Money for Military Blog

So I was tagged by Money for Military and it took me a little while to respond because (A) I am busy trying to make money ;) but more so to raise my baby; and (B) the name of the blog title seemed spammy to me.

However, I decided to check it out and he actually is a real person, with original content, involving actual and helpful financial advice for troops, military family members, and others.

He's got a lot of information about USAA funds and some great financial tips and advice for soldiers and others.

Use the search function to find what you want and hopefully in the future he'll add some labels or "top posts" designations to make the site a little easier to navigate...because there is some useful information on there.

I'll respond to the tagging later when I have a chance...

Did Jessica Alba Snub Troops?

Anyone know if this is true--did Jessica Alba snub the troops (warning...this links to Perez Hilton and he is not family friendly)? I plan on checking it out tomorrow, but if someone has any reliable info, you could save me the trouble.

If it is true, any thoughts?

Happy Memorial Day!

Enjoy your barbecues and remember.

Here's a health to the dead already, and here's to the next one that dies...

Just when I thought that I was out...

...they pull me back in.

No, DH has not been called back up from IRR (Individual Ready Reserve). We are still leaving active duty.

However, DH has decided that, in addition to his work as an Assistant District Attorney, he will join the New York National Guard for a few reasons.

In no particular order:

• He wants to continue serving his nation.
• They will stabilize him for two years and cut his IRR commitment in half
• He likes the military

So...now I will find myself in an entirely different sort of military spouse role. Any advice from current or former guard spouses?

My Favorite Egyptian

Back before I started up this blog, I was reading the Sandmonkey. Sandmonkey provided a fascinating look into another culture, another nation, and a really sharp mind.

As his blog became ever more popular, Sandmonkey became an internet celebrity--ever quotable, pro-US but independent, Arab but cosmopolitan. But he hadn't set out to be an archetype, a role model, or a media darling. He never claimed to speak for anyone but himself, he just wrote. And what he wrote was exciting, if at turns random, frivolous, heartbreaking, and deadly serious.

The attention of course, changed his self-awareness and so it changed his blog. I imagine this must have been confusing, exhilarating, and frustrating all at once--a responsibility thrust upon him.

Now Sandmonkey's called it quits. From what I understand, he is going to focus on real efforts towards genuine change, and he has also realized that perhaps he has pushed the effort too far in terms of his safety. His anonymity fading, he needs to consider how best to work towards a better future for himself and his country. Perhaps other efforts are worth the risk, but the blog just is not--not right now.

I hope one day I will get a chance to meet him, now that I am moving back to New York. Regardless, he is an interesting person who has the talent and passion to make a difference in this world.

I will miss his voice in the blogosphere...

Stressed? Need Help? HA!

So, I just finished posting a review of Sittercity on Mamanista, and before I went to bed I figured I would check my e-mail. Only the usual scary e-mail from Baby Center about all the horrible things that will happen if I do/don't do x, y, or z.

Of course, I always click. Just because I know what they are doing, that doesn't mean it does not work. Then I saw this title, which caught my attention for obvious reasons:

Moms in U.S. military stressed, need help

No, really? You don't say? I thought the timing was interesting and also thought I would share this info with you.

Narcissist that I am, I originally assumed it was going to be about MilSpouses. Nope, even worse! It is about the women who are actually IN the armed services. I have often wondered how these women do it...they truly do deserve our support. I wish I had some call to action to go with this post--write your congressmen or hug a female soldier (wait, don't do that, you might get seriously hurt if you aren't a friend)...lemme think about it for a while. And if you have any ideas or know of any programs, please fill me in.

Here's some information from the article:

WASHINGTON, May 11 (Reuters) - Mothers in the U.S. military are stressed, poorly paid and need more help caring for their children, according to a report issued by Congress on Friday.

Nearly half of all women in the active-duty military have been deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, and 24,475 women are there now, the report by the Joint Economic Committee said.

Moreover, women get only 6 weeks of leave after the birth of a child, it found.

"Making sure military mothers have the quality child care, generous family leave, and access to mental health services they need is key to their family well-being and our national security," New York Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney said in a statement.

[The Joint Economic Committee] said that women represent one in seven U.S. military personnel in Iraq, and that most are in the lowest-paid ranks.

