PSA: How to Properly Wash Your Hands

A lot has been made about washing our hands this week in light of the Swine Flu (aka H1N1). President Obama has told us repeatedly to wash our hands as a way to reduce germs. Newscasters keep screaming it at us.

Because I want each of you to remain healthy and reading my blog for years to come, I'm hereby suspending today's regularly scheduled post and providing you with this Public Service Announcement: How to Properly Wash Your Hands.



Now that you've learned how to wash your hands, I'd like to say a few words . . .

1. I'm concerned about the vast amount of water that is being wasted in this video. In my own house, I try to turn off the water when soaping up my hands, but when I'm in public, I try to touch the faucet (or anything else) as little as possible.

2. The narrator says that you should use your paper towel to turn off the faucet and open the bathroom door. Good ideas. I do this in public. However, after she uses her paper towel to turn off the faucet, she again wipes her hands with it. Ick. Again, paper towels are bad for the environment. At my house, I use cloth towels, but in public I absolutely want paper towels.

Balancing what's good for the environment and what will keep me healthy is quite the balance. I want to help the environment and do what's right, but I also don't want to touch dirty surfaces. Does that make me a little OCD?

How do you handle this conundrum?

Happy 1st 100 Days, President Obama!

Today is President Barack Obama's 100th Day in office. 100 days since Barack Obama became the first African-American President of the United States. Wow.

When I moved from Washington DC to Chicago almost 9 years ago, it took me almost 100 days to get unpacked and believe me, my entire house is probably about the size of the Oval Office. Not only have President Obama and his wonderful family managed to get unpacked (okay, sure, their staff is just a little bigger than mine), get enrolled in school, get a dog, plant a garden and throw some fabulous parties, President Obama has managed to get some work done too.

In his first 100 days, President Obama has:

• signed the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law (click here for my take on it) as his first piece of legislation;
• signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act;
• extended health care coverage for 4 million uninsured children through SCHIP;
• announced that he would help approximately 9 million homeowners get better mortgage terms through his foreclosure prevention package;
• increased funding for education through the Head Start program and Pell Grants to college;
• announced the withdrawal of all combat forces in Iraq by August 2010;
• signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act;
• ordered the closing Guantanamo Bay prison camp with 1 year;
  
• attended the G-20 Summit and improved relationships with world leaders;
• successfully and with minimal blood shed fought off pirates;
• opened lines of communication with the American people in ways that no other administration has ever done including live streaming events and blogging;
  
• promised the world that the US will no longer engage in torture including water boarding;
• and remained cool, calm, and collected during it all which serves to reassure everyone that he is in control. We never see him lose his temper and his demeanor and body language give us all hope. While hope alone will not fix our problems, hope allows us to move forward from the paralysis of fear and take action.
  

Congratulations President Obama!

Yes, we've got some huge issues left to deal with including increasing unemployment, a Dow on incredibly shaky ground, two wars, an auto industry that's hanging on by a shredding thread, and the imminent pandemic known as Swine Flu. And clearly none of these problems will be solved overnight. But we're off to a great start.

More on President Obama's first 100 days in office:

• Obama's First 100 Days: 10 Achievements You Didn't Know About, Huffington Post
  
• One Hundred, New York Times
• Retrospective in Missouri, WhiteHouse.gov
• Delivering On Change, An Inside Look, WhiteHouse.gov
• Foundation for Change, BarackObama.com
  

Arlen Specter: A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing?

Today is not sitting right with me.

You may have heard that Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter began the day as a member of the Grand Ole Party (aka Republican Party) and will go to sleep tonight as a Democrat. And that confuses me.

Sure, I like the idea that, with the addition of Senator Specter and once Senator Al Franken is allowed to be seated, the Democrats have the all-important 60 votes necessary to quash a filibuster.

But this switch wasn't about Senator Specter disagreeing with the fundamental things Republicans believe or even embracing Democratic principles. Senator Specter himself today admitted that his switch had everything to do with the fact that he did some polling and discovered that he probably would lose in a Pennsylvania Republican primary next year. He also made it known that he wouldn't just automatically vote along party lines. The fact is that the Republican party is now dominated by ultra-conservative fundamentalists who use abortion as a litmus test and Senator Specter's 2008 pro-choice voting record would not sit well.

The thing is that I can't get the images of Senator Specter grilling Anita Hill and calling her a liar in the 1991 Confirmation Hearings for Clarence Thomas's nomination to the Supreme Court.

