Here's to Julie & Julia

I recently saw the movie Julie & Julia with Meryl Streep and loved it. It made me want to get back in the kitchen and start cooking again. In the early 1990s, I would have a dinner party every week. The only problem was that when I would cut onions, I had to wear a snorkel to fend off the fumes. One evening I was called to the table by my guests while I was still wearing my snorkel. As a gag, I decided to leave it on for the rest of the dinner. Prosit!

How do you get an elephant off your back!

I just got my medical bills for some routine check-ups. I recently changed my insurance to a PPO that was supposed to be a better plan. To my utter shock, the bills were over $10,000 and my insurance only paid 10 percent! This means I'll have to get on the phone with the PPO and dispute the billing. If this was a movie, it would be Erin Brockovich meets Sicko. I can certainly see why so many people are angry about healthcare in America. Either they don't have insurance or they are paying extremely high premiums and still have to fork over enormous out of pocket payments. I am feeling first hand the sting of the healthcare crisis and feel completely betrayed. More and more, I am turning to alternative medicine, herbs and other natural treatments.
I get more hands-on care from the practitioners and it costs me less money. I can see why all the movie stars have a second home in France!

Here Comes the Judge

There is some speculation that Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, a staunch liberal, will retire next year. Stevens, who is 89, was appointed by President Gerald Ford in 1975 and is the second-oldest justice in the court's history after Oliver Wendell Holmes. If Stevens does step down, President Barack Obama will have his second high court opening in two years. Obama chose Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who is considered more of a moderate, for the court when Justice David Souter announced his retirement in May. My husband thinks the President should appoint me to replace Stevens, because I'm just what this country needs - a good Polish liberal!