I don't know how I forgot this but Monday I took my APFT and I passed!!!! Yeahhhh yuhhhh...I did 45 push-ups, 60 situps (counted) I got cheated out of like 15, and I ran a 17:18 on the 2-mile run. Not too shabby eh?
That's not all the good news though. I just finished my packet to contract with the Army ROTC...so the $$$ should be in effect pretty soon. I can't believe I'll be getting paid to train to be an officer....too cool lol.
And last but not least....my husband passed CA selection! Yay!!! Good things to come for us. I'm not gonna lie...it's been a tough week not being able to talk to him and motivate him but prayers work miracles....and so does having my parents that I can call who encourage me to stay strong and positive. =)
I feel so blessed and I'm excited for what to come. I wish we could spend tomorrow celebrating BUT I have my FTX this weekend so I guess we'll have to wait. But for a small celebration, I have cooked one of my husband's favorite meals...rice, beans, and fried pork chops!
Friday, September 30, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
The Power of Words...(blog-share)
So I was skimming through my FB friends and came across one that has a blog and decided to check it out. Behold I never knew how talented she was with words. She goes by the name Psyqsol in her blog. Her last post was quite deep and sobering to say the least. Like I said in my last post, words are our footprints that we leave behind. I would not be surprised if years from now some of her work gets published.
Here is her most recent poem: "Til' the Glass is Empty"
Here is her most recent poem: "Til' the Glass is Empty"
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Where would we be without books?
So I've been spending a lot of time lately at the school library. I've almost forgotten how much I love being around books! Nowadays we spend so much time on the internet. You can google just about any question you have and for the most part you will get a decent answer. Now we have e-books that can be accessed through a computer or mobile device such as a cell phone, tablet, kindle, or nook. I am a victim of this...I do have a kindle lol. But it just isn't the same as a good old book in your hands. Walking down the aisles in the library skimming through the titles and names of authors I felt them whispering to me "Read my story" "Hear my voice" "Welcome to my world of..." Words are the physical proof that knowledge exists. It's our way of leaving a footprint behind to others...so that this knowledge can be passed down from one generation to the next. These books of yesterday are what have helped us become what we are today and what we will be tomorrow.
This week my MSgt informed my class to start preparing a briefing which each of us will give to the class in two weeks. I've decided to do mine on Airborne history and Airborne school. Can you guess where my first stop was? The library of course! I decided to test my library's topic content to see if by any chance they had any books on military Airborne operations. And to my surprise I found absolutely everything I needed for my briefing and more! I'm excited to get started on this project. I've always had an interest in Airborne operations so this is going to just as fun for me as my briefing will be for the class. I will also be doing a demonstration of the jump commands with the help of some prior service cadets who are Airborne qualified. A big thanks to a good friend who suggested it. =)
If my book fascination wasn't enough already...I've also checked out some books for free time reading. I think I love non-fiction books just as much as fiction. Non-fiction books allow you to experience a real-life event that could have taken place hundreds of years ago...or maybe during your lifetime but it was in a place far away. Fiction books are great because you get to jump into an author's imagination and experience a world only known to the author and the readers of that book. Since I couldn't decide what type of book I wanted to read I picked one of each. My fiction book is a fantasy called Alanna, the first book of a quartet. It's juvenile reading so I should finish it pretty quickly. I've actually read this book before in middle school. It's part of a quartet (a series of 4 books) by the Tamora Pierce. She actually wrote a series of quartets and the characters are all part of the same world...and it's always about a female warrior of some sort. (Does it sound like someone here? lol) I just like how I can go through one book after the next and still be in the same world of people getting to know everything about it. I remember wondering how someone could just come up with something so fictional and immense in just their mind. I guess that's why I want to re-read these books. To be able to get lost in an amazing and magical world.
