Farm Bureau Picnic And Pool Party

We recently switched our auto insurance to Farm Bureau. One of the perks of this company is a summer picnic and swim party at the local public pool. It was extremely crowded but fun. The food lines moved pretty fast. They served barbequed hamburgers and hot dogs, baked beans, salad, chips, and cookies. As a germaphobe, I was impressed with the setup. They had Farm Bureau representatives, wearing plastic gloves, serving food at every table. This prevented people from sticking their grubby hands on the buns and utensils. The part I liked the most was the potato chip table. Usually, everyone just sticks their hands in the bags and serves themselves. They actually had someone wearing gloves and serving the potato chips. It was great! No germy chips!

We had a fun time swimming. My husband and I hung out in the shallow kiddie area with our 6-year-old and 21-month-old. I tried not to think about how many of those kids might be peeing in the water. That's what all the chlorine is for anyway, right? I had my son in a swim diaper.

I was the only one wearing water shoes. My husband's were full of sand because our 14-year-old had taken them on his Scout camping trip. The rest of the kids had outgrown theirs. I felt a little guilty being the only one with water shoes but I wore them anyway. They made my broken toe hurt a little but I don't like going barefoot. We all hit the showers when we got home.

I Caught A Cold And I Hate It!!

I caught a cold and I am miserable. This is the reason that I am a weirdo when I go out in public. I don't like touching door handles, credit card machines or any other commonly used public surfaces. If I have to touch something, I always sanitize my hands. I hate getting sick! Apparently, I haven't been as careful with my 20-month-old son, Riley. Sometimes I forget to wash his hands. He's so cute that I just don't think of him as dirty, yet he often puts his hands in his mouth and sometimes mine. He is at the age where he touches everything and I need to remember that. I'm pretty sure this cold started with him.

Last week, Riley had a fever for two days with no other symptoms. I took him to the doctor but he didn't find anything wrong with him. I thought it might be because of the four teeth he has coming in. After the fever went away, he got a mild cough and runny nose for a couple days; nothing too severe though. Then, my 5-year-old daughter got a fever and cough but her nose was fine. After that, my 14-year-old son started in with sneezing and a really bad runny nose. He gets seasonal allergies so I thought he was having an allergy attack. He didn't get any fever that I'm aware of, but his runny nose has cleared up. Then I started in. I had the same sneezing, runny nose attack as my son that I thought might be allergies as well. But when I was chilled and couldn't get warm a couple nights ago, I realized that I probably had a fever. I had a slight headache as well so I took some ibuprofen. My nose has been running non-stop for almost three days now. It's driving me crazy and making me grumpy! My nose is so sore it hurts to wipe it. I haven't had any more fevers but I have had a slight headache that is annoying me and won't go away. Avoiding all of this annoying sickness crap is what being a germaphobe is all about. I am definitely going to be more careful about sanitizing Riley's hands from now on. 

My Eventful Saturday

My husband and I along with two of our kids spent the day in Salt Lake City on Saturday. First of all, we dropped my mom off at the airport. It was nice to have her visit. I told her to read the travel tips page of my website before getting on an airplane to come visit us. She didn't, but I told her about it while she was here. She made it home safely and, hopefully, germ free.

My dad also flew out here with my mom, but he had to leave a few days before she did for work. He had a cold during his visit and I had to tell him to stop coughing on his hand and touching everything. He has a copy of my book, so I thought he would know better. He was a good sport about it. I did take a sanitizing wipe and wipe all the light switches, doorknobs, etc.

After we left the airport, my husband wanted to test drive this car that he found online that is located in Salt Lake. Since it is an older car and was rather dirty inside, we sanitized our hands really well after the test drive. If he ends up buying this car, it will be thoroughly cleaned inside.

The next thing on the agenda was lunch. It was around 2:00 in the afternoon and we were hungry. We decided the best place to go was a local all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant since we were headed for the Real Salt Lake soccer game at 7:00. This normally wouldn't be my first choice but we wanted a rather large meal to tide us over until after the game. The food was okay. I was a little disappointed because they don't have any of my favorite dishes anymore. I was happy to see hand sanitizer placed around all of the serving areas.

