The trip to the Hospital

Don't you get tired of giving your medical history every time you go to the doctor of the hospital.  I take my mother almost weekly and every time we have to give the prescriptions, insurance cards, etc even though it is the exact same information we gave them last week and the week before.  You would think they would organize their Electronic Health Records in such a way that the patient would not have to go through the hassle each and every time they go to the hospital.

There are companies that deal with this issue for companies and doctors and hospitals.  Looking online I found one of them, OptimusEMR .  They seem to be the leader in Electronic medical Records Software. They organize and store the data for hospitals to make sure no information gets lots and it is available when needed.  This technology is a great time saver.

What a great idea to use Medical Records Software.  Sure would save patients a lot of headaches

Read more...

Insurance shopping

I have been dealing with the insurance company alot the last couple of weeks. Our homeowners insurance went up dramatically and we have been comparison shopping to see if we could get a better price.  So far I haven't been having a whole lot of luck, but we are still waiting for a few bids to come through.        

We also had storms here in St. Louis and Tom had hail damage to his car.  He was lucky that his windshield wasn't broken like so many of the other cars in his work parking lot.

 Looking into insurance I ran across short term insurance at ShortTermHealthInsurance.net. I didn't know this type of coverage existed.   It is health care coverage for a short period of time.  I think there are a lot of times when a person might need this kind of coverage.  It is sure nice to know there are options out there.

I also saw insurance sites just for Kids Health too.  It has tons of useful information, games and quizzes - looks like a website that kids would enjoy.

Who knew.

Read more...

I just finished my first free motion machine quilted client quilt - and I think it turned out great.  My very first client, Shirley, was so thrilled she gave me several more to do.   She was happy with the quilting design and ecstatic about the super low quilting fee.  She was happy to benefit from my "practice" pricing.

I have been quilting for 25 years and machine quilting for just about as long, but this has been my first time machine quilting on a frame.  There is a definite learning curve.  But I love it!

I did the sewing on a domestic Singer sewing machine, but I have ordered off Ebay a Pfaff Expression 2.0 with a 10" throat space.  Right now the Singer only has a 7" throat space from the right of the needle.  I think this will help a lot.




The quilt pattern is Dresden Plate and was pieced nicely, so it layed nice and flat.  That made it nice to quilt.

I stippled around the applique dresden plates and on all the borders I did a free style free motion heart pattern.

Read more...

My Estate Sale Journey with Security

I went to an estate sale today and was really impressed with the house.  I also got a great workout in - the house was literally straight up about a quarter mile.  The lady walking up the winding driveway and I were huffing an puffing.  I bought two larger things and had to make the long trek twice!!

The house itself was great, but what really impressed me was the level of security.  People that know me know I love security cameras and security doors and this house had it all.  The Alarm Systems White House Station was the security system and it was impressive.

I am not paranoid, by any means, but I like to be proactive and I also love all kinds of electronic gadgets.  I took a few minutes to catch my breath, but also to look at the cameras and monitors and the security equipment  in general.  It was not in your face, but the message did come across. 

This was not a house you wanted to attempt to rob :)

Read more...

Drinking and Your Health

There is great debate about what effects drinking has on your health.  One of the warning about alcohol is that it is  metabolized extremely quickly by the body.  Unlike foods, which require time for digestion, alcohol needs no digestion and is quickly absorbed.   
Recently researchers found that women who had as little as one drink a day boosted their risk of cancer of the breast, liver, rectum, throat, mouth, and esophagus.   While other studies show that a drink or two a day can have a possitive affect on heart health.


While the experts disagree on some answers, they do agree that no one who has or had a problem with alcohol dependency should drink.  A friend of mine, who lives in Atlanta, was talking about  Atlanta alcohol rehab and the treatments available with someone who is experiencing difficulties in this area.


Treatment centers for drug and alcohol abuse have made great strides in the last few decades.  Atlanta drug abuse rehab centers in Georgia offers great programs and much needed follow up.  


The subject of addiction has long been of interest to me.  While I have never had any inclination to turn to drugs or alcohol, I do have an addiction that is just as strong.  It is my addiction to food.

Read more...

Springtime and the outdoors

Springtime is here and it has come early this year.  I have really been enjoying the flowers outdoors.  My iris plants are in bloom now and I have been enjoying seeing all the flowers.  However, this year I need to decide on some seating for outdoors.  I love the adirondack chairs and have been looking online at Terrabound Solutions.  I like the recycled plastic ones, because they are recycled, they don't have splinters and they are maintenance free.

I have one park bench that Tom had bought, but am debating getting another one.  Ours is wood with wrought iron but I was looking at the adirondack plastic glider online and that sure looks comfortable.

Terrabound has such a good selection of park benches and picnic tables, it is really hard to chose.  They come in a wide range of sizes, shapes, colors, and materials including Thermoplastic coated steel, powder coated steel, aluminum, wood, and recycled plastic.   

Read more...

HIFU as a treatment for Prostate Cancer.

Hifu stands for High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound.  This treatment uses sonic energy to treat cancer.  The doctors can use the highly focused beams to better focus on certain areas making this a great choice for many people.


Many doctors are using Hifu to treat prostrate cancer.  Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in males and doctors are making great strides in the treatment of this condition.  Over a quarter of a million men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer each year.


Hifu uses hyperthermia therapy.  Hyperthermia therapy is where heat is used to damage and kill the cancer cells in your body.  The heat in the cells can raise to 90 degrees Celsius in a matter of minutes.  It can also make the harmful cells more sensitive to other cancer treatments, like radiation and chemotherapy.  


This out patient procedure usually last a few hours and has been shown to have less side affects than other cancer treatments currently on the market.  Hifu is a non-invasive or minimally invasive therapy.  Another one of the advantages of using Hifu is it is very precise.  It can be targeted to treat very specific cancer cells.   A few of the limits of this treatment are the high cost and it is limited to cancer that has not spread outside of the prostate.


 There have been promising results in treating prostate cancer with Hifu treatments.

Diet can affect the chances of men getting this disease.  Doctors say you should avoid a high fat diet and eat less in general.  Increase the diversity of foods you eat and of course get plenty of fruits and vegetables in your diet each day.  Some specific foods to add to your diet are green tea, garlic, tomatoes, red wine, olive oil, soy, vegetables, and fish.  Limit your red meat consumption.

Read more...