Month: June 2020

Soothe a painful sunburn with These dermatologist-approved lotions

© Provided by TODAY

Sunburns … well … burn.

Try as we might to lather on sunscreen and keep our fun in the sun to a minimum, most people have experienced the painful, hot sensation of a sunburn at one point or another.

It can feel like there’s no end to the itching and burning, but relief does exist — and it doesn’t have to cost a fortune!

You may have seen the menthol shaving cream trick trending on Facebook, but the dermatologists we reached out to said that’s probably not the best solution.

So, we consulted with the pros to find out what actually works.

Try one (or more) of these options and your skin just might find sweet relief in no time.

1. Amara Organics Aloe Vera

Amara Organics Aloe Vera

  • Amara Organics Aloe Vera $17.95 at Amazon
  • Amara Organics Aloe Vera $32.63 at Walmart

“This is a great product for relief of mild to moderate sunburns. It has a lightweight formulation and absorbs easily. It’s formulated without added alcohol, color or fragrances, so it’s especially helpful for those with sensitive skin,” said Dr. Bobby Y. Reddy, an instructor in dermatology at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital.

2. Aquaphor Healing Ointment

  • Aquaphor Healing Ointment $13.74 at Amazon
  • Aquaphor Healing Ointment $13.74 at Walmart
  • Aquaphor Healing Ointment $14.49 at Rite Aid

“When someone gets a bad sunburn, I usually recommend staying out of the sun completely to let it heal,” said board-certified dermatologist Rebecca Baxt, who runs BAXT CosMedical in Bergen County, New Jersey. “If you start to blister, Aquaphor is a great option.”

3. Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration After Sun Lotion

  • Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration After Sun Lotion $12.96 at Amazon
  • Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration After Sun Lotion $6.92 at Walmart
  • Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration After Sun Lotion $8.99 at Walgreens

“The aloe in this after-sun lotion helps soothe and cool down the body. It also has shea butter to moisturize and hydrate the skin after you’ve been out in the sun for an extended period of time,” said Dr. Debra Jaliman, a board-certified New York City dermatologist and author of the book “Skin Rules: Trade Secrets from a Top New York Dermatologist.”

4. Avène Thermal Spring Water

  • Avène Thermal Spring Water $18.50 at Amazon
  • Avène Thermal Spring Water $21.18 at Walmart
  • Avène Thermal Spring Water $18.50 at Dermstore

“The light, cool mist of Avène Thermal Spring Water soothes sunburned skin. It helps to ease the hot sensation that results from a burn, and contains trace minerals that can decrease irritation,” said Dr. Allison Arthur, board-certified dermatologist at the Sand Lake Dermatology Center in Orlando, Florida. “It can be used as often as needed, and should be followed by application of a moisturizer.”

5. Burt’s Bees Aloe and Coconut Oil After Sun Soother

Burt’s Bees Aloe and Coconut Oil After Sun Soother

  • Burt’s Bees Aloe and Coconut Oil After Sun Soother $7.70 at Amazon
  • Burt’s Bees Aloe and Coconut Oil After Sun Soother $7.70 at Walmart
  • Burt’s Bees Aloe and Coconut Oil After Sun Soother $7.69 at Walgreens

“The Burt’s Bees after-sun soother is fast to absorb and very hydrating, which is ideal for parched, burned skin,” said Dr. Ranella Hirsch, a dermatologist based in the Boston area.

6. Seven Minerals Organic Aloe Vera Gel

Seven Minerals Organic Aloe Vera Gel $19.95 at Amazon

“Aloe Vera and cucumber are great natural sunburn treatments, and this aloe gel is one of my favorites. It can be used on skin or hair, but must be refrigerated. Believe it or not, the aloe actually feels even more soothing when the gel is cool,” said Edyta Jarosz, lead esthetician at PFRANKMD Skin Salon.

7. Dr. Dan’s Hydrocortisone Hand and Body Lotion

  • Dr. Dan’s Hydrocortisone Hand and Body Lotion $7.99 at Amazon
  • Dr. Dan’s Hydrocortisone Hand and Body Lotion $10.27 at Walmart

“This hand and body lotion has hydrocortisone, which decreases the inflammation associated with sunburn. I like it because the urea in it is intensely hydrating and it also contains antioxidants like Vitamin A and C, which help sunburned skin return to normal,” said Dr. Maral Skelsey, director of The Dermatologic Surgery Center of Washington and clinical associate professor of dermatology at Georgetown University.

