Linky Links

Here are some links to what has been entertaining me lately . . .

I think I am jealous of a 14 year old boy. This might help explain why.

Summer is here and I am really in the mood to fill my house up with house plants. I think it's also because I want pretty planters like this, this, and this!

Jeff has been out of town on business a lot recently and I've killed our only current house plant due to lack of watering. I think if I get any house plants I may have to invest in one of these, or this.

Or, maybe I should just recycle!

I need to do a post about what I ended up wearing to my brother and sister-in laws weddings. Thanks to my very own younger sister getting hitched later this summer, I need to find yet another outfit! This online shop was like discovering wedding dress wear GOLD I tell you. Dresses in every size, good prices, and CUSTOMIZABLE! check it out.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Mo Babies Mo Problems - What bugs me about the healthcare system

Okay, I try not to put my truly personal business out on the web, but I just want to take a moment and have a little rant about our health care system. I am so fed up and sick of it! Please indulge me and allow me a moment for a temper tantrum. As some may know, my lovin’ husband and I have been struggling to have a child these last 5 years.  I don’t like to talk about it really, because it is deeply personal and probably the biggest struggle and heart break I’ve had in my life so far, so I’m not really going to get into that here. I’m just putting it out there to explain why we get to deal with the lovely medical system.

The first time I wrote this post I gave a brief synopsis of the path that we’ve been on, but even though it was vague and tasteful (and very therapeutic for me to write!), I am not going to share it here. Instead of those dets, I’ve created my top 5 pet peeves we’ve experienced with the medical system so far:

1-      Why are patients not allowed to talk? Hasn’t study after study shown that all doctors need to do is allow their patient to talk for about 2 minutes, to not only allow the patient to feel heard, but also to allow for a more proper and concise diagnosis? With the 3 doctors I’ve seen I don’t think I’ve been able to get out 3 sentences together. A couple minutes out of their day for each patient isn’t going to put them out of business, I think it would only give them more.

2-      How can insurance companies still be getting away with not covering such a common and serious medical issue as infertility? If preventing/terminating a pregnancy is a suitable medical need that is covered, how can the reverse not be suitable as well? I’m not trying to say that women shouldn’t be allowed birth control or anything, just that if medication to prevent pregnancy is insurable, then medication to promote pregnancy should be as well. Also, our insurance coverage has significantly deteriorated in the last 5 years, even though I’ve kept good jobs that were supposed to have amazing benefits. I basically feel like I don’t even have insurance with my high deductible plan, everything seems to be coming out of MY pocket.

3-      It’s all about the Benjamin$. Not only are doctors inflating their pay by requiring un-needed test, but some doctors are requiring you get ALL tests done from them. It doesn’t matter if the tests were already ran by another office, it doesn’t matter if you really only need to be tested in one or two areas- it seems like they are requiring ALL OR NOTHING.

4-      It may be all about mullah, but nobody seems to want to talk about it! Letting you know the amount of money you will be paying for these tests and services is not a concern or priority for most doctors. Maybe they don’t like to discuss it because the cost would have you running scared ($3,000 out of pocket for an introductory blood test? Yeah, that happened. How could that not instill fear in the hearts of patients?), but I still think it needs to be given its own weight and conversation. I would not hire a contractor or purchase a sofa without first knowing the costs. Why then would I participate in some of the most vital and personal services of my life without first knowing the costs?

5-      Control. I feel like all power or control is taken away from the patients. I have absolutely no say in what or how I want to move forward with possible medical problems. They have all the cards and know the game, while I have no cards to play and have no instructions for the game. I am completely at their mercy. Not that I would want to tell a physician how to do their job or anything. I wouldn’t want anyone telling me how to do my job, but I feel like there is no balance.  Everything is on their terms.

Okay. So that is my rant. Pretty sad isn’t it. I know I am whiny, but I can’t help being frustrated with the whole thing. And because I can’t imagine living this life and not getting the chance to be a mother, I really have no choice but to deal with it. Put on my big girl pants and move forward. It sucks . . . so is life. But life has taught me that those things which are really worth having, and have the biggest reward, are not usually easily obtained. Being a parent takes crazy sacrifice, We have just started to sacrifice our sanity a little bit earlier than usual for our kids. Onward with doctors, onward with adoption research, onward with foster care research. It will come in its own time, I know, it is just hard. 

