Sometimes You Need Someone To Talk To...

If your spouse has ever been deployed, then I'm sure you have laid in bed crying yourself into a full blown snot bubble at some point or another because you were just having one of those miserable days where you wish you had someone to talk to and no one was around.

I know I had many of those days and it didn't mean I wasn't strong and couldn't handle a deployment, it just meant that I was having a bad day and we are entitled to those every so often.

Thanks to Military One Source we (spouses) can talk to someone whenever we need to no matter the time or day from the comfort of our phone. You can even talk to a counselor via a Skype session.

If you need to talk to someone and live CONUS follow the information listed below:
Private Help 24/7
Call and Talk Anytime 1.800.342.9647

If you live OCONUS visit Military One Source choose your spouse's branch of service and after you reach the main area choose your OCONUS location and a number (#) will be displayed for you.

Military One Source really has some great resources for us. I hope you will utilize them.

Lock Up & Be Aware!

I know that some of you have had this thought before " I live onpost ... I'm protected by the government ... No one has access to these grounds... I'm safe here.

Ok ok maybe I'm the only one who thinks all the extra stuff but I do know that 99% of us have had the thought that "We are safe onpost". The truth is we are probably much safer onpost then we are living offpost, but incidents still happen on military installations and spouses should be aware.

I think it is even more to important to be aware when your spouse is deployed. The tips below are my own ideas of what you can do to prevent robberies, missing kids and any other type of bad accidents or incidents.

1.Spouses please watch your kids... I know some of you have seen 4 years olds running around outside onpost and people think it's ok because where on a military post. I'm here to tell you NOOOOO it's not cool. I don't care how protected you feel you little toddler should not be able to ride a bike around the block without your supervision. People still speed in the residential areas onpost.

2. Lock your darn doors! I see and have had many spouses tell me that they go to the commissary and leave there doors unlocked. Like it takes one second to stick the key in the hole and turn. BAM! Your door is locked. You don't want to come back home one day and find out one of the neighborhood kids is hiding in your house , crap like that happens.

3. Secure your valuables and once again lockup. I was reading my installation newspaper and it said that most of the break ins on post are usually done by the neighborhood teens. The fact is (I hate to say this) but we have some bad @#$ kids onpost whose parents refuse or do not attempt to keep them in check, due to this we have alot of petty thiefs roaming around. Alot of times they aren't looking to hurt you but they are looking to steal that cool ipod you had sitting in the front seat of your car. SO LOCK UP YOUR CARS! People do steal onpost.

4. Do not let to many people know when your husband is deploying. This is not only important for OPSEC reasons but for your safety. Let me just be blunt here , we do have some crazy people onpost. Unfortunately more serious incidents have happened on post where women have been raped or brutalized because a soldier or a male who lived in housing knew husbands were deployed.
*Some key things you can do is leave a car in the driveway instead of keeping them in the garage.

*Keep lights on in parts of the house visible through windows; this will give people the idea that someone is up in the house.

* When pulling out of your garage back out and then make sure your garage closes fully before you drive off.

I hope I haven't scared you off and that you will come back. I really care about all my fellow spouses and would not wish or want anything to happen to any of you. Please take heed to this post.

Share your tips of what you do while your hubby is away to feel safer?

Army Wife 101 Lesson 2: Understanding Pay & Reading an LES

Military Pay & BAH Question?

I recieved this question via email and decided to answer on here, as I am sure many others could use this information:

Q. Does BAH always come on the first check or the second check of the month? and is there a partial bah if you live on base as well? and if you do live on base do you still get the cola? I am sorry my recruiter doesnt know much lol and this army financial stuff seems pretty difficult to understand...I am watching your videos on your website very very helpful!!:)

A. BAH is split amongst the 2 check that you receive on the 1st & 15th of each month.
Partial BAH depends on where you are stationed at. In some case partial BAH can be given as an incentive. For instance here at Schofield we have some extremely old housing that most people would not want to live in, so housing has decided to reimburse occupants of those houses up to 15% of their BAH back for living in those quarters.

The way it works 99% of the time is that if you live onpost the BAH will show up on your LES but will be taken right back out by housing. In essence you never see the money.

In regards to COLA yes if you live overseas or in a area where the cost of living is exceptionally high you will receive COLA no matter if you live onpost or off.
You can learn more about COLA here.

