Avoid a run in with the SUPER bug this holiday season.
Celebrating Thanksgiving normally marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season and the stress that goes with it. Flu season is in full swing and germ threats are higher and recent news reports have highlighted the dangers of MRSA, a strain of drug-resistant staph infection.
While MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) has been found in hospitals among people with weakened or suppressed immune systems, recent scares, like one close to home at Fayetteville Regional Medical Center shows us why we should be careful of outbreaks in our own communities this holiday season.
In a surprising study recently conducted by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories found that MRSA caught in the community could be more dangerous than the version found in hospitals
A key to coping with MRSA and the other diseases so common this time of year is through regular, thorough hand washing with soap and water.
It’s easy to forget to wash your hands in the midst of shopping, mingling and mixing with friends and family this time of year.
A Raleigh-area resident, Brendan Ferns, who lost a friend from MRSA and who works in our hospitals tell us what actions we can take to reduce the likelihood of becoming infected with MRSA or other bacteria this holiday season:
Scrub up – Wash your hands frequently with soap and warm water for at least 15 seconds – the time it takes to sing Happy Birthday twice – or use an alcohol-based hand rub sanitizer.
Wipe it down – Use a disinfecting bleach solution to wipe down and disinfect hard surfaces. Make sure to use clean cloths to avoid spreading MRSA from one surface to another. (1 tablespoon of disinfecting bleach diluted in 1 quart of water)
Cover your cuts – Keep any nicks or wounds covered with a clean, dry bandage until healed.
Keep to yourself – Do not share personal items, like towels or razors, that come into contact with bare skin.
Use a barrier – Keep a towel or clothing between skin and shared equipment.
In addition, you can find more detailed information about MRSA and ways to prevent the spread of this lethal disease at www.stopMRSAnow.org
Smart Holiday Shopping
As Thanksgiving quickly approaches I am reminded that I have to begin saving my pennies for the holiday gift giving season. But with rumors of an economy detieriorating smack dab in the middle of the holiday season it’s tough to plan ahead and justify early spending even when the temptations of store CLOSEOUTS around every corner.
I’m a bargain shopper to begin with so when I hear of folks buying plenty and buying early it makes me cringe. One thing I have heard is that with all of these store closings buyers should be careful when purchasing gift cards.
It makes sense. Clark Howard the consumer reporter suggest not giving gift cards at all this year. If the business goes under, the card will be no good and that will just be money down the drain.
Ann Taylor is closing 117 stores nationwide. A company spokeswoman said the company hasn’t revealed which stores will be affected. It will let those stories know over the next month.
Eddie Bauer is set to close more stores. Eddie Bauer has already closed 27 shops in the first quarter and plans to close up to two more outlet stores by the end of the year.
With Black Friday coming up next week it may be wise to check to see which stores will be closing and not purchasing inventory that you think may need to be exchanged or returned or gift cards from those stores.
A Modern Woman’s Lessons from Election 2008
There was a lot at stake for working women and their families in this historic election, including pay equity, education, healthcare and retirement security. I paid close attention to the facts before voting this election. Besides the obvious, I made many other observations and took some notes to take into consideration during future elections.
I’ll share a few of the lessons that I learned during this historic election year:
• I learned that it’s good to embrace change
• I learned to question what an election really means (or doesn’t mean) to the world
• I remembered how much I dislike negative campaign ads
• Campaign finance reform doesn’t really mean a whole lot
• Politics and War could be considered synonyms
• I wondered about the importance on looks vs. competence
• I questioned whether decisions (like voting for the leader of this country) really reflect logical, rational analyses of candidates’ positions and records, instead of emotional and visceral reactions
• I was inspired by the diversity in this election
• I was motivated thinking about the prospect that anyone — non-dependant on race, gender or level of experience can be a top contender for Chief of Staff
• I was discouraged learning that bigotry is still present in the world and that race, gender, religion, personal/family history are still causes for scrutiny in our modern and educated day and age
• I remembered that what I did yesterday could potentially follow me for a lifetime.
Are States UNITED during elections?
As the time to close polls during this important election near, I am noticing a pattern in the frequency of problems that voters have experienced today at the polls…confusion, poor planning, inadequate training, precinct resources, staff and technology glitches seem to be a reoccurring problem across the country during each election.
I remember having heard about the same issues occurring during the last election and the election before that.
Time after time the patchy U.S. election system fails at ensuring that every citizen has a chance to vote and that each vote is accurately counted. Why is that?
Is it because continuously changing voting laws and new technology are creating confusion among election officials and voters? Does that mean that the shenanigans at the polls will be never-ending?
