Monthly Archives: June 2011

To be 100% forthcoming – I have never done this. I do, however, know several people personally who have and who say it’s a very easy process and works well. I am a chicken. Maybe the next time I am sending birthday greetings to Iraq or Afghanistan I will woman-up and send a cake in a jar.

The following is a snippet from an article. Read through and if you decide to do it visit the link below for shipping and eating instructions. Remember that in the summer months foods may cook a little extra sitting in boxes on boiling tarmacs (I have heard of things melting that I never imagined… like jolly ranchers turning liquid in a box!) So, if you send icing keep it sealed and put it in a separate bag in case it leaks!

EXCERPT

How do you get send a birthday cake to a soldier in a forward operating base overseas? In a jar! Instead of paying and arm and a leg to have a specialized bakery send an itty bitty cake in an expensively packaged container, just follow these steps to making your soldier smile.

MATERIALS:

The project requires:
• Canning jars with lids and rings. The wide-mouth pint sized work best. The local Wal Mart or similar store will carry these near the gardening section.
• Any box cake mix will do, or a recipe from scratch works great, too!
•
Makes: 4-5 jars per box mix

INSTUCTIONS:

1. Boil jars to sanitize and let cool.
2. Prepare cake mix per regular directions. (Nothing special required)
3. After jars have cooled, grease the entire inside of jars to be used.
4. Fill each jar halfway with cake batter. (One cup line for the pit jars works great)
5. Place jars on a cookie sheet in the oven so they don’t tip over when moving them.
6. Bake at 350* for approximately 30 minutes for pint jars. Use toothpicks or kabob skewers to test. Cake is done when they come out clean.
7. Boil rings and lids while cake is baking.
8. Remove each jar individually and carefully screw on rings and lids. Let cool.
9. Listen for the “ping!” sound while jars cool, this means they’re sealed and good to go! If you don’t hear the ping sounds, press the lids down to seal. You should hear a “pop”. If neither of these work. If neither works, just eat the cake within a few days.
10. Enjoy up to a month. Shipping will go smoothly!

CLICK HERE FOR SHIPPING AND EATING DIRECTIONS

When I worked in mental health I loved being able to connect as a professional with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and introduce my clients to them. NAMI is a grassroots organization and they offer wonderful educational information. They are also a great place to connect and find out about diagnoses and maybe meet others (through local meetings and conferences).

I was thrilled to know that NAMI offers a Veteran’s Resource page! The page is not geared only toward military members, but NAMI recognizes he stresses and strains of military families as well. They cover topics such as PTSD, TBI, a link page for families (support, education, etc.).

LINK TO NAMI FOR VETERANS

Today is the Army’s 236th birthday. Today is Flag Day. Today we can also continue to celebrate the Army’s decision to dump the beret in favor of the patrol cap.

We have a lot to celebrate, indeed! I know our soldiers are the ones who had to wear the beret, but as a former Army wife I can tell you that washing those things was no fun . Think sweaty husband. Dirty beret. Ft. Benning dirt/sweat, wool beret, and the smell. Give me a patrol cap anyday!

1. Happy Birthday Army!

Two hundred and thirty-six years ago, the United States Army was established to defend our Nation. From the Revolutionary War to the current operations taking place around the world, our Soldiers remain Army Strong with a deep commitment to our core values and beliefs. This 236th birthday commemorates America’s Army – Soldiers, Families and Civilians – who are achieving a level of excellence that is truly Army Strong. Being Army Strong goes beyond physical endurance and mental preparedness. It encompasses an indomitable spirit, and high ethical and moral values. These are not only desirable traits in a person, but in a Nation that wishes to live up to the ideals and vision of its founders. We are “America’s Army: The Strength of the Nation.”  (SOURCE LINK)

2. Happy Flag Day!

The Fourth of July was traditionally celebrated as America’s birthday, but the idea of an annual day specifically celebrating the Flag is believed to have first originated in 1885. BJ Cigrand, a schoolteacher, arranged for the pupils in the Fredonia, Wisconsin Public School, District 6, to observe June 14 (the 108th anniversary of the official adoption of The Stars and Stripes) as ‘Flag Birthday’. In numerous magazines and newspaper articles and public addresses over the following years, Cigrand continued to enthusiastically advocate the observance of June 14 as ‘Flag Birthday’, or ‘Flag Day’.

On June 14, 1889, George Balch, a kindergarten teacher in New York City, planned appropriate ceremonies for the children of his school, and his idea of observing Flag Day was later adopted by the State Board of Education of New York. On June 14, 1891, the Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia held a Flag Day celebration, and on June 14 of the following year, the New York Society of the Sons of the Revolution, celebrated Flag Day.

Following the suggestion of Colonel J Granville Leach (at the time historian of the Pennsylvania Society of the Sons of the Revolution), the Pennsylvania Society of Colonial Dames of America on April 25, 1893 adopted a resolution requesting the mayor of Philadelphia and all others in authority and all private citizens to display the Flag on June 14th. Leach went on to recommend that thereafter the day be known as ‘Flag Day’, and on that day, school children be assembled for appropriate exercises, with each child being given a small Flag.

Two weeks later on May 8th, the Board of Managers of the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution unanimously endorsed the action of the Pennsylvania Society of Colonial Dames. As a result of the resolution, Dr. Edward Brooks, then Superintendent of Public Schools of Philadelphia, directed that Flag Day exercises be held on June 14, 1893 in Independence Square. School children were assembled, each carrying a small Flag, and patriotic songs were sung and addresses delivered.

In 1894, the governor of New York directed that on June 14 the Flag be displayed on all public buildings. With BJ Cigrand and Leroy Van Horn as the moving spirits, the Illinois organization, known as the American Flag Day Association, was organized for the purpose of promoting the holding of Flag Day exercises. On June 14th, 1894, under the auspices of this association, the first general public school children’s celebration of Flag Day in Chicago was held in Douglas, Garfield, Humboldt, Lincoln, and Washington Parks, with more than 300,000 children participating.

Adults, too, participated in patriotic programs. Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the Interior, delivered a 1914 Flag Day address in which he repeated words he said the flag had spoken to him that morning: “I am what you make me; nothing more. I swing beforeyour eyes as a bright gleam of color, a symbol of

yourself.”

Inspired by these three decades of state and local celebrations, Flag Day – the anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777 – was officially established by the Proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson on May 30th, 1916. While Flag Day was celebrated in various communities for years after Wilson’s proclamatio

n, it was not until August 3rd, 1949, that President Truman signed an Act of Congress designating June 14th of each year as National Flag Day.  (SOURCE LINK)

3. And Finally! Happy Dump the Beret Day!

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army said Monday that it was abandoning the beret, after a failed 10-year experiment.

The black beret, which proved deeply unpopular with American soldiers, will be replaced by a patrol cap for everyday wear, U.S. Army spokesman Col. Tom Collins said.

The move came after outgoing Army chief of staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, asked the Army’s sergeant major “to go out and talk to soldiers across the force and see what was on their minds,” Collins told AFP.

“One of the things that soldiers consistently brought up was the desire to wear the patrol cap as part of their duty uniform,” he said. (SOURCE LINK)