Month: June 2019

Posted in Podcast Notes

Meeting Notes: Episode 15

Posted on by theladiesauxiliary301

For some reason, the number 15 felt significant, and it got things off to a strange start at our fifteenth meeting. Listen below!

Do you see numbers in color? Do you think some numbers have a gender? Do you have a strange thing about even, odd, multiples of five, or your TV volume? Be sure to let us know!

Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century

We LOVE Zenon. We’d be willing to put it up near the very top of the best Disney Channel movies ever made. Carrie filled us in on an interesting fact – Zenon was released 20 years ago, and the date it was supposed to take place in was only 30 years from now! Is this mind-boggling? She shares with us some of the things the movie got right (and wrong) about the future. And if you’re missing Zeno, enjoy this clip below of our favorite song.

Zoom Zoom Zoom!

Party Like It’s 1999

And speaking of 1999, in the news a few days ago was ANOTHER headline about *NSYNC doing a reunion. We had to discuss this because it keeps coming up and we wish people would just squash it. This time we have to blame Ariana Grande for brining up 4/5 of the *NSYNC guys at Coachella. We love their music as much as the next boyband lover, and we really love JT, but this is one reunion we DO NOT see happening.

Also, PSA, the Backstreet Boys never broke up. Enjoy this little BuzzFeed Debatable. It covers a lot of the key points, except they fail to mention “Everybody” which is the ONE song that gets LITERALLY EVERY SINGLE PERSON up and moving and singing along no matter when or where it’s played.

For real though, this is all in good fun. We all know Backstreet Boys are the best. Sorry not sorry.

And let’s not forget the Jonas Brothers. Now there’s a reunion to talk about, people.

“Gone Girl” In Real Life?

A Connecticut woman named Jennifer Dulos has been missing since May 24. According to all reports, she’s smart and imaginative. Decades ago, long before the “Gone Girl” book was released, she wrote her own version of a story where the wife stages her own murder to frame her husband.

Now, her estranged husband and his girlfriend are suggesting that she did that exact thing.

We summarized the story for you, but read the article HERE. And be sure to check out the book and the movie “Gone Girl” because you will not be disappointed.

The World Cup

Update: The USWNT won against Spain, but barely. France beat Brazil. This sets up a highly anticipated United States vs. France match up on Friday. Bust out your stars and stripes, people! (Reminder that France’s colors are also red, white, and blue…so….)

What’s Your Airplane Seat Worth To You?

Recently, Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton made headlines in a strange way. While getting ready to fly to France for Paris Fashion Week, Cam had an aisle seat in coach. He’s a big guy, checking in at 6’5″ and 245 pounds, and is looking for a little extra leg room on the long flight. He approaches a passenger sitting in a seat that has a little more space. Here’s the video of what happened:

You can’t hear the conversation, but Cam apparently offers the guy $1,500 for his seat. When the guy refuses, Cam walks dejectedly back to his seat and sits down. This video brought up so many questions about what would you switch seats for, why would you switch seats, and most importantly why in the world wasn’t Cam already in first class?

Share your thoughts with us on social media! Would you have moved for free? For $1,500? Or would you have said NO!

Turkey Crossing

Carrie had a lot of good stuff to share with us this week. Check out this feel good video below of a turkey from New Hampshire helping out the other turkeys in his rafter.

The Ladies Recommend…

In case you haven’t noticed, Sam is our in-house expert on movies and tv-series that you should definitely check out. This week, she recommends watching “Years and Years” which aired on the BBC and is now on HBO. You can watch the trailer below.

While not for the faint of heart, Sam says it was interesting and kind of like Black Mirror, so if you have the time and interest, check it out!

Time For Deep Thoughts

Sam posed this question to us this week: “If all your memories were erased, what kind of person would you be?” There were some thoughtful answers. Who would you be?

She also questioned us about doorbells. Millennials are giving up doorbell use. We talked about what we do and think when we hear a doorbell and how technology has changed the way we visit one another.

Share your thoughts with us! Are we the only ones who freak out when the doorbell rings? Does your doorbell even work? Let us know!

The Bachelorette Recap

Now that we’ve mostly recovered from the disaster that was the recap episode, we can return to focusing on the disaster that is Luke and these other buffoons who cannot let anything go. Never in the history of The Bachelorette has there been a group of guys who continue to dwell on the same nonsense week after week after week and continue to put themselves in the middle of the drama on purpose.

