Starting off the semester with a busy bang!

It's been too long my fellow bloggers!  Over a month I believe!  Honestly I've hardly had time to do much of anything besides school and work since the Fall semester started.  I'm actually a lot busier than I expected to be.  Good thing I took three classes over the summer to lighten my load this semester!  I can't even imagine where I'd be right now if I hadn't done that.  Probably ready to blow up.  My brain already feels like a pile of noodles right now haha.

So school started back up on the 15th of August.  I jumped right into ROTC starting as the Platoon Leader and then to make things worse my Platoon Sergeant was MIA most of the time so I pretty much had to do the tasks for that position as well.  This is all on top of getting our fresh new recruits organized, helping my squad leaders figure out the tasks they needed to do, working part-time in the school's IT department, tutoring two students in Calculus, and oh yeah…finding time to get my OWN classwork not to mention tend to my husband as a good wife should!  Talk about a mess. I seriously need to start USING this planner I had bought before the semester started.

So besides being extremely busy, life has been good.  We have 5 MS-III's for the year.  One ADO and the other three besides me are fellow cadets who were in the program with me last year.  I'd say we have a pretty good team.  We work really hard together.  I'm learning more and more as each day goes by.  Way more than last year…not to say I didn't have an awesome instructor last year, but our new instructor is a lot stricter but in a good way of course.  Were currently covering Combat Orders.

I have a great story to tell all of you but I will save it for this weekend if I have time to blog again.  I truly do miss putting my thoughts down in words.

Our first FTX is coming up really soon and I've already gotten word that I will be the Company Commander during the first iteration.  Talk about working up my nerves.  I always get nervous when I have to be in a high position.  Hopefully I do well though.

Classes are doing good.  Data Structures is kicking my butt.  I really don't enjoy the was my professor lectures.  He goes too quickly sometimes to comprehend.  And even when I try and talk to him after class, he rushes me through my questions and tells me he's sorry he can't explain it any better.  He is definitely no Dr. Turner.  I wish he was teaching Data Structures.  :(

My U.S. military history class is amazing.  It's a tough class but I'm loving the challenge and really enjoying all the events we are covering.  The only thing I dislike…is the amount of reading we have to do.  It's not that I don't enjoy what I'm reading…it's just hard to juggle with everything else I'm doing.  I'll definitely be keeping my books after the semester is done to keep on hand for some pleasure reading.  I know I won't have time during the semester to get a full grip on the content but just enough to get me as close to an A as possible in the class.

My human computer interaction class is too easy…sometimes I even forget it's an actual class I'm taking lol.

Ok well you are half way updated with where I am at this point.  I hope to get a recipe or two up within the next month.  I definitely have tons of stuff I want to share with you all.  I just pray I have the time and energy to share it!

School on my fellow bloggers!  ;-)

I want to learn

Pure dedication

The long road goes unnoticed

But I choose that road

Pure motivation

Lingers vibrant in my soul

I choose to push on

Pure frustration

Long sleepless nights so bitter

But I want the best

Pure jubilation

For victory is so near

I am almost there

Pure education

Always better, won't take less

Smart and strong I am

Motivational Push

So today I've been re-evaluating my life...where I've been, where I'm at, where I want to be....that sort of stuff.  I have a set goal in mind, a strong dedication to that goal, but sometimes my motivation tends to lack.  Even though my routine is still going great....school is better than ever...I'm doing fantastic in ROTC...it's all rolling perfectly fine but sometimes I feel so late in the game.  I feel like I should already have my bachelor's degree and that I should be working a full time job being a "real" adult you could say.  Don't get me wrong, I know plenty of adults in my classes who are getting their degree for the first time but many of them have lived a good...maybe hard...but good life with maybe kids and/or a spouse.

I live a good life with my husband.  We have no kids though...nothing to really tie us down so school is a good option right now...but we can't really do all the things we want to since money is tight because of me only working part time and paying for tuition suckssss.

So with that being said...sometimes I feel like I'll be over exhausted before I get to my goal....

And other times....I feel like my goal is still so far away....

And a lot of times...I feel like I spent a good part of my life like this...

And so I stress myself out because all I wanna be is here...

Can I get an amen people?  Am I the only that feels like this? lol  Ughhhh...that's life right!

So I've been looking for ways to motivate myself....my family, my husband, my close friends.
It get's hard but I know that I can get there.  I have a great support system.  It's me that I have to keep convincing that time is going to fly and before I know it, all my dreams will happen.  In the mean time...I should post a few of these all around me house!

Sinful Summer School

I really don't know why I do this to myself lol.

