Healthy lifestyle
A healthy lifestyle is one which helps to keep and improve people's health and well-being.Many governments and non-governmental organizations have made big efforts in healthy lifestyle and health promotion.
Mental Health
Mental health can be considered a very important factor of physical health for the effects it produces on bodily functions. This type of health concerns emotional and cognitive well-being or an absence of mental disorder.
Public health
Public health can be defined in a variety of ways. It can be presented as "the study of the physical, psychosocial and socio-cultural determinants of population health and actions to improve the health of the population.
Reproductive Health
For the UN, reproductive health is a right, like other human rights. This recent concept evokes the good transmission of the genetic heritage from one generation to the next.
Health
Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
jeudi 4 mai 2017
The Internet Is Losing Its Sh*t Over This Absurd "Lapping Tongues" Sex Toy
The internet is up in arms over a certain sex toy that basically looks like everything but what it's meant to be. Produced by "the sexual happiness people" over at Lovehoney, the Sqweel 2 Oral Sex Simulator ($40) features a battery-powered wheel with 10 rotating silicone tongues that operate at not one but three possible speeds to help you reach that big O.
This one-of-a-kind toy is "out to impress your clitoris in every way possible," according to the official product description, which also mentions a "flicker setting [that] rocks the wheel back and forth to wow you into a powerful orgasmic stupor." Hmm, let's get up close and personal with those artificial "lapping" tongues, shall we?
At first glance, we thought there's no way in hell any sort of "squealing" would be had upon using this thing like the product's name suggests. So we did some digging on the toy's website to see what actual users had to say, and the reviews were pretty mixed. It was rated at three and a half stars, with an array of customers praising the gadget's pleasuring capabilities with glowing reviews, detailed below.
- "Definitely would recommend this product to anyone looking for a great night in!"
- "If one of your favourite things is someone going down on you, this is the toy for you. Just lube yourself up and let the Sqweel do its work, and within minutes (yes minutes) all of your daily stress is left behind."
- "If you're looking for something different and simply mind-blowing, this is a must have!"
- "When I got this toy I was a little nervous of using it as it looked a bit S&M (with the tongues). However, when I plucked up the courage to use it, fireworks started! I wouldn't look back at all now!"
On the flip side, other customers were left disappointed by the device and couldn't help but detail their dissatisfaction with pointed reviews, some of which are below.
- "We weren't impressed with the power or speed of this toy and rarely used it. The idea is great but the build quality and feel of the unit wasn't impressive either. Rather noisy."
- "It just not that strong enough and when you put a little pressure it starts to slow down."
- "The Sqweel wasn't what we expected. Just too loud and didn't do anything for us."
- "Don't get me wrong, it feels good - for about a minute. Then suddenly it feels numb and repetitive. Unfortunately, even with all the lube in the world, it just didn't bring an orgasm."
Though this variety of reviews is undoubtedly helpful, the most entertaining reactions came out on social media, naturally. Twitter user Brandy Jensen recently shared a photo of the strange gizmo, noting how it was definitely designed by a man.
there's no way this sex toy, meant to simulate oral, was designed by a woman http://pic.twitter.com/rCqMu9VCUI
- Brandy Jensen (@BrandyLJensen) May 3, 2017
This spurred a sh*tstorm of hilarious responses comparing the gadget to a variety of nonsexual arbitrary objects. It reminded most users of a various types of boats - paddleboats, steamboats, you name it!
@BrandyLJensen ah instead of getting motorboated, you get paddleboated
- leon (@leyawn) May 3, 2017
@BrandyLJensen That better be called 'The Riverboat' http://pic.twitter.com/K6HWOADIw0
- Patrick Delaney (@patrickfdelaney) May 3, 2017
@BrandyLJensen Lol what kind of Mark Twain steamboat-fetish ass man made this
- Jake Cole (@notjustmovies) May 3, 2017
Others commented on how it may actual be a repurposed version of those handheld fans you most definitely used during Summer visits to the theme park when you were younger.
@BrandyLJensen That's not even an invention, they just cut the top off one of those handheld fans
- Rock Strongo (@greatopinionman) May 3, 2017
And just like they say in those late-night infomercials, "But wait, there's more!" Someone went so far as to bring innocent kittens into the picture.
@BrandyLJensen Kitten Drinks Milk From Saucer Simulator 2017
- joana de skammeren (@_drrs) May 3, 2017
@BrandyLJensen Cat lick simulator
- James 🎸☮ (@Smileyjim68) May 3, 2017
And a popular children's toy even made a cameo as a potential source of inspiration.
@BrandyLJensen Can see where he got the inspo http://pic.twitter.com/GDfTfcapXo
- Willus (@williamlewis17) May 3, 2017
We're not sure where the inventor's head was at with this one, but we can definitely all agree it's a pretty strange lookin' piece of work.
@BrandyLJensen This looks familiar http://pic.twitter.com/kW0n2qI7vO
- Jill Pantozzi ♿ (@JillPantozzi) May 3, 2017
mercredi 3 mai 2017
These Brutally Honest Parenting Comics Will Crack You Up
Brian Gordon - a cartoonist and dad of two - has been making fun of being a parent since he became one. In an attempt to keep himself sane and bond with other parents, he shamelessly started creating funny-because-it's-true parenting comics - and we can't stop laughing at them.
As soon as he brought his first child home from the hospital, Brian convinced himself that he was the worst parent ever, that is, until he started sharing his insecurities with other parents, who completely identified with his struggles. From there on, he decided to start documenting anything and everything about parenting - from being exhausted to being spit-up on for the hundredth time - through cartoons, and it's now his favorite thing to do.
"Being a parent can be incredibly frustrating, and I think sharing those frustrations and laughing with other parents is the best thing we can do to keep each other sane," Brian told us. And keeping us all sane, he is. His comics have been so successful in the parenting world that he was able to compile his comics into his first book, which should undoubtedly be centered among the pile of kid crap on every parent's coffee table.
Read through to see some of Brian's hilarious comics, preorder his book before its March 22 release, become a patron of his work to see behind-the-scenes strips, shop his designs at Society6 and Zazzle, and visit him regularly for new comics.
Trump's Army Secretary Nominee Once Compared Evolution to an Old Lawnmower
If Pope Francis, leader of 1.2 billion Roman Catholics, can defend evolution, it might be time for so-called "creationists" to reevaluate their arguments against it as well. However, President Donald Trump's nominee for army secretary, Dr. Mark Green, has continued to deny evolution, despite widely accepted scientific claims indicating otherwise.
In a speech given in 2015, Dr. Green attempted to discredit evolution by comparing it to a lawnmower (a man-made machine). First, Green criticized evolutionists' theories as lazy explanations for complexities outside of their imagination. "The evolutionists have their bad argument, too. They say, 'Well, I can't explain how it went from this to incredibly complex, so it must have been billions of years,'" Green said to a Cincinnati church congregation. "That's kind of where they put their faith. The truth of the matter is is the second law of thermo fluid dynamics says that the world progresses from order to disorder not disorder to order."
Green then tried dispute evolution with an illogical metaphor. "If you put a lawnmower out in your yard and a hundred years come back, it's rusted and falling apart," Green claimed. "You can't put parts out there and a hundred years later it's gonna come back together. That is a violation of a law of thermodynamics. A physical law that exists in the universe."
Green is, of course, right, that you cannot use a century-old lawnmower. But his rationale implies that humans and machines are equivalent in development, which is simply not the case.
This nowhere near the first time Dr. Green has been criticized for his controversial opinions. Green drew the ire of LGTBQ activists when he suggested being transgender was a medical condition on Sept. 14, 2016. "If you poll the psychiatrists, they're going to tell you that transgender is a disease," Green said.
Some Republican leaders have expressed doubts about Green's nomination as well. On May 2, Arizona Senator John McCain told USA Today that Green's past comments about the LGBTQ community are troubling. "There's a lot of controversy concerning his nomination," McCain said. "We are getting some questions from both Republicans and Democrats on the Armed Services Committee. I think there are some issues that clearly need to be cleared up."
USA Today noted that McCain chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, which is responsible for approving Green's confirmation. It appears that Green's hearing might not happen anytime soon since his nomination has yet to be formally submitted.
These Brutally Honest Parenting Comics Will Crack You Up
Brian Gordon - a cartoonist and dad of two - has been making fun of being a parent since he became one. In an attempt to keep himself sane and bond with other parents, he shamelessly started creating funny-because-it's-true parenting comics - and we can't stop laughing at them.
As soon as he brought his first child home from the hospital, Brian convinced himself that he was the worst parent ever, that is, until he started sharing his insecurities with other parents, who completely identified with his struggles. From there on, he decided to start documenting anything and everything about parenting - from being exhausted to being spit-up on for the hundredth time - through cartoons, and it's now his favorite thing to do.
