Lockmeupology

Enjoy your last weekend in September.

(: 

Thank You For The Gift Card

Recently, fellow blogger and writer Sabrina at Sabrina's Writing Reflections hit her 100 follower milestone. To celebrate, she had a giveaway and randomly awarded one lucky person with a $10 Amazon Gift card. Can you guess who that lucky person might have been? *silly girl waves arms in air* It was ME! 

So I want to thank Sabrina again for the gift card and show you guys what I purchased. I decided to treat my kids and ordered the The Tail of Emily Windsnap by Liz Kessler. We received it in the mail a few days ago and every night I read a few pages to them before bed. So far, we really enjoy it. My daughter is hooked and my son....well, he listens for about a page or two and then he gets frigidity, which is understandable because he's only 3 and the book doesn't have any pictures. It's a big girl book. (; 

 Anyway, I thank you Sabrina and so do my kids.  

Now go and check out Sabrina's blog and wish her a Happy Birthday. She's turning 30 over the weekend and has a skydiving story to share with you!  (: 

Head Lice Do Not Jump

Ok, so today I’m going off on a bit of a rant. I usually don’t vent over the internet (because so many of you do it much better than moi) but seriously, this is starting to bug me. So prepare yourself for a longish post. I don’t expect you to read it all but if you have kids in elementary school I suggest you at least skim it, read the summary at the bottom and look at the pretty pictures at the end. The rest of you can read on a diagonal like you ALWAYS do. You know who you are… :P

Okay, ready?

Head lice Flea

If you’ve got kids in preschool or elementary, chances are you’ve had to deal with head lice. Second week of elementary school and I’ve already had to treat my daughter for the little buggers. So why am I bringing this up? Because I hear people say the dumbest things when it comes to head lice. It’s important to know the difference because you don’t treat a flea infestation the same way you treat head lice. DUH!!

First, if your child gets head lice, it doesn’t automatically mean you lack proper hygiene or are generally dirty. Head lice couldn't care less about cleanliness. They are there to suck your blood and reproduce, period. Head lice also don’t care if your skin color is yellow, black, white, green, beige, pink or any other color. And surprise, it doesn't care if you’re rich, poor or have a 401K plan either. As long as you are a warm, living, breathing person with hair on your head (Mark, if you didn't have kids, I'd tell you to stop reading now) then head lice will love you. The only people head lice do not care much for are zombies. So parents, do me a favour and QUIT FEELING EMBARRASSED IF YOUR CHILDREN GET HEAD LICE! Plus, you're making your child feel embarrassed and uneasy about a situation they cannot control.

Still with me? Great, here’s a brownie.

RECOGNITION:  Adult head lice (Pediculus humanus capitatus DeGeer) are tiny, about this à -- ß long (~ 2.4 - 3.7mm) They are also wingless (yes that means they CAN’T fly). They are also, watch out big word coming up, dorsoventrally flattened (flat like a pancake or a flounder (dorso = back, ventral = stomach)). 

And yes it’s important to know how they are built because it will help you distinguish head lice from fleas which are flattened vertically. And proper identification of blood sucking insects makes you look like less of a tool around people who can’t distinguish a roach from a stink bug.

Ok, back to head lice.

These insects vary in color depending on how much they had for breakfast or if they’ve just molted. They can go from a dark brown or black to a greyish/murky yellow color. They have six legs with large claws for grasping around hairs (this means they do NOT jump) and will stick their eggs (nits) to individual hairs on your head, usually near the scalp (this means they do NOT lay their eggs in clothing, on pillow cases or in the bed). Only fleas leave the host to lay their little camouflaged eggs in strategic locations.

Do I have to explain where pubic lice lay their eggs? No? Great. Let’s move on.

Geez, I’m an ex entomologist and all this talk about head lice is even making me scratch my head!

BIOLOGY:  If you've made it this far, you get a free t-shirt and a hug. Ha, just kidding and keep reading!

Head lice live CONTINUOUSLY ON THE HOST and for all practical purposes occur on the head unless they are dislodged by scratching, or towel drying or by exchanging hats, combs, brushes, etc. Also, they cannot survive for very long if they cannot feed, so there's really no need to freak out and sterilize the whole house. But, changing the bedding and washing your child’s favorite stuffed animal and hat/scarf won’t hurt. Besides, they probably need washing anyway. Now, if we were talking about fleas, then we’d have to do some serious cleaning...preferably, with a blow torch. :P

Anyway, female lice lay approximately 50-100 pearly white nits that are about this  à - ß long (0.8mm). That is pretty fricking tiny but it can be seen by the naked eye. And once you’ve spotted them once or twice, they get easier to find. (HINT: If you suspect head lice, the first place to check are the hairs close to the back of the neck, near the scalp). It takes 5 – 10 days for the eggs to hatch and they go through 3 nymphal instars. All that really means is it takes about 3 weeks to complete a life cycle from egg to egg.

