The Military OneSource Free Tax Filing Service Is Here

With tax season starting to gear up, Military OneSource is sending this special announcement to inform you about our free tax filing services!

Military OneSource is pleased to announce the return of the Military OneSource version of the H&R Block At Home® Online tax preparation service. If you are eligible under the Military OneSource program, you can complete, save, and file your 2011 federal and up to three state returns online for free with the H&R Block At Home® tool.

To access this free service, you must start your return from the Military OneSource H&R Block At Home® link. Once you click the link you will be required to log in to Military OneSource (new users will need to create a Military OneSource account). From the login page you will be directed to a site containing additional information on tax preparation, including the link to the Military OneSource free H&R Block At Home® service.

Why file online with H&R Block At Home®? It is fast, secure, and free! You can also check the status of your efile, be confident that your calculations are 100 percent correct or H&R Block pays the penalties and interest, and know that H&R Block is by your side in the rare event of an audit.

You can also prepare and file your taxes at your own pace. Once you create your own secure log-on user ID and password through the Military OneSource H&R Block At Home® service, you will be able to save, close, and return as often as you need to. This means that if you don’t have all of your tax documents ready when you start, you can stop, gather what you need, and return as often as necessary.

This is the same free tax preparation program you may have used through Military OneSource before. If you created an H&R Block at Home® account last year, your login credentials for that account will still work and you will be able to access last year’s personal tax information. However, to ensure you receive the free service, you must first login to H&R Block At Home® through the Military OneSource link.

If you have questions about this tax service or about preparing your own tax returns, please call 1-800-342-9647 and ask to speak with a Military OneSource tax consultant. Trained tax consultants are available 7 days a week from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., EST. For online assistance with questions about deductions, exemptions, and filing deadlines, send inquiries to TaxQuestions@militaryonesource.com.

University of Denver Offers Help to Military Couples

DENVER - Military couples often are dealing with relationship issues related to military service such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), deployment and combat exposure as well as issues common to all married couples - problems expressing feelings, fighting too much, time together, money, children, lack of fun, support, & sex. The University of Denver’s Psychology Department is opening up a new therapy service focusing on helping military couples improve their relationships.

The Military Couples Clinic will offer state of the art, research-based, services for couples centered around the internationally-known Prevention and Relationship Education Program (PREP), the original program used in the Army’s successful Strong Bonds initiative and the basis for a new Air Force program called “Got Your Back.”

Eligibility for services includes any couple with at least one partner currently serving or having served in any branch of the military (active, reserve, guard). Educational workshops also may be available.

“Couples who come to our clinic will learn to talk about feelings that need to be expressed and heard,” says Dr. Howard J. Markman, director of the Military Couples Clinic and co-author of the best-selling book, Fighting For Your Marriage. “Couples will learn to express important feelings in a safe way, improve their ability to talk without fighting about important issues, to solve problems as a team, to be more supportive, to understand commitment, sacrifice and forgiveness, to have more fun, be better friends and restore sensuality and romance.”

Markman and his colleagues have been doing research on helping couples in the Army for more than 10 years, and the findings from these studies provide a strong research base for the services offered at the clinic.

“Research shows 11-20 percent of veterans who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom suffer from PTSD, often with negative effects on marriage,” Markman says. “Couples therapy can help marriages and is associated with reduced PTSD symptoms.”

The Military Couples Therapy Clinic is currently accepting appointments and can be reached at (303) 871-3306. All fees for services are based on the ability to pay. In addition to military couples, services also are available to first responder couples, where one partner or both are engaged in services that protect our nation and neighborhoods, including police officers, firefighters, homeland security, FBI, CIA and other security and defense agencies. SOURCE LINK

Reintegration is about more than coming home. It is about resuming and establishing relationships that provide pleasure, comfort and support. Intimacy — the capacity to enjoy closeness and sexual togetherness — is an important part of reintegration whether a service member is single, married or married with children. Intimacy enhances personal health, relationship health and family health.