"Being a parent can be incredibly frustrating, and I think sharing those frustrations and laughing with other parents is the best thing we can do to keep each other sane," Brian told us. And keeping us all sane, he is. His comics have been so successful in the parenting world that he was able to compile his comics into his first book, which should undoubtedly be centered among the pile of kid crap on every parent's coffee table.
Read through to see some of Brian's hilarious comics, preorder his book before its March 22 release, become a patron of his work to see behind-the-scenes strips, shop his designs at Society6 and Zazzle, and visit him regularly for new comics.
12 Healthy Chicken Recipes to Help You Lose Weight
If you follow a healthy diet, chances are that chicken is in heavy rotation at your house, and for good reason. It's an incredible source of lean protein, which has been shown to help fuel sore muscles and aid the body in weight-loss success.
Tired of the same old grilled chicken breast for dinner? Whip up one of these 12 recipes that will surprise and excite your taste buds.
Stylish Gifts to Spoil Your Mom With on Mother's Day
When shopping for Mother's Day, we like to think realistically. Our moms might be stylish, but they probably value functional pieces rather than trendy It items. We want to buy them something they'll appreciate, then use forever, like a delicate wear-with-everything necklace or a fabulous floral tea kettle to coordinate with that new salad plate. Keeping the season in mind - perhaps your mom has a tropical vacation coming up? - we gathered a handful of beachside essentials along with seasonless must-have items that double as prized possessions. Ahead, see 48 standout picks for that very important holiday in May.
12 Healthy Chicken Recipes to Help You Lose Weight
If you follow a healthy diet, chances are that chicken is in heavy rotation at your house, and for good reason. It's an incredible source of lean protein, which has been shown to help fuel sore muscles and aid the body in weight-loss success.
Tired of the same old grilled chicken breast for dinner? Whip up one of these 12 recipes that will surprise and excite your taste buds.
Stylish Gifts to Spoil Your Mom With on Mother's Day
When shopping for Mother's Day, we like to think realistically. Our moms might be stylish, but they probably value functional pieces rather than trendy It items. We want to buy them something they'll appreciate, then use forever, like a delicate wear-with-everything necklace or a fabulous floral tea kettle to coordinate with that new salad plate. Keeping the season in mind - perhaps your mom has a tropical vacation coming up? - we gathered a handful of beachside essentials along with seasonless must-have items that double as prized possessions. Ahead, see 48 standout picks for that very important holiday in May.
15 Thoughtful Embroidery Hoops For Newlyweds
Newly engaged or married couples will always remember the unique gifts their loved ones give them. If you're looking for a present that's both sentimental and beautiful, an embroidery hoop would be the perfect option. We found some thoughtful choices that are sure to leave an impression!
Trump's Army Secretary Nominee Once Compared Evolution to an Old Lawnmower
If Pope Francis, leader of 1.2 billion Roman Catholics, can defend evolution, it might be time for so-called "creationists" to reevaluate their arguments against it as well. However, President Donald Trump's nominee for army secretary, Dr. Mark Green, has continued to deny evolution, despite widely accepted scientific claims indicating otherwise.
In a speech given in 2015, Dr. Green attempted to discredit evolution by comparing it to a lawnmower (a man-made machine). First, Green criticized evolutionists' theories as lazy explanations for complexities outside of their imagination. "The evolutionists have their bad argument, too. They say, 'Well, I can't explain how it went from this to incredibly complex, so it must have been billions of years,'" Green said to a Cincinnati church congregation. "That's kind of where they put their faith. The truth of the matter is is the second law of thermo fluid dynamics says that the world progresses from order to disorder not disorder to order."
Green then tried dispute evolution with an illogical metaphor. "If you put a lawnmower out in your yard and a hundred years come back, it's rusted and falling apart," Green claimed. "You can't put parts out there and a hundred years later it's gonna come back together. That is a violation of a law of thermodynamics. A physical law that exists in the universe."
Green is, of course, right, that you cannot use a century-old lawnmower. But his rationale implies that humans and machines are equivalent in development, which is simply not the case.
This nowhere near the first time Dr. Green has been criticized for his controversial opinions. Green drew the ire of LGTBQ activists when he suggested being transgender was a medical condition on Sept. 14, 2016. "If you poll the psychiatrists, they're going to tell you that transgender is a disease," Green said.
Some Republican leaders have expressed doubts about Green's nomination as well. On May 2, Arizona Senator John McCain told USA Today that Green's past comments about the LGBTQ community are troubling. "There's a lot of controversy concerning his nomination," McCain said. "We are getting some questions from both Republicans and Democrats on the Armed Services Committee. I think there are some issues that clearly need to be cleared up."
USA Today noted that McCain chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, which is responsible for approving Green's confirmation. It appears that Green's hearing might not happen anytime soon since his nomination has yet to be formally submitted.
The Defenders: Marvel's Unlikely Heroes Band Together in the First Trailer
At this point, waiting for new episodes of Jessica Jones and Daredevil is nearly unbearable. What's a superhero binge-watcher (who has already raced through Iron Fist) to do? Well, in hopes of giving you an exciting distraction, we have some news. The Defenders has finally released its first trailer, and it's full of action. Even though details are sparse, we're breaking down all the information we've gotten about the show so far.
8 Questions to Ask Yourself to Help You Declutter
Stop making excuses and clean up the clutter in your home! It'll make you feel better and make your living space look better as well! Ask yourself these questions and get rid of your items based on your answers. And when we say dispose of your clutter, we mean either sell it, donate it, recycle it, give it away to friends and family, or throw it away.
1. Have I used this in the last year?
If your answer is no, it's time to toss.
2. If I were shopping right now, would I buy this?
If the current you wouldn't buy this item now, why would you even keep it?
3. Is the only thing that's keeping me from disposing this item that I don't want to waste money?
Think of it this way: you wasted money when you bought an item you don't use.
4. Am I holding on to this for sentimental value?
Be strict and keep only a few of the items in a small memorabilia box. Then take a photo of items you are throwing away so you can keep them forever.
5. Do I have a similar item that serves the same purpose?
If yes, then get rid of one of them.
6. Do I have a realistic plan to use this?
Remember, don't lie to yourself about how perfect an item would be for Halloween. Make sure you have a concrete plan to use the item, and if you don't use it within the time frame you set for yourself to use it, then toss it.
7. Does it fit me or my living space?
You may love it, but do you have space for the item or does it even suit you now? Think hard on what to keep - your space is sacred.
8. Am I holding on to the broken item to fix in the future?
Fix it now, or if you don't get around to fixing in the next two weeks, then toss it.
14 Useful Products That Will Make You Say "I Need This in My Life!"
We always see awesome products online and on TV that make us say, "I need that!" and then we go about our lives, forgetting all about them. But many of them would actually be amazingly useful to have, like a sweater wash that unshrinks your shrunken clothes - seriously, it exists! Ahead are more products that you've probably never even heard of but definitely need. Check out 14 must haves that are completely life-changing.
Some Days of Blackness
The following post originally appeared on Medium.
Some days it is easy to forget the pain of being a Black person on this earth. Some days we can celebrate the Beyoncé's and Solange's and cheer on the Shonda's. Some days we sing the praises of Black Girl Magic and Black Boy Joy. Some days we're grateful for power of the Jesse's and the Zoe's. Some days it looks like the world might be a little better for the Brianna's and the Kaya's. Some days it seems like maybe the Rodney's and the Temika's did not struggle in vain. Some days we feel the love of those who appreciate us, not in spite of our different melanin level, but because of it. Some days it is easy to dance and laugh and be free, if only ever so briefly, of the pain.
Some days are not so easy. Some days we are reminded that no matter what we do, our lives do not matter to many. Some days we worry that even allowing our children to walk outside will result in their deaths. Some days we remember that we are not valued in the workplace, continuing to work twice as hard for half as much, to have that hard work overlooked because it is hidden in the shadows of our skin color. Some days we recall that our parents went to segregated schools and still some of our children go to segregated proms, because the idea of their children socializing with a Black person is just too much for some. Some days we lose our friends and family for decades at a time to imprisonment for crimes that other people who don't look like us get a slap on the wrist for. Some days we lose the Jordan's and the Trayvon's, we lose the Mike's and the Eric's, we lose the Akai's and Rekia's to a coward with a badge or a gun. Some days both. Some days we lose Sandy and know something was wrong, but are powerless to do anything about it. Some days we wonder why it has to be this way, why we must be harmed in body and spirit for being Black, when we are just trying to live. Some days all that pain settles in our chests, squeezing like a vice grip, until it is unbearable and the pain comes out in a sob and a wail and our eyes overflow, and we ask, beg, plead why to the air in front of us, because maybe the air will have the answer, when nobody else does.
Some days it is easy. Some days it is hard.
