My new goal: health care reform

My new personal goal is to learn as much about health care reform as possible. I've found a lot of interesting perspectives on NPR. Here is a series from Talk of the Nation and I think that everyone who gets a chance should listen to the podcasts.

Are Health Insurance Companies The Problem?
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106853465

Are Patients The Problem?
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106550388

Are Doctors The Problem with Health Care?
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105481744

Here is a link to many stories that have been on NPR about Health Care Reform:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106180134

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Reform page:
http://www.rwjf.org/healthreform/

Here is something that you should know-insurance companies can cancel your insurance at any time-if you have an individual policy (this doesn't affect people who have insurance through their employer or in group policies). It's called recision. Even though this might not affect you, it could affect someone you care about and it will happen when they need their coverage the most. At least 19,000 people's policies were rescinded between 2005 and 2007. This is not the only reason that I think that private insurance isn't the best system for our country, but it's one of them.

I really encourage everyone to find out more about the situation of health care in our country before making rash judgements based on what you hear on TV news soundbytes. It's everyone's responsibility to weigh in on the debate. It's clear that we need change in our system. If you're unwilling to learn about the current situation and the options for moving forward, you shouldn't complain about the system that gets put in place!

Once you form an opinion, you need to contact your legislators and let them know what you think. Here's a link that will help you find out who your representative is: http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW_by_State.shtml
You just need to click on your state to find Reps for your state. Click on their names to go to their websites, then contact them and tell them your opinion. It's a small responsibility people and it's a part of living in a democracy! I also urge you to think compassionately about this issue. Good health and insurance coverage shouldn't be just for the rich and middle class.

I hope that you take my challenge and learn more about health care reform and voice your opinion now while it really matters!

Remember, your health won't last forever. I hope you have insurance or a huge savings account when that happens.

Trying new things

While in Maine, I did something that I haven’t done in a long time, I tried a new food! I ate a lobster roll! My previous experience with lobster has always been limited to a nibble and then the thought of, “Eww, I don’t like it.”

Since I was in Maine, I couldn’t have forgiven myself if I didn’t try lobster. I decided to just go for it,-and I LIKED IT! This was totally life-altering for me, I realized that most of the reason that I didn't like lobster before was that I thought that I didn't like it. I made a resolution to try things that I've previously written off as gross.


In addition, it got me to think about how important trying new foods is in the quest to eat healthy (especially in the vegetable department). There are many foods I hated as a kid that are now some of my favorites. If I wouldn’t have given asparagus or green beans another chance, I would have never discovered how delicious they are! Eating the lobster roll inspired me to try raw kale at the farmer’s market. It’s not something that I would normally have purchased at the grocery store, but I started talking to the farmer and he told me how to prepare it. Then, he asked, “Would you like to try it?” I thought, “Why not?” and took a bite and it wasn’t bad.


Here are a few other foods that I've tried this summer (with more or less taste success). Korean BBQ-see the picture, the bowl on the right was my dish and the meat on the grill was Sean's dish. I wish that I could remember their names.

However, I will share one thing that I learned from our Korean BBQ experiment. It might be a good idea when trying new ethnic foods to google it beforehand or bring along someone who knows about it. If you happen to go to a restaurant that has few pictures and even fewer English descriptions, you're in trouble. This can be even more complicated if your waiter doesn't speak much English and can't explain what's in the dish or how to eat it. Then, if you go home and google your food, you won't feel stupid when you find out that you ate it in the way that everyone makes fun of on the internet.

Frog legs-I've had plenty of opportunities to eat frog legs, but never partook. Here's a picture of my cousin, Eric, eating the frogs that he caught the night before with my brother and my dad.
Not that I condone killing poor little frogs, but it wasn't nearly as disturbing to eat as I'd previously imagined. I mean I guess they were deep-fried, so how bad could they taste, right? But, honestly, I'd steal some meat from Sean the next time my family has them. Maybe, I'll even get my own frog (doubtful, but maybe).

The lesson I've learned is that I really have to give things a chance. I have to make a commitment to trying new foods, the first bite isn't usually spectacular, but it's worth it to take a second and a third. I really want my kids to grow up healthy and strong and being a good example of how and what to eat is a really important piece of that. So, cheers to all the new foods that I'm going to try!

