yep, it was expensive.

As the picture clearly shows, this echo- cardiagram the doctor ordered was expensive—$3037.43 American.

I called and told them I had no insurance and was paying cash. They reduced it 66%. That's probably what the insurance companies pay. Still a lot, but more doable. There goes the kitchen floor money, again.

Then I went to leave for school and the car is dead. I used it earlier and it was fine. When AAA came they jumped it and I took it to the garage. Fords apparently have expensive batteries. Can't use cheap ones. So with an oil change it's about $212. Eek.

And finally, my suspicions about mice in my house were confirmed. They must have got stuck and I could hear this eerie scratching coming from the either the drop ceiling or way upper cupboards are both. I've been in denial. The mouse turds have been showing up in the kitchen. One day there was some shredded paper towel—another bad sign—I learned that in girl scout camp. The rose colored glasses are off. Anybody know a mouse-buster? I could really use a hero. Or a husband. Or a handy-man. I don't do well with rodents. Or dead animals. Freaked-out doesn't nearly begin to describe me. I bought some of those traps that the mouse is hidden. They were expensive. I bet they don't work. I also bought a big pack of the old fashion snap-the-neck- (and your fingers) off types. The mouse-buster or someone else will need to hide those out of my view and come empty them daily. I'll feed him.

Is it April yet?

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Update 4/2

Today I got another bill from the Cardiologist group that read the test. Another $400. I'm hoping they reduce it also when I call Monday.

I WILL NEVER TAKE A TEST AGAIN UNTIL I GET INSURANCE. I know many of you hate the idea of universal health care. AKA Obamacare. But for me, anything has got to be better than this.

going downtown

We went for a walk at lunch today. Well, we try to do it every day I'm in Easton.

Today we decided to walk downtown and get some food. The cupboard is bare at my house, even though I bought $100 worth of groceries over the weekend.

It's just over a half-mile to the Third Street Café. (Two thumbs up!) but it's a steep hill going down to get there. You guessed it. Up is just as bad! I made it up without stopping at a very quick pace!

While we were walking I saw this in the sidewalk. I'm a graphic designer and it made me stop. Look at the typography! (Cooper Black, I believe.) Also, the craftsmanship. Someone thought highly of their work to embed brass plates in a sidewalk. A hundred years later they are still there, and the side walk is not broken! I guess they made great cement in Coplay.

While walking we planned a few new routes to downtown and back...without the lunch stop.

sunday

Bonnie and I did the 3-mile Fountain Hill loops Sunday since Lyd didn't come along. We started at my house and went up to Moravia, down Lackawacki, past the new Bottom Dollar and up Dodson. The we went down Graham, past the grave yard where the forsythia was budding. Then down the stairs thru St. Luke's parking lots and down Bishopthorpe and home. 58 minutes. Not bad for all those hills.

The picture of the daffy's was taken on Dodson. The forsythia wasn't ready for a close up.

Today we walked College Hill at lunch time. I don't think we did much more than a mile, but it was fast. It's cold out there!.

walking season begins

I just got my "charity" donations together to do my taxes. Oh my, walking is expensive! Those entry fees and minimum fund-raising costs really add up. I'm not complaining. Just stating a fact.

So when I was done I signed up for three events. The yoga on the step of the art museum in memory of my friend Karen. Even though I'm horrible at yoga. I also signed up for Strides For Shelter 5K and the Tortoise and Hare 5K on memorial day. I'm hoping to do two events a month. Lydia found one for Mayfair, but it looks to be a run only. Ditto for the one at Piggie Park. Oh well.

Hoping to get great walks in Saturday and Sunday.

a-okay

My panic about the doctors appointment was unjustified. Everything was fine. I past all my tests! Now maybe my headache will go away.

my big, expensive mistake

I am not an optimist. I am a realist. And today is the anniversary of my brothers death from heart disease. What the hell was I thinking going for tests today?

Friday I go to the family doctor. When I was there the last time she wanted a BMP and an electrocardiogram. Or so I thought. I looked online and EKGs ran up to about $200. Doable. The doctor wanted baseline test because of my high blood pressure.

I delay everything as long as possible and today was the big day. I went and got the blood work done this morning. I signed up for their cash payment card. it cost $10 and the test was $20. Without the card it was $55. Pretty much a no-brainer. Now all that was left to do is wait and worry about the results. Did I mention I don't do well on tests?

When I returned home I looked at the slip for the EKG, and called the number. I wanted to schedule an EKG. They told me it was drop in, and where to go at Muhlenberg and where to park.

I left for work an hour early, headed to the hospital, walked up to the second floor. One nice thing about the Lehigh Valley Hospitals is there is art in the hallways. Of course I took took way too much time looking at art. I signed in. They gave me a beeper. The last time I was anywhere like that you had a pick-a-number, like at the deli. There was a lot of people, but they called me quickly. I did the paper work and she sent me and my beeper out to wait again.