8. Bio-Oil Multiuse Skincare Oil

Bio-Oil Multiuse Skincare Oil

  • Bio-Oil Multiuse Skincare Oil $8.89 at Amazon
  • Bio-Oil Multiuse Skincare Oil $8.92 at Walmart
  • Bio-Oil Multiuse Skincare Oil $9.74 at Ulta

“Sunburned skin, if not treated properly, can lead to dry skin and pronounced lines and wrinkles. Therefore, it’s important to treat the sunburn with products that have ingredients like vitamin E, which helps the skin heal and neutralize free radicals,” said Dr. Dendy Engelman, dermatologic surgeon at MDCS: Medical Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery in New York. “Bio-Oil Multiuse Skincare Oil is packed with vitamins A and E — which work with the skin to promote cell regeneration — and lavender oil, chamomile oil, calendula oil and rosemary oil, which invigorate and condition the skin.”

9. Weleda Calendula Body Lotion

  • Weleda Calendula Body Lotion $17.24 at Amazon
  • Weleda Calendula Body Lotion $11.87 at Walmart
  • Weleda Calendula Body Lotion $13.99 at Dermstore

Skelsey also recommended this sensitive skin lotion. “This body lotion contains calendula, which is a healing ingredient that’s great for superficial burns,” Skelsey said.

10. Banana Boat Soothing Aloe After Sun Gel

  • Banana Boat Soothing Aloe After Sun Gel $14.99 at Amazon
  • Banana Boat Soothing Aloe After Sun Gel $4.97 at Walmart

Hirsch also recommended this soothing gel. “Aloe Vera is the OG after-sun ingredient. This inexpensive gel is a great one to keep around,” Hirsch said.

By Chrissy Callahan for TODAY ©

5 Self-Care Practices for Every Area of Your Life

All the stress relief activities in the world won’t help if you aren’t taking care of yourself.

Meditation won’t do you any good if you aren’t getting adequate sleep. In fact, when you try to meditate, you might doze off because you aren’t taking care of your body’s need for sleep.

Similarly, hitting the gym once in a while won’t relieve much stress if you’re only fueling your body with high-processed junk food. You need to take care of your basic needs first if you want your stress relief activities to be effective.

Self-care is vital for building resilience toward those stressors in life that you can’t eliminate. When you’ve taken steps to care for your mind and body, you’ll be better equipped to live your best life.

Unfortunately, however, many people view self-care as a luxury, rather than a priority. Consequently, they’re left feeling overwhelmed, tired, and ill-equipped to handle life’s inevitable challenges.

It’s important to assess how you’re caring for yourself in several different domains so you can ensure you’re caring for your mind, body, and spirit.

Physical Self-Care

You need to take care of your body if you want it to run efficiently. Keep in mind that there’s a strong connection between your body and your mind. When your caring for your body, you’ll think and feel better too.

Physical self-care includes how you’re fueling your body, how much sleep you’re getting, how much physical activity you are doing, and how well you’re caring for your physical needs. Attending appointments, taking medication as prescribed, and managing your health are all part of good physical self-care.1

When it comes to physical self-care, ask yourself the following questions to assess whether there might be some areas you need to improve:

  • Are you getting adequate sleep?
  • Is your diet fueling your body well?
  • Are you taking charge of your health?
  • Are you getting enough exercise? 

Social Self-Care

Socialization is key to self-care. But, often, it’s hard to make time for friends and it’s easy to neglect your relationships when life gets busy.

Close connections are important to your well-being. The best way to cultivate and maintain close relationships is to put time and energy into building your relationships with others.

To assess your social self-care, consider:

  • Are you getting enough face-to-face time with your friends?
  • What are you doing to nurture your relationships with friends and family?

Mental Self-Care

The way you think and the things that you’re filling your mind with greatly influence your psychological well-being.

