Healthcare Reform

A lot of people seem to be up in the air over this whole healthcare reform deal.

I posed a question on FB asking people to say why they were or were not in favor of the reform bill.

I got several replies from people who were in favor of the bill, or I guess now I should refer to it as a law. I did not hear from one person who was not in favor. Most said that it was not perfect, but that overall they were happy to something done.

I was not attempting to start arguments and the commentary on my FB status was very tame and friendly. I am simply curious to hear what people think as it is not often that an issue raises such a strong response.

I wondered if people even knew what the bill was about as there has been so much propoganda and rhetoric from both ends of the debate. I really questioned if people were simply reacting to what they have heard in the media.

So I will attempt to post the same question here, just to see what people have to say as I really am curious. If I get more than one response I hope that people will keep it friendly.

So comment away!

Panda Bear Cupcakes

Of all the many posts I have done on this blog, the one that gets the most hits is one that shows a picture of wizard hat cupcakes I did for #1's birthday a couple of years ago.

I decided to see if Panda Bear Cupcakes can break in to the #1 spot.

I will keep you posted.

(These cupcakes were made in honor of #2's birthday. My baby will be 9 in just a few days.)

I got nuthin'

Not much to report on here.

Let me see in the two plus weeks since I last posted I have:

• Created a dance titled, "It's Time to go to Sleep" that I perform for #1 before I tuck her in much to her horror. I keep offering to let her have friends sleep over so I can show them. For some reason she is not biting...
• I turned 38 years old.
• Went on a mini-vacation with some friends and their children to an indoor waterpark.
• Finally gotten the estimate and check for repairs on my car that was wrecked in January
• Have sort of made a decision to look at getting a new car, but not until we find out what the state budget is going to do to k-12 education and my BH's income. Hence the sort of. If the news is bad I will be repairing the car.
• Sloooowwlly getting back in to exercising regularly.
• Have been not so patiently waiting for a full on vacation that happens in July and will involve time at the beach.
• Bought a really boring swimsuit. Apparently 30 pounds less of me did not equal comfort with buying a suit that was not a basic black one piece "mom suit."
• Neglected my blog.

What have you done over the past two weeks?

Climbing up out of the rut

BH and I have been in a food rut for ohhhhhh..probably 10 years or so. (I might be exaggerating, but it sure feels that long.)

We have been trying to eat at home more, and have been fairly successful for awhile. Even during really busy times, we have managed to eat home food rather than fast food.

For quite a while last year we had a rule that we ate at no restaurant that had a drive-thru. That limits one's choices when in a hurry, and it soon became much easier in many many many ways to just eat at home rather than engage in the 4 year long debate about where we were going to eat that would be without complaining. The answer to that question is no where. There is no non-drive thru fast food restaurant where everyone at Chez Babble will happily eat. Give me a PB&J over pouty people at dinner any time.

As these things go, we eventually slacked on that rule. However recently we have gone back to our no-drive thru vow. It has been easier this time. Why I am not sure. I could try and analyze it, but I really don't want to. Feel free to share your thoughts about it if you like tho'!

BH recently stated that he thinks one reason we have not wanted to eat at home is because we eat the same thing all the time and we rarely plan meals that involve much real cooking. Real cooking meaning that we have to put some effort in to preparation, not just heating and eating.

So we have been hitting the cookbooks when menu planning lately, and planning meals that cause us to have to cook. Like with chopping and marinating and getting our saute on. I had my doubts about our follow through, but so far so good.

BH and I used to really cook quite a bit back when we were young and child free. It was one of our favorite pastimes.

Somewhere along the way after the kids came along we just forgot about it. Easy and hassle free became the name of the game for us.

I guess we are ready for the hassle again.

I think our more adventuresome cooking is having a positive effect on the children.

#1 for a while now has been far less picky and willing to try new foods.