"The lowest point on the first day of the hearing came when Pennsylvania Republican Arlen Specter implied that Hill had simply fantasized Thomas' asking for dates and his lurid remarks about pornography. It is all but inconceivable that a similarly qualified man, black or white, would be accused not merely of lying but of imagining things." — Time Senior Editor Jack E. White, October 21, 1991.

Of course, I suppose that maybe we should be grateful for Senator Specter's behavior during those hearings. Watching 12 white men grill Anita Hill as though she was a criminal mobilized feminists nationwide and 1992 became known as the "Year of the Woman" as the number of female Senators grew from 3 to 5 and women were elected in droves to many other offices around the country.

Maybe. But I still can't help but think Arlen Specter's switch was more about self-preservation than about a shift in his fundamental beliefs. And I just don't trust that. I'll always look at him and wonder if he's just a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Pig Candy: A Party in my Mouth

I've been gone for a few days and I owe you an apology or at least some great gifts. Let's try for both. First, I sincerely apologize for leaving you in the lurch since Thursday night with no warning. All I can say is that I've been a little in over my head. I won't let it happen again. Second, I've got a great gift for you and I think you'll be very pleased.

I have two words for you: Pig Candy.

Pig Candy is basically bacon and sugar, although some foodies insist on ginger and cayenne pepper too.

Pig Candy - from The Sweet Potato Queens' Big-Ass Cookbook and Financial Planner

• Bacon (several strips)
• Brown Sugar (enough to coat bacon strips)

1. Coat uncooked bacon in some dark brown sugar.
2. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

For two amazing descriptions and step-by-step instructions and pictures that will create a party in your mouth, click here and here.

I Was Eloise

All day long I've been trying to figure out how to properly acknowledge today, the day my house burned down in 1982. I'm not going to retell the whole story, but you can read here. A few minutes ago, I was reminded about the only cool part of the entire ordeal:

I got to be a 10 year old diva at the Arlington Park Hilton for the better part of about 5 months.

Yes, I was Eloise.

Eloise you'll recall is a 6 year old fictional girl who lives at The Plaza Hotel in New York City. Eloise is quite precocious and finds herself in the midst of all sorts of adventures (read: trouble), just as I did.

Live at the Hilton was quite good. We had a suite of rooms - two bedrooms with a huge sitting room in the middle. The sitting room, which was more like a super-sized den, complete with wet bar and gigantic bathroom containing a tub with the cool jets. I wouldn't call it a hot tub or whirlpool, but it was cool. Someone made my bed everyday and left clean towels and fun little shampoos and soaps.

As Dave and I got ready for school each day, I would call the hotel restaurant, The Apple Farm, and order lunches that would be ready when we arrived for breakfast. On more than a few occasions, breakfast consisted of orange sherbet and a handful of apple-flavored Jolly Ranchers from the candy dish on the way out of the restaurant. Then we were whisked off to school via cab.

At night we'd run all around the hotel and swim in the pool and never got in any trouble because everyone knew us.

I had slumber parties with my girlfriends and remember one especially fun weekend sitting at the entrance of the Cinderella Rockafella (a nightclub type place attached to the Arlington Park Hilton) watching all the couples arrive for the Arlington High School Prom. We thought they were so sophisticated and beautiful and wanted to grow up to be that cool at our prom.

Yes, life at the Hilton was good and I wanted for nothing. As good as it was, however, I was never so happy as I was the day we finally moved back into our rebuilt house.

Can You Save A Starfish?

Do you know The Starfish Story? It's a story about the power of helping one person and how we can each make a difference. Every once in awhile, I question my own ability to make a difference in the world because I don't have the power of celebrity or as the Leader of the Free World to truly affect change. But I always come back to this story and remember if some random act of kindness touches just one person, then it's worth it.

One thing that I try to do everyday is to smile at strangers and greet them - not engage in conversation, but more of a hello with a smile on my face. This may sound a little silly until you think about how many people live alone. It's possible that no one has smiled at the people I encounter in days. It's even more likely that someone I smile at and greet kindly has had someone treat them rudely at some point recently. My smiles may not create world peace (yet), but I know that when people smile at me it changes my day for the better, so I assume I have the same effect. A great side effect is that smiling and greeting others warmly also helps keep me in a good mood.

Enjoy the Starfish Story.

The Starfish Story
adapted from The Star Thrower
by Loren Eiseley (1907 - 1977)

Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.

One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.

He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"

The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."

"I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man.

To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."

Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"

At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, "It made a difference for that one."

This story has gone all over the internet, usually without crediting Mr. Eiseley. Motivational speaker Joel Barker may have been one of the first to share The Starfish Story and credit Mr. Eiseley.

