Lori Alexander 50: Making an Idol of Herself

[klein_roeschen]

@louisa05, @Alisamer and @Sarah92 everytime I read stories like yours I want to kiss my insurance card and thank whatever deity and chancellor Bismarck for public healthcare here. Years ago during professional school I wasn't able to pay the insurance (a measly 75 € per month), but by law I was insured and didn't lost it. And was able to pay the small dept. I can't even imagine to live without healtcare. Here some people are getting into a fit when they have to pay 10 € of copay for a med.

@HoneyBunny Here in germany you get something similiar called "Kindergeld" as part of the deductible for children. It start's at round about 200 € for the first child and got raised for the second and third. And alot of people are against a raise, because they are against that people on welfare are getting a handfull of € more per month. And here the far right is with the AfD also rising, it is disgusting. Personal anectote: Until yesterday afternoon, I met some other dogowners for a walk, the doggies liked each other and where happy. But then they talked about the ship "Lifeline" with over 200 refugees on board and no country allowing them get on shore. And they openly said that the best solution where to sink that ship with all people on board, to get rid of that problem and to send a signal to the people desperate in north africa to cross the mediteranean sea. They where so against these refugees that they would be ok with them to drowning to death. I was to shocked to reply.

[louisa05]

46 minutes ago, Chocolatedefrauded said:

Without outing myself, I would like to urge anyone with cancer in the US to call their state health department, insurance dept and cancer support groups. There can be special programs to get people treatment even if they have no insurance. No one should skip cancer treatment because they have no insurance! You have to do research but there can be assistance if you look in the right places. (My state has a cancer treatment program.)

I help people dealing with various medical crises every day. This is one reason I know my working has an impact on the world. But since Lori thinks people cause their own cancer or something stupid like that, she would still hate me working cause I have a child.

If you know someone facing this issue, offer to help by making calls to get them info on programs or filling out applications. It takes energy & persistence but you could help save them pain & avoidable death.

The cancer center where my dad was treated did a great job with financial counseling and help to find assistance as needed. Their community also has an ACS Nurse Navigator available who had access to resources for help with legal, financial and insurance issues. My parents were financially stable and able to pay the out of pocket costs just fine (in an uneventful month, it was around $600; months with hospitalizations or scans cost more than that) . My dad was also on Medicare which eliminated the worry of losing coverage. 

My mother's cousin's illness was many years ago. As for the people on the forums that I saw, some had exhausted available resources and there were often people struggling with even paying for basic needs. That type of cancer qualifies for disability immediately on diagnosis, but it takes months for that to be approved. And a full time caregiver is often necessary which means that some member of the family is unable to work. Another issue in our country is that many, many people lose employment or are unable to work due to the demands of caregiving particularly for aging or seriously ill parents. I met many people during the time I was barely working due to caregiving--all women, of course--who had given up jobs due to the demands and most could not find a job in their field again after the parent passed. I was also fascinated by the general disrespect and disregard given to women who are in that position. 

[Sarah92]

Healthy food is often more expensive. I get the all natural peanut butter without sugar added and it's always more expensive and often in smaller jars. Same with the all natural cereal I buy, often much smaller bags. I feed only myself so I can afford to spend extra on something that's gonna last me a while. Same with the organic milk I buy, which stays good much longer and I have time to drink it without waste. But parents on a budget trying to feed kids? Forget about it. Cheaper and more bulk is often the way to go for them. And if they live in a good desert then forget about lots of veggies. For a while a gallon of regular milk was like 88 cents where I'm at. Which family in their right mind is gonna pass up a .88 gallon for a 3.00 half gallon of organic milk? Same with eggs which were very cheap.  I doubt the organic eggs sold as well when you could get five dozen for 1.25

[Curious]

5 hours ago, Loveday said:

On yesterday's 'Families Can't Make It on One Income" post, Sarah comments:

She's been struggling mightily to get the leg-humpers to understand this, but to no avail, as evidenced by Lindy's reply to her:

There you have it. If you can't afford medical expenses on one income, just die already.