More Travels with Angie

I recently went to Portland, ME (by recently, I mean about a month ago, but that's all relative, right?). Unfortunately, it was rainy and chilly when I got to Portland, so I didn’t explore the Old Port area as much as I would have liked! But, I did get the to see the a beautiful light house, th Portland Head Lamp. I was told it is one of the most photographed light houses in the United States. I had never been to Maine before and it was a much different coastline than the beaches that I am used to visiting. It was really quite beautiful. It's too bad that it was so foggy, because on the shoreline in the background of this picture were houses that backed up to the ocean. Wouldn't it be amazing if that were the view from your back porch! Wow! You couldn't help but recognize the wonder and beauty of the world every single day. In the Kansas City suburbs, it's easy for me to forget how amazing our planet is and that I need to do more to protect it.

I really like to travel and see new things. I am totally the type of person who bought 1000 Things to See Before You Die and looks up what things I can see out of the book before I go somewhere. Considering the book covers the entire world, I know for certain that I won't hit them all, but I like trying. Unfortunately, I have not travelled internationally very often, so I have about 995 things more to see. I should have gotten 1000 Things to See in the U.S., oh well, at least now I have a better shot of crossing the U.S. sites off my list.

I'm also the type of person who bought a map of the U.S. about 7 years ago just so that I could mark where I had been. I still have a significant number of states to visit, so I really need to get cracking. I think that a good road trip would help out here, but not right now, it would entail too many bathroom breaks:)

Road trips probably aren't as glamourous as they are in my mind, but I think that travelling across the country would be one amazing experience. I really wish I would have done it when I had no responsibilities. In high school, I read a book called, The Majic Bus, about a college course that took a 6 week bus trip across the U.S. and became enamored with the idea. I've been seriously thinking about taking the baby (once she's older) on an educational road trip and stopping at important sites across the country, just like in the book, but I haven't talked to Sean about this yet. I figure I have about 10 years to get him to say yes. In the meantime, I should start doing my research about what places my kids NEED to see. I'll probably start with the ones I need to see before I die.

Gosh, I'm tired

Hello again blog and faithful readers,
It's been almost a month since I posted anything and I am going to blame my classes again! I'm halfway done with this session, so I only have 3 more weeks to go! Thank goodness. Cramming a semester's worth of work into 6 weeks is pretty daunting. It's hard to keep up, but I try my best to keep my eye on the prize!

Needless to say, I am pretty exhausted. I fell asleep on the couch today and missed my first evening water aerobics class. I was pretty disappointed but I guess I needed the sleep. As soon as I have a little more time, I have an excellent blog topic to discuss! It's been brewing in my brain for a couple weeks. Stay tuned...I'm off to bed.

A series of unfortunate events

Have you ever found yourself in a "funk"? I think that I'm in one right now, prompted by my vacation in Florida last week. Can you believe my funk was caused by a vacation?? It all started when my friends and I took an ill-fated boat ride with Capt. Bill. Here's a pic of me, Katie, Krissy and Eric on the USS Minnow-jk. On the ride back, we got splashed and then my really expensive, awesome camera , which happens to be one of my favorite possessions stopped working. Needless to say, I've been a little stressed since then. My husband is pretty mad about it and I'm pretty mad too, but mostly at myself for bringing the camera on the trip. I've been trying to look at the bright side of the situation, but it just doesn't seem that rosy right now. Sean can't find the receipt, so I'm hoping that they will still accept our warranty claim:)

But, since this is a blog about being thankful for things, I will say that I am really glad that I saw a wild manatee upclose! It was pretty darn cool, but my stomach just hurts when I look at the pictures! I didn't take this one, Eric did, so it's not quite as much salt in the wound:)

The rest of my series of unfortunate events probably aren't as unfortunate as they seem to me right now, but I've been so bummed about the camera, my whole perspective has been skewed. But to continue the story, we were visiting Florida for a friend's wedding (which I sadly have no pics of). I thought that we ticked off my friend the night before the wedding so much that she was going to uninvite us. The story behind that is not really very exciting, so I'll chalk that up to nerves and stress. Luckily, she forgave us by the next day. We showed up to the wedding without being escorted away:) It was a beautiful evening wedding on the beach and my friend looked so beautiful and happy. I'm so glad for her! Hopefully, I'll get some pics of the wedding soon! (Hint, Hint: Krissy and Katie share your pics with me)