Five minutes later the girl that registered me came out and said, this isn't an EKG, it's an ECHOcardogram. An ultrasound. Shit.  I had the choice to stay and take the test in a half hour or schedule an appointment and leave. I decided to stay because there was no way in heck I was ever going back. It would give the doctor one less thing to lecture at me about which is a plus. But as I waited I thought that sounds expensive. I was trying to squash my bolting instinct.

I walked in the room and saw this machine and the dollar signs started dancing in my head. My heart was racing. I was almost crying. I wanted to run out of the room topless. The realization of what was about to happen hit. I bet she took a 100 pictures in 15 minutes. At places I didn't even think were heart related. Maybe I should have paid attention in science class. I was there less than a half hour. I have no idea what was in those pictures but I'm terrified.

Online I've read the test costs anywhere from $250 to almost 5  grand. With my luck it will be the high end, not the low end. I have no idea how I'll pay a large test bill AND fix the hole in the kitchen floor.  Not to mention what happens when they find something.

I'm fat, halfway to 60 and have high blood pressure with a history of bad luck. The fatalist in me knows that they will find something. I have no medical insurance. I can't do disease. Every time my cell phone rings I'm going to panic. I called Bonnie on the way to the car hoping she'd calm me down. Got voice mail. I nearly cried.

Friday terrifies me.

new personal bests!

Saturday was a let's get physical kind of day. A stair climb and a 5K.

The 5K was in the morning at Coplay park, near the limestone kilns. It was an 8K run, 5K walk, 1//2 mile run for wee ones. I picked up Bonnie and Megan in Allentown and Kathy joined us at the park. She lives in Jim Thorpe. The walk was for pediatric cancer and had 1200 participants. The park was packed with people and the neighborhood with cars.

The start time was posted as 9:00. Kathy had picked up our packets on Friday so we got to avoid the registration line. There looked like there would be enough time to get to the car and back.

I totally dislike carrying the "goodie" bags. Actually I wish they were discontinued totally. Usually all they have in them are ads from the sponsors or maybe literature on the cause.Actually I really don't need another t-shirt either. My sister wears all mine. Kind of ironic. The person that sits in a yellow chair all day wears race shirts. Mostly because she's too cheap to buy clothes. It would also involve standing up.

I'm walking back from the car, the second time. And I can hear the loudspeaker, but didn't understand what they were saying. It wasn't good. The run would start at 9, the kid run at 9:15 and the walk at 9:30. Say what? It was cold standing around.

During the last mile I called Lyd and told her to meet us at the parking spot....The Log Cabin on 2nd Street.

Our finish times:
Megan cleaned our clocks and came in at 45 minutes.
Bonnie finished ahead of me at 47.06.
I came in at 47.08 a personal best
Kathy (Lyd's Barri Buddy) came in at 49.41. Also a personal best.

When we arrived back at the car Lyd was waiting and we headed to Wilkes Barre.

We were going to tailgate at the arena, but it was cold. We ate in the car.

The have one section of stairs for a tribute walk. It features pixs of climbers loved ones. I had emailed Dicks photo the night before with a message that said I knew it was past the deadline but I'd give it a shot.

After we took this group pix the organizer, Donna Reifler, came over and talked to Lydia. We had our photo taken by there photographer.  I hadn't told her about emailing the photo. Donna told her that is was in the tribute walk. Then we said silly GS songs to uplift the mood.

The firefighters go first, then the "elite" competitive group, and then the regular people.

Lyd hadn't trained because her dad was so sick, so she did half plus the finish flight in 18:38. Just wait till next year! Megan, cleaned our clocks again at 14:19. Bonnie was 18:01. And I brought up the rear at 18:46.

While we were waiting to pick up our shirts, A reporter from the Wilkes Barre Times Leader interviewed her. You can find the link here. In the bottom pix, to the right of the firefighter, you can see her day. He's in the second row.

When I got home my roomie dared me to do the steps in the house. So I did fifty step ups too!

spring at last

Okay, so it's not for a couple more days. But it sure doesn't appear that way. It's going to get up to 70 today! It's 51 already and it's only 8:30!

Nothing like impending blood work, doctors appointments, 5K and a stair climb to get me motivated. The time change and spring break has also helped.

Since I didn't have class, and it's been a wonderful weather week, i got out a few nights in the evening. I also did the stairs, but only for 10 minutes. I can't go walking with Betsy today because I'm going to fetch Megs at the train station. After dinner I'll have to go out.

The 5K is tomorrow and also the stair climb. So I'll have something a little more interesting than the weather to talk about.

Speaking of interesting things. What do you think about my widget? One of my old girl scouts, Stephanie, uses it on her quilting blog, Jonquils and Ladybugs. I often click on related stories so I thought I'd give it a try. If ultimately I don't like it , it will get deleted.

