“Home is the place where it feels right to walk around without shoes”

Quick Video of the house!

If my mother put on a uniform that wasn't the same as the one I was wearing, I'd run over her if she was in my way. And I love my mother." Bo Jackson

It is that time of year again. That very special time of year that just gets your juices going. Especially since the Auburn tigers did so craptastically poor last year. No I am not talking about Christmas or anything...I am talking about Football. It is time for football once again.

I am literally on the other side of the country from where I would like to be at this point. I need to be close to Auburn, AL. The Tigers need me. How will they get by this season with out my charming spirited cheering?

Another thing that is quite a bummer is that no one here talks college football. And if they do it is all Pac 10 this and that. First of all, I have to mention that they are not talking about their alma mater they are not bragging about the Sun Devils of Arizona State. Oh no! They are bragging about USC one of their biggest rivals. As God as my witness, if you ever hear me bragging about the SEC and using LSU as my example please slap my face.

I had a lively conversation with a lawyer on Saturday night. After rollerderbying which is very fun and I will talk about in a bit. Said lawyer was arguing with me and a girl from the Big 10. First I think he was aghast that I knew anything about football. Then I believe he was shocked that I could quote statistics to him and knew coaches. But the bottom line was he was arguing about the abilities of the Pac 10, and he did not mention his team once. Not even ONE TIME.

Sigh. I also hold a slight grudge against ASU. Every single year I pull for them to beat USC and every single year they leave me downtrodden and broken hearted. Granted I am a fair weather fan, but you would think they would at least try to court my loyalty. I can purchase season tickets to the Sun Devils for 100 dollars. I have told everyone I know from Auburn about this. At Auburn I am waiting for someone to die and not deed his or her season tickets to their family before I get my tickets...trust me I have already tried donating money to the school.

For a bit I thought I would buy charming Bey and I season tickets so we could go if we liked to ASU. Then after careful consideration I thought...why would I do that. I will stay home and watch some real football!


War Eagle!

"Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring." — Marilyn Monroe

They accepted the offer on our house. Or as SD says HOOOSE (like that lady on HGTV).
Here are a few pics of the home. We have to put in a pool. At first I was like BUMMER. But now I am excited because it means I get to put in the pool the way Bey and I design it. Which means it is all ours.

Here are the pics of the new casa de Bey and IPG. Our little love nest if you will.

“The one who loves you will make you weep.” Argentine Proverb

I was cleaning out my closet today when I smelled it. Where was that coming from? I took a whiff and there it was again. My husband. I could smell him. Let me be clear no one else on earth smells like him. He smells like a clean piece of paper. The kind you used in kindergarten with the big lines. He smells like fresh air and sunshine. You get the impression when you are with him that not only are you the only person in the world, but you are the only person in the world that matters. And part of that is his eyes, but most of it is how he is big. Not in size. He is really a small man, but he is takes up a whole room. He laughs big deep laughs. He smiles with his eyes kind and open. …but back to his smell. I realized he had hung one solitary shirt in this rental house closet. I had brushed past it, and I could smell him. I grabbed the shirt, and sat on the closet floor and rocked myself and wept into it. I hope he doesn’t mind that I Sephoraed all over his favorite Auburn shirt. Life’s no good without him.

I sighed as I stood up and hung the shirt back up. I should wash it, but can’t bear to wash his smell out. I vowed to myself I won’t ever take him for granted again. When I see him, I intend to wrap my arms and legs and heart around him, and never let go.

Another tidbit of information that has to be reported…I did the round trip school run for SD yesterday and this morning. It was my first time picking her up from school, and I was excited. It was really neat hearing about her day and her teachers…her homework. She looked so pretty! Better than all the other little girls…not that I am comparing. It was fun taking her to school this morning too. We talked and listened to ‘80’s. I got her there WAY early. :) But that was ok too. I sort of felt today like for the very first time that I am a pseudo parent. That is kind of odd to say. But it kind of felt that way. Like ok IPG you are not longer crazy single IPG you are now an ADULT!!!!

It doesn't help...

to write to congressmen that already agree with you.

Dear International Party Girl,



Thank you for contacting me about universal healthcare.



The rising cost of healthcare is truly a major problem. As you know, over 45 million Americans are either unable to acquire health insurance on their own or simply choose not to have coverage.



