It's September!

I know that people are always saying things like, "Where did August go?" when it seems like time is flying. But really, where did August go? It is September 1st today, and the Madison public schools are back in session. I guess August went by so quickly for me because Einar and I spent 1/3 of it on vacation in the Northwest.

We had a great time visiting our brothers and brother-in-law in Seattle and Vancouver. We saw a lot of sights, sampled some local beer and ice cream, and genuinely enjoyed our time. I've posted some pictures below.

Unrelated to our vacation, since Einar and I now have health care coverage (thanks, GHC!), we went in for physicals last week. Nothing too exciting - just wanted to meet our doctor and get a check-up. We both got Tdap boosters (Tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis), which resulted in each of us having a sore shoulder for a few days. Other than that, we are healthy. I, of course, got a referral for a colonoscopy. Fun times. I'm waiting to hear from the clinic about scheduling that. It feels good to have health insurance!!

View of Seattle from West Seattle (Alki)

It's the Space Needle!


View from the Space Needle.

Snoqualmie Falls

This was taken on the way to Whister, at Shannon Falls.

This was taken near the base of Shannon Falls.


Erik and I are imitating Dad's reaction to cold mountain creeks!

Einar contemplates his next step as he crosses the creek.


Lost Lake at Whistler

Lost Lake again.


By the suspension bridge in North Vancouver.

On the suspension bridge.

Look, it's a tiny door!

Lions Gate Bridge is behind us.


At Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver - mountains in background

ELCA video contest

I haven't written anything on here for over a month, and I will try to get some photos of our trip to Seattle and Vancouver posted soon. In the meantime, go on over to the Tweedee blog to see what I wrote about the ELCA video contest.

Health Insurance Update

Einar and I will have "regular" (that is, not limited to major medical issues) health insurance coverage beginning August 1. We are relieved to have found a plan that fits our budget, and we are really happy that coverage will begin before our trip to the Northwest. We applied and were approved for an individual plan with Group Health Cooperative (GHC), a nonprofit health insurance company. We haven't received our packet of full benefit information yet, but we do know that they emphasize preventive care and complementary medicine. I believe I read that they will pay 50% of the first $750 spent on massages, which basically means half-price massages. I need to check into that. I'm also wondering if they offer reimbursements for things like Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) shares, as that's something I'd like to do next summer. All in all, I'm really excited to have health insurance again.

Now, I can call and get my annual exam(s) scheduled. . .

Uninsured

Einar and I no longer have health insurance. We had a short-term, major medical plan that expired on June 30. We figured that was no big deal, as we are eligible to get on Dean Health Care's REALTOR group plan (since Einar works full-time for a realtor). So, we looked up all the information about the options, including coverage, deductibles, and monthly premiums. It looked okay - group coverage, with prescription coverage, for under $500/month for the two of us. Not as good as employer-offered coverage, but better than most individual plans we've found. We applied, confident we'd be approved. And we were approved! The letter of approval also included new rates. The plan we'd wanted - the only one that covers maternity - would cost $731.92/month for the two of us!! That is out of our budget. So now we're back to square one in a lot of ways. We're looking into GHC, and we'll probably forego prescription drug coverage. What a nightmare! I truly hope Congress is able to pass some sort of health care reform bill in the next couple of months.

As part of our investigation into health insurance, I looked into BadgetCarePlus, Wisconsin's health coverage for low income people. We make too much money to qualify for that, and if one of us quits our job or reduces hours, we'll qualify, but we won't be able to cover all of our bills. I'm sure we're not the only people in this situation. I suppose we could just skip health insurance altogether and do what a lot of people do - let the taxpayers pay when we show up at the ER and don't have health insurance and can't pay. Or maybe we should just move to a country with socialized health care, like Canada, England, or France.

About time

I don't know how this keeps happening. I think of blogging nearly every day, and yet it has been almost 2 weeks since I've taken the time to post. Argh.

