Lemons

I love to have either lemons or limes in my diet cokes, and when eating at a restaurant it is a little "extra" that I enjoy. So, I was extremely bothered by the following story (courtesy of www.healthinspections.com)
"Beware the lemon in your drink. It could make you sick.
When restaurant workers place a lemon wedge on your glass of water, tea, or soda, they are apparently spiking your drink with germs.
A new study by a New Jersey microbiologist found nasty bacteria on two-thirds of the lemons that were tested from 21 restaurants.
"It was gross," said Anne LaGrange Loving, assistant science professor at Passaic County Community College."
Loving decided to do the study after noticing a waitress with dirty fingernails delivering a drink to a table.
"They put lemon in my Diet Coke, I didn't ask for it, and so I decided to do a study."
Loving and her team swabbed for bacteria as soon as drinks hit the table at restaurants all around Paterson, New Jersey.
"You would think they had dipped the lemons in raw meat," she said, referring to the high levels of bacteria that she found.
The swabs of lemon wedges revealed everything from high counts of fecal bacteria to a couple of dozen other microorganisms -- most of which can make you sick. They found bacteria on the rind and on the flesh of the lemons.
Health laws require lemons to be handled with gloves or tongs. But its common practice for waiters and waitresses to simply pop the little lemon wedge onto a drinking glass with their bare hands.
If an employee's hands aren't clean, however, then touching the lemons is likely to contaminate them with bacteria according to Loving.
This is not the first time that Anne Loving has gone looking for bacteria in unusual places. She did a study several years ago and found bacteria on communion cups.
"You'd just have to know me," she laughed. "I'm a germ freak."
But, Loving says, the results of the study point to a significant problem.
"People need to know that the lemons have bacteria on them that can make them sick."


AAAAHHHHH! It's one of those things that I never even thought about until now. No more lemons/limes for me I guess. Although, it hasn't killed me yet.....

"Our" song

So, as my closest friends and family know, I am a singing fool. I am always listening to music and singing. Especially in the car. It came as no suprise then that Jordan is a musical baby! He is happiest when he is dancing along to any music, and sings along when we are in the car. He even throws his hands up and dances during the hymns at church!

I'm sure that Duane hopes he does not inherit my taste in music, since I like everything from show tunes to rap, but I think Jordan will have a very well rounded musical taste. (Sorry, I am hoping that he likes Barry Manilow, although I may not be hoping he "likes" Barry Manilow.)

So I feel compelled to share "Our Song". The one that I have sang to Jordan at night since he was tiny. I am not entirely sure how it happened, but the words are perfect. I have sang to Jordan every night since he has been born, and now it is kind of expected. In fact, if I don't sing, he will kind of moan louder and louder until I do. It is one of my most favorite things. He will "sing" along until he falls asleep. Our song is Stevie Wonders "You are the Sunshine of my Life". I know it's corny, but focus on the words and if you know me you will know that it's perfect.

He knows the song so well, that I can put on the cd (yes, I bought a Stevie Wonder cd since he's been born) and he will fall asleep to it. It is very "me" to have a song with Jordan, and while it is not all inclusive, since I am sure there are many other lyrics to represent how I feel about him, it was and is "Our Song". If you aren't familiar with the song, it is on my playlist, so give it a listen.

While my closest friends know me as being very music and lyrics focused, I think they will also understand the meaning of this song. Since I just sang him back to sleep I felt compelled to blog this, just in case anyone else is babysitting at some point and needs a reference. Learn this song, as well as some of his other favorites:

• Away in a Manger (the primary version)
  
• The Noah's Ark Song (Utah girls who went to camp will know this...The Lord said to Noah, there's gonna be a floody, floody.."
  
• You are my sunshine
  
• Old McDonald
  
• And of course, the Darth Vader Theme from Star Wars...this one happened by accident, but works like a charm. Luckily he doesn't know it's an "evil" theme song!

Well, that pretty much sums it up. He is all about having music playing and will stop in his tracks to dance and sing along. It makes watching American Idol so much fun!