Never Forget

When I was 8 I woke up one morning.  As far as I knew, it was just another school day.  I was matting down my crazy bed head, stretching awake and wondering what I was going to eat for breakfast.  My mom was in the bathroom curling her hair, and the news was playing in the background just like it did every morning. On my morning walk to the bathroom I saw the horrifying scene of smoke streaming from the World Trade Center.  Of course, my day went on as usual.  As an eight year old it's hard to understand how something like that in New York City (Basically light years away from me) could affect me at all. I went to school that day and things were strange.  We spent almost the entire day reflecting on our patriotism.  We heard announcements about what had happened and all the adults scrambled trying to figure out how to explain this tragedy to children. 

source

Today, in this age of information, everyone knows a little bit about a lot of things.  It's an incredible thing that is causing a lot of problems.  While love spreads like wildfire and photos showing patriotism and kindness circulate all over the country in minutes the same things happen with hate.  More than half of the things I see on Facebook and Twitter are people arguing about who is more right.  We're divided in everything that matters and everything that doesn't.  I constantly see people spreading words of hate.  Calling each other morons and liars. There's hypocrisy and bigotry.  Prejudice and discrimination.  Constant arguing about police brutality, Planned Parenthood, marriage licenses, amnesty, and who is dumber or more hypocritical.  I think about what happened 14 years ago and how it happened because of hate. Because people refuse to understand each other and continue to be intolerant of each other.
***

I joined the Army because I wanted to be a part of something bigger than myself.  I wanted to put my opinions aside and just do what I felt was right.  I haven't been any where and I haven't done anything, but I stand next to people who have and one day, I may have to.
And for their sake, I just wish everyone could learn to get along. 

Never Forget.

Two Years Ago Today

Two years ago today I went off to basic training ...

and my whole life changed.  I remember standing in my recruiters office with my parents and my sisters holding back tears and hoping that the next six months would go by as fast as possible. 

I remember sitting on that air plane reading The Great Gatsby and not paying attention to a single word I read.  I was so nervous.  All I could think about was getting there and failing.  I will never forget getting off that bus and standing in formation with my bag.  I felt lost.  Out of place.  Awkward.  I was sure that I had made some kind of mistake.

But sure enough, as the days passed by and the waking up at 04 got easier, I became more and more confident.  I wasn't afraid to talk to Drill Sergeants and I really wasn't feeling any fear at all anymore.

 A couple weeks had gone by and we had been issued our rifles.  It was like that awkwardness I'd felt in the beginning just started all over again. I swear I couldn't even lock the bolt to the rear.  If you know anything about the M16 you know that isn't hard and it shouldn't have been, but it was for me.  I felt stupid and weak.

After a couple of days of practice though, I was finally comfortable with my weapon.  I mean, they hardly left our hands.  It would have been harder not to get good at handling my weapon.

So that was good.  I was feeling good.  I was getting to know the people around me and I was totally ready to kill it.  Then PT started.  Of course, we were doing PT all the time when someone did something wrong or not fast enough or not good enough, but it was much different when we started the real stuff.  PT wasn't really all that hard.  I sucked at push-ups but I was getting better.  I wasn't great at running, but it wasn't killing me, but every day it was cold and windy.  I was getting sicker every day and my entire battery seemed to be screwing up more and more.

But eventually it all just...started to get easier.  The ruck marching didn't hurt so bad and the packs seemed to get lighter.  My PT score soared from a failing 170 to 260.  We did our 16k ruck march and it was finally time for graduation.  I was told by the battery's XO that I was getting promoted.  My family was coming to graduation, I'd found an amazing friend in my bunk mate, and I'd finally made it through some of the hardest days of my life.

My whole family was there at graduation including my brand new niece who's birth I happened to miss in my absence.  That reunion was one that I will truly never forget.  I have never been so happy to see my family in my life.  And after family day and graduation, we said our goodbyes and I headed off to AIT.

AIT was a whole new set of challenges that made my life...interesting, but it was all a completely life changing experience.  I know that without those nights I sat up tearfully reading about my nieces birth, and without those days that I spent at sick call because I'd sprained my ankle, and without those days of feeling on top of the world I would be a completely different person.  I am so happy that I made the decision to join the Army.  It was a life changing experience that continues to enrich my life.  I love being in the Army and I hope that many others can find joy in their service.

