My Life As A Military Spouse: January 2009

It's on...

The power is finally back on, at least for now. Ice storm took it's toll.

More soon.

Sad times in the cookie world

Photo from YumSugar

I mentioned shrinking items before. Now we have the shrinking Girl Scout Cookies.

I suppose I understand it, economically speaking. But, I did not know about the shrinkage before I ordered 10 boxes of cookies. Oh well, I suppose my arse and hips will thank me later for the smaller cookies and packaging.

It's always seemed a little too effortless to finish off a box of Girl Scout cookies, but if they are a little easier to dust off this year, it's not just in your head. To offset the cost increases of cookie ingredients, Girl Scouts of the USA made the decision to shrink its cookie boxes by a centimeter, package fewer cookies into boxes of Thin Mints, Do-si-dos, and Tagalongs, and reduce the size of its Lemon Chalet Crèmes.
According to the organization, the cost of flour rose by 30 percent, assorted cooking oils by 40 percent, and cocoa by at least 20 percent. The company felt this was the best method of dealing with increasing raw material prices. Alternatively, Girl Scouts could have used cheaper ingredients, or raised cookie prices from their current price of $3.50 per box.

This doesn't come as a surprise to me, since last year producers began rolling out shrunken products in reaction to the price of food on the rise. I'm secretly a bit excited — for once, the downsized box may be enough for me to stop short of a stomachache.

I have found the answer as to......

Why there are so many 'deployment babies' - I found this elsewhere within an essay, unfortunately I just cannot remember where I found it, but here it goes anyway -

Men whose wives have been gone all day produce much more sperm than those who have been with their wives all day. Consider the adage, 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder.' As it turns out, it also makes the testicles more fecund. The same thing happens in rats, incidentally.

My husband and I have deployment babies - pre-deployment and post-deployment! :)

Babies have been on my mind lately b/c I recently found out that I am going to be an aunt for the very first time. My SIL and BIL have been trying to get pregnant for seven years. They finally gave up trying seven months ago. Now they are finally going to be parents. Aunt LMT - very cool, indeed!!

The spoiling will be great fun and the idea of giving the same types of gifts that I once received (loud, obnoxious toys) to my SIL is simply outstanding.

Is this on your radar?

Maybe it isn't, but it should be!

Don't forget....

That your TRICARE Dental (United Concordia) premiums will change on 1 Feb.

1 Feb 2009-31 Jan 2010 -

Active Duty Single Premium - $12.12

Monthly Family Premium - $30.29

National Guard/Selected Reserve -

Sponsor Only - $12.12

Single Premium - $30.29

Monthly Family - $75.73

Monthly Sponsor & Family - $87.85

Source: TRICARE Dental Program

Vote once a day until March 2

Help the PA Legion get HGTV's support for homeless veterans residence

Home and Garden Television is hosting a competition on its Web site for a Dream Home Giveaway on March 15. One of the houses vying for the prize is a transitional residence for homeless veterans in Philadelphia. The program is operated by the Pennsylvania American Legion Housing for Homeless Veterans Corp., and it's asking the Legion family to visit the HGTV Web site and vote for its home at 4245 Romain St. You can vote once a day until March 2.

The three-bedroom townhouse, in the historic Frankford district of Philadelphia, is 70 years old and needs a serious upgrade in the energy-efficiency department, including a new kitchen, better windows and insulation, and bathroom renovations to improve disabled-veteran accessibility.

The house has provided shelter to veterans since 1994. Nearly 400 former residents have gone on to join the work force and lead independent lives.

The Housing for Homeless Veterans Corp. has been part of The American Legion's Department of Pennsylvania since 1987. It currently operates six transitional residences for homeless veterans. Besides the Philadelphia residence, the corporation has another house in Ephrata and four in Coraopolis. These six homes can accommodate up to 16 veterans.