Blog Design & Other Ramblings

I've been having some fun playing around with the idea of updating my blog header. I found this website via Pinterest and have pretty much been going crazy playing with all the fun FREE designs and templates she has on her site.


I like the picture that is currently my header, a shot from our tent when we were camping at the beach a few years ago. But we don't live in California or live by a beach, so I'm not sure how it really relates to this blog. Maybe something more graphic would be more appropriate.

I am in love with gray, so of course I love this one, but at the same time I hope it’s not too dull and boring.

I like that this one has the gray but has more pops of (my favorite) color. Of course, that color doesn’t really match anything else on my page, so I’m not so sure how that would work.


I love the chevron design I found on the page, but am afraid I might have made this header a bit too complicated and over loaded.

Lastly, I love the hexagonal maps, but again, I’m not really sure how that would relate to this blog. I use to do a lot of traveling, but I’ve definitely settled down now that I’m married, have an 8-5 job, with a mortgage and the whole bit.

Who knows, maybe I’ll keep playing around with it. It is so much fun. In my dreams I have a job as a photographer, graphics designer, or interior designer. Mostly just something that is visual and creative. But sadly, in reality I have neither the skills nor the talent yet. I like that I can mess around with that kind of stuff here on the blog. Makes lunches at work MUCH more entertaining!

(Just as an FYI, I made these without having photo shop by using Microsoft Word Power Point, which I then saved as a PDF, and then a JPEG. )

In other rambling news Jeff bought us a new computer the other day and I am SO EXCITED! His last computer purchase was not my favorite (crashing every few minutes!), but I’m hoping this computer has more staying power. I’m also excited that this one is a laptop so I won’t be relegated to the office but can move around my house with my computer. I can't wait to get it all set up!

Some more house hold news, KB Homes (our homes builder) was recently involved in a class action lawsuit and lost. This means that we are getting our home re-plumbed in April. That's right, our kitchen, bathrooms, and dry wall are all at the mercy of the construction crew the courts appointed to fix all of KB's shoty plumbing. I'm kind of nervous to have our home re-plumbed. It sounds so intrusive, so I hope all goes well.

This also means that I'm definitely going to hold off on any updates or painting until the construction is done. I'd hate to put up board and batten in the bathrooms just to have it torn down in a month. This also will give us more time to collect some change to save up for the bathroom renovations.

And the last big thing that is going on in the Bame house these days is that we are looking to adopt a dog!
(pic)
I can't wait to walk the dog and go on hikes with a cute little pup. Now, after a few months of having to wake up early to walk the dog, I may not be so excited, but for now I am. We are still struggling to get pregnant and I think Jeff knows if I don't have something to mother soon I may be feeding him with airplane sounds, bathing him, and putting him in his PJ's every night. That energy will be better directed to pets for now!

We are looking to adopt a female dog who is around 15-20 pounds. Still youngish- maybe under 2 years old. We want a dog who is active, intelligent, and good with children and our cat. We are totally okay with mutt, but are using dogs like a Shetland Sheltie or Italian Greyhound as our models for what we'd prefer.

If you know of any please let us know. I'm finding that the animal shelters around here are very competitive. I'll see a dog one day, go to take Jeff to see it that night and they'll already be gone! But we'll end up getting the dog that's right for us someday, even if it takes a bit of time. We are use to taking our time with things!

Getting RID of the Expensive Phone Data Package

I recently noted that I am going to be getting rid of the data package on my phone in an effort to reduce my monthly bills, and honestly, I just don’t want to pay for Internet on my phone anymore!

But, recently I got some bad news. My home computer is totally dead. As I don’t think I can just due without the Internet completely (how sad is that?), I have been trying to brainstorm some ways that I can knock out my $30 a month cell phone data package but still have some mobile Internet to use with my home WiFi connection. We are saving our pennies for a new computer, but that big of a purchase may have to wait a hot minute or two (plus, it won’t be very mobile, will it.) So I did what I always do, made lists!

