The Wedding Post (and the 6 weeks that followed)

HOLY TOLEDO!!!! IT'S BEEN 6 WEEKS?!?!?!?!?! Feels like just yesterday my niece was "duggying" down the aisle and my poor pops was tripping on my dress. 

YES... for those of you who couldn't make it, they surprised me with a hip-hop dancing 16 year old "duggying" down the aisle in front of me, and my poor dad (who most of you know just underwent a pretty crazy brain surgery) tripped on my dress landing on his hands and knees in front of about 100 people right after "giving me away."

Good times. :) I think it's on video somewhere... I should find that.

(Look at that handsome dude... :) I'm so lucky!)

So, we haven't found it in our budget yet to take a REAL honeymoon, because my car was just awful and kept on wanting to die so we bought a new car instead of a honeymoon. The good news is it's a "mom-car." I'm pretty happy about that. I'm definitely looking forward to using that preface. 

We did, however, get to go to Prescott last weekend for a night. Ben went golfing and I went shopping. :) I think those are two verbs we better get used to.

(PS, kudos to our awesome photographer and my new sister-in-law, Nicole Coombs!)

Mostly, we went right back to work and kinda jumped right back into the real world. Cutting coupons, planning meals for weeks at a time, arguing over whose turn it is to do the dishes... you know, the GOOD stuff. :) 

OOH! I almost forgot to mention that I got my first promotion at work. It's been a crazy couple of weeks. 60+ hours each week, and all I gotta say is I can't wait for THAT paycheck. :)

I won't bore you all too much with the gooey details, but to sum it up: 

So far, sometimes its really great and other times you just go to bed and make it better tomorrow. But we are learning a lot about each other and doing the best with what we've got.

And I couldn't ask for more.

lose a pound and find a calculator.

Word to the wise: If you ever get divorced, don't do your own packing. Hire someone to (or better yet, make your ex) pack all of your things for you in an organized manner. Apparently, I was too sad to pack efficiently?!?!?! Sigh. I found all my movies in the same box as my pots and pans, and cutting boards in with all my books. I'm awesome.

On a lighter note, I found my TI 84 calculator that would cost me about $125-150 to replace. PHEW!

I also found my 5 year old camera: still in perfect working condition. Now I have no excuse not to take pictures.

Now all I need to do is find my dang passport....

Alright, now here's my shreditup update: 2 days down, 28 to go with Jillian Michaels' 30-day Shred. 

1 lb down, 39 to go before the summer vacations come and people have to see me in a swimsuit. 

#motivated

In regards to my weight:

"-I don't want to assign in a number...

-What would you assign it? A color? A locker?"--Baby Mama

I refuse to reveal the actual number, so just know that I weight Awesome+40.

WAIT!!!!!! Awesome+39. :)

#totallyclueless

#confessions:

I recently joined twitter.

I used a hash tag...

I started working out today.

#thingsineverthoughtiwoulddo

I'm officially a twitwhore. I think I've tweeted like 4 times today already and generally speaking I have very strict rules about posting (whether by facebook or another social media outlet) more than once a day. Also, I only have like 2 followers. I'm totally OK with this. I love that I can say whatever I want without the fear of offending someone or looking/sounding ridiculously stupid. Bonus number two: I can talk about my boyfriend and he has no idea. :)

Last night WOULD have been a perfect example:

Except Ben texted me this morning, "So you tweeted about us talking in spanish last night?"

#FAIL.

He was hesitant to reveal his source, but since I only have two followers and he only knows one of them... @happilyheidi was busted.

Either way, Twitter is still great for hashtags.

#iamtotallycluelessonhowtoactuallyusehastagssomuchsothatigoogledit.

Here's what I found:

http://www.techforluddites.com/2009/02/the-twitter-hash-tag-what-is-it-and-how-do-you-use-it.html

Generally, I just like to put a word after the hash that makes my statement funny or ironic. Whoops. I'm still learning.

Needless to say, bear with me as I learn how to use them properly.

On the subject of doing new things. I started working out today.

1 down, 29 to go. I'm also doing a low-carb, high-protein diet that should help me shed weight for Mexico and San Diego this summer. Here's to a great body some day!

Thanks for listening, folks. Follow me on Twitter if you want to hear way more about my life than anyone has ever cared to know. #guaranteedtoannoyyouinadayortwo.

I'm the best babysitter I know.

Today, while I was babysitting my super cute 1 year old niece, Quinn... I looked over to see her crawling towards me. I stopped and smiled at her and made some pointless comment in a cute baby voice. It must have pissed her off to exhaustion because the next thing I know I heard one tiny little whimper and then she just laid down and went to sleep right on the floor.

All of this, of course, is after she cried in her crib for about 10 minutes straight until I was thoroughly convinced she wasn't tired. 

