"While I am quite responsible, I'm not an overly cautious person. I don't scrub my hands every five minutes and I don't think it's necessary for us to oversee every movement our kids make."
I love the phrase "not overly cautious". That is me. I've used terms such as lazy or not fearful before, but I think "not overly cautious" really describes it best. I, too, am (usually) responsible, and go through my life performing the baseline annoying safety drills just like everyone else. What I don't do is buy into the State of Fear Life Plan we are constantly being sold. If you don't believe that we're safer than ever before in history (and so are our kids), then you're not really thinking it through. I also think that the Good Old Days are mostly nostaglic bullshit, but that's enough opinions for one day! BAH! This is obnoxious AND boring!
Let's talk about handwashing. I cannot stand washing my hands. I have nasty, dry, flaky skin on even the moistest (EWW, SORRY) of days, and handwashing, especially if I don't apply lotion immediately, makes me want to crawl out of my snake-like skin. So, I don't wash my hands unless I absolutely have to. I'll let you decide when I feel I absolutely have to. Some of you are SO GROSSED OUT right now, and for that I offer a half-assed (okay, quarter-assed) apology.
Other things that I should really not admit:
- I don't adhere to the Offical Leftover Safekeeping Timelines
- I sometimes thaw meat in hot water or even IN THE SINK
- I regularly drive 50 miles or more after my "low fuel" light comes on
Man, I am really bucky today! Oh well. If you are worried about my Eternal Salvation, you should know that I totally have one of those carbon monoxide detector thingees.
31 comments:
I think we all do things that we're not technically supposed to do, but whether we admit it or not is another question. One could say it would be prudent not to pick one's nose, but based on the number of Seinfeld-esque nose pickers I see on my daily commute, I'd say there are a lot of imprudent (and lying) peoples out there.
I just learned, like yesterday, that the worst way to thaw meat out is with hot water or the microwave. Thank you Elton Brown, but too little too late.
Flibberty-I saw that one, too! COLD WATER is best...who knew?
Wait, what? Not in the microwave? I knew about cold water but not about the microwave part.
CRAP.
Also, at the airport this weekend a woman sitting across from me totally was picking her nose, just digging right in there, and she made direct eye contact with me as I stared in horror, and she just kept. on. going.
I do ALL of those things and I probably am even more freakish about the lotion than you. And what about the towels with no fabric softener?!? Pert-near drives me right over the edge.
THIS IS ME. I had no idea we were so alike. Also, is it weird that you posted about how you're like me, and now I'm commenting that I'm like you? Like, too... circular or something? Except I don't even have a carbon dioxide detector.
"Not overly cautious" - that's totally me. My husband walks behind me, constantly reminding me of the hazards I have left along the way:
- plastic bags on the floor, usually full, but a suffocation hazard just the same
- knives within reach of little hands, if the little ones grabbed a chair, dragged it over to the counter and reached to the back of the counter
- not checking the best before date on the bread clip every.single.time. (the check for green fuzzy stuff test does not fly)
- not standing at least 10 ft from the curb when walking with the children and waiting at a traffic light
I ask you, who is the freak here?
I do wash my hands, though. Not crazy amounts, but frequently.
Jess-I think we both know that the carbon monoxide detector has BR's name written all over it.
I am the exact same way with the hand washing. I tried using that sanitizing hand gel, but hello! Alcohol = very drying.
I thaw meat in ziplock bags in cold water in the sink. Or, I just leave it in the package in the sink all afternoon to thaw. That's probably really bad, isn't it?
Black sheeped - I used to work with an older woman who would pick her nose at her desk EVERY SINGLE DAY. The girl across the cubicle from her used to bang her ruler on the metal divide and shout "Nuh uh. Stop that nasty shit right now!" It was hysterical!
I'm also on the "not overly cautious" side, but when it comes to Mimi I always liked to be where I could see her. I have *finally* gotten to the point where she can be in the other room for a minute and I don't immediately imagine that she is stabbing her eyes out with a misplaced swizzle stick or something.
Seriously, you crack me up! Despite my OCD, I am actually pretty laid back when it comes to that stuff! I even let SD eat food that has fallen on the floor!
I'm totally with you on the thawing meat in the sink thing.
One of my former coworkers was going on and on and ON one time about how disgusting it was and how many cases of salmonella occur because of people doing that and I was like, "Whatever. I do it all the time and I've never gotten sick. So... SHUT-TEE."
E-Oh,yeah, I totally do that too. My rule is: if there is no dog hair on it, it is edible.
I'm so glad to hear I'm not the only one with the no dog hair = perfectly edible rule.
I also hate washing my hands unless I'm cooking and then I can't stop. I don't like to feel food on my hands. Holy sensory integration disorder . . .
P&D-Seriously. Despite my many "disgusting" habits, I am almost never sick. And I live with a toddler in DAYCARE. People always assume that every piece of meat is automatically infested with a raging case of E. Coli, and that is just Crap. Even if we thawed our meat in the hot, Texas sun for hours and then ate it RAW, most of the time we would not get sick.
Also, SHUT-EE! OMG, I love it. Haven't heard that one in a while.
Erica - your coworkers are TOO FUNNY!
Oh, I am ridiculously cautious and otherwise known as a Pain In The Ass.
Half of the documents I design/edit for work are regarding food safety.
Oh, Jesus.
Cold water!! Please don't thaw foods on the counter top. Please?! Microwave defrosting is fine IF YOU COOK THE FOOD IMMEDIATELY afterward and then clean the microwave with soap and bleach and water (if it was meat you were defrosting).