Pros: It works off of WiFi, no packages to buy. I can store and listen to my music, email, Facebook, etc. It has video recording, games, and apps, apps, apps. I can use Facetime to chat with my family, who all have iphones or ipads. (This is especially nice since my sister will be off at college next year.) I can browse the web when a WiFi connection is near (and for places like in the car traveling on vacation I can just borrow Jeff’s iphone).

Cons: I don’t think I would have access to Word software, which means all the stuff I do for Church in regards to newsletters, handouts, etc. will still have to be done on a borrowed computer. I could maybe get an app but it’s not the same. Pros: Again, it works off WiFi, no packages to buy! It pretty much has all the benefits of an ipod touch on a bigger screen, faster, and more storage. I would be able to blog and such, do anything I wanted on the web. It has Word compatible apps that I could maybe use for church stuff. As my Dad calls them, they are the world’s most expensive scriptures.

Cons: The price. Seriously, I might as well just buy a laptop. I think they are fun, but for that much money I can think a numerous other things that I would want to buy. I keep it on the list however because I could get a refurbished one for half the costs and still get the same warranty as a new one. Even still, I wouldn’t really have Word software.

Pros: The price. I get to play on the web, keep using my beloved android apps, and I can easily store books and such. It still has Quick Office, not real word software, but I just don’t think I will get that without a real computer. It is bigger than the ipod but smaller than the ipad, used it before and I like the size. I can email, keep notes, Facebook and all.

Cons: I can’t store my itunes. This is a pretty big bummer for me. I don’t have any music from Amazon’s music shop. IT doesn't have facetime to talk to my sisters or recordings and such.

I think as of right now I am leaning towards the iPod Touch, just because of the price and the fact that it has almost everything I want. It's basically like an iPhone, just without the phone part. So I can go back to my cheap phone plan and just get all the perks for free. My younger sister just got an iPhone, so I'm trying to talk her out of her iPod Touch. (That is the kind of nice sister I am.) Plus this is very portable so I can take it anywhere.

I'd like to get an iPad, of course. Who doesn't want one of those babies, but I just can't get pasted the price. A birdie in the IT world told me that when the iPad 3 is released the iPad 2 is going to dramatically decrease in price, so maybe one day I will dole out the benjamin's for one.

* note: Jeffery, your wife is amazing and awesome. Please note that all of the above devices would make a wonderful Valentines gift. Don't you think your wife deserves nice things for ALL the things she does for you everyday? Let me tell you, she does.

* note 2: Jeffery, please do not feel guilty if you only end up giving you wife a card for Valentines day. It will still be a great gift. Maybe not as great as it could be, but great. (just kidding about that last part. Kind of.)

Plugged In!!! Flirting with a media fast

I have been mulling over this idea about eliminating or reducing the amount of media that we have in our house/life. The idea grows stronger every time I hear about an event or days dedicated to limiting dependence on media.

I know a couple of people who either do not have a TV or who at least do not have a TV in their family room and limit the amount of time the TV is on. This is an interesting concept to me. I remember hardly ever watching TV or movies as a child, I was always outside. In college I never had time to turn on the tube. Looking back these were probably some of my happiest times as well. Today my time spent with media is a different story. Below is a picture of our current family room.

The TV is pretty much front and center. The furniture layout is made for easy TV viewing, and anyone can tell it is the main function of the room – being transfixed on the TV. We watch a good amount of TV at our house. We have a DVR, it is barely capable of recording all of our TV shows (the nerve of Direct TV to limit recordings to only 50 TV shows).

Our media obsession does not merely end with the TV; it expands to movies, media packages on our phones, and, of course, the computer. We probably average seeing about 4-5 movies a month. That’s right people. I said 4-5. Thanks to websites like this and this, the majority of these movies are free (Score!), but it still means that we spend 8 to 10 hours a month just watching movies. And the soda and popcorn are definitely not free.

In addition to this we also subscribe to Netflix. Although, to be fair we do keep threatening that we are going to cancel. We’ve been threatening for a good number of months but for some reason we just never make that call.

And as mentioned above, we pay the $30 bucks a month per person for each of us to have data packages on our phones through Verizon. I use this on a daily basis, checking my emails, checking Facebook, looking up movie times, or using GPS Navigation. I also spend time on the computer at work (lunch hour only please) or at home looking up decorating blogs or being sucked into Pinterest for hours. Jeff prefers to use his time on the computer searching out new music and bands, and playing war themed games.

