Today’s prompt for the Wives of Faith Military Spouse Appreciation Weekend Blog Carnival is 11 Amazing Facts About Myself. (I’m totally getting help from my husband for this one!)

1. She has an amazing voice. – my husband

2. She’s a very compassionate person. – my husband

3. I love to send cards to people just because.

4. I listen to people.

5. I’m great at scrapbooking.

6. I’m learning to cook yumminess for my husband.

7. I’m great with kids.

8. She’s a great friend. – my husband

9. I love my step-daughters!!

10. She survived deployment during her first year of marriage. – my sister

11. She’s an amazing wife. – my husband

This is part of Wives of Faith’s Military Spouse Appreciation Blog Carnival 2011.

Today’s theme is 11 things you want to do in your current duty station, or upcoming duty station. Since I’ve lived in this area my entire life, I’m gonna list things I want to do in our upcoming duty station, Ft Knox KY. I’m so excited about being there. It’s about 45 minutes from Louisville KY, which is where my mom’s family is from. So it’s home away from home!

1. I’m very excited about touring Elizabethtown (E-town), which is right outside Ft Knox.

2. I definitely want to go see the birth place of Abraham Lincoln. As many times as I’ve driven past the signs for it, I’ve never been.

3. While I’ll probably never actually GO to the Kentucky Derby, I DO want to host a Derby Day Party while I’m actually in Kentucky!

4. I want to go to Thunder Over Louisville.

5. Go see a Louisville Bats baseball game.

6. Go to the Louisville Zoo. I’ve been before but I was LITTLE when I went. I’ve been wanting to go back for years.

7. Go letterboxing all around the area! Maybe even plant a few boxes!!

8. I want to go to the Patton Museum at Ft Knox.

9. We’ve been to the Louisville Slugger Museum which is a BLAST! Especially if you love baseball as much as my hubby does!

10. I want to go to the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green KY! (Another attraction I’ve driven past for years on end and have never been to!)

11. We have been to the Schmidt Coca Cola Museum in Elizabethtown KY. SO much fun! It’s the family’s personal collection, as they used to be a bottling plant for Coca Cola! (Unfortunately the museum is now closed and they are auctioning off the collection! But the gift shop is still open. Sad day.)

This post has been entertaining for me to write. I hope you’ve been entertained by reading it! I’m looking forward to visiting all these places in the next year or so!!!

Today is Military Spouse Appreciation Day! Wives of Faith is hosting a weekend-long blog hop in honor of today. Make sure you stop by to see all the other great posts!

11 Reasons I Love About Being an Army Wife

1. I love how patriotic and proud I feel to be an American, every time I see our flag or anyone in uniform.

2. I love seeing my husband in uniform.

3. I love that we survived deployment!

4. I love the support I have gotten from other military spouses/girlfriends.

5. I love all the amazing friends I have made because of the military!

6. I love the discounts we get.

7. I love the job security.

8. I love the health and retirement benefits!

9. I love the support we have gotten recently from friends, family and neighbors.

10. I love that my husband is home!!

11. I love that I get to be a military spouse for the rest of my life.

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Going through deployment can be a very depressing time. You’re separated from your loved one, trying to get through life day by day. So I wanted to list some of the things that always make me smile.

1. Emails, Facebook, Twitter, or Skype messages from my husband. Any kind of communication from him is a blessing!

2. Friends. I have some of the most amazing friends who know just the right thing to say to me when I need to hear it the most.

3. Spending time with my amazing sister. She makes me laugh daily!

4. Watching a funny movie. While it’s not as fun without my hubby, they still make the time go by faster.

5. Blasting the music in my car. 99% of the time it’s Christian music, so I just praise Jesus while I’m driving down the road!

6. Chocolate. Need I say more?

7. Making new friends. I had lunch this week with a new friend who is also a military wife. It was so great for both of us!

8. Talking about the future with my husband. We love to dream together. Even from halfway around the world, he makes my heart beat faster.

9. Starbucks Mochas. Oh yeah!

10. Thinking about how incredibly blessed I am. I have the most amazing husband ever. He is so good to me. I am so in love with him. I think about him constantly!

What makes you smile?

I’m sure you’ve all seen the 101 things to do in 1001 days list that everyone has been doing. I have been “Working” on my list for a very long time. I just finished it last night. I am starting today. I need to finish everything by January 27, 2013. I have a good feeling I can do that! I will have my list on my sidebar and will keep it updated. I will also have things colored to show whether they are in progress, finished, or yet to be started.

