Joint Blog

Mark and I just finished watching an hour's worth of funny/sweet YouTube videos together after a long day of work/school.  We watched a bunch from an organization called "Prank It Forward" with awesomely sweet April Fools jokes.  This one made me cry!

After we were sick of videos I decided we needed to write in our blog.  Together.  So we will alternate every other paragraph and only write about what's going on in the other person's life to see how much we really know about each other.  Okay, my turn first!

So Mark has been pretty tied up at work the past few weeks.  He has more projects coming in than he has time to do so whenever he catches up, he immediately falls behind again.  Something like that would drive me crazy but it doesn't seem to bother Mark.  He lets me know what's going on but he never complains.  He's so optimistic and happy all the time and when he comes home from work he just cares about my day and my problems and they consume him until he helps me solve them.

Catherine is working on her last official semester of college and really just trying to get through.  Her biggest concerns right now are her advanced writing ten page research paper and her crazy geology class that has yet to talk about rocks.  She is realizing that there are only 25 days left in the semester and although that is such a joy, it means that everything is due before.  She is wondering if the world is going to end before that and wants so badly to bank on it ending, but diligently pushes forward studying and writing clawing her way through to the finish line.

Mark should never have gone into the powdered metal manufacturing industry but instead should have become a chef.  In fact, I tell him all the time we both need to move to a small town and open a fancy restaurant.  He can do all the cooking and I can do all the serving in a cute 50's girl outfit...not that he specializes in hamburgers & shakes or anything but I'm really considering getting a job at our adorable regular Friday night restaurant Cafe 50's simply because the girls walk around in cute 50's outfits!!  They play 50's music and have the walls covered in movie posters and magazine ads from the 50's and they have over 42 different kinds of shakes!!!  It's such a great, friendly atmosphere!  Oh and they even have board games for you to play while you wait for your food!

But I digress...no we wouldn't open a 50's diner, probably a fancy Italian restaurant or just a fancy restaurant in general.  I guess I couldn't wear the 50's girl outfit then...  ANYWAY he is a fabulous cook and cooks dinner for me every single night!!!  I am so spoiled by him seriously.  I do my part by washing the dishes and setting the table but I have tried cooking for us and it's just embarrassing so why not let him do what he's great at?! :)

When Catherine isn't working on school she is making her characters for a Disney general.  A general is a collection of different characters a voice over actor can do that is given to a production company to pull from whenever they are looking for an actor.  The company will only keep an actors general if they decide they are good enough, so the real audition is the general.  After that it is only a matter of time befor they call you to play a role or two and hopefully the carreer cruises on from there.  Catherine has been given this opportunity through her new VO agent Porche (that's how you spell the car, I don't know how she spells it haha).  Porche believes Catherine will be on a Disney show by years end!  Well as we all know Catherine is going above and beyond for this general.  Porche asked her to develop 5 voices.  Catherine took that as developing 5 characters including backstory, plot lines, and the characters image.  She has basically written out 5 ideas for short animated features.  Its part of her character development and her way of acting.  You really can't just tell her to be like this or sound like this.  She needs to be the character and know who they are.  We went on a hike on saturday and I got to hike with a 12 year old boy inventor named teddy, a ballet dancing giraffe, and a soap bubble named dawn.  It was fun.  I love that Catherine loves playing such innocent young characters and I get to be a part of their stories.

Teddy, 12 year old kid inventor, drawn by my talented cousin Jenna Hamzawi

Sarah, a southern ballerina

Dawn, a British bubble

Sometimes I try to imagine what a fly on the wall in our apartment would think of Mark and I.  I think he would notice right away that I do about 85% of the talking.  Mark doesn't mind though...I don't think, haha.  He's a really good listener...he doesn't just pretend he's listening like most guys would, he truly listens to everything I'm saying and whenever I let him get a word in, he's trying to give me helpful advice or let me know that he understands how I'm feeling.  While I do most of the talking, Mark initiates most of the cuddling.  He's always giving me kisses on my forehead or I'll catch him staring lovingly at me while we're watching something.  Then again I also tend to randomly crawl into his lap and wrap myself around him at least once a day so maybe we're tied on that front.  We are definitely newlyweds!  And now I'm excited to read all of his parts because we weren't allowed to while we wrote (his idea).

Spread the Word

So I'm sitting here in my living room working on a paper that's due tomorrow, which I've spent over 25 HOURS on in the past few weeks (I better get an A!) when I notice outside a red car has stopped in the middle of the road.  I look to see what's going on and watch a man get out of his car and approach the car behind him.  He proceeds to yell every curse word I've ever heard (and some I haven't) at the woman behind him for 'cutting him off'.  It's 'F this' and 'F that' and he's making all kinds of obscene gestures and motions at this poor Chinese girl who looks about 18 years old.

