4 o'clock Club

In college, we had something called the 4 o'clock club during Beach Weekend. It's basically when we would all run into the ocean at four in the afternoon while stripping and we would frolic until the police came and told us to stop.

When I was driving away from Union Station at 4 o'clock this morning I was reminded that I'm in a new 4 o'clock Club now. NC takes the 4 a.m. train on Monday to get back to NYC to be at work by 8 a.m. Of course I'm never going to make him take a cab, that would be just awful. I'm a firm believer in the fact that you'll do anything for the people you love and that includes driving them to/picking them up from the airport, train station - you name it - and at any odd hour. Anyway, I was also reminded this morning that Anuzi did this too for a while. So, a new 4 o'clock club emerges.

I was reflecting about this all on the way home...
1) I really, really appreciate NC for even taking the 4 a.m. train. It would be all to easy to leave on Sunday night; however, we both want to spend every minute we can together and this makes it possible.
2) DC is absolutely gorgeous when it's dark and the monuments are all lit up.
3) There aren't many cops out at that time.
4) It's a good time to learn how to navigate DC because of lesson #3 and the fact that there are no other cars on the roads.
5) Why weren't we ever arrested for indecent exposure in college during the original 4 o'clock club? Curious.

We had a great weekend - with lots and lots and lots of cleaning. I'm giving away bags of clothing and did an entire overhaul of the kitchen. It all looks so amazing. The chi is positive, to say the least.

Blankets!

Sheets indicated an interest in seeing stuff that I've knitted. So, this blog is for her. My cousin's wife is having twins (one boy and one girl), so these are their blankets. They are folded in the pics - but are actually made to fit a crib mattress.

Happy Day!

I'm an aunt! Ok, not *technically* yet, but who has time for semantics?

My future brother and sister-in-law had a precious baby boy on Saturday. I'm overjoyed. As an only child, one of my fears was that I wouldn't ever get to be an aunt to anyone. My mom's sisters and my dad's sister have played a tremendous role in my life. It's time to give that kind of love and care back. I guess it helps that they all have boys and not girls, so that could have been the reason for them spoiling me rotten, but regardless I have always been very close to them.

Anyway, I'm uber-excited and I can't wait to hold the little one!!

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He's got a hand-made blanket from his aunt MKP. And my cousin and his wife are expecting twins, so I just finished two more blankets. Now it's time to start knitting Christmas presents (scarves, etc...), so that's what I'll be up to for the next few months. Good times!

Roll Up That Sleeve

It's that time again...and no, this isn't a plug for giving blood (which I did two weeks ago). It's time for the flu shot - a yearly ritual for me to avoid taking unnecessary PTO.

Along with this, I've had some recent angst about the healthcare system (or maybe not so recent). We're getting ready to renew our benefits here at work, and I was comparing plans and it's beyond me why preventative care just isn't covered like I think it should be. NC and I had a good discussion about this - and agree that as a society we are largely reactive.

I read a beautifully written article about a young woman (23 years old) who decided to have a double mastectomy since every female in her family had survived, died from or was living with breast cancer. She found out that she, too, had the breast cancer gene and took action against it. I admire her for being able to make that decision at such a young age. I also give her kudos for putting her story out there for other young women who may be dealing with the same situation. What I was not amused by was the amount of criticism she got from commenters. It was her choice, what say should random people have in it? One comment caught me off guard though. It was insurance related - a woman had one breast removed because cancer was found in it. What she wanted was both removed and the insurance company would not cover the other one and she could not afford it on her own. So now an insurance company tells you what you can and cannot do with your body, especially when, in all truth, you are trying to save them a lot of money by getting things taken care of on the front end. I guess their point of view is that it's not guaranteed that you'll get cancer in the other breast, so why pay to have it removed?

I guess my point is that I'm put off by all of this. And now, looking at my benefits, I'm wondering if I'll be coveredif I want to take a preventative measure against something happening or if there will be a loophole somewhere in the system that the insurance company can get through.

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in·sur·ance - any means of guaranteeing against loss or harm: Taking vitamin C is viewed as an insurance against catching colds.