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Back to School
That’s a phrase that is loaded with excitement. Going back to school for me always meant new shows, notebooks, a backpack, often even a new wardrobe. I made new friends each year and re-connected with the friends I hadn’t seen over the summer.

Going back to school has a new element of danger these days. MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, AKA the “Superbug”) is a danger that used to only be present in hospitals. This particular staph infection, which has an astonishing resistance to common antibiotics, is now out in our community in places like schools, playgrounds, gyms, and supermarkets. In all reality, it could be anywhere, but those tend to be the locations of high incidence.

For more background information, read the article I wrote about MRSA back in June.

Here’s my main point:
MRSA is out there, everywhere. It spreads by touch and you usually get it through an open wound, like a typical scrape or cut. And, traditional antibiotic creams like Neosporin and other triple antibiotic ointments are useless when it comes to MRSA.

If you think I am being alarmist, let me assure you I speak from experience. My daughter has tested positive for MRSA three different times. She didn’t contract the infections from being in a hospital. They all occurred once she started attending pre-school where she was exposed to many other children daily. She’s not a sickly child. She simply gets the occasional cut or scrape that comes from being four and playing hard.

I started using a product called Staphaseptic from Tec Laboratories last spring. You don’t need a prescription. It’s available at all national drug store chains like Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, Brooks/Eckerd, and Kroger.

Staphaseptic is an ointment-like gel you apply directly to a minor wound. To keep the wound sterile, you can just put on a bandage afterward. We use it on every single cut and scrape in our household. In fact, Gigi cut one of her toes in the pool house after her swim lessons tonight. We cleaned the cut, put on some Staphaseptic and covered it up with a pretty pink Barbie bandage. Staphaseptic kills 99.942% of MRSA–or simply 100%.

Aside from how good I feel about the protection I am giving my family by using Staphaseptic, I also love that it has lidocaine in it. The lidocaine provides just a hint of topical pain relief. It’s great for little cuts on tiny toes.

5 Tips to Prevent Infection
Print these out and go over them with your children. These tips could save your life.

1. Wash your hands thoroughly and frequently.
Teach your children to wash their hands for at least 15 seconds with soap and warm water. If your little one is too young to time 15 seconds, tell them to wash as long as it takes to say the ABC’s.

2. Treat and then cover all wounds.
Cuts, scrapes and burns are how MRSA usually enters the body to start an infection. Staphaseptic is what I use to treat all minor wounds, because it kills MRSA before the infection starts. Traditional antibiotic ointments don’t cut it anymore.

3. Don’t share personal items.
Teach your kids not to share things like combs, bar soap or towels with anyone else.

4. Shower after physical activity.
MRSA just loves moist, warm skin. After strenuous activity, your skin is a breeding ground for MRSA and other bacteria. Remember that shower gel is more sanitary than bar soap.

5. If a wound appears active, seek medical attention.
MRSA can spread within hours and eventually lead to pneumonia and even death. MRSA-related infections look like a pimple or boil and can spread quickly over the body.

Enjoy the new school year and stay safe!

I have never actually watched The Biggest Loser. That fact is, though, I am at the beginning of a very ambitious body makeover and I have heard from more friends than I can count on both hands that The Biggest loser is actually a very inspirational show. I’m all for inspiration at this point in my life. I have set some daunting goals for myself.

Tonight the reality show series begins its fourth season. It’s chugging along on my DVR as I write this. I prefer to watch most of my television commercial-free. I have a feeling this show will end up making my end-of-the-season cuts.

Being a best-selling author of books that people actually recognize might not always be all it’s chalked up to be. I’ve been open that one of my dreams is to write something thither people read – and on a large scale. The fact is, you might not always actually make a living as a writer, even if your books are noteworthy and best-selling. And even if you do, traditional books might not always be the most lucrative publishing venue these days.

Here is a prime example…
Stephen L. Nelson authored the best-selling Quicken for Dummies and QuickBooks for Dummies books. We can assume he did quite well. Nonetheless, his self-published series of do-it-yourself incorporation kits and limited liability company formation kits make him more money than his traditionally published titles.

The internet is an amazing tool. Self-publishing has really taken off since the age of the web entered our world. Nelson has been able to kits for every U.S. state via his website. The Do-it-yourself New York Incorporation Kits are just one example.

The free articles on the website are worth a read, too. I’m actually in the middle of figuring out how I want to incorporate my freelance business and Nelson has an article that discusses the tax benefits of the different types of incorporation.

If you’re a writer by nature, by heart, or by way of your education; don’t waste your talent. You can absolutely take advantage of the self-publishing tools available to find your niche and make it work for you. Nelson’s niche is his series of incorporation kits.

What’s yours?

It’s my official stance now. Dish Network is the most loathsome of entities. Their marketing tactics have absolutely gone so over-the-top that I would never use their services simply due to their lack of ethics.

From what I understand, Dish Network allows resellers all over the world to market their products and services. No matter how many times I threaten, or try to reason, or even send letters I cannot get the telemarketers out of India to stop calling my on my home telephone to try and sell me the Dish Network system. I am absolutely on the Do Not Call list. Do you know what the telemarketers do if you inform them about your DNC status or ask politely to be taken off their call lists” They hang up on you. 100% of the time. I can list in detail over two dozen calls from Dish Network from two dozen individual representatives where the reaction to my statement of being on the DNC list was to simply hang up. Often times, I would get an additional call or two that very same day.

My ex husband’s last name is Arabic sounding. So, we were forever getting Dish Network mailings at our prior address where the mailings were totally in Arabic, save for the Dish Network logo and return address.

Today, I got a Dish Network mailing totally in Chinese! Why? Because the shortened version of my first name looks Asian. So, I have apparently been sorted into their Chinese database. Will I now begin getting calls from telemarketers who speak Mandarin?

When will it end? My guess is that it will not.

If you have any respect for yourself and your dignity whatsoever, I urge you to boycott Dish Network as well. They obviously think very little of the American consumer. Why should we think anything but the same of them?

First of all, the news services are slow. So far, my previous blog is the earliest indication I can find online about this morning’s bomb threat at Bay Pines VA Medical Center in St. Petersburg, FL.

Apparently the all-clear was given a little after 11 a.m. Since the call was received at 7:45 a.m and we are talking about a 300 acre campus, I think that is a valid proof that the center has an emergency plan firmly in place.

If the caller is identified, he or she will face felony charges for calling in a bomb threat.

In the meantime, all is well.  And, I imagine there are some people who went in for appointments today wheo will still be seen in less time than they are used to waiting anyway.

Amidst all of the beautiful memorial ceremonies that are being held today in memory of September 11, 2001, there are also the opportunities people will take to carry out evil.

It is still early in the day and as I write this, over one thousand people are standing out side of Bay Pines VA Hospital in St. Petersburg, FL due to the fact that someone has apparently called in a bomb threat. Everyone who can be evacuated has been.

I’ll see what else I can find out. All I can say is that if this is a prank, the person who made th call is more than likely diabolical enough to need to be locked away.