Deployment Log, Day 135:
1. HAPPY HALFWAY-DONE-WITH-THIS-DEPLOYMENT-DAY!
2. Yes, I am yelling with joy.
3. And also yes, I know that it’s the army, so really the numbered days are relative. But at this point, the halfway there point is more psychological than scientific or mathematical. I WILL TAKE IT.
4. For everyone who is like, “It’s all downhill from here!” or “You are almost there!” that’s kinda right. I envision it as making it to the top of the mountain, (I need to catch my breath!) and now we have to walk back down. BUT we still have to do it intentionally with caution. Because I don’t need to blow out a (figurative) deployment knee by going to fast or getting ahead of myself. And I have zero desire to face plant on the way down. #AskMeHowIKnow So we will continue slowly, intentionally and deliberately moving forward. One. Step. At. A. Time. #JustKeepMarching
5. But YAY, halfway there!
6. So far it’s been a good week. Tuesday and Wednesday have been the best couple of days I feel like we have had in WEEKS. Nothing extraordinary, but just generally “normal.” Which is SO welcome right now! And nothing has broken this week (except the garbage disposal. It smells gross, but some Young Living Essential Oils are helping me out there.) #NotAShowStopper
7. Yesterday I did fun adult things. Like buy a new pair of pajamas for myself and a hanging shower caddy thing. I’m living the glam life, yo! Be jealous.
8. The shower caddy wasn’t just for “fun.” It’s because I apparently have a lot of “pump” bottles of shampoo/conditioner. Malick thinks all of it is lotion. So after he smeared it all over his hands, face, got some in his eye and was literally blowing bubbles out of his nose yesterday, I realized I needed to put it all out of reach.
9. This week is a big homework week for me (week 6 of 8 week class). Normally, I get twitchy about this, especially since Monday is my big work/study day but the kids were out of school this week for President’s Day. I’m just trying to chip away and write sections of my paper during nap time and planning on (hopefully) crushing the rest of it tomorrow when I am (God-willing) kid free for a few hours.
10. It snowed in El Paso on Tuesday! It didn’t stick of course, but still made my heart happy. (Sorry to all of my midwestern friends that are sick of snow… Feel free to come to EP to visit/live for the next 4.5 months)
11. But seriously. I would love to fill some gaps on my calendar for grown-uppish visitors for the next few months. Hit me up. EP is lovely. And I will feed you lots of W30 food. Or Goldfish crackers. Whatever you want.
12. I realized the other day that this is not a season for me to overachieve. (Duh). Or really even “achieve.” I just need to CHIEVE (I know, that’s not really a word). This isn’t a time for me to build all the muscle, lose the weight, crush the goals, set PRs, Marie-Kondo my house, teach Charis to read and memorize bible verses… I just want to keep the kids alive and try to make small healthy physical, mental, emotional, spiritual decisions on a daily basis. And on the days when the kids have some extra screen time because #MamaNeedsAMinute or they eat a fruit roll-up for breakfast, that’s ok.
13. Prayer requests: Health/protection for the kids and I (and Brandon… seems like the whole company got sick while they were in the field for the last few weeks), continued psychological/spiritual healing for my loved one that attempted suicide two weeks ago (not a lot of positive developments on that front, so that makes my heart so sad!), that I can find joy in the everyday and can finish my current doctoral class strong with no concern of assignment completion.
14: Parting thought:
“You, Lord, keep my lamp burning;
my God turns my darkness into light.” ~Psalm 18:28
It might seem counterintuitive, but I’ve heard that if you are in a challenging season, being generous helps reduce stress. After many conversations with Charis about our homeless neighbors here in El Paso, she asked what we could do to help them. (It was very timely as it was cold earlier this week). Normally, we try to give them a little cash if I have any on me or a “snack” from the console of my car (lately it’s been a pack of tuna fish and a to-go almond butter).
After a long day earlier this week and yet another conversation with Charis about loving our neighbors and being generous, the Holy Spirit prompted me to be a more intentional example for the kids. So we went on an impromptu shopping spree. Then, with Flat Daddy’s help, we made up 10 Generosity kits to carry in the car for those moments when we encounter someone in need. The 2-gallon bag kits include: a jar of peanut butter, socks, stocking cap, tuna packet, chocolate, toothpaste, toothbrush, mints, gum, chapstick, baby wipes, Vienna sausage, juice, fruit cup, moon pies, applesauce, raisins, and a few other items.
Part of our hearts might be in Korea, but we are also trying to spread a bit love here in El Paso. To God be the glory!
Guys. GUYS. Deployment has CHANGED ME! (I used to never even LET the fuel light come on AT ALL…)
Whole 30 Food Prep week #8: GUYS! I am late to the party but now have an Instant Pot ? (Thanks Lex!) I need to think and strategize my menu to include Instant Pot Magic, but I did manage to use it a bit for the first time even with kids underfoot/starving/needing all the things. Nothing blew up so yay!
From top left: Instant Pot beef stew, roasted cauliflower, crispy gizzard/heart confit, madras chicken salad, broccoli bagna cauda, chayote squash cinnamon “apples,” jicama fries, turkey sausage patties and sweet potato “buns” (breakfast sandwich with sweet potato slice, sausage, egg, tomato slice, avocado, w30 mayo and another sweet potato slice… so good I thought Jesus was gonna take me home this morning!!), bacon wrapped asparagus and chicken bone broth.
Life hack: If you need a cake baking/decorating confidence boost, choose a cake that is supposed to look like at pile of dirt. #NailedIt
PS: Flat Daddy thinks we are ready for our own baking special on Netflix. We haven’t landed on a title yet. Maybe “Cooking through Chaos” or “Let’s hope it tastes better than an MRE” or “Please don’t lick the spoon yet.”
PSS: Yes, I fished those trucks out of the sandbox. But rest assured, I ran them through the dishwasher before adding them to the cake. Happy Belated Birthday, Malick!
I don’t always post pictures of my breakfast online, but when I do it’s because it is really pretty AND tastes so good I wonder if Jesus is ‘bout to take me home. #Whole30ForTheWin
PS: And no, I can’t pick this up and eat it like an actual sandwich. It requires knife and fork.
