Can you believe it's October already? And we're talking about holiday mail? (No, just me?) Believe it or not, if you have a loved one overseas, it's not too early to start thinking about and planning care packages. The USPS just released their mailing deadlines for 2019, so you have plenty of time leading up to Christmas, Hanukkah, and the New Year. Last year, the USPS said that the post office having one busiest day of the year is an antiquated idea and doesn’t really exist anymore. Instead, they point to the two weeks prior to Christmas as being the busiest in the year. It's best Keep Reading...
Perfect Homecoming Outfits: 10 Military Spouses Tell All
Welcome Becky Hoy, founder of Brave Crate--a deployment countdown subscription box for military spouses. I'm so excited to have her on Jo, My Gosh! sharing advice and ideas for homecoming outfits. I used to have a recurring nightmare about my husband's homecoming. To be clear, the nightmare wasn’t so much about him getting home- it was really about me feeling unprepared. In this particular nightmare, I would somehow forget his homecoming date. When I suddenly realize that “today is the day," I run out of the house in pajamas and furiously speed to the Fort Bragg Green Ramp- no time to Keep Reading...
9 Worthwhile Tools to Grow and Monetize Your Niche Blog
Professional writer. That's a title that eight years ago, I wouldn't have given myself. I don't think I would have had the audacity to even think those words. Although it had been a lifelong dream of mine, I had never taken the leap. Until the military forced my hand. I was jobless and searching for a career that could move with me when I realized that Jo, My Gosh! -- a passion project I was doing on the side was actually turning into a portfolio I could use to launch a writing career through freelancing and my blog. Seven years later, I've been able to do just that. If you're Keep Reading...
13 Ways to Protect Your Finances While Traveling
We were traveling on a high-speed train in the middle of Belgium when my sister reached into her bag. John, Becky, and I were standing in the middle of the dining car, spending time watching the landscape blur by and drinking soda and beer. "My wallet," she said, her hand scrambling inside her bag to find it. "It's not here." She started removing everything from it onto the waist-high table we were standing at. Lipstick, brochures, her cell phone. But no wallet. I could feel myself start to panic for her. She went back to her seat to see if it had fallen out. Maybe it was on the floor or in Keep Reading...
Use These Awesome Ideas for Your Next Care Package
If there's a rite of passage for loving someone in the military, it's probably creating a care package. And going to at least one mandatory fun picnic where the self-proclaimed grillmaster is definitely going to make everyone sick with food poisoning, so you don't eat anything and end up leaving very sweaty and hangry. Oh, wait. Maybe that was just my rite of passage. But I digress. Back to care packages. I sent a care package to John while he was deployed before he even was deployed. (It was a whole thing. I regret nothing now. But I definitely did accidentally make John stand out Keep Reading...
Does the Post Office Really Offer Free Care Package Supplies?
If I've gotten an email or message about it once, I've gotten them five hundred times: "Dear Jo, I went to my post office and no one's heard of the free Military Care Kit. What do I do?" "This isn't a thing anymore. Just wanted to let you know." "You don't know what you're talking about. The post office doesn't give out free care package supplies." But here's the thing: the United State Postal System absolutely does give out free care package supplies. In fact, they do it in a few different ways. It all depends on what you want and where you make the request. (But honestly, it's Keep Reading...
These Amazon Prime Day Deals Are Perfect for Military Life
Y'all, Prime Day is upon us. And it's two days long this year! Even if you don't have an Amazon Prime account, it might be a great time to try it out for free. Amazon ships APO/FPO (just watch out-- there are exceptions, depending on the products). If you're cracking those textbooks open, remember that Amazon offers Prime at $6.49 a month for students--and that's not a Prime Day deal. That stands anytime. (You can also try it out as a student as a six-month free trial.) But first, two pro tips. Pro tip 1: You can save even more by using Rakuten (formerly Ebates). Amazon is a store Keep Reading...
Here’s How Military Brides Can Get Free Wedding Dresses
I did not have a "say yes to the dress moment." I had a lot of, "oh my gawd, no" moments, but when I put on the dress that I would eventually pick for our wedding, I didn't cry or get choked up. I didn't proclaim to my assembled family that this was "the one." Don't get me wrong-- I felt absolutely beautiful in it. I love the pictures from the day. I still love my dress. But I didn't have a visceral, heart-stopping moment. Not until I looked at the price-tag, at least. It was... pricey. It wasn't an outrageous amount, but it was above my initial budget. Maybe I should have expected Keep Reading...
How to Get Free Stuff for Your Next Care Package
Care packages are expensive. With a capital E-X-P-E-N-S-I-V-E. Between the contents of the package and the shipping costs, it's easy to rack up a bill that is ridiculously huge. I mean, colossal. Especially if you might send care packages on a regular basis. Or weekly. Not that I know anyone who did that. (It's me. I'm anyone.) For me, care packages were a tactile way I could send love and -- dare I say it?-- care to John while we were apart. It gave me something to focus my attention on, rather than just worrying or being upset. And it gave me a creative outlet, too. I knew that when Keep Reading...
27 Candy Swaps That Won’t Melt in Care Packages
June. That's when John stepped off the plane and onto the Bagram tarmac during his year-long deployment. June and it was already blazingly hot. Another service member was there to greet him... with a care package I had sent that beat him to Afghanistan. (It was this one!) I'm not joking. I had sent it two weeks before he deployed, sure that it would take at least a month for him to get something from me. Turns out, the mail was running exceptionally fast. And the care package that I had diligently sharpied "I love you!" onto the sides had been there, waiting for him. The service Keep Reading...
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 74
- Next Page »
