Introducing Balthazar!

I don�t know about you, but whenever I see a blogger posting about their pet (whether it be a kitten, bunny rabbit, dog or even hedgehog) I am immediately filled with delight and happiness and sigh a big fat �awwhhh� out loud.  Now, my mum and sister are allergic to cats and dogs (I would love nothing more than a little kitten running around at home) so for my whole life we have always had little hamsters!  I�ve never done a post on hamsters before but thought I�d introduce you to the current cutest member of the Snooks family!





Having a staring contest (excuse the bare, no makeup face!)

Ladies and gents, I introduce you to Balthazar, the light of my life!  Balth is coming up to two years old now so is turning into a little old girl, but she is still as energetic and loving as ever.  Whenever I�m feeling down I just look to Balthazar and she instantly makes me happy.  I�m the trainer of Snooks family hamsters and am always given the job of holding the hamsters first and teaching them not to bite, but Balth has been the only hamster we�ve ever had that has never bitten, ever!  She loves cuddles and I like to feed her food whilst holding her (bonding sessions).

She had to have a little operation a few months ago as she had a little lump that kept growing on her ear, so a vet removed it and she has been happy (but silly looking) ever since and was so brave, running all over the place once she came round from the anaesthetic. 

Our last little hamster was called Bishmael, who was equally as loved and adorable. You can watch a video of Bish and I here -

The last Snooks hamster�Bishmael!

There we have it!  I hope you enjoyed (and squealed �awwh�) at this post.  I�d love to know if you have any little pets, tweet me a photograph! @katesnooks

Do you have a little hamster? What�s your favourite pet to have?

xxxx

How to find an old life insurance policy (and other unclaimed property)

We get a lot of queries from people looking for old life insurance policies that they think might have named them as a beneficiary.

Here are some quick tips. For more specifics and links, please see our brand-new "how to find an old life insurance policy" web page.

• Try to track down as much information as possible. You'll presumably know the name of the policyholder (any name changes?), and it also helps to know the state or states that the person lived in.

• Ideally, you'll be able to locate a copy of the policy itself, which will have a number on it. But sometimes there's a wrinkle: the insurance company or its name may have changed, especially for older policies. That can be a challenge, but your state's insurance department can probably help you track down the current company information. If you live in Washington state -- we're the state insurance regulator there -- feel free to call us at 1-800-562-6900 and talk to our consumer advocacy staff.

• If you can't find the policy, try going through the person's financial records, looking for payments made to an insurer. Also, look through old mail: the company may have sent periodic statements or billing reminders. It's also worth checking with the person's auto- or homeowners insurers, since people sometimes buy life insurance from the same company.

• You could opt to pay a search company to run a check for the person's name through industry databases or send queries to a large number of insurers.

• If a policy goes unclaimed for a long time, insurers are supposed to turn the money over to state-run unclaimed property programs. They hold the money, often forever, in case someone files a claim. You can easily run the person's name through these free, state-run online search sites. Washington state's is at http://ucp.dor.wa.gov, and you can easily find other state's unclaimed property programs at www.unclaimed.org.

• One other important tip: Many life insurance policies automatically end at a certain age.  

Favourite Summer Nail Polishes!

I love choosing out makeup and nail polish shades for different seasons and decided to pick a whopping 18 nail polish shades that I adore for this summer.  This post will be mainly picture heavy, but watch my video to see why I chose these particular shades out!

 
L-R Colour Club in London Calling, Bourjois in Green Fizz, Bourjois in Amande Defile, 17 Lasting Fix in Mint Choc Chip, China Glaze in Too Yacht To Handle,  Bourjois in No Blues


L-R Deborah Lippmann in Lara�s Theme, Mavala in Jaipur, Colour Club in Reign in Spain, 17 Lasting Fix in Orange Soda, Bourjois in Melon.


L-R Bourjois in Peach and Love, Pixi Glow in Pirouette Pink, China Glaze in Neon & On & On, Models Own in Pink Punch


L-R Colour Club in Pardon My French, 17 Lasting Fix in Parma Violet, China Glaze in That�s Shore Bright.

Favourite Summer Nail Polishes!

I explain exactly why I love each polish and show more swatches of it in the video, so have a peak to see why I chose these babies out!

