Gas under $2.00

I didn't believe it would happen. Here's the proof, from 4 different stations. Sorry for the picture quality - I took some of them stopped at red lights. And the first one is hard to see - it's $1.95!

Cheap at half the price

I think it's possible we have the cheapest gas in the country right here in the Valley. We're approaching dropping below $2.00/gallon here. I've searched all over Gas Buddy, and the next cheapest I can find is $2.16. The lowest I've actually seen here was $2.05 a couple hours ago, and I paid $2.15 or so on Saturday when I filled the tank. (Filled the tank for under $50! Miracles happen!)

I can't tell you why our gas here is so cheap, but I'm not complaining. We're still not driving much, and that seems to be the case all over. We've managed to never pay $4.00 for gas, at least not yet - it never topped that here in McAllen, although we did see prices over that when we were traveling to other parts of the state. Always managed to have enough gas and never needed to fill up then. The most we ever paid was $3.95. But here soon, if we keep dropping, we'll be paying half the price that we were just 3 months ago. If ony the prices of everything else would drop that fast!

The Hudson Hornet's Engine couldn't last forever

http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/09/27/paul.newman.dead/index.html

If you haven't already heard, Paul Newman passed away yesterday at the age of 83.

He certainly left his mark on the world, with his great movie roles, his charitable work, his amazingly long Hollywood marriage, and of course his yummy Newman's Own.

Around here, as in many homes with kids, he holds a special place in our hearts as Doc Hudson, the Hudson Hornet. Radiator Springs just won't be the same without him.

I don't even know what to say

Why is it that when something from down here in the Valley makes national news, it's always for something like this:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/08/27/obese.prosecution.ap/index.html

Defense: Woman too obese to kill nephew

EDINBURG, Texas (AP) -- A nearly half-ton Texas woman charged in the death of her toddler nephew couldn't have beaten the boy to death because of her limited movement from weight problems, her attorney said Tuesday.

What kind of mother leaves her children with a 1,000-pound woman who can't even get out of bed? And then, why is it such a concern about how they will take care of her medical issues if she's in prison? I mean, okay, maybe you figure out a way to treat her until she is convicted. But once someone is convicted of such a horrible crime, why in the world to we continue to provide them medical care? We don't have medical care guaranteed for the good, hard-working, law-abiding citizens who haven't done horrible things like, oh, say, kill their nephews. My own father bled to death in his living room, even though there were treatments that could have helped him, because my family could not afford those treatments. You know, maybe I should have just encouraged him to do some horrible crime and go to jail. What a thought - if my father had been a criminal, he might still be alive today!

Stay out of THIS courtroom

There are downsides to where we live. Check out this headline:

Lawsuit: Los Fresno JP ordered spankings

It doesn't give much detail about what the 14-year-old girl in question actually did, only that she would be fined and found guilty of truancy if her father did not give her repeated spankings in open court. With a large heavy wooden paddle!

Apparently, the father did it. He felt he had no choice. I have no idea what I would have done in a similar situtaion - I imagine being too dumbfounded to do anything.

In some places, even a slight swat on the butt might get you charged with child abuse and your kids taken away. Apparently, here, it's abuse NOT to, and I suppose you could be held in contempt of court if you didn't spank your child - in open court.

This is insanity. This was Brownsville, and not McAllen, but sometimes I hear stories like this, and think, "Where am I again?"

Ah, Texas. There's nothing like it.

C-sections mean no insurance?

Navelgazing Midwife has much more to say about this, but this article talks about women who have had previous c-sections being denied insurance coverage, or having to pay additional expenses for their charges (unless they have been sterilized), because of the past c-section.

C-sections, of course, cost much more than a typical vaginal birth, cause many more complications, and are much more dangerous than a normal vaginal birth.

Now, before anybody goes throwing a fit saying, "But I had one because (the baby/I/both) would have died if we didn't!" well, I do know that there are times when a vaginal birth is impossible and a c-section is absolutely warranted. I am thankful they are there for the women and babies who truly need them.

BUT - the current c-section rate is the US is somewhere around 30% - in some places it's higher, and I've even heard of places where the rate is closer to 50%.

VBAC's (Vaginal Birth After Caesarean) are not "allowed" in many hospitals, and many doctors refuse to atted them. So, the general line of thinking (whether right or wrong) is "once a caesarean, always a caesarean," and even if a woman wants to have a VBAC, she is likely to be unable to find anyone to attend her birth or a place in which to deliver.

