The Bliss List

So I recently read this book called “Choosing Brilliant Health” by Greg Hicks and Rick Foster.

A lot of what they have to say I’ve heard already in other forms, etc. But the way they have put it together and the research they have done make it an interesting read. It’s a step beyond just saying “think positive” and has a few concrete steps you can do. I like more than just theories/ideas. Practical how-to’s are my thing. [Which is why I have a hard time implementing Cesar Milan’s dog-training, but do well with Victoria Stilwell’s advice. But that’s a post for another day.]

Alas, it was an inter-library loan, and my timing couldn’t have been worse. Not enough time to do more than a hurried read (no renewal allowed. So I don’t remember all 8 steps.

The ones that stuck with me are regarding the Bliss List and Centralizing. What I got out of it is that you should come up with things that make you happy, that you enjoy. Not just what I'm thankful for having in my life (although there's plenty of that.) But more a focus on what I like to do and have around me. Create this list and then centralize it. Focus on one or two of those things daily; make them happen.

At first I was like, “Huh? I don't know about that.” But the more I thought about it, the more it appealed to me. A bit of a challenge so-to-speak. So here’s my attempt at a bliss list, in no special order: 

• Laughter
• Reading a really good book
• Writing
• Learning (especially history, religion, culture)
• Hanging out with friends
• Family (talking with, visiting)
• Leia & Max (the new dogs)
• How I feel after working out/accomplishing workout
• Belaying for Little Sis
• Scrapbooking

I know; a lot of these things aren’t that concrete. And it doesn’t seem like a long list. But these are the thoughts that come to mind today when I focus on my “bliss” list. These are the things I enjoy, that make me feel good.

So I’m going to try to incorporate as much of this into my daily life as possible over the coming year. Let’s see how I do!

Bliss List Attempt Goes Awry

So I got up today with the intention of doing a "Bliss List" post today. But apparently I'm now in a foul mood and going to vent.

I have been trying for 2 weeks to find out if one of my meds is available under generic pricing under our new pharmacy plan. (The insurance company switched pharmacy providers on us). Our insurance company Allegiance (yes, I'm outing the SOBs) tells me to call CIGNA (ditto). CIGNA tells me to call Allegiance. Neither one will answer one freaking simple question.  ^%$%$#!%$

I've spoken with our agent twice as well. And now I've had to provide her with specifics on what prescription it is to see if she can get me an answer. Frankly, I don't like having to do that. Yes, she's our agent. But I also have to deal with her as a customer. I don't like her knowing what medications I take. It's nothing major; it's the principal. And what's the point of finding out now, since I was required by my employer and the insurance company to turn in our FLEX plan paperwork last week? That's why I needed the info. And since the insurance company takes your money if you don't spend it, I put the minimum amount in. Let's hope it's enough. (We're talking a difference of $400 here.) I told all this to my agent and both Allegiance & CIGNA. I also told all of them I'm 2 seconds away from filing a complaint with the insurance department. It really should not be this difficult to get this question answered.

Not that complaining will do any good. Their lobbyists are too powerful...hence the defeat Dec 15 of the bill attempting to get FDA approved drugs from FDA approved facilities outside of the US. Like from Canada. The way they act (lobbyists, congress), it just might kill us if we bring in drugs from Canada. Although how they survive getting their drugs from such apparently dangerous drug makers, I haven't a clue. (rolling my eyes). But what's cheaper for the consumer makes the US drug companies lose money. So the consumer - ME - gets screwed yet again.  Just take a look at what's been done to health care reform.

$%!*;%)*^# 

I need to go back to bed. Seriously. Hopefully getting that out of my system will make the rest of the day go better. I sure hope so. It's not even 9am. God.

(Did I mention my employer won't have the parking lot plowed when it snows, so the several feet we got over a week ago that keept melting and refreezing is now pretty much solid ice? My car slid into the parking lot yesterday morning. And it was worse today. A nice half-inch dusting of snow on top of the ice does wonders for traction. I slipped the second I stepped out of the car this morning. In spite of my good snow boots. Thank goodness I was being cautious...I was able to catch myself on the car. Which hurts, but at least I'm not broken. Which will most likely happen just after the new year when our deductible goes up to $2000. Yeah, yeah...I know there's work comp. But knowing my luck it wouldn't be covered....)

As a former co-worker used to say when I got all cranky "Do you need a lollipop?" Although I doubt any sugar will sweeten me up this morning. Holy smokes am I cranky or what?

