Christmas 2016

Written By:  Andrew Eide

I was going to go into long details on what we received for Christmas but I will make it short and just include photos. Short version is:  Becx received a Jade and Gold ring and a coffee mug from us. Nanay received $76 as she is 76 years of age. Keira received from us a My Life Veterinarian Doll Set and a Razor PowerCore E-100 Electric Scooter. She also received two sets of Hello Kitty sleepwear. Enjoy the photos below.

I Am Thankful For What 2017 Has In Store For Us

Written By:  Andrew Eide

Nobody can be sure what 2017 will bring their way. We don’t know either. There are some things we are pretty sure of, some we hope will happen, and some will be a surprise. Here is what we know so far.

I will get a very small Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) increase in my Military Retirement and Social Security Retirement. I anticipate the increase for the Military Retirement to be about $5 per month and Social Security will probably increase about $3 per month. Yeah, I know, having a combined yearly increase in Navy Retirement and Social Security of $95 to $100 per year isn’t much, and for sure my actual cost of living will increase more than that per year, but I am thankful I have two Retirement incomes. One of the blessings is that in the State of Georgia they stop taxing your Retirement incomes once you reach the age of 62. So I do factor in the fact that I have reduced my Georgia State Income Taxes by about $200 per year so I cannot really complain. This is under the heading of items we are pretty sure of.

Becx started working at Any Lab Test Now (ALTN) in January 2014. When January 2015 came around her Supervisor was very kind and blessed Becx with a very nice pay increase and more job duties. When January 2016 rolled around Becx received another nice pay increase but her job functions remained basically the same. The 2016 pay increase wasn’t as much as the 2015 increase but without additional job functions tossed in I consider what she received in 2016 was fair and honest. What Becx might receive in January 2017 is not yet known. This is one under the heading of something we hope happens.

We have been researching purchasing a home in Winder, Georgia, from LGI Homes. They are new construction in a very nice community in Winder. The benefits of purchasing a home from this company in this location are many. Once both of us have a certain mid-range Credit Score from the three credit reporting agencies we can purchase a very nice single level home, model name is Burton, and the cost is under $190,000 for a nearly 2,000 square foot home. The same home in Duluth, Lilburn, Norcross, or Lawrenceville, would easily go for $220,000 and higher but it would be an older home and not a brand newly constructed home. Since I have Veteran’s Administration Home Loan Guarantee that allows us to purchase their home in Winder with no money down except a token $100 fee. The builder, LGI Homes, also offers if you are a Military Veteran and purchase with a VA Loan, they will pay the closing costs for you which saves us several thousand dollars. They have a community center there with a pool, recreation center, and play area for children. They also have a Homeowner’s Association which, believe it or not, has Annual Dues of less than $150 per year and they pay the first year’s dues. On top of that LGI Homes is so sure of the quality of their work they will fix any problem that is due to materials or workmanship defects for one year from date of purchase. This item falls under the category of this will be a surprise if it happens in 2017.

What else will 2017 hold in store for us? We don’t know. We hope most of what comes our way are good things. Keep tuned into our Family Blog starting January 2017 to see what happens next.

Donald Trump Wins Electoral Votes on December 19, 2016

Written By:  Andrew Eide

On December 19, 2016, the Electoral College cast their official votes. As of 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time, with Hawaii being the only State remaining to vote the Electoral Vote count is 302 for Trump and 224 for Hillary Clinton.

The final Electoral Vote count, after Hawaii was counted, was 304 for Trump and 227 for Hillary Clinton.

There are protesters demanding that the Electoral College “do their job” by “voting against Trump” but they fail to realize the Electoral College did their jobs correctly by obeying the Constitution, the rule of law, and the will of the people.

Thank you Electoral College for doing the right thing even though Liberals and Democrats threatened you even with death threats if you voted for Trump. Doing the right thing is always the right thing to do.

I Am Thankful For Nanay Being Able to Live With Us

Written By:  Andrew Eide

I am thankful that Nanay, Becx’s mother, is living with us. She arrived in the United States on a Tourist Visa in July 2016. We filed for an Adjustment of Status to Immigrant and that should be finalized early in 2017 when she will receive an Immigrant Visa and a Green Card.

Once Nanay has her Immigrant Visa and Green Card we can obtain a Social Security Number for her and obtain Medical Insurance. Currently we are paying all medical bills out of pocket and it has become difficult to do so.

You need to know that Nanay is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s and unfortunately this situation will continue to deteriorate until she will not be able to remember much. We want to continue to take care of her at home but that would require having an outside person come into our home to take care of her. We really don’t want to put her in an Alzheimer’s Retirement Facility but that day may come.

It is a stressful situation for us but we are thankful that Nanay is here with us instead of still in the Philippines. If Nanay had remained in the Philippines and something happened to her Becx would regret that she was 12,000 miles away and not able to be there for her mother. Having Nanay here means that her family is here even if she becomes ill. Becx is her only child and Keira is Nanay’s only grandchild so even though the tensions are high, we argue, and we get frustrated, with Nanay’s mental condition, we still love her and try to do all we can to make her life comfortable and enjoyable.

