In the New World of 140 Characters, Quotes are Fast Becoming a Way of Making a Quick Statement About Ourselves; Which Quote Best Describes You?
It's going to be difficult to select just one quote that best describes yourself! Most of us have numerous quotations in our repertoire that resonate with us.
Certainly, as we grow older, a saying that meant something to us once at 20 years old may not hold the same meaning for us at 40. However, having noted all of these obstacles, take a gander at the quotations I've put together below to see if there's one particular quote that means more than an other, at this time in your life.
Of course, I've only focused on a handful of quotations to feature, but don't let that stop you
from adding the saying that you personally like best in the comments section.
Does A Quote about Success and What it Means to
Succeed Hit Home With You?
Are you the sort of person who connects with phrases and quotations about success versus failure? There are a number of them to choose from including this extremely popular quote by Michael Jordan.
"I have missed over 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. - Michael Jordan"
This particular saying says a lot about perseverance...taking 9000 shots, losing 300 games...and this is why he succeeded. Are you the sort of person who's just stubborn enough to keep going until you make it? Do you look at the failures in your life as merely temporary obstacles? Maybe you're motivated by failure?
A few of my own personal favorite quotes are:
This too shall pass
Sometimes God calms the storm, but sometimes God lets the storm rage, and calms his child
Some people find it difficult to cope with obstacles and failures; how about you? Do you believe that anything is possible if you just put your mind to it? There are a lot of questions here aren't there? Go ahead, offer up your thoughts.
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Let me "propose" this solution for an otherwise boring evening!
The Proposal starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds is a delightfully entertaining movie. Even though the movie is pretty predictable, it is refreshingly funny and romantic.
Sandra & Ryan really are a good match! Not only are they a cute couple, but they appear to interact naturally with each other.
Betty White, Mary Steenburgen and Craig T. Nelson each added their own special touch of fun and awesomeness in their supporting roles. The total cast really made this movie one of the best romantic comedies I have ever seen.
This is one of the best movies I have seen in decades. My son took me and my husband to see this movie the week it opened. The guys really went just to accompany me, but they ended up being thoroughly entertained too.
I don't know about the rest of you, but I get really tired of going to the theater, paying astronomical admission prices, then going home more depressed than I was before I went. Oh wait, I wasn't depressed before I left home!
Regardless, that was not the case with this movie. I actually felt lighter and happier when I left the theater and wonders of all wonders, I was laughing. When this happens, it is an occasion to rejoice; and write a review!
Be warned though, there is a nude, well mostly nude, scene. However, it was so funny that I forgot to be embarrassed.
The Proposer
Margaret Tate
Sandra Bullock has always been one of my favorite actresses. Not only do I think she is beautiful and witty, she appears to be the type of person I would want for a best friend.
If I had read the screenplay first, I never would have pictured Sandra Bullock playing the part of Margaret Tate. Gratefully, I was not on the casting committee because she certainly is the perfect choice.
She is extremely entertaining without being crude, rude or socially unacceptable. Well, maybe she was a bit rude in this movie, but she is still somehow very lovable.
The Proposee
Andrew Paxton
Surprise, surprise, surprise! Ryan Reynolds is truly remarkable!
While he has never especially impressed me in the past, I couldn't even tell you what I have seen him in before, he was phenomenal as Andrew Paxton. You absolutely must see this movie! His expressions alone should make this a box office hit.
Nothing less than an Oscar deserving performance!
While he may not have received an Oscar, he did win MTV's Best Comedic Performance Award for this movie.
The Plot of "The Proposal"
Only a teaser. I won't give the whole movie away
When Margaret Tate learns that she faces being deported due to an expired visa, the manipulative and despised executive declares that she is actually engaged to her unsuspecting assistant, Andrew.
Shortly thereafter, Margaret and Andrew find themselves in the Immigration office insisting that they really are in love. In order to prove to the suspicious immigration officer that they are the "real thing", Margaret once again lies and states that they actually have plans to spend the weekend with Andrew's family in Alaska, where they intend to announce their engagement to his family. After being totally caught off guard by this declaration, Andrew decides to make a few demands of his own, starting with a proposal.
