have to cancel podcast for tonight

I feel sos bad – but I have to cancel my podcast that I had schedulded for tonight. I just got an e-mail saying that I have a FRG conference call tonight at the same time I do my podcast. If we weren’t so close to ATC and our Company Christmas Party – I would normally just work around the times to make both happen – but since I know there is going to be a lot of information put out and I have a few things I need to get answers on – I really do need to focus on that conference call. I will try and maybe record the show this weekend so you guys can play it back later and listen to it. :)

Getting ready for the Podcast

I am so excited about doing another podcast – hopefully this one will go a little smoother than the last one – the link is posted on the main page of my blog! Can’t wait to hear from you all!!

PODCAST THURSDAY 11/12

Thursday, November 12th at 1800 PST/2000CST/2100EST

  • This is a BIG show! This show is in honor of Military Family Month! We will be talking about all sorts of things Military Family related and programs and organizations that are out there and support the families. November is a busy month, not only do we have Veteran’s Day, Month of the Military Family, Thanksgiving, and Black Friday – but it is also the start of ATC season for those in USAREC. I will be talking about the in’s and out’s of ATC and why we have ATC, Christmas parties and what you can do to help make it an awesome one for families, and the 30-day Giving Challenge. I will also touch on President Obama’s recent proclamation in which he declared November as the Month of the Military Family

Here’s the link to the podcast:  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thearmyrecruiterswife/2009/11/13/Military-Family-Month-ATC-and-the-Holidaysoh-my

Guest Call-in Number: (347) 850-1461

 

 

Veteran’s Day

It’s wierd – I can honestly say I haven’t put too much thought into Veterans Day in the past - and honestly, I’m a little embarrassed to admit that. After all, I’m a military brat married to a soldier. But for some reason – it changed this year. Maybe it had something to do with what happened at Fort Hood or maybe it was the constant Macy’s commercials peddling their Veterans Day Sale without a nod towards Veterans. I think my 30-day Giving Challenge in conjuction with Military Family Month might have had something to do with it also.

Either way – something in me changed.

I’ve experienced this overwhelming surge of pride, admiration, and just love for my folks that have served, are serving, or are planning on enlisting. I can’t explain it. I’ve spent the past week scouring the internet. I’ve been searching high and low for companies and organizations that are national that show their appreciation to veterans. I have also been reading blog posts, tweets, and facebook pages on organizations and groups that do things to support veterans, active duty military, and of course – military families. It’s overwhelming the support our veterans, active servicemembers, and families have – and it makes me feel good as a member of the military community. It’s also amazing how commercialized Veterans Day has become. I seriously thought it was just me – I mean how many commercials can you have on television advertising Veterans Day sales – but not a tad of info on the actual day or how the company is working to give back. Granted, there are companies out there making a concerted effort to give back -but then there are some companies that use Veterans Day as just another day to have a special sale.  I know it’s not me – or else there wouldn’t be things like the 11-11 Campaign out there. I love the piece they posted on their blog – so much so – I am going to post it on mine.

So, in honor of Veterans Day – find a way to say “thank you” to a veteran, an active duty servicemember, or even a family member of a veteran or servicemember. Also, take time to take a break from shopping those Veterans Day sales reflect on the tru meaning and purpose of Veterans Day.

As for me, I plan on calling my family members that are veterans and saying “thank you” tomorrow and spending time with my husband and family. I won’t be shopping tomorrow, as I will be saying “NO” to big retailers who are using Veterans Day as a means to help get a head start to their holiday earnings – though – we might go out for dinner. I will also continue in my commitment to my 30-day Giving Challenge in which I do things that “Give Back” to the military community.

What are you planning on doing this Veterans Day?

11-11 Campaign

11-11campaign

coupons

Hello, my name is Brandy, and I am a coupon addict.

