5 Tips for Sending Baked Goods Overseas

Picture the disappointment. Your Marine’s misfortune when a box of “Sent with Love” chocolate cookies arrives melted onto his children’s photos. Your sailor’s sadness when she discards moldy brownies mailed from Grandma. Your soldier’s irritation when faced with a pile of cookie crumbs that can’t be salvaged.

This Christmas, you want to send edible love packaged in the perfect cookie. Follow these five simple tips to avoid the common cookie delivery problems: moldy, melted, and broken.

1. Choose Your Cookies

You want sturdy cookies that can handle the long-distance travel. The best choices are chocolate chip oatmeal, peanut butter, gingersnaps, and snickerdoodles. Now is not the time to attempt to replicate your great-grandmother’s sugar cookie recipe. Instead, use a fool-proof recipe found on the chocolate chip packaging.

Are there any baked goods that you shouldn’t send? Yes, anything that requires refrigeration is best saved for the homecoming celebration.

2. Bake Your Cookies

Use a small scoop to make the cookies uniform. The cookies will bake evenly and be easier to pack, once they have cooled completely. Experienced military spouses recommend removing the cookies a minute early from the oven. Soft cookies retain their freshness longer than dry cookies.

3. Pack Your Cookies

My grandmother has shipped cookies around the world for 30 years. She is a firm believer in an air-tight and sturdy tin. You can purchase affordable ones at discount stores. She puts parchment paper between each cookie layer. She doesn’t overfill the tin. Then she nestles this tin into a separate box with a generous amount of packing peanuts to cushion it. Her cookies never arrive broken.

You may also consider sending cookies in a Pringles can or stacking them sideways in a rectangular plastic container. Aim to replicate the methods used by food manufacturers. If Nabisco uses it for Oreos, try a similar method for your cookie delivery.

Toiletries should be packed separately from cookies; otherwise your cookies may arrive smelling like soap.

4. No Stale Cookies

It can take up to two weeks for packages to arrive at operating bases overseas. Place a piece of bread in the container with the cookies. When the package arrives, the bread will be stale and your cookies will be fresh.

5. No Guessing Game

Clearly label the package to avoid any delays. The U.S. Postal Service also recommends labeling the box  as “fragile” and “perishable food” in three places: above the address, below the postage stamp, and on the back or bottom of the package.

Within the box, place a note if any cookies contain nuts or peanut butter.

Finally, the deadline for sending cookies overseas is December 7 to guarantee a Christmas arrival. But I’m sure most service members will gladly accept home-baked goodness any day of the year.

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Part-time writer, full-time Navy spouse Michelle Volkmann is currently stationed near Monterey, California. For the last three years, she has baked several dozen sugar cookies. She hasn’t baked a perfect one yet, but she will try again this holiday season.

This article was first published December 6, 2013, at Military One Click.

Why I’m Thankful for My Military Spouse Friends

I am a person with deep family roots. My German ancestors settled my hometown and my maiden name is the most prominent surname there. I never needed to make friends. I was born with friends. They were the grandchildren of my grandparents’ friends.

Flash-forward: My husband and I were newlyweds stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona. I needed a local friend desperately. My close friends were hundreds of miles away and none of them were married to a service member. I was lonely until I met my first military spouse. We bonded over our mutual feelings of being misplaced in the scorching desert.

This November, I’m thankful for my military spouse friends. Here are the top five reasons why they have a special place in my heart:

1.  Knowledge.

I don’t need to translate military jargon with them. They understand those frequently used acronyms (PCS, BAH), offices (Tricare), and shopping choices (commissary, exchange). There is no need to explain why we move every two years.  They understand the traditions of a military ball. They just get it.

2. Diversity.

In the nine years that I’ve been a military spouse, I’ve met only one military spouse who was from my home state. One. Everyone else came from different states, communities, countries, cultures, and religions and I am so grateful to learn about the world through my friendship with each of them. I’m especially grateful for the military friends who were once military children. These friends take the time to answer my endless questions about resiliency and maintaining a positive attitude.