I get very scared for her but finally he starts to head back to his car and then turns around and comes back.  Now I'm terrified for her.  I'm praying he doesn't have a gun.  He continues to yell at her some more calling her every sexist and racial slur in the book that obviously have nothing to do with the situation.  Then he finally gets back in his car and drives off.  I'm practically shaking in my apartment and I see the girl proceed to slowly back into a space on the street.  She wasn't cutting him off...she was just trying to get a parking spot on this busy street, minding her own business.  And even if she did cut him off, I bet you she didn't mean anything by it.  She definitely didn't deserve to be yelled at and called terrible things that had nothing to do with anything other than his desire to make her feel horrible and insignificant.

I bet she will be feeling bad about herself for the rest of the day, maybe the whole weekend.  I know I would  be crying if that happened to me.  I always cut people off or do dumb things when I'm driving only because I'm lost most of the time and trying to find my way!  I never intentionally do things out of impatience or selfishness, they just sort of happen.  And I bet that's the way a lot of drivers are.  You have no idea why that person may have cut you off.  Maybe they just came from the hospital where their mother or spouse or child died and they're just not paying attention.  Did you ever stop to think that they have enough to deal with in their lives that pissing you off is not on their agenda?  Why can't people just be nice to each other for the heck of it and give people a break?

Maybe all this anger inside me is coming from something else.  I read this article yesterday about one woman's experience in the world of human trafficking.  Now, I have known and understood for quite some time (having been in a documentary on the subject, Nefarious: Merchant of Souls) that human trafficking does indeed exist in the United States.  Even though I am aware of this fact, I guess I never really comprehended it.  I can't really wrap my head around the idea that young girls my age and younger (as young as 7 years old!) are being kidnapped, hidden, and kept locked away for years tortured as sex slaves for most (if not all!) of their lives!!!  HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?!?!?  Who allows this to happen???  How can we prevent it?  What can I do to save a 7 year old girl from being raped by 12 men in a row day after day after day.  Yes, this happens.  Below is a link to the article and I encourage you (though it's a VERY tough read) to read it so that maybe if more people are aware of the real inhumanity that is happening right here in the United States, that slavery STILL exists for many young, innocent girls, then maybe, just maybe, we can find a solution to end it.  Because while your life may be hard right now, I can't even imagine what a day in the life of one of these poor girls is like.  I am praying for each and every one of them.

http://investik8.wordpress.com/2013/07/17/eden-a-sex-slaves-story/

A Glimpse

I haven't written in soooo long and for that I apologize but just know it's because life is very very busy!!!  When I actually don't have any homework left to do I spend every second of free time with my Mark.  We watch tons of movies together...it's our favorite!  A really sad but good one we watched recently is "What Maisie Knew".  It's the story of a little girl whose parents are going through a divorce and fighting over custody...but not because they love their daughter.  It's more of a pride thing for them and throughout the movie it's truly shocking the way they treat her...and the saddest part is there are probably tons of parents really like that.  Anyway, the movie ended on a positive note but Mark and I still talk about Maisie as though she were a real person.  Haha, I guess that's my actress side coming in...

So today I had a glimpse.  And kind of a wake-up call.  Of what life could be like...without my Mark.  It only lasted for about 5 minutes but it was the most panicked I've been in a long time.

I had a long day at school today from 8-6 and Mark gets home from work at 4.  I talked to him on the phone briefly before rehearsal and knew he hadn't left work yet at 5 but I figured he would have left soon after that.  He usually stays at work later on the days I'm at school late so he doesn't have to miss me too much (adorable, right?)  So I get home at 6:30 on the dot and am so excited to see him.  But I get a strange feeling when I try to open the door (he never locks it after he gets home) and it's locked.

I open it and our apartment is dark.  There are clothes on the couch and recyclables on the counter and I suddenly feel like something is not right.  I quickly call him.  No answer.  I call again.  No answer.  Where is he???  I call his work but I don't remember his extension.  I try 17 but it's the guy who sits behind him.  I try 18 but now I'm being transferred to the receptionist who has already left.  By this time I'm on my knees saying a silent prayer that everything is going to be alright.  But I look around the apartment and see the pictures of us above our bed, his clothes folded on the couch, Cuddles, the bear he gave me for my birthday before we got engaged who we treat as though he is our child, who is lying on his back on Mark's bedside table.  Mark didn't put him in a cute position the way we always do.  And suddenly it hits me.  What if Mark got into a car accident?  What if I never see him again?  What if that phone call that lasted 5 minutes at 5 o'clock is the last time I ever spoke to hiim???  I remembered saying "I love you" so casually and wishing he had really known just how much I love him.