Now, to be fair, we know that usually the “villain” doesn’t stick around this long, but we have absolutely hit our max when it comes to Luke and the arguing that goes on about Luke. And we’re stuck with him for at least one more week. Probably two. Or more. Hell, he might even win the whole damn thing. The longer this goes on, the more we’re worried that Hannah really might think she can save him. As we’ve said before, there’s nothing to save. He is who he is. The worst part about Luke is he does’t realize he comes across as the world’s biggest bonehead (to use his very own word) so when someone tell him he is, he tries to backtrack and ends up talking in circles.

It was VERY clear that Luke was unhappy about Hannah’s not-completely-clothed bungee jumping with Garrett, who got a rose (even though he is increasingly getting on Nicole’s nerves.) So when Luke tried to take it back and say he didn’t care, or that she could do whatever she wanted with her body, we were SO MAD. He was purposely trying to confuse Hannah and manipulate the situation, AGAIN. As always, we feel proud of Hannah for calling these guys out and living her life, but every time she gives Luke a rose, I just wish she would follow through and trust herself.

Besides more Luke drama, there was a lot of making out with Peter in a bunch of different situations. Hannah recognized that the two of them needed to find some more ground to stand on and couldn’t just make out all night, and good for her. This already shows that she’s more sensible than other Bachelorette’s who think that kissing boys is the only reason to be on this show. Hannah eventually asked Peter how his job as a pilot affects his dating life and he did an amazing job of not answering her question, but somehow making her feel like he answered her question. Being lonely and traveling a lot is not how it impacts your relationship, Peter. Those are the things Hannah is worried about. She needed a little reassurance that she wasn’t going to be sitting at home all the time while you flew around the world. BUT Hannah seemed satisfied with his answer not answer and gave him a rose, so I guess it worked.

After another cancelled cocktail party, which the guys blamed on Luke, again, the rose ceremony finally arrived and we said goodbye to Dylan and Dustin. Considering the guys who are left, we have to see a big step up from Connor S. next week if he’s going to make it any further. Mike may be on his way out too, unless he can get some time to talk with Hannah and make a move.

Besides a lot of annoyed fans, there was a lot of drama in Bachelor Nation with Jed’s alleged girlfriend. We discussed this in this episode and honestly, we just have to see how the whole thing plays out. We think there may be a chance Jed really fell in love with Hannah while he was there and didn’t expect to, and so time will tell what happens between them and what happens after that. On top of that, Reality Steve dropped some spoilers a couple weeks ago and then CHANGED his spoilers last week. If you read up on that stuff, DON’T TELL US. We just know he changed his mind.

Sam lost Dylan this week, and Dustin went home (finally) so now the only person who still has all five of her original picks is Meghan. We’ll see what happens next week, leading up to hometowns, although I’m sure we can all predict more of the same.

Thank you SO much for listening and checking in with us here. Be sure to interact with us on social media. Carrie decided to throw in a little wine-glass giveaway in this week’s episode, so be sure to listen for it so you can win one!

Posted in Podcast Notes

Meeting Notes: Episode 14

Posted on by theladiesauxiliary301

Welcome back! Thanks for checking in! If you haven’t listened to episode 14 yet, check it out below!

The Great Target Register Crash of 2019

Picture this: you’re in Target filling your cart with all the Target goodness. You’re FINALLY ready to leave, head to register, and realize the lines aren’t moving. The registers are down. What do you do?

People across the country had to answer that exact question this weekend. We talk about what happened (a “glitch” in the system) and what we would do if left in Target for two hours with no way to check out!

USWNT and The World Cup

Another win for the U.S. Women’s National Team against Chile in the World Cup! Check out the highlights below. Did you notice the golf clap celebration? We LOVE that these ladies are not afraid to take on all their critics.

An article was just recently released that actually shows that the USWNT has been bringing in more revenue through their ticket sales than the USMNT. This is especially interesting, and important to note, because the U.S. Women’s team recently filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation. In the lawsuit, the U.S. Soccer Federation said that the women’s team wasn’t generating as much income as the men’s, and that’s why there was a discrepancy between salaries (and other things.) I guess this new report makes it kind of hard to say that?