However, while standing on the beach after the ceremony, I've realized that my varicose vein (compliments of pregnancy) has started to creep up my leg and making its way across my thigh. Pretty sweet, huh? Actually, I think that I've had a pretty easy pregnancy so far, so I don't want to complain too much. However, this varicose vein isn't just unsightly, it makes my leg ache and I'm not too thrilled about that, but I'll deal for the next 16 weeks. If anyone has any advice for avoiding/stopping them, shoot it my way! My internet research hasn't yielded any hot tips, but the good news is that it's really likely that it will go away after delivery-yay!

The day after the wedding, I had to take an online final to finish up my food science class (the very one that has kept me from you, blog). Well, since most of my studying occurred in Florida, I didn't have the best result...I ended up missing an "A" in the class by 5 points. In reality, this isn't a huge deal, but it just burns me, b/c I busted my butt in the class. I had the top test on the midterm and one of the 5 best research papers in the class, so if only I would have studied a little more! I know, it's a stupid thing to worry about, but these types of things really bother me.

On the plane ride home, I realized that I've gotten to the part of pregnancy where I just can't hold it anymore. I annoyed the old lady sitting next to me something terrible when I had to get up to go to the bathrooom twice during the flight. Oh well, nothing I can do, it probably would have been more annoying if I would have peed in my seat.

When I got home, I found ants in our pantry and the crab grass overtook my garden. Then, Sean found out that he has to travel this week, probably until Thursday. It's only been 3 weeks since he got back from his 7 week stint in Illinois and one of those weeks we were on separate vacations:) Oh well, I guess our chores can always be pushed off until later. At least the bug spray people are coming on Wednesday and I don't have to bake cakes this week, so I'll have time to go out and pull the crabgrass.

Today, to top it off, I'm in for a fight with my insurance company, doctor's office over an ultrasound. I can hardly wait for the phone calls!

But, like I said earlier, this blog is about being thankful! Everyone has times that just get them down. Most of the time, annoying stuff like bills and ants and crabgrass aren't a big deal. But, it's hard to keep them in perspective when other things have gone wrong. This has always been a challenge for me, so I'm glad that I have this blog so that I can publicly keep these problems in perspective. In reality, this is the small stuff, even my camera isn't that big of a deal, it's fixable and/or replaceable. I love that thing and it's worth the cost to fix (maybe I just won't tell Sean how much it costs). Even if that ultrasound costs me $231, it was a huge relief to see our baby on that screen. She's so beautiful and amazing, definitely worth $231 to know she's snug and happy inside my belly. We probably just won't see her again until it's in person:) (I could go on and on about the healthcare system here, but I'll leave it at don't trust your doctor's office to tell you that something won't be covered!) I'm thankful that I learned that lesson. Oh, I can't forget to be thankful that I don't have a bake anything this week!!!!!

It's been a long time...my friend

Oh blog, I've missed you so and I'm sorry I haven't written in such a long time.
I just finished 6 weeks of class and now I finally have some time to write and I am excited. I have 2 more classes over the next 6 weeks, but hopefully they won't require me to cook/bake for 10 hours a week!
I have one great topic that I'd like to write about since I had to do a lot of traveling this spring. That topic is airport bathrooms. When you travel alone, you come to appreciate thoughtful design of an airport bathroom. First, you really do need a stall that is bigger than a normal stall. Kudos to you, Detroit airport designers. You successfully created a stall where carry-on luggage can be manuevered into the stall without having to stand on the toilet. Both me, my bladder, and my luggage appreciated the ease of entry and exit of your stalls. You even took it up a notch by having the door open out, instead of in, and I will give you a big, fat kiss if we ever meet in person. There are many airport bathrooms that don't live up to your quality, there is nothing more terrible than having a door that opens in, inside a stall that is already too small for a person and her carry-on and backpack.
The second most important thing is having enough stalls in the bathroom to handle the traffic. Three stalls doesn't cut it, Portland, ME, it just doesn't cut it. When you're pregnant, you appreciate bathrooms that allow you to walk right in and do your business without waiting in line.
So, I'd just like to say, take connecting flights through Detroit if you are looking for great bathrooms and a weird, trippy tunnel that might remind you of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