So last week I finished my Spring semester ending my first year at UNCP.  I'm happy to say that I ended with straight As once again but the best thing was I got no A minuses.  Just 5 pretty little A's.  I was ecstatic.  =)

So you'd think I'd reward myself with a nice long summer by the pool sipping lemonade right?  NOPE!  This summer I'm taking three classes, one during each summer term.  Here at UNCP we have a Maymester term, which started this past Monday, where you can take one class in just 10 days.  Seems easy right?  Yeah except you have to be in a classroom for 4 hours a day and you take a test everyday that counts for 17% of your grade.  So fun.  I'm doing well though.  It's BIO 1000 which is the most basic science course offered (can you tell I'm not a fan? haha)  I should end with an A- or an A.  I just need to study really hard for these next 7 days and I'll be right where I want to be.
The other two classes I'm doing online so it won't be too bad.  It took me a few years to really figure out how to take an online class.  One of these days I'll have to post some tips for you all that are thinking about taking one.  They can be easy but your studying techniques are a whole lot different than an classroom course.

So its been very busy lately.  I know I've been MIA since the beginning of finals week.  We had our company's commissioning ceremony this past weekend.  It went well.  I'm happy to announce that 5 new highly trained officers have entered into the ranks of our military.  I couldn't be more proud of this group.  I worked very closely with most of them this past semester to keep our company running smooth and they will be surely missed.  I wish them the best of luck on their new endeavors.  And I'd just like that say a big congrats to all the 2012 Commissionees.  You did it!

Officially Sworn In

So many of you have read about my struggles with retrieving a contract with the Army ROTC.  It has been a long and hard fought journey.  I started off doing Air Force ROTC in 2006.  I spent two years with them trying to get a scholarship.  I was getting ready for Field Training (30 day evaluation of officership) and I still hadn't gotten the scholarship, so I got out of the program and kept going to school.

My dreams of becoming an officer were a far off memory for a couple years until last summer.  We had just moved to NC and I talked to a friend who really sparked my interest in the program again so I signed up for ROTC my first semester at UNCP (Fall 2011).  I hit the ground running.  My motivation was at 200% and I performed everything to best of my ability last semester.  I started the contracting process in early September.  Lots of bad news came...first was around October, the Army was cutting officer slots for commissionees for the years 2012 through 2015.  My year was 2014 and our contracts got drastically cut.  Our battalion is made up of four universities and there were only 13 possible contracts to be split among 66 potential cadets.  Talk about slim to none.  The next bad news came in December, my medical examination came back as disqualified because of my history of psoriasis.  I thought my chances were done, but my cadre pulled together in February to send out a request to waive my disqualification.

Then the waiting began....the months dragged by as I waiting for the ultimate outcome but I continued to give my all...not just in ROTC but my classes as well.  If the ROTC plan were to fall through, I wanted to make sure I continued to be efficient in my classes striving for As in all my classes.

This past Tuesday, my Captain came to me with the best news ever.  I was going to sign my contract and ASAP.  He wanted me to go up to Battalion right away to sign the paperwork and swear in.  I think my heart literally jumped out of my chest when he told me this lol.

So yesterday, I officially swore my life to the United States Army.  Next week, I get all my paperwork together to start the SMP and from there it's a rap!  Just keep trucking until May 2014.  I can't believe I've come this far.  It seemed like such a long road but in reality time has flown by me.  It was just around this time last year I was telling myself that I had three years until graduation.  I'm coming up to the end of this semester in less than 30 days, then I start my evaluation year for ROTC, next summer I'll be going to LDAC, and then the countdown begins to graduating and commissioning.  Wow how time flies!

New Job

This week has been a rough week for me for various reasons but I'm pulling through.  I'm not going to lie, this semester's class load has been difficult.  Not necessarily more work than last semester but more complex.  I've been keeping up just barely since the semester started but this weekend I'm going to dedicate some extra hours to studying and starting on my projects early on in case I need to get help from my professor. 
There is some good news this week.  I got the BraveTech position at my school! It's great because I work part-time and it works with my school schedule.  I start Monday.  I'm a little nervous about getting back into the IT work field but I'm excited too.  It's going to be great to get my feet back in the water again.  I've forgotten a few things being outside the IT work field for about a year but it's like riding a bike...you never truly forget. 
PT has been awesome this week.  I haven't been running everyday but on the days we do run, I do great.  I can tell that my body didn't really get too out of shape during the break and two months of no PT.  Like my friend says, good muscle memory.  =)  Next weekend, I'll be in the field.  I'm not really looking forward to sleeping in the woods in the cold but hey it's part of playing soldier girl. 
Superbowl is this weekend!  I'm gonna go for the Giants since my Cowboys didn't make it anywhere lol.  Who are you rooting for?  Are you rooting at all or just watching for the funny commercials?  Be safe ya'll.  (NC is rubbing off a lil lol)

January Opportunities

So this week started off pretty interesting.  It started out pretty hectic and I was truly hyperventilating but things are starting to calm down.  Slowly I'm getting my thoughts and emotions and life in general in somewhat of an order.  A lot of things have happened today some good some bad.