I Am Thankful I Am Not A Moron

Written By:  Andrew Eide

I’m thankful I’m not a moron. Okay you want to know what I mean by that and I am here to tell you.

I am always confronted by people who have the “entitlement” mentality. They feel everything should be handed to them instead of them working hard for what they get. Most of these people are Liberals as they have been taught that having your hand out expecting others to hand stuff to you for no effort on your part to earn it is the proper thing to do.

Here’s what I’ve observed over the years.  Someone will walk up to me and whine and complain that they cannot purchase food, buy a meal at a restaurant, pay the rent and other bills, and they have their hand out expecting me to hand them money or food.

But here is my observation. I see they have a watch and jewelry on that I would estimate to be over $500 in value. I see them with sneakers on that I know they paid well over $100 for. I see the clothing they have on and my rough estimate of the cost of those clothes is about $100. Then I observe myself where all my clothing I am wearing at that time, including the watch I wear, has a total value of around $100.

So after taking in the fact that the clothing and jewelry they are wearing has a value of more than $600 over what I am wearing I understand that it has nothing to do with them being poor and not able to afford food or the ability to pay bills. It has everything to do with them wasting their money on expensive stuff instead of taking care of basic needs.

If you think that I’m going to hand you money or food when you are a moron and spend your money on non-essential stuff so that you have no money for essential items you are wrong.

That’s the difference between Conservatives and Liberals. Conservatives understand that to get ahead in life you have to educate yourself, work hard, and do good work and you will get promotions and pay increases. However Liberals believe that being uneducated, lazy, and doing poor work in your employment, warrants you getting pay increases and promotions.

We do not live in an “entitlement” society. You are not going to take money and food away from my family when you are wearing over $700 worth of clothing and jewelry and you could have used that money for food and bills.

I Am Thankful for My Social Security Retirement and the Supplemental Social Security They Give to Keira

Written By:  Andrew Eide

I turned 62 in November 2015 and I decided to start drawing my Social Security Retirement benefits now rather than to wait until I turned the full retirement age of 66 years of age.

My reasons are simple. I figure if I draw the benefits now they cannot take it away from me but they can reduce the amount I receive. I would rather take the chance that they might reduce my benefits some time down the line rather than to never receive the benefits at all.

The other reason is because of what happened to my sister in-law Carol. At the time the early age to draw Social Security Retirement benefits was 59.5 years of age. Carol turned 59 in the middle of July and she was so excited and she was telling us that in the middle of January next year she will turn 59.5 years of age and she can draw her Social Security Retirement.

What happened was when January 1^st came around Congress changed the Law for Social Security and they changed the early retirement age to 62. Carol missed out drawing early Social Security Retirement benefits by two weeks.

I didn’t want that to happen to me so I applied for my benefits and I started receiving Social Security Retirement in January 2016.

I cannot reveal the amount I receive each month for my Social Security Retirement but I can give you the basic idea that my combined Social Security & Military Retirement pays me more per month and per year than my last full-time employment which was from November 2008 to May 2009/.

Additionally Social Security approved supplemental benefits for Keira since she is under the age of 18 years of age. They determined that based on my Social Security Retirement, and the fact that I am unemployed, they are giving me a very reasonable monthly amount for Keira’s benefit.

My requirements are simple. I had to open a Savings Account in her name to put her Social Security benefits into. I have to do a monthly accounting of what I received from Social Security for Keira. Then I have to account for what was spent for housing and food and other items such as personal expenses for Keira. These personal expenses could be medical expenses, school expenses, clothing, etc.

As long as I keep accurate accounting, and I assure you that I will do so, she will continue to receive this Social Security supplemental benefits. Our intention is to save as much as we can so that when Keira wants to attend college she won’t have to borrow money to do so.

I Am Thankful For My TriCare Medical Insurance

Written By:  Andrew Eide

One of the benefits of being retired from the United States Military is that I can receive medical and dental insurance through TriCare. TriCare serves as a medical insurance provider for all Military personnel who are on Active Duty or Retired.

Most of our friends are not Military so we have discussions about the cost of medical insurance for their families. An average family of 3 or 4 persons is today paying about $1,500 to $2,500 per month in premiums. I will not give you the exact amount we pay for medical insurance premiums but it is just a little under $50 per month and that is for full coverage medical insurance for my entire family.

We also have Delta Dental insurance, which is also provided through TriCare. Although it is very expensive at close to $150 per month, when you combine what we pay monthly for medical & Dental insurance, we are still paying less per year than most people pay per month.

Additional benefits of TriCare medical insurance include:

No yearly or lifetime caps on amount they will pay in benefits.