We can’t wait to see how the women fare when they meet up with their first real challenge of the tournament against Sweden.

Although, BIG SHOUT OUT to the Chilean goalie, Christiane Endler, for being the only reason that game wasn’t a HUGE blowout. She was incredible.

What Is Happening in the DR?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard some crazy stories coming out of the Dominican Republic. Not only was David Ortiz shot in the back by a hired assassin, but it seems like everyone who travels there is either poisoned, assaulted, or dies from some strange unknown event that has been labeled “natural causes.” It FEELS way too suspicious, but is there anything to really be worried about? We tried our best to summarize what’s been happening, but with so many unknowns, it’s definitely difficult!

CNN has a great article that answers some of our most burning questions. Check it out HERE

Although we totally understand the concern, we did have to wonder why people are afraid to travel to the DR, but consistently visit tourist locations where crime is common? More people are killed in our cities on a daily basis than tourists to the DR in the last year, and we still visit those! If you have plans to travel to the DR, BE SAFE.

Oh and if you have A LOT of free time, check out iwaspoisoned.com

Technological Hippies in a Time Free Zone

Thanks to Geology.com for this map!

Two articles caught our attention this week. First up, there’s an island in Norway who is pitching to be the first time-free zone in the world. Now, we aren’t completely sure how this would logistically work, but once you hear the reason why you might understand. In case you too need a map to find Norway in the world, we’ve got you covered. Could you live in a time-free zone? Could you live through the Polar Nights? Meghan doesn’t think she could live where the sun doesn’t set for 69 days. Tell us what YOU think and read more about this idea here on the BBC website.

Carrie coined a new label for our generation this week, calling us technological hippies, after we discussed the official change of the Grand Canyon National Park to a “Dark Sky Park.” Wondering what that means? Samantha told us and explained why this was an important move.

The Milky Way Galaxy at Yaki Point – Courtesy of the National Park Service

As a generation, we’re in an interesting position. We didn’t grow up with ALL the technology, so while we LOVE the convenience of it, we also want to embrace the environment, Mother Nature, and seem to want to take some steps to find out how we can use technology to take us BACK in time a little bit. We LOVE this idea of simplification and using technology to enjoy when life was a little slower, quieter, and simpler. Would you mind being called a technological hippie? Do you agree on that new nickname? We kind of like it!

The Ladies Recommend…Chernobyl?

We don’t mean the real place, Chernobyl. After listening, we hope NO ONE ever wants to actually go there.

Sam tells us about a recent HBO mini-series she watched about Chernobyl. The miniseries chronicles the explosion of the nuclear power plant in April, 1986. You have to listen to find out what about this makes Carrie and I BOTH open our drinks. There was SO MUCH to unpack here just from this conversation, but we HIGHLY recommend that you go check it out. There are only 5 episodes, and Sam told us that it starts out with what actually happened, the after-effects, and then loops back around to explain why and how it happened.

After listening to Sam’s descriptions and discussing this topic, we were horrified. If anyone can explain why this world has nuclear weapons, or who thinks we need this nuclear stuff at all, please let us know. We are at a loss.

Winning and Olympic Gold

Carrie texted us all before we got together and posed this question:

If ________, were an Olympic sport, I’d take gold.

What is your immediate answer to this question? Do you go with your gut? Would you have to think about it? Are your answers the same as ours?

This was a fun question to think about! You HAVE to reach out to us on social media and share what your answer would be!

The Bachelorette Recap

In this week’s podcast episode, we talk about the lack of personality there with Luke and what other guys we think we like now. Then we went and watched this week’s episode and we’re wondering: is there anything to even talk about this week? Here’s our interpretation of this week’s episode:

  • Hannah was SICK AND TIRED of those boys arguing. We did not like the way Garrett handled the situation by hearing from Hannah that she made Luke talk and then going back and giving Luke a hard time. We totally understand though that Luke lied, and that was the main point, although the guys didn’t do a good job explaining that.
  • We do not understand this mid-season recap. The only reason it’s acceptable is if it means we will have no more to-be-continued episodes. Otherwise, it’s a waste of time. We’ve been watching for weeks. We do not need to see everything we JUST SAW all over again.
  • We subscribe (wholeheartedly) to mid-season bloopers. Give us ALL the bloopers. We need an entire episode of bloopers. They could have cut this whole episode halfway through and shown an hour of bloopers and that still wouldn’t have been enough.
  • Hannah is a national treasure who is not afraid to be herself. See two of her best moment from last night below!
  • We don’t know what’s happening, but we are disappointed with how much of this Luke/Hannah fantasy suite drama they showed in the previews last night. We think ABC gave away WAY too much and it kind of takes away from some of the anticipation that was building about this fight between her and Luke about “purity” and marriage. Bad move, ABC.
  • Luke continues to portray himself in a terrible and obnoxious light. We just can’t.

