not-so-turkey chowder

it has been unseasonably cold in austin this year - we've already had two (not one, but two) ice days when we normally don't have any. in fact, before this year, the last time i remember any ice hitting austin whatsoever was for my 24th birthday.  

with all this cold, i've been making a ton of soups for dinner.  my mom used to make this turkey chowder when i was growing up - she'd make it after the holidays with our leftover turkey.  my god it was good.  and i found myself thinking about it the other day... and i wanted to taste it!  i found a great vegan alternative in my forks over knives cookbook i made for dinner - it was delicious and now flagged as one of my favorites.  

**i made a couple changes - sub'd green beans for the broccoli and cauliflower, and left out the dill

Lotsa Vegetable Chowder

Ingredients:

·         8 small Yukon Gold, white, or russet potatoes (about 2 pounds), cut into ½-inch chunks

·         ¹⁄₂ small onion, peeled and chopped

·         3 ears fresh corn, kernels removed (about 1¾ cups), cobs reserved

·         2 medium carrots, peeled and diced

·         2 stalks of celery, chopped

·         ¹⁄₄cup chopped red bell pepper

·         1 cup chopped broccoli and cauliflower stalks, outer fibrous parts removed and discarded (about ½ pound)

·         1 clove garlic, peeled and minced

·         2 tablespoons chopped thyme

·         ¹⁄₈ teaspoon white pepper

·         2 teaspoons ground cumin

·         3 tablespoons chopped dill

·         Salt to taste

In a large pot, combine the potatoes, onion, corn kernels and cobs, carrots, celery, pepper, broccoli and cauliflower, garlic, thyme, white pepper, cumin, and 6 cups water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.

Remove the corn cobs and let cool. Remove 1 cup of the soup and puree in a blender with a tight-fitting lid, covered with a towel. (If you like a thicker soup, puree 2 cups.) Return the pureed soup to the pot and add the dill. Scrape corn cobs with back of a knife to remove the creamy corn bits from the kernel, and add the bits to the pot. Stir well and season with salt.

http://www.forksoverknives.com/lotsa-vegetablechowder/?fb_action_ids=795357223811391&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_ref=.Uu_8v6_0Bwc.like&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%5B574830235865608%5D&action_type_map=%5B%22og.likes%22%5D&action_ref_map=%5B%22.Uu_8v6_0Bwc.like%22%5D

yummiest moroccan spiced dish

I stumbled across this recipe in real simple (one of my favorite magazines) and thought it would be so yummo in my tummo.  i love ethnici tried it, and it's now a favorite of mine.  the recipe in the magazine was 'spiced braised beef with sweet potatoes', but i just cut the beef - here is the vegan version:


heads up - this serves about 6, so if you're a single girl like me living alone, i'd half it.  the leftovers keep really well.
ingredients

• 2 sweet potatoes (about 1 pound), cut into 1/2-inch-thick half-moons

• 1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes

• 1 large red onion, cut into wedges

• 1/2 cup dried apricots

• 2 teaspoons ground cumin

• 2 teaspoons ground ginger

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne

• kosher salt

• 1 1/2 cups couscous (i prefer wheet)

• 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed

• 2 cups baby spinach (1 1/2 ounces)

• 1/4 cup roasted almonds, chopped

directions

1. in a bit pot, throw in the onions (and i threw in some garlic) and sautee for about 5 minutes
2. throw in them taters, and sautee for about 10 minutes (stirring occassionally) until tender
3. throw the rest in (including the juice from the tomatoes), and let that cook and simmer until juice has been absorbed (about 20 minutes)
4. pour over the couscous and get ready for a food explosion in yo mouth

Earth Below, Sky Above, Fire Within

My calf ‘injury’ (really just horribly knotted and painful fascia) in mid-August set me back big time – for over two months I could run only two or three times a week, maybe up to five miles at a time, and even that was pushing it some weeks.  I lost my base, lost some strength, and just felt so defeated.  After continued body work and getting cupped (which I recommend highly to anyone going through any muscle tension or knotted fascia), I was able to start building my base back up in mid-October and early November. 

What I horrendously humbling experience.  All my friends were in full marathon shape and very strong, and I felt like this marshmallow.  Steve and Bobby both had some good conversations with me when I was feeling down, and they kinda lit a fire under my ass (as my dad says).  So, I humbly kinda took a step back, had to reflect and look inward, swallow my pride a bit, and start from the ground up building my base back up. 