3. Understanding.

There is a mutual understanding among military families. This understanding may be lost on your civilian friends. For example, my military friends never make me feel guilty about not traveling during the hectic holiday season. They understand why I spend a month at my parents’ house in the summer. They understand the acceptance of an unknown future. They listen when I want to talk through “what-if” scenarios for various potential orders. They celebrate with us when the orders arrive. They always say goodbye with grace and a heartfelt memento.

4. Adventurous.

My military spouse friends are adventurous and well-traveled. Their passports are filled with stamps and they are always planning the next getaway. When I asked for volunteers to climb Mount Fuji with me, every military spouse eagerly asked “When?” My military spouse friends recognize that their time in a particular location is limited, so they take advantage of each opportunity.

5. Generous. 

Military families are the most generous people in the world. Hands down. You know that idiom about a person “giving you the shirt off one’s back,” I have a theory that person is an American service member. I once made BLT sandwiches for dinner when the only ingredient I had was bacon. Four generous neighbors gave me bread, lettuce, mayonnaise, and a tomato. Military friends will loan you dishes when yours are in transit from Italy. They will watch your child in the middle of the night when you’re in labor and heading to the hospital. They will listen when you need to vent. They will give you a hug when you want to fall apart. They will make you laugh when you want to cry.

My military spouse friends are awesome. I am grateful I have a long list of friends to call, text, email, or send a note on any given day. I never feel lonely, thanks to my vast network of military spouses. They keep our friendship alive even when the military sends us apart.

This article was first published November 28, 2013, at Military One Click. 

No Gobble Gobble: Celebrating a Nontraditional Thanksgiving

“You ate what for Thanksgiving?!?”

“Takoyaki. It’s breaded and fried octopus. Osaka is known for it.”

I thought my mother-in-law was going to faint during this international phone call. She couldn’t understand why I didn’t roast a turkey purchased at my military commissary like every other American living on Okinawa.

The answer was mainly utilitarian. I didn’t roast a turkey because our Japanese home didn’t have an oven, only a three-burner stovetop. I couldn’t bake brownies, let alone a 12-pound turkey.  Sure, we could have purchased a traditional American Thanksgiving meal and ate it while sitting on our tatami mats. We could have watched football in the middle of the night on AFN. We could have whined about the lack of Black Friday shopping options. Instead we decided our first Thanksgiving in Japan would be a four-day vacation to Kyoto and Osaka.

Perhaps this Thanksgiving you are far from your extended family in an unfamiliar place. Here are three ideas to embrace a nontraditional celebration this year.

3 Ideas for a Non-Traditional Thanksgiving Celebration

No Gobble Gobble? No Problem. When we lived overseas certain foods (apples, potatoes, and watermelons) were expensive. In response, we cooked takoyaki over a hot griddle in a Japanese restaurant where the waiter was not amused with my curiosity. Don’t want to eat out? Host a Thanksgiving barbecue. You supply the hamburgers; your friends bring the side dishes and desserts. No cranberry sauce allowed.

Be Flexible. In Tokyo, English is everywhere. In Kyoto, you are lucky to find an English menu. During our Thanksgiving vacation, I once ordered by pointing to an unrecognizable word and saying “please”. How bad could it be, right? It was a cold bean dessert with a gelatin texture. Did I mention I was starving? After a long laugh, I choked down that bean dessert, a poor, but hilarious selection. Make this Thanksgiving, not perfect, but memorable.

Be Thankful. In these nontraditional moments I try to count the blessings in my life, even if they seem like inconveniences. For example, I was thankful to avoid the congestion of American highways during our Kyoto trip. What are you thankful this year? Make that the focus of your nontraditional Thanksgiving.