Happy Army Birthday to me!

My Thoughts on American Sniper

Last night, Travis and I went to see American Sniper.  

This movie is catching all kind of controversy right now.  After I saw it, I read a few pretty detailed reviews and other articles about it to see what people were thinking about it.  I know that a lot of prominent figures in Hollywood have had words to say over it and I was curious as to what other people were saying as well.

A lot of people are upset that the movie just isn't accurate enough. They aren't explaining the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. They're making people think that it was caused by 9/11. They're making Chris Kyle out to seem like he was remorseful. They're turning the war into a human interest story...

As someone who know that the War on Terror wasn't a direct result of 9/11 and as someone who can understand the want to defend the freedom of the American people I really enjoyed the movie...most of the criticism surrounding it is saying that they are leaving out way too many details about the war.  Well, film critics and random people alike, I've got news for you...This movie wasn't about the war.  It was about a person.  Chris Kyle.  It's called "American Sniper" not "A War on Terror and American Snipers In General:  An exactly factual documentary on the war in the middle east" 

Since when does Hollywood get everything right and always depict the story exactly as it happened? I feel like they are simply expecting something from a movie that rarely if ever happens.  I swear, people criticizing this movie are assuming that every single viewer will watch it and assume that all of that was real footage and Bradly Cooper is the same guy as Chris Kyle.  It's a movie.  They have to make people like it or it isn't going to make any money...so they're going to dramatize.  Why on earth would you expect anything else?  I'm not really trying to say that it's okay...but it happens with everything.

Example: The movie Captain Phillips.  A very exciting film based on a true story.  It's totally inspiring to watch Tom Hanks "save" everyone on the ship...when if you look into the story a little bit more, the crew members will tell you that Captain Phillips was being arrogant when they went too close to the shore.  That his moves were actually more detrimental than they were helpful...but it was widely liked film that didn't really depict exactly what happened, rather it told a dramatized story about a true event with a more specific protagonist.

So I choose to sort of take this one at face value.  The story in American Sniper is based on a true story about the most lethal sniper in American History.  It notes the issues that soldiers who go to war face.  It talked about readjusting to the regular family lifestyle and PTSD.  And it showed grueling images that state how war is hell.

Maybe instead of seeing all those "bad" things about the movie we can just allow it to symbolize all the brave men and women who have died in the line of duty and those who have suffered the consequences of fighting a war.  

The Important Things in Life

A few wonderful things happened this weekend.  Let's start with the most important one:

photo cred

Gilmore Girls is on Netflix.  Don't panic.  Just go to the nearest smart TV, computer, laptop, tablet, etc...and watch until you feel like you can't take any more quick-witted humor and Emily Gilmore.

Okay so maybe that isn't the most important thing ever, however, my life is about to get very hermit-like because of that fact, so it's at least a little important. 

Also this weekend Trav and I went out to First Friday.  It's on Fremont street.  Basically they hold this thing on the first Friday of each month. We honestly weren't all that impressed. It was basically normal Fremont Street except you had to be 21 to enjoy.  You also had to wait in line to get in. They do have bands and such playing on the street, but they do that every weekend...so we didn't really get it.  

Instead of spending a lot of time out there at "First Friday" we decided to go grab some food and listen to an awesome little one man band.  I even brought my real camera. There is a noticeable difference in the pictures we took...

You don't even know how hard it is for us to make normal faces, but somehow, we pulled it off.  Honestly, Container Park might be my favorite part of downtown.  It might be totally new, but it's such a great addition to the area. We at the barbecue place and listened to the music while little kids (and adults) played with giant Legos and ran all over the play area.

The next morning a few of us from ROTC did some volunteering at Shade Tree.  It's a homeless/domestic violence shelter for Women.  Some of us helped organize their supply room with their clothing and toiletries, other served lunch, some did laundry...It was an overall, very rewarding day that I'm really glad I got to be a part of. But I think we need to talk to the guy on the end about looking like he's having a good time...

Well, I've got to get over to Travis's to go make some pumpkin cookies.  I've been craving them for a week, and although I'm not much of a baker, I think I can pull this off. 