Mental self-care includes doing things that keep your mind sharp, like puzzles, or learning about a subject that fascinates you. You might find reading books or watching movies that inspire you fuels your mind.3

Mental self-care also involves doing things that help you stay mentally healthy. Practicing self-compassion and acceptance, for example, helps you maintain a healthier inner dialogue.

Here are a few questions to consider when you think about your mental self-care:

  • Are you making enough time for activities that mentally stimulate you?
  • Are you doing proactive things to help you stay mentally healthy?

Spiritual Self-Care

Research shows that a lifestyle including religion or spirituality is generally a healthier lifestyle.

Nurturing your spirit, however, doesn’t have to involve religion. It can involve anything that helps you develop a deeper sense of meaning, understanding, or connection with the universe.

Whether you enjoy meditation, attending a religious service, or praying, spiritual self-care is important.

As you consider your spiritual life, ask yourself:

  • What questions do you ask yourself about your life and experience?
  • Are you engaging in spiritual practices that you find fulfilling?

Emotional Self-Care

It’s important to have healthy coping skills to deal with uncomfortable emotions, like anger, anxiety, and sadness. Emotional self-care may include activities that help you acknowledge and express your feelings on a regular basis.

Whether you talk to a partner or close friend about how you feel, or you set aside time for leisure activities that help you process your emotions, it’s important to incorporate emotional self-care into your life.

When assessing your emotional self-care strategies, consider these questions:

  • Do you have healthy ways to process your emotions?
  • Do you incorporate activities into your life that help you feel recharged?

Develop Your Self-Care Plan

Self-care isn’t a one-size-fits-all strategy. Your self-care plan will need to be customized to your needs.

A self-care plan for a busy college student who feels mentally stimulated all the time and has a bustling social life might need to emphasize physical self-care.

On the other hand, a retired person may need to incorporate more social self-care into their schedule to make sure that their social needs are being met.

Assess which areas of your life need some more attention and self-care. And reassess your life often. As your situation changes, your self-care needs are likely to shift too.

When you discover that you’re neglecting a certain aspect of your life, create a plan for change.

You don’t have to tackle everything all at once. Identify one small step you can take to begin caring for yourself better.

Then, schedule time to focus on your needs. Even when you feel like you don’t have time to squeeze in one more thing, make self-care a priority. When you’re caring for all aspects of yourself, you’ll find that you are able to operate more effectively and efficiently.

Source: verywellmind.com

10 Expert Gardening Tips for Beginners

Starting a garden

As the weather warms up, you might be itching to fix up your boring lawn, but if you’ve never had a garden before it can be hard to know where to start. No worries, we’re here to help you start the colorful garden of your dreams. Follow these expert tips to get started. If you want your garden to serve a purpose, these are some of the easiest foods you can grow.

Build a gardener’s portfolio

Keep tabs on your garden. Create a scrapbook using an inexpensive photo album and add your plant tags and sticks to it each season. Then, make it as detailed as you’d like by adding information as to where the plants were purchased and where the plant was located in your garden. Add your own artistic flair with sketches of your garden or photographs.

Create a no-stick shovel

Spray your favorite garden shovel with a silicone or Teflon lubricant to make shoveling a breeze. A good coating of this spray will make any type of soil slip right off the shovel without a mess. These container garden ideas will inspire you to create your own.

ALEXANDRA EKDAHL / EYEEM/GETTY IMAGES

Lighten those heavy pots

Take the strain out of lifting large planters and pots by filling the pot one-third to one-half full with packing peanuts. Be sure to place a piece of landscape fabric on top of the packing peanuts and then layer on your potting soil. To reduce the weight of the pot further, use a potting mix with lots of vermiculite and peat moss.

Transport your plants

Before your next trip to the local nursery, line the back of your car with a plastic tarp and place a small step ladder on top of the tarp. The slots between the rungs of the ladder serve as perfect compartments to protect your fragile plants during the drive home. You will no longer have to worry about spilled plants or a messy car! If your car is too small to fit a ladder, use recycled cardboard boxes.

Easy-read rain gauge

Spruce up your rain gauge by adding a few drops of food coloring to the bottom. During the next rainfall, the water will combine with the dye and the water level will be bright red and easy to read.

