Life in America

Life Today

2012-01-22T15:27:00.000-06:00

Life is Good
Life is Fine
Life is something I call mine.

Today I took some life for me.
Going crazy what can it be
I must think I have to go
Hard and fast all the day long.

Crazy is the word for me now
Lots of day - oh Wow.

Organizing my son's sea of toys

2012-01-16T18:52:00.000-06:00

Guest post written by Kelly Anderson

One resolution that I have for 2012 is to make our home more organized. It can get a little messy at times and I don't even know how much of my life I've wasted tracking down my car keys in all the mess. But I'm trying to organize in a practical way that will make it easy to keep organized. I figured out that the easiest way to do that would be to buy some organizational furniture.

As I was online searching for some good after Christmas deals on organizational stuff, I ran across a Site talking about siding replacement. Our house has needed that for quite a while anyway so I showed it to my husband and we're going to get that done pretty soon.

I'm so relieved to have some organized toys for my son. His room is definitely the messiest out of our whole house and I bought him some under-bed storage stuff and established some new rules about storing toys. Let's hope that we all stick to our newly organized habits.

Chicken Crossing the Road

2012-01-16T18:49:00.000-06:00

Motivational speaker at a meeting asked the question as we have heard many times before "WHY DID THE CHICKEN CROSS THE ROAD?"

Typical answer is to get to the other side.   But why did he want to get to the other side?

Was it because something on his side drove him to cross the road? Was it because there was something on the other side that motivated him to want to be there.   The answer came from the back of the room.   The chicken crossed the road because the Rooster was on the other side.

The speaker suggested that the Chicken crossed the road because the Rooster was on the side that the Chicken was already on.

The whole jest of the talk was what motivates you to cross the road?

Walgreens Prescription Savings Club

2012-01-16T03:01:00.001-06:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Walgreens for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

If I believed everything that I heard on television I would not be as concerned about writing this blog. However, other pharmacies on television would have believe that Walgreens just does not want to write Express Scripts. However, I am finding that this is not the case. Walgreens is my pharmacy and I just could not believe that they would throw away business. They are not and it appears they have done everything that they can do to bring this problem to the surface and get it resolved. Here is the real story about Walgreens and Express Script

For the past year, Walgreens has negotiated with Express Scripts for a new contract to continue as part of its pharmacy provider network. Those negotiations were unsuccessful, and the contract expired on Dec. 31. As a result, Walgreens is no longer part of Express Scripts’ pharmacy provider network as of Jan. 1, 2012. This includes all Walgreens pharmacies nationwide and Duane Reade pharmacies in the New York City area.

This situation of forcing pharmacy patients to go elsewhere to use their in-network pharmacy benefits was unnecessary. Express Scripts’ actions are causing disruption with no significant benefit to patients or their health plan. Patients covered by an Express Scripts plan now find themselves not only having to change their pharmacists, but many are having to drive farther to get prescriptions filled at pharmacies with less convenient hours for their hectic schedules. Walgreens offers more 24-hour and drive-thru pharmacies than any other pharmacy in the country.

And patients are not seeing their costs go down in exchange for the increased hassle they’re being subject to. It’s all pain with no gain.

Avoiding disruption and keeping costs flat
During negotiations, Walgreens offered to hold rates for a new contract flat and did not seek an increase in rates. The response from Express Scripts was to insist on being able to unilaterally define contract terms, such as what does and does not constitute a brand and generic drug. Express Scripts also proposed to slash Walgreens reimbursement rates to levels below the industry average cost to provide each prescription.

Express Scripts itself has stated that clients will not see any significant savings from excluding Walgreens from its network. In fact, costs may even go up without Walgreens because we offer competitive pricing, additional savings by dispensing less expensive generic drugs more often than other pharmacies, and savings through 90-day supplies of medications at our retail pharmacies versus three, 30-day refills.

Express Scripts could offer substantial savings to its clients by promoting 90-day refills at retail pharmacies, but it conflicts with its own mail order 90-day prescription business that it profits from. In addition, while profits per prescription among retail pharmacies have been flat or declining in recent years, Express Scripts’ profits have grown at a rate more than two times the average of peers in health care.

