Beaujolais Nouveau

I go back and forth on whether to organize an activity for the Beaujolais Nouveau every year.  We haven't done anything for the last few years. 

We had several ideas for this year's event.  Our tennis club hosts an event every year.  We made reservations.  It sounded like a lot of fun when we made the reservations.  We've been to this event before and it was fun, festive and interesting. 

But, it is cold, raining and dark today.  We cancelled the plan to go to the club, it is too far.  We then decided to go to another place, a neighborhood cafe.  As the afternoon progressed, the rain, the cold, the darkness.  We are home for the night.  I went to the local G20 and bought a bottle of 2013 Beaujolais Nouveau which is chilling a bit to take the "edge" off the taste. 

Not exactly the most exciting event, but we are celebrating. 

Affordable Care Act -- Not For Me It's Not (affordable)

I just heard from our insurance agent that we have to change the renewal date on our health insurance plans from August to December.  This will give us a pause, a breather, before the policy price is increased by 30-50%.  The kicker is that immediately we have to pay about $100 more, but in the long run, this will save a bit of money.

It just postpones the inevitable 30-50% increase that will now come in December, 2014 vs. August, 2014. 

Certainly it's great that the 40 million uninsured Americans will now be able to be insured.  Many of them will be subsidized by the government if they fall below a certain income level.  But, with an increase of 30-50% I think that I will be subsidizing the rest.

I'm OK with paying taxes and I'm OK with the taxes paying for healthcare for the elderly, the disabled, the poor.  But, I'm not OK with also paying a for-profit company more than my fair share.  They will be making up for the price of the low-end policy that is subsidized by OBAMACARE by increasing my payment. 

This isn't good for anyone.  I object to this and I am stuck because I need health insurance.  This is really a poor solution. 

Chloe The Princess (snoring pug)

Can one be a princess and snore at the same time.  Yes!  Chloe is the example.

Here she is, alert as usual. No snores now!

But, we've all heard it.  Yes, she snores.  She also purrs.  Like a cat.  These are normal sounds for a pug, but sounds rarely emitted by a princess. 

She thinks she is a princess.  She acts like a princess.  We are at her beck and call.  We all jump when she needs to go out, if she does her "business", she gets a treat.  If she doesn't ,  she gets a treat anyway.  Just for "sit"ting...  Life is good in the kingdom where Chloe lives.