I have received three job interviews.  One for Buckle at the Cross Creek Mall.  I'm not too excited about that one.  I wouldn't mind working weekends and getting the 40% discount but there is no way I'm driving over an hour from Pembroke to Fayetteville during the week to work.  The next two job interviews are at my school.  One is to be a Technician at our Performing Arts Center.  The other is to be a BraveTech in our Information Technology department.  I'm shooting more for the BraveTech position since that's centered more towards my degree.  Either is fine with me though.  Operating hours for both are between 8-5 Monday through Friday and they are right at my school so no need for traveling far between school and work.  I could even work in between classes.  I really hope I get one of those jobs.

Some more good news is that today I finally signed my medical waiver for ROTC.  It shouldn't be much longer before I get contracted and hopefully I can still get the Airborne slot.  Time is cutting close though.  The school starts a month from Friday so they could've already selected someone to send without my knowledge.  I'll have to check on that tomorrow.

Bad news...I've been procrastinating.  Yes, I'm getting my assignments done on time but I'm waiting until the last minute.  If I do, by miracle, get a chance to go to Airborne school, I'm going to have to be way ahead on my assignments.  I have a homework assignment due this Friday, two quizzes, and an essay due next Tuesday.  I definitely gotta get ahead so I'm not drowning later.  The other bad news is that my student that I started tutoring last week bailed on me.  Apparently I wasn't good enough for her.  It kind of hurt me because I think I do a pretty good job of explaining things but she was an older student who looked like she was just coming back to school after several years out of school.  And jumping right into Calculus is not really the best choice in that kind of situation.  But who am I to judge?  She ended up getting matched up with the Math tutor guru whose been tutoring for over 8 years so I hope she gets the help she needs from that tutor.  For now, I'm in limbo with no student to tutor until I get called upon...meaning jobless once again.  =/  But even though I'm not getting paid to tutor, I'm volunteering my "tutoring" skills at home.  My neighbor is studying to retake the ASVAB and he asked me for help in the math sections.  I'm also helping my husband learn how to write essays for his Expository Writing class.  So all in all, I do feel like I'm being helpful even though I'm not being paid for it.  And to me...you can't put a price helping someone understand how to do things on their own.  That satisfaction is the best form of payment I can get.

Helpful and sometimes not so helpful

I have a job finally.  It doesn't pay much and I only work two hours a week but it's a start for now.  I'm a tutor...for Calculus.  I've never been a professional tutor before.  I have volunteered my time to classmates whenever asked but other than that I have no set skills in helping someone learn.  Today was my first day.  I can't say I did very well though.  The student seemed just as confused at the end of our session as she did at the beginning of it.  It was only a one hour session though and my first day working with her.  I'm going to have to find better ways to communicate the information to her so that she can better understand.  I guess I was forgetting my reasoning for being there which is to better explain the things being taught in class...not to just repeat what was taught at the very same speed of the professor who is teaching the subject.  Another thing is that the subject is math.  Yes...I'm good at math but math is tricky for me at times so even I get the wrong answer sometimes and have to retrace my steps.  I don't want to seem like I'm tutoring a subject I know nothing of.  It definitely is different trying to slow down my pace of learning and thinking to teach but I'm sure I'll get the hang of this soon enough.

It really does bother me when I can't help someone in the way they need help.  Whether it be a student seeking help in a class or a friend seeking emotional consolation.  It's like being inside a glass box and there is no way to get out to the person that needs help.  You can see their pain, confusion, distress...but your hands are bound.  It truly causes a discomfort for me because all I want to do is to reassure and soothe whatever it is that is causing so much anguish.  I have a friend who is going through a lot right now and I feel utterly helpless in the situation.  I wish I could do more as a friend who cares deeply but even I have limits to who and how I can help.  All I can do now is pray that better days will come for them and that one day that emptiness is filled with something greater than ever imagined.

Good news!!! And a great message...

