Friday, November 30, 2007

Soldiers Angels Web Surfing

The Big news is, Rachel Ray and Dunkin Donuts :)

 
 
 
The NC Soldiers Angels VA team and the PGR are teaming up
 
 
 
 
Some soldiers have the Christmas Spirit,thanks to Soldiers Angels :)
 
 
 
 
Awesome Quote of the Day, on Thursday
 
 
 
 
This Angel has the best essay I've seen in awhile, about 'why we do what we do'.
 
 
 
------------
And lastly, he's not an 'Angel' but he Is a soldier. And, if you want to know what the Receiving end of mail call is like?  Check out this post by JP at  Milblogging.com
 
 
 
 
Priceless! :)
 
Enjoy the 'surf'!
 
 
 
Posted by at No comments:

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Your Grinch Name :)

From my friend,Sasha    http://www.myspace.com/sashaispretty

go here

Click here: Grinch Name--Discover your true identity

to find our your Grinch name :)

(Mine is  CRABBYGROUCH CRANKYSHORTS  )

Leave yours in the comments!

 

 

Posted by at No comments:

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Wreaths Across America 2007

Hey all, Wreaths Across America is going to be laying wreaths at National Cemetaries again this year, to honor our fallen.

The main website is here

 
and here's a list of all participating locations, by state
 
 
The Wreath Laying will take place on Saturday, Dec. 15 at noon (EST)
 
Please check the listings for the nearest ceremony in your state, and consider attending the ceremony. I did it last year and am looking forward to participating again this year.
 
 
Posted by at No comments:

Wednesday Hero

Welcome to this week's installment where all the member bloggers of Wednesday Hero collectively honor many of the real hero's found in this country who's names and bio's have been provided to us for these humble tributes by blogroll creator Indian Chris @ Right Wing and Right Minded.


Many of them are those that have paid the ultimate price for our country protecting it both here and abroad from the many threats we face from our enemies wishing us and them harm, some are not. In either case they are the real American heroes of today and we now both salute and offer our prayers. To join us if you wish to please start by reading the post below.(Introduction courtesy of  Chicago Ray )
 
 

Sgt. Antwan L. Walker

 

Sgt. Antwan L. Walker 22 years old from Tampa, Florida 2nd Forward Support Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division May 18, 2005
 
 
 
 
 Sgt. Antwan Walker was excited about coming home from Iraq to celebrate his 23rd birthday with his family and friends. His mother, Andrea Pringle, was busy planning the party when an Army official unexpectedly came to her house. She said he told her Thursday that her son was killed the previous day by a bomb blast in Ramadi.
 
 
The Department of Defense hasn't publicly confirmed his death. Sgt. Antwan Walker, known as Twan to his friends and family, joined the Army in 2000. Pringle said her son joined to earn money for college.
 
 "Twan had a lot of goals in life," She said. "He was very ambitious and very smart."
 
 
Sgt. Walker had been in Iraq for about a year. He called his family often but didn't want to talk about war. Instead, he talked about starting a real estate career and his three children.
 
"He was such a good dad," his mother said. "All he wanted to do was make a good life for his kids."
 
 
In April 2005, Walker wanted to talk about the fighting. He told his mother five soldiers he was traveling with were killed. His phone calls became more frequent after that. Pringle said she had days when she couldn't eat or sleep because of her worries. But she never forgot to give her son her support. "I always told him I'm proud and be safe".
 
 
 

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.

 

 We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

 

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your blog, you can go here.

Posted by at 1 comment:

Operation Santa-Now THREE Ways to Send Christmas Cards to Wounded Warriors

Gazing at the Flag  passed on the word about this one

 

Operation Santa/Marine Moms Bethesda

 

but you've got to hurry, as cards need to be postmarked by Dec.3 !

Operation Santa  is putting together Christmas stockings with gift cards and treats and cards to deliver to the OEF/OIF veterans at

Bethesda

 Walter Reed

 Balboa Naval Hospital 

Brooke Army Medical Center

 

If you want to send  Christmas Cards to be put into the stockings? send them to:

Operation Santa

c/o Marine Moms Bethesda

P O Box 22

Cordova MD 21625

 

Please note: The cards must be glitter and coating free - these come off and can cause secondary infections in the wounds. Don't seal the envelopes - they are screened.

They should be postmarked by December 3.

Contact Jane at jane@marinemoms-bethesda.org for more information about the cards.

 

If you want to help out with the stockings? They can use our donations to purchase stocking stuffers and pay for postage.  Again, check out their post here

 
or you can contact Carrie at wrcostan@comcast.net for any one interested in supporting the efforts or for more information about the stockings.
 
-----------
 
As I said  in my post last Saturday
 
 
 
But now you can use  OPERATION SANTA ABOVE to send cards to our nation's armed forces who were wounded in our country's service.
 
