Sunscreen That Won't Make Your Skin Crawl

Okay, another short post today of stuff that's just randomly been on my mind. Today's topic: Sunscreen.

I'm not going to rant about the nasty crud stuffed into most commercial sunscreens, or wail about how sunscreen causes cancer – honest. All I'm here to do is point you in a helpful direction if, like me, you struggle to find a sunscreen that: 

(a) Isn't full of scary things;

(b) Doesn't feel horrifically gross and make your skin crawl; and

(c) Can consistently be easily found/ordered/purchased.

After lots of research and some experimentation, I'm officially a fan of Babo Botanicals Clear Zinc Sunscreen (SPF 30).

(This is not a sponsored post. Just trying to save other people time and energy I wish I hadn't had to invest in this project.)

Anyway, long story short, this stuff is clean, won't bother your skin (even if it's sensitive), and can be conveniently ordered from Amazon if your local grocery store doesn't have it. (Note: Lots of them do.) It's not quite as durable as some of the other stuff out there – you'll need to reapply if you're spending all day in the sun, but for me that's a fair tradeoff.

Is sunscreen something you worry about?

Happy Labor Day

May your holiday include something as awesome and special as Sneak Whipped Cream.

(Confession: my aunt used to let us have whippped cream straight from the can on Thanksgiving if my parents weren't watching. It was the Best Thing Ever. Whatever you pick to celebrate the end of summer, enjoy it!)

Simple Elegance for Summer

Author Gretchen Rubin has been getting a lot of press over her latest book, Better Than Before. Having never read any of her work, I recently checked the audio version of this new hit out of the library to listen to while working in the kitchen, cleaning, etc.

To be honest, I was unimpressed. The book was shallow and disorganized compared to many of the far more fascinating, better researched, and better explained books on habit formation and the cultivation of new behaviors currently on the market. It didn’t help that every time she mentioned anything related to food or nutrition I winced… SO many wrong ideas, happily touted as fact, without a stitch of backup, evidence, or logic!  

Anywho, the one really great thing I did take away from the book was the idea of a House Drink. Rubin tells an anecdote about an Italian friend of hers who was trying to cut back on her drinking. To help stick to her resolution to cut back, she created a personal concoction of juices, seltzers, and extras to serve in a pretty glass on nights she was dining at home with her family. It recreated the “special” feel of having a tradition and an elegant glass to look at and hold (and wasn’t straight, boring water which “feels healthy”), allowing her to cut back on her wine intake without losing all the other experiential aspects positively associated with it. 

I loved that idea, and promptly filed it away in my list of things to feature on my nutrition blog and with my clients, but thought I’d share it here as well. I’m a big fan of what I call “Peasant Food” – simple but satisfying meals, often made or served in a single dish – so a fancy “House Drink” is a bit over the top for us. But I’ve experimented a few times with making spritzers of juice and mineral water (2 to 3 oz juice to about 6 oz water) in a pretty wine glass, and been very happy with the result. It’s pretty, delicious (without being full of sugar or calories), and feels special – a perfect light indulgence for summer. 

Yes, I know these are strawberries and I'm talking about
raspberries, but it's a good picture!

That idea was still in my head when we had new friends over for dinner last week. They’d volunteered to bring dessert, and arrived with a bowl of raspberries (fresh from a local orchard!) and diced nectarines and fluffy whipped cream to pile on top.  It was incredibly simple but positively divine. (I know we’re going to be really good friends, because we both are all about the food and not how it’s served! I brought salad to the table in the big stainless steel bowl that goes with my KitchenAide, and they brought berries in a big, plain Tupperware bowl.   :)

The berries, like the House-Drink-inspired-spritzer, were incredibly simple but felt decadent. And now I’m thinking that the theme I should have been pondering all along was less about promoting healthy eating/drinking habits than what am I doing that cultivates simplicity, joy, and gratitude in my everyday life? 

