Paper Bag Leaves

Get Your Brew On: Five Styles to Brew at Home

As with a love of cooking, one of the interesting aspects of home brewing is trying a new beer style at a bar, pub, or restaurant, then duplicating it at home. Here are five popular styles consumed in the U.S. and just about everywhere else. India Pale Ale (IPA)Arguably the most popular Craft beer on the West Coast, the IPA originated in England. After shiploads of skunky beer arrived in India to ...

BEVERAGES

Get Your Brew On: the Wort, the Yeast, and the Bottles

Last time with Get Your Brew On, I provided all the ingredients and equipment you need to create a tasty beer from scratch. Now, let’s brew! Here are the steps and the timeline for putting it all together:Put the specialty grains into a grain bag. Make certain to have a bag large enough so the grains are not packed too tightly. This allows the water to flow freely through the bag. Secure the top o...

BEVERAGES

Get Your Brew On: Equipment and Ingredients

Welcome back! Last time with Get Your Brew On, we covered getting started with brewing kits and tweaking them with add-ins, such as puréed fresh fruit. Now, we’re going to move up to scratch brewing. To brew beer, you need grain, hops, yeast, and water. Four simple ingredients, but the variations on those are only limited by your imagination. Depending on your personal taste, you can create a cris...

BEVERAGES

How to Make Your Own Iron-On Transfers With a Printer

A Beginner-Friendly DIY Guide + Free Printable DesignsCustom T-shirts, tote bags, pajama sets, team gear, and kid-made gifts do not require a cutting machine or a professional print shop. With the right inkjet-compatible transfer paper, a home printer, and an iron, you can make your own iron-on transfers in an afternoon.This is an especially useful project for military families: make matching shir...

CRAFTS

10 min read

Get Your Brew On: A Summer of IPAs

Once the temperature climbs over ninety degrees, it's time to put aside your Spring Lagers for a crisper taste perfect for the warmer climate. There is nothing quite like settling in with a good IPA after mowing the grass or completing another outside task. While the style is not my personal favorite when it comes to beer, there is a place for them in every home brewer's recipe file. As mentioned ...

CRAFTS

Operation Publication: How to Get Started as a Writer — No Matter What You Want to Write

Whether you dream of writing children’s books, adult fiction, memoirs, devotionals, or practical non‑fiction, the first step is the same: you start with a story, a message, or a moment that matters to you. Writing isn’t about having the perfect idea — it’s about taking the first small step and letting the process grow from there. Here’s a simple, approachable way to begin…1. Start With What You Kn...

CRAFTS

Operation Publication: Why Writing Books Is a Great Fit for Military Spouses

Writing, whether for children or adults, is more than a creative outlet. It’s a flexible, meaningful pursuit that fits naturally into the rhythm of military life. Military spouses already embody resilience, adaptability, and resourcefulness, and those strengths translate beautifully into storytelling. Here’s why writing can be an ideal hobby or side business:1. You Can Take It Anywhere: PCS moves,...

CRAFTS

2 min read

How to Be More Mindful and Less Stressed This Year

We are getting back into the swing of things after all of the holiday “stuff”, and that means the stress is slowly building again. School Activities…Work Tasks…Military Chaos…Life Happenings…and everything else. With recent events like the government shutdown, many people including military families can feel the stress even more, with upcoming PCS’s, deployments, and/or TDY’s, making these times p...

CRAFTS

Operation Publication: Just Like Me, You Can Become an Author

I never expected to become an author. Creative writing wasn’t something I enjoyed in school, and it wasn’t on my radar until after I began working toward my Accredited Financial Counselor® credential, which requires 1,000 hours of client interaction. At the time, I was a full‑time budget analyst for the Air Force, but because my role wasn’t in personal finance, none of those hours counted. I neede...

CRAFTS

Get Your Brew On: Honey Porter

Greetings everyone! As mentioned before, one of my favorite home brews is a honey porter that drinks well on its own, but also serves as a great companion to every dish served hot. That includes everything from my homemade chili to Thanksgiving turkey. This quickly became my ‘Holiday’ beer every year since that first batch. Let’s get started!First up, the Grains you need for a delicious Honey Port...

CRAFTS

Get Your Brew On: Five Styles to Brew at Home

As with a love of cooking, one of the interesting aspects of home brewing is trying a new beer style at a bar, pub, or restaurant, then duplicating it at home. Here are five popular styles consumed in the U.S. and just about everywhere else. India Pale Ale (IPA)Arguably the most popular Craft beer on the West Coast, the IPA originated in England. After shiploads of skunky beer arrived in India to ...

