Budget Cuts for disabilities

Some of you may have heard about the recent proposed budget cuts for the Department of Disabilities and Special Needs. The House Ways and Means Committee has recommended cutting DDSN State funding by $47 million. In total, this would be a $157 million cut to the agency when you add in the Medicaid matching funds.

Among the effects of such a cut would be the elimination of the PDD Waiver program. This program funds therapy services for approximately 60% of our clients and allows many of our employees to work doing a job they love.
Elimination of the program would mean an end to some services and a potential loss of jobs.

In response to this recommendation, many individuals are contacting their state representatives and politely asking them to vote against DDSN budget cuts. It is important that they know how much the PDD Waiver program means before the proposed cuts move further in the budget process. You can find out who represents you at this link to find out. 

http://www.scstatehouse.gov/cgi-bin/zipcodesearch.exe 

Please join me in this fight to save the PDD Waiver! 

2 months until Paradise!

So back in January, Steven and I decided that we deserved an awesome vacation this year! We have been crazy busy this past year and really wanted to go somewhere similar to our honeymoon. So we decided to take this boat


to these islands


and


And after this week I have had, I cannot wait!!!

EXERCISE!

Ugh! I have never been one to enjoy exercising, but have remained lucky that I do not gain a ton of weight for being lazy. :) Well, we made the decision to join a gym a couple of weeks ago. Amazingly, it has been a great experience and I enjoy going. We are able to go with some of our friends which makes it a more enjoyable experience. I have just been focusing on a lot of cardio activities to get into better shape. It has been a great de-stressor. I have noticed that since I have been working out that I feel more guilty about what I eat. I mean you can walk on a treadmill for an hour and only burn like 300 calories! So those cookies at work are a lot easier to turn down now! :) I want to do the classes they offer, but I have so much going on right now! Can't wait to start going to Zumba and kick/sculpt on Monday nights. So....Keep me accountable! What are your favorite things to do during a work out?

Reading the WHOLE Bible in one year

So Steven and I are youth leaders at our church and they are doing a series this whole year on reading the chronological Bible. We took the challenge and are reading it together so we both have some accountability. I always had a hard time finding or figuring out what I would read out of the Bible so this has been great for me. We are using the 24/7 chronological Bible (NLT version). It is separated by dates so you just turn to February 17 and read that days passage. I highly recommend this Bible. It's not to late to get started. Just start with the day you buy it and lapse through the next year. So far I have read about Adam and Eve, Noah, Job, and Moses. I find myself wanting to be like Job. When everything was taken away from him, he still trusted in God at all times. I want to know...which one of these are your favorite?

New blogger & Valentine's Day

Hello! I have enjoyed reading everyone else's blogs so I have decided to start my own! Steven and I just celebrated our 5th Valentine's together! Wow! Where does the time go? It has gone by so fast that we both couldn't remember what we even did last year for Valentine's. This year we decided to celebrate early since it fell on a Sunday this year. We went out on a journey Friday evening in the snow. We saw so many wrecks on the way, but we made it to Kanpai safely! It was still snowing when we left, but we made it home safely and we got about 5 inches of snow. Steven surprised me with diamond earrings!!! They are beautiful! The next day I woke up with this awful cold so I didn't get to enjoy the snow. To say the least, I don't think we will forget this Valentine's 2010!