Getting Down on the Dance Floor in PT Shoes

Well hello there, Tuesday. 
My time here at Fort Knox is coming to a close and I can't help but feel a bit of sadness. I have made so many great memories here, it's going to be hard to say goodbye to all the great people I've met since I've been here. Over the weekend, we did something different than we usually do:  We went to the on-post bar. 
Now that was a trip. It might have been the most hilarious thing ever to watch Soldiers in sweat pants and PT shoes get down on the dance floor.  I thought I had seen it all when I watched Marines in dress blues dance.  I was wrong. 
I only have a few pictures of the night as I left my phone in the van.  These are weird and blurry, but documented the night regardless. As always, I danced. I couldn't even hold still long enough to snap a quality picture. 

I look like a monster from Doctor Who, but I think you can tell that I'm having a good time. Right? Below I am learning a dance that I am clearly terrible at as my friend just laughs endlessly at me.  I just wasn't meant for hip hop.  As hard as I try, I might never be able to pull it off. 

Here we were supposed to be looking at the mirror and not the phone. Pardon my lack of attention to detail. At this point I was already...3 sheet to the wind. 

It was honestly such a fun night. While the bar is about 20-30 guys to every girl, we all still had a great time.  And the fights didn't start to break out until after last call, so the night didn't get ruined by anyone.  I played some Corn Hole with some fun guys I met on the patio and danced the night away.  Basically, I woke up the next day remember that one of the reason I love the Army is great adventures like last weekend.  I can't wait for more like it to come. 

Don't forget about my $50 giveaway!

10 Things to Love Instead of Hate

After mulling over the life that I am currently living, a thought occurred to me: I have explained the many things that I hate about the Army, but I haven’t ever discussed the things that I love.  That being said,he complaints were mostly for the "10 things I hate..." series, but I suppose that it's time to share a few things about the Military that I couldn't live without

          1//  I have a friends all over the country that I could call any time.  There are couches across the America (and Puerto   Rico for that matter...) that I could sleep on if I needed because of all of the connections and friendships I have made in the Army.

 

    2//       We are a family.  I have never felt as loved as I do in the Army.  Even when I’m being teased about something dumb I said two weeks prior or someone is giving me a hard time because I screwed up, I understand that we take care of each other and would literally lay down our lives for one another.

         3//  The money isn't bad. Sure it isn't a ton, but for me, a young single soldier without much to support but myself, it is pretty good. I can’t even imagine what kind of money I would have saved if I was active duty. Of course, for soldier with big families and all that, it’s much harder to get by.  I just try not to think about it hourly and I feel okay with it.

         4//  It has presented me with opportunities I wouldn't have had otherwise. I've been able to get HAZMAT certifications, I got to go on a cross country road trip for a specific purpose.  I've had all kinds of adventures here (to be divulged later) and this is only the beginning.

   

            5//  I got instate tuition at the college I attend because of the Army.  It constantly inspires me to work hard and be better. While I've been here at LDAC (Leadership Development Assessment Course) I have decided that I should be an officer. I've decided to go back to school completely on a whim because I don’t want to be ordinary. I want to be...All that I can be…. (see what I did there?)

   

      6//  The Army has taught me how to be a grown up and take care of myself. While I have always been “mature for my age” the Army did so much to teach me not only how to act older, but how to be older. I've learned to take control of my life and my career and be a proactive, contributing member of the World.

        7//    I have learned how to work.  Pre-Army life, when I was presented with a physically challenging or otherwise difficult task, I would feel defeated and call for help unable to solve the problem on my own.  Now, I look at problems in a different way. I will do what I can to fix something before I shout for assistance.

           8// On the flip side of #7, I’m not afraid to ask for help.  Previously, I would have asked for help, yes, but I also would have sat and stared at my problem for 30 minutes while I worked up the courage to tell someone I didn't succeed at my task. The Army taught me that things are accomplished faster with help when you need it.

     9//  I have been exposed to people and situations that I never would have been otherwise.  It has made me into a far more well rounded person.  I'm so happy that I've had the chance to meet so many great people and learn to many things from them.  