#2. Ohhh #2. No way no how is she trying anything that she doesn't already know she likes. That means she will eat about 5 foods max.

Yesterday however...I think we may have upped her number of foods she is willing to eat. We had cheese ravioli. Man was she having a pout and attitude about dinner. (This happens everytime we have a dinner that does not involve one of those 5 foods. As I don't believe in catering this way, we encounter attitude SEVERAL nights a week. I think I am almost immune to it at this point.) But for whatever reason, and again I am not going to try and figure out the whys of it all, and just enjoy the moment. I digress. For whatever reason she decided she was going to try the cheese ravioli. Try she did and like she did. I nearly fell out of my chair. I even gave her money for trying a new food. (Yes I did, and I will do it again. If you knew what we have been through with this child and food you would be right there with me.)

Tonight she talked about trying the new chicken dish we made. She never did actually try it, but she talked about it AND there was no attitude at dinner.

Happy Happy Days!

If this doesn't keep us motivated on the path to cooking better food then I don't know what will.

UPDATE!!

This is probably most exciting to me BUT...

apparently local law enforcement did go after the person involved in our recent hit and run. Insurance information was procured and a claim is being filed.

Now do we fix the car, or use the money for a downpayment on a new one?

Much will depend on the actual damage estimate.

It would be nice to have something big enough that we can take the girls and their friends places in ONE vehicle. Or all go in one car when we go places with grandparents....there are many times I have wished for more capacity in our car. Driving two cars to one place makes me batty. I also don't believe that it is any better for the environment than taking one larger vehicle.

It is nice not having a car payment though......

Oh the waffling.

Betcha can't wait for me to work this one out on the Blog!

Journey and other updates

So I haven't posted about my journey to better health in a long time.

Mainly because there hasn't been much to post. I more or less made it to my goal. (One pound away to be exact, but who's counting.)So I was continuing to exercise on a regular basis, and eating appropriate portions, but not really restricting myself about what I was eating. I was maintianing, so I figured all was well.

Then came Christmas and a lot of snow. Still exercising regularly. But junk food consumption increased a lot for a couple weeks.

Then came a show. Still some junk food consumption, but late nights led to later sleeping in the morning which led to an all out lack of exercise. I also find it hard to eat much before I perform, so there were a few nights where I consumed dinner at about 10:30 or 11:00 at night. Not smart eating. Guess what is open on the way home at that time of night?

That has led to a couple pounds of weight gain.

So the show is over, I am over my ear/sinus infection, and it is back to vigilant eating and regular exercise until those few pounds go away. Why is it so easy to break an early wake up time and so hard to get back to it? I have certainly learned however that for me, even though I am not a morning person I am far more likely to exercise regularly if it is the first thing I do in the morning.

So here is hoping that these few pounds go quickly and I have learned a lesson.

In reality I am sure this is not the last time this will happen. BUT as long as I nip it quick all is good.

Business is going well. I REALLY need to say no to new referrals for a while. That is scary to think about. WAY scary. What if I say no and no one calls me again?

So as you can see my tendency towards ridiculous anxiety is still as present as it ever was.

Last post I ended with the news that BH had just been in an accident.

He was OK and we even made it to the show on time.

I however am experiencing some anger. It was a hit and run. Some dude in a truck ran a stoplight and BH t-boned him. BH saw a bit ahead of time what was going to happen so he was able to slow up a little, which caused less damage. A kind witness to the accident, followed the dude, got his tag number and managed to get him to pull over.

According to the kind witness....dude was drunk.

So it has been almost two weeks and we have heard nothing from the police saying that they went after the guy. Which means we have no insurance information from him.

Which means we have to make the claim on our insurance.

Oh and pay the damn deductible.

This displeases me greatly.

I had expected more from our fair city's law enforcement.

But apparently as they often seem to be my expectations run too high.

Stupid drunk drivers.

I am just grateful the outcome wasn't far worse.

