Especially when you're a military wife...

Hubby's home away from home...

While my husband is on deployment, he's spending his six months on the USS Abraham Lincoln. This aircraft carrier is home to thousands of sailors and is truly a city in and of itself. I've included some amazing photos, all courtesy of Navy.mil

I'm a proud wife and a proud citizen of the United States...so I just had to share :)

Dating my spouse (on the cheap)

Being a young couple, my husband and I have had to be conscious of our spending. But, we've also made it a priority to have have weekly date nights.

One of our more common date nights involves just taking a drive together. Now, my husband's city driving can sometimes be a bit scary but when we go on a date night, it's a different driving style (thankfully).

Anyway, my husband always ends up driving me to a local hidden gem. With the exception of the cost of gas, our drive-date nights give us a great opportunity to talk and enjoy each others company without hurting our budget.

Our other regular date night consists of grabbing a hot beverage and browsing Barnes and Noble. Sometimes, the Starbucks even has board games for its customers, something that makes the time together even more enjoyable.



No matter what we do together, it's important just to get out of the house and out of the daily grind of things. Dating your spouse is important no matter how many years you've been together. I truly believe in the saying: "What you did to get 'em is what you do to keep 'em"

Have any unique date night ideas to share? Enlighten us!!

And he's off...

The past month has been amazing. In August, my sailor came home from across the country to pack up our Scion xB (a.k.a the box or toaster) and travel up the West Coast to our duty station (new place of residence for up to 4 years) in Everett, WA. We explored the area and enjoyed doing everyday things TOGETHER; menial tasks such as grocery shopping and haircuts have been done solo for six months so we've developed an appreciation for one another's company.
Anyway, not two days after we arrived, we received orders that my hubby would be leaving again within two weeks. With that in mind, we made the most of it with plenty of sightseeing, picture taking, hand holding, huggling (hugging+snuggling combo word) and sushi (our favorite!) We hoped that our efforts would prepare us for what was to come: his first deployment.

After little - and mostly restless - sleep the night before his departure, we awoke at 4:40am, gathered the few remaining items, hustled out the door and headed to the Naval base. We said our goodbyes with tear-filled eyes, all while trying to keep our public displays of affection professional in the eyes of the military...all I can say is, this whole deployment stuff is TOUGH!
So it goes. Let the next six months begin. And end. Quickly!