Hair Cuttery’s "Share-a-Haircut Program" to Benefit Veterans

For the past 14 years - this being the 15th year - Hair Cuttery has been doing the "Share-a-Haircut" program to benefit many people. They have reached more than  900,000 children, and more than 100,000 homeless and domestic violence victims through haircut certificate donations -- valued at more than $13.5 million!

This November, Hair Cuttery is hoping to reach 25,000 Veterans! This year is Hair Cuttery's 40th Anniversary. In honor of that anniversary, they wish to expand their program to include Veterans.

"The Men and Women who have served our country have given so much, it is our honor to be able to give back to them. We hope in some small way we are able to help those who have sacrificed so much for our country."  ~Dennis Ratner, Founder & CEO of Hair Cuttery

Honey, I'm Just Along For The Ride!

Apparently there is a page on FB called "Army Spouse: Toughest Job in the Army" -- or something to that effect. I have seen people mention it but never really looked at it until this morning when my husband brought something to my attention. If you read this page, it is obviously made for laughs. One of the funniest things is people getting all bent out of shape over it!

As I said, my husband brought something to my attention. He showed me a comment or statement, whatever, that someone made on or about that page. Here are a few points this person made to spouses--

4 Methods for Flawless Toddler Travel (By: Kendra Thornton - guest blogger)

I'm really glad Kendra contacted me about doing a guest blog post! With many of my readers being military, traveling is must! Be it vacations or PCSing. Here are Kendra's tips! ---

It's hard enough to travel with children locally, but when you throw in the word vacation it can be a true struggle.  There are some tricks to make travel with your little one easier on them and you by default.  By planning ahead, you can all make it to your international travel destination as a happy, healthy and cultured family.

Debunking Myths About Finding a Private-Sector Job (By: Emma Banks - guest blogger)

Regardless of the amount of time you’ve spent in the military, the prospect of making the transition to the private career sector may seem overwhelming. While change can be good, it also comes with a fair amount of stress. Unfortunately, a number of myths that have been perpetuated over time only serve to add to the worry and fear you might feel when facing such a transition. Let’s take a look at a few of these myths and learn the truth that will set your mind at ease.

The "I have it harder than you" Card -- really?

I received an inbox on my army wives fan page ( *Army Wives Do It With Hooah* ) from someone who is OBVIOUSLY just trying to twist some panties. So, instead of posting it directly on my page, like I normally do, I decided to address it here and then let others give their input.

Here is the message:

Custom Body Pillows - 20% off for my Readers! Check my post for the Code!

Custom Body Pillows contacted me and would like to offer my readers 20% off for a Valentine's Day Special!! How sweet is that?!

After looking over their site and some of the pictures, I think these could be great gifts for anyone missing a loved one during deployment, training or unaccompanied tours overseas..especially for children!

Make sure to stop by their Facebook page and show them love -
Custom Body Pillows FB

All you have to do is...

Rose Parade Float that honored Military Working Dogs & their Handlers!

I received the sweetest thing  in my email from "Natural Balance Pet Foods"! They brought to my attention a float that was in the Rose Parade on New Year's Day. This specific float honored military working dogs and their handlers.

From email - 
" The float itself featured a replica of "The Military Working Dog Teams National Monument", which will be located in San Antonio, TX this fall. This is the first time military dogs will be recognized with such a high honor! We are proud to be one of the companies who sponsored this important monument."

"A Tale of Two Brains" - Our 1st and 2nd Session

At the marriage retreat, we watched a video by Mark Gungor - "Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage". He made excellent points while using humor.

Our first and second sessions were on how men and women think differently. He says, "Men's brains are specialized. Compartmentalized." He says that men have "boxes" and the "boxes" never touch..meaning he focus's on one thing at time. He also goes on to say that men have a special "box" in their head that most women don't know about... the "Nothing Box". He says, "When a man is not driven by a specific task, something he can fight for or dominate, he will drift. A man will drift to the comfort and solitude of his "nothing box" every chance he gets.

Our 1st Strong Bonds Marriage Retreat!

This past weekend we went on our first marriage retreat and I have to say I enjoyed myself sooooo much! The retreat was in Orlando, Fl at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Resort/Hotel. This place was amazing! It was so beautiful and there was so much to do that I didn't want to leave. As a matter of fact, Alexis asked if we could live there lol...

The "theme" of the retreat was "Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage", a seminar/book by Mark Gungor. I took notes because I wanted to make some posts on some of the things we were told, but at the end of the weekend we got the book, so now the blog posts I do on some of the topics discussed will be a bit more in depth..yay! I know some won't like what is said, but it is hard to hear the truth, right?