I hope my answers to your questions will be of assistance to you and feel free to email again if you need more information.

Army Wife 101 Lesson 3: PCS Moves Part 1 & 2

Hey everyone so I know I should have done the PCS moves tutorial a long time ago. Anyhow I feel bad even though my videos have some great info in them , I got a little lazy and used my webcam and not my genius Kodak like I normally do. Reason being when you use your webcam on Youtube you can directly upload verses having to load a memory card and so on.

Anyway the sound quality on the videos are great so enjoy and I have listed the links to the sites mentioned in the video:

One Stop Official Army Housing Site
Official Military Site for Offpost Rental
Official DOD Per Diem DLA And Travel Allowance Website
Official Dity Move Site
Find Your BAH Here

Dr Oz Looking for Military Spouse....

Ok one of my daily visited sites is Milspouse . While browsing I saw that Dr Oz (who is best known as being the Dr who appears frequently on Oprah) is looking for a military spouse who has lost a great deal of weight while their spouse was deployed and would like to have he/she appear on his show.

If your interested in submitting your story you can visit here for details.

Hurry September 5th is the deadline.

My Visit to Pearl Harbor

Today my family and I visited the most toured place in Hawaii PEARL HARBOR.

Let me just say that I feel guilty for not visiting sooner. Words cannot describe the emotion and feeling that comes upon you when you realize that you are standing on top of a sunken ship and hundreds (if not thousands) of brave men and women who gave there lives .

I already had a brief understanding of what occurred on December 7, 1941 but did not really have the indepth knowledge that I should have except for watching the movie Pearl Harbor.

Little did I know that the Airfield my husband works on was the site of the first attacks on PH.
Wheeler Army Airfield was a primary target and site of the first attack on 7 December 1941, leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor.[2] The Japanese attacked the airfield to prevent the numerous planes there from getting airborne and engaging them. The installation has a National Historic Landmark District in association with the attack on 7 December, 1941. The 1941 Flightline, hangars and barracks survive today[5] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheeler_Army_Airfield)

The mood was somber as we boarded the boat to head out to the USS Arizona Memorial . When we arrived we were asked to remember that even though this is a tourist area it is still a cemetary and voices should be low and respect given. The most amazing thing is that 68 years later you can still see the oil on the surface of the water that has been bubbling from the sunken ship below


While I cannot stand living in Hawaii I have to say that today I appreciate living here alittle more and as sad as I am that my husband will be leaving me to go to Iraq ... I am really proud of the sacrifice he is making as did the brave men and women on December 7, 1941.

Countdown To D-Day...Bitter Sweet Moments 08/19/2009

Mil Spouses To Get Hired Quicker In September....

Let's face it , it is really hard to find or keep a job when your constantly having to pick up and move.

Getting a decent paying job is sometimes another issue in itself so what's a military wife to do ?

Check out this article about how some military spouses can be hired quicker for federal jobs without the usual competitive and complicated process that comes along with applying for government jobs.

Quick Hire of Military Spouses

Mypostcardprinting.com Giveaway

The great thing about the military life is that we get to travel more then the average person to places that some can only think of visiting.

The downside is that we usually wind up having to leave great friends we meet and although we mean to keep in contact alot of times we don't.

One of the best ways I have chosen to stay in contact with a personal touch is sending Customized Postcards. Postcards are fun , simple personable and cheap to mail.

I have used custom postcards to send as Thank You cards and my husband and I sent tons of them back and forth while he was deployed to Iraq. We will be doing the same when he deploys again this year.

In honor of Staying In Touch With Friends I am hosting a Custom Postcards giveaway courtesy of www.Uprinting.com and mypostcardprinting.com

(2) PRIZE WINNERS WILL RECEIVE

200 Custom Postcards (choose your size: 4x6, 4.25x6, 5x7"); 14pt gloss or matte, 13 pt uncoated

Full Color on both sides (4/4)

Shipping must be paid by Winner. Offer Valid for UNITED STATES SHIPPING ONLY.

To enter the contest simply leave a comment on how you would use custom postcards.

Winner will be announced September 4, 2009.

Good Luck!

Army Wives 08/16/09

Ok so I have to be honest I have not been impressed with the last episode or two of Army Wives.

