So I borrowed this sweet little survey from Angie... thanks lady!

So I borrowed this sweet little survey from Angie ... thanks lady! A. Age? -23- B. Bed Size? -King... but seriously could be wayy...

This is really not my holiday, ESPECIALLY this year.   But I figured I'd do this fun little link-up and then add a few words at the bottom and wallah a "lovey dovey" Valentine's Day post.  :)

Today I am linking up with From Mrs. to Mama...

• He is determined to be the best man, husband, father he can be for our little family and has major goals for us and our future.

• He is my best friend, ever.  And always knows what to say to either push my buttons or make me smile.
• He is smart.  VERY smart.. and good looking to go with it. ;)

My dearest Rob,


I love you and I can't wait to see you soon!  Thanks for being who you are, always, no matter here nor there.  You do it well.  I'm honored to be apart of your life as your wife.. and never forget how proud I am of you.


Love you always and forever.



Hope you all have a swell Valentine's Day and you are surrounded by love [and all that jazz...]

Always,
Amanda

This is really not my holiday, ESPECIALLY this year.   But I figured I'd do this fun little link-up and then add a few words at the bott...

The lovely Janey at A Few of My Favorite Things tagged me.. and I must oblige.  :)  Janey's blog is easily one of my favorite reads.. so if you've got a moment, drop by and send her some loving!

The Rules
1. You must post the rules. (and link up who tagged you)
2. Post eleven fun facts about yourself on the blog post.
3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and then create eleven new questions to ask the people you've tagged.
4. Tag however many people you want
5. Let them know you've tagged them!

Eleven Facts
1. My hair is naturally red and my personality absolutely matches it.

2. I call my husband my high school sweetheart.. EVEN THOUGH he technically blew me off senior year and didn't become 100% "interested" until he was in the Army. (read about that HEREEEE.)

3. On my upper left thigh I have a very jagged 2 and a half inch long scar from a bicycle accident when I was 11 that got me out of gym class at the time and made me VERY self conscious for years.

4. I'm a military wife that lives in the same state, less than 20 minutes away from my parents.  Right now at least.  Unheard of, right?

5. I'm a purse and jeans girl.  Give me a few extra dollars and I'm out buying one or the other.

6. My car is a stick shift.  I drive it like a badass.  If I do say so myself.

7. I'd rather swim in a lake over a swimming pool or the ocean ANYDAY.

8. My life would not be the same without a dog in it.  I <3 my furbaby so very much.

9. When I think about the future I think of a nice suburban neighborhood with a two story house, a family, a dog or two, a decent amount of money and happiness.  But who doesn't think of success when they think of the future?

10. I'm addicted to bejeweled.

11. I love having the windows open, music on, football on TV and laughter ringing throughout the house/neighborhood/day.  In fact, I live for those days.


Eleven Questions:
1. What's your favorite beauty product? My MaryKay mascara.. I have long eyelashes as it is.. but they are blonde.  But this mascara makes my eyes pop, or at least I think.  That or my facewash.. which makes me feel so clean!

2. Most romantic memory with your spouse/significant other? The day he asked me to be his girlfriend.  Or the day he asked me to marry him.  Or the day we got married.  Although the last one was a major blur since it only lasted like 5 minutes.

3. What's the best advice your mom ever gave you? My mom believes in doing what makes you happy.. and I feel like she subtly reminds me of that every once in awhile.

4. Favorite ice cream flavor? Cookies 'n' cream.

5. Would you rather be deserted on a desert island alone or with someone that could hinder your survival? This is a TOUGH one.  I'm having a hard time with this whole being alone crap as it is.. so probably with someone that could hinder my survival.  At least I'd die happy.

6. When you were 6, what did you want to be when you grew up? Oh goodness.  I have no idea.  I wanted to be all sorts of things growing up.. My parents could tell you probably.

7. What's your favorite holiday and why? July 4th.  SO freaking patriotic.  Makes me proud to be an American.  :)  Plus it's warm and usually spent at the lake or with friends and family.

8. If you could change anything about your spouse what would it be? That he were home.  Obviously. Or I'd make it so he WANTED to take the dog out every single time.. when it is cold, raining, snowing, etc.. he'd WANT to do it, not be forced. :)

9. Are you a dreamer or a realist? I have BIG dreams.. but I know you have to be a realist on some aspects.. but I'd say I'm more of a dreamer.

