W.O.C.S

Well, Alex is half way through week three of W.O.C.S. which stands for Warrant Officer Candidate School and I wanted to share a few of the things that Alex has written about, hopefully, after he graduates, he will be able to make a few posts and tell you all about it himself!
In one of his letters dated Sunday, 3/25/2012 he writes:
"They do inspections of our rooms and inspect every drawer, sock and shirt. They also measure how far away all the furniture is from the walls and things like that and if it is not all right, they mess everything up and I will have to fix it again."  (side note: I think I would do well at this part of W.O.C.S since I was trained from a young age on the white glove inspections at home as well as at Grandpa's summer camps;)
"It is so much better than basic training. It is a lot of classes. Our day usually consists of waking up at 5:00am, get downstairs and do PT for about an hour to an hour and a half then we get about 10 minutes to shower, which we never do because we don't have time then we clean up the barracks for about 20 minutes. After that it is mostly class work and lectures throughout the day, kind of like college. Last week we learned all about the "Law of War." It was pretty interesting. Then we eat dinner, clean the barracks again (but a lot better this time) for about an hour, have study time for about an hour then go to bed about 11:00pm. That is basically my whole day."
"I was put on flag detail for a few days which means I had to get up at 4:30. I was in charge of 5 other guys who would go to the main flag pole on base and when the morning bugle call went off we would raise the flag. It was kind of cool besides having to get up earlier."
"Right now everyone wants their phones back. In order to get anything we have to write a memo requesting it. As of now we do not have any good "rights" because all our memos come back with formatting mistakes. Just another way to keep us busy and teach us the proper way to write Army memos. We just yesterday got approved to to have our "computer rights." Next I think they are going to ask for coffee, but they probably won't give us that yet :)"
In a letter dated Saturday 3/25/12 Alex talks a little bit about the TAC Officers:
"I am just now getting a few minutes of down time and I just had to write to you again. Things here have been absolutely CRAZY!! We have very early mornings and late nights. The TAC Officers ( the warrant officer drill sergent equivalent) give everyone about a hundred things to do but only enough time to do about ten of them. That is their whole plan. They try to stress us out and make us decide which tasks we will choose to get done first. With all that said, I am actually enjoying it for the most part. I of course miss you so much but being here is so much better than basic training. It is a lot more stressful, but we are treated like future Officers and they don't yell hardly at all. Even when we do really hard PT in the mornings, all the TAC officers do it with us. They tell us that they lead by example, like we all should. I enjoy that. They also don't drink coffee around us or talk on their cell phones since we can't have those either (yet) I have a lot of respect for all of them.  Anyway, they keep us unbelievably busy."

As of today, Alex has not recieved his phone, he said in his last letter that he himself was going to write up a memo requesting their phones for Easter Sunday! Keep your fingers crossed! If they do recieve phone privileges, the days he can use them would be Wednesdays and Sundays for about a half hour or less.

Alex's letters are nearly as plentiful as when he was in boot camp, but each one is special and I treaure every one of them! It means so much to me that, even in the midst of all his crazy busy schedules and duties, he makes every effort to write to me, even if it is only a few lines just to say he loves me :-) He is the best! Not very many wives recieve love letters in abundance like I have had these past months, I am so thankful for every one!

This last Saturday I got to spend time with the Wales family! All of them except Alex :-( I meant to bring my camera, but forgot it :-( I loved getting to cook for everyone, although I hated having to say goodbye, especially to Hunter, Peyton and Emmy since I don't know for sure the next time we will be able to see them! I sure do love them- they are so much fun!

(Emmy's birthday gift from Alex and I was the musical movie "Annie" and a matching Annie wig. Kendra sent this to me and I personally think Emmy is the cutest "Annie" I've ever seen!)

 I made quesadillas with my panini maker, although they taste great when you fry them as well! I think these quesadillas are fool proof, and are Nancy and my Mom's favorite! Here is the coveted recipe :-)
 Quesadillas:
Ingredients:
1 red bell pepper
1/2 medium red onion
1 c. frozen corn
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 can of refried black beans (the absolute best brand is the authentic Mexican brand La Costena)
12 taco shells
2 1/2 c. of cheddar (or pepper jack for extra spice!)
Optional toppings: salsa, sour cream, guacamole

Dice the onion and red pepper, place in pan with about 2 Tbs. of oil. and let simmer until onion is not quite translucent and pepper is not so crunchy (but do not let them get mushy) add corn and red pepper flakes. It looks so pretty and fresh!

Meanwhile, spread beans evenly over 6 tortillas, careful not to spread beans too far on the edges of tortilla. Grab the panini maker, or oil for frying and let them reach the hot temperature. Place corn mixture over beans, then add cheese and place a plain tortilla over the top. Only take out of oil or panini maker when it is nice and crispy and browned! I use a pizza cutter to slice the quesadillas into fourths. Yum Yum! So delicious and nutricious! I think these will always be a family favorite! Easy, simple, nutricious and delicious!