Let’s not even get into the obnoxious singing fish. That one makes me reach for my cell phone. Every. Time.

The ones that scare me are the drug commercials. Seriously? I know it is required to give disclosure about the side effects and all, but some of those drugs sound down right miserable. And if you aren’t hearing the drug commercials, you are hearing the lawyer ads about the drug ads! Yaz?  Mesothelioma anyone? sheesh. Gone are the days when you could call a lawyer an ambulance chaser. Now they are a pharmacy chaser.

Meh. I’m in the DVR camp now. My favorite shows are DVR’d and watched later in the week, and I sssssooooooo fast forward through the commercials, though I am subjected to them all day at work.

Shouldn’t have spoken so soon. My husband was laid off on Friday! You want to know something though? I’m not freaking out about it. We have worked hard in the past year to pay off outstanding debt, and while we aren’t completely debt free yet, we are in a totally different place now than we were this time last year. We have savings in the bank, which goes a looooong way to making me feel better about our situation. We have far fewer bills that need to be paid. The one thing I am concerned about is health insurance, though I still have a few different options to look at. If the Cobra subsidy doesn’t get voted back in, then we will have to look at either insurance through the state, or private insurance.

I lied. I am concerned about one more thing, and that is my dear hubs. He is suffering greatly with this blow to his manly ego. He has three kids and a wife to provide for, and this lay off has shaken him to the core. I’ll admit that it is easier for us to deal with it this time around (gee…can you tell we’ve done this before?) because we prepared ourselves after the last layoff. Although his job seemed secure, he was the low man on the totem pole, and thus on the short list. We took full advantage of the time we had with his paychecks, and got rid of bill after bill. We stuck to our written budget month after month, even when it sucked rotten eggs to do so.

And now, we have a little buffer between us and the nasty world. He might be panicking, but I’m not.

yet.

Check back in a few months and the tone of this post might be a skootch different!

Awhile ago I made my decision to go back to school, and signed up for a few courses to get an online degree. The plan is to get my undergraduate taken care of online, and then I will prepare for Dental School. By then, the kids will be older and I’ll have a bit more help with the home.

At first I was planning on going the old biology/chemistry major, but my research has turned up a surprising result. Dental schools are looking for a well rounded student more so than a science dedicated one. Not that I have a problem with the sciences, very much the opposite. What I would like, however, is a broader foundation, so that I will have the ability to teach as well once I have my DMD. It is for that reason that I finally decided on getting an online teaching degree over a science degree.

I think it is important to keep your options open when researching what degree to pursue. I never would have looked into teaching had it not been for a conversation with a member of the board at Harvard Dental. He was the one that encouraged me to branch out and explore other undergrad options.

I love this show for the raw human emotions and trials it shows. I never fail to tear up at least once every show, because although I am not even close to the size of any of these contestants, I still feel the pain that they go through with weight struggles. My children watch the show as well, and we all appreciate the tips on eating healthy and MOVING. I explain to them that even though they are seeing quick weight loss from the contestants, it is easier to stay healthy like they are now, than to get to such a point. What they don’t show is that these people are literally working out for hours and hours, week after week, with doctors, nutritionists and coaches constantly on hand to guide them.

I also enjoy seeing the contestants that have been sent home. Nearly everyone has the story about how life hit them in the face when they returned home, until they remembered how much work they have gone through already and found something that works for them. Just goes to show that it isn’t always typical gym rat lifestyles that keep you healthy, but rather a lifestyle change that motivates you to move.

I absolutely went bonkers this past Christmas, between working full time and getting everything ready for the holidays. My pure refusal to go through that again is the reason I am starting my planning now. All of my handmade gifts are being compiled in a binder (knitting projects) and I’ve already set up my budget for Christmas gifts that will allow me a chunk of money in the summer, so I can take advantage of sales.

Last year my mom received a “big” gift from us, a laptop computer, and this year it is my MiL’s turn. She will probably also be getting a computer. What can I say, my husband is a geek.

My sister in law has been wanting a nice pair of driving gloves, and she didn’t get them this year, so I have been keeping an eye on the winter clearance sales in hopes of scoring. Right now I have a bead on a gorgeous pair of Michael Kors leather gloves, but I am hoping they are sitll available next week after payday! I’ll have enough in the christmas fund by then.

So, call me crazy, but I like to enjoy the holiday season, not tear my hair out. I’ll start now and hopefully keep my groove  throughout the year!

It is a huge strain on our family, causing some to cut all ties with others, and has been the cause of many a family fight. Sometimes it seems the harder we try to help, the more drugs he turns to. I know he wants to kick them, as he has checked himself into rehabs more than once. It just has a hold over him that I can’t put into words.

During one relatively long clean period, he confided in me that the detox was the most painful thing he has ever been through. He actually started crying when he was recounting the horrible pain and terrible side effects of the drugs leaving his body. He actually said that it was painful enough to keep him from ever going back to the drugs, unfortunately he relapsed.

I have been doing research into rapid detox that he asked me to look into. He is so desperate to be clean, but sooo afraid of dealing with the pain again. And, as much as I hate what his choices has done to our family, I love him enough to help him any way I can.

I hope if anyone else has this demon in their lives, they will find the strength to deal with it together. Leaving one person who is so very ill to deal with it  alone is never the answer.

To this end, we have done some nice changes in the waiting area that have garnered many comments from our patients.

First, and probably most importantly, we changed the office furniture. New seats in the waiting room, aaaaaand new executive style chairs for us lovelies behind the desk. Seriously? These things are nap worthy…which could be a bad thing.

We also added a flat screen tv to the waiting area, and bought new art work. Surprisingly, we have gotten more comments on the art than the tv! New area rugs and floral arrangements have completed the look. It looks like a whole new place with minimal investment.