What are your favourite polishes for Summer?

xxx

The Low Museum's Very First Show - Gallery Opening on Monday!

 
Pastiche Lumumba's projected survey based on "Girl with a Pearl" hashtags was live and interactive.

The High Museum closes on Mondays. The Low Museum opens. You can't get a haircut or visit a gallery on Monday. But there I was last night for the very first show at The Low Museum of Contemporary Culture in the Old Fourth Ward.


It's brand new, an idea rather than a place, run by focused students rather than veteran mavens. (The Low Museum is on Facebook and on Twitter @TheLowMuseum.)

It was a gallery hop with only one hop. It takes a little courage to visit a gallery for the first time. Would I see anyone I knew?

The show - #MoreOfTheSame - featured hashtags: "...we are intrinsically aware of the fact that anything we do has been done before."

Clovice Holt, Chris Holloway, Pastiche Lumumba, Steffen Sornpao, Jordan Stubbs, Beau Torres.


This is the place, a gallery in a student's apartment on this odd row of houses on John Wesley Dobbs just off Boulevard. I was happy to see inside after all these years of drive-bys.


The living area became a gallery.


By Steffen Sornpao.


"Double Rothko" by Chris Holloway was huge and delightful.


You young folks will "get" the hashtag stuff. I'll have to study.


I think "Iconversation" by Clovice Holt is a work in progress. It's been getting attention around town.


Jordan Stubbs is the Low Gallery guy. This is his "Last Supper," one in a set of 9 works. The phone in a frame is part of the work. Esme Jarrell is in the "Last Supper" and the only person I knew. Thanks for saying hello Esme.


These outward looking gender-confused portraits at eye-level by Clovice Holt were in charge of the glamor.


These witty artist-at-work self-portraits by Beau Torres rewarded a long look.


The opening and the gallery worked. Folks kept arriving, doing the gallery-browse and gallery-chat.


It was breezy on the porch and we needed it.


 Time to go. I switched to architecture tourist mode. The building is at a high point on the Boulevard corridor, on a wide street with a view of downtown. It feels open and airy.


I wondered about this side-facing ghost portico next door.

 
It was nice to get a close look. I watched it being built in 2004. It never really clicked with me though I liked the geometry, the innie/outie curves, and the scored bands. And who can resist a red awning? Last night I decided that the rustic California-style stucco finish muddied the crisp lines.Was the designer on vacation when they did the stucco?


Thanks for an interesting Monday.

The Low Museum is on Facebook and on Twitter @TheLowMuseum.

COBRA and Medicare: How to avoid a common (and costly) mistake

If you're continuing your employer health coverage through COBRA and you become eligible for Medicare, it's important for you to sign up for Medicare during your Medicare eligibility period.

Here's why: Health insurers generally include language in their policies that says they can refuse to pay bills if they find out that you stayed on COBRA coverage after you were eligible for Medicare.

A lot of consumers get caught in this trap. Many people who are on COBRA don't know that they should sign up for Medicare when they become eligible. Instead, they assume that COBRA will continue to pay their medical bills, so they delaying signing up for Medicare until their COBRA coverage ends.

Then, months after becoming eligible for Medicare, they find out that their COBRA plan is refusing to pay for medical care that the consumer already received. They can't backdate their Medicare enrollment, so they're stuck with those medical bills. Yikes.

Don't get caught in this trap. If you're on COBRA and become eligible for Medicare, sign up.

"My doctor says I need a treatment, but my insurer won't cover it. What can I do?"

Q: "My doctor says that I need a particular medical treatment, but my health insurance company won't cover the cost. Is there anything I can do?"

A: Yes, there definitely is. Contact your health insurer, tell them you want to file an appeal, and ask what you need to do to start the process.

Then collect materials to support your argument, such as letters from your doctors describing why this is the best treatment for you, any medical journal articles or studies showing the treatment's effectiveness, etc.

You may also want to point out the health problems that will or can arise if the company doesn't pay for the treatment. Be sure to provide and estimate of the costs of treating those problems, especially if those costs would be significantly higher than paying for the treatment.

After you send in your appeal to your insurer, don't give up. Most people don't win the first round, but the odds of winning increase as you reach higher levels of appeals. The change of winning is highest when your appeal reaches the final level, called an "independent review organization."

