The boys are getting out early from school today. I thought that it might happen so I put Noelle down early for her nap. Phew, everything is working out!
I have been busy working on Writer's Domain today. It is Morgan's turn to choose what we buy with the money and we are almost done saving. I just have 10 more articles to write and we will have earned what we need.
I think that next we will try to save up some money to pay off our minivan. We actually think we might pay it off completely next month which is so awesome to me. It would mean that we really get to start our "Debt Snowball" and focus on paying down more debts. I love the idea of being debt free and can hardly wait for it to happen. Granted, being 100% debt free is a long way off, but cutting out one bill next month and another bill in six or so months will make a big difference.
I haven't been writing so much in my journal lately. I'm not sure why. It is easier for me to type on the computer, and I love seeing what other people are up to. Even if I am just writing nonsense like this I know that it is good for me. Writing helps me clear my mind and be ready for whatever comes next.
And then I found $5.00
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Disjointed Thoughts
#1.
Yesterday Morgan and I were driving home from Nauvoo after a Temple trip. During the conversation I mentioned that I bought 10 candy bars on Wednesday because they were on sale.
His first reply to me was, "I wish you would have saved me one."
I had to tell him that I had not eaten any of the candy bars. I bought them so we could use them for Easter. But I did think that it was funny he thought I managed to eat 10 candy bars from Wednesday to Saturday without him seeing any evidence. (A gallon of ice cream: Yes. Candy bars: No.)
#2.
I have heard people talking, and spoofs, about Marco Rubio's "Water-gate" and the whole thing seems really, really silly. If you are more insulated than I, here is the jist. Senator Rubio (a rising Republican star) was speaking to the news giving his State of the Union recap, or response. In the middle of a sentence he made an awkward lean over the table to get a quick drink of water.
I don't really know how someone taking a drink of water is newsworthy. Does anyone else? Yes, it was a bit awkward, but it isn't exactly unusual. Now his campaign has sent out water bottles to donors as a way to spin a positive effect of this whole issue.
Why is it even an issue? Is there so little going on in the world that you have to make fun of someone for getting a drink of water?
#3.
Time Magazine's Article "The Bitter Pill."
Saturday I read Morgan TIME magazine's feature article on health care. It took the entire ride down to Nauvoo and the entire ride back to Waterloo, practically. It was gianormous. It was good that I read it to him then, because I probably would have given up if I were reading it on my own at home.
The article talked about the differences in what hospitals charge for services, what they get paid, and what it actually cost. An example would be a single generic Tylenol charge for $1.50 when you can buy a bottle of 50 for 1.50.
The whole time we were reading this article we wondered what the author's point was. He sure made me want to be on Medicare or Medicaid because then I wouldn't have to pay hardly anything, and even the government got a lot better deal than regular insurance carriers.
Medical costs have been on our mind because of my nose surgery last October. The hospital charged us $1,800.00 for the use of the surgery room for 30 minutes. Regarding that, I said that it is no wonder to me that people go to doctor's in motels because the room fee is going to be a lot less.
One thing I did learn is that hospitals view the bill at the 'starting point for negotiations.' So, the next time we have big bills we will try to negotiate with them more and see if we can't lower our bill a little bit. I don't really know if it will work. After all, the medical field basically has a monopoly on their services.
When I was getting ready to give birth to Noelle one of the reasons I chose to go naturally was because I did not want to pay the bill for the epidural. I look back on those bills and wonder if I should just take my own pain pills from home to take during the hospital so I don't have the $2.00 charges.
Our premiums already went up about 60% after Obamacare passed and it looks like they may go even higher in 2014 when everything from that law goes into effect. I hope that there may be better options with the insurance exchange (like finding decent dental coverage) but I don't have a lot of hope. All I can do is pray that my family doesn't get sick and we don't need their services.
Yesterday Morgan and I were driving home from Nauvoo after a Temple trip. During the conversation I mentioned that I bought 10 candy bars on Wednesday because they were on sale.
His first reply to me was, "I wish you would have saved me one."
I had to tell him that I had not eaten any of the candy bars. I bought them so we could use them for Easter. But I did think that it was funny he thought I managed to eat 10 candy bars from Wednesday to Saturday without him seeing any evidence. (A gallon of ice cream: Yes. Candy bars: No.)
#2.
I have heard people talking, and spoofs, about Marco Rubio's "Water-gate" and the whole thing seems really, really silly. If you are more insulated than I, here is the jist. Senator Rubio (a rising Republican star) was speaking to the news giving his State of the Union recap, or response. In the middle of a sentence he made an awkward lean over the table to get a quick drink of water.
I don't really know how someone taking a drink of water is newsworthy. Does anyone else? Yes, it was a bit awkward, but it isn't exactly unusual. Now his campaign has sent out water bottles to donors as a way to spin a positive effect of this whole issue.
Why is it even an issue? Is there so little going on in the world that you have to make fun of someone for getting a drink of water?
#3.
Time Magazine's Article "The Bitter Pill."
Saturday I read Morgan TIME magazine's feature article on health care. It took the entire ride down to Nauvoo and the entire ride back to Waterloo, practically. It was gianormous. It was good that I read it to him then, because I probably would have given up if I were reading it on my own at home.
The article talked about the differences in what hospitals charge for services, what they get paid, and what it actually cost. An example would be a single generic Tylenol charge for $1.50 when you can buy a bottle of 50 for 1.50.
The whole time we were reading this article we wondered what the author's point was. He sure made me want to be on Medicare or Medicaid because then I wouldn't have to pay hardly anything, and even the government got a lot better deal than regular insurance carriers.
Medical costs have been on our mind because of my nose surgery last October. The hospital charged us $1,800.00 for the use of the surgery room for 30 minutes. Regarding that, I said that it is no wonder to me that people go to doctor's in motels because the room fee is going to be a lot less.
One thing I did learn is that hospitals view the bill at the 'starting point for negotiations.' So, the next time we have big bills we will try to negotiate with them more and see if we can't lower our bill a little bit. I don't really know if it will work. After all, the medical field basically has a monopoly on their services.
When I was getting ready to give birth to Noelle one of the reasons I chose to go naturally was because I did not want to pay the bill for the epidural. I look back on those bills and wonder if I should just take my own pain pills from home to take during the hospital so I don't have the $2.00 charges.
Our premiums already went up about 60% after Obamacare passed and it looks like they may go even higher in 2014 when everything from that law goes into effect. I hope that there may be better options with the insurance exchange (like finding decent dental coverage) but I don't have a lot of hope. All I can do is pray that my family doesn't get sick and we don't need their services.
Friday, February 15, 2013
Valentine's Day
Sorry, no pictures from our Valentine's day, but I thought I would write about it anyway.
My friend Tiona watched Noelle for me so that Morgan and I could go out to lunch a CU. I had a Turkey, bacon, avocado sandwich, lobster bisque soup, and a spinach fruit salad. Morgan ordered a reuben, lobster bisque and a Caesar salad. We both decided that Morgan's sandwich was the best (we split them) but that it could have used just a bit more sauerkraut.
For dessert we had a slice of carrot cake and some creme brulee.
For dinner I made four cheese fettuccine and we had Martinelli's, salad and homemade bread. I was going to make some pie but had started feeling under the weather in the afternoon so I skipped it. I will try and make the pie tonight so that we can enjoy it.
Eli had his school party and came home with a bunch of candy. Josh's party will be today, but Noelle and I are invited. It should be a lot of fun.
Other than that we are doing well. Morgan is super busy with work. He is in charge of the Texas foreclosures now, which is a lot of hard work. Sunday he was supposed to go to Texas, but because of bad weather he did not get to his hotel in TX until 5am Monday morning.
He was supposed to fly into San Antonio but they could only get a flight to Dallas. In order to be on time for their meeting they drove all night from Dallas to Johnson City. The airline would not give them their baggage since it was supposed to go to San Antonio, so they had to buy dress clothes at Walmart for the meeting.
The meeting went well, Morgan managed to get some sleep eventually and he finally got his luggage. The return trip went without incident and the kids and I were very happy to have him home.
My friend Tiona watched Noelle for me so that Morgan and I could go out to lunch a CU. I had a Turkey, bacon, avocado sandwich, lobster bisque soup, and a spinach fruit salad. Morgan ordered a reuben, lobster bisque and a Caesar salad. We both decided that Morgan's sandwich was the best (we split them) but that it could have used just a bit more sauerkraut.
For dessert we had a slice of carrot cake and some creme brulee.
For dinner I made four cheese fettuccine and we had Martinelli's, salad and homemade bread. I was going to make some pie but had started feeling under the weather in the afternoon so I skipped it. I will try and make the pie tonight so that we can enjoy it.
Eli had his school party and came home with a bunch of candy. Josh's party will be today, but Noelle and I are invited. It should be a lot of fun.
Other than that we are doing well. Morgan is super busy with work. He is in charge of the Texas foreclosures now, which is a lot of hard work. Sunday he was supposed to go to Texas, but because of bad weather he did not get to his hotel in TX until 5am Monday morning.
He was supposed to fly into San Antonio but they could only get a flight to Dallas. In order to be on time for their meeting they drove all night from Dallas to Johnson City. The airline would not give them their baggage since it was supposed to go to San Antonio, so they had to buy dress clothes at Walmart for the meeting.
The meeting went well, Morgan managed to get some sleep eventually and he finally got his luggage. The return trip went without incident and the kids and I were very happy to have him home.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
She's a Girl
I went upstairs to check on Noelle because I had not heard her in a while. I was very quiet, so that I could sneak up on her. I found her in her bedroom.
She had pulled out a bunch of clothes and was trying to try them on. She is definitely a girl! The only problem is that she doesn't really know how to dress herself yet....she was trying to put her shirts on her feet. It wasn't working.
She had pulled out a bunch of clothes and was trying to try them on. She is definitely a girl! The only problem is that she doesn't really know how to dress herself yet....she was trying to put her shirts on her feet. It wasn't working.
Friday, February 8, 2013
Fun with Noelle
I love being home with Noelle all day. As she is getting older she seems to want more of my time. (Although right now she is playing quietly in her brother's room!) She has very fun hair, and this morning I decided to put some mousse in it after her bath. The result was pretty nice, although as the day has worn on it is loosing some of the curl. I don't want to put hair spray in her hair, but I think this might be an occasional activity. She thought it was great to use the hair dryer, she was smiling up a storm!
In other news, Noelle still LOVES her daddy as her favorite person. Yesterday we went to his office to drop off a new set of speakers for his computer. She had a great time hanging out and loved spinning around in his chair.
This morning after we dropped Josh off at school Noelle says to me, "Daddy Next?" I had to tell her that we were not going to see Dad at his work today. She was very upset and cried the whole way home.
In other news, Noelle still LOVES her daddy as her favorite person. Yesterday we went to his office to drop off a new set of speakers for his computer. She had a great time hanging out and loved spinning around in his chair.
This morning after we dropped Josh off at school Noelle says to me, "Daddy Next?" I had to tell her that we were not going to see Dad at his work today. She was very upset and cried the whole way home.
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