On The Downhill Slope

The title of this post relates to quite a few things going on here.

First, we are a third of the way through August, and more than halfway through the Summer season.  Soon, the kids will be back in school, fall will be here, the leaves will turn and gently float to the ground.  The nights will become chilly, and the heavier blankets will come out of storage.
This summer has been very different for me. J has been over in Afghanistan and I have been here.  Normally, J and I usually spend the summer months exploring the back roads, antique shopping, learning about the area history, and being together.  It was very odd not doing that.  I hope that when he comes home we can catch up on some of that missed time.

Speaking of J coming home, we are more than halfway through J's deployment as he will be coming home on October 21.  The time has actually gone by a lot quicker than I thought it would.  Thanks in part to being able to talk to J almost every day by email, phone or skype.  $90/month for the internet in his tent, WELL WORTH EVERY DOLLAR.  Of course, it's also an expense he can claim :)
Still counting down the days.

Finally, as you can see from my sidebar, we are more than 50% on paying off our credit card debt.  When that sidebar gets updated tomorrow (payday) it will be over $20,000 paid off.  Even I'm amazed at how much we've been able to pay off in such a short amount of time.  I'm very thankful for the opportunity that J has been given, and of the sacrifice that he has made in going over to Afghanistan.

I was going over the numbers yesterday, and had revised my payoff dates.  I originally had set our payoff date as 09/22, but I believe I can push that up by 1 payperiod (2 weeks) and have all of the credit card debt paid off by 09/08.  The rest of J's paychecks would go towards paying our regular expenses (rent, water, electricity, etc) and savings for our down payment for a home.

I can't wait! :)