OR you can send them to:
 
VFW POST 8208
PO Box 653
Ruckersville
VA 22968
 
(They are accepting cards to deliver to the patients at Walter Reed and Bethesda Hospitals as well as to other hospitals where there are Patients from this war)

OR

you can send a batch of cards in UNSEALED envelopes (so they can be checked first) to be delivered to the wounded at   Landstuhl Regional Medical Center

That address is:

21st TSC, Medical Transient Detachment
ATTN: Soldiers' Angels
UNIT 23203
APO AE 09263

My thanks to Carol, for reminding me of the address at Soldiers Angels Germany, and you can also send cards to the staff at Landstuhl, as this post says here

 
and if you wish to do more than send a card for the patients? check out this post
 
 
-------------
 
I hope I've given you plenty of ways to send Holiday Cheer to our nation's wounded this Christmas, but time is running out to get this done!
 
 
OPERATION SANTA needs cards postmarked by Dec. 3 
 
 
And the US Postal Services deadlines for Domestic Holiday Mail are:
 

  Domestic Mail Class

Date

First-Class Mail

Dec. 20

Priority Mail

Dec. 20

Express Mail *

Dec. 22

Parcel Post

Dec. 15

* For Express Mail, check with your local post office for the most recent information

 

(But please keep in mind that the VFW post in Ruckersville,VA would need cards sent SOONER than those deadlines, to be able to review and gather the cards together to deliver)

 
And the
 US Postal service deadlines for
 
International Mail Addressed to Europe are

Global Express Guaranteed® (GXG) 4/*

Express Mail® International (EMS)5/*

Priority Mail® International6/*

First-Class Mail® International

Dec 19

Dec 17

Dec 11

Dec 11

 

 

 

 

Posted by at 1 comment:

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Another Way to Send a Christmas Card

The VFW has a page to sign a giant Christmas card here

Click here: Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW): Email - Sign our Giant Christmas Card to our Troops

it needs to be signed by December 10!

 

(and here's a link about the veterans hospital it will be sent to)

Click here: James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital - Facilities Locator & Directory

 

 

Posted by at No comments:

Monday, November 26, 2007

Popcorn and Pancakes (and whiskers on kittens..)

Well, really, I don't have anything to write about 'whiskers on kittens'...but I just had the Raindrops on Roses song from the Sound of Music pop into my head when I was trying to think of a title for this post.

(I wrote this over on my   family blog  and then decided to share it here,also )

Some of y'all may remember my infamous 'pancake story' ?

Click here: The Pancake story

Last night we were finishing putting together the Christmas boxes to send to Dustin, and Mom had suggested that we pack the cookie package with popcorn.  So Tony put a bag of popcorn into the microwave and turned it on, and then we went upstairs to look for the right sized box to pack stuff in.

While we're discussing which box out of the many empty boxes I have been saving might work best, I suddenly say "Is that the smoke detector going off downstairs?" and we run back down into black smoke just Rolling out of the kitchen, and the smoke detector beeping crazily.

Tony grabs the smoldering bag of popcorn out of the microwave and throws it in sink, and then he and I are running around throwing open windows and doors and turning on the kitchen stove fan. I ask him "What did you Set the microwave on???!! Did you use the popcorn button?!" and he says "Yes, I used the popcorn button! I think it said like 3 minutes?" and I'm like "I think you pushed the popcorn button more than Once,then, it's only like a minute forty seconds!!"

and then he turns to me and smiles and says "Well, honey, I guess you're not the only one in the family now that's had a microwave accident!" and we both start cracking up.

He washed up the microwave plate and wiped down the microwave and, after the smoke had cleared a little, popped a second bag of popcorn (on the Right setting:) and then we left the bowl sitting out for the popcorn to cool until we finished packing the boxes this morning.

On the way back from the post office this morning after we had mailed the packages, I thought about the Popcorn accident again, and started laughing until I had tears in my eyes. Tony asked me "What is it?" and I gasped out "You want to know what the best part of the story is?  After all that, we didn't even Use the popcorn to pack the box with after all!!" and collapsed back into laughing my head off, while he started laughing,too.

Just another 'day in the life', here on the 'Dork Family Homestead' :)

 

Posted by at 1 comment:

Saturday, November 24, 2007

No,You CAN'T send holiday cards to 'Any Wounded Soldier' at Walter Reed..

but here's some things you Can do.

 

We've all seen the email forward that says "Send a holiday card to 'any wounded soldier' at Walter Reed Army Medical Center",

but,unfortunately, that is just not possible.

And if you want to read the news straight from a source who's spent time at Walter Reed? here's what a veteran friend of mine had to say about it.

