Soothing Your Skin with Natural Sunburn Treatments

For people around the world, summertime is synonymous with sunburns. And although you probably don’t run to the doctor every time your skin turns red, sunburns are a serious matter that can’t be ignored. Despite common knowledge that sunburns can lead to skin cancer, the Centers for Disease Control reported that over one-third of adults and 70% of children got sunburned last year.

Even people who don’t like trying home remedies or prefer all-natural treatments are familiar with aloe vera. Almost all over-the-counter sunburn treatments that you find in your pharmacy have an aloe vera base, and it doesn’t take a botany degree to figure out how to cut open an actual aloe plant either. You can sometimes moisturize burns better with a an aloe cream than an aloe gel. But believe it or not, aloe isn’t the only sunburn treatment that is made by nature.

If you have a carton of milk in the refrigerator, pull it out when you come home with a sunburn. Try soaking a cloth in a bowl of water with milk, water, and ice cubes. Then hold the cloth on the burned area for several minutes, repeating the process several times a day. Milk contains fat, protein, and a pH that can soothe inflamed skin and reduce swelling. Similarly, the yogurt in your refrigerator may also be able to offer you some sunburn relief. Try smearing yogurt on the affected area to cool your skin, balance the pH, and promote healing. Full-fat, plain, unsweetened yogurt works best since it doesn’t contain as many artificial additives. If you’re feeling especially crafty, you can also mix a paste of equal proportions yogurt, barley, and turmeric to speed up the healing process.

As if tea wasn’t already good enough for you, a pot of strong tea can also help soothe your sunburn. After you’ve made you pot of tea, use a cloth to soak it up and apply to the burnt area. Some people find that the tannins in tea help to draw out the burn and speed along healing. If you have some extra tea bags to spare or have all-over burns, you can intensify the process by soaking in a bathtub full of tea!

You can also find oil-based topical sprays and creams that have shown to give temporary relief of vesicular eruptions like blisters and inflammation. The ancient remedy of making potato peel bandages, as well as lavender essential oil, are also good burn options to try. So while aloe vera is great for burns, it isn’t the only way to find relief. In fact, you can boost your aloe’s soothing power by combining it with a little vitamin E oil and cucumbers that have been liquefied in a blender. Although you should avoid getting burned in the first place, stock up on some easy home remedies in case you leave your common sense at home when you head to the beach.

Letter from a 30-year-old Alyssa to a 20-year old Alyssa

Dear 20-year-old Alyssa,

That stuff that you’re studying in school right now…you know that law stuff? You won’t need any of that in ten years. But keep at it for now, okay? It’ll keep your brain from turning to mush and help boost your savings account when you move on to other things.

You know that dude that you’re seeing? My mistake…any of the douchebags that you’re “casually hanging out with.” It’s all temporary, so don’t get worked up over that crap. In ten years, you’ll be in the best relationship of your life and it’ll make sense without having to try so hard. Sorry to say, there’s a lot of shit to go through between now and then.

Put more effort into your friendships, because believe it or not, you’ll still be hanging out with some of these fools in ten years. Everyone will move, change, pop out babies, or start to suck. Don’t dwell on it. There’s a ton of cool people coming your way, and most of the ones that really matter right now will still keep in touch in 2013.

If you thought things were rough with your parents before, you haven’t seen anything yet! But hang in there, you’re an only child so don’t be a total jerk. Believe it or not, mom and dad will actually respect you and accept you for who you are in ten years. But they’ll never stop sending you three letters a week with tampon coupons and newspaper comic strip cutouts.

Keep writing. Even when it feels lame and everything you put down sucks. You’re a creative person, so stop letting people put you in a boring, corporate box. Trust me, it’ll come in handy down the road.

Keep drinking. Your twenties will be full of booze-fueled misadventures and I wouldn’t want you to miss out on any of them. Step up to the plate and make sure you hang like a real woman. Your headaches will become excruciating in a few years, so enjoy the late nights while you can.

Get outside. When you’re feeling depressed and can’t find your purpose to anything, open the door and step on some grass. You’re not a religious person, and you’re barely spiritual. Let nature fill the void you keep feeling alive.

