Writing Military Mom

Send a card to a soldier or sailor

2009-11-25T09:57:00.001-05:00

We have a different perspective

2009-11-11T12:08:00.000-05:00

This is Veteran’s Day. It is the day we support the men and women who serve our country. No matter where or how they served, they served. It does not matter if we support the cause, but we need to support the people as our local Veteran’s Council President, Lori Grenfell, stated at our local Veteran’s Day service.

As military families, we are thankful for our military members’ service every day, but do we realize how different our perspective is compared to the civilian world? I am reminded of this fact every year at this event when I look around at the dwindling crowd of attendees and World War II and Korean War veterans. I am grateful for the people who do show up to thank these honorable people. I am not saying that the civilian population is lacking for not always thinking of the men and women who serve. That is what Veteran’s Day is for, to remind them. I just want to point out that we are different as military families. We support our troops directly every day, even when our active duty member retires or leaves the military. We cannot help but take it personally when something like the Cole or Fort Hood happens. We know people who were directly affected by the event, and even if we do not, our family was affected – the military family.

So on this day of remembrance, I want to thank not only the military veterans and the active duty members of our armed forces, but the families and spouses of those who serve or have served. We serve our country, too. My husband retired this past July of 2009. As I told my son when he said we used to be a military family, we will always be a military family.

Thank you to all of those who served and to all of those (us) who support them.

Rosemary

Military Spouse Residency Relief Act News!!!

2009-11-02T14:38:00.000-05:00

The Military Spouse Residency Relief Act has already passed the Senate, so Monday's vote should send the legislation directly to the President's desk to become law.

Read more

Milspouse Deals With Breast Cancer

2009-10-23T12:01:00.001-05:00

He's in the Army now
Wife’s cancer prompts man to enlist
By Mark Johnson of the Journal Sentinel

What do you think about the Caudle's decision? I'm curious. Weigh in here.

November Military Appreciation Month at Nickelodeon Hotels in Orlando

2009-10-22T17:54:00.000-05:00

http://preview.tinyurl.com/yfdot42

To those who can get away for a few days, enjoy this discount. (And have Mickey Bar - ice cream on a stick with ears - for me, will you?)

I need your votes!

2009-10-15T12:18:00.000-05:00

I am applying for a six-month contract as Sam-E’s Good Mood Blogger. Please go to the button in the side column and vote for me before October 23rd. Tell all your friends!

This contract would allow me six months of time to work on my next novel as well as a chance to blog for a company I have patronized for several years now. So tell everyone you know, through email, social networks, standing on the street corner with a sandwich board … any way you want! I need your votes to become the next Good Mood Blogger.

Thank you in advance for spreading the word.

Rosemary

Anal Glaucoma

2009-08-26T16:00:00.001-05:00

'Sorry! I couldn't resist!
Rosemary

A woman calls her boss one morning and tells him that she is staying home because she is not feeling well.
'What's the matter?' he asks.
'I have a case of anal glaucoma,' she says in a weak voice.
'What the hell is anal glaucoma?'
'I can't see my ass coming into work today.'

Let’s write up a bill for services

2009-07-22T17:54:00.002-05:00

After hearing about yet another homegrown terrorist charged with helping al-Qaida get information about the New York City subway system, I had a great idea. Why not bill these “American citizens” who have been through our school systems, used our services, and then contributed to harming our country? I can see how someone who wants to do our country harm hides among us and selfishly uses our services. They want to get whatever they can out of us and do as much harm as possible. What I will never understand is someone who was raised in one of the greatest countries in the world, one that lives by the credo, “with liberty and justice for all,” and then leaves to train for the sole purpose of attacking the hand that has fed it.

Therefore, someone out there needs to come up with a bill. What services could we charge the person who has lived some 18+ years in our country before turning against it? I will begin and hope that everyone will add to the list. If someone else can then take this list and come up with a dollar figure, I guarantee the cost will be astronomical – enough to keep someone in a dank, dark prison somewhere until he can pay off the debt. I assure you the length of their stay will be the rest of their life. Their payment should not be only mere money, but something nasty each day to remind them of what they did and whom they hurt. Sleeping on a cold, hard floor or wearing clothing made out of itchy material such as potato sacks might be a beginning, though nothing close to the real ideas swirling in my head and, I am sure, yours as well.

