Shout Outs Galore and Hello to You!

Hi there!! Just putting up a post so we can visit. I finally got a minute and was glad to sign in.

The only Christmas decoration in my room. He refuses to go into the living room until
after I put the pumpkins and cornucopia away. He's cute, but testy that way. :)

I see a lot of Christmas Trees going up in blogland... must resist the urge. Or must I?  I think like Alex said when I first got this urge a few weeks ago (you can find Alex's blog HERE), a lot of people are going to be decorating early. We are trying to make it at least one more week. I have been seeing some gorgeous home decorations online though. People are going all out and doing a great job with it. My decorative pumpkins are out, along with other Thanksgiving/Fall things and some Christmas items. One of my friends came by the other day and said she thought I must have be suffering from confusion, since I can't fully decide which holiday to decorate for, lolol. Speaking of Fall, check out Theresa's post on her lil' Fall invader. So cute!

Covid-19 was identified at my job, twice, but they still have us working. We're taking all of the precautions possible, wearing our masks for everything, sitting and walking as far apart as possible, not taking treats to work (masks come off for eating), and taking great care to wash our hands. I can't tell you how many cleaning supplies I have purchased out of pocket to try and keep surface areas and hands disinfected and/or clean.  Anitbacterial Wipes, Alcohol Wipes, and Hand Soap galore. The need is never-ending.

Oh! And the hand sanitizer... I truthfully didn't even like hand sanitizer prior to the pandemic. Now we just can't live without it. I've got big bottles for us at home, a HUGE bottle sitting right outside of my door at work (for people to use before they come in and after they leave) and I keep mini bottles on hand at home for when the grandkids come to visit. If the bottles are cute, the children are more prone to want to use what's inside, right? Although we've become socialized to use it as the norm, so they don't really kick up a fuss anyway. I'm putting pictures up of the Smart Care items we have because they were sent to me, but truthfully we use this brand anyway because their items are affordable (important when you're buying so many, with no end in sight) and effective (which at this point, is even more important that the price point). And not all cleaning products are created equal, and that is especially true for sanitizers. Here are some things you can check for prior to buying them, courtesy of Smart Care.

1.     Be Sure About Alcohol Percentage

The amount of alcohol in the hand sanitizer is critically important and the most effective hand sanitizers consist of 60-85% alcohol by volume, so be sure to check the alcohol percentage before purchasing.

2.     Check Alcohol Type

 Ethanol is proven to be more effective than isopropyl alcohol on its own against viruses. Be sure to check the type of alcohol to make sure you are purchasing the most effective hand sanitizer.

3.     Additional Ingredients

Check out the extra ingredients in the hand sanitizers as ingredients like Aloe, which is used in Smart Care hand sanitizers, help to smooth the skin upon application and reduce the dryness associated with alcohol.

4.     Proper Application is Important

In advance of application, make sure to clean all dirt and grease from your hands.  Apply a small dab of hand sanitizer to the palm of one hand, then rub your hands together. Make sure the sanitizer has dried before wiping your hands.

5.     Select a Brand with A Proven Reputation

Lastly, with the increasing number of brands on the market make sure to select a brand that has an established reputation for delivering performance and efficacy.

Truthfully, despite the germ scare (and there is always the germ scare), I love being at work this year (funny what a difference a year can make) and would rather not go back online (never thought I'd hear myself say that), but being home and able to work in your casual clothing, with zero commute time does have my attention too, so if we do, we do. One thing I am loving is that even though we are working in-person, we're still doing online meetings. That is great because in such a setting it becomes very clear, very quickly that time is just being wasted for the sake of saying 'you met' and people close the meetings out faster. Did I mention that I love that??? SO many meetings are just a big waste of time. 

In other news...and boy, is it news...the election is maddening. Just as everyone predicted, and I knew would be true. Still, I'll be glad when it's over and a final decision is made. If the final decision is made. I suspect it isn't going to be pretty, and true clarity could take some time (if true clarity is even possible at this point). What a weird year and this madness seems like the perfect way to end it. Like Pat says though (and you can visit his blog HERE), a mere date on a calendar doesn't make everything fall magically into place. Maybe next year will be just as messy as this one. I doubt everything we've gone through is going to be resolved just because the calendar hits January 1, 2021. 

I'm just rolling with the punches. What else can you do? The question is rhetorical (I already know the answer).

What I am also doing, is wishing you a safe and happy November weekend, cuz yep, it's that time of year already. The rest of the year will probably go really fast. It usually does! Happy Fall y'all (sorry, I couldn't resist, and we are smack dab in the middle of that season). :)