Because it needs to be noted...

So, for anyone that was paying attention yesterday the Health Care Bill passed.

I'm the only person I know who is undecided on if this bill is a good thing or a bad thing.

While I feel that our politicians are mostly corrupt and mostly only out with only their own careers in mind I also feel that there are many unfortunate people that are dying because they can't afford the cost of medical care.

I do worry that the Health Care Bill is little more than a D.C. Power grab though...  a way for our politicians to make more money and have even more control over things that don't effect them. The fact that most high level politicians are lawyers is (in my mind) not a good thing. While I don't think all lawyers are bad people I do think that they have all been schooled in how to twist things, find loop holes, and sometimes put aside moral concerns to better do their jobs. Knowing how to "pull the wool over peoples eyes" in a politician can play out to be a very bad thing.

I worry that the pharmaceutical and insurance companies have effectively bought our elected officials. Why is nothing ever said about the price of what it take to make a pill vs the cost of that pill? Why don't we realize that insurance companies benefit from having everyone required to use them? Why is it that the supplies that are used in medicine are so outrageously expensive? These things aren't high priced because insurance is high priced... I believe these things are a big part of why insurance costs so much. Why is a plastic piece that costs pennies to make being sold to us for oh so much more?

Having a bill pass that is full of problems an loopholes pretty much guarantees that those problems and loopholes won't all be fixed...  if only because they benefit the politicians. Who has ever seen a bad government program dissolved? I haven't...

Besides the fact that our government is in over it's head as far as debt goes... and this isn't just our grandchildrens money we are talking about. Do you know who we borrow that debt from? That's right... China. A country that is the epitome of justice (can you feel the sarcasm?). What happens if we can no longer pay our debt? What happens if they decide NOT to be understanding when that happens? What is the collateral? This is a HUGE problem.

Now to the other side...

If you think that earlier when I said that people are dying because they can't pay for medical treatment that I'm exaggerating, think again. The poor in our country wait until things are to a dire state before they take  themselves to the Emergency Room and often by the time they get there it is too late to do anything... specifically when the "thing" that they were "waiting out" is diagnosed as cancer. It would cost us, the taxpayer, so much less if they went in to a regular doctors visit when they first noticed something is wrong and then we (the taxpayer) paid for that instead of the ER.

While I think that many social programs are too far reaching and that in many cases if the public was made directly responsible for taking care of their poor and downtrodden (no longer being able to just drive past that beggar on the corner thinking "he can go to a shelter" or "if she is really in that bad of shape then the government should be helping her all she has to do is fill out a couple of forms...") then they would give more, willingly, than what the taxes take by force. Just look at what happened with Hurricane Katrina with the amount the public willingly gave... just look at Haiti... when the public is made aware of major issues by the media they step up and help. The American people are some of the most caring people in the world as far as being willing to give of their time and their resources.

However, how does that work for medicine? I know that I, for one, don't know how to diagnose pneumonia, nor how to properly treat it... I don't know how to tell when someone is foregoing without medical treatment without them telling me. Why in this world does a child that is born to poor (or even middle class) parents and happens to need a tonsillectomy have to fight with the insurance company over if it was a "pre-existing" condition? Are you kidding me? btw, I have a friend who had exactly that happen to them.

The opposition to prioritizing who gets treatment based on need is a bit ridiculous in my book... be opposing it people are saying that their elderly terminally ill grandparent who is going to die of cancer anyway deserves a kidney transplant to live 2 months longer while the same cost and procedure could save a childs life... as of right now, the prioritization isn't by need... it's by social class. Those who see that as just... well, lets just say, they baffle me.

I have 2 sick kids at the moment... for me (with excellent insurance mind you) it will cost me $50 to take them both to see the pediatrician. $50 is minuscule compared to what the actual bill turns out to be... but it's still $50 that I need to go a buy Jer some shirts with...  And if I didn't have insurance? Ya... about $200 later....nope, the kids definitely wouldn't be going to the doctor until I was fearful for their lives or the long term effects of "whatever" upon them.

One side looks heartless and the other side looks careless... a choice between "the better of two evils".

So in the end something has to be done about all of it. As much as I hate to give more money to our smug and out of control politicians and hope it gets where it is needed... it looks like that is going to happen anyways. There is no way there is going to be anything bipartisan on this... I wish their were. The people that are for it, are for it, and the people that are against it are against it and they aren't going to vote for it even if it does have many of their ideas in it (which it wouldn't, because that would be like saying they supported it.)... because they are against the whole thing. There is no working together.

I guess it now becomes a "wait and see" situation... hopefully now that the thing has passed we will get some modifications to it from the people who were so dead set against it... because, lets face it, it's going to happen now... might as well tweak something you were against so that it isn't "so bad"... right?

Oh, how I wish there was a better solution.

Having an Up day...