Let’s see what we can come up with. Please add your ideas and pass it around. I would love to see what we creative, grateful, hardworking Americans can come up with. After all, we are not going to be put into prison for our ideas and beliefs, unlike many other places without the liberties we enjoy.

Assuming this person left the country at 18 years old, here is the beginning of the list.

public school system
clean water and food
the ability to speak his mind
the ability to worship any way he wishes
Police services so he can walk down the street in peace
Fire services
Clean hospitals

Please add your comments.

Full Circle

2009-07-01T20:32:00.002-05:00

I just finished casting West Haven Summer Youth Theatre of which I am the co-director with a dear friend. The friend has been doing this forever and is an accomplished music teacher, so I was honored to have been asked to do direct with him. I am also very grateful to have his guidance as I find my way as a director of teens and tweens since I am used to working mostly with adults.

Some of my readers may not know this, but before I was an author or writer, I was a professional singer. I was headed to Broadway and did lots of professional work in and around New York. I studied at AADA in New York and with many voice teachers and dialect coaches. As a result, I had an excellent career that I gave up for foolish reasons, though I did not think they were foolish then. Nevertheless, before I moved to New York, I did tons of theatre and one of my first shows was Godspell with West Haven Summer Theatre. It was actually my second show ever! A couple of years later, I had a director there named Anthony Amato. He was a high school English teacher who also loved the theatre and worked hard to inspire us as actors. I very clearly remember thinking I wanted to be just like him, and this thought came back to me a few days before we started production on this show. Unfortunately, Mr. Amato will never know my thoughts. He passed away last fall, rather suddenly to all of us who knew him. I had the pleasure of serving on our local arts council with him and always enjoyed his presence. He had one of those faces that always looked as if it was smiling.

Since I believe everything happens for a reason, I have no regrets. In fact, I much prefer THIS side of the curtain right now and writing my books. I don’t want the stress of getting up on a stage and simply do not enjoy that part of things anymore. Where I used to jump up and sing, I stand back now and let someone else do it. That is why I am so very excited to pass on my skills to a new generation. They can jump onstage with as much of my knowledge as I can pass on to them.

Our show is Godspell Junior. It will be performed at Carrigan Middle School in West Haven, CT, on August 6th and 7th. Some of the racier parts have been removed in this version, but it is just as fun. Now that casting is over, I can get to work shaping the show and leading our cast to self-discovery. Above all, I hope it will be a fun summer – for them and for me.

West Haven Summer Theatre is back and I am very happy to be a part of it. I only hope I can make Tony proud as he stands in the wings and watches our show.

It seems as if things have come full circle.

Conjuring the Ghost of Antoinette Perry

2009-06-10T05:30:00.003-05:00

Every year during the Tony Awards, I get the urge to write that play. Well, not a play, actually, but a Broadway musical. Not some splashy color-soaked monstrosity with no real depth, but the “Gone With The Wind” of Broadway for our time. You know, a language-sanitized Rent or a post-911 A Chorus Line.

My ideas for my novels, non-fiction books and musical theatre productions are safe and sound on index cards in what my students know as the “Idea Box,” but I have yet to jot a word of that musical. I know who will write the music and help with the lyrics, though I will write the majority of the lyrics myself. I just don’t know how to fund such a venture without losing my house and neglecting my family. And what about those agents who are looking at my next novel or that ghostwriting gig I may have soon (from my mouth to God’s Ears!)?

Yes, every year I watch the Tonies and dream of seeing my musical as one of the featured performances because it is up for Best Musical that year. I watch, dream and hope I figure out a way to add about 10 more hours to my days.

Writing Military Mom’s First Contest!

2009-06-02T19:29:00.007-05:00

Well, second if you count the “Name My Business” contest that no one won. (My husband came up with the name and he already had my book.)

This contest is for military spouses, active duty or retired. Write some of the special things you do to survive a deployment. Do you put something special in the care package? Maybe a get-together with the other families to do something different? Make homemade cards and send them each week or each day?