Click here: No Christmas Cards for Walter Reed | This Veteran’s Life

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

You can also read this on Walter Reed Army Medical Center's website

Holiday Cards to Wounded and Recovering Soldiers

 

and this on Snopes.com

Click here: Urban Legends Reference Pages: Cards for Recovering Soldiers

(and   Snopes.com  ,by the way, is where I always go to check out the veracity of any email forwards I receive....a practice taught me by my mother,thanks!Mom :)

 

So, with all the above information in hand, if you receive an email forward regarding sending Christmas cards to Walter Reed, please send one of the links above to the sender, so they will know that it is Not possible to do that.

But,all is not lost,for all the many fine folks who want to do something for our wounded warriors during this holiday season!

  On the post at  This Veteran's Life  in the comments, a commenter named 'Bigjohn Miska' had this to say:

"We here at VFW POST 8208, PO Box 653, Ruckersviile
VA 22968 will accept and deliver cards and gifts to the patients at Walter Reed and Bethesda Hospitals as well as to other hospitals where there are Patients from this war.Feel free to pass this onto all you know!"
Bigjohn

John Miska CDR
VFW Post 8208

Here's the website from John   http://www.adoptasoldier.us/ 

 

the website at Walter Reed with the information about not accepting Christmas cards also lists several ways To do something for our wounded soldiers for the holidays.

 

And, as a member of   Soldiers Angels  , I would like to pass on that Soldiers Angels has a program in place for sending cards and letters to wounded warriors not just at the holiday season, but all throughout the year

Click here: Soldiers' Angels - Wounded TLC Team

 

So,even though you Can't send a Christmas card to 'Any Wounded Soldier', there are still plenty of ways you Can do something to let our wounded know that they are cared about, and that they are not forgotten, this holiday season.

UPDATE:  If you have a group that is interested in sending a bunch of cards? or just want to send them yourself, you can send them in UNSEALED envelopes (so they can be checked first) to be delivered to the wounded at the hospital in Landstuhl,Germany.

That address is:

21st TSC, Medical Transient Detachment
ATTN: Soldiers' Angels
UNIT 23203
APO AE 09263

(and here's the website for Landstuhl Regional Medical Center)

My thanks to Carol, who reminded me that this information is posted at Soldiers Angels Germany.  Check out more at MaryAnn's posts here

and here


Tags: , ,

Posted by at 2 comments:

Friday, November 23, 2007

Soldiers Angels Web Surfing

Hope everyone had an enjoyable day yesterday!

This week's  Soldier Angels  web surf is going to be short (as everyone breathes a sigh of relief,lol :) my work schedule got changed at the last minute, so I'm rearranging my life in a hurry in order to go in early.

MaryAnn has a nice post up

 

and then Michelle Malkin has a very sobering opinion piece, which I'm including because it mentions what Soldiers Angels has done (along with other groups and charities) for the Johnson family

 
and as ever, please keep the Johnson family in your prayers.
 
 
Fbl has the final fundraising totals for Valour IT
 
 
 
Soldiers Angels Texas has a post about a program I wasn't aware of before
 
 
 
Don't forget Greta's Mardi Gras program :)
 
 
 
and here's news from Soldiers Angels network about holiday greeting cards
 
 
 
This week's featured blog will be  Angels in Arizona  , they're posting some good stuff there :)
 
Enjoy the surf!
----------
 
For other links? I also got a short  Hooah Roundup post up over at Hooah Wife and Friends today
 
 
 
and we got our link from our Stars and Stripes holiday message for Dustin
 
 
(and as I mention over on Hooah Wife, you can send your own holiday message to a currently serving soldier here )
 
 
Hope everyone has a good weekend!
 
 
 
Posted by at No comments:

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing everyone a wonderful day, filled with food,laughter, and family and friends...and...Food!

I'm thankful today for all the wonderful people I've gotten to know online, like each of You!

 

And, in the spirit of

 

Today is the last day for this program from America Supports You

THE ASY GIVING THANKS CAMPAIGN
This holiday season, America Supports You is giving you a new way to send your thanks to the troops - by text message! When you send your message of thanks to 89279 (TXASY) between November 17th and 22nd, you'll receive a special thanks in return. Also, we'll be displaying those messages on our ASY Giving Thanks widget far and wide across the internet. Just another way that you can support our brave military men and women serving in 177 countries across the world

 

Posted by at 2 comments:

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Wednesday Hero

Welcome to this week's installment where all the member bloggers of Wednesday Hero collectively honor many of the real hero's found in this country who's names and bio's have been provided to us for these humble tributes by blogroll creator Indian Chris @ Right Wing and Right Minded.


Many of them are those that have paid the ultimate price for our country protecting it both here and abroad from the many threats we face from our enemies wishing us and them harm, some are not. In either case they are the real American heroes of today and we now both salute and offer our prayers. To join us if you wish to please start by reading the post below.(Introduction courtesy of  Chicago Ray )
 
 

Spc. Roger G. Ling

 

Spc. Roger G. Ling 20 years old from Douglaston, New York Company C, 1st Battalion, 34th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team February 19, 2004  

      

When Spc. Roger G. Ling's Humvee was struck by a homemade bomb in October of 2003, he survived the attack and he worked to keep his superior officer, Lt. Matt Homa, alive.  

