Almost

I came really close to doing a “Heres Johnny”. I had not been out of the house because of the weather and my daughter being sick.

So yesterday was the day that I actually left the HOUSE. WAHOO. We went out to lunch, then off to a big box store, and then off to a bookstore where I got a used CD and a book on knitting projects based on how many beers it is safe to drink and still be able to knit the project. So fun! Plus there are a lot of good projects that I can’t wait to get started on. There is a scarf with mittens attached that I want to knit for my daughter. This way she has a way to keep her neck warm and have mittens so cool. Then off to a local coffee shop for more beans for coffee in the am along with running into a friend we have not seen in awhile. I also got coffee to go for me. Hehehe.
Then off to the one store we usually shop at to get a few things we needed and of course my husband decided to get more than enough stuff. ARGH! Ah well. Plus I got to talk with a friend who works there. So I got to be chatty and happy. I gotta say that actually getting out of the house is a great mood booster.

This weekend while it was so bitterly cold aka weather trying to kill us. It was -14 if not colder. So I took my own advice and made a few things with the help of my best and greatest helper.

The first is ginger brownies made from 1000 Vegan Recipes and the other is an apple coffee cake from the same cookbook. Both are low in sugar. The brownies I “goofed” on and used “light brown sugar” instead of regular sugar. So they are not very sweet which I personally love. The Apple coffee cake is sugar free and you get the sweetness from the apple. Enjoy.

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Stuck

It is bitterly cold and with the snow on the ground and with the possibility of an ice storm on the way for the weekend. Well its enough to drive anyone to say “Heres Johnny” and “Red room”.

Before it gets to that point in the Shining take it from a semi expert who is normally stuck in the house or at least has been stuck in the house since October. Minus weekends and maybe a few days here and there.

So in order to not go crazy you have to think creatively.
Here are a few ideas in no particular order.

Catch up on your que in Netflix. If you have power.

Bake something yummy like cookies, cakes, pies bonus it should hopefully warm up your house and it makes it smell great.

Start a new/old hobby.

Make something crafty. Or learn a craft.

Call a long lost/old friend you have not talked to in forever.

Watch a movie either on Netflix or a gasp DVD or even go old school and watch it on a tape. Gasp.

If you have kids it is a bit more of a challenge to find ways to keep them entertained.

A few ideas are have them play hopscotch inside use paper to make your “board” or cut it into fun shapes.

Have them do some or all of the above. If they are little have them help you in anyway they can.

Help them build a “fort” using blankets and maybe a small table.

Kids can usually find a way to keep themselves entertained.
If they do however come to you stating they are bored. DO
NOT panic. It is good for them to be bored it helps them to be creative and might help you to be creative in finding ways to keep yourself and them busy.

Take care and stay warm.
Remember to keep your pets inside and if not possible make sure they have a warm place to stay and plenty of water (water will freeze very fast in extremely cold temperatures) and extra food as well. They will burn the calories/food fast to stay and keep warm.

If you can be kind to the critters outside as well birdseed etc. They are fighting the elements without a warm place to go as well so just keep it in mind.

OMG

The top one is now the after picture and the bottom is the before of my backyard and it was still snowing in both shots. We had snow falling for about 24 hours straight.
Crazy.

Plus since EVERYONE was trapped at home. I had the happy privilage of being yelled at by my husband. No idea I was being timed while I was on the computer so according to him I was on it for 2 1/2 hours. I only needed 10 more minutes so I could learn more Italian. So I basically got told that what I was doing was not important and that his work was more important. Never mind the fact that he was on his computer from the time he woke up yesterday to rather late in the afternoon. Really wanted to scream.

Two great links

These are courtesy of TEDtalks that I have been watching/listening to on Netflix.

The first one is duolingo.com it is FREE and you get to learn a new language or even just brush up on your existing language that you have not used since high school or whatever.

The second one is http://www.playmanifesto.org.  This one is great and a wonderful way to remember to  get out there and play.

Enjoy!

Obama “care” lovein/hatin it

My daughter has recently had the plague ok maybe not that bad but, it has been bad enough for all of us.  As most parents know that if your child is sick then getting any rest is for the most part right out the window.

My poor daughter had the runs and vomiting.  So not fun Monday night along with a rather high fever.  Since her school will not let her back in school until the fever is down and all the other ick is over which is fine.

