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Menagerie

Our front yard menagerie was hopping again this morning. They must have had an awesome time. Incredibly, they completely knocked down and broke one of the birdhouses. I wish we had cameras, so we could see how they broke the birdhouse. I’m sure it was broken from a rash movement or a fight over the feeder.

It’s become quite the little community at our feeders. The dogs and I enjoy watching all the animals. While I enjoy watching them, I know the puppies are dying to go out and chase them. On the other side of the house, we have a duck nest in the agave. She’s managed to tuck it in between the bushes so that it’s barely visible. We should have babies sometime soon. They’ll add to the overall cuteness of the menagerie.

I’m going to see if the Hubby can fix the birdhouse, so we can put it back in front of the window. The smaller birds liked the more protected feeder closer to the house versus the larger lantern feeder. If we can’t fix it, I’ll have to replace it with another feeder. I want to make sure the painted buntings keep visiting. They’re so pretty!

What place in the world do you never want to visit? Why?

The only place I wouldn’t visit is an active war zone. I’d like to explore the world and see every continent, but as safely as possible. The current political climate makes travel to some parts of the world too dangerous, which is sad.

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Excitement

Excitement as an adult is a much different animal from the excitement of a child. As a child, I was excited about things like Christmas, my birthday, and Easter. My love of candy and gifts started early. Now I’m excited by the new washing machine that’s in my garage or the crumb of the bread I baked Sunday night. Oh, and I get excited every item I add a new bird to my lifetime bird list.

I was not excited to have to buy another washing machine, but then again washing machines are a prime example of poor appliance manufacturing. Now that the kids have mostly moved out, I hope this machine will last us more than three years. Honestly, we have replaced all of our appliances at this point, so it would be nice not to have to replace one for a while.

Speaking of excitement, we had a whole menagerie at the feeder this morning. It’s become quite the community. This morning we had six ducks instead of our normal three. Amazingly, the ducks, birds, and squirrels all get along at the feeders. Usually, the squirrels would scare off the birds, but not here. Truly, it’s been the perfect way to add a pet to the household with minimal investment and energy.

What’s the most fun way to exercise?

I love to exercise. A few of my favorite ways to exercise include: running, yoga, spinning, Zumba, strength training, and Pilates.

RIP CJ Snare
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Eclipse

Apparently, there’s some sort of eclipse today, which I’m sure will bring out all the weirdos. The nut jobs and tin foil-wearing conspiracy theorists love to get worked up about these things. It’s been entertaining to read some of the crazier posts people have made. I’ll be sharing some of them here for your entertainment. My favorite posts are the ones questioning our ability to have an eclipse during a crescent moon. That and the posts say they’ll look at the sun directly because the government said they shouldn’t look at it directly.

Enough about the eclipse and silly people, I had an interesting yet quiet weekend with the Mayor and my puppies. I binge-watched Euphoria and Regime. If you haven’t watched either, you should watch both. Zendaya and Kate Winslet are supremely talented actresses. You won’t be disappointed in either’s performance. Euphoria tackles some pretty heavy subject matter but it is so well done. Zendaya’s performance as Rue, a high school student addicted to opiates, is powerful. I highly recommend you check out both.

Pictures taken in Arkansas by my friend’s daughter that was working with NASA today.

Hubby is halfway home, he has completed the first leg of his trip. Now he’s waiting to get airborne to head back to FLL. Right now it looks like his flight has a slight delay, but nothing too major. I’m back at work, watching The Heart Doctor on Acorn because I’m bored out of my gourd. Nothing is happening at work. Fortunately, it gives me plenty of time to work as publisher of my blog. Speaking of which, I’ll be adding a separate recipe and travel section shortly. The recipe section is self-explanatory. As for the travel section, it will include blogs about my travels and travel recommendations.

Photos from my friend’s house in AR, which is in the path of totality

What book could you read over and over again?

I love reading, so there are a ton of books that could be on this list. One of them is The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho. Fortunately, it’s a pretty short read. The others on the list would include The Count of Monte Cristo, War and Peace, Les Miserables and The Decameron.

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Easter

I hope all who celebrate had a wonderful Easter. I know we sure did. Unusually, we were able to sleep in on Easter morning. No longer were there kids begging us to get up, so they could find their baskets and their hidden eggs. Since only Goalielocks was home, we didn’t even get their baskets out of the attic. We put the candy out on the island for all to enjoy. When Goalielocks goes back to school, I’m sending it with him. Lord knows I don’t need that stuff in my house.

We met the Burrage’s at church for Easter Service, which was fantastic. Goalielocks ran into someone that he graduated with from West Boca. Now he was the class joker and a pretty popular guy in high school. Goalielocks pretty much knew everyone and everyone knew him. Elijah, who is autistic, shared an English class with Goalielocks. Elijah was so excited to see Goalielocks and show him off to everyone.

