Posts by Sarah Morris57

Then there's really no point—that’s what we were told, anyway... they basically said it covers everything under the sun!

gentleskipper3 said:Ladies, quick question... how many cakes should I order for a crowd of 50 to 60 guests?

I really want them served separately—I can't stand seeing those tiered cakes where the bottom layer gets absolutely crushed by the one on top (it always looks so messy to me)....

As for flavors—maybe something like chocolate, fruit, or even cookies & cream? Or what would you all suggest? At almost every wedding I've been to, they seem to serve a Black Forest cake... don't get me wrong, I like it, but I was hoping for something a bit more unique.😁

At our wedding, we went with a classic chocolate Sachertorte and then another one with dark sponge and this amazing white cream—a friend actually gave the baker the recipe for the frosting!

If you want that separate look, I saw this super pretty display once—it was like several cakes arranged in an arc, kind of like this photo here, but spread out a bit more:
View on flickr

When we had 40 people, we basically doubled the number of slices so everyone could have at least two... I think we ended up with about 90 pieces total, which meant we had a full tier. So if you follow that same rule and go for two slices per person, you could easily do three cakes! But honestly, if you're ordering from a pro, they'll know exactly how to handle it and set it up beautifully—our bakery took care of all those little details, and they definitely knew way more about the logistics than we did...

We always just grabbed an Austrian pass whenever we headed out that way... 🤷
When it comes to Canada, we usually just wing it since those trips are pretty quick anyway. 🙂

I know that, but I haven't touched any of my paperwork yet—partly because I'm not even sure if I need to prove I moved, and on the other hand, even if I don't get hit with a fine for not updating it, I think there’s some short window to get everything aligned, maybe two weeks? It's just whether anyone is actually going to check up on me and force my hand right now... Honestly, I just didn't want to deal with the headache of changing everything twice in one year since everything was finally sorted out, and then come the end of the year, I'll have to redo the whole thing anyway because of my name change.

Question:
I've moved, but I haven't updated all my paperwork just yet.
Now I’m looking to switch my primary care doctor.

According to the Medicare website:
You pick a doctor for a whole year, and during that time, you can only swap them out for specific reasons—like moving or if you just don't get along anymore...

If I tell them I moved, are they going to dig through my files and notice my address hasn't officially changed yet?
And if I just say we have "strained relations," is she going to run into any trouble?

The other options are that the doctor retired, her patient list is over the limit (which isn't the case), or that I plan to be away from home for more than three months—though I'm not sure if that even applies since I only moved 9.3 miles away... Technically it's a different city, but I basically just moved from Chicago into Los Angeles County.

I know it’s not exactly the same thing—I actually just did this myself the other day, so I figured I’d throw it out there just as an example... 🙂

Sandra Brooks91 said:You’ve gotta get checked out $8.25 by a specialist

They told me it would be 50 bucks. 🤷
My primary care doc $3.25, plus another 50 for an X-ray... they even said bloodwork would be 50 too, but then—get this—they didn't charge me a dime! The nurse just mentioned it all depends on whatever diagnosis you end up with... crazy, right?

I think they used to keep things separate, you know? Like, you could actually keep your Medicare coverage even if you weren't officially registered with the unemployment office—especially back when they started aggressively cutting people from the rolls—but you had to get your paperwork sorted within a specific window... I believe it was something like 30 days.
If you miss those deadlines, though, you’re basically left hanging without any health insurance. A buddy of mine just found out the hard way recently; he missed his cutoff and suddenly had zero coverage.

All sorted in the end—I didn't actually have to cough up anything except those $3.25.

I honestly wasn't sure if that fell under my basic coverage (which I obviously have!) and if it didn't... well, I had no clue how much it would run me.
I wasn't feeling like a million bucks that morning, but I dragged myself to work anyway, and then—boom—everything just went downhill while I was there. And of course, all I had on me was about $33 and my card, which they don't even take, obviously.

Ugh, it drives me absolutely crazy! One time I ended up in an emergency situation at this dentist—it’s basically a private practice—and she actually turned me away! Even though I had most of the cash on me (it was a bigger amount back then, and I had like 80% of it right there!), she just sent me home to go grab the rest before she'd see me. I tried to talk her into it, really, but I had to go hunting for an ATM nearby first. And this was my dentist! I've been going to her my whole life and we've never had an issue... even with the vet, if something was missing, we could usually just settle up later or leave some paperwork behind.
The reason I was asking about the ER is because my coworkers were gonna drive me there (George Richardson10 couldn't leave work right that second), and I knew a buddy of mine was asked at the ER whether he wanted to pay on the spot or have them mail him a bill. I guess I don't know exactly what kind of procedure he was getting, so maybe it's different for everyone?

I totally get that they need some kind of protection, but it feels so silly that cash is the only way to pay sometimes. People end up needing a doctor unexpectedly and they might not have the dough on them right that second—that doesn't mean they won't pay! They can literally just swing by that afternoon or the next day.

Anyway, I won't drag this into the off-topic section since it's all handled now. Thanks for the help! 🙂

Does anyone know if there's any way to pay at a regular doctor's office or the ER through Medicare instead of just handing over cash right then and there?

I don't have supplemental insurance at the moment—yeah, yeah, I know, super smart of me, I totally plan on getting it sorted, but I'll get to it, I swear... and now here I am without it. Anyway, I've gone and pinched something or my back is all stiff or something... whatever it is, it hurts! I don't have much cash on me right now and I can't exactly run to grab it, but I could definitely use a card or maybe have them mail me a bill? Are those kinds of options even available around here?
Is it better to head straight to the ER—it feels kind of silly to go there if my regular doctor can handle it, not that I'm bleeding out or anything—or should I just stick with my primary physician?

