No Shortage

This week we were informed by my husband's employer, which is an international corporation headquartered in the US, that beginning in 2014 we will no longer be offered traditional health insurance. They will offer us a consumer-driven health plan with an astronomical deductible, or we can opt for no coverage at all. The letter did not state whether it will continue to offer dental and vision coverage.

The letter also states that the company desires to comply with new health care laws and save money at the same time, and that is why they are making this change.

We have decided to opt out and purchase a traditional health insurance plan on our own.

How have your health benefits been impacted, if at all?

Two weeks ago I pulled a groin muscle working out. The pain was excruciating. The pain is starting to ease up, and I know the injury is definitely not healed, but I am really anxious to start working out again. My doctor didn't really give me any direction, just told me not to exercise too hard and to avoid the treadmill for a week. I've done that. Where do I go from here?

(I do a full body routine with weights and cardio on the treadmill three times a week. If it matters, I am in my mid 40s and will probably heal much slower than someone younger.)

Thank you for your help.

I had a very good friend who was a huge part of my life, as was I of hers. I have known for a long time that her husband is emotionally abusive to her and their child, but I have minded my own business and encouraged her as much as I could. I have never told anyone, not even my husband. A little over a month ago I was at their house and I witnessed her husband verbally abuse her and their daughter. It was really ugly. He then turned on me and threatened me. I don't think he was going to actually hit me, but he was trying to scare and intimidate me. I left.

It's been over a month now, and my friend will not speak to me. I have contacted her twice. Both times she said she was too busy to see me. Her grandmother died last week, and I found out from a mutual friend. I saw her today and she avoided me.

I don't want to be hurt by her rejection anymore, but I don't want to lose her friendship or abandon her either. We have mutual friends and travel in the same social circle, so this makes things even more complicated.

Do you have any advice for me?

I logged onto YA to change my avatar, and it disappeared. It's still there when I log into my Yahoo email account, but it does not appear on YA or on my Yahoo profile page. (If it matters, I also changed my profile to hide my Yahoo profile because I was getting so much spam.)

Can you help me fix this? Thank you for your help.

I've never attended the Lutheran church before, but I am attending a service there soon. The service I am going to is called Contemporary. What should I expect? (If it makes a difference, this church is part of the Missouri Synod. I do not know what means either.)

Thank you for your help.

I'm wondering if this has happened to anyone before because it happened to me today.

Today I took my poodles to the groomer, a place I've used three or four times in before. After about an hour the groomer called me and told me one of my dogs had escaped and ran out the back door and she was unable to find him. She was drying him off on a table, unrestrained, and one of her friends opened the back door of the office and slammed the door into the wall. This scared him, and he jumped off the table and ran out the open door and disappeared in a condo development that covers over 10 acres and has woods and a field.

I've had dogs since I was four years old. I've never heard of this happening, and I think it's unconscionable. Has this ever happened to you or someone you know?

(After several hours my dog was located 1/2 mile away in a different housing development in someone's backyard. Several people in the community, including our local mail lady, looked for him, which is so heartening. Many people saw him over the course of the day, and we kept following their sightings. My husband, who left work early to help, is the one who finally picked him up. He sat on the ground and the dog ran into his lap.)

I think and worry about how much I weigh constantly. I'm a normal weight for my age and height, and I wear a size 6 or 8. I exercise at a gym regularly, including weight training. However, I obsess about what I weigh and I'm always wishing I could lose 10 pounds. I refuse to buy new clothes just in case I lose that 10 pounds and go down a size. Every time I eat I worry if I will gain weight from it. My weight is steady, and if I gain or lose a couple of pounds it always returns to where it is now on its own.

I think I'm being irrational, and a huge burden would be lifted from my shoulders if I could let this go. How do I do it?

I used to love getting older, but as the years go on it isn't as fun as it used to be.

I'm old enough to have attended the funerals of friends, I've seen babies whose diapers I've changed have their own babies, and I'm watching the health and strength of older loved ones fail. This morning, yet again, I opened the paper to find that an old friend with whom I had lost touch has passed away. A few months ago I went to the doctor and he said my problems are "degenerative" and "age related."

I forgot what the benefits of getting older are. Can you remind me of some of them?

I'm asking because we have a brand-new abortion clinic in our town, and as far as I know it's the only one. Every single day there are protesters outside of it, maybe about five or six, holding signs and standing by the side of road. I drive by them at least once a day, and I'm sure many other people do as well. They have preprinted signs, and they stand there no matter what the weather.

What are they hoping to accomplish, and are they accomplishing anything at all?

I was asked to join the leadership board of a business that is having financial problems because they felt my point of view would be valuable. A facilitator was hired to assist the board in defining values, goals, and formulating a plan to move the business forward.

The facilitator established a rule that all of us (24) had to agree unanimously before we could move forward on any plan. After five hours of negotiations, we voted. Everyone voted yes, except me. I voted no because voting yes violated my conscience, my ethics, and my vision for what I think is best, and I care very much about this business and what it is trying to do.

I was verbally attacked at the meeting for voting no, and I was ordered to change my vote by the other members. I did not change my vote, and now we have to reconvene in four weeks to continue this exercise. This was extremely adversarial, personally insulting, and stressful for me beyond words. Two days ago the board told me they were voting me out because I'm "obstructing the process." This is fine with me, so I said great, fantastic.

