This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Walgreens for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
The burden of keeping up with medical and prescription payments, making sure that medical insurance is covering our costs properly, and finding the best deals on prescriptions is something that I and many of us work through and struggle with, especially as years go by and the number of physical ailments increase.
I'm thankful that I have a husband who works and through him we have medical insurance. I spend my time working at home and keeping up with our bills and paperwork, seeking out the best deals, and managing our finances. One day he will retire, or no longer be able to work, and we'll join many who have to find the best deals possible on their medications.
One store that is doing their part to help it's customers with this is Walgreens. Recently Walgreens tried to work out a deal to have their contract with Express Scripts renewed, so that Walgreens would still be part of their Pharmacy Providers Network. Walgreens and Express Scripts are no longer working together because the contract was not renewed. This put a burden on customers who have been saving through the program, causing many to have to find alternatives elsewhere…but a solution has been found.
To help these individuals, and provide a service to new customers, you can now join a Prescription Savings Club at Walgreens. It only costs $5 for an individual, and $10 for a family, which includes dependents up to 22 years of age and even pet prescriptions. You save on over 8000 name brand prescriptions, and on all generic prescriptions. Sign up this month if you need help with prescription costs, it's a great way to start the year.
My daughter has a terrible fear of spiders, so I don’t think she would be very impressed by New Jersey native Rocky Fiore, a man who has found a way to collect beautiful spider webs and turn them into works of art, but I was. I was intrigued when I came across a headline in the news during the late summer about this, and decided to do a little exploring.
Rocky’s website, Whirled Wide Webs provides more information about what he is doing, as does the video below. For him, it is a form or art, and a source of income. He shares at his site that he gathered over 2000 specimens IN A YEAR that became works of art. Though others have tried to imitate his spider web art, it’s not an easy thing to do what he has mastered and made his trade.
This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of LG DoublePlay™ for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
As I look out the window of our rural New Jersey home, I can almost make out the closest cell tower through the trees in the forest across from us. I remember all the controversy when they first proposed putting in the cell tower. At that time I owned my first cell phone…an early model…a “brick” as they are fondly called because of the shape, so I didn’t have any qualms about a cell tower being installed closer to my home, if done right. Time has passed, and all those who complained are now benefiting from that cell tower. So it is with progress.
Speaking of progress, as a baby boomer, one who has used a cell phone for years, I’m still not adept at using the newer smart phones and need to learn from my daughter and son. Though I can access the internet with my cell phone, I do not yet have a smart phone…I joke and call mine a “dumb phone”.
But I do wonder whether my son and daughter have seen the new phone that has not one, but two touch screens to work from…the LG DoublePlay™, you can be browsing and shopping on one while you text on the other. It has a great camera and video recorder…you can take your picture or video and have it up on Facebook or sent wherever you wish in a few short minutes. The split QWERTY keyboard and split screens give this phone such a unique look, yet it closes down and becomes quite compact. This special phone is only available at T-Mobile.
My, everything has gotten so fast! It is hard for me to keep up, but then again, you can accomplish so much more. I’ve been text messaging for a bit over a year now, didn’t used to like it, but now can’t live without it. I’m managing to do at least a couple hundred messages a month…how about you? Let me know, is 200 a month a lot or not? Do you do much social networking on your phone? I have a tablet with the Android OS, but not a phone with it yet like the LG. This baby boomer has some catching up to do!
The pain of loosing loved ones is more acute during the holiday season, and I’m reminded of this when reading an article about a New Jersey soldier who lost his life in Afghanistan. I was actually first made aware of this through my daughter’s post on Facebook, she is a good friend to Nicole, the woman interviewed in the article the above link leads to. Nicole was a classmate and close friend to Ron Wildrick. Ron left behind 2 children and a family that will feel pain that is hard to bear. We pray for his family and those who loved him, there are not words enough to bring the comfort that can only come with time and a lot of healing.
As a Baby Boomer, there have been so very many friends who have lost parents during this season…more than in years past. It seems like a new report comes each week…one friend lost both of her parents within a month of each other.
Time does heal the most painful part of loss like this…I am not sure I can speak for the mother and wife of one who has lost a son-husband, but I can speak as a daughter who has lost her father. It has been 6 years…he passed away just before the holiday season began. I can honestly say that though there is an occasional tear, the gut-wrenching pain has subsided, and mostly it is a memory, a smile, a peaceful feeling.
I write about loss during the Christmas and holiday season not to be depressing, but because it is real, yet it doesn’t change the meaning of the season. It just changes the expectations which we place on what we think the season should be.