Express Scripts puts America’s military in the middle
One of Express Scripts’ clients is Tricare, which is the health and prescription drug program for America’s military service men and women. During negotiations, Walgreens took the unprecedented step of offering Express Scripts an ironclad guarantee that Walgreens prices would match or beat the average costs per adjusted prescription of all other pharmacies in the Tricare network. Walgreens did this in an effort to prevent our country’s military personnel from being caught in the middle. Walgreens also offered to contract separately with Express Scripts for Tricare from other Express Scripts commercial business, but these offers were rejected. Express Scripts continues to refuse to negotiate a separate contract for the benefit of the Tricare program and its beneficiaries.

What this means for Walgreens patients
Many patients under an Express Scripts plan have used Walgreens pharmacies for years and have a personal relationship with their Walgreens pharmacist. In an effort to minimize their disruption and inconvenience, Walgreens unveiled a comprehensive national effort to make this transition as smooth as possible and is doing all it can to help patients continue to use Walgreens when possible, or take care of them as they are forced to leave Walgreens in order to use their in-network coverage.

Only patients with certain prescription insurance plans managed by Express Scripts are impacted. It is best to check with your local Walgreens pharmacist to find out for sure if you’re impacted. Patients also can check the back of their prescription insurance card – if it has Express Scripts’ name there, then they may be affected. If it doesn’t say Express Scripts, then they are not affected.

Among the steps Walgreen is taking to minimize the disruption is offering a special discount on annual membership for its Walgreens Prescription Savings Club. An individual can join during a special January promotion for only $5, or $10 for a family membership, and receive savings on more than 8,000 brand name and all generic medications. More than 400 generics are available with a three-month supply for less than $1 a week. Regular annual membership is $20 for an individual and $35 for a family.

Express Scripts is a health care system middleman
Express Scripts acts as a middleman between pharmacies providing the health care service and employers and health plans who pay for the medications. Because Express Scripts is the middleman, most payers don’t see the rates Express Scripts pays to Walgreens. They only know what they pay Express Scripts. When they do see what Walgreens is paid, many health plans and employers are making decisions to continue to ensure access to Walgreens because they find our prices to be competitive and believe that we can lower overall health care costs.

Express Scripts continues to gain financially from its position as a middleman as its profits have grown at a rate more than two times the average of peers in health care. Historically brokers in a marketplace take a percentage of the cost of a product for putting the buyer and seller in contact. In Express Scripts’ case, the broker is growing profits faster than the provider of the service. When the middleman is more profitable than the providers, the relationship is out of balance.

Beyond the contract issues, this issue between Express Scripts and Walgreens is really about the value of your local community pharmacy. Express Scripts wants customers to use their own mail order pharmacy business instead of your community pharmacy whenever possible. This could threaten all community drugstores in your area. Remember, community pharmacies are a valuable presence in your neighborhood when you need a pain medication as you leave the emergency room at 2 a.m., or need a flu shot and haven’t been able to get to the doctor’s office. Community pharmacies are often the first point of entry for many people into the health care system, and the value they provide by lowering overall health care costs should be recognized by Express Scripts.

Employers want Walgreens in their pharmacy network
A Walgreens proprietary survey of 823 executives and managers who are key decision makers for pharmacy benefit decisions or provide input found that 82 percent of employers said that they would not exclude Walgreens for less than 5 percent savings on their total pharmacy spend. Sixty percent of employers would not exclude Walgreens for less than 10 percent savings, and 21 percent would not exclude Walgreens from their network regardless of the amount of savings. These findings on employer attitudes are consistent with recent research published by several leading equity research analysts.

Employers value having Walgreens as a pharmacy option for their employees, but Express Scripts wants to take that choice away.

I am sure that details of the workout and results on this situation can be kept up with by either Walgreens on Twitter or Walgreens on Facebook

Voice your opinion on this in the comments. Let me know how this might trouble you and your family.

Who to Choose

2012-01-12T19:49:00.000-06:00

I am confused about the Presidential race. I know not whom to vote for in the future. The main thing that I do know is that I do not want Obama to continue as President.

Someone please give me your thoughts. Is it Santorum? Is it Newt? Is it Romney.

I just don't know.

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T23:58:00.002-06:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR AMERICA. 2012 IS GOING TO BE A GOOD ONE.

Wow!

