I know I have posted about military working dogs before but I saw this video and decided these canine heroes needed to be featured again.
Along with our brave men and women serving our country and protecting all of us, these dogs deserve our respect and thanks too. They find roadside bombs and help to save the lives of our military.
Once their service is done they are available for adoption and prove to make great pets. If you are interested in adopting one of these canine heroes go here.
So after trying to figure out how much it would cost to register LCpl Honda’s car we finally went to take it to the DMV a couple of weeks ago. I was happy thinking, alright this will be done, and we will not have to worry about it anymore.
So. I. Thought.
I get in the car and go to start the car and…nothing. The battery is dead. Ok. So, we will jump it, except it is in the garage parked next to a boat, so we cannot get close to it. Corvette says it is ok because he has six-foot jumper cables and they should reach.
They. Do. Not.
We tried with his truck but the cables would just not reach. So, we tried with my VW. After inching my car right up behind Local Honda’s car and pull hard on the cables, we finally have success and get the car started. Peace and happiness again.
So. We. Think.
We head off to the DMV and get inside feeling lucky because there is hardly anyone there. I walk up to the desk and explain for the umpteenth time since this deployment started that my son is serving in the military and currently deployed, I have Power of Attorney and we would like to register his car. She asked for the car title. Now you see, the car is leased. The leasing company has the title.
Holy. #%@$%*&.%@*&.
The woman tells me I need a Power of Attorney from the leasing company. All I can think is the nightmare I already went through with the leasing company concerning his car payment when LCpl Honda first left. I envision the company refusing to speak to me again and me having to fax my POA AGAIN and wait AGAIN for several days while the POA gets to the correct person and they agree talk to me. Not only that, I have no idea if they will even agree to send me their POA.
Well, we go home feeling defeated again. I pick up the phone. I make the call. I speak to a very nice young man. Insert drumroll here. He agrees to send me the POA!!!!
Fast forward to today. The car is registered and I am happy once again. I am so done with this deployment though. But I have learned. Oh yes, I learned.
Just writing this to say I will be back after Christmas. I am really busy right now preparing for the Holiday and taking care of more of LCpl Honda’s business. I have more deployment hell stories so be sure and check back.
I am also working on juliannah by design. I set up my domain and I am working on getting the site up and running. I’m having a little trouble with the HTML. I also need to install a bunch of plugins. The URL will be juliannahbydesign.net. I could not find out were the .com domain is being hosted and could not change the name servers so I had to go the .net route.
Everyone have a Merry Christmas!
Have a Merry Christmas!
I received a direct message on Twitter today from Angela Alegna. She is a singer and a patriot. She is involved with America Helping Heroes. This is charity that helps returning veterans deal with the aftermath of war. They believe that the troops that have sacrificed for us should not be forgotten, instead should be helped to have happy, productive lives.
After Vietnam the vets were left to deal with the frustrations of fighting in a war by themselves. On top of that, they were not even thanked for the sacrifice they made. Thank goodness that is not the case with our returning military today.
America Helping Heroes has chapters all over the country in each state. The help returning military with healthcare, legal matters, raise funds for military in need and even help with employment for vets. Please visit America Helping Heroes and see if you can help.
This is Angela’s Christmas video thanking the troops. You can follow her on twitter @ahheroes
My cellphone rang yesterday and I did not recognize the number. Most of the time I do not answer it. I hate being bothered by salespeople and such. But for some reason I felt compelled to answer the phone. Thank goodness I did because it was LCpl Honda calling from somewhere on the other side of the world. Oh happy day!
He told me he only had 10 minutes to talk and then launched into a myriad of OSPEC rules and how he can’t say much. My replies to all that:
“Yea.”
“Gotcha.”
“I know.”
“I won’t.” etc. etc. etc.
My thoughts were let’s just talk here. I have not talked to you for 2 months. Anyway we finally had a real conversation and he is well and happy. Finally got all his financial business taken care of and he was really happy to find out I was successful in acquiring his high school transcripts that he needs for reenlistment. I do not know but I think that is coming up soon.