We are seriously plugged in with all this media! Everyday. All day. It not only takes up a healthy dose of our time, but obviously, it takes up our money as well. So how do we end the cycle? How do we free ourselves from this never ending barrage of media?
Pic found here

One method of cleansing from media’s clutches if the growing popular media fast. I first started to hear about these in the news and on blogs a year or two ago. Apartment Therapy will hold media fasts every once in a while. I would like to try and participate but often get cold feet. I’m afraid of failure, even if I’m the only one who knows I’ve failed at something.

Another one of my biggest challenges is this guy.


He really likes all things media. So much so that I try to get him to start his own blog reviewing movies, TV shows, and music. I figure he spends so much time with it that he might as well try and turn it into something useful, or a creative outlet. But it stays more of hobby. Hmmm, can watching TV be called a hobby? Not sure. But if it can, this is probably his biggest hobby. I’ve brought up the idea of fasting from media for a week or so, but this usually ends with Jeff twitching nervously and wondering how serious I really am and how to talk me out of it.

I think we’ve decided that a week of media fasting probably won’t due for him. But we have compromised to doing a media fast for a day (which does not include music). The boy must have his tunes. And to be honest, I really enjoy music in our house too. It is pretty much always playing in the background at our house. Then once we compromise with a day instead of a week, I’ll say something like I’d like to have a day a month that we just unplug. He says a day a year or every 6 months will do him fine. So again we are at a stand still. (His main argument is that he has to be able to watch his sports. Men?)

Plus, doing a media fast every once in a while is a fine idea, but is it really getting to the root of the problem? And am I even sure this is a problem, and if it is, how big is it? I always could try and implement a house rule that the TV stays off until 8:00 pm every day, or something like that, but again I’m not really sure how far to take this.

Any who, these are my thoughts about media lately. I am not sure how much of a role I want it to play in my life, and am not sure about what actions to take. Anyone out there have their own set of rules for media in their lives? If so please share!

Wait UP!

So it's only the middle of January and I feel like I'm already behind. I think of all the things I need to do and I get so overwhelmed that I don't know how to start. Somehow,I must already be behind.

I've been trying to think of the things that I HAVE to do, the things that I SHOULD do, and all those many things I WANT to do, to organize myself and not get overwhelmed. Again, I don't know how working moms do it? So here is my basic list:

HAVE TO: Work, work overtime, clean, wash, make healthy meals, pay the bills, run errands, church callings (including talking this last Sunday at church- I could make 5 other posts that describe how much I truly HATE speaking in church, but that can be another day). This list doesn't seam all that long, but in reality this stuff takes up 90% of my time, makes me exhausted enough that I don't know if I can get up the strength to go on to other items below.

SHOULD DO: Work out for an hour a day, read more, research fertility treatments, research adoption, volunteer, visit with family, date my husband, help Jeff with his "new" job, get a hair cut, wake up earlier so I look presentable everyday, have a pedicure, have family home evening every Monday, make weekly meal plans, clean the grout in the kitchen, etc.

WANT TO: Basically everything on my 30x30 list and I think I've added like 5 more things to that list since I created it in November (fix the plaster on the stairs, paint strips in the downstairs bathroom, make a new ottoman/coffeetable, granite for the kitchen, new 'grown up' dishes). I also want to just sit on my couch and watch TV or a movie. I want to update my Ipod, I want to update and fix our whole house, I want a dog, I want, I want, I want. Basically this list never ends.

And when I sit and think of all this stuff I have to do, I should be doing, and that I want, I am still overwhelmed. I guess this is part of being an adult. I guess the worry and sleepless nights and feeling inadequate are just part of life. But you know what? I'm done. I am DONE with it! Fini! Geschehen!

Every year I make a mantra for the year, kind of my own small way of doing a resolution. Last year I consistently tried to console myself with the mantra of "Lighten' Up" because I am always so worried and serious. It did help, sometimes. When I was being taken over by "stuff" to let myself know it wasn't the end and I should just get over it. I even lightened my hair as a physical reminder to be more care free. This year I was thinking that I may need to make a mantra like "Make it Simple," or something else consoling, but in the end I decided to just . . .

