Tara's Tale

This month on Tara’s TALE we chat with my friend Janet Farley. How many of you out there have ever tried to find a job – a real honest to God career type job – as a military spouse? Some days it feels impossible, and definitely overwhelming. Janet is here to help us through this challenge. Janet has authored several books for military families, most recently The Military Spouse’s Guide to Employment:  Smart Job Choices for Mobile Lifestyles; the Military Spouse's Complete Guide to Career Success and the Quick Military Transition Guide:  Seven Steps to Landing a Civilian Job.   Download Tara Crooks, or "Household 6" in the Crooks' family, is best known for her ability to motivate and empower others. Tara's journey with the military began in 1998 when she and her husband PCS'd to their first duty station, Ft Hood. She and her husband, Kevin (US ARMY), have two beautiful little girls, Wrena and Chloe. Their family, including two dogs and a cat, is all snuggled in their cozy home in Fort Sill, Okla. Tara currently writes columns for several military publications, one of which, can be found here on www.military.com. She is the host of Army Wife Talk Radio and cofounder of the popular website www.ArmyWifeNetwork.com. Army Wife Network is interactive empowerment for Army wives. Featuring Army Wife Talk Radio the original internet talk radio program for military wives, "Field Problems" a self-syndicated question and answer column for military families, "Field Exercises" live interactive events for military spouses, Loving A Soldier blog, featured columns, and a robust Facebook community. In Nov 2011, Tara also coauthored the book 1001 Things To Love About Military Life. To find out more about Tara visit her blog, http://www.taracrooks.com/.

This month on Tara’s TALE Military.com's Managing Editor and military benefits expert Terry Howell talks about Military.com's new Transition Center.   Download Tara Crooks, or "Household 6" in the Crooks' family, is best known for her ability to motivate and empower others. Tara's journey with the military began in 1998 when she and her husband PCS'd to their first duty station, Ft Hood. She and her husband, Kevin (US ARMY), have two beautiful little girls, Wrena and Chloe. Their family, including two dogs and a cat, is all snuggled in their cozy home in Fort Sill, Okla. Tara currently writes columns for several military publications, one of which, can be found here on www.military.com. She is the host of Army Wife Talk Radio and cofounder of the popular website www.ArmyWifeNetwork.com. Army Wife Network is interactive empowerment for Army wives. Featuring Army Wife Talk Radio the original internet talk radio program for military wives, "Field Problems" a self-syndicated question and answer column for military families, "Field Exercises" live interactive events for military spouses, Loving A Soldier blog, featured columns, and a robust Facebook community. In Nov 2011, Tara also coauthored the book 1001 Things To Love About Military Life. To find out more about Tara visit her blog, http://www.taracrooks.com/.

This month on Tara’s TALE we have with us Allison Mewes, a proud wife of an Active Duty Army National Guard soldier and author of Intro to Army Life: A Handbook for Spouses and Significant Others Entering the Army Lifestyle. Download Tara Crooks, or "Household 6" in the Crooks' family, is best known for her ability to motivate and empower others. Tara's journey with the military began in 1998 when she and her husband PCS'd to their first duty station, Ft Hood. She and her husband, Kevin (US ARMY), have two beautiful little girls, Wrena and Chloe. Their family, including two dogs and a cat, is all snuggled in their cozy home in Fort Sill, Okla. Tara currently writes columns for several military publications, one of which, can be found here on www.military.com. She is the host of Army Wife Talk Radio and cofounder of the popular website www.ArmyWifeNetwork.com. Army Wife Network is interactive empowerment for Army wives. Featuring Army Wife Talk Radio the original internet talk radio program for military wives, "Field Problems" a self-syndicated question and answer column for military families, "Field Exercises" live interactive events for military spouses, Loving A Soldier blog, featured columns, and a robust Facebook community. In Nov 2011, Tara also coauthored the book 1001 Things To Love About Military Life. To find out more about Tara visit her blog, http://www.taracrooks.com/.