Alaska becomes the setting for one comedic episode after another.
At the risk of being redundant, You Simply Must See This Movie!
The Proposal Trailer
Join me for a brief look at the movie!
Others Opinions of "The Proposal"
Reviews
Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum
"The chemical energy between Bullock and Reynolds is fresh and irresistible"
The Hollywood Reporter by Kevin Lally
"The situations might be formulaic, but the teamwork of the two leads brings them to sparkling life"
Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert
"Recycles a plot that was already old when Tracy and Hepburn were trying it out. You see it coming from a great distance away. As it draws closer, you don't duck out of the way, because it is so cheerfully done, you don't mind being hit by it"
Los Angeles Time by Betsy Sharkey
"Just a good old-fashioned romance, one in which people actually bring out the best in one another rather than the worst. How novel is that?"
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Click to buy True Grit on DVD or Blu-ray
or rent and watch instantly
Hard to believe that True Grit, the movie, is over 45-years old. It's one of my favorite movies so just in case you haven't seen this classic film, I decided to review it here for you.
True Grit takes place in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and in Indian Territory, across the Arkansas River from Fort Smith in what is now Oklahoma. Mattie Ross, the young star of the story, has traveled from Dardanelle, in Yell County, Arkansas, to meet Rooster Cogburn, a U.S. Marshall assigned to Judge Parker's territory in western Arkansas. Mattie has been told by her family's attorney that Rooster Cogburn has "grit," so she is sure that he is exactly the one she's looking for, the man who can track down Tom Cheney, the outlaw who shot and killed her father.
I happen to know a little bit about the Fort Smith, Arkansas, area; that's my neck of the woods. Judge Parker was real and is a very important part of our local history. I know something about the area across the river, too, and I know it doesn't look at all as it's portrayed in the movie, but I decided not to hold that against the makers of this film, which is more than worthy of a spot on my top favorite movies of all time list.
I love the characters in this story. I love Mattie Ross, partly because she reminds me a lot of myself (I think she even looks a little bit like me), and who doesn't love John Wayne no matter what character he portrays, and Rooster J. Cogburn is a character, indeed.
When the True Grit movie remake was released in 2010 I was very anxious to see it, and I liked it, but the John Wayne version is still my favorite. If you haven't seen True Grit starring John Wayne, you must.
The Fort Smith Connection
If you're a fan of either or both True Grit movies, or the novel on which they are based, then you may already know about the real Fort Smith, Arkansas. That's the setting of the story and the city the fictional Marshal Rooster Cogburn called home. Today, Fort Smith is also the home of the soon-to-be-built U.S. Marshals Museum.
Susan Deppner is a baby boomer, a cancer survivor, and a Southerner who believes in the Golden Rule. She enjoys writing about food, faith, and fitness; health, home, and holidays; people, places, pets, and patriotism, and more. Follow Susan on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.
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I am fairly certain that you know what a colander or strainer is in the kitchen. They are usually a bowl shaped tool that we use often in cooking. Straining the water off of pasta comes to mind. What in the devil is a can strainer, then? Well, it is a handy dandy little tool that I did not even know that I wanted until I got one as a gift. Now, I use it quite often!
Many times in the cooking process we are using a canned ingredient in the recipe. It could be a can of crushed pineapple and the recipe says to separate the juice from the pineapple and set the juice aside. In the past, I partially opened the can and drained the juice into a bowl or measuring cup by applying pressure on the lid. That could get messy and for goodness sakes it is a real pain to then get that lid back up and out of the way. I would have to use a butter knife or something to pry it up. I found out the hard way that using your fingers is not a good idea! Those can lids are sharp!
Well, let me tell you, that is no longer a process that I have to deal with. I received a can strainer as a gift one year and now the process of draining liquid out of a can is easy peasy! Just remove the lid and place the strainer over the can and turn upside down. Voila! Drained with no muss or fuss!
Have a can that is larger around than the strainer? A can of tuna? It might look like you won't be able to use this little gadget, but think again. Flip the strainer the other way, flip the can upside down and apply pressure to the strainer, badda bing badda boom the liquid is drained out and you have dry tuna.
