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Winter Driving Tips

The following precautions can make any trip safer during the winter:

• Tune up and winterize your vehicle.
• Check the tread on your tires and consider installing snow tires.
• Clean snow and ice off your vehicle and ensure your headlights and windows are clear.
• Give yourself extra time to reach your destination.
• Reduce your speed and turn on your headlights.
• Drive defensively.
• Leave extra distance between you and the car ahead of you.
• Leave 10 metres distance—about three car lengths—between your vehicle and the working sanders, graders and other snow removal equipment.
• Do not pass working sanders or equipment.
• Listen to your local radio station for traffic and weather updates. 
• Consider delaying your trip until the roads are in better condition.

How to attain work-life balance in a take-your-work-home era

These days, many worker-bees do their nine-to-fives from the living room couch. And when duty calls, nothing says they can’t draft an impromptu email from the dinner table, or remote access login from Egypt, right?

In fact, young worker-bees like the millennials say flexibility (where and when you work) are particularly pertinent to them. Likewise, research suggests millennials place higher value on time with loved ones than the boomers did.

However, when “flexibility” comes in the shape of being attached at the hip to work – midnight emails, down-time business pitches, and never technically logging off for the day – it gets exhausting and can have negative effects.

 

Whether working in your PJ’s or from the office – it’s important to take breaks throughout the day and “shut off” appropriately once you’ve done your 8 or 9 hours of work. So how can you attain the perfect work-life balance?

Well there isn’t one “right” way. But the key is what’s more important to you – in career and personal life – and prioritizing your schedule accordingly. Check out these tips to start crafting that fulfilling lifestyle:

Do what you love, and love what you do

Just because you’re pulling extra hours doesn’t mean you’re not having a blast while doing it.

Some of us love our jobs (that much) and are more than happy spending hours emailing, brainstorming and orchestrating team powwow’s to get that project moving.

If it makes your heart sing to cart your laptop home and continue work after that glass of wine and steam bath – why not? Kudos to you.

Pick and choose

“There are only so many hours in a day.” Sure, you’ve heard the saying… But do you actually cut yourself some slack when needed?

The toughest part to reaching work-life balance is realizing you’ll never make it to every social affair while prepping home-cooked meals and working a surplus of overtime.

Once you decide which relationships take VIP status – be choosy and pursue what you’re passionate about. Making progress where you feel it counts, matters most.

Winds of change
After soul searching and weighing the pros and cons, you might feel like shifting your priorities. Maybe you’ll start a family, buy a home or finally take that dream job in Vancouver. Either way, be open to fresh opportunities and ready yourself for tweaks or changes to your schedule.

Don’t remodel the kitchen

Convenient work-from-home schedules can definitely feel liberating, but they’re not without distraction.

And if you’re like many people, challenges at work can manifest into mini-procrastination breaks.

Dishes in the sink and laundry on the floor often turn into diversions that set-back your productively levels.

Keep disruptions at bay by setting a mental and physical boundary. Create a work cocoon (either a room or a corner) where you can contain all work-related paraphernalia and keep work tasks to just that area.

Tally it up

Whether it’s hosting a shindig or fashioning furniture – the easiest way to make more “me” time is to track what you’re doing.

For 7 days, try logging everything you do and how long it takes. Then review your list and pinpoint potential “time suckers” where you can re-focus on what’s significant to you.

Find fun anywhere

Relish a good laugh. Enjoy your coworkers. And find the fun in bonding activities. If you love the company of your colleagues, this itself can count as socializing.

So don’t limit your weeknights/weekends to only outside-of-work interests, unless you really want to. Work friends can create a dynamic office space and win over your Monday blues.

Risks of snoozing with contact lenses in

Remember getting your first pair of contacts?

Chances are you went through the same mini-hygiene session everyone else did. You know the drill: Rinse hands in soapy water. Dry-off with “lint-free” towel. Extract with care and gently massage with special anti-debris solution.

But once the novelty wears off, how many of us actually keep on-track? Eventually it happens. We get lazy, or forgetful and do the big no-no: fall asleep with contact lenses still attached to our corneas.