After we pigged out on food, we hung around a mall until time to go to the game. We found our seats and I noticed a lady sitting in the next section cleaning her seat off with a wipe. I love it when I see a fellow germaphobe. It warms my heart. I must confess, I don't wipe seats unless they are really gross. Instead, I change my clothes when I get home and wash the clothes I was wearing. The game was really fun. Real Salt Lake won 4 to 1. I have a lot of fun watching sports when I'm there in person, but watching it on TV gets boring for me.

Antibacterial Soap Vs. Regular Soap

Is antibacterial soap better than regular soap? According to the FDA, it is no better. All of the antibacterial products on the market today are creating more superbugs. I have personally dealt with the superbug MRSA and it terrifies me. I mostly use regular, liquid soap. I do occasionally buy antibacterial soap because it does give me an extra sense of security but I have not had any problems using regular soap. As long as you wash your hands thoroughly for as long as it takes to sing the alphabet song in your head, you should be fine. I do not use bar soap because it can harbor bacteria, although it is better than nothing.

No self-respecting germaphobe like me goes anywhere without hand sanitizer or antibacterial hand wipes. I carry both. Hand sanitizer is good but there are some messes that just need to be wiped off. The bottom line? Be careful, stay clean and avoid touching things as much as you possibly can.

How To Be A Germophobe When You Have Sick Kids

Sorry folks, but it is very hard to be a germophobe with sick kids, especially younger ones. If the child is under the age of 3, plan on getting coughed on, sneezed on, and having a snotty nose wiped on you. Young children need you more than ever when they are sick. Don't avoid contact with them. Just do your best to keep your hands clean and be sure to take some kind of immunity-boosting supplement. If it doesn't scare your child, you can wear a mask, if desired.



When older children get sick it is somewhat easier to avoid. They can wipe their own noses and are generally okay to lay in bed and watch TV. They still need to be checked on, comforted, and, if needed, given medication. Make sure they wash their hands as often as possible. Sanitize any surfaces they come in contact with such as doorknobs, light switches, faucet handles, etc. Don't forget remote controls, video game controls, and any toys they may have played with.

Germophobe vs. Germaphobe

Today, instead of talking about germs, I'm giving a brief spelling lesson :-). I recently became aware that there are significantly more people searching for the word "germaphobe" than "germophobe." It made me question how it is really spelled. So, I went to Merriam-Webster for the answer. It turns out I was right. It is spelled "germOphobe." What a relief. I don't have to change the title of my book.

My New Washer and Dryer

This weekend I bought a much needed new washer and dryer. I'm not posting this to brag, I was pleasantly suprised while researching the best brand of washers and dryers to find that Samsung makes a washing machine with ActivFresh technology that sanitizes clothes even in cold water! I didn't even know that Samsung made appliances! I know they make TV's, DVD players, and other electronics, but I had no idea they made washers and dryers.
Here's my washing machine story: My old washing machine was 16 years old and well past its prime. For the past 5 years, I have had to thump the lid just to make it run. It has been getting weaker and weaker to the point that our clothes just weren't getting clean. The dark colors would come out with white streaks all over them and any stains had to be washed out by hand before going in the washer. As a germophobe, this bothered me that my laundry is not getting clean. I hoped the heat from the dryer was at least killing some germs. My main concern was with the towels, washrags, dishrags, underwear, and socks. That's probably where most of the germs would be lurking. We did not have any problems with infections or illness, but I still just felt dirty. I was thrilled to find machines that sanitize all of my laundry, even the dark colors that are washed in cold. My new washer and dryer both have steam and sanitize cycles. The washer has the ActivFresh technology that also sanitizes as well as an extra hot sanitize cycle that is great for the towels, underwear, etc. I am thrilled to find "germophobe friendly" machines!
It feels great to have clean clothes again!!!

Now Available For Purchase!

How To Be A Germophobe is now available for purchase at this link through Author House Publishing.

Enjoy!

Coming Soon!

Watch for my "How To Be A Germophobe" book soon to be released!

Inside you will find 36 different categories of germophobia complete with pictures.

Here is a sample of what's inside:

"Drinking Fountains:

If at all possible, avoid the drinking fountain. They get a lot of backwash from a lot of people and, generally, are not sanitized. Carry a water bottle with you instead. If you absolutely must drink from a fountain, let the water run a little while first. As a back up, take an immunity-boosting supplement as soon as possible after drinking from a fountain."

These tips and many more will be available in my book. It pays to be extra careful about avoiding germs in this day and age. Cold and flu season is just around the corner.

Ordering information will be posted as soon as it's available.