Whatever it is, tell me about it by leaving a comment here with a link back to your blog, if you have one. If not, just tell five friends about the contest so they can enter, too! Your entry does not have to be poetic. If you do not want to write much, just list your ideas for all of us to view.

Deadline for entries is July 1, 2009 by 5pm Eastern. This gives everyone enough time to think of their favorite deployment diversions. The winner of the best idea will receive a copy of Marc CB Maxwell’s book, SURVIVING MILITARY SEPARATION: A 365-Day Activity Guide for the Families of Deployed Personnel. It is a book filled with 365-days worth of fun activities to complete that makes separation during a deployment a little easier. It also includes space to write your thoughts and information you may want to share with your spouse when he or she comes home.

Good luck to everyone who enters. At the very least, you may get some great ideas about how to make a deployment a little easier by employing some of the creative ways my readers come up with from time to time. I look forward to reading all of your posts.

(Thank you to Marc CB Maxwell for letting me uses his book for this contest.)

By the way, did anyone notice the new button in the upper left corner? Yes! I won another blog award! Thank you to DeAnna of Write Moms for bestowing this button on my website. I'd like to thank all of the little people...my mother...God...well, you know the speech. :)

OF NOTE:

GI Pictures

A film development company completely staffed by active duty, retired military and their families. You can apply for jobs or pitch your story ideas. Hey, you never know!

10 hot creative agencies to watch (page 3 of 6) - iMediaConnection.com

2009-06-01T18:52:00.001-05:00

View >>

2009 Military Spouse of the Year, Tanya Queiro!

2009-05-22T15:26:00.003-05:00

Courtesy of Military Spouse Magazine:

Tanya Queiro, the 2009 Military Spouse of the Year National Winner will appear on CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight on Memorial Day, Monday May 25th, 7-8 PM EDT. Don't miss it!

Visit msoy.milspouse.com for pictures from the 2009 Military Spouse of the Year Awards Luncheon.

Additional Links:
Video Full Article from Military Spouse magazine Press Release
Victory Media, Inc. 1005 5th Avenue Coraopolis, PA 15108

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To all of those who serve and have served our country,

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Rosemary

Embarassing Business Flubs

2009-05-13T12:59:00.004-05:00

I just interviewed Debra Benton, author of CEO Material: How to Be a Leader in Any Organization (McGraw-Hill, April 10, 2009). I enjoyed her stories so much, that I got her permission to share one with you. It’s a funny thing that happened to the author while speaking in front of a group of people.

Debra Benton was not returning to work, but doing a new kind of work. She was very nervous and was going to be in front of a group of people. Afraid there would be perspiration stains on her blouse, she had idea of having panty liners on her underarms to contain the sweat. As she was speaking in front of people who were about three feet away, she had a little problem.

“All of a sudden, I see a pantiliner coming out of my sleeve! I balled it up, thought I dealt with it and then saw one of them was lying on the floor!”

Benton stopped and decided to explain to the group before here. She was mortified, but explained what was going on. After she did, she asked, “Did anybody see this?” A man at the back of the room confessed that he thought she was doing a magic act.

The point of this story is that humor can take care of any social faux pas, even one as embarrassing as having a pantyliner fall out of your sleeve while speaking in front of a group!

Do you have a funny story to tell about a workplace flub? If you do, drop a comment here so we can all enjoy it!

I found some military deals

2009-05-08T09:34:00.002-05:00

I had to make a correction on the deadline date for the KFC entry (sorry!), so I thought I would re-post the most recent deals and add a few more I found recently. Enjoy!

Thanks USA scholarship deadline approaching.

ThanksUSA scholarships are for the spouses and dependents of uniformed military personnel. Apply by May 15th to be considered for one of 500 scholarships of $3,000 each. They can be used for college, vocational or technical schools. To apply for and/or learn more about the scholarship, go to http://www.thanksusa.org/ and click on Scholarships.
Deadline is 5/15/09

KFC coupon for free meal!

May 5th through 5/19th only, so hurry. http://www.unthinkfc.com/

BuildaSign.com offering free signs to military.

