How to save money on Medication, Tests, and at the Vet

Saving money in 2013 is one of my resolutions for this year, but starting the year off sick has opened my eyes to the outrageous costs of medication and doctor fee's; because these costs are out the roof!!

I have watched my family members struggle to pay out-of-pocket for medication for years; and now that I am getting older I have seen first-hand how it affects my budget when me or my husband get sick.

My aunt just 65 and medicare and other insurance providers have been swamping here with mail and phone calls the past few months. Recently, she signed up with a company and with all the information that they sent to her was a prescription savings card.

She used the card (Rx Cut) at the Walmart pharmacy shortly after, just to see if it really would save her any money! (??)  Her prescription normally costs her $120 and she only payed $53... ((WOW!))  I was honestly, impressed!  And I will definitely be keeping the one she gave me because it saved me a little bit of money this week on my medication!

This  insurance card can also save us money at the vet, CT, MRI, Lab services, and other things at the hospital and/or doctor's office as well...  and best of all, it is 100% FREE to everyone!!

 **And you can print your own card right from the website, anytime!!

I hope that this information will help other's who don't have $400 to spend out-of-pocket on doctor visits and/or medication.

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For more information, check out the website or call: 

 http://www.allegiantplans.com/rx-cut/#.UOdSDm-1V5I

Phone # 1-800-808-1213

Where is Santa?

  Creation Station: Where is Santa?:  Growing up I remember asking my mom so many questions about Santa.. Curious about the magical appearance that awaited Christmas night and ...

Beautiful tribute from the Dr. Phil show

The Dr. Phil show this morning had a beautiful tribute to the Sandy Hook victims; and i thought I would share it with you all, just in case you missed it...


(Copy of the poem being read, from Dr. Phils Facebook page; just in case the video freezes too much for you to hear it)

Twas' 11 days before Christmas, around 9:38
when 20 beautiful children stormed through heaven's gate.
their smiles were contagious, their laughter filled the air.
they could hardly believe all the beauty they saw there.
they were filled with such joy, they didn't know what to say.
they remembered nothing of what had happened earlier that day.
"where are we?" asked a little girl, as quiet as a mouse.
"this is heaven." declared a small boy. "we're spending Christmas at God's house."
when what to their wondering eyes did appear,
but Jesus, their savior, the children gathered near.
He looked at them and smiled, and they smiled just the same.
then He opened His arms and He called them by name.
and in that moment was joy, that only heaven can bring
those children all flew into the arms of their King
and as they lingered in the warmth of His embrace,
one small girl turned and looked at Jesus' face.
and as if He could read all the questions she had
He gently whispered to her, "I'll take care of mom and dad."
then He looked down on earth, the world far below
He saw all of the hurt, the sorrow, and woe
then He closed His eyes and He outstretched His hand,
"Let My power and presence re-enter this land!"
"may this country be delivered from the hands of fools"
"I'm taking back my nation. I'm taking back my schools!"
then He and the children stood up without a sound.
"come now my children, let me show you around."
excitement filled the space, some skipped and some ran.
all displaying enthusiasm that only a small child can.
and i heard Him proclaim as He walked out of sight,
"in the midst of this darkness, I AM STILL THE LIGHT."

Written by Cameo Smith, Mt. Wolf, PA

Thank you for sharing this in our comments @TrinaHidalgo.

... A Beautiful Tribute!

Wrap up with the memories

  My grandma turned 94 the end of last month (and with Christmas being here) and my mom wanted to do something special for her; so, she decided to have a memory blanket made.  We searched the internet and found many places that would allow a photo to be added, even a few, but nothing like what she had envisioned.  She wanted to add photo's of the whole family, both old and new and this meant adding photo's that were over 40 years old or older. After searching high and low (so it seemed), I found a place (walmart.com) that would allow me to add up to 30 photographs to grandmas blanket.

  My Grandma suffers from alzheimer's disease and she loves looking at the photos that we all have placed on the walls by her bed, but she doesn't do well holding them because she tends to tear or ball the pictures up.   Therefore, my mom felt that a memory blanket would be a perfect gift to allow her to wrap up with her memories, keeping her warm and having the photos where she could touch them as well; and I think that it was an awesome idea!