No I am Not Two Years Old

I have had an ugly cold for over a week now. Lots of head congestion. Lots.

My ears have been pluggy for over a week now too.

Today, one ear felt less pluggy, the other more so.

Yay.

As the day has gone on the ear has begun to hurt. Especially if I bend over or lean my head forward.

"That cain't be right." Sez I.

So I took myself to the local minor medical issue clinic so that they could have a lil' look-see.

Turns out. I have an ear infection.

In all my 37 years I have never had an ear infection. I am pretty sure I could have lived a fulfilled existance without this experience.

So now I am armed with a heating pad, motrin, and a $110.00 antibiotic.

Yes friends you read that correctly. That is for the generic version too.

Don't be allergic to mulitple antibiotics. Especially if your health insurance does not cover prescriptions.

OK. So I just got word while that BH was in a hit and run accident on his way home with pizza for dinner. He is ok thank GOD. Unfortunately though we are supposed to be at the theater in 30 minutes for our last performance. This is not a good day for Chez Babble.

Hottie of the...enter timeframe here.

Once upon a time here at Babble On I had a weekly entry I cleverly called "Hottie of the Week."

It has been a veeerrrryyy long time since I did a HOTW post.

It was too difficult to keep up with on a weekly basis. There are only so many men I find hot enough to warrant a blog post.

It has been a long time and I am in need of something to post about so I am resurrecting the HOTW.

For this week anyway.

Last year I finally got around to checking out Mad Men. I do believe I can say that it is my absolute favorite show at present.

So many layers to the story and characters. I also LOVE LOVE LOVE that I can never predict where it is going.

I could rattle on for a long time. So let's get down to the hottie shall we?

For those who watch I am sure my HOTW will come as no surprise.

My hottie is that big ol' handsome cheating liar Don Draper.

Or as he is known in real life....Jon Hamm.

MMmmmmmmm....supposedly he was shirtless numerous times on SNL last week. Guess I am gonna hafta make myself sit through it for once. I think it will be worth it.

Mandatory Post

Things are busy, show is going well. Still having fun, but definitely feeling some stirrings of the desire to have my regular schedule back.

Work is busy. VERY busy. I need to reign things in and may need to halt taking new referrals for a bit. Yikes.

Political things have been depressing me lately. As has the general lack of sunlight. I am not sure that we have actually seen a full 8 hours of true squinty, put on your sunglasses sunlight in these parts for nearly a month now.

OK. Would love to chat more, but my current busy life has put me behind on more than just blogging, so I gots to go start playing the catch up game.

Can't. Wait.

What to do what to do...

I usually like to come up with a good new year's resolution.

For most of the past 12 years or so my resolution has been to lose weight, exercise and generally adopt a healthier lifestyle.

Well....I have sort of already done that. (If you don't count the past two-three weeks of indulgence AND lack of exercise. I wish my scale didn't count it. All in all though I didn't do too badly.)

So of course I plan to keep that all up in 2010. And beyond. That has more or less become a rest of my life resolution I guess you could say.

So when it came to self improvement choices for this year I have been a bit stumped without my old standby to rely on.

I think I have finally decided on two things.

First, most days of the week I am striving to eat the daily recommended servings of fruit and vegetables. While I have adopted a healthier lifestyle and dropped some major poundage, I do not eat anywhere near enough fruits and veggies. That will be important for controlling my cholesterol, so a very beneficial change indeed. Two days in and I am doing pretty well. To maintain though, I have got to find some ways to prepare veggies that I will eat. I am pretty picky on this front so it will most certainly be a challenge.

Second, and boy hidee this one will be a huge challenge for me. I am trying to reduce the amount of time I spend on the computer engaged in non-work related pursuits. In a word, I gotta cut down on the Facebooking. Some comments from my children have led me to examine my computer time and I see now that I am spending more time on than I should. That one is only going marginally better so far. I need to figure out and set some limits for myself and that should help.