Today is one of those days.
What a Month of Superitchy, Horrible Skin Taught Me
The following post originally appeared on Medium.
Imagine being addicted to something and not even knowing it. That's what happened to me. And it's not even a somewhat glamorous addiction. I'm addicted to cream. Not whipped cream - the cream that you put on your skin. A steroid cream. Probably the lamest form of drug you can be addicted to.
When I was around 5, I was diagnosed with eczema - a skin condition where you get dry, itchy red patches on your body. It appeared on my hands, arms, back and legs.
The doctor said eczema was genetic and that they didn't really know why people got it. I was told that it was incurable. I would have eczema for the rest of my life. So they prescribed steroid cream as the solution.
Oh yes, the cream worked - I'd put it on and the eczema would go away. But it would always come back. And when it did, I'd just put on more cream. But the eczema would come back. Cream. Eczema. Cream. More Eczema. More Cream. Etc. This cycle went on for 16 more lovely years until one month ago, when I decided to stop using all steroid creams.
What made me decide to do this? Well, a couple months ago I was reading The Art of Seeing by Aldous Huxley. Huxley used unconventional methods to heal his eyesight. There was a quote about eyeglasses that stuck in my head:
"Suppose that crippled eyes could be transformed into crippled legs. What a heart-rending parade we would witness on a busy street! Nearly every other person would go limping by. Many would be on crutches and some on wheel chairs." - Matthew Luckiesh
True. Lots of people wear glasses. Lots of people with eczema use steroid cream. But not a lot of people walk around on crutches and never fix their broken leg. And that's when it occurred to me: my skin was broken, and the cream was a crutch! Why should I keep using the crutch when I could just heal my skin for good?
As I typed "how to heal eczema" into Google, I realized that I'd never actually done my own research before. I'd put 100 percent of my faith into what the doctor told me, and took her word as truth. (I don't think she had any evil intent. I think she was just doing what she thought was right - without realizing the damage.) Now I am not a doctor, and I'm not saying not to trust doctors, I just wish I had done my own research earlier.
I found something called topical steroid addiction. This is what I know so far - the steroids suppress your adrenal glands and make them lazy. The adrenal gland is responsible for producing cortisol, your body's natural anti-inflammatory. But when you start using steroid creams (cortisol creams), the glands stop doing their job because the steroids are doing it for them! Your body starts relying on the cream, and when you stop using it, the adrenal gland realizes it hasn't made cortisol for years . . . so your body cries out for the cream. It's explained very well in this video.
I found hundreds of stories of people just like me, who were using steroid cream for a long time . . . but no one was ever cured by it. In fact, it only made the eczema get worse and worse. People would get prescribed stronger and stronger steroids, and when it didn't help, some people even started taking oral steroids. But as I read these stories of people quitting the cream, I felt quite hopeful. I saw pictures of people fully healed and never having to use a drop of cream again.
At the same time, the journey to get there looked absolutely terrifying. Red, peeling, burning faces. People taking time off work and school. Being bedridden for months. Going through withdrawal took most people around 6-12 months. Some, even years.
Even though it looked scary, I knew I couldn't go on using the cream. I wanted to be cured, not on crutches. So I quit the cream. I went into what's called topical steroid withdrawal (TSW). And yeah, it is freaking painful; it's a total shock to your body. For the first three weeks, my arms burned bright red. They felt hot to the touch. It got so itchy I just wanted to rip my skin off. It's so depressing waking up, feeling ugly and disgusting, and seeing dead skin everywhere. I started everyday feeling like a crusty mummy coming out of the tomb after a million years. I avoided mirrors and I didn't go farther than five minutes from my house for three weeks.
I did try and go to doctors again. I told them about topical steroid withdrawal and about the red skin syndrome that follows . . . and they wrote me another prescription for steroid cream and said see you later. One doctor even told me to try oral steroids. None of the doctors would really listen.
I kept looking to the internet for answers. Since sleep was almost impossible, I started using night time as research time.
I've been hunting down every source on TSW I could find. I joined Facebook groups with people going through the same thing. Turns out there is a lot of us. Many people have similar stories, and many have it way, way worse than me. Even little babies are going through it. YEAH. BABIES. It breaks my heart to see all these people suffering, especially because this pain is preventable with just a little bit of research and caution.
What I didn't realize for so long is that eczema is only the tip of the iceberg. It's just a symptom of a much larger underlying problem.
Eczema was my body's way of firing off a warning sign saying "Something's wrong! Help!" But I just kept covering up that sign with more and more cream, because that's what I was told to do. I was just treating the symptom without curing the cause.
As it turns out, there is a huge link between your skin health and gut health.
It didn't even cross my mind that I might have issues with my digestion. But it does explain why I fart so much. So as I started to swim deeper down the iceberg, I discovered that the problem with my skin had to do with basically everything, including soaps and detergents I used, stress levels, and how much I exercised, but especially what I was eating.
Throughout this whole thing - there has been one especially inspirational dude I found named Rob Stuart. He used to have eczema too, and actually cured himself through diet and lifestyle changes. He explains how a whole food, vegan diet is the best for the body, skin, and digestion. It's not too big a transition, since I've been mostly vegetarian for about a year.
I don't believe in going too extreme any one way or another, so I took changing my diet slowly. I cut down a lot on eating meat, but I was still eating lots of cheese, eggs, and ice cream. I love ice cream. I never thought that dairy could be bad for my skin. My boyfriend is lactose intolerant and a while ago, he suggested for me to try cutting dairy out, because he used to have skin issues too when he ate dairy. This was even before I discovered steroid withdrawal and my gut issues . . . but now it all links together.
So to fix my skin and my gut, I've cut all animal products out, and trying to stay away from processed foods and refined sugars. I'm experimenting with what foods set my skin off - so far I'm not sure about nuts, tomatoes, and grapes. There are also foods high in histamines, which make you itch. There's a lot of information out there, but to really find out, I think I'm just going to have to slowly experiment on myself.
Two years ago I was the worst cook in the world. (Once I put a whole broccoli in the microwave and covered it with soy sauce for dinner.) I used to be terrified of cooking with more than two ingredients. Now I am cooking for myself almost every day, even using more than two ingredients. For anyone who's going to change their diet, I would definitely recommend an app called cronometer. It helps you make sure you're getting enough calories, proteins, & vitamins.
Even though going through steroid withdrawal is so painful and annoying, I'm glad it's happening. It's made me wake up. It got me to do research and question things, rather than believing everything I'm told. The fact that I thought eczema was incurable and genetic made me think that steroid creams were my only option. I never knew that diet had a connection with skin health. In school and on the TV, all I heard was that milk is a good source of calcium, and that it isn't a meal without meat. That meat = protein. The only source of protein. The meat and dairy industries have worked hard to get those messages in my head from a young age. They don't want people knowing the health consequences.
I didn't care what I was putting in my body. I just ate whatever, and my skin ate whatever. I didn't read labels on soaps or shampoos, or think about what the steroid creams were actually doing inside my body. I didn't think that not getting enough exercise would have an impact on my skin either. Turns out, everything is connected. The body, the mind, the environment.
The way you think about a problem affects the way you will treat it, and your surroundings change what options you think are available. When you walk into a grocery store and 60 percent of the store is dedicated to animal products, you assume it must be OK. When you go into the body care aisle or whatever and see all these products with a million chemicals in them, you assume they should be fine. Because it doesn't look like there are other options. But there are, you just have to look a bit deeper to see them. With the help of my mom I started making my own lotions, so I know exactly what is in them and can see how my skin reacts directly after.
It's been a month now, and since paying attention to what I'm putting in my body (both food and products), my skin has already improved so much. It's not perfect, I'm still eating processed foods like pasta, noodles, and soy sauce - but like I said I'm just doing the best I can for now. Amazingly, I had a full night's sleep last night. I know I'm not fully healed yet and that this is just the beginning, but at least I finally feel more in control of what goes on in my body.
All I wish is that someone had told me sooner to do my own research, rather than putting 100 percent of my trust into someone else. To look deeper and work on treating the root cause, rather than covering up the symptoms. I hope that anyone reading this who's suffering from eczema or any other skin problems will dig deeper. I know there's a lot of contradictory information out there - but when you start asking the right questions, you will find the answers.
This Picturesque Train Trip Through the Canadian Rockies Has Ridiculous Views
If you're craving a little adventure, it may be time to tap into the resurgence of trains. We had no idea about the existence of the Rocky Mountaineer, a train line that goes all the way from Seattle to Jasper, Canada, and everywhere in between.
The Coastal Passage trip looks especially amazing. The ocean-view route starts in Seattle and takes you through Vancouver, Whistler, Banff, and many more spectacular places. The massive windows, gourmet meals, and attentive hosts make it a pretty fun experience. Hosts will also tell you the history and stories behind each location as you travel.
