Don't Worry Y'all

I'm alive. I've been SO CRAZY BUSY at work (someone dropped a humungous project in my lap and ran...) and at home (my once stationary baby is mobile...) so I AM alive and I DO plan to keep my blog (my own little space of the world) alive and kickin. I just need to get into my Erin Condren planner and make sh*t happen.

Plus, I'm still waiting on my fabulous new design!

I'll be back this weekend! In the meantime, here are some pictures of what we've been up to.

How cool is this banana car? What I love most is the guy in the front seat who saw it first said "Oh look at that banana car" as if this was a common vehicle.

Grace can't be trusted in her nap time chair. Bummer for Jessica!

She is not only more mobile, but she is moving so FAST. She looooved tearing up the paper at the pediatrician's office.

Our baby is either prematurely old or she is already addicted to TV... She loves Wheel of Fortune.

This came on my iPod at work. And I didn't change it.

She is becoming extremely hard to photograph.

My alias for the day. I usually use a fake name because "Mallory" is a bit hard to hear/write/understand. 

Yummy New York Pizza. Jealous?

I did it! I am licensed to teach Zumba fitness classes!!!!

Hope that teaser tides you over until I can come back and give you a real live post. Hugs and kisses!

Day 20: A Picture of Moi!

This is my first attempt at a post from my iPad... This picture is me in Key West. Boy did I feel sassy!

Fall Television Lineup

I don't know about y'all, but I am freakin' excited about fall television. I've said "oooh I want to see that" more times than Cory can count. Poor guy is likely thinking he'll never have a TV-less day again. Luckily for him, Friday and Saturday are free of shows I can't wait to catch! (kidding kidding.... kind of...)

Here's what I am totally looking forward to...

Why do I love this show? It has no mirror to any real life I know. But damn it if Lauren Graham doesn't win my heart with every show she's in as a single mother with wit up to her ear-holes.

Tonight is the premier of Up All Night Crap I was misinformed... But I'm still amped about this show with Christina Applegate and Maya Rudolph. It seems relatable to me at this point in my life, although slightly over dramatized (I don't fall asleep at random points during the day) but I think the beauty of television is that it's a satire of life. If I wanted to see my life, I wouldn't watch the televsion, amirite?

Let me give you the lowdown on my relationship with Glee: missed the first season only to catch up when it was released on DVD. Fell in love. Cue the sporadic and lackluster second season. And now I'm hoping with my fingers and toes and eyes crossed that this show will rise out of the sophomore slump and make me fall in love again. If not, I'm dropping out. It's hard enough to admit that I'm a Gleek already.

I have high hopes for this show. It might replace Glee! Cory's celeb crush is Zooey Deschanel (even though he refers to her as "that girl in Elf.") I won't lie, I couldn't care less about the story line, I think she is so flippin' adorable.

I don't know what draws me to this one... Perhaps I love the commercial in which the teenager declares that the dog has nicer hair than hers. I won't lie, this will likely only hold my affections for all of the time it takes to air the premier episode. Good luck, ABC.

Here's how it started. I had no cable, and Netflix had Grey's. Cory was walking by during an episode, and it turned into a 3 month frenzy to watch everyepisodecreated. Down to ordering Hulu because they had season 7 and Netflix didn't. He became obsessed, to put it lightly. He may be more excited than I am about this premier.

Lastly...

Maybe it's Christina Ricci (my affection for her is solely physical-- she has a giant forehead like I do.) Maybe it's the call of an earlier time. I doubt I'll fall in love with this show, but I need to give it a shot, if only to see her forehead shine in glory. I'll wear my bangs up for the occasion.


The show getting the boot this year? The Biggest Loser, are two hour episodes really necessary?

Day 19: Nicknames

Nickames... Where do I begin? Having a name like "Mallory" surprisingly opens you up for many nicknames... some not so fun (calorie) and some that rock (mallerina.)

Being in the military opens you up to even more names because people naturally think they're hilarious and want to keep pressing the issue (malley-cat.)

I think my favorite nickname is "punkin" from my dad. I've also been called missy, malicious, malaria (mal-a-ree-a, not the mosquito disease), and surely a host of other names. Heck, I've even had nicknames like Natalie and Molly, stemming from people who can't grasp the name I tell them.

