Jessica Samuels's Blog, page 19

#MREReview Monday Menu 11: Vegetable Lasagna

   
On this weeks post I will be reviewing vegetable lasagna. I didn’t do one last week because I was studying and now I’m back.
Now onto the review:chunky peanut butterTwizzlersoat meal cookiecrackersfrench vanilla cappuccino instant powderspoonflameless ration heaterdiced pears in syrup entree vegetable lasagnapepper saucetowelettechewing gumsalttoilet paperraspberry
The vegetable lasagna was pretty good especially if it’s hot. The cookie was good and fresh along with the twizzlers. The crackers were good with the chunky peanut butter, and the pears were fresh too. Overall not a bad meal ready to eat.
Until next time,

Wolfdreamer25

What I’ve Been Up to….

School is over and I kept my 2.5 gpa which is great, but the bad news is I’m behind a semester. Long story short I didn’t get the grade I wanted which was a C, and I have to take the class over again. I guess you can say I chose the wrong thing to write about, and I got distracted…It happens though, and maybe it was for the best. Whatever. Shit happens. Anyway, school is over until August and I didn’t change my availability at all. I’m off Monday-Thursday and I just work Friday-Sunday which is good since it gives me more time to write, read, and film more videos. I also wanted to take a break this summer…I want to focus on writing and reading more, and I really need to get back into my writing and publishing. I seriously want to make a living doing what I love which is writing. It’s been some time since I’ve had free time due to being busy with school. I do plan to publish a book called Tales from Behind the Counter since I have all of those notebooks that I’ve filled with thoughts from work. Notes on policies and procedures, and I can make a pet peeve list, and a few other cool things I’ve learned. It’s been an uphill battle for me at this point since the school stuff left me in a depressed funk, and add my boyfriend getting deployed for a year it’s been hard. I’m still getting my degree just a little later then I’ve planned next semester is my last full time one, and then it’s just two classes and then just one my last semester. Stupid capstone courses cannot be taken simultaneously….Oh well. I’m just going to do my best to get through everything. I’ve heard back from the betas, and I’m going to also make the first Scarlet book a priority too. I need all the time I can get in order to finish it all. I love being able to publish whenever, but I’m the worst at getting motivated because of it all. I’ll stop rambling…Until next time,
Wolfdreamer25 

Meals Ready to Eat, and the History of why I started….

I’ve been reviewing MRES for a while now, and the thing that got me into it was the research I did to make The Killer Contract Agency, and I wanted it to be based off the military. It led me to military rations, and Youtube videos which led me to all the different menus they have to offer, and there are ones you can get for civilians like XMRE and MREStar. You can find them on Amazon, Ebay, and even get some from soldiers willing to get them for you. They are issued them during field training, and they don’t like them at all. They are called meals rarely eaten, meals rarely edible, and all sorts of names. They are Department of Defense Rations and the first one came about in 1981. Ameriqual is the company that packages them. You can tell if it’s a genuine military ration since the Department of Defense seal is on them. It also says Warfighter Recommended, Warfighter Tested, and Warfighter Approved. A lot of research is online about the various menus and the changes they have been through. Some items have been added and some are taken away. One example of an MRE discontinued is Menu 4 the Cheese and Vegetable Omelet that went hands down as one of the worst MRES of all time. I have a Youtube channel, and since I got a hold of a ton of MRES I want to review them all which is why I made Monday MRE Review day. It’s fascinating and they last a while too. They have date codes listed on them and I just recently got this if it says 2275 it is the 275th day of 2012. They have a long history, and if you want more information on them then go to: mreinfo.com to see more. Youtube is also a good way to get more information on them, and there is even a community full of people who review military rations. I love watching their channels and they are part of the reason why I got into it in the first place. Here are the channels you can check out that review meals ready to eat, and these channels even review ones from other countries as well.  Gschultz9:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx0dBY3QNmUeil1f6prRx_QGundog4314:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7dAKknI_zWUNcz36T0Lp6wKiwi Dude:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIUTBxBxmMMY2bUJqYITJxwNo East Too Far: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVVggbIzNl23NIYFUYqXWUgPaul Buikema:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ51mn3lFHIyMYxX74ViCPgEmmymadeinjapan:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzqbfYjQmf9nLQPMxVgPhiASteve1989 MREinfo:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2I6Et1JkidnnbWgJFiMeHA
I love reviewing these things, and I hope I can review other countries eventually and even some of the civilian ones. I enjoy doing it since it gives me a break from everything. I use a webcam to film the videos and Cyberlink Power Director to edit them. 
I hope you have enjoyed the post. 
Wolfdreamer25
PS. Here is the link to my channel if you want to see my reviews of them. 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn2L...