The corporation provides food, health care, counseling and job placement to homeless veterans, and works with VA medical centers, homeless shelters and other agencies in reducing the homeless veteran population in Philadelphia.
HGTV WEBSITE

You Decide

From Military Families United:

President Obama decides to close Guantanamo Bay Terrorist Detention Facility
Today, President Obama signed an Executive Order that will close the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility within one year. Military Families United has been working with your U.S. Senators and Members of Congress to ensure that what follows this closure does not harm our national security or endanger the lives of our families here at home, our troops serving overseas, or the people of the countries where these terrorists may be returned.
The Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility currently holds 250 enemy combatants. These are terrorists who have tried to kill American troops or who pose a significant threat to American citizens. These are men who have made it their life’s mission to destroy America and all of our people. These are terrorists who have vowed to kill the innocent for the advancement of their radical ideologies and principles. These are the people who killed 2,977 innocent people by flying planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on 9/11.
The Executive Order signed today also allows for a task force to make recommendations on what happens to the enemy combatants currently being held at the detention facility. We will be working with our legislative leaders, the task force, and the Administration to ensure that the interests of America’s military families are represented in this vital policy debate.
We want to make it very clear that we will work aggressively in the interests of America’s military families to ensure that these terrorists are brought to justice and that they will never again threaten the safety and security of America.
Military Families United believes the following:

Guantanamo Bay should not be closed due to a public relations issue or to score political points. It should only be closed if it is no longer the most effective way of detaining enemy combatants.

For every step of the process, from military trials to conviction to capital punishment or long-term incarceration, the procedures for dealing with all enemy combatants must be decided before any process of closing the detention facility is executed.

Detainees should not be brought to communities within the United States.

The assignment of due process rights to foreign enemy combatants, that they have neither earned nor deserve, will be debilitating to our troops’ ability to fight and win the War on Terror.

Detainees cannot be tried in civilian court or held in a federal prison. This is a military issue and should be handled by military protocols and procedures.

Military Families United, the nation's premier grassroots military family advocacy organization, knows that our brave men and women - our sons, daughters, husbands or wives risk their lives every day to protect this country from terrorism and the radical ideologies that support terrorism. Many courageous Americans have made the ultimate sacrifice so our homeland would be safer, more secure, and free from fear. Our military does not fight to eradicate terrorism abroad only for our government to welcome suspected terrorists as their neighbors in America. We strongly believe that the closure of Guantanamo Bay must be a carefully considered and thought-out process. Our troops have fought these terrorists on the battlefield, captured them without lethal force, and secured them at the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay. We cannot reward these terrorist now by inviting them to live beside us in the land that they have vowed to destroy.

Well,

It's almost TGIF - AND - it is warm here today. In the 40s - and I am happy about that little detail.

LISTEN UP and buckle up - it is likely to be a bumpy ride!

Military Medical Alert

If you should happen to hear the sound of teeth grinding as you read this article, please rest assured if they are not yours, they are mine.

Some of you may recall my article for Military.Com, "Economic Chaos and the Military," in which I said, "Since 1946, every financial crisis has resulted in a severe degradation of the United States Military Forces—most notably during the Carter Administration. Military readiness, weapons systems acquisition, maintenance, troop levels, training requirements, infrastructure and combat efficiency all deteriorate."

I now add to the above list a real and present danger of losing much of our military health care benefits and entitlements because they are currently under attack by our own government.

No sooner has a Democratic president taken charge than the Congressional Budget Office and Congress rushes forward with proposals to hammer the American military—again.

If the Military Coalition and Colonel (Retired) Bud Day thought it was tough winning a Republican Congress over for the few hard won victories to lower veteran's health care, raise disability payments a little closer to where they should be and to bring TRICARE and TRICARE for Life benefits to active duty and retirees, they had better buckle up.

Now that the Wicked Witch and Warlock of the West have an almost bullet proof Congress under their control they are already planning to ratchet up criminal investigations against the last Bush Administration, raise everyone's taxes, and reduce federal spending for military entitlements.