Restrict an aggressive plant

Prevent plants such as gooseneck loosestrife from taking over your garden by planting them in a plastic container. To ensure that these plants’ underground roots don’t quickly crowd your entire garden, cut out the bottom of with a knife—the roots can grow directly down into the soil.

Assist your root-bound plants

One woe associated with buying potting plants is that they are often root-bound. In other words, as the plant grows in the pot, the roots run out of room to grow—so they begin to form tight circles of roots in the pot. The problem is that these roots can prevent water and other essential nutrients from traveling to the leaves and the rest of the plant. For a quick fix, gently guide the roots outward using your fingers. If they are really tough, carefully make vertical cuts in the root-ball with a knife.

Protect your bulbs

Sick of creatures munching on your just planted flower bulbs? Keep them out by staking netting over the bed of flowers. Come springtime, simply remove the netting or cut holes in the cloth and let the plants grow through.

Portable potting

Upgrade your wheelbarrow by fitting a piece of plywood to the back end with wood cleats. This creates a flat surface that is perfect for potting. Now you can wheel your soil and plants to the garden all in one easy trip.

Blemish-free roses

When planting roses, pruning is crucial to keep the center of the flower open, so sunshine can shine in. Careful pruning will keep the moisture out and will prevent black spots and other blights from forming.

By Lauren Gelman for Readers Digest ©

Photo credit: WESTEND61/GETTY IMAGES

Turn Bottled Frappuccinos Into ACTUAL Frappuccinos

Perfect for hot summer days…or nights!

Who doesn’t love an ice-cold Starbucks Frappuccino? (That’s a rhetorical question.) Well, now you can whip one up from the comfort of your own home—and it’s ridiculously easy to do. You’ll need a bottled Frap and a freezer.

This clever hack recently went viral over on TikTok, and it might be tied with whipped coffee for our favorite at-home coffee treat.

Can I Freeze a Starbucks Frappuccino?

Absolutely. Turning your bottled Frappuccino into the real deal couldn’t be easier. Pop the bottle into your freezer and leave it for no more than two hours. Then, take it out and give it a few good shakes. Voila! You have instant blended icy goodness.

Pour it into a glass and top with whipped cream and chocolate syrup for the full experience.

Is This Safe?

There’s one thing to keep in mind: freezing may crack the glass bottle. The simplest way to avoid a cracked glass disaster is to not leave the bottle in the freezer too long. For the average freezer, that’s two hours tops. Set a timer, set an alarm—whatever you got to do!

Sounds good to me.

From Camille Berry of Taste of Home

Happy Juneteenth America!

What is Juneteenth?

Juneteenth, a blend of the words “June” and “nineteenth,” celebrates the end of slavery in America. Also known as America’s second Independence Day, Emancipation Day, Juneteenth Independence Day, and Black Independence Day.  This day honors enslaved people, African American heritage, and the many contributions that Blacks have made to the United States.

Though observed as a holiday by most states and the majority of U.S. citizens, Juneteenth is not yet a federal holiday.

History of Juneteenth

When President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, the enslavement of African people met a formal end.  However, in states controlled by the Confederacy, Black American lives remained the same. Enslaved people in border states were not freed either.   For all practical purposes, this did not change until the Union army entered.

More shockingly, some enslaved Black Americans had no idea that President Lincoln had even signed the Emancipation Proclamation. In Texas, more than two-and-a-half years passed before enslaved people received their freedom. This was surely devastating as it was a state to rely financially on enslaved human beings.

General Gordon Arrives

The date of June 19, 1865, is when General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas.  He demanded that enslaved people there be set free. Until then, the Union army had not had sufficient strength to enforce the edict.  Approximately 250,000 Blacks were enslaved in Texas, the most distant slave-dependent state.  When General Granger arrived, he read General Order No. 3 to Galveston residents:

“The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves.  The connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages.”

Following Granger’s announcement, the formerly enslaved Black Americans broke into celebration. Today, that celebration is said to be the oldest Black American holiday. The newly emancipated people celebrated their freedom and exercised their rights by buying land across Texas. They were Emancipation Park in Houston, Booker T. Washington Park in Mexia and Emancipation Park in Austin

 

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Past and Present Juneteenth Celebrations

The holiday celebrating Black independence could be seen spreading in its first years from one state to another.  Former enslaved people did relocate across the country upon hearing of their long-awaited emancipation. There are many similarities between these early celebrations and celebrations of today.

