Handgun recommendations for a female?

I'm not a petite female whose never shot before (sorry but a lot of questions I've seen are asked by 'tiny' women with tiny hands and blah blah). I'm in the service and so far I've shot a M-16, .22 rifle and a 12 gage shotgun (that was so much fun). I'm looking for a handgun (and no revolvers please) that if need be I can use it inside my home and not worry about the rounds going through walls and possibly hitting neighbors (I know that at least the first wall will be damaged - duh, unless I hit the person - double duh). So I'm looking for something small that I can keep on my person (if I get a conceal to carry obviously - and I don't use purses but I might when I get a handgun) but not pathetic tiny that won't have any take down force. As for calibers...don't really care, the higher count the cheaper right for the rounds??? Haha - I plan on using it a bit on the range since I'm used to rifles. Thanks for the recommendations!