“A whole new world, a new fantastic point of view…” – Aladdin

I feel extremely empowered and motivated lately.

Why is it so easy to get unmotivated? It feels so wonderful to be on top of your life. The feeling of accomplishment is probably one of the best, yet we let ourselves fall back into our own laziness. Ah to be human. We are a big mess. But that’s alright, if the government has its way we’ll all be battery operated zombies in a few years and I won’t have to worry about my emotions. (I imagine my husband is having one of those “I’m so proud of my wife because she’s awesome” moments.)

I asked Ryan if he ever took a step back and looked at his life and thought it was weird. I think he thought I was weird for wondering. Sometimes I look at the big picture of my life so far and it weird’s me out. Does no one else do this? We were sitting at Mazzio’s eating pizza and just passed Ryan’s shoulder I could see a group of teenage girls with raccoon eyeliner ratting each other’s hair so they could take pictures to post on Myspace and I thought it was so strange that 5 years ago I was one of them. I look at them now and can’t help but laugh because I look back at myself and am flabbergasted by what I looked like and cared about. I supposed I just never would have thought I’d end up here; happy, married, taken care of and responsible. I did assume I’d always be lazy and that was a correct assumption thus far.

There is no doubt in my mind that I have been extremely fortunate in this life. I was speaking with a coworker today and this was brought to my attention in a very abrupt way. A superior of mine grew up in Northern Pakistan and during his teens Russia still had control of Afghanistan and due to this, North and South Pakistan were basically at war. He lived very close to the border so during his teen years, his job was to sit in a watch tower through the night with an MK-47 and protect his community by every mean possible. You hear about people who have to do this. You see pictures of them on the news. You watch videos and documentaries and interviews. You know that this goes on. You don’t expect to meet a well established doctor who fits the bill of “American Dream” to a tee and find out that he got paid as a kid to kill men, women & children. I am hurt that I don’t realize the pain our world is in more often. I am hurt that people have to do this for a living. I am hurt that there is a need for this kind of violence. I am also full of great respect. I do not imagine living through a life like that is easy to do. Not only did he do it, he came out on the other side as a good man, dedicating each day to making sure others can live healthy, happy lives.

On a lighter note, congratulations to Drew & Rachel Apple who finally tied the knot this past weekend. Ryan was very honored to be a part of your big day! We love you guys and wish you an entire life of happiness.



This is a silly picture. The point was, "Mallory, do I look like an idiot?"

The church was really cool. Old Trinity Church in the Paseo.

My husband is incredibly handsome.

The grooms cake was a donut cake!

This is what I have to deal with on a regular basis.
(This was not at the wedding. haha)