MilSpouse Friday Fill-In #35

It's that time again! For more info on the Fill-In and to check out other spouses' answers to the questions, visit Wife of a Sailor's blog.

1. What is your must-have gadget?

I don't think I can decide on just one! It depends on the category we're talking about.
Beauty = Hot Tools curling iron
Fitness = my iPod
Kitchen = Cuisinart Food Processor
Blogging = DSLR camera (Canon Rebel)

2. How does your adulthood compare to what you imagined it would be like as a little kid?

As a kid I thought I would be a veterinarian, married to a Texas cowboy, and have 2 kids by now! I definitely never thought I would end up married to a Kansas-born soldier and be living as an Army wife with no kids at the age of (almost) 26....but I wouldn't change anything! I love my life and I'm so happy I married my non-Texan guy. ;-)

3. What is your favorite chocolate recipe?

Double Chocolate Caramel Cookies were the bomb! As a quick and easy option, I'm also loving Single Serving Healthier Brownies these days.

4. How do you deal with military life when it gets to be too much or too hard?

I vent about it and get it out, either to my friends & family or on my blog. Here's a link to some of my venting-about-Army-life posts. Also I do something to get my mind off of it, such as working out, reading a book, hanging out with friends, etc. And finally, I try to remind myself of all the blessings in my life (easier said than done) and that "this too shall pass".

5. What piece of advice would you give a new military spouse facing their first deployment?

Oh gosh, there's so much I would say (and do say, when given the chance)!
~I know it's scary, but you WILL GET THROUGH IT. Have faith in yourself that you are a strong, independent woman and you will be fine. I doubted my ability to cope with a deployment wayyyy too much before our first one and it just made me (and him) miserable in the weeks leading up to his deployment.
~Stay busy and make sure you plan things to look forward to. A fun trip, a party, a night out, a spa day, etc. You still need to get out and have FUN while he's gone...don't feel like you have to stay in and be miserable!!
~Communicate and stay connected! If his phone access is limited, try sending him a daily email or send him weekly care packages with a hand-written love letter. Just try to stay connected in each others lives as much as possible. At first my way of coping with deployment was sometimes to try and shut him out of my life so I didn't have to feel the pain of him being gone. That is NOT GOOD! Learn from my mistakes! :)

Okay I'll stop there...it's a topic I'm passionate about obviously! :) Great questions this week!