Afghanistan: Number 19

My MSG calls this the "gated community"

Ok everyone, so I know I have been a couple of days behind recently.  But this has been my trend this whole deployment.  I think my first posts were on Mondays and I seem to have worked my way to Saturdays, which may be my new normal.  Who knows?  But regardless, here is my new post in my same old boring way.  Post 19, week 22.

Mental: Lean Six Sigma and I have actually had a pretty good week.  I sent my data in to get my initial run through the software and am waiting for the results from that.  I ran through my define template and got that posted, which included by SIPOC (supplier input process output customer) map and got some ideas done for what my customer and what the business wants.  I have been working on my process map and am probably near a 75% solution on that.  Once I finish that up and get my initial data measurements back, I will wrap up my measure phase and turn that in.  I am expecting to have that done within the week and then move on to analyse my data.  After that, it is just making some improvements, doing another measurement and then finalizing my controls.  Some I am happy with the progress I have made and feel like I am actually gaining ground and momentum. 

Physical:  My workouts have been steady and I am definitely progressing.  This morning, I ran 6 miles in 51:30  which averages just over an 8:30 pace, which is perfect because my goal is to do ten miles (for the army ten miler in October) at at least an 8:30 pace.  I need to add a little bit more to my workouts though.  I need to add biking so that I can focus on my heart rate, at least until I get a heart rate monitoring watch.  I need to focus on spending longer period at 85% of my maximum heart rate and slowing down to not less than 65% which means trying to stay around 170 and not dipping below 130.  (To calculate target heart rate, take 220- your age and multiply by 50% to 85%.  This is the range most often recommended by sports medicine people.  They say if you are just starting out, aim 50-65%, fairly active people should aim for 65-75% and very active people should aim for 75%-85%.  I am aiming towards 85% to help increase my cardiovascular endurance.  I want my lower limit to be 65% because I want to make sure I am maximizing my workouts.  And I round up to the nearest ten, because whole numbers are much easier to remember).  So, my goal is to at least once a week do: a run over five miles (gradually increasing towards ten), a 2.5 mile run (.5 mile warm up), sprints day (focusing on distance, time, or heart rate), bike day (focusing on heart rate over time), abs day and upper body day.  We shall see how this goes.  It should become easier as this is my last day fasting from meat and will be enjoying some fish and lean protein being added back into my diet.

Financial: Well, the stock I own hit 10% gain this week, but it is still trending up.  I am expected it to gain at least 20% for me and will probably keep it a fair while longer than that.  It is a tech company with a good product and few competitors, so I (and the analysts) are still predicting it to trend up.  It's looking pretty good and I am satisfied.  I didn't buy the stock I mentioned last week because I realized I didn't want to buy another stock to hold.  Instead, I am very carefully watching another stock.  I was hoping it would drop recently, but it keeps going up.  Their earnings report comes out on 12 AUG and their EPS is around 2.7.  It looks like a good company and I may just have to suck the egg and buy at a higher price than I had originally intended.  It looks like it is also going to go up though, so I will still turn a sizable profit on it.  But we will see what this week holds. 

Emotional:  I don't have much of an update on this one.  I still am feeling very tired, and my wonderful doctor gave me a few tips as to why that might be.  All in all, it is a mixture of the environment and my change in diet.  It is probably a good reflection of not getting enough protein and eating more carbs.  The goal is to switch from that to more lean meat and vegetables, less refined grains and sugars.  This will probably be as close to a "paleo" diet as I will ever get, because I love my processed foods.  But I also understand that I need to correct the imbalance I have likely made so that I can start feeling better,  Thankfully, the protein thing will change tomorrow.   So if that's the issue, then hopefully I will be less tired.  I am ready to wake up easier and not be exhausted by all the normal things that I do.
But I am finding myself ready to go home and be with my husband more and more.  Normally, I don't think about it much because then it makes everything else harder, but I have found that it creeps into my mind more and more recently.  We are trying to plan a vacation, but I have been very burnt out on planning.  I am mostly just ready to get home and don't care much about what happens when I get there, except that I cannot wait to cook my own food! 

Spiritual: I have been doing well at reading my bible and praying both morning and night.  I feel like I have really been growing during my time of fasting (officially 40 days without meat!) but am ready  to return to my normal.  I think that fasting will become a more regular occurrence in my spiritual life and am very grateful both for what it has taught me about myself and also for what it has taught me about God.  I am in a better place in so many ways and am so thankful for my experiences the last 40 days.  It has made me stronger and more dependent at the same time.  Except now, instead of dependency on others to make me happy or scratch my intellectual itch or work out with or entertain me, I rely on God.  Where before I found comfort in others, now I find comfort in the Lord.  I have always had peace, but I am starting to finally understand "peace that surpasses ALL understanding."  I have experienced far less anxiety and worry than I have in years past.  It might seem like apathy to some, but really, it is about knowing that I am not in control, I never was and that's ok.  Worrying will not add a second to my life but it will certainly take away many if I let it. 

I am planning a mini-blog series that covers some quick bible study topics that you can go over with those that are new to Christianity, or might even serve as evangelical tools.  I will be writing them in conjunction with my studying for my time with my new disciple.  My plan is to have some five-ten minute study tools that focus on some surface level topics. That way they can spark conversations that take us where she needs to go, not just where I am trying to lead. 

Afghanistan: Number 18

Alright everyone, time for my 18th post in my 21st week.  Sorry I am a couple of days late, but it has been busy around here.  We have a lot going on in our unit and a lot of stuff coming up.  To put it lightly, we have less than 100 days left and with all the stuff on our plates, I am betting it will go pretty fast.

