Fabulous Army Life

It's nearing Welcome and Farewell season in our unit again so spouses are busily planning events for incoming and outgoing ladies. A big part of one of these events is the nametag. It usually matches the theme of the evening, is generally hand-made, and encompasses everyone that RSVPs for the event (plus a few blank extras just in case someone shows up that didn't RSVP or was missed on the RSVP list). I have a dear friend who believes whole-heartedly in the "nametag of shame." If you don't RSVP, you get a substandard nametag. =) We joke that she'll just scribble your name on a post-it if you show up without an RSVP, but it's usually just a hand-written version of the pre-printed originals.  * Note here that it IS proper protocol to RSVP for every event you are invited to within 48 hours at best, but at least by the event start time.  Hosts have worked hard to make each event pleasant for their guests and it really is the least you can do to let them ...

In today's society, everybody has an opinion on ... well, just about every imaginable topic.  With the help of blogs, Facebook, Twitter, surveys, comments, and posts, we can declare our opinions on everything from Whitney Houston's death to troops in Afghanistan to child-rearing to product reviews.  We like things on Facebook, we retweet on Twitter, and we comment on blog posts, news articles, and video clips. These constant opportunities to share our opinions have caused me to wonder ... who do we think we are?  Why is it that we even have an opinion about, let's say ... Whitney Houston?  For the vast majority of us, we don't know her.  We've never met her or held a conversation with her.  We may have seen her in concert or in a movie or read about her in those oh-so-reliable tabloid magazines, but really ... Why would we ever presume we could voice a reasonable opinion about her?  Yet post after post on news articles about her death proclaim lo...

My 3rd grader was asked to create a box at home to collect his Valentines during his February 14 classroom party. He was reluctant to get started, envisioning pink frothy boxes and glittery hearts. So we looked around online and found this super cute idea from Family Fun ... a Valentine locker! He was immediately motivated and even decided to add a few glittery heart stickers just to top it off.