This month on Tara’s TALE, in honor of PCS season, we’re going to talk MOVING with Janet Corniel Founder and CEO of MovinGal. MovinGal offers great moving tips and advice as well as information for military families about their surrounding communities. Download Tara Crooks, or "Household 6" in the Crooks' family, is best known for her ability to motivate and empower others. Tara's journey with the military began in 1998 when she and her husband PCS'd to their first duty station, Ft Hood. She and her husband, Kevin (US ARMY), have two beautiful little girls, Wrena and Chloe. Their family, including two dogs and a cat, is all snuggled in their cozy home in Fort Sill, Okla. Tara currently writes columns for several military publications, one of which, can be found here on www.military.com. She is the host of Army Wife Talk Radio and cofounder of the popular website www.ArmyWifeNetwork.com. Army Wife Network is interactive empowerment for Army wives. Featuring Army Wife Talk Radio the original internet talk radio program for military wives, "Field Problems" a self-syndicated question and answer column for military families, "Field Exercises" live interactive events for military spouses, Loving A Soldier blog, featured columns, and a robust Facebook community. In Nov 2011, Tara also coauthored the book 1001 Things To Love About Military Life. To find out more about Tara visit her blog, http://www.taracrooks.com/.

This month on Tara’s TALE, in honor of Month of the Military Child, we are honoring our children with an interview with an amazing resource – MilitaryKidsConnect. MilitaryKidsConnect.org is a website designed specifically for military youth ages 6-17 where, through fun and interactive activities, they can build their resilience and coping skills in dealing with the challenges around having a parent or caregiver who is deployed. To share more, Tara welcomes Dr. Kelly A. Blasko, Project Manager and Lead Psychologist of MilitaryKidsConnect.org. Download

Yes, it's that time of the year when many military families find themselves relocating. This month in Tara's Tale, Tara Crooks talks to Rich Novak, USAA's assistant VP of USAA's Home Event, to get the lowdown on USAA's Home Circle, and how you can make your PCS move easier. Rich Novak  DownloadUSAA Home Circle

One popular career with stay-at-home military spouses is direct sales -- this month in Tara's Tale, Tara Crooks talks to Amy Robinson, SVP and Chief Marketing Officer of the Direct Sales Association, to get some tips on building your home business. Amy Robinson  Download

This month Military Spouse Tara Crooks gets some good parenting advice from author Jay Payleitner, who discusses his latest book 52 Things Kids Need from a Dad. About Jay Payleitner: Jay is the author of 8 books, including 52 Things Kids Need from a Dad. Other books include The One Year Life Verse Devotional, 365 Ways to Say I Love You to Your Kids and Once Upon a Tandem.  Jay and his high school sweetheart, Rita, have four sons, one daughter and two daughters-in-law, and live in St. Charles, Illinois. DownloadJay Payleitner, parenting, 52 Things Kids Need from a Dad

This month Military Spouse Tara Crooks talks “military to civilian transitions” with Fort Living Room founder Charles “Chazz” Pratt. About Charles Pratt: Charles "Chazz" Pratt III is a former U.S. Army Captain who made the Military-to-Civilian career transition in 1994. In his book, The Fort Living Room Transition Course, he shares valuable tips & tricks and all you need to help you succeed. Since his transition from the military, he's worked for several Fortune 500 companies, including Pfizer, Genentech, and St. Jude Medical, among others. Pratt also writes for the GOING CIVILIAN Blog for USAA's Military Spouse Community. Download

This month Tara chats with USAA's Executive Director of Life Insurance Greg Blake to get advice on life insurance for military families. About Greg Blake: Greg graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1994 with an engineering degree in Naval Architecture (Ship Design and Construction). Following graduation he served in the Civil Engineer Corps qualifying as a Seabee Combat Warfare Officer and performing duties of construction project management, contract negotiations, and facilities maintenance. He served multiple tours of duty in California and the island of Guam. Download