One problem that I discussed with a friend this past weekend could be the fact that that there is no harmony in voting standards across the United States. In other words, believe it or not, there are not linear standards for counting or reporting election results. Voter registration information cannot be moved easily from state to state, or even within states.
The US Constitution puts the authority for managing elections squarely on the states. In order to place the governance of elections under a federal entity would require a constitutional amendment and that’s a much more complicated process than most Americans can imagine. It could take years to simply pass the amendment, not to mention even longer to implement the new law.
But, how can we be the UNITED states of America if our election process is not standardized?
It’s Election Day. I am curious to see how the lack of a uniform voting process continues to affect future elections.
I only hope that our leadership continues to learn from each election and begin working toward making some changes to make the process fair and a bit less primitive.
Peace.
On Friday, I attended my college’s Alumnae Board meeting and Promise of Peace fundraising campaign kick off event on the college grounds. The President of Peace College, Laura Bingham, who is always full of energy and inspiration shared this quote with us…
Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart. (Author unknown)
This definition of Peace was certainly an appropriate reflection of the journey of a Peace College student and graduate. It was also so much more than that. It’s a perfect definition of what Peace should mean in every aspect of our lives. It the definition of Peace that we often forget in this busy world.
I am at peace knowing that in the midst of the hustle and bustle, the deadlines and the stresses of daily life, I feel confident about my abilities to manage and overcome the obstacles that present themselves as long as I have peace in my heart and love in my life.
Time to manage that money
With all of this talk about the possibility of an economic recession, all of us are keeping a close eye on the economy and our own personal finances right now. My friend Allison told me about this new web site she is using that is what she calls a “FREE financial advisor.” The link is: http://www.mint.com. You just plug in your banking, credit card, savings, 401k, investments, whatever you want (and can leave out whatever you want) and it tracks everything for you. She absolutely loves it because they send you alerts when bills are due and even help you set up a budget. She only has her checking account and a credit card registered and it tracks her purchases and labels them so she can see what categories all her money goes to. It’s nice to see it all visually laid out (and painful to see how much my finance charges are – sick!). I haven’t checked it out yet, but when I have some time on my hands I want to try to add a few of my accounts in there to see how it works out for me. It can’t hurt to try it and all of us can use another method to handle our money a little bit better right now.
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage this month
Sept. 15 was chosen as the kick off date because it is the anniversary of independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on Sept. 16 and Sept. 18. Although a little earlier, another Latin American country, Brazil, celebrates their independence on Sept. 7.
During Hispanic Heritage Month, learning about and celebrating the contributions of Latinos can only help to educate our communities and build the pride of those who identify themselves as Hispanics.
Spanish was the first European language spoken in North America and the U.S. is the fifth largest Spanish-speaking country in the world. There are more than 2,000 cities and towns in the United States with Spanish names. The state names of California, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, Montana and Florida are Spanish.
Hispanic Heritage Month and emphasizes Hispanic contributions to this country and inspires Hispanic Americans to be proud of their heritage.
We should all acknowledge the contributions of all of the great cultures that have joined to live in the great melting pot of America every day of the year. It is important that everyone learn to understand the ethnic diversity that is our country.
NC Women braved the bad weather in hopes of becoming the next MISS/MRS NC Beauties
This weekend I judged my first beauty pageant, the MISS/MRS NC Beauties Pageant in Raleigh.
I have been a contestant in pageants before, but never recognized the challenges that judges face when holding the future of these women’s pageant careers in your hands.
Pageants are serious business. Although some think of pageants in a negative light, and there certainly can be a downside to pageants (I can’t think of any right now), there are many positive aspects too.
I never would have participated in a pageant had it not been for a college professor my freshmen year in college. Dr. Anne Fountain. She knew that I was working my way through college and she encouraged me to participate in a local scholarship pageant. It was my first preliminary to a national pageant and I WON! Soon after, I caught the “pageant bug.” I was entering the pageants to make money not spend it, so everything including wardrobe, personal trainer, and accessories were either donated or borrowed. I never left a pageant without making it into the finals. My pageant career soon opened many doors and won me a significant amount of scholarship money, allowing me to pursue my collegiate and professional career.
For women, like me, who had few options for advancing their education, pageants can be a positive way to further their careers and also a way to stand up for any issues they wish to bring to the forefront. Pageants usually require contestants to have a platform (My platform was domestic violence awareness), which is basically a critical issue that she wishes to promote and inform others about. Community service is also a major aspect of today’s pageants.
Pageants not only consist of women working the stage in a swimsuit, they focus on in-depth interviews with each contestant. In fact, the pageant I judged this weekend didn’t even have a swimsuit competition. It focused on personal style and interview instead.