A Friend's Blog - "My Life: Then and Now"

I have this amazing friend who started writing a blog after the suggestion of a friend... she was having a hard time and was told that it would help her to get her feelings and thoughts out, even if it was to no one at all... holding things in, all bottled up, only creates more stress..

From my friend:

"A friend told me to start blogging about my life and how I overcame abuse, rape, and drug addiction while also being a soldier."

Kalamazoo/Grand Rapids Area Photographer

Mrs. Alejandra Ramirez-Alvarez is looking to do some photoshoots for those in the Kalamazoo/Grand Rapids area. She is a new photographer and Army Wife and would like to offer her services to other military families.

If you have a homecoming coming up soon, she wants to be there for you special moment and capture your memories... for free.

You can find her on Facebook at Judith Photography

October 1st - October 5th (2012)

Let me point out that my "weeks" are going to be Mon - Fri.... 5 days. Refer to 4 Weeks of Fun to see why I'm writing about my weeks.

This week was my first week starting my videos.

Teddys From The Troops PR Update!

I'm so excited and pleased at how much my Product Review and Give-a-way helped "Teddy's From The Troops"! Here are some "stats" from "Teddy's From The Troops":

*Her Facebook Fan Page went up by close to 600 "likes"!!
*Two other bloggers asked her about doing the same as I did!!
*She had 5 sales within the first 2hrs of my posting!!
*More sales have been pouring in!!
*The big one - Army Spouse Magazine contacted her about doing a feature!!!

Suicide Prevention Week - September 9th - 15th, 2012

This week is Suicide Prevention Week.

I met someone a few years ago who had committed suicide. I won't share the story because I don't want to tell it without those involved knowing I am writing of it. I will say that it was a horrible tragedy and affected MANY people. I barely knew her and it affected me. She had a history of being depressed. Research has consistently shown a strong link between suicide and depression, with 90% of the people who die by suicide having an existing mental illness or substance abuse problem at the time of their death.

Teddy's From The Troops - (Product Review)

 Teddy's From The Troops

"Teddy's From The Troops" was started last November by an Army Veteran/Army Wife, Pamela Larson. During her husbands third deployment she took some of her old uniforms and made a few bears for her 2 young children to help comfort them during the deployment. Pamela says her children immediately loved them and that is what gave her the idea to start making them for others to give to their children who are dealing with a military separation.

Mrs. Larson did research on different styles of bears and tested the finished products on her kids and with some of her friends. Her finding was that her bears helped bring some comfort to children who were going through a military separation from one of their parents. 

Stars Earn Stripes - See what the Operatives had to say!

Unfortunately I was unable to attend the Press and Media conference call, BUT they were gracious enough to provide me with a transcript! The transcript is 27 pages long so I will not post all of it, but will share some of the questions and answers.

From my previous post about Stars Earn Stripes we learned that Military Operatives would be working with celebrities to compete in competitions inspired by real military exercises. They compete for money to be donated to several different charities that benefit our military service members and their families.

My Eye "Issues"

A few weeks ago I woke up and my vision was funny. My right eye was blurry and my left eye seemed like I had a gray veil over it. If I focused on something, I could see it clearly but I couldn't see around it. So I made an appt with an eye doctor.

Starbucks Rumor Strikes Again! =)

Today I went to Starbucks to get one of my fave drinks... a Caramel Frappuccino! I've been super stressed out this week so I decided to treat myself. They were awesome and gave me tons of caramel, just how I like it! I shared a pic of my drink on *Army Wives Do It With Hooah* and someone brought up the old rumor, once again...

"Stars Earn Stripes" (premiers 8/13 at 8/7C on NBC)

I'm excited to share what I got via E-mail today!! I had no clue about this new show coming up, but I'm glad I do now.

Stars Earn Stripes  premiers on Aug. 13th at 8/7C on NBC. The show will follow 8 celebrities, who will be at a remote training facility, and are challenged to execute complicated missions inspired by real military exercises. The hosts of the show - Samantha Harris & General Wesley Clark

Fundraiser for Spinal Muscular Atrophy

A friend of mine is doing a fundraiser for Spinal Muscular Atrohpy. The fundraiser is still going! She is a Scentsy Consultant (one of my girls!!) and is using her business to raise money for it. Now is a great time to order with the Holiday Collection out!! Add to your holiday decor or get as a gift for someone else! The Buddy's are perfect for kids!