You Don't Have To Wait...
I was lucky enough to get my little can strainer as a gift but you do not have to wait for someone to give you one. You can purchase one for yourself.
You even have an option of getting a different color if the white doesn't appeal to you. I have seen them in a turquoise and even stainless steel. I just love my little can strainer and honestly do not know how I managed without one for all of those years. Well, I do but it was a pain. Now, I don't have to worry about cutting my fingers on the can lid and there is never any food that spills out of the can when I drain it.
I usually buy several at a time and hold them for when I have a bridal shower to go to or a housewarming gift to give. I just add them in with whatever else I am giving. One year, I placed one in the canned goods I was donating for the local food pantry drive.
The can strainer is one of those handy dandy little gadgets for your kitchen that you probably would never think of getting for yourself but once you have one, you find you use it all of the time. Clean-up is a breeze! It is dishwasher safe and once cleaned is ready for the next time you need to drain a can of ingredients. It does not take up much space to store, either. I keep mine in my little gadget drawer near the sink.
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One day at the
library I was looking for enough books to get me through an unpleasant medical procedure. A man who was browsing
the new books next to me recommended I check out the
first threeSamantha Kincaid Legal Thrillers. I'm glad I did. I had
not read anything by Alafair Burke before, but I'd like to read more
of her work.
Samantha (Sam)
Kincaid is a Multnomah County deputy district attorney (DDA) in
Portland, Oregon. Sam had been an Assisant U. S. Attorney in New York
before her then husband Roger had gotten a job as in-house counsel
with Nike in Portland, so she had moved with him. After they had
moved, she discovered he was playing around and she divorced him.
Her first DDA assignment was in the Drug and Vice Division (DVD).
Reviews of the Samantha Kincaid Legal Thrillers
Judgment Calls
In Book 1, Judgment Calls, Sam's first case involved an almost dead thirteen-year-old
prostitute, Kendra Martin, who had been dumped into the Columbia
Gorge after being raped, beaten and left for dead. The case had been
assigned first to the Major Crimes Team (MCT) when it had appeared
Kendra was dead. When she wasn't, Tim O'Donnell, a senior DA in the
major crimes unit, didn't want to prosecute the case as an attempted
murder. Instead he wanted to kick the case down to the general felony
unit, for crimes not considered serious, where everyone knew there
wasn't enough motivated manpower to prosecute the case thoroughly.
Prosecutors for general felonies tried to get rid of their cases
quickly by pleading them out for reduced sentences.
As Judgment Calls
opens, Sergeant Tommy Garcia, who was in charge of the
department's vice unit, is explaining the circumstances of the case
to Sam. Garcia wants Sam to take the case as part of DVD because
drugs and prostitution are involved and he knows Sam will put the
energy needed into the prosecution. Tommy and the MCT believe the
case is serious and they want to catch the bad guys and prosecute them to
the full extent of the law. Garcia arranges for Sam to meet with two
MCT detectives in the cafeeria, Jack Walker and Raymond Johnson, about the case. It turns out that Sam's old on-again, off-again
boyfriend, Chuck Forbes, is also in the MCT. His partner is Mike
Calabrese.
By the time the
meeting in the cafeteria was over, the way was paved to keep MCT
working on the case with Sam in charge of the prosecution. Her
relationship with Chuck is a subplot. So is Sam's relationship with
her father and her best friend, Grace. These characters appear in all
the books.
The other character
that appears in every book is Lisa Lopez, an attorney often called in
to defend indigent defendants. She is a naive “true believer” who
is sure all her clients are innocent, whether they are or not.
Naturally, she is called in to defend Frank Derringer, one of the two
men Kendra said kidnapped, raped, and beat her. She had identified
him from a picture, but she did not know who the second man was. Lisa
is Sam's nemesis in all the books I've read so far.
I won't say any more
about the details or outcome of this case. I will say there is lots
of action and the reader will see a detailed account of how both the
police and the prosecutors do their work and what a political
atmosphere they work in. The author does a great job in developing
the main characters and showing how difficult it is to convict a
suspect when most evidence is circumstantial. The plots are
complicated enough to keep one interested without confusing readers.