Yes, I am a coupon addict – I love clipping coupons, printing coupons, trading coupons, and searching through the Sunday ads and grocery store circulars for the best possible deals to help me stretch my dollars. I could tell you stories upon stories of deals I’ve gotten – and I could even show you pictures of the really good ones! LOL! I have organizers and a whole system – and yes, I have been known to *freak* out when I can’t find my coupons, especially when I am en route to a sale. Coupons have been a part of my life for quite some time. I remember very clearly when my love for coupons started – we were in Germany and I loved helping my parents grocery shop. Usually, we had a standard list of items we would buy, and I would stand at the front of the commissary next to a little basket they had that was filled with, you guessed it, COUPONS! Most of them were expired – but it was okay – because we were allowed to use them. So, while my mom got all the produce I would go through the basket and take out coupons for things we would buy, things I thought we might buy, and things I wanted my mom to buy! We were in Germany for 5 years and England for 5 years – and throughout that 10 years – I helped my mom and dad out with the grocery shopping by getting coupons out of the expired coupon basket and collecting them throughout the commissary. It’s funny, I remember getting the coupons and always wondered where they came from – but I didn’t put too much thought into it. Now that I am stateside and enjoying couponing here, I finally figured out where those ooupons come from. They come from people that are stateside, who love couponing, and who also love to help out military families.

So, with that little story, if you have coupons, that are expired or current, and would like to help out a military family – you can check out this website and send them to an address listed here: http://www.grocerysavingtips.com/expiredgrocerycoupons.htm

This is a great way to *give* to a military family and take part in the 30-day Giving Challenge!

NOVEMBER PODCAST SCHEDULE

Here is the podcast schedule for November:

Thursday, November 12th at 1800 PST/2000CST/2100EST

  • This is a BIG show! This show is in honor of Military Family Month! We will be talking about all sorts of things Military Family related and programs and organizations that are out there and support the families. November is a busy month, not only do we have Veteran’s Day, Month of the Military Family, Thanksgiving, and Black Friday – but it is also the start of ATC season for those in USAREC. I will be talking about the in’s and out’s of ATC and why we have ATC, Christmas parties and what you can do to help make it an awesome one for families, and the 30-day Giving Challenge. I will also touch on President Obama’s recent proclamation in which he declared November as the Month of the Military Family.

Thursday, November 19th at 1800 PST/2000CST/2100EST

  • More on Military Family Month – because sometimes you can’t fit everything into an hour! I’ll also be talking about the 30-day Giving Challenge and how you can use this as a tool to give back to the military community. We will also have a couple of guests from different organizations that support the Military community. We will also talk about ATC a little more (like the awards – what they are and how your spouse gets one) - there’s so much to talk about and by this show some listeners may have already attended an ATC in their area – and I would love to hear about your ATC experiences – past and present.

Thursday, November 26th at 1900PST/2100CST/2200EST

  • THANKSGIVING SPECIAL – Come and meet my crazy family! Yes, I will have my family on air with me talking about what we’re thankful for, reminiscing about our favorite thanksgiving traditions and stories (like the one thanksgiving we spent in the chow hall in Germany), and of course talking about black friday sales at the PX (and maybe some funny stories about those sales too).

 

GUEST CALL-IN NUMBER: (347) 850-1461

We will also have a LIVE CHAT going during each podcast! So drop in and say “hello”!!

Podcast

Well, I was on hiatus from podcasting for a while. I had a few technical issues that I have since worked out – this whole podcasting thing was a little more difficult than I thought. So, since I have worked everything out – I am ready to go ahead and give it another try. Yeah!

The plan is to have a podcast each Thursday in November – I’m still unsure about Thanksgiving – but I will probably so one on Thanksgiving – it’ll probably only be 30minutes! The next podcast will be on November 5, 2009 at 1900 PST. I will be using www.BlogTalkRadio.com again – so if you’d like to participate in the show you will need to check their site out prior to the show to see what all you need to do to listen in, chat, and call-in. I plan on keeping it right at 45minutes – I figure that will be enough time to talk about a few topics and *hopefully* have a few callers call in! I’ll be talking about ATC, Christmas Parties, the Giving Challenge, and a few other Army Recruiter Family related items. I hope to hear from you all on Thursday!!

 

30-day Giving Challenge

While roaming the blogosphere I stumbled on a blog that just blew me away with it’s message and a challenge – so much so that I am not only participating in the challenge, but am hoping that you will take part in the challenge as well. Of course, in typical ARW style I can’t just do the challenge how the original blogger meant for it to go – I have to add my own ARW touch to it. First I will give you the low-down on the 30-day Giving Challenge and what all it entails, and then I will explain how I plan to approach this challenge.

