Weekend and a Cheap Holiday

This weekend was fantastically easy going. There was no particular place to be, no one that we had to see and nothing we had to do. Doesn't mean we didn't do anything, just means we did what we wanted to do. Thanks to some prompting by the BF we got the feather tree up, made a delicious cobbler (more on that later) and went for brunch at the Ports O' Call in San Pedro. That brunch is where I ate my fill in pretty much every category they have, there not to mention the bottomless glass of bubbly. Yum.

Today reality hits and I have to go to the dentist for dental work and not just a cleaning. I am never good at these things and always have a fear that they will screw up. There is no good rationalization for this, it just is. So with that in mind when the dentist mentioned he could offer me a Hawaiian vacation for $30. I was intrigued. It's not covered by insurance and you don't get on a plane, but it includes a valium and nitrous oxide for the entire uncomfortable time you are in that chair. For me $30 is a steal to help avoid any unpleasantness as a result of someone poking me in the mouth.

Here's to hoping your day is a heck of a lot less unpleasant than mine!

Fun building/Structure
Seal Beach.

Huntington Beach

Mouth Breather

So how did I catch a cold right before I head to Monaco? Not fair does not even begin to cover it. I don't what's worse being sick on a mini holiday or being sick on a 10 hour flight. For this trip I have officially done and currently doing both. I also totally missed my year anniversary of starting this blog. What do these two things have in common? Nothing, other than for some reason I decided to check when I started this blog while waiting for the 10 hour flight that I prayed I would pass out on. Apparently I started the blog on April 25, 2011. So I have been posting for well over a year and no one has kicked me off the net yet. Yay me and stuff.

Currently I am making myself feel better by chugging Emergen-C and champagne in the KLM lounge at Schipol and trying to not look the guy across the way in the eye. He keeps looking at me funny and it's starting to give me a complex. The best way to fight a cold is with alcohol, dude. Duh. Maybe next time I will just put the Emergen-C in the champagne and save anyone having to clean an extra glass. You know because I am green like that.

I got nothing

I have barely left the house the last week so I really have no exciting or new information to share. I am going to get out today and head to Pacific Beach for a little sun. Yes I said sun. Here in La Jolla it comes often and I am going to get loads of vitamin D (I have sunblock on though), watch the waves and get some lunch outside simply because I can. I hear it's snowing in Seattle right now. Bummer.

For your pleasure here are a few good things on the internet:

J Crew has an extra 30% off sale stuff, shoes anyone?
Ann Taylor has 40% off EVERYTHING. I love their blouses.

And here is your kitty and puppy for the day. So many to choose from, but I went with short and sweet.

Hopefully I will be back on my game tomorrow.

Health Care is two words worth lots of money

After I quit my job in September I looked into several insurance plans (COBRA is not an option unless you have a bank roll) and came to realize that for me and my situation having a full insurance plan was throwing money away. If I went with the standard individual plans (Ha! Standard, as if. These plans are more confusing than IKEA furniture directions) I would be spending more money out of pocket each month than I would if I went to the doctor for my yearly appoints with one or two unplanned visits and paid cash. That's not even counting the deductible that I would need to meet. So I decided to purchase the catastrophic insurance aka "Cancer Insurance" that kicks in should you have a super duper bad disease but doesn't cover anything else and decided to roll the dice on the rest.

Yesterday was the first day that I had to go to the doctor without insurance. Things had gotten pretty uncomfortable with my 'cold' and the BF told me it was time to see someone and I agreed. After a little research for a clinic close to where I am I came across the Minute Clinic (MC) located in a CVS not far from where I am at and decided to try this out as opposed to a Urgent Care (nothing against urgent care, but I didn't feel like waiting in line). Turns out the Minute Clinic was exactly what I needed. I arrived and filled out my information on a computer (general information and why I was there) and was immediately taken into a room with an LPN. After an in-depth Q&A session, my vitals were taken and she asked me a few more questions and concluded that I had a sinus and ear infection, chest congestion and an asthma flare up (the last one I knew about). I was given my prescriptions, asked if I had any questions and if it was ok for her to follow up with me in a couple of days (when was the last time your doctor followed up with you?). After talking with the girl at the CVS pharmacy she was able to make sure any of my prescriptions that could be generic and/or discounted were and for under $200 ($89 MC visit and 4 prescriptions) I was out the door. That was actually one of the better medical visits I have had in recent years.

I am not implying that this is the best solution for everything and in fact it isn't. For what I have going on this was a quick, easy and inexpensive solution (Visit the MC site for a list of services they offer). For those of you without insurance this can be a valuable resource, but there is still the issue that we don't have affordable health care readily available everywhere (MC is not available at all CVS or even all states and there are similar clinics at Walgreens that I found online but have not personally experienced). Long and short of it is that I am not an expert on this, but I am getting informed. I have options and picked one that made the most sense for ME. Even if you have insurance through your company, state or spouse you should learn about how the health care changes affect you. http://www.healthcare.gov/ is a good place to get started on understanding how the Affordable Health Care Act can help you (or not). Reading opinion pieces on how people think this affects you is not good enough. What works for me may not work for you so get educated. Affordable health care should not be so hard.

*Update - through the power of twitter I was given this handy link which is a great resource for finding a clinic (any clinic) near you! http://hc311.com/

Getting off my soapbox now and back to the beach.

How I can find a reason to drink for all occasions even when sick

I am sitting on the couch today because yesterday I actually got some things done and now I am coughing my lungs out. I am pretty sure I will be needing these in the future so today I am taking it easy and watching TV. Enter the Today show. I love Matt, Al, Natalie and Ann (her uncomfortable interview style is sometimes hard to watch although I do love most things she does). One segment on the Today Show is where Willard Scott does his 100th birthday solutes. Nothing cracks me up more than when a little old lady says she attributes her longevity to a shot of whiskey every night or as with today one lady simply said it was vodka. We will just have to guess as to the quantity and mix. So this got me thinking about cocktails for the sick, even if it doesn't cure me it will at least make the day suck less. While there are many out there (it's actually a little disturbing that so many people have the same idea) this is my favorite, courtesy of Angel's Share in NYC's East Village. I don't have the exact measurements, but it will be fun to experiment.

Warm Water
Cloves, Cinnamon and ground Ginger
Honey
Sherry
Brandy

I think I will take whole cloves, cinnamon and soak in the warm water with the ginger for a few minutes. Then add the honey, brandy and sherry to taste. It truly sounds yummy and if doesn't lessen the chest rattling cough it will at least let me nap.

Oh and just to make sure you don't do anything stupid please don't mix OTC medications (or prescriptions for that matter) with alcohol.

This is way to many products I am sure, but this is what keeps me going at the moment.