I’ve had some highs and lows over the last three months, but I’m feeling so great now.  I’ve incorporated regular body work and cupping into my training, which is a tremendous help – can’t believe I wasn’t doing it before.  I went to a nutritionist regarding my seme-recent move to veganism, as well and helping my performance.  Carly has turned my world around and I feel a huge difference in my running just from the way she has me eating.  I’ve been slowly building my mileage back up, and ran 14 miles Saturday – the furthest I’ve ran since August before my calf threw a fit.  I knew we were going to have some hills – I’ve been working to get my hill strength back up as well, which is an uphill battle (ha – see what I did there?).  And I had a great run – best I’ve had in a long time, possibly the best.  I felt strong on the hills, and had the company of good friends while rolling over them. 

After they dropped me off (they were running 20 and I split off to run my 14), I immediately met Chuck from another group with Rogue.  We got stuck at a stop light together, said ‘hi’, made mention of the gorgeous sherbert sunrise, and then I wished him a good run as he passed me.  We got stuck at the next stoplight together, started up talking again, continued to talk after the light went green, and I thought to myself, ‘Self, you can run alongside this guy.  You can do it.’  And I did.  I broke out of my comfort zone, and challenged myself.  And I kept up with him, talked to him, and felt comfortable and strong.  I really surprised myself, and felt good.  I even finished with four records on my Garmin – fastest mile, fastest 5k, fastest 10k, and fasted half marathon.  If I hadn’t met Chuck, I think I would’ve stayed in my safe zone and continued on.  And not only did he challenge me, but I met a new friend at Rogue.  He told me part of his story, and offered some great running advice and training tips that work for him.

Rogue had a lot of people racing yesterday in the 3M Half Marathon, the Big Bend 50k and 25k, and the Houston Marathon.  I was on pins and needles waiting to hear how everyone did, and was really emotional for some reason, way more than what I would expect to be normal.  I had two friends qualify for Boston (the holy grail for a lot of runners), and several more that PR’d.  I had some friends run a 50k yesterday – that’s over 30 miles!!  Holy cow! 

I heard about some 3M PRs first.  I was sending my two friends trying to BQ good juju – I was glued to my Facebook newsfeed to get updates.  Then I got word that they both qualified – I don’t know why, but I kind of teared up a bit.  Another friend ran his first marathon yesterday and ran a 3:40 – that is an amazing time for a first time marathoner!  Another friend was pacing her dad to meet his goal of a sub-2 hour half and he got it!  I was waiting to hear about my other friends running the Big Bend 50k and they all finished, and finished strong.  I teared up yet again when I saw their Facebook pictures and heard from Steve.  It was just an amazing day for Rogue, and I was inspired by everyone that ran yesterday.  Again, and fire was lit under my ass.

I reflected a lot yesterday on my running.  I have come far from where I started last March and then again a few months ago, but still have a lot of work to do to eventually meet my ultimate goal of qualifying for and running the Boston Marathon.  But instead of focusing on that goal that seems so far away, I’m going to celebrate my small victories, as well as those of my friends.  I’m going to work on achieving smaller goals (stretch goals, as my coach calls them) – this year I want to get a sub-2 half and a sub-4 full.  Those goals seem a bit far right now, but I know with hard work I can do them.  As Steve has told me (and his voice rings in my ears often), ‘You can do anything you set your mind to.’  When I get discouraged and have bad runs (as we all do), I’m going to think about how far I have come instead of far I have yet to go.  I’m going to find inspiration in those around me, and there is an abundance of it (as was proved this weekend).  I’m going to continue to challenge myself to break out of my comfort zone.  I’m going to trust my legs and body – our bodies are capable of some amazing things when you think about it.  I can see and feel the slow and steady progress, so I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing as well as learn from others.  As I’ve heard several times before, ‘slow and steady wins the race’ – I really like that phrase.  Be patient, and keep it slow and steady.

Even though the set back of my calf pissed me off, I’m glad it happened – perhaps a blessing in disguise.  If it hadn’t had happened, I don’t think I would feel this fire within me that I do, or at least not as strong (if that makes any sense).  I’m hungrier now than I was before, and I’m going to let that drive me to where I want to go.  I am so grateful that I found Rogue – it has truly changed my life.  There is such a strong feeling of family and community – it’s just fantastic.  We all encourage each other.  When someone is having a rough run, another picks them up – no Rogue left behind!  We celebrate in each other’s victories.  Although I’m grateful I found Rogue, I’m even more grateful I found Coach Bobby.  When he tells you he’s proud of you and loves you, he really means it.  He is the biggest cheerleader for all of his runners, and is dedicated to each one of us. 