2011-12-28T18:49:00.002-06:00

Christmas came fast and was great and is now gone. New Years is coming. Got things to do. Get to go to a Wedding that evening and then a neat reception afterwards.

Then New Years Day. Quiet and simple. Blackeyed peas, cornbread, fried taters.

Then we get to get back to work for another year to get to do it all again.

Blessed and Wow is the words.

Zenni Optical Frames are Coming to Town!

2011-12-20T06:41:00.000-06:00

I found out how I can have more money for Christmas. I need to go to Zenni Optical and get some cheap eyeglasses. After doing that instead of going to the expensive optical attached to the eye clinic I will have additional cash to provide more Christmas for others.   What is even better is that any of their frames come in your favorite festive holiday colors! What is better than that. I can save money and get festive holiday glasses.

Check out these cool looking glasses that I would love to have through Christmas. Don't they just yell out Merry Christmas. If they don't yell out that they surely yell out look at me I am a cool dude.   You will have many people asking you "Where did you get those cool dude glasses". You can tell them about how they can get those wonderful festive glasses at Zenni Optical.

Have you gone to their site yet. What are you waiting for.   You can get the latest and greatest eye wear at great prices because they skip the middle man and come straight to you.   Post up when glasses you might like.

You need to check this one out.

America's Team

2011-12-12T19:50:00.000-06:00

Dallas Cowboys - Americas Team - is rapidly falling apart. They have lost two games in last minute field goals. They ice the kicker.

The odd part is that the other team did it to them once and then they did it to themselves.

Can you say CHOKE!

Robin Williams as the Flag!

2011-12-04T21:47:00.000-06:00

This is an old one but in todays times it is very timely. If we all felt this way,,,,,,
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Life After Thaksgiving.

2011-11-27T20:15:00.000-06:00

OK. Back to work tomorrow. This means the end of pumpkin pie, turkey, dressing and every thing else. I truly believe that if I had to go through another day of leftovers I would go crazy.

Yes there is life after Thanksgiving. There are still football games to be played. There is the Christmas meal to plan and there is only 28 days to Christmas.

WAIT A MINUTE --- 28 DAYS TILL CHRISTMAS - I GOT TO GET TO THE MALL. I MISSED BLACK FRIDAY AND THERE ARE PRESENTS TO BUY!

Life in the BCS

2011-11-20T19:48:00.000-06:00

Life in America is about football. College Football. Life in America originates from Arkansas.

Guess who is number 3 in the latest BCS Poll. Yes. The Answer is Arkansas Razorbacks.

Who is number one and two. Alabama and LSU. Alabama beat the hogs and LSU is up next. Hogs will beat LSU and then what comes.

Go Hogs.

Puppies vs. Babies! The Ultimate Showdown!

2011-11-17T19:00:00.001-06:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Puppies vs. Babies for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Life in America is about beauty. Life in America is about animals. Life in America is about beautiful babies. Life in America is about beautiful puppies. What the world am I talking about. Well, what I am talking about is this great and fun contest out there that is Puppies vs. Babies online contest.

Yes, you heard me right! Life in America today is about Puppies vs. Babies. This is a fun contest that allows people to post great puppy pictures and great baby pictures and then talk smack about which one is better looking. Yes, talk smack about it. The contest is over but you can get out there and talk smack and let America know which you think is better looking. Sounds crazy but fun, doesn't it. Everyone should get out there and talk smack and help the world decide which is better looking.

Yes, I have a grand baby on the way that will be cuter than anyones dog, but until it gets here my dog is pretty dad gum cute. How about you? Do you have a cute baby or a cute dog? Get on here and talk about it and then help decide the contest. It is your duty as a follower of Life in America to vote!

Deserving Eyes in America

2011-11-15T20:42:00.000-06:00

Life in America is all about the beautiful, far spacious skies. It is about the amber waves of grain. Life is about the purple mountain majesties. It is all about this above the fruited plane. Yes, America is beautiful and we know it is beautiful because we can see it well.

If you can't see all of this well it could be because you do not have great eyeglasses from someone like those manufactured brand ZENNI. Zenni is a place to get great eyeglasses at a cheap, inexpensive price but maintain great quality. Zenni does not use a lot of expensive advertising but use word of mouth and satisfied customers to spread the word about their great product. They don't sell other brands. They sell only their own. This is good because these are great looking, inexpensive glasses.