The Spread of Juneteeth

In lieu of a formal celebration the first-year enslaved people were freed, many of those emancipated fled plantations to the North and neighboring states to reunite with family, buy land, and settle down. In the next several years from 1866 on, formerly enslaved people and descendants of gathered together to pray, eat, dance, and hear each other’s stories on this historic day. Beginning in Texas, this day of celebration caught on throughout the south in Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Alabama, and eventually Florida and California as well.

Celebrations of the Past

Historic Juneteenth celebrations included religious services, readings, inspirational speeches, stories from formerly enslaved people, games and contests, prayer services, rodeo events, baseball, singing, and, of course, feasting.

Music was an important part of the culture of enslaved people, and early celebrations of Juneteenth always included it. Afro-jazz, blues, and worship music were a critical part of these festivities, the hymn “Lift Every Voice” of particular significance. The Emancipation Proclamation was commonly read to kick off Juneteenth celebrations.

Clothing

Clothing was a crucial aspect of these celebrations as well. For formerly enslaved people, making a distinction between their lives as slaves and their lives as free people was essential, and one way to do this was to wear bright and lively clothing, something they were not able to do when they had masters. Finally allowed to express themselves and dress how they pleased, Black Americans donned the colors of Africa and freedom in honor of their ancestors and their struggle for liberty—black, green, and red, the colors of the Pan-African flag, grew common, as did red, white, and blue, the colors of the American flag as well as the Juneteenth flag.

Celebrations Today

Today, Juneteenth is celebrated in much the same way that it was when it first began—with music festivals, performances, rodeos, barbecues, pageants, and more. Red food and drink are common as an homage to African narratives and West African traditions. This color is said to represent strength and spirituality and carries great weight in many aspects of West African culture.

Celebrations of Juneteenth are not unlike those of the Fourth of July, with parades and street fairs, dancing and music, picnics and cookouts, family reunions, and historical reenactments. Strawberry soda or red soda water and barbecuing became symbols of Juneteenth, with barbecue pits often positioned in the center of large gatherings. The Juneteenth flag is more prominent than ever.

Why Juneteenth Almost Faded Out

While many Black Americans celebrate Juneteenth today, the popularity of the holiday waned during periods of the past, specifically World War II, and there were many years when it was not celebrated at all.

Juneteenth lost momentum during the eras of Jim Crow following emancipation and was not widely celebrated when World War II reached the United States in the 1940s either. The holiday was resurrected in 1950, but from then until the civil rights movements of the 1960s, few Black Americans openly observed Juneteenth. That has changed in the early 21st century. Today, Juneteenth is not only a well-celebrated holiday, but there is a strong movement to have the 19th of June become a National Day of Recognition for slavery.

Calls for a National Day of Recognition

According to the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation, Rev. Ronald V. Myers Sr., founder and chairman of the National Juneteenth Holiday Campaign and the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation, asked President Barack Obama during his presidency to “issue a presidential proclamation to establish Juneteenth Independence Day as a National Day of Observance in America, similar to Flag Day or Patriot Day.” Now, he has asked the same of President Donald Trump.

Both Obama and Trump issued Statements of Observance of Juneteeth—Obama in 2016 and Trump in 2019—and presidents before them also honored this holiday. In 2000, President Clinton made remarks on it at a voter registration project in Texas and President Bush delivered a Message on the Observance of Juneteenth in 2008. But despite this support, no president has yet declared Juneteenth a National Day of Recognition.

The general public and states, however, continue to fight for this legislation. Currently, 47 states and the District of Columbia commemorate or observe Juneteenth.2 Only North Dakota, South Dakota, and Hawaii do not. Even private and public corporations have taken steps toward recognizing this holiday on a larger scale.

In 2020, shaken by a wave of extended protests against police brutality following the death of George Floyd, companies such as Nike and Twitter made Juneteenth a paid holiday for their employees.

