Deployment Bucket List:

As part of my "make it go faster or else" campaign for the deployment, I wrote up a " Deployment Bucket List" and let me tell you, It is what got me through the deployment. 1) Go back to college and get my degree 2) Learn how to crochet 3) Join a gym and lose the baby weight 4) Learn to cook and bake better 5) Craft more (which I do not see as crocheting) because they fall in two different categories. 6) Learn to be a better parent and a better wife. 7) Attend church every Sunday 8) Spend more time with family 9) Learn more about my children 10) Become more self reliant 11) Learn to garden 12) Reduce amount of television in the home 13) Volunteer 14) Read more A lot of people have asked me how the deployment seemed to go by so fast. It is because I was a full time student, full time mommy AND full time daddy, Family Readiness Group Leader for my husband's Army unit and also learned new skills. I challenged myself in every way possible and gained a respect for education that I never thought that I would get to. I had been attending school full time through Brigham Young University online before Joe deployed. I considered putting my education on hold once a gain so that I could focus more on our children and others. Then I came to the conclusion that one should be a little selfish and self centered when their Soldier is deployed to use that time to explore new learning possibilities. SO... That evening I enrolled full time with BYU Idaho online again and decided to finish my college degree. Since I was on the road of "being more self centered" I got massages at the gym and would often attend class while I was on the tread mill or getting a massage... yeah lets not go there. I joined a gym and worked out 6 times a week for 2 hours. If you have not been to Life Time Fitness, now is the time to change your life and go work out there once. I could do a entire blog post dedicated to that gym... or should I say, "HUGE Life changing center?" One of the hardest things for me to do on my deployment list was learn to crochet. I had come to the realization that crocheting wasn't just for the cat lady down the road. It is a fun stress reducer and allowed for me to channel my crazy want for learning towards something productive. So what did I make? MINION HATS... DUH OF COURSE! Who would make anything else? ... Kidding!