Sunday Morning..

...blues! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE SUNDAYS, but they can be depressing due to the meaning they bring. They bring joy and love from such a wonderful Savior, but they also bring the bad news of Monday! Blehh! That's what I say to that!

This past weekend was jam packed of fun-filled times! And it all started with Friday morning wake up at 0400!
Friday:
0400 wake up and bundle up for a trip up to Keystone Mountain to go snowboarding
0500 be at the buses and grab a "boxed nasty" for breakfast which consisited of two pb&j uncrustables, one granola bar, one bottle of water, one yogurt, and one carbonated orange juice in a can (oh yumm)
0800 arrive at Keystone and put the rest of your gear on
0805 head up to the lifts
0805-1600 snowboarding until you can't feel your legs anymore with minimal breaks in between. Don't forget to hit all THREE peaks and watch all the skiiers wipe out and complain about their skis.

Ha - I have a friend that wiped out so bad that she lost BOTH her skis and BOTH her gloves! Random right??? Other than her, we had two C/C's head tothe hospital with concussions and one C/C dislocate his shoulder and tear ligaments. That one's going to leave a mark (especially because he one of the star football players here on the Husky team). I had a blast - no major wipe outs for me. But I did learn how to do a 180 spin in the snow :) That was fun...and also, I decided to be daring and actually go fast for once! That was a blast and plus...I was beating all the guys! Oh yeah baby! Talk about some serious competition - I honestly can't wait to go back up...maybe two weeks? Sounds like a plan to me!

So after all the joys up on the mountain - I sped down it quickly (and I mean VERY quickly) to catch my bus back to the "P" school by 1600. I had a blast on Friday and was bummed that I opted to head back to the school instead of stay up there. Oh well, there will be plenty more times! :) The bus ride back was fun! Although I was freaking out inside because I thought I had lost my itouch (which cost me over $300), I did manage to sleep some. When I woke up, the two guys behind me invited me to play the game of LIFE on one of their iphones. I lost, but not by too much. And, hey - I retired a millionaire anyways! What more could a girl ask for!?! After losing, I had a nice conversation with a friend the rest of the way back. We talked lots about family and friends and Church and the "P" school and getting up to the "Hill"! I'll have to say, it was an enjoyable conversation! :) At about 2000, we returned to the "P" and I went immediately to BED!

Saturday: woke up bright and early and started working on cleaning up my room! It was a pig-stye (sp) by the end of the day too, but I eventually got it squared away! I had to sit CQ, which is the front desk of my squadron, from 1200 to 1800 - yep, that is SIX HOURS! But I had fun. A couple of the guys in my squad came down and one of them played guitar while the rest of us sang :) "Train's Hey Soul Sister" is a good one! After the thrill of music, I had to buckle down and finish my homework. I had to and STILL have to finish so much for English class! Blehh, but i'm still alive! After CQ, I went and worked out! It was fun! I love working out! As a matter of fact, I'm going to lift and run 8 miles today! I'm trying to work my way up to 13 miles! I want to complete a half marathon! It's my goal for this school year. Next year...I want to work up to...DUN DUN DUN...A MARATHON! Well, we'll see how far I get! That leads me to the tip of the day:

Motivation: It's definitely hard to come by these days. As a young lady living in America, I see things fall apart all around me. Not just New Year's Resolutions, but also things much greater. Families are being torn apart by lack of commitment (if you commit to someone, you should give yourself wholly to that person, and THAT PERSON only)...relationships are torn apart by lack of self discipline...I see children's lives ruined due to thier parents lack of self respect...it's America these days and there is truly nothing that I personally can do about it. As my mother always told me, you have to change one heart at a time. You'll never get anywhere if you try to change the world, it's the individual that needs to be persuaded. So try and stay motivated. Motivated to become a better you; motivated to try to change one heart at a time; try to find that motivation inside you that brings the best out of you and when you do find it, share it with others!

Now, i'm drinking a wonderful Mixed Berry Black Tea, listening to Dave Barnes, and getting ready to correct the paper of a dear friend of mine!

Just remember - take nothing for granted, live every day as though it be your last, and don't forget to thank God for all that He has given you yesterday, today, and tomorrow!

Go With God ~
Cadet Candidate LMM

Blowing Milk Bubbles...

...is the perfect way to end a long and stressful/tiresome week!
Wowzaa - after going through a chemistry GR, a dreadful physics GR, a english visual presentation, and lastly, a calculus GR - my week has finally come to an end!

Today was crazy. The funny thing is...it all started last night.
Here's the story.

After coming home from SPIRE (Youth Group), I was changing out of my ABU's into my PT gear for ACQ (mandatory study time from 1900-2130). As I was in the middle of changing, there was a knock at my door and I quickly threw my sand shirt back on in order to answer it (sand shirt is for ABU's NOT PT gear). As I was assisting my squadmate with his chemistry homework...our new DO (duty officer) decided to stop by. After being cussed out for about five complete minutes for not being in the proper uniform, he also decided to accuse us of being behind closed doors (which is a HUGE no-no) when the door was CLEARLY propped open.
When he finally left, my squadmate went back to whatever he was doing and I changed into the proper uniform.

So that was LAST NIGHT.