Celebrating a nontraditional Thanksgiving ensures that someday when I celebrate a traditional one with my extended family in Iowa, I’ll savor my Mom’s turkey and dressing. And I won’t turn down a second helping of pecan pie.

This article was first published November 19, 2013, at Next Generation Military Spouse. 

Hot Autumn Nights

Autumn appeals to our senses. We observe the leaves morphing from the obvious green to the unexpected vibrant shades of red and orange, sip the sweetness of hot apple cider, and listen to the squeals of children searching at a pumpkin patch.

But when the military sends you to an installation where you are more likely to apply sunscreen than wear a wool sweater, the lack of a seasonal change can cause homesickness.  What’s the treatment? A firm determination to embrace creative alternatives.

Shelly Habeck, a Navy spouse, improvised when she was stationed in Florida. “We painted coconuts like pumpkins and hung them up in Key West. It was a ton of fun and they (the coconuts) are just all over the ground, so it’s free!” She also mailed these unique Halloween pumpkins to friends around the globe through the U.S. Postal Service. “Makes for an interesting postcard,” Habeck added.

When you are sweating in 90-degree heat, you need to trade your carving knife for a paintbrush. I made this mistake at my first duty station, Marine Corps Air Station Yuma. A group of us delightfully carved jack o’ lanterns and placed them on the patio overnight. In the morning, we found a rotten mess of melted pumpkin.

Army spouse Natasha Zack decorates her mantle with abstract wooden pumpkins instead of the perishable kind. “I put them out mid-September and keep them out until the first of December. I also use oil burners and buy cinnamon pumpkin spice oil to give the house a fall scent.”

You can also hang a garland of artificial leaves, decorate with autumn-themed crafts, or substitute a pineapple for a pumpkin when carving a jack o’ lantern.

Host a costume party that embraces the culture of your current address. In your invitations, clearly explain the party’s theme. For example, you could request everyone dress as cowboys for a party at Fort Hood, Texas, “Top Gun” movie characters if you live near San Diego, ninjas in Yokosuka, Japan, or hula dancers at Pearl Harbor.

Start the “You’ve Been Booed” movement in your neighborhood. Similar to Secret Santa, you inconspicuously leave a small basket of inexpensive Halloween trinkets or a plate of treats on a neighbor’s doorstep. Then that person returns the favor by secretly leaving a gift for a different neighbor. This is an especially fun activity for children living in military housing. Who knows? This holiday tradition may continue in your neighborhood long after you’ve said your farewells.

Other ideas include participating in an Underwater Pumpkin Carving Contest, if you are a scuba diver, making pumpkin-flavored ice cream instead of baking an apple pie, or attending a haunted history tour in your temporary hometown. The tours in St. Augustine, Fl., and New Orleans are said to be especially spooky.

And finally, plan an artificial autumn day. Take one day to turn the air conditioning on full blast, cuddle in a blanket, and watch your favorite Halloween movies.

This article was first published October 30, 2013, at Military One Click. 

What You Need to Know to Prepare for an Overseas Military Move

Attention OCONUS Virgins

Here is the dirty little secret about OCONUS relocation: It’s the most stressful, most time-consuming, and most memorable PCS your family will ever encounter.

The rare Armed Forces gift of an OCONUS (Outside the Continental United States) duty assignment morphs the standard moving day jitters into a process of antacid-popping anxiety. But once you conquer it, you can move anywhere.

Here is a list of the top 5 secrets every OCONUS virgin needs to know.

Paperwork & Passports

Spouses, double-check your service member’s orders to ensure that your name is spelled correctly for this command-sponsored and accompanied relocation. A misspelling hiccup will quickly become a huge headache if you don’t correct it.

Next, apply for a no-fee, government passport for all family members. Your civilian or personal passport will not work for government travel. Research if your intended destination requires a visa for U.S. military. If the answer is yes, then guess what? Grab your favorite black ballpoint and fill out that form.