It was a really sweet interaction. Moreover, it gave me insight into how my son treated people in high school. I mentioned this to him and he said “What did you expect? How did you think I treated him?” All while looking at me like I’m a fool. The questions he asked made me happy. Our children may not be perfect, but you hope they go into the world and treat people with kindness and love no matter what.

Anyway, I digress. After church, we headed to Melly’s folks’ house for brunch. We had a very tasty quiche. I mean eggs, cheese, cream, and vegetables what isn’t to love? In addition, there was some tasty spiral ham, which paired perfectly with the rustic Italian loaf I had baked. Naturally, there were also fruits and a salad on the table, but I was too full from the quiche to enjoy them. A girl had to have priorities and yesterday it was quiche.

The rest of the day was spent chilling at home with the puppies watching Euphoria and going for a run. We popped a pizza in for a quick dinner, which hit the spot. I spent most of the night trying to avoid eating the jelly beans and Cadbury eggs I had set out for the boys. That was definitely easier said than done.

What are your morning rituals? What does the first hour of your day look like?

My morning ritual always starts with walking the dogs one at a time. They’re far too strong for me to walk them together. After I walk the dogs, I give them their donut. Once the dogs have had their treat, I fill up the bird feeders out front. Once the dogs and birds are fed, I sit down with my coffee and watch the Great British Bake Off until it’s time to work.

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The Saga

The saga continues. I finally got an alternative med approved for the one Cigna denied. As a reminder, I’ve been on the medication since 2021 and was paying $25 a month. You can imagine my shock and I logged it to Express Scripts and noted a co-pay of $1385.85. I’m so glad I’m paying an arm and a leg for this insurance every month. It is coming in handy over here!

I’m so tired of Cigna and other insurance companies being the alpha and omega of medical decisions. Despite Cigna’s unwillingness to cover antibiotics, the Mayor’s finger is finally healing well. Honestly, this broken-finger business has been quite the saga. And by saga, I don’t mean fun adventures like the Vinland Sagas. Once my big event pops off at the end of April, I’m going to focus my energy on making Cigna and Express Script’s life miserable.

When you were five, what did you want to be when you grew up?

When I was five, I wanted to be a doctor. Fortunately or unfortunately, I decided to go another path. I cannot imagine the frustration doctors must feel trying to provide care while wrestling with insurance companies.

Now here’s a song to bring out your inner dancer. Now back to the saga.

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Boredom

Boredom has been a constant fixture of my weekday since last Wednesday. I don’t like being idle. I prefer a fast-paced, busy day that moves quickly. Now on this pilot program, boredom is the name of the game. The only silver lining to the situation is that I’ve enjoyed getting caught up on documentaries and British comedies. I’ve definitely learned a lot in the last week.

Whoops, got sidetracked harassing Cigna on X again. They finally approved a comparable drug to the one I’ve been taking the last two years. Those crafty bastards at Cigna approved something they don’t cover, so my co-pay is $1385.85. Last time I filled the script, it was $75 for a 3-month supply. Since going down the rabbit hole, I’m more convinced than ever that nothing will change. Given the amount of money these companies donate, really blackmail, to our politicians’ campaigns is sickening.

Our system is so irrevocably broken, it’s sad. The insurers and big hospital systems are dictating care to the detriment of their patients. We’re caught in between dishonest insurers that gate-keep coverage. Additionally, the corporate or private equity run health systems would rather you die than give you adequate care. Lastly, if I see another humble brag on X about more people having access to health insurance, I’m going to vomit. Access to health insurance is no longer synonymous with access to care.

What’s something most people don’t understand?

I think people struggle to understand autoimmune disease and how impactful they are to people’s lives. It’s hard for people to square a seemingly healthy looking person, who’s struggling with serious illness. Anyway, autoimmune diseases suck just as much as Cigna.

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Taking a Break

I’m taking a break from the rabbit hole that is Cigna and health insurance in this country. The truth of the matter is both Presidential candidates happily took money from Cigna for their campaigns. This means both potential Presidents will allow Cigna to continue defrauding Medicare while abusing its insured. Shoot even the anti-business Bernie Sanders has no problem taking money from big business. The billionaire politicians, along with the insurance companies bear responsibility for the clusterfuck that is our healthcare.

Anyway, so much for taking a break. Am I right?!? Goalielocks is home for spring break and that makes my mamma’s heart so happy. If Jake was here, life (even with Cigna in it) would be perfect. I’m privileged to have three amazing boys and two perfect puppies. As I take a break from the insanity, I’m trying to focus on the bright side of life. I also had to grocery shop for the third time this week. With both younger boys home, the amount of food and milk we go through grows exponentially. Fortunately, I have the best Shipt shopper in Eric who always takes good care of us.

What do you wish you could do more every day?

I wish I had more time to exercise during the day. Moreover, I’d love more time to sleep, read, and play with my puppies. Of course, I can’t forget baking. I’d love a lot of additional time to bake.