I believe that all Americans should have access to affordable healthcare, and the federal government can achieve this by making the market as open as possible and encouraging health insurance companies to offer a wide variety of plans that cover a wide variety of health conditions. The key to meaningful reform is not more government intervention, but rather to allow the free market to control costs and improve quality through choice and competition.



For those truly unable to acquire health insurance, government programs like Medicaid and welfare are available to qualifying individuals. Medicaid is a health insurance program jointly funded by both the states and the federal government. The United States welfare program provides assistance to qualified low-income individuals and families.



Waste, fraud, and abuse are prevalent in government programs, and we owe it to all taxpayers to ensure that only those who truly need assistance are the ones receiving it. Expanding the government's role in healthcare will not create access to affordable healthcare but, as we have seen in other countries that have nationalized their healthcare systems, will only create delays, rationing, and increased overall costs. Instead, a free market system will lower costs, encourage innovation, and empower individuals.



I believe that Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are a successful example of the free market system encouraging individuals to obtain health insurance and control where their health care dollars are spent. Millions of Americans are now taking advantage of HSAs, which allow pre-tax dollars to be used for health care expenditures. I support the expansion of HSAs, so that more Americans will have the freedom to determine the direction of their health care dollars.



Thank you again for contacting me. Please do not hesitate to do so again in the future. I also encourage you to visit my website, which may be found at http://flake.house.gov/.

Sincerely, JEFF FLAKE Member of Congress

AND...
Dear Ms. Wife of the YUMMY BEY:



Thank you for contacting me regarding health care reform. I appreciate the opportunity to respond.



The U.S. health care system is the best in the world, spurring advancements in new medical treatments and technologies. Such innovation helps physicians treat and prevent diseases better than ever before, eradicates once fatal epidemics, and helps Americans lead longer, healthier lives.



Despite these advances, millions of Americans struggle to find affordable health insurance options. From 1999 to 2008, the average cost of a family health plan increased by 119 percent from $5,791 to $12,680. Meanwhile, workers' wages increased 34 percent during the same nine-year period. Ensuring access to quality, affordable health care is a laudable goal. I support targeted solutions that lower health care costs and improve health care by building upon, not completely dismantling, our health care system.



Unfortunately, many of the proposals being considered in the U.S. Senate will make health insurance more expensive, jeopardize Arizonans' current coverage, and expand the government's control over health care. While you will not find the words "ration," "withhold coverage," or "delay access to care" in the pending plans, that is what will result from the web of federally-dictated insurance reforms, new legal obligations, and provider reimbursement schemes that are part of them. Such policies centralize the power of medical decisions with politicians and bureaucrats, not patients and doctors, and they will result in the delay or denial of care.



There are three main problems with the Majority party's proposals: the implementation of a government-run insurance plan, the use of comparative effectiveness research, and spending.



Government-Run Insurance Plan



First, the Majority's proposals would create a new, government-run health insurance plan to compete against private insurance plans. The argument is that a government-run plan would give consumers a better range of choices and make the health care market more competitive -- "keep the insurance companies honest," as the President put it. However, well-respected, independent analysis provides evidence to the contrary. For one thing, a government-run plan would be subsidized by the taxpayers, giving the government plan a huge advantage over competitors. Yet, even government resources are not unlimited. To save money after tens of millions of people are added to the public plan, the government would cut reimbursement to doctors and hospitals, exacerbating the difficulty Arizonans' already encounter in trying to schedule doctor appointments. To make up for low government reimbursements to providers, insurance companies would have to charge more for private insurance, making it less attractive than the government plan.



Over time, there will only be room for the government plan according to the respected Lewin Group, as 119 million Americans would lose their current coverage. Remember, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were designed as independent "government-sponsored enterprises" to complement the private mortgage market. Now, Fannie and Freddie account for a combined share of 73 percent of mortgage originations in the second half of 2008. The two "government-sponsored enterprises" are now effectively owned and run by the federal government, after having sustained losses of over $100 billion last year alone. A Washington-run health care plan will do to the health care market what Fannie and Freddie did to the housing market.



Comparative Effectiveness Research



Second, the Majority's plan would create a new research entity to conduct so-called comparative effectiveness research (CER). CER is a mechanism used by medical professionals to provide information on the relative strengths and weaknesses of various procedures and treatments. In the hands of doctors, medical researchers, and other health professionals, CER can help patients and their own doctors make informed health care decisions. However, in the hands of government, CER can become a tool to delay or deny care. For example, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Effectiveness in Britain uses "cost-effectiveness research" to make health care decisions. By basing treatment decisions on cost rather than need, Britain prescribes fewer cancer drugs than any of the other big five European nations; its patients therefore have the lowest survival rate according to a May edition of National Review. The UK's system provides only half of the care for end-stage renal disease patients that we do in the United States. Obviously, such rationing of care is not something we should replicate in the United States.



