Saving my husband's wool coat...

On Christmas Eve, someone accidentally dripped candle wax all down the side of my husband's wool coat.  We realized it as we walked out of our church's candlelight service.  When we got home, my husband looked up on the internet what could be done.  We found a solution!

So, early on Christmas morning while my family still slept, I took the coat into the kitchen.

First, I scratched off the excess wax with my fingernail.

Second, I flattened the sleeve out.  Online, it had said to put a paper towel inside the sleeve under the coat, but I didn't need that.

Third, I took a small piece of paper towel about 4" x 4" folded in half and found a serving spoon.

Fourth, I turned on the stove (we have a gas stove) and held the spoon over the flame with a pot holder on my hand.

Fifth, I placed the paper towel over the spot of wax on the sleeve that I wanted to remove and then rubbed the spoon over the paper towel.  The paper towel absorbed the wax!

Since there were so many lines of wax on the sleeve (10-15), it took a little bit of time, but not more than 15 minutes or so.  I had to reheat the spoon after about every 2 lines.  I had to be sure to move the placement of the paper towel so it would absorb the wax into a new spot on the towel.

I am amazed and so thankful that this trick worked so easily!  My husband was able to wear the coat that he loves to church yesterday morning and stay warm.

Yahoo!

Bring a Leather Purse Back to Life

I suppose that's a boring title for a post.  But, that's really what I want to write about!  This weekend we went to NYC and I took my brown leather Coach purse that I've had for several years.  I like it a lot--it's just a little small.  I wanted a new purse, but reconsidered.  I had two problems.  1.  My wallet is too big for it and 2.  The corners and sides of the purse really show their wear.

So, I started looking.  A friend of mine had her credit card swiped by a card reader when she was in a crowd traveling in Europe last year, so I knew I wanted an RFID wallet, but I needed a good size.  On our trip, I discovered that Fossil makes many of their wallets RFID protective.  Most stores have some that are.  Kohl's has some as well.  I realized quickly that finding a wallet the right size isn't going to be as easy as I thought!

But, my other concern about my purse was how to bring it back to life.  I went into the Coach purse and though the sales lady said they could clean it, I couldn't really bring it back to life.

She turned out to be wrong.

Last night, I remembered a leather conditioner cream that I bought several (several!) years ago from Nordstrom's made by Brahmin.  At the time, it was $10, but it has lasted me for years.  I brought it upstairs and hoped for the best with my purse.  I used it on my purse and ten minutes later my purse looked new again!

I'm reminded of several things.  It's so easy to think that I need to replace something that looks like it needs a lot of repair.  But, it feels so much better to fix it up than get something new.  The second was that going with a smaller purse compelled me to ask what I really need.  I found that there were a lot of cards and other things in my purse that I didn't really need.  Having less to carry around is a lot less stressful in the end than carrying around a lot for me.

Have you gone through your purse lately? :)

The Cost of Emergency Medical Care, a new catch with insurance

My second job after college was working for an HMO.  I worked for the PPO provider side of that organization and it compelled me to understand health care.  Though I only worked for that business a short time, less than a year, I have been thankful for the education I had to gain by working there ever since.

Last month, my husband had to visit an emergency room out of the health care network of our current insurance plan.  We waited after he came home for the EOB (Explanation of Benefits) statement to arrive from our insurance.  Two weeks later, we received the good news that there was emergency hospital coverage--because the reality is that even though the papers I had said it would be covered, you just never know what loophole an insurance company might find.  So, we would just need to pay our emergency room co-pay.

When I saw the bill, it was what I thought it would be--around a thousand dollars, even though my husband had no x-rays or lab work done and was in and out of there in less than an hour.  Of course the insurance has a negotiated fee schedule, so they didn't have to pay that amount, but it was what the hospital billed.

Since I hadn't received the bill yet, I called the hospital today to find out if it was coming.  It is.  But, I learned that there would also be a bill from the ER Doctor.  Really?  This was new news to me.  We haven't made a visit to the ER in several years, so I assumed that the ER worked the same way as Urgent Care--one bill.  I was wrong.

Nowadays a trip to the Emergency Room involves both a hospital fee and a separate charge by the doctor.  I called the doctor's billing company and found out the exorbitant fee that the ER doctor charged.  My blood pressure ascended momentarily in a huge way.  Then I went to check my insurance.  They didn't deny the claim and we only owe a specialist's copay.

Wow.  My mind started spinning.  I was and am extremely thankful for the Lord's provision.  But, at the very same time, it made me think about how broken our insurance system is.  The hospital and doctor charged almost two thousand dollars for a visit that lasted less than an hour and that involved no xrays, an IV, or lab work.  What happens when people don't have insurance?  What happens when parents have a sick child who needs to go to the ER?  What happens when people have these high deductible plans--which are the most affordable ones (often the only affordable ones) through ObamaCare?   Prior to ObamaCare, the ER co-pay covered the whole visit.  There were many things that worked differently with insurance before ObamaCare's existence.

Insurance isn't something just to have for a rainy day anymore.  I wanted to share this story so that if you need to go to the ER, you're prepared.  The Urgent Care really is a much more affordable option... at this point.

Christmas Gift List

A creative Christmas list...


For the Foodie:

Food Anatomy by Julia Rothman and a Flat Whisk  


For the College Student who you don't know what to get for them:

Your Idea Starts Here by Carolyn Eckert


For the Mystery Lover:

The Mistletoe Murder by the late PD James


For your mom or mother in law:

A photo calendar with pictures of the grandkids to look at month by month


For the child ages (6-12 yo) you want to give a classic, but fun book to:

The Thirteen Clocks by James Thurber


For the Craftsy person you know who has fun handwriting:

Hand Lettering Ledger by Mary Kate McDevitt

For the TV show lover who misses shows that are fun, pretty wholesome, and creative, but not super violent:

Eureka season 1

For the person who you have no idea what to get...
some Florida Honeybells from Harry and David.   I gave these to my family one Christmas as a special treat and they loved them.  They don't arrive until January, so you get to look forward to a special treat as winter sets in.   I have found that the best coupon actually comes from the newspaper or fliers like Valpak.  The best deal I've seen is 8 lb. for $30 with free shipping.  I know that it's very expensive fruit, but it is very special fruit!

I hope you have an enjoyable Christmas.  I have made my lists for my children and family.  I'm working my way through them...  

Fun Food Trivia

A few weeks ago, I posted a review of the book Food Anatomy by Andrea Rothman.  Storey put this fun trivia quiz up on the web.  Check it out HERE!