People Are Genuinely Good

For all the bad news in the world and the times that even I get a bit cynical, stories like the rescue of Streetwise really renew my faith in mankind.

You'll recall that last week I wrote about the possible demise of Streetwise. The whole thing just saddened me because I believe that Streetwise is a perfect example of the old adage "you can give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day or you can teach a man to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime."

As the Tribune story states, Streetwise needed $75,000, but $190,000 was donated in a week! More than double. Given the economic times we're living in, that says something. If you think about it, this is a bigger deal than many fundraisers. None of the people who donated money to save Streetwise received anything tangible for their good deeds. No golf outings. No Cubs tickets. No gift baskets. Streetwise put out a call and enough people took action by donating anywhere between $3 and $35,000 to save the paper.

Yes, people are genuinely good. There is no doubt about it.

Happy Earth Day!

Today is Earth Day, a day designed to protest the destruction of the environment and bring awareness to all the things we can do to save the planet.

I'm going to go for a walk around Lake Arlington to pick up litter this afternoon. My friend Debbie, the founder of the Random Acts of Kindness Club, has organized this walk. The weather is supposed to be nicer and I think it will be a great way to experience early Spring in Chicago, spend some time with a good friend, and do something nice for the planet.

There are many things we can each do to help the planet today and everyday:

1. Stop drinking bottled water. Get yourself a reusable bottle and wash it out. Go see the award winning documentary "Flow" to learn about how harmful to the environment (and us) bottled water is and the worldwide water crisis.

2. Recycle. This absolutely could not be much easier. I don't know of a town that doesn't offer a recycling program and most of them pick up recycling with the garbage. Sure you have to separate it, but that takes seconds as you're already tossing stuff out. In my kitchen, I have a garbage can, a brown paper sack for paper recycling (that doesn't need shredding or is already shredded) and another can for plastic, glass, and aluminum recycling. Yes, at first it was a little burdensome. But once I got into the habit of recycling, it is now second nature and I throw out less than one bag of actual garbage per week. That's huge!

3. Freecycle. I've talked about this before. Freecycle is a grass roots organization that exists all over the country (and world) where you offer up things that you can't use for free and other people take them off your hands. I've gotten some amazing things through Freecycle: a new (to me) microwave when mine died; a new (to her) washer and dryer for my mom when hers died; many plants for my garden; drapes in my living room; an otoman for my brother's apartment; and numerous new items (in packaging) that I used as Christmas gifts. I've also given away many items that I can't use anymore. Freecycle is proof that one man's trash is another one's treasure.

4. Go see the movie Earth. It opens today and if you see it this week, Disney will plant a tree in your honor.

5. Read the single most popular post on Little Merry Sunshine: "Real Simple Recycling A to Z" to learn all the easy ways and many things you can recycle.

6. Plant a tree.

7. Plant a "Recession Garden." Not only is gardening great exercise, but it will save you money. A $70 garden investment will save you about $600 in produce groceries over a year. I don't know about you, but $600 is nothing to sneeze at. In this economy, I'm not sure where else you can legally get a guaranteed 857% return on your investment. Not even Bernie Madoff could give those kinds of returns. Gardening is also great for the environment and healthier for you as well. The produce doesn't need to be trucked or otherwise shipped in from far away and you know exactly what chemicals (or not) are used on your vegetables and fruits. You could also do this with a friend or neighbor and share your harvest to give each of you more produce variety.

8. Take your own bags to the grocery store and anywhere else you shop. I've been doing this for years, ever since I had to walk over a mile each way to the grocery store and those icky plastic bags wouldn't hold up.

9. Use refillable cosmetic compacts. Okay, this may seem like a shameless plug since I'm a Mary Kay Consultant and to my knowledge only Mary Kay has refillable compacts, but this is truly a huge savings to both the environment and your wallet. No more tossing out a whole eye compact because one color is empty because when one color runs out, you only replace that one color. No more buying colors you don't really like because you fill the compact with exactly what you want.

10. Bike, walk, or take public transportation rather than driving. The other day I was spending the entire day in Chicago. Traffic from Arlington Heights to the city is fairly unpredictable and can take anywhere from 40 minutes to 2 hours or more. Rather than drive and have to pay for parking twice, I took the Metra train into the city and then took the subway. Cost to drive and park = $37 in parking and tolls, plus gas and wear and tear on my car. Cost to take public transportation = $13 round trip. I saved $24, not to mention that I was relaxed when I arrived.