It is telling that none of the Majority's proposals in Congress would bar the federal government from using CER to deny access to care. In fact, when I offered an amendment in April to explicitly bar the use of CER to ration care, it was defeated on a near party-line vote. I have now introduced a free standing bill to ensure that any information obtained through CER cannot be used to deny access to care. The Preserving Access to Targeted, Individualized, and Effective New Treatments and Service (PATIENTS) Act of 2009 (S. 1259) will protect the doctor-patient relationship and ensure access to the highest quality medical care. I will fight at every opportunity to ensure that any health care reform plan the Senate considers later this year protects patients' access to care.



Cost



Finally, the Majority's plans would cost between $1 trillion and $2 trillion, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. But even that may understate the true cost. Consider that Massachusetts enacted near universal health insurance in 2006, and costs have exploded, doubling from $630 million in 2007 to an estimated $1.3 billion just two years later. To deal with those costs, the state has decided to slow enrollment of beneficiaries and eliminate dental coverage for its poorest residents. A special commission, which was established by the state legislature, has now recommended limiting coverage to those health care services that government deems to be cost-effective -- just like government-run health systems in other nations such as Canada and Great Britain do.



Furthermore, the plans would be financed by a combination of new taxes and cuts in Medicare spending, hurting seniors' access to care. The Medicare Trust Fund is expected to reach bankruptcy by 2017. Taking money from one program with urgent solvency problems, such as Medicare, to fund a huge expansion of health care benefits for others is not sensible.



I believe in the right of every American to choose the doctor, hospital, and insurance plan of his or her choice. No Washington bureaucrat should interfere with that right or substitute the government's judgment for that of a physician. Any health reform proposal should adhere to these principles.



I appreciate your sharing your thoughts on this important issue. Please stay in touch.



Sincerely,



JON KYL

United States Senator



P.S. If you wish to share additional comments about this or any other matter, please visit my website at http://www.kyl.senate.gov/contact.cfm.


On a side note...made an offer on a house. Cross your fingers. :)

Joy is the best makeup. Anne Lamott

Sometimes joy comes in the strangest packages.

Picture it…bummed out IPG. Crying on the phone with her mom. Lonely in Phoenix. Sad to be away from the handsome Bey. Bling Bling Bling. Goes her blackberry. And to her surprise is an offer for some more course development and some more money. This makes IPG feel slightly better.

Then covering up with her blanket IPG spots a baby lizard. The tiniest thing she has ever seen. He really is SMALL! So IPG catches him and releases him outside to roam in his backyard dominion.

Finally IPG logs on to Facebook and sees that one of her friends has mentioned Matthew 6: 33. For the purpose of this post (Matthew 6:25-34)

²⁵"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? ²⁶Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

²⁸"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' ³²For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.“

I have to stop talking in third person or I will be unable to make this post make sense. But basically after seeing that and reading that verse I realized a small miracle occurred in my house today. That tiny lizard made me think. I worried what if I hadn’t seen him and he starved to death in my home? Or what if I had accidentally sat on him? But then I read Matthew 6:33 and I remembered that everything happens for a reason. I don’t know what it is. But my darling husband will be here soon. We won’t be separated forever, and that right now I need to not worry. That isn’t my job.

In other less exciting academic news…I am snowed under with course development. I am literally snowed under with them. I love the work, and the money it brings, but today I just wanted to play hooky!

“If you see a friend without a smile; give him one of yours.”

For crying out loud…can’t IPG get a break? What does it mean in our lives when things don’t go perfect perfect perfect? For the most part my life is a picture perfect dream out of a storybook. Bey and I are financially secure and well on our way to achieving our dreams of early retirement. We are very much in love, and I only know one other couple that loves each other the way we do. In fact I can’t even describe it. I love him like he is something that is just a part of me. LOL I love him like he is the marrow of my bones. The essence of life itself is found in his embrace. I just finished reading the book Julie/Julia and she describes how bone marrow tastes, and I remember reading her description and thinking Bey and I love each other like that.