So, if you want to see the great the great things ahead of you in this great America, then you might want to make sure that you great eyeglasses so that you have the best vision possible.

Do you need glasses. What are your thoughts?

Chili is in the pots in Deer Woods.

2011-11-11T17:26:00.002-06:00

HILLBILLY WILLY CHILLLY - CHILI !

A unique blend of meat, spices and other ingredients found to be a favorite in the foot hills of the Ozark Mountains in Northern Arkansas. This unique blend and variations of it have been discovered, along with other unique recipes, to be in the pots on stoves of Grandma's kitchens as well as in the boiling pots at Deer camps throughout Arkansas by a Texan misplaced by the job market from Texas to Arkansas.

Cook in large pot until meat loses its red color............
3 pounds GROUND CHUCK OR ROUND or a 50-50 mix of CHILI MEAT and GROUND DEER MEAT.
ADD............................. 1 large ONION, chopped
1 Tbsp MINCED GARLIC
When onions are tender,
add............................ …1 Tbsp SALT
4 Tbsp CHILI POWDER
1 tsp GROUND OREGANO
2 tsp ground CUMIN
2 cups HOT WATER
2 10 oz cans SNAPPY TOM

I add for the Texas taste...... 3 finely chopped JALAPENO PEPPERS OR IF YOU DARE USE HABANERO PEPPERS!

Simmer, covered, at least 3 hours. Add more water if necessary.

YIELD: 8 TO 10 SERVINGS

Moved in Together

2011-11-09T20:19:00.002-06:00

Author: Jonathan Suarez

We moved in together before we got married which everyone told us not to do but we did anyway. At first it was lots of fun – all playing house and cleaning together and cooking a joint dinner every night – but then after a while it started to grate on me the way Ted never cleaned up after himself and how he was really lazy when he got home from work. Honestly, it’s like all he wants to do is plop down in front of the direct TV when I want to go for a long walk or talk about our days. He says I’m nagging him but I just think I’m trying to connect. We spend upwards of 12 hours a day apart and I just want to feel connected to him again. I think we spend less quality time together now than when we didn’t live together – at least then it was more intentional and he’d have to take me out on a date to see me, you know? I love Ted to death but he’s gotta change.

Football

2011-11-05T04:52:00.001-05:00

#7 Arkansas vs #10 SC

#1 ALABAMA VS #2 LSU.

LIFE TODAY!!

Rangers - Go

2011-10-25T20:36:00.000-05:00

Life in America is about Baseball, Apple pie and Chevrolet. Well, right now it is more about baseball.

The Texas Rangers are my team. They are up 3 to 2 over the Cardinals. It is great to see people around my home town who are Cardinal fans anguish over a Texas team kicking their butt.

Well, maybe not kicking their butt but at least they are ahead right now.

Go Rangers.

^NET10- October

2011-10-25T13:02:00.001-05:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Net10 for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Life in America is about great deals. Today if you want a great deal you should check out Net10 Unlimited because it is a great deal. With it you get nationwide coverage and unlimited talk, text, and data, for $50 a month. It is a great deal also because there are no contracts, no surprise bills that take your breath away and absolutely no credit checks. It is a great deal because it has great nationwide coverage along with reception/connectivity. It is a great deal because Net10 only uses the best trusted phone manufactures such as LG Motorola, Kyocera, Nokia and Samsung. OK, do you see a great deal yet.

Do you know What Rob has to say to a Real NET10 customer He will will say that this could be something useful for business or even in your everyday life. He would say that there are:

Monthly Plans:

• The Easy Minutes Plus plan is an automatic minutes plan that starts at $15.00 for 200 minutes.

• With Pay-As-You-Go Plans, your minutes carry over with active service.

• Unlimited Minutes, Text and Web for $50.00/month.

• Switch between plans each month to suit your budget and airtime needs, without penalties or fees.

• Airtime can be purchased online, at a nearby store, or directly from your phone.

International Long Distance:

• Long Distance Service is available to over 75 countries, for about 15 cents per minute on calls originated in the US.

• International Neighbors program is currently available to Canada and Mexico. This program gives you a special phone number that your family and friends can use to reach you at your NET10 number.

