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Christmas Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder

You are looking at my daughter’s Christmas tree selection. And no, she is not a direct descendent of Charlie Brown. In fact, her choice in Tannenbaum proves that the apple can in fact fall far, far, far from the tree… Christmas or otherwise. Allow me to draw your attention to Exhibit B. This is a photo of the Christmas tree I selected for our family. You wouldn’t know it by looking at my daughter’s true blue love, but we are one of the 27 million American households that opt to buy a live tree for Christmas. For decades I’ve shunned … Continue reading →

Spending Time With My Sister Part IV

It is amazing how time gets away from us. We made a really quick stop at the grocery store; both my sister and I have very quick gaits and we were moving through the store to get the items that we needed. Upon our return, we realized that we really did not have very much time to make the frosting and eat dinner. As soon as we walked in the apartment I got to work making the cream cheese frosting and my sister nursed the baby. After the muffins were iced, we rushed to eat as much of our dinner … Continue reading →

VIPs Get Treated Quicker in the ER

Emergency rooms have a system that they use in order to decide which of the people who are sitting in the waiting room should be seen next. Typically, those who have the most serious medical conditions are treated first. The type of insurance a person has could play a part. Surveys show that people who are VIPs will have shorter waiting times. The emergency room is not designed to be anyone’s primary source of health care. It is where you go when you are having an actual medical emergency. Even then, you probably will have to sit around and wait … Continue reading →

How Not to Get Burned on Your Beach Vacation

Memorial Day is the unofficial start to the summer season, which means tens of thousands of travelers will be driving, flying or hoofing it to the nearest beach to enjoy the sand and surf this weekend. But, what if you don’t have a ton of money to burn in the warm California/Hawaii/Florida/Texas sun? Here are some tips to help you spend quality family time at your favorite beach without breaking the bank: Bundle: Travel aggregate sites always offer red-hot deals this time of year. Popular websites such as Expedia and Orbitz are currently featuring major discounts to prime beach vacation … Continue reading →

Spring Travel to Aid Japan

Japan and its country of innovative and generous residents are typically on the minds of visitors to the D.C. area this time of year, but since the devastating 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami obliterated parts of the “Land of the Rising Sun” the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington has taken on new meaning this year. Organizers of the annual festival, which centers on thousands of gorgeous trees given by the mayor of Tokyo to the American people 99 years ago, are urging visitors to donate to the American Red Cross to aid relief efforts in Japan. In addition to … Continue reading →

Ten Cent Mistake Nearly Cost Man His Health Insurance

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Blue Cross Blue Shield recently decided to give it’s former CEO a huge severance package. The dollar amount of this package is controversial, and has been questioned. One might think that this would be an indication that the company was financially well off. Even so, this didn’t stop the insurance company from treating one of their customers very poorly. Blue Cross Blue Shield threatened to cancel the health insurance coverage of a man who is a senior citizen due to a ten cent discrepancy. Blue Cross Blue Shield in Boston, Massachusetts, gave a severance package of $8.2 million dollars to … Continue reading →

Cures for Cabin Fever

For most parents today is the day they have been looking forward to since before Christmas—the end of winter recess. Millions of kids head back to school today following an extended holiday vacation. However, my daughter isn’t one of them. Actually, there are quite a few states that don’t reopen schools until next week. That means seven extra days of dealing with the “Moooooooom, I’m bored!” blues. If your cabin fever is spiking right about now, then consider the following kid-friendly activities to keep boredom at bay: Aluminum Foil Snowflakes: Stack several sheets of aluminum foil together and fold the … Continue reading →

Have a Glittery New Year

I now see why some moms refer to glitter as “Devil’s Dust.” Whether you were one of the millions slaughtered by the Blizzard of 2010 or you live in a cold climate 365 days a year, if your kids are on break from school right now, then you’re likely trying to find any and every way possible to preserve your sanity while combating cabin fever. And by “any” I mean… GLITTER. Glitter, glitter everywhere. Can you have it any other way? Really. Is it possible to glitter with kids and not get it EV.ER.Y.WHERE? With the New Year fast approaching … Continue reading →

Christmas Card Coma

I received my very first Christmas video card last week and bid adieu to my electronic holiday greeting virginity. The Hallmark e-card stripped me of my seasonal innocence and now I guess I should expect my mail carrier to travel a little lighter next Christmas. Apparently, holiday e-cards are the wave of the future and soon traditional Christmas greetings, like these, will go the way of the Walkman and typewriter. Say it ain’t so. How many paper holiday cards did you receive this year? I sent out nearly 90 and have received more than half that amount as we wrap … Continue reading →

Hannah’s Hope

We are the lucky ones. My daughter was born with cystic fibrosis, but in the 1950s, parents of CF children formed the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and since then millions of dollars have been poured into CF research. The average age of survival has risen from age 8 to age 37.5. While those numbers aren’t perfect, they are drastically improved, and new treatments and drugs are being in the process of being developed. The parents of Hannah Sames didn’t have such good news when their daughter was diagnosed at age 4 with a genetic condition called giant axonal neuropathy (GAN). The … Continue reading →