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Thriller
Soon I will celebrate the 24th anniversary of my 10th birthday. I know that is a strange way to say that yes, I am almost 34. But any military-brat can tell you the importance of that 10th birthday. Turning 10 meant independence, empowerment, growing-up; it was a big deal! It was the day I could get my Military ID Card! It was a yellow card with a hole and a chain that I could hang around my neck. It had an awkward picture of a pre-teen with a curly perm and loads of freckles. It said that I, yes I, had Exchange, MWR, and Commissary privileges. It wasn’t a driver’s…
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A Minute out of the Norm: Go For a Walk
Today is a much coveted day in March in the Midwest. It is mostly sunny. Don’t get me wrong. It’s cold. There are still snow-piles throughout the neighborhood from the last snowstorm… but hey, at least we have our sidewalks back! The boys and I were inside feeling rather gloomy. There was a little bit more arguing then usual between the two brothers, a little bit more yelling on my part. So this afternoon for a change of pace we put on our jackets and shoes. My boys grabbed their new rain-boots from the Easter Bunny and we headed outdoors for a walk. I walked and they scooted on their…
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New PCS Mileage Rate
Sometimes things can just be downright confusing when we try to find our way across the country to that next PCS dream spot! Just like this little guy trying to decide which fork to take in the trail! Just as confusing are some of the government decisions on how much to pay us for PCS travel. With the current gas prices going towards $4 a gallon, the PCS mileage rate for your POV (privately owned vehicle) has gone down from $.20 a mile to $.19 a mile effective 1 January 2008. This is according to the latest information from the DoD Per Diem, Travel and Transportation Allowance Committee in a…
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The US Government Wants to send you Money: Or the Economic Stimulus Package is on its Way
Who can’t use a few extra dollars for their next PCS, weekend getaway, R and R or down payment for that new family vehicle? Well this spring/summer will see some funding coming into the military communities’ pocket books from the IRS in the form of a stimulus payment. If you have not heard or seen about this payment it is part of an economic stimulus package advocated by the President and passed recently by Congress! The first checks should be mailed in May! Who is going to get the rebates and how much is it going to be? To quote from the official IRS website at Economic Stimulus Payments Information…
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Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone
I just wanted to give “Army Wife Talk Radio” a big thank you (clap-clap-clap) for having us on their show this past Monday. What a great bunch of gals! If you missed it you can listen here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/AWTR/2008/03/18/Army-Wife-Talk-Radio-Show-153-Week-of-Mar-17-2008. You can catch what’s new with MilitaryAvenue.com at about the 55 minute point but please don’t skip the first part of the show; you can listen to some great advice put together for Army Wives (or Air Force, Navy, Marines & Coast Guard wives, too!) from USAA’s June Walbert, a financial planner. It is always good to step out of your comfort zone once in awhile. I was approached before the weekend…
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What a great idea!
We recently received a great homemade gift from our son Dan and his wife Becky to commemorate all of those PCS and other associated moves while on active duty! It was a sign post to place in the yard or on the street with all of our previous home locations spelled out with the distance in air miles to each from our current home! What fun it is to see the sign and realize all that it means. Each little sign indicates an American military family gathering its belongings, cleaning up a house, selling one on occasion or passing a base housing inspection on another! It also means saying goodbye…
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A Minute out of the Norm: Paint some Easter Decorations
I thought I would start a new ‘department’ here on “Our Letters to You“. I find with my husband gone for long periods of time I’m always looking to ‘shake things up a bit’. It’s when our routine becomes too routine that we really miss his presence. I’m no Martha Stewart but as I come up with new ideas that we did just to change the routine by 5 to 10 minutes I would like to share them with you. So without further ado I present our first “Minutes out of the Norm”. Today my boys and I painted Easter Eggs; Not the real kind of eggs … the paper…
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News Flash
Leanne of MilitaryAvenue.com is going to be featured as “Army Wife Talk Radio‘s” Resource of the week this Monday, at 8:00pm (EST). Be sure to Tune in! Do you want to find out a little bit about Leanne and the whole MilitaryAvenue.com team? Read here.byLeanneonFriday, March 14, 2008Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to PinterestMilitary Life:Army Wife Talk Radio,Interview,Leanne,News Flash
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Spring Clean Up and the Joy of a Swing
The time zone change this weekend messed up my schedule and body clock big time! But it says spring is rapidly approaching and I am certainly ready for that after record snowfalls and global cooling this winter. One of my favorite recreation activities to do with my kids when they were growing up and now my grandkids is to swing together or push them or do an under dunker. Now where did that name come from? Maybe because you are under the swing and someone usually gets smacked in the head or dumped off the swing. With spring almost here I look outside and cheer for the trees to bud…
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It is wonderful to be able to say “Thank You”
Ohio got walloped this weekend. The snow started on Friday morning and didn’t let up until Saturday night. There were moments when I could not see across the street & it brought back fond (or maybe not-so-fond) memories of our time at Keflavik NAS, Iceland as most of the snow fell ‘sideways’. I would have loved this storm if it was January, but snow storms that hit us in March just try my patience. What I least looked forward to as I watched the weather forecast was keeping the driveway shoveled. That is Paul’s job when he is home. I do love getting outside & I am no weakling. I…