The Congressional Budget Office has floated a proposal, "Budget Options: Volume 1, Health Care," in which over 100 proposals to reduce civilian and military medical care, or charge more for
services. Here's a quick peek at some of the stuff that will soon be considered by Congress.

If you are active duty—Yes, active duty—you could be charged a 10 percent health care allowance and have to pay a fee (not yet determined) for you and your dependents to use military hospitals and clinics.

TRICARE For Life could be changed to where you have to pay for the first $525 of Medicare-eligible military benefits and then half of the next $4,725 out of your pocket. This same proposal would also charge those who currently use military hospitals and clinics.

A Proposal to raise TRICARE fees for military retirees below the age of 65 would be more than double the current rates. Annual fees for TRICARE Prime would be $550 for singles and $1,100 for families. TRICARE Standard deductibles would increase to $350 for singles and $700 for families plus an annual fee of $50 for singles and $100 for families. Then, there would be more fees for those who use military facilities.

VA health care eligibility for nondisabled vets (above a certain income level) would be terminated.

Now, as you know you must be enrolled in MEDICARE Part B to qualify for TRICARE For Life. Sounds easy, right? Only problem is that the free medical care most of us who fought, or served in WWII through Vietnam for was never free. For example, my family pays $2,313.60 per year for our free medical care, taken directly out of our Social Security checks.

In addition to that, retirees rated at 40 percent disability and below are paying their own VA disability pay taken directly out of their retired pay. This is an ongoing battle that is unlikely to be fixed without extreme pressure on the Congress.

Every active, inactive, guard, reserve or one term veteran should make their feelings known to their Congressional Representative concerning these atrocities before cuts are made to our vital military medical entitlements and legislated out of existence—again. If you need to find them, every member of Congress has a web site, or e-mail address listed on the MOAA web site (http://www.moaa.org/).

We should also remember that President Obama has vowed to maintain the benefits, entitlements and opportunities that apply to the American military forces. These benefits must embrace the total force, active, reserve, guard and veterans. We may very well need his help in fending off the CBO and the Office of Management and Budget attack on military benefits before the current financial disaster is resolved.

If you wear, or have worn your countries military uniform and if you believe for one second that you will not be impacted by these current proposals, then just sit in your rocker and wait a few months while they strip away some of the most critical military entitlements you will ever have—your future medical care.

Ho Hum....

It's inauguration day........

And frankly, I am just not into it. Rather, I am highly disappointed in the direction our country seems to be going. I am not a fan of government being involved in our lives neck deep, giving handouts nor dictating to us. Ho Hum.

So...........Instead of dwelling upon my disappointment, I am going to have a celebration of my own today. I am going shopping. I will spend inauguration day doing something fun - shopping for guns.

I will be looking for: A new gun for my oldest child (who btw is a super shot and hopes to compete and also become a better hunter) and for another gun as a promotion gift from my husband (who would really like a new hunting gun, as he would rather have a new gun than spend our money on a promotion party that only serves to feed and hydrate others and will also serve to wreck my new house). Yes, I am a party pooper. I will also be window shopping for one that the husband and I can share in our goal of being able to ride in mounted shooting competitions. Some many guns, so little time and a budget to stick to. Do you like how my dollars will be supporting our economy?

I have several guns in my line of sight. I have been preparing for this shopping day for awhile now and have a couple of particular models in mind for each family member. Inauguration day seems like an outstanding day to do a little one woman shopping spree in order to purchase some guns. I won't forget the ammo either. Inauguration day will find me clinging to my guns and increasing our family collection. I will also be window shopping for bows. My youngest will outgrow his bow before summer and will be in need of a new one. The Mini Genesis has served us well, but we need to prepare for an upgrade.

Spring will be here soon and we will indeed be very prepared for target practice and readying ourselves for the coming hunting season. My hope is to fill our freezer this coming season and have some great family time together. I love a full freezer and that equals less grocery shopping for meat.

