After the power bill we just got I’ve got to do something to save a little extra cash somewhere.  Maybe I need to get some insurance quotes again to see if I can save some cash there. It’s ridiculous how expensive power with Blue Ridge Electric is right now.  Our power bill has gone up exactly $100 each month over the last 2 months.

The company is claiming (and they even sent out a pamphlet about it) everyone is experiencing excess power usage because of the cold snap we had last month.  Extra cold temps means extra power needed to keep us warm.  In theory that’s probably correct for most people, but that doesn’t explain our power bill.  We have a wood stove, and that’s our main heat source.  Yeah we use our electric heaters from time to time, but in the last 2 months we’ve used them less. We know they won’t keep us warm enough, especially with the baby, so there’s almost always a fire going in the wood stove.

We’re not the only ones scratching our heads at Blue Ridge’s claim.  I’ve spoken to quite a few people who have outrageous bills who have either natural gas or propane heat. A neighbor who’s been working out of town almost the entire billing period told us his power bill was over $500.  He’s a single guy, and no one has been in his house while he’s gone, so he’s baffled at how his power bill is so high.

My father-in-law asked about our hot water heater, something I had already considered.  If your hot water heater is in a cold portion of your house, and you have a cold snap it’s going to pull more power.  Fortunately our hot water heater is in the kitchen about 6′ away from the wood stove specially placed where heat will get to it.

I’ve already called the power company to let them know what I think, but what can ya do?  I do plan on writing a letter to the AG asking that they look into it.  Why are all of our power bills supposedly so high due to the cold snap if Duke Power customers only saw an average increase of $30?  $30 versus $200?  Something’s just not right about that.

At least ranting about it helps me feel a little better.

Is it Monday already?  I swear yesterday didn’t feel like Sunday at all, and we were both a little thrown off by the realization that today really is Monday.  Hubby overslept (like he does just about every Monday morning after staying up late playing COD4), but he somehow managed to get out the door on time as always.

I wanted to stay in bed as long as possible this morning due to the fact that it’s just too dang cold out there, but the baby girl had other plans.  She must be playing games in there trying to stay warm or something because she’s been kicking up a storm non-stop since 4am…and we haven’t even had coffee yet. 

I did just start my coffee (decaf), so hopefully that’ll jump start the warm up process since my big fluffy robe, fluffy PJs, and blanket don’t seem to be doing the trick.  I’ve got my floor heater running, and as soon as I get it heated up in here enough that I don’t feel like a popsicle I’ll work on getting a small fire going in the woodstove.  That’ll warm it up in here quick!

Thank goodness it’s supposed to be back up in the 70s tomorrow.  I was beginning to wonder where Fall went.  I mean come on…NC mountains got freakin’ snow this weekend!  What’s up with that?

I know I’ve talked about nothing but baby talk the last few days, but you’ll have to excuse me for that.  It’s the only thing that’s on my mind constantly, and I’ve realized how much I have to do!

A couple of friends have suggested that instead of setting up an account with the hospital we check out Maternity Advantage because supposedly they save you 30-50% off your final bill, then they setup payments for you.  I requested some info a few days ago, and today I got a package in the mail.

It took all of 2 seconds for me to say no way am I falling for this total ripoff!  First of all there’s a start up fee and monthly fees.  I knew there would be fees involved, but I wasn’t expecting what I found.  The packet didn’t list the fees, so a quick Google search pointed me towards $100/month fees with $199 startup fee.

I’m sorry but that’s not really saving me anything at all is it?  The company claims they may be able to save me 30-50% on my hospital bills, but there’s no solid guarantee they can do that.  Why would I pay them $1099 over the 9 month period when I can put that $1099 towards my account at the hospital?  Better yet since I’m paying out of pocket why don’t I use that $1099 towards my prenatal care right now while I need it?  That’s just for the first 9 months.  I’m assuming (even though it doesn’t say) that the fee also applies every month until you pay off the account.

I honestly think I’ll save more by setting things up with the hospital ahead of time.  They offer a sliding scale system that charges based on your income level, and there is little to no interest depending on the type of account we setup.  I’m going to be spending enough money as it is, so why in the world would I want to throw away so much cash for a program that really guarantees me nothing?

I just went to take a sip out of my tea and practically swallowed a nasty ladybug.  I told you those things were everywhere! Now I have this horrible bitter taste in my mouth that I can’t get rid of.  I think it’s time to go brush my teeth again.  Ewwww.

You’d think a girl like me would have experience with swallowing bugs, considering I ride bikes as much as I do.

I’m the girl who makes fun of people who don’t ride with their visor down (or with a helmet) and end up swallowing bugs.  In fact, I’ve got a friend who always rides with his visor up, and he’s eaten so many bugs we went to a shop that sells basketball trophies and had a small one made for him that says “#1 Bug Eater”. Me on the other hand, I have a strict visor down, no bugs in mouth policy, and I’m not very happy to have it happen now especially when I haven’t been on a bike in months.

Just…EWWWWW!