I have not ordered on of these yet, but I have heard good things about this company. They are offering free signs for welcoming home your active duty member and any other sign idea you can come up with. If you have any questions, just email them. If you use them, I would love it if you sent me a photograph of the sign in action and what the person thought about it. Was it a surprise? Did they get all choked up? Send me your comments.

http://www.buildasign.com/Troops

Cruise Hound offering deals for military members.

Applies to both active duty and retired military members AND their guests.

http://www.thecruisehound.com/cgi-bin/links/page.cgi?p=cruise_search_military

If you want to find tons of deals especially for military families (and sometimes their friends), check out Military.com's discount page.

http://www.military.com/DC/DealCoupon.jsp?deal_id=25134

Swine Flu or Just A Stomach Bug?

2009-05-04T10:38:00.003-05:00

My little boy woke up hurling today. Needless to say, he did not go to preschool. It made me wonder, though. Until this swine flu thing has run its course, I am going to think everything they have that has even one flu symptom (such as tossing his cookies) has the potential of closing down the schools in West Haven.

‘Not really. I send them to school unless they have a fever or if they…ride the porcelain Honda. Of course, this always happens when I have deadlines and work up the wazoo, but that’s why I work at home, right? I just have to keep remembering that .

Now that I write this, let’s have some fun. (I need it after the 8th time going over the floors with the Swiffer and changing my little guy’s clothing.)

What are other names for, well, throwing up? (Yes, eww, but this could be funny.) And please get as funny and irreverent as you’d like, just don’t be vulgar or I’ll have to delete you.

I’ll start with the three I’ve mentioned.

1. hurling
2. riding the porcelain Honda
3. tossing your cookies

NOTES:

Thanks USA scholarship deadline approaching.

ThanksUSA scholarships are for the spouses and dependents of uniformed military personnel. Apply by May 15th to be considered for one of 500 scholarships of $3,000 each. They can be used for college, vocational or technical schools.

To apply for and/or learn more about the scholarship, go to http://www.thanksusa.org/ and click on Scholarships.

Deadline is 5/15/09

KFC coupon for free meal! May 5th through 6th only, so hurry.

http://www.unthinkfc.com/

Swine Flu Alert Raised

2009-04-30T10:57:00.002-05:00

Reprinted from the Centers for Disease Control website.

In response to an intensifying outbreak in the United States and internationally caused by a new influenza virus of swine origin, the World Health Organization raised the worldwide pandemic alert level to Phase 5 on April 29, 2009. A Phase 5 alert is a “strong signal that a pandemic is imminent and that the time to finalize the organization, communication, and implementation of the planned mitigation measures is short.”

The United States Government has declared a public health emergency in the United States. CDC’s response goals are to reduce transmission and illness severity, and provide information to help health care providers, public health officials and the public address the challenges posed by this emergency.

For updated information about Swine Flu, go to the CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/. It is updated at least daily.

How to Reduce Your Risk of Contracting Swine Flu

2009-04-29T18:11:00.003-05:00

For the past week or so, we have been hearing about Swine Flu. I figured it was time to write about how to keep yourself safe.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), Swine Flu is a respiratory disease which is found in pigs. People don’t normally get this type of flu, but human infections do happen. Symptoms are similar to those brought on by the regular human flu including fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Sometimes diarrhea and vomiting have also been reported. It can cause pneumonia and respiratory failure, and may worsen underlying chronic medical conditions.

In late March through early April 2009, cases of swine influenza A (H1N1) virus were first reported in Southern California and near San Antonio, TX. The first clusters of the virus appeared in Mexico where the disease has taken many lives. This may be because of the number of people who came down with the virus there and the speed in which it spread. Swine flu is now in many countries including the U.S. In fact, at least 10 states in the U.S. have confirmed states with many more suspected cases waiting for confirmation from the CDC. As of the date of this post, one child has died in Texas. The child was from Mexico being treated in a Texas hospital.

Here are some ways to help avoid contracting the disease.

Stay home if you have flu symptoms and to keep children home from school and daycare if they show symptoms. At today’s CDC press briefing, Richard Besser, MD, Acting Director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suggested other members of a family with a confirmed case of swine flu should also stay home “because there's a chance that they could be brewing the infection.”
One of the most important preventive measures is washing your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers can be used if water is unavailable. Gels and hand wipes work well, too, as long as they contain at least 60% alcohol.
Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Cough into the crook of your arm if you do not have a tissue.
Keep your hands away from your face and teach children to do the same. Avoid touching your mouth, nose or eyes where the virus can be passed through mucus membranes (just like a cold or the regular human flu).
Do not share drinking cups or food with anyone even if you do not suspect illness.

Schools and other public places are working with health officials to maintain infection control practices, but if several cases of swine flu are confirmed or suspected, schools and public events may be cancelled in the interest of protecting public health and limiting the spread of this virus.

Keep an eye on the spread of the disease and other updates provided by the CDC by visiting http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/swineflu_you.htm. It is updated regularly. While we should not be alarmed, we should remain alert and follow the guidelines listed above in order to prevent the spread of swine flu.

Be alert, but not alarmed.

Where does the time go?

2009-04-22T11:47:00.002-05:00

If there is anyone out there who knows how to get it all done with the hours we are given, you be sure to let me know, okay? I often feel as if I am backpedaling. Do you remember when you were a kid and you would just pedal backward on your 10-speed bike while coasting? I miss that feeling. I spend so much time trying to keep up with things like my social networks, the blogs I write, the assignments I am seeking, not to mention my family’s needs and the little things that pop up in a life such as birthdays and illnesses.

I need a double so that she can do all of the yucky, admin-type stuff while I do the surfing, reading and playing with the kids. She could do all of the trolling for story ideas, keep on top of the social media and blogging, and maybe clean a toilet or do some dishes while she’s at it.

How do you get everything done? What are the things you let go of?

In the meantime, here are a few links of note. Enjoy!

SpouseBUZZ Utah

I highly recommend attending one of the SpouseBUZZ events if you have not already. Read my previous blog about my experience in Fayetteville: http://writingmilitarymom.blogspot.com/2007/12/musing-at-cleveland-airport.html.

Six Flags New England offering discounted tickets.

All military, retirees, dependents, DOD and SUBASE patrons are eligible
to purchase. You are welcome to purchase tickets for your friends and family also.

ITT Prices are:

1-Day passes $27.00 each
Season passes $67.00 each
Meal Voucher $10.00 each

Go to the website for times: (double click on link)
http://www.sixflags.com/newEngland/index.aspx
For more information, you can also email ittnewlondon@navy.mil.

Standing By

2009-04-08T18:56:00.008-05:00

Alison Buckholtz is posting this week in conjunction with the publication of her new book, "Standing By: The Making of an American Military Family In A Time of War." This book is a must-read for those of us who can relate as well as those who are curious about the life of a military family.

Thank you, Alison!

Military spouses are usually seen but not heard. I think this is because keeping quiet about the challenges of a military lifestyle is sometimes equated with loyalty. So military spouses are sometimes stereotyped as being quiet, reticent, blindly loyal, not so bright, or not terribly ambitious. I believed that stereotype myself, but when I started getting to know other military spouses I realized quickly how wrong I had been. So part of my goal for Standing By: The Making of an American Military Family in a Time of War, was to rewrite the image of the military spouse in the public imagination.

The experiences I write about emerge from my years as a military spouse. But the subjects, like love and loneliness, grief and loss, are eternal human themes which affect everyone. Standing By is the story of our family as we grew to know each other in new and surprising ways, and more than anything else, it's about how these relationships transformed us.

Many of the servicemember spouses I have met since embarking on this unexpected path have traveled it much longer than I have, and their experiences are richer and more dramatic than my own. Learning of the far-flung places they have established their lives, and the hardships and losses they have endured, has humbled me. Their can-do attitude and adventurous spirit has inspired me. They have taught me valuable lessons about the challenges and rewards of a military lifestyle, and I feel honored to transmit what I have learned from them -- especially if I can bring these stories to a civilian population with a limited understanding of America's Armed Forces. In doing so, I hope to show non-military readers the human face of deployment as it was experienced by those left behind. If military spouses read my memoir and think, "That's nothing, I've had it much harder," I hope that they will be inspired to share their experiences.

