For those who have served and fallen – both during their service or after retirement – take a moment to remember their sacrifice.

Last year I participated in the iNews880 #Movember campaign in support of finding a cure for prostate cancer. Which was pretty impressive, if I do say so myself, because I’m neither a member of the iNews880 staff nor a guy capable of growing a moustache. That’s why I drew a larger and larger moustache on my avatar last Nov. Oh, and I managed to kick butt on my team and raise the most $$ of any individual member.

This year I’m taking a break from campaigning for #Movember. Mostly because I’m constantly shilling for @ABbrowncoats, Kids Need to Read, and the Legion’s Poppy campaign.  Add to that Derby, work, and the beginning of full on panic mode at school and I just need a break. Or a vacation. So I’m vacationing from #Movember.

I choose not to feel guilty about this decision. The #yeg #Movember team is many times larger this year than in previous years. I know the fundraising is in good hands. Many of my friends are participating. It’s hard to choose who to support. And for how much.

Well, it was hard to figure out how much until I came up with my “grand plan”. I needed to go to the bank and a few shops after work yesterday so I decided to count the poppies on my journey, and then donate $1 for every poppy I saw. I was anticipating having to make a a large-ish donation. Sadly, that didn’t turn out to be the case. After passing hundreds of people over a 2 hour period yesterday, I had a grand tally of 18 poppies. 18!. Four days into the Legion’s annual poppy campaign and I discovered, much to my dismay, that few people are wearing poppies in Edmonton. That cracking sound you hear? That’s the sound of my heart breaking.

I counted all the poppies I saw on my way to work today. Walking. Train. More walking. An additional 8 poppies encountered. Of the 38 people standing on the #LRT platform with me this morning, only 3 were wearing poppies. With the passing of the last WWI veteran and the WWII & Korean veterans aging rapidly, I worry that we have begun to forget already.

Today, I’m picking 3 friends and donating to their #Movember campaigns. Hopefully, each will take a moment to go out and support the Legion’s poppy fund. And spread the word.

As all our friends and family know, the hubs is spending the next 8 months (give or take a few weeks on break) in Kandahar. He’s already been in the sandbox for two months.

Living & working in a foreign country can stress a person in unexpected ways. Holding on to something normal and familiar can make all the difference in the world. For Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan, that something familiar is often as simple as buying a cup of coffee from Tim’s.

As with previous tours, I purchased & mailed a Tim Horton’s coffee card at the beginning of the tour. Since then I’ve learned that the card can be topped off online. So here’s hoping our friends, family & random strangers will buy hubs a coffee.

I ain’t too proud to beg. Put a smile on his face and buy him a cup of coffee.

Please note: The only way to load his coffee card is to log into his acct & use your visa or mastercard. A Tim card can only contain a max value of $100 at any given time. Friends & family can contact me for this info & instructions if they’d like to buy Drew a coffee.

Anyone who has spent five minutes reading this blog knows I’m a military wife with a spouse currently serving in Afghanistan. This isn’t his first tour.

When he was in KAF last year I was glued to news sites and tv channels. I wanted to know exactly what was going on over there at all times. I couldn’t get enough information and the media outlets were happy to oblige.

This tour is different. I’m not stalking news sites. And the online media isn’t providing as much information (or at least not as headline news) anymore. Perhaps that’s a good thing.

Instead of panic and worry at every little thing I read or hear – bad news blaring across the headlines – I’m often learning about events after the fact through check-in calls with hubs. This lower stress level is really making a difference. Here’s hoping it continues for the next 9 1/2 months…

It’s been a while now since I came home from the sempertastic family vacation to find my beloved fur-baby had passed on. Less time since my non-profit organization hosted their first major fundraiser for equality based organizations – we raised $3773 this year. Very happy with the results.

I haven’t fallen off the fitness wagon. In fact, I’ve reached my December 2010 clothing size goals  5 months early. Since I’m still technically classifed as overweight, I’m going to continue what I’ve been doing for the last 6 months and hope to reach my new goal by Christmas.

Still not able to run. Doc has banned me from running (again *sigh*) and I’m back to walking and torturous exercises to strengthen the muscles around my patella.

Tomorrow, I put my hubby on a plane bound (eventually) for Kandahar. It’s been just over a year since he returned from his last tour to KAF and the time has just flown by. Most likely because he’s been gone for at least 60% of the time; off on training courses and prepping for this tour.

With that in mind, I thought today would be a good time to post a gentle reminder to all those who call themselves friends and family. The following excerpt is from a post I made in Dec 2008:

There are nightmares that military families live with daily. To address them we set ground rules. The most important one when a spouse (or child, sibling, etc.) is deployed is that you never drop in unannounced for a visit. No matter where you are “in the neighbourhood” don’t ever ring my doorbell without calling first to let me know you’re visiting.

Spouses, children, parents, and siblings all dread the possibility that a padre will walk up the walk-way and ring the doorbell. Normally filling a position of comfort or joy, when a member of your family is deployed the padre is the last person you want to see near your home.

Our shared goal is to make it through the months never having heard a doorbell ring. Don’t ring mine.

Thanks.