Updates on me

I had a few minutes so I thought I'd pop in...

I have found that it's amazing what having time for only one meal a day will do for the numbers on the scale...no, I really do eat more than once a day, but one meal at the DFAC is all I can manage. Everything else comes from whatever family and friends send to me or what I take from the DFAC during my daily trip there.

Since I got here in June, I have dropped to 146...which is only 4 lbs from my goal. (Did I mention there's no access to alcohol here?)

It's also amazing what drinking 3 liters of water a day will do for that "bottom" line...I went from 158 to 146 in no time flat...

I have a cold this week which makes it extremely difficult to get to the gym, but I'm starting to feel better, so I hope to be back there in the next few days.

Being here and working so closely with the Army reminds me of all those reasons I didn't join the Army 15 years ago. I'm grateful every day that I'm in a service that cares about morale. I have to work for people I don't respect who I think are juvenile in the extreme...but that's the Army. And they make it very clear that, even though this is technically a joint assignment, it really isn't. It's really an Army gig...nevermind that if you get an award at the end, it's a joint award. I hope that I never have to work for the Army again in my career, but I will end up taking whatever they give me. I've loved my time in the Air Force, but when my time is up and it's time to put the uniform away...I will be relieved. It can be very hard being away from the people you love...feeling like you're away when they need you the most...but maybe they need you the most because you're away. I kind of look forward to having a normal life...for whatever that means. My BIL works for a telecom company, and he travels more than I do, though not for as long at a haul.

I'm really not complaining. The Air Force has been very good to me, and I feel like I contribute something valuable. There is certainly something to be said for job satisfaction. But I really would like to know what it's like to be 'normal'....

The family is doing well...Mom was in the hospital with heart problems, but she's out now, and feeling fine. The hubby is still 4.0 material...not that it surprises me. When he wants something he throws himself into completely. The kids are having their foibles, but they're generally having a good year. My daughter made the ensemble choir at school, which I think is pretty darn cool. They are growing up so fast...I wonder if they'll even recognize me, or be recognizable to me, when I finally get home. Of course they will, but I wish I didn't have to miss it...this time with them...watching them grow up, go to school dances, have their first broken heart, get their driver's license....I miss 'em like crazy.

Just another day in Baghdad

It's hot still, but at least it's not 125...only 103 today.

Last week we had our first rain. I walked outside of the main palace and thought the sprinklers had gotten broken...but no that water was coming out of the sky. I couldn't believe it either the first time I saw it...yes they do water the lawns...but only in front of the main palace...I guess it has to look beautiful for all the visiting VIPs...LOL

But rain is pretty funny...you should have seen the way we were all looking at the sky like it some alien was descending...


On another note:

It's difficult being away from the family for so long. My daughter is going through middle school without me...and my older son is having his first broken heart.

My mother has been doing really well about the deployment. She's sent me coffee and pictures from home and even a couple emails. Then she went in the hospital last week with heart trouble. I think she may realize now that ignoring my deployment won't make it untrue...it just makes it more difficult for me.

I know how much my family needs me, and that makes being away hard. But it's harder for them...they just wait for me to come home, not knowing if everything is ok...