So yesterday we decide to take her to the doctors to find out exactly what is going on.  Does she have the flu or not.  Well she was tested for both strep (this is going on as well) and for flu.  She came back positive for strep. Fine our Dr. wants to call in a prescription for her but, she never tells us what it is she just basically disappears.

We get to where we have the prescription called in well they dont have it.  So then they call it in to another pharmacy that actually has it.  We get there and get this our lovely Obama care insurance DOESNT even cover it and it is $275 out of pocket!  OMG I am absolutely stunned and ask if they have a “generic” well yes they do but, we need our Dr. to allow it and of course it is after 5 pm our time. So we are out of luck or pay the outrageous $275.  I did ask if it contained gold. Yup, for that price it better have a precious metal in it.  This is after having other people around me pay $4-10 for their prescriptions.  So not fair or right.

So we decide to go home and wait until Thursday to call our Dr. to see if we cant find something else.  Good news we got what my daughter needs for $10 and our lovely insurance actually paid for most of it.  I was thrilled and so much better than the sticker shock of $275.

Now I understand why most people go to Canada and I told my husband that if we lived closer and I knew of a pharmacy there we would be so on that.  Now I just want to go live in Europe where yes taxes are higher, happiness is higher, quality of life is higher/better but, truthfully I seriously would not mind.   I also told my husband no wonder some folks will travel to Europe and get their check ups and other health stuff done and then come back to the US to live.  I am almost ready to do that too.

Friday or living in a museum

A bit of back ground about my childhood. See my mom had a lot of stuff that was and still is priceless, a lot of stuff she paid good money for at the time, a lot of antiques and a lot of art.  So now you understand maybe that I lived in a museum….if I were to accidentally break something I would have been grounded within an inch of my life, never mind the name calling by my mom that would have insued.

Fast forward to present time.  I am a mom and my daughter yells at me from the living room.  I cant hear a thing because I have a noisy space heater running and I am doing dishes. She tells me that something fell I ask her to bring it to me.  She carries in her hand my favorite snow globe with a nice neat hole in the glass.  She is carrying it so carefully so as not to spill more water and glitter out of it. I ask her what happened and she explains and I say she should have not been messing with the stuff on the mantle and then i say you broke my favorite snow globe and proceed to make the angry mom face.  My daughter is already crying by this point but, she cries harder and says she is a bad girl. Lightening quick I remember how I felt living in my moms house with all her most precious and prized possessions and how I would have felt if my mom started to yell at me if I broke anything.  I then and there decided I did not want our daughter to feel the same way and also decided that yelling or being mad and upset would not change the situation.   So I kneel down to her level and told her two things.

1.  Its ok. I am not mad at you.

2.  Are you ok?

She tells me yes and is greatly impressed that I am so calm.  I also tell her that she is the most important thing/person in my life.  I also told her that she did me a favor I now no longer have to pack it.  Job done.

This is what simplifying my life has done for me.  It has allowed me to see what is truly important especially when you child breaks your most favorite/prized possession.

So the next time your child, niece or nephew breaks something you consider important.  Just remember they already feel bad that they broke it.  It was an accident and yelling or getting upset will not accomplish much except for making the child and you feel worse.  Just something to think about.

“Be good to yourself”

This morning I woke up with Journey’s song stuck in my head which in turn made me want to belt it out (Thankfully Simon was no where around).  So I dug out my Journey CD (yup still “old school”) and proceeded to sing along and dance.  It was a lot of fun.

In other news I actually slept through the night yup a miracle might have happened not sure yet.  I am feeling much better.

The other bit of news is that unfortunately BCBS or Blue Cross Blue Shield got hacked. As in other words if you have this health insurance who ever got information got names, ssn (social security number), birth dates and employment info.  Last I know no account information was taken as in bank accounts and credit cards but, PLEASE make sure your statements are correct.  TAKE THE TIME to do this otherwise it could be bad.

Also if you are in need of a good laugh…this to me is the best ted talk I have seen/heard so far.  Go to youtube and search for Tedtalks storytelling scroll down until you get to Carmen Agra Deedy.  Enjoy!

Have a great weekend and be good to yourself cause no body else will.  Sing it.