  I was worried that the picture quality of the old photographs would be poor; so, I edited them as much as I could with Adobe Photoshop before hand; and found the best pictures possible of the entire family.  Walmart.com allows you to make memory blankets and add up to 30 photo's so I had to make sure I had everyone, but included some that might allow a memory to resurface as well; one's like my grandma and grandpa together, her daddy, pictures of her with her kids when they were small, and even one with my grandpa holding their first child.  I was hoping that adding these pictures would be special and in some way help her recall her life before the disease took over!

  I got a 60x80 Collage Fleece Blanket for $49.95, which was a pretty good deal, in my opinion. The process was pretty quick (once I had everything I wanted to include), but it uses a shuffle feature instead of allowing me to place the pictures in the order I wanted.  This aggravated me somewhat, but looking back, I am glad it didn't let me do this because I would be still working on it. ((LOL))  Once I was finished adding everything, I shuffled the pictures until I found the best look to match what my mom was going for! When I finished the order, it said that it would arrive within 7-10 days right to her door, which shocked me a little.

  Tuesday morning the memory blanket.. and I have to say... I was PLEASED!!!!  It turned out SO good!  The older pictures look like they were taken recently, and the quality is great!  All of the pictures are at least a 5x7 size; and it is perfect; my mom was more than happy with the results and is already looking forward to making another one... I just wish my grandma was in the right mind-set to enjoy all the memories wrapped up into this blanket.

  So, if you are looking for a sweet and memorable gift for a loved one this Christmas or anytime in the future, consider getting them a memory blanket; so they can wrap up with their memories and enjoy them for a lifetime!

  Believe me... It will be worth the look on their face when they open it because it is a special gift that can last a lifetime!

Here it is...

Lights for A Cause 2012

    When the Bearden's daughter Autumn was born in 2002 they decided to decorate their home with 100s of lights to make it pretty for her homecoming, never realizing that it would become what it is today!  After getting so much traffic from people admiring the lights they turned it into a way to give back!


Autumn's Lights just kicked off their 10th Annual Lights Show this past weekend and had an outcome of an estimated 1,200 people; and my family was among the crowd!
 We have taken the kids twice before when we were in the area at Christmas; however, I did not realize the story behind the lights until this year.

Autumn's Lights is a 4 acre drive thru light-show that is pretty neat to see; and the kids love it!!

...  But Best of All you can donate to help a Local Family in need at Christmas (if you'd like to)!  The Light Show is Free to drive thru anytime the month of December after dark, but if you donate a few dollars, it is greatly appreciated!!

This year Autumn's Loving Hand (the family's non-profit organization) is giving donations received from the lights show to Lucas Moore, a 9 year old local boy, who was in a horrific car accident October 16th of this year! ()

So... If you are in the Tarboro, NC area anytime this month... Drive Thru, Enjoy the Light Show, and Help a Family have a great Christmas despite the tragedy or illness that they are facing this year.. Bring a BIG SMILE to their face and yours!!

Here's a sneak peak at what you have to look forward to... :)



Autumn's Light is on Hwy 33 in Tarboro, NC if you want to stop by, but If you don't live close to Tarboro, NC and you would like to learn more or Donate to help this AWESOME cause.. visit the website at http://www.autumnslovinghand.com/index.htm

.... Hope To See Ya There! 

Are we as smart as we used to be?

Every since I become a student with a technology interest, I've researched many ways that technology has made our lives easier and what it can do for us.

Our phones store our numbers and we just pick a contact and call. Do we remember numbers like we used to? I catch myself "blank" sometimes if I have to actually dial the number.. Do you?

On GMA the other morning I briefly caught a story where they discussed a study that had been done on the decrease of intelligence in humans due to technology. Which really made me think more about this feeling that I have been having.

Our cars give us directions, talking to us the whole way almost (lol).  However, is this a good thing because sometimes this technology just does not know all the possible shortcuts... Does anyone ever read a paper Map anymore?

If we took all of the technology out of our lives, how lost would we be?  Would we figure out just how smart we truly are or realize we aren't as smart as we used to be?

When the power was out the local gas station was open, but using calculators to calculate the purchase.. I sat there as the young lady (a high school kid) struggled with calculating the taxes... I guess because the cash register had always performed this critical task for her.

Technology is awesome and a part of most of our daily duties, but have we begun to rely on it for so many things that we have forgotten how to do them ourselves?

    

Creation Station: Toys that inspire creativity

As you all know, I love to draw and be creative; and my youngest daughter has a slight spark for it as well.   Every year I try to find the most creative toys ...
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