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40 Ways to Find Solace in a Storm
“I don’t want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them.” ― Oscar Wilde Call your dad Sip a hot cup of coffee Take 10 minutes to soak up some sun on a warm, sunny front porch Feet up & a good book Jump on your bike and take a ride Grab the music player, pop in the ear buds, play your favorite upbeat music and ask the vacuum to dance (Bonus you get some clean floors) Give a lingering hug with someone you love Look through old photos, create a collage of someone you love using Picasa or other photo editor…
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The Insecure Military Brat (That’s Me)
I started a wonderful book over Spring Breaktitled ‘The Artist’s Daughter’, a memoir by Alexandra Kuykendall. MOPS International gave it to me and I have a hard time putting it down each time I pick it up. If you ask me about my identity (a key question in this memoir) I struggle to answer. I have grown a lot through the years. Especially now, as a mom, wife, a resident of the same city for the last 12 years. But years before that? I was (and still remain) a Military Brat. I was always a little awkward. I had a SUPER hard time making new friends. The shy introvert who just wanted…
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The ‘busy-ness’ of Spring
Ah… Spring. A perfect adjective would be refreshing. We get out of the house. We start the garden. We clean off the deck. We pull out our soccer cleats, baseball gloves and running shorts. We pump up our bike tires, clean out our cars and hose off the outdoor dump trucks, bubble wands and kiddie pools. We open windows, smell the flowers, take long hikes. We start to fill the family calendar with all sorts of events. As military families we also might be looking at orders. We clean out our closets, get rid of the ‘extras’, plan for the future. We make last ditch moments to see the town we called home…
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5 Practical Ways to Save Money on Groceries
1. Make a list. I know, time and time again you hear it. “Make a list and stick to it.” But writing a list on scarp paper and then losing that paper isn’t going to help. Instead make the list practical. I like using technology and since my phone is usually in the kitchen on the dock, it is very practical to keep my list there. The free app that I use, is Grocery Pal but there are dozens of list apps out there. I add items when I need them, when I start to run low, when I know it is time to restock. I love that after I buy…
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Military Saves Week, 2013
It is Military Saves week! Financial Readiness, Financial Fitness, Financial Know-How. All very important to the military family. Important to the service-memeber. Important to me. Source: youtube.com via MilitaryAvenue.com on PinterestChairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey and his senior enlisted advisor Sgt. Maj. Bryan Battaglia encourage service members to plan for the future by saving a little bit today Here are some quick tips and tricks that have helped this military family, I’m sure they can help yours too! The Grocery Bill Source: militaryblog.militaryavenue.com via MilitaryAvenue.com on Pinterest The Stress of Making a Purchase Source: militaryblog.militaryavenue.com via MilitaryAvenue.com on Pinterest Saving Money Around the House Source:…
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A Moment Out of the Norm: Dog Show
A moment out of the norm. “Grinda” is a rescued pup. She is a hoot! She is a Welsh Corgi Pembroke. She has short legs and long ears. She also has our hearts and pride of ownership streaming all around her. Yesterday was her moment to shine. Well, we all take that idea differently… the car for example shining moment would be a wax job. The house’s shine would be a spring cleaning. The shining moment for our dog Grinda: an entry in a dog show. No kidding!Mrs. Becky Kissinger, teacher at Christian High School in Grand Rapids, MI, led an interim class on the subject of ‘dogs’. The class…
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Two Very Different Veteran Day Celebrations
Last week I was privileged to be invited to the 3d Annual USAA Influencer Conference in San Antonio, TX. Today, I was invited to Pine Ridge Elementary School in Ada, MI. Both had Veterans Day celebrations that impacted me but in two very different ways. Both sent and had a wonderful message! USAA is built around veterans and their members are veterans and their families so there is a natural appreciation and their Veterans Day program certainly showed their affiliation. A dignified and respectful ceremony with flag officers, wounded warriors from the nearby medical center, family members, USAA team members and a crowded, standing room only audience. Captain Smiley speaking…
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Summer Camp
I had NO IDEA it would be this hard to let go. This past Sunday Hubs and I dropped *E*, 9 years old, off at his first week-long, without his Mom, Summer Camp. EGADS! (That’s me biting at my nails, my belly doing flip-flops everytime I think about what he might be doing at that very moment.) *E* was a little nervous on the way there, a three hour drive from home. But he popped in his favorite DVD and multi-tasked with a game on the iPad for the 200 miles we were on the road. It was a great attention diverter. When we got there the camp was ALIVE with youth. Youth workers…
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Month of the Military Child – How Do You Influence Your Military Child/Grandchild?
I had a lesson taught by a small loving act during this Month of the Military Child. A package arrived in the mail from @MilAve_Leanne and when I opened it, I was humbled by what I saw. The art work was a future Monet or Picasso and the words were clearly a Robert Ludlum or Tom Clancy to be. “I will catch a fast leprechaun on a St Patricks Day. My grandpa and I will fly a fast jet. We will swoop it up with a net. The leprechaun will shout Woo hoo. Grandpa. the leprechaun I will enjoy the ride.” A school project during the St Patrick’s Day timeframe…
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What is essential …
Three very different churches. Three very different congregations. Three different families. But one common belief, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” – Jesus Christ, John 14:6 Worship today was once again a gift. It spurred thoughts and reminded me (this time) that we (my family, my church-home) are getting it right. I am blessed to have been raised in a Christian home and am raising my family in that same tradition, the same knowledge that without Christ we are nothing. Three very different churches. Three very different congregations. Three different families. Our church is big. Hip to hip, four services…
