Looking for a home sweet home

Today, Grandbobun and myself decided to look for our home sweet home. At present, we've got each an apartment - even if I live at him's since a few months, but we wish to invest in a house which belongs to us...

Above all, it is necessary to know that we are some kind of "looking for apartment tourists", that is to say we don't organize everything we decide to undertake. Grandbobun told me a few days previously, by looking on leaflets, that there was apartments to sell towards the Square Jean Macé (in the Lyon 7th district).

Me - OK super ! So let's go !
Him - Do you have the address ?
Me - Well... You told me that it was towards Jean Macé... I believed you knew where it was exactly !

Anyway, you see the kind of people we are !

While the Man was taking his shower, I was looking on the web for THE appartment we'd love to buy !

But honestly, between us, nothing of transcending. No lightning stroke. I shall say that sometimes, I think that people are kidding me when I see the astonishing prices of some apartments. You've got to forseen works of refreshment in addition ! What a kind of daylight robbery, isn't it ?

An agency went out because it puts several announcements which corresponded more to us... We went by subway up to the Square J. Macé to see what kind of appartment we could get in there.

But what a surprise ! Nobody there ! And we could read that the opening was from Monday till Saturday, from 9 am till 7 pm. We are on Saturday and it is 1 pm. Maybe do they left having lunch ?

Not important, we made of fawning-shop real estate agencies windows, situated in the surroundings (quite closed, naturally !). The same report : no particular love at first sight.

We returned to the estate agency at about 2:15 pm. Always closed.

(they were really kidding me or what ?)

Positive attitude : we went on the main avenue where we had seen 2 new apartments sales stands.

The 1st one presented so expensive apartments we couldn't pay, even in a million years. Plus the saler was an unwelcome lady so we didn't insist...

The 2nd one was... closed ! I thought that all the apartments were sold... and I was right.

We found nothing really interesting. But we're still looking for an appartment...

Get a pink ribbon on October !

For the sixteenth consecutive year in October, the association "The breast cancer, let's speak about it !" organizes events under the pink color sign as in France and in the world too, like balloon releases, pictures exhibitions, conferences, free screenings…

This campaign aim can be summed by two essential purposes : convincing women of premature screening importance and make progress the research.

At this moment, a mammography is planned every two years for women aged from 50 to 75 years old.

However, one of the association founders, the Marie-Claire magazine, militates on the necessity of advancing the fist screening age. Although the population at risk is effectively of 50 years old or more, nevertheless 30 % of breast cancers would declare themselves earlier.

In the meantime, feel your breast from time to time and in case of a slightest suspicious sign, it is necessary to consult quickly one's doctor (like an appearance of a ball, a redness, a flow of the nipple..). It is not a question here of activating a psychosis but simply of being watchful, because if it is about a cancer, the more a cancer is detected soon, the better cure chances are !

Then, do not hesitate to show your commitment with a pink ribbon !

(Personnally, I have some small balls in my breast, fibroids… Nothing really alarming. Just mild. My doctor practises palpation during my check up)

EllaOne, an efficient emergency pill

Now, after the morning-after pill, here is the Ella One two-days-later pill arrival in our pharmacies... for the moderate 30-euro sum (not given, huh !) and not paid off by the French public welfare system (or French national insurance). This emergency contraceptive, only accessible on prescription, can be taken in five days after a sex unsafe (contrary to the morning-after pill, effective only within 72 hours after the intercourse).

Its price is a bit prohibitive and the fact that it is only delivered on prescription can be a brake in the contraception and have limited effects on the decline of termination practised in case of accidental or unwanted pregnancies (today in France, abortions number approximately 200.000 per year).

Anyway there're good news : Ella One is free for minor girls and available in school infirmaries, pharmacies and family plannings.

It is necessary that this pill is prescribed at first by a doctor, because these molecules are tested at this time before that can be purchased without a prescription.

The laboratory made a request to the French sanitary authorities, so that this contraceptive is paid off in the same way as its "fellow" NorLevo (whose 1 million boxes were sold only over the 2008 year).

H&M does it again… with Sonya Rykiel

After Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney and Jimmy Choo (the last fashion star arrived in date), the extremely famous brand Hennes & Mauritz (alias H&M) teams up with another fashion icon, Sonya Rykiel.

This latter will sign a collection of lingerie and clothes for winter and sping collections. The 1th will come on December 5th in the 1.500 stores of the mark (in other words, H&M puts on a second "gold rush" after the launch of the collection by Jimmy Choo on November 14th, 2009!). These clothes will be also available in the stores of the brand Sonya Rykiel.

It will be necessary to wait on February 20th, 2010 to discover the new lines drawn by this stylist (clothes made of whool for women and children).

Then fashionistas, in your schedules (and get your credit cards ready) !

Friends, the screen adaptation ?

I’m not gonna repeat myself about the fact I’m such a huge fan of the mythic TV show Friends… (Well I’m still doing it, in case it’s not quite clear…).