RIGHT BEFORE LUNCH TODAY:

The SAME sargeant walked out onto our drill pad and apologized. His apology was insincere and he pretty much told us that we are the worst squad at the "P" school - but what does he know?
Our MTO then spoke to us about our actions. Yes, they were wrong. I knew I should have changed COMPLETELY into my uniform before ever opening my door, but it was a hectic night for me and I just wanted to get everything done.
So during PLT time today (mandatory training time) we had an inspection. Woop-di-doo! We had to stand at attention for about an hour to have our uniforms inspected.
That was the last we heard about that...but some oh so very exciting news about the weeks to come. Apparently, we can go back to basic standards. Oh joy. This is great....hope nobody messes up big enough to make everyone else suffer.

After our inspections, we stomped off to the mandatory wrestling match! And oh yes, we WON! Great job today guys! I give you props! Man, I have never seen such a big boy wrestle!! :-O

OH yes, not to forget what tomorrow is though - SNOWBOARDING AT KEYSTONE! I am so excited! I have all my equipment laid out on my bed and I am ready to jump in the shower, clean up, sleep, and wake up at 0400 tomorrow morning! Talk about napping on the bus =)

Give it your all - this whole week I have felt miserable because of tests and whatnot. In the end, I realized that I would not feel as good or accomplished right now if I had not done everything I had throughout the week. Trust me, I know what it's like to be clustered and focused on many things at once...so take my advice and just keep at it! Nothing is better than the rewards you will reap at the end!

As Tigger said, "Ta Ta for now" (TTFN)!

Go With God
Cadet Candidate LMM

WHAT A WEEK...

...and it's only Wednesday.
Well my week is almost over. Tomorrow is my last day of school for the week.
USAFA Prep is headed to Keystone for "SNOFEST" Oh yes...military weekend on the mountain! This should be fun! Picked up my snowboard, boots, and lift ticket just a few hours ago. Can't wait.
But first...one more GR. As a matter of fact, it's a CALC GR. whoop whoop.

After pulling my hair out Monday night and Tuesday morning, my PHYSICS GR is finally over. Well it ended at approximately 1124 yesterday morning, but I am still feeling the effects (not wanting to receive my grade). After all the hesitation, the test is over, and I found myself worrying about my visual presentation that was due this morning at 0730. Finished it and received a 96% OH CHAAA! Dominated that PowerPoint!

Now to the CALC GR. And that's it!!!

Even more pleasant news - I am STAN/EVAL in my squad and I went through EVERY room this morning (about 42 rooms) and did a thorough inspection. That means checking for dust, wrinkled shirts, shiny shoes, and hanger spacing. EVERYONE passed! Thank goodness! I was pretty impressed!

The little things - the little things in life may count the most. As with room inspections; if there is dust on the chairs, that's points off; if beds are wrinkled, that's points off. It's the little details that nobody pays attention to, but that make the biggest difference. With our last CCRI (Cadet Candidate Room Inspection) we lost Top Squad by 1%. This could have been avoided if everyone collectively paid attention to the little details.

So next time, take the time to do the little things. You never know who you are going to affect or how you will affect your scores.

Go With God -
Cadet Candidate LMM

In the words of Dory...

"Just Keep Swimming!"

Today is another day. It consists of trials that we have to overcome in order to move on.
Last night as I was having a late night physics cram session with my fellow C/C's, I realized something.
No matter what, this Physics GR is going to have to be taken. Whether I dominate it or not is another question, of which, I might know the formula.
If we thought about how much time we put into things that do not matter *cough cough facebook cough* we might actually buckle down and get things done.
During my cram session, I was bored, so I decided to log onto my facebook. Lo and behold, I was on it for around 20 minutes before I remembered that I had a physics GR the next day. Ouch. Not a good idea, and I knew it.
Now just think; what could I have accomplished if I would have gotten off facebook and helped my classmates. I know - I would definitely understand the trajectory of an angle and how to calculate the x-position with integrals. Good thing I caught myself - I would have missed much more than that.
Teamwork: Everyone here at the "P" school has the same goals - to get to "The Hill" - so we all know that value of teamwork. This most likely developed through basic training. Yeah, people dread it. Honestly, even though I disliked parts of it, I enjoyed working with a team. It reminded me of high school soccer. My team never had drama (unlike my Husky Team here at the "P" school). Bravo Squad worked harder than Alpha Squad or Charlie Squad. We knew what we wanted - TOP SQUAD - and we worked for it. Physically, mentally and academically; we proved we could make it as a team. Sure, we've lost parts of our team over time, but that does not make us any less of a team!

From the beginning - we stick it out. They are the reason I will not quit today.

So - Physics GR - here comes your worst nightmare.

Go With God -
Cadet Candidate LMM

Good Evening..

...from good ol' sunny Colorado Springs, CO.
Well not so much sunny. It's barely 1800 (6 pm for all those "normal people") and our vast sun has set beyond our beautiful mountains.
Being on the mountainside, witnessing the beauty of God's creations every morning when the curtains fly open and the sun peaks in, puts life in perspective. It's short. It's complicated. But, it is oh so wonderful to be a part of. Who wouldn't want this chance?
Anywho...that's not why i'm here. I'm here to share the story of an every day "Preppie." Sound odd? Well, it is. Out of the billions of people in the world, only about 240 survive the applications to become known as "A Preppie." Joyful right? Not so much. Sure it has it's ups an downs, but honestly, its a challange.
Throughout the next few days, my story will develop and you'll realize just what you are dealing with. Oh the mysteries. We'll get to the good part of the story.
Just stick with me kid and you'll turn out all right.

School come's first - always remember that! It's definitely important. It can make or break your life and everyone knows that no one wants to end up with their face in the mud.

Time to study - big PHYSICS GR tomorrow at 1010 sharp. Wish me and my fellow "preppies" luck!

Until Next Time -

Go With God -
Cadet Candidate LMM