Archive for March, 2008

Hubby needs a new pair of gray dress pants

Friday, March 28th, 2008

The Elks lodge that he is joining down here has a “Uniform” (I guess you’d call it) of the members wearing dark blue blazers and gray dress pants.  He doesn’t have a pair of gray dress pants that fit him, so we need to go buy him a pair this weekend.  I think he said he needs them by Wednesday.  Last week we looked for a pair (on sale) at Wal-Mart while we were grocery shopping but he said that they didn’t have his size.

I wish he would just tell me what size he needs so I could just go buy them for him.  He has a tendency to buy pleated front, cuffed pants, which just don’t look good on his body type.  They make him look short and fat.  He needs flat front, no-cuffed pants to look his best, taller and thinner.  Whenever he goes shopping, he is so proud of what he bought that I really don’t want to tell him that he does not look good in the clothes that he bought.

It’s a struggle, because he wants to be part of the process, and I want him to look his best.  And neither one of us feels well right now, so that makes it more difficult because our tempers are short.

So, today I think we will be shopping at JC Penney’s, Kohls, Target, and Belk’s.  Maybe we’ll try the thrift shops first!

Hubby’s mother is ailing

Friday, March 28th, 2008

When we lived in New England, I helped my hubby to take care of his disabled mother.  She is on 24-hour a day oxygen, and cannot walk more than twenty feet at a time.  So, whenever she goes out she needs to use a wheelchair or motorized scooter.  Yet, she is fiercely independent and always insisted on doing her own shopping.

At the time, I was retired and my hubby was working, so it fell on me to take my dear mother in law shopping or to her many doctor’s appointments.

Now, I only have a small (and I mean SMALL) Subaru Legacy car, that I used to take her shopping.  (That’s really ALL I had!) That meant that it was a huge struggle to get her out of the house and her wheelchair or scooter folded up into the hatch back of my car.  And then we had to load up oxygen tanks as well. Once all of that gear was in the car, there wasn’t room for any passengers other than her, and there wasn’t much room for any groceries or whatever it was we were planning on hauling home.  It was a mess.

I always wished that I had been able to find some used handicapped vans for sale near where we lived so I could get her to buy one for us to use it for all of the times I had to take her somewhere!

Now I hear that her health is failing, and the family is talking about moving her down here with us so I can help take care of her here. I don’t know how I can fit that into my schedule, but I will say that IF she does get moved down here, I will be pushing hard for a handicap van to transport her where she needs to go once she is down here!

Took the animals to the vet today

Friday, March 28th, 2008

We have two dogs and a cat.  Today was “round up the pets and take them to the vet” day.

They all needed bloodwork, and they all needed shots.  And they all needed their anti-bug pills and ointment.

All in all, today was an expensive day – I spent $1000.00 (yes, one thousand dollars) at the vet today.

OUCH!

Medical insurance for my son

Friday, March 28th, 2008

One of my sons will be getting out of college soon, and when he does, he will no longer qualify for coverage under my plan, so I am going to have to buy affordable short term health insurance coverage to cover him until he gets a good job with medical insurance coverage.

I will be checking out the insurance rates for short term medical coverage with Peoples Health Insurance, LLC.  They are a medical insurance company that offers a wide variety of insurance plans, sure to fit anyone’s medical insurance needs.  I didn’t even know that there WAS such a thing as short term medical coverage for people in-between jobs until I went onto their website at www.peopleshealthinsurance.com.

They have a rate quote calculator on their website to help me to pick out the best plan for my son.  They have a fast processing service, good prices, and you can apply over the internet 24/7.  They have live help available if you need it.  I’ll have to spend a few minutes working on that and see what kind of quote I can get for my son!

The health crisis in my family

Friday, March 28th, 2008

As my entire extended family ages, most of us are experiencing health issues of one kind or another.  Many members of my family do not have any kind of health insurance, so their medical bills are eating hard into their family budget.

They are telling me about how sick they’ve been, or injured they’ve gotten, and how much time and money they have been spending on doctor visits, hospital visits, medicines.  It is absolutely astounding to me how much money they are spending on medical bills, simply because they don’t have medical insurance!

This makes me very sad for them, as I worked for a company (and retired from that company) that had excellent medical benefits for the employees and their families, even after retirement.  Yes, our medical bills eat into our budget, but not nearly as badly as those members of my family without medical insurance.

I wish they would buy medical insurance; in my opinion they all make enough money to pay the premiums.