BEVERAGES

Get Your Brew On: the Wort, the Yeast, and the Bottles

Last time with Get Your Brew On, I provided all the ingredients and equipment you need to create a tasty beer from scratch. Now, let’s brew! Here are the steps and the timeline for putting it all together:Put the specialty grains into a grain bag. Make certain to have a bag large enough so the grains are not packed too tightly. This allows the water to flow freely through the bag. Secure the top o...

BEVERAGES

Get Your Brew On: Equipment and Ingredients

Welcome back! Last time with Get Your Brew On, we covered getting started with brewing kits and tweaking them with add-ins, such as puréed fresh fruit. Now, we’re going to move up to scratch brewing. To brew beer, you need grain, hops, yeast, and water. Four simple ingredients, but the variations on those are only limited by your imagination. Depending on your personal taste, you can create a cris...

BEVERAGES

How to Make Your Own Iron-On Transfers With a Printer

A Beginner-Friendly DIY Guide + Free Printable DesignsCustom T-shirts, tote bags, pajama sets, team gear, and kid-made gifts do not require a cutting machine or a professional print shop. With the right inkjet-compatible transfer paper, a home printer, and an iron, you can make your own iron-on transfers in an afternoon.This is an especially useful project for military families: make matching shir...

CRAFTS

10 min read

Get Your Brew On: A Summer of IPAs

Once the temperature climbs over ninety degrees, it's time to put aside your Spring Lagers for a crisper taste perfect for the warmer climate. There is nothing quite like settling in with a good IPA after mowing the grass or completing another outside task. While the style is not my personal favorite when it comes to beer, there is a place for them in every home brewer's recipe file. As mentioned ...

CRAFTS

Operation Publication: How to Get Started as a Writer — No Matter What You Want to Write

Whether you dream of writing children’s books, adult fiction, memoirs, devotionals, or practical non‑fiction, the first step is the same: you start with a story, a message, or a moment that matters to you. Writing isn’t about having the perfect idea — it’s about taking the first small step and letting the process grow from there. Here’s a simple, approachable way to begin…1. Start With What You Kn...

CRAFTS

Operation Publication: Why Writing Books Is a Great Fit for Military Spouses

Writing, whether for children or adults, is more than a creative outlet. It’s a flexible, meaningful pursuit that fits naturally into the rhythm of military life. Military spouses already embody resilience, adaptability, and resourcefulness, and those strengths translate beautifully into storytelling. Here’s why writing can be an ideal hobby or side business:1. You Can Take It Anywhere: PCS moves,...

CRAFTS

2 min read

How to Be More Mindful and Less Stressed This Year

We are getting back into the swing of things after all of the holiday “stuff”, and that means the stress is slowly building again. School Activities…Work Tasks…Military Chaos…Life Happenings…and everything else. With recent events like the government shutdown, many people including military families can feel the stress even more, with upcoming PCS’s, deployments, and/or TDY’s, making these times p...

CRAFTS

Operation Publication: Just Like Me, You Can Become an Author

I never expected to become an author. Creative writing wasn’t something I enjoyed in school, and it wasn’t on my radar until after I began working toward my Accredited Financial Counselor® credential, which requires 1,000 hours of client interaction. At the time, I was a full‑time budget analyst for the Air Force, but because my role wasn’t in personal finance, none of those hours counted. I neede...

CRAFTS

Get Your Brew On: Honey Porter

Greetings everyone! As mentioned before, one of my favorite home brews is a honey porter that drinks well on its own, but also serves as a great companion to every dish served hot. That includes everything from my homemade chili to Thanksgiving turkey. This quickly became my ‘Holiday’ beer every year since that first batch. Let’s get started!First up, the Grains you need for a delicious Honey Port...

CRAFTS

Get Your Brew On: Five Styles to Brew at Home

As with a love of cooking, one of the interesting aspects of home brewing is trying a new beer style at a bar, pub, or restaurant, then duplicating it at home. Here are five popular styles consumed in the U.S. and just about everywhere else. India Pale Ale (IPA)Arguably the most popular Craft beer on the West Coast, the IPA originated in England. After shiploads of skunky beer arrived in India to ...

BEVERAGES

Get Your Brew On: the Wort, the Yeast, and the Bottles

Last time with Get Your Brew On, I provided all the ingredients and equipment you need to create a tasty beer from scratch. Now, let’s brew! Here are the steps and the timeline for putting it all together:Put the specialty grains into a grain bag. Make certain to have a bag large enough so the grains are not packed too tightly. This allows the water to flow freely through the bag. Secure the top o...

BEVERAGES

Get Your Brew On: Equipment and Ingredients

Welcome back! Last time with Get Your Brew On, we covered getting started with brewing kits and tweaking them with add-ins, such as puréed fresh fruit. Now, we’re going to move up to scratch brewing. To brew beer, you need grain, hops, yeast, and water. Four simple ingredients, but the variations on those are only limited by your imagination. Depending on your personal taste, you can create a cris...

BEVERAGES