I'm mid-week through the first week of this semester and things are going great.  I'm enjoying all my classes and I had my first day back to PT yesterday.  I won't lie...I am a little sore lol.  We did a bunch of cross-fit type workouts.  No word yet on my contract.  We are sending up an appeal on DODMERB decision.  Some good news to look forward to is that I might have a chance to go to Airborne School next month.  If my contract goes through as planned than I will most definitely be going.  I'm so excited and scared at the same time.  My husband and all my friends are happy that I will be joining the "cool" club haha.  The great thing is that my professors have already approved of my absence in class (I didn't waste time lol) so if all works out in my favor I will be a paratrooper come the end of March.  =) My older sister asked my why in the world would I want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane?!?  I asked her, how many people do you know that are crazy enough to jump out of one?  Haha...we'll now she'll know two!  (Me and my husband =P)

On another note, I saw this today and thought I would share.  It sparked my interest because in my Religion class, we have been posed with the question, "What is religion?".  Well it's too early in the semester to give my scholarly opinion on the  matter but if I were to put my "believer's hat" on, I would agree with this guy and how he thinks.  Enjoy and have a great rest of the week!

Proud Godmother

I've been sicker than a dog lately.  Even the Dayquil and Nyquil aren't helping.  I'm taking a different route this morning...sipping my Theraflu lemon tea as I blog today.  Hopefully I feel a little better this afternoon.  I've been having a hard time being productive outside the house since the new year has begun.  I can't really workout like I want to.  I tried a few days ago running...I was only able to do a mile in that 20 degree weather and since that run my cough has only gotten worse.  I would go to a gym but it's 30 minutes to the gyms I have access to.  And with being sick I have no motivation to leave my house really.  Today I got up at 8 thinking I was going to head out to Pembroke, work out in the gym, and drop my resume off at the few banks and credit unions they have out there.  I even printed my resume out and everything and had an outfit picked out.  Now all I want to do is stay in my pjs.

On another note, I have been very productive INSIDE my house lol.  I reorganized my garage and unpacked four more boxes.  One step closer to being officially "moved in".  Yes I moved here in April but they say you aren't officially moved in until you unpack that last box lol.  Ok so I might have gotten that off of a Disney movie so what. =)   I also did all the laundry, folded, and put them away.  I organized my dining room, the man cave, and the living room.  Even with all that there is still plenty to do though...clean the kitchen, the bathrooms, there's some more laundry to be done now, and I could tidy up my room a bit.  Maybe I won't be leaving the house today.  Once school starts, it will be more difficult to keep up with the house work so I might as well give myself a head start so that it will be easier on me when school starts up on Monday.  I'm excited to go back to school.  When school let out in December, I was dreading the break, thinking it was going to drag.  But it actually didn't...maybe it was the trip to Philly and NY that helped the time fly.  It's Friday now and in only a few days I'll be back at my routine again.

Oh one more thing happened this week that I'm so happy about and couldn't be more honored.  A dear friend of mine, whom I've shared tears and sorrows, laughs and joy with, has asked me to the the Godmother of her son.  I was overjoyed when she asked me.  I definitely didn't expect it but she made my day with that news.  So I am proud to say I am a Godmother to a beautiful two year old whom I loved since the day he was born.  I still remember the first time I met him face to face in Germany in 2010.  He's such a bright and excited little man and I am honored to be able to watch and help him grow into the handsome gentleman he is going to be one day.

Cheers to 2012 and all the wonderful and exciting things to happen this year.  Happy Three Kings day!

Handsome Jamari <3

Don't Save It All For Christmas Day

Final grades have finally been posted and I couldn't be more proud of myself.  I made 4 A's and two A-'s.  Which is really all As in my opinion.  Whoever made up A-'s are crazy.  I guess it's okay though...keeps me humble lol.  I'm great but I'm not perfect.

I haven't been up to much since school let out.  I've done some Christmas shopping but really it's my excuse to walk around and be out of the house.  I've forgotten how bored I can get at home.  I'm ready to start up another semester of school after this week.  I could just be taking this vacation for granted though.  Lord knows I need the rest after 4 months of drilling my brain on programming languages and calculus. 

I really miss my family right now.  Everyone is on this "family" cruise (I say with quotes because I'm not there, so it's not really all the family...yes I'm being bitter lol) and I can't call my parents or even my aunts and uncles.  My aunt Yomi didn't go either though...I think I'll call and chat with her tomorrow.  =)  I call my parents almost everyday.  I miss hearing their voices and chatting with them about how life is here in NC and them updating me on news of the family down in FL. I want to tell them about my grades and hear their enthusiasm.  Making them proud has always been a motivation for me to continue to succeed in life. 