None of us are promised tomorrow. If the zombie apocalypse hits next week or next year, I want to look back knowing I savored the beauty I was given… not squandered it.  

What is making you stop and see the beautiful in your life this week?

Free Summer Reading

Gifts are a love language and, while I am only now struggling to learn to speak it well, my husband  is a natural - he instinctively picks great gifts. Last year, to my astonishment, he presented me with a Kindle Fire for my birthday. I'd always assumed I'd stay an old-school, real-book kind of girl. While I've found that the Kindle is not a replacement for real books, I love it!

Ebooks are significantly cheaper than their counterparts, particularly in used-bookstore-bereft areas like mine. Possibly the best part, though, are the free books.

A friend clued me in to the fabulous reality that Amazon has free ebooks for the Kindle every day.

One of the recent free
book selections.

The selection changes daily (sometimes hourly), and contains a good mix of fiction and non-fiction across genres and reading levels. There are occasional kids books, and lots of youth/ young adult books, too. They're downloadable with a single click, and yours to keep. That means no stressing about finishing things before they automatically return themselves (like digital library books do) or finding a great book but not being able to share it (like the ebooks you can borrow via Amazon prime).

[Hint: from the Amazon main page, put your mouse on "Kindle", then select "Kindle books" from the menu that pops out to the right. On the right edge of the page that opens will be a "Top 100" list, and the tab next to it is "Top 100 Free". It will list the first 10, and at the bottom of that list will be a link to the full 100. It sounds convoluted, but it's really quick and easy once you know where to look.]

It's proven an awesome, no-risk way to check out new authors and new series. Even though I have very little time to read right now, I've got some great stuff tucked away in my Kindle for later - things that will keep my brain occupied and significantly lessen the temptation to buy any books. More money staying in my pocket, and more space staying free on my shelves! (Plus, as my Mom has pointed out, a Kindle takes up almost no space in a suitcase or shoulder bag, so you can take great beach reads on vacation and still have room for all your shoes!)

Where is your favorite place to pick up free ebooks?

The End of Summer List

Smoothing my hand over the largely blank pages of my new planner, I know the endless time and opportunity they suggest are an illusion. In short order my new work schedule will begin to fill the little blocks. Projects around the house and property will crowd into the weekends and weeknights, jostling museum events for places on the page. Very soon I'll find myself having to search for places to write in visits with friends and will stare at the lists of places to be and wonder where mundane tasks like vacuuming and essentials like making dinner are supposed to fit.

But I am a smart girl, and I learn my experiences. So this year, I'm taking the proactive approach. I've pulled out my lists - Reflections on Summer & Must Not Miss This Fall. I've flipped forward to next summer and written in the things we loved most about this summer so they won't be forgotten or lost in the shuffle – hunting for wild apples and hickory nuts in woods with our neighbors, the Warrior Dash, Sunday afternoons spent with friends at a BBQ or a wine tasting.

I've weighed the weeks this fall, and begun to annotate them with the delights of the season too important to be missed - a trip to the cider mill I've heard so much about, pumpkin spice lattes with a friend, crisp fall hikes with my husband and a wildly happy border collie. Already I've started to draw lines in the sand, precluding the automatic guilt- or habit- induced responses of “sure I can do that” when chances to take on more than I can reasonably do come up in the next few weeks/ months.

Most importantly, I'm building in breathing room. Did you know that it's perfectly acceptable to block out down time in your planner (and your life)? Your health, your life and your relationships are important -make time for them first! Don't run panting and exhausted through the holidays and into next year. Decide right now to give yourself the time and permission to enjoy this fall. 

After all, if the Mayans were correct it could be the last fall we have, right? Just kidding... everyone knows they were only counting down to the Hobbit movie!  (Thank you for that nugget, Pinterest.)

Joking aside, your time is your own and you are responsible for how you spent it. So grab your bucket list, your phone and you calendar and spend a little time this weekend making sure that the really important things make it onto your schedule this fall!