At any rate, I was just feeling all warm and fuzzy inside yesterday and wanted to share J

how dogs love us

i haven't had a book review on here for a while...

'how dogs love us' is my latest read - finished it over christmas break. this book is pretty new - heard about it on some website, and pre-ordered it on amazon before it was released. i initially read about it on some website - i can't remember what site i was on, but it was an article about this book and how peta was going to have a 'field day' with it (which now after reading this, i can definitely see why). 

the book is written by a man who studies the brain for a living, how they work, emotions, etc. dr. berns wasn't always a dog person - i don't recall he grew up with them.  he adopted a dog later in life when he had a family and found himself growing quite attached. he was looking at his dog one day and wondered to himself, 'does my dog actually love me? does she love me as i love her, or does she just see me as a source of food and shelter?  does she have human emotions?' now me being a dog person who nurses what *might* be an unhealthy attachment to toby, of course i knew he loves me. no brainer - duh. the author thought the same thing, but he wanted to prove it.

he and his team trained dogs to lay still in an mri machine to study their brains and to see if, in fact, dogs (and animals) have human emotions. long story short, they do. the book is fascinating. our dogs (and other animals) actually do love us - they feel emotions very similarly to what we do. they feel love, happiness, sadness, loneliness, depression, frustration, stress, fear, silliness, attachment, abandonment, etc. 

he then begged to ask the question, 'if animals do in fact feel similar emotions and stresses as we do, is it morally okay to eat them?'  my point exactly.  when i wrote my 'among the vegan path' blog, i touched on this.  in china and other countries, people eat dogs.  dogs!!  as i looked down at toby, it made me sick to my stomach to think that people might find his meat a delicacy.  can you imagine eating your dog?  absolutely not.  i have a couple friends who have pigs as pets, and they seem just as intelligent, loveable, and cuddly as a dog.  so why is it okay to slice them up in the bacon and fry them up when the thought of eating your pet dog is not acceptable?  i have a new friend who has a baby lamb - why is it more acceptable to slice her up into expensive lamb chops and serve them medium rare?  i'm not sure if i can come up with an answer to that.  and when i found i couldn't answer that question, that is when i ventured onto the vegan path.  again, not trying to push this on anyone, just sharing thoughts.

a little while after i finished this book, i came across an article - again, scientists have proven that animals have feelings as we do and had made a formal declaration and statement.  a group of international and highly esteemed scientists have recently signed he cambridge declaration on consciousness, declaring their support for the idea that animals are aware and conscious to the same degree as humans.  read it - awesome article.  

www.elephantjournal.com/2014/01/science-proves-that-animals-have-feelings/

i'm hoping that books, articles, and testaments like these will raise more awareness about animals and how they feel.  one day it was acceptable to enslave and consider people as property, even acceptable to hang them.  now that thought is morally repugnant.  i do hope that one day we will think the same of animals and how once they were treated.

whether you are an animal person or not, these are good reads that will really make you think.  and if you're one of the people who thinks they are 'just animals', you may think twice.

steer into the skid

The flu and pneumonia are bad this year, some have said the worst it’s ever been.  We’ve seen stories on the news of the fatalities – in fact, a woman I work with had a 48 year old friend that died from complications of the flu.  She went to his funeral earlier this week.

I was surfing the net trying to keep busy and awake on a slow, gloomy day at work and came across a story about one of these fatalities.  The headline intrigued me – ’12-year-old girl dies unexpectedly, family comforted by letter she wrote herself’.  This story went somewhat viral – you may have seen it on.   My heart just sank for the family as I started to read the article.  One day their daughter had some cold symptoms,  tested negative for the flu, was going to be okay, and then died from pneumonia – I can’t imagine the shock.

While going through her things after Taylor died, her parents came across a letter she had written her future self to be opened and read by her ten years later – she would’ve been 22.  Some of what she wrote was pretty typical and expected of a 12-year-old girl – how are you?  Congratulations on graduating high school.  How’s college?  But something in the closing of the letter struck a chord with her parents, and a statement that we can all learn something from.  She wrote, ‘Stuff has happened good and bad, that’s just how life works and you have to go with it.’

