After the November elections I thought it would be really cool if I could somehow attend the inauguration. So after doing some research I found out that the only way to get tickets was to request them from my local senator or congresswoman. On November 5th I started making calls, my information was taken and I was told that I would be notified in December I was selected. Well after not hearing anything for most of December I gave up. Then on christmas eve I had to check my work email for something and I found this:
(I had to alter it slightly to omit certain details)
December 23, 2008
Dear Veronica:
Thank you for contacting me to request tickets to the 56th Presidential Inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden on January 20, 2009. I am delighted to be able to offer you 3 tickets to this historic event.
Please let me know by December 30, 2008 whether you will accept these tickets by emailing. Please be sure to include the full name of each person using a ticket, as well as your security code. If we do not receive confirmation by email that you are claiming these tickets, they will not be held. You will also need to present a photo ID when picking up your tickets at my office in Washington, D.C. Once we have received your response to this email, you will receive additional, specific information about picking up your tickets.
If you are interested in information about the Presidential Inauguration, please visit the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies' website at http://inaugural.senate.gov/. For information regarding all other Inaugural activities including the parade, please visit the Presidential Inaugural Committee's website at http://www.pic2009.org/content/home/.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact my office.
Thank you again for contacting me. I hope you will continue to communicate with me on matters of concern to you. For more information on issues affecting our city and our nation, please visit my website at www.house.gov/pelosi or sign up to receive e-mail updates at www.house.gov/pelosi/IMA/subscription.html.
Sincerely,
Nancy Pelosi
Member of Congress
Please do not reply to this e-mail because this mailbox is unattended.
Christmas
Once again I hosted Christmas dinner at my place. Dinner this year was influenced by the thanksgiving feast I had in New Orleans. Aside from dinner we watched two very good dvds (the great debaters, and akeelah and the bee),presents, some bonding and a holiday project. What more could you ask for at christmas time, well besides a bigger kitchen.
my little fiber optic tree was so cute (taking a picture was a after thought)
The best gift surprise went to Ganny:
this is Ganny opening her gift BUT hiding from the camera so she didn't realize what she was opening
SURPRISE!!!!
playing her gift
Dinner and dessert included:
turkey, fried chicken, jambalaya, dirty rice, rice & broccoli casserole, enchilada casserole, potato salad, veggies, rolls, sweet potato pie, pumpkin spice bread, pound cake, oatmeal raisin cookies, and its its (yes the ice cream sandwich!). So the story with the its its is that my brother asked if there was ANYTHING he could bring so I said sure how about ice cream since I don't have room in my freezer. He said OK! So on christmas day he calls and asks if there are ANY stores open near my place I reminded him it was CHRISTMAS and everything was pretty much closed. So a few minutes later he and my younger brother walk in with 10 its its. Apparently they brainstormed and decided to run into a 7-11 and buy ice cream but 7-11 didn't have ice cream so they got the next best thing: ITS ITS.....sigh...anyway its the thought that counts riiiight (but don't think I didn't give em a hard time!)
jambalaya
chicken
turkey
dirty rice
enchilada (top), broccoli (bottom) casseroles
sweet potato pie
BONDING:
the guys
Marg
the its its brothers: William & Jacob
brothers Qimi & Lijah
Ganny & Kashmiere
this is a pic of mom from last christmas somehow she managed to escape the camera this year
CHRISTMAS PROJECT: everyone was given some molding clay and told to create something, the goal was to be creative (and boy oh boy were they)
Lijah made a taco topped with sour cream
Mom made a girl's face
Jacob made a creature
Marg made a purple man
Kassi made a heart
Qimi made a green man
William made a baseball and bat
Ganny made a multicolored man
AJ made a mushroom
I hope everyone had a tasty, family fun filled, christmas!
my little fiber optic tree was so cute (taking a picture was a after thought)
The best gift surprise went to Ganny:
this is Ganny opening her gift BUT hiding from the camera so she didn't realize what she was opening
SURPRISE!!!!
playing her gift
Dinner and dessert included:
turkey, fried chicken, jambalaya, dirty rice, rice & broccoli casserole, enchilada casserole, potato salad, veggies, rolls, sweet potato pie, pumpkin spice bread, pound cake, oatmeal raisin cookies, and its its (yes the ice cream sandwich!). So the story with the its its is that my brother asked if there was ANYTHING he could bring so I said sure how about ice cream since I don't have room in my freezer. He said OK! So on christmas day he calls and asks if there are ANY stores open near my place I reminded him it was CHRISTMAS and everything was pretty much closed. So a few minutes later he and my younger brother walk in with 10 its its. Apparently they brainstormed and decided to run into a 7-11 and buy ice cream but 7-11 didn't have ice cream so they got the next best thing: ITS ITS.....sigh...anyway its the thought that counts riiiight (but don't think I didn't give em a hard time!)
