I Am Legend

Craig and I went to see this movie last night. Wow! It was really something. There are not too many movies that make me jump in my seat but with this movie I kept jumping. It was a little scary and sad and good all at the same time. If you would like to read more about the movie, click on the title.

Health Care

One of the major issues the candidates have been raising is health care. Health care is a real issue for this country. I know many of you have health care so you don't see how hard it can be without it. If you have any sort of health problem, the premiums for health care are ridiculously high. So high, many people just can't pay them. That is if you are not denied outright.

In IL, the insurance companies can not just deny you anymore but they can increase the regular rate by 67% if you have health issues. I personally have had insurance issues and know how hard it can be.

Sen. Obama has a quote on his website I liked. If only a politician would follow through: "It's time to bring together businesses, the medical community, and members of both parties around a comprehensive solution to this crisis, and it's time to let the drug and insurance industries know that while they'll get a seat at the table, they don't get to buy every chair." -Barack Obama, Speech in Iowa City, IA, 5/27/07."

The Election

As some of you might know, I lean more on the Democratic side of politics. I am in favor of some social programs and some governmental regulation. I realize that is not a popular belief with some people.

I always, always vote. I feel like it is our patriotic duty to vote. Men and women have died for that right and I do not take it lightly. The world is very troubled right now and I feel like this election is very important to our country's well being. As I say that though, I am really unsure about who I am going to vote for this election cycle.

I liked many of the things Bill Clinton achieved in his presidency (obviously not all) but I wonder how his wife will be. Is she even electable? I like some of the things Obama has said but I wonder if he has enough experience in these troubled times. I like some of the things John Edwards has said too but I also wonder if he has a chance against the other two. I really want the best candidate to be in office this time around.

We live close enough to Iowa that we get the local channels from there. The caucus and the visits from the candidates is all that is on the news these days. John Edwards site has a countdown on the home page even. If you have any opinions, I would love to hear them.

Christmas Was Great!

My Christmas was very nice. We were able to spend a lot of time with friends and family. We all got great presents. Mine included a new stove and a new camera along with some other things. The kids seemed to love all the stuff they got. Andi said, "I just love Santa!". It was cute. I hope you all had a great one too.

Happy Holidays!

We want to wish you all a very merry holiday! For those of you who are not celebrating this week, I wish you a very merry week.

P.S. I got my Christmas cards from an internet site called Shutterfly. If you are interested in seeing what it is all about click on the title.

Been A While

I have been slacking in the blog department. I have been trying to get all of my holiday stuff done. I always have it done before now. This year has really been an exception. It has been a crazy week!

Craig has been crazy busy too with work. He has hardly gotten home before midnight all this week.

The girls are officially on winter break. Let the fighting begin! They get bored and decide to start fighting with each other to pass the time. Lucky me :(

Cookies

I have been cookie making crazy. I made 3 batches each of 10 different kinds in 12 hours. I feel like it is best to get the mess done with in one day. I delivered 10 boxes of cookies today to my friends and family. If you want the recipe for the delicious cookie in the picture, click on the title and it will take you there.

Mercury Question

I was a reading an article today that said that Minnesota has put a ban on mercury in cosmetics. The article said that mercury is often added to things like eye liner, mascara and skin-lightening creams as a preservative. Does that sound crazy to anyone else? Since mercury accumulates in the body, why would you put in a product that goes on your eye or skin? If you want to read the article click on the title.

Quote

A friend of mine had this quote on his blog and I really like it:
"Whenever I dwell for any length of time on my own shortcomings, they gradually begin to seem mild, harmless, rather engaging little things, not at all like the staring defects in other people's characters. - margaret halsey"

Free At Last

I am finally free of my crutches and that uncomfortable boot! Hopefully, I will never have to see or use either of them again. I got my screws out four weeks ago. I thought it was going to be a 2 week thing but it turned out to be 4 weeks on crutches instead. That cartoon was too funny to pass up!

WGU

I am taking online classes at Western Governors University. The college headquarters is located in Salt Lake City, UT. The online programs they have created are great and have received national acclaim. If you are interested in seeing what it is all about, click on the title.