For more tips on appeals, including templates, sample letters and detailed pointers, please see the appeals section of our website or call our consumer advocates at 1-800-562-6900. (If you live in a state other than Washington, please contact your own state's insurance department.)

Free Video Player is the best audio and video player

Free Video Player is something which every computer user is searching for. So today, we re going to share one best and free Free Video Player which I am sure you will like. This Free Video Player has all the latest features and very simple and easy to use interface. This Free Video Player can also be called one best free audio player as well because you can also play your all audio clips with this best and Free Video Player.

 

 

 

A Wake for the Last Church in Blandtown

But see, folks used to live in Blandtown and they built some pretty churches.

I'd like to pay my respects to the folks who met here, got married here, got christened and baptized here, who got eulogized here, who ate many fine covered-dish dinners here.


The Temple of God, 1353 Boyd Avenue as it stood on October 30, 2011.

Blandtown is now the West Midtown Design District. It's home to the Goat Farm Arts Center, Forsyth Fabrics, Lewis and Sharon Textiles, Myott Studio, and all those cool stores on Huff Road and Ellsworth Industrial. It's also home to a remarkable lake-on-a-hilltop, Reservoir Number 1 on Howell Mill.

But it's no longer home to any churches.


This was the last one. Picture courtesy of Myott Studio.


View Larger Map
When you see a lake on a hilltop, you know it ain't natural.


Blandtown is in blue on the NPU D Map. They don't even call it Blandtown anymore.

"Blandtown was named for Felix Bland. Born a slave, he was willed land by his former owner... It was one of the first black settlements around Atlanta after the Civil War. As a community it declined from the 1950s through 1990s" Wikipedia

Now Blandtown is a recovering warehouse light industrial re-purposed to design district. It's practical but nowhere pretty.


So on one of my take-the-long-way-home drives I turned down Boyd Avenue and found this immaculate little church. It could have been painted that very morning for all I could tell.


It classed up the whole street, the whole neighborhood.


I presume this was a walk-to church in its day, surrounded by homes. I'd bet nobody from that era lives in Blandtown today. There are a few new condos and apartments, not gentrification, not exactly.


They saved the cornerstones: Little Bethel, Greater Bethel, J. A. Hadley, Smooth Ashlar, Prince Hall, J.W. Dobbs.


I took pictures of the windows as best I could. North and south sides had matching symbols.


I wanted to see inside but there was no one to let me in.


When I came back on February 27, 2013, it was gone...buffed. I couldn't find a demolition permit. Georgia Power bought it from the Temple of God Inc.on 03-28-2012 for $315,000, about 1/5 acre.

Myott Studio is across the street so I knocked on the door to see if they knew anything. Myott was there, said they took some pictures and they'd send them to me. Here they are.


No fun looking at them. Picture courtesy of Myott Studio.


This is the only way I could see the inside. Picture courtesy of Myott Studio.


Probably a couple of days work. Picture courtesy of Myott Studio.


For the Atlanta insiders: I'm facing due east. The straight-line hill with the streetlights is the dam for Reservoir Number 1.

Statement on U.S. House vote re: delaying the individual mandate

Note: The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote today on a bill that would delay for a year the individual mandate requiring most Americans to have health coverage starting in 2014. The penalty for not having coverage next year would be $95 or 1 percent of income, whichever is greater.

Statement from Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler:

�Delaying the mandate would be unwise. This is an issue of personal responsibility. It�s unfair for people who can afford coverage to not have it, and to expect the rest of us to cover the cost of their care if they become seriously sick or injured. �
�A critical part of the Affordable Care Act was the provision requiring that insurers take all applicants. No more screening out people because they have pre-existing medical conditions. But to make that work, you have to have as many people as possible in the insurance pool.
�Without an individual mandate to have coverage, people would likely just buy insurance when they knew they needed it. That�s like letting people get homeowners insurance only when their house catches fire.�

More states asking insurers if they're ready for climate change

From a press release we just sent out:

Insurance companies are facing growing scrutiny over their preparedness for climate change, an issue that could potentially affect insurance affordability and availability.