I bought cookie mix and icing pens today and a few days ago I got some cute cookie cutters so maybe tomorrow I'll get motivated to start baking and getting artistic.  I think I'll give some to my neighbor.  They are always so sweet to us and they have a little boy that is too adorable.  I know he's gonna love them.  I think this is what I like most about Christmas....giving and making people smile.  I wish people would give the way they give on Christmas all year.  It's never a bad time to bring joy and happiness into another person's life.  This reminds me of a song on my ipod.  It's by a group called Avalon.  The song is called "Don't Save It All For Christmas Day".  It's a beautiful song that really reveals an amazing truth to how much the world needs love everyday no matter the circumstances.

I think I will make this the first thing on my new year's resolution list:  Give a little love everyday.
Have a blessed rest of the week friends and family.  God bless you all.

Finals...almost done!

Finals weeks is coming to an end...quickly I might add.  Tomorrow I take my last final.  I can't believe that the semester flew by this quick.  I'm not complaining by all means, let these next two and half years fly by too!  I'm happy to say I've done exceptionally well this whole semester.  I hope that I can keep this same momentum the rest of my time here at UNCP.  I'm thinking my final grades will either be straight A's or all A's and one B.  I will give an update as soon as the grades are out.

Today has been a good day for me.  This whole weeks has been pretty good actually.  I think the only day I stressed a lot was yesterday.  I get very emotional when I let my mind think too much on things I can't really change.  On top of that, I was bidding farewell to Calculus last night so I spend most of the day studying for the final.  I'm happy to announce that I got a B on the final and an overall A in the class.  Hard work and studying definitely paid off.

Sometimes I think about how unperfect I am as a human being.  It really bothers me at times.  There are times where I wish I could be a better daughter, sister, wife....a better student, teacher, friend...a better athlete as well!  But no one is perfect they say...and the more I think about myself, that saying couldn't be anything but true when it comes to me!  Self-evaluation....I do this constantly throughout the day trying to figure what I can do to better myself...physically, mentally, spiritually.  And of course a list as long as California comes to mind.  I wish the thinking part was as easy as the doing part.

Wish me luck on my last exam!

Lazy yet Busy!

I have been quite lazy with my posts lately.  But only because life has been sooooo busy! So lets back track to almost two weeks ago...

November 4th was one of my best friend's birthday.  We have been friends since our first year of college.  We spent a year in Air Force ROTC together before she left me and then I eventually left the program too since I didn't have my favorite wing'woman' to motivate me anymore lol.  She lives in VA and was heading to Raleigh for her birthday to watch her favorite hockey team (Washington Capitals) please the Carolina Hurricanes so she invited me since I live in NC now.  It was awesome to get to see her.  We usually try and get together at least once or twice a year since neither of us live in Orlando anymore.  It was a good game.  She got a puck that was played in the game and even better, the Caps won!   Here's a view from the top of the arena:

The following day (Saturday) I had to participate in a detail for ROTC.  I had to be an usher for a football game at NC State in Raleigh.  It wasn't too bad though since NC State was playing their all time rivals UNC Chapel Hill.  It was an awesome game to be at being that these two schools are lifelong rivals.  And the fans here are serious!

This past weekend was Veteran's Day weekend so my husband has a nice four days off.  I had to do a color guard detail that lasted most of the day on Friday but I was able to attend a Veterans dinner that UNCP hosted.  It was awesome.  The food was great and so were the speakers.  I had no idea that we had a Student Veterans Association at UNCP until that night.  It's nice to know that my university has such a huge appreciation for our men and women in uniform.  I was happy to have had the honor to attend that dinner.

This past Saturday we hosted the Marquez vs Pacqiuao fight.  Thank goodness we actually had a good fight out of this one.  It lasted the whole 12 rounds and Pacqiuao won but it was a very close fight to the end.  I love having get togethers at my house.  I'm always having new people over and it's great to make new friends. 

Well, tomorrow is the BIG day.  The day I take an APFT that will determine my future for the next two and half years.  I'm excited and super nervous at the same time.  I've been training hard for this event.  There isn't much more that I can do at this point except hydrate and stretch well tonight.  Wish me luck everyone!  I will reveal the news as soon as I hear of it.  =)

Scholarship Nominee!

