Prescription Refills

Despite having been on the same meds now for several years, my doctor makes me come in every six months for refills. I had one of these appointments this morning. It went something like this:

Doctor: Still allergic to everything?
me: Yep.
Doctor: Still get migraines?
me: Yep.
Doctor: Still have reflux?
me: Yep.
Doctor: Still crazy?
me: Yep.
Doctor: Okay, here are your prescriptions. Come back in six months. Crystal will take your money on the way out.

Grr...

Also, as a result of Destination Resignation, I'm now on my husband's insurance. And it hates me. Under my insurance, all visits to that doctor cost $10. Today, his insurance came up with the magical number of $44.20. They pay 80% of the "customary" amount. So that means the "customary" amount was over $200? Good grief.

I should've had her also prescribe me something for the pain and nausea caused by the billing department.

Guess to Wine! Err, Win!!!

Four score and seven years ago (or, if you prefer, last August), I announced a Drinking Game. If you don't want to go back and read, it goes something like this:

I bought my husband a big glass jar in the shape of a barrel to collect our wine corks. I offered a slumped wine bottle (a melty-flat bottle for decoration or cheese board, etc) as a prize to the commenter that guessed when we would fill the jar. Then I promised a second contest for the commenter that most closely guessed the number of corks in the full jar.

THE DAY HAS COME!!!



We have filled the bucket! Actually, we filled it a couple of weeks ago but I'm too short to pull it down from it's storage spot on top of the cabinets so I'm just now getting around to this post.

Looking back at the comments, that means the winner is C. Beth with a guess of June 1, 2011. Congrats, Beth, and I'll be in touch to coordinate your prize.

And now, PART TWO: Guess to WINE WIN!!! You are guessing the number of corks in the jar. Joe and I counted them last night and we were both WAY off. I hope it's even half as much for for all of you to guess as it was for us. A few points: the jar is 13 inches tall, 29 inches around at the thickest point. It is full of corks, to the point of having to really squash on the lid. There are no other fillers inside. Also, it's worth noting that it took us approximately two years to fill it.

Here's how to enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post with your guess.
2. You must enter by Sunday, June 19th.
3. Closest guess without going over wins.

Try not to guess the same number as someone else but if there are two guesses, I'll come up with a tie-breaker. Maybe natural vs synthetic corks. Though that means I have to recount them all again and I hate math.

Winner will be announced on Monday, June 20th. The prize will be a $25 gift certificate to Uncommon Goods, where you can purchase any number of wine-related or recycled items. I recently used a birthday gift certificate to buy a necklace made of glass from wine bottles.

That's it! Have fun guessing!

Disclaimer: Husbands of Cate not eligible to win the prize. Husbands of Cate got to drink the wine, usually WITH Cate, which is enough of a prize. Also, Husbands of Cate will likely benefit from proximity to whatever Cate makes from the corks. Tonya and Rusty not eligible because they are cats. Nobody sponsored this post in anyway, nor do they know about it. Probably they wouldn't approve even if they DID know. So shhh.

Meet Lila

I've been remiss in introducing you to my new BFF. Friends, meet Lila.



Lila replaces my first smartphone, Gwen. A moment of silence for Gwen because she was a very faithful companion. I had very few issues, which I thank her for, considering Joe's Blackberry was a complete piece o' crap.

But, Lila... She's so shiny and new! Lila is a Droid2 Global. Aka: the Google phone. Know who's Google's slave? This girl! It was just meant to be. She's so much faster and easier to use. I can actually browse and go through my rss feeds in a reasonable amount of time.

Why didn't I get an iPhone? Besides the whole Google-owns-my-soul thing? I can't run amok internationally with the iPhone (at least not from Verizon - and I'm quite happy with their service). And since Joe can't sit his booty still and has also taken on some new international job duties, I don't want to be without my phone if/when we travel abroad.

Oh, and her name: Lila is in a purple case. Purple = lilacs. Lilacs = this time of year. Plus, Twitter liked Lila. Very scientific.

So, anyways, that's the biggest happy in my life right now. Maybe it seems a bit sad that I'm so excited over a phone, but I try to take my happy wherever I can find it.

Six Word Saturday

it's getting better all the time

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Want to play along? All that's necessary to participate is to describe your life (or something) in a phrase using just six words. For more information, try clicking here. Feel free to explain or not explain. Add an image, a video, a song, nothing. I love seeing what everyone does with their entries.

Each week (probably on Sunday or Monday), I use random.org to select a bunch of entries to visit.  Or I visit everyone. Or even numbered entries. Or odd numbered entries. Or multiples of three. Depends on what's going on that week.  In addition, please visit the person ahead of you on the list (or visit everyone if you like!). That way everyone receives at least one visit!

If you play along in your blog, please add a link to the Mr. Linky. I appreciate a link back (shiny code below if you like!). Otherwise, you're welcome to leave your six words in this post as a comment.

Please be sure to link either to your main page or (preferably) directly to the 6WS post. Links to blogs that do not contain a 6WS entry will be removed (sorry, just the button in the sidebar doesn't count as participating).

<a href="http://www.showmyface.com/search/label/6WS"><img src="http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp35/showmyface/guts/6wsButton.jpg" /></a>

Getting There

Saturday, I was feeling better. More optimistic. More energized. I had turned a corner and was ready to take on the world again. I wrote a post stating such and scheduled it to post Monday morning.

Then Sunday night happened. I haven't written much (at all?) about our recent trip home. It was a good trip, overall, but the primary reason for it was to try to help my father-in-law. You see, he's old. He's not doing so well. In addition to physical issues (most concerning are heart problems and circulation/infection issues with his feet), he is bi-polar. This manifests in extreme ups and downs, plus a strong side of OCD.

Anyways, we came home from the trip feeling positive about some progress we had made in finding him a few solutions that would help him stay well enough to remain mostly independent. Sunday night, he called Joe and told him that he's undone everything we did for him. He told off the volunteers arranged by the County. He accused us of screwing up his medications. And so much more...

That set me back. Something I had felt really good about and suddenly I was slapped in the face. Yet another reminder, much like the event that set me off the week before, that despite my greatest efforts I had really accomplished nothing. The impact of my actions was fleeting at best, completely in vain at worst.

I realize this isn't true. I know I can only control myself and that I need to do what I can live with. I know the FIL situation is about supporting my husband and not about me. And I know I'm not a failure. The fact that I can see this and start to recover from it much more quickly than the events of last week means I'm making progress.

All of this is my long way of saying what I originally planned to say in Monday's post: Thank you. To everyone who has left a comment, sent an email, tweeted encouragement. For every shoulder, ear, and hug. Thank you all.

I'm getting there. I'm just not there yet.