Statement by President Obama “Tomorrow Is a Day to Keep Marching”

On June 19, 2015, the White House released a statement from President Barack Obama marking the observance of Juneteenth that said in part:3

Juneteenth has never been a celebration of victory, or an acceptance of the way things are. Instead, it’s a celebration of progress. It’s an affirmation that despite the most painful parts of our history, things do get better. America can change. 

So no matter our color or our creed, no matter where we come from or who we love, today is a day to find joy in the face of sorrow, to count our blessings and hold the ones we love a little closer. And tomorrow is a day to keep marching.

 

By Nadra Kareem Nittle writing for ThoughtCo©

Cover photo by ThoughtCo / Joshua Seong

You’ve been invited for a job interview – now what?

ANY QUESTIONS?

Is it important how I dress for an interview in this day and age?

I personally believe that presentation ranks very highly, because first impressions are hard to change. Whether you like it or not, people will judge you on the way you look. And you have to accept that sometimes that judgement can go against you. My question is always, “Why would you take the risk?”

Everything about you acts like a shop window. How you look, sound, present yourself, walk, speak – even what briefcase or bag you are carrying when you walk into the interview room. Every one of these forms part of the overall display. If you aren’t prepared to invest in the way you display yourself at such an important meeting, why should you expect to be successful?

Some workplaces are more informal than others. Should I adapt how I dress for the interview?

If I was preparing to attend an interview, I would go straight back to the website for the company concerned – having already researched it for all the information I could find on what the business does – and find the section about their team. I would scroll through the photos of the key staff members and look at what they’re wearing, as those are likely to have been quite carefully selected images.

That exercise, as part of your overall research and preparation, will tell you a lot about what you should be wearing for the interview. The key for me is to be within the range of their look – few companies have a dress code as such, but they do have a distinctive image. When you walk into any organisation, you can tell what that image is.

What are the key things I should think about at the interview?

Anyone sitting in the interviewer’s chair is subconsciously trying to work out, “Will this person fit in?” The question you should be subconsciously asking yourself is, “How can I demonstrate I will fit in?”

The answer is something that you may have to convey yourself, because it’s a question that doesn’t always come up as part of the interview.

Put yourself in the interviewer’s position. In their head, they’ll be asking, “When I put this person into this department, will they be a good match?” Therefore before you walk into the interview, you should have asked and answered these questions:

  • Have I done my research?
  • Do I know enough about the company and their competitors?
  • Can I demonstrate my ability to do my work?
  • Do I look the part?
  • What have I done that demonstrates I am competent for the job?

How do I stop feeling so nervous that I can’t perform in the interview?

Confidence at an interview comes from knowledge. If you haven’t done your research – if you haven’t studied the company, or made an effort to understand the market it operates in and who the competition is, if you haven’t done a Google search on the person who’s interviewing you – your confidence is going to be very low. Conversely the more knowledgeable you are and the more thoroughly you’ve done your research, the more confident you will feel.

If you combine that detailed preparation with having thought carefully about how you will present yourself and have taken time to reflect on the key messages you want to get across during the interview – and on how these messages match the job specification as well as what you believe to be your prospective employers’ expectations – then you will be feeling confident. It’s show time. You should think of your job interview as putting on the best performance of your life.

What is the one thing most interviewees don’t do that you think they should?

If you’re able to maintain control of the interview, chances are you’ll get the job. Most people think that taking control can come across as too arrogant – that it might intimidate the interviewer – but in my opinion that’s absolutely not true.

The way to do it without intimidating the interviewer is to get in with an early question after the initial small talk and before the interview can slip away from you. Say something like “I understand the position is for a marketing manager. It sounds really exciting. Could I ask you a question? What are the five key components of this job that are really important to this organisation?”

The interviewer will be obliged to give you an answer and in doing so they will have told you exactly what they want from the job and what you want to know. You can then ask about the person who is in the job at the moment or who last performed the role, and what were the things that impressed the interviewer about them. Once the interviewer has laid it on the plate for you, all you have to do is match your skills to their wish list.

What is the best thing to say when an interviewer asks, “Have you got any questions for us?”

I always ask that question towards the end of the interview, as do the vast majority of employers. In my experience, 70% of candidates either say, “No, I’m fine thank you,” or come up with a couple of very woolly questions because they haven’t done their research thoroughly enough. On a scale of one to 10, I would say the average question I get asked scores no more than a five.

If you say, “Actually, there are a couple of questions if you have two minutes,” and then ask something along the lines of, “Recently you launched a new product – how’s it going?”, immediately I’m impressed. At that point of the interview, the quality of your question has a bigger impact than you may think on the decision to hire you or not. It may seem like a generic question you get asked in every interview, but the way in which you respond says a lot about you. You know you’re likely to be asked it, so make sure you have something to ask.

So much success in getting a job is down to preparation and rehearsal. When you step on to the interview “stage”, I want you to be in as good a shape as you’ll ever be.

Written by the J & C Team

Stylish and Flattering Summer Hats You Can Buy on Amazon

When packing for the beach, hats are crucial, both for your look and to protect you from the sun. If you still haven’t found a hat to your liking or in your price range, however, let’s try another option: Amazon. After all, you can find some amazing white t-shirts on there, not to mention work totes. So, there’s hope that the perfect hat awaits you. I perused a ton of hats on the marketplace, and I selected the best ones, ahead, based on style, function, price, and reviews. Since the only other thing you have to go on are photos, other people’s testaments are super important when deciding between two or three styles. Before you even think about laying out in the sun this season, make sure you’re armed with one of the hat options below. Don’t forget about the sunscreen, too.

Victoria Sun Hat

Solid Color Bucket Hat 

Cotton Boonie Sun Hats

Sound of the Ocean Straw Sun Hat

Wide Brim Hat Roll-up Straw Sun Visor Hat

Wide Brim Sun Hat With Wind Lanyard

Panama Sun Hat

Elegant Wide Brim Hat

There they are. So many hats, so little time.

If You Love Jane Austen, You Need to Meet Katherine Reay

Despite the vast numbers of new titles published each year, it can be tough to find an author you can confidently come back to again and again, sure that you’re going to devour each of her offerings. For me, this author is Katherine Reay.

Reay’s first novel was published in 2013, and since then, she has published a new classic-literature-infused novel nearly every year. In each of her stories, we meet a contemporary woman (or three) who are looking for purpose and direction, for love and forgiveness, for happiness and stability. Every protagonist has her own battles to fight, but each is relatable and great fun to read.

With titles like Dear Mr. Knightley, Lizzy & Jane, and The Austen Escape, it’s obvious that Reay admires the work of Jane Austen. When I asked her about her inspiration, she told me that when she wrote the first of these, “I was Austen-focused. . . . I had been injured just prior to writing it and found Austen to be my go-to recovery author. It was a natural extension to find that heroine doing the same.”

I probably don’t qualify as a true “Janeite”; I haven’t read everything she’s written (though I have read Pride and Prejudice twice and started on the zombie-infused adaptation). But Reay’s attraction to Austen’s characters and conflicts is still a draw for me. At the root of both Austen’s and Reay’s stories are an understanding of human nature, a willingness to confront weaknesses, and the hope that relationships and internal transformation are possible.

My first encounter with Reay’s novels was with her second book, Lizzy & Jane, which translates themes and characters from Pride and Prejudice into a contemporary story filled with food and family, taking place in the Pacific Northwest. With this novel, Reay broadened her literary allusions to include Hemingway. “What speaks to one person, as a connection point, does not necessarily speak to another,” Reay told me. “So with my [second] story, Lizzy & Jane, I expanded that conversation to Hemingway. His writing informed the hero in that story—and it went on from there.”

If it’s not the Pacific Northwest, it’s Chicago, a delightful Illinois suburb, Italy, or the English countryside. Her novels are like an escape from my own reality, but not in a fashion that has me coming away from the pages feeling my life is lacking in some way. Rather, I find myself more greatly appreciating the place I’m in, the people I get to spend my time with, and the work I do.

Another trademark of Reay’s work is the way she uses a character’s profession to comment on her internal conflict. She explains to me that one of her favorite things about writing is “saying something very specific about a character by the job she does.” For example, “Lizzy [in Lizzy & Jane]is a chef who lost her very relational gift of cooking. Well, she’d lost connection and love long before that. And Emily [in A Portrait of Emily Price] had the heart of an artist, but didn’t risk and take her restoration work that one step more until she let love and beauty into her life. Madeline, in The Printed Letter Bookshop, picked a ‘safe’ career that didn’t hold her heart, and isolated her, until she found a way to love the law and those around her in the book shop.”