Yet, is it really that bad? Well… Yes. Experts say snoozing with contacts on causes eye infection and other health perils.

Cornea problems

Before drifting off to dreamland for the night, take note: Closing your eyes with contacts in impede fresh-tear and oxygen flow to corneal cells.

Natural tears and fresh air nourish and protect eyes from germs and debris. Hence, a lack of such allies lead to short-term problems like blurred vision, red eye, burning and itching sensations and even a scratched cornea.

Likewise, grim dilemmas like abnormal blood-vessel growth and giant papillary conjunctivitis (underside bumps on the eyelids) can also manifest in time.

Tend to forget them once you’ve popped them in?

Try extended-wear contact lenses. Approved for 7 days of continuous wear and made of silicone hydrogel, these contacts allow fresh oxygen to reach your corneas and gives leeway for overnight sleep with contacts in place. 

Keep in mind, if you’re new to lenses or have sensitive eyes, chat about best-fit options with your optometrist before purchasing a pair.

Biofilm buildup

Whether disposable or extended-wear contacts, cleaning or changing up your current pair is a must-do. Otherwise biofilm – slimy film that helps bacterial colonies stick to contact lenses – starts to build up.

Typically, bacteria filters out via blinking, but once you cover your corneas with clear contacts – blinking becomes ineffective and risks of corneal infection, scarring and even blindness can ensue.

To neutralize buildup, dip lenses in recommended solutions daily, or weekly (extended-wear contacts).

Tears increase tolerance

We get it. Sticking contacts into dry eyes can feel sandpaper uncomfortable. Especially when dry eye syndrome comes into play. Simple tasks like inserting and removing lenses become irritating not to mention difficult. And symptoms of red eye (blurry vision, photophobia and severe pain) can quickly take over your daily regime.

But, not all hope is lost for those who desire convenient contacts. Dry-eye frustrations can be avoided with solutions as easy as artificial tear drops.

Before popping in a pair, visit your optometrist to make sure all pre-existing conditions are treated.

How to have a pet-safe Valentine's Day

Sigh. Those big brown eyes. That adorable nose. Those tiny paws… 

Daydreaming about your honey again? 

Love is in the air, and dogs and cats sure make warm and fuzzy Valentines, but before grabbing for those coco treats, take note: Sweetheart Day food and flowers can be dangerous for pets. 

To ensure a pet-safe celebration, check out these tips:

Forbidden chocolate

Whether milk, dark or semi-sweet – chocolate should melt in your mouth and not theirs.

If you’re not sure what’s good and what’s not – talk to a seasoned pet lover. They’ll be the first to tell you chocolate (especially baking chocolate) is mighty toxic to canines of all kinds.

Come Valentines, Go ahead. Indulge. But take care not to leave those sweet treats lying around for Bow Wow to find. If ingested, dogs can suffer abnormal heart rhythms, seizure, diarrhea and vomiting.

A rose is just a rose

…Until it becomes a thorny mouthful. Just a bite, swallow or step onto a sharp stem and your pooch could be nursing serious injury and infection.

But rather than risk a trip to ER – sift through your bundle of love to remove hazardous floras with a toxic plant guide.

Note, lily bouquets are also fatally poisonous to felines. Just a few morsels could send your kitty’s nervous system into a downward spiral.

Playing with fire

It’s always nice to set the mood with candlelight, but don’t forget to put them out as you leave the scene. Playful pups and pawing kitties can topple over candlesticks and burn themselves in the midst of playing.

Life is sweet

So don’t let sweeteners drop your pet’s blood sugar too low. Sugar-free candies like Candygrams and gum tend to contain large xylitol doses. A sweetener highly toxic to animals. If accidentally nibbled on – depression, liver failure and loss of coordination can occur.

Careful with cocktails 

Half-drunk champagne, and a little spilled wine isn’t anything to cry about until inquisitive pets start to lap up the leftovers.  In fact, just a tiny shot of alcohol can send small animals into tremors, coma and or fatal respiratory failure.

Keep opened bottles and festive glasses high-up on counter space or rinse them in the sink before changing up activities for the night.