Monday, September 27, 2010

How Important Is Hand Washing?

You’ve heard it a thousand times: Washing your hands is an important step in both avoiding illness and preventing the spread of germs to others. What you may not have heard is this: Proper hand washing decreases your chances of getting sick by 50 percent. No one is advocating you become a germaphobe and wash your hands a hundred times a day; that 50 percent can be achieved by washing five to six times a day for 20 seconds, about the same time it takes to sing the “Happy Birthday” song twice.
Washing your hands is important year-round, but even more so as the cold and flu season approaches. And it’s not only colds and flu to consider – proper hand washing can help prevent hepatitis A, meningitis, and other serious illnesses.
So, when to wash? Obviously every time you use the bathroom, before and after meals, and after you cough, sneeze and/or blow your nose. Here are some other occasions to wash that you may not have considered:

• After shopping, especially grocery shopping.
• After changing diapers.
• After playing outdoors and/or with pets and your pet’s toys.
• After handling money.
• After using a computer in a public place – the library, for example.
• After reading magazines or newspapers in the work break room or doctor’s office.
• After using shared office equipment such as fax machines, or using a coworker’s keyboard or mouse.
• After visiting a petting zoo or any venue that allows human/animal interaction.
• After touching another person’s cell phone.
• Before and after food preparation – not just with raw meat, but fish, eggs, produce, fruit, canned goods, everything.
• Before and after handling contact lenses.
• Before and after tending to someone who is sick.
• Before and after treating a cut or wound.
And yes – after shaking hands with someone. Not that you’re going to shake hands and immediately run to the restroom! But until you’re able to wash, avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with your hands.

As Benjamin Franklin said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Here’s to this easy ounce of prevention!

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Friday, September 24, 2010

need your help

I'll be waking up at 4 a.m. on Saturday to ride in the Bike MS: City to Shore Ride. As tough as it will be to get up before dawn, it's nothing compared with the challenges of living each day with multiple sclerosis.

As the personal and economic costs of MS grow, your support of 13,000 local families living with MS is more important than ever before. With demand growing every day for the essential programs and services the National MS Society provides, the need has never been greater.

Please make a contribution today. Just go to Stephen is riding the MS150. Thank you so much for helping me create a world free of MS
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Tuesday, September 7, 2010

The Three Things That Scare You Most About Buying a Home

Buying a home must up there with public speaking and the remake of The Exorcist for frightful experiences, but many of us will buy a home, speak publicly and watch that movie again and again in our lifetimes.

By giving you a few of the “behind-the-scenes” secrets, we hope to help you deal with the three things that scare you most about buying a home.

The Cost

The greatest fear that people have about buying a home is being able to afford it. This is what keeps us awake at night – calculating and recalculating how many lunches we have to pack instead of going out with the gang, to be able to make the mortgage payment.

The behind-the-scenes secret to dealing with this fear is working with a great Lender and getting pre-approved BEFORE you start looking at homes, and being realistic about what you’re willing and able to spend.

The Lender will give you a range of loan options available and if asked, will give you a realistic projection of what you can REALLY afford, considering your budget and lifestyle.

The Commitment

Women like to stereotype men as having a fear of commitment – but when it comes to buying a home, we’re all susceptible. Buying a home usually means committing money and time (at least a year – usually more like five years) to being in one spot.

If you’re just finishing a degree or training, or you’re not sure that you’ll be in the same position for awhile, you may consider waiting until your life is a little more stable.

The behind-the-scenes secret to dealing with the fear of commitment is in buying a home that will resell easily – that has features that other people will want. In addition, you can get a two-step mortgage that allows you to pay a fixed rate for a certain period of time, and a flexible rate later on – so you can get out of the loan easily after the first step.

The People

Who can you trust in this home-buying process? This is a big investment we’re talking about. And it seems that everyone is out to make as much money as possible OFF of you! There are sellers, real estate consultants, lenders, builders, movers, and attorneys, all of whom may be strangers, and have a vested interest when you buy a home. It’s easy to be afraid they’ll take you to the cleaners.

The behind-the-scenes secret is to check their references. Really. Many lenders and real estate consultants operate on a “By Referral Only” basis – in which they ask clients to refer them to others they know are buying a home. Those who offer “lifetime relationships” and other services (like free reports and seminars on buying or selling homes) are already striving to meet your needs.

In reality, they are NOT all out to get you – because in the long run, the BEST business strategy is to make sure that you get what you need and want in a home.
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499 3rd Ave Atco NJ.mp4

spring hill