Indeed it does, Taylor – and thanks for the reminder.  Bad things happen in life, just as often as the good.  Bad things happen to good people, good things happen to bad people, and it leaves you questioning the logic and existence of karma.  Her message is something I like to call ‘steering into the skid’.  Struggles and life obstacles are inevitably going to happen that are out of your control, but it’s how you react to them that matters.  You can fight it, which I found makes things worse.  Or, instead, you can go with it, make the best of it, smile, and ‘steer into the skid’.  In Mrs. Semen’s (yes, that is truly her name and I even giggle today as I type it) driver’s ed class, we were taught when our car fishtails, starts to hydroplane, or skids we turn into the direction of the skid instead of the opposite direction.  Sure, steering in the opposite direction might be our instinctive reaction, but it makes the situation worse and can cause a bad accident.  Although it seems like a dangerous choice, and once that seems wrong, you steer into the direction of the skid to level things out and get on track again.

So my message to you all is this.  When life throws you a curveball, accept the plot twist as a challenge a move on.  As a popular ecard states, ‘No matter what life brings you, kick some grass over that shit and move on.’  And most importantly, steer into the skid.

Among the Vegan Path

I was a vegetarian for ten years from the ages of 12 to 22.  Being a vegetarian was a large part of what began my eating disorder.  At first I started because of the animals – I couldn’t stomach eating something that had been killed, and I could become hysterically emotional at the thought.  My parents were very supportive, my mom made sure to always have food that I could eat with our family meals, and everything was fine. 

But, it didn’t stay fine.  Being vegetarian, in part, fed my eating disorder.  It started to become an excuse to not eat certain things I thought would make me fat.  Originally I didn’t want to eat meat because I didn’t want to eat an animal that had been killed.  But somehow that reason flew out the window, and my ideology became that of:  meat = fat = bad.  And before I knew it, I was eating an apple and maybe a rice cake a day and that was about it.  I downward spiraled fairly quickly, and ended up in rehab for five months.

My nutritionist and therapist in rehab brought up the possibility that being a vegetarian led to my eating disorder, and I can’t say I didn’t agree with them.  I took it as an excuse to eat only fruits and vegetables, no fat, little calories, you get the picture.  When I explained why I had initially became a vegetarian, and that I did not want to start eating meat, they worked with me on it.  They worked with me on a meal plan that would work within the confines of my feelings and beliefs.  But I still had meat = fat = bad in the back of my mind. 

But once out of rehab, I kept spiraling downward again.  I wasn’t staying full.  I was hungry all the time.  I wasn’t following my meal plan.  I was seeing a nutritionist at the time, and she started to suggest the idea of eating meat.  Then I woke up one day and started eating meat again after ten years of not – I was 22.

The animal rights thing was always in the back of my mind, but I tried to ignore it – and I’m ashamed to admit that.  Over these last 8 years, I still would eat numerous meals that did not include meat.  I guess maybe I thought it was okay if I didn't eat meat at every meal, everyday – so that was okay – right?  I have done my due diligence to use cleaners and other products that are not tested on animals – did that make me eating meat okay because at least I did that much?  I started to not eat lamb or veal because they were just babies.  And then I stopped eating pork because I had a thing for pigs – and I used to have a friend that had a pig as a pet, and I have Toby, so why was his pet less than mine?  Why is it okay to eat his pet, but he couldn’t eat Toby or the like?  Did you know that a pig can recognize and come to their name?  But then whenever I would drive and see cows, my heart ached for them.  Did you know that they can form a best friend for life?  And the baby chicks – the baby chicks for god sakes!!!  I was a hypocrite!!  But the cavemen did it, after all.  Was it in our blood?  Was it in our nature?  As Carrie Bradshaw would say, ‘I couldn’t help but wonder…’

The last couple years this has been weighing on my mind and heart, and even more so over the last year, and especially the last several months.  I think it started when I delved deeper and deeper into my yoga practice.  In class, we end every practice with ‘Namaste’, and I choose to say the whole prayer in my head -  all beings and pieces of the Universe are equal and one with each other.

 I honor the place in your in which the entire Universe dwells.

I honor the place in you which is of love and truth,

Light and peace.

When you are in that place in you,

And I am in that place in me,

We are one.