TREATMENT:  The most common treatment is the use of a shampoo called a pediculicide and comb out the adults and nits (btw, pediculicide is just a fancy word that means something that kills lice, which is convenient for companies that don’t want to use the evil INSECTICIDE word when referring to a product that’s applied to your child’s head). In any event, you should talk to your doctor first and take into consideration allergies your child may have. But you should be aware that there is no treatment that is 100% safe and effective on 100% of the patients. Read, understand, and please, please, FOLLOW the label. If the product says retreat in 10 days, then DO IT. The increase in resistance is largely due to people not following simple directions. God please don’t get me started on resistance……this post is long enough……

Anyway, the safest way to get rid of head lice is by properly and regularly using a nit comb. But I know that can be time consuming especially if your child has long, thick, and/or curly hair. The choice is yours. As far as oils such as lavender or tea tree oil … I've never found them to be very effective as a deterrent…but that’s my experience and it still may work for you.

SUMMARY: (FUN FACTS!) are you still scratching your head?

• DO NOT FEEL EMBARRASSED IF YOUR CHILD GETS HEAD LICE
• Head lice do not discriminate and getting them doesn’t mean you are dirty or poor
• For all practical purposes, head lice remain on the host unless dislodged
• Head lice do not jump or fly or swim or play air guitar
• Nits (eggs) are cemented to individual hairs
• Safest way to remove head lice is with a nit comb
• Head lice have flattened bodies like a pancake (unlike fleas that look like they got squashed in an elevator (vertically))
• Call your doctor for treatment options
• FOLLOW the directions on the product label for treatments
• Wash bedding and hats/scarves, clean hair brushes and combs etc.
• And Elliot Grace over at So close, but... added this excellent piece of advice: "The most important rule I've learned...Do Not Panic! Stress can, and will most likely lead to an impatient clean up, promoting a second batch of hatchlings, and another mess."

Adult head lice
source: wikipedia.org

THE MORE YOU KNOW... 

Movie Trailer: The Hobbit

Initial Release date: November 28, 2012

I'm assuming that's the release date for the US

This is the new trailer for The Hobbit that I can't wait to see!

Genre Favorites Blogfest

Alex J. Cavanaugh, author of CassaStar and CassaFire (in case you live under a rock and didn't  already know), is hosting the Genre Favorites Blogfest. All you need to do is list your favorite genre in movies, music, and books, plus a guilty pleasure. This was pretty hard for me because it's impossible to chose just one and I know I forgot a few but, here we go...

Favorite genre(s) of:

Movies

I mostly enjoy, action adventure / disaster / fantasy / sci fi  (I told you I can't pick just one!)  ̿'\̵͇̿̿\з=(•̪●)=ε/̵͇̿̿/'̿'̿ ̿ 

How To Train Your Dragon <==this is at the top of my list right now. Thank you, DreamWorks.
Avengers (Basically anything with comic book superheros in it.)

Star Wars
The Abyss

Lord of the Rings

The Matrix

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Tiger (and a bunch more, you get the picture...)

I should add the few movies outside these genres that have always been on my favorites list:

Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain 

French Kiss

The King's Speech

However, my all time favorite is My Fair Lady. Don't ask me why, it just is and I can sing along (badly mind you) to all the songs and recite several quotes from the movie:

"Come on, Dover, move yer bloomin' arse!" xD
"Damn, damn, damn, DAMN! I've grown accustomed to her face."
"She's an owl, sickened by a few days of my sunshine."
"Women are irrational, that's all there is to that! Their heads are full of cotton, hay, and rags. They're nothing but exasperating, irritating, vacillating, calculating, agitating, maddening and infuriating hags! "

"I could have danced all night..." <==this is the part where I sing badly...very badly.

Okay, so I'll stop there before this gets out of control. Does this mean my favorite genre is musical comedy? o_O naww.

Music

This is the hardest for me because my preferences go across the board when it comes to music. Currently, I'm into electronic / dubstep but, I also like classic rock, big band, reggae, pop, disco, funk and just the other day my children and I were dancing to Barbra Streisand. LOVE BARBRA.

Books

Favorite genre right now is fantasy/paranormal. I also enjoyed Kohta Hirano's Hellsing menga series (I have a thing for Alucard, what can I say...) As a teenager, my preferences were pretty cut and dry. I ate up King's horror novels and a lot of Edgar Allan Poe. Though now, I tend to shy away from horror in movies and literature.

Guilty Pleasure

My guilty pleasure is actually a genre not listed above.... erotic lit.
Okay yeah, I said it... EROTICA!
It's a guilty pleasure that I unfortunately haven't had much time to indulge in lately. 
Any suggestions? (;

Lockmeupology

Here's hoping you all have a big umbrella. 

If you don't, you can borrow mine.

Happy writing and have a great weekend!!!