The one thing I HATE with the passion of 1,000 fiery suns--the name that makes me go bat-shit-crazy-- is when people *I don't know very well* call me Mal. Don't get me wrong: my husband, brother in law, dad, mom, and other close friends call me Mal daily. But when I just meet someone for the first time and introduce myself as Mallory, I want to be called that. I wouldn't walk up to a Melissa and call her Mel, so what's the difference?

Maybe I'm a picky stickler (that's fun to say!) but nicknames usually indicate familiarity and comfort. I say wait until you've established a relationship with someone before you bust out the nicknames. My mother didn't name me Mal.

Now that I've ranted for an age about nicknames, I'll go ahead and move on to more pressing issues. Like Fall TV!

30 Day Blog Challenge: Catch Up

Day 13

 Favorite bible verse

"Blessed are the peacekeepers, for they shall be called children of God." Matthew 5:9.

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Day 14

Looking forward to...

Christmas music (I am ridiculous), snow, new boots, my Clickin' Mom photography class , teaching my first Zumba class, losing the rest of my baby weight!

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Day 15

Tips for a new blogger

I'm a newb myself, but the best thing I can say is check your spelling, read other blogs, and write often! My favorite blogs are the ones that I can read a few times a week and just know they'll have fresh content.

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Day 16

5 favorite blogs

The cutest prego and most fierce (and adorable) fitness instructor, Fitnessista, my fabulous real-life friend Beach Bum and Baby, a new fav iGriza, I've been following this one for a while Bitch Cakes, and I have found some great ideas on Money Saving Mom.

Day 17

Regrets

None. Cheesy? Yes. True? Yes. Everything I have done up to this very minute has led me to have this amazing life. I've learned some hard lessons, I've made some dumb decisions. But everything I have done, in that moment, was the right thing to do.

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Day 18

Something You Miss

Besides college? I miss Virginia!

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Oh the places you will go

Boy do I have some catching up to do. 5 days of Katie's 30 day challenge. A blog post about my Erin Condren experience (coming Tuesday). And the list goes on!

This week I traveled to Portsmouth, NH for work. I brought the whole fam for a mini vacay (we are more like a traveling circus at this point.) It was such a blast! I lived there for a year before joining the military, so it was nice to go back for a visit. I enjoyed seeing old friends (including one in Newport, RI) and I think Grace thoroughly enjoyed having a week of Daddy time, too.

When we finally got home we went to the farmer's market, where we scored a load of fresh produce and I failed to bring a camera. We've had the perfect fall weather here, and to wrap up our weekend we walked into the city to get some grub, stopped by the park, and ate some delicious food from our farmer's market spree (butternut squash anyone?!) I hope you all had a wonderful weekend, I can't wait to catch up in my google reader!

Here are a few photos of our week:

The Cliff Walk, Newport RI 

Cory and I at the Cliff Walk

Carmen enjoys the salty New England air.

And Lucky dreams about future days spent on the water.

Grace and I hang out at a rest stop to take a breather from the car seat.

We ate our body weight in food. This was my go-to meal in my NH days. Sadly on this trip, I ate this twice in 2 days.

Mommy neglected to bring the supplies to take Gracie's 6 month pictures. So we did them 3 days after her actual 6 monthaversary!

She looooves the swings.

Must take after her dad.

Notice the lack of mom uniform. Looks like SOMEONE could have told me I had a huge fat roll in this picture. Cory.

Instead of cleaning, I had an afternoon of magazines and Diet Coke. Until a fly landed in my drink.

And Cory topped off his night with some pumking beer. I wish I loved beer, because I sure do love pumpkin!

Day 12: Goals For Next Year... (provided 2012 believers are wrong.)

I have so many goals right now it'd make a soccer team jealous! I'm close to fruition on some of them, and so far it hurts from others. I will share a few I can foresee coming true in the next year.

