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Angst and Insecurities
There is a bit of teenage-angst in my house right now. *J*, 16 years old, driver’s license, girlfriend, soccer, nearly-straight A’s, lots of friends from school, three parents that LOVE him, (I’m step-mom),want to give him his space and yet recognize that sometimes too much space isn’t good either. He’s not quite sure what to do with the raging hormones, the insecurities, the pull between friends, two families, and self. Mom is a single-mom. It is just Mom and *J* in that household. *J* is treated a little bit older, I suspect; perhaps more of a confidante. Dad is a dad of three sons and soon to be four, plus his lovely bride…
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The Nuclear Posture Review – A New Strategy for the United States! DoD Roundtable
I have seen the effects of a nuclear explosion! First hand, on the spot, over ground zero as they went off! Ever throw a big rock into a still pond and seen the ripple of waves? Imagine that with solid granite in the Nevada desert many years ago! I flew security, radiation monitoring and safety aircraft on my first assignment after pilot training as the Air Force supported the Atomic Energy Commission (later the Department of Energy) Underground Nuclear Test program. I was awed by these weapons’ power and the destruction they could provide. I flew low over the fake towns set up (with trenches for real soldiers) for the…
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Supporting Our Troops in the Field – DoD Roundtable
As “Operation Moshtarak” kicked off this week it brought me back to the fourth military budget theme from the Department of Defense discussed in earlier blogs. During the Roundtable with Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) and Chief Financial Officer Robert Hale, he highlighted the themes of the military budget as being: 1) Taking care of our people2) Rebalancing the Military3) Reforming what and how we buy4) Supporting our troops in the field I wrote on the first priority in, The 2011 Military Budget – DoD Roundtable with Secretary Hale and people programs usually gain a lot of support. I wrote on the second and third themes in The Defense Budget…
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DoD Roundtable on 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit “Compassionate Warriors” to Haiti
The DoD New Media Directorate arranged for a DoDLive Roundtable with Captain Clark Carpenter, US Marine Corps, the Public Affairs Officer for the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit which is currently preparing to embark for Haiti. Capt Clark said that unit morale is extremely high as they prepare to assist the Haitian people with humanitarian assistance following the devastating earthquake. The unit just returned from a seven month deployment in early December and has responded to the crisis with a “Compassionate Warrior” attitude and are eager to help. In addition, many of the personnel have previously participated in humanitarian relief and are prepared for the situations they will face when arriving…
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Commitments and Parenting
No one said being a parent would be easy. But does it really need to be this hard? What might seem like a small trivial decision is holding a great weight over my shoulders. Our teenage-son was asked to a attend the big Homecoming dance by a friend from another school district. We were excited for him getting to know new friends and spending time with a gal whose family we happen to really like. I had seen pictures of the dress, we had discussed corsages, permission forms had been signed, and dinner plans were made. So the news, five days before homecoming, that he wasn’t going to go with…
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The Day I became a Mom
7 years ago today I became a mom to a beautiful blue-eyed, pink-skinned, 8 pound, 21 inches of love, baby boy. In the few days following his birth I would hold him amazed that this little baby was given to me to love, take care of, and to call my son. Then with a little bit of humor I often wondered when his mother was going to come get him. Could I possible be this little boy’s mother? Wow, I was a Mom. The emotion was conflicting and overwhelming. Yet my heart was OVER FLOWING with an amazing new love. He’s no longer 8 pounds. The eyes are more of…
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Household Penny Pinching from the House Guy!
Household Penny Pinching We owned homes while on active duty but spent a lot of time in military housing too as we moved so many times. One of the challenges of post military living has been household expenses and budgeting. We chose to live near family in a cold winter environment with a propane tank due to our country lifestyle. As we try to control electrical and propane bills we also saw the rise of fuel prices so it became critical to maintaining our costs. We like to travel and needed to see what we could do to save precious resources. We also saw it as a way to decrease…
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Season’s Greetings and How to Save On Your Taxes Before the End of the Year
As we approach Christmas and many other holidays in December it also marks the end of the tax year. So Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy New Year and Season’s Greetings from MilitaryAvenue! I so enjoy this time of the year but also realize it requires me to stay focused on our budget and planning for taxes is one of the unfortunate pieces of reality we all face at this time of the year! Our friends at USAA, Mike Kelly and JJ Montanaro, provided us some great ideas for this end of the year planning. They provided some action items that we need to get done during the holiday season in…
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The Real Estate Market –Choices, Choices, Choices
At Work on Our House I do not claim to be a real estate expert but after 18 moves there is a bit of personal experience to rely on and with our rather volatile housing market there are many decisions to be made during this PCS season! We have lived in government housing, in apartments, rented housing and owned housing in many different areas and market conditions. How do you choose whether to live in military housing, rent a place for the family or buy a home at that next location? We rented apartments for our first few locations based on our needs and the short tours we faced during…
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New PCS Mileage Rate (Again)
I wrote a blog back in March about the reduction in PCS mileage rates which went down from 20 cents a mile to 19 while gas prices were climbing rapidly towards $4 a gallon! Well, we are over $4 a gallon now and someone at the IRS finally saw the light and is changing the rate for moving and medical appointments. In a story I read recently the IRS commissioner stated that Moving and Medical appointment rates were changing to 27 cents a mile and business travel would be 58.5 cents a mile. The changes will be implemented as early as July 1st. I am sure it will take a…
