WED. FEB. 18th

Hey,
I heard that the weather's getting a little better in NC, that's good. It's still pretty cold here, but it hasn't affected my shooting much. :) My scores are looking really good, and if I can keep it up, I should be getting an Expert Medal for my uniform.
Lilly, thanks for the stamps. They're awesome. (Lilly ordered custom-made stamps with the Marine emblem) and I got them just in time as I ran out of the old ones.
Firing week has been a blast so far, and I've really enjoyed learning about all the fundamentals of marksmanship. You wouldn't believe how much more there is to shooting than just pointing the weapon at the target! There's a lot of simple math, sight setting, data-book stuff, and the pit work/scoring. The "pits" is the long concrete catwalk behind the firing burm. When you go to the pits, your job is to pull the carriers, plot the shots and fill in the holes. It's fast paced, but fun. Working with all the numbers and the sights gets a little confusing, but it's one of those things that just takes practice.
I'm glad you liked the picture, (contraband gift to us from an "official" visitor) He was trying to get me to sit still and smile, but my mouth was so busy eating, that it didn't want to cooperate. :) My skin is looking great though. I haven't had but 1 zit since being here. And I don't think I can thank my diet for it either. For instance, here's what I ate today:
Breakfast: Eggs and rice with sausage, a hash brown triangle, canned peaches, pears and tangerines, grits, a slice of french toast, rice crispies and chocolate milk, water.
Lunch:(Boxed) Turkey hoagie, boiled egg, and apple, and orange, 2 granola bars, a box of raisins, gatorade and water.
Dinner: Lasagna, butter beans, bread, stewed tomatoes, salad and powerade.
Sounds good, doesn't it Winston? Yeah, I drink about 16oz. of chocolate milk a day (1/2 with my cereal) and hey, it seems to be working. (It's just to ease the cravings) They pump us full of Power/Gator-ades too, about 32 oz a day.
That's one thing I've learned while I've been here. Marines LOVE energy drinks. I mean LOVE them. You've never seen so many cans of Monster and BeStrong in your life! I think it's just the pace of everything that keeps everyone skinny; like hummingbirds.:) I've just got to be careful when I get outta here. I'm ALWAYS hungry!
Andrew sent me 3 Valentine's Day cards last week. One on which he recorded his voice, and the other 2 were sweet and flowery. I was the envy of Plt. 4008. He's such a tender-hearted guy.
I am doing so many things here that I am sure many guys would love to do. I can see why this training makes the men feel like real men. All those challenges and male bonding do them good, and it's important for guys.
Well, gotta go to bed now. It's 7:40 pm and we get up at 3:40am this week!
I'll write again soon,
Love Ruby