Many service members returning from deployment will experience what are referred to as “invisible injuries”. Invisible injuries include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), depression and anxiety that can result from combat exposure. Sometimes alcohol, tobacco and drug misuse, as well as impulsive or violent behavior can compound these conditions. All of these problems can compromise intimacy reducing one’s ability to enjoy pleasurable relationships and sexual activity. LINK TO SOURCE AND PDF RESOURCE

DoD studies intimacy issues among combat vets

EXCERPT

Brannan Pedersen was 16, attending a young activists meeting in Alabama when she first spotted Caleb Vines, then 19, an enthusiastic organizer who wanted to change the world.

She fell hard: Three years after their first date, they married. Later, when they watched the World Trade Center fall, Caleb pledged to join the fight: He enlisted in the Army infantry.

He deployed twice to Iraq — a 15-month stint extended by the Battle of Fallujah, then a year filled with bomb blasts and small-arms fire. At one point, a rocket-propelled grenade blasted him through the door of a Humvee.

But he came home seemingly unscathed. During their first reunion, Brannan recalled, Caleb was distant but affectionate. The couple conceived a child.

After his second deployment, however, Caleb changed from easygoing and enthusiastic to withdrawn, angry and forgetful.

Diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder and, later, traumatic brain injury followed. It provided an explanation for his symptoms, but that didn’t ease the emotional — and physical — gulf between the couple, Brannan said.

“Guys with PTSD have a much harder time being physically close, let alone emotionally close. And from a woman’s perspective, you almost require that closeness to be invested in a sexual relationship,” Brannan said. READ MORE

Free program helps Airmen find local sitters

by Tech. Sgt. Mareshah Haynes
Defense Media Activity
SOURCE LINK

1/11/2012 - FORT GERORGE G. MEADE, Md. (AFNS) – Airmen now have another option when it comes to choosing a caretaker for their children, pets and homes and even tutors.

Sittercity helps connect people who need babysitters, nannies, pet sitters, tutors, housekeepers and adult caregivers with reputable and trusted service providers. Now, the Department of Defense has funded the membership cost so service members can take advantage of the program for free.

The original vision of Sittercity when it was founded back in 2001 was to create a place on the internet where parents could go to find that perfect care provider for their family, said Melissa Anderson, the president of Sittercity’s Corporate Division.

“We invented the concept of matchmaking for care providers,” she said.

The program allows military parents to post jobs with the requirements of what they consider to be the perfect sitter. They can include specifications like sitters who have access to military installations or military-subsidized care providers.

Once the job is posted, sitters apply directly to that job. The parents receive targeted cover letters through email explaining the sitters’ qualifications. Then, the parents can choose from the applicants which one best suits their needs. The communications go directly through the site until they feel comfortable enough to connect with them personally.

“On average, each job post gets 11 applicants,” Anderson said. “We connect a military family with a care provider every seven minutes.”

Tech. Sgt. Tanya King, of the 446th Airlift Wing at Joint Base McChord-Lewis, Wash., and her family took advantage of the service after they made a permanent change of station to a place where they had no family members.

“It was pretty simple,” King said of her experience using Sittercity. “There are thousands of childcare providers on the site, and you can narrow them down to specific things. Being military, there are times when our child is sick we can’t just leave work to go pick up our kid from daycare. We were able to find sitters who would watch our daughter if she was sick and would come out to the base and pick her up. We also have a dog, so one of our criteria was that the sitter would be willing to care for the dog too.”

The care itself is not free.

CONTINUE READING

What do you do to keep your perspective in what feels like one of the longest months of the year?

Here are some ideas I came across when doing a search. I would love to hear your ideas!

Five Ways to Beat the January Blues

EXCERPT

SOURCE LINK

The joys of January: tight waistbands, echoing bank accounts, winter vomiting viruses, failed detox regimes, back-to-work blues. According to the Samaritans, suicide levels peak around now. Last year psychologists even declared January 24 to be the most depressing day of the year. To stop the rot, try:1 Mood foods: Research suggests that omega-3 fatty acids block chemicals called cytokines that can cause low mood. Oily fish (salmon, sardines, mackerel, tuna), flaxseed oil, nuts and seeds are all good sources. Some studies also link diets low in folate to low mood. Cabbage, broccoli and sprouts are good sources of folate.

2 Foiling the norovirus: The health protection agency says levels of infection of the “winter vomiting bug” are at their highest since 2002 in England and Wales, and that around 100,000 of us every week will go down with this horrid, though rarely dangerous, bug. The Royal College of GPs says we can do much to prevent the spread: improved hygiene (rigorous hand washing, cleaning surfaces, loos - anything that has been in contact with an infected person) and keeping infected people away from others for at least 48 hours after symptoms end are your best bet.

