itself amazing. but i've gotta keep that knowledge...it's what gets me through the tough times. i'm grateful for God's love and for the love that the Savior has for us. i'm grateful that they understand when others cannot. i'm grateful that they succor when no one else can. no matter the injury, the hurt, the injustice, they are there for us. it's a love that can't compare to any other relationship.

roses are nice. but love is better.

few words

yeah.. it has been forever since i have written on this blog.
i'm sorry. and to quote some latin words, mea culpa. mea culpa. mea culpa.
i read recently the post that was written by Claudia, and a thought came to my mind.
I must consider myself lucky.
well many people say that all the time.. there is no sunday that i go to church and have some member that says: "Gabriele you are lucky".
i have passed two weeks with the love of my life. i have passed christmas with her.
i have witnessed the sweet feeling of being around someone that really loves you.
i can say that claudia is that person. the person that can give me a lot of love. all the love i was looking for.
i know everytime i write something on this blog i'm cheesy.. maybe because i love cheese. but anyway.
somehow i can't think of any specific argument to write about, but of love. well the special love that i have for Claudia.
sometimes i think about the long distance relationship that we have. how hard it is. and how painful it can be. especially lately.
but i realized that a long distance relationship, if well handled, can give something that you can't have in any other sort of relationships. when i saw her for the first time in the airport after 7 months, my heart was ready to explode for joy. when i hugged her i felt like in heaven.
many emotions came to my heart. the joy of being together. those two weeks i lived like i was in heaven.
i had the same feeling everytime i saw her.
it's a heart break everytime we say goodbye, but soon and for soon i mean 7 months, we won't say goodbye to each other anymore. and that is a feeling no one can buy.
happiness is rare. and only one person in the world can give it to you. and that is your eternal companion. i'm glad i found mine. she is a lovely young girl from chicago. her name is Claudia Peters.. and she is the most beautiful girl i've ever met in my life.
this is the reason why i consider myself lucky. and blessed.
don't you think?

i am the master of my fate: i am the captain of my soul...

so i finally got to go see the movie invictus...which i loved. not only because matt damon is my favorite actor and morgan freeman is amazing, but it deals with history that i am in love with. see, for several years (at least 10, if not more) i have been intrigued by south african history. i just love it. my love for south africa began when i first read excerpts from the book kaffir boy in the reader's digest abridged books. and i'm not really sure how i stumbled upon it, but ever since then south africa and the apartheid always interested me thanks to mark mathabane.

invictus talks mostly of nelson mandela's approach to transforming the people of south africa into a united people...by means of rugby. you look at mandela and see a man who was imprisoned for decades and once set free expresses no hatred nor revenge. he practices forgiveness in a way that is remarkable. i always remember my dad talking about nelson mandela and why he was such a great person, leader and example.

for those of you interested in more about south africa, i would recommend reading mark mathabane's autobiography entitled kaffir boy, or check out the documentary amandla! a revolution in four part harmony.

where there is love there is life

i titled this blog with a quote by ghandi. because i really believe that love gives us life. there are so many aspects of love that make this true in our lives. whether from family, a significant other, or from the Gospel we are given life as we love. our relationships aren't always going to be perfect, but i know that the love that exists in those relationships is. i mean, when you live at home with your family, there are going to be times of disagreement or hardship. this doesn't mean that at any point the love that exists in your home is gone. love is always there and it's what keeps you together.

until this christmas, i had spent seven months without gabriele. i don't want to be a cheese-ball about it but it was hard. it's really different communicating long distance. we talk all the time and we e-mail and see each other on the webcam but it is not the same as being around each other in real life. in person, you learn so much more through conversation, actions, gestures, expressions, etc. that you just can't convey over the internet.

this reminds me of the ces fireside elder bednar gave not too long ago as spoke of virtual life and things of that nature on the computer and internet. he spoke of the importance of human relationships and the reality and value of speaking face to face. when i think of this and my long distance relationship it makes me think of how different communication is today. it seems that we avoid that face to face contact all the time. we text instead of call. we facebook or e-mail instead of writing or stopping by. we take physical presence for granted. i'm guilty of these things and i'm a little disappointed in myself for being that way. i certainly want to be better about communicating with friends and family.

either way, all i want to say is that it was amazing seeing the love of my life again, if only for two weeks.