Cute babies make me smile. :) 

Hope you smiled too. 

new year, same old (awesome) Mallory

Happy 2012, all! It's going to be a great year. just like all 22 years prior to it! (it was hard to be a great year without me...)
With the new year, I feel it's appropriate to reflect and resolve.

Without further ado, let's reflect:
My friend Heidi and I have been marveling over where we were a year ago. Without discussing any nitty gritty details, it's safe to say we've both had quite the journey this year. When I think about the last twelve months and everything that happened, I'm literally filled with joy. Although it's been a long, HARD, sad journey, I'm so relieved to be able to look back and smile.

Resolutions are overrated. (For me at least.) I NEVER keep them. I never even bother to think about them again past the first week of the new year. I always end up sinking back into old habits and forgetting I even wanted to be better. So this year my resolution is to be exactly who I was last year.
Don't get me wrong here: I have PLENTY of terrible habits that I would LOVE to resolve to change. But given my previous history with resolutions I'm going at this from a different angle this year.
I spent the last year of my life being stronger than I ever thought I would have to be. I came out of it with grace, dignity, and (as surprising as it may be) more confidence than ever. So I figure: If I resolve to be the same girl I found myself being lately, then 2012 is bound to be spectacular. So even if 2012 brings more pain and trials than 2011 did, I just hope that in one year when 2013 rolls around, I can look back at whatever this year brought me and smile. :)

And for the record, I intend on having copious amounts of wholesome fun this year. ;)

So I've reflected, I've resolved...
Have a great year everyone! :)

we're killing three birds with one stone here

*No animals were harmed in the making of this blog post.*

 Since I'm such a terrible blogger, we're going to wrap up November, December, and January into one big blog post. This way, if you get anything else out of me in December and January it will be a giant bonus.

November: 

No Shave November.

Muh Birthday.

Thanksgiving.

I love men with scruffy faces. Full-on beards... they're gross. (Explicit language to follow) They look like you're growing pubic hair out of your face. Gross.

Woop! I'm 22! (I intended on writing a big long "22 things you didn't know about Mallory" post, but let's face it. I'm not that interesting.)

This year for Thanksgiving, I found myself being thankful for so much in so few words. I'm grateful for all of the basics: Friends, Family, Jobs, Houses...etc. Mostly, I am just SO thankful for all of the trials we go through in our lives. I've had the opportunity to learn so much about myself this year and I can't imagine trying to go back to who I was before. I am a strong, beautiful, talented, driven person and I wouldn't trade that knowledge for anything.

December:

Christmas.

I love Christmas. Music, lights, treats, hot chocolate, friends, family, church, cold weather... nothing in the world could beat this time of year. :)

January:

Bucket List.

I started compiling a bucket list this month. I've decided that resolutions are pointless and I never do them/stick to them so I'm making a list. But I think rather than it being a bucket list I've decided these are all things I want to do with a future spouse before we get married/have kids. Which isn't to say I don't want those things... I just know how crazy and hectic and stressful life can get after marriage/kids and it would be great to enjoy these things before all of that calamity.  

Here's just a few:

-Go ice skating in central park.

-Spend Christmas in NYC

-Sleep on the beach

-Watch a sunset/Stay up to watch the sunrise

-Run a marathon

Well there you have it, folks. One post: Three months.

Lessons Learned

Here's a few lessons I've learned recently about life, love, and being single again.
1: In dating, there is no rejection that a few good country music songs, a little apple cobbler, and a good chick flick won't fix. (Now it's time to get back on my diet! Swimsuit season will be here before I know it)
My go to country music: Zac Brown Band. All day every day. Loves of my life.
Cherry Apple Cobbler might be the best thing I've ever tasted. (Ask me for the recipe if you'd like it!)
No matter how many times I date someone who is less than deserving, I'll always believe in love and finding someone great because of chick flicks. :) "Getchyoself some ribs and some ice cream, because you have been dumped."
2: A good hair day should never be wasted on a bad day. So when your hair is good... Nothing else should matter.
I just went dark with my hair again, and I LOVE it.

3: Sometimes, even when you fight with your best friend, she is still right when she tells you how great you are. Thanks, Heidi!!!!
Everyone always sees it better than you. So listen to your friends and family when they say how great and beautiful you are. Even if you don't believe it.
I don't always want to believe it, but no matter what happens, I'm healthy, beautiful, and happy. :)


Some other minor lessons:
-There's no better weather than pea coat, boots, and scarves weather.
-Nude nail polish colors are the best.
-It's always fun to plan a wedding on pinterest even if your not dating anyone.
-Dark hair is so great. My wardrobe has been seriously diversified.

All of these are great lessons. I hope that my niece will look at this blog three years from now and learn from these lessons because her life will be so much easier! Haha. You're welcome, Jorden!

Alright, last but not least, one final lesson.
Everyone comes into your life for a reason but a lot of them will leave your life for a reason too. So rather than dwell on the sadness of a lost friendship; remember the good times, dwell on the happy parts, and most importantly: Be grateful for the lesson learned.