Think you're covered? Think again. Obamacare could bite you in the ass too.

The day I found out I was pregnant with my first son, I was in shock. He wasn't planned or expected, but he is certainly the greatest joy in my life. When my husband and I decided to expand our family with another child, I assumed I would have the same easy experience in conceiving a baby as I did with my first. Not so, and I spent a year of our lives on an emotional roller coaster waiting for those two little pink lines to appear, month after month. Finally, this last spring, it happened. We were overjoyed. It had been a long year. 

All the while, a storm was brewing. A political storm in far away Washington DC, that I couldn't do anything to stop. Decisions were made, deceptions sold, and now we are dealing with the fallout. Earlier this month, I received a letter from our health insurance company letting me know that my current plan was being canceled, but I was being rolled over into an equivalent plan beginning January 1, 2014. I was surprised, but had already seen changes to our insurance over the previous two years due to Obamacare. I was most surprised and disappointed to learn that we would be paying much more money for a plan with less coverage. I only wish this was where my surprises and disappointments would end. 

I am due to give birth to our second son on January 7, 2014. After hearing a report that many doctors are not accepting certain insurance plans, I decided to look up my own new plan to see where we would be covered. I just assumed that because my doctor currently accepts my insurance company, that wouldn't change. But, like a slap in the face, I was wrong. In fact, not only does my doctor not accept my insurance company, neither does the hospital I am scheduled to deliver my baby, nor does my older son's pediatrician. Come January 2014, we may as well not be insured. Was it easy to find this information? The answer is...sort of. I really had to do some digging to find out where we would be covered as well as what insurance companies are accepted with our current doctors and hospitals. I wonder, how many people will seek out this information on their own? Or will they too assume they are covered with their current insurance company?

I don't want to turn this post into a liberal vs. conservative political debate, so I'll refrain from expressing too much disgust. I simply want to encourage everyone to start asking their doctors, hospitals, urgent care centers and specialists what insurance companies they accept. You may be surprised to learn it is not yours. 

For my family, we will be changing insurance companies beginning January 1, 2014. Which means we begin all new deductibles and cross our fingers the transition goes as planned. It's not a great way to enjoy bringing a new life into the world, but baby, get used to it.

Raw Vegan Peanut Butter Cups

In my attempt to eat as 'clean' as possible throughout my pregnancy, I cannot seem to escape the cravings. Why I can't crave kale, I'll never know. Instead, I want salty, sweet and fatty. I'm sure it is all part of a master plan that the universe has to get me to gain as much weight as possible by January. Or perhaps it is just my subconscious telling me to go ahead and enjoy life rather than stress about it. Either way, I want chocolate. 

So here is a raw, vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, all natural peanut butter cup. Just the right snack to help me stick with my clean eating plan and satisfy my cravings. 

                         

Peanut Butter Cups!

Base

3/4 C raw almonds

1/4 C rolled oats

2 T natural peanut butter

1.5 T warmed coconut oil

1.5 T grade B maple syrup

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp vanilla

Pinch of salt

Topping

3 T melted coconut oil 

3 T grade B maple syrup 

2 T cocoa powder

Pinch of salt

Combine almonds and oats in a high speed blender and blend until a flour forms. Dump flour into a bowl and using your fingers break up any clumps. 

Add peanut butter, oil, syrup, cinnamon, vanilla and salt. Stir until combined and mixture resembles a sticky cookie dough. 

Portion the dough into mini-muffin tins, about half full. Press down until firmly compacted. 

For the chocolate sauce: whisk melted coconut oil, syrup, cocoa powder and salt until a smooth sauce forms. Spoon sauce over the top of each cup, distributing evenly. 

Let set in freezer for 45 minutes. Use a butter knife to pop out the cups and enjoy! (Best when eaten right out if the freezer). 

* adapted from ohsheglows.com

The Hungry Ass

Yesterday, I had a precious sixty minutes to myself while my son spent some quality time with his grandmother. He probably snacked on cookies, ice cream and straight sugar, but she could probably give him crack and I would look the other way just to get my much needed alone time. So while my son was playing junkie at grandma's, I decided to head to one of my favorite sandwich shops for lunch.

I walked into the empty cafe with its narrow walkway near the deli counter, savoring the quiet. After placing my to-go order, I sat down at a small table to wait. A few minutes of peaceful meditation and the door swings open as four ladies enter the cafe. While viewing the chalkboard menu, one of the women stands within inches of my table with her back side toward my face. She then backs up the mere few inches and sits on my table. Yes, puts her actual butt cheeks on the table. Now, I don't know about you, but I was under the impression that butts are one of, if not the most, unsanitary parts of a human body. Also, not sure if you know, but a long time ago someone invented the chair. I'm talking ancient Greece, 600 B.C. the chair was invented. I think you get my point - asses belong in chairs.

At one point the table wobbles, the woman stands up and turns to face me. I made a disgusted face and looked her straight in the eye, assuming she would understand the feelings of abhorrence radiating from my eyes. Instead, she mutters, "oh sorry" and shifts her weight to be more centered on the table and promptly sits back down. I finally stood up and moved to the empty counter to wait for my sandwich away from the lunching ladies and let her have the table. But not before snapping this picture to post here and on Facebook.

Don't read this blog! It's about you...

Any time I need to amp up my writing skills, I try to use writing prompts to get my creative juices flowing. One of my favorite websites for prompts is plinky.com. With the upcoming anthology, I really need to work on my writing skills. And Facebook status updates don't count. So after a too long hiatus of quality writing, I have committed myself to daily literary exercises. The Plinky prompt I received in my email inbox recently was this: Who is the one person you do not want to read your blog? Why?