Anyway, I have been slaving away trying to get it all done before the semester is up at the end of Dec. I am so tired of taking these classes but yet I am so close to being done. Wish me luck, I am going to need it!

Oven Shopping

We went out oven shopping over the weekend. It is crazy how much they cost!! The one I want is way, way out of my budget. Our current oven is in bad shape. We bought it new when we moved in. That would make it about 14 years old. We decided to go with a gas range this time instead of electric. Hopefully next week we can go pick up the new one.

View Out My Window

I was working on my homework. (For those of you who don't know, I am trying to finish up my degree through online classes.) The sun was setting and I glanced out my window at what I thought was a beautiful sunset. I snapped a picture before it could fade away. I have learned it is important to find joy in everyday and really appreciate your surroundings.

Friday

It is finally Friday. This has seemed like a long week. The kids get out of school at noon today. Our bank is changing hands today. We have been using Associated Bank but Morton Community bought out all of the local branches. Hopefully they will be better.

Andi had her Christmas Program last night. Of course it was really cute. Some of those kids are characters. Andi takes her job very seriously though.

Sam made the school volleyball team so she was happy about that. Her volleyball games and Andi's basketball games all start that first week in Jan. We will be way too busy but isn't everyone these days.

Wii

We were fortunate to get a Wii this past Easter. I don't know about your area but they have been hard to get around here. After calling around and getting a delivery date of a few, my dear husband waited in a long line before Toys R Us opened to try and get one. Of course, they gave the last one to the lady in front of him but the guy told him that Walmart was supposed to get a few so he speedily drove over there and got the last one. So much drama but we love it!!!!! I can't say that enough. It is a great way to get some exercise and have fun all at the same time. Of course there are some games which are no better than your traditional video games but there are many which you really have to get up and use your body. I would recommend it for anyone.

Anyway, I read an interesting article yesterday which was talking about physical therapists using the Wii for therapy. If you want to read more, click on the title.

Santa's Ride

I was reading a ridiculous article today which states the following about Santa's yearly voyage: "He has 34 microseconds at each stop" to slide down the chimney, drop off the presents, nibble on his cookies and milk and hop back on his sleigh, Larsson said. Santa's reindeer must travel at a speed of 5,800 kilometers (3,604 miles) per second to make the trip on time." Is figuring this out really the best way to spend our time??? If you want to read the rest of the article, click on the title.

Scary Budget

I was reading a scary article today. The article started off this way: "Like a ticking time bomb, the national debt is an explosion waiting to happen. It's expanding by about $1.4 billion a day — or nearly $1 million a minute." I personally find that scary. How can we be spending $1 million a minute! The article went on to further say that, "the interest on the national debt totaled $430 billion last year." Just the interest for one year is costing our country $430 Billion. That is just crazy!!!!! Click on the title to read the whole story.

Dreary Day

Today has been a very dreary, grey, dark day and my mood has suited it as well. The only bright point is Craig is finally putting my pot filler in. It has been about four years since we bought it and now it is finally getting put in. Merry Christmas to me! It is a luxury but one I have been looking forward to for four years now! See the pictures below to see what I am talking about.

Ice Storm

We are in the middle of a major ice storm this weekend. Yuck! Most of the town we live by is out of power but thankfully we are not. Hope you are having better weather where you live!

Andi's Hair Cut

All on her own, my sweet little Andi decided to cut her hair and give it to Pantene's program to give wigs to women with cancer. She cut 12 inches off her hair to give to charity. I am really proud of her! Several of her friends have followed her lead and donated their hair to charity too. If 7 yr. olds can make a difference in someone's life, then there may be hope for this world yet! Click on the title to go to the Pantene site. There is also a program called "locks of love" which doesn't have as strict of rules.

The Before Picture

Winter Is Here

We had our first snow a few days ago. It is hard to believe it is time for snow already! I am not ready! Where has this year gone!!!!! I can not say that enough.