3 Eating breakfast: Attempts to reverse festive weight gain often involve meal-skipping. However, low blood sugar can affect energy and mood. Dietician Lyndel Costain says porridge - low-fat, filling, warm - provides mood-friendly B vitamins, iron and zinc, and keeps blood glucose levels steady.

4 Exercise and sleep: Studies show that exercise is an effective treatment for mild to moderate depression. Thirty minutes of activity (eg brisk walking) a day could tackle the January bulge, too. Weekend post-Christmas sleep “catch-ups”, meanwhile, will make you even more lethargic and discombobulated. Sleep experts advise establishing a regular pattern of seven to eight hours per night: keep your bedtime and waking times consistent to reset your body clock.

5 Socialising: Countless studies have linked psychological wellbeing to social networks, but at this time of year we’re all too fat and depressed to go out. Buck the trend: organise social dates, join a club, or become a volunteer.

Here’s some good signs to keep in mind of when you are possibly emotionally linking up with someone other than your spouse. Guard your heart, mind and emotions during really stressful times… especially during times of deployment. Find a good, trusted friend you can talk to when you need to. Think of  these ‘boundaries’ or warning sign as a seatbelt you wear in the car.  They may seem restrictive to you, but they are there for your own protection.

Emotional Affair: Learn the warning signs and protect your relationship
By Richard Nicastro, Ph.D.
SOURCE LINK

EXCERPT
10 Emotional affair warning signs:

1. You start to say things to this person that you wouldn’t if your spouse/partner was standing next to you. This is probably the most important litmus test to determine if the relationship is starting to cross the emotional affair boundary line.

2. You go out of your way to repeatedly “run into” this person. We all look forward to seeing people we enjoy—a particular friend or interesting colleague, for instance. If you’re honest with yourself, however, you’ll know the difference between a truly coincidental meeting and a “coincidence” that occurs because you stood around the office coffee machine for two hours (and you don’t even drink coffee).

3. You put on your “best face” to impress this person. When you’re entering into an emotional affair you go out of your way to be supportive, charming, funny, sympathetic… You deliberately act in ways to enhance your appeal—to be the best “you” possible.Side note: These behaviors usually mirror how you behaved when you first dated your spouse/partner.

4. When the fires of an emotional affair are fanned, you begin to anticipate time spent with this person. Looking forward to spending time with someone other than your spouse or partner isn’t inherently wrong or dangerous. But when the foundation of an emotional affair is being poured, this anticipation causes you to feel a longing and level of excitement that elevates the relationship beyond the platonic friendship status.

5. Is this person becoming the “go-to person” whenever something important occurs? While it is human nature to share the events of your life with the people most important to you, once you’ve entered the gateway of an emotional affair, your spouse/partner becomes less central in your emotional world as you share life’s celebrations and struggles with this other person.

6. You begin confiding more and more in this person. When you confide in someone, you create a more intimate relationship by sharing information about yourself that isn’t shared with just anyone. When you take someone in your confidence, you’ve elevated the relationship to “special” status.

Side note: A telltale sign of an impending emotional affair is when you begin to confide in this person about how unhappy you are in your marriage/relationship.

7. The relationship becomes charged with a secretive, forbidden energy. This creates an “us” dynamic that separates the relationship from all others—the relationship is designated as unique because of its secretive nature. This also imbues the relationship with excitement and an element of danger (in direct contrast to the ho-hum energy of your current relationship).

8. You begin to have discussions that deliberately move this person into the role of caregiver— this occurs when you start to share your deepest struggles, life’s ambitions and intimate longings. These conversations create a powerful no-one-else-understands-me-like-you-do bond.

9. Before you know it, you can’t help comparing the new person to your spouse/partner—and it should be no surprise that your partner fails to make the grade. In your mind’s eye (and in the illusion of perfect love), all the differences that stand out for you indicate that this new person will be a superior mate and give you the happiness you long for.