This is an interesting question for me. I often times find myself censoring my blog posts or writing cryptically about a situation as to avoid someone connecting the dots on a story being about them. I have no idea if I am successful in this effort. I also have plenty of saved drafts that never made it to publication because there was simply no way to spin the story into a generic blog post. Or sometimes I am simply too annoyed to write with any decorum.

To me, writing is a symbol of freedom. A freedom of expression that can either be private or public depending on how transparent you want to be. Would I share the same feelings in my blog that I do with my best friend? Well, I haven't so far. If it were that easy to be honest about my feelings, I would either have much stronger relationships or none at all. So, who is the one person that I would not want to read my blog? No one. But, I do believe this is a challenge for me to be more expressive in my relationships. After all, I would much rather hear from a good friend, face-to-face, how she is feeling about me than read it in a public blog.

Call for Submissions

I am so excited, thrilled and pleased to announce a call for submissions for the commercial fishing anthology that has been in the works for several years. Along with my fellow commercial fishing wife/mother and author, Jen Karuza Schile, we are moving forward in producing this new literary project. 

This anthology will feature stories from the perspective of modern fishing families and life 'off the boat'. We have all seen or at least heard of Deadliest Catch, the popular crab-fishing reality television show on the Discovery Channel. We watch them battle each other, wicked weather and rough seas, but who are these men at home? Who are their wives, children, mothers and fathers? What would life be like without your husband for months at a time? Could you do it? Well, these families do and if you are part of one of these unique commercial fishing families, then we want to hear your story. If you know someone who would be interested in telling their story, please direct them our way. 

For more detailed information regarding this project and submission guidelines, please follow the link below.

http://jenkaruzaschile.com/submit-your-story

Looks like somebody has a case of the Mondays...

Mondays are historically my most productive day. I wonder if most people feel that way. I always feel energized on Mondays, the other days of the week, not so much. Today, I actually followed through with one of my many 'home improvement' ideas. I've been on the hunt for the perfect headboard and still have been unable to find it for a price I can stomach spending the cash on. Which led me to making my own upholstered headboard.

After clearing out our basement for a remodel we are starting (more on that later), we came across a large piece of plywood. All it needed was a couple easy cuts and it was the perfect size. Next, a trip to the craft store had me armed with fabric, batting and a nail head trim.

Completed in one day and under a hundred bucks!

The bulk of the money was spent on the fabric. I wanted it to be affordable, but still use high quality materials. I went with a thick linen in a smooth flax color.

Here is a list of materials needed:
3 yards of upholstery grade fabric
Nail head trim kit
Queen size high-loft batting
Mallet
Needle nose pliers
Scissors
Staple gun with 1/2" staples
3/4" plywood (36"x70")
French cleat (for hanging on the wall)

Start by laying your fabric flat on the floor. Next place the batting, folded in half, on top of the fabric. Then place the plywood on top of the batting. Make sure all sides are even and straight. Start by stretching the batting tightly over the plywood and staple in the middle. Move to the opposite side and repeat. Continue working like this until the batting is secure. For the corners, make a diagonal cut with scissors close to the corner (but not all the way), then fold and staple one over the other.

Next, do the same process with the fabric. For the corners, start at the point and fold the middle in first and staple. Then fold in the sides and neatly lay the fabric flat before stapling.

Once the fabric is secure, turn the headboard over. Mark the edges with painter's tape. Use the edge as a guide for the nailhead trim. Using the mallet, hammer the tacks in place. At the corners, always start the next side with a tack. You may need to snip the trim of a few 'faux' tacks to make this possible. Remove the tape and voila! Your new upholstered headboard is complete.

Using a French cleat, or picture hanging cleat, secure the headboard to your wall. Just don't forget to secure it to the studs. I used a stud finder. Just a heads up, the headboard took me about an hour to finish. Hanging the thing took up the rest of my day. Finding the cleats, measuring, measuring again, finding the studs, measuring again. Two trips to Home Depot, one trip to Ace Hardware. You get the idea.

The verdict: I'm thrilled with my new headboard. I can't wait for my husband to come home from Alaska to find a completed room. Including a bed skirt, honey.

I survived...

10 minutes into my Facebook cleanse and I'm having withdrawals. Thank god for Pinterest. And blogging. You didn't think I'd go away completely, did you? Sorry peeps, no such luck.

I shut down my page at midnight, knowing that I would just go right to sleep afterwards. I've noticed that after I put my son to sleep at night, I spend the remainder of the evening with my face in front of electronics. It's the only time of the day that I have that opportunity, but it also can make for some late nights. Do you know how much stuff is out there on the Internet?

I read a study that says electronic screens before going to bed are too stimulating for the brain and inhibit sleep. Considering that I frequently suffer from insomnia, I decided to commit to a 10pm bedtime. Just get in bed by ten o'clock and leave the iPad, phone and TV remotes alone! I tried it last night and at first I was tossing and turning. I'm so accustomed to having the TV on before sleep that the silence was giving me anxiety. So, I cheated, just a little. I used my phone to download a sleep machine app. I turned on soothing beach waves and spa music and set the timer for one hour. I was convinced I would still be awake by the end of the hour, but I was at least going to try. Well, I didn't make it an hour. I actually fell asleep. Hallelujah! Committing to an earlier bedtime actually worked. The next thing I knew I was awakened by my phone ringing at 3:30am. (It was my husband. It's just part of being a fisherman's wife). Five hours of blissful, uninterrupted sleep. The other miracle is that my son was still in his own bed, but that is a whole other post. The added benefit to better sleep was my renewed energy this morning that helped push me out the door on a freezing morning walk. My Facebook cleanse is already helping me to develop healthier habits.

Sleep training for adults, what a concept.