To sanitize (but not disinfect) counter tops and cutting boards, here is an easy solution: designate an empty clean spray bottle. Fill with clean water. Dip the sprayer into a bottle of bleach and dip it it into the spray bottle of water. Repeat this for a total of four dips. Perfect counter top sanitizer and the solution keeps for over a week. No harmful residue.
Sorry - I really am not preaching, I just work on publishing this kind of info! (If you want references, etc. e-mail me at sagebrushandserendipity - at - yahoo - dot - com.)
I never knew this stuff before this job and was SO BLISSFULLY IGNORANT.
Artemisia-Oh, man, I know. You don't even know the HALF of the food safety faux pas I commit. AND I'M NOT ABOUT TO TELL YOU!
The thing is, I could read all the food safety literature on the planet and I would remain basically unaffected. One of the many reasons I suck.
Do as ARTEMISIA would do, people, not as *I* would.
I cannot stop thinking about GERMS! And how they're in my kitchen RIGHT NOW! And we're all going to DIE!
Thanks, Tessie.
AAAH! I am so the same way! Although I generally love Alton Brown, I disagree with his thawing tactics. I’m a “leave the meat on the counter” or “throw it in the microwave” kind of girl.
And the hand washing…good GOD I am tired of people giving me the evil eye when I don’t soap up at work. The soap here seriously eats my skin. I’m dealing with it as best I can, so please quit judging and leave me alone.
I’ve never been overly cautions and that didn’t change when I had kids. There is clutter and wires and choking hazards a-plenty in our house, I’m sure. We deal with it. My mother was super overly cautious when we were kids (don’t use the stove, no hard candy, wear rubber soled shoes in a thunderstorm) and all I see that as is a waste of energy. You’re lucky that I lock my door at night.
And I don’t put gas in my car until the needle looks like it’s going to fall off. : )
Ruh roh, his name is Alton not Elton! Sheesh. I love him too. My apologies Alton.
(ok the handwashing thing makes me seem gross) I do wash with hot water....just no soap here at work. :) I'm under-cautious, not a scumbag.
Now why would I sanitize my microwave, when I never clean it and there are little food stalactites all over the roof of it okay I digress.
I really came in here to say I can relate, and that I just know when things are bad, and I have experience, which is to say one day my husband got really angry with me because our son fell down and smacked his head and I DIDN'T EVEN PUT MY BURGER DOWN. But, to be fair, the boy didn't even stop chewing, either, and was kind of annoyed at his father for picking him up and away from his food.
So I'm really kind of laid back about kids and injuries. When one of them falls I always just check to make sure their teeth are still tight, and they're good to go.
Yet I spend all night worrying about obscure scenarios.
I'm loving the "State of Fear Life Plan." Do you have rights to that phrase, or can I steal it??
I think it is just germs -- and foody germs/parasites that freak me out the most. There are definitely conditions going on in my bathroom right now that would qualify as a health hazard somewhere.
But then, I think - what if I had kids? Would I be mellow or would I be crazy? Would I be laid back, letting my kids explore the world the way they need to so they feel confident in their abilities, or would I install padding to all my rooms, complete with hypoallergenic filling, and arm the little monkeys with helmets and elbow pads 24/7?
Personally, I applaud those of you who have the courage to let your kids be kids. I think I'd probably be the crazy Pain In The Ass mother, regardless of how much I don't want to be.
I agree with Tessie that we are sold fear every where we turn, though, and that is bullshit.
I am so (half) with you on that. Some of the time I'm all "throw caution to the wind" and some of the time I'm a tad more "where's my sanitize gel". The sanitize gel has definitely won out more lately since the arrival of our son but I'm looking forward to when he's more toddler-like so I can be "ehhh it just touched the floor for a minute I'm sure it's fine.."
I will say also that daycare cures you of the germy oogies pretty quickly. Once you see what goes on with that many kids in one place, you realize that nothing that goes on in your home is going to trump that.
I am all three of those things you listed; leftovers, thawing, and fuel tanks. I do admit I have been worrying about the children a little more than I used to. Okay, I've always been a worrywart when it comes to my kids, but then I realize that sometimes things happen anyway...and there's nothing you can do. My biggest confession...I never EVER thaw shrimp in the fridge over night in a bowl. I always force thaw them in cold (okay, lukewarm) water. I feel better already. Thank you Tessie.
I stopped after the word "moistest". The word itself is so heinous and wrong.
I can't thaw meat in the microwave? WHAT? Too bad. I'm never organized enough to thaw it the day before. Hey, the family is lucky I'm even making supper.
I do however wash my hands quite often.
Good post!
1) I don't even want to know the difference between "sanitize" and "disinfect."
2) I thaw meat in the microwave. I don't want to know why it's wrong.
3) I don't clean the microwave afterwards. Then I put other foods in it, sometimes BARE ON THE TRAY. I haven't gotten food poisoning or anything that could have been food poisoning.
4) In my "mommy and baby" class after my firstborn arrived, a woman said she ran a load of nothing but hot-water-and-bleach between EVERY LOAD OF LAUNDRY. That's NUTS. Also, the instructor said gently, "Was your family having trouble with illness?" And that made me realize: if we're not having trouble with barfing etc., probably we're not having trouble with the way we do things. If we were barfing etc., I would reconsider the issue.
Wait. What is wrong with the microwave? I thought that made it safer than the sink! I am kind of a freak about handwashing--I do it all the time. However, I MUST put lotion on every single time!
I went to a Mary Kay party where they had us wash our faces and then we were just sort of sitting there for a long time with no lotion and I finally yelled out CAN WE GET ON WITH IT? I NEED SOME DAMN LOTION ON MY FACE!
I'm more freaky than y'all. I am the cautious one. My husband is the one who lets my kid go BAREFOOT to the playground. And now she has splinters on the bottom of her feet. Duh.
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