Totally inappropriate for 8 year olds

Trinks came home with an Insurance Activity Book. I'm sure Karen Weldin Stewart is a wonderful person, but I fail to see why the DE Insurance Commissioner created an activity book for kids. Why do kids need to learn about insurance? It's not even accurate.

This book is a fairy tale - if something breaks, insurance will fix it. REALLY? What Nadia and Tess fail to explore is how high your rates go for reporting incidents. And they don't mention your insurance company drops you for the smallest things. And God forbid you have a pre-existing condition. Forget it. The insurance company won't even talk to you. And co-pays? Not even mentioned. Page 6 indicates that insurance will pay for your drs and medicine. BULLSHIT! Yes, we left Trinks' medicine at the pharmacy because I wasn't willing to pay $80 for a 30 day supply of allergy medicine. How does the Insurance Commissioner explain that? We have decent health insurance. I can't even imagine what the uninsured have to pay for medicine. I am beyond pissed off they are shovelling this shit to my 8 year old. But, as an engaged parent, I have the power to correct this bullshit.

This scares me

And reminds me why I walk.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

'Tis the season. Enjoy! And FYI, I just cooked them at 350 for 10 minutes (because I NEVER read recipes thoroughly) and they turned out perfectly. But at least I remembered to dissolve the baking soda in the milk this time!

1 cup cooked pumpkin
1 cup sugar
½ cup oil
1 egg
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda dissolved in 1 tblsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375
Combine pumpkin, sugar, oil and egg.
Stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture along with dissolved baking soda and mix well.
Stir in chocolate chips and vanilla.
Drop on greased cookie sheet.

Cook for 10 – 12 minutes.

I am a Unicorn!

I kept thinking of Inigo Montoya "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

Carving Pumpkins

But where are the children who insisted we carve these pumpkins?

Got Spinach?

It was spinach, banana, spiralina and cider. Yum!

Teavana

Teavana is a wonderful store. Their teas are horrifically overpriced, but delicious. I went to the Willow Grove store during the 3 Day and was harassed by a car salesman-like clerk. I eased my way out of the store because he was trying to talk me into $40/pound tea. Now I like tea. I really like tea. I drink 4-5 cups of tea a day. I fail to see how $40 will enhance my experience.

Today I went to the Teavana in DE. The clerk suctioned herself to me, which always just completely pisses me off. YOU ARE SELLING TEA! LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE!! But I knew what I wanted so I could brush her off. I ended up with 4 ounces of Earl Grey and a travel mug infuser. And the disrespect of the clerk. The tea is delicious, but I don't know if I can stand going to their store again. Perhaps I can order online. It's a shame because their store is pretty cool. I wish I could walk around it without being harassed.

A few images from the walk

And we're off!!!!


We had to do the chicken dance to get by these ladies.


We walked through the zoo and Zee Bras we out....


Some crazy ladies.




The nicest people come out to cheer us on!


I raised my pink Croc for Kathi and the other survivors.


A shot of the very emotional closing ceremony.


We walk for lots of reasons.

The 3 Day is here again

Somehow the 3 Day sneaks up on me. I have the countdown at my desk and the last week is always a surprise. I trained hard early on and have been taking it easy for the last couple of weeks. I am ready to walk!

As always, I have a hard time getting to the opening ceremonies. Logistically, it's easy. I have a ride to PA (thanks Ray!), a great place to stay (Ivy and Nothing Knew are awesome) and a ride at O'Dark thirty Friday morning (thanks Nothing Knew!!). My problem is the longer I walk, the more people get diagnosed. At first it was Karen and a co-worker Amy. Last year it was Kathi. This year it was another co-worker, Kim and NJ teacher's mother. When is this going to end???

Last year I listed all my reasons for walking. I have lost a little of the anger. I still feel powerless. I am still walking to save Karen's girls. I am doing my best to stay educated so I can be of some value to those on this journey. I truly believe Karen is watching me and cheering me to the finish line.

So I am prepared to laugh, cry, work hard and relax. It's amazing how you can go so quickly from one emotion to the opposite on this walk. It's not just a matter of physical strength, but emotional strength as well.

Don't look Slick!!!

La arana pequenita, subio, subio, subio.

Hubs and I went out for a delightful dinner at the Big Fish Grill in Wilmington. After a fabulous meal, we decided to stroll along the river. Around every light, there were spiders. They were absolutely amazing.

Kindergarten Delinquent

Yesterday I had to be at work at 7, which means hubs was in charge of getting the kids up and ready. I worked until 6, picked Trinks up from her late kung fu class and made it home by 6:45. As hubs and I passed each other in the hall on his way to his kung fu class, he mentioned S couldn't play Mario Kart. Then he told me to read the note and ran for the door.

The trouble started in hubs' car in the morning. S apparently found 2 atomic fireballs and brought them to school. He ate one and gave another to a friend (retroactive heart attack about my kid sharing food with someone else and possible allergic reactions!!!!!). The teacher had a heart attack because the boys were running around the playground with these in their mouths, and made them spit them over the fence. S informed the teacher he was quitting school.

At lunch, S and the other helpers refused to set the table and do other chores to help get ready for the meal. After S was reprimanded, he informed the teacher that he was going to blow up the school. It's never boring around here.

S drank a green smoothie

I am on a new journey with my health, which I will blog about at some point. I've been researching and creating a program to get rid of my allergies and am happy to say I no longer need medicine. One of the aspects of this program is drinking green smoothies. They look really nasty, but taste surprisingly great and refreshing. Today we ate like crap for lunch - burgers, onion rings, fries, and perogies. I felt exhausted and sluggish when we got home so I blended a banana, cider, cilantro and blue green algae. I asked S to try it and he loved it. I split it with him. This child will drink a green smoothie, but not touch chicken. I just don't get it.

My father is retired

My father called me and casually mentioned he was now officially retired. His retirement plans include doing as little as possible and becoming a burden on my sister and me. I never know when to believe my father, but it sounds legit. Since my parents take at least two months of vacations a year, I'm not sure I'm going to notice the difference.