As a mom who has many health issues that cause me to have problems parenting I can relate just a bit to what Kelly is going through. Kelly was diagnosed with Leukemia on Thanksgiving Day. She has been hospitalized ever since and will be so for at least a month.

Kelly’s daughter Jenelle has a rare form of Epilepsy, called Lennox Gastaut Syndrome. Her seizures are not easily controlled and she has many other health problems and developmental issues too. Imagine how difficult it must be for Kelly to be sick and away from Jenelle?

I can’t even think about it, but Kelly is being as strong as possible as you can see from her blog Jenelle’s Journey.

Now here’s the really important part, we can do something to help Kelly, Jenelle, her son, and her husband. We can pray and send good thoughts their way. And we can join Bonnie from Autism Family Adventures by donating some money to purchase some gift cards. The family needs help with groceries, gas to travel back and forth to the hospital and some gifts for the children to help them through this difficult time.

Even a few dollars will help and you’ll feel so much better by doing this.

Do you have an old cell phone laying around? If so there’s a way that you can help someone with it. Recycling old cells not only is good for the environment but can be used to help people in difficult circumstances.

There are many non-profits that take used unlocked cell phones and turn them into phones that can be used to only dial 911 or other emergency contact numbers. For example victims of domestic violence, senior citizens who live alone and people who are chronically ill or disabled.

There are now sites that take used cells for soldiers to use who are stationed overseas. Check your local cell phone stores, police department, social services department and domestic violence shelter to learn where and how to make your donation.

Instead of actually going to the stores to see if I could get any of the Black Friday sale items I needed, I found a new way to save money but get those low priced gifts. I shopped online. It was easy and it was exciting too.

There was no need for me to wait out in the cold early in the morning, fight the crowds and then get frustrated to find that what I wanted wasn’t there. Nope. All I did was take a long nap after eating a big Thanksgiving meal. That’s a given anyway! Then I just stayed up very late online.

I had all of the product names with the stores ready. I had already signed up for a Black Friday newsletter which kept me up to date on when sales were starting, additions to sale items, etc. So I waited for emails to come in about when the stores sites would start the sales.

As soon as the email hit, I went to work! I got a lot of my shopping done in about two hours.  My best deals were a Disney bathrobe and pajamas for $12, a compact flash for under $20 and a special DVD for $6.

I plan on making this a yearly event now. For those of us who have trouble getting out especially when we know it will be crowded and hectic this is the way to get your shopping done easily.

Kaiser Permanente is not only affordable health insurance but it a non-profit company that strives to be reliable to its members. Although it is a very large company, insuring over 8 million, it maintains a high standard of accuracy, privacy and professionalism.

There are several health insurance plans available depending on if you are looking to insure yourself, a family, or a group and what type of coverage you would like. There is also Medicare Supplement insurance. You can apply online, check other plans to compare costs and get immediate quotes too.

Just follow the three steps to see if you qualify for Kaiser medical insurance by visiting their website, looking over the policies available, filling out the information required and getting a free quote. It’s that simple.

Kaiser Permanente and their facilities are located near you if you are approved (you will receive a directory of facilities). You can easily transfer your medical records and prescriptions and begin your medical right away.

I often feel like I could be a doctor knowing so much medical information about myself, being able to research about diseases, conditions and medications and even knowing how to read prescriptions. I’ve always wanted to be in the medical field, in fact when I took medical terminology, my instructor who was an RN, pulled me aside and suggested that I go into nursing. But, I can’t stand the sight of blood and get very upset when someone is sick.

Since I’ve become sick I have gotten to know how much work nurses are required to do especially in hospitals and rehabilitation facilities. Their responsibilities are increasing but their reimbursement isn’t. If they were able to continue working and go to school to get an MS nursing degree, many would jump at the chance.

St. Xavier’s Online Master’s Degree in Nursing is a viable option. You are required to have a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing, have a current nursing license, pass the GRE, provide recommendations and complete an application. Then you can study online toward a Masters in Science of Nursing - Clinical Nursing Leader (CNL).

St. Xavier is an Regionally Accredited university and is Nationally Recognized University. There are no concerns about your degree being accepted by employers. The degree provided offers many possibilities for employment since you will be learning how to prevent mistakes, save money, keep patient care coordinated with a team approach, all things that are cutting edge.

You choose your own hours for online work as long as you keep to the schedule and only meet one weekend on campus. You are able to access you work online at any time, “meet” your fellow students and professors online in virtual classrooms and get assistance as needed every day at all hours.

So if you are looking for a promotion for your nursing career but thought it wasn’t possible, take a look at what St. Xavier has to offer you.

With President-Elect Obama only 58 days away from becoming President, we know that change is coming our way. One thing we can expect is an overhaul of the present health insurance issues we face now.

I am very fortunate to have coverage from my husband’s insurer and Medicare as my secondary. I still do have to pay a co-pay for prescription medications though. It is not bad considering what others pay and for the amount of medications that I take. We just got a letter in the mail, though that shook us to the core. The price of our co-pay for prescriptions has increased $30 for Brand Name drugs. Many of the meds that I take are not available as generics. So we are in a bit of a bind here, especially knowing how badly the economy is going.

We really don’t have a choice to look for a health insurance quote because we have the best policy my husband’s job offers. It’s just another thing that we have to consider in our budget. We do hope that there will be changes to include people like us that have coverage but the money that we spend out of pocket still continues to be a burden. I believe that Obama will take these issues into consideration.