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2010 BAH Rates Available

2010 BAH rates for military have been released. The average increase is 2.5%.

If your BAH decreased you will continue to receive the old BAH under the Individual Rate Protection

Individual rate protection prevents decreases in housing allowances, as long as the status of a service member remains unchanged. This means that service members are entitled to the BAH rates published 1 January or the amount of housing allowance they received on 31 December, whichever is larger. Rate protection continues unless the status of a service member changes due to:
Permanent Change of Station (PCS) Reduction in paygrade Change in dependent status
Note that the definition of change of status does not include promotions. Also, note that BAH distinguishes between with-dependents and without-dependents, not the number of dependents.
In other words, after a service member arrives at a new duty station, rate protection applies. The service member will receive any published increase, but no decrease, in BAH. When new BAH rates take effect at the given duty station, rate protection guarantees that the service member?s typical out-of-pocket costs may be less, but never more, than upon arrival.

Click here to find your 2010 BAH.

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REAL Family Christmas Photos

I am sure I am not the only one who gets the “Christmas letter.” You know the letter from the perfect family, with the beautiful family picture, which tells of all their accomplishments each year. I remember growing up, my mom received a letter from a family who I think discovered a planet or won the Nobel Prize every single year!

Don’t you ever wish that you could get a “real” Christmas letter. One that talks about dirty floors, flat tires, and the swine flu? If nothing else just to make you feel a little better, that no one is really perfect.

I feel this way every year when we attempt to take our family Christmas picture. It starts in January, I begin to stress about what the kids will wear, haircuts, lost teeth, and fingers up noses. From February to November I take 100’s if not 1000’s of family photos, hoping to find the one. Usually around Thanksgiving I panic, realizing I have not taken the perfect picture and I take 200 pictures Thanksgiving weekend and use the least worst one out of the bunch.

So this year I am tired of pretending that my kids can all smile at the exact same time, with no crying, fingers up noses or in a sibling’s ear. Please tell me you have this problem too? I thought it would be fun to share our favorite REAL family photos. It might not make it on your Christmas card, but it can make it on your blog. Next Monday, December 21st, I’ll put up a linky and you can link up with your REAL family photo. I have a great one to share too, and I am looking forward to seeing all your REAL family moments captured forever on film, or at least on your memory card.


If you don’t have a blog, you can email me your photo and I will include it in my post.

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Frito Lay Gift Basket Giveaway

Frito Lay wants to help you be prepared for whoever drops in this Christmas. Below are a few tips for party planning in a pinch.

  • Ambiance is everything – Keep a playlist of festive music easily accessible or stock the stereo with CDs so it’s ready at the push of a button…literally. Add a few scented candles and presto…instant ambiance!
  • Let guests add their touch – Keep a box of ornaments on hand and ask your guests to add one to the tree.
  • No clean-up necessary – Stock-up on a supply of holiday-colored paper plates, napkins and utensils to lessen post-party clean-up. And if the house is tidy before you head out for the day, there’s no scrambling once they arrive! A frugal tip from me would be to shop after Christmas for plates, table clothes and napkins you can use next year!
  • Stock the pantry – Have some “better for you” Frito-Lay products on hand to lessen the stress of “what to fix?” and allow for more time to visit with your guests. Frito-Lay’s Tostitos Scoops or Baked! Scoops — with a delicious dip — are true crowd-pleasers. Serve on a festive platter or dish and presto… festive snacks ready to share!
  • Entertain with ease – Always have several fun board games accessible to keep guests entertained. And a few kid-friendly movies or simple crafts will keep the little ones busy while the adults socialize.

Frito Lay wants to give you this Holiday Snack Basket to help with your party planning. To enter leave a comment. I will chose a random winner Friday, December 18th.

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Lines

This week’s You Capture theme is lines. I was pretty excited because it seemed like lines are everywhere in London. The architecture in London is absolutely phenomenal, especially when you contrast the new with the old buildings that coexist on every street. I took over 700 pictures during my visit to London and I don’t feel like I even came close to capturing everything I saw during those few days.

Here are a few of my favorite “line” photos.

There were so many lights it was amazing. I’m sure it had much to do with the Christmas season, but I can’t help but think that London is probably lit up most of the year.

Streets of London – love the red buses.

Westminster Cathedral

Part of the floor in the Westminster Cathedral.

London Eye


Globe Theatre

Tate Modern – lots of lines inside too….

Tower Bridge

Buckingham Palace

Harrods

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London Eye

When I told my children I was going to London, they all begged me to ride the London Eye. Given my dislike of heights, enclosed spaces, and ferris wheels I gave them a big no! But I did get some pictures, so kids, these are for you!

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The Motherland…

I couldn’t really think of the right words for this post title because nothing could really capture my excitement right now. While it might look like I am busy blogging away in Maryland, I am actually in England.

Can I get a WOOT?

My husband told asked me two weeks ago if I wanted to accompany him on his next business trip. He had already arranged for our children to be taken care of and made most of the arrangements. Thanks to his extremely frugal living while on all his other trips, my part of the trip was almost paid for with his per diem.

I have been here for two days and it is more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. I wish I was a better photographer, so my pictures could reflect the beauty of this area. It is breathtaking at times, and I am completely enamored by the old buildings and of course the accent. Below is a slide show of my first two days.

I have many stories to tell already, but for now I will share my photos. If you click through you can read descriptions for some of the photographs.

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Shop at Home $100 Gift Card Giveaway

The winner is:

Here are your random numbers:

4

Timestamp: 2009-12-09 03:53:55 UTC

Nancy!

Since my server crashed at some point last night, I have extended the giveaway until 9 pm tonight, 12/8/09.

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Christmas just got a little merrier for one of my readers. Shop at Home is giving away a $100 gift card to one of my readers. If you haven’t visited Shop at Home I encourage you to check out the site. Shop at Home provides coupon codes and cash back when you shop at your favorite stores.

What I like about Shop at Home is that it is so easy to click through their site and start your shopping. It doesn’t cost you anything to sign up, and it can actually save you money with coupon codes and cash back. And I love the fact that I can get cash back without using a credit card!

The winner will be able to select a $100 Gift Card from any retailer listed in the ShopAtHome.com Gift Card Guide.

To enter the giveaway:

  • You must be a registered member of ShopAtHome.com. Click here to join.
  • You must leave a comment telling me which gift card you would chose if you are the winner.
  • For additional entries you can tweet about the giveaway, blog about it, or add it to Facebook. Please leave a comment for each additional entry.

This giveaway ends on December 7th. Winner has 48 hours to provide contact information or another winner will be chosen.

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What Makes Me Happy

This week’s You Capture theme is what makes you happy. Since my blog is all about being happy, this was pretty easy for me. But as Cora turns 8 months old this week (can you believe it???), I am reflecting on how happy I am, that even though when I met her she looked like this…

Today she looks like this…