The non-fiction book that I picked is about a specific company from my husband's old unit. The book is called WAR by Sebastian Junger. Many of my 173rd family and friends have already bought and read the book when it released to the public last year. I've heard that it's a must read but it takes a lot to get through the whole thing emotionally. Well I started the book a few days ago and only got through the first few pages before I had to set it down and compile my thoughts and emotions. Just knowing that these stories being told actually happened and there are people right now with an emptiness lingering in their houses and hearts because some of the soldiers in this book didn't come home....it gives me goosebumps. I know that as a cadet training to be an officer, I will eventually have to face the loss of a soldier and the heartbreak of a family. It could even be me in the brink of action and how will I react if I'm to encounter an attack like Bella Ambush? Yes, I know you can never be prepared for death and reading this book is going to be hard but I know reading this book will give me a good picture of what war look likes and supply me with an awareness of what I could encounter in a few years.
This week my MSgt informed my class to start preparing a briefing which each of us will give to the class in two weeks. I've decided to do mine on Airborne history and Airborne school. Can you guess where my first stop was? The library of course! I decided to test my library's topic content to see if by any chance they had any books on military Airborne operations. And to my surprise I found absolutely everything I needed for my briefing and more! I'm excited to get started on this project. I've always had an interest in Airborne operations so this is going to just as fun for me as my briefing will be for the class. I will also be doing a demonstration of the jump commands with the help of some prior service cadets who are Airborne qualified. A big thanks to a good friend who suggested it. =)
If my book fascination wasn't enough already...I've also checked out some books for free time reading. I think I love non-fiction books just as much as fiction. Non-fiction books allow you to experience a real-life event that could have taken place hundreds of years ago...or maybe during your lifetime but it was in a place far away. Fiction books are great because you get to jump into an author's imagination and experience a world only known to the author and the readers of that book. Since I couldn't decide what type of book I wanted to read I picked one of each. My fiction book is a fantasy called Alanna, the first book of a quartet. It's juvenile reading so I should finish it pretty quickly. I've actually read this book before in middle school. It's part of a quartet (a series of 4 books) by the Tamora Pierce. She actually wrote a series of quartets and the characters are all part of the same world...and it's always about a female warrior of some sort. (Does it sound like someone here? lol) I just like how I can go through one book after the next and still be in the same world of people getting to know everything about it. I remember wondering how someone could just come up with something so fictional and immense in just their mind. I guess that's why I want to re-read these books. To be able to get lost in an amazing and magical world.
The non-fiction book that I picked is about a specific company from my husband's old unit. The book is called WAR by Sebastian Junger. Many of my 173rd family and friends have already bought and read the book when it released to the public last year. I've heard that it's a must read but it takes a lot to get through the whole thing emotionally. Well I started the book a few days ago and only got through the first few pages before I had to set it down and compile my thoughts and emotions. Just knowing that these stories being told actually happened and there are people right now with an emptiness lingering in their houses and hearts because some of the soldiers in this book didn't come home....it gives me goosebumps. I know that as a cadet training to be an officer, I will eventually have to face the loss of a soldier and the heartbreak of a family. It could even be me in the brink of action and how will I react if I'm to encounter an attack like Bella Ambush? Yes, I know you can never be prepared for death and reading this book is going to be hard but I know reading this book will give me a good picture of what war look likes and supply me with an awareness of what I could encounter in a few years.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Fair or Unfair???
It's been a crazy busy week and weekend! School is still going great and ROTC as well. Friday was a big accomplishment for me. We had a four mile run and I was really nervous that I wasn't going to be able to survive the run. But to my own surprise I did very well! I stayed with the head of my group the whole run. I'm very confident that I will pass my APFT next week. My endurance has really built up in the last few weeks. These last two weeks I've been running a minimum of two miles so I should definitely be good for the run. Pushups and situps will definitely be no problem.
Yesterday was the Mayweather vs. Ortiz fight. We had a bunch of our neighbors and friends over to BBQ and watch the fight. We made homemade burgers, grilled Italian sausages, and roasted marshmallows on the firepit for s'mores. It's always a good time at our house lol. We laughed and joked about how no one really makes s'mores the old school way anymore. Many of us reminisced on our childhood memories of making s'mores over a fire. I know we all enjoyed the fun of sticky marshmallowey fingers, melted chocolate, and crispy graham crackers that night. The kids definitely loved it.