The benefits of being able to think on your feet during an interview far surpass the pageant stage and into many real life situations. Almost everyone must go through some sort of interview process to apply for a job. Those women who have been through the extensive interviews conducted in many pageants just might have an advantage over the average applicant for a position.
There is also something to be said for the positive self-esteem that comes from being able to walk and speak on the spot in front of hundreds of people.
I always tell people that competing in a pageant is no different than running for public office. Each woman serves as a representative for her hometown, she is already a leader and role-model in her community, except now she is seeking to propel her status and platform on a statewide and then possibly national level. In preparation for the pageant, she campaigns in her community, raises money for her participation in the competition, educates the public and advocates on behalf of the issues that are important to her and her community…all of this while maintaining a certain standard of conduct, morals, and appearance. Now you tell me how different that is from running for office?
Sure there are some differences, a pageant has traditionally been considered a form of entertainment (today’s political campaigns could arguably pretty entertaining themselves). It’s a competition that people enjoy watching and mostly women enjoy participating in.
So, congrats to our new North Carolina ambassadors! Phaedra Flowers- MISS North Carolina US Beauties Sharon Miller Ashley- MRS North Carolina US Beauties…I look forward to watching these smart, dynamic, and beautiful women representing North Carolina well in the national pageant in 2009!!
I kissed a girl…and I liked it
Her name was Bimini and her skin was as smooth as fresh hot dog out of water. She was a mammal alright, but not like you and I…she was a dolphin! You’ve heard the mysterious legends and fascinating facts about dolphins. This Labor Day weekend, I traveled to
Miami and had one of the most exciting experiences on my life. I had the chance to have a hands-on experience with the dolphins at
Dolphin
Harbor at the Miami Seaquarium! First, they handed us wet suits to change into (the suits still carried the aroma of those who took to the waters before us). Our group then filed into a classroom for an interactive, educational session about dolphins. Eventually, our instructor led us to the dolphin pool and were told to get into the warm water. They briefly explained where and how to touch the dolphins for each of the “experiences” we would be having. There were about 20 of us in the pool and 4 or 5 dolphins. Our very first encounter with the dolphins was to be pulled across the deep water by one of the dolphins. We were instructed to swim into the water, without splashing our legs outside of the water, and put one are out and wait for the dolphin to swim up to us, grab the dorsal fin, and turn over onto the dolphins back and put our other arm over the fin for more support as she pulled us. It was such a rush. I was terrified that I was going to be “the one” in each session that would fall off the dolphin’s back and be stranded in the middle of the pool. I did it though. I just wish they had allowed us to do it one more time before the end of the session, after I had become more comfortable with the dolphins. One ride was a tease.The dolphins swam by us and let us pet them. The skin was smooth and about how I expected it to be. We got to kiss, hug, dance, play ball and rub and get up-close to these friendly mammals.learned about in an interactive and educational classroom presentation before you put on a wetsuit for the fun filled, deep water interaction with a dolphin.
I always love visiting
Miami. No matter what time of year you visit, the place is always full of life, there is great shopping, food, and nightlife. It’s like traveling to a tropical paradise without having to go too far. I will say, however, that the highlight of my trip was my dolphin swim and smooch. I came away from the experience with incredible respect for the dolphins and a new appreciation for the conservation of nature.
I definitely recommend the experience, but if you are looking to swim with dolphins in NC you are sadly out of luck. The closest encounters that you may have in our great state will be by way of a boat tour or dolphin watch cruise in the Outer Banks (Roanoke Island/Nags Head region).
Greenies unite! All shades of green welcome…
On the prowl for a green job or volunteer organization to be a part of? Looking for some green love? Simply looking to connect with eco-minded folks around the Triangle? If the answer is “yes” to any of the above, I have the event for you!
As eco-consciousness expands across the globe, green networking events have become more and more common place. That is why MyNC.com and 30Threads.com (powered by NBC 17), in collaboration with Greenfire Development, have joined forces to host the Triangle-area’s green networking event of the year on Tuesday, August 26th from 5-8 p.m. in
Durham.
Don’t be shy if you’re not a dark shade of green – all shades of green welcome! Shopping organic and driving a hybrid are not prerequisites to attending this event! The purpose is simply to expand your green horizons, meet a diverse group of people and learn more about what you can to paint the town green!
So join MyNC. com, NCGoGreen. com, 30Threads. com and NBC 17 for a night of friends, laughter, tasty treats and fun.
All in the name of loving the outdoors, loving the Earth and loving our fellow people!
The venue is owned by Greenfire Development, located in
Durham, NC. The beautiful downtown building is located on
.
The event is free and a guaranteed blast! Bring your own business cards, pamphlets and handouts to share information at our Green Resource table!
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