Salads

Tonight for dinner I made salads and I was so proud of myself I thought I'd share a picture. I'm going to try to make more food from scratch in an attempt to be healthier, or at least save money. Here is the recipe I modified for dinner from Everyday Food (a little magazine/tv show that I love).....I made it for two peeps and added a hard boiled egg. I also made a little fruit salad with some fresh pineapple, blueberries and raspberries. It was super good, sorry you guys couldn't come over!

Who wants a Cherry Dilly Bar?

I do! I love Dairy Queen for one reason only and it is the Cherry Dilly Bar. This sign might be evidence of someone smart working at a Dairy Queen...

Look Mom!

It's me as Grandma Tisso, Grandma Caroline, You, and Aunt Lisa! Just kidding...it's my yearbook pictures from when I went back in time on my time machine. Isn't my hair awesome? I've also included some pics of my WAY cute boyfriend Ben.

Frustration

I'm pretty frustrated right now, and I don't think that it's going to change until the election is over. After that Frontline video in my class last week, the teacher asked us to write up a little paragraph answering the question, "Does everyone in the U.S. have a right to health care?" My answer was yes. When we got to class today the teacher wanted to discuss what everyone thought. I was so frustrated and annoyed with some of the responses from my fellow classmates/future nurses. There was talk of "illegal aliens" and "why should I pay for them", and "why should prisoners get expensive chemo-therapy", and "if someone can't work to pay for it themselves, then why should I?" I was so frustrated and if I hadn't been so exhausted (I'm super sick right now) I might have put my two cents in and probably gotten even more upset.

The fact that these future nurses were saying "No" to the question, was totally ridiculous. I would say at least half of the patients we treat every day have little to no health care, or certainly will not be able to pay their medical bills. Does that mean they don't DESERVE to be treated? Give me a freakin break! Why even go to work? Why become a nurse, when half the people don't DESERVE to be treated?! I was so disappointed to hear my fellow classmates say that not everyone deserves health care. Not only are they going to be nurses in a few short months, but those particular classmates proclaim to be Christian. I'm sure most of you know the scripture from Matthew 25:40 ".....Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

This is something I wish I had been able to quote today to some of those idiots in my class. How could anyone going in to the health care profession not want EVERYONE IN THE WORLD to get the health care they need? Maybe I'm not expressing myself very well right now, I'm sick and frustrated (as I've already mentioned) and tired, and not a very good writer, but I'm voting Democrat. I think the war is horrible and wrong, the fence they're building between the U.S. and Mexico is a waste of money, and I want reformed education and health care, and a resolution to the mortgage crisis. I do not want someone who believes in abstinence only education and has a pregnant teenage daughter, in control....that's just stupid. For those of you that are politically minded, sorry, I realize that immigration is a separate issue from health care. I'm just upset by the discussion in class today. I feel that we are all children of God and wish, at the very least, that Nurses treated everyone that way.

Universal Healthcare

Today I had my first "Trends In Nursing" class. It's like an ethics in the workplace class. It should be interesting and a nice break from memorizing medications and physiology. Today we watched this great Frontline episode on Universal Health care. "Sick Around the World" shows the health care systems in the UK, Japan, Germany, Taiwan and Switzerland and asks what America can learn about running a health care system. The answer: A LOT. On a normal day I want to go live abroad, but after discussing how stupid America is, I really REALLY want to move. We are the freakin' richest country on the planet and the dumbest. I've always wanted to live in the UK but after "Sick Around the World" I am seriously considering Germany as well. Not only do they have awesome food, but higher education is free and there is great health care. Since I won't be able to immigrate any time soon, I can't wait to vote for Obama! I hope he gets things moving around here! I wish he could make all the heath insurance companies and drug manufacturers non-profit like they are in some other countries. That would be just awesome, and maybe I'd feel better about being stuck here in America. Just in case none of you wants to check out the Frontline information, here's a little rundown of what those other countries have going on.....oh, and these are all countries that provide the same (if not better services) than here in the good ol' U.S.

	United Kingdom	Japan	Germany	Taiwan	Switzerland	U.S.
% of GDP spent on Health Care	8.3%	8%	10.7%	6.3%	11.6%	15.3%
Average Premium	NONE	$280	$750 (on a sliding scale)	$650 (per YEAR)	$750	Way too much
Co-payment	NONE	30% (on a sliding scale)	10 Euros (If you're Preggers, it's 0)	Super cheap (under 10 bucks)	10% up to $420 per year	ditto

Labor Day MOVIE REVIEW: Across the Universe and Atonement

I started school again this last week so I probably won't be blogging much at all, if ever for the next three and a half months. So, I thought I'd do a quick post before I have to get up for lecture in the morning. I hope you all had a great Labor Day weekend. Mine was alright. I spent some time shopping for charms on Ebay for my charm bracelet and I watched two movies: Across the Universe and Atonement.

I happened to love both of these movies. I don't think some of you (my conservative friends) would like them, but I did. They both made me want to live in England even more than I already do. I love the Beatles, so it wasn't a stretch that I would enjoy Across the Universe. But the music was amazing (even Ben thought so, and he is NOT a fan). I also loved the story, especially considering that it took place during my favorite era in US history (late 60's). They worked in so many details from the songs into the characters. I'm going to have to watch it again sometime because I'm sure I missed something. The actors did all the singing, and if anything, you should listen to the soundtrack. It was awesome.

Atonement was a typical horribly heartbreaking drama. I love James McAvoy and thought he was great. Keira Knightly was the best I've ever seen her. It was an adaptation of the novel by Ian McEwan, which I can't wait to read now that I've seen the movie. It was a very sad movie about how one horrible event basically changed life for everyone involved. It was a beautiful movie that mostly took place in England (hi, favorite place) during World War II. Even though it was a heart wrenching movie I thought it was great and was glad that I finally was able to watch it.