jambalaya
chicken
turkey
dirty rice
enchilada (top), broccoli (bottom) casseroles
sweet potato pie
BONDING:
the guys
Marg
the its its brothers: William & Jacob
brothers Qimi & Lijah
Ganny & Kashmiere
this is a pic of mom from last christmas somehow she managed to escape the camera this year
CHRISTMAS PROJECT: everyone was given some molding clay and told to create something, the goal was to be creative (and boy oh boy were they)
Lijah made a taco topped with sour cream
Mom made a girl's face
Jacob made a creature
Marg made a purple man
Kassi made a heart
Qimi made a green man
William made a baseball and bat
Ganny made a multicolored man
AJ made a mushroom
I hope everyone had a tasty, family fun filled, christmas!
Thanksgiving (picture alert!!!)
This year I decided to spend thanksgiving with my family in New Orleans. Beth and I also thought it would be a fabulous idea to fly Ganny back to visit since she hadn't been there since she was four. We met so many relatives, I must be related to half of New Orleans! Everyone met at my cousin Rose's house for thanksgiving dinner, the blessing was given by US (no one warned us and guess who went first)!!! Here are a few pics from thanksgiving:
Ganny at SFO waiting to board the plane
Ganny and cousin Rose
Uncle Alvin stopped by to visit his sister inlaw (Ganny)
My girls: Meagan, Michon, Cousin Rose
My partner in crime Larry
sisters: Angel, Renata, Cathy
Cherrone
Roslyn,Cousin Rose, Brandon
Naomi, Marlene
Group shot of all the guys
this trip included more tasty food
this is half a po boy
Ganny attempting to eat a po boy
beignets on the riverwalk
the thanksgiving feast included:
fried turkey, baked turkey, roast, ham, potato salad, gumbo, stuffed mirliton, stuffed bell peppers, broccoli rice casserole, pumpkin spice bread, sunday cake,fruit basket, pies and cake galore! I can't remember everything and I didn't get very many pics of the food, but here's what I did get
edible arrangements fruit basket
stuffed bell peppers
stuffed mirlitons
sunday cake
Everything was fantastic! This is one thanksgiving I will never forget!
Thank so much to the entire Matthews clan!
American Prayer
I saw this video on my friend Jenny's blog and just HAD to post it here:
Here are the lyrics:
This is my American Prayer
This is my American Prayer
This is the time to finish what you started
And this is no time to dream
This is the room
We can turn off the dark tonight
Maybe then we might see
American Prayer
American Prayer
And this is the ground
That keeps our feet from getting wet
And this is the sky over our head
And what you see depends on where you stand
And how you jump will tell you where you're gonna land
American Prayer
American Prayer
My oh my
Couldn't get much higher
Lets not kick out the darkness
Make the lights brighter
And these are the hands
What are we gonna build with them?
This is the church you can't see
Give me your tired, your poor and huddled masses
You know they're yearning to breathe free
This is my American Prayer
American Prayer
American Prayer
When you get to the top of the mountain
Will you tell me what you see
If you get to the top of the mountain
Remember me
Here are the lyrics:
This is my American Prayer
This is my American Prayer
This is the time to finish what you started
And this is no time to dream
This is the room
We can turn off the dark tonight
Maybe then we might see
American Prayer
American Prayer
And this is the ground
That keeps our feet from getting wet
And this is the sky over our head
And what you see depends on where you stand
And how you jump will tell you where you're gonna land
American Prayer
American Prayer
My oh my
Couldn't get much higher
Lets not kick out the darkness
Make the lights brighter
And these are the hands
What are we gonna build with them?
This is the church you can't see
Give me your tired, your poor and huddled masses
You know they're yearning to breathe free
This is my American Prayer
American Prayer
American Prayer
When you get to the top of the mountain
Will you tell me what you see
If you get to the top of the mountain
Remember me
Insurance
Working in the health care industry, you see all types of things. But there isn't anything more difficult than to hear that services are denied because your insurance company won't pay. Is that what this world has come too? Not, we'll do whatever we can to make you better, and figure out expenses later...How did insurance companies get so much power that THEY determine what kind of treatment your doctor provides for you. In most cases the doctors and hospitals follow along because they too want to get paid. Not all insurance companies are like this, some are really wonderful. Then there are the bad apples that cause me to write things like this:
You work your entire life all the time paying for health insurance, not because you NEED it, but just in case there's an emergency.
