The Heritage of a Military Brat

*E*, 9 years old, came home very excited.  "MOM! We have a big project at school and it has to be about our heritage, where we come from.  I want to do the country of Iceland!"

What is interesting is *E* is about 25% Hungarian, 12.5% Norwegian, a splash of Irish, Danish and French and the rest German.  Icelandic? There is none in his blood.  But it does run in his veins.

I lived in the country of Iceland from 10th grade through 12th grade at the now closed Naval Base in Keflavik.  My dad flew helicopters out of the 56th Rescue Squadron with the US Air Force.  So when I talk about my younger years and where I came from a lot of times Iceland is mentioned.  I never really thought about my heritage in terms of being a brat.  I knew it influenced who I was but influenced my own children?  I was suddenly excited to think that my 'brat-hood' had an impact on my own children and making a dent in their sphere of a world-view.


For his project he chose to do a diorama.  I called my mom to get some props.  She dug out the old photos of the scenery from our tour in Iceland.  She scanned them and emailed them to us.  (Isn't modern technology great?!)  We did a little official research on the computer about the country and we found a recipe to bring in.  (Part of the project was making a food to share with the class.) 

A Time for All Seasons - DoD Blogger Roundtable

Pentagon Press Secretary George Little

"Put Me in Coach"!

World and national events make this "A Time for All Seasons" and there is a reason that Friday is a favorite weekday of most! But it was with trepidation that MilitaryAvenue dialed into the DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable Friday afternoon to talk with Pentagon Press Secretary George Little and DoD Spokesman U.S. Navy Capt. John Kirby.  Why? - you wonder? We were about to discuss the new 2013 budget proposal from the Pentagon. The subject always seems to be one of the tough issues that never please anyone. Which programs are being cut this time, manpower reductions, aircraft and naval vessel numbers slashed, Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) recommendations, etc.? Do the needs of the military drive the budget or does the budget drive our military needs is always the question?

This Roundtable was a fine example of those discussions. Great questions from bloggers and answers from the Pentagon. But they left me wondering what the message these media experts were sending to us and you. “Refocus attention on skill sets”, “pay growth may slow”, “no commitment to be broken for military retirement”, “F-35 is aircraft of our future”, new BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure) proposals, airlift cuts to match troop cuts in Army and Marines, …

The Secretary of Defense announced his budget priorities and these men were explaining those priorities and how they would impact the military community. Troops coming home from Europe, fewer troops (80,000 soldiers and 20,000 Marines), a BRAC like commission to review military retirement (grandfathered for all currently serving), emphasis on special forces and maintaining the number of big deck carriers, - the intent? Save $259 Billion over the next five years and $487 Billion over the next 10 years. Having been a program element monitor (PEM) warrior at the Pentagon, it was apparent that not much has changed since I departed active duty. The discussions will focus on keeping programs in each service, protecting the turf but always looking for ways to save money.

Col K

Why is this discussion important to you? 

Snowmen Hanging In There

Tuesday has to be the best day, my favorite day; it is Esther and Jacob day.  For a few hours I have them in the center of my attention.  Their voices, bursting energy, spontaneous laughter and curiosity are with me.  This is a recipe for a successful day: mirth.

Tissue falling everywhere!

We cook, create with playdough, design with pastels and paper and we chatter.  Songs that I love to sing fill the car on the way down to the house only to be interupted by counting buses, both school and rapid transport.  Seseme Street's Count vonCount would be oh so proud of my charges.

Pinterest and the Military Family

Hours ... I have lost hours to Pinterest.  But maybe lost isn't the right word because Yes! I have successfully re-created some of the great ideas I have found.  Dinner has become more exciting, I've discovered the many uses of vinegar, and it has helped me on my quest to keep "2012 the year of Organization."

I also created some resources that you, the military family, might find useful.  There is a sea of information out there and this is a great way to keep it organized.  Find what you like, pin it to your own board and you'll have it when you need it (or have time to read it!)

Military - Loving the Life
Army Wife - Air Force Brat - and Director of Research and Development at
MilitaryAvenue.com.  Yep, the military-family is pretty important to me.

Tasty Tuesday: Slow Cooking BBQ Chicken

A new baby, a sick family member, a recent (or upcoming) PCS, or 'just because!'; there are many reasons a gift of dinner is so appropriate and heart-warming.  If you are looking for a great dinner to deliver ahead of time this is a great one to try.  (Bonus is that you will have two to give and one to keep!)

Slow Cooking BBQ Chicken:

3 large unpeeled sweet potatoes

4 large green peppers
1 large red pepper
2 medium onions
3 tsps quick cooking tapioca
3 - 4 pounds chicken thighs or breasts
2 8-ounce cans of diced tomatoes
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
3 tsps Worcestershire sauce
3 tsps yellow mustard powder
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 teaspoons salt

Chop, dice, cut ... into your preferred bite size pieces.  Dump everything evenly into three one-gallon freezer bags (so you are making three meals with this one recipe). Shake it up, seal, label and put in the freezer.

