Health Insurance Soon After One is No Longer Employed

I don't know how common this knowledge is, but I figure that I'd put this out there for anyone who isn't aware of the following. I believe that the federal government requires companies, businesses, and the like to provide insurance identical to what the employee had while still employed for a short duration. But, the former employee must pay the monthly premium on his or her own. This requirement of the employer to offer such an insurance extension is called Cobra.

This can be beneficial in situations like mine. My contract, at the university where I am currently working, ends September 1st. If I don't get rehired for the academic year, paying the premium is well worth the price, especially during that first month I am not employed. I am giving birth mid-September. Given the cost of giving birth, in terms of hospital fees and doctors' fees, paying the insurance premium and 20% of the cost of delivery will definitely be much cheaper than paying for the entire delivery out of pocket.

But, in general, people complain about Cobra being too costly. So, every individual must determine whether Cobra is the best choice.

Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)

Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is a federally funded program to help pregnant women and women with infants or children up to age five who are high-risk, in terms of income. WIC not only offers funding for food items (such as milk or formula), but also, it offers much more. To qualify for WIC, the household income cannot exceed somewhere in the neighborhood of $26,000 or $27,000. I knew several graduate students who fell into this bracket, and I think redeeming this federal aid is well worth it. Below is a link to the government web-site:

Women, Infants, and Children

Grandma's Tricks

These came from a dear friend, whose mother forwarded this to her. Thanks Manda.

Grandma's Tricks

How many of these did you know about?

A sealed envelope - Put in the freezer for a few hours, then slide a
knife under the flap. The envelope can then be resealed.
(hmmmmmm...)
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Use Empty toilet paper roll to store appliance cords. It keeps them
neat and you can write on the roll what appliance it belongs to.
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For icy door steps in freezing temperatures: get warm water and put
Dawn dishwashing liquid in it. Pour it all over the steps. They
won't refreeze. (wish I had known this for the last 40 years!)
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To remove old wax from a glass candleholder, put it in the
freezer for a few hours. Then take the candleholder out and turn it
upside down. The wax will fall out.
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Crayon marks on walls? This worked wonderfully! A damp rag,
dipped in baking soda. Comes off with little effort (elbow grease
that is!).
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Permanent marker on appliances/counter tops (like store receipt
BLUE!) rubbing alcohol on paper towel.
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Whenever I purchase a box of S.O.S Pads, I immediately take a pair
of scissors and cut each pad into halves. After years of having to
throw away rusted and unused and smelly pads, I
finally decided that this would be much more economical. Now a box
of S.O.S pads last me indefinitely! In fact, I have noticed that the
scissors get sharpened this way!
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Blood stains on clothes? Not to worry! Just pour a little hydrogen
peroxide on a cloth and proceed to wipe off every drop of blood.
Works every time! Now, where to put the body? LOL
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Use vertical strokes when washing windows outside and
horizontal for inside windows. This way you can tell which side has
the streaks. Straight vinegar will get outside windows really clean.
Don't wash windows on a sunny day.
They will dry too quickly and will probably streak.
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Spray a bit of perfume on the light
bulb in any room to create a lovely light scent in each room when the light is turned on.
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Place fabric softener sheets in dresser drawers and your clothes
will smell freshly washed for weeks to come. You can also do this
with towels and linen.
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Candles will last a lot longer if placed in the freezer for at least
3 hours prior to burning.
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To clean artificial flowers, pour some salt into a paper bag and add
the flowers. Shake vigorously as the salt will absorb all the dust
and dirt and leave your artificial flowers looking like new! Works
like a charm!
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To easily remove burnt on food from your skillet, simply add a drop
or two of dish soap and enough water to cover bottom of pan, and
bring to a boil on stove top.
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Spray your TUPPERWARE with nonstick cooking spray before
pouring in tomato based sauces and there won't be any stains.
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Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the refrigerator and it
will keep for weeks.
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When boiling corn on the cob, add a pinch of sugar to help bring out
the corn's natural sweetness.

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Cure for headaches: Take a lime, cut it in half, and rub it on
your forehead. The throbbing will go away.
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To get rid of itch from mosquito bites, try applying soap on the
area and you will experience instant relief.
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Ants, ants, ants everywhere .... Well, they are said to never cross
a chalk line. So, get your chalk out and draw a line on the floor or
wherever ants tend to march. See for yourself.
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Use air-freshener to clean mirrors. It does a good job
and better still, leaves a lovely smell to the shine.
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When you get a splinter, reach for the scotch tape before
resorting to tweezers or a needle. Simply put the scotch tape over
the splinter, and then pull it off. Scotch tape removes most
splinters painlessly and easily.
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Now look what you can do with Alka Seltzer........