Now imagine yourself in one of the following situations:
#1~
your doing a self breast exam, you find a lump, you go to your doctor, have all the necessary tests. The results show you have breast cancer. You sit down with your doctor to discuss the best treatment plan. Together you decide a mastectomy is the best treatment, a overnight stay (possibly two)in the hospital for observation/pain management is recommended. NOW imagine being told by the hospital financial advisor that your insurance company WILL NOT approve the overnight hospital stay(s)!! THEY feel that a mastectomy should be a same day come and go procedure....
#2~
your a typically healthy person, one day the unthinkable happens. You fall terribly ill which requires hospitalization, surgery, and several follow up exams and visits. NOW imagine being told while your in the hospital that your insurance company has cancelled your policy. Apparently they didn't expect you to ever get sick and actually need the insurance. So you are now left paying all of your medical expenses yourself (although most hospitals/doctors offices offer some form of a self pay discount).......
#3~
your like millions of other families have an hmo insurance(its usually more cost effective). Unlike some insurance policies, HMO's assign you and doctor and hospital and most tests and visits to a specialist must be authorized or referred by your assigned primary care physician. NOW imagine your baby develops a rare form of leukemia. The hospital assigned to you by your HMO doesn't have the treatment your child needs. But the hospital across town does, you need an authorization from your insurance company to go there, BUT the insurance company denies the authorization.....
#4~
you've worked hard your whole life, now your retired. Relaxing, enjoying life. One day during your annual checkups it is discovered that you have colon cancer. Immediately a surgery is scheduled, followed by chemotherapy. You feel good, look good, you think things are going well. Until the doctor informs you that the cancer has spread, there isn't anything they can do, surgery would be too risky. And the chemotherapy must be stopped because the insurance company will no longer pay for it. By the way you have two months to live......
AS IF being sick isn't stressful enough. How dare you terminate my policy once I become ill, or tell me that having my breast chopped off isn't worthy of a night in the hospital, or tell me that I can no longer have chemo since I'm dying anyway, regardless of what I think or feel. What do you do? Who are these people (insurance companies)?
Did you know that in Europe and Canada health care is free? I'm sure one can make arguments and point out several alternatives, but the point is those alternatives weren't available to these people.
You work your entire life all the time paying for health insurance, not because you NEED it, but just in case there's an emergency.
Now imagine yourself in one of the following situations:
#1~
your doing a self breast exam, you find a lump, you go to your doctor, have all the necessary tests. The results show you have breast cancer. You sit down with your doctor to discuss the best treatment plan. Together you decide a mastectomy is the best treatment, a overnight stay (possibly two)in the hospital for observation/pain management is recommended. NOW imagine being told by the hospital financial advisor that your insurance company WILL NOT approve the overnight hospital stay(s)!! THEY feel that a mastectomy should be a same day come and go procedure....
#2~
your a typically healthy person, one day the unthinkable happens. You fall terribly ill which requires hospitalization, surgery, and several follow up exams and visits. NOW imagine being told while your in the hospital that your insurance company has cancelled your policy. Apparently they didn't expect you to ever get sick and actually need the insurance. So you are now left paying all of your medical expenses yourself (although most hospitals/doctors offices offer some form of a self pay discount).......
#3~
your like millions of other families have an hmo insurance(its usually more cost effective). Unlike some insurance policies, HMO's assign you and doctor and hospital and most tests and visits to a specialist must be authorized or referred by your assigned primary care physician. NOW imagine your baby develops a rare form of leukemia. The hospital assigned to you by your HMO doesn't have the treatment your child needs. But the hospital across town does, you need an authorization from your insurance company to go there, BUT the insurance company denies the authorization.....
#4~
you've worked hard your whole life, now your retired. Relaxing, enjoying life. One day during your annual checkups it is discovered that you have colon cancer. Immediately a surgery is scheduled, followed by chemotherapy. You feel good, look good, you think things are going well. Until the doctor informs you that the cancer has spread, there isn't anything they can do, surgery would be too risky. And the chemotherapy must be stopped because the insurance company will no longer pay for it. By the way you have two months to live......
AS IF being sick isn't stressful enough. How dare you terminate my policy once I become ill, or tell me that having my breast chopped off isn't worthy of a night in the hospital, or tell me that I can no longer have chemo since I'm dying anyway, regardless of what I think or feel. What do you do? Who are these people (insurance companies)?
Did you know that in Europe and Canada health care is free? I'm sure one can make arguments and point out several alternatives, but the point is those alternatives weren't available to these people.
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