How to Not Get Sick

Heard today that a New program could come to your Employer Health planning. A new position CWO(Chief Wellness Officer).First the statement was made the 75% of the health care cost are due to food habits, exercise habits and smoking. Taking this in consideration with the new Health Care Bill, companies can start implementing programs to teach you how to eat and cook healthier, Put you on a exercise program to wellness, help you deal with stress and put you in a smoke smoking clinic. The Idea: in doing this you will be healthier and cost the company less in dollars. Saving the companies from bankruptcy and making their employee productive.
Now that I have introduce you to this New Idea being broadcast though TV and News media. What do you think?
View the video on this matter: From the Today's Show this morning

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

CMF- Time to Start.

Well I did it, Joined CMF. I had been looked at them for some time. Seen the ads/widgets on blogs I visited and then started to check them out. Wasn't sure about how it worked. The other day after some time to think about visitors, I decided why not. Therefore I wait for a taker. Are you a CMF person? Wouldn't you love to be on my page for the month? I have three blogs signed up with CMF; At Home with Auntie E, Auntie E's Yard & Garden and this blog" Living Healthy with Auntie E. Now you have your pick. The links to each blog is on my Sidebar. check them out and help me earn so credits/cash so I can Advertise on your blog, thanks.

A Dilemma indeed!!!

Here is the Dilemma ..... I try to drop on 300 Entrecard widget per day. I only receive about 150 in return. So now if I drop 300/day and need to place and ad that cost 1024EC for a 24 hour ad.. I would have to spend 3 hours for nearly 4 days just to buy that ad! because I will not be receiving any extra EC from other Entrecard users dropping. Is it worth my time or should I look for another means? Okay folks I am asking a question please asisst me in the answer. What do you suggest? I'm I missing something? Is there light after the tunnel? I'm Drowning and there is no life guard in the site! so many question, no answers. What is your view and will you still be dropping or do you have so many EC in your account it really doesn't matter to you? I only have enough to last maybe two weeks! and that's if I buy low!
Do you use another ad means, tell me about it? does it work, Is it good , how do I join?

Oceans of Summer Fun.

Here we are winding down the School break summer fun. We have been vacationing since schools been out. Mini trips and long trips.... Have seen the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, been Midwest Mountains and shopped in the U.S largest Mall..... Now in Virginia Beach, we did manage to get one day in the Atlantic Ocean water and sunning on the beach. Hurricane Bill caused the beach to close at times and when it was open the undertow was bad. A couple weeks ago our town had a 12 year old boy die. He was on Vacation playing in the Ocean, the undertow took him. They have not found his body yet. So I was very concern with the girls. Not so willing to let them play in the ocean while H-Bill was around. We went shopping on the strip and walked the board walk.

We are heading to Great Wolf Lodge for Loads of Fun!

Did you know GWL has gone Green. Check it out at Project Green Wolf

Times A Coming-New Car!

Every three years we purchase a New Car...One that is up with the new safety specs. With today's Going Green Movement we have decided to look for one that will be as green as we need with out being to pricey. November/ December/ January is the time frame. This is what we want;
1. good MPG around 34 are better
2. must have OnStar
3. Must have front, back and side Airbags
4. like Automatic transmission
5. roomy inside
6. Nice ride and Quiet.
7. Four Doors
8. love to have sun roof-but that's an option
9. all the comforts of home,lol.

Here is our selection so far.


The Chevrolet Volt---Well maybe this one is too pricey. But A nice looking car and the MPG is to die for!


The Chevy Cobalt--Ah nice don't you think. Okay maybe not the color but it does have good specs. The XFE get 37MPG. and the price is under 20,000!

Ah the Chevy Malibu/Hybrid. Now it get good MPH with in our list. and it is a hybrid. The down side you can not get a remote starter with it and hubby loves his!


Finally the Toyota Prius. This little thing get 48Mph highway 51 city. However rating not that great and crash test not rated. The price is a bit high for the Car, I think.