I was EXTREMELY disappointed when the TV show stopped in 2004, after 10 years of good and loyal services (even more when I saw that the last season just counted less than 20 épisods ! What a daylight robbery !).

Anyway… I was regularly looking for some great news about an eventual rerun of the mythic TV show (hope gives you life !)… Well… nope !

But…

After many more and less crazy rumors, hope is rising again ! No the TV show won’t rerun, but there’ll be a movie project ! hoho !

Although the main actors always declare they never re-play their part in that show, James Michael Tyler, alias Gunther the barman of Central Perk, has just confirmed, in the opening of the famous coffee shop in Soho – London, that a project will come out and the Geller, Green, Bings, Tribiani and Buffay will be there too. « The only thing I can tell you, I’m in. There will be a movie and all the staff members of the TV Show of whom I’m still in contact are there too ! I really like this period when I was playing in that show and I can’t wait to work again with all the staff »*.

On top of that : the creators of Friends, Marta Kauffman et David Crane, agree too to write and produce the movie, which would come in 2011.

Isn’t it great ?

* Sorry for this horrible translation - it's a litteraly translation of french which is a translation of english (sounds ridiculous, doesn't it ?). I can't find the James M. Tyler's interview... So if you've got it, please just let me know by writting a comment in that blog ! Thanks !

Warning : handbags in danger !

This is the mail I received 2 or 3 times and which made me feel sick… My purse, the must-have accessory of the feminine and modern woman, a bacteria trap ?

A study about it was carried by a journalist, Shauna Lake, from the american channel KUTV, specialised in information documentaries on unknown bacteria risks exposed to consumers.

In 2006, Shauna Lake ordered test kits to the laboratory NELSON LAB and made test on about 50 handbags of volontary women in the street in Salt Lake City (US). Then those tests were sent to a microbiologist of this laboratory to be analysed.

Disastered result : our so lovely handbang is a bacteria bomb

How ?

As we don’t live in a sterile world (we’re not « bubble kids »), our environment is full of bacteria, our purses too.
Moreover, a lot of women put their handbags down on floor (the worst thing ever : on the WC floor, so as consequences, the E. coli, an intestinal bacterium), on tables, on beds… The latter become a real germ carrier

Is it so dangerous ?

Some pretend our handbags is more dangerous than mobile phones or even WC handles. According to Beau Rollins (NELSON LABS), « it’s typical : mobile phones rather bring skin germs like staphylocoques or coccidies. The WC handles are rich of bacteria too because they’re not cleaned… It’s purse materials which convey bacteria. The germs live longer on a handbag made of cloth than of vinyle or leather. Besides purses get these results because they’re in so much places and environments. »
However this study doesn’t permit to obtain a quantification of bacteria, so it is difficult to confirm at 100 % our purses are more dangerous than our mobile phone, mp3 player or cheese in our fridge...

And the conclusion is ?

Don’t panic ! Our lovely friend is still a bacteria bearer. But you have just to make attention of the places you put it down and to clean it regularly.

Pour plus d’info, c’est par ici.
(Here for more information)

Fashion and health, incompatible ?

When I was reading news on Web (as you guess, this is one of my favorite hobbies), I was stunned by one on « the danger to be fashion ». That means : fashion is not good for health !

The Dr Shazia Khan, from the specialized Loyola University of Chicago, advices women to adopt a healthier behaviour not to undergo the bad consequences of fashion on our health.
Handbags

(Arf ! One of my weaknesses)

One of our feminine attribute implicated ! Holding heavy handbags (like more than 4,5kg… It’s amazing how much you can put stuffs in it !) can cause some body aches like back, neck and shoulders.
(That’s my case… that’s why I choose now light purses)
The Dr Khan recommands small handbags (so we’re not tempted to put in it so much useless things) or backpacks which is healthier for our back and shoulders (but I don’t like it…).
She reminds the fact that purses are full of bacteria (like E. coli, an intestinal bacterium, or staphylococcus aureus) as women put it down everywhere instead of hanging it up. You’ve got to clean it regularly.
(Most of ours have certainly received an email on the frigtening stuffs conveyed by this accessory although so feminine… Since, I hang it up on the back of my chair and I clean it regularly).

High heel shoes

Those women who’s got back ache or « oignons » on their feet know it well : wearing high heel shoes, even they make our outfit so glam and sexy, is really not good for our health !
The pressure made on the arch gives some pain (feet, back, ankles, calf muscles and knees).
The Dr Khan is certainly not a « stiletto nazi », and recommands to change the height of heels everyday and to chose it square.
(I love high heel shoes but since I wear ballet shoes, I don’t often wear it – Actually I’ve only got it when I’m sure I’m not going to walk a lot with it !)

Costume jewels

(And I’ve just bought it some…)

We’re only talking here about potential nickel allergy. The solution if we are allergic is to make our costume jewels recovered by palladium nickel or we can simply buy jewel made of steel for instance.

French manucure

(I’m not a huge fan of « fake nails »)

The acrylic nails can provide bacteria and fungus which could infect you. So nails have to be moised and polished.

After reading this, will you change your habits ?