As much as I love Army Wives, and as much as Hollywood glamorizes the life of a military spouse, it’s just not like that. Sure, we do get to see our men in hot uniforms and there are the joyous homecomings. And sure, you do usually get to become good friends with the spouses around you. But there are also times when your hot man in uniform is nowhere around, joyous homecomings seem worlds away and you are too new, or just haven’t met enough spouses yet.

I’ve been here in Washington for nine months (okay, well, 6 1/2 since I was gone for 2 1/2 months at Fort Meade). I’ve met some great wives and even one, who is quickly becoming my best friend. But she has a two year old and a two month old. So it’s not easy for her to drop everything and go if something happens.

You see, I blacked out today at the grocery store. As in, I was getting ready to pay for my stuff and the wave of blackness just roared in and I had to sit down before I fell. I vaguely remember hearing the cashier call for a manager and one shopper stopped by and told me I needed to put my head between my legs (though I know this, there was no way my legs were functioning at this point). A manager (or three, ha!) came over and were fussing over me. Luckily, I was feeling better… enough to start getting embarrassed.

They brought me some water and asked me if they could call someone to come and get me. That’s when the waterworks started. Because Huzzy wasn’t here to come and get me. And because the only other people I knew I could call have their own stuff to deal with (the two year old and newborn and another family that has four kids). I was also near the base, so they would have had to drive a short distance to where I was, and then a 40-45 minute to my house and then the same distance back. I couldn’t ask anyone to do that.

They asked if they could call me a taxi. Um, no. Do you have any idea how much a taxi would cost for that distance? Besides, I knew I was feeling better. So I just went out to my car and waited a bit before leaving.

I was fine. I made it home with no problem.

And before you worry about me, I’m fine. It all started with me having two fillings on Tuesday and I started feeling nauseous that evening. I was fine the next day until the evening and then I’ve been feeling icky ever since. I’ve had a headache, too, and my gums have just been ACHING. Even 800mg of ibuprofin haven’t helped.

So I went back to the dentist today. I totally wish Huzzy was here to drive me because I wasn’t feeling well.  The dentist ended up saying he didn’t believe the nausea and headaches were linked to the fillings, but that my gums WERE inflamed quite a bit. He rinsed out (BENEATH my gum’s ya’ll… can we say OUCH?!) the area with an antibiotic rinse and instructed me to rinse at home with salt water. Yum. I’m also supposed to watch for any additional swelling. If it swells more, I’m to call their answering service this weekend. If it isn’t better by Monday, I’m to come in again.

Did I mention I have a sincere fear of the dentist? Going in twice in one week (both of which were PAINFUL) was horrendous.

So yeah, military life isn’t glamorous. Don’t believe Hollywood. They never get it right.

So what was your least glamorous moment as a military spouse?

I see a lot of my non-military friends posting on Facebook and hear them talking to me over the phone.  And I realize I am so lucky. And blessed.

I’m lucky that I have the privilege of sending my husband off to sea to protect our country and I feel sorry my civilian friends aren’t that lucky.

Wait, what? Yeah, I know many of you must be thinking this. But hear me out.

While we go through the pain of saying goodbye to our spouses (and if you are married to a submariner, you get this privilege every three or four months), we also get the privilege of being apart from them for several months with no contact.

What? You say that doesn’t make sense? I’m crazy?

Well… while my husband is gone, I’m lucky enough to be forced to stand on my own. I can’t talk things over with him because we have virtually no communication. I have to do stuff for myself. From fixing faucets to dealing with dogs that are on the verge of dying to dealing with everyday problems… I do it on my own. And learn to be even more self-sufficient.

Being alone sucks, don’t get me wrong. And right now, approaching our second set of holidays in a row apart and knowing that when he comes back, we’ll have spent only 6 weeks of the last 20 months together… and not all at once… really, wholly sucks. And I sometimes envy my civilian friends who get to have their loved ones close every day. Knowing they get to be there for the holidays. Not having to schedule time together and vacations and holidays around deployment and work-up schedules.