I'm surprised we haven't all drowned in Jesus's tears by now. 

Lindy has obviously lived a life that has not been hit by a medical catastrophe.  She better hope that luck holds out with her metric fuckton of children.  I guarantee you no mother that truly loves their child is going to let that child die because they lack insurance and God isn't coming through.

I guess I should have just become a paraplegic (my dx is partial paraplegia) when my spine started going to hell and I didn't have insurance.  I guess that *might* have stopped the chronic pain, but I'm not actually sure if you still have pain with fully paralyzed.

People like her drive me crazy.  She's lived a charmed life so far, but most people in the US are one big medical catastrophe from bankruptcy.   We used to have a decent amount of disposable income and some savings.  After my 2 years in and out of hospitals/snf we now live paycheck to paycheck and it's really not much fun     If we happen to have something else big happen we are probably headed to bankruptcy (and we have really good insurance!)

[pandorasjen]

Has anyone else noticed that the great purging of comments on Facebook has begun? I commented on a comment on the spanking post but those comments are gone. Yesterday the breastfeeding post had more than 1000 comments. Now it has 800. 

[Frumper]

I wonder if Lindy has thought about the fact that a lot of serious health conditions wouldn't kill her, but they might leave her too sick to take care of her home, children, and headship.  Then what?   What's the point of staying home with your kids if you have a condition that leaves you unable to care for them?

[EowynW]

88 cent milk royally screws over the dairy farmers though. This country is so complicated! 

[squiddysquid]

Are food groups a thing in the US? A bunch of private people buying from local farmers? Some of them are quasi-organic but are too small to afford the licence. Cut out the middle man, fair prices for farmers, cheap organic produce for the food group.

[Hane]

Just now, squiddysquid said:

Are food groups a thing in the US? A bunch of private people buying from local farmers? Some of them are quasi-organic but are too small to afford the licence. Cut out the middle man, fair prices for farmers, cheap organic produce for the food group.

We have things called CSAs (community-supported agriculture). You sign up for a weekly shipment of seasonal fresh produce from a local farm. Some even throw in cut flowers or herbs. If I weren’t a one-person household, I’d join my local one like a shot!

[EowynW]

9 minutes ago, squiddysquid said:

Are food groups a thing in the US? A bunch of private people buying from local farmers? Some of them are quasi-organic but are too small to afford the licence. Cut out the middle man, fair prices for farmers, cheap organic produce for the food group.

Like a CSA. Yes. There is one in my area. 

[usmcmom]

15 minutes ago, Hane said:

We have things called CSAs (community-supported agriculture). You sign up for a weekly shipment of seasonal fresh produce from a local farm. Some even throw in cut flowers or herbs. If I weren’t a one-person household, I’d join my local one like a shot!

Maybe a CSA near you allows you to buy partial shares. When our kids were little, we joined a CSA and requested a half share because we knew our family would not eat the produce quickly enough. It was just enough for us at the time. Or perhaps a friend would split one with you. Just a couple of thoughts. They are fun and very interesting to see all the varieties of different produce. 

[Hane]

@usmcmom, that’s the problem: I can’t find anyone who’ll commit to sharing one with me.

[SweetLaurel]

25 minutes ago, Hane said:

We have things called CSAs (community-supported agriculture). You sign up for a weekly shipment of seasonal fresh produce from a local farm. Some even throw in cut flowers or herbs. If I weren’t a one-person household, I’d join my local one like a shot!

I am a single household - signed up for  half a box - it is still too much, but we have a table at church we all leave our summer produce on,  what doesn't get shared, gets donated to the food pantry.   I love it - it is so interesting, mine gives out recipes and tips on storage and things too.    Of course I live in the Midwest where, in a few months.  no one will dare leave their car doors unlocked for fear of dozens of zucchini in the back seat when you get back....