      10//  And finally the Army made me eat.  This might sounds stupid, but I used to hate all kinds of food that I now things are absolutely delicious just because I was so hungry at some point I had to eat whatever was in front of me. Well, now I know that those foods were actually quite tasty and should never be neglected again.

And there you have it.  10 things I love about the Army.  I honestly could go on and on.  Nearly all of these things could apply to any branch of the military.  I suppose that it would depend on the person.  If you ask me, you get out of it what you put into it.  I work hard and put everything into the Army so I get a lot out of it as well.

Whenever I look at my life’s decisions and the path that I've ended up on, I feel completely satisfied with it. While it wasn't the plan initially, I have made myself very happy with my choices. I cannot wait to continue on this path and find out what else this amazing life has to offer.

This Time Will Be Different

Well, I did it again. I made a huge life changing decision. It's one I've made before, but then, the timing wasn't right. I was overly excited for something that was very difficult to accomplish in a short amount of time.
I've been spending some time around the colleg campus in Louisville and I just felt homesick for that life. I felt, all of a sudden, like I needed to make a change.  Since I left school, although I've been working very hard and saving money, I have felt so very...stationary.  It was like I still new what I wanted but didn't really have any true plans to pursue it.  Being here and working with Cadets has simply changed my mind.  
I'm going back to UNLV.

 

Yep.  Real life. I'm doing it.  All I have to do is submit my immunization proof and I'm in.  It was so easy. I called the registrar's office and there was nothing to it.  A sign that I have to do it.

 

While I'm at it, I'm going to attend ROTC courses to later (hopefully) become a Commissioned officer.  Just thinking about it, I have butterflies. That alone tells me that I have to do it.  It was like I woke up this morning and just knew what I had to do. 

 

At first, I thought I was being ridiculous thinking that I could get home from Kentucky and start school right away, but now, it just feels right.  I know that I've said that before, but I feel so much more confident this time. On top of that, I'll have a little bit more money in my pocket. If you'll remember last fall semester I was ridiculously broke. Like so terribly broke I couldn't eat out. Like ever.

 

This time...it will be different.  And I cannot wait!

 

I have a checklist a mile long of the things that I have to do before I can go, but it isn't phasing me at all. Before I felt overwhelmed and stressed out, as if there was no possible way to accomplish anything at all. This time...this time will be different.

Highly Parenthetical

You guys! I don’t even know where to start.  I love my life so much.  Seriously.

Over the past 3.25 days, I have traveled in my little car across 8 states.  I’ve seen amazing things. I just don’t even know how to describe it.  A huge portion the ride, I just sat there wondering how on earth I was going to describe the experience to my blog.  My conclusion? I honestly don’t even know if I can. 

The only word I can think of to describe it is simply euphoric.  

It was like every state line I crossed, I felt as if I was entering into a new world.  And it was a whole different world each time.  As I was driving through the Midwest, it was mostly farm land that I was driving through, and when I could, I tuned into the radio to try and get a real piece of what the place was like. 

I just have all this wanderlust inside of me, and this little 1600 mile jaunt has only just intensified the lust in my heart.

**

Tragically, I have as much internet on this lap top as I do on an etcha-sketch (read “zero”) so I’m currently writing drafts as word documents for the time when I have the chance to hit the library.  I can’t even really use the internet on my phone.  I’ve used up 90% of my data (as of 06/26) and my billing period ends the 29^th. ..I can’t even Tinder it up. But anyway…

(update:  Since writing this post, I bought a little bit more data so I now have a "hotspot".  It will be used to post all my entries)

So far I haven’t really done much on Fort Knox.  I checked in, got a lovely (read “super crappy”) barracks room, did some other administrative sort of things, and now here I am. 

Let's not even talk about how bad my bed looks...don't worry, we'll never get inspected. But seriously, I feel like I'm in prison. does my room not look like Piper's cube on Orange is the new black?

For some reason lately, I’ve been feeling very…adventurous.  I can’t explain why.  If I knew, I promise I would divulge the secret, but seems how I’m not even telling myself, I probably can’t tell you either.  Just know that for the first time in a long time, I’m so outrageously happy with my life situation.  Sure, there are things that could be better, but I’ve chosen to, as Augustus Waters would say “I’m on a roller coaster that only goes up” (John Greene “The Fault in Our Stars”) And I quite like it that way.