#MREReview Mondays Menu 10 Chili and Macaroni

For this Mre Review I will be reviewing menu 10 Chili and Macaroni. It looks interesting to try, and I still have a lot of them left. I didn’t do a review last Monday because I was filming the interviews for my television project. It’s done, and with school wrapping up I’ll have more time to write, read, and film Youtube Videos. Now let’s get started!
Contents:EntreeMoist ToweletteGumsugarSaltCoffee and creamerToilet paperMatchesMarble Pound cakeWheat snack bread twin packCheese spread with baconSkittlesSpoonOrange powderFlameless ration heaterHot beverage bagGround Red pepper
   Skittles: Taste fresh like it came out of the factory.Marble pound cake was good since it tasted like it came right out of the package. The cheese and bacon with the wheat snack bread was good too, and it’s not a bad meal for a soldier in the field. The entree chili with macaroni was good too, and it had a little kick to it. Overall not a bad meal.
Until next time,

Wolfdreamer25

WIP Wednesday Excerpt from AngelWitch Unedited...

A customer flags me down, “Do you have anymore of these in the back?” She holds up a pair of shirts exclusively for Black Friday. “Are those the only ones in the area?” I ask her wanting to hit her for being so stupid. “Yes, there isn’t anymore left, and I need it in a size medium 8-10.”I gave her a sympathetic look, “I’m sorry since we only get a limited amount of those shirts for the event once we run out then we are out.”Her look turns to one of hatred, “So you won’t check in the back for me?” “No, ma’am since this is all we have for the event everything is out.” “Thanks for nothing.” She spits making me wonder why I can’t slap her because of how rude she is. No wonder why I hate working here the customers are just rude pieces of shit. Stupid bitch it’s not my fault we are out yet it’s still taken out on me. It’s not a big deal since I’ve dealt with it for two years. I begin straightening out the area near the jewelry department cleaning the racks when this happens.“Get me a manager then this is ridiculous. I paid $5,000 dollars for this watch, and you won't even do it. That is disgusting. You won’t do it because you won’t carry it? I have had it done here twice already.”I look over to see Jasmine the jewelry sales associate explain why, and the guy is not having it. This is not the first time. She leaves to get the dumbass a manager, and that is when I have a little fun. I say fuck it because if I really am that special I’m not wasting anymore time at this shitty job. I’m quitting and finding something that does not want to make me hang myself every time I come in.

My Interview at Our Write Side....

I did an author interview for Our Write Side, and I came across them when I joined the Women Writer's Group and here is the link: http://ourwriteside.com/interview-jes...

Check it out, and I hope you enjoy getting to know me more, and I'm not going to be doing an MRE Review today since I have an interview for my television project today for class. I'll be doing one next week though, and summer is right around the corner....

Until next time,
Wolfdreamer25

How I make time to Write:

I live at home, and my boyfriend is away for a year which means I have the room to myself. I’m going to school full time, and I work retail during the weekends. There is a 3 hr gap in between classes, and I use that time to write more. Whenever a class is cancelled like it is today I use that time to write. I always bring my current stories with me wherever I go to work on them in between. I have an Ipad, Smartphone and two laptops. I always keep the latest copy on them and I work on it in between. I have Friday and Saturday off so in between the Southern Women’s show tomorrow and picking up the camera Saturday I will work on my novel. I always have Mondays off so I work on it then as well as filming Youtube videos. I’m working one day this week which really doesn’t bother me. I need the time to write my script for broadcast, and I’m also done with camera work except for my project. Yay! I hated camera work because getting people to be in front of it was a pain, and they kept rejecting it saying they were busy and had to go to class. I’ll also be doing a Youtube video on it for fun since I got it. School is almost over my last day is May 3rd, and my last exam is May 10th. Not too far away…That means I’ll have Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday off to do whatever…Writing will be a priority since I want to take this seriously and I really want it to be my job. I love every aspect of it even the formatting and doing it all by myself. I’ll probably make a better tutorial and film about my experiences self-publishing. I’ll do that this summer. I want to pass on what I know, and it’s really not that bad…I have a desk in my room that I write at and sometimes I do it sitting on my bed. I find the time since I want to write full time which means this summer I need to come up with a plan. I’m weird when it comes to the writing process because I do it by hand with a pen and paper then I type it up. It’s a lot of work so I’m trying to type as I go instead of doing it all at once. I would not change it for the world. It helps me destress and keeps me busy. It’s also a good form of therapy and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I was depressed for a while and lonely getting used to the fact that my boyfriend is away, but after ward I started to get my groove back. I can’t wait to start writing more because of all the plans I have.
Here is my list of works in progress…AngelWitch is almost done as far as rough draft wise, and I plan on finishing that first. Then Scarlet book 2 is halfway done followed by some of book 3. Still planning out Fur and Fang of Love. Behind the Counter is going to be a collection of stories about my time working in retail, and I’ll have to go through the notebooks for it. Some are at various stages like I’m waiting on a few betas for book 1 in the Scarlet series. I hope to be done with those by the end of this year if I’m lucky. That and I’m going to make a post about audiobooks and where to buy them since I’ll have them out too. 
Until next time,