I call my military experience an ongoing civics lesson, and I've learned more about the nation – and the important role the military plays in its ongoing stability -- than I ever learned in school. Although in Standing By I portray my struggle with our identity as a military family, I believe the book is ultimately a tribute to the military, because our experience made me appreciate what it means to be an American.

Alison Buckholtz
http://www.alisonbuckholtz.com/

Finding Perspective

2009-04-03T10:08:00.003-05:00

I have friends and family who are really good at talking about the positive side of anything. I’m not that good at it. I need to revel in the “bad” before I can deal with it head on, which I do very well. I need to moan and complain, maybe cry a little, and then I’m ready to tackle absolutely anything that comes my way.

So, here is an exercise in optimism, or at least speaking out loud in an optimistic manner. I have several bad or aggravating things going on right now. I’m going to tell you what they are, then put my best positive spin on them. Those of you who know me and my realistic pessimism, enjoy. Ready?

1. My retaining wall holds up the pool which is actually the entire yard of my home. We spend the summer battling the algae and the electric bill, then do not use the “yard” the other three season. The retaining wall fell down and is threatening the neighbors’ yard and shed. The entire yard is about to fall into their yard as we wait for our tax return so we can pay the mason to begin work on a new wall. Insurance will not cover this after months and months of battling them BEFORE the wall came down and was only threatening to come down.

SPIN: At least we won’t have to clean the pool this summer.
SPIN: We don’t have to figure out how to spend our tax return. L

2. I downloaded my renewed copy of Norton 360 last week. Tuesday it was downloaded, but I spend until Friday trying to get on my computer as it cycled, turned off, locked up, etc. When I finally got it to work after hours on the phone and through remote computer access on Norton’s part, the printer would not work. Another call to Norton, another remote with Dell, and it all worked at about 7:30pm Friday evening. I made no money last week because I could not get on my computer to write what assignments I had or to get to new work. It was not a break because I had to sit at the computer answering questions of the techs and fiddling with the computer.

SPIN: I didn’t have to work for most of the week.
SPIN: Most of the stacks of paper on my workspace has been filed.

3. My son has to attend a movie party at the mall this afternoon. I hate the mall, its traffic and the food court. I will be having dinner in the Food Court or at one of the less expensive restaurants because I will have my 4-year-old with me who is miffed he was not invited to the “Big Kid’s Party.”

SPIN: I get to browse through Borders when Hubby gets there or grab a coffee and work at Panera’s while waiting to pick up my son.
SPIN: I have sons who have great friends of which the birthday girl is one.

4. One of my closest friends has cancer and will be undergoing aggressive therapy before and after surgery.

SPIN: I am close by to help her and her family, not living far away as I have been for most of our lives. I am strong so she can lean on me. I am blessed to have the opportunity to show my friend how much she means to me.

Number 4 puts the others into perspective, doesn’t it?

Swimming Against The Tide

2009-03-30T11:18:00.001-05:00

Did you ever have a time in your life when it seems as if you are swimming against the tide? I mean you are using the strokes you were taught in swimming class and kicking your legs furiously, yet you don’t seem to be getting anywhere? That is where I am today. I am writing the queries with style and finesse, and looking around the internet for assignments, but no luck. I have standing assignments from a few of my regular editors, but that does not keep me in my fuel of choice, coffee, or pay my phone bill.

Today I am also dealing with a collapsed retaining wall involving many calls to insurance (which will not pay for it) and the mason, invitations for a Communion party that need to be addressed and mailed, the need to help in Computer class at my son’s elementary school today, and tons of other mundane tasks that have no relation to work, but that need to be completed in order to be able to find my desk in the first place.

All of this adds up to the need to work which isn’t happening today.

How about you? How is your day going? Leave a comment and let’s complain together. Maybe it will make us all feel a little better knowing someone else is out there going through similar stuff.