So this week started off bad but it is definitely coming to a great end!  On Monday morning during our formation after PT, one of the Senior Military Instructors from Campbell Battalion came to talk to us about the downsizing that the Army is doing.  Campbell Battalion has been producing more officers than actually needed in the Army so they wanted to let us know that the contracts were going to be limited.  On Tuesday, our Captain came to brief the MSII class about the same thing except he had even more bad news.  Campbell Battalion was only going to contract 43 MSII cadets (class of 2014).  Let me explain this a little further...Campbell Battalion is made of four companies at four universities in this area: Campbell University, Fayetteville State University, Methodist University, and lastly University of North Carolina at Pembroke.  Our Battalion has to be at least 300 hundred strong and just at UNCP we have 24 MSIIs and we are one of smaller companies in our battalion.  This had me pretty nervous because liked I've said many times before, this is my dream.  I've planned the next three years of my life around this and now I was being told my chances were going to be slim to none.  About 15 of those 43 will be green-to-gold cadets (active duty enlisted transferring to become officers).  We have no say in how many we will actually get and there really isn't a limit.  Maybe another 10-14 who are on scholarship.  So for us who aren't contracted it's like having 40-50 dogs fighting for the same bone!  I was pretty depressed for most of this week.......UNTIL TODAY.

Today I came into the ROTC house to work on some homework for another class and our Msgt came up to me about the APFT coming up.  He asked if it was possible to make it to the APFT they were holding at Fort Bragg for the contracted cadets.  He told me that he knows I'm not contracted yet but since I have my packet already submitted he wanted me to take it with them anyways.  That was a pick-me-up!  About an hour later, our Captian comes into the house and asks to see me.  I was pretty nervous since he's been having people come see him about contracting and letting people know whether they might be able to contract or not.  I was pretty nervous I'm not gonna lie.  As I'm standing at parade rest he tells me "Here's the deal Gilfranzo" (Yes that's how he says my name lol) "There's only one MSII scholarship they are giving out this year and you've been nominated for it. You're competing against one girl from FSU and she's high speed like you.  So you better be at the APFT at Fort Bragg and score a frikin 300 on that PT test you hear me!"  I felt my body go numb....a scholarship!  I was freaking out about not getting contracted and now I'm up for a scholarship!!!!  I want to hug the crap out of him LOL.  I've never felt so nervous and so proud at the same time!

So for the next week and half I will be training hardcore for this PT test.  I need to be in the best shape of my life and run the fastest I've ever ran in my life if I want this scholarship.  Which I do!  I want it more than anything else!  I really do hope I get this, it would seriously make my year official. So I'm asking ALL my friends and family to keep me in your prayers while I train hard for this and the pray REALLY hard for me at 0600 on the 16th of November LOL.  Tomorrow is Friday! Yay!  Have a great weekend ya'll. =)

High speed short girl in the middle?  Yeah that's me lol

Hello November!

Well hello again!
So its the first day of November and I really can't tell you how we got to this month.  It feels like only yesterday I was starting the Fall semester.  Anywho,  my birthday was last week and it was great.  I had a mini party with my husband and one of our neighbors.  They sang for me and cut a cake (Tres leche cake to be exact! Yum!). Then I was surprised with a beautiful Coach purse by my husband and we topped the birthday off with a big party with our friends and neighbors on the weekend.  The only thing that was missing was my family but they sent me nice gifts.  I atleast was able to visit them though a few weeks ago so that counts for something.  :)

So its official, school ends in a months time and I'll be one more step closer to graduating and my dream.  Sometimes I get goosebumps thinking about it.  I can't believe I'm actually back in the game again going for what I've always wanted to do which is become an officer.  I mean there are times of course where I feel like I should be in the having-a-family mode but then again I'm only 23!  I have plenty of time for that.  By the time I commission I'll be 25 and ready to take on whatever life throws at me and that includes being a mom.  :)
Today I will be putting up my Christmas stuff.  This is my absolute favorite time of year.  Bring on the bells, tinsle, turkey, and cranberry sauce!  :D

During my Fall Break...

It's been a while friends and family but a very busy while indeed!  Between the 5th and the 12th, I was taking my midterms and I'm happy that my midterms grades resulted in four As and one B.  Hard work pays off!  After my midterms I took a flight down to Orlando to surprise my mom as a belated birthday present.  My mom has been wanting to see me really bad and since I had a small break after my midterms, I decided to take that opportunity to fulfill her wish.  :)  She was so shocked to see me.  My dad and I had it planned for a few weeks beforehand so he was the one that picked me up from the airport.  When I arrived at the house my mom was a crying mess which resulted in me being a crying mess too lol.  The last time I saw my parents was in July.  I know that doesn't sound like too long but for my close-knit family, that's like an eternity.  I had a great time with my mom and I know it really made her feel better to have her middle daughter home with her for a few days. I also got to see a majority of the family while I was there including these two little gorgeous rugrats below.  Every time I leave, a part of my heart always stays with them.