May the God of all comfort bring peace and comfort to those who are hurting.
This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Straight Talk for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
I have been reading about different phone services, as you know, always trying to save money during lean times in our home. Often the companies will say that their services are low priced so they are great for children and young adults just starting out that can't afford some of the services that require a contracts that are available. As a baby boomer, headed to what my parents used to call a "second childhood" (I'm just beginning to understand what they mean by that) I'd say this type of service would be great for older Americans too. We're retiring, on fixed incomes, and not ready to fall, "Hook, line and sinker " as they say for just any phone service.
Now one thing that my "young adult" children have that I don't have is an Android phone. The service I have is economically priced, but it would really be fun…in my "second childhood" to have an Android…and I'm finding that you CAN have an Android on Straight Talk …a reasonably priced service that offers refurbished phones for VERY reasonable prices. You can get 1000 minutes talk time, 1000 texts and 10MB web data with the "All You Need" plan or spend $45 for unlimited plan. You can Call a friend or a lot of friends and talk as long as you like, or text as much as you like for a low price and no contract.
It is making me feel like a kid again to think of the possibilities!
Hurricane Irene and the storms that have followed have been devastating for many of us in New Jersey, and for many in the States in the Northeast that surround us. It seems to be never-ending!
Our home is not in a flood zone, we are victims of poorly designed drainage when a new road was put in. We have been fighting battles against water coming into our home more times than I like to think this past Spring and Summer…most recently with Irene. Many years ago, water naturally passed by the property on each side and found it’s way to the lake if too much came from the woodlands across the street from us. When a new road was put in a year or so before we moved in, the “brilliant” design was to have water come across the road directly toward our driveway under the road, then make a right angle turn to go down the road a bit, then a pipe was put in to carry the water to the lake in back of our home. When there is a spring thaw then a LOT of rain, or a Hurricane, or just a lot of rain in general, this is not adequate, and the water finds it’s way down our driveway, down the steps to the walkway to our house, and would come in the front door if my husband, who now has heart troubles, and son, did not set up sandbags to divert it, and seal a board into the door frame to keep standing water out. That’s exactly how things are as I type this, because we are tired of setting it up over and over again. We’re leaving it this way until the Town does the “promised” fix, or until the many tropical depressions and storms racked up in the Atlantic pass.
In spite of all the difficulty we are facing, we know others who are experiencing much much more, they have lost their homes, or all of their possessions in the basement and on first floor. Some have homes that are no longer habitable. My sister had to be evacuated from her home, water filled the basement. As much as we are thankful that things aren’t worse, cleanup is tedious, tiresome, and frankly depressing. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those who have been through so much more than we have.
This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of TracFone for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
Our contract ran out with a cell phone service that we have used for about 6 years. Every couple of years we would qualify for another "free" cell phone if we signed up for another 2 years of what we now know was expensive service. We aren't into all the bells and whistles that come with many of the new smart phones…we like some bells and whistles, just not as many as we see in phones like our daughter and son have.
The last time when our contract ran out, we explored a few lower priced, no contract cell phone services. I looked into the TracFone and read reviews by real TracFone customers to learn as much as I could. There is nothing like reading the experiences of others to help you in making your decision. I like the track phone a lot. It has several different pay-as-you-go plans to suit your needs in a range of prices starting as low as $10 for the person who does not use there phone heavily, and on up depending upon your need. There are not contracts or activation fees, and no penalties if you stop your service early. There are so many features with the TraFone…you can get phones that have a QWERTY keyboard for easy texting, an mp3 player, camera, web access, ability to use apps and so much more.
I can't think of anything that would keep a person from trying this phone…you can buy your pay-as-you-go minutes online or at many stores. The only hindrance may be if there isn't coverage in your area, but they do cover a LOT of area, visit the links for information and to see if this is covered in your area.
EXTREME heat is the weather news of the day, and New Jersey is feeling the heat. It’s getting close to 2 pm and my outdoor thermometer is reading 98 degrees…I’m quite sure we’ll hit 100 today, it’s already there in New York. Last night there was no relief during the night to allow turning off the air conditioners, and opening the windows.
I was wondering what I’d do if the power went down, and where the closest New Jersey cooling centers might be. Here are some links that may help you if you are doing the same:
Stay cool, stay safe. Know the warning signs of heat stroke
Drink more than the usual suggested amount of water, avoid strenuous activity, and take frequent breaks in as cool a location as possible if you must be outdoors.
Photo by cesarcabrera used under Creative Commons License.