But we, as military spouses, are able to have something so much more than civilians. While we know the pain of being apart, we know the sweet joy of being together. We know, through the devastation experienced by our fellow military spouses, the complete sorrow of losing a spouse too soon. And we don’t take being together for granted.

But because of that and our frequent separations, we know how to savor each and every day we have with our loved ones.

We know how to enjoy every sweet minute.

We know the absolute joy of homecomings.

We have constant “honeymoons.”

We are forever falling deeper in love with our spouses… thanks to the separations we must endure.

I am so blessed and thankful for my husband to be deployed this holiday season.

Wow. I can’t believe that today makes one year since I said “I Do” to my husband. Not that we have spent a full year together, of course. So far, we’ve spent about 10 weeks living together and about 13 weeks total together in the last year. Normal for a military couple, until you realize that he was only deployed a few months out of that time.

March 21, 2009 Huzzy & Wifey

I’m finally in Washington state and am loving spending time with Huzzy. He’s deploying very soon and will be gone for the summer, so we are trying to make the most of it. It’s tough, though, since we both feel a bit cheated out of it because the others in his division have been able to spend several months with their loved ones. But oh well, it is what it is, I guess. At least I’ll be able

Spending quality time with Huzzy before our first deployment began.

to see him up until the last minute this time and will be there when he gets back.  Okay, scratch that last one because I may be going to South Korea for a few weeks with the Navy myself and it may, depending on the timing, be about the time Huzzy is supposed to return. So he may return and I may be gone. That will totally suck.

However, we are doing what is best for the family. I still don’t have a job here and while I’m on unemployment (not that I’ve been “approved” yet nor have received my first check), going active duty for two weeks will bring in some much-needed money. Of course, I may have a job by then but it’ll be extra income then since Washington mandates that employers give four weeks of PAID military leave for reservists.

Anyway, I know several of you have been wanting to hear the story of how Huzzy and I met. So here it is. I’m pretty sure it’ll be a bit long.

Seattle Underground Tour on our 3 day honeymoon

It was 2007 when we first met. But the story starts before we met. I had been dating on and off for a few years and had been on a few online matchmaking sites. Well, two really. I found that the first one was just pretty much people who were trying to get laid and that’s it. So I tried Y@hoo Personals. By 2007, I think I’d been on the site for a year or two and had met some very nice people. I dated here and there and dated one person for several months during the summer of 2006. But it didn’t work out and I continued to stay on it.

Huzzy was also on the site. And it ended up he lived just a few miles away from me.  While he was kinda-sorta looking for long-term, he was also not above looking for the one nighters. What can I say, he’s a guy. Anyway, he

Goin' to the church and we... just got MARRIED!

contacted me in April or so of 2007. I think we talked a bit here and there, but honestly, I really wasn’t that interested. I’m not sure exactly why. His photos online weren’t the best (he is a HORRIBLE photo taker, I’ve found!) and he refused to used the “f” key, instead writing words like “phun” for “fun” and as a writer, that really annoyed me.

However, what was behind his words kinda intrigued me. And he always there if I wanted to chat. I do remember not liking the fact that he was military because that was not the type of life I’d envisioned for myself.

By May, I’d started kinda dating another guy and since I dated just one person at a time once I was about at date #3, I started blowing Huzzy off. Apparently, he started dating someone about this time as well but that didn’t last long. Neither did my person… he took off for a job in California and stopped contacting me. However, because we were “exclusive” I didn’t feel right about going out with anyone else until I had officially told the other guy that I was no longer going to date him since he couldn’t return my calls. However, I couldn’t get a hold of him.

My flowergirls... and now I'm an aunt!

June 10th rolled around, which was my 25th birthday. As per usual on my birthday, my plans fell through and none of my friends were going to go out with me that night. Huzzy and I were chatting online and he said he’d take me out to dinner and a movie. But, again, since I hadn’t talked to the other guy to tell him everything was off, I didn’t feel right about it. That and I really didn’t want to meet a random guy off the internet for my birthday. I just wasn’t into it. But Huzzy’s insistance was starting to wear me down and I was getting interested in meeting him.

