Lisa Johnson

Self-care With Virtual Therapy Dogs On Instagram

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Self-care with virtual therapy dogs on Instagram.

How are you doing? I mean really.

I’ve been feeling stressed. Yoga and meditation help, but sometimes they’re not enough.

Between the humanitarian crisis unfolding before our eyes in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, the wildfires in California, Trump’s constant online and offline bullying, ignorance and cruelty, and the recent news of Harvey Weinstein’s decades long brutality towards women, it gets to be too much.

There have been several posts that I planned to do over the past few weeks, but didn’t have the time and emotional energy to do them. But I do have a tried and true method of self-care.

In health care, self-care is any necessary human regulatory function which is under individual control, deliberate and self-initiated.

I don’t have a pet, but find myself drawn towards cute little dogs.

Emotional support animals are used by people who have a diagnosed medical disability. Therapy dogs aren’t usually service animals, but are often brought to people in stressful situations for comfort.

There are three dogs on Instagram that I go to for comfort when I find myself feeling overwrought. If you follow me on twitter, you can probably guess the timing!

Just looking at these cute little dogs calms me down. Anyway, my personal virtual therapy dogs are: Norbert, Bibi Shasha and Popeye the Foodie. You’re welcome!

What are you doing for self-care?

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Image: Collage made from Instagram pictures.

Show Your Obamacare Rebate! Thanks Obama!

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We made it to October 1st and saved the Affordable Care Act! The special rules in place to pass the legislation with just 50 votes, using Pence to break the tie, expired yesterday.

The Republicans frenzy to repeal the ACA was cruel on so many levels. The failure to repeal will no doubt save many lives. I’m sure that Jimmy Kimmel speaking out about his experiences had a lot to do with keeping Obamacare alive.

One of the many benefits of the ACA is that it places requirements on health insurance companies that benefit those of us who subscribe to health care plans. One of the most beneficial requirements is the 80/20 Rule.

The 80/20 Rule generally requires insurance companies to spend at least 80% of the money they take in from premiums on health care costs and quality improvement activities. The other 20% can go to administrative, overhead, and marketing costs.

The 80/20 rule is sometimes known as Medical Loss Ratio, or MLR. If an insurance company uses 80 cents out of every premium dollar to pay for your medical claims and activities that improve the quality of care, the company has a Medical Loss Ratio of 80%.

Insurance companies selling to large groups (usually more than 50 employees) must spend at least 85% of premiums on care and quality improvement.

If your insurance company doesn’t meet these requirements, you’ll get a rebate on part of the premium that you paid.

Yesterday, I received a rebate check in the mail! It was a nice surprise and much needed. I’ve received a few rebate checks over the years and most likely many other people have as well.

Have you received an Obamacare rebate?

It’s quite striking to me that after just finishing their latest attempt to repeal Obamacare, now republicans are trying to give the richest of the rich a tax cut and raise taxes on the rest of us.

The Obamacare rebate is a boost to everyone regardless of income. I think this rebate should be more widely discussed. Shouldn’t we be talking about extra money in our pockets because of Obamacare?

How many of us are receiving it? Let’s share on social media if we receive this rebate and thank President Obama for the Obamacare rebate. Thanks Obama!

2-Ingredient Banana Pancake Experiment

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2-ingredient banana pancake breakfast.

This past week, I saw a recipe on The Kitchn for 2-ingredient banana pancakes. It looked like a good idea for a quick high energy breakfast that might taste incredibly good. So this morning I decided to try it.

While the recipe is technically just two ingredients, there are several other ingredients mentioned as optional extras. I got a bit carried away and should have kept it simple.

I added a tablespoon of leftover granola, which is probably fine. I added a pinch of salt, some vanilla and baking powder. Also probably fine.

Here is where I veered off the road with my breakfast. Last year, I read an article in Brandeis Magazine about coffee flour.

Coffee flour, developed by Brandeis biophysicist Dan Perlman ’68, got media outlets and many other observers buzzing this winter.

Two decades ago, Perlman and nutritionist K.C. Hayes developed the “healthy fats” blend in the Smart Balance buttery spread. Now, on his own, Perlman’s invented and patented what he says is a healthier form of coffee.

Needless to say, I was intrigued. So I searched for coffee flour and ordered some from Nuts.com. The coffee flour has been sitting in my fridge lonely and unopened for months. So I decided to put a couple of tablespoons into this recipe. Well. It didn’t really work.

My excitement over this new recipe, and probably and ironically my lack of coffee, caused me to forget that the coffee flour should be mixed with regular flour.

Anyway, I took a picture of the pancakes. Not my best work! The flavor wasn’t great, but it was edible. Next time I’ll just stick with the two ingredients!

For the coffee flour, I’ll add it to the flour mixture that I keep in the fridge. Have you ever tried coffee flour?

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Photo Credit: The Kitchn