Anyway, a couple weeks ago, I decided to try to donate blood again. If you've talked with me this spring, I'm sure I've told you about my difficulties donating recently. First, it was low iron. Then, it was small, rolling veins. But I thought, it's been quite a while since I've tried, so I'm going to give it another shot. My iron was great! And the phlebotomist said my veins were no problem - just kinda deep. Hooray!! A pint of blood given to someone who needs it.

I really don't understand mean people. You know, people who are mean either because they take some sort of joy from making other people miserable or because no one ever taught them differently. It seems like life is just so much easier if you're nice. People are more willing to help you and interact with you. It has always seemed to me that being mean takes a lot of work. Why not just be nice? Forgiving? Accommodating? I think a lot of my mindset comes from my faith and my attempt to be Christ-like. I know I often fail at this, hurting family and friends when I lose my intentionality. I guess, then, when I encounter a mean person, I should just see it as a reminder of my own desire to be nice.

Favorite Online Sensation

I had to write another blog entry for the Tweedee Productions blog today. You can read it here.

Weight!

All week I've been meaning to bring an old picture of me to work, so I could scan it and upload it to this blog. I wanted to post of picture of me at my heaviest and a picture of me now. I think I've written previously about my constant struggle with my weight. When I graduated from college, I weighed 250 pounds. I have lost 80 of those pounds, which is no small feat! But according to the Body Mass Index (BMI), I should lose at least 15 more pounds to no longer be considered overweight. I should say that I have some issues with the BMI. It doesn't take into account frame size or muscle. I know that I should visit my doctor and talk about an appropriate weight. I should have a body fat test done. But I also know that I could stand to lose at least 15 pounds. Not because the BMI has classified me as overweight, but because I know the risks of carrying around extra weight.

Despite all this logical thought, I must admit that, even though I have been at my current weight (within 5 pounds) for over 6 years, I still think of myself as a fat girl. In my mind's eye, I am almost as big as when I graduated from college. My brain tells me that's not true. My friends and family tell that's not true. But my heart hasn't accepted that as truth. Not yet, anyway. Perhaps it will someday. In the meantime, I remind myself of all the things I can do more easily now that I'm not so heavy - jog, sit in theater and airplane seats, navigate a crowd, etc. I still have a hard time practicing portion control, especially when I'm not at home. I still can't turn down ice cream (or most other sweets). I still overeat. But I still try.

"My Favorite Madison Moment"

At Tweedee, we've been working on a video that has included interviews with some BIG NAMES in Madison. We've done 5 interviews so far with 1 left to do tomorrow.

We started with Suzy Favor Hamilton, former UW track athlete and 3-time Olympian.







We moved on to 2 UW Hospital employees. And then Mayor Dave.








This afternoon, we interviewed Ron Dayne, former UW running back and Heisman trophy winner.

Tweedee Productions Blog

I just wrote my first blog post for the Tweedee blog. Check it out!

11 weeks old

I just realized that I haven't blogged in over two weeks! I'm sorry it's been so long, but with work and the puppy, I feel like I've been meeting myself coming and going.

Anyway, the first couple of weeks with Bella were especially difficult as she would go potty in her bed (crate) all the time. It didn't seem to matter if she had been in there for half an hour or 3 hours - she would go potty. We finally called the vet, and we discovered she had a urinary tract infection. She's been on amoxicillin for two weeks now, and she has only had a couple of accidents in her bed during that time. Hooray!! Giving her medication is a lot easier than working on behavior modification. And when she's not in her bed, she always goes to the door to let us know when she needs to go potty.

We started a puppy socialization class this week. We learn about training (starting with Sit and Come), and the puppies get a chance each week to play with each other. There are some really cute puppies in the class with Bella! We're looking forward to learning more about helping Bella to become a well-trained dog. It'll be a lot of work, but it'll be worth it!

Here are some pictures we took last night when our friends brought over their 8-year-old Husky.