-Namaste-

As I continued to grow deeper into my practice, deeper into my meditation, I started to feel a greater connectivity to the Earth and all parts of the Universe around me – the grass, the sun, the sky, the stars, and all living beings (two footed, four footed, ).  I was no greater that you, or her, or him.  And I was no greater than my dog, Toby.  I was no greater than other living beings, no matter how small

I started to progressively eat less and less meat.  Before I did eat a meal that included meat, I would pray and thank the Universe for the animal that gave its life for my nourishment.  And then one day recently, as I was saying this ‘thanks’, I thought to myself – my nourishment?  I don’t have to eat meat to be healthy.  I don’t need to eat meat to get protein. I certainly didn’t enjoy the fact that an animal died for me to eat it.  People eat dogs in other countries – when I thought about that, I looked down at Toby and was just repulsed by the thought of someone eating a dog like him.  But why was Toby more significant than a cow, chicken, pig, turkey, fish, or whatever.  Toby isn’t, and neither was I.  Why the hell was I fighting this decision?  I couldn’t justify me eating meat or animal products any longer.

The idea of becoming a vegan was weighing on me, but I was scared – this in large part triggered my eating disorder years ago and I didn’t want to even dance on that line again – I had come so far.  I meditated on it.  I prayed about it.  I talked to some vegan friends I have about it.  I spoke with my parents about it, and addressed any concerns they might have (considering my past).  I thought about the reasons I wanted to do this, and they far outweighed anything else that crossed my mind.  And through that, I realized how strong I was and how far I had come in my recovery.  I trusted myself.

And so, the decision to make this move fully came to fruition about tend days ago now I think.  It hasn’t been long, but I feel great.  It hasn't been a hard transition at all – my grocery cart was already about 90% produce (I’ve always been quite the rabbit, or so my parents used to call me).  I’m not any hungrier than I was before.  I do have a couple more steps to take, but I’m almost there.  I don’t miss it, and certainly don’t carry the guilt that I had previously.  I still have plenty of energy when I’m running.  I’m sleeping just the same.  I really feel no different, other than the fact that I am at peace just a bit more than I was before.

Being a vegetarian or vegan is not for everyone, and I certainly don’t plan on pushing it on anyone or anything like that.  Everyone’s choices and beliefs are different and shaped by their own personal experiences.  I haven’t gone around preaching my decision to everyone around me, but I did choose to write this blog post to share my thoughts and to answer the question as to ‘why’ that some have asked me.  It has been a progressive move for me, and has just become part of the path my life is taking.

‘No animal needs to die in order for me to live.  And that makes me feel good.’

-          Howard Lynan

the curse of a pre-existing condition

So, Obamacare has finally passed.  There are a lot of people pissed off about it – are pissed and disgusted that their tax dollars are supporting all these lazy, drug using sacks of shit who refuse to work.  These are some of the words I have read and heard straight from people’s mouths recently.  That naïve statement pisses me off, and I take personal offense to it actually for a multitude of reasons.

Now, of course, everyone is welcome to their opinion.  The opposing sides don’t agree with each other, this is no surprise.  I think people’s opinion about a lot of these issues that have come up (most recently being the abortion/women’s healthcare issue in Texas) are based a lot upon one’s own personal experience, and I am no different.

Eleven years ago I suffered from a nasty ass eating disorder.  It got so bad that I went away to rehab for five months.  My parent’s health insurance initially didn’t cover it – by the time I got out, my parents had spent tens of thousands of dollars on my treatment.  Later down the line, after many appeals, my parents were reimbursed for part of this cost.  Insurance companies now cover more mental illness treatment, but they didn’t years ago.  Part of Obamacare is the continued awareness and coverage of the treatment of mental disorders.  I was very lucky and fortunate that my parents were able to fund my treatment – but if they hadn’t been able to, and I was unable to get the help I needed, I am confident there is a large chance I would have slowly starved myself to death.

I now had a pre-existing condition, a label I wore for insurance companies when I was seeking coverage independently.  While going through countless interviews with numerous providers, I felt judged, naked, vulnerable, and helpless after I got turned down time and time again.  After Obama took office for his first term, some of this reform started to pass and part of it allowed me to stay covered under my parents’ policy until I reached a certain age.  Phew!  What a relief.  I had bought some time.

My last two years of college were tough – I worked 40+ hours a week to support myself, and went to school full time in part to be eligible for the health insurance Texas State offered to their students.  Those were the hardest two years of my life.  During college, I worked as a bar manager.  I was one of the few in my service industry circle that had health insurance – they couldn’t afford the high premiums on individual plans they qualified for.  These people were not lazy sacks of shit that some of Obamacare’s opponents have alluded to.  They worked hard.  They paid their bills.  They went to school.  They were responsible citizens.  When they got sick, they had to decide whether they could afford an out-of-pocket doctor visit or not.  It was a constant struggle of my service industry friends around me, and I can guarantee you that the passing of Obamacare is a huge weight off their shoulders.