Well, I suppose that is all  for now, I shall report in as soon as I can, like I said, my computer may as well be a Magna-Doodle…so you’ll see posts when you see em. I’m going to work at cranking them out when I can so that they’re seen as often as possible!

So until I have a few posts stacked up and ready to go, I'm just going to stare into these lovely eastern sunsets and work to thoroughly enjoy my time here. 

Bye for now!

The Creativity of the Bored Soldier

Remember when week ends were fun? I don't...I spent my Friday night saying a final goodbye to my car.  It was a terribly sad moment in my life...Hopefully I'll do some car shopping soon and find something that I love even more.  Saturday, I worked, ate some Arby's, and watched Netflix.  Sunday, I worked. Like always.  What a wild weekend.  I guess I'll spice up today's post with a little Military Monday.  It only seems appropriate as it is Memorial Day.  Photo Cred  With that being said, I hope everyone can take a moment out of their day to remember those that have fought and died for our freedom.   Although a lot of people think it isn't right to thank those who serve on Memorial day, I think it's completely okay.  Any one of us that raised our right hands and swore to defend the constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic deserve a little bit of thanks today.  Maybe they didn't die for your freedom, but they would. To me, that matters.  An all-volunteer-force where I chose to be the one that may have to risk my life instead of you...that matters.      And to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, I am eternally grateful.  Today, I've been cruising military pages and looking at all of these photos of memorial bracelets on a beer bottle...most of these men and women that have given their lives are my age...and I've barely lived any life at all...I can't imagine what that must be like.  They deserve all the thanks in the world.  Not just today, but everyday. 
And now onto...

At the Beginning of AT, there honestly wasn't a whole lot to do, so if you were on some specific job, you were able to sort of just, hang out.  The first few days of AT were probably the best part (besides my birthday)  I have a best Army Friend. I don't know if I'm his best Army Friend, but he's definitely mine. Well, he brought a tablet with a bunch of movies on it.  By the time we left, we had watched quite a few movie and found several ways to mount the tablet so that several people could watch at once. This was the first way.

That's a deployment bag, two pens, and a fleece cap.  At one point there were 6 or 7 people gathered around watching Batman around our little theatre.  Boredom makes you creative I guess.   The other variations of this mounting were in an MRE box (there's two little vinyl straps on the boxes before you open them. We stacked two boxes on top of each other and wedged the tablet in the straps while laying in the back of a humvee) and we also used duct tape at one point. The tape was probably the least creative, but it worked.  These little theatres made life much less boring when we had down time. 

Honestly, most of AT was kind of demotivating. Our work/rest cycle was all screwed up, so basically, we were on missions every night and never getting any sleep.  On top of that, the food sucked.   It was like we rarely had the actual chance to recharge. I also think that I went 7 days without a shower at one point simply because the time was never available to take care of business.  It wasn't the most fun thing in the world.

This is me about a week and a half in trying really hard not to lose my shit.

That green thing over my LBV is called miles gear. It's set up for war games so if someone's laser hits them you die.  The dumb thing? We didn't even use them. It was just...cumbersome. Also very expensive.  We literally couldn't go anywhere without our kevlars in hand because the also had miles gear on them...crappy. 

Basically AT was so stressful, it caused me to break my soda fast. 

I didn't drink a ton of it, but I just needed...something and I don't smoke, so a coke and a Red Bull it was.  

Since I got home, I've been drinking a little bit of soda, but not nearly as much as I used to. If I do, I drink something without caffeine usually and I don't tend to even drink it all.  I just don't have a craving for it like I used to.  I'll just order a sprite or something at a restaurant every now and then.  Life is better without a whole bunch of soda in it. Promise. 

Alright, so this conclude today's "Military Monday" I hope you are enjoying this little series and it's not too much Army for you all.  If you get sick of it all, let me know.  I'll write something more exciting, or at least try to!  I hope everyone is having a fantastic Monday! 

The Military Version of a Roller Coaster

To avoid dumping too much Army on you at once, I present to you the ever so exciting...

