I Suck and so Does Wisconsin

So...currently, I'm in Wisonsin on my unit's annual training. Sadly, I didn't have time to prepare a whole lot for the time I'll be gone. I'm a slacker and my poor bloggy is suffering, I just wanted to check in and let the blog world know that I'm still alive. 

It's pouring rain here and it's a bit of a challenge to get any work done, but eventually we'll get something done. 

When I get home on May 16th, I'll have a LOT of catching up to do. I may be on social media for the next little while though, so you can catch me there! 

Until I return! 

Bye! 

What's With Hating On Easter?

Well hey there, Monday. We meet again. 
Today, I go back to my civilian job for a few days. I'm currently just hoping that I haven't forgotten how to do my job.  This is probably the most difficult part of being a reservist: Balance. I'm about to spend almost my whole summer playing Army, and then I have to go back to civilian life like I never left. Some might say we have the best of both worlds, but I'd have to disagree.  ------- Anyway...I'm so glad that I was home with my family to celebrate Easter. I know that a lot of people don't really celebrate it. Some people will spout off about how it's actually a pagan holiday, some just smoked weed because it was also 4/20.  Some think that eggs, bunnies, and candy, are too commercialized and hate that the focus is off the resurrection of Christ.  What is with all this hating on Easter? 
Well, if you ask me, it's an excuse for my whole family to get together, play with my adorable niece and eat ham and scalloped potatoes. For as long as I can remember, we've done an Easter Egg hunt and gotten baskets filled with more things than we ever would have imagined and we're no worse for wear.  I suppose that everyone has there own way of doing things, but this is ours. 
Kallie "hunted" for her little princess eggs \ And when I say hunted, I mean that they got in her way, so she just tossed them to the side and she headed straight towards the candy on the floor to put them all in her little basket.  My sister had her in an adorable little yellow dress that got caught under her knees when she crawled. I think it's safe to say that Kallie has no idea what Easter is. Look at this kid's face...
To me, family is the most important part of the holidays. True meaning matters, but more than that, using the time you have off of work and available to spend together is what matters most. Maybe I'm wrong in thinking that, but I honestly don't think so. 
I hope that everyone had a great Easter/Spring Break/ 4/20 / Pagan Celebration. Or whatever you celebrate. All I know, is that I'm so happy I could be around this year to spend time with my family. 
What did you do for Easter?

This is Just The Beginning

Well hello! You may be wondering where the heck I have been. Well, I spent that past few weeks in Fort Leonard Wood at a Mass Casualty Decontamination course. It was awesome. Overwhelming and basically like drinking water from a fire hose, but it was beyond worth it to go. 
I was able to see one of my battle buddies from AIT who is stationed in Fort Drum (that's in New York...real far away from me).  I got to get to know few people in my unit really well.  We had a few really good nights out there together. It was stressful, but I am so happy that I was afforded the opportunity to go out there to learn and grow socially and within my military career. 
The first portion of the class was all classroom stuff. We had to get out hazmat operations certifications first and foremost. I studied more for that test than I think I have for every test I've ever taken in my life, and I got an 88% on it...I'm hoping to take a course like this one again that also teaches operations just so I can re-learn all this stuff again.  I do, however, have this great party trick where I can name most of the cargo tanks on the road and tell you what is most likely in them...Okay, so it isn't great, it's weird, but oh well. 
I learned so much and had such a good time. I can't wait until I get this chance again.  And this is only the beginning. Next week I'm heading out to Annual Training, so it isn't unlikely that I'll be a little bit MIA, but I'll try to post a little bit when I get the chance.  A few weeks after that, in June, I'll be heading out to Fort Knox, Kentucky to do an active duty assignment for a few weeks. It's probably going to be lame, but I'm also very excited for that. Any chance I get to live the active duty life for a while, I'll take!  Well, I guess that's about it for now.
Stay classy, Blog-world. 

That Love/Hate Though...

Tons of people ask me if I like the military. My typical answer is "I love it.  I'm suited for it and it's awesome"  In the next breath, I'll be telling them about something about it that I really freaking hate.  Before I launch into what I have to say today, I want to preface this by saying that nearly anyone you meet who is in the military will have a love/hate relationship.  Sure, we will complain about it all day long, but at the end of the day when the work is done and we can put our feet up, we'll let you know that we're proud to serve our country. Even if it means we had to clean the toilets all day. So when you read this, don't get me wrong, I'm a Soldier through and through. I love the Army and I love being a member of the military, but with all love come a little titch of hate.  It's possible I used this post as an excuse to read a zillion Military Memes and a crap ton of Terminal Lance Comics. 

10.  Regulations constantly change.  One day we're allowed to do something and the next we're not. And we're also expected to always know what the regs are. This is especially difficult as a reservist when they are constantly changing. 

9.  We often get treated like we're children. Possibly because we deserve it. 

8.  Putting my hair in a bun. 

7. Being rushed to do everything just to be at a standstill.  Otherwise known as "Hurry up and wait"

6.  People are stupid. 

5.  Too many chiefs, not enough Indians. Then later, there are too many Indians and not a chief among us. 

4. You're scared to pat your friend on the back because Sexual Assault. 

3. Men.

2. Being 15 minutes early to 15 minutes early. 

1. We spend a crap ton of our time doing things that aren't our job. 

Don't get me wrong, like I said before I really do love the Army. Joining the military was the right choice for me, but man...sometimes I just get this look on my face...Because I know shit's about to get stupid. 

Working Hard

So I should have said this yesterday, but I didn't, so I'll lay it down now.  I knew writing about my religion would get a bit of a response, but...whoa. I just want to say thank you to those of you who took a moment to read and reflect. It was a very personal and difficult post to write. I wrote it several times, each time a different way. I think that it ended up being sort of perfect and I hope it reminds each of you to be true to yourself.  In the spirit of being true to yourself, I've drafted a few goals for myself for the month of April. I spent a little bit more time on these ones than I did my goals for March. Hopefully I will be as successful with these as I was in March. For the month of April, I'm spending...basically the entire time on Fort Leonard Wood and also going on my Annual Training (also called AT) for 21 days.  I'll be home for Easter then I'll head back out to the field. I almost feel like an active duty solider. And I kind of love it.  I have a whole lot of exciting things happening in my military career and I hope I can keep it up.  Anyway, about my goals.  This month I want to...

Because I'm not at home, it will possibly be a struggle staying focused and working on myself while I'm busy working for someone else, but hopefully I will have some success.   Hopefully I don't go completely crazy! What are you working on this month?