Stuff I like right now

A small roundup of very good things.

Dear Kula Diaries,

Welcome to my completely sporadic round up of, ‘stuff I like right now’. I had originally intended to do a post like this every month… but, I realized that I’m simply not the type of person who can commit to doing the exact same thing every month (well, with the exception of dancing - ha!). So, I decided to randomly sprinkle these posts in… whenever I feel like I have things that are important to share.

This round up includes everything from health insurance alternatives… to pizza (obviously), and I hope you enjoy reading it, as much as I enjoyed putting it all together!

1. CrowdHealth (aka: the thing that finally made healthcare feel a little bit more humane)

I haven’t had traditional health insurance since 2022.

When I started Kula Cloth, one of my biggest goals was to retire my husband, Aaron, from his job at BNSF Railway. That happened in 2022, which was pretty exciting for both of us. It also meant we lost health insurance overnight, because… well… he no longer had a job.

I looked into COBRA and I looked into the online healthcare marketplace. And what I found was pretty abysmal. For the very reasonable price of $1,100 per month, Aaron and I could get bare-bones insurance with a $17,000 deductible. This felt completely absurd, considering we’re both healthy, non-smokers, rarely drink, and almost never spend more than a thousand dollars total in a year on medical care.

Around that time, the guy who helps us with retirement investments casually mentioned something called CrowdHealth. I had never heard of it, but was excited to learn about an alternative (better) option.

I joined CrowdHealth back in the early days, and it’s essentially a healthcare crowdfunding community. Importantly: this is not one of those faith-based co-op programs where you have to attest to certain religious beliefs. CrowdHealth was created by a dad who got buried under medical bills after one of his children became seriously ill—and decided there had to be a better way.

Here’s how it works, using an (unfortunately) real life example:

A few weeks ago, Aaron woke up in the middle of the night with intense stomach pain. I had honestly never seen him in so much pain before, and it was pretty scary. In the middle of the night, we headed to the ER to rule out appendicitis. He got a CAT scan, blood work, an IV, and thankfully went home with medication—not surgery. PHEW! At the hospital, I informed them that I would be, ‘self-pay’. YIKES! Sound scary? Trust me… it’s not.

I used my Crowd Health app to report the incident, and within a day, I had received the following e-mail:

A few weeks later, the bill(s) arrived: One bill for $1,294 and one for $6,382… and two smaller bills… one for $36 and one for $313.

I submitted all of them to CrowdHealth. As members, we’re responsible for the first $500 of any new incident. The remaining total, after CrowdHealth negotiates on our behalf for the best possible pricing, is sent out to, ‘the crowd’ for Crowd Funding.

There are around 15,000 members (maybe more?) of the Crowd right now, and each time a member needs funding for something, requests are sent out to members to help fund various health-related issues — including major surgeries, cancer, injury, pregnancy, illness, etc… All of the things that normal health insurance would (partially) cover.

Within a couple of days, I received a notification that our $1,294 bill had been sent out to the Crowd for funding. Less than 3 days later, the total (minus my $500 responsibility portion), was in my bank account. Then, I wrote out a check and paid the hospital for that bill.

The larger of the bills — the $6,392 bill was not immediately sent out for funding, because CrowdHealth stated that they wanted to negotiate the price with the hospital. They currently have a team working to negotiate the price down. Once the price has been negotiated, they will send the new (lower) amount, out to the crowd as a funding request. If the crowd funds my request (I’ve never not seen an eligible crowd funding request get disapproved!), I will receive an additional check so that I can pay the remainder of the bill. Since I’ve already paid out my $500 personal responsibility for the event, I will not owe any additional money.

Honestly, it feels like I have a concierge team working with me to help me navigate the unbelievably complicated complexities of the healthcare system!

Included:

• Free virtual care (I’ve used this many times, for travel medications… or just for a checkup about a concern!)

• Free virtual urgent care (I’ve used this for small infections that require antibiotics… and once for a urinary tract infection!)

• Free virtual talk therapy

• Discounts on preventative care

• Optional things like gut health testing or VO₂ max testing

• Discounts on prescriptions

The whole system is health-oriented, not sickness-oriented, and every interaction I’ve had has felt really genuine and kind. They’ve helped me find doctors when I’ve needed them… and they have helped getting $10k in bills from the ER feel like a virtually stress-less experience.

There are rules to the program… for instance, you don’t just book random appointments without looping them in first—but emergencies are emergencies, and you just go.

I’ve also been simply FLOORED by the support of the entire CrowdHealth community. I’ve seen cases where something technically didn’t qualify for funding—like a family adopting a child who wasn’t yet legally part of the household. CrowdHealth shared their story in a newsletter, and hundreds of members donated directly to the family (through Venmo) so that they could cover the medical bills anyway. Isn’t that TRULY INCREDIBLE?