�I�m very pleased to see more states joining this effort,� said Washington Gov. Jay Inslee. �Being prepared is clearly in the best interests of both insurers and the families and businesses they insure.�

Last year, insurance regulators in Washington, California and New York surveyed major insurers about what steps they�re taking to address risks to their underwriting and investment portfolios.

This year, regulators in Connecticut and Minnesota have also joined the survey.

�Climate change is a potential game-changer for insurers,� said Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler. �We want to make sure that this issue is on their radar.�

Climate change poses a double challenge to insurers. Extreme weather events and droughts, for example, can sharply increase claims. Climate-related issues could also have a significant effect on insurers� investments, potentially affecting their long-term ability to pay claims.

�Unprepared insurers are much more likely to simply pull out of markets, leaving homeowners and businesses struggling to find alternative coverage,� said Kreidler, who chairs the National Association of Insurance Commissioners� working group on climate change. �And when insurers abandon a market, government tends to end up as the insurer of last resort.�

Kreidler�s office has been surveying insurers on this issue since 2008.

�I wish some companies were further along,� said Kreidler, �but I�m encouraged to see that a growing number of companies are taking steps to incorporate climate change into their risk modeling and investment considerations.�

For a look at past surveys and responses for Washington, California and New York, please see California�s Climate Risk Disclosure Survey web page.

How to wash makeup brushes!

I love being nosey when it comes to make-up hygiene (and am quite OCD when it comes to makeup � sharing especially) so I thought I�d let you guys know how I clean my makeup brushes and what I use to do so! 







I like to use a couple of different products to wash my brushes.  Baby shampoo is a great choice as it�s very gentle on the hairs and not packed full of bad ingredients, but more recently I�ve been using Dr Bronner�s Magic Soap as it�s a great organic product without preservatives, with lots of uses!  It�s gentle enough to be used on brushes and foams up nicely getting rid of all dirt and grime.

I start off by wetting the brush hairs a little under the tap, being sure not to get the handle too wet (this could damage the brushes).  I then pour a little of the magic soap (or baby shampoo) onto either my hand or the brush hairs, and swirl it around in my hand to get rid of the dirt.  Depending on the type of brush and what you use it for, it may take a couple of rinses with the soap and water before it runs clear.  I should also say it is really satisfying seeing all the colourful grime that comes out of the brushes (gross, ha!). 

After cleaning with the magic soap, I also like to give each brush (especially the face brushes) and quick clean with my current face wash.  As I am acne prone I have to be careful about what I use on my face so I feel like giving them a final once-over with my face wash helps to prevent breakouts!

Once the water runs clear and the hairs look their normal colour, lay them down on a towel or tissue and leave to dry naturally.  Never leave them standing up to dry whilst wet as the water can trickle down to the handle and damage the brush. 

I like to wash my brushes every couple of weeks and I find just before bed is the best time, as then I can leave them to dry over night so they are ready for use the next morning!

Also � for quick in between washes, I just use a little spritz of Clinique�s Brush Cleaner (or a little one I have from Sephora).  This is great if I�ve used a really dark messy colour or gel eyeliner, as it gets the majority of the product out in a few spritzes whilst wiping on a piece of tissue!

I hope you�ve picked up a few little tips from this post and are feeling inspired to get a-washing!

How do you clean your brushes?  What are your favourite brush cleaning products?

xxxx

"I have two health insurance plans. Why do I still have to pay for some things?"

Q: "Why do I have to pay anything out of pocket? I have two health insurance plans. Between them, shouldn't they cover all the costs?"

A: Unfortunately, most insurers changed the rules under which they coordinate benefits within the past 10-15 years. Under the new rules, there's less economic advantage to have two (or more) health insurance plans.

As a general rule, if you have two health plans and you receive both of them on your own (i.e. you don't get either of the plans through your spouse), then generally the plan that you've had for the longest period of time should be the primary policy.

However, there are a lot of variables that can change the result. For example, if one of your plans is Medicare and you get the other plan through your employer, then having a Medicare plan can change the order of benefits, depending on the size of your employer.

Confusing? Yup. If you're having problems with an insurance issue and you live in Washington state, feel free to give us a call. We may be able to help. Our insurance consumer hotline is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone number if 1-800-562-6900. You can also reach us at AskMike@oic.wa.gov.