New Heroes for High Hopes Program

2009-03-23T12:49:00.002-05:00

Introduced this Summer! In addition to our regular summer programs, High Hopes is pleased to announce we are actively developing an eight-week summer program to serve veterans called Heroes for High Hopes. Our goal is to improve the lives of service men and women who have suffered emotionally or from physical injury while serving their country. It is our hope that through a variety of Equine Assisted Activities at High Hopes, including riding, carriage driving and stable management, they may benefit physically, gain confidence and experience the warmth of the human animal bond provided through our equine friends.

A recent Needs Assessment conducted by Donna Latella, High Hopes Instructor & Occupational Therapist, identified at least one state Veterans Home that would like to participate in the program. Please contact us if you know a veteran who may benefit from this service, would like to volunteer, or have a contact within the military20that may assist us in spreading the news of this program.

For more information or questions regarding any of these programs, please contact Jeanna Pellino, Program Director at 860-434-1974, x16 or jpellino@highhopestr.org.

Daylight Saving Time

2009-03-11T11:13:00.002-05:00

Is anyone else messed up by the recent switch to Daylight Saving Time? I am! At the beginning of the day, I am exhausted because my body thinks it’s still an hour earlier. The problem comes at the end of the day. After an entire day of running around, my brain cannot stop and I am not exhausted anymore. Sure, I could probably force myself to go to sleep, and I really should, but there are always things to do such as housework, work-work or simply chilling out knitting or reading before I go to bed. Let’s call it the dreaded term I hate – “Me time.”

When I worked in someone else’s office, I always got to a logical place in my work before leaving for the night…and leave I did. I had no problem putting things off until the next day if they were not deadline-driven. So what’s my problem now? Is it that I have more projects that are deadline-driven or am I just in a groove that compels me to continue on with the necessary evils of running a business from home in the home which also needs to be run?

And don’t tell me about delegating. Sometimes I feel lazy with all the delegating I do. Then I realize the reasons I am delegating:

I am working and not sitting around,

I am teaching young children the value of responsibility and how to be a responsible person,

and my husband lives here, too, which is something many women of an older generation seem to forget.

If he works all day and comes home as tired as I do, why should he sit around while I clean the dishes, do the laundry, put the kids to bed, etc. In fact, my husband is the “Night Guy” around here. He does the dinner dishes because I cook the dinner; he bathes the kids and puts them to bed because I do some of my work in the evening after taking a break after school to pick up kids, make that dinner, etc.; and he does the laundry because I cannot carry heavy things such as a laundry basket and definitely not up the stairs from the basement!

So, there you go. I am taking a deep breath right now and multi-tasking. While I slurp a yogurt lunch, I will run a computer scan so my browser will stop shutting gown, brew a pot of coffee, and while that’s going, I will load the dishwasher. (Hubby ran it last night, the dear guy.)

FREE SAT & ACT Test Prep Software to Military Families

2009-03-03T17:59:00.002-05:00

Group Extends $20 Million Donation to America’s Military Families For a Fourth Year.

In alliance with the Department of Defense and a group of patriotic NFL football players, eKnowledge Corporation is extending its donation of SAT & ACT Test Prep Software to military families and veterans for a fourth consecutive year.

Over the past three years, eKnowledge has delivered more than 100,000 SAT/ACT test prep programs normally priced at $200.00, FREE to military families worldwide. The total value of the donation is now over $20 million.

The NFL players who are supporting the eKnowledge SAT/ACT donation for 2009 represent the Chicago Bears, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers, Miami Dolphins and San Diego Chargers.

The donated eKnowledge SAT/ACT Power Prep programs come in a single DVD or two CD-ROM set that includes more than 11 hours of high quality classroom video instruction with up to 40 hours of student interactive learning participation. The test prep programs can be used as a stand-alone instruction tool to prepare thoroughly for the SAT/ACT or as a supplement to other SAT/ACT preparation materials. Each student can select the areas where they need additional or special instruction and then study at their own pace using the 120 classroom video lessons.

Members of Military families or Veterans interested in receiving the FREE SAT/ACT Power Prep software should visit the following website for details: www.eknowledge.com/military

For additional information, contact: Lori Caputo, Vice President, Military Donation Programs
770-992-0900 LoriCaputo@eKnowledge.com