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Rabbit Hole

I went down the X rabbit hole last night reading posts on Cigna, pharmacy benefit managers, and health insurance in general. The fact that the Federal government allows these companies to operate unchecked, even after being caught defrauding the Federal Government, is appalling. It’s unbelievable the number of people who pay for insurance that find themselves fighting to get care. It’s morally and ethically wrong.

In the ongoing saga of prior authorization hell, they did ultimately approve my hubby’s knee MRI. Alexis R, from Cigna, emailed me yesterday stating, “The mayor’s medication, cephalexin, is considered a non-preferred covered medicine. This would require prior authorization and we have not received it at this time.” According to her email today, the problem wasn’t the Cephalexin itself, but the dosage. These folks can’t even get their facts straight.

This whole thing feels like a plot out of a bad sitcom only nobody is laughing. The fact of the matter is delaying care leads to poor healthcare outcomes. Ultimately, the poor outcomes lead to greater expense and death. Dealing with these issues is not an anodyne experience. Dealing with insurance companies is quite a pernicious ordeal.

What tattoo do you want and where would you put it?

I’m not into tattoos or putting anything permanently on my body. For one, I seem to be allergic to absolutely everything. Two, I don’t know where I’d put it. Three, it’s not something I’d ever spend money on. If I had to do it, I would tattoo my kids’ initials on a heart or something on my ankle. Anyway, I have to get back to my rabbit hole.

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Dog Food

Last night, while the hubby was grilling up some of his famous potatoes and steaks, I made dog food for the puppies. I bought a duck breast at Wild Fork a few months ago and defrosted yesterday. Obviously, it’s not something I’ll do all the time, but thought it might be a nice change of pace for the boys.

For their meal, I peeled 3 carrots, cooked 3 cups of rice, bought 1 large duck breast, and hard-boiled seven eggs. Note, I did not use all the eggs for their food. Veterinarians recommend that dogs have no more than one egg per day. To cook the duck, I lined a baking sheet with aluminum foil after preheating the oven to 350 degrees. I placed the peeled carrots on the baking sheet with the duck breast in the middle. The meat and carrots roasted for 20 minutes. Once the duck breast reached an internal temperature of 165, I cut it up into cubes and cut up the carrots.

Once the duck and carrots were cut up, I added them to the cooked rice and mixed them well. Naturally, I poured any of the juices from the duck into the mixture. The last step was to cut up the eggs and add them to the mixture. Ideally, I’d use more vegetables, but I only had carrots on hand. Next time, I’ll use sweet potatoes and peas in addition to the carrots. The recipe is below.

Homemade Dog Food

Ingredients:

  • 2 Duck breast/chicken breast/chicken livers
  • 4 carrots
  • 3 cups of rice
  • 1 egg for each dog per day
  • 1 sweet potato
  • 1 package of frozen peas

Instructions

  • Cook rice according to package instructions
  • Prepare a baking sheet with foil and preheat oven to 350 degrees
  • Wash produce
  • Peel and cut carrots in half and place on the prepared baking sheet
  • Cut sweet potato into cubes and place on prepared baking sheet
  • Place duck breasts or desired protein in the middle of the baking sheet
  • Roast the duck and vegetables for 20 minutes or until the internal temperature of the duck is 165.
  • While the duck is roasting, cook up the peas according to package instructions and prepare the hard-boiled eggs
  • Once the duck and vegetables have cooled, slice the meat into chunks and the carrots into smaller pieces.
  • Combine all ingredients in one large bowl and serve

I have two large (80-90 lbs) male dogs and split the recipe between the two of them. Going forward, I’ll probably use chicken as it’s much cheaper, but the duck is a nice treat. You could also substitute lamb or beef cuts as well.

What is one word that describes you?

Kind. I love people, animals, and life and want to make the world a better place. Fortunately, I think little acts of kindness go a long way in brightening the world. Consequently, every day I try to be kind to those around me (some days go better than others,)

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Sleepy

I’m so sleepy today. This spring forward an hour nonsense has got me all discombobulated. Now don’t get me wrong, I love the later sunset. I do, however, resent losing an hour of sleep and having to wake up when it’s dark. The Monday after the daylight savings time change should be a national holiday, much like Super Bowl Monday. Everyone should be given an extra day to assimilate before having to deal with the shit show that is a Monday.

Work was busy this morning, but things have taken a turn towards boring. I love being busy and talking to great people all day. It’s when it’s slow or folks don’t answer that I start to get restless and frustrated. At this point, I may put the headset on Anakin and take a nap. However, I’ll have to first wake up my sales assistant as he is currently napping comfortably on our bed. I do think Anakin’s gritty personality will lend itself to sales.

This weekend I finally ticked a few boxes off my to-do list. The Goodwill bags are now gone. My Hubby dropped them off for me Sunday morning. There were several bags in our room that needed to go, so the room looks so much better now. In addition to the Goodwill run, I organized my food storage cabinet. For some reason, keeping the lids and food storage containers organized is a real challenge for my boys. I had enough of the nonsense and straightened it out yesterday.

Which animal would you compare yourself to and why?