Great Barrier Reef

Jane is home sick today. It’s brutal because I had the cold she’s developed and it lingered. Yesterday was the first day in ten that I was really able to exercise and I got punchy. Now I’m home watching her sleep, snort and snuffle. Since it’s really just a cold there’s nothing I can do but watch her and simmer soup.

It’s a horrible feeling for both of us.

I’ve put a pot roast in the Crock Pot. Yes, that’s right I said Crock Pot. My friend Mike swears that mothers who love their children never use a Crock Pot and judging by the cream of mushroom recipes out there I’d inclined to agree. But I need to have this thing simmering for six hours and I can’t stay home every second with Jane and I worry less about leaving an appliance plugged in than leaving an oven turned on. Also Crock Pots are good for making soup. So I’m going goyisha and trying this contraption with something other than a chicken carcass and hoping for the best. I do have pasta available as a back up plan in case of total failure.

I need desperately to dig into the medical bills.

 

Currently Cedars is expecting $15,000 from us in just 15 days which I find fascinating since our family out of pocket maximum is $4,000 for the family for the year. Of course it was easy to get a verbal “oops” from the kids at Cedars but I’m still looking to get that in writing. Of course I want to mark this as a rant pending on the state of healthcare and the ridiculousness of charging $36,000 for an outpatient surgery that the insurance will cover for $5,000.

At the same moment I’m planning a couple of trips. I’m off to Australia to speak at the Healthivate Conference in March but it would be unthinkable to travel half way around the globe and not see the Great Barrier Reef so I’m planning a side trip to Cairns and seeking out a small liveaboard vessel. Of course that means I need to SCUBA dive and I’ve never done that. It’s a good thing I live near the ocean because I see a PADI certification class in my future.

I also see begging in my future. This looks like an expensive hobby.

Can you recommend a liveaboard around Cairns? The stories look alternately glorious and horrific with tales of unmatched beauty and overstuffed quarters. Of course the thing I’ve decided to worry about is the fact that I’ll need to read a book (the kind with paper and pages) instead of my Nook.

I’m also planning my return to the Amelia Island, only this time I’m bringing two 11 year old boys with me. Wish me luck.