If you value your gun rights, you better keep an eye on things and speak out. If you don't, well, just keep supporting "The One" - after all - he has his eye on the ball.

Happy inauguration day to all. Happy shopping to me!

In celebration of inauguration day - While I am shopping and further arming myself and my family, you should watch the below, which I totally stole from Chuck:

I love to say these words -

It's about freakin' time!!

I'm back from the coast of GA...

And we had a great time. The only downer was that the cold weather followed us. Mind you, it wasn't as cold as the weather we left, but it was colder than the norm for coastal Georgia.

No matter. It did not stop us from venturing out and having an outstanding time. We learned a bit about the area. What great historical and educational things are available, what hotels are great, which ones suck (yes, we stayed in crappy one and promptly checked out the next morning), where the great out of the way restaurants are and where the good housing areas are and are not. It was an interesting and fun filled trip. Because we learned so much about the area, we will likely never get stationed there though. :) Isn't that the way it works?

The boys were able to swim and swim and swim. They were so very happy. They saw new types of landscape, trees and animals. They were thrilled.

We came home to snow. Yesterday morning we were swimming, today we are sledding. Ain't life wonderful?

The best part, we get to make this trip once a month for the next several months and I am happy about it. Woot! We vowed that this year, we are not going to let so many TDYs separate our family - we are going to pack up and go with, whenever possible and whenever it is affordable. With deployments behind us and ahead of us, we are going to spend as much time together as a family this year, as we possibly can.

Off to see Paula Deen....

Ok, not really to see Paula (I wish), but I do hope that we can visit her restaurant while we are in the neighborhood! If not this month, we will get another chance next month.

My state is experiencing the coldest weather of the winter thus far and I am happy to be leaving it behind in the morning for 50s. Kids are packed and ready to go. Me, well, I am working on packing and 1,000 other taskings. I will go out tonight and bundle the horses up in their warm blankets before leaving them for the week and to watch the kiddos ride. Dogs are going with us on this trip, the cat will remain at home and get frequent visits from our neighbor. I think I have thought of everything.

We have been on the road so much over the last several months that I should be prepared to run out the door at a moments notice. If I were smart, I probably would have just kept a suitcase permanently packed and at the ready. I'm not that smart I suppose. My excuse is that each place we have traveled has varied in temperatures from 70 to below zero. Kind of difficult to keep a bag packed with that range.

I will likely be on the net a bit while gone, when I am sitting in the hotel room. If not, I will see you on the flip side of our trip!

Change We Can Believe In?

Get ready to sacrifice - Bah Humbug!

Although.........there is some good news out there that makes me feel better about my myself. See, it's the little things that make my day - or in my case - the big things!

Washington state now eyeing Internet communications as a field for new regulation

Now regulators have bloggers in their sights

Wondering About 2008 Tax Statements?

When can you expect your 2008 Military Tax Statements to be available?

According to myPay you can expect the following online availability dates:

Air Force, Army and Navy Reserve W-2 - Available
Civilian W-2 - Available
Marine Corps Active and Reserve W-2 - Available
Army NAF Civilian Pay W-2 - 12 January
SLRP W-2 - 12 January
SDP 1099INT - 18 January
Air Force, Army and Navy Active - 23 January

You can read more tax support information here.

Military OneSource information for the 2008 tax year:

We will be providing tax filing services for the 2008 tax season beginning January 19, 2009. Our services will include free online tax filing services (both state and federal), and free telephonic tax consultations.

To get access to our free tax filing services, please return to the Military OneSource Web site on January 19, 2009. You must enter the tax filing services via the link we provide to our
customized version of the tax filing site. Please do not register prior to January 19 by accessing a tax filing service website directly--doing so will result in a fee being charged for the use of the
product.

The free, customized Military OneSource version will only be available via the link we will post on Military OneSource on January 19, 2009.

Don't forget that the MIL PCS W-2s will come in the mail.