what i've learned

I just spoke with a friend that is dealing with some of the same issues that I dealt with a few years ago and it forced me to reflect on what I've learned about life in the past few years. I think that it is tough to be in your mid-twenties, you graduate college with expectations of a great job, going out with friends at night, you know you're supposed to be living it up. Only, it's not always like that when you graduate. You may not live in the same town, let alone the same house as the good friends you've gotten used to hanging out with constantly. You get a job, realize that working is terrible, and you make a lot less than what you thought you would. It was really hard for me to cope with those changes in my life, especially after I left grad school and moved to Kansas City. I constantly questioned whether I made the right decision to move and then I began to question every major life decision. Eventually I started to believe that I couldn't trust myself to make good decisions, so I had no idea how I could move forward with life. Long story short, that wasn't a good path to head down and it led me nowhere FAST. Thinking back to that time, I recognize a few actual mistakes that I made and I hope by writing this I can help my friend recognize where he/she might be living by the same faulty logic that I was.

First, I failed to acknowledge that my worth as a person was not defined by how much money I made. Sure, it is nice to make more money and it's hard when you have friends that have higher salaries than you do, but salary is not what defines your character. Judging yourself by that standard will always make you unhappy because there will always be someone less-deserving out there making more money than you. But, you can't do anything about that, so don't dwell on it.

Second, I failed to recognize that I wasn't "stuck" in a job. The truth is that I lacked a lot of self-confidence and just didn't believe that I would be able to find my dream job. I thought that other employers would always see me as a research assistant, someone at the bottom of the totem pole. The truth is that I also thought that it was too late for me to change my career path and I'd have to travel down that path and hate it for the rest of my life. Now, don't get me wrong, I haven't found my dream job, but I've come to accept my job for what it is-a job. I've decided to go back to school to become a dietitian, something I've thought about since about 2000. Why did it take me 9 years to get there, I don't know, but I finally did and I'm really excited about the possibilities. The truth is that it's never too late to change your career path. It may not be easy, but it's worth it. Don't decide to stick with something you don't like when you're 25! You have to work for 40 more years! Just because you have a car payment or you are used to having a salary, think about the long-term vs the short-term sacrifices before you rule something out.

Third, I thought that having "grown-up" stuff would make me happy. It doesn't and it's a pain in the butt. I was so excited when we decided to buy a house, because that is what you are "supposed" to do. But, houses aren't free and they require a lot of you. Having a home is wonderful, but tricking yourself into believing that you need to own yours is silly. Owning a house is a big responsibility and I'd argue that it's a mistake to jump into that if you aren't sure about your where your life is headed. Houses can really complicate your life and there is absolutely nothing wrong with renting a place until you're at a place in your life when ownership make sense for you.

Getting married is kind of tied into the "grown-up" stuff category too. If you're struggling to figure out who you are, maybe you're not ready to get married yet. I moved to KC and got engaged, but we ended up postponing our wedding. In the end, everything turned out wonderfully, but things would have been ok even if we decided not to get married. The most important thing is that we went into it when we were both ready. If you aren't ready, then there is a reason and you need to spend some time figuring out what that reason is.

Fourth, I didn't talk about these things with people. I kept it inside until they boiled over. Of everything, this was my biggest mistake. I shouldn't have made such harsh judgements about how I should or shouldn't have felt about life. I mistakenly believed that everyone else I knew was on the right path and I was the only one who was drifting. I thought other people would judge me and wouldn't understand. The fact is that I was wrong. Many people I know struggled with feelings/decisions about where they're headed in their mid-20's. People would have understood and tried to help if I would have reached out.

The bottom line is that even if things are tough for you right now, you'll get through it. Even if you've made a bad decision along the line, everyone does, and it's ok that you did. The key is to figure out where you want to be and then ask people to help you get there. Trust me, people want to help you. Friends and family want you to be successful, but mostly, they want you to be happy. If you need to make changes in your career, your relationships, or whatever, do it. The sooner you do, the faster you'll get to a place of contentment in your life. In the end, happiness is worth a lot more than your salary, your job title, your neighborhood, or your car.