Missing Justice
By the second book
in the series, Missing Justice, Sam has been promoted to the
Major Crimes Unit after her performance in the previous book. This
time she needs to prosecute the killer of a missing administrative
judge who later turns up dead. Burke does an even better job with the
plot and characters in this book than in the last one. My experience
so far with Burke's books is that they are not simple cases of
finding one culprit. They are more like complex webs that need to be
unraveled, where characters rarely turn out to be as they appear to be, the crimes are committed by more than one person, and the victims may not be innocent themselves . The fun
for the reader is in trying to identify those who ought to be
suspects, following the threads of the investigations, and trying
to piece together what is found in the investigation before Sam does. There's also enough
suspense to keep the reader holding her breath until the end.
Close Case
The last of the
three books in the batch I read this week is Close Case, in
which a black news reporter, Percy Crenshaw, is murdered in his car.
A black woman has also been shot through her windshield by a white
police officer who claims it was self-defense, even though the woman
was unarmed. Later, there is a drive-by shooting that kills one black
woman and badly injures another who is a well-known black activist. A
major help in putting the pieces together to solve the crime was a
wannabe reporter –a news
staffer who had helped the police who were searching Percy's office after his death.
This was my personal favorite of the books.
I
would recommend these novels to all who enjoy thrillers, and who
can live with colorful language and main characters who
have affairs or shack up.
These books do not assume that all police and prosecutors are good
guys. You will see a very seamy side of life, but that comes with the
territory in detective novels and legal thrillers.
The author,
Alafair Burke, is a former DDA in Portland who now teaches law and
appears on television as a legal commentator. We can assume she has
first-hand knowledge of her subject. I'm hoping to pick up another of
her books soon. I was sorry
to see the last one end.
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With the riddle on your back, you could have a crowd competing to solve it. Although the answer is on the front of the shirt, you can cover it with the "Guess the Answer" sticker until someone figures it out!
Do you know how else you can drive someone around the bend?
Standing in line at the grocery store with the shirt on! The person behind you may tap you on the shoulder for the answer... They would need the answer before they could leave. Otherwise, it could get stuck in their brain!
5 Ways You Could Save the World by Wearing a Riddle T-Shirt:
You'll cure boredom for everyone standing in line at the DMV
Line-ups at public bathrooms will become more interesting
When you get asked to step outside of your vehicle, turn around and play 'stump the officer' - he'll be busy trying to solve your riddle (just kidding!!! Don't do that)
For those who still end up in lines at the bank, life just got more enjoyable for them, thanks to you
People may actually look up from their Cell Phones to converse with others!!!! Oh my gawd, that's a biggy.
On the other hand...
5 Ways You Could Cause Havoc by Wearing a Riddle T-Shirt:
Someone waiting in line for the bathroom passes on the next available stall to solve your riddle instead and pees on their shoes, or worse, pees on yours
Customer Service Reps at the DMV get sidetracked with your Riddle T-Shirt and cause the lines to get longer, and then people start to hate you
The Police Officer couldn't solve your Riddle-T and gives you a bigger ticket
Everyone stops using bank machines to get in line to read and solve riddle T-shirts, and all Bank Machines begin to rust.
Everyone starts talking to each other, eye to eye, and start falling in love, cheating on their significant others; divorce court gets overcrowded...but on the upside, you could keep everyone in line at Divorce Court busy trying to guess your T-Shirt Riddle? Just don't piss off Judge Judy.
So, are you up for solving any more of my personally written riddles?? Don't do it! Don't try to solve these riddles, it'll only suck precious time out of your day, RESIST!!!! Ok, fine, you're weak, go here.
Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”
I recently upgraded the operating system on my home desktop computer. As a result, my old printer could no longer 'talk' to my computer, so I needed to purchase a new printer. I wasn't surprised, as my old printer was 8 years old and was made for operating systems 4 upgrades ago!