Physical- I ran over 11 miles this week, so I am pretty proud of myself for that.  I have a new running partner that is willing to run distances with me on Saturdays.  He is definitely faster than me, but I don't slow him down too much.  I think next Saturday we are planning on running an 8 mile loop, but we shall see.  We don't have to wear all our gear anymore, so I have more freedom in my workout times, which is good.  I prefer going to the gym in the evenings, because I am not a morning person.  Unfortunately, my long runs will be Saturday mornings, which means getting up well before the sun, but oh well, at least I will have someone to run with.  My goal is to be able to run 10 miles in 8:30.  I think I could do it at a 9 min mile pace right now, so I want to get that down.  It already has come down and 9 min mile was my original goal pace.  I beat that goal by about 15 secs per mile for 6 miles earlier this week, so I am pretty confident I can do 10 at 9:00.  Still working at it.  Still getting better.

Financial- Right now, I still own only one stock and I have got another in mind for when the market opens on Monday.  The one I have is sitting at just under a 10% gain at the moment and has been on an upward trend for about a year.  The one I am looking at another stock right now that has low trading value, but has been on a solid upwards trend for the last 5 years.  Where I am at right now, I need to start looking into stocks that I want to keep as a short to midterm investment.  I am not totally committed to that idea yet, but I haven't been playing the market as much recently. And now that I am out of my free trading period, I am thinking less and less about quick trades and more about ones I can hold onto and grow over time.  We will see how the market looks on Monday, and maybe I will try my hand at some longer term investments. 

Mental- I have actually made some headway on my lean six sigma project this week.  I have some of my products remade and some I still need to do.  The biggest pieces I need to get done in the next day or so are my SIPOC map and my voice of the customer/ voice of the business slide.  I want to get these done before my instructor comes back, so I have a short window to complete them.  I have also completed my 18 page exegesis, which was a fun endeavor.  I know people think I am nuts, but it really isn't until recently that our society things that writing papers and letters aren't fun and that you need a specific reason to write a lengthy paper.  But, I think it was fun and it stretched my mind and grew me as a person.  I will probably always write papers and store them away.  And that is part of the reason I blog as well.  I enjoy writing and getting my thoughts out onto paper.  Writing is even more fun than reading to me, but I know that reading helps perfect writing.  I don't have a ton of time right now, so when I get the chance, I read my book "In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day." For my daily reading, I stick with reading my bible twice a day.  It seems like a better use of my time right now, even though I would love to add fiction to my reading list.  But with my time so limited, I have to make sure what I am reading is actually beneficial to me and helping me grow as a person.

Emotional- I am drained in this category.  I have been having excellent communication with Kevin and am probably feeling the most successful as a wife as I have this whole deployment.  I have found that waking up, reading my bible and praying in the mornings has enriched my marriage and our  communication.  I find myself looking forward to going home more and more and I think that a huge part of that is being under the 100 day mark.  But on the other hand, we still have a lot left to do in the next 100 days and I am finding myself just exhausted at the thought. To say that I feel burnt out is an understatement.  Things that used to take very little energy now feel exhausting and drain me completely.  No matter how much sleep I get, I still feel tired.  Maybe it is because I still have not had a day off since we got here.  I am not sure.  But I know I have to Soldier on and I will.  To say that I am expecting that I will crash hard when I get home is an understatement.  I hope everyone understand that when I get back, it is going to take some time for me to level out to my new normal and not to take my lack of communication personally. I am expecting to spend a lot of time getting some sleep and decompressing.  I am already thinking of trying to unplug and rebuild my life with Kevin before I focus on fitting anything else into that.

Spiritual-  I am also exhausted spiritually.  I felt very drained after completing my exegesis regarding the doctrine of covenants (see this link for the full version, or my last three posts for the abridged version).  I feel like I have grown so much though.  What was, at times a chore, has become my perfect joy.  Even though I am tired and don't wake up well, I enjoy getting up and reading my bible and praying during the first hour of my day.  And I love ending my day with reading my bible and doing my prayer journal.  In the last 30 days or so, I have grown a ton as an individual and in my dedication to the Lord.  I am not a different person, but I am in so many ways.  I have grown so much in my knowledge of who God is and my excitement to get to know him more is a lot.  Before I get back to the U.S., I will have read the whole bible.  When I get back, I plan on starting over but with a focus.  I plan on doing a study on love.  I plan on going through my bible and highlighting every time I see the word love; one color for when it is between God and man, another for love between people.  I find that the word comes up a lot, but it may be just be because I am reading through the book of Psalms.  Regardless, I am very intrigued.  I still continuing to fast, but I feel that I have already received the answers to my prayers.  I have received some yes, some no and some later.  And I am more than satisfied in that.  However, I am continuing to fast until I reach the forty day mark.  I am doing so in case God still has something He wants to reveal to me, but also because that's the day that feels right.  I can't really explain it, but that's my end date.  So I will be enjoying some wonderfully cooked Afghani chicken next Sunday, the August 4th.  I am very glad for this time of growth, but I am nearing a point of exhaustion that has me ready for this time to be over.  I think everyone can relate in their own way.  Growth is painful at the time, but you can enjoy it when you are also seeing the fruits of the labor.  But as time goes on, the labor starts to feel more burdensome and you are ready for the end to be near.  It is the same I feel towards the deployment.  I am reaching a point where I just need more of God's strength, because I am quickly running out of my own.