Think of change as an adventure. You’re going through a lot of right now, so soak it up and chock it up to accumulated experience. There will be plenty of years ahead to make feel stagnant and stuck in a rut. Change is cyclical, so take deep breath, take a step back, and take control of the ride.

Stop comparing yourself to everyone else. A lot of people you know will be more successful than you by traditional standards. They’ll move to cool places and make more money than they know what to do with. You’re on a different path. You still won’t know exactly where it’s going in ten years, but the universe thinks you’re going the right way.

Screw everyone’s judgment and travel more. I know that waitress job isn’t getting you rich, but start doing some research because you actually can afford to travel now. You can play it safe when you’re old and feeling content watching Matlock in an easy chair. Your travel won’t be glamorous and it’ll take a lot of work to figure out how to do it, but you’ll feel a lot more satisfied about what you accomplished by the time your thirty.

Yours truly,
30-year-old Alyssa

P.S. – Happy birthday, you lush.

Oh for Pete’s Sake, Put Down that iPhone!

Next time you visit your favorite park, notice how many people are trying to hike a trail (and not fall on their faces) while texting. Next time you travel to a beautiful vista point, notice how many people are frantically snapping iPhone pictures of the view rather than actually looking at it. Next time you’re camping, notice how many tents are illuminated by iPads playing Netflix episodes off the campground’s Wi-Fi. Technology has its place in the world, but that place is most certainly not in the outdoors.

I recently read an interesting article about a bunch of neuroscientists who were sent out to spend a week in southern Utah rafting the San Juan River, hiking tributary canyons, and camping along the way. Sounds like a rough gig, right? The whole point of this adventure was to investigate whether remote natural retreats can actually reverse the harmful effects of heavy technology use in the human body. The scientists had no cell reception, no outlets to plug in their laptops, and no distractions from the pure beauty overwhelming them from every direction.

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Overuse of technology is so widely accepted these days that we look at people who don’t have smartphones like freaks of nature, instead of lovers of nature. We have become a culture of obsessive email checkers and arbitrary Facebook posters with a frantic need to be entertained every moment of the day. Unplugging is obviously more challenging for some people than others. If you’re a self-diagnosed technology junkie, your best bet it to travel off the grid so that nature makes the decision for you. Before you unplug, look up your voice and data provider’s coverage map and choose trip destinations as far away from the coverage as possible to avoid temptation.

Next time you stare into a roaring campfire, direct your mind away from the day’s events and turn it into a blank slate. Next time you sit on the pier and watch waves crash into the shore, relate the water’s fluidity to your own transient state from one life phase to the next. We adults are setting a really crappy example for the young whipper-snappers, who don’t even understand a life that doesn’t revolve around a LCD screen.  It’s now or never, people.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERASo what did those guys in Utah conclude from their little adventure? Well for one, they confirmed that the drumbeat of data creates a false sense of urgency that affects our ability to focus. They also confirmed that the data takes up valuable brain memory that could be put to better use with creative endeavors that inspire original thought, rather than a regurgitated version of what someone else already came up with. So next time you go outdoors, leave your devices at home, take a breath of fresh air, and force yourself to look outside above and beyond yourself. Your mind, body, and soul will thank you, and it doesn’t take a neuroscientist to figure that out.

Art from the Road

I am an absolutely terrible artist. You may have heard about a project that I was a founding member of back in 2008, Free Crappy Portraits. The purpose of Free Crappy Portraits (FCP) was to draw strangers in public (with or against their will) and/or from the Internet based on photos they submitted. We kept our clients’ expectations low and never disappointed!

The only art class I took in college was art history. I signed up for a park district painting class a couple years ago and the instructor simply stopped showing up. Although I am a lost cause to the art world, I found my place creating really bad portraits for strangers at no cost.

Today, I carry around a sketch book wherever I go on my travels. Although I my technique is embarrassing  and I have no sense of perspective, I love to draw the versions of things that I see along the road. My recent travels to South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana were no exception. Here are just a few of the awesomely terrible works of road trip art from my sketchbook.