I am considering dedicating a day where I do absolutely no extra curricular computer time at all. I haven't quite made that decision however.

So I think those two are enough for now. There are as ever a million things I would like to do/change/etc. But one must start with small bites.

Now. I have told you about my plans. What are yours?

In Other News BH has turned in to a Cheap Old Man

Fellow sisters.. back me up here.

Old Spice is an aftershave worn only by cheap old men right?

For some reason BH has decided that Old Spice was a good choice for aftershave.

I did not know that he was in the market for aftershave. Had I known I would have gladly helped him out.

I may anyway. I am giving serious consideration to "losing" that bottle of ridculous.

Christmas is all kinds of funky this year.

We usually go to my parents house Christmas evening to imbibe in our traditional Christmas Lasagne that I look forward to all year long. My mom makes it using about 10 lbs of cheese and boy hidee is it delicious. Only time all year I get lasagne. You can't make a small one and BH and I are the only ones in the house who will eat it. Too much effort for two people.

Unfortunately my dad who drives a tour bus for a touring Broadway show had to leave a week earlier than planned. He will be gone until April. His early departure necessitated an early Christmas celebration.

So we now have no plans for Christmas evening.

We always gather at either my brother's house or my house on Christmas Eve to eat yummy snacky/appetizer type foods and open a few gifts.

WELL. Mother Nature seems to think tomorrow would be a good time to dump about 6-10 inches of snow on our fair city. The worst of which is to hit around the time of our planned gahering. My brother is the host this year and decided it was best to move Christmas Eve festivities to the day after Christmas.

So now we have no plans for Christmas Eve.

Hmm...

I bring this up because I am puzzling over my reaction. Typically I would be pretty bummed that all of our traditions are being turned upside down. However I don't feel bummed much at all. In fact I feel dare I admit....a bit.....ummm........relieved?

I think my sense of relief is a pretty clear indicator of my present level of fatigue.

August-December is always a very busy time for us. This year it has been even more so than usual. Starting a business is no joke.

I am very happy with my decision, but it continues to occupy a large portion of my time, and the kids, family, and rest of my life has not eased up to accomodate the extra work load.

To top it off I added doing a show to all of this.

So I am pretty much on the go all the time with little to no down time at all.

So when I realized that tomorrow was a day with no scheduled obligations at all I did myself a little happy dance. When I realized that the following day was going to have very few obligations my dance got even happier.

I may get to rest and do enjoyable things with my sweet honeys.

This was all helped by the fact that my sweet BH, who may be temporarily engaging in some cheap old man behavior, but was a total stud around the house. He and the girls cleaned the whole house today, and got most of the laundry done.

There will be rewards for that let me tell you.

So we will have a bit of an atypical Christmas here at Chez Babble.

But we are A-OK with it all.

I really should be memorizing lines right now

Hellooooo friends.


One of these days I just need to stand up and admit that I am just past the point of being a regular blogger.


Someday. But not today.


Once again my good intentions are going to be put on hold.


Why?


Because BH and I are doin' a show!


Why?


In recent days I have often thought the reason was because we are completely looney people who obviously don't know what to do with "free time." Or we don't know the meaning of "Hey why don't we slow down and take a break from the completely ridiculous pace our lives have kept up since ohhhhhh......AUGUST."


Or maybe we are just big hams who couldn't resist the opportunity once it was presented.


At any rate BH and I are in the process of rehearsing a show called, "Nobody's Perfect" at Topeka Civic Theatre. Opens January 15. Come see us if you are in the area. It is a really fun show. My BH is a complete hoot. He will be in drag for at least part of the show and I promise, no I SWEAR ON MY STACK OF DANIELLE STEEL novels that he will HI-larious. Totally worth the price of admission.


It is really fun working opposite my BH again. He is an amazing actor and it is indeed a shame that he does not have more time to perform. He is too busy teaching other young people the craft.


