lumabean

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.

what in the world... they should at least send a coupon for a free package.

I wonder if it was just a glitch, or if they intentionally included the 1/2 cookie Once, I bought a multi-pack of Puffs, and one of the cubes was empty -- all sealed up as it should have been, just completely empty. Fortunately I noticed before I opened it to prove it came empty. The half cookie is just too weird though, which has me wondering if they meant to put the 1/2 in there (to fit the serving size?).

what little jerks those guys are! they've obviously learned nothing from their being arrested, what big brave "men" they are strutting around, doing burn outs What kind of families do they come from, if they were offspring of mine, they'd be getting their rears kicked. But, momma and daddy probably bonded out their 'innocent' little boys It's scary how they're trying to provoke and don't seem to care. At least you and MM have a plan for exiting the area, and have the means to have an alternative, it would be worse to have that happen and be trapped there with them.

Your frightening experience has had my mind churning, lots of notes I've been making for myself. A biggie is safety, and also cutting down debt, because things like this can happen anywhere, and debt is a huge weight and master of what we can do. You and MM have the edge over most in that respect, so that's both a lesson and huge motivator for me!

I hope little Victoria continues to improve and is able to go home tomorrow

Congratulations!

I would not fair well in that heat, at all.

A/C seems as though it has to be a necessity in those temps. I can't imagine if there were ever power outages at the peak heat of the day.

Jeepers, how do you do your tea? I like tea, sweetened and unsweetened, but when I brew the tea and drink it hot, it tastes fine, but if I chill it, it gets this intense bitter taste to it, I was wondering what I am doing wrong it it.

Happy Birthday!

she's amazing, I can't walk and carry a plate from a buffet without the risk of something sliding off, yet she was able to do all that. It looked like a piece of art when she was done too.

what a great announcement and comparison to Veggie Tales lol

that's a great system, too, for him and the adults

I noticed it's really hard to find fish that isn't from China -- when at Sam's Club, I was looking at the frozen fish, I think the brand most of the frozen, unbreaded fish there is the Treasures of/from the Sea brand, and it's all from China. Wal-Mart, the frozen, unbreaded fish I looked at was from China. For about double the price, I was able to get fish from Iceland. No better at the grocery store -- my son likes the cod from the fish counter at Price Chopper, and while ordering some I asked the guy where it was from ... he said "from frozen" ... which I already knew, since that's what the sign had written on it lol. He said he thought it was from China. Of course. It was the same at the other grocery stores I checked at.

Pfff, that pricy "organic" produce from China, I am feeling sort of vindicated in my refusal to trust the organic labels (call me paranoid, but I don't trust a sticker or label, they can slap those things on anything, what are the odds they'd get caught, and even if they did, it would be too late after I already bought it). Organic and China don't seem to go well together for me; their version of organic could be heaven only knows what.

regarding the cheese, I've heard that the powdered cheese that Honeyville sells is a lot like the kraft ~ I bought some but haven't tried it yet. It seemed like a good value/option to me.

as for the gmo in the kraft ~ I think at this point, we don't really know what is or isn't GMO at this point. I for one don't trust the companies to be upfront with what they're doing with the food. I've got a bunch of it too, but when we use it, we use the entire contents. We cannot afford to not use the pasta for food, so at this point I am just using what we have, and trying to make wiser choices for the future. Like Arby said though, it's a mess to sort out, who knows what is in what anymore

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, ladies!

So, Jeepers, any plans for today? Wishing you a fantastic day, and amazingly blessed year ahead. It's been great getting to know you here on Mrs. S.

scary stuff. A few days ago there was an article about women who carried their cell phones in their bras developing breast cancer in those spots.

15 stitches sounds bad, and multiple bites, much more than a nip or snap, the poor little girl. Glad to hear she's okay after all of that.

thanks, just got it

One ... a mix of cleaning and such.

Congratulations on the new little one in your life Keira Criystal-Anne

That heat is something I don't think I could handle. When we hit the low 90's I was feeling it, the humidity was the worst of it I think.

Oh, those energy saving machines drive me batty. Before we moved here, we had a washer/dryer hookup in our former apartment, and when we bought a new washer, the delivery guy said how inefficient they really are - he wasn't a fan either, not just with that aspect, but with the durability and longevity of the new machines.

Everything seems to be changing though. Things that used to last forever are not what they used to be if you buy them today -- like the Kitchen AId mixers. When I bought mine back in 2001-2002-ish, I thought I'd have it forever and ever (it works okay, though it has some moments where it seems to be protesting). Then just last week I was watching a YouTube video on them, and some issues popping up, and in the info box it noted the reason: back in 1986 the original company sold the name to Whirlpool. I wish I could find a pre-1986 model -- my understanding is that those were made a lot better, to last and last. So you can't even trust a "trusted" name brand anymore because the name is pretty much the only thing that seems to stay the same.

so much for the ironing I planned on doing this afternoon LOL