Finding a Planner that Works

Around this time of year I start to get frustrated with my planner. As we head into fall, sticky notes start to pile up at the end with reminders of things coming up next year that need to be written on pages I don't have.

So when I sat down to buy a new planner last week, I made the decision to get an 18 month planner this time - it will take me through December of next year and avoid the sticky note overload! Note to companies selling planners: why are planners sortable by color, but not by the number of months they cover or their format? 

As I poked around online, trying to find exactly what I needed, I was reminded of the many things I've learned the hard way about choosing a planner. I've decided to share them here in hopes they will save you time, money and headaches!

Hints & Tips on Selecting a Planner

1. Plan ahead... way ahead. Never leave buying a planner until yours is in its last days - it's a recipe for a rushed purchase you won't be happy with! If you don't have an 18 month planner, start looking for a new one no later than about July; once fall hits you're certain to start scheduling appointments and events into the new year. Don't waste time by writing them down and then having to transfer them later - just start writing them in directly on your new calendar!

2. Pick something that works for you. Calendars and planners come in a myriad of shapes, sizes and formats. One that fits your lifestyle and the way your brain works is worth it's weight in gold. If you really don't know what works for you, a little trial and error may be in order and that's okay. Ask around or read reviews online and see what other people like best/least about their planners; see what resonates with you and use it as a starting point. Don't invest lots of money in anything until you find what's comfortable. When you DO find what you want, though, don't settle for anything less! Note: life changes. While our personalities and brain patterns stay the same, what we're planning for on a daily basis may change. So if your planner system stops working, it's okay to look for something else better suited to this season of your life.

3. Colors count. If you use a planner/calendar that you carry around with you, I highly recommend buying something in a color that makes it stand out so you can quickly and easily find it! I also use colored paper clips or tabs (love those!) to make it easy to flip to specific points in the planner that I know I'll use often (addresses, the current week, reminders page, etc.).

4. Know what's worth paying for. There are scores of planner pages and calendar formats online that you can customize and print for free. Pinterest abounds with cute ideas for do-it-yourself alternatives to the big, (expensive) laminated wall calendars. You can buy planners that are undated and start wherever you are this minute. While cheap, and usually cute, most require serious time investment in looking up holidays, labeling pages and headings, printing, whole punching, etc. Know what your priorities are; count the hidden costs of time investment and inefficiency. It can feel wasteful to pay good money for a planner, but investing in the features and formats best for you will pay worthwhile dividends all year!

What kind of planner do you use?

Blue Star Museums

I had a “duh” moment recently when my husband and I went to the Farmer's Museum in Cooperstown. I love living history museums, and they were running a special Blacksmithing weekend that my husband was interested in checking out, so we made time to drive over. (Great museum, by the way; definitely recommend checking it out if you're ever in the area!)

When we got to the gate, my husband pulled out his military ID card since most museums have a military discount. The very nice lady behind the counter informed us that they're part of the Blue Star Museum program and we both got in for free! The irony, of course, is that the museum I volunteer at also is part of the BSM program and I should have known we'd qualify for free entry. Since I completely spaced it, I wanted to offer a reminder to anyone else out there who might qualify and not be aware!

The Blue Star Museum program is a collection of museums nationwide that offer free admission to active military and up to 5 family members from Memorial Day to Labor Day annually. Anyone in active duty, the Reserves, or National Guard qualifies. (You need a military ID or dependent card to show at the gate.) A list of participating museums and additional details can be found here.

Personally, I think this is a fantastic program that doesn't get nearly the press it should. Many military families aren't aware of it at all. I know it's the middle of August already, but the program runs every year. Will you consider passing the word along?

If you know anyone in the military, please forward them the website so they know. if you go to a museum and see that they participate, will you thank them? All museums appreciate feedback, especially when it's positive!

If you are military and haven't heard about this, shoot an email to your base PR person or whoever is in charge of sending out base-wide emails with a request that they circulate the info. Then stick a note on your calendar for next summer so you'll remember – unlike me!