10. What is your favorite part of blogging? Comments.. is that an answer?  Probably feeling like someone needs my opinion, two cents, assurance, etc.

11. If money was no object, what would you want to do with the rest of your life? Nothing!  Live by the lake, go out on the water daily, have a chef that cooked fabulous meals 3 times a day and sleep till I wanted. Bahaha I'm so lame.

Eleven New Questions:
1. If you could drive any car you wanted, what would you drive?
2. Are you a clean freak or let the house get a little messy kind of person?
3. What is your dream job and why?
4. If you have the opportunity to go anywhere in the world, where would you go and what would you do?
5. What is one personal goal you have for yourself?
6. What is the best advice anyone has ever given you?
7. When did you know that your significant other/spouse was someone you wanted to be with?
8. Do you have any pets?  If so, what are they?  If not, do you want any?
9. Do you make the bed when you get up in the morning?
10. Are you more comfortable in the city or the country or somewhere in between?
11. What is the craziest thing you have ever done?


I am passing this onto:
Whit @ Black Little Button
Jenn @ Life with the Lieutenant
Alaina @ Our Lovely Life


Always,
Amanda

The lovely Janey at A Few of My Favorite Things tagged me.. and I must oblige.  :)  Janey's blog is easily one of my favorite reads.. ...

Saw this on the lovely Janey's blog and had to do it myself.


1. How did you and your spouse meet? Rob and I met the first day of our senior year in high school.  We had college algebra together and he was the new kid.  I was feeling particularly outgoing that day and introduced myself to him..



2. How old were you when you two met? 17.


3. How long have you been together? Together for 3.  Married for a year and three quarters.  Our second anniversary is in March!


4. Where are you and your spouse originally from? I'm a born and raised Kansan.  Rob was born in Missouri but spent his "growing up years" in Texas before landing in Kansas.


5. How did you feel about him joining the military? Shocked.  He was enrolled in college, going to become a lawyer one day and the next he was leaving in less than two weeks for basic..


6. Where did your spouse go to Basic Training? Fort Benning, Georgia. 


7. Has your spouse ever been deployed? Right now. =/


8. Ever been to his promotion ceremony? I pinned him from Specialist to Sergeant.  (And I don't know if that's the correct use of the word pin..)



9. How long have you been a military wife? One year and three quarters.


10. Did you marry him before or after he joined? After.


11. How did your husband propose? Awe, I love this story.. he picked me up from the airport when I came to visit him in Maryland (I was still finishing my degree in KS) in his ACU's as he was in the middle of a shift.  He waited till we got into the parking garage (thankfully.) and got down on one knee in a giant puddle and pulled a set of dog tags out from under his ACU top.  They said "Will you marry me Amanda Dawn?" and the ring was on the chain!




12. Where did you get married? At the courthouse in Annapolis, MD.


13. How old were you two when you got married? Twenty.


14. Did he wear his uniform on his wedding day? Nope.  We got married in jeans and dressy shirts.  It was a just us kind of day.


15. Where are you and your spouse currently stationed? Kuwait.  We aren't attached to anyone here in the states..


16. Do you live on base? Nope.  I live in an apartment in Kansas.. and the closest base is a good 45 minutes away.


17. How long were you married when you had to go through your first separation? Like 4 days.  I had to fly back home to finish my Associates before I could move back out with him.. which was like 2 and a half months..


18. What is your favorite base so far? Only know Fort Meade, MD.  And it was decent, had it's advantages.  Disadvantages too though.


19. Do you think your spouse looks good in his uniform? Hell yeah.



20. Do you think military life is more advanced than civilian life? It is a totally different world.  I don't feel it's "advanced" by any means.  Just different then the average civilian one.


21. Do you like the benefits you receive as a military dependent? The health care is a major perk.  It's kind of a hassle when you don't live near a base, but the whole not having to worry about co-pays and deductibles, is amazing.  Plus you get to see parts of the nation/world that the average American doesn't get the chance to experience.


22. Do you have a lot of military wife friends? A few.  I know some from Fort Meade.  Some from a Facebook support group and a few from this here blog.