My mom and I

Daddy's girl =)

The apples of my eye

I flew back on Sunday and was back on the books and studying as soon as I got back.  I can't believe I am already half way through this semester.  It seems like it just started.  Anyways...my husband is back on the books as well.  Since he changed his MOS he's got a whole lot of studying to do.  This new MOS includes a lot of work and it requires him to take some college courses as well as learning a different language.  He's really excited and I'm just as excited for him too.  This weekend has been pretty relaxed so far.  We went into Fayetteville for the day and ended up getting a Plus membership at Sam's Club.  We are starting to fall in love with this store haha.  After that I made a quick stop at Kohl's to get these J-Lo shoes I've been dying to have.  They finally went on sale and I had a $10 gift certificate from Kohl's since my birthday is this month.  I was able to pick them up for less than $23!  Talk about a GREAT deal!  Let me also include that these heels are amazingly comfortable.  No squishing of the toes and no feeling like you body is leaning forward.  J-Lo's whole collection at Kohls is amazing.  I also love the Marc Anthony collection too.  I picked up a shirt for my husband and boy does it look great on him. ;-)
Anywho...tomorrow is church and then back to the school schedule.  I hope you all have a great rest of the weekend!

My Italian skills put to the test = Success!

Last week was a VERY busy week for me.  I had three midterms and I'm proud to say that I ACED all three.  Yep...100% on all three.  I'm so proud of myself. Especially the Calculus exam.  But I will admit I did study very hard.  I never thought I would be doing this great in college.  I guess my first experience in college helped me to learn not to waste my time and money all over again. This week I have two more and then I'm finito on midterms. =)

This weekend was great.  Saturday my husband and I woke up early and had breakfast and then went to see our neighbors' girls play soccer.  It was so cute.  The teams were made up of little boys and girls between the ages of 4 and 6.  The little 4 year old kids were so cute with their tiny soccer cleats and shin guards.  It really puts me in baby fever mode haha.  After the game I had to head out to Pembroke to do a color guard detail for UNCP's homecoming game.  When I got home my husband was gone (out to the mall).  I did some homework until he got home and I got a nice little surprise from him.  He bought me a cute dress and I must say he has great taste in clothes. LOL

Sunday we went to church (Rivers of Living Water).  We decided to check out their Sunday school classes.  A couple weeks ago, one of the ladies informed me of a marriage couples Sunday school class that Rivers has called Couples 4 Christ.  We actually enjoyed the class very much!  My husband and I are going to make it a point to get up a little earlier on Sundays so we can make it to this class from now on.  We also got to meet other couples through this class which is nice since we don't know very many people at the church.  For Sunday dinner I decided to try something new.  One of my aunt's has a lasagna recipe that is to die for.  It's very unique in the fact that no ricotta cheese is used in the recipe.  (I can't let out the secrets though!  It must stay in the family hehe)  So for dinner I decided to attempt to make it and I must say I did a great job!  My husband had three plates last night and we ate the leftovers for lunch today.  I guess this dish will be a regular in this house from now on.  A big thanks to my aunt for coming up with this recipe!  =)

The night ended with a movie and reading an entry of The Love Dare.  I had bought this book for us years ago when we first got married but being so far away for such a long time, we never got around to doing it.  We are on day 4 and I'm loving this book.  I truly believe that by the end of this 40-day challenge, my husband and I will have learned more and loved more of each other than we have in the almost 3 years we've been married.  I'm looking forward to finding out what our next dare will be.  =)

My first time making lasagna from scratch!

Army vs. Air Force

My first full week of school is over and I have to be honest, it sure has taken a toll on me!  Between classes and my ROTC schedule I am crazy busy.  I get up at 4 every morning and have barely enough energy to do my wifely duties around the house before climbing into bed around 8:30-9 exhausting.  I had a headache three days in a row and I do believe it's because of how my daily routine has changed so drastically.  Nevertheless, I'm extremely happy about the change.  My life is back on the move again, doing bigger and better things than before.