Now, before we go on, let me tell you how careful I was when meeting people in person that I had met online. I was paranoid. And this will make the rest of the story funny.

First, I never met the guy in real life until I had been chatting with him for at least a month. Second, the guys never knew where I lived until I was in a real relationship with them. Actually, before Huzzy, only one guy was ever invited over to my house. Anyway, I also told my best friend all about the guy, where we were going to meet, how long I expected the date to last and when I was expected home. I would call her when the date was finished and let her know I was okay. If I didn’t call by the time I told her the date should be finished, she was to call me.

Huzzy and me with Skah when he was 11 months old. December 2008

If she was unable to get a hold of me or if anything had ever happened to me, she knew that when I went on a date with a guy, I left all his information–including all our conversations and his online profile–up on my computer. I figured that way, the police could easily track him down if need be!

So anyway, from about the beginning of May, I started having sinus infections and actually got strep throat for the first time in my life. It was constant for six weeks. Sinus infection, strep throat and tonsillitis. I’d go on meds and within 24 hours of getting off of them, it’d be back. My doctor decided that I needed to have my tonsils removed in order to stop the cycle. That surgery was set for Friday, June 22nd. My mom came over to help for the weekend since we knew I’d be out of it for a few days.

Huzzy and I had spoken on the phone a few times before my surgery. I loooved his voice and thought it was amazingly sexy. I knew I was eventually going to meet him in person, but preferably after I lost the 10lbs that I’d immediately gained just weeks before the surgery due to double dose of steroids they needed to put me on to get the tonsillitis to go away (so they could do the surgery since it’s risky to do it while you have a raging infection… especially on adults).

It so happened that after the surgery I had a severe reaction to one of my meds or something the following Monday. I was in such severe pain that the liquid Lortab they gave me was not even touching the pain. I have a very high tolerance for pain so it had to be really bad for me to even take the Lortab versus just regular Motrin. I react quickly to drugs so I generally don’t need as much as most people.

The doctor took one look at me and put me on Oxycontin… in ADDITION to the Lortab. That didn’t really help the pain so much as make me so entirely loopy that I didn’t care I was in pain. If you’ve been on Oxy before, you know what I mean by loopy. Add in the Lortab and man! I was flying high. If you have ever been on Oxy and have read the warning labels, then you know it says, “It is not recommended to make large decisions while on this medication.”

Can you see where this is going?

On Friday, June 29th (okay, techincally it was the 30th since it was after midnight), I made the best and stupidest decision in my life.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. And please know that the rest of the story is pieced together partly from what I remember in my fuzzy state and partly from what Huzzy has told me.

Huzzy had checked on me via internet a few days before. He was on leave and was visiting family in Ilinois. He ended up calling me on Friday on his way back from Ilinois. Even though it was painful to talk, I was enjoying talking to him and besides, the Oxy/Lortab combo was making me not care about the pain.

I talked him through a several-hour traffic jam and he kept asking when he could meet me. I told him after I felt better.

He was set get back home about 2 a.m. or something. And he asked if he could come over and see me since we were both up.

Our wedding cake and topper... entitled "The Pinch"

And I agreed.

To let him come over.

TO MY HOUSE.

At night.

Where I lived alone.

Remember my whole paranoid protocol when meeting people for the first time?  Yeah, thrown out the window.

I’m telling you, they don’t have the “Don’t make large decisions while on this medication” warning on Oxycontin for nothing.

I did tell Huzzy several times that he had better not expect anything because I wasn’t that type of girl (of course who knows if he believed me since I was letting a stranger into my house in the middle of the night).

I had taken a shower that day (not really an easy thing when you are flying high) and had pulled a brush through my hair after it air-dried (I blow dry it for a reason, folks, so you know how  AWESOME  my hair must have looked).  My face hadn’t seen makeup for two weeks and I had sweatpants and a t-shirt on.  Yeah, I was seexxxxxay!

Re-creating our wedding cake topper.

So he parked his truck on the street and walked up. I remember thinking that I couldn’t believe how tall he was (he’s 6’5″).

