madameblogalot

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: When I saw this book for $2 at Barnes and Noble I thought I’d pick it up for a Christmas present. And since my sister has read (and I think liked the book) I decided why not read it in the meantime. I have to say that while not quite a complete MISS (there is enough humor there) it is the weirdest book I’ve ever read!

Field of Vision: This made for TV family movie was one that was a little more on the “cheesy” side where everything turned out all right in the end. I understand the message and could enjoy a movie with no “bad” stuff in it, but it was not very realistic. And was also a platform to advertise products within the movie. At any rate, I will call this one neither a HIT nor a MISS.

June looks like a short reading month, but I’ve been working on one book most of the month. Almost done with it, so will post it for July….

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.

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!

Just what is it about the power of that little word “no”? It drives some (most) people to the very thing they are told “no” about. And in my limited experience, I think it is more pronounced in children and teens. Just watching both ends of the spectrum in my house has really blown my mind.

I keep a little girl who is nine months old. She can get around really quickly and is really starting to understand just what “no” means. And it is amazing to me just how much it mirrors the teen behavior in my home. When I tell the baby “no” she only wants that thing. Never mind all the toys and interesting objects I give her, she would rather pull out papers from my desk or play with the plug outlet. And the driving force behind teen behavior (rebellion)? Well, it seems to be that little word.

Why? I honestly don’t know. But there sure is some draw, some power in “no”.

While I have known for most of this year just what a game getting into college is, it was really driven home to me even more this past weekend. I have heard most of the information before, but I guess now that we were visiting a school that my son is seriously considering, it was all driven home a bit more. And the more I think about it, the more I don’t like it.

There are more kids applying to and attending college than ever before. That can be a good thing. But that fact has driven it to become a very competitive game. Kids apply to 5-10 colleges now and hope to find a decent financial aid package from at least one of these schools. The financial aid itself is a big game with the rules being used today differing from the ones in place when we were in college.

All financial information is based on the parents’ income as well as the students’ (with heavier weight placed on the students’ assets.) But, if parents are unwilling to help a student, the student does not have much recourse unless they can get a good job, join the military, wait until age 24 or get married. If parents who will not help pay are at least willing to fill out the FAFSA form, students may then qualify for a government loan even if parents will not help.

The government expects parents to pay for a child’s higher education. That’s it. Parents are expected to have sacrificed life and/or lifestyle in order to save thousands of dollars for outrageously overinflated college tuition prices and fees. (I was told that the formula is based on a family’s income from the year 1967 but the college prices are certainly NOT based on that year!) Now I am not against parents making sacrifices for their kids since they chose to have and raise them. But I do not agree that we should go into debt again (we did that already with our own college educations!) to provide our kids with a college experience (one article phrases it as parents should be penalized for choosing to drive new cars and have iPhones. REALLY? They have worked for their money and should be able to choose how to spend it. If they want and can afford these things, why should they forego it so the kids can be handed a new computer and iPhone upon entering college?)

These things are all good and becoming a necessary part of our children’s world, but why at our expense? When we made the choices and sacrifices to provide for our own educations and to spend the next ten years paying it off, why devalue it for our children? Is that not only feeding the entitlement ideals this generation seems to already exude? Doesn’t something mean more to a person when they have invested heavily in it? Doesn’t sacrifice on the part of the student give them ownership and teach them to value it more? Won’t they be willing to do that for something they greatly desire? Is the college game shortchanging our kids from the outset?

We are about to head out to visit a college campus in another state. It is actually my sister’s alma mater so I know she will be glad to hear it! I am anxious to get the college decision finalized, but most of it is resting on the financial aid my son is being offered. So, until we get final word from the schools which he is most interested it, we are making visits to see how the campus fits him….

Maybe I am a bad mom. But late last year when my daughter needed new glasses for the upcoming school year, I declined taking her to the eye doctor. She does not wear her glasses like she should, and going to the eye doctor and getting her prescription eyeglasses is not cheap. Since her prescription is very light, I thought we’d try to just get over the counter reading glasses. She did find a pair that helped her to read better, but she doesn’t wear them much because they are too heavy and give her a headache. (So she says, or maybe she just doesn’t want to wear them at school!) At any rate, I never had checked in to buying prescription eyeglasses online. I read an article that talks about how much cheaper it is to buy your eyeglasses online. While there is the risk of not liking them once you get them in, it is argued that the price is so much cheaper that it’s worth it. I will have to remember that in the future when my daughter next needs glasses. (Especially if I buy them and then she doesn’t wear them all the time like she is supposed to!)

My mom was re-doing the border in her kitchen. When I saw it still in the package, I laughed, saying that is how I feel lately!

Of course, it’s not the full text on the banner, which really states “Live Well, Love Much, Laugh Often.” A much better sentiment of how life should be!

Just a reminder to spring ahead one hour tonight/tomorrow morning at 2. Set your clock ahead one hour. Yes, you “lose” that one hour of sleep. It is supposed to help us save energy on lighting by using the natural light longer into the evening hours. While I have read that the savings are minimal, lots of people enjoy the longer hours of daylight.

To learn more about Daylight Savings Time and it’s origins, you can read what Yahoo News had to say about it today.