Big Brother

My brother and his wife came up from Georgia for a quick trip this holiday weekend. He has lost over 70 lbs. and is looking great! He seems like he feels a lot better too. He is having to work for it though, daily trips to the gym and low cal. eating. You know, all the things that we all know we should do..... but don't want to. My sister was at my Mom's too on Fri. so we all got to really talk for a while. That was nice. Craig stayed in the living room with Belinda's husband Duke for most of it and Mom joined them shortly so it was just us. I don't think that has ever happened.

For those of you who don't know, my sister is 21 years older than me and my brother is 20 years older. Five years ago, we went to Georgia on our way to Disney World and visited my brother. He took me on a long motorcycle ride and I think it is the first real conversation we had ever had. You are probably thinking, WHAT?? but he has these helmets where you can hear the other person talking. It was really educational and enlightening.

Good Movie, Funny Money

After we completely over ate at Thanksgiving, we went to go see Fred Claus. We all thought it was a really good holiday movie. I would recommend it to everyone. As far as the funny money goes, here is the story. I was trying to get my eyes to adjust to the darkness so we could find a seat. When they do adjust, I look down and see what looks like a $10 bill in the isle right at my feet. I bend down and pick it up. When I look at it, it is a $100. I am thinking wow! I was really feeling sorry for whoever lost this money right at the holidays. After the movie, I tell Craig about it. He looks at it and realizes it fake. It is a really good fake but it doesn't have the water seal on it. What I want to know is who is dropping counterfeit money at the Morton movie theater?!!!! I am not sure if we should just throw it away or take it to our bank. Has anyone else ever had any dealings with fake money?

12 Days of Christmas

I read an interesting article today which said that if you were to buy all of the presents represented in the song, "The 12 Days of Christmas", you would spend $78,100! Even if you just bought only one of each item, it would still cost you $19,507. Click on the title and you can read why it would be so expensive!

Happy Belated Thanksgiving

I am a little late wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving. I got busy and just didn't get around to it. While sometimes I can get down with all of the problems in my life, I really am very lucky. I have a terrific husband. Beautiful, healthy children who fill my life with joy & laughter. Great friends who really listen and understand (you know who you are). A family who loves me even though we may not see eye to eye all the time. Cute, loving pets. A house which I am making my own (eventually). Enough money to buy the things I need and sometimes want. I really don't think you can ask for too much more than that! I personally try to go through all the things which bring me joy every night before I go to bed. It is hard to feel too down if you really think about all of your blessings! I hope you all had a very happy Thanksgiving! Click on the title to see the funniest Thanksgiving commercial ever!

Less Housework

I read an interesting article today which stated: The study, which is published in the Journal of Marriage and Family, showed that for every $7,500 in annual income a married woman earned, she performed one hour less of housework each week. Since the husband's earnings had no effect on the amount of housework a woman does, the finding suggest women are using their own money to reduce their domestic workloads such as ordering take-out food instead of cooking and hiring cleaners instead of doing it themselves, Gupta said. Click on the title to read the whole article.

Thanksgiving Side Dish

Cooking is one of my hobbies. I love to explore new things. For years now, I have made a sweet potato casserole with sweet potatoes, pineapple & marshmallows. Click on the above title to see the recipe. Just sprinkle 1/2 a bag of little marshmallows on the last few minutes of cooking.

Last year, I made a sweet potato casserole with a crumb topping that I had found in a Midwest Living Magazine. Because of my IC, I can't have the pineapple or pecans I put in the original recipe so I had to improvise. Last week I tried a new recipe. It turned out delicious!

2 Bartlet pears
1 can yams
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbs. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon

Thinly slice the pears. Mix into the yams, brown sugar, vanilla & cinnamon. Place the mixture into a buttered casserole dish. Dot the top with the 2 tbs. butter.

Topping:
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/4 cup flour
2 tbs. sugar
5 tbs. cold butter
1 tsp. cinnamon
Dash of salt

Mix the oatmeal, flour, sugar, cinnamon (if you can have it) and salt together. Cut in the butter mixture until crumbly. Sprinkle on top of the sweet potato mixture. Bake at 350 degrees until light brown. 30-40 min.

