I am so excited about this time right now...it is a blessing, a true treat. You see, my husband is visiting on his 2 week leave, currently. :) I have been enjoying his company, cuddles, attention, long talks, "dates"(which mostly involve us eating and watching tv or movies with the kids, hehe), and just sharing SPACE together. Like I said in an earlier post, I have greatly missed the space that he takes up. Lately we've both been occupying *less* space than before, for which I am thankful...

I have been stinky in the last couple months about posting! I don't know why; I would suppose the normal day-in and day-out sort of busy-ness and worries have gotten in the way and I've felt a "slump" in writing. So here I am! I will try to update more frequently.

Perhaps I have felt discouragement here and there when I have had set-backs, and I didn't want to tell you. It's hard to start off so gung-ho about something, telling the world about your plans, only to have some trouble and feel embarrassed to share. But that's the point of keeping this blog! I have to remember that this is meant to be cathartic, which it IS, but only if I actually sit down and do some journaling and sharing. Not just sharing my victories, but also my troubles.

I had a rough bought with, well, I guess...depression. It was bound to happen. My husband being deployed caught up with me. After we visited up in New Jersey and New York in May, I felt myself sink inward a little. My weight loss reflected this. I went back and forth with the same 5 pounds for what seemed like forever! Frustrating! Disappointing! So then, I allowed THAT to depress me further! Vicious cycle.

I have broken that cycle, thank God. With His help, and only with His help, have I managed to get back to feeling like I'm on track with my goals.

One thing I do notice: my husband and I have to be especially careful when we are together with eating!! We tend to overeat together--not good! He has been getting healthier during his deployment as well, with running and working out every day. Every day! He is also eating much better, and healthier, over there. I hope he continues to get healthier. I want him to stick around for a very long time. I love him so much.

Oh hey! I have been applying to graduate schools! I found a couple programs that, I believe, meet my needs and what I'm looking for. It looks like the University of Phoenix online is going to be the best fit for me. I will be working on a Master of Arts in Education, Elementary Ed. We'll see if I add an endorsement or whatnot. Not sure yet! If all goes well, I will begin in late September. All the paperwork is in, so now it's a matter of waiting! It feels so amazing to move forward with my educational goals. We'll owe a buttload of money when all is said and done, but I guess that's the only way to do it in our situation. Dave Ramsey just cringed when I said that. But truly, we use no credit cards, we have no personal loans, and we have no other debt other than student loans and the mortgage for the house. We have a better financial picture than so many other Americans! I just look forward to a day when we are debt-free completely.

My hubby is taking a long time with dropping Aaron off at school! Aaron overslept (difficult night getting to sleep) his alarm and had to rush around, and missed the bus. Thankfully, since Neal is home right now, he was able to take him to school! But that was almost an hour ago. He must have run to the store or something. Or gotten breakfast out? Who knows!

I will close for now--time to refill my coffee mug and enjoy my comfy chair. I promise I'll do better with the updates.

Oh! And just so you know: I have lost over 5% of my starting body weight since I joined WW. Hurrah!