23. What is the hardest part of the military life? Separation.  From family, your husband, your friends.  That and not having a say in your own life.


24. Do you own military wife stuff? A few keychains, a few t-shirts and some other random things.. nothing that I flaunt everyday.


25. Do you support your spouse as a member of the military? With out a doubt 100%.  I support my husband in every single one of his endeavors.  No matter if it is military goals, education goals or personal goals, I support him every step of the way.


P.S. Halfway done!


Always,
Amanda

Saw this on the lovely Janey's blog and had to do it myself. The MilSpouse Quiz 1. How did you and your spouse meet? Rob and I ...

Hosted by Wife of a Sailor . 1. One of my New Year's resolutions is  to maintain my 4.0 GPA. 2. One thing I'd like to hap...

Hosted by Wife of a Sailor . If I could be on any reality TV show, I'd want to be on... IF I had the talent.. Dallas Cowboys...

This is how I looked today...



I had time to not only wash my face, brush my teeth, put some make up on, apply deodorant, put my contacts in and get dressed... but to ALSO straighten my hair, perfect this outfit and talk myself into rocking it all day.  Totally out of the norm.

In other news...

Maybe my not-ready-for-Christmas feelings towards Christmas music, shopping, decorating, etc will vanish once I complete this survey...

Found this fun Christmas survey over at The Adventures of M-Squared.


Egg nog or hot chocolate? Oh hot chocolateeeee. [[In my head I just said that as choc-oh-lattè]]  Love it, but hate the burnt mouth I get 99.75% of the time.

Colored lights on tree/house or white? I've always liked white lights.  My family has always done crazy amounts of colored lights.  This year I plan to intertwine the two... majority white lights with a red/white pattern on my balcony railing.  Candy cane anyone?

Do you hang mistletoe? Noooope.  Nobody to kiss under it this year. =/

When do you put your decorations up? Usually the week/weekend after Thanksgiving.  Normally we are out of town for Thanksgiving [[like this year]], but I plan on getting them all out and up this weekend.

What is your favorite holiday dish? Green bean casserole!  Rolls!  Ham!

Favorite holiday memory as a child? Oh geez, so many.  My parents truly made Christmas special for us every year.  From the adventurous trips to find the perfect tree, to opening presents on Christmas Eve after mass and dinner, to the pajamas that are without fail under the tree to wear to bed that night hand picked by my Dad, to Santa presents along the fireplace Christmas morning, and everything in between.

When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? You'd have to ask my parents that one.  I can't say I recall.  Santa presents always arrived in the same wrapping paper and handwriting that my Mom used though.  ;) My parents still do Santa presents to this day though.

Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? We open all of our gifts on Christmas Eve.

How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Well last year was the first year I had my own tree.  We decorated with the stuff the USO gave us for free.  Unfortunately our tree came down before Christmas even because the dog was a bit too curious and driving us both insane.  This year I am just going to do a small tree and add some yellow bows to it.  It will be up through February so I am going to try and keep it neutral.

Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love it IF I can have the day off to do nothing but be cozy on my couch with the dog.  Dread it if I have to go out in it.  It definitely doesn't feel right to not have snow though.

Do you remember your favorite gift? I can't say I have a favorite.  Each year my parents generally tried to get us what we wanted/needed.  Example, this year I am asking for a safe box of some kind for our important junk.  I can say one of my favorite "gifts" was my parents making Christmas as special as they could every single year.  And even though the trip up was always dreaded, one of my favorite gifts was them bringing Grandpa home to stay with us for a week every Christmas.

What is your favorite holiday dessert? I can't say I have one.  Mom  usually sets out some Hershey kisses or M&M's and I generally like those more than pie.  I do like cookies though.

What is your favorite holiday tradition? The pajamas Dad gets us every year.  Generally Mom, Erin and I go to bed matching.  And I know it's something my Dad enjoys doing for us.

Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? I have like one a year.  I don't really have an opinion about them.  Not my favorite, but I don't hate them either!

Favorite Christmas movie? I'm not really a movie person, much less a Christmas movie person.

Saddest Christmas Song? Christmas Shoes.  Gets me every year.

What is your favorite Christmas song? Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer



Amanda

This is how I looked today... I had time to not only wash my face, brush my teeth, put some make up on, apply deodorant, put my contac...