[EowynW]

31 minutes ago, SweetLaurel said:

I am a single household - signed up for  half a box - it is still too much, but we have a table at church we all leave our summer produce on,  what doesn't get shared, gets donated to the food pantry.   I love it - it is so interesting, mine gives out recipes and tips on storage and things too.    Of course I live in the Midwest where, in a few months.  no one will dare leave their car doors unlocked for fear of dozens of zucchini in the back seat when you get back....

Last year I was drowning in those things. This year I have gotten exactly FOUR. I'm having a lot of pollination issues this year. No bees.

[AliceInFundyland]

My mommy is getting her second knee replaced today. It's miraculously covered through Medicare. Yay. Her home is paid for. Yay.  But she can't work for July. She doesn't have steady income.  I had this conversation yesterday where I was like, "Are all your bills covered for the month? Do you have air conditioning? Can you eat?" Thank God she seems to have it in hand. I'm still paying off my surgery debt from last year. I'm worried about the surgery I have to have when I am 40 and the teeth that are going to fall out of my mouth soon I wish I could help her. My brother can't really either. The US is so fucked.

[Loveday]

1 hour ago, SweetLaurel said:

I am a single household - signed up for  half a box - it is still too much, but we have a table at church we all leave our summer produce on,  what doesn't get shared, gets donated to the food pantry.   I love it - it is so interesting, mine gives out recipes and tips on storage and things too.    Of course I live in the Midwest where, in a few months.  no one will dare leave their car doors unlocked for fear of dozens of zucchini in the back seat when you get back....

I can't stop laughing. 

[zeebaneighba]

20 hours ago, Briefly said:

I had something similar when my mom passed.  We knew it was coming and I was unable to go back but I did talk to her on the phone and the last thing we said to each other was I Love You. 

This is why every time I communicate with my mom, the last thing I say is I love you. Every email, every IM, every phone call.

[EowynW]

Shit is getting real. 

[DangerNoodle]

Did anyone see this meme that's been going around Facebook about Lori Alexander? This was shared in Real Mommy Life. I got into it with a girl who claimed we shouldn't "disparage" her beliefs. Why not- she disparages secular beliefs? Don't dish it out if you can't take it.

[Coconut Flan]

4 minutes ago, DangerNoodle said:

Did anyone see this meme that's been going around Facebook about Lori Alexander? This was shared in Real Mommy Life. I got into it with a girl who claimed we shouldn't "disparage" her beliefs. Why not- she disparages secular beliefs? Don't dish it out if you can't take it.

 

[Frog99]

On 6/27/2018 at 5:02 PM, CelticGoddess said:

I feel like I'm the weird man out, I have no desire to go to NO.  I want to go back to Chicago so bad (I was raised in the 'burbs).  
 

My 9 year old read a book about the Chicago Fire a couple of years ago and a trip there is on his bucket list. 

On 6/27/2018 at 6:39 PM, Sarah92 said:

so because we're talking about traveling. If you could go on an all expense paid trip where would you go? I personally really want to see Southern Ireland as I thought Northern Ireland was beautiful. Or Scotland. Or maybe back to Wales. 

It would be so hard to pick- there are states I still want to see, but so many countries- almost all of them. My 9 year old lives hippos and rhinos, and my 11 year old loves giraffes and elephants, so an African safari would be on the list. DH wants to go to Bora Bora. It would be hard to choose- I love to travel. 

22 hours ago, ChickenettiLuvr said:

Unlimited travel budget? Well today ... 

A visiting pass to Heaven. My dad died last night. And although I moved heaven and earth to try to get there to say goodbye, I didn't make it.

My heart hurts. Badly. 

I’m so sorry for your loss. 

8 hours ago, Alisamer said:

Water isn't even free. You either pay for city water, pay for electricity to run a water pump, or hand pump it yourself which costs time and energy. 

 

I was thinking that when I saw the suggestion to drink water because it’s free- we pay $375 every three months for our water/sewer. We still drink mostly water but it’s definitely not free. And what about people in places like Flint?