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I call this one “Mt. Gnomemore”. After walking around Mt. Rushmore with my trusty travel gnome, I felt that the roles should be reversed. I think that this is a truly brilliant idea and after Googling it, I am convinced that it is unique to my creation. This may just be my ticket to fame and fortune.

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Created with oil pastels, this is my “Welcome to Montana’ drawing. As we crossed the border from Wyoming into Montana, we were greeted with cows on the side of the road, lakes and rivers in the foreground, mountains in the background, and adorable cabins along the roadside. A night of peaceful camping awaited us across the border.

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This colored pencil sketch is called, “Creatures in the Campground.” We camped at Mammoth Campground in Yellowstone National Park for five nights. Due to the winter season, it was the only campground open at that time and the temperatures often dipped below 20-degrees.

Bison and elk regularly roamed about the campground, incredibly close to our tent and Jeep. Although I was initially terrified to sleep next to these wild creatures (who would surely attack at any moment), I eventually came to trust that they wouldn’t mess with me if I didn’t mess with them.

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Prior to starting this road trip, we bought an inflatable kayak and all the necessary accessories. Although the temperatures were almost always cold and the winds strong, one particular day in the Big Horn National Forest of Wyoming proved to be perfect for boating.

Our first kayaking attempt in the Big Horn Canyon was successful. We didn’t tip over, the kayak didn’t get punctured, and no one got hypothermia. This above photo depicts a painting that I completed while staying in a remote, snowed-in cabin at 9,000+ elevation.

Although I take travel notes and write throughout my trips, my crappy artwork helps me to remember things the way that I first saw them. Although my drawings and paintings could easily be mistake for a five-year-old’s, I love flipping through my sketchbook and making fun of myself from time to time while reminiscing.

Even if you’re an avid photographer or writer, give it a try. What you see in your mind’s eye might provide a more lasting memory than any snapshot could show or words describe. For whatever reason, it does for me.

Bay to Breakers: Not Your Average Footrace

Have you ever gone running next to a superhero? How about a school of fish? Or perhaps a gorilla? Bizarre costumes and a party atmosphere are staples of San Francisco’s Bay to Breakers footrace that takes place the third Sunday of May each year.

Article - Bay to BreakersThe popular West Coast event has been one of the world’s largest footraces for decades. The race became an annual even after the devastating 1906 San Francisco earthquake, as an attempt to lift the city’s spirits.

The 12k race course starts on Howard Street and turns up Hayes Street Hill near Alamo Square. After an exhausting incline, the course follows the panhandle, through Golden Gate Park, past the Conservatory of Flowers, and finally to Great Highway and Ocean Beach.

The 2013 race is scheduled for May 19th. Registration fees for adults cost $53 and child registration is $48. The fees include a cotton t-shirt, online training program, race bib with timing tag, and finisher’s certificate.

The starting line for the first corral is located at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, which is less than a half hour from the San Francisco airport. Although no street parking is available at the start or finish lines, shuttle services are offered from several locations throughout the city.

Several costume contests are held during the event, including Best Overall Individual, Most Creative Group, and Best Be-Zazzled Costume. Prize shopping sprees are awarded from $50 to $1,000 for each category. A two-day health and wellness expo sponsored by Volkswagen will also take place on May 17th and 18th, which is free and open to the public.

Although Bay to Breakers has been notorious for drunkenness and public nudity, alcohol and floats are not permitted and laws will be strictly enforced. Volunteers are always needed for both the expo and the race and all volunteers receive an event t-shirt as well. To register to race in the event, to volunteer, or to get costume ideas, visit the event webpage or send an email to [email protected].

South Dakota’s Falls Park: A Glimpse into History

South Dakota’s scenic Falls Park has been a celebrated recreation center for over 150 years and an important part of the region’s history. Today, the 123-acre park has an average 7,400 gallons of flowing water that drops 100 feet over the course of the falls each second.

Article - Falls parkFalls Park is conveniently located near the Foss Field HLE airport and accessible for visitors.These are just a few of the historic sights you can take in while visiting this beautiful area.