After getting my newly revised computer back, I went shopping for a compatible printer, first doing some research online. I knew I wanted a printer that would do more than print, as I often need to make copies of documents and I do a lot of scanning. The computer tech who upgraded my computer advised me to first look at the prices of ink cartridges and find a model that was inexpensive, since the ink is the biggest ongoing expense you will have with a printer.
The printer I purchased not only had reasonably priced ink cartridges, but also happened to be made by a company I've been pleased with in the past ~ Hewlett-Packard. My very first computer printer back in the early 1990s was an HP and I liked it very much. And, come to find out, not only are the ink cartridges for my new printer less expensive than the model I was using previously, but they print more than TWICE as many pages per cartridge (up to 190 pages) than the others did and the print is very crisp and sharp on the page.
HP Envy Printer Model 5530
Needless to say, I am VERY pleased with my newHP Envy 5530 e-All-in-One (print-copy-scan) computer printer! It has a color control panel on the front you can activate with the touch of a finger (or use the printer controls from the computer). The ink cartridges and paper are both easy to load. You can print from your smartphone or your tablet, and from an Internet-connected PC. And it has wireless capabilities so it can be located anywhere you need it to be.
This HP Envy printer has so many more features than my old printer did. For instance, it is able to do two-sided printing, and you can view and print photos from the color touchscreen and produce borderless, lab-quality photos. And the best part, when I was ready to buy, I found that this HP printer was on Sale!
So now my home office is all set for awhile – a completely revamped desktop computer with a new OS and additional RAM…. And, a brand new spiffy-looking printer.
Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”
Thirty years ago I was captivated by the original movie The Terminator. It was one of the few science fiction action films that I really enjoyed. I remember well being fascinated by Arnold Schwarzenegger even though he scared me half to death as the Terminator. With his ability to maintain that stoic look on his face, he easily made you believe he was a cyborg bent on murder.
Ten years later when The Terminator II: Judgement Day came out in theaters and Arnold Schwarzenegger was allowed to be the "good" Terminator, I was truly spellbound. It took me a bit to adjust to him being the good guy, especially since he maintained that stoic appearance, but I freely admit I much preferred him in that role. I liked liking Arnold.
However, a few days ago I had the opportunity to see the latest sequel of The Terminator series and found it to be the best yet. Arnold Schwarzenegger is not only a protector in this latest film, but he has developed some human traits while living with humans even though he is still very much a cyborg. He seems to have developed paternal feelings for Sarah Connor and his attempts to smile like a real human actually make you laugh. I really like Arnold in this role. How cool it is to look back across the last 3 decades and realize that I have gone from be scared witless by Arnold to loving his character in Terminator Genisys.
The plot is once again about individuals from the future traveling back in time to change the course of events. This time, however, the mission is to stop Skynet before it ever starts there by eliminating the war between humans and artificial intelligence.
Terminator Genisys has otherwise changed things quite a bit. Sarah Connor is now a young, pretty, and competent warrior who was raised by "Pops", Arnold Schwarzenegger, since she was nine years old when her parents were killed. The part of Sarah Connor, who was originally played by Linda Hamilton, is now cast with Emilia Clark, but the personality of Sarah Connor is different since her childhood is now different. Surprisingly, it is not that confusing when you see the actual movie.
The human resistance leader, John Connor, still sends Kyle Reese, his father, back to protect and team up with his mother, Sarah Connor. However, they really are more of a team this time instead of the hero who saves the defenseless woman by offering the ultimate sacrifice of his own life. As a matter of fact, Sarah Connor, Kyle Reese and the Guardian aka the original Terminator, Arnold, make an awesome team trying to destroy Skynet before it ever starts.
There is a lot of action and blowing things up in this movie, just like it's predecessors, but the biggest difference for me is that the first few movies seemed more fantastical. Where I was afraid of the Terminator in the original movie, with this movie I find myself more afraid of Skynet. Perhaps that is mostly because I now believe the idea of artificial intelligence taking over the planet is not that hard to envision. In fact, throughout the movie, I kept thinking about the Amazon Echo sitting on my table back home. I felt a strong desire to unplug her and throw her away as soon as I got home. As I write now, I am wondering if she is reading what I have written. Yes, I am jesting, but it did cross my mind.