So Now that I have introduced you to the Cars in the running, Which one do you think we should test drive and consider? Maybe you have one in mind not pictured. Give us your thought in my comments and we will be happy to check them out.
We will be posting how things are going thought out the process.

Health Care Systems in USA

I know it is hard to understand the thoughts of the Americans. I have for years thought that the Medicare System would work well for the aging, and that the Medicaid( state run health systems) Would be good for the Needy. Well I have experienced both in my family and they do not work. I believe this is why there is such a wide spread difference in the peoples thinking. If you have no experience of the.. now in place.. HCS in America then your view is clouded. Trusting the Politicians words is another issue in it's self. We read the policy and listen to the politicians and the two do not match..So, what will the bill finally turn out to say? One does not know.

This was my response to The Way I See it " The Health Care Debate" Post. I have read many views on the subject but I have to say His was a breathe of fresh air. We can get pretty heated with our opinions on this matter. One can write some cruel words in comments and on blogs. That is one thing I do not want to do. The thing for sure is we do need a better, affordable Health care Insurance. My Motto has always been " Nothing is free" there is always an expense. The question will be How Much?

When my Mother was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer I learned a lot about the Now Medicare system. When she decided to go to the Cancer Treatment Center of America in another state. I learn a lot more about Insurance companies as well as Medicare and our Governments control.
I was thrown into a world of not being able to get the care we needed. So I thought I would share my experience.
Mom was diagnosed in 2005, we were sent to a oncologist who informed us the Medicare will only cover one type of treatment but there were other organizations that would help and their pamphlet were in the waiting room. As for the Drugs needed to counter act the side effects.. Those are not covered even with the New Medicare D program. I could not understand this. I Knew they had insurance with USAA, so I ask will they cover it. Mom said no, They will only cover what medicare covers. It was only to help with the 20-50% and co-pay they would have to pay. Boy was I shocked, I thought Medicare was to pay for all of health issues. Then I started to ask questions; Could you have gotten another insurance company to cover what medicare didn't? Answer.. No, once you start receiving Social Security one is locked into medicare. What is covered? Here is a specks of what is covered:
Medicare Part A only provide Hospital care. You pay $1024 deductible for first 60 days, $256 daily deductible for days 61-90, $512 daily deductible for lifetime reserve days. You have a total of 60 lifetime reserve days over the course of your lifetime and if you need a Skilled nursing facility care, for a limited period following a minimum 3-day hospital stay for a related condition or injury. You must require skilled care to be eligible for coverage. You pay $0 for the first 20 days, $128 daily for days 21-100, and all costs for each day after day 100.
look at the rest;
•Blood, starting with the 4th pint you receive from a hospital or skilled nursing facility during a Medicare-covered stay. You pay all costs for the first three pints and 20% for each additional pint.
•Necessary home health services. May include physical therapy, speech therapy, some durable medical equipment (such as wheelchairs, oxygen tanks, etc.) and medical supplies for your home. You must receive services from a Medicare-certified home health agency. You pay a $0 copayment for home health services and 20% coinsurance for durable medical equipment.

