-
The Blackberry Patch and Col K
Our crop is going to be cut by 90% and this “farmer” is a bit sad watching them shrivel. 2011 Blackberry PatchThey are in the blood and sometimes they draw our blood through their thorns! Growing up outside of Gary, Indiana, we lived in farm country. It was a completely different world than our city cousins or the Air Force life I would eventually join. Ten acres of strawberries, black raspberries, vegetables and woods with a small pond kept us out of the house and busy in the spring/summer – whether working or playing, it did not matter. We were the “berry pickin” cousins and as we got older we…
-
A Very Special Valentine’s Day
Today we are happy to share a guest post from Maya Szydlowski, community manager for Veterans United Home Loans: Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and for moms with kiddos that means trying to round up cards and candies for your kids to hand out to their classmates. While grabbing a classroom list is no hard task, trying to get your kids to simply scrawl names on cards can be a little more difficult as the work hardly keeps their attention. To make Valentine’s Day a little more fun and creative for both you and your kiddos this year, consider giving a few of the following craft ideas a…
-
VOW to Hire Veterans Act and “WOW” Come Together for Veterans Seeking Employment at Sears!
A VOW from Congress and a big WOW for Sears! Citing Labor Department statistics with 900,000 unemployed veterans in October this year and with more returning from Iraq as the war ends there, David Works, Senior Vice President Talent & Human Capital Services for Sears, excitedly explained to MilitaryAvenue how they were increasing vet hires at Sears Holdings. A Navy veteran of fast attack submarines, David highlighted the efforts of Sears to increase veteran hires by 10% in 2012 with veterans filling positions from hourly associates to store managers, global logistics, corporate level and more with military experience a plus for new hires! Challenging other corporations to support our veterans,…
-
Small Business Saturday
I am really intrigued by this idea of “Small Business Saturday”. The premise is the Saturday after Thanksgiving you go to your local family-owned, small business stores to do your Christmas Shopping. I got this ‘chain email from my mother-in-law a couple weeks ago. Usually I immediately hit delete on chains. Sorry, I get about 50 emails a day – and that is just personal. But this one caught my eye and hits right along the Small Business Saturday concept: As the holidays approach, the giant Asian factories are kicking into high gear to provide Americans with monstrous piles of cheaply produced goods — merchandise that has been produced at the…
-
Helping a Veteran!
The Big Dead Tree … respecting the flag they fought under… The weather is getting a bit cooler, the days shorter, school has started and Fall is upon us! Veteran’s Day is fast approaching … The MilitaryAvenue team is busy preparing for Veteran’s Day with helpful articles, blogs, another Giveaway opportunity, recognizing veteran support organizations and much more during the almost two months preceding November 11th. Then I thought about how I had so much to be thankful for as a veteran. A loving wife (who moved 18 times and will celebrate a 40th anniversary in the spring) and family, a great support team of family/friends, veteran benefits, a church…
-
Week in Review: July 24 – 30, 2011 (Military News)
Popular Military Family Articles for the week of July 24 – 30 on MilitaryAvenue.comOne Thousand Posts – Let’s Celebrate It has been an amazing journey at ‘Our Letters to You’, a military family blog. I started writing in 2007 and now just a few short years later our team has written a thousand blog-posts! Blogs full of empowerment, support, education, fun and a bit of ‘been there done that’. One-thousand posts; This calls for a celebration! Which is just what we are going to do. We have some great prizes thanks to some wonderful companies that support our military families. … Debt Ceiling Crisis: How USAA Is Prepared Help Members: Should the federal…
-
Week in Review: July 17 – 23, 2011 (Military News) #MilitaryMon
Popular Military Family Articles for the week of July 17 – 23 on MilitaryAvenue.comLittle Known TRICARE Benefits:TRICARE offers comprehensive, affordable health coverage to more than 9.6 million eligible beneficiaries worldwide. It is an enormous military health benefits system and because of its complexity, many beneficiaries may be unsure of all the benefits and programs available to them. TRICARE has decided to highlight several well-know and maybe not-so-well-known benefits … Let’s Celebrate!: Get ready though… we have big plans for our 1,000 post coming soon! Prizes from USAA, Sears, Home Depot, Army Wife Network, Prudential and more. But I can’t stop there because the list is growing daily. (Are you a…
-
A Slice of Summer
Ahhhh Summer Fare. There are so many good, fresh, healthy foods out there this time of year. It is my favorite time for munching and crunching! Fresh, healthy foods are an investment in your health as well as your wallet. Before we dive into some of my favorite recipes I want to share just a couple of money saving tips for your eating pleasure: The Garden, my passion, on so many fronts. It embodies good health, good stewardship, and good eats! According to USAA: “A National Gardening Association study found that families with gardens spent an average of $70 on supplies and reaped $600 of food a year.” Grow Money in Your…
-
“Too Sweet a Deal”? You Decide!
The military lifestyle is a tough road! No one can deny that but many civilians do not understand why it is tough either! Long deployments, extensive TDY/TADs, frequent relocations (PCS), and caring for our families despite these conditions are frequently misunderstood. Also largely misunderstood is the impact on the lives of Reserve Forces including the National Guard and Service Reservists. Yep, some civilians may even ignore these situations but I think the major issue is education. How do we tell our fellow citizens that we are stretched as a community and in some cases would like them to “cover our 6 o’clock” for us? Checking 6 is when another aircraft…
-
Staying Healthy: Spend time outdoors
Spring Weather! Today it is supposed to be almost 80 in NE Ohio. Beautiful words to my soul. After a long winter a day like today is a perfect opportunity to break routine and get outdoors! Being outdoors has many health benefits, from breathing fresh air to taking in the sun. A little sunshine feels great, can help lift feelings of depression, and is a great source of Vitamin D, so long as you protect yourself with sunscreen. Being outdoors in good weather also encourages physical activity. Try to spend time outdoors as often as you can. Read a book or newspaper outdoors on your lunch break. Or take a…