And now for the BIG debate! What was up with that fight huh? I know the crowds were definitely leaning more towards Ortiz winning but lets look at the facts of the fight. Mayweather's punches were more accurate first of all and Ortiz wasn't in the mood to play fair either. Mayweather landed 73 out of 208 (35%) punches that night while Ortiz only landed 26 of 148 (only 18%). Also Mayweather almost tripled the amount of power punches thrown. You can't deny that he was dominating the fight. And the headbutt??? Come on now Ortiz...we all know that was definitely intentional. Check out the first 10 seconds of the video below. It was intentional. With that being said, remember we are dealing with Mayweather. One of the most arrogant men I know! He is not a gentleman and if you open the doors to play dirty, you damn well better be ready for the Pandora's box that's just been opened. Not only did he headbutt him....Ortiz decided to mock him right after with a kiss. Yeah he definitely pissed Mayweather off. So with that being said yeah the fight ended unfairly but Ortiz is really the one responsible for it. As for the apology from Ortiz afterwards..........??? He should really be apologizing to his managers and fans for letting them down. It was an unfair win and Ortiz didn't even really get to show his boxing skills.
Now with all bets aside Mayweather had no right to tell off Larry Merchant like that. And I hope Larry Merchant gets a raise for that little episode. So Mayweather continues to be undefeated...but the bigger question that lingers in the minds of all us boxing fans is......when will Mayweather get his panties together and fight Pacquiao?????
To be continued.....
Yesterday was the Mayweather vs. Ortiz fight. We had a bunch of our neighbors and friends over to BBQ and watch the fight. We made homemade burgers, grilled Italian sausages, and roasted marshmallows on the firepit for s'mores. It's always a good time at our house lol. We laughed and joked about how no one really makes s'mores the old school way anymore. Many of us reminisced on our childhood memories of making s'mores over a fire. I know we all enjoyed the fun of sticky marshmallowey fingers, melted chocolate, and crispy graham crackers that night. The kids definitely loved it.
And now for the BIG debate! What was up with that fight huh? I know the crowds were definitely leaning more towards Ortiz winning but lets look at the facts of the fight. Mayweather's punches were more accurate first of all and Ortiz wasn't in the mood to play fair either. Mayweather landed 73 out of 208 (35%) punches that night while Ortiz only landed 26 of 148 (only 18%). Also Mayweather almost tripled the amount of power punches thrown. You can't deny that he was dominating the fight. And the headbutt??? Come on now Ortiz...we all know that was definitely intentional. Check out the first 10 seconds of the video below. It was intentional. With that being said, remember we are dealing with Mayweather. One of the most arrogant men I know! He is not a gentleman and if you open the doors to play dirty, you damn well better be ready for the Pandora's box that's just been opened. Not only did he headbutt him....Ortiz decided to mock him right after with a kiss. Yeah he definitely pissed Mayweather off. So with that being said yeah the fight ended unfairly but Ortiz is really the one responsible for it. As for the apology from Ortiz afterwards..........??? He should really be apologizing to his managers and fans for letting them down. It was an unfair win and Ortiz didn't even really get to show his boxing skills.
Now with all bets aside Mayweather had no right to tell off Larry Merchant like that. And I hope Larry Merchant gets a raise for that little episode. So Mayweather continues to be undefeated...but the bigger question that lingers in the minds of all us boxing fans is......when will Mayweather get his panties together and fight Pacquiao?????
To be continued.....
Friday, September 9, 2011
T.G.I.F
Gosh am I glad it's Friday! It's been a long weekend for me even with having Monday off because of Labor Day. PT has been pretty tough for me this week. We've been running every day. Between Tuesday through today, I've ran around 9-10 miles. I strained my hamstring on Tuesday from sprints and it didn't help as we continued sprints on Wednesday. I was able to get through by stretching my legs many times throughout the days. Stretching is one of the most important parts of exercise. If you don't stretch right it could really ruin your whole workout. Here are a few stretches that I used to get myself back to speed. There are several different ways to stretch the hamstring but these are what I found that fits me best.