Part B- cost $135 yearly and is taken out of your Social Security check in monthly installments. This covers, Dr. appointments, only first one free. Outpatient and preventive services and it covers your Flu shot which is the only free item. They only pay 50-80% of the bill so one has to pay the balance and what ever is not covered. Really this is the same as most insurance companies. One can take out a supplemental medicare insurance from an independent company. They will cover the 20-50% and Co-pay but because of the laws in place can not cover what is not authorized by Medicare. I just could not believe, I would not be allowed to collect S.S. and choose my own Medical insurance. And Lord knows I did not want the Governments! My decision was not to start receiving S.S. when I come of age. Keep my money and leave me alone!
Mom made it though the first treatments and manage to not spend all their hard earned savings, thanks to some organizations.
When the Cancer Raised it Ugly Head again in 2007. Mom went back to the Same oncologist who stated that she could only use one other drug. It was the most powerful there was. Mom started treatment. Early on she decided to check out the Cancer Centers of America and get a second opinion. We met with a Doctor Willis, renown for his treatment of Ovarian cancer and was instrumental in developing the drug mom was being given. His words were, You do not want to be on that drug, There are better ones for your cancer. We told him medicare will not pay for them. He said, You let the billing department take care of that, we want to work at making you healthy. So we did! During the treatments my Mom needed to be feed through her veins, medicare would not cover that unless she was in the hospital and only if she had other test/ surgeries to prove she needed it. We had to pay out of pocket for the feedings at home and the center paid for all the feeding at their facilities. They would not pay for nurses to come to do the feeding, so Thank God for my Nursing degree I was trained and administered them myself. She needed oxygen , medicare would not pay for it unless she had a lung disorder. She was able to get it due to the great work of the cancer center staff and we are not sure if medicare ever paid. she had a chest tube inserted and medicare would only pay for Home care 3 days a week, it had to be change daily so, yes I did that too. The sterile dressing and draining. I will tell you we fought Medicare all the way. I guess they felt a 70 year old women was not worth the cost to keep her alive through the treatments. I will tell you Ovarian cancer is very treatable with today's medicines, they have come a long way. Mom Died in January 2008 from the complication of the side effects. Which had treatments to help with them..also not covered. We spent a lot of Money on drugs to help. The Center spent a lot money through grants and some times just said we will take care of it. I had to call bill collectors to get them to forgive the bill,(Write it off )after Moms death. I was very dishearten with the medicare system. There was just no reasoning with them.

I later learned that even if I wanted to have my own insurance at retirement age, I could not. Even if I decided to work at retirement age medicare will kick in and I will not be able to keep my current plan. Boy this really sucks. That is why I feel very differently about a Government Run Health plan.
Some Reform needs to be done to allow people to choose what plan they want and free the Independent companies to cover the Retirement age folks if they want a different coverage.

I hope this help you to understand the thought patterns of the Americans. We all want to have the right to health coverage and for everyone to be able to get care. I will tell you we have a lot of organizations that will help people get care. There are More Hospitals and Health Centers in America than any other country on this earth. We have hospitals who will care for a person whether they have insurance or not. People want to help the needy, so here we are today. What will happen?

Information on current Medicare plan provided by Senior Health Insurance,

Here it is...The rest of the story.

As I was Walking along in Colorado I saw it. At First a thought it was the largest Frog I have ever seen! Ah But no It did not move and Hubby said it was Yes a Mushroom. Now I had to find out what kind. I believe it is a Shingled Hedgehog mushroom from the Sarcodon Imbricatus family.
they are indigenous to Colorado. here are some fact from Colorado Mushrooms


Location: Colorado
Habitat: Sarcodon Imbricatus grows at higher elevations in coniferous woods. It is very common in Colorado.
Smell: Mushroomy
Spore Print: Brown
Edibility: Edible
Color: Brown
Description:
Also known as Hydnum imbricatum. This is a good mushroom for beginners as nothing looks quite like it and its easy to distingish. There are no known poisonous look alikes. Edibility is best in younger specimens. Tastes very mushroomy with a slight bitterness. They tend to get infested with bugs rather quickly after fruiting. Very similiar to Sarcodon Imbricatum.

So, Yes I think I will be a beginner and start learning about Mushrooms. We went to the County fair Last night , the 4H had a ribbon section on Mushrooms. Now I am interested in joining Morel Mushroom Hunting Club. There are groups all throughout the world -Even one in Maryland, Now see what one mushroom find did to me! You got to go to the Morel site and view the Mushroom addict Comedy Movie Trailor (link). It is so hilarious.

Wordless Wednesday- Double -Take

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Come Back Tomorrow and read the story.


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The Past Shows Up!