10. You begin lying to your spouse/partner. When your partner asks about your day, you omit any reference to this person (and if you partner knows this person, you go out of your way to minimize his/her significance). This is a clear indication that you are stepping outside the commitment- boundaries of your marriage/relationship.

READ MORE

Source LINK for article below:

1. Be more productive

When talking about productivity, there are a lot of things involved. At work, have you finished all your tasks on time? In school, have you performed efficiently to have good grades? This New Year, a good resolution is to avoid procrastination. Why do tomorrow, what you can do today? Use your time wisely. Try to multi-task if necessary. Make it a goal this 2012 to finish your entire task on time and get positive feedback. It’s a great start for your 2012 resolutions.

2. Organize my things

Tidiness is a measure of one’s personality. Psychology states that an organized individual is a reliable person. It simply dictates that, to manage one’s life, one must first manage his belongings. You want to change because you want your life to progress. A good resolution this New Year is to start organizing your life.   Start with your things. Make your office or home more presentable. In time, you will notice that your life is getting organized as well.

3. Boost my confidence

Here’s a good resolution for 2012. Enhance your social skills by developing your confidence. It is one important aspect to focus on this New Year. Believe in yourself. Your goal is to improve your self esteem. Gain more knowledge, it would help you establish your stature. Have faith in your abilities. As they say “no guts, no glory” A good resolution would enable you improve your hidden talents. In your 2012 resolution list, add confidence in it. It is a good foundation in establishing your future.

4. Start a business or get a stable job

In today’s financial crisis, survival is through earning money. Take some risks once in a while. Challenge yourself to do something new yet something you love. A new year is about to start and everyday is an opportunity to for you to improve your current status. A goal for you this 2012 is to find what you want to do. Loving your job is a great impact when you want to progress. You love marketing? Then start your own business and let it grow. Do something new for your 2012 resolution. Don’t be afraid of what tomorrow might bring. You’ll only know what’s on the other side if you already cross that bridge.

5. Be more friendly and approachable

Widen your circle this New Year. Interact with more people. They can give additional knowledge. A good resolution will create you a good social and working relationship. Let people in your life. It’s good to know that there is someone you can talk to when you’re having problems. Add this as one of your resolution for 2012, you’ll gain more friends and develop your communication skills.

6. Learn how to cook

Have a healthy meal by avoiding take outs and fast-foods. There’s nothing more delicious than a home cooked meal. This will also assure you that what you’re eating is clean and well cooked. A good resolution would assist you in your day to day survival. Cooking is one of the recommended skills to learn and enhance. This new year, learn something fascinating by learning how to cook. There’s nothing to lose if you try this 2012 resolution.

READ MORE

Merry Christmas!

Home For Christmas

by Mary Heller

SOURCE LINK

EXCERPT

Christmas 2008 was going to be a special Christmas. It would be the first time we, as a military family, would spend the holiday with “my” family in Virginia in our 15 years of marriage. To make it happen, though, I would have to drive ‘alone’ from Baltimore, Maryland to Chesapeake, Virginia with our three youngest children who were aged 6 months, 2 years and 11 years. Then, on Christmas Eve my husband would follow us down with our 15 year old son. Later we would caravan home.

The day before he was scheduled to join us, my husband called to tell me his vehicle was overheating and he wasn’t sure it’d be safe to make the drive. He spent the evening trying to fix the problem and thought he had done so. He drove to work and home the next day then called me back. After he discussed it with my brother-in-law, an agreement was reached: it was just too risky. I had very little time to make the decision. The question became: would I ‘stay home’ for Christmas or ‘go home’ for Christmas? It was an easy decision to make. As a military family we had spent too many Christmases away from my husband. We would not spend another Christmas separated from my him if we didn’t have to. The children and I would drive home on Christmas Eve. Packing happened quickly and my brother-in-law loaded up a car-top luggage carrier and attached it to my small Jeep Liberty. Inside the vehicle suitcases were loaded and remaining gifts were packed into every available crevice as we headed up I-95.