So while I am busy being a diva, may I suggest that you check out my good friend Michelle's new(ish) blog.


Her blog is titled Rational Living. Michelle is a big history buff and she and her family are about to take on a massive historical type project, that has involved a very impressive amount of research and preparation. In a very small nutshell, Michelle and her family starting the day after Christmas will spend a year living under the modern equivalent of World War II rationing, in an attempt to learn that they can indeed live happy, healthy fulfilled lives with less so that others may have more.


She has several interesting posts already detailing the preparations so far. Check it out! I think this is a very interesting undertaking and am so amazed with the work they have put in to it. I really look forward to learning more about their journey through this experience and will happily support their efforts.


(And I will likely occasionally bestow upon them a few sugar/chocolate and perhaps cheese based "charitable donations.")

For now though I must join my husband in watching awful videos from the 80's as I continue in my quest to avoid memorizing lines.

Who Knew?

I have wanted to get a new Christmas tree for a few years now.

I have had the same artificial tree for nearly 10 years now. When we bought it we lived in a much smaller house with MUCH lower ceilings. I would like a tree that is more in proportion with our current space.

For the past few years I keep saying that I am going to hit the day after Christmas sales and get a new tree.

Every year I have awakened the day after Christmas and decided that staying home and chillaxing sounded like a much better idea.

This year I have decided to just go out and get a new tree now. Post Christmas sale prices be damned! It is time to get real and say out loud that fighting crowds is not worth a bargain to me.

We had planned to put up decorations tonight, and I said that we would do everything but the tree tonight and shared my intent to purchase a new one.

Oh. Sweet. SWEET. Baby. Jesus.

I had no idea that this announcement would be received by the children in much the same manner had I announced that we were not putting up any decorations, would not be observing Christmas, and instead would be spending the entire day picking lint and cat hair off the carpet.

Were they upset because we were not going to put up all the decorations tonight?

Nay my friends.

They were upset because I intend to buy a new tree.

#2 was so upset, that we indeed did not put up any decorations this evening, she had no interest because she was too sad. Tears, very very sad drawings about her feelings, the whole nine yards.

Now my girls love their traditions, and do hate to give things up, but let me tell you I never in 10,000 years expected to get such grief over this issue.

#1 got over it more quickly once I said that the old tree may very well become the new tree for my office.

#2 was not mollified by this news. Nor was she comforted by the news that we would still put up the same decorations, and all the rest of Christmas would be the same.

It seems that she is tired of changes.

I suspected something like this.

We have had a pretty hectic change filled couple of months. Frankly that she held on this long without so much as a hint of a meltdown was pretty impressive.

After many hugs, cuddles, and a LOT of reassurance (coupled with my assurance to her that we are INDEED GETTING A NEW TREE regardless of begging and pleading on her part) she was able to come around. Not excited about the new tree, but accepting at least. Less sad too.

Those coping skills are improving with age.

Hers and mine.

Because I should probably let you in on a not so much a secret.

She comes by her dislike of change naturally.

Who is with me on this one?

Let me start out by saying that I LOVE to shop.

Love. It.

I like most people I believe, love a great bargain.

However, despite my love of shopping and a great bargain I can not begin to understand why people will line up in the cold, stand for hours well before the ass crack of dawn to both shop and get a great bargain.

Furthermore I don't understand why retailers do this to their customers and their employees.

Does something magical happen in the store between the hours of 5-10 AM on the day after Thanksgiving? Something that allows the store to make the same or a larger profit than they would make if they offered the same deals at their regular opening time?

That is the only thing that I can figure would justify this level of ridiculous.

To me that is what this get up at ludicrous o'clock and stand in line, then maybe...possibly...or even LIKELY not get the bargain I am hoping for is.... Completely ridiculous.

Now please understand that I am not passing judgement on those who choose to do the above. If that is what you want or in some cases I am sure enjoy doing be my guest. I am sure that there are extreme things I have done that others would consider ridiculous.