Financial Fitness in 2012

Welcome to a new year, military-families! We have so much ahead of us to look forward to: family time to spend, PCSs to plan, houses to buy, vacations to save for, retirements to plan for, new babies for some and others are sending our babies off to college (Yes, I would fall into that category). 2012 is going to be a great year!

Did you make any New Years Resolutions, or I would rather call Personal Goals? How is that going? My big one this year is to get my home more organized. You can read more about that journey and steps I am taking on our blog 'Our Letters to You', a military family blog: Personal Goals. So far I have stayed on track by taking baby-steps every day. Doing a little bit here and there every day has had a very positive impact on my well-being.

Speaking of keeping Resolutions did you know that Tuesday, January 17th, was 'Ditch the New Year's Resolution Day'? They can be hard to keep, especially if you set the bar high without much planning or vague notions of what you want to achieve. Take a look at what you want to do and see if you can chunk it down into obtainable goals. Sometimes baby-steps are the way to go.

If your goals for the year involved personal-finances then I would encourage you to keep pressing on. Financial Readiness trickles down into every aspect of your life, from your marriage, to your work life, to looking ahead to your future. We hope you can find some help in this month's newsletter to help you keep the pace.

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Sarcoma Smarts

Some people know how to put exactly the right words down in writing so that your mind is able to take the jangle out of thoughts, desires, whim and fog.

I walk in those feelings often. Dale was diagnosed with a rare cancer which is under the umbrella of Sarcoma. This sounded like some troll out of our long forgotten heritage: a member of our family hidden on our family tree that we didn't know existed from an odd country. Sarcoma has come to visit and taken up residency in our thoughts and plans and tries to flick it's ugliness into our faces a bit too often. Sarcoma scares occur: an odd bump, an increasing constant pain, a questionable MRI. The scare is alive and 'unwell' and living with us.

Therefore it is time to clean house. Get rid of the welcome mat for this sarcoma 'fellow'.

We are working on our daily walk.   Dale continues going forward with physical therapy for a joint that froze due to the constant elevation of his leg following cancer surgery. All part of the healing process, part of the newness of being a cancer survivor: scars.

Dale found the Internet to be of such great help. Being armed with knowledge he could read how others progressed. And here lies the inspiration for this account: http://sarcomahelp.org/friend.html.

Common sense cannot be over rated, or over used. Thank you Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative for you work.

“Just do Something!”

These stirring words mean so much. The website lists 15 'no brainer' ways to extend your arms, and heart without intruding. Two of my favorites are finding humor (Hooray for laughter and encouragement. Laughter and silliness can provide a sense of balance for someone who spends a lot of time in the serious "cancer world." ) and the second, give a notebook to record this journey. Both actions are so very positive avenues to take.

Go ahead, visit the ideas on the site and tell us what else you can think should be added to the list.

Wordless Wednesday: The Wonderful World of Books

Veterans in the News

I love to see relevant and factual stories about veterans in the news. Their service, patriotism, family touches and caring for others despite the tragedies of war are mentioned often. But why does the media insist on placing “Veteran” in the headline when it has no relevance?

Caring for injured Haitians DoD Photo

There seems to be a trend in the news lately. I am a fan of the news and freedom of the press in the US! It is one of our freedoms that makes this country great and allows us to keep up to date as citizens. By the way, I think that bloggers also should be protected by those same rules and given the protections that other media reps currently have (this is still being tested in the courts).

We can see daily where the freedom of the press can influence world events such as the Arab Spring, Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and even the military response to the Haiti disaster. A piece of the 1st Amendment and Bill of Rights made freedom of the press a right of every US citizen.  Our veterans for generations have fought, been injured and died to protect this freedom that many others do not have.  It appears that some in the media choose to forget this fact. 

Tasty Tuesday: Slow Cooker Goulash - Make Ahead

I love Pinterest. Especially when I find something that looks doable and then I do it!  I've been able to mark a few things completed.  I cleaned out my sink-drains with baking soda and vinegar. We have turned an old dresser into storage shelves in our basement.  Most recently I made Freezer-Ready Crock Pot Goulash, a great recipe for my family and also to give as a gift to a family with a new baby.

This is a super easy recipe for goulash and I made three two-gallon freezer bags of it, each with 5 cups of prepared, but not cooked, goulash in it.  I put it together this afternoon and then can cook it in our slow-cooker a day in the next month or two.

Make Ahead Slow Cooker Goulash

3 cups chopped onions (2 large onions)

2.5 cups coarsely chopped green sweet peppers (2 green peppers)
3 cups of carrots (I chopped 4 large carrots)
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 pounds beef stew meat, cut into one inch cubes
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
4 teaspoons paprika

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 bay leaves