Each Monday, you'll get a piece of my training experience:  What I learned, how I feel about it and why I still like the Army after it all. 

 Today I'll share a bit about my experience at Annual Training which will be referred to from here on out as AT.  Let me start with this:  Wisconsin is cold.  It rained nearly the entire time we were there. If it wasn't raining, it was at least very gloomy  We saw the sun maybe 3 or 4 days out of the 21 days that we were there. That meant that we always had to have on warming layers as well as our vests with our magazine pouches loaded down with blank ammo, carry our weapons around as well as wearing all these thick layers to keep us warm. It's uncomfortable. Almost as uncomfortable as that run-on sentence I just wrote... We were off to a very poor start.  Although there were plenty of things to complain about, there were a few fantastic training opportunities that we were afforded.  The first one we did was a humvee roll-over training. In this training, you get inside a humvee up on a machine, and they roll it around and teach you how to react when it happens.  As the lightest one in my group, I was selected for the "gunner" position. Each person sits in a certain seat and has a job to do in the even of a roll-over.   The gunner's job is to drop down out of the turret (that's basically the gunner's hatch) and be held onto by the other passenger in the vehicle (the gunner doesn't have a seat belt.)Well, unfortunately, my fellow passengers were not all on the same page, and I sort of flew all over that damn humvee. It was so scary! All I could think to do was press my hands up against the turret and hope for the best.  Everyone was shouting and there were little foam ammo cans rolling around and hitting me in the face...It was a crazy experience.  Lucky for you, I found a video of the exact simulator. Take a look.

When we all climbed out, I realized that my face was kind of hurting. Well I hadn't realized it at the time, but I smacked my face on the only un-padded part of the turret.  I walked away with a nasty bruise on my face that people commented on for about two weeks. Luckily, it's gone now, but it made my head hurt for days.  I guess that's what I get for embracing the military version of a roller coaster... Check it out.  See that dirt smudge? Not dirt.  It also stretched a little and changed from purple to green to yellow.  Gross. It sucked wearing that bruise around for nearly two weeks, but I think I got some valuable training out of it.  The Army can be frustrating and hard, but they sure let us do some cool shit every now and then. If you ever get the chance to try anything like this out, I suggest you go ahead and give it a shot. 

Pretty Sure These Eggs are Plastic

Well hellloooo! 
I know, it has been forever, but I'm finally back from annual training and I can jump back into this blogging thing head first. It has been a long three weeks...let me tell ya. Playing Soldier can be some tough business. I'd like to do a major photo dump and just detail everything that happened throughout the whole time, but I think I'll just dish it out a little at a time. Trust me, you can only read about how hungry I was the whole time so much in one post...
I mean...look at my breakfast. :P The only truly edible part was that cereal...That banana was not ready for eating...
But that is not to say that I didn't have some good times. The best part was getting to know all the soldiers around me. It's hard when you're in the Reserve and you only see each other once a month. It helped to be around each other for nearly a whole month.
In the next couple days you will also hear about my 21st birthday (also spent in poopy Wisconsin), a new adventure, a new boyfriend, and a the car accident I got into today...
Yep. The car I bought all on my own last august...I think It's totaled. Cool right?  
No.  Not at all. 
On the bright side, I didn't really get hurt, but my body feels like it got in a car wreck.  Because it did.  For now, I must go, but you can look forward to me returning the regular 5-days-a-week blog-mode by Monday.  I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend and is doing better than I am write now.

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. 

Tougher. Better.

This weekend was really long and really short all at the same time.  We did some really beneficial night ops, but we had to sleep out in the 30 degree weather. That was not exactly the most fun thing I have ever done. It was a very long four hours. Just when I would get warm enough to sleep for a few minutes, the cold would pinch my toes and I'd be awake again. It was a tough mission, but it was good for us. It helped us figure out what we needed to fix among our team and within our entire platoon.
The best part is, because we were out all night, they gave us almost the entire day off on Saturday. It was heavenly. Of course, I slept almost the whole day, but it was so nice. I don't think I have ever appreciated having a heated blanket as much as I do right now.   I like to complain about being a Soldier a lot. I gripe and moan about the way things are done and how it could all be so much better, but this weekend, I just felt so proud to be in the Army at all.  As many of you know, it wasn't easy for me to get where I am today.  I had my little promotion ceremony today, and I just swelled up with pride in knowing how hard I have worked to earn what I have. I say it has been easy, but I don't know if that's actually true. I think it started out hard and I just got stronger. Tougher. Better.  With hair long enough for a real bun! 
*** Today, I also got to celebrate my only little niece's first birthday. This time last year, I was doing weapons qual and trying really hard to get enough to eat. I'm so sad I wasn't around when she was born, but I am elated I got to share this day with my family this year. I can't believe my big sister has been a mommy for an entire year...She sure made a cute kid. 