Unexpected Power

This article on CNN about "The unexpected power of $10 to $20" really moved me today. So I thought it would make a great post. :)

I like the premise of this group. Pooling funds to meet some short-term money needs.

When I first realized my new dog needs a $1000 surgery, I was pretty stressed over where I'd find the money.  I researched online and there are plenty of groups offering financial aid for animals needing medical care. But the demand is so great and the money so limited, most are now limited to life-saving requests only.  Turns out I don't need help (Got that???? I have Max' surgery covered - this is not to be interpreted as a hint or any kind of request!!! We're just waiting until after obedience training before scheduling the surgery!). But it made me rethink my annual donation strategy.

Every little bit does help. And it doesn't have to be monetary, either. A condolence card in the mail from someone you least expect, someone picking up a prescription refill for you so you don't have to visit Wally World 2 days before Xmas...(hey, they were going anyway!!)...bringing someone dinner (or inviting them over to eat) when you know they're low on funds & food...basically just sharing what you have...those things can make all the difference.

And they come back on you three-fold. Good for your karma. ;)

I think I need to add this site to my "Destinations" list. Here's a direct link to Modest Needs.

Happy Belated Winter Solstice!!!

Weekend Aftermath

Yesterday was M's birthday, so the party was, naturally, at my house. I like to entertain (yes, I do, strangely enough) so it was fun. But the house needed some serious cleaning. The type of cleaning I've been delaying by piling papers and shuffling them from room to room as needed. (In other words, living room to bedroom to living room.)

I started on Saturday with the bathroom. The bolt on the toilet broke - in October - so it rocks back and forth, and lately I could sorta smell some fumes. I'd been debating for weeks about calling a plumber or fixing it myself. Being cheap, I decided to give it a try. Found easy enough instrucctions in the do-it-yourself manual given to me (thanks Janet W!!!) upon moving into the house. In the long run, it was the right decision. In the short, it stressed me out and sparked a mini-anxiety attack and pouting session. I wanted to do it myself, and ended up needing help. :(

M's husband came to my aid when the shut-off valve at the toilet caused a leak instead of shutting off the water, and I couldn't find the main shut off valve. I made a valiant effort, though. Which required 4 separate trips into the bowels under the house (shudder) trying various valves to no avail. Turns out the main water shut-off is tucked away into a corner of the basement, in the shadows, with the spider webs. No wonder I didn't see it. [g]  (It's nicely tagged now, thank you very much!!!)

Then S helped me lift the toilet off, replace the wax ring (gross x2), and realign the toilet. Good thing he was there, since I couldn't just use a bolt from the top-down. Flooring is too deep. Had to use the the bolt that looks like an upside down T. Put that in lengthwise, twist it so the t-part goes left to right and then that goes up through the base of the toilet. Don't know as I would have figured that out! Added benefit, since we had to move the tank & bowl, I was able to peel off the remaining disgusting wallpaper from behind the tank. Whoo-hoo.

While waiting for them to arrive to help, I swept, vacuumed and cleaned the kitchen. Even moved the throw rug & sofa in the living room. Thanks to Leia & her stupid mini-tennis balls, I discovered just how much dust accumulates under there. 

Sunday required an early morning dash to W.ally Wor.ld for cake fixings. I spent several hours sorting through papers and dusting and mopping the house, and straightening the living room. The lovely orange scented furniture polish proved too much and I started on a headache. Took some meds, ate a quick lunch, and started on the enchiladas. Great hit thanks to my sister's recipe (M's sister D was surprised that her husband even ate them - he's not a veggie kind of guy).

The dogs were overwhelemed by the sheer amount of people in the house, half of them kids. There were about 20 of us, I think. All inside. With the game on. Acckkk. Leia was a nervous thing moving all over the place. The kids delighted in coaxing her to their sides with dog treats. I was distracted and didn't realize how many until later when I saw the nearly empty zip-loc baggie. Max was more timid and stayed near me most of the time. Poor fella. I moved him around though, and handed him off to various people so he'd get more socialized. He stopped shaking after the first few minutes, and even stayed with one of the little kids on the sofa without me. Cool. However, both dogs must have had indigestion, because they woke me up three times between midnight and 4 am needing outside. Sigh.

Party lasted about 3 hours, and when everyone left I collapsed onto the sofa. It was 6pm and I was done. Watched the latest Star Trek movie, and was in bed by 8:30pm with a doosie of a migtraine. But hey. Party was a success, & my house is spotless (this group always cleans before leaving!). Which means it's ready for Christmas dinner Friday. Yay!!! I also have enough leftovers I don't have to fix lunch or dinner today.