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| Standing Hamstring Stretch #1 |
This is a good one to do before doing any exercises. What you do is bend over until you touch your toes. (You can bend you knees if you need to.) Once you are touching your toes, try to straighten your legs. You will feel that back muscle tighten a little but remember it shouldn't feel painful. Stretching is suppose to help not hurt. =)
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| Standing Hamstring #2 |
This is a good stretch to do after you exercise. It is stretching the same muscle but you are keeping your head up and elevated. The worst thing you could do is bring your head down after a hard workout and have all that blood rush to your head. It could lead to lots of dizziness and it could make you feel even more faint. For this stretch just extend one leg outwards points your toes up. Then slowly bend the opposite leg and you should feel that hamstring tighten some. Remember to always stretch twice as long after your workout.
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| Hamstring Stretch sitting |
If you find it difficult to stay standing after your exercising, this is a good stretch to do as well. You still have your head elevated to stop from getting very dizzy or faint and still stretching that same muscle. For this stretch just bring one leg inwards with the other leg extended all the way out toes pointed upwards. Then extend your arms all the way out as you try to reach your toes on your extended leg.
I hope you enjoyed my little stretching brief. =) It really helped me a lot especially for today on our 3 mile run which turned to 4. I feel real good though. I never thought I could improve so much physically in such a short time. I think I'll be more than ready for the PT test on the 27th if I keep up like this.
I hope you all have a great weekend! Stay blessed ya'll!
Monday, September 5, 2011
Friday, September 2, 2011
Combat Water Survival Training
Let me just start off with saying that the physical aspect of Air Force is easy peasy compared to Army. LOL
So to end off my second week in ROTC, we had Combat Water Survival Training (CWST) this morning. Now I knew we were going to be doing stuff in a pool with our ACUs on and I was actually looking forward to it. Well let me tell you now that this is not one of the easier trainings we have to do this semester. Land Navigation is a piece of cake compared to this stuff. Anywho let me explain what CWST is. It is a requirement of all ROTC cadets. The first part is to jump from 3 meters into water blindfolded. Once you hit the water you can remove the blindfold and swim out. The second part we have to demonstrate the removal of our gear while submerged. If your head comes above the water before your gear is off you have to do it again. The third part is to swim 25 meters (remember this is all with full ACUs). The forth part is to swim 15 meters with your gear while holding your rifle above water. And lastly (does it sound tough yet???) we had to tread in water for FIVE minutes. Yeah treading in water doesn't seem to hard but after you've done the first four parts, your uniform feels pretty heavy in that water.
So the 3 meter jump was pretty easy. I will admit I got kinda of nervous as I blindly walked off the diving board into "unknown" waters. But that was the easiest part I'd say. The second part, removing the gear was pretty okay. As soon as they pushed me into the water I repositioned my arms to be inside the straps so all I had to do is extend my arms upward and the gear fell right off. The third part I did was the 15 meter full gear swim. This part I failed the first time. I got half way and swallowed water and I panicked. I immediately let go of my rifle and flailed over to the side of the pool gasping for breath. It really isn't an easy task when your weight is almost doubling with soaked ACUs gear with full canteens AND a rifle. Luckily we weren't allowed with our boots in the pool (school rules) and I was able to use my light tennis shoes but with any shoes period it's hard because it's adding weight to your body. The main reason why I failed is because my swim technique was off. When swimming with full gear you have to be as parallel to the water as possible to shift the weight around evenly. You also have to take big breaths. The more air in your body the better you'll float. I practiced this technique with no gear during the 25 meter swim. Once I finished the 25 meter swim I came back to do the 15 meter gear and rifle swim again. My technique was great the first half of the swim and then I couldn't hold my rifle up any longer. BUT I didn't give up. I still had my rifle in hand but just wasn't above the water. I trucked it out and got across to the 15 meter line. (I seriously used all I had and it was written all across my face lol).
