Check it out, HERE!
Desiderata
Max Erhmann’s poem Desiderata is helpful to me these days. Here’s one part:
…Whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
Favorite TV shows
===UPDATED JULY 2011===
Of all time:
- The Wire
- The Walking Dead
- Battlestar Galactica
- Arrested Development
- Misfits
- Being Human
- Spaced
What I’m enjoying these days:
- Master Chef
- Misfits
- Doogie Howser, M.D.
Favorite trashy shows:
- Dancing with the Stars
- The Bachelor
- The Bachelorette
- So You Think You Can Dance
Christmas music
It’s that time again! As usual, two local radio stations 99.5 (WMAG) and 101.5 (WRAL) play around the clock Christmas music.
My Christmas music favorites list:
- The Christmas Song – Nat King Cole
- Sleighride – Johnny Mathis
- Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas – James Taylor
- Christmas Canon – Trans-Siberian Orchestra
- Baby It’s Cold Outside – Dean Martin
- Santa Baby – Eartha Kitt
- Christmas Time is Here – Vince Guaraldi Trio
I still consider these ones pretty creepy:
- Any Christmas song covered by Amy Grant, Jewel, Christina Aguilera, Josh Groban or The Carpenters
- “Mary Did You Know”, sung by Kenny Rogers and Wynonna Judd
- Kenny G Christmas music
- “Little Drummer Boy” (any version) – Bing Crosby and David Bowie sing a duet – yikes!
- “Snoopy’s Christmas” – Royal Guardsmen
- “Last Christmas” by Wham!
- “Santa Claus is Comin’ To Town” – Bruce Springsteen
- “I Saw Mommy Kissin’ Santa Claus” – John Cougar Mellencamp
- “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” by Band Aid – what a load of white man bullsh*t!
- “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas” – Gayla Peevey – Does this kid have a death wish!? Doesn’t she know hippos are the most dangerous animal KNOWN TO MAN?!?!
Happy Holidays, ya’ll.
A call to arms
Clinton and I have lost thousands of our own hard-earned dollars because of the ineptitude and corruption of health insurance companies. I am SO done with that.
These health insurance companies have a vested interest in *not* helping people, because it is bad for their business to pay claims to doctors and reimburse patients what is rightfully owed to them. They try to make it as hard as possible on us so that we get tired and give up.
They only tell us what they will not pay for, rather than what they will. Where is the “insurance” in that?
I painstakingly follow up on every fax, e-mail and call. I document every interaction with the health insurance companies. I keep immaculate files, notes and records. I write letter upon letter. Yet the bureaucratic hoops to jump through just keep on coming. They are trying to wear me down. They have no idea who they are messing with.
I believe it is wrong (both morally and legally) what Aetna and Anthem Blue Cross have done to us over the past five years. Their benefits clearly state what they will pay for, yet they have not paid. How can they steal from us and get away with it all these years? I am not experienced with lawyers, I don’t know much about my rights as a health insurance customer, and I don’t have a lot of money to get legal advice, but my gut tells me this absolutely must be illegal.
I also suspect I am not alone. Is there anything we citizens can do as a group to go up against these enormous, powerful companies together? Please write to me or comment here if you have thoughts on this.
Adventures in Winterizing Our Home (Part 1)
Hooray! Today, after three years of contemplating our window insulation dilemma*, I finally made the first bold move and purchased the “Shrink & Seal” window kit from Lowe’s for $8.56 + tax (which is enough for 5 windows). The great news is that it took me just 15 minutes to read the directions and seal one set of double windows. The hairdryer works like a charm to create a super airtight seal! (See photo for results.)
*The problem was, unlike the windows in the instructions and online how-to videos, ours have those white metal mini blinds on them (yech). And the way our mini-blind hardware is set up, there is no space between the glass and the hardware to stick the tape for the Shrink & Seal! I have been through this quandary basically four winters in a row now, and it has kept me from taking any action to winterize our windows. I decided to just shrink wrap the f-ing blinds right inside the f-ing plastic!
Three key insights from my experience today:
- Seems like saran wrap. The “Shrink Film” (which is trademarked, by the way) appears to be nothing more than glorified saran wrap! I feel a teensy bit cheated about that.
- Kitty cat sabotage. Shrink Film seems like it may become problematic in a home inhabited by two curious cats (like ours). Now that I’ve got the stuff installed on the window nice and airtight, one false swipe of a kitty cat claw would ruin the whole thing…
- WTF? I had originally planned to seal the windows for the winter and then rip them out in the spring. However, now I’m thinking if the seals can keep air conditioning from escaping in the summer time as well as they can keep heat from escaping in the winter, then I can keep the seals on the windows all year round! This leads me to my real question, which is: INSTEAD OF THIS WHOLE INSULATION RIGMAROLE, WHY DON’T THEY JUST MANUFACTURE AND INSTALL WINDOWS THAT PREVENT DRAFTS IN THE FIRST PLACE???
1 window down, 11 more to go…
Stay tuned for more Adventures in Winterizing Our Home (Part 2) when our hero dares to ascend into the attic with a roll of insulation and a can of foam sealant!!
Durham curbside recycling
In case you get as confused as I do about curbside recycling, here’s a link to City of Durham’s recycling guide.
Apparently, we can now recycle plastic containers of ALL numbers. Hooray, Durham! (I love you, Durham.)
A favorite quote
Love this quote from Lorie Marrero’s Clutter Diet Blog:
The reason I pursue an uncluttered life is so I have the time, energy, and resources to live remarkably. I don’t want to be weighed down by my stuff; I want to have as much freedom as possible to focus on what matters most to me.
Toxins in our soap
I’ve been looking up the ingredients in our household products one by one in really useful toxicology database. Guess what I found in the Ajax liquid dish soap (Ruby Red Grapefruit scent) which I have been using for years?!
- A known reproductive organ toxin
- A known human immune system toxin
- A known neurotoxin, which at low doses causes brain, nervous system and behavioral effects
Uh, yikes. And that’s only from looking at the few ingredients the Colgate-Palmolive company would publicly list on their website! We put this soap on our dishes, cutlery and cookware, not to mention our skin!
I’ve just asked Clinton if we can switch to Dr. Bronner’s Magic Castile Soap for washing dishes. Dr. Bronner’s is rated a 1 (lowest hazard) on the toxicology scale in this database. All of its ingredients (see list here) are vegetable based, chemical free and biodegradable.
I’ve also been using Cetaphil gentle skin cleanser on my face for years, which contains Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (a known carcinogen) and Methylparaben, Propylparaben and Butylparaben, which are known endocrine system disruptors, neurotoxins, reproductive organ toxins, and also interfere with genetics. The problem with skin cleansers is that our pores enjoy water (especially warm water) and thus they generally open up further to receive whatever chemicals touch our skin. I’m now switching to Avalon Organics products for my face which contain no harmful chemicals.
I also just wrote to the American Association of Dermatologists (AAD) about this:
Dear AAD,
I’ve been using Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser on my skin for years. Today I learned that this cleanser contains Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (a known carcinogen) and Methylparaben, Propylparaben and Butylparaben, which are known endocrine system disruptors, neurotoxins, reproductive organ toxins, and also interfere with genetics.
Can you please explain why the Galderma company advertises Cetaphil as the “#1 dermatologist recommended skin cleanser”? Do you agree with this recommendation? There are many other gentle facial cleansers on the market which do not contain harmful chemicals, so I’m confused.
Thanks for your thoughts on this.
Best regards, Crystal Dreisbach