I think we talked for half an hour in the livingroom before I told him I was really tired and he was welcome to sleep here… in bed with me… but that he wasn’t going to get anything.

Yup, you read that right. I let a stranger in my house and invited him into my bed. Go me. Go Oxy!

Nothing happened that night. Huzzy was a gentleman. I think he rubbed my back. I remember unhooking my bra so he could rub it better (um… yeah… I’m NOT like that. At all. I’ve been called a prude more than once!). He tells me that I was insanely funny that night and kept him laughing the whole time. I remember nothing about that.

So he had to get up early the next day and work a balloon festival, or rather, the same day, and left a few hours later. He came back later that day. And every day after that. We went on our first “date” was July 4th where we went to the Michigan lakeshore to watch the fireworks. I was no longer on Oxy (I only stayed on it for a few days) but was still on the Lortab. Actually, I was on the Lortab for three weeks.  I tell my husband that by the time I was off drugs, I was already attached to him so I let him stay

And that’s the story of how we met.  It was both the best decision (hey, I found the love of my life) and the stupidest decision of my life. I still can’t believe I ever allowed a strange man I met off the internet to come to my house to meet me in the middle of the night. I can’t believe I wasn’t killed.

I’m the luckiest woman in the world… for more than one reason.

~Emily Dickinson

–updated with yard and kitchen photos!–

Well, we found a house to rent. It’s a bit farther away from everything than we’d like (I’d have at least an 75 minute

Back of the house

commute to Seattle) but we think the house is worth it.

We put a listing on Craigslist advertising ourselves. With three large dogs, it’s hard to find someone who will rent to us. I find that mildly amusing and highly annoying since a family with three kids (or even one or two!) have the potential to make as much or more mess than the dogs. Our dogs won’t be spilling grape juice on the carpet or writing on the wall with a magic marker

Anyway, we were contacted by a couple that have a 2,300 sq ft 3-4 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath home that sits on nearly two acres, half of which is fenced with a brand new 6ft privacy fence. It has a two car garage, a storage shed in the fenced in area, central heat and air (yeah, air conditioning in Washington, ya’ll… the fuzzy dog will appreciate it), a monitored alarm system, a 5-piece master bath with jetted tub, a 6′x6′ master bedroom walk-in closet and what my husband calls a “gorgeous” kitchen.

This is all for $150-$200 less than our BAH per month. So sweet. They had been asking $650 more a month for it and didn’t get any takers, so they dropped it to way less than they should for us. Why? Because we are a military family and they were BOTH previously in the military. How awesome is that? Plus, they are only asking for a $500 damage deposit and a $300 pet deposit. Seriously. No last month’s rent or deposit equal to a month’s rent. And even the pet deposit is refundable if we don’t kill the house (which we won’t, of course).

Deck being built

The family has told me that they will pay for garbage and for the alarm system. WOOT!  Also, they will let us paint the walls as long as we paint them white before we leave. No problem!

So here are some photos. There aren’t any of the kitchen because I was never given them. Boo! And none of the “yard” shot, just things in the yard (like the brand new deck and the new storage shed). And while I do have one of the front of the house, for PERSEC reasons (Personal Security), I won’t ever show the front of any house we live in. Just in case any of you want to try to stalk me

(Actually, this is a good idea, especially for those with kids… you don’t want someone to drive by and recognize your house and have your kid(s) be called by their name or be told that it’s okay to come with a stranger since s/he knows x, y & z about him/her– thanks to the information from your blog).

New Shed

Guest bedroom

Master Bedroom... but only part of it... it's huge

Part of the master bathroom

Other side of the master bathroom

I *think* this is the guest/ 2nd bathroom

Hallway. That much I can figure out. HA!

The backyard. They plan to put grass in this spring after the winter rain stops

More backyard. Looks like there's a screen door for the summer. Yay!

Uh, it's gonna be muddy until the grass is put in!

The kitchen. It even has the same stove I have in my current house! Yay, I love that stove and now won't have to miss it!