Every night, you get off the train and stay in a luxury hotel so you can get a good night of sleep. Packages start at $2,000, but that's a pretty good deal given that all of these trips are at least eight days long. Take a look at what the full experience is like in the video below.
These Beautiful, Personalized Pieces of Jewelry Make the Perfect Mother's Day Gift
Jewelry is a popular gift for every occasion, but is especially perfect for Mother's Day. Rather than purchasing a generic necklace or bracelet, what better way to honor a special mom - or grandma! - than with a personalized piece that allows her to carry a part of her kids with her every day? Personalized jewelry makes it super easy to be the most thoughtful gift giver, and because it is one of our all-time favorite present ideas, we have done the searching for you and rounded up some of the prettiest selections out there for all of the moms in your life.
Scroll through for chic and beautiful pieces of jewelry to give to a special mom in your life.
Some Days of Blackness
The following post originally appeared on Medium.
Some days it is easy to forget the pain of being a Black person on this earth. Some days we can celebrate the Beyoncé's and Solange's and cheer on the Shonda's. Some days we sing the praises of Black Girl Magic and Black Boy Joy. Some days we're grateful for power of the Jesse's and the Zoe's. Some days it looks like the world might be a little better for the Brianna's and the Kaya's. Some days it seems like maybe the Rodney's and the Temika's did not struggle in vain. Some days we feel the love of those who appreciate us, not in spite of our different melanin level, but because of it. Some days it is easy to dance and laugh and be free, if only ever so briefly, of the pain.
Some days are not so easy. Some days we are reminded that no matter what we do, our lives do not matter to many. Some days we worry that even allowing our children to walk outside will result in their deaths. Some days we remember that we are not valued in the workplace, continuing to work twice as hard for half as much, to have that hard work overlooked because it is hidden in the shadows of our skin color. Some days we recall that our parents went to segregated schools and still some of our children go to segregated proms, because the idea of their children socializing with a Black person is just too much for some. Some days we lose our friends and family for decades at a time to imprisonment for crimes that other people who don't look like us get a slap on the wrist for. Some days we lose the Jordan's and the Trayvon's, we lose the Mike's and the Eric's, we lose the Akai's and Rekia's to a coward with a badge or a gun. Some days both. Some days we lose Sandy and know something was wrong, but are powerless to do anything about it. Some days we wonder why it has to be this way, why we must be harmed in body and spirit for being Black, when we are just trying to live. Some days all that pain settles in our chests, squeezing like a vice grip, until it is unbearable and the pain comes out in a sob and a wail and our eyes overflow, and we ask, beg, plead why to the air in front of us, because maybe the air will have the answer, when nobody else does.
Some days it is easy. Some days it is hard.
Today is one of those days.
These Beautiful, Personalized Pieces of Jewelry Make the Perfect Mother's Day Gift
Jewelry is a popular gift for every occasion, but is especially perfect for Mother's Day. Rather than purchasing a generic necklace or bracelet, what better way to honor a special mom - or grandma! - than with a personalized piece that allows her to carry a part of her kids with her every day? Personalized jewelry makes it super easy to be the most thoughtful gift giver, and because it is one of our all-time favorite present ideas, we have done the searching for you and rounded up some of the prettiest selections out there for all of the moms in your life.
Scroll through for chic and beautiful pieces of jewelry to give to a special mom in your life.
Feast Your Eyes on the Sexy and Stylish Men at the Met Gala
The Met Gala is usually all about the glamorous fashion looks on the red carpet, but we can't help but focus on some of the sexy eye candy at the event. While we love seeing Hollywood's cutest couples have a date night and the funny prep some stars go through to get ready, there's nothing like seeing some gorgeous men rock sharp as hell suits while posing for photos. From Ansel Elgort to Pharrell Williams, keep reading for all the sexiest guys at this year's big gala.
Feast Your Eyes on the Sexy and Stylish Men at the Met Gala
The Met Gala is usually all about the glamorous fashion looks on the red carpet, but we can't help but focus on some of the sexy eye candy at the event. While we love seeing Hollywood's cutest couples have a date night and the funny prep some stars go through to get ready, there's nothing like seeing some gorgeous men rock sharp as hell suits while posing for photos. From Ansel Elgort to Pharrell Williams, keep reading for all the sexiest guys at this year's big gala.
The Handmaid's Tale Shows Us Why We Can't Compromise on Reproductive Rights
Kaylie Hanson Long is the national communications director for NARAL Pro-Choice America
With the TV adaptation of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, people across the world will get a visceral preview of what happens when a regime defined by misogyny, cynicism, and a distaste for facts rises to power. Atwood's dystopian vision depicts a fictional world in which women are nothing more than childbearing vessels, nothing more than domestic servants, and nothing more than wives whose sole claim to power rests in the hands of their husbands. Women who think, who rebel, who choose - and also women who fail to bear children, who fail to live up to an idea of "womanhood" that has nothing to do with humanity and everything to do with biology - are declared "unwomen."
Sound familiar?
If you're a woman in 2017, you might recognize this world thanks to the rise of politicians who have felt less and less pressure to hide the misogyny driving their attempts to control the most intimate aspects of a woman's life. And this rise has been made possible by none other than President Donald Trump.
The government of The Handmaid's Tale is fueled by a misogynist agenda and systematically enacts policies that rob women of their autonomy. After the leadership's rise to power, the main character of The Handmaid's Tale stops by a convenience store to pick up a pack of cigarettes before work only to learn that her bank account has been shut down. When she arrives at work, she learns that this isn't a fluke: the government has not only frozen every woman's bank account but has also made it illegal for women to hold a job and hold property at all.
"It's only a job," the central character's husband says when she returns home that day. "You know I'll always take care of you." It is clear that he has missed the point.
In our reality, women are already treated like second-class citizens in so many ways: women of color make as little as 58 cents for every dollar their white male counterparts make. Pregnant women lose their jobs because they need an extra bathroom or water break. Republicans in Congress want to drag us back to the days of charging women more for our health care and when being a woman was considered a pre-existing condition. And the onslaught of antichoice legislation in this country has chipped away at our fundamental right to control our bodies and decide whether, when, how, and with whom to start or grow a family.
President Trump's misogynist agenda only promises to pull us backward and erase the progress we have made on the road toward gender equality. He has laid bare the real motive behind the war on reproductive rights waged by antichoice politicians and extremist groups: it has very little to do with abortion and everything to do with keeping women in our place by limiting our options and freedom.
Trump let the cat out of the bag last year when he matter-of-factly claimed "there has to be some form of punishment" for women who choose abortion. Of course the people who cheer him on are the same people who believe that birth control pills and IUDs - the most basic tools women use to control their futures - should be illegal. One even claimed that a world without these forms of contraception would be "ideal." And antichoice state legislators from Wyoming to Missouri make their real feelings about women clear when they compare us to livestock and quip that we should go to zoos to access basic health care.
The examples are endless, and it is clear that the rise of a reality where women do not have basic rights is made possible not only by politicians bent on controlling women, but also by a populace that tells itself, "That can't happen here."
"There were marches, of course," writes the unnamed narrator of The Handmaid's Tale, reflecting on the protest movements women led against the rise of this catastrophic and misogynist theocracy, "but they were smaller than you might have thought."
The good news for us is that our marches have not been small. Across the country and the world, people have made it clear that the majority does not believe in the dystopian worldview peddled by extreme antichoice groups and politicians like President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. Seven in 10 Americans believe abortion should be legal and accessible, and the same number think the Supreme Court should not overturn Roe v. Wade. This majority is fueling the resistance against the dangerous antiwoman, antifamily agenda pushed by President Trump and his Republican allies from Washington to the state legislatures.
Luckily, leaders at every level of government are getting the message, and they understand that Americans will support those who stand strong behind reproductive freedom and gender equality. In states like Nevada and Washington, legislators are leading a proactive resistance by working to make birth control even more accessible. States like Massachusetts, Oregon, and Tennessee are also working on laws that would require insurance providers to cover a broad range of birth control, not just certain types or brands.
It is no surprise that America's appetite for dystopian fiction skyrocketed after President Trump's election. We must look to it not only as a warning of what could be, but also as a guide to how we can push history in the right direction. We must stand up, stand strong, and stand together in support of the fundamental idea that every woman deserves the same opportunity and freedom as men to control her body and her future.
Put Your Best Foot Forward This Summer With These 7 Shoe Trends
Every Summer, I find myself looking for a new pair of shoes that feel both fresh and on trend. I've learned that flip-flops are solely reserved for the beach, and as much as I'd like to be one of those girls who can wear heels every day, they are impractical and almost always leave me with painful blisters.
We've already covered the most comfortable Summer sandals of the year, and now, we're listing the best shoes of the season. From tie-up ballet flats (we see you, Miu Miu) to mules (don't worry, there's more than just the Gucci Princetowns), here are the best shoes of the Summer.