My classes have gotten off on a great start.  I have some programming homework to finish today but other than that, I'm scotch free the rest of the weekend which means...time to catch up on cleaning this house!  (Which I've already started on early this morning lol)  ROTC has been going great too.  I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to keep up in PT but I've been doing better than I expected.  I love the fact that I'm back to being active mentally and physically.  I believe both of these are needed in order to maintain a balanced life.  PT is really a love/hate relationship.  I hate waking up so early and working out beyond exhaustion but after it's all said and done I feel awesome and proud of myself.  Yesterday we did a  company run around the school about 2.5 miles total.  Mind you, this is my first "long" run in over three years.  Believe or not I didn't fall out and I was actually ahead of the company since I was doing road guard duty.  Now I'm not gonna lie, my lungs were on the floor by the end of the run but the important thing is I didn't give up.  =)

This makes me feel pretty confident because Monday we have our APFD which pretty much means practice PT test.  I know I'm not at the point of maxing out on points but I'm at least confident that I will pass each section just fine.  I have plenty of time to work my way up to a 300 since our real APFT isn't until Sept 27.  I will admit the Army is more strenuous with PT than the Air Force.  In the Air Force ROTC we only have to complete one PFT a semester.  In the Army ROTC, we do one once a month.  Also, the Air Force is only 1.5 miles, 1 minute situps, 1 minute push-ups.  The Army is 2 miles, 2 minutes situps, and 2 minute pushups.  Oh and another thing...the Army situps are different than Air Force.  In the Air Force, we did our situps with our hands crossed in front of us.  The Army does them with your hands behind your head.  I don't really understand this concept because to me it just puts more stress on your neck but oh well...rules are rules right?

Well wish me luck everyone!  I will break the news of my APFD scores Monday.  Hopefully I do well.  =)

The letter E is a number???

"Whaaaaaaaaaa" *In my Minion voice*

I'm up early this morning...the hubs got home from PT with his eyes swollen.  Apparently he used my acne face cream and got it in his eyes so by the time he got home both were swollen! lol  Ok back to the subject of the day.....

How the letter E is a number is still a mystery...or X or Y or B or M!  And unfortunately I will have to learn understand this concept in the coming months.  My first day of classes didn't go so bad considering I only had two classes: Intro to Algorithms (which I have a professor with a sense of humor that deeply concerns me) and Calculus with Applications.  As I was sitting in my Calculus class waiting for the professor to walk in, I stared blankly at our assignment for the night which I printed out before leaving home.  At that point I began to sweat lol.  Slope/Interceptions; Domains, Ranges, Non-linear functions; Asymptotes.....the list goes on...I literally had no clue how to solve any of these problems.  Knowing that I haven't had math for 4 years now, I was beginning to question whether I should even be in this class.  I began to get discouraged as I thought of how to drop this REQUIRED class and retake Algebra and Trig again which would ultimately set me back on my already delayed schedule to graduate....

Next thing I knew the professor walked in with a great big smile on her face.  She's a slim matured woman with short grey hair accented with frosty whites.  Her presence calmed me down a little as she began to explain the steps of our class and how she knows many of us have probably not taken a math class in a while being that the majority of us were Juniors and Seniors.  (wheeewwww)  As we started to go over the math problems for the night I started to got more confident.  I could literally feel a tiny Windows NT (if you have a crazy look right now...that's a very old and obsolete operating system)  computer turn on in the back of my head searching for all this long lost information and before I knew it I was solving the problems!  Whooohooo!  I stumbled on a few problems but for the most part I got the jist of our assignment that night.  I was very proud of myself but I'm not gonna lie, I did have a migraine before the end of class.  It took a toll on my brain...downloading past knowledge on the subject and uploading new information.  The crazy thing is we are just on the refresher section which means this class will slowly begin to get more difficult.  But I'm alright with it...it's not learning if I don't get introduced to new topics!  So I say bring it on Calc!

Today I have my programming lab and ROTC.  Wish me luck!

Jitters are back!

So tomorrow I am officially back in the game!  Education game that is!  My stomach is all in knots and I have no idea why!  I mean it's not like this is my first time going to a different school or even a different college.  And it's not like I don't already have a feel of what my classes will be like so what is the fuss Beba!

It could be that it's my first time going out-of-state (Florida I mean) and on my own....plus the husby of course!  Since I left the "nest", everything has been a new adventure.  Which I guess jitters do go hand in hand with trying new things even if the actual adventure isn't really that new.  UNCP is a bit different from UCF and even Valencia.  It's way smaller than either and I've never had to drive through two whole towns to get to school either lol.  But with jitters or not, I know I'm ready to get back to the books.  I love learning and doing new things.  My two semester vacation has been great and all but I need more than just sleeping in and being lazy all day.

I've decided to not take a light load this semester.  By all means, I'm not working so why should I right?  A total of 17 credits.  Here are the classes on this semesters schedule.  Wish me luck everyone!

-Intro to Programming (This should be easy)

- Intro to Algorithms

- Website Development

- Calculus with Applications

- Military Science II (Army ROTC)