lumabean

Happy Birthday, Koa

the year card for tracfone is about $100, at a little over $8/month averaged out, it's not bad for emergency use. I am pretty sure the minutes roll over too, so if you didn't use them, you wouldn't lose them.

I'm so sorry that happened, dogmom. Those raccoons sound vile

I use a TracFone. I rarely use it, so what we opted for was the TracFone year card, that means I don't have to add another card for one year, and the card came with 400 minutes. There was something when we got the phone too that gave lifetime double minutes, so if say I need more minutes and buy a 30 minute card, I get 60 minutes added. I am pretty sure I saw something at Wal-Mart where some of the TracFones come with lifetime triple minutes now. The pay as you go is good for me because I don't chat away, and only use it from time to time, it's more for emergencies, or when I need to call ds quick when we're at the store and I can't find him or something like that.

You and your grandon have the best times It's so cute how he relates what you share to his mom, even sweeter to think about is how someday he'll share those memories with his own kids

I've been thinking about the op-sec aspect of it too, OOTO. The respect seems key, which is kind of hard when it's one sided

my thought for today is about associations -- wondering if my actions and associations are wise. Today I was sort of stunned to learn the views of an acquaintance ... sort of friend (trying to not use that term as freely as I had been because it doesn't seem too bright of me to be so free with thinking one a friend). She's very anti-gun, very anti- Stand your Ground laws and feels police are the only ones who should have a firearm of any type ... I knew that, I figured to each his/her own, we're not all going to agree about everything. But today was different, she is apparently very anti-Christian (esp. conservative Christians), post after post on Facebook has been about how bad conservative Christians are ... for awhile I was thinking to myself about *her* but then I realized a lot about MYSELF. I kind of felt like Peter denying the Lord, because each time I thought of speaking up in defense of God, the unborn, and so on, but remained silent. Self-reflection indeed! I know not everyone is going to agree on everything .. such as guns, social issues, religion. I am however giving a whole lot more thought on who I consider a friend. At the same time though, I am struggling with whether it's shallow/intolerant to limit friendships ... and more so, if it's disrespectful to the Lord to have them, when we learn of their view on His word. Yeah, kind of a derailed train of thought I guess. It's where my thoughts of the day keep returning though.

They look so neat. My mother has something similar in her house, and loves them. I hope you guys had a nice time at the fair after the shift My week is going okay

(((gofish))) they grow up too fast

(((((dogmom))))) I'm so sorry

that had to be such a surprise to see there on the couch esp. that early in the morning LOL a very cute surprise though Prayers for your dd2's trip, it sounds like a fun adventure for her and the other kids.

hoping it's more toward the one week for you rather than 4. Did they give an idea of how they can be prevented in the future, so you don't have to endure this again?

I hope it's nothing complicated for the doctors to correct, and the pain passes soon for you

That's great, esp. on the ones that will keep providing like the onions. The pics are a great idea too

glad they got the power back on for you sooner than they were saying, and that none of your frozen stuff was lost. sure has been some crazy weather going on all over the place.

Happy Birthday!

LOL your grandson is so cute, the things he comes off with

thanks

the being forced to have coverage bugs me too. If say heaven forbid dh lost his job, and got another without benefits, we could opt to not have coverage if we didn't want to -- now we'd be penalized. That (to me) isn't right to force it on people. Scrubbie, that Cadillac plan reference has me worried too -- we have a good plan, so there's a chance we will be taxed on that, in addition to our portion of the premiums we already pay? That (again, to me) is so not right! That's like saying gee, Citizen A can afford an SUV, but Citizen B can only afford a smaller, less pricy car, let's put an additional tax on Citizen A because s/he can afford a bigger vehicle. Again it goes to my feeling people are being penalized for having a good job, or anything else. I don't get it. Wasn't it that it used to be the American dream to work hard and be proud of that, now it's work hard and be taxed until you can't afford anything. editted to remove my excessive whining

That makes sense, HazelStone, I wasn't thinking of it that way. I guess it was the sticker shock that blinded me there a bit. The different percentages still bug me ... but I guess it's no different than state and federal tax rates being different (I don't like that either though ). Yikes, Jeepers! I sure hope that your rates go down ... considerably! That is an insane (actually, the first word that came to mind was criminal) amount of money to be paying out each year. Twilight, I don't go to the dr. a lot, neither does ds. Dh on the otherhand, he has really bad asthma, so he sees the doctor a bit more. For big things, my only one as an adult was childbirth, and ds had his tonsils removed.

Have a safe trip, Ann. Continued prayers for your mil. Oh, OOTO, morning sickness is something i am glad I haven't had to deal with in over 17 years. Do you have any diet restrictions with peppermint? I used to find even the aroma of peppermint to give some relief. Peppermint sticks/candies helped too. I've been getting some paperwork for school in order for ds. We have until June 30th to submit it, but they get a little snippy if you wait too long. Kids grow so fast Also have been working on some crochet ~ it's relaxing for me, and with the stuff going on, I need the diversion.

I hope we never lose our current plan through dh's employer, because even with the Q&A I am still lost ... If we didn't have insurance through his employer, we'd be paying *significantly* more, as per this example: Q: Do I have to be poor to qualify for these health insurance tax credits? A: Many middle-class families will qualify. The limit has been set at 400% of the federal poverty level (FPL). This year, that’s an annual income of $45,960 for an individual…$62,040 for a couple…or $94,200 for a family of four. However, your tax credit will decrease the closer you get to these limits. Example: Because of the tax credit, a family of four with income of $35,325 (that’s 150% of the FPL) would be able to buy a typical silver-tier plan for $1,413 per year out-of-pocket, which equals 4% of the family’s income. If that family had an income of $94,200 (400% of the FPL), however, it would have to pay 9.5% of its income out-of-pocket—a much heftier $8,949 bill. The tax credits will be based on the price of a typical silver-tier plan in the state. Families receiving tax credits can opt for pricier gold or platinum plans…or pay even less in premiums if they are willing to accept the more limited benefits of a bronze plan. People won’t have to do this math on their own. Once the marketplaces are up and running in October, they’ll guide users through the process. A family of four earning $50,000 would be entitled to a subsidy of around $6,500. Soooo, we'd be steeping penalized for dh working the overtime and basic hours he does? What in the world? Why would someone have to pay 9.5% of their income, when someone else only pays 4%? That ticks me off. We don't even come CLOSE to paying $8949 a year for insurance! Typical being punsihed for working Call me a tin foil nut, but I swear this is just another way to penalize people who work, with the goal to have people work less and be reliant on gov't programs when they work less/earn less. What's the incentive going to be to work when it's gobbled up in higher taxes/fees I guess the saving grace for ds at least is that as long as we have insurance through dh's employer, he can be on it until he's 26. Silver lining? who knows.