Ain't husbands great? (Yes, I know ain't, ain't a word... but I ain't going to stop... so SUCK IT TREBEK!)

My hubby and I had a good talk Saturday night... after, I admit, me having a bit of a tantrum...

This week we are not getting on the computer until we feel like we have accomplished something.

Monday we cleaned out the pantry and vacuumed the whole house and I did laundry during the day around errands.

Tuesday Jer cleaned the bathrooms and I started painting the last bar stool and shelf that have been sitting in the garage waiting to be painted for over a year... Jer also put up the heating vents in the basement and the water access covers that have also been waiting for a year to get done... easy but for some reason just never gotten to. I also swept and mopped earlier in the day.

Each evening the kids have taken turns picking out a DVD... they only get one a day now... and we have sat down as a family to enjoy it.

Today I cleaned out and organized the shelves in the kitchen. I read to the kids, and I got the book order filled out for Goobers school. I have a hair appointment and I plan on going to the store and getting paint....

I have to say, it's really nice to feel like things are getting done, when before I was too overwhelmed to do them or to even start... now I feel like there is some hope that one day MAYBE I might get caught up. Maybe my house will look like mine (I'm going to see what can be done about painting the kitchen tonight), and maybe my house might get decluttered. But for now, just turning off the computer and sitting down to watch a movie as a family has helped me to realize (yet again) that most of those things don't matter as long as our family knows we love each other.

Needless to say, today is a good day. Hope it continues....

P.S. Jer is planning a trip to get me away from home for while and give me a chance to miss my kids... Sometimes missing them is a godsend and helps you realize what you have.

And the verdict is......

Insulin Resistant.

This is part of the reason I was getting poked a while ago. I went to my doctor cause I was worried about recent weight gain (almost 20 lbs since January) and the fact that thyroid issues run in my family.

So the doc decided to do a full physical. Blood work and all. Now, mind you, I have NEVER had a full physical that I can remember. Even my yearly "Girl" exams never included blood work, so this was interesting to me and I was glad it was being done, because I WANT to know about my health while things are still preventable.

I picked up the lab results the same day I had the blood work done and by looking over them myself I could tell things weren't right. Heck, even a ten year old knows when things are marked with HUGE letters that they aren't good. "High" is not good in math... need I say more? But it took me till today to know if my thyroid was okay.

The doctor gave me the option of meds or diet and exercise. I'll take "Diet and Exercise" for 1000 Alex! I don't want to be on meds unless there is nothing I can do about it.

Since I got the lab results I knew that there was something up with my insulin, so I started looking into diets etc for insulin resistance and diabetics. I bought a book. And I went shopping for low carb food. Isn't it AMAZING how many carbs are in EVERYTHING?!? Holy crap, and try finding "low carb" anything outside of meat. I know that there is such as thing as low carb bread and low carb tortillas etc... but I can't find them in town. Loverly. No wonder people are so overweight in the United States. Everything we eat has added sugar and/or aspartame etc.

Sooooo over the next several weeks (8) I'll be doing a "carb detox" then slowly reintroducing complex carbohydrates... then finally a FEW of the rest. Apparently the first three days are supposed to be the roughest because I'll still crave carbs like mad... but at least in their place I can have other foods. And I'll be starting to up my activity level a little at a time... a half hour to start with.

This outcome to my visit with the doc was the red flag I needed to kick my butt into gear. I really don't want to end up with diabetes or have heart disease at a young age. I sincerely hope that this change in the way I eat and act will help fix everything. Tonight I will take my measurements so I know when I'm making progress (I'm not a big fan of measuring by weight, I feel that it is kinda backwards.... doesn't muscle weigh MORE than fat anyways?). In fact I may include them on here to help make it all "stick" better and possibly make me more set on success.

Wish me luck! I'm starting tomorrow.

Lifestyle Adjustment

So, apparently Jer and I have even more reason to get all hyper and super peppy (aka do aerobic excersise). We have both needed it for a while but just couldn't bring ourselves to have the drive to actually do it. Well, the doctor has spoken ... it's either that or high blood pressure at a pretty young age. Then again this doesn't come as a surprise, high blood pressure runs in Jer's family. Time to change the excersise level and the diet.

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Why is it that whenever I think of aerobic excersise I think of Cheerleaders on speed? LOL The videos always have these irratatingly chipper little twerps leading them! Then they expect you to get the move in .00005 of a sec worth of instruction... even if I were coordinated (which I'M NOT) I don't see how people get these down so quickly. Thank goodness for the pause and rewind buttons!

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Anyways, hopefully we can revamp our lives loose some weight and be good examples of a healthy lifestyle for the kids... that's if I can figure out that whole cooking healthy thing without force feeding my family cardboard! :)

I'm not trying to have a bad attitude... it's just a really daunting task! wish us luck!