We do have to pay office visit co-pays and co-pays for medications but we have no cost-sharing or deductibles. Example from my last medical insurance which was United Healthcare: Say you have a bill of $10,000. You have to pay $2,000 out-of-pocket each year for each person covered on the medical insurance and then United Healthcare would pay only 80 percent of the balance. Just one $10,000 billing would cost me $3,600 out of pocket. I do not have to do that with TriCare.

Doctors who accept TriCare are prohibited from charging us the difference from what they bill TriCare to what TriCare pays them for their services. If the Doctor bills $1,000 and TriCare pays them only $700 the Doctor is prohibited from charging us the difference.

We are truly blessed to have this medical insurance.

I Am Thankful For My Military Retirement

Written By:  Andrew Eide

I retired from Active Duty in the United States Navy in April 1996. At that time I started receiving my Military Retirement Pay. The initial pay was 50 percent of what my Base Pay was at that time. Since the Base Pay for an E-6 with 20 years of service was $1,800 per month my initial Retirement Pay was $900 per month.

Fortunately that amount has been increasing nearly every year of the 19 years I’ve been retired. When I reach April 2016 I will have been fully retired from Active Duty in the Military for 20 years.

I cannot reveal to you the monthly amount I receive today but it is significantly more than when I first retired. Also those of us who are Retired Military should receive a very small Cost Of Living Adjustment (COLA) increase starting in January 2017. I don't know the exact amount yet but I anticipate it will only be between $5 to $7 per month before taxes.

I am thankful that the amount I receive is enough to pay the rent and a few other bills each month. That alleviates some of the burden from what Becx has to give to me each of her paydays in order to ensure all the bills are paid.

I Am Thankful For Becx & Keira

Written By:  Andrew Eide

Although Becx & Keira drive me crazy with their constant arguing I love the two of them more than I can explain in words. I also know that Becx loves Keira so much and Keira loves Becx so much. The issue is that both are very stubborn individuals so they clash all the time.

I met Becx through a mutual friend, Lito, who lived in the same apartment complex I did in Concord, California. Lito and his wife knew Becx and when I asked him if he knew someone he could introduce me to he introduced me to Becx. Although she lived in Manila, Philippines, and I lived in Concord, California, our 6,000 mile difference was not a hindrance to us ending up marrying.

We were married on July 15, 2010, in Manila and we have been married now for five and a half years.

One of my fondest memories was after talking to Keira on video calls until I arrived in Manila in July 2010 I was worried that Keira might freak out when she saw me in person as she only saw me in photos and on video calls.

When Becx and I exited from the elevator in the condo the entire family was there and Keira, who was 1.5 years old at the time, was in the arms of the house girl Jessica. Keira was looking at me trying to figure out of me, the person she saw and talked to on the computer in a video call, was really the same person who was now standing before her.

I remember looking at Keira and I said “I told you I was coming to visit you.”  Keira reached out her arms and jumped from Jessica into my arms and that told me that she accepted me into her life.

Yeah Becx & Keira argue like a cat & dog all the time but as long as I know both love each other and they love me that’s all the blessings I need. I’m very fortunate to have the two of them in my life.

What I Thankful For In 2016

Written By:  Andrew Eide

Okay for the entire year of 2016 you’ve had to endure me telling you stories of discrimination, harassment, cheating, lying, stupid things people do, and scary or hurtful things that happened to me.

After 11 months of that we have now reached December 2016 and now I will finally focus on all the things I am thankful for in 2016. Of course some of these date before 2016 but I still want to end 2016 stating the things I’m thankful for.

Thanks for staying with us reading our family blog for 2016.

I Love Getting a Great Deal While Shopping

Written By:  Andrew Eide

I love getting a great deal while shopping. My recent experience was with WalMart.

The first incident was shopping on WalMart website by going through eBates first. That way I log into eBates then enter WalMart's site and place the order and I get cash back for the purchase by going through eBates first.

The item I wanted to purchase for Keira was a Razor Power Core E100 Electric Scooter. I was in WalMart and noticed the price listed was $149. The other item was a My Life Veterinarian doll set which comes with outfits and three pets to serve in the Veterinarian Clinic. The price off the shelf was $49.97. I took a chance to come home and look at the WalMart website. The Razor scooter was listed but the My Life doll was not.

I was shocked to see that the online price for the Razor Power Core E100 Electric Scooter was $119 which was a savings of $30. I clicked to pick up in store when I placed the order so I didn't have to pay for shipping.

Although I had to purchase the My Life Veterinarian doll in-store it is okay since I paid $49.97 for the doll set. If you look up My Life As a Veterinarian doll on Amazon or eBay you will see the price is over $100 so I feel I also got a great deal on this doll for Keira.

Instead of having to pay $250 for these two items I was able to get both of them for a total of $169. I love getting a great deal while shopping.

Oh yeah I forgot to mention that WalMart usually offers 1.0% cash back through eBates but on the day I ordered the Razor Scooter they were offering 7.0% cash back. Woo hoo!

Photos of the items I purchased for Keira: