Blessings Darlings!
Today being the first of the month, one of the activities of the day was paying bills. This included the electricity bill ... the last electricity bill before they show the cost of heating out home.
Our winter heating bills are bloody scary. I have to assume that they will be at least $400 a month for December thru' April. All electric heat, and heat pumps, are not what I'd choose on my own. But, it's what we have. Damn, I wish we had a woodstove, or at least a fireplace.
All our time yesterday was spent on health insurance. It was the last day of open enrollment at Job #2 (Job #1 doesn't offer insurance). At the end of the number crunching, benefit comparisons, and discussions about if the tendonitis in my hands will let me continue to work both jobs ... we have our basic health plan thru' the ACA marketplace, and vision and dental care thru' Job #2. Dental and vision feels EXTREMELY luxurious, even tho' the coverage is very limited. By the way - none of the ACA marketplace plans have dentists in my area. Welcome to West Virginia, where having teeth is extremely optional.
The death march to try to find tax info from the past continues. I don't know when it will end, but we (mostly me) persevere.
At least the water and electricity will remain on for another month. THAT is a good thing.
Frondly, Fern
Showing posts with label dental insurance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dental insurance. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Monday, June 4, 2012
I want. I want. I want.
Blessings Darlings!
I'm having one of those days where my personal 'wants' list is growing exponentially.
I want a new used car (since our current only car is STILL not running in the rain).
I want a new bicycle, that actually fits my under 5 foot tall frame instead of being too big. And that has fenders so I can ride when it's wet.
I want a bike trailer.
I want to learn how to maintain my bike on my own.
I want to learn how to do my own at least basic car maintenance.
I want the hardware to do my own basic car maintenance once I learn how to do it.
I want to split another grass-fed organic steer with friends.
I want a share in an organic local CSA.
I want to own my own home.
I want to live where there is no HOA.
I want goats.
I want chickens.
I want a really good deer fence around my garden.
I want to lose 70 pounds.
I want to be able to bike 40 miles a day, on hills.
I want dental insurance.
I want my son to make more money, so he can pay off the university and then save money to pay for those two more semesters he needs to get his Bachelors Degree. In Psych. Which is marginally more useful than a BA in Philosophy.
Too many of these need money. But I'm working on the ones that need my efforts. I'm biking regularly .... even if today I could only do 4 miles on the local hilly roads. And I'm afraid to bike to Suz's, since the road she lives on is hillier than the one I live on! I'm exercising and eating better, which should eventually lead to weight loss. I've signed up for my first bike maintenance/repair class. I've looked for local (like, within 35 miles) classes on car repair and haven't found any yet, but I'm still looking. I'm taking the existing car back in to the shop this week, to point out that it still dies in the rain (but that's going to include money. OTOH, it will include less money that getting another car).
Oh, the car. I admit it only died in the INCREDIBLE rain we had, not a normal rain. But we haven't been driving in normal rain because we're afraid. This time the rain hit while the Spawn was at work. I suppose I should have driving him since there were thunderstorms predicted. He waited an hour after it died to see if it would start, then had it towed home. $90 for the tow. Should he have waited in the dark another hour? Dunno.
Spawn is applying for jobs in OUR town, instead of the larger/busier town he works in now, so we can get around the car problem. It's not like he's making a penny more than minimum wage, so if he gets one his hourly wage won't go down. And since the restaurant isn't getting much business he's getting sent home early a lot, so he's likely to get a job with as many hours. Since there doesn't seem to be any advancement where he is - heck, he hasn't even been allowed to watch all the training videos for HIS position since they don't want to have him on the clock due to their low sales - darn near any other job will have as much promotion potential.
He's not likely to get one locally until fall, when the students get back. But if he applies every fortnight over the summer they'll get used to seeing him AND learn that he's persistent. Okay, what they'll really learn is that *I* am persistent in kicking his butt out the door to apply for jobs.
Anything you want? What are you doing to get it/them?
Frondly, Fern
I'm having one of those days where my personal 'wants' list is growing exponentially.
I want a new used car (since our current only car is STILL not running in the rain).
I want a new bicycle, that actually fits my under 5 foot tall frame instead of being too big. And that has fenders so I can ride when it's wet.
I want a bike trailer.
I want to learn how to maintain my bike on my own.
I want to learn how to do my own at least basic car maintenance.
I want the hardware to do my own basic car maintenance once I learn how to do it.
I want to split another grass-fed organic steer with friends.
I want a share in an organic local CSA.
I want to own my own home.
I want to live where there is no HOA.
I want goats.
I want chickens.
I want a really good deer fence around my garden.
I want to lose 70 pounds.
I want to be able to bike 40 miles a day, on hills.
I want dental insurance.
I want my son to make more money, so he can pay off the university and then save money to pay for those two more semesters he needs to get his Bachelors Degree. In Psych. Which is marginally more useful than a BA in Philosophy.
Too many of these need money. But I'm working on the ones that need my efforts. I'm biking regularly .... even if today I could only do 4 miles on the local hilly roads. And I'm afraid to bike to Suz's, since the road she lives on is hillier than the one I live on! I'm exercising and eating better, which should eventually lead to weight loss. I've signed up for my first bike maintenance/repair class. I've looked for local (like, within 35 miles) classes on car repair and haven't found any yet, but I'm still looking. I'm taking the existing car back in to the shop this week, to point out that it still dies in the rain (but that's going to include money. OTOH, it will include less money that getting another car).
Oh, the car. I admit it only died in the INCREDIBLE rain we had, not a normal rain. But we haven't been driving in normal rain because we're afraid. This time the rain hit while the Spawn was at work. I suppose I should have driving him since there were thunderstorms predicted. He waited an hour after it died to see if it would start, then had it towed home. $90 for the tow. Should he have waited in the dark another hour? Dunno.
Spawn is applying for jobs in OUR town, instead of the larger/busier town he works in now, so we can get around the car problem. It's not like he's making a penny more than minimum wage, so if he gets one his hourly wage won't go down. And since the restaurant isn't getting much business he's getting sent home early a lot, so he's likely to get a job with as many hours. Since there doesn't seem to be any advancement where he is - heck, he hasn't even been allowed to watch all the training videos for HIS position since they don't want to have him on the clock due to their low sales - darn near any other job will have as much promotion potential.
He's not likely to get one locally until fall, when the students get back. But if he applies every fortnight over the summer they'll get used to seeing him AND learn that he's persistent. Okay, what they'll really learn is that *I* am persistent in kicking his butt out the door to apply for jobs.
Anything you want? What are you doing to get it/them?
Frondly, Fern
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Fern's First World Problems
Blessings Darlings!
I'm not one to whine .... oh, wait. I totally am one to whine, I just don't usually do it online, I inflict it on my husband and Spawn instead. Today, OTOH, I'm inflicting it on the world. That was your warning. You may want to stop reading now and go on to something more useful.
We have one car for the three of us. This is not usually a problem. The Spawn is the only one who works outside the house and as long as he's out I have him do the shopping. Which is great unless the car acts up. Yes, the car is acting up. It hasn't like running in wet weather for about 5 years, we've spent about $1k failing to get the problem fixed. Having the car live in the garage instead of the driveway has helped, and having me drive the Spawn to and from work so the car can be garaged even on rainy workdays has been a work-around. Well, it worked up until this last weekend, when I got stranded on the side of the road 3 times. WITHOUT A BOOK! THAT was my own fault.
So, with the Spawn having 3 days off in a row (his workplace is at the end of their fiscal year, and to keep their labor costs more in line with where they should be most hosts are being told to not come in most days) I drove the car to the repair shop 12 miles away. In the rain. Nervous. And the dang thing drove there fine (lighter rain, maybe?) so I can't even DEMONSTRATE the problem. Took a cab home.
Meanwhile, the Chubby Hubby has an abscessed tooth. Pain started Thursday, he thought it was a sinus problem due to record levels of pollen - he's had toothaches that were sinus-caused before. Saturday morning it was clear that it wasn't sinus, he looked like a chipmunk on one side of his face. Urgent care gave him antibiotics, we got home before the rain started and the car problems began. He's feeling better, looks a BIT less swollen, and we know he still needs the tooth dealt with.
He has an appointment early tomorrow for tooth removal, since he lost chunks of tooth and the filling weeks ago .... which certainly let the infection get started there. But with the car in the shop it will cost a lot to get to the city where the oral surgeon is. Like $70+ for the round trip. Cash. Sigh.
At least these ARE First World Problems for us. Not because we have insurance to pay for any of this - we don't have dental insurance. But because we can afford to pay for antibiotics, and tooth removal, and taxi's, and it hit at a good time for us to try to get the car problem really repaired (and get an oil change and the burnt out turn signal bulb replaced while they're at it).
We're lucky, An abscess like this, untreated, can and does kill people. The Spawn could be hitching to and from work every day (or still trying to find a job walking distance from home). Surrounded by blessings we are, even while handling life's little challenges.
I'm not one to whine .... oh, wait. I totally am one to whine, I just don't usually do it online, I inflict it on my husband and Spawn instead. Today, OTOH, I'm inflicting it on the world. That was your warning. You may want to stop reading now and go on to something more useful.
We have one car for the three of us. This is not usually a problem. The Spawn is the only one who works outside the house and as long as he's out I have him do the shopping. Which is great unless the car acts up. Yes, the car is acting up. It hasn't like running in wet weather for about 5 years, we've spent about $1k failing to get the problem fixed. Having the car live in the garage instead of the driveway has helped, and having me drive the Spawn to and from work so the car can be garaged even on rainy workdays has been a work-around. Well, it worked up until this last weekend, when I got stranded on the side of the road 3 times. WITHOUT A BOOK! THAT was my own fault.
So, with the Spawn having 3 days off in a row (his workplace is at the end of their fiscal year, and to keep their labor costs more in line with where they should be most hosts are being told to not come in most days) I drove the car to the repair shop 12 miles away. In the rain. Nervous. And the dang thing drove there fine (lighter rain, maybe?) so I can't even DEMONSTRATE the problem. Took a cab home.
Meanwhile, the Chubby Hubby has an abscessed tooth. Pain started Thursday, he thought it was a sinus problem due to record levels of pollen - he's had toothaches that were sinus-caused before. Saturday morning it was clear that it wasn't sinus, he looked like a chipmunk on one side of his face. Urgent care gave him antibiotics, we got home before the rain started and the car problems began. He's feeling better, looks a BIT less swollen, and we know he still needs the tooth dealt with.
He has an appointment early tomorrow for tooth removal, since he lost chunks of tooth and the filling weeks ago .... which certainly let the infection get started there. But with the car in the shop it will cost a lot to get to the city where the oral surgeon is. Like $70+ for the round trip. Cash. Sigh.
At least these ARE First World Problems for us. Not because we have insurance to pay for any of this - we don't have dental insurance. But because we can afford to pay for antibiotics, and tooth removal, and taxi's, and it hit at a good time for us to try to get the car problem really repaired (and get an oil change and the burnt out turn signal bulb replaced while they're at it).
We're lucky, An abscess like this, untreated, can and does kill people. The Spawn could be hitching to and from work every day (or still trying to find a job walking distance from home). Surrounded by blessings we are, even while handling life's little challenges.
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