2009 was a year that had its ups and downs. It was the year I said goodbye to my husband (for eight months of the year) and it was the year I went through my first deployment as a Navy wife. It was a year of injury and a year of being in constant financial worry. But it was also the year I got engaged. And the year I married my fantastic husband.  And the year I became a Navy Reserve officer. So I have mixed feelings about 2009. But, in all, I’d say it was a pretty good year. No one close to me died. I consider that a very good year.

2009 is also the end of a decade.  Or so most seem to think. I’m not sure about you, but I count 1, 2, 3, … 9, 10. So wouldn’t that make 2010 the end of the decade?  We had this discussion back in 2000 when the class of 2001 argued that THEY were the first class of the new millennium.  No matter, I’ll follow like a sheep and recount my first decade in the new millennium too.

2000- This year saw me graduate from high school, become a camp counselor at a YMCA camp, take off on an international trip to the Dominican Republic with two friends and start college on the other side of the state.

Sadie with her teddy bear

2001- I got my first animal as an adult, my calico cat Sadie and become an RA at my college. 9-11 also happened and that’s when I first realized that the U.S. is not invincible.

2002- Honestly, I can’t really remember much of this year. I know that I was working full-time (two jobs) plus going to school full time. One of the jobs was as an animal demonstrator at a zoo… yeah, I got to play with the snakes, birds, opossum, and more!

2003- I turned 21 (which really isn’t a huge deal) and graduated from college after being there for just over three years.

2004- This year saw me get my first real-world job (and subsequently move an hour south of the college), become financially independent and adopt my second cat, Jake.

Skiing in Colorado

2005- This was a rough year for me. The worst in my life. In February, after a week of my dad being close to death in the hospital, making a miraculous recovery and being sent home by flabbergasted doctors, I found my dad dead outside from a heart attack. It was a very dark year. My mom, grandma and I spent Father’s Day in Colorado with my cousin to help avoid the holiday. I started a new job (which is where I work now) and used the money I received from my dad’s estate to put a down payment on my house.

2006- I can’t remember much about this year, either. I do know that for the first anniversary of my dad’s death, I headed by myself to Colorado to see my cousin again. We had a great time. I adopted my first dog, Chase the Greyhound. Four months later, I agreed to foster two Greyhound puppies and three months after that, I officially adopted Lulu (one of the puppies).

Chase and Lulu

2007- While recovering from a tonsillectomy, I met Huzzy, who I had been talking to online off and on for a few months (have I ever told you the story of how we met? If not, it’s funny).

2008- Continued to date Huzzy, he moved in and he got a fuzzy Great Pyrenees puppy called Skah. I also decided that I wanted to put together a package to try and receive a commission as a Navy Reserve Public Affairs Officer.

and that leaves us with 2009….

January: I found out I was recommended for commissioning by the Navy board that looked at my officer package.

First Navy function with Huzzy

February: Huzzy proposed to me on Friday, February 13. Yes, Friday the 13th. I think that makes Friday the 13th a lucky day from now on, instead of an ominous one. Right? Also, started planning the wedding… we only had five weeks to plan.

March: Huzzy and I were married on March 21st. The first day of Spring. For our “honeymoon” (which was really 3 days of house-hunting leave for you MilSpouse) we flew to Washington state. It was my first time visiting the gorgeous land that will eventually become my home.

April: Huzzy checked out of his recruiting command and started his 40+ days of leave. The movers came and packed up our entire house except what we figured we’d need to get by for a few months. How wrong that assumption would end up being.

May: Huzzy left to PCS to Washington. We had been married for seven weeks at the time. I slept on couch cushions surrounded by our three dogs and two cats. I started living with about 7 changes of clothes, one pot, one pan and one baking dish.  It was this month that I also received my official letter that I was going to be commissioned.

Skah at 6 weeks

June: Raised my hand and swore to defend the Constitution of the United States and signed my life over to the military for eight years.  Well, kinda, since I’m in the Reserves, but they have rights to me for eight years! Oh, and my mom brought me a twin mattress so I didn’t have to sleep on the couch cushions anymore. I continue to sleep on that on the floor. I started working a second job to make ends meet.