I automatically approve every funding request I receive. Sometimes I get an email saying something like, “A member in Minnesota needs help with an illness,” and it shows the amount I’m contributing. This past week, I saw that I was giving $170 from my funding account to a person in IL who was having a stomach illness … which made me think about all the people who had contributed to me and Aaron when he got sick. It’s this circular feeling of abundance that, without getting too sentimental about it, it just feels good. A whole group of humans taking care of each other… no questions asked… isn’t that something that should be the NORM??

Screen grab of my contributions to other Crowd Health members! How cool is this?!

For transparency: I was not paid to say any of this. They have no idea I’m writing this post. I even gave them a testimonial early on that they now use on their homepage—also unpaid. I’m sharing because it’s been genuinely life-changing for us, and maybe it could be helpful for some of you too. I recently had a friend whose monthly health insurance premium for her family went up OVER $5,000 per month, and I know that a lot of folks feel pretty hopeless in a situation like that. Most people don’t know that an option like this exists, and as somebody who has been a part of it for the past 4 years, I am speaking ENTIRELY from my personal experience — and I’ve loved it.

It may not be right for everyone, depending on health circumstances—but if you’re healthy, self-employed, or feeling stuck between impossible insurance options, it’s worth knowing this exists. I’m truly grateful for learning about CrowdHealth many years ago — I don’t think we’d ever switch to anything else!

This is my referral code for CrowdHealth (again, they did not ask me to post this!!):

2. All-Over Overalls (a lifelong love story)

I love a good overall.

When I was 12, I desperately wanted to change my name to Huckleberry Finn. My best friend Chrissie and I bought overalls before they were cool, pretended we were Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer, and ran around the neighborhood smoking fake corncob pipes. I wish I were kidding, but I’m not - ha!

I’m on the far right — haha!

So yes—my love of overalls runs deep.

This Christmas, my mom (who has an uncanny ability to give perfect gifts) found a small, woman-owned Colorado brand called All Over and gave me a pair.

The second I put them on, I said: “Wow.”

Never in my life have I worn overalls that were instantly flattering. The waist hits perfectly (on me), the cut is tailored without being stiff, the straps are comfortable and cute, and—miracle of miracles—the legs are not absurdly long.

This is not a frumpy overall experience. And I say that as someone who has logged many (MANY) frumpy overall hours.

They somehow manage to be:

• comfy

• technical

• well-made

• cool

• hikeable

• loungeable

• town-appropriate

• they look amazing with pillow slides (see above photo for proof)

• almost dressy depending on what you wear underneath

I checked out their Instagram and, I was not surprised to discover that they are a small startup, woman-owned business, doing one thing really well. I genuinely hope they take off, because these are hands-down the coolest overalls I own.

You can find them on their website here: ALL OVER APPAREL.

Again, they have not asked me to mention them, and have no idea I’m doing so!

3. My friend Brian’s first album

My friend Brian Seaver just released their very first album, Bliss and Longing, and I wanted to share it here, with all of you!

Brian is a wildly talented instrumentalist and vocalist who lives in the Everett area. They are also part of a special group of friends I play music with called the Alpine Arpeggios. We mostly play Irish music, and last year we even did a concert together at the Northwest Stream Center.

Releasing an album is a huge undertaking—and a very vulnerable one at that. Putting something you love into the world is always both scary AND exciting.

The songs are beautiful. The lyrics are meaningful. And I’m really proud of Brian!

I hope you’ll give it a listen. Also, the Alpine Arpeggios had a little get together at my house about a week ago, and I thought that all of you would love to listen in to our living room concert:

4. Heavyweight is back

I listen to podcasts a lot.

Years ago, one of my absolute favorites was Heavyweight—which was heartbreakingly dropped and disappeared for a while.

Imagine my delight when I recently opened my podcast app and discovered… it’s back.

Each episode follows someone trying to resolve an unanswered question, unfinished task, or lingering mystery from their life, with help from host Jonathan Goldstein. The stories are surprisingly deep, and they feel a bit like little emotional detective stories.

If you’ve never listened, I highly recommend starting from the very first season and working your way through.

I’m currently bummed because I’ve already listened to all the new episodes that exist—but it was such a gift to have those stories back in my ears again!

5. The two BEST podcasts I’ve ever listened to (EVER): Finding Drago and Finding Desperado

In case it wasn’t obvious from item number four that you just read, I take my podcasts… seriously. Aaron and I commute about 35 minutes to the Kula office during the week, and we are pretty much obsessed with audiobooks and podcasts. We go through them with such a rabid appetite, that we need new ones constantly… so I’m often doing random Reddit searches to find new inspiration.

Recently, I discovered two podcasts made by the same co-hosts: Finding Drago and Finding Desperado.

Season one is Finding Drago, and Season two is Finding Desperado. I listened to them in the reverse order, but I’d recommend starting with Finding Drago first.

RUN. Do not walk. RUN to listen to these podcasts. The premise of both shows is simply charming — and each season is so unbelievably heartwarming and satisfying in a way that is hard to describe in words. They are, in my opinion, the biggest hidden gems in the HISTORY of podcasts. I was SHOCKED to see that they only have a few hundred reviews on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

THE. WORLD. NEEDS. TO. LISTEN. TO. THESE. PODCASTS!!!