So without further ado, here is my list:

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Faith
Find a prayer partner.
Read through the entire Bible at least once.
Go to a Women of Faith conference with my mom.
See Beth Moore speak in person.
Share my faith.
Finish Proverbs 31 bible study

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Family/Friends
Have a girls’ weekend with my mom & sister
Celebrate 1st, 2nd, and 3rd wedding anniversaries
Do an activity with Matthew just because its something he wants to do
Have people over at least once every three months
Buy Matthew an awesome gift with my money “just because”
Plan a sister’s day out and pay for everything
Plan a mom and me day out and pay for everything
Plan a weekend getaway surprise

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Future
Write an “If something happens to me” letter
Make a 5 year plan
Make a 10 year plan
Make a new 101 list for when I finish 0/101

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Health
Drink 3 glasses of water/day for 21 days straight
Exercise 3x/week for 1 month
Go to the dentist.
Integrate Fish as main protein for at least 1 dinner each week.
Get new glasses

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Charity
Do 20 random acts of kindness.
Donate at least one item to Goodwill each month
Donate $1 for every failed goal
Provide a hot meal for someone in need

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Travel/Fun Activities
Visit Kelly
Go to Washington, D.C./ Take a tour of the White House
Go on a cruise
Go to New York City
Meet at least 5 blog friends face to face.
Spend a weekend in Chicago.
Go on at least two vacations per year (Total of 5 or 6 week long vacations)
Get at least one more stamp in my passport
See a show on Broadway
Travel outside the USA
Go to Disney World

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Reading/Writing
Send each family member a birthday card.
Send Christmas or New Year’s cards every year
Compile all of the recipes that I use or would like to use often, and copy them into my recipe book.
Document (at least) one happy moment every day.
Always have a book ‘in progress’, never unread for longer than a week
Send random encouraging emails
Read 5 books I wouldn’t normally read 0/5
Submit anything for publication
Spend an hour a day writing or doing writing exercises for 1 month
Blog this list and track progress online for accountability (ongoing)
Write myself a letter to read when I finish the project
Send Matthew one card/letter a week during deployment
Blog everyday for a month
Find a new book series to read

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Home
Create a master bill-paying schedule/notebook.
Construct a workable housekeeping plan and stick to it for 3 consecutive weeks.
Plant an herb garden in the kitchen (the kind in the little pots.)
Organize my office, and keep it in an orderly fashion.
Make sure the kitchen is clean before I go to bed for 21 days straight
Make an extra freezer meal at least once a month
De-clutter every room and have a huge garage sale.
Become a better housekeeper.
Buy a new couch and loveseat
Continue buying and learning to utilize spices in my cooking
Make the bed every day for one week. 0/7
Buy New Comforter
Get a new computer desk

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Growth
Fill out FAFSA forms
Start college
Take a photography class.
Take a Spanish class
Go to a French restaurant
Actually follow a 2 week meal plan at least once
Buy a piece of art
Get up by 8am every morning for two weeks. 0/14
Make a new friend
Volunteer somewhere

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Financial
Build an emergency fund of 3 months’ income
Contribute monthly to our savings account, no less than the minimum we set.
Save $5 for every task completed $0/$505
Get a part time job
Pay off credit card
Don’t eat out for an entire month
q Avoid Walmart for a two weeks

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Pampering
Have a serious spa day/ Get a professional massage
Buy another Coach bag
Wear make-up every day for one week. 0/7
Get a makeover

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Arts and Crafts
Create our wedding scrapbook
Finish our vacation scrapbook(s)
Finish a crocheting project.
Have 3 scrapbooking/crafting parties
Catch up and keep up with my scrapbooking
Paint a piece of pottery
Set up and use my sewing machine
Make a piece of art and display it in our home

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Why Not?
Take more pictures when friends get together
Buy a pattern and make a dress
Make at least one new recipe each month
Get professional photos done with Matthew
Host a New Year’s Eve Party
Watch the top 100 movies of all time 0/100
Make breakfast every Sunday morning for a month

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I was reading one of my favorite blogs After The Alter and saw a post she did about 99 things. The post is a list of 99 things you could have done, and you are supposed to highlight the ones that you yourself have done. While reading this I saw a lot of fun things that I have done, but also so many things that I HAVEN’T done!

So here goes!

Much Love,