A part of me felt a little silly for acting this way just because Mark wasn't home but he always answers his phone for me and he is ALWAYS waiting at home for me when I get there.  He would never just not call if he was going to be late.  I think of calling my mom so she can calm me down but instead I leave the apartment.  I can't bare to look at everything the way it is right now because I keep thinking that the next time I put the clothes away and take out the recycling, my life will be changed forever and Mark will not be a part of it anymore.

Tears build up in my eyes as I head down our apartment stairs, not knowing where I'm going.  Then I realize I'm going to look for Mark.  If I find his car then I'll know he's okay.  Of course, the thought doesn't occur to me that if I find his car outside our apartment, he would have gone inside! But none of this matters because as soon as I step out of the door, Mark is pulling up right in front of the apartment in his silver Honda that has never looked more beautiful.

I run over to him and his windows are rolled down.  He's listening to some cute oldies station, smiling his adorable innocent smile.  That smile I was so scared I would never see again.  I lean my head into the open window on the passenger side and give him a long kiss.  As I break away, the tears begin to roll down my cheeks and I choke out, "Where were you?  I was so scared something happened..." and he's out of the car so fast, with his arms around me and it's the best feeling in the world.  Every time.

He's used to my over-reacting and tears (every day...I'm such a girl...but half the time they're happy or laughing tears) and he quickly calms me down but the thoughts keep racing through my head.  What if something did happen to him?  What if yesterday was the last day we spent together?  What did we do?  How did we spend those last moments?  And some day will be the last day.  Hopefully that day doesn't come for many, many, MANY years (and hopefully my day comes first) but right now I am feeling so lucky and blessed that I get to spend another day, another moment with my favorite person in the whole wide world.

Time is all relative

In 3 days it will have already been 3 months since Catherine and I got sealed.  Now you all say ya ya 3 months you're still so fresh, but really 3 months has felt like 3 weeks at most.  I have been so buried at work since the new year I have not had a second to relax!  It seems like the times I may have a relaxing moment something huge comes up with Catherine where we have to find a way to get a bunch of work done.  I think how nice it will be when Catherine finishes school and my work project (33 new parts for Schlege Locks) is over.  I know we will have new stresses and such, but once we get past these two huge milestones we can actually be newly weds again!  Right now we feel like a forty year old couple cause we come home and are pooped from work/school.  We will get through this and around May we will be beginning to see new exciting changes as things start coming around.  I will have my old job back running production at Capstan with a whole lot more experience, understanding and trust in my employees.  I will have gained the trust of new customers .  I will have gained the trust of new suppliers and most importantly I will have proved to myself that I can really do this.  I can be in charge and get HUGE projects done.  At this same time Catherine will be working an internship, will probably be going through an interview process with Disney Voice Over, and will be finding out how great and desirable an actress she really is.  We will still have the same apartment, the same general schedule, and associate with the same people but life will have advanced.  I cannot wait.  We both have a lot of work to get there but I always like to think of time as my ally, constantly rolling on even if the times are hard.  Hard times end and New beginnings come.

I'm currently waiting in my car for Catherine as she films a scene for a class.  I decided to take Catherine because if I didn't drive her she would've stayed at SC and not gotten home until I was asleep most likely.  This gave us at least a couple of hours together today.  Lots of times we are hesitant to tell people how much we truly want to just be together all the time, but really I love that about us.  It is now a part of who we are.  We both go out of our way to be with each other.  Before we got married Catherine would surprise me at work and we'd go out to lunch.  I only get a 30 minute lunch, so she would basically take an hour driving out of her day to spend 30 minutes with me.  I love her so much for that.  We used to, and sometimes still do, sent countdown texts on when we will see eachother again like "7 Hours!!!!!" at 9 in the morning when we were with each other just 3 hours before.  Haha.  Why are we so scared to tell people how much we really love each other?  Why are we scared that people will think we're crazy for going so far out of our way to spend just a short amount of time together?  Well this is my way of throwing caution to the wind and saying yes I am in love with Catherine and I am not ashamed of all the obsession, addiction, and illogical acting that comes with that love.  I can't wait for her to come back.  20 MINUTES!!

Sitting in the car typing

Love...