I Remember

Is This Customary For You Too?

     

     In France, when you're invited to someone's home for a meal or even for drinks, it's customary to bring a little something for your host. It's an unspoken rule and doesn't have to be a big deal, a bottle of wine, sweets or flowers. The idea is to avoid showing up with your hands in your pockets. Recently, I hosted a dinner party for ten people and my guests showed up with a beautiful contemporary composition of flowers and wine. I didn't ask for any of this of course, but I was pretty sure they would show up with something. Another thing about dinner parties over here is that they last for hours and my guests didn't leave until well past 1am. The evening started around 7pm with l'apéro (casual drinks and starters, usually in the living room or outside - I love this part), then we moved to the dinner table around 9pm for the main course, dessert, and finish up with coffee (espresso) and a digestif around midnight. By the time people were ready to leave it was almost 2am. I try to keep this in mind when I'm invited to a friends house for dinner. If it's someone I know pretty well, I'll offer to bring the desert and it's always accepted and expected. However, I rarely stay that late, and have use my kids as an excuse to get home by midnight if I can. (;   Now when I invite close friends over, things can be a little more relaxed but I always get the question, "What do you want me to bring?" to which I reply, "How about dessert?"

So I was wondering if any of this sounded familiar to you where you're from. Do dinner parties last long or do people leave at a reasonable hour? How are you received as a guest and how do you receive as a host? Do you feel obligated to bring something when invited to dinner or are things more relaxed where you're from. 

Just curious. (: 

IWSG: It's Huge

I got to the point last month where I think I lost faith in my ms. The closer I got to finishing the edits, the more intimidating the whole thing became. And then I did something I'd never done before. I printed the whole document out (minus the last chapter which is still in the hands of my editor). It took several minutes to print the 350 page document and when it was done, I just looked at it (0_0) not sure what the hell to do next. I'd never seen this much of my ms in physical print before and kept thinking, "It's HUGE."

So after the initial shock wore off and a glass of...never mind, I decided I better do something with it since a few hundred trees  sacrificed their lives to birth my first draft. Cue the heavy artillery: pens of varying colors, music,  and lots and lots of colored sticky notes. I started by tagging each chapter, realized I stopped chapter headings at 16 for no apparent reason, and then began to reread from the begining. It's amazing the things that catch your attention when you read your ms on a different medium. It's not the same and that got me excited again. And when I get excited, I set goals for myself. I did this last month with mixed results (read: total disaster). But now the kids are back in school and my theory is I should have enough time to yield better results by the end of September. Right? Absolutely.

September goals:

1. Finish making all minor adjustments to ms
2. Finish editing the last chapter as soon as I get feedback (4 days to complete edits tops)
3. RUN 3 times / week Plus 1 hour / week of Sport Chanbara (I'll be taking my first Chanbara class tomorrow evening so send me some positive vibes and pain killers and hope to make it out alive... :P  )
4. Finish revising my practice query letter (possibly send it to Matthew for a critique at the QQQE....maybe....I'm such a cluck, cluck, chicken)
5. Send completed second draft to my editor who I'm convinced has super powers  
6. Read, read, read. (I totally fell behind on reading last month. Part of it was traveling and part of it was reading e-books on my computer which is a pain, literally.) 
7. Keep visiting blogs, and posting 3 times / week
8. Get to sleep by 1 am. I'm bumping this up an hour from last month because I'm exhausted.

Well, there it is. 

September, bring in on like Donkey Kong!

I told you it was huge.
Also, tub of Nutella not pictured.

Back to School and Back to My Regularly Scheduled Life

Typical school bus sign in this region

It's  back to school today in France and I know a mother isn't supposed to be super thrilled to see her little devils angels off to school but.......I'm going to make an effort to be a little happy because I'm  going to miss hearing:

"Mommy he kicked me!"
"But I was playing with it!"
"No! It's MINE."
"Mommy! I did poo poo potty."
"Mommy, can I have a tent?"
"Give it back!"


And I'm going to miss saying:

"Stop running in the house."
"Stop jumping on the couch."
"Leave the dog alone."
"Don't hit your sister."
"Why did you kick your brother?"
"No, you can't eat chicken wings for breakfast."
"What did I just say?"
"Are you listening to me?"
"No."

"NO."


Kidding aside, I must admit the kids and I had a great time this summer, especially during our trip to the States. However, these last few days before school have been a bit difficult. So yes, I did enjoy my stroll back home from the bus stop this morning. The calm and cool September air felt almost therapeutic. And now, it's still early and I get to sit at the computer, write, and enjoy tea while it's still hot.

Now don't get me wrong, when I pick up the kiddos for lunch I'm going to be thrilled and will bombard them with questions on how their morning went. But until then, I'm going to simply enjoy a slice of piece and quiet and get in some solid writing time.

Typical September walk to the
bus stop in the morning fog.

Typical French school bus.