July: Stepped on a carpet staple on my second toe on my right foot and thought nothing of it. It didn’t even bleed. This started four months of hell. Flew to Washington to drill for the first time and to see Huzzy for the first time in weeks.

August: Spent two glorious weeks of vacation (with a drill weekend thrown in!) with Huzzy. We went whitewater rafting, too… a first for both of us. We thought this would be the last time we’d see each other before deployment. Toe was still injured and a pain–literally–to walk on. The Navy realized they screwed up Huzzy’s paycheck six months prior and decided to rectify it… by taking ALL of his pay for the entire month of September. Not fun.

March 21, 2009

September: Stopped working the second job because I couldn’t do another 57 day stretch where I got only 3 days off.

October: Drilled for the first time with my new (and current) unit. Surprisingly was able to see Huzzy one more time before he went on deployment. Finally got the toe taken care of. Apparently, my skin decided to go crazy and make extra scar tissue (from the pin-prick that never bled!). Had the extra scar tissue removed ala “cookie-cutter” method.  Huge hole left. Nice scar now.

November: Went active duty for one week where I traveled to Rhode Island for the first time.  Was immersed in deployment. Spent Thanksgiving without Huzzy. Didn’t get to talk to him for the last half of the month.

December: Spent Christmas without Huzzy and didn’t hear his voice for nearly the entire month. Spent New Year’s with a friend at a local hockey game… but was in bed before midnight!

I never really explained all the frustration of this post. When I saw Huzzy and spent two weeks with him back in August, we both knew that we would most likely not see one another again until he returned from deployment. Of course, we also knew that there was a small chance that I could see him again when I came out in October to go to my drill weekend.  Knowing our luck, we were pretty sure it would be next year before we saw one another again.

So it came as a huge kick in the teeth when we found out that pretty much at the exact time I was scheduled to land in Seattle for my drill weekend was pretty much the exact time he was scheduled to fly off to meet the boat that is forward deployed in an area which I can’t talk about due to OPSEC. I mean, I know we planned on not seeing each other again, but to find out that we’d miss each other by less than a few hours was horrible.

So we quickly made some calculations and decided that we were going to spend the extra money to change my plane tickets and head out there early so we could see each other one last time. I decided to leave a few days in between just in case the date was upped again.

In the end, it didn’t matter because his leave date was changed again… until quite a bit later than the original date. So he was still there when I finished my drill weekend and we were able to spend several fantastic days together.

The few days where I thought Huzzy and I would be missing each other by mere minutes was the most frustrating thing I’ve experienced in my life, but it ended up to be some absolutely perfect few days with him. Actually, because they were unexpected days, we just savored them and they were that much sweeter.

Yesterday, I freaked out. Why? Because I was driving to the other side of the state (yes, a 5 hour round trip!) to go to

One day I want to see these... just not now!

my follow-up appointment for this blasted toe.

And while I was driving, I was thinking of all the things I needed to accomplish (as ya do!). My mind fell on “I need to pick up my birth control prescription by Sunday.”  You see, back in August, my *uh-hem* womanly time fell during one of the two weeks I was supposed to be spending with Huzzy. Not only that, but it was during the time that we were going whitewater rafting and camping. In woods that have bears. Who like… dead things. Kinda like… oh never mind, you get it.

Anyway, I decided that instead of taking the dummy pills, I’d just start on my next pack so I’d skip that lovely time all together. I figured when Huzzy was gone on the submarine that I’d just get back on the regular schedule and with him not around, we wouldn’t have to worry about any… ooopies.  So that’s what I was doing this time around.

As I was driving and remembering to pick up my prescription, I realized it had been a while since I’d been off the BC (which I had to do to get back on my normal routine of my “week” starting on Sunday). Then I started thinking… Oh. My. God.  It’s been many days since I took that last pill. Um, something should have happened by now. And it hasn’t. And I’m usually bemoaning the fact that it comes early.

Now, Huzzy and I want children for sure. It’s just that right now, with us only having been together for 9 weeks out of our now 7 month marriage… well, we kinda want to spend some time together. Not to mention the fact that I may not have a job yet when our house sells so we will be reaaaally strapped for money. And we just can’t do that right now.

