madameblogalot

I have never used a heart monitor in my training or exercise. I have been told that it is very helpful in monitoring your output, making sure you are doing the right amount of work as well as training your heart to do a maximum amount of work at a minimum output (heart rate.) So I just invested in my own heart monitor. I am hopeful that it will help me to continue to build my strength and stamina as I have seen other athletes able to build theirs simply by training with a heart rate monitor.

We are just about to enter our first experience with Obamacare-like required health insurance. As my husband is a full time minister, it has been extremely difficult and unaffordable for our family to find health insurance. We know it’s a risk. And have been in the situation of having to pay medical bills, though thankfully nothing catastrophic. And yet, there has been nothing we could do to find affordable insurance for a single family not part of a group.

So we were quite shocked to find out through a letter received by our son’s college of choice that health insurance coverage is a requirement for all full time students. In our college search, at none of the colleges we visited did this ever come up even once in any of the parent meetings or any of the parent literature.

Upon doing a quick search, I found that as early as 2007 that one quarter of public schools and as many as 90% of private universities require health insurance for their students. (“Health Care Insurance Required by More Colleges”, Buffalo Business First, Aug. 6, 2007) In reading the report I can see that colleges are trying to help students but I also see that it is a huge burden to those who are unaware and already unable to afford insurance, now having to pay for college and adding the insurance coverage on top of that. Not to mention how guilty parents can end up feeling about insuring only that one family member while all the rest are going without coverage.

While it is the family’s own risk that is at stake here and many families have to live day to day without the benefit of health insurance coverage, parents need to be aware that more and more colleges and universities are now making this a requirement. If students do not meet the requirement they will be automatically enrolled in the school’s heath insurance plan and billed accordingly. I am not sure if the payments are lumped together as part of the tuition or if the bill will be paid to a third party (the insurance company) and could possibly vary from school to school. It is worth considering and finding out from your child’s college of choice.

It has been HOT here! We are setting records nearly every week for high temperatures. When we dumped out some coolers of ice, our poor old dog just went and stood in the ice to cool off. So when I saw a blog post about a blogger who had 25 tons of wood to heat his home for three years, I must admit I was not thinking ahead of the heating bills to come next winter! I know when it cools off around here (which may not even be til after the first of the year if this summer heat wave and drought does not pass on by) then I will be wanting a nice warm house.

Since I do not like either extreme-being too hot or too cold-I like to keep things at an even temperature. That can mean too high or too low on our thermostat. But things like ceiling fans and storage heaters can help keep things more evenly cooled and warmed.

I guess my blog friend is like the ant who prepared for winter (or three!) while I am like the grasshopper who is wondering when the summer heat will pass on by!

Life has a way of giving us lessons that are sometimes hard to swallow. And when you are watching your kids learn them, it can be even harder to let them learn on their own and not bail them out. Because sometimes it’s no fault of their own, not really bad choices or immature thinking, just some of the things life hands out to everyone. And it can be so easy to “help out” and make the way a little easier so they don’t have to suffer. But…then they will likely miss the lesson and not grow from the experience. So life lessons can be times of learning for kids and parents alike.

I am frugal. Ok, I do admit, cheap. So when I found a sale at Barnes and Noble I went ahead and started picking up Christmas gifts. But in the meantime, I wanted to go ahead and read the books I am giving. I think that’s smart! At least I did not open and listen to the CD I bought as a gift!