I am not lucky, I am blessed. It's a fact that I am realizing more and more as each day passes. Not all get to have the experiences that I do -- to know all that love has to offer, to know the true meaning of happiness. And right now, more and more, I'm seeing how happy I am -- how all of those twists and turns along the way these past few years, have brought me to where I need to be. Also, how they made me grow and learn so I could honestly appreciate and be aware of what I have. I am very priveleged to be able to say I married my best friend -- nobody knows me better than he does & nevre have I felt as comfortable, safe, & secure as I do with him (not to mention all of the lovey-dovey feelings that still exist :) ) I've just been spending the day reflecting. It's been one of those kinds of days. I'm somewhat taken aback by how much has changed over the years. 3 years ago, the army certainly wasn't in mind for our future nor was having a baby so soon. Friends that I always thought would be there slowly slipped away and/or showed some true (& awful) colors. I realized, also, that as good of a friend that I always try to be, I need to learn to be better -- to learn forgiveness and to be open/honest with not just others, but myself as well. I need to learn that I'm not going to always agree with others and how they live their lives but at the same time, they may not exactly approve of all the decisions I make myself -- life & friendship isn't about judging -- its about joining along for the ride. Everybody is different. Thats another thing -- I've learnt that there is still so much I do not know about myself and I've opened my eyes as to how much that fact scares me. I've got to get out there and give myself the opportunity to find out who I am & what I'm really about. That opens a huge goal for me this upcoming year. And I plan on putting every effort into successfully completing it. I feel like I have so much weighing on my mind. Ever feel like you just can't think clearly? Like everyday is just a blur? I have so many jumbled thoughts and emotions -- I feel like I need a filing cabinet to sort them all out. I feel like I bottle way too much up inside and just push it to the back of my mind -- planning on confronting and sorting it all out at a later date or perhaps, just forgetting about things altogther. Sadly, that just gets me into funks, like today. Anywho, as always, I've been browsing other wives' blogs and found this survey & for whatever reason, I always have to fill them out :) Military Wifey Survey -- from Simplysteele.blogspot.com

1. How long have you been a military wife? Will hit my one year mark in May

2. What branch of service is your husband? Army

3. Active/Reserve? Active Duty

4. What is his job? 11-Bravo, Infantryman

5. How many deployments have you gone through? We are in the beginning of our very first :(

6. Camo or Dress uniforms on your man? I'm a sucker for the camo's :)

7. What do you like about being a military wife? I love the opportunities that the military provides. Traveling, meeting new people...

8. Do you live on base? Not currently, but we sort of did -- it was a military reservation & it wasn't too great...

9. What is your favorite base so far? We still have the remainder of the deployment + another year at our first duty station -- Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

10. What is the hardest part of the military life? The long seperations, the hurry up and wait, their unorganized ways...

11. Do you go to the grocery store or Commissary? Since we live(d) on the island, the commissary was definitley the way to go -- spend 4.00 on a gallon of milk on post or 7 off post... I'm sure you get what I'm saying...

12. Do you work or stay at home? I'm a housewife at the moment -- looking for a job though :) until the baby is born that is, then I will be taking more time off obviously

13. Do you have a lot of military wife friends? I wouldn't say a lot -- but I do have a few that are absolutley amazing :)

14. Do you prefer Walmart or the BX/PX/NEX/MCX? The NEX is the best place to go in Hawaii. Schofield's BX/PX isn't awful, but the NEX has so much more to offer & is so nice :) (Walmart in HI is awful, btw... 4 isles at most for groceries and most everything is overpriced -- well, over priced from what I am used to in good ol' Kentucky lol)

15. How did your husband propose? This was truely the very first time I have ever seen my hubs nervous. Back when we first met, he had a motorcycle & we rode everywhere -- country roads, down to the river, you get the picture. We had this nice little spot that was "ours" we always went to -- whether to talk, watch the stars, or what not... Well, on our 2 years anniversary, he took me to a nice dinner and then took me there. I was so oblivous to what he was doing that I didn't even notice him fidgeting and asking all of these really serious questions about our future. The next thing I know, he turned me around with a ring in his hand, and asked if I would spend my life with him :) My answer well, is a lil obvious!!

16. Did you marry him after he joined or before? Before.

17. How long have you been together? March of 2008

18. Any kids? Our first little munchkin is expected to arrive in September of this year :)

19. Any kids yet to come? ^^^^^^^^^

20. Is your husband one of those "I am soldier hear me HOOAH" kind of guys? When he first enlisted, I truely thought he was going to be.. He went into the recruiters station, "I want to go to Airborne & Ranger school... I wanna look into Special Forces..." You get the picture...But after the fact, he actually calmed down. Granted he is very proud of what he does (as am I), he isn't that way at all.

21. Have you ever done combatives with your husband? Haha yes.

22. How many bases have you lived at? Just one

23. If you could change one thing about the military? The length of deployment (haha -- very unlikely, huh?)

24. Do you like military balls? The military ball was one thing I was really looking forward to. However, about a month before we got to Hawaii, Schofield had theirs, so we missed it. I'm hoping to attend one after deployment.

25. Where does your family live? Kentucky

26. What do you do for a job? Just a housewife at the moment

27. Have you ever gotten in a fight with an NCO's wife? Luckily I haven't had to deal with any drama wives & hopefully I won't have to. 28. Name one thing you do when your husband is gone. Right now, I'm preparing for our baby & getting care packages together for him :) Other than that, just STAY busy.

29. Do you think other wives do that too? What else can you do when your hubs is so far away? To keep your sanity, you have to stay busy.