I Heart Sunsets

Sunsets have to be one of my most favorite indulgences in life. Tonight, God treated me to a rather amazing one! This was taken while in Laguna Beach tonight looking out over the ocean. I wish you could see more of it, but from where I was taking the picture, you only get a small glimpse. The sky was magnified with blues, purples, reds, oranges, and yellows as the sun melted into the ocean like warm butter on a hot piece of bread. It was simply breathtaking! And the best part? I get to see views like this every day!

One of those days

My struggle with insurance companies will forever be a never-ending battle now that I have this disability. Today was "one of those days." First, my insurance is horrible. There are different tiers of coverage depending if you meet that monetary deductible. I've worked all year to finally get to the point of receiving 90% coverage. The sad part is that in January, it all starts over and I go back down to 0% coverage. Well, here's where the battle begins.

I am in need of a new wheelchair. My current wheelchair is falling apart, and quite blatantly, I hate it. I would not recommend it to anyone. In September, I flew back to Atlanta and my favorite people at Shepherd Center evaluate me for a new wheelchair and write up a prescription. They found a local vendor in Georgia who said they were listed as a provider and were going to get my wheelchair for me. Well, they took their sweet time submitting the Pre-Authorization to insurance, and after a month and a half of wasting my time, it turns out they are not a provider under my insurance. That now leaves me with trying to find a local vendor here in California to fill this order. The problem with that is that vendor's here want to do their own evaluation, have to submit their own Pre-Auth to my insurance company, and then they can place the order. Well, there are only 6 weeks left in the year before my insurance goes back to 0% coverage. This means, they have to scramble to try to get everything set to go for it to get back here in 6 weeks. Bottom line? It's not going to happen. This means, I'm forced to pay about $10,000 for a wheelchair.... out of pocket. This is money I obviously don't have, but it's a medical device I have to have.

What do insurance companies think people with disabilities are supposed to do??? We need these medical devices, however they cost a fortune to purchase! I'm so frustrated and feel so helpless. Even people in the medical industry don't really seem to be on my side. These days, it's all about the money. I guess I'll just crawl to work since the wheelchair I use might not get me there. I swear. America might be becoming a third world country after all if I have to start crawling to work.

Kentucky Pie

I was on a baking frenzy this weekend. I love to bake. It produces a satisfying (and fairly quick) feeling of accomplishment in me. The problem is, it doesn't help my waist line any. This weekend, I made banana pudding and two Kentucky Pies. I had originally planned on only making one pie, but halfway through putting all the ingredients into the bowl, I realized the recipe was for two pies rather than one. LOL! For those of you who don't know what a Kentucky Pie is, it's a cross between a brownie and a pecan pie. It's so good for those of you who have a sweet tooth, and it's so incredibly easy to make! I brought one pie over to Robert's mom's house, and kept the other one. I'll probably only have a piece or two here at my house (in order to save my waistline) and then bring the rest to work. Anyway, the pie turned out really, really good! Even Robert liked it and had two huge pieces! I thought I'd pass the recipe on to all of you in case you're in a baking mood like me.

Kentucky Pie (makes 1 pie, 10 minutes prep time)

2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup of sugar
6 oz. semisweet chocolate chips, melted (I used milk chocolate chips)
1/2 cup self-rising flour
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), melted
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans (I used slightly less)
1 9 inch unbaked pie shell
Ice Cream, optional

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Combine eggs, sugar, and melted chocolate in large bowl. Add flour and mix well. Stir in remaining ingredients. Bake 30 - 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out bready and not doughy. Serve warm with ice cream. Freezes well. Enjoy!