12 Times Jennifer Lopez's Twins Were the Cutest Pair on the Internet
Jennifer Lopez has always been one to show off her love for her #coconuts, as she affectionately calls Max and Emme, her 9-year-old twins with ex-husband Marc Anthony, and some of the sweet moments they have had as a family.
The mini version of J Lo and Marc are definitely in the running for the cutest kids on the internet based on all of the adorable things they like doing for their famous mom. From making her paper flowers for Valentine's Day to simply cuddling with her on her days off from her busy schedule, these are some of the best moments between J Lo and her sweet twins.
12 Times Jennifer Lopez's Twins Were the Cutest Pair on the Internet
Jennifer Lopez has always been one to show off her love for her #coconuts, as she affectionately calls Max and Emme, her 9-year-old twins with ex-husband Marc Anthony, and some of the sweet moments they have had as a family.
The mini version of J Lo and Marc are definitely in the running for the cutest kids on the internet based on all of the adorable things they like doing for their famous mom. From making her paper flowers for Valentine's Day to simply cuddling with her on her days off from her busy schedule, these are some of the best moments between J Lo and her sweet twins.
All Princesses Own This Essential - and It Might Be Your Favorite Too
Royals aren't always in a skirt or dress. Sometimes they want a dress-down day, too, say if they're visiting a farm or taking the children to school. So what's their go-to piece for a casual day, you ask? That would be jeans. Whether flare or skinny, white or dark blue, royals can't get enough of this basic piece - and they shouldn't. As Kate Middleton's proven, even royals can style jeans for all types of occasions. Though she has a strong denim collection, Kate isn't the only one to give them that princess touch. Ahead are several other royal ladies who have worn the everyday bottoms and looked just as polished.
We’re Calling It Now: Paige McCullers Is A.D. on Pretty Little Liars
Avid Pretty Little Liars fans know that watching the past seven seasons, and now season 7B, has been like being in a relationship. There have been plenty of emotional roller coasters along the way, and just when you think it's over, it keeps you coming back for more. When the Liars got a text from A during the season six finale, it was signed with a new name, A.D., also referred to as "Uber A" throughout the rest of the series. There are plenty of theories on what those initials stand for, but what's even more important is who those initials are attached to - and we have an idea.
Let's start with the basics. We were first introduced to Paige McCullers, played by Lindsey Shaw, in season one, episode 15, when she sets out to become Rosewood High School's swim team captain. Emily Fields, played by Shay Mitchell, had been absent for a brief time, and when she came back, it seemed like the two would remain enemies. But then, Paige comes out as a lesbian and reveals she has feelings for Emily. Long story short, they end up dating, then breaking up, then dating again, and then breaking up . . . again. To say that these two have had their ups and downs is a serious understatement. Through it all, we couldn't help but to be suspicious of Paige and her real intentions in the Liars' lives, but it goes beyond that - we think that she's A.D. Hear us out!
Paige Randomly Returns to Rosewood 5 Years Later
Paige comes back to PLL on season seven after leaving Rosewood in season five. Emily asks Paige why she returns to interview for the swim team coach spot at Rosewood High, even though with her talent she could have gotten a job at a D-1 college. Paige kind of blows off the question and just says that she's put some applications in but saw that this opportunity came up. In this same episode, Alison DiLaurentis goes to get Noel Kahn's file from the principal's office, only to find it missing with the message, "I warned you b*tches. Do you really want to end up dead?" Although not signed, we can assume it is from A.D. Paige is in Rosewood High for the swim coach interview that day, giving her ample opportunity to grab the file. For Paige to come back after all this time and have a pretty strong presence on the show, something is up.
Paige's New Job Title Literally Spells Out A.D.
Emily ends up snagging the swim coach role at Rosewood High, but Paige isn't left in the dust. She is given the position of Athletic Department Supervisor - aka A.D. Supervisor! When Emily tells Alison about the job, Alison (who is a teacher at Rosewood High) says that it's a new role and asks if it was created especially for Paige. Hmm . . . suspicious.
A.D. Has a Soft Spot For Emily
When Emily oversleeps and misses her Intro to Kinesiology opt-out exam during season seven, A.D. texts Emily saying he or she hacked the computer system and gave her a 92 percent grade but not without saying, "Thank me later, ungrateful b*tch. A.D." Although accompanied by a snarky comment (in true Uber A form), this shows that whoever is behind the madness cares about Emily.
We Catch a Glimpse of A.D.'s Hair
At the end of the season 7B premiere, A.D. hands Jenna Marshall a Braille book. Upon reading it, Jenna says, "endgame." But what you might have missed is that when A.D. hands her the book, the ends of his or her hair - short and brown, like Paige's - are shown at the top of the screen. Could such an obvious hint really have slipped through the editing cracks, or was it purposely placed there? Either way, it got us thinking.
IMDb Listed Paige McCullers as A.D.
Could it be that the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) blew the whole surprise ending to PLL? Believe it. Fans started drawing attention to the (mistake?) listing around the time of the Season 7B premiere in April. A.D. was listed right next to Paige McCullers's name. The movie page no longer says it, but the screenshots don't lie.
As of season 7B, episode 12, Emily and Paige have been working well together at Rosewood High. Sure, there's some tension, since Paige doesn't like Alison and Emily remains close with her, but Emily and Paige still seem to care a lot about each other! For all we know, the two will be together when the finale airs on Freeform on June 21. But if not, just know that we called it - we're so onto you, Paige.
No Gym, No Problem! This Circuit Workout Uses Just Your Body
Not only is an at-home workout excuse-proof, since it's free, it will only cost you calories! Check out this full-body circuit workout that fits in your living room. It takes about 20 minutes to do, and other than a chair, it requires no props.
Instructions: After warming up with light cardio for five minutes, repeat each three-exercise circuit twice, resting for 60 seconds after completing one rep of an entire circuit.
Click here to download a PDF of the workout that you can print. It looks best printed in color and fits on one page. Hang the workout up on your fridge to remind yourself to work it.
All Princesses Own This Essential - and It Might Be Your Favorite Too
Royals aren't always in a skirt or dress. Sometimes they want a dress-down day, too, say if they're visiting a farm or taking the children to school. So what's their go-to piece for a casual day, you ask? That would be jeans. Whether flare or skinny, white or dark blue, royals can't get enough of this basic piece - and they shouldn't. As Kate Middleton's proven, even royals can style jeans for all types of occasions. Though she has a strong denim collection, Kate isn't the only one to give them that princess touch. Ahead are several other royal ladies who have worn the everyday bottoms and looked just as polished.
Chanel's Cruise Show Is a 1-Way Ticket to Greece
Last year, Karl Lagerfeld took his guests to Cuba for Chanel's Resort collection. This year, the designer brought it back to home base: the Grand Palais in Paris. The theme, however, was not Parisian-inspired. Instead, guests arrived to a scene straight out of ancient Greece with limestone and marble-like structures serving as the backdrop for the runway. The clothes also gave off strong Grecian vibes. Models made their way down the catwalk in billowy dresses with golden wreath motifs, embellished headbands, and strappy heels inspired by ancient Greek sandals. Lagerfeld offered tons of pretty options to wear on your next vacation - maybe it's time to book that trip to Greece?
We’re Calling It Now: Paige McCullers Is A.D. on Pretty Little Liars
Avid Pretty Little Liars fans know that watching the past seven seasons, and now season 7B, has been like being in a relationship. There have been plenty of emotional roller coasters along the way, and just when you think it's over, it keeps you coming back for more. When the Liars got a text from A during the season six finale, it was signed with a new name, A.D., also referred to as "Uber A" throughout the rest of the series. There are plenty of theories on what those initials stand for, but what's even more important is who those initials are attached to - and we have an idea.
Let's start with the basics. We were first introduced to Paige McCullers, played by Lindsey Shaw, in season one, episode 15, when she sets out to become Rosewood High School's swim team captain. Emily Fields, played by Shay Mitchell, had been absent for a brief time, and when she came back, it seemed like the two would remain enemies. But then, Paige comes out as a lesbian and reveals she has feelings for Emily. Long story short, they end up dating, then breaking up, then dating again, and then breaking up . . . again. To say that these two have had their ups and downs is a serious understatement. Through it all, we couldn't help but to be suspicious of Paige and her real intentions in the Liars' lives, but it goes beyond that - we think that she's A.D. Hear us out!