This is coming from the same real life Army Wifey who stormed the set demanding a tour LOL. Ok so I didn't quite demand a tour but I did beg. I'll write about that experience in another blog entry.

Anyhow in tonight's episode CJ and Denise were responsible for be hostess to the wife of a senator in which a building onpost was named in honor of.

The senators wife to say the least was a handful , pinching soldiers tush's hopping in a humvee with a soldier and sitting on his lap, drinking at the bar.

So as I am typing this I am watching the show and I guess I spoke to soon because as Denise and CJ are driving to a spa weekend given to them as a treat by the Senators wife CJ begins to feel faint and sick and the two run off the road and crash.


Trevor wants to deploy again and Finn (Trevor & Roxy's son) was accepted into Piedmont Academy on a full scholarship.

There was a brawl at the Hump Bar which officially made it was it used to be.

Joan is still struggling with choosing to deploy so Roland comes up with a way to record baby videos for her to ease her pain alittle.

Pamela is struggling with her daughter wanting to dress older and act older. She is also missing Chase very much and I am starting to think him being gone is causing some of these issues.

ON THE NEXT ARMYWIVES: CJ and Denise are in a car accident and it appears Denise is OK, but Cj isn't. It also appears that a MAJOR SECRET is going to be revealed .

I am wondering if it has something to do with CJ daughter really belonging to Michael.

Hmmm what do you think?

Until then :)

Army Wife 101 New Design

I am sure you have noticed the new layout of Army Wife 101. Lindsay from Sour Apple Studios did an awesome job with it and I hope all my readers enjoy. I wanted our hangout spot to feel warm and comfy so I hope I have succeeded at doing this.

I am still working on some revamping such as the (soon to be) links you see to the left hand side of the screen IE: The DFAC etc.

At this time those are not clickable and will be soon with tons of interesting info for you.

Enjoy and let me know what you think by leaving a comment.

Freebie Thursdays.......Free Online Tutoring for Military Kids

Hey guys I saw this on one of the million other wonderful Army Wife forums I hang at and I think it would be a great help to any military family with children in grades K-12. I plan on utilizing this service for my 5th grade and Kindergartner.

I hope you will all find this useful and feel free to leave your comments and opinions if you choose to use this service.

CYS Services Free Online Tutoring*
Source: www.myarmyonesource.com
Live Homework Help® by Tutor.com™ is a free, live, online tutoring service available in English and Spanish 24 hours a day, no matter where you live.
Hello from Fort Eustis and Fort Monroe! I am an Army spouse and a School Liaison Officer.
For all parents of school age children--there is free Live Online tutoring for Army kids in grades K-12. Go to www.myarmyonesource.com/cyss_tutor to register for your password!

Wordless Wednesday

This Pic says it all LOL!

Army Wives 08/09/2009

I won't recap this past Sunday's episode because well to be honest (IMO) it wasn't worth recapping.

Wait wait don't leave (lol) I still thought it was pretty good but to me their were not any great highlights that stood out.

What I will say is as much as I love Joan it is about time Roland set Joan straight on the whole deployment thing. She had a choice to stay and she chose to go , so why get mad at Roland for trying to help her cope with a decision she made.

I did enjoy the country singer even though I never heard of her in real life , but I am assuming she is a real country singer.

I love Michael Holden but he needs to lay off Denise. Even though what she did is wrong (to a degree) it's none of his business and he should stay out of it. Frank didn't exactly make being married to him peaches and cream and one can only take so much.

OMG and can I comment on the whole ID card thing. How crazy was that I would truly hope that if a spouse really did lose her wallet and all her ID that she could get back onpost but i'll just leave that alone for now .

Next week's episode looks alittle weak but Im still a die hard fan so I can't wait.

The Deployment Ceremony....

So by now you can tell by some of my blogs I tend to be a certified complainer. As patient and as kind as I am I find annoyance in alot of things.

So today's annoyance was my husbands units Deployment Ceremony.

Ok simply put what is the point of it?

For those who may have not been to one , it is pretty much a ceremony where the General speaks, maybe a LT COL some soldiers do formation , they do the color guard thing and then they release the soldiers and tell the wives you may go get your soldier....