However, military mothers are much more likely to be single or divorced, or married to other members of the military who also face deployment.

The report, available on the Internet at http://www.jec.senate.gov, said the military may be stretched to recruit and retain women if it does not provide better services.

Increase Your Page Rank

As I have mentioned, I have a new project and a new personal blog.

(BTW--don't stop reading this blog, yet...I will have a cool interview and an announcement, soon)

My project is commercial in nature and is also a fun read for all the ladies, especially the mommies: Mamanista!

Now, apparently, while I've been happily blogging away here for several years on An Army Wife's Life for amusement, mine and hopefully yours, the Internet has become full of all of these ratings and rankings.

Unbeknownst to me until this week, An Army Wife's Life has actually managed to do somewhat well. I apparently have a Page Rank of 5. Since Mamanista! is brand new, it on the other hand is at the bottom of the Internet totem pole.

Here's what I am asking: Please link to Mamanista! (http://www.Mamanista.com).

What's in it for you, you ask?

1. You get to let your readers in on the newest, coolest, hippest blog for moms on a budget. Oh, and we have a monthly contest for newsletter subscribers, too! You can mention anything you like about the site, just try not to be mean because that might make me cry or something. You do not have to promise to give me a glowing review, just write something that has at least a little specificity and use "Chic, Hip Baby Gifts" as your anchor text and I promise to do the same for you for your specified site and text. If you link Mamanista! on your sidebar, I will also exchange that with a link on An Army Wife's Life sidebar, but you also have to link within a legitimate post!!!
   
2. If you have a Page Rank of 3 or higher I will link back to you from An Army Wife's Life (this PR 5 blog you are currently reading). If you have a page rank of 1 or 2, but you are a military spouse or a mom with a fun blog, let me know and I will probably be willing to go for it.
   
3. If I already link to you, please send some link love to Mamanista! anyway and you'll still get linky love and my gratitude: http://www.Mamanista.com.

Small print: I will not link to anything pornographic, illegal, racist, spammy, overly vulgar, or just plain sketchy. You must have a legitimate site. I am the sole arbiter of that in this case.

If you are interested, just e-mail me at: mamaluxe at gmail dot com (remember to replace at with @ and dot with . and take out the spaces)!!!



More Ways to Show Love

• Visit the site! Sign up for our newsletter! You'll get something out of this, too!
  
• We are running a contest right now where the winner gets a Miracle Blanket (if you are a new mom, you want this, otherwise, it is a great shower gift...BTW--Miracle Blanket is a super military friendly company)...you just have to sign up for our newsletter to enter.
• We also have an exclusive Miracle Blanket coupon code, as well as lots of other coupons that are not just for moms, so check it out.
• If you like what you see, click on our sponsors and purchase items through our links!
  
• I have some buttons, too, which you'll see at the end of this post.

My Buttons



URL=http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t297/mamanista/be7872d3.jpg






URL=http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t297/mamanista/3c6619fe.jpg

Don't You Feel Special?

Apparently it is Military Spouse Appreciation Day. And here is one of the ways the Army is showing its appreciation:

Uppercasing 'Families' highlights support - Apr 24, 2007 - BY IMCOM-Europe Public Affairs

"The acting secretary of the Army and the chief of staff of the Army have emphasized that Army Families are a key component of our readiness," noted Lieutenant General James L. Campbell in a recent message.

Army Families "shoulder a great burden of sacrifice, supporting their Soldier and often enduring long periods of separation from their loved ones," Campbell said, adding that top-notch care and support of Army Families demonstrate "our sincere appreciation and gratitude for their many contributions."

Therefore, Campbell directed that the word Families now be capitalized.

For the Army in Europe, this rule applies to all documents in various medium, not just correspondence, said Dwayne Viergutz, chief of Installation Management Command-Europe, document management branch. Examples include: briefing slides, executive summaries, forms, information papers, publications and Web sites.

The support bulletin board I visit is (rightfully so) laughing at this latest "PR" move. Let's increase the length and number of deployments--but we'll capitalize "Families," so it is all good.

Seriously, do they even think before they put this out? Or are they trying to be funny? Really, with a few more sentences, this could be on The Onion (a satire weekly with fake "news").