Paige Randomly Returns to Rosewood 5 Years Later
Paige comes back to PLL on season seven after leaving Rosewood in season five. Emily asks Paige why she returns to interview for the swim team coach spot at Rosewood High, even though with her talent she could have gotten a job at a D-1 college. Paige kind of blows off the question and just says that she's put some applications in but saw that this opportunity came up. In this same episode, Alison DiLaurentis goes to get Noel Kahn's file from the principal's office, only to find it missing with the message, "I warned you b*tches. Do you really want to end up dead?" Although not signed, we can assume it is from A.D. Paige is in Rosewood High for the swim coach interview that day, giving her ample opportunity to grab the file. For Paige to come back after all this time and have a pretty strong presence on the show, something is up.
Paige's New Job Title Literally Spells Out A.D.
Emily ends up snagging the swim coach role at Rosewood High, but Paige isn't left in the dust. She is given the position of Athletic Department Supervisor - aka A.D. Supervisor! When Emily tells Alison about the job, Alison (who is a teacher at Rosewood High) says that it's a new role and asks if it was created especially for Paige. Hmm . . . suspicious.
A.D. Has a Soft Spot For Emily
When Emily oversleeps and misses her Intro to Kinesiology opt-out exam during season seven, A.D. texts Emily saying he or she hacked the computer system and gave her a 92 percent grade but not without saying, "Thank me later, ungrateful b*tch. A.D." Although accompanied by a snarky comment (in true Uber A form), this shows that whoever is behind the madness cares about Emily.
We Catch a Glimpse of A.D.'s Hair
At the end of the season 7B premiere, A.D. hands Jenna Marshall a Braille book. Upon reading it, Jenna says, "endgame." But what you might have missed is that when A.D. hands her the book, the ends of his or her hair - short and brown, like Paige's - are shown at the top of the screen. Could such an obvious hint really have slipped through the editing cracks, or was it purposely placed there? Either way, it got us thinking.
IMDb Listed Paige McCullers as A.D.
Could it be that the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) blew the whole surprise ending to PLL? Believe it. Fans started drawing attention to the (mistake?) listing around the time of the Season 7B premiere in April. A.D. was listed right next to Paige McCullers's name. The movie page no longer says it, but the screenshots don't lie.
As of season 7B, episode 12, Emily and Paige have been working well together at Rosewood High. Sure, there's some tension, since Paige doesn't like Alison and Emily remains close with her, but Emily and Paige still seem to care a lot about each other! For all we know, the two will be together when the finale airs on Freeform on June 21. But if not, just know that we called it - we're so onto you, Paige.
No Gym, No Problem! This Circuit Workout Uses Just Your Body
Not only is an at-home workout excuse-proof, since it's free, it will only cost you calories! Check out this full-body circuit workout that fits in your living room. It takes about 20 minutes to do, and other than a chair, it requires no props.
Instructions: After warming up with light cardio for five minutes, repeat each three-exercise circuit twice, resting for 60 seconds after completing one rep of an entire circuit.
Click here to download a PDF of the workout that you can print. It looks best printed in color and fits on one page. Hang the workout up on your fridge to remind yourself to work it.
This Vintage Trailer Hotel Is the Coolest (and Most Colorful!) Way to Stay in Texas
If you need a mood boost, head to El Cosmico in Marfa, TX. The 21-acre nomadic hotel and campground will undoubtedly be a unique vacation. You can stay in vintage trailers that are painted in candy colors and scattered throughout the desert terrain. The trailers come fully equipped with a dry goods minibar, towels, robes, and pretty much anything you would get at a normal hotel.
The campground opened in 2009 and has since become a hot spot for bloggers and influencers ever since. When you want to venture out of your trailer, there's a hammock grove, an outdoor kitchen and dining area, a community lounge and mercantile, an outdoor stage, and a reading room. You can even hop on a bike and explore everything that Marfa has to offer. Check out all the cheerful pictures of this fun place!
Interns at These 25 Companies Earn More Than the Average American Worker
If you're lucky enough to score a crazy high-paying internship at Facebook, you no longer get to complain about broke college student woes. In perhaps typical Silicon Valley fashion, the tech behemoth offers its interns a handsome median pay rate of $8,000 per month. It's enough to make any working stiff long to attempt the plot of The Internship - taking an internship as a grown-up at a tech company because the opportunity (and apparently the pay!) is so tremendous.
While Facebook tops the Glassdoor list of highest-paying internships in America, it's far from the only company to offer swanky pay and helpful perks. Both Apple and Yelp, for example, offer a median monthly pay of $6,400, while interns at other companies like Deutsch Bank and Adobe have mentioned the hands-on experience and access to senior employees as major highlights.
As Glassdoor points out, "the median annual salary for a full-time US worker is currently $51,350. However, if interns at these companies worked a full 12 months, their salaries would range from about $96,000 at Facebook (No. 1) to about $55,000 at Bank of America (No. 25), much higher than what the average full-time American worker earns." Keep scrolling to see the list of America's highest paying internships and feel that slow, familiar burn of envy.
The 25 Highest Paying Internships in America For 2017
- Facebook
Median Monthly Pay: $8,000 - Microsoft
Median Monthly Pay: $7,100 - ExxonMobil
Median Monthly Pay: $6,507 - Salesforce
Median Monthly Pay: $6,450 - Amazon
Median Monthly Pay: $6,400 - Apple
Median Monthly Pay: $6,400 - Bloomberg, L.P.
Median Monthly Pay: $6,400 - Yelp
Median Monthly Pay: $6,400 - Yahoo
Median Monthly Pay: $6,080 - VMware
Median Monthly Pay: $6,080 - Google
Median Monthly Pay: $6,000 - NVIDIA
Median Monthly Pay: $5,770 - Intuit
Median Monthly Pay: $5,440 - Juniper Networks
Median Monthly Pay: $5,440 - Workday
Median Monthly Pay: $5,440 - BlackRock
Median Monthly Pay: $5,400 - Adobe
Median Monthly Pay: $5,120 - MathWorks
Median Monthly Pay: $5,120 - Qualcomm
Median Monthly Pay: $5,040 - Capital One
Median Monthly Pay: $5,000 - Chevron
Median Monthly Pay: $5,000 - Accenture
Median Monthly Pay: $4,960 - Deutsche Bank
Median Monthly Pay: $4,640 - AIG
Median Monthly Pay: $4,616 - Bank of America
Median Monthly Pay: $4,570
Wait, Shattered Glass Eyeliner Is Now a Thing!
Shattered glass nail art, meet your sister: shattered glass eye makeup. While doing research for this holographic eyeliner trend report, I stumbled upon these mesmerizing iterations that take the tinsel style one notch up. And it's actually pretty flattering since the opalescent paper brightens up the eye area. You can either do it all over the lid (like shadow) or on the edges (similar to an eyeliner wing).
Re-creating it at home is easier than you might think. Simply do your regular bold eye makeup, then cut up pieces of holographic paper. Perhaps it comes from last year's holiday decor and wrapping paper. Make them into little "shards," which you will then adhere to your skin with eyelash glue. Done!
Keep reading to see how women are interpreting this trend on Instagram!
9 Creative and Simple Ways to Add Chia Seeds Into Your Everyday Diet
We are big fans of chia over here. The powerful little seeds are basically a wonder to behold: something so innocuous and small contains so much protein, fiber, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and iron. They've also got serotonin-releasing tryptophan, and they're high in omega-3 fatty acids. Amazing, right?
A common question, however, is: "How do you use chia seeds?" We hear ya. If you're new to the chia game, you're probably thinking, "But what the heck do I even do with these?" We've got plenty of options for you to take your nutrition to the next level with this powerful superfood. Your brain and body will thank you.
- As a Pudding. First things first, we love us some chia pudding at POPSUGAR Fitness; it's one of our go-to breakfasts. Filling and nutritious, you might forget this meal is breakfast, because it tastes more like dessert. Learn how to make a basic chia pudding with just four ingredients, then get creative with these tasty recipes.
- In Overnight Oats (or in oatmeal!). Mix chia seamlessly into your favorite overnight oats recipe or into a warm bowl of oatmeal for a soothing, calming food that's rich with tryptophan, magnesium, and other de-stressing minerals.
- As a Jam. Chia seeds make liquid gelatinous, and making chia jam is an excellent alternative to the labor-intensive traditional recipe. Our chia jam recipe takes 20 minutes!
- In a Smoothie. Add chia seeds into your smoothie by blending or stirring in as a last step. Need some recipes? Try our mango smoothie with chia or our strawberry smoothie with chia.
- On PB or Avo Toast. Sprinkle some seeds on your favorite peanut butter banana toast or on avocado toast.
- Mixed Into Tuna or Chicken Salad. Because chia seeds are basically tasteless, they'll seamlessly integrate into your tuna or chicken salads, packing on extra nutrients in the subtlest of ways.
- As Chia Eggs. Are you ready for this? They can make an egg replacement. Vegans, start your engines . . . we mean ovens . . . and get ready to bake with this nutritious substitute for eggs. Learn how to make chia eggs with these simple steps.
