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Showing posts from April, 2009

Living the Good Life

I worry too much about money. My husband and I make a reasonable amount, and we do a good job budgeting and saving. We are set to pay the last of his $40,000 in student loan debt within the next 12 months, hopefully. Paying off that amount in about 3 years is an incredible feat when he makes a slightly above average wage, and I make well below average. But I worry about the future. What if we never make more than we do now? Would I be able to financially stay at home and raise the kids like I want to? Would I have to take a part-time job or go back to work? What if he loses his job? This culture of the 2-income household has screwed up the way I wanted things to be. Even as little as 30-40 years ago, most men were the primary wage earners. Companies didn't randomly hire and fire people like they do now, because they knew that families were relying on their paychecks. Now, with 40% of children born to unmarried parents and a 50% divorce rate, pretty much everyone has to work.

Information about B-12

Apparently, no one knows very much about B-12. Pretty much, if they find out you're low on B-12, they will inject you with the stuff once a month for the rest of your life. Not a very pleasant future to look forward to. Since I can't handle injections very well (I do okay with blood being taken out, but I pass out just about every time I get injected) I decided to do a little more research. I found one tiny little study (36 people) which seemed to indicate that sublingual and oral pills of 500+ micrograms taken daily were as efficient as an injection when taken regularly. A few of their patients may have had missing intrinsic factor. What causes B-12 deficiency? There are a lot of theories, but most people with severe deficiencies probably have multiple causes or a lack of intrinsic factor. Intrinsic factor is just this weird thing in our stomachs that helps us absorb the B-12 while the food is in our small intestine. Pretty weird. It also might help us to be able to reab

Paralyzing Praise

I have been paralyzed by the idea that on my own I am something special. My generation is not called the "Me" generation for no reason. I was told by teachers, parents, friends of parents, that I could be anything that I wanted to be. I was given a college education, a solid, reliable used vehicle, and a wonderful husband. What have I done with those gifts? I selfishly use them for my own pleasure, my own gain, and complain when I have to work for something. I want to be a writer, yet I make excuses when I get home from my 9-5 (or 8-6 or 10-7) job and don't do anything with my talent. How can I waste these gifts I've been given? I have been stunned into paralysis by the fact that I inherently believe I am "good enough" on my own. I should know better than that, and somewhere deep down I do know better. How can I justify my expense to society? The food I eat, the electricity I use, the car I drive. How can I justy that, if I am not using what I have bee