Alyssa, the blogger from Keeping the Kingdom First, has challenged her readers and other bloggers to a 30-day Giving Challenge. The idea came to her one Sunday in church while listening to her pastor conclude a series on generosity. From there the wheels started turning in her head and the challenge was born. Alyssa is challenging her readers and other bloggers to the following: “grab a journal next month and GIVE in some fashion every day in November. This could be large or small, simple or extravagant.”

By participating in the 30-day challenge – you are basically saying that you will find some way during the 30-day period to “give” each day. It doesn’t have to be money or have to be something huge – it can be something intangible, like your time, talents, or prayers. You also have to document what you do throughout the 30-days. Think of it like keeping a diet journal – by writing down what you’re doing and your thoughts – you are holding yourself accountable to yourself. This will also help improve the likelihood of participating in the full 30-days.

Okay, now it’s time for my take…so, President Obama has declared November as Military Family Month. November is also home to Veteran’s Day. In the spirit of Veteran’s Day and Military Family Month – my 30-day challenge will be focused on the military community. I’m not saying my entire 30-days of giving will be only to military families and servicemembers – but a large portion of it will be. There are so many things, big, medium, and small, that one can do to help out in the military community. There are also tons of organizations that will gladly help you help out the military community.

I am going to commit myself to this 30-day Giving Challenge. My focus will be “giving” to the military community. I am going to create a special page here on my blog just for this challenge and it will remain up and *hopefully* active through the holidays. I challenge you, my readers, to take part in this challenge, and post not only on my site, but on www.kingdomfirstmom.com as well, documenting your 30-days. You can leave comments or e-mail me. I’d love to hear how your 30-days are going.

Side note: If you are an organization that serves military families, soldiers, veterans, and would like to be featured on my blog, please e-mail me so I can put your information out there so people who want to volunteer/give/donate – can. I will also have this as a segment on my podcast this month and would love to have guests and/or callers.

E-mail address: thearmyrecruiterswife@hotmail.com

a little FRG etiquette lesson

When I was younger – my sister and I loved watching the old time Little Rascal’s shows, and I remember the one episode where they were talking about “etiquette” and Buckwheat says “I didn’t et no cat”. For some reason, every time I talk about or hear about etiquette I think of little Buckwheats face and the look he had on it when they were talking about etiquette. Poor Buckwheat was just downright shocked and confused!

Etiquette is defined as:

  1. conventional requirements as to social behavior; proprieties of conduct as established in any class or community or for any occasion
  2. a prescribed or accepted code of usage in matters of ceremony, as at a court or in official or other formal observances
  3. the code of ethical behavior regarding professional practice or action among the members of a profession in their dealings with each other: medical etiquette

In the military community, we often think of Military Protocol when thinking about etiquette. Basically, it’s the rules governing how things are done, why they’re done, and so on and so on. The funny thing is – there is an office dedicated to military protocol and books written on it (I have one and it is BORING – there’s hardly any pictures) – but despite all this – there is still the unwritten code regarding etiquette and protocol. The unwritten code of etiquette – it’s the ”this is supposed to be common sense” version of etiquette.

Now, when it comes to FRG’s, there is, believe it or not, there is an unwritten code regarding etiquette. Yes, each FRG, upon it’s formation should formulate a SOP regarding the running of the FRG, but there are things that often escape the writer of the SOP or are just assumed to be common knowledge or common sense, that those issues aren’t brought up or put into the SOP. Things like following the Chain of Concern, for ALL FRG members, is expected but not often followed. Even if it means just CC-ing members of that chain on an e-mail. I’ll admit it – I’ve gotten so wrapped up in a project that I only e-mailed the person I directly needed to communicate with and left the other people in the project out of the loop.

Bottom line is – when participating in ANY FRG project – remember the unwritten rules – like communicating up, down, and within the Chain of Concern, and just using your basic common sense when doing anything FRG related. When you do anything for or on behalf of the FRG, you are representing your FRG, your Company, your Unit/Battalion, and the Army.