But this morning I feel like I have a hangover. And I didn't even have any alcohol.

This Is Why

This is why I believe health care should no longer be considered a commodity:

We were just notified at work that our health insurance premium has increased by 23%. And that's after it went up 25% when we renewed this past January. Not only that, but they've switched to a new pharmacy. Which has a different formulary of preferred drugs. And yep. You guessed it, two of my meds are now on the third and most expensive tier.

Which means the cost for me has doubled per prescription.

And since our wondeful accountant only budgeted for an 18% increase (what planet is she on???), there's a shortfall. We had a meeting yesterday to discuss options. The boss wanted to know how we value the additional coverages added a few years back - dental & vision. And whether we'd prefer to drop that or increase our deductible.

By the end of the meeting it was basically this: dropping dental & doubling our deductible to $2000 would just cover the increase. Just.

Heaven help me if I need anything next year, because it will all be out of my pocket. There's that 80/20 split after the deductible until the maximum out of pocket is met (that will most likely increase to $2000.)

Well. The CPAP machine better not break, and hopefully my doc will call me back with some alternative meds that are more affordable. I know I need to share in the costs of my health care, but we've had an increase of  almost 50% over two years! And I can guarantee my income & my employers' income haven't increased by that much!

Turkey Tales

This was my first thanksgiving actually hosted in my own home. I was the hostess. That's not usually a problem for me. Especially as it was just Shanni's family and I've had them over a bunch of times. Wednesday work let us leave at 2:30, so I was home early. Shanni was dropped off that evening...along with the turkey. Mom M had done all the prep work. All I had to do was turn on the oven at 8am and pop in the turkey. Easy, right? Well, that part was.

Had a great evening with Shanni, went to bed at a decent hour even. Mom M called at 8am to remind me about the turkey. Got Shanni up & moving, and she was out the door to her Dad's about 10:30am. Put the potatoes and eggs on for the two dishes I was responsible for: mashed potatoes and deviled eggs.

Watched some TV, and worked on an afghan I'm crocheting as an X-mas gift for Mom M. Popped in "Rebecca" (Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine - great movie) and prepared the deviled eggs. All was calm, quiet, and wonderful.

Now, when I first put the turkey in, some of the broth or whatever spilled out and burned off the oven floor. So it got smoky. I'd just gotten the thin haze out and closed the windows when Mom M showed up. It was about 12:30, and the turkey only had 30 minutes more in the oven. Mom M decided there was too much liquid (she was the one who had me add another cup at 11am!) and Steve started taking broth out (said he needed it for the gravy & stuffing anyway).  This was when it spilled/dripped all over the oven. He then pushed the turkey back in. Sigh. Not even 5 minutes later I look back at my kitchen and it is full of smoke. No exaggeration. it was so thick it stung the throat and made the eyes water. You couldn't stay there long. At least I know the new fire alarm upstairs works. Sigh. Had to open up the entire house, even upstairs. No fun when it's maybe 40*F out. At least it wasn't snowing. We even had to go outside (with the dogs) for a few minutes. Sheesh.

They're in my house ten minutes and all heck breaks loose. I swear. Mom M is a source of chaos. It trails in her wake. 

So I got that all sorted out, and turned back to peeling the potatoes, which were cold by then. I got the mixer out to start mixing and...it looked weird. Seriously. The potatoes were gumming up and looked...mucosy. Enough to make me gag. And it broke my hand-mixer. Turns out Yukon Gold potatoes don't mash well. Who knew? Not me, that's for sure. I'd forgotten I'd switched to Yukon Gold instead of Idaho potatoes last year. Can't have those white meat potatoes, remember?

This was the point I, the non-drinker, poured a glass of wine. With a ton of milk & butter, Steve managed to rescue the potatoes. Everyone ate them, said they were good (with that much butter what wouldn't be?) I couldn't get the mucous comparison out of my mind so I passed them over.

At one point I kicked everyone out of the kitchen. Mom M announced the food was ready, but Steve hadn't even taken the turkey out of the oven to carve. Actually, about 3 other dishes were still in the oven. They mobbed the kitchen and I couldn't take it. My nerves were shot. I guess I was not prepared for chaos that day. [g]

The food was good, after a glass of wine I mellowed, and started in on the Black Friday ads. Then we got out the Wii and ended the day on a great note.