Army: Afghanistan number 6

Lewis doing his silly run (Kevin sent me this pic today. I miss them)

So hello everybody.  I have officially been in Afghanistan for 7 weeks and it has actually been flying.  We have about 31 weeks left to go though, so I still have a ton of time left.   Not much interesting has happened this week and all has been relatively quite for  my unit.  My biggest frustration is not being able to cook.  As people most yummy looking recipes to Facebook (you know who you people are), I have taken to emailing them to myself and labeling them in recipes I want to try.  I miss having my fully stocked kitchen to go home too. 

So here is my weekly update, broken down in my usual style, but I am adding a new category:

Financial: Yes! You read that right, but probably not the way you think.  Kevin and I are the most financially stable we have ever been.  We have only a loan for the house, an emergency fund (but we are constantly putting more towards that), some sort term savings (a savings account through the Army that accrues 10% on up to $10,000) and all of our long term investments covered (stock in his company, 401k, Wroth IRA).  So, as we continue trying to multiply what God has given us, I am trying my hand at trading stocks.  I won't be putting any real money in until mid-April, but we have set aside $2,000 to get me started.  I have already started tracking some since Mar 19th and am not doing too bad.  I don't really plan on day trading or anything like that, but I want to get it started.  I have a good mentor in my unit that has been doing this for awhile and made a lot of money over the passed few years.  He also challenges me to learn about different types of investing (yes, I know what short selling is and how it is one way to make money in a bearish market!) and I am learning a lot.  I am not sure how I will continue to provide updates on this new goal of mine (which is why I haven't written about it before) but I find find a way. 

The only piece of advice/ caveat I can say is this, only put in what you are completely willing to use.  Kevin and I have decided on $2,000 because we won't miss it (in generic terms).  We are already counting it as a loss and plan to never see it again.  I sincerely hope that won't be the case, but if we treat it like it is, even if all of our stock prices drop, we will have the time to hold out and wait for the market to improve.   

Emotional:  To be honest, I don't know that I am doing any better on the wifely front.  This week, I have definitely spent more time talking to Kevin and intentionally setting more time aside for him.  I have been praying for him more specifically and intentionally.  And I have been spending more time each day just reveling in the wonderful husband that I have, but I hardly feel like it is enough.  I know that it is really hard for Kevin when I am gone. And even though this has already turned into a period of growth for both of us, it is very hard to feel like a good wife when I am so far away and very wrapped up in my mission here.  Sometimes, I really wonder if it is possible to be a good wife when I am so far away and I wonder how women in business that involves frequent travel do it.  (Please keep in mind, my definition of a good wife is not just based on fidelity or something based on culture.  My definition can be found in Proverbs 31, Ephesians 5, etc. etc.)

Mental: So, lean six sigma projects are well kicked off and I am already working on my problem statement.  My project is focused on the way things are moved around Afghanistan.  Basically, a long story short is, everything moves in containers and we don't have a very good grasp of what moves, when and to where.  And since the Lean Six Sigma process is all about reducing waste and increasing efficiency, my job to took get a better picture of how things are moving, and then streamline those processes.  It's kind of sad, but my life currently revolves around metal 20 foot containers.  Heck, I even live in one!

Physical:  Alright, so my goal here is a pretty simple one, I have decided that first and foremost, I want to get back to a 300 on my P.T. test.  That means 45 pushups, 78 situps (I think, I always go over in this category), and run 2 miles in under 15:36.  I am pretty close on my pushups, way over on situps (I normally do over 95) and I think I am close on my run.  I think I am going to start doing P.T. tests every couple of weeks to track my progress.  Once I get back to a perfect score (300), then I will focus on strengthening my core and going back to Crossfit.  And, like I have said every week, I really need to get back to my yoga.  I think I am going to try to do yoga every other night or so and do some core and upper body strengthening routines.

Spiritual: First, a praise.  I prayed every night of March without missing!  I am very proud of myself for that.  It is an accomplishment for me, and even more so in that I journaled all of them.  I look forward to reading in the future and seeing all the answered prayers.   Kevin and I have also started a new reading program together.  We are reading through the bible chronologically and I am actually really enjoying it (not something I usually feel in the old testament).  We are about 8 days in, but I think this is something I will have no problem continuing.  It is set up so that we will read through the whole bible in a year, but I am guessing at some point, we will double up so that we will be done before I come home.