  Spc. Ling was riding in the backseat of the Humvee when it was hit. It destroyed Lt. Homa's door.  

 "It almost killed me. From what I've been told, Roger helped keep me awake until my medic arrived." said Lt. Homa. "Ling was a good kid. You could count on him to do anything."  

Spc. Ling was killed, along with Second Lieutenant Jeffrey C. Graham of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, when their unit came under fire from insurgents in Khalidiyah, Iraq. Only two miles from where he'd survived the attack just four months earlier.  

 Leona Ling said she was grateful her brother came home in August of 2003 just before leaving for Iraq. "He had to have his tonsils taken out," she said. "It was a blessing in disguise because we got to see him again."   In phone calls home, the soldier spoke wistfully of returning to New York and going to college. "He wanted to hear about what was going on at home and all the latest family gossip," Leona Ling recalled. Survivors include his father, Wai Ling, a U.S. Army veteran.      

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.

 

We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

 

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your blog, you can go here.

 

Posted by at No comments:

Monday, November 19, 2007

A Visit with a Milblogging Friend and fellow Soldiers Angel

Had a milblogging buddy (and fellow Soldiers Angel  )visit with us this weekend, and had a Great time! 

She's my friend, Courtney, and blogs over at   Cat is my co-pilot

We took her up to  Skyline Drive  and got some great pictures up there, I think.

It's always so much fun to see in person the folks you talk to so often online!

Thanks for coming to visit,Courtney!! :) We loved seeing you!

Posted by at 6 comments:

Friday, November 16, 2007

Soldiers Angels Web Surfing

Blog posts I wanted to highlight both by and about   Soldiers Angels

The two Big news items to pass on about Soldiers Angels are:   Patti Patton-Bader winning the Microsoft Above and Beyond Award.

Click here: Microsoft Above and Beyond Effort Award: Patti Patton-Bader

 

(and for information about All the winners, you can go here:

Click here: Microsoft Above and Beyond Awards winners

and especially check out my friend Paulette :)

Click here: Microsoft Above and Beyond USO Promotion and Success Award: Paulette Nelson

(who blogs here  Click here: Yahoo! 360° - My Rambling Mind   )

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

and the other big news is:  that the Army won the online competition for fundraising for Valour IT ! Yay!

Click here: BLACKFIVE: Army Victory

-----------

This was a nice tribute to a member of  Soldiers Angels

Click here: Cohenside: A Soldier's Angel

--------

And Soldiers Angels Texas has a good post up.

Click here: SOLDIERS' ANGELS TEXAS: Dallas VA Stand Down 2007

-----------

Two Ways to Send Holiday Messages to the Troops 

 (and a reminder, Walter Reed Army Medical Center does NOT accept Christmas cards mailed "To Any Soldier" )

"Text the Troops" from Soldiers Angels New York

Click here: Soldiers Angels New York: Text The Troops

 

or, if you personally have a deployed soldier (as we do, big shout out to Dustin!) Soldiers Angels Germany tells of a Stars and Stripes program to send a message to Your soldier.

Click here: Soldiers' Angels Germany: I Will Be Your Soldier

--------

and,because we are Finally going to visit with each other this weekend,Yay! This week's featured blog will be   Cat is my co-pilot

That's all, enjoy the 'surf'.

 

 

 

 

 

Posted by at No comments:

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Negative Press about Soldiers Angels

A disturbing story has arisen in the past week regarding Soldiers Angels, and as a member of Soldiers Angels who has both on this blog and elsewhere on the Internet been a vocal proponent of the Soldiers Angels organization as a charity worth recommending to others, I feel led to weigh in with my thoughts about the story.

The story starts here, with a post on ROK Drop

http://rokdrop.com/2007/11/10/veterans-charities-failing-troops/

What caught my eye in that post was this:

"What really surprised me was that the charity group Soldiers’ Angels which is a very well known charitable organization promoted by many milblogs received a D grade."

I was anxious to see Why Soldiers Angels received a "D" grade? so I found the website for the American Institute of Philanthropy.

 
What I found on their website was that for a payment of $3 (to cover postage and handling) I could get a 'Sample' copy of their  "Charity Rating Guide and Watchdog Report" 
 
and I realized that sending the $3 would give me no guarantee that any information about their rating for Soldiers Angels would be included in that 'Sample' report.
 
OK, so how Do I receive a copy of the full report?  Well, I have to donate at least $40 to become a member.
 
and then I can receive a copy of the full "Charity Rating Guide and Watchdog Report."
 