- In Salad Dressing (or on salads!). Add chia seeds into this ACV dressing for a weight-loss powerhouse, or try this flat-belly chia salad dressing. Don't want to make your own dressing? Sprinkle them on your salad for an added crunch (and all the added nutrients).
- Baked Into Everything. You can throw chia seeds into baked goods, including these chia blueberry muffins and this chia seed pizza crust. Mmmm, pizza.
What the Unicorn (and Now Dragon) Frappuccino Can Teach Us About Parenting
I'm about to talk about to you about the challenge of modern parenting through the lens of the recent culinary atrocity that is the Starbucks Unicorn - and now Dragon - Frappuccino. Stay with me.
I'm a coffee drinker, the kind that wants all coffee to taste like something between espresso and soil - very hot and very, very strong. Occasionally, like if it's ninety degrees, I will allow my coffee to be served cold, and with a touch of almond or coconut milk, but I do not want sugar or hazelnut syrup or whipped cream or sprinkles anywhere near my coffee. I'm sure you can imagine, then, that the newly-released brightly-colored Unicorn Frappuccino troubles me. Coffee isn't supposed to be pink. Or yellow. Or blue. And it certainly shouldn't look like a dozen peeps fell into a blender. This isn't coffee. I'm not sure this is even food, in the strictest sense, but it isn't coffee.
And this reminds me of the challenge we face as parents in current culture: everything is fun and fast and brightly colored. Everything is sugary and delicious and sparkly, apps and shows and toys.
This is what I want to do: I want to appeal for some non-flashy, slightly old-fashioned kid stuff. A hammock hung between trees. Sand. Dirt. A hunk of printer paper and a few colored pencils. If I feel exhausted and overwhelmed by the aggressively flashy offerings for children these days, how does it feel for my children?
I imagined that one major component of parenting would be showing my children a big, beautiful, multi-faceted world. It is, but more often these days, I find myself focusing on how to build boundaries on the complexity of the world available to them. I want to make their world a little smaller, a little simpler: water, sky, grass.
I sound crotchety, possibly, or at the very least old-fashioned, but in this season, my major parenting plays sound like things Laura Ingalls' parents encouraged her to do: get outside. Play. Make things up. Rest. Tell stories. As long as I'm on the curmudgeonly track, I might as well tell you that the Little House series is my all-time favorite: yes, a series of books about farming and oxen and calico.
I live in the same modern world that you live in. My kids live in the same modern, tech-saturated world that your kids do. We watch MasterChef Junior, and I love watching my kids make stop-motion videos on their iPads, and when I'm out of town I'm incredibly thankful for FaceTime and other technologies that help me stay connected to my family.
And yet: the Unicorn Frappuccino. I'm becoming increasingly sure that one of my most important jobs as a parent is making sure that my kids don't develop a taste for Unicorn Frappuccinos, literally and metaphorically. I want to give them an appetite for things that are hearty, wholesome, nutrient-dense-again, literally and figuratively.
It's more a defensive position than I'd imagined, before I became a parent. But there are more flashing lights and sparkly seductions than I'd imagined fighting for airtime in my children's lives and brains and ears and eyes. In a world of loud, brightly-colored junk-food, it's my job to lower the volume of their environments, and to fight for the nutritional level of what they're consuming.
What I keep coming back to: dirt. Play. Strawberries in the Spring and apples in the Fall. Time. Silence. Coloring. The exact opposite of the Unicorn Frappuccino.
American Is Reducing Your Legroom - Find Out How Other Airlines Compare
The last thing any traveler wants is less legroom on their flight. However, American Airlines is reportedly cutting down on the front-to-back space between economy class seats on its upcoming Boeing 737 Max jetliners. Every inch counts when you're trying to stretch out, and these new planes will be cutting out two inches of legroom - from 31 inches to 29 on three rows, and from 31 to 30 on the rest.
The amount of legroom is called a plane's seat pitch - and can vary greatly depending on the airline and on the type of plane you're flying on. Low-fare airlines like Spirit and Frontier typically have lower seat pitches since they are more budget-friendly and basic, but airlines like JetBlue, Virgin, and Southwest boast larger seat pitches (30+ inches of legroom per seat in economy) that passengers love.
United Airlines is expected to follow American in decreasing seat pitch on some of its aircraft. "Fliers will still pay regular economy fares for the 18 seats with two inches less leg room," reported CNN. "Two of those three rows of 29-inch pitch will be in the back of the plane and a third farther forward. These seats won't be part of its new basic economy fares, which sell for less because fliers don't get access to overhead bins, a seat assignment or frequent flier miles."
So, what's a "normal" or "good" amount of legroom? Read on to see what the seat pitch is for each one of these major US airlines.
5 Condiments You Should Refrigerate - and 3 You Shouldn't
Fact: not all condiments belong in the fridge. To make sure you're getting the longest shelf life (and the most flavor) out of common condiments like ketchup, maple syrup, and hot sauce, be sure to refer to this list of products you should - and shouldn't - store in a cold fridge. Some of them might surprise you and remind you to check yours to see if they're in the right place!
Do Refrigerate
- Maple syrup. Maple syrup belongs in the refrigerator because mold can grow inside the bottle if it's left out.
- Mayonnaise. This one is a no-brainer! Mayo is made with eggs and needs to be kept in the refrigerator once opened.
- Nut-based oils. Oils like sesame or peanut that aren't refined and are made with nuts should be refrigerated to keep from going rancid. Pro tip: nuts should also be refrigerated to maintain their best flavor.
- Ketchup. Refrigerating ketchup is up for debate depending on what kind you have and how quickly you plan to use it. Open ketchup can be stored in the pantry for up to one month, but if you won't use it by then, keep it in the fridge.
- Mustard . . . sometimes. Dijon and horseradish-based mustards should be refrigerated, but others are OK to leave out if you prefer them at room temperature. Refrigerating yellow mustard will help maintain its flavor, but it doesn't contain any ingredients that spoil.
Don't Refrigerate
- Soy sauce. Ever notice that soy sauce stays out on the tables at restaurants? That's because it's fermented and doesn't need to be refrigerated.
- Hot sauce. Vinegar-based hot sauces have a shelf life of about three years and don't need to be chilled to stay fresh.
- Honey. Honey will crystallize and become impossible to use if it's hardened in the fridge. Keep it stored away from direct sunlight.
9 Creative and Simple Ways to Add Chia Seeds Into Your Everyday Diet
We are big fans of chia over here. The powerful little seeds are basically a wonder to behold: something so innocuous and small contains so much protein, fiber, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and iron. They've also got serotonin-releasing tryptophan, and they're high in omega-3 fatty acids. Amazing, right?
A common question, however, is: "How do you use chia seeds?" We hear ya. If you're new to the chia game, you're probably thinking, "But what the heck do I even do with these?" We've got plenty of options for you to take your nutrition to the next level with this powerful superfood. Your brain and body will thank you.
- As a Pudding. First things first, we love us some chia pudding at POPSUGAR Fitness; it's one of our go-to breakfasts. Filling and nutritious, you might forget this meal is breakfast, because it tastes more like dessert. Learn how to make a basic chia pudding with just four ingredients, then get creative with these tasty recipes.
- In Overnight Oats (or in oatmeal!). Mix chia seamlessly into your favorite overnight oats recipe or into a warm bowl of oatmeal for a soothing, calming food that's rich with tryptophan, magnesium, and other de-stressing minerals.
- As a Jam. Chia seeds make liquid gelatinous, and making chia jam is an excellent alternative to the labor-intensive traditional recipe. Our chia jam recipe takes 20 minutes!
- In a Smoothie. Add chia seeds into your smoothie by blending or stirring in as a last step. Need some recipes? Try our mango smoothie with chia or our strawberry smoothie with chia.
- On PB or Avo Toast. Sprinkle some seeds on your favorite peanut butter banana toast or on avocado toast.
- Mixed Into Tuna or Chicken Salad. Because chia seeds are basically tasteless, they'll seamlessly integrate into your tuna or chicken salads, packing on extra nutrients in the subtlest of ways.
- As Chia Eggs. Are you ready for this? They can make an egg replacement. Vegans, start your engines . . . we mean ovens . . . and get ready to bake with this nutritious substitute for eggs. Learn how to make chia eggs with these simple steps.
- In Salad Dressing (or on salads!). Add chia seeds into this ACV dressing for a weight-loss powerhouse, or try this flat-belly chia salad dressing. Don't want to make your own dressing? Sprinkle them on your salad for an added crunch (and all the added nutrients).
- Baked Into Everything. You can throw chia seeds into baked goods, including these chia blueberry muffins and this chia seed pizza crust. Mmmm, pizza.