Tonight I was informed that when the facilitator found out I was kicked off he refused to continue working with the board because of ethical issues, and he will not refund the money that he has already been paid for his services. So I was told by the board to come back, but to vote yes with everybody else and not to be an obstructionist. I found this extremely funny, but once again, I was the only one who shared my views.

What would you do if you were in this situation? I will make a decision in a few days, but I would like others' opinions because I've never experienced anything like this before.

(My plan right now is to attend the next board meeting and make an announcement to the effect that I do not support the board and its plans, but I do not wish to obstruct them, so I am voluntarily resigning.)

(I know this is long. Thank you for taking the time to read it.)

A young woman (age 26) came to the book group I belong to and told us this:

She has three children, seven, three and seven months. Her husband comes home from work, talks to the three year old and plays with him, but completely ignores the other two kids. The seven year old lives as if he doesn't have a father. She is afraid to leave her baby with her husband because if the baby cries and needs changing or feeding, he won't do it. He'll just let her lay there and cry until the mother comes home.

I believe what this woman said, even though I don't know her, because she was very distressed about this and was seeking encouragement from us. We didn't have any encouragement to offer her, and this is a book discussion group, so we didn't say a whole lot.

I've never experienced this, but I feel badly for this lady and I find her husband's behavior disturbing. I would like to offer her some hope when I see her again, which is supposed to be next week. What do you think?

As of September 9, 2010, Rick Snyder, the Republican candidate, holds a double-digit lead in every single region in Michigan except for Detroit. In Detroit he has the support of only 10.5 percent of the voters. The polling shows union households are putting their support behind Republican Rick Snyder as well, even though Virg Bernero has been endorsed by the UAW.

Michigan has been under the leadership of Democrat Jennifer Granholm for eight years, and Michigan voted for Obama overwhelmingly. Why the huge shift?

Or is it too soon in our enlightenment to declare one?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Warren

I'm wondering because this morning our local radio stations started running announcements saying that not only is the flu vaccine available now, if you really care about the welfare of other people you'll get one immediately.

I synched my iPhone the other day, before downloading the new 4 update. I lost 350 songs. I still have about 500. I downloaded the 4 update and resynched the phone. I still didn't have the songs. At the suggestion of Apple, I removed iTunes from my computer and reinstalled it, and then synched the phone again. I still don't have the songs.

I tried to log onto iTunes online, but I couldn't. Apple said the store was down but would be up in a half hour. That was six days ago and I still cannot log on.

Can anyone help?

(The nearest Apple store is a half an hour away, and you have to make an appointment to visit the store. I would like to avoid this if possible.)

I would like to raise my laptop off my desk when I'm working at home. Right now I'm using a phone book, which I think is not a good idea from a fire hazard standpoint. I've been looking around the house for something more suitable and can't find anything. Do you have any ideas?

(I need to raise it two to two and a half inches.)

Thanks for your help.

Ramen noodles cost 25 cents a package and provide little if any nutritional value. Green peppers cost $1.50 each. Blueberries are $2.50 for eight ounces. These are just a couple examples. Anyone who goes to the grocery store knows what I'm talking about.

Poor families and those on fixed incomes cannot afford fresh fruits and vegetables and leaner cuts of meat and are therefore more susceptible to many preventable conditions and diseases, such as obesity and diabetes.

Why are healthy foods so expensive?

Second, should Obama do something about this now that the government is more involved in and concerned about our health than ever before?

One of my friends and her husband joined a religious cult in their 20s. The leaders ran her life, telling her how to dress, how to spend her free time, how to wear her hair and how to have sex with her husband. In her late 30s, about eight years ago, she left it because the pressure and rigidity was too much to handle anymore.

Her husband said she was going to make her kids go to hell. Her in-laws said she was a tool of the devil. The cult members drove by her house slowly at all hours of the day and night. They called her on the phone. They confronted her in public. This went on for years, and we have supported her and her husband the best way we know how.

During the last three years it seemed like everyone had moved on and her life was normal. Two nights ago she called me and told me she and her family had rejoined the cult. I was stunned. I asked her why, and she said it's the only place she's ever felt safe. These people emotionally abused her and her kids for over a decade, and her marriage was nearly destroyed.

Why is she going back? I'm afraid she's become mentally ill.

According to Mr. Adams, he is coming forward now, nearly two years later, because he feels empathy for Obama, and he wants to put this issue to rest once and for all so people can focus on helping the country. Do you believe him?

http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=165041

(I know a lot of people don't like WND, but the only news organizations that are running this story are conservative or Republican ones. I could not find a mainstream news source.)

The last time I saw the orthopedic surgeon he mentioned removing the fluid in my shoulder with a needle and injecting cortisone inside the joint. I didn't say anything about it because I had no intention of having this done. However, now that I'm nearing the end of physical therapy I am willing to consider it. I'm pleased with the results I've had with therapy, but there is still swelling, pain and limitation of movement. If removing the fluid and putting cortisone in there can relieve this, I might agree to the procedure.

If you've had this done or know someone who did, what kind of a result did they get? Thank you for answering.