I just get pissy because I feel that it is manipulative. If there is anything in this world I despise it is being manipulated.

I know that I am manipulated many times over during the rest of the year by retailers in some shape or form the rest of the year.

I refuse to be manipulated in this one case however.

So there.

Big retailers I challenge YOU. Give me a huge and ridiculous bargain at 12:30 PM. Reward me for sleeping in and being lazy. I in turn will shop at your establishment at a reasonable hour when everyone else is out having lunch. I won't be hungry yet because I slept in and had a late breakfast.

C'mon. Manipulate me on my terms.

Eh. So Much for my "Plan"

Hmm...

Not so much back to that regular blogging I was promising in my last post that was dated ohhhhhh...sometime a little over a week ago.


I could give you the usual excuses, but that is boring and I am pretty sure you all know them by now anyway.


I realized a few days ago that my uhhh (excuse me I had to leave and go check my archives to make sure I am correct. I do my best to keep my reporting factual here at Babble On.) 4 year blogiversary passed sometime in early mid to late October.

Dang.

4 years is a long time to stay committed to something like this.

My readership is small. Very small. Minute. Teeny. I get about an average of 7 page views per day. Total visits since I started keeping track, which was some time well after I started the blog show that I have had around 9,000 visits to my page.

Seedling status compared to many of the blogs I frequent.

I am pretty sure that a good portion of the hits I get are from a picture that is the #1 Google Image Serach if you type Wizard Hat Cupcakes.

That is my biggest claim to fame with this thing. Which always gives me a little giggle.

Not that I was ever looking for fame and fortune from this venture. But it is nice to be recognized for something I suppose. Everyone should be #1 in some area right?

I guess me and my famous Wizard Hat Cupcake picture will keep it going for now.

Why stop after this long? As long as people keep commenting, I suppose I will keep Babbling On.

Ciao.

Instead of Session Notes

I thought I would blog instead. I have left all 5 of you in my blog posse hanging on long enough.

So I have survived the transition. I got the office moved, unpacked, and organized. I have seen many clients, and have a schedule that is staying full and have been getting referrals here and there. Looking forward to my first Medicaid reimbursement check. It will be nice to have some coming in, to help replace the scary amounts that have been going out.

I am a routine kind of gal and this having to develop new work routines after having a routine set for the past 4 or so years is kind of getting to me. My "commute" is longer too, which is one of the few downsides of this venture. (Not that I should complain. My "commute" has gone from about 5-10 minutes depending on the time of day to around 15-20 depending on the time of day) I know that soon I will settle in to a routine, I just want it to hurry up and get here.

Right now I am working a LOT. Trying to build up the coffers. I hope that in the coming months I can tweak things and have a schedule more like I envisioned when I first started working on this adventure. I am mourning the loss this year of my typical 3 days off at Thanksgiving and week or more off at Christmas. It is just too soon to take that much time off. Next year maybe. We'll see.

So here's hoping things continue to settle down. I think this is all starting to catch up with me. I am falling asleep about 2 seconds after my head hits the pillow these days and in the morning I swear the night was only 5 minutes long and I have no recollection of dreaming. That is some hardcore sleeping for me.

Hope you all have been well and my plan is to get back to regular posting soon.

Try to contain yourselves!

Telling it like it is

I got two kids at home sick with the flu.

I have 1 week left at work before I start the new practice.

Between caring for sick children, praying, chanting, rattling bones, and other assorted rituals to ward off germs for myself, annnndd...oh YEAH, starting my own business...blogging is falling off the radar for a week or two.

Try not to fuss too much.

Or at least don't fuss around me.

My current patience level :
"I will tear your head off and throw it over the fence if you annoy me in the slightest."

Don't say I didn't give you fair warning.

It's an I got a lotta crap done kind of tired

Hoo Boy.

I am surprised I have the strength and energy to type.