My Recommendation
I would definitely recommend seeing Terminator Genisys, even if you have not seen the previous movies. Not only do I prefer the characters in this sequel, but I liked the clear shift of humans being smart and proactive enough to strike the origin of the problem instead of simply defending themselves.
This movie could easily stand on it's own as a cautionary tale to all of us with a message to be careful of what we ask for and what we so easily embrace as the way of the future. After all, we do want to preserve our human future over advanced technology.
One note: There was another Terminator movie sequel, Terminator Salvation, that did not feature Arnold Schwarzenegger at all. He was governor of California in real life and unable to work as an actor during his terms in office. I do not personally consider that a viable Terminator movie because, as far as I am concerned, Arnold Schwarzenegger IS the terminator and without him, the movie is an empty shell.
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It is a good idea for every photographer to review some of the basic techniques for photography from time to time. I have taken many classes over the years and I always think I will remember the techniques I have learned and I do for a time. But then, I will find myself falling back into old habits or trying new techniques and forgetting to use some of the basics.
For that reason, I think it is great to have a review of basics on a regular basis.
In the nature photography class I am taking the instructor used the second session to go over some of the basic techniques. He reminded us of things like using a tripod, watching your vantage point, taking both vertical and horizontal shots and watching your background.
On this page I will be sharing some of the tips he gave us and showing you photos that I have taken using these techniques.
The first photo here is one I took of a bleeding heart flower. I set my aperture on a 5.6 and zoomed in to get a closeup. The resulting photo shows the flower in detail and a soft blurr for the background.
All photos on this page are my own-mbgphoto.
Photographing Waterfalls
I love photographing waterfalls. When I come to a waterfall i usually shoot it at a variety of speeds. It is a great way to learn how your camera works at various speeds.
Here are the tips the instructor gave us get that smooth blurring look in the water.
Set your camera to your lowest ISO
Set your speed at 1/15 sec or slower
Always use a tripod
The photo above is one I took of a waterfall at Missouri Botanical Garden.
Pop Up Reflectors are Great Tools
In this photo and the one below you can see the difference a reflector can make in a photo. I was with my friend photographing a garden when I came upon this old plow.
The first photo I took had a glare from the sun on the wheel. I kept moving around but could not get rid of the glare, so I asked my friend to help. She stepped just outside of my frame and held the black side of the reflector over the wheel to block the sunlight.
It was amazing, as she lifted the reflector to block the sun I looked at my camera screen and it was if someone was drawing a dark line around the wheel. The light spot disappeared and you could clearly see the wheel. The resulting photo is shown below.
Plow Using Reflector to Shade the Sun
The reflector below is the type I used for these photos.
Watch Your Background and Foreground - frame your photos
In our class the instructor spent quite a bit of time talking about backgrounds and framing your photo. So many times we get so caught up into getting the object we are photographing to look just right that we forget to look at what else might be in the photo. There is nothing more distracting than having an unwanted person or object behind our main subject. The instructor suggested that before you click the photo you should run your eyes around the perimeter of the photo to make sure you are only including what you want in the photo.
Foregrounds are also important and if you can find an object to frame your photo it can give your picture a very focused look. In the photo above I used falls leaves to frame the Split Rock lighthouse in the distance. In order to do this I climbed up on a rock and made sure the branches of the tree framed the outside perimeter of my photo.
Make Your own Background
Sometimes the best way to get the background you desire for your photo is to make your own background. In our class several different ways to make backgrounds were suggested. The instructor carries squares of fabrics in various colors in his camera bag. A black or a green piece of fabric draped behind a flower can give you a great backdrop. This way just the flower is in the photo and it gives you a dramatic look.
In this photo I used a velvet skirt and draped it over my kitchen chair. I then sat the plant on the chair to get this image.
Use a Polarizer - a must for the serious photographer
Our instructor suggested that if you were only getting one filter for your camera the one you should get is a polarizer. I completely agree. A polarizer will cut down on glare and really make the colors pop in your photo. It is like having sunglasses for your camera. A polarizer is particular useful when shooting foliage and fall colors.