Lastly, schedule your overseas medical screening. When we moved to Japan in 2008, I was shocked by the length of this 10-page questionnaire. I needed to track down a copy of my immunization records from my hometown pediatrician before scheduling my medical screening. And without a medical screening, you won’t get your travel orders.

Every step in the paperwork and passport process takes time. Plan to diligently work through these forms to avoid missing any deadlines.

Decide to Downsize

 Moving overseas requires a lot of preparation about which household items will ship to your new location and which will stay in storage in the United States. Each overseas duty station has its own weight allowances for household items (which may take as long 8 weeks for delivery) and unaccompanied baggage (which is a small express shipment of essential household goods). The unaccompanied baggage should arrive within 3 weeks. We selected a TV, microwave, pots and pans, silverware, towels, toilet paper, shower curtain, air mattress, sheets, and extra clothes and shoes for our express shipment. We also included our beach gear so we could immediately explore the island. If you have a baby, a crib may be part of this shipment.

The military pays for the storage so we stored our large appliances (washer, dryer, and refrigerator) and large dining room table and 8 chairs. We sold our sofa and held a garage sale before moving. We used the loan furniture from the Air Force while we lived overseas.

If you can’t ship your vehicle, you will need to decide to sell or store it. Each choice has consequences that must be carefully considered and there is plenty of paperwork in each decision.

Make separate inventory lists for storage, unaccompanied baggage, and household goods. I used  different colored Post-Its to label items. For example yellow for storage and red for express. When the day came to pack the express items, we moved those items into the living room, so the movers didn't need to look all over the house and risk forgetting an essential item. Make a video showing your household items in case the boat sinks. It’s one of many OCONUS horror stories you’ll hear. I wish I was joking.

Finally, on moving day, watch the movers seal your crates. This is unique to an OCONUS relocation. Don’t sign any paperwork until every crate is sealed shut. Otherwise you may find your DVD collection was stolen before it even left the States.

Lean on Your Sponsor

I can’t emphasize enough to use your sponsor. This person is assigned from his superior to assist your relocation. At a minimum, a sponsor should arrange your arrival transportation from the airport to the military installation (a great one will pick you up) and assist in temporary lodging reservations. Most will set up a PO Box at the military installation, so you can mail any last-minute items to yourself and begin forwarding your mail.

A sponsor is your eyes and ears in this new country. He and his spouse know the specific details for a move to Italy compared with relocation to Korea. But a sponsor isn’t a mind reader. You need to ask questions to get answers.

My husband and I made a list of 50 questions that we emailed our sponsor. This list included everything from “What did you bring that you wish you would have left in the States?” to “What kind of recreation items (camping, hiking, snorkeling, surfing) should we bring?” I asked very detailed questions about the need for lamps, rugs, dehumidifiers, and dressers. My wonderful sponsor and his wife told me there was no reason to bring lamps, fans are in short supply, carpet is unheard of in Okinawa, a dehumidifier is a necessity and most homes have built-in closets.

Alongside with your sponsor, take advantage of the online military spouse network. You are not the first person to move to Germany and you won’t be the last. I guarantee that one question posted on a Facebook group will generate at least 20 responses.

Soak up the Red, White, and Blue

The best advice we got before moving to Japan was stock up on our favorite nonperishable items that aren’t available at the commissary. For me, it was Trader Joe’s pumpkin pancake mix. How do you know if it’s available in Spain? Ask your sponsor.

Buy renter’s insurance before you leave the country and update your mailing address with your financial institution. Check the expiration date on your driver’s license. You need a valid stateside driver’s license in order to take the test for the international driver’s license. Consider memorizing a few key phrases in your host country’s language such as “where is your restroom?” Install Skype on your computer and reassure your family and friends that you are only an email away. We set one clock in my mom’s house on Okinawa time so she always knew the time difference.

Heels on the Ground

Starting with the moment that you first walk through customs and see your host country, you are living a dream so take advantage of every opportunity. Learn the language. Eat the food. Participate in cultural events.