Malpractice #2

In the media, it seems like malpractice suits are a dime a dozen when this is not true. It is very hard in the state of Illinois to sue a Dr. for medical malpractice. First you have to find an attorney to do this, which is not as easy as it sounds. A malpractice case usually cost at least $40,000. The law firm has to be big enough to handle this amount of expenses. Your case has to be worth enough for them to risk $40K of their own money, on in hopes that you will receive a big check in the end that they can take 33% of. Second, you have to have a Dr. agree that malpractice occurred. Since doctors usually stick together, this is extremely hard most of the time. Then and only then, can you proceed in filing your claim. That is when the interminable wait begins.

If a doctor is getting repeated lawsuits, instead of worrying about his insurance rates, take away his license. He probably is really hurting people. I have found out (after the fact of course) that my Dr./butcher has had 11 lawsuits in 6 years. That means that he screwed his surgeries up bad enough that 11 people were able to jump through all of the hoops to sue in six years! I am number 12 by the way. That doesn't count all of the people who were not able to find an attorney to take their case or all of the people who suffer but not quite enough for our legal system to address. Thank you for listening!

Malpractice Lawsuits

I was reading an article in the Sunday Journal Star on a topic which really irritates me. If you click on the title link, you can read an article similar to it.

A law has been passed by our great state which puts a $500,000 cap on medical malpractice lawsuits against a Dr. Fortunately, this does not apply to me because my injury occurred before 2005.

Here is a clip from the article: Two previous caps on damages have been deemed unconstitutional by the state Supreme Court -- the last time in 1997 as part of a broader reform law that covered wrongful death and personal injury cases. The court said the law was illegal special legislation and legislators infringed on the judiciary's power to reduce unfair damage awards.

Cap advocates say this time should be different, partly because the latest caps only cover malpractice cases.

Trial lawyers, including LeBron's team, argue the caps still violate victims' constitutional rights to due process and equal protection by limiting what they can receive for their pain and suffering. I agree whole hardily! It further violates the victims when this cap is in place. A jury of your peers should get to decide.

It Is Almost Christmas Time Again

We got out the Christmas decorations today to sort through. I try to have a different tree every year. Last year it was white & silver. This year, I am not sure what I will pick. We changed the color scheme in the living room this year so I would like some red to match the couch and accessories. It is amazing how much junk you can collect over the years! We always put our tree up the weekend after Thanksgiving. We are just getting a little bit of a head start this year. Has anyone else thought about their Christmas decor?

Feeling Good Enough To Make Pie

I am feeling better today. I can leave my foot down for a little while without it hurting. I get the staples out next Wed. Just in time for Thanksgiving! We are going to my mother-in-laws house for Thanksgiving this year. The last few we have had it at our house. Because of the whole crutches thing, I am not cooking this year. I am just making pie to take - Coconut Cream and Pumpkin - made from scratch of course. If you click on the above title, it will take you to my favorite coconut cream recipe. It is delicious! (P.S. Take it from me, I have learned more coconut milk does not make it better!)

Intial Question

Do your initials have a C or a D in them? A new study has shown that having one of those letters will make you not do as well in school. The researchers believe it has to with the unconscious mind. If you want to read more about this crazy theory, click onto the title of this entry.

I'm Blue

I am blue, not in a depressed, morose way but literally blue. I had the last remaining screws taken out yesterday. They were monsters! The recovery nurse sort of freaked out about my foot being blue. I told her it was the cleanser they use but she still made me go through the whole wiggle your toes and check capillary refill. You would think as a recovery nurse she would have seen that before.

The screws are in the following pictures. They always let you take your hardware home with you. Those two were in my heel bone. I am going now to put my foot up on an ice bag.

Tomorrow The Screws Come Out

Tomorrow morning I go and get my last two screws taken out of my heel. For those of you who don't know, I have had 5 leg surgeries in the last 3 years. I am getting the last remenants of stainless steel out of my body. Just a little cut and a screw gun and I will be done!

The Dr. Visit

Craig and I both went to the Dr. today. The Dr. said that Craig's hand didn't look broken but there was a little calcification so it probably was a bone bruise. He told him to take Aleve and work his hand with a stress ball.

