Stories & advice that feel like coming home.

Dinner on the Floor: Our First Military Christmas

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As a 2019-2021 Military Family Advisory Network Advisory Board Member, I had the chance to write about John and my very first Christmas as a married couple. This is the second post in a series titled The Resiliency of Military Families: Sharing the Whole Story. It was the first Christmas of our marriage. It also happened to be the first and only time I had eaten Christmas dinner on the floor. John and I had been married for five months but already had one PCS, one C School, two apartments, two totaled cars, and a new car purchase under our belts. Oh, and I was newly unemployed, Keep Reading...

19 Perfect Quotes for a Christmas During Deployment

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There are few military couples who have not experienced at least one holiday away from each other; and most have experienced at least one Christmas during deployment. (If you haven't, you're really lucky!  Knock on some wood!) It's easy to say that Christmas is just a day, or that the date doesn't count. While that is true, it can also be a difficult time of year if you're missing someone. Sure, you can do Christmas when they come home--and many do!-- but it can be lonely when the rest of the world seems to be getting ready for a holiday centered around home and family. If you're Keep Reading...

Everything You Need to Know About Sending Holiday Care Packages

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The tree's up. The carols are on. The presents are (mostly) bought. And there's still a care package that needs to be sent. Maybe you've been avoiding it because it reminds you of the person who won't be with you this holiday season. Maybe you just haven't gotten to it on your list yet. Maybe there's another reason. But no matter what, there's a care package--at least one-- that needs to be sent. Here's exactly what you need to know to get that care package made and sent to your loved one on time. Deadlines and timing Unlike other times of the year, the Christmas and holiday Keep Reading...

For the Milspouse Who Is Overwhelmed Today

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"Dear Jo, I don't think I can do this anymore." My heart sank as I read the email. The email sender was so sad, so frustrated, so overwhelmed that I sat there, unsure how to reply. While I can only speak for myself and the people I've talked to, it seems like every military spouse has at least one moment like that in their military life journey. It's that moment where you feel like if you give one more tiny bit, you'll break. If one more thing goes wrong-- even if it's something so dumb you'd otherwise laugh about it--you'll lose it. You don't know where to turn. Everything feels Keep Reading...

Here’s How to Access No-Cost Incontinence Products for Your Child

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This post is sponsored by Aerorflow. All opinions and work are my own.  For families of children with special needs, time is always stretched. There are doctor's appointments to get to, therapists to see, special foods to buy and make, extra time for routines. There are meetings upon meetings upon meetings. There's the transportation to and from meetings and appointments and therapies. And of course, there's just regular, day-to-day stuff of living, too. (That stuff takes time, too!) For many military families with children with special needs, time can be even more crunched with Keep Reading...

Here’s How to Plan for Military Retirement

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Welcome Charlene, a military spouse and guest poster today! Life is full of transitions and stages – nobody knows this better than military families! For us, life can be divided up by the usual milestones: graduations, promotions, marriage and the birth of children. We also track other milestones, marking time in deployments, assignments and relocations. And, ultimately, we work toward the goal of retirement and transition out of the military. For service members, the pre-retirement process is very comprehensive and requires years of planning for both the serving spouse and all members of Keep Reading...

8 Holiday Traditions Military Families Can Start During Deployment

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This time of year, I usually get quite a few emails from military spouses and significant others asking one simple question: How do you go on with the holiday season when you're dealing with deployment? For some readers, it feels like a betrayal to have fun or enjoy themselves during deployment. It can be painful to do the same kinds of traditions that you've always done with your significant other around. Their absence is obvious and you crave the memories you could have made with them this year. Maybe you're feeling angry (and that's okay) or sad (also okay) or completely numb (totally Keep Reading...

60 Holiday-Inspired Deployment Bucket List Goals

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The holidays can be tough for anyone, but deployment can make it a hotbed of emotions and frustrations. If you need some help getting out of your own head, consider making your own holiday bucket list... or adding to your already awesome deployment bucket list! These are just suggestions and do not encompass every holiday or tradition. Pick, choose, and change what you need to. Use these for inspiration for other bucket list goals that are unique to you. If you have ideas-- let me know in the comments. Or better yet, take a picture doing one of these holiday bucket list ideas and tag me Keep Reading...

