I’ve found a good routine!

Well, I’ve been to two classes at the gym, both of which I enjoy!  I’m excited about it!!!  I’ve taken a water aerobics class and a “low impact” yoga class.  The “low impact” is less of the vinyasa  and more about holding poses and stretching.  There’s still some strength training.  It’s good stuff!  Perhaps I’ll be able to convince the Woodsman to come with one time…

I met with a personal trainer, too.  So I have a weight routine.  My goal is to do weights and elliptical 3-4x per week, and a class about 2x per week. 

I’ll do my thing at the gym, and Swing goes into playcare.  After I spend an hour working out, I have another hour I can study before the playcare time limit is up.  It’s a swell plan.  Though today I didn’t get as much reading done as I’d have liked.   I can also take swing into the pool afterwards if the time is right. 

Dinner Table Woes

Am I the only parent out there who has a hard time instilling table manners in her kids?  Whoa.  It would seem that it doesn’t matter what the consequences are, it’s worth it to use potty talk, get up and down, not eat, play with food and/or brother, etc. 

I think I’m going to have to break out the Table Manners Bootcamp Again and go uber strict.  First minor offense is loss of meal AND means early bedtime.

Wheels

Otherwise, things are good.  The weather is crazy this year!  we have NO snow!  Generally we don’t see the lawn from late November through February, but we’ve hardly had any snow this year!  It’s been relatively warm.  The good news is that the boys get to play outside on their wheels! 

Cosmo got a skateboard for Christmas.  He loves it.  He practices tricks every chance he gets.

 

 

Swing loves his bike.  He’s really getting the hang of the pedals this year, too.  I’ll wager that he rides without the training wheels by the end of summer.  If you look closely at the second picture, you’ll see that the training wheels are on different levels, and the back wheel isn’t touching the ground.  He kept pedaling.  Was pretty darn cute!

Almond Allergy

I discovered last week that I’m very allergic to almonds.  My eyes got super swollen one day, and I figured it was either advil or almonds, and my suspicions were confirmed a few days later when my husband rubbed my shoulder after eating almonds.  I had a huge welt larger around than a baseball, and about a half inch “tall.”  My goodness was that uncomfortable. 

School is great! 

The Health Law class requires the most work, and the Health Management class is fascinating.  In both classes, I see so much room for process improvement integration in the industry, and I’m hoping my career can progress the way continue to envision it.  Regardless, I am really feeling a fit here… more than I did in Hi-Tech while I was working there.  I hope my actual experience is much the same. 

Political commentary

One thing I learned still has my mind reeling.  In my local area, a pretty average city, 80% of hospital revenue comes from Medicare (elderly and injured).  16% comes from Medicaid (low income) and 4% comes from private insurance.  I guess the 80% figure is easy enough to digest… though still staggering.  Of course more money is spent caring for older individuals.  But why do they collect FOUR TIMES as much revenue from low income people than “middle class?”  Is it because they don’t have to pay for it (or for very little?)  Is it because they don’t take care of themselves?  I’m sure some of it has to do with a lower standard of living, but that cannot possibly account for all of the discrepancy.

And people say we don’t care for those who aren’t insured.  THIS is what gets me.  The uninsured are still cared for. 

Don’t get me wrong, the entire “market” is a big, jumbled mess of regulation and bureaucracy, complicated further by the layer of insulation created by the insurance industry.  It needs a lot of help.  It needs an overhaul.  However… we ARE NOT leaving people suffering in the street.  People are falling through the cracks, and things don’t seem “fair,” but that’s the exception, not the rule.

At any rate, I’m looking forward to learning more!  I am excited that our society is on the precipice of change in this arena, but I hope we slow down and do it right, and for the right reasons, rather than rushing through something that will end up being worse than what we have because “people are suffering.”

I also can’t wait to blather on more about what I learn!