Wolfdreamer25

#MREReview Mondays Menu 17 Pork Sausage Patty, Maple Flavored

For this weeks I’ve decided to review Menu 17 Pork Sausage patty, and it seems like a breakfast MRE since sausage is something you eat for breakfast mostly. Let’s dig in!
Contents:Pork Sausage PattyToilet papermoist towelettesugargumsaltcoffee and creamermatchesmaple muffin topnut raisin mixcheese spreadcrackerstable syruporange beverage basespoon flameless ration heaterhot beverage bag
Nut Raisin mix—-nothing special just the kind you buy at a store. It didn’t taste stale. 
Maple muffin top- actually quite good.
Cracker-tastes good especially with the cheese spread.
Sausage patty—-not bad just add the syrup with it. 
Overall, it’s a pretty good breakfast meal for soldiers on the field…
I’ll do another MRE next Monday, and post more blog posts in the meantime.
Until next time,

Wolfdreamer25

Life Updates….

I haven’t been blogging much lately, and the reason is because of school and work. With less then five weeks to go I’m gearing up for my projects with journalism. Only two more television projects to get through, and three articles to revise. Not to mention plan my layout for my Graphics for Journalism class. It's a lot of work, and not for someone who is into instant gratification. The problem is mainly getting in touch with the people you need. Sometimes they can be friendly, and answer right away other times they ignore you or be incredibly rude. It's a trial by fire for sure. When you have the camera none of the students seem like they want to talk at all. I plan to get a parking pass next semester and a smart tag to drive myself since my mom works there I ride in with her. I signed up for three this semester and three the next. It’s coming to a close so fast I definitely have to look for an internship and set it up Spring 2017.  My boyfriend is also deployed for a year which sucks, but at least school and writing will keep me busy. I’m just counting down the days, but I’m also nervous since it means looking for a job in my field. Or if I write and publish more then I can just write full time. It’s going to be a change since I’ll have to move out, and get my own place. I’ll take over my car payments and pay my own bills. It also means that I’ll get a smart tag and a parking pass to take myself to school since I go to school mon-thursday. I’ve been in school way too long, and it will be 5 years in October working at a retail job. I definitely need a change. I want the ability to act like a grown up and plan things out. I’ll be able to blog more and film more Youtube videos. I'm also now in an issue of The Commonwealth Times. It was a long road to get that article done, but it reminds me that hard work pays off in the end.
Until next time,

Wolfdreamer25

#MREReview Mondays Menu 18 Beef Ravioli

I’m back sorry about the hiatus since I have not done one in over 3 weeks, but I’ve been busy with school and haven’t had much time. I do now and I can definitely do one next Monday. 
Contents:Beef Ravioli in Meat SauceCranberriesWheat snack breadTropical PunchSpoonHot beverage bagcorn nuggetscoffeeCreamertoilet papergum chemical packsplenda saltmoist towellettecheese spreadpepper sauce

Cheese Spread: tried a little of it since it looked badCranberries: Tastes like it came from the packageCorn nuggets: Good just add milk…Wheat snack bread: fresh just add butter or try to…Beef Ravioli in meat sauce: good like it came out of a can. It’s tender and it has meat bits in it…
Overall a good meal for a soldier. I know it’s not the freshest, but if you are out in the field you kind of have no choice.
Until next time,

Wolfdreamer25