They are so good — and I don’t want to go into the details and ruin the charm, mystery and surprise of them — but, seriously, in case you couldn’t tell… I think you should listen to them. Like right now.

6. The Return of Pizza Night

As I’ve recently shared, I figured out that I have a very severe allium (garlic/onion) intolerance. Over the past few decades, this has manifested as a nearly constant headache — sometimes 25-30 days per month of constant pain. I cannot even begin to describe in words the change in my life since I have eliminated garlic and onion. It has been the single most profound change that I’ve probably made in the last several decades — because, for one, I can now think clearly.

When you haven’t been able to see through anything except for a fog for the past thirty years, waking up from it is, well, startling. I had NO idea how good it was possible to feel until I eliminated them!

Sadly, this means that eating out at most restaurants is pretty much… not going to happen. I tried to go out to a restaurant a few weeks ago, and I informed them of the intolerance, and they made me something special… and, yup, within 45 minutes of eating… I could feel my head starting to blow up like a balloon. I’m guessing that they unintentionally ‘garlicked’ me by doing something seemingly benign — like cooking with vegetable broth (which, yes, has onion and garlic in it).

That being said, my love for pizza has not dwindled — I’ve just had to get a bit more creative about it. Recently, I discovered this allium free sauce from Rao’s, and it’s surprisingly delicious! It’s not technically a pizza sauce, but I’ve been making pizza with it for the last few weeks, and it’s really delicious, and a great substitute.

Aaron and I have also continued with our plant based whole food diet — because we’ve genuinely loved it, so I decided to test out these dairy free mozzarella shreds from Trader Joe’s:

The results? They are DELICIOUS!! While they are decidedly not ‘real’ cheese, they are SUPER, AMAZINGLY creamy — and I actually like them better than the ‘part skim milk’ mozzarella shreds that I usually buy from Costco. They definitely don’t compare to ‘fresh’ (actual) mozzarella, but they are a pretty delicious substitute, and if you’re wanting to eliminate dairy from your diet, they are a great option!

Aaron’s pizza is on the left… sweet potato and roasted peppers… and mine is on the right… mushroom and sweet potato!

7. Ollie Hopnoodle’s Haven of Bliss

It’s a rare individual that hasn’t seen the classic holiday movie, The Christmas Story, written by Jean Shepard. In case you need your memory jogged, this is the film that includes the ‘Red Ryder BB Gun’ and the scene where Santa yells (at Ralphie), “You’ll shoot your eye out!”. It’s an American CLASSIC holiday film.

What most people don’t know is that this is NOT THE ONLY FILM that follows this family!

Today, I am introducing you to a rare, barely seen Jean Shepard film called, Ollie Hopnoodle’s Haven of Bliss. This film was a critical piece of my childhood — we had it on VHS tape, which I’m pretty sure my parents recorded from the television, because I have yet to be able to find a copy of this movie anywhere, except on YouTube.

This movie follows the same family (with some different actors) as they prepare to head out on their family vacation — and it is HILARIOUS, charming, touching… and everything in between. In fact, I like Ollie Hopnoodle’s Haven of Bliss more than I like The Christmas Story. It’s always felt like a bit of a secret, knowing that it exists in this world. Aaron and I just watched it recently — the first time I’d seen it in a very long time — and I was surprised at how emotional and nostalgic it felt to me. It really is a special piece of work (albiet politically incorrect at parts, fyi).

You can find the entire film right here. I hope it makes you laugh.

7. Blanket Cats — a book that you must read

I love cats. If you’ve been here for more than one week, you probably have figured this out. My mom gifted me this book for Christmas, and it is one of the most delightful books that I have read in a very long time.

The book features a very special pet store that ‘rents’ very special cats for three days at a time. The cats are all accompanied by a specific, special blanket. There are rules about how you should care for the cat. These are not ordinary cats… these are cats that intuitively know what each person needs to see and learn in their respective life.

The book follows a variety of characters as they embark on their three day journey with a ‘rented’ blanket cat. The characters come from all different walks of life, and they are all experiencing different challenges — a couple struggling with infertility, a woman coping with the news of a diagnosis, etc… As they bring the blanket cats into their lives… well… I don’t want to ruin the surprise of it.

It’s a really heartwarming book that feels like you’ve discovered a little bit of a treasure when you read it. If you love cats, you will absolutely love this book. If you feel indifferent about cats, you will also really love this book. It’s sweet, wholesome and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

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Well, friends — that’s it for another edition of random stuff that I like and wanted to share with all of you! I’ll end with a few little affirmations and wishes for YOU:

May you be at ease.
May you be at peace.
May you feel loved.
May you feel safe and secure.
May you sense your connection to the universe and all things.
May you feel abundant.
May you be well.
May life lift you up in each and every moment.
May you remember how precious and wonderful you are.  

Sending you all so much love, today and all days!