Queen Bee Mill 

Opened in 1881, this seven-story mill was built so that farmers could avoid shipping costs to Minnesota and Wisconsin. As one of the most advanced mills of its time, the Queen Bee Mill once processed over 1,500 bushels of wheat each day. However, the mill was closed a mere two years later, due to inadequate wheat and water supplies. The remains of the mill continue to be a popular sightseeing attraction to this day.

Light and Power Company Building

This historic 1908 building once held powerful hydroelectric and coal-fired steam generators. The generators were used until the 70’s, which the Falls Overlook Café took over. Both indoor and outdoor seating are available at the café, which has a nice selection of ice cream treats.

Horse Barn

Although the builder and purpose of this historic site is unknown, locals believe that the barn used to hold horses that worked at the stone quarries or that it was part of a local creamery in the late 1800’s. In more recent times, the horse barn has been home to an arts center for local artists to exhibit and create works of art.

Falls Park Open Air Shelter

This popular area of the park is home to the local farmer’s market and is often used for large picnics and special events. The shelter has electrical and water service, as well as a designated parking lot.

Just off of I-90, Sioux Falls is easy to navigate and you can reach any destination in the city within 15-20 minutes. On your way to visit the South Dakota landmarks of Mount Rushmore and The Badlands, make a stop at Falls Park for an afternoon of relaxation and a glimpse into the history of this beautiful land.

Destinations in India Best Reached by Train

Want to experience the rich culture and traditions of India, but unsure how to navigate this exotic land? Companies like Great Rail Journeys offer options for Rail Tours in India. Most of the rail tours visit the Golden Triangle of Delhi, Agra, and Japur, but others also travel through southern India and the northern Himalayas.

These are just a few of the things you can see and do on a rail journey. Take the guesswork out of your vacation, relax, and be captivated by the breathtaking surroundings.

India’s Golden Triangle

A trip to India wouldn’t be complete without experiencing the Golden Triangle, which includes Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur. This well-travelled route features many of India’s great cultural gems and provides a good spectrum of the country’s varied landscapes. Beautiful palaces, ornate gardens, and colorful markets, bring life to these cities. It’s easy to imagine the life of the Maharajas while marveling at the Taj Mahaj and other magnificent architectural strutures along the way

The Himalayan Mountain Range

The Himalayan range is home to over a hundred mountains and some of the planet’s highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. It is amazing to experience a sunrise over the Himalayans, and one of the best vantage points it is from the mountain top of Sarangkot. As the sun rises, it creates a red-orange glow across the mountains while the valleys below emerge from the shadows. It is a truly breathtaking site.

India’s Natural Wildlife

Ranthambore National Park, one of Northern India’s largest parks, is home to tigers, leopards, and hyenas, crododiles, and sloth bears. Thanks to the efforts of Project Tiger, the park is one of the only places in India where tigers can still be found in the wild. Not to be overshadowed, the vast array of birds, flora, and fauna are unique to this region and some of the most beautiful in the world.

Kerala & Southern India

Emerse yourself in the charming tranquility of Kerala, located in the south-west region of India on the Malabar coast. The inviting sandy beaches separate the sea from the palm tree forests and provide a perfect place to relax. This diverse area offers a unique cultural experience through its festivals, art forms, and exotic cuisine.

Religious Traditions

Hindus flock to the Holy River Ganges at sunrise to cleanse themselves of their sins, creating one of the most spectacular sights in India. One of the world’s major Buddhist centers is located in Sarnath, which is seen as the place where the religion found its roots and where the Buddhist way of life began. By traveling through these areas, you can witness some of the world’s most influential spiritual beliefs first hand.

What Does “Half-Assed” Really Mean?

You hear the phrase being tossed around all the time…..”don’t just half ass it,” “she did such a half-ass job on that project.” But what exactly is a half ass?

Is it literally half of an ass? What would “full-assing” a job actually entail? These are the thoughts that keep me tossing and turning with fits of insomnia night after night.

By using some questionably reliable sources on the Interweb, my suspicions are confirmed that half assing does, in fact, mean to do something to less than one’s full ability. In 2006, a stranger in a forum explained the origin of this baffling term to the world.