In her latest novel—Of Literature and Lattes, published just last month—Reay more directly honors the power of story to inspire and heal. The book is in some ways a sequel to her last novel, The Printed Letter Bookshop, building on those characters and exploring more of their community. At the same time, by introducing new characters and conflicts, it stands as a story on its own. The circumstances are timely, but the emotional experiences of the characters are as timeless as those in the classic stories that maintain their power today.

“Stories are incredibly powerful. Fiction is incredibly powerful,” says Reay. “We let it in through the chinks in our armor in ways that many other people, things, and ideas can’t penetrate. We appropriate stories, live within them, and experience new ideas and emotions while reading them. By calling that out, in many ways, I’m almost hitting the secret on the nose and saying ‘Look here, stories have been here to help you all along’ and, of course I’m always secretly saying, ‘rest here, read, and enjoy.’”

Such a sense of joy and renewal is a rare, but valuable gift. What’s more, I’d venture to say it’s essential to a fully human life, and for this bibliophile, a great help in continuing to become the woman I’m meant to be.

BY LINDSAY SCHLEGEL

100-year-old Tortoise Who Saved His Species

A 100-year-old Galápagos tortoise named Diego is finally going to get some well-deserved rest and relaxation.

On Monday, Diego and 14 other tortoises returned to their native home of Española Island, located in the Galápagos Islands, after helping to save their species from extinction, according to BBC News.

Diego originally, “officially” retired in January, with expectations to return to Española in March.

Since the 1960’s, the Fausto Llerena Tortoise Center, a breeding facility on Santa Cruz Island, has been using Diego and the other tortoises to help bring up population numbers for their species, The New York Times reported. Diego is thought to have fathered over 2,000 tortoises, about 40 percent of the population that is alive today, according to BBC News.

That’s a lot of work for one tortoise.

So Happy Birthday to Diego and… get some rest man!

Why You Won’t See Aunt Jemima on Shelves Ever Again

Aunt Jemima’s replacement is now on store shelves nationwide

Quaker Oats announced early Wednesday morning that it would cease the production and sale of Aunt Jemima syrup and pancake mix in order to completely rebrand the line, citing an effort “to make progress toward racial equality.”

The popular syrup brand, which has existed for 130 years, features a Black woman named “Aunt Jemima,” who initially was dressed as a minstrel character, on its instantly recognizable label. Quaker Oats recently removed the minstrel attire that featured a “mammy” kerchief amid an outcry of criticism over the perpetuation of a racial stereotype from the days of slavery. But, that hasn’t been enough.

“We recognize Aunt Jemima’s origins are based on a racial stereotype,” Kristin Kroepfl, vice president and chief marketing officer of Quaker Foods North America, said in a press release, according to NBC News. “As we work to make progress toward racial equality through several initiatives, we also must take a hard look at our portfolio of brands and ensure they reflect our values and meet our consumers’ expectations.”

Kroepfl added that Quaker Oats has worked to “update” the brand to be “appropriate and respectful,” but it realized the changes were insufficient. As a result, the production of the Aunt Jemima label will cease as the company works on a totally new look and name for its syrup and pancake mix.

Since the killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police over three weeks ago, the U.S. has seen an outcry of civil unrest that has led to a national reckoning and a complete reexamination of historic racial injustice. Many massive brands have expressed support of Black Lives Matter via social media, and now, brands like Quaker Oats, are being taken to task to update their images and practices.

During an appearance on the TODAY show Wednesday morning, Riché Richardson, an associate professor at Cornell University, called Aunt Jemima “a retrograde image of Black womanhood on store shelves,” adding “It’s an image that harkens back to the antebellum plantation … Aunt Jemima is that kind of stereotype [that’s] premised on this idea of Black inferiority and otherness.”

It is not yet clear how Quaker Oats will rebrand these popular products, but the removal of the product based on racial stereotypes from grocery store shelves will almost certainly be lauded in many circles. 

Well, it may take awhile to figure this one out. After all, Quaker Oats has been selling this for 130 years. Let that sink in!

msn.com