Hi

Well, Greg made it back alive. He won't be blogging for a few weeks so here's a sneak peak to his Mt. Rainier post. He's jumping over a deep crevasse.

He said it was much more intense than he had anticipated. At one point he told the group that he didn't care if he made it up the mountain, that he just wanted to make it home to his family. When he told me this I was really shocked. If I knew these thoughts would be entering his mind (and thoughts strong enough to say them aloud) I never would have let him go. Now he says, "On the climb down I realized that it wasn't quite as dangerous as I had originally thought. It seemed a lot more intense on the climb up since I had never done anything like this before. However, on the climb down I had a lot more confidence in our team and gear. If I would've fallen in a crevasse, they would have been able to pull me out. If I slipped and started sliding down the mountain face I would have been able to stop myself. Even if something did go really wrong, SOMEONE COULD CLIMB DOWN THE MOUNTAIN AND GET HELP AND A HELICOPTER WOULD COME." Oh, ok Greg. So you would just hang by a rope inside some ice for a whole night while a medivac comes and gets you! Brother. So safe. After he said that, I told him to hold on to the fear, that it keeps him alive. One of his cousins, Ben, had a migraine and started to go crazy on top (that can happen with high elevation), another cousin had pain in his knees the whole time, and another had to divvy up his belongings to everyone else to keep up! They all made it back with all their limbs and I'm very happy. I'm also very happy he said that he won't do anything this dangerous again. Phew! However, since he IS still alive, he said it was an incredible experience and one of those life changing moments. It was quite a mixed feeling while he was telling me about it. A "I'm so glad you went and had such a life changing experience!" versus "HOLY CRAP!!! I'M SO MAD! YOU ARE NEVER DOING THIS AGAIN!!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DID THIS!!!!" His face is burnt to a crisp. I mean really discolored, sort of black lips, and just crusty-not human feeling at all. It's been a few days and he's looking better. Oh yeah, and blisters all along his top lip and right under his nose. Disgusting. I love him.

Well, I spent a week with my sister and now I'm at Pat and Randy's for awhile. We're just kinda wingin' everything right now, and I've gotta say I LIKE not having a schedule! It's nice! I've been going through Pat and Randy's house, attempting to organize it. Each dresser, cupboard and closet has a frightening amount of chaos inside. I've gotten a lot done, but there is so much more to be done. If I think about it, I get overwhelmed. I just need to chip away, one cupboard at a time. They're not here, and didn't really ask me to do this, so sometimes the thought enters my head, "I hope they don't mind me rummaging thru their stuff."

Last night I was really mad because we got DENIED HEALTH INSURANCE!!! What the freakin' heck? I am a healthy individual. So much that I'm going to tell you my ENTIRE health history, and YOU tell me why they can't cover me. I have ecsema (which is treated with a $9 bottle of medicated cream that lasts all year, and they don't ever pay for it, I do), I had asthma for a year that required an inhaler, but that's also been OVER for a year. It's GONE. I had a miscarriage. I went in to a chiropractor for an adjustment ONCE for lower back pain. Greg had his lower back adjusted ONCE- that is ALL that is on his medical history. So give me a break, I have NO idea why HE isn't covered. He actually IS really healthy. I'm ranting about this because they said it was our "medical history" that got us rejected. I'm sorry. I know I have things wrong with me, but I don't think it's OUTRAGEOUS. So what, are they just covering people that are fit as a fiddle, if that's the case, why would they have benefits at all? I know that's the IDEA, to suck money away from people for NOTHING, but c'mon. They won't cover someone that has actually USED their benefits? The benefits they OFFER? 'Cause I kinda thought that was the point. I guess you just have to be healthy and not use their benefits. It's a freakin' joke. I frequented that phrase a LOT last night. So now I have to WAIT to get pregnant AGAIN and I've really been counting down the days. So I guess I get to apply to the ONE other company in Oregon and WAIT AGAIN to see if we are approved. I guess it doesn't matter, either way we're getting pregnant. I just have to wait, incase Regence WILL cover us. And if they don't, I guess there's nothing more we can do and we'll just get pregnant on our dime. And I suppose if something REALLY bad happens, it will have to be on the government's dime! We've really been left with no choice. I'm just a little peeved that we got REJECTED!!!!! There are a LOT of people that have a LOT more health problems than I do and are a lot LESS financially stable. Which brings me to . . .

Health Care. I am ALL FOR socialized medicine. I admit, I do not know every detail and I do not know everything. Before I even GOT rejected, I've been watching Health Insurance Companies spiral out of control, limiting more and more coverage while getting more and more expensive. I'm not just saying this 'cause I've heard others say it. I'm self-employed and have been paying out of pocket for my health insurance since I was 19 (and my husband's the last 4 years) and each year I get some letter where they've raised my premium and raised my co-payment, while lowering what they actually cover. And I'm sorry- I've had this argument MANY times, but I DO care about the smaller percentage. People keep saying, "There's only 5% of people w/o health insurance (or whatever that number is)". Yeah, that might seem small, but that number is bigger when you realize it's 5% of millions of people. That's A LOT. And yeah, people take advantage of the system and it makes me MAD. But I'm willing to give in to those stupid people, to be there for the ones who really need it. It's easy to feel detached from the 5% if it doesn't involve you. But in that 5% are REAL PEOPLE with REAL PROBLEMS and I don't think that's something we should ignore. Ok, I've said enough. Oh yeah, and THE BEST and CHEAPEST medical service I've EVER experienced in my 27 years was in Brussels,Belgium, which is SOCIALIZED MEDICINE!!!!!!

We saw Harry Potter last night and it was AWESOME!!!!!! I LOVED it!!!! Oh man, I had forgotten about so much. That last scene in the cave . . . shudder. I knew it would be intense. I could hardly read that scene in the book. The whole time while reading I thought, "This is going to be terrible to watch. I can't imagine." I nearly jumped out of my seat. Malfoy did so good! I was so glad he was in the movie. I've always felt he was left out in the others. He plays such a role in the books. That was another thing. So many characters are slowly dying from the movies. There's just not enough time to include more than a couple words from each of them. It's sad. I can't WAIT for the next one!!!!! The last one!!!!