What a weekend! We went back to hubby's homestead. Hadn't been there for some time, we figured it must have been 10 year or better. I was so surprise to see how some things changed. There was a new school, some of the house were gone, Walmart was in town!, and we found out the the old school was sold in a auction and is thinking of becoming senior citizens apartments. So many changes.
Oh I wanted to tell you some thing funny. As you might know when older kids get together the laughing and Joy tears never stop. Well My sister-n-law was telling us about a store downtown in the antique mall area. She had gone in with one of the other sisters and they were walking through, All of a sudden a light bulb went off and they both said" this is my Mom stuff and we want it back".
I just laughed... remembering that when we went through the things 15 years ago, we just gave it to charity and now it is in the antique store, priced at antique prices! Oh the things we discard, Now I need to go through my stuff. Oh the Money I can make.

Oldies but Goodies- Bowling days gone by.

Decided to play along with Tim over at Fort Thompson in Oldies but Goodies.
I found this old post I thought was worth re posting. It was a "If I Could Blog Back Time-Thursday" One. I was reliving my Childhood in this one.


During the 60's I lived in Rochester New York, we had a bowling alley up the street.Bowling was big ,there were leagues. One could sign up for a league at the alley. Bowlers with they league shirts were all around. Remember the Lavern and Shirley TV show.

My middle brother and I would walk or ride our bikes to the alley. I Loved Bowling. Was pretty good at it. My brother was a competitor. Boy did we have some tough games. I will have to say he won a lot, and never would let me forget it. When I won,which wasn't much, he would give some excuse. Maybe his arm was tired or he wasn't feeling good. He even join one of those league, so he could get better. Even talked me into joining a league. Saturday was league day. Those are good memories. Now I am sure I can beat him at Wii bowling!! He doesn't even know how to Wii!.I will have to "blog back time" and get him to play at my Wii Bowling Alley.

A Green Home-More than a Color

In 2006 My Mom was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer. While visiting the Oncologist we were told that they believe this cancer is caused by the environment we live in. That surprised me, how can that be? Then in January 2007 a Friend ask me to go to a Companies' seminar, they had some new products coming out. Again I was amazed, they talked about the environment and the effect it had on Cancer. Only they were speaking of the home environment. They also spoke of Asama and skin problems. Boy that really hit me hard. You see I had been having problems with my Skin and Eyes and feeling ill a lot. I thought I was stressed and wore down helping my Mom and Dad During her long Cancer treatments. I was Driving back a forth Between Norfolk Virginia and Baltimore Maryland. Trying to take care of my family of three and my parents. I came home from the seminar and told my hubby I joined the company.
Now it has been two and a half years. I do not have skin problems and have not been sick in that time. Heck my daughter has not missed a day of school during that time. This is how it Evolved.

First I bought some lotion for my skin, then I read a book about the companies products , when it started, what's in the products and how to transform my home into a healthy environment.
This company has been in existence since the early 80's, yes they began Green. They were concern with the environment and where is was headed. With all the new household cleaners that has carcinogenic in them.{Get this the Companies producing these product knew it! they just didn't think it would effect the people so soon. Now they are trying to change their ways.}
Well I throw out all my cleaning products and began using the New Company's only. After a few weeks I noticed changes. I wasn't sneezing when the dish washer was working, The Body was not itching as much, I was sleeping better and the family wasn't getting sick(while people all around us were.). We were healthier!
My girlfriend asked me about the product and said she was not happy with her current ones. So I ordered her a Laundry Kit one month ago. Called her early this week to see how she was doing and was told she absolutely Loves the Product. I know she will start to notice the changes in the home and begin to change over to a Greener Home.
If you would like to know more leave your link, I will be glad to share it with you.
Yes My house is green, the only Green One on the block, area and town. So, now when I say Our home has Gone Green is means All the way. Inside and Out!