Things are hopping in Babble Land, and today was a doozy.

But...I now have a fresh and lovely painted office space. I am so pleased with how it turned out! I also have a bookcase, and we have intenet, phone/fax lines, and some furniture and toys in the lobby area. It begins to look a lot like a functioning office in there!

Next week I get a loveseat, find a chair, put together my desk, and start to arrange things in my office space.

So preparations for the new office are clipping along at a good pace.

Progress on the Journey to Better Health...not quite as clipping.

As is always the case at Chez Babble, fall brings on extreme busy times. I should take a picture of our calendar and post it here. Just for a good giggle. Because I promise you every time I look at it I giggle hysterically at the idea that we are going to cram all that in. Some how we do.

Anyway The Journey.

I have two pounds left.

Two pounds that seem to have separation anxiety. Cuz they ain't movin'. They are clinging to me like a toddler to it's mother when there are adults in huge scary costumes near by.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have been enabling this separation anxiety somewhat due to my lack of vigilance in counting my calories. Due to things like catching a cold, and ridiculously early sporting events my exercise has been somewhat less consistent, but overall not too bad.

I know what I need to do, now I just need to do it, lose these last two measly pounds and move on to the next phase of the journey. The phase I have dreamed, fantasized, and drooled over.

Maintenance.

Now that it is so close, the view is not quite as shiny as it was some 6 months ago. In fact it kind of looms a little scary. Because now I realize that these changes I have made don't stop. Ever.

That is kind of daunting.

I am pondering how to go about maintenance and I hope that next time we discuss The Journey I will be telling you all about the new maintenance plan I am carrying out.

On to good stuff about The Journey.

Since I now wear clothes that fit on a regular basis instead of clothes that are 2-3 sizes too big people have really noticed how much I have lost. That is kind of fun.

Someone the other day told me that I looked like I could afford to eat a brownie I turned down the other day. I don't believe that I am in the too thin category, but it was kind of nice to hear.

Unexpected stuff from The Journey. (warning that this could fall in to the TMI category for some of you.)

Boob loss. Wow. My rack is not what it once was. To the tune of about 4 inches less boobage. That may not sound like a lot, but the reality is quite noticeable to me. BH is not complaining however so that is good. Mixed feelings about this loss, and am frankly surprised that I care at all.

Cold. Good SWEET LORD AND BABY JEEBUS the COLD!!!!

I have always been one who tends to get cold easily. But since the weather has turned colder I am REALLT noticing it with more intensity. Last year we kept our house at 68 while we were home all winter long. We wanted to work on saving energy and felt that we could really just put on an extra layer or two. I was fine all winter with that temperature and tolerated it well with the extra layer or two of clothing. We are not even in REAL winter yet, in fact have only had the heat on for maybe two days and I am not sure if I am going to be able to handle it. I was lamenting to BH about how I was doubting and remarked that I remembered it being fine last year. He lovingly reminded me that I have lost almost 30 pounds of insulation since last winter. Never even thought of this outcome. Pretty sure I don't care for it, but will learn to live with it. May just have to add a layer or 3 this winter instead. Because I really like the way that temp shrinks our heating bill. In half people. It has cut it in half.

Non-Journey related public service statement:

Get a programmable furnace and set it to 68 when you are home, 62 when you are gone during the day and at night. Get out those layers , and extra blankets out then watch that bill and your carbon footprint shrink baby shrink.

Until next time...

Coming Out

I have been teasing about some upcoming changes for a while now.


Finally I can come out about what is going on, although I bet some of you have guessed already, or you are friends with me on Facebook and know through there.


Anyway! My big news is.........


I am leaving my job.


I have been at this job longer than any other. Almost 4 years. That is a real record for me. If you feel so inclined, you can go back in the blog archives and read about my job jumping history. Try February 2006. That is the best I can do, as I am lazy blogger who doesn't categorize and tag things.