Anyway the call was a great surprise and he also told me I would get another one real soon. So I’m guessing it will be a very Merry Christmas for this deployed Marine’s mommie!
I found this story on Foxnews.com. Starting on December 8 this showcases 12 ideas for giving this Christmas season. Many involve the troops, their families, wounded warriors and veterans. I know I am a little late, but better late than never.
Day 12. Send a video message to the troops.
Ed Deet, owner of Video View Productions started this service for a friend who wanted to send a video to a buddy serving in Iraq. Go here to send a video.
Day 11. Offer comfort and support to families of fallen military.
TAPS, Tragedy assistance Program for Survivors helps families after the loss of their military loved one. Go here to find out how to donate to TAPS.
Day 10. Helping care for military wounded in battle.
Wounded Warriors Project help the wounded military with rehabilitation. The foundation helps military learn to ski amoung other things. Visit Wounded Warriors to help troops with rehabilitation.
Day 9. Help build a home for a military member wounded in combat.
Homes for Troops is a relatively new charity that build “compatible homes” for wounded troops. It is important for a soldier with disabilities to have a home that will make life easier. To find out how you can help go here.
Day 8. Help build goodwill between troops and Iraqis.
Spirit of American give tools, books and cameras to the troop to help build goodwill and relationships with the Iraqi people. Visit Spirit of America to see how you can donate.
Day 7. Purchase two books that benefit cancer research.
“Why I Wore Lipstick” was written by Geralyn Lucas to share her story about surviving cancer.
“Robert’s Snow” was written by Grace Lin for her husband, Robert Mercer after he was diagnosed with cancer.
Day 6. Buy presents with a purpose.
Go to Presents with a Purpose and buy gifts that donate 25% of the sales to the charity that the customer can pick. This organization has donated over $40,000 to charities.
Day 5. Support women rebuilding their lives in war torn countries.
Women for Women helps women overcome the devastating effects of was by giving them tools to allow them to make a difference in their lives and their communities.
Day 4. Help families of fallen troops.
Jonathan Durand, a freelance artist from Michigan has designed a print called “Home of the Free,” as tribute to our soldiers in Iraq. He’s donating a portion of the proceeds from the sale of his print to military families who’ve had their loved ones killed or wounded in Iraq.
To order send $10.00 plus $3.00 for shipping to following address:
Home of the Brave LLC.
P.O. Box 12
Clawson, MI 48017
Day 3. Give gift baskets to seniors and disabled children.
Volunteers of America assembled hundreds of gift baskets for homebound seniors in the Denver area.
Replay for Kids collects toys and then repair and adapt toys for children with disabilities in Northeast Ohio.
Volunteers of America
2660 Larimer Street
Denver, CO 80205
For more information, call (303) 297-0408
http://www.voacolorado.org/
RePlay for Kids
600 W. Sturbridge Drive
Medina, OH 44256
For more information, call (866) 973-7529
http://www.replayforkids.org/
Day 2. Keep our deployed troops connected with their families at home.
Connecting Our Troops Campaign send phone cards to U.S. troops overseas.
To donate to the Connecting Our Troops Campaign — send checks payable to AT&T to the following address:
WNY AFL-CIO Area Labor Federation
295 Main Street, Room 832
Ellicott Square Building
Buffalo, NY 14203
For more information, call 716-852-0375.
Day 1.
Send care packages to the troops overseas.
There is nothing better than receiving a package from home. I know because I just spoke to my deployed son and he was thrilled to get his Christmas package, Here is a list of organization that send care packages to our troops.
Like I said before not everything listed here is for troops but helping cancer victims (I know as my granddaughter, Butterfly survived cancer) or helping seniors, (my parents are seniors) I believe giving is part of the Christmas season. When you give, you receive so much in return.
Merry Christmas!
This week started out with a real bang. We had a fierce storm early Monday morning bringing close to hurricane force winds, downed trees and mud rain to the Desert Southwest. I recounted the whole experience on juliannahbydesign. My other blog is still in transition so if you cannot get to it check back in a few days.
