I recently discovered that Google Friend Connect (GFC) is going away...and I am very sad about it! I follow so many blog through GFC. I am almost certain that this is going to drive tons of bloggers away from blogger and into the arms of WordPress. That is for sure. I hope that they are anticipating that!
But anyway, there are other ways to follow your favorite bloggers. One of the best ways, if you ask me, is Bloglovin.
I learned all about switching to Bloglovin from this awesome blogger.
You can also subscribe to my posts by email by looking to your right on the sidebar.
For now, that is all I have for you, but there shall be more tomorrow!
Bring On The Red Bull
That's sarcasm people. Ya get me?
Over the past....3 weeks, I have been obnoxiously busy with all sorts of stuff!
I was inducted into the United States Army Chemical Corps
We had this cool ceremony where we got our regimental crests. It was something that I was really quite proud to be a part of.
I got to see my parents for the first time in two months!
I graduated from AIT on 24 June 2013!
I sang the National Anthem at said graduation (yuh...seriously. I did.)
I said goodbye to all my friends that are being spread out across the world to go to work.
I moved into a new building, with a new roommate. I am now in a different company with new rules, a different Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), and a whole lot more freedom. And a mini fridge! We pulled a switcheroo with the room across the hall. So ours even works.
I chopped all of my hair off yesterday....
Along with my new hair style, I also got this awesomely painful sunburn to go with it. It is just....so cute.
And now, here I am. Blogging in my "spare" time. I really should be napping, but instead, I'm just going to compensate later with a lil' 16 Oz Red Bull.
I have been having the time of my life for the past few weeks. I am not quite ready to return to the civilian world and be a weekend warrior once again. I know that it's inevitable, but I don't like to think about it too much...
I know that I have to move on and do work, but I kind of just want to stay put. I was just starting to get used to being here and living this life. I don't want to leave it yet.
For the first time in quite a long while, I feel like I can say with confidence, I am happy.
Far Better Things Ahead
Today I did something extra awesome...
That's right. I painted my nails and it was seriously...the highlight of my week. Everyone was teasing me because I have to take it off tonight, but I really just don't care. I am in love with the nail polish and this is the first time my nails have seen polish since before I left for basic...It was nearly a religious experience.
I am so ready to just...embrace the future and whatever comes with it.
Hooah?
Dream Big
When you have have the chance to sit around and do a lot of thinking, your mind tends to wander into a whole lot of things.
Sometimes, they are good things, sometimes they're great, things, and sometimes your mind goes places that you really wish that it wouldn't.
Lately, I've been lucky enough to only be thinking the good types of things and I've come to a conclusion.
not that I ever draw any conclusions from all the trivial things that make up this life...
I ran my final Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) on Saturday. I did really well on it. In fact, I did better than I ever expected to. I did 43 push-ups, 72 sit-ups, and I ran two miles in 14 minutes 31 seconds.
I don't think I ever would have been able to do that well if I hadn't been shooting for a 300.
I had the goal in basic training of getting promoted by the time it was all said and done, my mom was pinning my new rank on my chest.
Getting into the military at all was reaching for the damn stars...and it happened. I made it. I made it all the way through basic and now almost all the way through AIT without a single true issue.
I dreamed big. I set the bar high for myself. I pushed myself to get what I wanted. I made it happen. And these are just some small concrete examples...but there are so many other I could come up with.
And I intend to keep at it. I'm going to make sure that my dreams stay big and my worries stay small (yup, I just quoted Rascal Flatts) And I think that you should do the same. Aiming high and dreaming big has really paid off for me, and I think that it will for anyone who gives it a shot... :)
Summer Lovin'
I'd like to say hooah to a year of the Sunday Social! I love this link up and I'm excited to share it today!
1. What is your favorite Social Media outlet?
Definitely Twitter.
2. Do you subscribe to any daily news reads? If so which ones?
2. Do you subscribe to any daily news reads? If so which ones?
I don't subscribe to anything...I am so busy here, it's hard to keep up with what is going on in the world. I do my best to stay informed, but I feel like I'm going to have to wait to catch up until I get out of here.
3. What is your favorite magazine to have by the pool?
Of course...Cosmopolitan. I can't stop reading that dang magazine. I don't know why I don't have a subscription to it.
4. What is your favorite summertime song?
This question is almost impossible to answer. There are so many. How about a quick summer time playlist.
1. Something Like That - Tim McGraw
2. Take a Back Road- Rodney Atkins
3. Um...all of Taylor Swift.
4. Springsteen- Eric Church
5. Cruise- Florida Georgia Line
6. Firework-Katy Perry
7. Last Friday Night - Katy Perry
8. All of Demi Lovato's new CD
5. What is the best summer concert you've been to?
I've been to a whole bunch of little summer concerts, and I can't really pick one that was my favorite, but I would really like to see Allison Krauss Or Taylor Swift (even though she's not as good as she seems...)
What You Miss Out On
When I was in basic, I published a post about being homesick.
Yes, I was a little bit homesick while I was there, but it was different. I didn't have the ability to talk to them, so I wasn't really seeing what all I was missing out on.
Now I have the opportunity to see what's going on at home all the time and it makes me miss it a whole lot more.
This weekend my family was a bluegrass festival that was the ultimate escape for me last year. It's one that is close to home and so much fun. I was so sad that I missed out on it...
It was Kallie's first Bluegrass Festival.
It seems like she was really digging it. Sound asleep the cute lil' bit...
Also, my little sister played in the instrument contest. She played in the open (advanced) division for the first time this year. I was so excited for her because I knew that she had been practicing so hard. My mom called me at the time that she went on and I got to listen to her play. It was so incredible. I cried when she was finished. I was so very sad that I couldn't be there, but I was happy to have been able to at least listen to her play.
It's so dang hard to be away from home! I still have a good 7 weeks left before I get to leave here. If I'm lucky I get to see my family a little bit before then. I can't wait to be home...even though I'm going to be leaving again right after I get there. It's going to be different to be able to head home whenever I really need to. I just hope this homesickness takes a vacation sometimes soon. Until then, I'll just wrap up in my wooby and blog about it all...
When things become what they are not
Apparently, the post that I published yesterday about dealing with living with roommates was...misconstrued into me bashing my personal roommates and attempting to stir up trouble by asking people what annoys them about living with other people.
I took down the post because people were offended by it and I'm not alrigjt with that. I don't want anyone to feel like they are being subject to...cyber bullying? On my blog. It was meant to be a humorous and relatable post. I wasn't targeting anyone or complaining about my roommates. I even began the post by saying that I liked them and that I gathered information from multiple sources about the difficulties of living in close quarters with another person. Or in our case, two other people. I even asked people about living with roommates outside of the military for the sake of having some good material to share with my readers.
I just want to apologize to anyone who was offended by it or assumed that I was talking about them. That was not my intention and it upset me a little that people think I'm the type to talk crap about others behind their backs. I am not...I don't want to sit here all day defending myself when it was honestly just a general commentary, so I won't, but I wanted to be clear.
I know that I'm not perfect.
I have bad habits too.
I wake up my roommates before their alarms go off, I have an inability to put my shoes where they go, and I talk on the phone, probably too loud, with my family. And I'm sure that they could complain anouy me all day! I have faults and so does everyone around me. My mission was to laugh about them together, but it didn't come across that way and for that I am sorry.
It just goes to show that not everyone is going to like what you write. I wish that I didn't have to take it down, but out of respect for my roommates and anyone who felt like they were being made fun of I did it anyway. I hope that in the future I can be more conscious of the fact that sometimes people will take what you have to say and make it something that it's not and that becomes what it is. It's unfortunate, but it's true...