Umm notice the highlighted part above and then think about all of this is BEFORE the deployment even begins. I guess the part that truly annoys me is not really the ceremony itself, but more so that it's already hard having your spouse leave but ceremonies like this always seem so final to me. It's almost like the deployment is being rubbed in your face.

I chose not to go to this one because I had been to one last deployment.

At the end of the day I'm all for formalities but this is one formality I can live without.

MC Bans Social Networking Sites Is Army Next?

This absolutely scares me and pisses me off at the same time. I won't bore you with an detailed explanation here is the article : Social Networking Sites.

It scares me because I wonder what military branch is next and what else will be banned?

That simple.

Edited to Clarify: I am well aware that the blocking of the Social Networks is only on DOD computers. The reason it still bothered me is because even overseas not every soldier is lucky enough to have a laptop. So my opinion is geared towards those who have no choice but to use what I assume are government computers. I am guessing this would also block MWR computers which to my knowledge are also considered government computers.

Lastly this entry was to inform any wives who may not know about this.


It pisses me off because our men and women go off for months and sometimes years at a time and these SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES are great ways to share pics and communicate.

With respect to OPSEC I hope they can come up with a better way.

Legit & Free Work From Home Information

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

The Ling & Lee Homecoming.... My Vent

I am sure this morning you all heard the two journalist who were accused of illegal entry in North Korea were pardoned and allowed to return home after 4 months of being held in a jail there.

Ok first let me say I am extremely happy that they were allowed to come home and that they did not have to serve 12 years of hard labor at a camp.

The part that I guess bothered me (and I'm probably just being sensitive) is the newscasters while awaiting the arrival. The family and other spectators were in a hangar (where planes enter) and the reporter keeps on going on about how this is quite a scene imagine how the 4 year old daughter of Euna Lee (one of the jailed journalist) must be feeling , having you mother away for 140 days and how this is a homecoming to remember.

Before you know here goes another reporter saying how great a scene this is with the rising sun in the background and the plane entering the hangar and family who hasn't see there loved one in 140 days , you dont see scenes like this everyday.

While I am extremely happy for Euna Lee's 4 year old daughter and (as a mommy of a 4 year old) can imagine her delight and surprise to see her mother , thousands of military children don't see their mommies and daddies for a year or more at times. The military has huge homecoming ceremonies all the time, where the hangar doors open and behind it are our heroes standing there in the sunlight waiting to see us after a year in a horrible place. Where is the attention drawn to that?

I realize that service members are humble and never ask for recognition and that's one of the things that makes them great, but it would be even better if people can see we have smiling little 4 year old's running to there mom or dad whenever our brave me and women come home.

Common Questions About Military Housing

1. What is BAH?

BAH is Basic Allowance for Housing. This is the allowance a service member receives as compensation for housing weather living offpost or onpost.

If a service member and his dependents move offpost the BAH is theirs to use towards monthly rental or mortgage payments and to offset the cost of some utilities.

If a service member should choose to live onpost he/she will forfeit there BAH and it will go to the company providing housing for that Army post. At most post you usually will not have to worry about a light bill and a water bill and your rent will already be taken care.

2. How much is BAH?

BAH depends on the geographic location where you reside , the service members pay grade and years in service.
You can find out how much your BAH is by going to the following link: BAH Rates

3. How long is the housing waiting list at the base I am going to ?
No one can ever give you this answer except the housing office at the post you are moving to. To find the housing office # to your next duty station visit Onestop Army

4. How can I see what housing looks like at a particular duty station?
Your best bet to see what housing looks like at an Army Post is to visit the Official Army Housing site which is Onestop Army

5. My spouse and I do not want to live onpost , how can we find suitable housing offpost?

The Army has a great site called the Army or Automated Referral Housing Network where you can look up houses by BAH and duty station . You can visit this site by going to


6. How soon can I or my spouse apply for housing?
Answers will vary greatly , I was told many times before we PCS'ed to Hawaii that we had to be here and then we could get on the list. I called back another day and was added to the list and got housing right away when we got here. So always call housing.

And The Winner Is..........

AMANDA ZURRRRWELLLLLLLL.......

You are the winner of the Armywife101 Visa Gift Card Contest.
I will email you with the details.

Thank You to all those who participated and stay tuned for our next contest!!

NEXT GIVEAWAY ANNOUNCEMENTS COMING SOON!!!!