I am supposed to go back and have some fasting blood drawn later this week. The Dr. is scheduling me to go to see an immunologist to see if we can get this autoimmune thing straightened out.

Veterans Day

I would like to thank all of the soldiers who have fought for our freedoms. Veterans Day always falls on Nov. 11th. Veterans Day was originally called Armistice Day. It was changed to Veterans Day in 1971. Happy Veterans Day!

Last Night's Cookout

We went to a cookout at a friend's house last night. We all had a good time. The kids got to play with the other kids. The grown ups drank too much and tried to play board games. I had never played Cranium before and it is an interesting game. Needless to say, I felt a little rough this morning. It's all better now though. Hope you had a good weekend too!

The Waiting Is Over

I am done job hunting for now. I am supposed to get my last two screws taken out on Tues. Then I am back on crutches for two weeks. Yuck! After two - three weeks, I am going to just go to the temp agency my friend recommended. I have already filled out all of the paperwork for a temp to hire position. At least there won't be any more job interviews! I can't stand answering all of those ridiculous questions they ask.

I finally got Craig - my never go to a doctor husband - to get an X-ray of his hand. I think he broke it over a month a go and he refused to go because he said he couldn't work with a cast on his hand. Well, now it really hurts and he has to go the Dr. on Mon. Hopefully, they won't have to do anything drastic.

The Gay Bloggies 2007

My friend Chris has been selected as one of the top 12 gay bloggers. Click on the title and vote him up or visit his own site @ http://aboutaboyandhisbriefs.blogspot.com Thanks!

Halloween Revisited #2

Here is the whole gang - Shelley's kids - Noah, Autumn, Hope, Alex & Isaac. Tom's kid - Parker and of course my two - Sam & Andi. It is so nice to get to see them all on Halloween. My sister always makes dinner and has a fire. The adults get a beer or two and the kids get the candy! The cousins get to go trick or treating together and we get to see all of the neighborhood kids in their costumes. Living out in the country, we don't get trick or treaters so it is nice to be able to go there.

Halloween Revisited

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I finally got my camera charger. There is my sweet little angel - Sam. Then there is the devilish Brats vampire bat - Andi.

Propane Prices

The price of propane has skyrocketed! The company we have used since we moved out here wants to charge us $2.96 per gallon. That is as much as gasoline! We are going to have to switch companies. Thankfully, the new customer price at another place is more affordable but it is still $1.95 per gallon. How long can it continue?

Still Waiting

I am still waiting for my battery charger for my camera. I have sent the person 2 emails and they haven't been returned so they won't get a positive feedback from me. Hopefully, it comes soon!

In another "still waiting" venue, I went to another job interview today. It was at a dentist's office. The benefits seem good. I have to go back tomorrow for a second "working" interview. We will see how it goes tomorrow I guess...... If I don't get this one, I am giving up for a little while. I hate the whole interview process.

Driving While Sleepy

I was reading an interesting article today. It said "60 percent of drivers have driven while drowsy in the past year, and 20 percent, or about 32 million people, admit to having actually fallen asleep behind the wheel." I know I have and it is a little scary. Your head bobs and then you realize what happened and you are in a panic but before you know it, your head bobs again. Are you a statistic like me?

This video is an interesting example of it. Check it out! http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=3744802

Halloween Delay

My battery died in my camera and unfortunately I can't find my charger. I called the local Battery Plus to check to see how much a replacement costs. $49 bucks! Ebay, on the other hand, has it for .99 cents, plus $12 Shipping & Handling of course. Thank God for ebay!

It will be a few days before I can download my frightfully cute Halloween pictures obviously.

Porkie Revisited

I finally got my pictures for my sister's hog roast downloaded. The meat was delicious.

Golden Mountain Of Grain

Down a little ways from where we live is a gain elevator. After filling all of the silos to the brim, they were still left with this golden mountain of grain. It seemed like most of the farmers around here planted corn this year. With the ethanol plant, I suppose it only makes good fiscal sense.

Sam's Photography

Sam was bored with my camera the other night at my sister's house. She captured this strange cloud set.