First Dates With Jason

I was rummaging through my scrapbooking closet, trying to reorganize it. As I was looking for more random pictures to slip into empty photo albums, I found the most beautiful thing. It’s a little bit more than a year old, has heart-warming memories, and consists of many possibilities that soon turned into a beautiful reality. It is my notebook from when I first met Jason.

Let’s read through it:

 

6/22/15 First Date

It was’t awkward. We picked up his glasses- was he nervous? Kept bumping into things or people? Took me to Lincoln Park- beauty view. We sat on the cement next to each other, watched the ducks and the babies. We talked there for an hour. We walked to a better view and he danced with me- we spun- he sang – Jason Mraz ? Then after we went to Standard Market. I had mac n cheese and soup – he had sandwiches and fries. Then we gazed into each others eyes and that was that. Love is not just feelings- it’s a choice. You chose him- to love him.

6/24/15

Thinking of him… Don’t wanna go home. Wanna go back to the city- Chicago was perfect! My date with him was perfect… Driving around Target in that cart was perfect. He doesn’t judge me- he thinks I’m cute. He’s so weird- good weird. He’s a little awkward- I need a quiet guy. Two months from him- will we last? (I mean without each other) What if he surprises me? I love surprises- sends me flowers? So funny cuz I was about to spend my money on a car or Europe trip.

6/30/15 Second Date (Note: I went to Kentucky for a few days then came back to Illinois)

Picked me up around 4- went to Corner House Coffee. Hugged. Asked him why he’s being so quiet. (We just got into our first fight actually). He texted me earlier in the day that he would get off work early and pick me up. So I waited for him to text me. I waited for an hour or two- then I finally texted him. He goes, “I was waiting for your text the whole time!” It was either miscommunication or I never received his text. (Cali and Illinois texting is very different). Went to Yorktown mall. H+M – bought two shirts. Listened to Cheerleader- went to the city- had sushi. Talked about our ex’s- Drove to the movies.. Watched Inside Out in 3D- talked- came home.

7/2/2015 Third Date

Picked me up from Jessica’s (50min drive) went to a Festival. Watched one hot air balloon. Took pics and videos of him spinning me- went and bought me sunflowers then Portillo’s- croissant, beef, and cheese. He bought a salad. He made Eugene get off work early to go to his house for a bon fire.

7/11/2015

Every time we FaceTime I miss him more. It’s only been a week, but we got through it. We’re counting down the days until we see each other- even when neither of us bought a plane ticket yet. I’m crazy about his smile- the way he laughs and his eyes. His brown- but sparkly eyes. The way they turn Chinese when he smiles (:

 

 

First dates can be awkward, but they are fun! I am glad I wrote these first dates down, it puts a smile on my face. Now, I cannot even believe we are married. Here is our “First Dates to Proposal” video: Youtube.com/watch

 

 

 

Living in Chicago {Month 2}

January 17th, 2017

It has been two months living in what they call “Windy City.” However, I still don’t know why they call it windy city, it’s not much of a windy city- but a cold city. Like my husband said the other day, “It’s JUST cold!”

This month I have learned that marriage is a test of how much you can love. I was constantly frustrated of the fact that I was always cleaning up after my husband, telling him what to help me with, and asking him to do things for me. I mean, why can’t he just do things on his own? It would be such a simple life if I could come home and dinner is ready, without me having to ask. I mean, you came home early today- why didn’t you think of getting a head start on dinner? But it’s not like that. Us wives have to learn that our husbands love in other ways. They buy you flowers without asking, they’ve paid the bill ahead of time, they made you coffee this morning, etc… Just think of the ways your husband loves you. I know that if I love my husband unconditionally- he will do things without me having to ask. He will feel so loved that he will take out the trash and clean my car, WITHOUT ME ASKING! It’s amazing, keep loving your husbands wives. (P.S. I made Jason a hot bubble bath with salts and lit up a candle because he was feeling sick and this morning he made me an omelette and coffee to go for work! So sweet<3)

Okay, enough about the marriage talk, let’s talk about friends! This month our good friends Oleg and Vaida got engaged in Mexico, congrats! We celebrated with them after they came home. And if you know me, I gave her my personal tips on what I know about planning a wedding. She has done so much research already! Good job Vai(: One advice that I gave her and I would suggest to any engaged couple is : plan as much as you can, but don’t expect too much. If you expect too much for your wedding instead of “going with the flow” then you may be let down. Weddings are never “perfect,” but if you choose to believe your day is and was absolutely perfect, then you set your mind to that. On the other hand, last Tuesday Jason and I joined a small group from Harvest Cathedral church. We like it already (: It is so good to have people in our lives who are both newly weds and have been married for a while.