I mean, I *could* head home, grab some money, and come back, but honestly, in this state, that sounds absolutely miserable. I'm at work right now and barely being able to walk (it felt okay when I arrived this morning, but now it’s gotten way worse), and even sitting down is a total pain...

Or does anyone happen to know how much it would cost if I just needed a quick injection or something similar?

ruggedeagle95 said:I always—and I mean *always*—use the paper towel I used to dry my hands to turn off the faucet. Honestly, I’m not so sure if kids are actually being taught right... like, how were you guys taught to wash your hands? Because doctors say you gotta wash before eating and after using the bathroom—for your own sake and everyone else's—🙂but I don't see many people actually scrubbing up after hitting the restroom, so it makes me wonder how kids are even being taught at all🙄

I use that same paper towel to grab the door handle when I’m leaving the restroom, too! Especially since everyone who skips handwashing is out there touching everything, so I just toss the towel whenever I head out.
Medical pros have all these rules, but I remember it being: before and after meals, after using the bathroom, when you get home from outside, once you kick off your shoes, before touching any food regardless of what you were doing earlier (seriously, we don't even open the fridge if our hands aren't clean!), and also before washing dishes, setting the table, or folding clean laundry. And lately, they should definitely add cell phones and computers to that list—especially phones, because people play on them in the bathroom, then walk out and keep playing on them, and even if they *did* wash their hands, the germs are still stuck to the phone... plus a million other little things that I feel like nobody pays attention to.
The whole thing honestly creeps me out a bit, and even an ex of mine noticed it—he only started paying attention to handwashing once he started walking around with me...

The only thing that never made sense to me were those handwashing instructions you see in hospitals. They tell you to take off your rings and stuff after leaving the stall but *before* washing your hands, then put them back on, and then use a paper towel to open the door on your way out.
Okay, fine, you need to wash your hands really thoroughly there, but then all that jewelry is still getting touched, right? Because even if you didn't touch anything in the restroom, you're definitely touching it while taking the rings off, and then you put them back on "clean" hands... then you touch the door handle, ugh, gross.

Kids just aren't being taught properly. I'm not a parent yet, but I've spent years working with kids and I seriously don't get the struggle—there are endless threads on parenting forums and in magazines about how hard it is to get kids to wash their hands, brush their teeth, or even clean themselves... and then we act surprised when those kids grow up to be messy adults.
My crew never had issues with this, and none of the kids I worked with gave me much pushback either. The only thing was every fall, when they’d come back from summer break with their parents or grandparents, and we’d have to have a quick little refresher that in my house, skipping hygiene isn't an option.

So, after being on birth control for about a year and a half, I somehow ended up with cellulite—even though I’ve been eating super clean and hitting the gym like crazy! (And no, it wasn't because of the pills, I just have this weird habit of dealing with it regardless...) Honestly, I might even be a few pounds underweight now. My lifestyle hasn't changed at all since before I started the pill, and I definitely didn't have any cellulite issues back then—thankfully it hasn't gotten worse since I finally quit them, either.
But ever since I got off them, my cycle has been absolutely wild—like, nothing for six or seven weeks straight, and then it lasts for an actual eternity. I'm already joking with my friends that my uterus is trying to kill me, but hey, at least it doesn't happen every single month, right? 😁
The only solution my doctor is suggesting right now is to get back on the pill—either the same ones or something else entirely—which I just don't get... how is that supposed to help if it’s only treating the symptoms? If my hormones are totally out of whack, shouldn't we be looking for the root cause instead of just replacing them? Like, find out what's actually broken and fix THAT? I never had these issues before any of this started.
Now I’m just stuck in this loop of not knowing what to do—should I just take them again and accept the cellulite, or just keep pushing through this mess? 🤷

silverlynx74 said:I’m planning to start birth control this month... honestly can't wait to finally get my hands on them, things are gonna be absolutely wild at home once I do! 🤣🤣

A Sephora bag? No way, I seriously can't believe there isn't some kind of little pouch they come with—I mean, come on! One time I actually got this tiny little cardboard case with mine, just the perfect size to tuck everything inside, and since it didn't have any branding on it, you could basically throw it anywhere... like, in your purse, a makeup bag, even a pencil case!

I feel you, it’s honestly gross—even when I'm just taking my basic multivitamins, it's just so yucky...

The whole thing where you have to hold the pill between your teeth first, then wash it down with water or juice or whatever, and then it just vanishes immediately? Yeah... a little practice and you'll get the hang of it!

Honestly, I’m just not buying into that homeopathy stuff—it feels totally bogus to me.

Like, Dramamine just knocks me out way too hard, and I can't exactly pop those every single time I hit the road... I'd be going through two boxes a week at this rate! As for those magnetic bracelets? No clue, but I tried those acupressure ones once and, well, they didn't really do much for me...

hm, maybe you should just ask those agencies directly?

I remember asking them about volunteering once—they immediately started hitting me with lists of fees and paperwork. Honestly, the membership dues aren't even the big issue, but... I was looking into some volunteer gigs out in Maine helping with soup kitchens or something similar, and they started pitching their programs. It turned out that doing actual manual labor there would cost me just as much as a regular vacation. I don't mind paying a little something, and I wasn't expecting a full salary or anything, but the idea that I'd be working my tail off all day cleaning stuff up only to pay the same price as someone just lounging on the beach... it felt wrong...
In the end, I wanted to do some volunteer work over in Washington, D.C., so I just went straight to the source, handled everything myself, and bypassed them entirely.