Finally... Finished.

You may remember back when I asked you all for help creating a video called The Benefits of Marriage for my Marriage & Family Relations class. That was two months ago, and I'm here to present - finally - the finished product. 

This is also one of the main excuses I'm going to give you for my blog being so boring lately. 

Thank you so much to my friends and family who participated, and my brother Jon for donating his time, his Mac, and his skills to the cause. If anyone who was involved would like a copy of the video, let me know and I'll get you one by Christmas.

Enjoy!

The Benefits of Marriage from Aubrey Ortega on Vimeo.

There Are Times

Even when you get everything you ever wanted,
There are still times
When that hole in your heart gapes wide
And dulls the lines

Between survival and resignation
Leaving you gasping for air
And wondering...
What's life lived for anyway?

Goodbye, Facebook (for now).

Steve and I are working on our relationship. He has been staying with us at my mom's house since his brush with death (as I like to exaggerate it) at the hospital about a month ago. We're trying really hard to work through everything, and it is taking a lot of work, sacrifice, and effort.

One of the sacrifices we're making for the greater good is facebook. We have decided facebook is not healthy for relationships (especially unstable ones), so for the time being, we're eliminating it. We are working through therapy and communication, and I think this is another huge step toward stability.

I just want to thank everyone who has been so supportive of us working things out. It isn't easy, and having the support of our friends and family is definitely helping a lot. Love to you all!

How is that possible?

In one month and three days Steve and I will have been married for 3 years. Seriously?? 3 years?? Holy moly that went fast.

"I didn't marry you because you were perfect. I didn't even
marry you because I loved you. I married you because you
gave me a promise. That promise made up for your faults.
And the promise I gave you made up for mine. Two imperfect
people got married and it was the promise that made the marriage.
And when our children were growing up, it wasn't a house that
protected them; and it wasn't our love that protected them - it was that promise."
-Thornton Wilder

"A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always
with the same person."
-Mignon McLaughlin

"Why is it that people get married?
Because we need a witness to our lives.
There’s a billion people on the planet.
What does any one life really mean?
But in a marriage, you’re promising to care about everything…
The good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things,
All of it… all the time, every day.
You’re saying, “Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it.
Your life will not go unwitnessed - because I will be your witness.”
-"Shall We Dance" 2004

"Marriage, like a submarine, is only safe if you get all the way inside."
-Frank Pittman

"Divorce is like an amputation. Sometimes it's necessary but it should be
avoided if at all possible because it brings about a permanent disability."
-Bill Doherty

As for his secret to staying married: "My wife tells me that if I ever
decide to leave, she is coming with me."
-Jon BonJovi

"Even with all its problems, I will support marriage as an institution
until something better comes along."
-David Blankenhorn, Institute for American Values