As we neared northern Virginia we heard a sound that made me catch my breath—boom! I was surprised that the roof was not dented in. I looked in the driver’s side mirror to see the front of the car-top luggage carrier hanging off of the back of the Jeep. Knowing I was about to face something not good, I pulled over to the side of I-95 and climbed up on the bumper as cars sped past me. The carrier had flipped, head over tail, and slid to the back of the Jeep where it was now precariously attached by one bungee cord. No one was stopping to help, so I pushed the carrier back onto the top of the vehicle as best I could—which wasn’t very well—and drove, with hazard lights blinking, very slowly to the nearest exit. All the while I was praying not to get rear-ended!  CONTINUE READING

Military Christmas Decorating

By Sarah Smiley
EXCERPT
SOURCE LINK

This week we decorated for Christmas at our new home and duty station in Bangor, Maine. For nearly a decade, we were stationed at various places in Florida, where all sorts of decorations — from fresh pumpkins to cut Christmas trees — can’t be purchased too soon or else they will rot. When we realized that we could cut down and bring home our Christmas tree on November 30th here in Maine, we jumped at the chance. There’s not much better than the smell of fresh pine for 4 full weeks before Christmas. Oh sure, early decorating also means I’ll be sweeping up pine needles and broken decorations for an extra week or two, but it’s a small price to pay.

Our new house is exactly half the size or our old one in Florida, and I thought this would present unforeseen logistical hurdles. What I hadn’t accounted for, however, was the fact that exactly half our holiday decorations were either broken or lost in the move, so everything worked out just fine. Sort of. After opening up boxes that the movers marked “Smiley Attic,” I discovered piles of crushed glass and angels that were missing their arms. I quickly disposed of the gruesome site before the boys could see…..oh, and also before they caught me tossing out a few of their handmade Christmas goodies from years past at school. Sure, I keep the sentimental things — a water globe made from scratch, an ornament with Ford’s picture, a jingle bell painted by Owen — but a mom can only keep so much memorabilia before her house becomes a museum. I knew I’d never miss the 2,000 sheets of paper, all with random scribbles on them, torn from the inside of a holiday coloring book, but how would I explain it if the boys caught me stuffing their artwork in the trash? CONTINUE READING

Families invited to send messages to troops

Beacon-News Staff December 12, 2011 1:36PM

SOURCE LINK

AURORA — Local military families with active servicemen and women are invited to record and send a free holiday video greeting to their deployed family members.

The Illinois Center for Broadcasting in Lombard is helping Illinois military families record a free professional digital message which will be transmitted via Facebook to their loved ones during the Christmas season, according to state Sen. Chris Lauzen of Aurora.

For information, people can contact Lauzen at 630-264-2334. Recording appointments can be scheduled with the Illinois Center for Broadcast through Friday.

Lauzen and his wife, Sarah, have two sons serving in the U.S. military. Marine Capt. Ted Lauzen is a pilot stationed at Camp Pendleton, Calif. Their third son, Navy Ensign Hans Lauzen, is deployed onboard the USS Kidd in the western Pacific Ocean.

“As a parent of a deployed serviceman, I know how excited our son will be to see and hear his family at what can often be a very lonely time for soldiers far from home,” said Lauzen. “We will tell Hans how much we love him, how much his service is appreciated and that there’s a package with his favorite Christmas cookies on its way!”

Tips For Being A Great Holiday Guest

December 08, 2011, in Military Life by Seasoned Air Force Spouse
SpouseBUZZ.com

So you were invited to someone’s home for a night or a few days this holiday season. What should you do or bring to the occasion? What should you possibly leave at the door?
We love to entertain our military family, but sadly have done so less and less as common courtesy has taken a back seat.

I’m no Emily Post but I have had years of experience entertaining and being entertained. I know some of our readers are just starting out in the military life and social scene. People you may not know well will happily invite you over for a holiday event and it could be a very new experience for you.

The first thing to be mindful of is a timely and sincere RSVP. Nothing irritates a host more than to get a vague response to an invitation. You are coming or you’re not and you need to inform them as soon as possible for planning purposes. They could invite someone else over and save them from a dining hall or quiet at-home Christmas in your place.

Next is arriving on time. If there is a reason that you will be late, then use that telephone and call your host.

Read more: http://spousebuzz.com/blog/2011/12/tips-for-being-a-great-holiday-guest.html#ixzz1gM6zOhbo
SpouseBUZZ.com

Read more: http://spousebuzz.com/blog/2011/12/tips-for-being-a-great-holiday-guest.html#ixzz1gM6r0bwA
SpouseBUZZ.com