What is it really?  Does it change?  Do we see different kinds and levels of it?  Why does it seem like there is never enough of it to go around?  Catherine and I are in love.   There is no other way to describe the force that pulls us together and makes us want to be near each other every waking moment.  For some reason, in this world we live in today, many think of this as a young love.  The love that lasts in newlyweds lasts only for a short time, but why is that?  Why is it that "lasting love" requires the compromise of work and hobbies and sports and movies and girlfriends and bros and so on and so forth?  Why is it that in the world we live in today the ideas of the important from the unimportant are so cloudy and faded that the importance of family is hard to see?  I have heard the advice that couples need to make sure that they have given each other enough space that they can both accomplish their carreers and do the things they want to do in life.  But really, in they end, all the fame, education, promotions, and accomplishments will be water under the bridge.  No matter if I'm a doctor saving a life or the maid cleaning up in the hospital, it is not worth it if I have no time for my family.  I don't care how much I accomplish in life as far as work goes. If my family doesn't know they always came first in my life, what is really the point?  Now, is it really still possible to have the life I want?  Is it possible to live in a nice home with a white picket fence without selling my soul to my job?  Is it still possible to give my family the time and attention it deserves?  I believe it is.  I believe it comes down to the fact that we all need to stand up for ourselves and take hold of our lives.  I have seen too many families fall apart because one or both parties involved are more commited to other things in life rather than each other.

I knew that Catherine and I were right for each other when we both realized we cared more about talking to each other than doing anything else in life.  I need someone I care about more than anything else.  I want to want to come home from work.  I want to be excited for every moment I get to hold her in my arms.  She became my best friend in 6 months and my eternal companion in a year and a half.  I will always have her with me and I plan on making my life one in which I can be with her as much as possible.  My life choices will be based out of how it will allow me the quality time I desire with my family.  I may leave some money on the table and some wonderful job opportunities may fly by but in the end it would all be tedious if it took away from my sweet Catherine.

So what really is love?  It is the desire with every fiber of my being to bring happiness to someone else.  The people we love are those that we want to spend all of our time with.  I love you Catherine.

I love my husband

I don't have a long time to write because I've been gone all day and Mark will be going to bed soon (he has to get up at 5 every morning and because I can't stand being up while he goes to sleep, we always go to bed together even though it takes me forever to fall asleep cause I sleep in late since school hasn't started back up yet) so that means I will be going to bed soon and want to spend a few precious minutes with him before the day runs out...

But I just wanted to take a few minutes and say how awesome he is.  I baby-sat all day and he gets home from work at 3:30.  When I got home at 7:30 he had a delicious dinner waiting for me and now he's busy working on trimming my resume's for me perfectly with a straight edge because I can't ever seem to get it right and he just finished that and now he's putting cookies in the oven because I said I wanted some.  I mean, isn't he just the absolute sweetest guy ever???

I love him soooo much and I am the luckiest girl ever to have him for my sweet husband.  My patriarchal blessing even addresses him as 'my dear husband' when talking about him.  I'm so happy I found my eternal companion.

Happy New Year!

2014 is here!  I think 2013 has been the best year of both our lives so far but I'm thinking 2014 might be even better!  I love starting off this new year with  my sweetheart by my side.  Life is so much better when you have someone to share it with!

At this very moment, Peanut is behind me in the kitchen making strawberry-banana waffles and dancing his cute little butt off to "Got to be Real" by Cheryl Lynn...it's a real girl power song that reminds me of "R-E-S-P-E-C-T" that came up on our "Walking on Sunshine" station on Songza.  He looks pretty adorable! :)

I guess I haven't posted since Christmas...the big gift I got Mark is a tablet!  I got him a Nook HD +.  He needed a laptop really bad but I couldn't afford to get him a great laptop so I just got him a great tablet instead, which is practically the same thing and just as good for what Mark does anyway (read sports articles, watch sports videos, and check his email).  He was pretty excited!  I loved spending Christmas with my love.  He got me Hunter boots!  We also got really spoiled from my parents...they were so worried we weren't going to have that many gifts that they got us more gifts than Sean and Stephanie, haha.  After they had finished opening theirs we were scrambling to open all the rest of ours as quick as we could but we had so many!  Mostly because my mom wraps every present individually and she got us a lot of DVD's and this fairy tale collection of books so that was like most of our presents.  We also got Christmas ornaments, picture frames, Mark got a robe and keyboard for his Nook, and I got more Wizard of Oz memorabilia than you've ever seen!  Haha, I do love Wizard of Oz but my mom went a little overboard there...but I loved everything!!

We spent New Years at Esther and Jacob's.  She made us delicious teriyaki chicken and rice and we spent the night playing movie charades.  We were pretty entertained by Yosh most of the night and he kept us up until midnight when we went on the roof of their apartment and watched fireworks.  Pretty good New Year's!

Here's to our first full year of married life!  I can't wait!!! :)