Phone Selection:
• Simple phones for simple needs, calling and texting capabilities for under $15.00

• Phones with essential features, such as camera, video recorder, blue tooth capability, mobile web and more for under $40.00

• Full QWERTY keyboard phones, slider phones, and touch screen phones, with all the basics plus great app capabilities, camera and video recorder, web access, etc., available for under $60.00

Check them out on Facebook and Twitter
• http://twitter.com/#!/Net10_Wi…
• https://www.facebook.com/NET10…

Susan G Komen Race - Arkansas

2011-10-17T20:22:00.000-05:00

This race is coming to Little Rock Arkansas this coming weekend. This is a great cause and a great time for 40,000 women to show a unified support for ending breast cancer.

Men will show up and line the course to show their support.

Show your support and show up and run.

that is my thoughts for now.

America is about the Children

2011-10-10T19:36:00.000-05:00

Great weekend this past weekend. Family came and for a while we had four generations in the house. Sister in law and husband were here. There grown son and daughter were here. One of their spouses were here and then both of them had kids. There was a 15 month old and a 7 month old.

Life was fast and furious.

Life was eating and bottles

Life was throwup and poop.

Life was young and good.

Life in America Dancing

2011-09-27T20:14:00.000-05:00

Dancing with the stars. Are these really stars? How many of them do I really know. Not many. Guess I just don't know stars.

Is that really dancing. All I see are girls with long legs and skimpy outfits. Is this really dancing.

Maybe I continue to watch.

2STRAIGHT TALK- September

2011-09-23T09:01:00.001-05:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Straight Talk for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Life in America is all about helping people realize that there are other options for items out there and many times these things can save money. Yes, it is the end of September and it is time to talk about Straight Talk.

Straight talk can make you feel richer because it will allow you to almost cut your cell phone bill in half. Anyone would have to be crazy not to perk up with that thought. Imagine the money you could save and imagine how much of America you could explore with your saved money. This along with the idea that there are no contracts, no surprise bills and no credit checks along with great nationwide coverage and excellent reception/connectivity, trusted phone manufacturers like LG, Motorola, Kyocera, Nokia and Samsung and many more features makes this something to be reckoned with. This take me in Hook, line and sinker along with the fact that I am in love with my Android phone and you can now get Android on Straight Talk . I need to Call a friend and tell them about this.

They have monthly plans to meet everyone's needs. They have the “All You Need Plan” with 1,000 minutes, 1,000 texts and 30 MB of web data. This could take care of even the heaviest user. They also have unlimited unlimited Monthly service which is only $45, and includes calls, text, picture messaging, and web. What more could one expect. Are we saving money yet.

Look at the math. Imagine unlimited calls, text, picture messaging and web for a whole year, for only $499.00! You get that along with 411 calls which are included at no extra charge.

All of this is with free activation, reactivation, or termination fees, International Long Distance, all of the popular manufacturer phones, and even reconditioned phones if you want one.

Can you tell that there are reasons to get excited about Straight Talk?

Check out this video and find out more.

Thanks for stopping by.

Football - Messed up in America

2011-09-21T21:40:00.000-05:00

College football is important to America and it is really messed up right now. They are going to Super conferences and they are breaking up old conferences and it is all about the money.

The only thing that will remain consistent is that the SEC will remain the best conference of all.

That is why they all use sexy women in thegGO HOGS!ir ads. They need the sex scandal and hot women money.

San Antonio

2011-09-15T20:45:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Lemuel Craft

We are so excited about our new home in San Antonio, Texas. My husband just got transferred to Lackland Air Force Base. We are hoping to be stationed there for at least the next five years and decided to buy a house. It is just perfect for us. So far, I have gotten intouch with SECURITY CHOICE SAN ANTONIO to install an alarm system and have picked out the new paint colors. I decided to go with a much more neutral tone than I did with our current home. I can’t wait until we have our friends and family visit. We are not too far from the Riverwalk. I know that my Dad and cousins will love visiting the Alamo. There is so much US history there! I’m not sure how I’m going to adjust to the hot weather. Coming from upstate New York is going to be a big change. I think that I will be selling our snow blower, snow shovel, and some of my heavy coatsat our moving sell next week. Who knows, maybe I’ll make enough money to buy myself a pair of authentic Texas cowgirl boots