What the Unicorn (and Now Dragon) Frappuccino Can Teach Us About Parenting
I'm about to talk about to you about the challenge of modern parenting through the lens of the recent culinary atrocity that is the Starbucks Unicorn - and now Dragon - Frappuccino. Stay with me.
I'm a coffee drinker, the kind that wants all coffee to taste like something between espresso and soil - very hot and very, very strong. Occasionally, like if it's ninety degrees, I will allow my coffee to be served cold, and with a touch of almond or coconut milk, but I do not want sugar or hazelnut syrup or whipped cream or sprinkles anywhere near my coffee. I'm sure you can imagine, then, that the newly-released brightly-colored Unicorn Frappuccino troubles me. Coffee isn't supposed to be pink. Or yellow. Or blue. And it certainly shouldn't look like a dozen peeps fell into a blender. This isn't coffee. I'm not sure this is even food, in the strictest sense, but it isn't coffee.
And this reminds me of the challenge we face as parents in current culture: everything is fun and fast and brightly colored. Everything is sugary and delicious and sparkly, apps and shows and toys.
This is what I want to do: I want to appeal for some non-flashy, slightly old-fashioned kid stuff. A hammock hung between trees. Sand. Dirt. A hunk of printer paper and a few colored pencils. If I feel exhausted and overwhelmed by the aggressively flashy offerings for children these days, how does it feel for my children?
I imagined that one major component of parenting would be showing my children a big, beautiful, multi-faceted world. It is, but more often these days, I find myself focusing on how to build boundaries on the complexity of the world available to them. I want to make their world a little smaller, a little simpler: water, sky, grass.
I sound crotchety, possibly, or at the very least old-fashioned, but in this season, my major parenting plays sound like things Laura Ingalls' parents encouraged her to do: get outside. Play. Make things up. Rest. Tell stories. As long as I'm on the curmudgeonly track, I might as well tell you that the Little House series is my all-time favorite: yes, a series of books about farming and oxen and calico.
I live in the same modern world that you live in. My kids live in the same modern, tech-saturated world that your kids do. We watch MasterChef Junior, and I love watching my kids make stop-motion videos on their iPads, and when I'm out of town I'm incredibly thankful for FaceTime and other technologies that help me stay connected to my family.
And yet: the Unicorn Frappuccino. I'm becoming increasingly sure that one of my most important jobs as a parent is making sure that my kids don't develop a taste for Unicorn Frappuccinos, literally and metaphorically. I want to give them an appetite for things that are hearty, wholesome, nutrient-dense-again, literally and figuratively.
It's more a defensive position than I'd imagined, before I became a parent. But there are more flashing lights and sparkly seductions than I'd imagined fighting for airtime in my children's lives and brains and ears and eyes. In a world of loud, brightly-colored junk-food, it's my job to lower the volume of their environments, and to fight for the nutritional level of what they're consuming.
What I keep coming back to: dirt. Play. Strawberries in the Spring and apples in the Fall. Time. Silence. Coloring. The exact opposite of the Unicorn Frappuccino.
5 Condiments You Should Refrigerate - and 3 You Shouldn't
Fact: not all condiments belong in the fridge. To make sure you're getting the longest shelf life (and the most flavor) out of common condiments like ketchup, maple syrup, and hot sauce, be sure to refer to this list of products you should - and shouldn't - store in a cold fridge. Some of them might surprise you and remind you to check yours to see if they're in the right place!
Do Refrigerate
- Maple syrup. Maple syrup belongs in the refrigerator because mold can grow inside the bottle if it's left out.
- Mayonnaise. This one is a no-brainer! Mayo is made with eggs and needs to be kept in the refrigerator once opened.
- Nut-based oils. Oils like sesame or peanut that aren't refined and are made with nuts should be refrigerated to keep from going rancid. Pro tip: nuts should also be refrigerated to maintain their best flavor.
- Ketchup. Refrigerating ketchup is up for debate depending on what kind you have and how quickly you plan to use it. Open ketchup can be stored in the pantry for up to one month, but if you won't use it by then, keep it in the fridge.
- Mustard . . . sometimes. Dijon and horseradish-based mustards should be refrigerated, but others are OK to leave out if you prefer them at room temperature. Refrigerating yellow mustard will help maintain its flavor, but it doesn't contain any ingredients that spoil.
Don't Refrigerate
- Soy sauce. Ever notice that soy sauce stays out on the tables at restaurants? That's because it's fermented and doesn't need to be refrigerated.
- Hot sauce. Vinegar-based hot sauces have a shelf life of about three years and don't need to be chilled to stay fresh.
- Honey. Honey will crystallize and become impossible to use if it's hardened in the fridge. Keep it stored away from direct sunlight.
Stan Lee's Guardians of the Galaxy 2 Cameo Is More Important Than You Think
You can't watch a movie from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and not expect to see Stan Lee. The iconic comic-book writer, who's responsible for creating many of the Marvel heroes we hold dear, has popped up over and over again in cheeky cameos, but have his appearances been more important than a simple tip of the hat? Some fans seem to think so, and given his latest part in Guardians of the Galaxy 2, we're inclined to agree.
Spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy 2 below!
In the Guardians of the Galaxy sequel, Lee appears not once but twice. We get our first glimpse of the Marvel chairman when Yondu, Rocket, Groot, and Kraglin are hopping through realms over a planet in their spaceship, where he's regaling a group of aliens on the surface with tales of his time as a FedEx employee (a reference to his cameo in Captain America: Civil War). The second time we see him is during the fifth and final postcredits scene, which is a continuation of his first appearance. He asks the aliens to stay and listen ("I've still got more stories to tell!"), but they get bored and walk away. The aliens he's talking to aren't random - they're members of The Watchers, an ancient extraterrestrial race in charge of passively observing everything that happens in the universe. Though they're all-seeing, The Watchers are banned from ever interfering in the phenomena of the universe (they're not called The Do-ers) (sorry). In fact, their behavior is pretty similar to how Lee behaves in all of his cameos, don't you think?
It turns out that Lee is indeed a member of The Watchers, and he's been playing the same "character" in all of his cameos this whole time. In an interview with The Radio Times, Guardians director James Gunn revealed he specifically chose to include the scenes with Lee as a nod to the Watchers theory fans have been wondering about for so long. "I mean, you know there's a lot of cool stuff that the fans come up with," he said. "A lot of stuff I don't agree with, you know, people have ideas about what they think should happen in the MCU. But I find the idea that Stan Lee is a Watcher, or that he works for the Watchers, is just a fun little nod to the fans."
The head of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige, further confirmed the theory. "We always thought it would be fun. Stan Lee clearly exists, you know, above and apart from the reality of all the films," he said. "So the notion that he could be sitting there on a cosmic pit stop during the jump gate sequence in Guardians was something very fun – James had that idea and we shot that cameo and loved it so much, you know, you see it a couple of times in the movie. It wasn't in for a long time and we put it back in towards the end of the process where he references that time he was a Federal Express agent – we thought it would be fun to put that in there because that really says, so wait a minute, he's this same character who's popped up in all these films."
The Justice Department Is Prosecuting an Activist For Laughing at Jeff Sessions
Forewarning to would-be activists venturing to protest Attorney General Jeff Sessions: laughing could be used against you in court. Desiree A. Fairooz, a member of the social justice NGO Code Pink, was convicted of two charges on May 3 stemming from an incident during Jeff Sessions's Senate confirmation hearing.
Another protester escorted out of Sessions hearing. Her original offense appeared to be simply laughing. http://pic.twitter.com/p6lWzBVFRW
- Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) January 10, 2017
Fairooz, 61, was charged with disorderly conduct and demonstrating on Capitol grounds; according to the New York Times, she was found guilty of both counts by a Virginia jury on Wednesday morning. Facing up to 12 months in prison, Fairooz's lawyer, Samuel Bogash, said discussion of an appeal was premature but that he would seek post-trial motions to aside the verdict.
The Justice Department also brought charges against two other Code Pink activists who were present at Sessions's hearing. Tighe Barry and Lenny Bianchi were dressed as Ku Klux Klan members, an allusion to Sessions's history of racial discrimination accusations, and charged with disorderly conduct as well as demonstrating. Barry and Bianchi were acquitted on the disorderly conduct charge but convicted of demonstrating on Capitol grounds.
Fairooz, who was dressed as a pink Lady Liberty, shared her description of the Jan. 10 hearing and ensuing arrest to reporters on Wednesday. Explaining her outburst, Fairooz said the laugh occurred right after Alabama Senator Richard Shelby asserted that Sessions had a long history of treating all Americans equally.
"I just couldn't hold it. It was spontaneous," Fairooz said. "It was an immediate rejection of what I considered an outright lie or pure ignorance."
Following the giggle, Fairooz was taken into custody despite not intending to disrupt the hearing. "None of us planned to get arrested," Fairooz added. "We just wanted to be a visible symbol of dissent."
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