FIND JOY!

I NEED TO do what makes me happy and stop worrying about all this "stuff". I don't need to worry if I am always on target, always my best self, I should just be myself. I think if I just follow my passions and desire that I will be a more interesting and better person.

So many times my natural man, or the man of the world, takes over my body and mind. But if I can just be true to me and, for instance, read a geology book if I want and not worry that it's the most important of books, or the best use of my time, but just because I think it is interesting and enjoy doing it. If I take a cooking class because I think it sounds like fun and not because I am ashamed that I am not as a good of a cook as so and so. This is my goal. Find what brings me joy.

Recapture

You learn the coolest things on PBS! Yes, I am that big of a dork.
Did you know that when you enter one of these: word verifications on a website you may just be helping the New York Times or be updating an old book? It is called recapture. You see, many companies and agencies are scanning their old publications, articles, and books into computers but the old print from these publications are sometimes uneven and ill spaced, making it impossible for a computer to read them. So, a brilliant computer scientist came up with the idea that if we can decipher the above word that we would be able to also decipher these old scanned words.


This is commonly used when you see two different words, you know, those fuzzy ones with lint and lines through them. Well, thanks to us and these verifications being used on popular websites like Facebook and Myspace over 20 years of word decoding has already been completed. How cool is that!

I know, I know, I am a dork - but innovative, efficient ideas like this are exciting to me.

Are "Box" Pianos ready for a come back?

I think so! I have had a strange obsession with "box" pianos, or square piano's as they are usually called, ever since I saw Sense and Sensibility. The piano that Cornell Branden gives Mariann at the end is to die for! I am in love with that piano. Below is a picture of a similar box piano from the 1700's.

These pianos became popular in the 1700's because they were easy to make and affordable for most middle class families. They are somewhere between a traditional harpsichord and normal piano.

I think they should make a come back! Why couldn't they be a great alternative to middle class families now? If they were inexpensive to make once they could be again, with the right people of course. Why should we limit this beautiful style of piano just to museums and well to do living rooms where they are so out of tune and damaged many of them can not even be played? I think we are ready for them. In these economic times, people are downsizing their homes and getting ride of the theories that bigger is better. We could use a smaller piano along with smaller cars and smaller debt. Wouldn't a piano like the one below look fabulous in a more modern home? This is one of the earliest style of this piano and I love it the most for it's small size and clean lines.

True, there are some draw backs to box pianos. Most box piano's only have 60 keys, their sound and touch is lighter than a normal piano, and they are limited to only one or two actions. Near the end of the 1800's box pianos started to become too big with the new style of grand box pianos, I hear they were hard to tune too.

I, for one, think that the style and look out weigh these negatives and only wish a piano maker would start a new line of these pianos. I would be first in line to buy one. I wish I was talented enough to make them myself. I told Jeff the other day that if I thought I had the talents to choose any job I wanted, I would be a carpenter who made furniture. Making a box piano might be even better than that. For now, I guess these awesome pianos will just be a dream, until I have the funds to buy one of my own antique box pianos.

Cool Free Generators

The web is an amazing place. There are so many cool things to find out there it's crazy. Here are a few of my favorite free websites found via blogs, google and some boredom:

Personalized Obama Poster Maker:
http://www.obamapostermaker.com/


Makes your own handwriting font:
http://www.yourfonts.com/print.html


Japanese website that makes pictures look like their
old & antique :
http://labs.wanokoto.jp/olds

Converts digital photos into Polaroids:
http://www.instantizer.com/


Free Poster/Concert Ticket Generator :
http://www.squidoo.com/photo-creations


More cool ideas:
http://www.squidoo.com/phototools#module13509674

I need someone to show me how to make just one word a link without writing the whole address.

It's Christmas Time in the City

THANKS SNOW!

What a better way to get into the Christmas spirit than snow? Driving home and playing in the snow last night I was so giddy and kept giggling. It was so much fun. Who knew I missed snow so much?

I hope everyone was safe - and I hope everyone had as much fun as I did.

HURRAY SNOW!!