After I graduated college, I was on my own in terms of finding health insurance.  I was too old for my parents to cover me.  I was hoping that enough time had passed that my eating disorder would no longer be an issue, but I was dead wrong.  After six months of tirelessly searching, after working with an insurance agent to try and find the needle-in-the-haystack policy, I got only one insurance company that agreed to cover me and my monthly premium would be over $800 - $800!!!  And that is no joke, my friends.  And the coverage I would've gotten was a joke.  And as a new graduate who was still working in restaurants, I could not even begin to think about affording that.  So, I was forced to go uncovered.  I felt like I was walking on eggshells wherever I went.  I would have nightmares of me getting cancer or having some sort of an accident and racking up hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills that I would never be able to pay.  During this time, I learned that one broken leg, brief treatment, and casting can cost $10k or more out of pocket.  One emergency room visit with stitches can cost several thousand.  What if I broke a bone, or worse?  There were weeks that I stuck out my sinus infections because I couldn’t afford to go to the doctor and certainly couldn’t afford antibiotics out of pocket.  When I got really sick a couple times, my parents helped me pay for me to go get help.  And again, I was lucky.  Some people don’t have the parents I do.   I left a job to take another that would offer me health insurance – I had to take a significant pay cut, but it was my only option to get health insurance coverage.  I breathed a huge sigh of relief when that part of my life was over – I was finally in a world of a $10 copay instead of a $100 doctor visit, and $5 prescriptions instead of God knows what.

During my stint as a bakery manager out of college, I worked with a remarkable woman.  She had worked at that bakery for years.  She worked full time, as did her husband.  They paid their bills on time, rent on time, contributed to society, were wonderful spouses to each other, as well as proud grandparents to their grandchildren.  The jobs they worked didn’t pay that well, and they each had a small pre-existing condition – both had illnesses years ago that prevented them from getting insurance.  A couple years prior to me working there, she had a heart attack in the kitchen at work.  She nearly died and was in critical condition at the hospital after surgery for quite some time.  Because she was uninsured, and her treatment so extensive, her medical bills totaled hundreds of thousands of dollars – no shit.  She and her husband will never be able to pay that off in their lifetime, and their credit is forever fucked because of it. 

My little brother is a very talented drummer.  He is amazing and the coolest guy I know – I adore him.  He is one of the most genuine people I have ever met, honest, true, kind, and one of the best examples of hard work and dedication.  But, he is a drummer – that is his passion, his gift, his skill, and I have all the confidence in the world he will one day see huge success.  And this is no secret, it is hard as shit for musicians to get health insurance coverage – they almost always have to get it independently.  Now lucky for my brother, he has a clean bill of health and no pre-existing condition so he has been able to get coverage.  But, he doesn’t make a lot of money at his day job and current gigs, and the premiums became quite the strain.  And now through the passing of Obamacare, and what he qualifies for, he will be able to comfortably pay for health insurance.

Both my mother and sister are pediatric nurses.  Time and time again over the years, they have seen countless children and families that do not have adequate health insurance coverage.  These families are good people, hard-working, that are just trying to take care of their children.  And a lot of these children, because they have a rough medical history, have pre-existing conditions that prevent them from being covered.  These families will have medical bills to pay off for the rest of their lives.  And now, through the passing of Obamacare, a lot of my mom's and sister's patients will have adequate health insurance coverage and their parents will no longer have to worry about where they are going to get the money to pay to possibly save their child's life.

I have other examples, and I could tirelessly go one, but I won’t.  My stance on Obamacare, as well as other things he does do for our country, is based upon my own personal experience and what I have witnessed and lived through during the course of my thirty years.  And I get that our tax dollars may climb a bit, and that my stellar policy through work may change a bit in order to accommodate others, but you know what?  I am happy as hell to do it because I know that other individuals will be able to attain what they deserve.  i'm happy to give a little extra of what I have to help others.  I would much rather support those in need (including some that, yes, I think milk every federal dime they can) than deny the lot of them that include so many that deserve it, including my past self.

At any rate, that’s my thing about Obamacare.  I normally try and keep my mouth shut in terms of politics, but I feel quite strongly about this and it helps me to get it out.  Below is an article I read today that prompted this blog entry.

http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-1040732?hpt=hp_bn1