The items below are made from photographs I took of Split Rock Lighthouse in Minnesota. I love taking photos of lighthouses from lots of different vantage points.
I learn at lot from studying the tips found in photography books. I highly recommend Scott Kelby's series on digital photography. The book below is the first in the series.
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As much as none of us would want to admit that these little buggers have come to our homes for a visit, I can't think of many households that haven't had to deal with head lice at some time or another. As the time rapidly approaches for the children to return to school, these little critters need to be on our minds. We can start a preventive routine or we might find they have found a home on one of our children. It is time for a lice check, Mom; before they start school. No one wants to get that call from the school nurse saying that we need to come get our child for head lice!
Now, here is the thing. Our kids can get these nasty little bugs just about anywhere there are other children or adults. It may be that they went to a camp of some kind over the summer, they went to a sleepover, or they were in a daycare situation. The most common way that head lice spread is the close contact that children have with each other's heads as they play. An adult louse could have dropped onto the car seat that your child rode in and then attached itself to their hair. They could have been on a pillow they slept on, a chair in a restaurant or the comb or brush they borrowed from a friend. Perhaps they swapped hats at a sporting event. They can be anywhere that hair comes in contact with objects. The thing about head lice is that they don't care what your income level is or how clean your home is, they just want a live head of hair to feed on. They don't discriminate!
What Is The Best Treatment For Head Lice?
Basically you need 4 items. A medicated shampoo, a medicated hair gel, a spray for items that can't be washed and a nit comb.
You can purchase all of these items separately but getting them in one package is a more economical way to go, at least in my humble opinion. Read the directions carefully when starting the treatment. For instance, the first step is applying the shampoo but you need to put it on dry hair first. The water will dilute the solution.
One application will not necessarily take care of the lice. You need to plan on a 3 week regiment in order to be sure that all of the little head bugs are gone. That is an entire cycle of these creepy little critters.
An adult louse can live from 24 to 48 hours when it is not on a hair shaft. That is where the spray comes in handy for car upholstery, pillows, furniture and other places hair might drop a live louse. They can't fly or hop but they do have little claws that allow them to crawl.
Another important step is to make sure that the combs, brushes, barrettes and other hair related items are cleaned properly. You can clean them with the medicated shampoo but a less expensive solution is to place them in hot water (at least 130 degrees or hotter) for 5 to 10 minutes. You can also clean them with rubbing alcohol. I have used the hot water with a little white vinegar added as a precaution to clean the hair utensils.
The medicated shampoo tells you to repeat the treatment after 7 days. What about the time in between? What if you didn't get all of the lice with that first application? A live louse can lay eggs 3 or 4 times a day. A good precaution is to wet the hair every other day and use that nit comb on the hair. That will get any eggs and live lice out in between the treatments.
In the past, when we found these little creepy crawlies, I made sure that I changed the pillow cases everyday and washed the ones from the night before immediately. That might be overkill but it is what I did for my kids and family.
Our family decided that a good practice to prevent an infestation would be to periodically use that nit comb in our daily bathing just to be on the cautious side and as a a preventive measure because you never know where you might encounter these little bugs when you are out in public.
Do Not Panic
If you find yourself having to deal with these little buggers, don't panic. I know they are creepy and disgusting but you can get rid of them. It won't be overnight but you can follow the steps and get rid of them. Also, do not feel ashamed. I know it is embarrassing and not exactly something you want to share with all your friends but as I said before these little guys never discriminate on where they decide to live. We all go out in public places and have the potential to innocently pick one up in our hair.
This isn't the most exciting topic to discuss and quite frankly as I write it, I find my skin crawling just a tad but I know from experience that just about all of us have to deal with head lice at some point in our lives. It doesn't mean we are dirty or have bad hygiene habits; it just means we accidentally let our hair touch a place where the little critters had been. Typically, they are passed the easiest with our children because they don't know to be cautious but an adult can just as innocently encounter a "little head bug" from time to time. Now you know a good way to get rid of them or prevent them from spreading.
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