Wednesday Words - Commenters

Today's topic" Blog Comments". I have been at this blogging thing for about eight months now. One thing I really like is interaction with others. Have been paying attention to Commenters and what makes them comment on a blog. No I haven't figured it out, That would be a Gold Mine if I did! I could go on all the Talk Shows make a Trillon Dollars and maybe even trump Donald,hehehe.
One thing I noticed is the Meme's. Those are the Topics that invite reader to your page by using links bloggers leave on other blogs. You need to be sure you leave your link after commenting so others came find you easily.There are many to choose from and there is one for every day of the week. You can find one that suits your taste..blog content or personality.
Here are a few I have found, some have links to join up;
Music Monday , Yellow Mellow Mondays,
Random Tuesday Thoughts, Ruby Tuesday,
Wordless Wednesday, Almost Wordless Wednesday,
If I could Blog by TimeThursdays, A Thousand words Thursday,Thirteen Thursday,
Aloha Friday, TGIF, Friday Photo Flashback,Friday Fill-In
Smiley Sunday, Green thumb Sunday,
There many more.
A few of these I participate in on my blogs, I have notice some get a lot of visitors and commenters.
Do you participate in a Meme? Which one, maybe the visitors will see something that will interest them. Do leave a link for others to visit.

Roof Tops: Going Green?

Here's a good one..You are watching TV when a news clip, often called a teaser, comes on. Lady fights to win battle to put wind turbine on roof. Now I wonder if we started doing that how many lightening strikes would we get, would it hold up in the storms, how high will it be, do you need a flashing light on it. Will it start a frenzy? What do you think; yes, good idea....No, bad choice... for going green?

August 5th Update: Lady did not win battle, community opposed the plan and the city said no.
According to the article below, it does sound like a good thing. Going Green sometimes goes against the norm and change are hard for some people to handle. The day will come when we will have these on the roof tops. Just like the TV Antennas and Satellite Disk donned our roof tops years ago. Remember that time, before cable.

You can click on photo to read "Bringing Wind Turbines to Ordinary Rooftops"

It's In The Bag

While At the Mall of America, I decided to buy a Shopping Bag. Now it was not a Cloth one like I have been Stocking up on, but a heavy duty Nylon one. The slogan on it was "Turn Over A New Leaf". I purchased it from Macy's. Their statement was...At Macy's, we are operating in ways that are more sensitive to the environment, from reducing energy use and adopting renewable energy source, to recycling more of the waste generated by our own operations. In doing so, we pledge to reduce our impact on the environment and join our customers in taking a turn for the better....
so I was carrying all these plastic bags, thought okay I'll buy one of these bags. Go up to the register to purchase it, the girl says what is it.. I tell her it's a bag I want to buy. She scans it...no price, punches in the code and then ask me if I would like it the a bag.. Plastic of course. Now I ask you How can one make a statement like Macy's made and their clerks not even know why they are selling them?

The plastic bag was introduced in 1957 as baggies, store food in them. In 1960 the plastic trash bags came along. by 2002 there were over 4-5 trillion being produced. Now we know it takes 1000 years to breakdown. Ocean-borne plastic bags kills ten of thousand ocean animals, Whales, seals, turtles, and birds. The animal decays long before the bag so it goes on to continue killing.
Place have started to band the use of plastic bags. On March 27th 2007, San Francisco banned them. Seattle ban will be complete by 2010 and many more are joining in. Some states are taxing the bags.
It really surprises me that South Australia, Israel, Canada, western India, Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Taiwan, Singapore and Bangladesh have also banned or are moving toward banning the plastic bag. I have seen stores like Ikea and Whole Food not use them anymore.

I do buy the cloth bags and try to make a point to use them. Only I forget to bring them in with me or I leave them at home. Now I make a point to put them in the cars' trunk.
A challenge for you and me:

For one Month do not accept any plastic bags, take your own cloth bag.

You can buy them pretty cheap. This can really be a good Green thing to do. Perhaps I will get in the habit of carrying them with me into the stores. In one Month I will post how we did and Ask how you did.

It Time for a Make Over!

I have decided to change my blog name to:
"Living Healthy with Auntie E".
There are so many other things to write about. Home remedies, Cooking, Going Green and many other healthy choices for us. My household is going Green, from what we eat, how we live, to what we use. So I am going to mix it up and blog about all kinds of things. One will never know what to expect. My eyes and ears will be open to the world and I will blog about it.