I'm not prepared to spend $40 right now in order to gain a copy of their report, but if there's anyone out there who has done so? I'd sure like to hear If AIP lists in the report Why they gave Soldiers Angels a "D" rating? (Because I'm not sure,from the listing on this link here 
 
if they even Have a rating on Soldiers Angels listed in the Report? Soldiers Angels is not included in that list.)
 
I found something else on the AIP 'home' page that upset me, this article:
 
 
Soldiers Angels gave their response to this article  here
 
--------------
 
 
 I haven't seen too many bloggers mentioning this yet,but
Greta was the first to respond,with this post
 
 
and please go read her entire post, as she includes links in it to ABC's original story,ABC's follow-up story,the video from ABC (in None of which, I might add, Soldiers Angels was mentioned) and there is also a link to the report card from AIP  which simply lists Soldiers Angels as having a 'D' rating,without saying Why.
 
 
and then Holly,who is The penultimate 'blogging Soldiers Angel',IMHO, posts, and questions whether the AIP report card affected giving to the Valour IT project this year
 
 
and Holly has more indepth coverage than I of what is on the AIP website, plus be sure and check out the comments on her post.  It's in those comments that I was led to this post by Sister Toldjah Click here: Sister Toldjah » Project Valour-IT update
 
which led me to this post by lawhawk 
 
which made me aware that Soldiers Angels financials are available online here
 
 
I am not in any way qualified to make a comment on the Soldiers Angels financials, but I wanted to be sure that people are aware that this information Is freely and readily available online.(or,in other words...you don't have to pay $40 to view it.)
 
There are also several good comments on Holly's post by Beth at 
 
one of which mentions the BBB Wise Giving Report
 
When I decided to become a member of Soldiers Angels over two years ago, I came across this BBB Report while researching whether SA was a charity I could commit to, and I agree with Beth's comment on Holly's post, that the BBB's reservations about Soldiers Angels primarily seemed to be concerned with 'paperwork stuff."  I read the report back in 2005, and decided that I could in good conscience become a member of Soldiers Angels, and support them.
 
And,despite this current negative press about Soldiers Angels, I still believe in the organization and what they are doing.
 
Because,for me, the bottom line is encompassed in one sentence here in the post on Soldiers Angels Network about Patti Patton-Bader winning the Microsoft Above and Beyond Award
 
" Since (2003), the group's 100,000 members have sent tens of thousands of care packages and hundreds of thousands of letters to make sure no soldier is forgotten while serving."
 
And that's really what it's all about for me, and why I continue to be proud to say that I'm a member of   Soldiers Angels
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

Posted by at 1 comment:

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Wednesday Hero

Welcome to this week's installment where all the member bloggers of Wednesday Hero collectively honor many of the real hero's found in this country who's names and bio's have been provided to us for these humble tributes by blogroll creator Indian Chris @ Right Wing and Right Minded.


Many of them are those that have paid the ultimate price for our country protecting it both here and abroad from the many threats we face from our enemies wishing us and them harm, some are not. In either case they are the real American heroes of today and we now both salute and offer our prayers. To join us if you wish to please start by reading the post below.(Introduction courtesy of  Chicago Ray )
 
 

Cpl. Jordan M. Moehnle

 

Cpl. Jordan M. Moehnle 21 years old from Los Angeles, California Company L, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 6 ("Darkhorse" Battalion)
 
 
 
 Cpl. Jordan M. Moehnle takes time out of leading his squad in a patrol through Fallujah's Nazaal district to spend some time interacting with local children.
 
 
Moehnle, who is on his second tour in Iraq, said the changes he has witnessed since he was last here in 2006 have been dramatic. "The city was like the Wild West, we'd put our heads and and drive down (the middle of Fallujah) and hope not to get shot," he said. "Since we've been here (this year), we can stop and shoot the breeze." You can read more here.
 
 
 
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
 
 We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived
 
 
This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your blog, you can go here.
 
 
Posted by at No comments:

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Hunts for Heroes in the News!

Billy sends a link to a news story done on Hunts for Heroes this past weekend.

http://www.khou.com/sharedcontent/VideoPlayer/showVideo.php?vidId=191871

The Hunt for Heroes website is here


 

 

Posted by at No comments:

Monday, November 12, 2007

"Mardi Gras to Go"-Soldiers Angels Style!

 

The tireless Greta of  Soldiers Angels Louisiana has, fittingly (it IS Louisiana,after all :) announced

Operation Overseas Mardi Gras 2008

Here's the press release:

United States of America (Press Release) November 12, 2007 -- The Louisiana website of Soldiers' Angels   http://soldiersangelsla.org/   has launched "Operation Overseas Mardi Gras 2008" today, Veteran's Day. We ask all those who enjoy the Mardi Gras to gather items for a "Mardi Gras to Go!" As groups organize packages and collect money to offset shipping costs, Soldiers' Angels http://soldiersangels.org  will provide addresses for overseas units wanting to participate and join in the Mardi Gras spirit!
 