So what am I going to be doing after I leave my job?

Why going into private practice that's what!

Yup, I have pondered, thought, mulled, fretted, crunched numbers and decided that this is the way for me to go. If all goes as planned I hope to be able to work a little less eventually and make as much money or perhaps a bit more than I do currently.

I am also ready to call the shots now. I say how big my caseload will be, when and how late I work. I WILL CONTROL MY OWN SCHEDULE!!!! ( I am way excited about this. I swear to Baby Jesus it takes an act of congress to make a change to my schedule where I am now.)

So I guess I am not so much changing jobs as I am changing where and how I do my work.

I will be in an office space with 3 other therapists, so it will be nice to have others to talk to and consult with when necessary. The office space we have leased is lovely and in a great location. Getting the space ready has been fun, and exciting too. We paint my office and the lobby area this weekend.

So big stuff going on. It is getting pretty intense now that I am slightly less than a month away from starting this gig. The transition is going to be a lot of work, and I might get cranky so be warned, because you know you will be among the first to reap the uh...."benefits" of my mood state.

So that is it. My BIG NEWS.

Stay tuned for updates as they happen.

Things that make my heart break

My precious old lady kitty Kalypso died Sunday evening.

BH and I got her about 6 months after we got married and about 1 month after we moved ourselves alllll the way out to California where we knew not a soul so that I could go to graduate school.

I always say that we did not pick out Kalypso, but rather she picked US out for herself. We got her from the SPCA shelter in Oakland. It was not very well lit, and I was peering in the cages at the kitties when I felt a little paw on my back. I turned around to see a tiny and very fuzzy long-haired tortoise shell kitten. We asked to have a look at her. We took her in to the visiting room and she immediately curled up in my lap and started purring and seemed as happy as could be. I told BH that we had just found our kitty. He wanted to reserve opinion until he saw how she did with him. So I very reluctantly handed her over. She curled right up in his lap and kept on purring.

So home with us she went. She really was a welcome friend in a town where we had none. You would have thought that cat was our child, the way we treated her. She went on many plane trips home with us, because we hated to leave her behind. If we were sitting or lying down she was in our lap, curled up on our backs, sitting on our heads, never far from our side. She would play for hours and was extremely entertaining.

As happens with all pets when kids enter the picture, she did not get quite the attention she had when she was an only child, but she was ever patient with the girls and they loved her dearly. Nothing made them happier then to sit in the hallway every morning so that Kalypso would come sit in their laps to get her morning pets. When they started helping to feed her they were thrilled when she would sleep in their beds at night. When she got to old and frail to jump up to their beds, they both made special spots on the floor with pillows and t-shirts so that she would have a place to rest near them. The nicknamed her Pippy and loved her as much as we did.

Kalypso turned 14 this year and got very ill last spring. Her kidneys were failing and she was having seizures. We had made the decision to end her suffering, but before we made the call the she rallied around and recovered somewhat.

A couple of weeks ago, she started having seizures again. She was eating only the tiniest amounts no matter what treats we gave her to try and coax her appetite. We knew that she was winding down.

Sunday afternoon she had a seizure and seemed to have a lot of trouble coming out of it. We did not think she was going to make it to the next day, and decided that if she did the time had come. She was obviously suffering now, and we could not let her go on like that.

We told the girls at dinner, and everyone cried. We checked on her periodically. Finally shortly before the girls bedtime BH called me in and said that he thought Kalypso was at the end. Her breathing was erratic and very very shallow. We gave the girls the chance to come in and say goodbye, and then BH and I sat there petting her until she was gone.

It has been very sad around here these past few days. We are grateful to have been with her as she took her final breaths, and grateful even more that she suffers no more.

I still expect to see her sitting in her favorite spots, or to have her come in after I have showered to lick drops of water off my legs. I miss seeing her watch over the other two cats like the matriarch she was.

I miss my friend.