Deployed Spouse Blues

My husband is currently just under a week into Deployment #2 out of a probably 3 in 2010.  I can't complain too much, since his 75 day deployments are pretty quick compared to what some spouses have to endure.  I'm in much better shape this time around, as well.  Last deployment (which was also the first for us) I had an active young infant, a rental property that still needed a lot of work, and a very difficult class towards my Masters.  I finished my class, fixed up the house and got it rented, and parented my child successfully, but it was rough.  On top of it all I barely knew anyone here when my husband left.

This deployment, I have a lot less stuff working against me.  I have made some great friends in the area and gotten involved in the active mom community here.  I don't have any summer classes and the rental house so far is pretty low maintenance.  I'm still feeling the deployment doldrums, though.  And I am not talking about missing my husband (although I of course do, very much).  There is something so BORING about being the only adult in the house when you're used to otherwise.   Ten months ago, I would have coped with food- looking forward to fatty, sugary, unhealthy treats from eateries all over town would have been a big distraction and something to look forward to day-by-day.  But now I'm on a diet, dammit, and with only 20 pounds to my goal weight (will have lost 100 when I get there!) I don't want to get derailed now.  Last deployment, I was mostly good on that front, but found myself substituting shopping for eating.  Heading out to the store would always take my mind off of the rumbling in my stomach, and having NEW THINGS on a semi-regular basis was a great distractor from boredom and loneliness.  But this time around, I would like to be a little more fiscally responsible.  Fighting my urges to hit Dairy Queen (and Sonic and McD's and Starbucks and Longhorn Steakhouse and Bruster's, mmm....) and Target (and Old Navy and Michael's and Victoria's Secret and Kohls and even Walmart God help me) HARD are really wearing me down though!!  I have recently started making some baby products (etsy store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/SweetBabyEve) and I'm hoping throwing myself into the crafting and creating will be at least a minor substitute for the eating and shopping that I am trying to control for the next two months.  Hopefully I will make a few sales so I can feel justified in continuing to stock up on my supplies ;)

Back to the Blogosphere...

I've been meaning to start baby-blogging for, oh, nearly ten months now.  I even had another blog that I could have easily commandeered for mommy-posting.  But I just kept making excuses and putting it off, because I felt like my first post had to be monumental, summing up everything that's happened throughout my pregnancy, since Evie's birth, all my emotions and tiny milestones and so on and so forth.  And that's intimidating!  I didn't feel up to the challenge. I don't have much free time, what with an active infant, attempting to start my own business, and a mommy-social-life, and I wasn't sure I'd ever find enough time to write actual finished posts that I wouldn't be embarrassed to admit were my handiwork.

So, I'm giving myself permission to start this blog off with an unimpressive post.  It's not going to say every single thing I've been meaning to say for the past ten months.  It's not going to clearly demarcate my point-of-view as a blogger or a mother.  It's not, frankly, going to be very interesting, BUT, most importantly, it's going to be PUBLISHED and I'm hoping that finally jumping this hurdle will get me back into the habit of blogging regularly.  Fingers crossed!

A quick intro, which I'll flesh out further in later posts:  I'm Sarah.  My fabulous daughter is Evelyn (Evie for short), born on September 1st 2009, which puts her just shy of ten months as I write this.  I'm married to Justin (4 years in September) who is in the Air Force.  We live in Middle Georgia but our hearts lie in Virginia.  I'm 3 credits and a capstone shy of getting a Master's degree that I will likely never use.  My days revolve around my daughter, and I'm also working on starting a business and getting down to my goal weight (80 lbs down, 20 to go).