Hopefully next week will be better. Enjoy these two Hannah GIFs in the meantime.

As always, THANK YOU for tuning in with us! We appreciate you so much! Find us and talk with us here or on social media. We can’t wait to hear your thoughts!

Posted in Uncategorized

Meeting Notes: Episode 13

Posted on by theladiesauxiliary301

Hello again! It’s meeting time and we know you’ve come here to check out this week’s notes, so we’ll get right to it. If you haven’t listened yet, check out our new episode here!

History and Historical Discoveries

In history this week, the Great Barrier Reef was discovered on June 11, 1770. If you haven’t checked out our post about how to help save the reefs from destruction, be sure to do that next! Then, Samantha shared a story about the recent discovery of a 40,000 year old wolf that was preserved in permafrost in Siberia. You can read the full article HERE.

The World Cup

It has begun! The Women’s World Cup has started in France and even if you aren’t a HUGE soccer fan, you have to appreciate international competition. We love the World Cup for a bunch of reasons, but let’s be honest: the only reason the United States is even a part of the World Cup conversation is because our USWNT is AMAZING and AWESOME and BRILLIANT and deserve ALL THE THINGS.

That being said, when they had their first match on Tuesday against Thailand, they came to play and some people (who do not appreciate out USWNT or apparently the spirit of competition) were not happy with the way in which they won. In case you missed it, you can catch the highlights here:

We discuss this HISTORIC win, which turns out is the most goals in ANY World Cup Match, men’s or women’s. Tell us what your opinion is on the ladies’ first win.

Also related to soccer, we discussed the fact that the world’s best soccer play, Ava Hergerberg, is not playing in the World Cup this year to protest against inequalities between the Norwegian men’s and women’s teams. Listen to hear why she’s protesting and then tell us what you think about that. In the United States, we wouldn’t even be having a conversation about soccer if it weren’t for our women’s team, so we fully support equality between the teams.

Piers Morgan Knows Nothing About Women

First up, an apology to Pierce Brosnan. We’re really sorry Carrie accused YOU of being the one to say all these not nice things about Meghan. We love you, all you do, and think you’re a great guy. As you listen, just imagine we’re saying Piers Morgan instead.

Now, let’s just all agree that unless you’ve actually given birth, you don’t get to say anything about what a woman should or should not be doing after she delivers her baby. Your entire world is different and you feel like a different human entirely basically for forever.

Meghan Markle deserves to skip out on whatever she feels like skipping out on and can attend whatever she feels like attending. Instead of bashing Meghan over what is absolutely within her rights as a mother and human, let’s just focus on the important and real issue – maternity leave. Hear our thoughts on Meghan and maternity leave and let us know what you think!

Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

So this season, 90 Day Fiance is doing something a little different. All the people who are participating in the show are leaving America to go to the country of their loved ones. Destinations for this seasons’ couples are India, South Africa, Qatar, Ecuador and Brazil.

The guy, Paul, who is going to Brazil, has been on the show before, and he’s moving there to be with his pregnant wife. Watch the clip of what happens below:

https://www.tlc.com/tv-shows/90-day-fiance-before-the-90-days/videos/pauls-mother-gives-him-a-lock-of-her-hair

We were in shock, and kind of creeped out, that the gift she chose to give to her son was a lock of her hair. Keeping a lock of hair from your baby’s first haircut? Okay. Keeping a lock of hair from your significant other in 1817? Okay. Giving your grown son a lock of your hair (for the second time) because hes moving out of the country to take care of his unborn baby….? We can’t subscribe to this. You have to tell us what you think about this. Is it really sweet? Are we missing the point?

Rapid Fire Burning Questions

This game is kind of like a word association game. Sam asked us questions and we (mostly tried to) answer without taking time to think about it. Nicole is admittedly bad at this, but we did our best. As you listen, try to answer them yourself. Do any of your answers match ours? Did you like this segment? Should we do it again? It was kind of fun to try to answer questions so quickly!