I use a cool one for social networking on my doodling blog but I don't know how I did it. I thought if I did it on my account it would go on all my blogs. Wrong.

Let me know what you think of the new widget.

and we're off ...

Bonnie got hung up on the phone. That's why she was so late. She's a nurse and it's on-call week.

We went downtown and walked the three mile loop, with a stop for cheese for lunch, at the Wawa in an hour. Pretty dang good. We should do well next weekend at the 5K.

Bonnie kept asking how far we went. So from the City Center to the Wawa is 1.25 miles. Back to Main street makes it 2.5 miles and then back to the City Center makes it 2.9 miles. I call that 3!

Later in the afternoon I did 15 minutes on the stairs.

I forgot to mention in the last post that Megan will be in town and also doing the 5K and the stair climb. The 30-year-old is gonna wipe our clocks!

waiting

I'm waiting for Bonnie to come. She was supposed to be here at 11 to go walking. It's now 11:45 and no sign of her.  Sharon got tired of waiting and left.

We have a big day next Friday. We kick off the 5K season with a walk for pancreatic cancer and then in the afternoon is the arena climb. I have to get in solid workouts every day this week.

Yesterday it felt like someone was sitting on my face. I took a walk. He was still there. So I finally broke down and took some sinus medicine. It helped a lot. But I still have the headache. I think it's stress.  There's been another funeral. Piles of grading. Looming lab work and doctors appointments. Those damn drug commercials that tell me if I don't take their medicine that I will have a stroke any second. And it's March. It seems like in my family people tend to die in March. I think the headache will go away April 1. I hope so.

Bonnie just walked in. It's time to get off my lazy butt and start moving. Maybe I'll feel better. Maybe I'll kick some demons to the curb.

funny odor

Do you smell the funny odor? I've been thinking. Always dangerous. Rarely productive.

But the only way to get it unstuck from my brain is to put it out in the universe. I'll do it via this blog. Then when someone else comes up with the idea I can say I had it first.

Tuesday and Thursday I leave for work at 11 am. Generally I walk first thing in the morning, eat a huge breakfast that will take me thru lunch, do my online class, and leave. It works well. However, today is fat, or Shrove Tuesday. So for breakfast I had Fastnachts. A doughnut in the Pennsylvania German tradition.


I'm driving to work and I'm hungry. I decided to stop at Wendy's for an Apple Pecan Chicken Salad. (Full Size in the pix I borrowed from someone else's blog.) They are yummy—cranberries, pecans, chicken, gorgonzola cheese, no dressing.  I got the half size and pared it with a baked potato. 600 calories, 170 from fat and 80 mg of protein. Not a horrible lunch from fast food. And well within an 1800 calorie day.


Any way, sitting at Wendy's looking a the menu I thought about the movie Super Size Me. The one where the foolish man ate at McD's every day. Yuck. I could never eat at the same place three times a day.  He had the super-sized menu options and gained lots of weight and was unhealthy at the end. Looking at the menu at Wendy's I thought there was some decent choices.


Then driving away somehow I started thinking about obesity in America. Logical leap, right? People like Mr. Super Size Me that eat out every meal and get fat and wonder why. Then sue the restaurants. (Don't even get me started on that one.)


That's when the idea hit. I should eat out three meals a day for thirty days at a variety of places—local and chains, fast food and family—and see if I gain weight. Heck, I think might even lose weight. I make much better choices when I'm out. For example if I eat a greasy Five Guys burger for one meal, I have something light for the next meal. It's all about balance.

I'd have to be weighed and tests done first, and then after it's over.


Now of course I couldn't afford to do that. My food budget would soar. I'd need sponsorship. I'd also need money for more trash hauling. The environmental impact of eating out everyday will be huge. Some could be recycled. But not much.

Sodium would also be a big concern because "eating-out" food is loaded with it.


It would be extremely difficult to physically eat out 3 meals a day for a whole month. By the end of a weeks vacation I want home-cooked food. But I'm willing to make the sacrifice.


I'd also have to blog and photograph the process and a nutritionist would need to number crunch. I don't do numbers.


So that's the big idea. When some fancy researcher publishes their results, remember you saw it here first.

fat and lazy girl

I haven't done one lick of exercise since the stair climb. That was what, 10 days ago? No steps, minimal walking at lunch time, no gym-like activities. Nada.

I have no excuses. I'm lazy. And crazy busy.

My walking partner comes back Saturday, maybe that will motivate me.

Spring break is next week, maybe that will motivate me.

Next Saturday I have a 5K and a stair climb. I need to get this fat butt moving. Or I won't finish. Maybe that will motivate me.

I hope so, because I don't want to do a big walk this year to stay motivated.  Don't want to fund-raise ever again.

But I need to find something that will keep me motivated. But what?