5 Products That Will Make Your Entrepreneur Life Better

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This post is sponsored by BabbleBoxx.com.  About that entrepreneur life? For many military spouses, it's not just a passion, it's a necessity. Self-employment helps to smooth over the frustrations of job-searching every two-to-four years with each new PCS. It provides more financial stability, too, in a world where a two-income family is needed, rather than wanted. I became an entrepreneur when I left my career as a high school teacher. I had no idea what I was doing at the time and ended up learning so much of it by trial and error. Maybe you're feeling that way. Maybe you've been Keep Reading...

Here’s One Way to Thank Military Folks This Fall

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This blog post is sponsored by Verizon. All work and opinions are my own. Military life can be hard. I don't think that's a surprise to anyone... even if you've never experienced military life. There's the moving every two-to-four years. The deployments. The separations. And there's a lot that is wonderful, too. But because the country has been at war for nearly two decades and people know that such an enormous burden rests on the shoulders and families of so few, people feel strongly about thanking service members and veterans. It is a genuinely wonderful gesture and Keep Reading...

Here’s How Applebee’s Is Honoring Veterans

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This post is sponsored by Applebee's. All work and opinions are my own. 2008. I was graduating from college and starting my first job. John and I were still three years from going on our second first date. Heath Ledger-- my biggest teenage crush-- passed away. It was the start of the Great Recession, too. And that Veterans Day, Applebee's had its first Veterans Day celebration, inviting all active military members and veterans in for a free meal on November 11. It's been 12 years now and Applebee's has served an astonishing 9.8 million meals to military folks on Veterans Keep Reading...

7 of the Best 2019 Veterans Day Discounts

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It seems that every year more and more companies and organizations celebrate Veterans Day with offers for service members and veterans alike. We know some of the usual suspects--I'm looking at you, Red Robin, and your delicious, delicious burgers and unlimited fries-- but I wanted to collect some of the more surprising discounts you may not know. On our list are some deep discounts-- including ones that are $30-$40 off products, double discounts, and free giveaways worth $10-$20. Take a look and then let me know in the comments if you know of other "hidden" Veterans Day discounts that Keep Reading...

Here’s Why Milspouses Need a Deployment Bucket List

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One year. We were staring down the barrel of a one-year deployment. At least 365 days. 365. It sounded insurmountable. And, truth be told, I had literally no idea what to expect. I just knew that a year of worries, communications issues, and distance could be a really, really, really long one. Time is so weird during deployment. Deployment has a way of not only messing with your emotions but your sense of time, too. I barely remember the first few days after John left. I was sluggish, doing just the bare minimum to get by, and slept way more than I normally did. Things got better Keep Reading...

Milspouse, Your Story Is Important

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Hey, you. The one with the story. (That's you.) Every military spouse has a story. But so many spouses I've met think their stories--good or bad--aren't important. I've got news for you. (Ready for it?) THAT'S NOT TRUE. Your story is important. It's part of you. It's part of what you've experienced. What you've been through. It's shaped who you've become. Who you will be. That's why you need to tell your story. Because if there's one thing I know it's that when military spouses put their heads together, great things happen. They shift the conversation. They make people Keep Reading...

4 Ways Military Families Can Save While Shopping

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This post is sponsored by Unilever’s Operation In Touch. All opinions and work are my own. I stared at our bank account. The number was perilously low. The fall of 2013 was the hardest, financially for us. We were a newly married couple and, like many newly married military couples, I had left my professional job to move to Virginia Beach—where John was stationed at the time. He had just come home from deployment, a year of saving every single penny he could, and we had paid off a sizable chunk of student loan debt. And then both of our cars died. In one Keep Reading...

How to Support Veteran and Military Spouse-Owned Small Businesses Year-Round

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This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Navy Federal Credit Union. All opinions are 100% mine. Do you have November 4-8 marked on your calendar this year? It's the sixth annual National Veterans Small Business Week, a time to get out into your community (or online) and get to know veteran-owned small businesses. Owning a business is wonderful, but it can be lonely too. When John and I started our business, Swatara Coffee Co., we had no idea exactly what it would be like. It's always scary when you flip your sign to "open" and wait for customers. The truth of the matter is Keep Reading...

These Are the 2019 Holiday Deadlines for Mailing Military Care Packages

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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

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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

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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...

Great tips for taking precautions against fraud and financial troubles while traveling or on vacation. ad

13 Ways to Protect Your Finances While Traveling

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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...

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