Okinawa wasn't my first choice for overseas. In fact, it was my second to last choice. But when I saw those orders, I mentally told myself to making the best of this situation. I ran into many unhappy families there, who were counting down the days until their departure. Unfortunately their negative focus was a constant distraction from fun.

Consider writing a blog or at a minimum posting photos and first impressions on Facebook or Instagram for your stateside friends. The time will go fast. Enjoy every minute.

This article was published September 20, 2013, at Military One Click. 

Know the Law: Unemployment Compensation

A military move is stressful in many ways and the loss of income when the civilian spouse is forced to quit his or her job shouldn’t add to the financial burden. That’s why the majority of states have passed laws approving unemployment compensation for Military Spouses. Normally, employees aren’t eligible for compensation if they voluntarily leave their job, but state legislators have recognized that Military Spouses aren’t resigning voluntarily; they are quitting to accompanying their Service Member to a new state.

What is Unemployment Compensation?

Unemployment compensation provides weekly income to workers who can’t find jobs. Each state has different requirements that must be met in order to receive unemployment compensation, such as minimum hours worked for the employer, the reason for leaving employment, geographical distance between employer and your new location, and if you are actively pursuing other employment opportunities from your new location.

How to Apply for Unemployment Benefits
1. First, know your rights. Research if you currently live in a state that allows the civilian spouse of a transferred Service Member to receive unemployment benefits. Eligibility is based on the rules within the state you left, not your new state of residence. As of August 2012, 45 states and the District of Columbia permit Military Spouses to claim unemployment due to a permanent change of station or PCS. Please note that in Virginia, home to the Pentagon, Naval Station Norfolk, Fort Myers, and Marine Corps Air Base Quantico, Military Spouses are ineligible.

2. Document, document, document.  When quitting your job, be sure to notify your current employer in writing that the reason for your resignation is a military relocation. Always keep a copy of this letter. Most states allow you to resign or quit 30 days before the report date listed on your spouse’s orders, so be careful about quitting too early if you plan to file for unemployment. If you are forced to move on shorter notice, document this situation to support your unemployment claim in your new state.

3. File and follow-up. File for interstate unemployment benefits in your new state’s unemployment insurance office as soon as possible to ensure you don’t miss any deadlines. An interstate claim allows you to receive unemployment compensation from your previous state while meeting the job searching requirements from your new state. Always attach a copy of your spouse’s military orders to your unemployment application, even if the office doesn’t initially request them and list your spouse’s military relocation as the reason you quit your job on all forms. You also may need to provide an official written letter from your spouse’s chain of command as proof of the transfer.

After filing for unemployment and being granted wages, your residency state will require you to register with a local workforce center. You need to show evidence that you are actively seeking employment. In some states, workers are required to attend resume or interviewing classes and even obtain career counseling.

Freeloader Stigma

I first heard about unemployment compensation for Military Spouses from a friend and Air Force spouse in Okinawa, Japan.  Prior to that, I never considered filing for unemployment because I mistakenly assumed that it was only for workers who were laid off. As a Navy newlywed and a recent college graduate, I thought my former employer would be penalized, if I filed. This is false. Generally, the unemployment compensation a Military Spouse receives comes from the state’s general unemployment fund, not the employers’ account. I also thought that I didn’t qualify because I choose to relocate with my husband and that my friends would think I’m a freeloader or lazy if I cashed unemployment checks. With three military moves in seven years, I have completely changed my opinion on this issue. Now I encourage my friends to apply for the benefits and lobby for law changes in states where Military Spouses are ineligible for unemployment.

Here’s the bottom line: Always file for unemployment compensation when you are relocating. If you are denied compensation, appeal the decision and be prepared to explain your situation at a hearing.  You have a right to this weekly income. Just because your Service Member volunteered for the military doesn’t mean that you voluntarily quit your job.

This article was first published April 26, 2013, at In Gear Career.