I know this move was the “right” thing to do. But why did our house sell so fast if he wasn’t going to get a job so fast? (Granted it has only been 45 days…I never said I was patient). Why should I have to spend one nanosecond separated from him?

If you ask my friends they will always tell you I have led a “charmed” life. My nickname has always been Midas. I can touch anything and usually turn it into gold. So why oh why can I not find Bey a job by force of will? Why are we separated? Why am I having to wait on him? This open ended waiting waiting waiting is killing me. Where is your job Bey? I am ready for you to come home.

Got this response

Thank you for contacting me to share your concerns and opinions. If you have an urgent matter and would like to request immediate assistance, please contact my office at 480-833-0092.

Congressman Jeff Flake


Notice he does not answer my question AT ALL. ....But maybe I will get a follow up letter.

What I have been up to....boring! I know.

I have been writing my Congress and Representatives about Healthcare reform. I know I don't usually get political on the blog. But here are the fruits of my labors.

August 11, 2009

The Honorable Jon Kyl

Dear Congressman Kyl:

I am writing to let you know that I OPPOSE HR3200 and the government hijacking my private healthcare decisions. I do not want the government to have more control and influence over my health care.
I also have a few questions for your Congressman Kyl. My first question is do you support Obamacare? My second question is it is my understanding that Congress will be exempt from Obamacare. If that is true; then why is Obamacare good enough for me, but not good enough for you?

I oppose the plan to nationalize our health care system and urge you to oppose it. There may be good intentions behind the legislation, but the unintended consequences will be massive and destructive to our economy.


Here are a few reasons why ObamaCare will be destructive to our country:

* Healthcare rationing: Government takeover of health care also would allow Washington to use "comparative effectiveness research" to dictate to doctors which treatments they should prescribe and how much they should cost. That in turn would lead to rationing of health care services. (Page 29 - rations healthcare; essential benefits are defined and there is an annual limitation of $5,000/individual and $10,000/family).

* Government decisions about what healthcare benefits you can receive, even from your private employer: (Page 30 – the "Health Choices Commissioner" will decide what treatment/benefits you receive.) It ultimately would transform legislators into quasi health care practitioners. Legislators would become quasi medical practitioners because they would lead and guide the government-controlled medical boards, personnel and policies that would oversee the program. That would include abortive and end-of-life counsel and services. Federal politicians would rely upon relatively few chief physicians (appointed mostly by them), who in turn would oversee and implement the medical policies and procedures that they felt were best for the country.

* Family Planning Services (code phrase for government funded abortion Pages 769-770) – --every version of ObamaCare currently being discussed includes the devastating Abortion Mandate that will REQUIRE me and other pro-life Americans to fund abortion with our tax dollars! THIS IS WRONG!!! Why should we be required to fund abortions when we are morally against it. Government Funded Abortion is not a "right" guaranteed in our constitution.

* This legislation also requires euthanasia counseling - the frequency of which increases with age and illness. (section 1233 of the legislative proposal) This deals with a government requirement for an “Advance Care Planning Consultation.” One of the most shocking things is page 425, where the Congress would make it mandatory absolutely that every five years people in Medicare have a required counseling session. Dr. Betsy McCaughey who is a former New York state officer and health expert said. “They will tell [them] how to end their life sooner.” The proposal specifically calls for the consultation to recommend “palliative care and hospice” for seniors in their mandatory counseling sessions. Palliative care and hospice generally focus only on pain relief until death. That section may place seniors in situations where they feel pressured to sign end of life directives they would not otherwise sign. This provision may start us down a treacherous path toward government-encouraged euthanasia if enacted into law.

* ObamaCare is an economic suicide pill for our faltering economy! It will add to an already ridiculously high deficit. This legislation clearly would drive our country deeper into debt and cannot be paid for without massive across the board tax increases. America cannot afford the $1 trillion price tag of socialized health care during these difficult economic times. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the Senate version of the health care legislation "would result in a net increase in federal deficits of about $1.0 trillion for fiscal years 2010 through 2019." Is that what you call good fiscal responsibility within an economy and government that already is bordering on bankruptcy? I flatly reject any health care proposal that increases costs or imposes new taxes on any American.

* This legislations will kill small businesses under a mountain of taxes, regulations and other cost. It will NOT save money, but will increase the rapid rise in healthcare cost in the country.