Now, many of those women who had unnecessary c-sections (and there is no way possible that 1/3 of babies NEED to be born by c-section, or the human race would not have survived this long) are being denied health insurance, being denied coverage for a repeat c-section (which, given the unavailability of VBAC's, is basically refusal to cover a subsequent pregnancy and birth), or being charged higher rates or separate riders for a future c-section, arguing that they can exclude them on the basis of a c-section being a pre-existing condition.

The implications of this are pretty scary. Many women go into birth not fully prepared or educated, and trust their doctors completely, so if they are told they "need" a c-section, "need" to be induced, "need" to have their labor augmented, or "need" any one of the long list of potentially unnecessary and harmful interventions (many of which eventually lead to that c-section), they trust their doctors. They never consider that many doctors never see a normal, natural, intervention-free birth, that doctors are trained to use all their equipment, that they are practicing in a way to protect themselves from a potential malpractice suit (and if a doctor has performed a c-section and there is a negative outcome, the doctor is generally assumed to have done everything in his power, whereas if he has performed an unnecessary c-section, he faces no repurcussions). And so they go along with it, end up with a c-section, and never have any option for anything else in the future.

And now, they may find themselves unable to have children in the future, unless they can figure out how to pay for a c-seciton out of pocket. And I don't know about you, but I can't really pull out my checkbook and cover that one right now.

First, how about universal health coverage, so this isn't an issue? Figure out a way to cover everyone, so we don't have to worry about whether a previous c-section, a birth defect, an inherited health problem, or our genetic makeup will exclude us from coverage. Radical idea, I know, but it seems to work for all those other industrialized nations.

But second, how about letting pregnancy and labor take its own course unless there's a darn good reason to do otherwise? Like not scheduling 38 week c-sections because a baby is "too big" (and then turns out to be 7 1/2 pounds). How about allowing truly elective c-sections only if the mother is willing to pay the full cost out of pocket, and understands all the potential implications?

Yes, I get riled up about this issue. I think women, and babies, deserve better, and sell themselves short when they don't trust their bodies to do what their bodies are designed to do - carry a baby and give birth. Plus, if I'd gone with a convential OB/GYN for Guthrie's birth, I'm pretty certain I would have been scared into having a c-section because he was "too big" for a vaginal birth. Oh, he was a big baby - over 9 pounds and 21 inches - and he was my longest and hardest labor of my 3, but he certainly wasn't "too big" - born after 7 1/2 hours of labor without a complication, without a tear, without an IV, epidural, or any other intervention.

The only good I can see coming from this development is that if enough women find out about it, and know what it could mean, maybe they will think things through and question whether that c-section is truly necessary.

(And because this comes with bad timing, as one of my friends just had a baby by c-section, if she reads this - as if she has time with a new baby - it's not directed at anyone in particular at all. Just my frustration with "the system" as it is.)

Let's build a fence

This is a story to remind us all why all illegal immigrants should be stopped. Why they are all evil, horrible, nasty people. And all that other BS propaganda some crazy fraidy-cats everywhere but around the border seem to believe.

Hopefully you can feel the sarcasm in my statement.

The story (really go read it) is about how an illegal immigrant in Arizona probably saved a little boy's life. The van he was in with his mom crashed, his mom was trapped inside, the boy crawled out to try to go for help but didn't know where to go. The man came along, tried to get the mother out (unfortunately, he couldn't, and she didn't survive), and then stayed with the boy, building a bonfire to protect him from the cold.

The boy, whose father had only recently died too, is fine, and the man is in custody. Because he's an evil law-breaking life-saver, or something.

There's one little boy who is glad there is no fence. Yet.

Fall is on its way

The big news of the day:







Yep, that's right, fall is officially going to arrive Monday. And it was the headline of the newspaper.

If you could read it a little more closely it says that the highs next week are only going to be in the 80s and lows might drop all the way into the 50s!!! Break out the parkas, baby. (Kidding, kidding.)

On Monday and Tuesday, the high might not even hit 80. Whoa!

Middle of October, and we were still playing in the kiddie pool, and I'm currently dressed in a tank top and shorts. But oh, am I ready to turn off the AC and open the windows. I like it hot - really, I do - and I hate the cold (and I've lived in Alaska, so I know cold), but I'm done. Now come the months of paradise that is fall and winter in the Valley. Our tree in the front yard is starting to bloom, and I'm very much looking forward to a tree full of pink flowers full of butterflies and hummingbirds. Here it comes!