And Greta has this to say in her   post   about it:

If you would like to help organize a “Mardi Gras” to go package (beads, signs, hats, cakes, whatever) contact Greta gretaperry@gmail.com

Packages would need to out no later than January 12th. Get your friends, co-workers whoever, gather up a bunch of stuff, try and raise money for shipping and we will supply the addresses!


This site  says:   Carnival celebration starts on January 6, the Twelfth Night (feast of Epiphany); and picks up speed until Midnight on Mardi Gras, the day before Ash Wednesday. (which will be Feb. 5,2008 )

 

Soldiers Angels Louisiana has a few photos from a Mardi Gras celebration by a deployed LouisianaNational Guard unit last year in the post about this

and go check out the website where the pictures were borrowed from, because there's Lots more pictures there!

 


Posted by at 6 comments:

Sunday, November 11, 2007

For Veteran's Day

 

Yesterday, as my friend at Random Threads mentions  here (in a very good post), we Were going to go to DC for the 25th anniversary of the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Wall, but for several reasons, we ended up not going.

However, I wanted to take a moment to remember all our Veteran's,

and also to particularly remember the Veteran's in my own family.

 

Grandad, who served in WW II in the Navy

(and I've written before about his service here)

Click here: Some of My Family History,Grandad in WW II (Updated)

 

My aunt Lynn, who served as an Army Nurse in Vietnam

(and I've also written about her service to our country)

Click here: For My Aunt...A Thank You to an Army Nurse Corps Vietnam Veteran

 

My Dad, Mark,who was a pilot in the Army from 1961-64.

 

And my fiancee,Tony, who served in the Army from 1984-88.

 

Tony's brother,Chris, also served in the Army (not sure of the dates) and here he is pictured with Tony and Dustin(who is now continuing the tradition of service to our country.)

Tony and Chris's brother, Mark, served in the Navy.

I was talking to Mom and Dad earlier, and was reminded of how Many Veterans we have in our family.  Dad's brother Ray served in the Navy in WW II,  his brother Bob served in the Marines in WW II, and his brother Tommy served in the Army in Korea.

And his brother Bill died in the Battle of the Bulge in WW II, serving in the Army.

Dad also has 3 nephews who are veterans...Michael served in the Air Force, Steve served in the Army, and Rick served in the Gulf War.

All in all, I think my family has a very rich history of service to our country, of which I'm very proud, and on this Veteran's Day, to them

and to all those who are Veterans

I just wanted to say   THANK YOU

 

Posted by at 7 comments:

Saturday, November 10, 2007

More on "Band of Bloggers"

Sean at Doc in the Box has a roundup with links to some of the blogs (see my previous post) Thanks! Sean:)

Click here: Doc in the Box: Just finished Band of Bloggers

and I,like Sean, tried Googling, and also  Milblogging.com , to see if I could hunt down any more links. (I actually watched the show again last night at midnight, just to write down all the names they flashed during the show,LOL :)

I,of course, recognized Michael Fumento's name,that link was easy to find:

Click here: Michael Fumento.com - Weblog

 

and it looks like 'Charlie Maib" is a SPC who's in the Public Affairs Office?

Click here: Cav Country

 
 
JD Johannes name seemed to ring a bell, I found a link from Blackfive
 
 
egg on my face for not recognizing that one right away,LOL, and I found a direct link
 
 
 
Bobby Statum seems to be a photographer who is SGT Bobby Statum?
 
 
 
and between what Sean and I found, it seems the only links we couldn't hunt down or people we couldn't get a lead on were Matt Russo and Jeff Tanner. (If you have links,please email me:)
 
I recognized Spott Hover's name, I think I've featured before the link to "IED Hunter",hilarious:)
 
 
 
Because I'm somewhat 'anal-retentive',LOL, I'm going to list all the names I wrote down from the show, with appropriate links, to make it easy for you.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Spott Hover (see "IED Hunter" link above)
 
 
 
Charlie Maib (see links above)
 
Jeff Tanner
 
Matt Russo
 
 
 
 
 
Update: And Sean tracked down what others are saying here
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

Posted by at 1 comment:

Friday, November 9, 2007

"Band of Bloggers"

Just finished watching   Band of Bloggers on the History Channel

 and it's worth watching!! 

( HAD to watch it, LOL, as my good friend Sean from  Doc in the Box  is in it!)  No, seriously, I Wanted to see it, and totally forgot to pimp it out ahead of time.

It's on all weekend,though, so there's still time for you to watch it!!  Here's the schedule:

Friday, November 09
08:00 PM
Saturday, November 10
12:00 AM
Monday, November 12
12:00 PM
Monday, November 12
06:00 PM

I thought the show was very well done, and dang, it sure 'took me back' to 'the early days' of milblogs.....which wasn't all that long ago, was it?