* All Employers will be required to auto-enroll all employees in ObamaCare with no options. Businesses will be pushing workers onto the government run plan, driving up costs, and shutting down private insurance. ObamaCare ultimately would limit the competitive market of health care. You don't create competitive markets by creating monopolies, yet that is exactly what government-run universal health care would prevent: competition. If government should do anything, it should crack down on medical insurance monopolies. If government wants to regulate one more thing, it would be better to regulate the medical insurance companies, not the American people.

* Mandated audits of the books of private companies: -Page 22 - mandates the government will audit the books of all employers that self-insure

* It also requires A National Health ID card, complete with government access to our personal information and even our bank accounts.

* It mandates counsel to "increase the frequency interval" between pregnancies (in other words, bureaucrats will tell us when we should have a child). And, it even requires taxpayers to pay for "sex change" surgeries!

* Other mandates: Page 317 – government can prohibit a hospital from expanding, Page 341 – gives government the authority to disqualify certain plans, i.e. Medicare Advantage (Medicare Part B), Page 353 – sets limitations on enrollment of special needs individuals

And what about the taxpayers who would pay for the program? Would having universal health care encourage their future productivity? Further taxing members of the upper class (which would mean further penalizing their productivity) certainly would not provide incentive for Americans chasing the American dream. And their added taxes obviously would trickle down to consumers, as well. Or do we just assume they would pay 47 million Americans' universal health care out of their surpluses?

One needs only look at the failed and deeply flawed TennCare in Tennesse and Massachusetts’s government run health care plans to see that Government-run Universal Healthcare is a bad idea that will end up devastating our nation.

Canada and Europe already have proved that national health care translates into national nightmares, with a plethora of new government regulations and new systems of rationing medical attention. Under government-run services, personal health care would transform into more impersonal harassment.

I urge you to stand against the loss of personal freedom, the skyrocketing tax increases and the healthcare rationing that will result from H.R. 3200, "Obamacare". Please know that I am watching your actions on this bill. I urge you to take time to listen to your constituents during the August recess.

Respectfully,
International Party Girl

“Happiness consists of living each day as if it were the first day of your honeymoon and the last day of your vacation”

I am still here in Palm Springs. I shouldn’t still be here although if you know me at all you should not be in the least bit surprised. I do adore a vacation.

My BFF and I have been having a great time! I might not go home tomorrow. She has to leave on Wednesday so surely I will head back then! LOL :) However she is going to be back here in December so yeah!

The most fun about this weekend away is that she and I have gotten to plan our upcoming trip to Russia. We will be leaving September 5 and be gone until September 12! YEAH! The only scary bit is that she and I probably are going to have a hard time finding something to eat while traveling.

Upon returning home on the 12^th I am going to drive down to Auburn from Atlanta, and catch the Auburn Mississippi State game. Then I will head down to spend a week at the beach with my parents and the long suffering Bey. THEN I will come home, and promise to be good and stay in town for at least 10 days at a stretch. :) I have to find out if I can take SD out of school for that amount of time…HOPEFULLY everyone deserves a week at the beach!

Sometimes you need a hairbrush

On my way to Palm Springs for a short Vacay in San Diego. I made sure to capture the empty passenger's seat signifying my childfree weekend.

San Diego a wonderful city. Hitting the beach and enjoying catching up with my BFF! I miss miss miss her and wish I could replicate her world wide. Lol!

If things go wrong, don't go with them. ~Roger Babson

I had forgotten. Prior to moving to IPGzona Bey and I prayed that God would slam all the doors that He wanted closed, and swing wide the doors he wanted us to go through. If the doors seem to be slamming I must not be doing what I should be. In that case it is time to press forward. Chin up…today is a new day!

I got SD contacts yesterday for her Birthday. She looks so pretty. I love seeing her without her face hidden in glasses. I had to talk her dad into it. Then he had to talk to her mom! SD wanted them…and she plays me like a fiddle sometimes she wants something. After getting her contacts she looked at me and said “Next stop Make Up” and I said oh no…that is your own battle there missy.

It is funny this time every year she would be going back home, and I wouldn’t see her again until Thanksgiving. It was always a tough time for me, and it made me weepy. Although it is understandable why I would feel that way, I felt that way because I was going to miss her so much, and there was nothing I could do about it. However this year I have the same feeling, I wonder if it is just force of habit. I can’t figure it out. Although I am glad that she is going back to school…I have some things I need to handle that are difficult when she is here…I still love the seemingly endless lazy days that we enjoy!