Happy Birthday, my little Kallie Wallie. I don't know what our lives would be like without your cute little face. I'm proud to be your auntie. You make my life better by existing in it. 

Workin Hard

Well, hello, Monday! We meet again. Mondays don't really bother me.  I work literally every weekend, so Monday is just another day of the week, not really the start of working.  It's an interesting trade off of this job I got myself into.  For the month of march, I've made a few goals.  I am working on my New Years Resolutions, so I thought I'd just made a a few sub goals that help me to accomplish those big ones that I made. For this month, these are some of my goals. 

I kinda cheated because when I made these goals, it was the end of February, so I already completed this first goal on my list. The deal was, if I finished it, I got to stay a specialist. I got promoted last drill even though the standard had changed, but if I wanted to keep it, I had to get that done, so I finally finished it last Thursday.  So far, my other goals are going really well.  I started working on them before the month began.  I haven't had a drop of soda in days (which for me is a huge deal. I usually drink at least one a day) I've been hitting the gym every day and working hard. I think March is going to be a great month.  

You know what else I'm so excited about?

The Sassy Seamstress just sent me this fantastic pillow! I am so dang excited about it.  When I saw it sitting on my couch a couple days ago I was so happy I could have shouted...I didn't , but I wanted to.  It is so adorable.  It came with care instructions and arrived the day she told me to expect it and it is seriously too awesome. I think I need another one that says "Fezes are cool" 

I am pretty sure I'm going to have to order a couple of more things from the "not so family-friendly" gal.  All of her products will be this high-quality and hand made. I don't recommend anything I don't actually love...I. Love. This. 

Well, I think I've got to get going, but I hope you all have a wonderful week! I am pretty sure I will!

Death By Jogging

This morning, I did exactly what I told myself I was going to do.  I got dressed and went for a run. 
Okay...If I call it a run, I'm totally lying. It was more like a jog to the stop sign and then walk around the block and nearly die.  I'm back at square one and it's a bad, bad thing.  I have an APFT in a few weeks and I have to pass it. Not only do I have to pass it, but I have to kick its ass. I will NOT be worse than I was when I started. 
You have to understand what life is like in Utah in the winter.  We're high up and we have this disgusting winter pollution we call "inversion".  When you go out in it and breathe the air, you may as well be a smoker. That's how bad it is.  I guess this mean I gotta go running every day.  I feel really defeated and it sucks. I had to work  really hard to running a 14:30 2 mile.  It is not cool to die from running around the block.  Not. Cool.  This is the beginning of me getting up a little earlier every morning for a run.  
In other news
Oh my god. Almost as good as How I Met Your Mother. Zooey Deschanel is riot and I can't stop watching.  I think everyone needs a douche bag jar.  We should have a blogging douche bag jar.  When someone blogs something totally douchey, you gotta put a dollar in the jar. If it's especially bad, maybe a few more.  Seriously, it should be a thing. 
When you're boring, you are suddenly very excited by extremely small things.  Yesterday, I was using my sister's computer to do Army Homework and we decided to order pizza.  We went with Dominos.  That place is usually really expensive because it's quality pizza.  DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THE COUPON SECTION?! If you click on the "coupons" tab on the website where you order, it tells you all the deals. Usually, one medium pizza with two toppings will be $14.  We got two pizzas and wings for under $19.  I almost died from shock when we hit the check out button. Coupons. Best invention ever. 
That wasn't sponsored or something. I was just excited about it.  Like I said, lame things excite boring people.  And now...I shall go for I must work a million hours and do copious amounts of laundry.  
Good day blog-world.