5 hours ago, Jessesgirl25 said:

Lori thinks the cost of living is still in the Stone Age when she raised kids. An old hen perched high atop her roost, cackling. Bleh. 

I saw an old blog post where she defines the ghetto as a place where young families are just starting or older folks are downsizing. Ummm- not where I live lol. She’s so completely unaware of her privilege. It’s disgusting. 

 

@SweetLaurel you can give me all of the zucchini!! I would love to find a backseat full- I eat  roasted zucchini and brussel sprouts almost every day. 

[Lgirlrocks]

Lindy, do you know how god can provide for you if someone in your family had major medical expenses? A job. When my dad got sick and couldn’t work anymore god provided my mom with a full time Monday through Friday job which allowed her to be able to keep her part time weekend job so we could have food and water. No one was going to pay so my mom, who is able boddied, could stay home during the week. No god works that way. We should never expect anyone to pay our way so we can be lazy. Not if both you and your husband are physically incapable of working that is a different story. 

[Briefly]

20 hours ago, louisa05 said:

We are very lucky that we had help with a down payment for the house. And my mom pays me for the stuff I do for her. She is financially able to and I don't feel guilty about it. As a sub, every day I am there to help her doing the school year is a day that I don't work. That cash basically buys our food. If I didn't work at all, we could not pay the utilities or the unexpected expenses. We had to put in a new furnace last December. I paid that off out of my income. I pay most of the vehicle repairs that Mr. 05 cannot do himself. I pay most of the extra medical bills and buy all the OTC meds, personal hygiene stuff and such for both of us. My income pays for all of my personal needs as well and most extras like the occasional concert, play or movie (Usually once a year or less events for us. I used to be a drama teacher, though, and like to catch shows especially, but a lot of those are community theatre or even the local high school which are cheaper than professional touring productions, and we take advantage of the local free Shakespeare festival every summer). Without me working, the electricity would be off just for starters and at the beginning of each summer, I put enough in savings to pay those bills until the fall (I add to that during the school year when possible, too, this year the furnace made that a bit harder, but a seven week job to end the school year covered us). 

And, yeah, dinner is typically less than an hour's work even when I am home all day. Tonight was still less than an hour even with going out and picking the lettuce, onions and cucumber when I got home and having to clean them a bit more than store bought produce. 

It is hard to make it on one salary, we've been a one-earner family since 2 years ago when Mr. Briefly was laid off.  Fortunately, there was a buy-out offer and he got a little $ out of that plus because he worked at a school district, we were able to take out the money he'd put into the teacher's retirement system - he was not a teacher, but it was open to all.  He has managed to get our part-time, home based business to where it brings in some income somewhat regularly, but not that much.  We had a 15 year mortgage with about 5 years left on it, but had a hefty payment to go with it.  We refinanced and now have 29 years left but at least the payments are affordable.  There are not a lot of extras but occasionally, I can scrimp out a bit so we can go eat or get fast food.  It's tough, but we are making it.  I do not complain, I know that there are a lot of people who are worse off than we are.  You sound like you are an amazing manager of your situation!  

[Curious]

7 hours ago, Alisamer said:

There's literally 0 chance I could be pregnant, but they'll make me pee in a cup and test it, and I'll have to pay for that test

This happens to me all the time.  I have found that some places there is a waiver you can sign that lets you skip the pee test.  That's what I try to do because why have a test you absolutely don't need.  You might talk to them, explain why there is 0 chance of pregnancy and see if you can sign a waiver. 

[Chocolatedefrauded]

22 minutes ago, Curious said:

This happens to me all the time.  I have found that some places there is a waiver you can sign that lets you skip the pee test.  That's what I try to do because why have a test you absolutely don't need.  You might talk to them, explain why there is 0 chance of pregnancy and see if you can sign a waiver. 

Last time i got an x-ray, at 53 years old, I tried to get out of the pee test. The tech told me it is required until a woman hits 55. Maybe other states are different....but I found it annoying.