This last Sunday my dad finally came to visit us from California. I tried so hard to impress him with the food I was going to make (because he only eats Ukrainian food) so I made potatoes, kaklethi, plemeni, and tomato-cucumber salad. I wasn’t patient enough to wait for the potatoes to cook, so they didn’t turn out ready in time 😦 I hope he liked my food though! He is my food critic. Jason took him to the sauna too. If you are a guy visiting Chicago, you cannot come without going to the sauna, (it’s a guy thing). Other than my dad and my cousin Roman (who stopped by for an hour the other day)- we haven’t had many new people over. We just bought a new table and it only has two chairs, which is the main reason we aren’t inviting anyone over. I have been looking on craigslist to try and buy four wooden chairs, but nobody wants to sell them to me without the table! If you haven’t been invited to our new apartment yet, now you know why.

After the wedding and the chaos, marriage calms you down  bit. However, Jason and I have found activities to occupy us. The first thing on our list was applying for schools everywhere. We are both hoping to get into the same school or schools not far from each other.  I have also been buying some apartment decorations online. One of our recent projects was hanging up the curtains in our living room. I ironed, he drilled, I hung them up, he complimented. We have also bought ourselves an end table, a mirror, and suitcases for a DIY nightstand. These projects really kept us occupied because not were we looking for something we both like (which takes time), we also were buying within a budget.

Other than that, what I am really proud of these past two months is the fact that I have saved so much money on coffee. I love my coffee and making it at home can be difficult, especially if the beans are no bueno. However, we have been buying ourselves good coffee beans (it is the city, I mean come on) and making ourselves pour overs each morning. However, we would like to invest in a good coffee maker for when we get those chairs and invite more people over! (;

Here are some pictures from the month of January!

<My dad came to visit on his truck!>

My current work view. I love it.

 

 

 

 

Social Media These Days

{Written in 2017, but still relevant}

I remember when Snapchat first came out, everyone would snapchat personal snaps to their friends. It made things fun. Now we have what is called stories. Rarely do I get anymore personal snaps. And still, people expect you to look at their stories as if it were a personal message towards you.

“Didn’t you see my snap?”

“No, you never sent me anything.”

“It was on my story.”

Well, since you never really sent it to me personally- I didn’t really have the motivation or knowledge you wanted me to view it.

Or what about Facebook invites/events?

“I didn’t know you had a birthday party! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Didn’t you get my invite on Facebook?”

“Uh, I’m never on Facebook!”

People get offended you didn’t come to the event when you did not even know about the event in the first place! You’re at fault now. You never made it to your friend’s big event. I remember once when I was turning ten years old, I grabbed my favorite notebook and sat down on my bed thinking of all the friends I wanted at my birthday party. I made sure each friend I wrote down would have another friend to talk to. There were no boys at my party, but I played something like matchmaker. Then, I would grab my mom’s phone and at 6pm call my friend’s moms and talk to each individual friend- inviting her to my party. I would hear it in their voice if they really wanted to come, hearing they’re excitement through the phone. If they were unsure they would make it, I would convince them I was going to have water balloons and cake! That way they would persuade their mom to take them without a doubt. But we don’t do that anymore. We don’t like calling. It’s easier to text or Snapchat.

If I kept tabs on every person who didn’t respond to my text, SC, Instagram comment, or Facebook message- I would be living in misery. When I was younger and didn’t have internet on my phone, I would always handwrite (in text form) quotes or Bible verses to people and forward them individually to my friends and family. If it had the FWD:FWD: on it, people would be offended it wasn’t a personal text. That wasn’t even Social Media and people were offended. But that’s not even my point. My point was that I would send one message to maybe 30 people every other day and maybe receive 5 responses overall. It was usually an AMEN or a THANK YOU. You see, even texting became non personal.

If people spent less time on their phone looking through Social Media and Texting, there would be less offense in the room. I saw a video the other day- This Is Exactly What’s Wrong With This Generation- “If you’re sitting in a meeting with people you’re supposed to be listening to and speaking  to- and your phone on the table there, face up or facedown.. that sends a subconscious message to the room ‘you’re just not important to me right now.'” We are worried we might get bored and zone out by checking up on what other people are doing. What if you lost your chance to speak up about a new product, promoting  yourself to a better position. It doesn’t look professional. How about at a restaurant with your friends? It is so easy to have your phone in front of you just in case the conversation gets boring or nobody is talking to you.

You know you may be spending way too much time on your phone if you start playing mind games with people. There’s the:

• “let me post this snapchat so my boyfriend gets jealous”
• “I won’t include him in this picture because he didn’t hang out with us the other day even though he was there”
•  The guessing game. “Why are you mad?” – “Figure it out.”
• The I’m So Offended at You I Won’t Reply For Three Days.
• Let me tell you you are invited, post pictures the next day and forget to invite you.

I posted something today that said, “I would like to apologize to anyone I have not yet offended. Please be patient. I will get to you shortly.” Showing that no matter what I will say/not or do/not do- especially on Social Media- someone, somewhere will get offended.

BLOG INSPIRED BY THIS VIDEO.