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Hey everyone! My name is Malori and I’m so excited to be one of the newest blog team members for the Army Wife Network! It is truly an honor to be here to share my stories, insights, and lessons I am learning in the Army life to which I’m fairly new.
I come from a non-military background; I have no immediate family members who served, so falling in love with a soldier was the last thing I thought I’d do. At one point, I stated that I didn’t even want to date someone in the military! (My younger sister now says the same thing, but I tell her she’d better watch herself…)
Another unique thing about me is that I am not yet an Army Wife; right now, I am an Army Fiancée. ”The Warrior” and I met online in March 2010, and as I read his profile I knew I just HAD to know more about him. I sent him a cordial message asking if he would like to correspond, and to my great delight he said yes! A few weeks later, we met in person…and as cliché as this sounds, it was love at first sight. I will never forget how he strutted strode confidently into Olive Garden in my hometown, and he did a perfect job of capturing my heart during our conversation over lunch. Plus, the fact that he drove three hours from his post just to meet me was flattering in itself.
Now of course I know that being with a military man is not all romance all the time. I like to be realistic about the Army life: I’m sure there are some incredibly tough times ahead of us. There already were some really rough times during his first deployment, which ended just a few months ago. (He brought back many stories from COP Crapistan!) But after being together for over two years now, I can’t imagine not being immersed in the Army life, and I wouldn’t change things if I could. I used to be very resistant to change as a kid, but now I love adventure and I look forward to moving around (Germany and Hawaii please?), meeting lots of interesting people, and not just surviving deployments, but thriving through them, no matter what happens.
I was born and bred in Texas, went to the east coast for college, and returned to my hometown three years ago. I work full-time for a major arts organization, and I also teach violin to kids and do little odd jobs to earn extra money. Life is super-busy (as I draft this, I’m running on 3 hours of sleep), but I love being productive and can’t wait till I can marry my hero and start our lives together! AWN has been awesome in providing resources and I’m looking forward to getting involved in the Army life: FRG meetings, volunteering for his unit, and taking advantage of opportunities like the FINRA Fellowship to become an AFC (Accredited Financial Counselor)…just to name a few!
But for now, I’m here to share my perspectives as the fiancée at Loving a Soldier! Below are ten random things about me not related to the military (and I PROMISE I didn’t steal this idea from the other new blogger Allison!):
1) I have played the violin since age 3.
2) I was my dad’s 34th birthday present
3) I’m the oldest of 4 kids and the second oldest of 17 cousins.
4) I will never ever EVER be an early bird. Sunrises? Psh, so overrated.
5) I love knitting but have no patience for sewing.
6) Being gluten-free is not a fad for me – it’s a way of life.
7) I enjoy spending time in airports – I love the busyness and people-watching!
8) I’ve only had one white Christmas in my entire life. (Yes, it actually snowed here on Christmas Eve a few years ago!)
9) Doing my monthly budget is a hobby. (i.e. If you look up the definition of “tightwad,” my picture is right there. Coupon clipping, anyone?)
10) I was recently mistaken for being younger than my sister who is 10 years my junior, and I get asked far too often, “So what grade are you in?” (I can hear the masses now echoing, “You’ll be grateful for it when you’re 40 and you look 25.” But I’m not 40 yet…)
So there you have it: some random, useless but fun facts about me! I promise my upcoming posts will be more reflective and hopefully useful and encouraging to our readers.
I look forward to sharing and walking the Army wife life with all of you!
~Malori~
I’m so proud of you Mallorie, beautiful insight article!
Aw, thank you Violet! Thanks also for being so supportive! It’s always great to talk to someone who “gets it”!
[...] thing about that is I am now part of their blogging team! My first post can be found here: http://www.lovingasoldier.com/the-army-fiancee. I will post at least once a month and am scheduled for the 14th of every month, so please keep LAS [...]
hi can you give me some info, does the fiancee to U.S. Army soldier have to register online or go to an office or does he directly have to process it?
and could you tell me if you know how much the fees would be and where will those have to be paid?