I can still remember the first time I came across Sean's blog, and how he encouraged me to become a member of  Soldiers Angels. (and who had a clue,then, that someday I'd meet him in person? certainly not me:)

And I can still remember crying as I read  Rusten Currie's posts about losing

COLWilliam W. Wood
CPT Michael MacKinnon
CPT Raymond Hill
SPC Shakere Guy

 
------
By the way, seeing as how it's a show about Bloggers, wouldn't ya think somewhere on the History Channel they'd have links to the blogs that were featured in the show?  Just a thought. Although I applaud the 'old media' featuring the 'new media', I'm just thinking it could've been a little more 'wired'?
 
Anyway.....Try and check the show out!
 
Posted by at 1 comment:

Soldiers Angels Web Surfing

My weekly 'meme' with a list of postings by and about  Soldiers Angels  in the blogosphere.

Not a definitive list, because there's tons of stuff out there, but what I thought was worth passing on.

Valour IT

The list is endless, of bloggers posting about the fundraising competition that continues through Nov.11, this was cute :)

Click here: Soldiers Angels New York: Not The Kittens!

 

The 'Head Angel' speaks on Powerline

 Click here: Power Line: A word from Patti Patton-Bader

 

and is featured on The Radio Patriot

Click here: The Radio Patriot: MEET PATTI PATTON BADER
THE GENERAL'S GRAND NIECE

 

And Congratulations! are in order for Patti

Click here: Random Thoughts: Congratulations Patti!

(and although she's not a Soldiers Angel, another online friend who is a true 'Angel' is ALSO a winner...Congratulations! too, to Paulette :)

Click here: Yahoo! 360° - My Rambling Mind - It's Official

 

More Christmas Stuff!

Soldiers Angels Louisiana (which by the way is also the ' Featured Blog of the Week ' this upcoming week here on my blog)  posts about the upcoming Holiday

Click here: Soldiers’ Angels Louisiana » Thinking Holidays & About our Heroes?

 

Great update on a Soldiers Angels project here!

Click here: View from the 8th Floor: Could you?

 

and someone who lost her fiancee in Iraq, is thinking of others

Click here: Cool, Calm & Collected...: Christmas Card List:

 

A Mention of Soldiers Angels

by a very  good ('new- to -me') deployed blogger

Click here: 6 Months in Kabul: Soldiers' Angels

 

I Have No Words

The Johnson family, mentioned before here , sadly lost their last surviving child.  Soldiers Angels VA Team has a posting up (scroll down)

Click here: Soldiers' Angels VA Team: Johnson Family needs our Prayers

 if you pray? please  keep them in your prayers. It's simply unimaginable.

 

 

 

 

 

Posted by at No comments:

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Reason Number 300 I Love the Internet :)

I was contacted out of the blue several days ago by a proud Air Force Mom(and Air Force Mom-in Law:)  who came across my AOL blog while searching for the Christmas mailing deadlines for this year.

After reading some of my blog, she sent me an email titled 'Some Angels to Share", with a poem that she wrote for her son while he was away at school...not knowing that later that same year he'd be deployed to Iraq. 

 She said that her own words in the poem brought her much comfort during that year, and she was passing it on to me in case it might give me hope and comfort in the time ahead.

(plus she also said that I could freely use it however I wished. And so, I am sharing this Mom's poem with all of you.)

A Message in the *Twinkle* by Debra Estep  2-28-03

Child of mine

Out of the reach of this mama's hugs.

Look up to the stars at night.

I've beamed a message of

love there.

 

 

On the nights when the stars

are hidden behind clouds

I'm still reminded of you.

You are hidden from my view,

yet I trust in the beating of your heart.

We shared heartbeats for nine months

and became forever bonded.

 

 

The twinkle of the stars

are a comfort to me from

God above.

Child, see the stars and feel my hugs.

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

 

Debra also sent a picture of an 'Angel of Protection' drawing that she had offered to a rubber stamp designer, Pamela, who then created a rubber stamp design from it.

 

 

You can find the designer's site and the rubber stamp design here

 

Angel Stamp Set - Pamela's site
http://tinyurl.com/28kubq

 

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

Pretty cool,huh? :)  And This is reason number 300 that I love the Internet..it brings 'angels' into your life unexpectedly!

 

Thank you, Debra!

 

 

 
Posted by at 3 comments:

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Wednesday Hero

Welcome to this week's installment where all the member bloggers of Wednesday Hero collectively honor many of the real hero's found in this country who's names and bio's have been provided to us for these humble tributes by blogroll creator Indian Chris @ Right Wing and Right Minded.


