The Marriage
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Thank You For Your Time
The job of an actor is varied, dedicated, and time consuming. When Ben was acting full time in LA he would usually have eight to twelve hours on set. That’s not including the time he would spend driving there (sometimes up to two hours), applying for jobs, networking, creating content, and developing skills. His weeks were often between fifty to seventy hour work weeks if not more. Now that he has a day job his days are just as long. He not only works his 40 hours a week for his day job, he also works at least 15 hours on acting/producing/screenwriting. When he was a banker we could expect…
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Good Things to Come
This November I am grateful for being a mother. Just shortly after Ben and I got married we decided to have children. We had such a powerful feeling that God had children waiting for us and that we should allow them into our home and our lives. I wanted to finish my degree first. Ben wanted to finish school. We lived in a tiny, one bedroom, 450 square foot apartment. We had been married for a few weeks and trying to figure out married life. Having a baby right away seemed like a ridiculous step… but our guide had shown us a better way, so we decided to start our…
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Gratitude
This November I want to focus on being grateful. I have so much to be grateful for, as do we all, and yet sometimes, life’s troubles seem to overwhelm my sense of gratitude. I’m going to treat gratitude as a muscle that needs exercise to maintain (or increase) it’s strength. So, here it goes. This November I am grateful for my darling husband. Even with all the ridiculousness he puts me through. The choosing to be an actor rather than taking a traditional path, the “it’ll all work out” attitude, and the fact that he sometimes has to be reminded to laugh at my really awesome jokes. I truly am…
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How Much Is Your Integrity Worth?
Recently on set I ran into someone I recognized. Now… I run into familiar people often. In fact, a common phrase on set is “you look so familiar.” Well… as background performers we all work for the same company and are all on tv frequently, so yes. Familiarity is inevitable. I don’t often remember where I’ve met people. That was not the case with this guy. No… this young man I would have a hard time forgetting. I worked a night call in November. So far my one and only night call. It was a very cold night (for California anyway, no offense to my frozen-snot folk) and we were…
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The Musical
I have so much to catch up on… sigh. Life gets crazy. I can’t fill you in on everything in this post, but I am so excited to tell you about this. I recently auditioned for a musical. Our Stake (church group) is putting on a show. The musical is an original script riddled with beautiful and inspiring well-known songs. As soon as it was announced I was determined to be in it. Jess wanted to be involved in the show as well. Ben’s schedule is so hectic that we figured it best for him not to audition. Okay… here’s the deal. When Ben works he’s often gone from before…
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The Producer
Guys… I’m tired. I mean… more than usual. Ben and I decided to produce our own short film. We have been trying to get a film reel but have had not many chances at lead roles without a reel. So… Ben decided to write his own scripts so he can then film them and guarantee a piece for his reel that he’s happy with. We decided the first week of December that we had enough connections in Utah to cast and produce a low-budget short film. We were planning on going to Utah for Christmas so we figured that throwing in a short film would be hard work… but would…
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A New Appreciation
It has been such an adventure having the opportunity to work the same jobs as Ben. To get to meet some of the people that he’s told me so much about and seeing what he gets to see! It’s not a chance many women get to have, to do the same kind of work as their husband. I feel incredibly blessed. Recently I’ve had the chance to take a long time to get ready, just like Ben! I’ve had to re-learn how to style my hair. Yes…I did kind of forget a tad. No joke, I had to borrow my husband’s hair dryer. I can’t remember the last time I cared…
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Walking a Tightrope With You
I was sitting on the floor, wrestling my 18-month old as my older children were chasing each other around the room. I think they must get faster the sleepier they are (a scientific study should be done on this). Ben was shooting a commercial in L.A., and it was going late, as usual, so I was by myself getting the girls to bed. I was the only one singing our let’s-get-ready-for-prayer-by-singing-about-Jesus song. The girls were too busy tormenting each other, and they were oblivious to the fact that I was too tired to chase them. I was overworked, sweaty, sore, and just plain exhausted, with plenty of chores still to…
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Making Plans
What are you up to Saturday night? Seems like a simple question… Just don’t ask it to me. Don’t ask if we’re coming to visit. Don’t ask if I’m planning on going to the park. Don’t ask if I’m coming for Christmas. I mean… you can ask all you want; it’s not like it offends me… I just won’t know what to tell you. The thing is, we genuinely don’t know. Ben’s work is, as we have already established in other posts, not a very traditional job. It’s not like he has a set schedule… ever. There’s no 9-6 job, with dinner and a bedtime routine. Ben loves singing the girls…
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Whither Thou Goest…
Going into this new adventure we’ve embarked on, I never really realized what I would be willing to give up. Honestly, I probably still don’t know. Uprooting our own family, leaving other family and friends behind, sacrificing stability and financial expectations, and so on. I know that God wants us to be where we are. I know He wants me to be an actor’s wife. But each new experience shows me that I am just beginning to learn all of what that really means. I guess I thought we’d just go to California and live with my parents for five to ten years (hopefully closer to five); after the first…