Bacteria

You need to be as safe before you get in the water as you hopefully are when you're swimming. There are now 25 water areas in Illinois that have been declared too unsafe for swimming due to dangerous bacteria levels.

Summertime is all about getting outside and enjoying the nice weather and swimming is a vital part of that. However, there are now 38 places in Illinois that now have urgent swimming warnings about staying out of the water.

Don't go in the water. That's the advisory that many Illinois water places currently have with many being issued after recent water tests around the state.

You might want to be careful before you get in the water if you have outdoor weekend plans in Wisconsin. There are advisories for at least 26 beaches in the state that have recently tested positive for elevated bacteria levels.

A regular weekend ritual in Wisconsin is heading to your favorite water place and for some that also means swimming. You need to know that there's an urgent warning saying no swimming is suddenly allowed at 20 Wisconsin beaches for multiple reasons.

I grew up in the Missouri generation that lived dangerously. We drank directly out of water hoses because we were daredevils. Yes, a little sarcasm here, but it's a real concern with the upcoming 4th of July holiday weekend about the latest status of lakes and beaches in Missouri. The state has the latest bacteria test results available.

If you were planning on swimming at an Illinois lake this weekend, you might want to check the status first as suddenly there are urgent orders at a half dozen Illinois water places to avoid swimming at all costs.

Being a guy, I really didn't have many thoughts or opinions on the topic of hand lotion until I got married. I quickly learned that if my wife Amy were given the option between having no lotion for a month or having no husband hanging around for a month, I would need someplace to stay for about 30 days.

As you parents know, you're always on guard for things that could harm your child. How many of us ever put bath toys into that category?

I run my dishwasher about once ever week and that's it. That might soon change as I have discovered other uses for it. I dare you to try some of these.