Many of them are those that have paid the ultimate price for our country protecting it both here and abroad from the many threats we face from our enemies wishing us and them harm, some are not. In either case they are the real American heroes of today and we now both salute and offer our prayers. To join us if you wish to please start by reading the post below.(Introduction courtesy of  Chicago Ray )
 

Army Spc. Eric S. McKinley

Army Spc. Eric S. McKinley 24 years old from Corvallis, Oregon Company B, 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry Regiment, Army National Guard June 13, 2004

 
 
 
An avid outdoorsman, Spc. McKinley worked as a baker at Alpine Bakery in Corvallis, Ore.
 
Upon his return from Iraq, he hoped to open a juice bar in the college town to provide a drug and alcohol-free environment for young people. Friends and co-workers remember Spc. McKinley as a quiet, caring young man who dyed his hair, sported several tattoos and loved ska and rock music. His senior yearbook picture showed a grinning young man with spiked hair dyed red and green. In other 1998 yearbook pictures, he has purple and blue hair in a mohawk.
 
 Spc. Eric McKinley was killed when a roadside bomb north of Baghdad detonated destroying two vehicles and wounded four other Oregon soldiers. They were identified as Staff Sgt. Phillip Davis, 23, of Albany; Sgt. Matthew Zedwick, 23, of Bend; Cpl. Shane Ward, 23, of Corvallis and Pvt. Richard Olsen, 23, of Independence.
 
 Almost 500 people attended the memorial service for Spc. McKinley at Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. There was a mix of people dressed in either military or punk attire — including McKinley’s six-year-old cousin, who, in tribute, wore his hair in a bright green mohawk.
 
 Coventry Pacheco, McKinley’s fiancee, sat in the first row at his celebration-of-life service. They hadn’t set a wedding date, but were planning to get married.
 
 He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious service, a Purple Heart and the Oregon Distinguished Service Award. U.S. and Oregon flags were presented to his parents, Tom McKinley of Salem and Karen Hilsendager of Philomath.
 
 
 

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.

 

 We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

 

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your blog, you can go here.

 

Posted by at No comments:

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

A "Round-Up" (more like a "Catch Up" :)

My inboxes in various email accounts have been piling up to the point where I was like 'Auggghh! I'll Never catch up!" but I think I may have finally pared it down to where I can point out some interesting things for you to check out.

(It doesn't help that I also email links to myself,LOL, because I'm already writing a future blog post in my head when I see them....I know, I could bookmark them, but I already have so many bookmarks.... once in awhile I go through them and think 'now Why did I save this again?' and it's just another Blank in my head by then...I get those Blanks, but let's not talk about That any longer:)

I think I do better with these types of posts if I get a 'theme' idea before I start it...but this Isn't one of those times... so here's just a jumble of both serious and frivolous stuff.

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

Another Soldiers Angel sent me two links that I thought were worth passing on,Thank You, CT Soldiers Angel :)

(This one you may have seen, but worth another look, or a first look, if you haven't)

Proud Young American

And this one is from a young man who was on the HBO 'Alive Day' special

Michael Jernigan - Home Fires - Veterans - Iraq - Opinion - New York Times Blog

 

This is a longtime Canadian Soldiers Angel friend that I've been urging to start a blog, or a webpage, or Something! for awhile, she's finally getting started,Yay!

 

Hat Tip goes to Steve at  The D-Ring  for this link

 
and H/T to same for...wait for it....The CIA's 'Terrorist Buster' Logo
 
(and he credits  Danger Room  , who credits  Wonkette ,who credits...well, just keep clicking  the links ,LOL I'm starting to get dizzy trying to follow this back to the original source:)
 
 
This is a gentleman in Australia that I've been following for the last 3 years, I've mentioned him before, but he's Such a cool 93 year old!!
 
 
 
Here's a news release on the SA website about 
 
 
and if you've never checked that out, you should :) Good stuff!
 
 
A good friend of mine sent a link to this, off the wall, but I liked it :)
 
 
 
This is going around as an email forward, but I managed through Google to find someone who had found the original blog post, just darn funny!
 
 
 
Here's a link to a video from the Patriot Fest held in Lakeway,TX back in October, I mentioned the Patriot Fest when I was mentioning the auction on eBay to win a round a golf with Rory Sabbatini (which apparently no one wanted to play him,sigh, no one bid, but hey! looks like the Patriot Fest turned out great anyway!)
 
 
 
Lastly, although I posted about the  American Freedom Festival   show coming up this Saturday, I won't be able to attend that because I'm working that evening.
 
However, we Will be able to attend This in the morning
 
(and hopefully someone Else will be operating the camera besides  me , LOL.  Plus, Yay! it looks like we'll be hooking up with at least one of my online buddies there, it's always so great to see 'the imaginary people in the computer' in Person,isn't it? :)
 
Well, whether you want to call this a 'round up', a 'catch up', or a 'jumble'....this is it!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Posted by at 2 comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)