By this time my body was so exhausted and ready to hit the showers and take a nap! But nope! Still had to do the 5 minute tread. I thought I was gonna pass out on this one. Luckily though we were aloud to float as well. I made through the whole 5 minutes because of the wonderful float technique! Thank goodness! We ended our PT session with 10 pushups and 10 situps. (I think this was by far the easiest part of the morning even with being super exhausted with all the water exercises.) Many people had to redo certain parts. Some even failed the parts completely. I think I did pretty good for my first time. Anywho just thought I'd give you guys a taste of CWST. We will be doing this once a month. I don't think I will be as "excited" as I was this time but I am looking forward to getting better at these exercises so that I only do each just once lol. The pictures provided are not from my company but I found them online so you can see some of the stuff we did this morning. Enjoy and have a great weekend!
So to end off my second week in ROTC, we had Combat Water Survival Training (CWST) this morning. Now I knew we were going to be doing stuff in a pool with our ACUs on and I was actually looking forward to it. Well let me tell you now that this is not one of the easier trainings we have to do this semester. Land Navigation is a piece of cake compared to this stuff. Anywho let me explain what CWST is. It is a requirement of all ROTC cadets. The first part is to jump from 3 meters into water blindfolded. Once you hit the water you can remove the blindfold and swim out. The second part we have to demonstrate the removal of our gear while submerged. If your head comes above the water before your gear is off you have to do it again. The third part is to swim 25 meters (remember this is all with full ACUs). The forth part is to swim 15 meters with your gear while holding your rifle above water. And lastly (does it sound tough yet???) we had to tread in water for FIVE minutes. Yeah treading in water doesn't seem to hard but after you've done the first four parts, your uniform feels pretty heavy in that water.
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| 3 meter jump blindfolded |
So the 3 meter jump was pretty easy. I will admit I got kinda of nervous as I blindly walked off the diving board into "unknown" waters. But that was the easiest part I'd say. The second part, removing the gear was pretty okay. As soon as they pushed me into the water I repositioned my arms to be inside the straps so all I had to do is extend my arms upward and the gear fell right off. The third part I did was the 15 meter full gear swim. This part I failed the first time. I got half way and swallowed water and I panicked. I immediately let go of my rifle and flailed over to the side of the pool gasping for breath. It really isn't an easy task when your weight is almost doubling with soaked ACUs gear with full canteens AND a rifle. Luckily we weren't allowed with our boots in the pool (school rules) and I was able to use my light tennis shoes but with any shoes period it's hard because it's adding weight to your body. The main reason why I failed is because my swim technique was off. When swimming with full gear you have to be as parallel to the water as possible to shift the weight around evenly. You also have to take big breaths. The more air in your body the better you'll float. I practiced this technique with no gear during the 25 meter swim. Once I finished the 25 meter swim I came back to do the 15 meter gear and rifle swim again. My technique was great the first half of the swim and then I couldn't hold my rifle up any longer. BUT I didn't give up. I still had my rifle in hand but just wasn't above the water. I trucked it out and got across to the 15 meter line. (I seriously used all I had and it was written all across my face lol).
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| jumping in for the 15 meter swim |
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| Removing gear while submerged |
By this time my body was so exhausted and ready to hit the showers and take a nap! But nope! Still had to do the 5 minute tread. I thought I was gonna pass out on this one. Luckily though we were aloud to float as well. I made through the whole 5 minutes because of the wonderful float technique! Thank goodness! We ended our PT session with 10 pushups and 10 situps. (I think this was by far the easiest part of the morning even with being super exhausted with all the water exercises.) Many people had to redo certain parts. Some even failed the parts completely. I think I did pretty good for my first time. Anywho just thought I'd give you guys a taste of CWST. We will be doing this once a month. I don't think I will be as "excited" as I was this time but I am looking forward to getting better at these exercises so that I only do each just once lol. The pictures provided are not from my company but I found them online so you can see some of the stuff we did this morning. Enjoy and have a great weekend!
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| 15 meter swim |
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| treading water for 5 minutes |
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