• Get my basic Zumba instructor certification (end of this month baby!) and start teaching classes here on base.
• Lose about 30 more pounds! 
• Work on my personal trainer certification.
• Get some kind of hobby so I can talk about non-work things and get better at leaving work at work. Any suggestions for interesting hobbies?
• Read at least 12 books. 1 book a month. It's hard to read anything right now, I have a stack of magazines worse than a doctor's office on my coffee table.
• Learn to play the ukelele in secret. Cory bought me one last year and I have only touched it...well...to clean underneath it. Sounds cheesy but my goal is to learn a song and play it for him on our anniversary next year. Do I win the lame wife award or what?
• Work on being happy and angst free. This is so not a tangible goal. I can't measure happiness (can you?) nor can I ever know when I reach this one. But it's still a goal for me.

I'm so interested to see y'alls goals and ambitions. Who knows, I might pick one or two up from ya!

Today we are headed to Portsmouth, NH. I have a training class there, so we're treating it like a mini-vacay and bringing the whole fam...dogs and all. Prepare your eyes for a photo bomb tomorrow!

Day 11: Fears

I'm not gonna lie: I'm a scaredy cat. A chicken. A weenie. Whew. Now that the cat is out of the bag, I can list some things that scare me.

I don't know why.... It gives me chills looking at it. 

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You'd think someone who shoots guns for a living wouldn't be scared of them.
It's a healthy fear.

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Again, doesn't my job entail facing this weather when everyone else runs?
(well, not me but other people in the CG...)
I HATE THUNDERSTORMS. What a weenie! Source.

But my real fear, my deep down keeps me up at night fear, is something happening to Grace. That, and her growing up in a world where people can't be trusted and you always have to look over your shoulder. Where children are snatched from bus stops and people fly planes into buildings or open fire in restaurants. I wish I was born in to 40's where this stuff seemed less prevalent. I wish she could grow up playing in the streets like my mom did, or having sleepovers like I did.

This is such a not fun post!!!

Day 10: My Special Someone

I met my husband in January 2009 at school in Yorktown, Virginia. He was the only person in my class who was as spontaneous as I was. Trips to the gym, swimming at the pool (and running back before my hair iced over) and getting random tattoos. Those are some of my first memories of him! We had a whirlwind "friendmance"-- we never really "dated" per se. We were married on April 25, 2009 much to the surprise of friends and family. But we wouldn't have it any other way! 

He's the kindest, most genuine person I know. He is definitely a great balance to my mega high strung personality. He is fun, loves to try new things, and knows his way around a kitchen. I always joke that he is my personalAmelia Bedelia, he is always trying things and they don't always work out for him. Like when he did his laundry and washed and dried a pen, ruining 2 of his shirts, a uniform, and KILLING the inside of my dryer (who sees that anyway, right?!) Or the time this week when I was reading a cookbook in the kitchen, left it open to a recipe for paleo pizza, and took a nap on the couch. I woke up to the sweetest man in the world cooking a paleo pizza crust, what he thought was for dinner. Boy was he surprised when I told him not only was pizza not for dinner, but we had no ingredients to even make it happen. Bless his heart! 

He has turned out to be the best spur of the moment decision I've ever made. He's an awesome dad, and Grace is so blessed to have a great man in her life. He adores her and I'm pretty sure he's going to be a total Daddy's Girl. 

We made a deal that we're married for the next 80 years. He has about 77.5 years left on his contract! Poor guy :)

From hanging out at school (or in this case, the bar)...

...to getting married by the lake...

...drinking margaritas with friends...

...and going on trips (without dogs in bags, thank you)...

Welcoming sweet babies...

And days in the park!

Day 9: Must Watch TV Shows

I used to love The Biggest Loser so much. Now that they have 2 hour episodes, I only tune in for the weigh ins. Does that make me a bad person?

When we first got Netfix, I decided I would watch Grey's Anatomy. Little did I know that in less than four months, Cory and I would become obsessed and watch every season. We are now eagerly awaiting the next season.

Please please tell me that more of you love Parenthood. It is a very real fear of mine that this will go off the air. It's so refreshing to see a TV show with a semi normal family. If by normal I mean obnoxious amounts of money living in California wine country with questionable employment (really, does ANYONE on TV have a legit job that requires more than 4 hours a week?! because on MY television show, it'd be 90% work and 10% other crap.)

If you don't like Wipeout, you're unamerican.

So I was a little late on the Sex and the City bandwagon...