So as soon as I figured that out, I remembered that it would have been my dad’s 62nd birthday that day. Hmm.  Then the next billboard sign was for a birthing center and featured a big smiling baby with “Happy Birth Day” on it.  Hmm.

Then I turned on the radio to distract myself and what comes on? Carrie Underwood’s All American Girl, the song I love to use to tease my husband with because he wants boys and I want at least one girl (he’s terrified to have a girl).  The song lyrics include, “Since the day they got married/He’d been praying for a little baby boy/…..But when the nurse came in with a little pink blanket/All those big dreams changed.”

And since I’m big on “signs” I was really starting to freak out. Then I thought back to the other day when I smelled something that the firefighters didn’t. Um, isn’t a sign of pregnancy an enhanced sense of smell?

I kept trying to tell myself that I wasn’t pregnant. I didn’t feel differently. I wasn’t throwing up. And that I was on birth control.  So it shouldn’t happen, right?   So after I came home from the doctor’s appointment, I stopped at the store to pick up a test… a digital one so I couldn’t imagine a faint line or anything… and brought it home to use this morning (’cause I know that’s when the hormones are concentrated).

Of course, by the time I got home, I was starting to notice some signs of Aunt Flo visiting. And by this morning, I was pretty sure she was definitely going to show up. I watch the “I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant” series too much to be completely sure of myself, so I took the test this morning.  Whew. No unplanned joy on the way.  I want kids eventually, but it’s just not the best time–for us or for potential babies–right now.

So yeah, I feel better. And better  yet, the doctor said that since I’m 2 weeks post-removal of the growth on my toe, it now only has a “slim” chance of returning. Yay!!!

I’m just going to ignore the sore throat that is starting…

Oh my.  The pendulum has swung the other way. You guys are gonna love this story… especially you Milspouses.

Details next week!

Six months ago today, Huzzy and I said our vows to one another.  Six months ago today, I pledged to take my husband for better or worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health… and through deployment and shore duty, even if we have to do recruiting again.  Yup, we wrote our own vows and made the Navy part of them!

Actually, these were my vows:

I, Wifey*, take you Huzzy*, to be my husband,
to have and to hold you from this day forward,
for better or for worse,
for richer, or for poorer,
in sickness and in health
through deployment or shore duty…
even if you have to do recruiting again.
I promise to love and care for you
I will always be honest with you, kind, patient and forgiving.
But most of all, I promise to always be faithful
and to be a true and loyal friend to you.
I love you.

*names changed to protect the not-so-innocent

Huzzy’s vows were pretty much the same except he promised to “through something something something… even if you make me salute you.” (ya know, ’cause I was about to become an officer and he’s enlisted).  The “something something something” bothers me because I can’t for the life of me remember what it was. And Huzzy is having a hard time too because he forgot his vows and just winged it.  And when I saw that he didn’t read his vows (I had an index card with me), I winged mine, too. So these might not be the exact words, but they are pretty close.

Yeah, we are dorks and made the Navy part of our vows. But hey, the Navy brought us together… kinda.  Have I ever mentioned we met online? If not, let me know and I’ll tell you the whole funny story.  But anyway, had the Navy not tricked him into becoming a recruiter, he wouldn’t have been in Michigan and we wouldn’t have met online.  That and the Navy is going to be a big part of our lives for a minimum of the next 10 years (Huzzy’s career) and very likely the next 30 (my Navy career).

So it’s been six months and if feels like we are still newlyweds.  Oh wait… that might have something to do with the fact that we’ve only been together for nine weeks of those six months.  Ha!  Oh well, like many people have told me, we can celebrate two one-year anniversaries… next March (he’ll be on land for it… praise God and everything Holy!) and when we have actually been together–living together–for 52 weeks.  Not sure how long that will take, but by my calculations, it will probably be around the 3 1/2 year mark of our marriage.  I should track this so we can celebrate that!

Anyway, Happy Six Month Anniversary to my fantastically loving, sexy Sailor!