11. Install a solar attic fan. Okay, yes, this is another shameless plug for my brother's company, Crystal Skylights & Solarlighting, but he installed a solar attic fan for me last summer and in the first month alone, my electricity bill decreased 35% over the same month (with the same weather temps) in 2007. And the savings have continued each month. My whole house stayed cooler last summer and I ran the AC much less. Plus, the government will give you a tax credit for installing one! I simply cannot rave enough about my solar attic fan.

I could go on, but I'd rather hear your ideas for celebrating Earth Day. What are your favorite ways to save the planet?

Bad News for Blago and Illinois

In spite of my obviously compelling plea and the Tribune's Eric Zorn hopping on my bandwagon in his column today, U.S. District Judge James Zagel today refused to allow former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich to participate in the upcoming NBC reality show "I'm A Celebrity . . . Get me Out of Here!"

To say I'm disappointed would be an understatement. As both Eric Zorn and I argued, participating in this show would allow Governor Blagojevich not only an opportunity to earn money to pay for his defense (saving the State of Illinois money) and there's a chance (albeit a small one) that Governor Blagojevich might not return (saving the State of Illinois even more money).

Oh, well, I can't have everything I want in life.

DVR/VCR Alert: Michael J. Fox: Adventures of an Incurable Optimist

I love this. I love that for one hour in two weeks, ABC will devote its airwaves to the power of optimism.

I believe that optimism is limitless in its power. It makes the impossible possible. It is often what separates the winners from the losers (although those words make me cringe). If you believe, like I do, that what you think about you bring about, then optimism is one of the key pieces of the foundation.

And Michael J. Fox, the poster child for the power of positive thinking is going on television to talk about it. As far as I can tell, the only bad thing about this program is that it's not a weekly series. Given all the negativity in the world, that's what we really need right now.

From ABC.com:

Adventures of An Incurable Optimist
Thursday May 7th 10/9c

Michael J. Fox, the former star of ABC's comedy hit Spin City, makes an emotional return to the network as the acclaimed television and movie star investigates the nature of optimism. In 1998 Fox publicly revealed that he had been diagnosed with early onset Parkinson's disease and, two years later, made the difficult decision to walk away from a highly successful acting career with credits including the top-rated NBC comedy series Family Ties and the blockbuster Back to the Future movies. His triumphant spirit and positive attitude, considering his daily fight against the symptoms of a complex and incurable neurological syndrome, may make you wonder: How does he remain an "incurable optimist"?

Fox travels across the globe to explore the enduring strength of hope. He talks to both famous and everyday people, venturing everywhere from the Far East to President Barack Obama's inspiring inauguration -- all for a one-hour special, Michael J. Fox: Adventures of an Incurable Optimist, airing THURSDAY, MAY 7 (10:02-11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

The whole world, shaken by economic woes, is taking a closer look at optimism. Imagine a country which measures its success with a figure for "Gross National Happiness" instead of Gross National Product. Fox visits the secluded Himalayan nation of Bhutan, a modern day Shangri La that stresses the importance of joy in everything it does. Can happiness actually be legislated? Fox is fascinated by this nation's commitment to the positive well-being of its citizens.

"The same joyous spark that Michael J. Fox shared with us during his acting career shines through in this compelling look at the transformational power of optimism," said Victoria Dummer, co-head and senior vice president, Alternative Series, Specials and Late Night, ABC Entertainment Group.

During this entertaining and inspiring hour, Fox also meets doctors and scientists who share lively insight on the cutting edge science that's helping us better understand the nature of optimism in all of us. He introduces viewers to a variety of people who haven't let difficulties stand in the way of their happiness. Even Fox himself says the past 10 years, dealing with Parkinson's and setting up The Michael J. Fox Foundation, have become among his happiest and his best.

"For everything this disease has taken, something with greater value has been given," Fox says, "So, sure, it may be one step forward and two steps back, but after a time with Parkinson's, I've learned that what is important is making that one step count."

Fox is still an actor, but his personal and professional focus has now shifted to Parkinson's disease. He's revolutionized research in the field with The Michael J. Fox Foundation, the world's largest non-profit funder of Parkinson's research.

He is also a best-selling author. His first book, Lucky Man, was published in 2002. A new memoir of the last eight years, Always Looking Up, is out on March 31. Both books are from Hyperion.

Michael J. Fox, Nelle Fortenberry and Rudy Bednar are executive producers of Michael J. Fox: Adventures of an Incurable Optimist, a collaboration between Northern Fox Productions and Lincoln Square Productions.

Click Here to read an exerpt from Michael J. Fox's new book, Always Looking Up, or click here for more information.