Clean a toilet.
Drop in two Alka Seltzer tablets, wait twenty minutes, brush and
flush. The citric acid and effervescent action clean vitreous China.
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Clean a vase.
To remove a stain from the bottom of a glass vase or cruet, fill
with water and drop in two Alka Seltzer tablets.
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Polish jewelry.
Drop two Alka Seltzer tablets into a glass of water and immerse the
jewelry for two minutes.
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Clean a thermos bottle.
Fill the bottle with water, drop in four Alka Seltzer tablets, and
let soak for an hour (or longer, if necessary).
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Unclog a drain.
Clear the sink drain by dropping three Alka Seltzer tablets down the
drain followed by a cup of Heinz White Vinegar. Wait a few minutes,
and then run the hot water.

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Do your friends a favor. Pass this timely (and some not-so-timely)
information on to a friend! I just did.
Makes you wonder about ingesting Alka Seltzer, doesn't it?

An Alternative to Dry Cleaning

Check out Dryel. I believe it is a viable alternative to dry cleaning. Certainly some people wonder whether Dryel actually cleans the clothing. Well, I am not absolutely certain that it does. What I do know is that the clothing on which I've used Dryel has not attracted the bites of moths. I am not thoroughly convinced that all Dry Cleaners really do thoroughly clean clothing. At the very least, Dryel is worth a shot; I enjoy using it on a number of my Dry Clean only clothing.

A Tip on Dating Pictures

I'm a fanatic about writing dates and locations on the back of my pictures, because I don't like looking at pictures and having no idea when or where they were taken. With a passion in taking pictures whenever the opportunity arises, I have taken loads of pictures. I certainly cannot rely upon my memory. Here are a few tips for dating pictures:

1. Do not use regular writing utensils - such as a pencil, regular pen, Sharpie, or marker - to write on the back of pictures. Such writing utensils are not archival. What does that mean? Ultimately such utensils will eat their way through to the other side of the picture (the front side). Once that happens, the coloring on the front side might change a bit, too.

2. Write with utensils that use archival ink. An important feature about archival ink is that it is acid free. Some pens that use archival ink, unfortunately take awhile to dry. But, I've found one pen, Microperm - made by Sakura, that is quick drying and works well. A link for the US website for Sakura is below:


Sakura's GellyRoll.com

A Free Credit Report Annually - It's Federal Law

I was doing some research, and federal law mandates that the major credit reporting agencies make available a credit report to the consumer once a year for free. The major credit reporting agencies are:
1. Experian.
2. Equifax.
3. TransUnion.
Before I started doing this research, I realized that various companies give a free credit report by signing you up for some sort of credit protection. The catch is that the first month is free, and the months thereafter, you're paying for some sort of membership.

THE GOOD NEWS is that you can ask for your credit report without joining anything. In fact, you can retrieve one free credit report from each of the three companies listed above annually. The link to the web address where I got mine is below. Hope this is helpful to you out there.

AnnualCreditReport.com

Traveling with beloved Cats

I moved relatively recently. Amongst loads of other things, we were taking our 16-year old (he was 15-years old at the time) with us. For quite some time, I was quite concerned about how he would fair a 1200 mile trip that stretched over two days time.

In the end, two very important tips helped the little kitty-cat travel better:

1. Getting the cat accustomed to the cat carrier a week or two before the actual trip -

I purchased a carrier just large enough (for him to stretch out comfortably and to turn around as he pleased) a week or two before our trip. I put a little towel in the bottom of the carrier and spread cat-nip here and there on the towel. I left the front door open, so that he could check the cat carrier as he pleased.

2. Getting the cat to take the partial tranquilizer -

In the past, every attempt suggested by the VETs have failed, including tossing the partial tranquilizer (that I purchased from the VET) to the back of his throat. Not only did that seem cruel, but he managed to foam all of the medicine back up, out of his mouth.

This time around, I stopped feeding him around six or seven in the evening, the night before our travel. Then, I had my husband crush the recommended amount of the partial tranquilizer into powder form. Then, I mixed it with his favorite wet tuna treats and let it sit overnight. By morning, he was extremely hungry and any hints of the medicine were quite hint, and he ate all the tuna I gave him.


The partial tranquilizer worked very soon after he had consumed the food. And, I believe the traveling, in the end, was less traumatic for him. We put the cat carrier between the two of us, in the front of the moving van. Throughout the journey, I comforted him and spoke to him. When we stopped to get gas, I would open the top (I bought a cat carrier that opens in the front and on top) and pet him. And once, I put him on the make-shift litter box to see if he needed to go. He didn't go. The second day of our journey, he refused to eat anything, until we reached our final destination. But, he traveled just as well, despite the fact that he had taken no medicine.

Hope this helps for any of you cat-lovers, who need to take your cats on a long haul.