Saturday, April 13, 2013

Deployment Week Twelve

*This is my series of posts in which I document my feels and accomplishments throughout my husband's deployment to Afghanistan* 

So excited to be reaching the three month mark of this darn deployment. At a recent FRG meeting someone mentioned that the end of the summer would probably be the hardest part of this deployment. Goodness I hope they are wrong. It hasn't gotten easier, but time is definitely going by a bit faster. I can't wait to get through April and then just focus on my trip in May/June. By the time I am back in NY, it will be practically July. That is awesome. 

Happy Picture 

This is one of my favorites from our wedding. I made those Mr. and Mrs signs and they are now hanging in our bedroom. We decided to have a little sweetheart table at the wedding and it was a wonderful decision.

Deployment Gratitude 

1. I am grateful for other crazy dog owners who will take their dogs to the park in the rain and mud. Asha had an absolute blast playing at the park. However, she hated getting hosed off afterward. Check out that face.  She is passed out asleep next to the couch now thanks to all that exercise. 

2. I am grateful for the financial benefits that come with deployment. As of today we have paid off almost $11,000 dollars of debt since Lane left. Our previous goal was to pay off $20,000 of debt (almost entirely student loans) before he came back. We are upping that to $30,000. It is a pretty ambitious goal, but I really think we can do it. We are so close to crossing another loan off of our debt snowball. It feels awesome! 

3. I am grateful for consistent internet access for Lane. This has been the biggest blessing of this whole deployment, and I don't take it for granted for a second. I know there are so many wives who don't have the same access, and I feel so grateful. I'm pretty sure this will remain on my list at least once a month for the rest of deployment. 

4. I am grateful for helpful government employees. I had the most wonderful experience today at the post office. The nice gentleman helped me make sure I had all my paperwork in order to change my name on my passport. He was so kind and went out of his way to help me out. It made such a difference. 

5. I am grateful for wonderful customer service. A jewelry store in Watertown shortened a chain on a necklace for me free of charge. I didn't buy the necklace from them, but because it was relatively easy they did it for free. 

Deployment Projects 

Buying the camera was a biggie on my list, and I am happy to report that the body of my Canon t3i arrived on Friday. After the advice of multiple photographer friends, I didn't buy one of the lens kit cameras that comes with the body + lens. I bought the body from the Canon's website, and found a a great deal for a 50 mm lens on Amazon. The lens should be here next week. 

Here is a summary of the goals I have for deployment:

House Goals
 Art for the empty wall in the kitchen- done with free cork board
Map Wall gallery for the Living Room - decided to hang British maps instead
 Curtains For the Living Room

DIY Goals
 Repair Asha-Destroyed Arm Chair
Sand/Paint/Add Cushions to Greek Style Chair
Finish Sanding School Style Desk

Fitness Goals
 Dead lift my own body weight
Do 1 Pull-Up
 Lose another 2% body fat

Blog Goals
 Do An Outfit of the Day post
Do two giveaways - I did one giveaway 
 Get to 100 Followers

Financial Goals
Pay off $20,000 dollars of student loan debt
  Get to a 0 balance on both credit cards - Whoo! Done back in February
Pay Every Month’s bills on time - So far so good 

Things to Buy
DSLR camera- Cannon T3i - Purchased in April 
2.      You & Me Print
3.      Sewing Machine

Ok so the things to buy list is probably a lot longer than that. However, I wanted to highlight that I am making some serious progress. I am really proud that we have taken such a chunk out of our debt while still getting so much house stuff done. It feels awesome. 

Can't wait to see what I can accomplish in Week 13. 

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