Believe it or not, the term originated from “half-adz,” which is mid-19th century slang. An adz is a tool with a curved, axe-type blade for shaping wood. If you were wealthy and wanted a new fireplace, the mantle could be shaped using an adz to finish the front and back. But obviously, the back of a mantle isn’t visible. To save money, you could have only the front of the mantle shaped, leaving the back as rough and unfinished wood.

Over time, this woodworking term has slowly evolved into today’s “half-assed.” Our friendly companions in the UK tend to prefer the term, “half-arsed,” based on the incorrect assumption that the US equivalent term refers to the posterior of the human body.

So alas, our mystery has been solved and one more research item has been checked off the list. And now that my worry has subsided, I’m going to take a nap.

A Witch Hunt in Chesterville

An inevitable lull occurred in the conversation at the Thanksgiving Day dinner table.

“Have ya’ll see the witch’s grave in Chesterville?” asked Aunt Janet, completely out of the blue.

The blank stare of each member of my conservative family turned even blanker.

Page thirty-one of the annual regional magazine, Discover Central Illinois, had featured an article about a microscopic town called Chesterville, Population 148. Aunt Janet had recently read this article and had a copy of the magazine. According to local folklore, a mysterious witch is buried in Chesterville’s cemetery.

The story goes that a rebellious young woman, who was thought to be a witch, disappeared and was later found dead in a farmer’s field. Even though authorities ruled her death to be of natural causes, many locals feared that she would come back to life and seek revenge. People from all over the countryside, came to see the witch’s body in the funeral home. When she was buried, a tree was planted on her grave to keep her spirit trapped in the tree.

The Capital Area Paranormal Society published this article in 2011 after a couple of their investigators visited the Chesterville cemetery. CAPS elaborates on the folklore to add that the witch was actually an Amish woman who challenged the elders of the church in the 1800’s. She was ultimately banished from the church and accused of being a witch. No definitive ghost sightings were reported from this particular CAPS visit.

For a town of 148, this is a big deal.

On the day after Thanksgiving, Mom and Dad shuffled my boyfriend into their car to go on a witch hunt. It was a windy day and there was no one around for as far as one could see down a country road. There were no signs marking the witch’s grave, but it was distinguish able by an iron fence surrounding a crooked oak tree, atop a faded tombstone.

I walked around the fence to find that part of it was missing and open. Does this mean that the witch ghost has escaped? I also noticed that there were knife markings on the tree mark? Will these incisions eventually kill the tree, resulting in the witch’s spirit being released?

To this day, many locals believe that if the tree is destroyed, the ghost of the witch will emerge from her grave in search of those who caused her death. Cemetery visitors have reported ghost sightings around the tree.  I like to think of myself as open-minded to the paranormal, but I didn’t see anything at all. And even though our witch hunt was unsuccessful, it sure beat sitting around and discussing my retirement plan and tax deductions.

Header/Background updates!

Never fear! A few articles about my recent Death Valley trip are in the works. It’s no secret that inspiration has been lacking and motivation has been low. However, a comeback is underway. In the meantime, I’ve updated the header and background photos for the blog site. Been awhile, eh?

The header photo was taken by my favorite photographer (and boyfriend) during our first night camping in Death Valley. I’m posed atop our rental Jeep, not my Jeep. My Jeep is much more awesome.

The stars were ridiculously bright and the air was ridiculously silent. I struggled to adjust to a place that I felt more at home in. I struggled to enjoy a place that brought me happiness. Photos like this capture the sense of peace, sense, and purpose that I have only been able to feel in the outdoors. While my average day embodies chaos and discontent, days like the one captured here are rare and precious to me. One day they will be less rare, but just as precious.

The background photo (also snapped by my favorite photographer) was taken on a hike through Mosaic Canyon in Death Valley a few days later. The terrain in the area was incredibly varied – sand dunes, salt flats, mountains, forests, rock, grass, etc. There was something different around every turn and it made me see beyond the monotony of an ordinary life.

Changing the norm is inevitable at this point. It’s only a matter of the path to get from point A to point B. Point B doesn’t seem as far away as it did before my trip to Death Valley. And because of that, my inspiration and motivation is returning a little more every day.