The rest of the week was uneventful except Corvette came down with a nasty cold, for the fourth time this year! He tells me there are many people at his work who are sick and that is why he keeps catching it. As for me, I have managed to dodge the bullet each time. Knock on wood! I just walk around trying to avoid touching anything he touches and even spent a couple of nights on the couch to avoid the germ fest in our bedroom. At least he is feeling better now, so hopefully there will be no more sickness this year.
Saturday was Cinderella’s wedding shower; complete with, of course a Cinderella theme. My daughter’s BFF, Navy Girl and soon to be 
MIL threw the shower and along with some great food, we had glass slipper favors, a rum vanilla cake and a surprise visit from a special friend that Cinderella has not seen in awhile.
We played lots of games which included: Bridal Charades, another one trying to not mention the Bride and Groom’s actual names (in which case we would lose the diamond ring on a ribbon to the person catching us saying the names), and my personal favorite, dressing each other in toilet paper wedding gowns. We had teams for that one and I will tell you why it was my favorite. I got to be one that was dressed and guess what? I won! My prize? A pumpkin coach candle. My team consisted of Cinderella’s future SIL and one of Lolly Pop
Kid’s daycare teachers. They designed my gown complete with a train and veil. I even had a bouquet! Butterfly got to be dressed as a bride too. Cinderella’s future NIL was the third bride. Personally, I thought we all looked incredible considering it was toilet paper!
Six weeks until the wedding and considering how much fun the shower was, I know the wedding will be perfect!
Today’s Sunday Brunch is Man-Size Manicotti. If you ever saw the movie Grumpier Old Men, you know what I am talking about. Also, this manicotti has meat in the shells, not just cheese. Corvette is anything but a Vegan and meatless meals do not appeal to him. One time we went to eat at a local Italian restaurant and he ordered manicotti. I forget to tell him that it is usually made with cheese. Needless to say he did not really enjoy his dinner that night. Just another reason mine is called:
Man-Size Manicotti
1 box manicotti pasta
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 pound hamburger
1 15oz tub of ricotta cheese
2 tbls spoons parmesan cheese
1 tsp parsley
Brown the hamburger. Mix in about a third of the ricotta cheese and about a third of the sauce. Cook the pasta and let them cool. Spoon the hamburger mixture into the pasta. Place them in a baking dish and pour the remaining sauce over the stuffed pasta. Put the rest of the ricotta cheese on top and sprinkle with the parmesan cheese and parsley. Bake at 350 degrees for a half an hour.
That’s it. Happy Sunday Brunch!
If you try to visit my other blog juliannah by design in the next couple of days you probably will encounter a few problems. I acquired my own domain name and the blog is now in transition. I also will be moving it soon to a new web hosting site. I will post when this happens. Sorry for the inconvenience. Can not hurry technology. The new address will be juliannahbydesign.com.
It is now snowing on the Box of Chocolates! Interesting little extra from WordPress. We do not see much snow where we live so I will just have to settle for this. Plus no digging out, sliding around or blizzard!
I have really been having a block on what to post about lately. Maybe it is the time of year. I don’t know. I think I need a vacation too so I can just relax and get my mojo back. I did not really have a vacation this year. I had time off but it was not a vacation.
I also have not heard from LCpl Honda for over a month and even though I know he is fine it would be great to hear from him. If you out there LCpl Honda, I love you and miss you!
Cinderella’s wedding shower is this weekend so that should be fun. Can you guess what the theme is? It was supposed to be a surprise but Tango’s sister let it slip to Cinderella. Actually she pretty much figured it out anyway. If you know my daughter then you know why I call her Cinderella.
One last note, we had another heartbreaking family event this week. I do not want to mention it here but please say a prayer for my family. Enough already God.
Sixty-eight years ago President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered this speech. Our nation rallied together and supported our troops who in the end, got the job done.
I was not yet born so I do not remember, but I have been told that it was just a shocking and devastating as 9/11.
We must not forget.
Life is like a box of chocolates 