Friends and (internet)neighbors just helping out

Today I am feeling grateful. Especially grateful for friends who listen (or just read my emails) and care, and want to fix things even when I have to fix it myself. Thanks guys!

And grateful to strangers on the internet. Particularly those unselfish techie folks who help out complete strangers with free advice. Kudos to Bleepingcomputer.com, whose mission is to make life easier for the un-tech who must depend on their computers, "no strings attached". Really and truly! And for the moderately-techie, they are indispensable. Also, since I practically need to be hit over the head three times before I get it, PCWorld.com, and the great minds at antivirus.about.com also led the way back to a working computer.

You see, in this family, the computers are my responsibility. Yes, we have too many but I still back them all up! I've known them, lived with them most of my life, taken them apart and put them back together, and banged the crap out of them when I needed to. Yup, it's my job to make sure that everyone in this family is connected at all times. And yet, it's that pesky internet connection that trips me up every time and I gotta get my husband to fix it, cause if I have to call Comcast, they'll disconnect the entire house and then EVERYBODY gets upset.

Thanks to Bleepingcomputer.com, I only took 4 evenings out of my busy week (and a few mornings, too) to completely eradicate the pestilence that had invaded my son's laptop. It's supposed to be an educational tool, but he has learned myriad ways to download anything and everything his little heart desires. McAfee Antivirus has met its match, and lost.

Oh, and did I mention ... I did not have to pay any money. None. Nada. And still, all that wonderful free advice comes with a pleasant little "have a nice day" just for the heck of it.

The Peanut is back in business, downloading and uploading and searching for stuff to do, to play, to buy. And I'm having a nice day.

Making a buck off of Flu Season?

Get your flu shots! Every day!

Walgreen's on every corner, all advertising flu shots anytime, anyday. Target has it, CVS, the grocery store practically sticks you as you come through the revolving door. All accept cash.

My medical clinic, staffed by real doctors and nurses, where my insurance is accepted in lieu of cash, has no flu shots available. Sorry. Try Walgreen's.

Isn't that where I'll be purchasing my various flu symptom relievers? When I get the flu, that is, because I can't seem to get the shot, as covered by my health insurance ... (so much for my excellent coverage).

Oh I know, the insurance companies have screwed more people out of their life savings until they just die and poor lil ole me just wants to NOT get sick. I'm not asking for much. Or am I?

Slugfest

I have been very patient. Waiting and waiting for the tomatoes to ripen, maybe even show some color? Just a bit? I have two tomato plants in my little 5X3 raised bed garden. Both were gifts from another, more experienced gardener. One is your basic large beefsteak type tomato, and the other is cherry tomatoes. Nice combination.

I underestimated the ... um, heft of the larger tomato plant, and they kept falling down. Most of the summer, actually, even before the tomatoes started coming. So I finally gave up and just spread them around a bit, trying to give each one enough room to grow and be fruitful.

More than 2 dozen large (4-6 inches across, I don't buy them this big at the store!) green tomatoes on one plant. Would've been nice to share. But the slugs had other ideas. I didn't discover them until it was too late. I may have saved 2 or three, but the rest are ... ick. Mush. Slug food.

Okay, so maybe letting the tomato plants just lounge around, filling up the box where the cucumbers were now drying up and away, covering up a few basil plants, shading the peppers that I already knew weren't going to produce any peppers ... go ahead and say it. The perfect environment for slugs. And boy did they have a feast.

Well, not anymore. I cleaned up. I hacked it all away. Not even composting this stuff, in case I missed any live ones. And the surprised little buggers got a nice warm soapy bath (they can't swim, mwahahahaha!)

All that's left is one cherry tomato plant, and it's propped up all over the place. Not much shade to be found in the garden anymore. But I'm watching, and waiting. Patiently.

BetterMe Week 12 done and gone ...

but not forgotten. Nope, still have to work at these weekly goals and rewards. I think this will work for me on a regular basis, as long as I keep writing it down. Not that I'm going to keep blogging my weekly goals all the time. No, that would be boring, as I have to repeat some of them pretty regularly.

But Week 12 of the BetterU Program is done. In fact, I lost track sometime during that last Family Road Trip. But I keep on my diet, looking for the healthy eating in a sea of southern fried whenever I can. And the garden, it is bursting with ripe vegetables. Well, a pretty good supply of cucumbers and lettuce, anyway. We need a bit more HEAT to spur the tomatoes on, to ripen enough to eat. There's tons of green ones out there, I won't know what to do with them all if they ever do get to full ripeness. Well, then again, maybe I will. Lots of recipes, just have to make some room in the freezer.

So am I actually healthier than when I started? Since I didn't actually get any official numbers to start, and not going to get them for a few more weeks yet, I guess I'll just have to do the year to year comparison. And for starters, I'm a size and a half smaller. Not two sizes, that would make life too easy, one size and it's plenty roomy. Leaves room for improvement.

