Health Care Reform

My family has numerous health problems, to the point where my aunt and uncle both have to stay home and not work because the care of their daughters takes up all of their time. My uncle cannot leave the house for more than two hours because there has not been a nurse that has been trained in such specialty care that is needed for my cousins and their extremely delicate health needs. The government is changing some of their health care, and as a result, this is affecting my family to the point where my cousin isn't even able to EAT....they took away the only food that has been working with her body. (She has to eat through tubes inserted into her stomach, and her body has rejected all other food types...now she has to switch to a port inserted into her heart. Last time she had that, she got a blood infection, which could be fatal). I understand that some people out there are just trying to get a free ride out of the government, but because of the cuts and what not that our government is making, there are families out there who are going to be in very serious situations. This is what my aunt wrote:

One of the things that I have worried about in health care reform is that the Democrats are tackling the problem at the wrong source by trying to keep the insurance companies from charging as much as they do for health care. My concern has been that the health care industry isn't the one driving up the prices. I believe that the price increases are being driven by other forces, one of which is lawsuits that attack drug companies, medical equipment manufacturers, hospitals and doctors. This drives up the cost of their medical malpractice insurance that they have to buy and the cost is passed on to us in the cost of their services. There are other forces at work, I'm sure, like costs of research and development, paying salaries that are competetive to recruit the best researchers and doctors. I'm not sure what can be done about those things, but I know that the frivolous medical lawsuits can be addressed. There was one recent article that I read that said that America might use the model another country used (Australia?) in their health care reform. Any person who can show that they were damaged through the medical care that they received (not because of medical care they did not receive - if that happened they're out of luck) then they are compensated a predetermined fixed amount for their loss. There are no lawsuits, no court costs and more people actually participate in the program because they don't have to worry about all of the grief involved in litigation. Anyway, I got a little off the track here. The point is, the health insurance companies aren't the force that is driving up health care costs. And when the Democrats pass a health care bill (as it looks like they will) they will only destroy the health insurance companies, not drive down cost. When that starts happening, I only hope that we can make additional health care reform that will address the real problems before the entire health care system falls completely apart. The article I am sending is a link to an article that talks about how much money the health insurance companies actually make. It is an interesting read... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091025/ap_on_go_co/us_fact_check_health_insurance Anyway, I hope that our government figures out the best way to do this! *editor's note: I guess the government had nothing to do with the food. The company that makes it actually just discontinued making it. My bad..

Love My Dad

I love my mom too...don't let the scribbled on face throw you.

I woke up a couple of weeks ago crying..yes I am a girl...lol...because I dreaming of my dad and all the little things he would do for me as a little girl, like sit and watch sesame street with me (well, he would "rest his eyes").....put on my Barbie doll clothes for me cause I couldn't do it...come into the bath and wash my ridiculously long hair because I couldn't do it at such a young age....make sure I brushed my teeth every morning and night by coming in and brushing his teeth at the same time with me in the same sink.. he made me a lunch every day I was with him, complete with a neatly cut line on the diagonal because I liked it like that...he recorded EVERY episode of PeeWee Herman because I was obsessed....he would read me bedtime stories every night and make sure I fell asleep comfortably, he called me every Sunday night at 9:00 faithfully while I lived in Oklahoma, he would even come into my room and act like he was sleeping until I was asleep to make me feel comforted. Not to mention the goofy games we played constantly, like racing around the couch when I was 3 to his "ghostbusters" record because I loved to romp, and the time I was feeling really lonely at this wedding we had to be at, so he and I started tap dancing together...the triple step..to this song that came on....He always provided me with stability and more love than I ever gave back. I love you Daddy! I decided I want to marry someone just like him!

Self Realization...

So I thought i got over being a perfectionist when I hit about 16. But, no. I realized this today when I was with a couple of friends and was taking everything literally and trying to analyze and come up with just the right comment. And all she was doing was making fun of him and laughing. And they were getting along great. ha! OH MY GOSH sometimes I wish I was just one of those chill personalities, but..nope. haha EVERYTHING HAS TO BE JUST RIGHT!! barf on me now.

Classic Skating and Los Hermanos Partyin!

can you guess what I am?

yeah that fork was not moving once I stuck it in there

soldier boy

I couldn't help but post these because my co-workers came up with some AWESOME costumes!

hahaha so this guy walked by our restaraunt on STILTS...complete with freaky costume, so he looked like a death eater or something...we have full on windows in our garden room where you can see everything. So he walked by and Bobby here whipped out his wand, pointed it at him, and yelled "PATRONUS!!!!"

This oompa loompa was by far one of my favorites

Tatoo artist. He was giving people "tatoos" that asked for them. Actually it was only one co-worker, but still.

This is what they look like from our side of the counter when we come to pick up the food.

This was my Halloween costume for work. Too bad my roommates didn't join in....again...

Ha! This is me and Whitney, my EFY co-counselor! I think its awesome I get to see her all the time now.

Check out this chick's costume.......I couldn't decipher my feelings about it...lol

Some of the gang at Classic Skating