Still working on the family's healthy eating, but with my dear sweet husband grudgingly trying out new recipes, occasionally, he sets the example for the boys. And I crack the whip when necessary. But still they grow, those darn boys who barely eat any food at all. One day they'll get hungry, and then I'll be sorry.

But I think the Program has been good for me, good for all of us. BetterU, BetterMe, so I can Live Long and Prosper (and annoy my kids for many more decades to come, mwahahahahaha!)

The Health Care Debate Simplified

This is totally worth your time. Many thanks to Dan Roam for this presentation. Check out www.backofthenapkin.com.

Healthcare Napkins All

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www.slideshare.net/">documents from Dan Roam.

Another Family Road Trip

It's good to be home! Especially after a marathon driving day like yesterday ... about 700 miles worth. (Ok, so I only actually drove about 150, but I was still in the car for the rest of it!)

Our cabin in TN was beautiful!

Oh wait, that's not it! That's an old farm in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. There's a few of them dotted around the mountains. Pretty spare accomodations. Not exactly our style.

Now here's our rented cabin ...

A little more modern, including all the conveniences of home (and a hot tub on the back porch!)

So the scenery was beautiful, the bears stayed in the woods, at a respectful distance ... in other words, my one and only picture is too blurry to make out more than a black splotch, but we did see one, and we also saw lots of ... um ... "evidence" of their presence on the trail, which we carefully avoided stepping in.

Of course, it was so much more than nature hikes in the woods. Our trip was loaded with the usual touristy stuff, Dollywood (open wallet, insert straw), healthful (HA!) ok, Good Eatin', where the vegetables are either fried or just plain soaked in butter, get yer Fried Bologna Biscuit for breakfast! Um, yeah, we ate in quite a bit. Mini golf, where you have to take a train to the top to start the course, lazer tag, Incredible Christmas Place (Singing Santa had the day off), and lots of pool in our very own game room. And the hot tub, of course.

We do enjoy our family road trips. Looking forward to the next one, actually. But, for now, it's good to be home!

2 Weeks in One!

That's right, we have weeks 10 AND 11 all rolled into one here today! Fun, Fun, Fun! Almost Done!

Well, almost done with this BETTERU Program, that's all. Nothing else is almost done. Habits are still being learned, changed for the better. We are a work in progress, and there is always more to do. Now ... for the results...

Planning Menus and Food Journaling ... all that writing things down seems to be a problem, for some strange reason. I pick up a notebook and paper and write down everything on my mind, and I avoid the food issue. This one is going to be a constant thorn in my side. I know it will work wonders for the whole family in so many ways: budgeting, not wasting food, eating healthier meals and snacks, not eating too much (me!) as I write everything down. And especially while the gym is closed, I particularly need to watch my intake more carefully (that's my weigh-in, so no reminders from the scale for a couple weeks!). So this goal has not yet been reached. Still working on it.

Week 10: the focus is on family history and family health. Well, as I've said before, not much in the way of family history and heart disease. Got the genes on my side, so I better just work with them. As for my family, well, they're pretty active, but the guys sure do love their snacks! Meals, not so much. One of my goals was to get them all to sit down to a heart-healthy meal. My cooking is pretty heart healthy most of the time anyway, so the sitting down part is no problem. It's the getting them to eat it part that's a chore ... a work in progress.

Goal number 2, get the family active together, with one new activity per week. Well, we've all been "working out", both at home and the gym. The boys have been paying attention to their muscles, and they like to see improvement in their physique. They do sit-ups and push-ups nearly every morning, with us parents coaching them on, and joining in to show how it's done. (ok, I'm still working on my push-up form!). Activity is a family habit ... hope it stays that way.

Week 11 (that's right, 2 for the price of 1!): All about cigarette smoking. We are a non-smoking family. Even the extended family are non-smokers. I have no smoking friends. Restaurants are smoke-free here. My family lives a smoke-free lifestyle. My kids even equate smokers with criminals (and yes, I correct them and say it's a bad habit, not a bad person!).

But that's not to say that this week does not apply. No, no, no, no, no! A smoker's biggest obstacle in achieving the smoke-free lifestyle is the lapse, often caused by "high risk situations" (for me that could be just a schedule change, jeez!). Anyway, that is what I must be alert for: the lapse, the sitting back and letting old habits just sneak their way back in to my life. It's all about the cookies for me, and while they don't harm those around me, never heard of second-hand cookie breath, I must still be vigilant and not let the cookies take over.

So, the goals for this week: Watch out for the cookies! Just keep writing things down and pay attention to what goes in ... and work off the extra beer I had at the Journey concert the other night. And pay attention to the schedule change: no gym does not mean no workout! Neither does rain or travelling ... just do it. Actually that's an easier one to keep, because I know how I feel if I don't move ... stiff and achy. I work my muscles, and reward them with a soak in the pool (oh no, the pool is closing for the summer soon! another obstacle!). Well, there's always the tub, I guess, in a pinch. I think I need to look for a healthclub with a pool close by, or it's going to be a long winter.