How to Ruin a Friendship

Carrie shared a story with us that had us wondering – what are the rules for ending a friendship? Can you end a friendship over a baby name? Is it the baby name that ruined the friendship or the things you learn about the person’s character that really caused the rift? We discuss and share our own thoughts on the idea of “claiming” baby names before you have a baby. Let us know what you think! Also, what IS something you can end a friendship over, and what is something you definitely should NOT end a friendship over? Tell us!

Bachelorette Recap

Hannah, Hannah, Hannah. WE LOVE YOU! Okay, now that our declarations of adoration are out of the way, we can talk about what actually happened last night.

Luke S. eliminated himself, and we can say he wasn’t going to be the right match for her anyway. JPJ got sent home, and Dustin somehow is still in the running. Meghan finally admitted that Luke P. is bad news no matter how good looking he is and has switched over to be Team Tyler. Hannah got tipsy while out on a date with Mike, who could not stop smiling at her. They wandered around Inverness, Scotland (the Outlander people WERE DYING during this episode, I know it) and Hannah won points with Nicole by appreciating the smell of books. After the group date, which involved Highland games and kilts, Kevin had a car-crash moment where he watched Jed and Hannah making out, processed it, and THEN walked away after an awkward amount of time. Peter imitated the most awkward make-out EVER and then Hannah revealed some of her true feelings by starting her own make-out session with a still-kilted Tyler in a bed.

We’ve often mentioned how relatable we feel Hannah is but she showed us again this week. We’ve all been there with a guy like Luke. There’s a great physical connection, but the other stuff…not so much. So instead of recognizing it, and ending it, you hang on wayyyyyy too long and try to force it to work. Anytime you have to work THIS hard to get what you need from a guy, he’s probably not your guy.

In Luke’s defense, we aren’t sure he’s purposely trying to avoid his feelings or the issues Hannah is presenting. We don’t think he’s quite that smart. Luke seems like a guy who just isn’t that deep. Hannah knows herself really well, and she’s SUPER introspective. She understands herself and her motives. Luke doesn’t seem like he’s looking that deeply in to himself. He just likes to look AT himself. I’m not sure Hannah will ever get what she wants out of him because I don’t know if he’s capable of reaching that level of emotional intelligence. In the meantime, the guys are going to continue to hate on him for a bunch of reasons and we’ll just have to see how long Hannah can let this go. Right now, she’s not in a position where she has to eliminate him because there are other guys who she doesn’t really have a connection with (Grant, we’re looking at you buddy) that can go first while she continues to try to force Luke to be everything he’s not. In the long run, we just can’t see this working.

ABC does it again and ends the episode in a weird place and basically we’re just so annoyed by this that it’s not even worth talking about anymore. We only pray that one day, they will understand how obnoxious this is. No one has lost any one from their original list, besides Cam, but someone will have to soon! Tune in next week for more!

We’ll be back on the blog later this week with a recommendation from the Ladies. We got so caught up at the end of this week’s meeting (the NBA finals and Drake’s over-the-top behavior) that we completely forgot to share with you! Thanks for listening. Find us on social media and reach out. We have to hear your thoughts on some of these issues so PLEASE reach out and let us know! See you next week!

Posted in Lifestyle

Protect Your Skin, Protect the Reefs!

Posted on by theladiesauxiliary301

Have you ever jumped into a pool and noticed an iridescent layer of film floating on the water around you? More importantly, have you ever wondered where it came from?

With summer on the horizon, and beach trips lining up, we have to discuss another way you can do just a little bit more to protect the environment. Think about all the times you’ve been to the beach, lathered on sunscreen (because, safety first!) and then jumped into the ocean. What happens to all that sunscreen that eventually washes off your body? It washes OUT into the ocean. Consumer Reports estimates that about 6,000 tons of sunscreen washes out into the ocean (and into the reefs!) Other studies estimate it could be as much as 14,000 tons each year! Unfortunately, it’s not nicely and evenly distributed around the water either. It tends to concentrate in more popular areas…usually those areas with more marine life!

What Exactly Is Dangerous?

There’s more than just one thing to look out for when you’re searching for reef-safe sunscreen. Since there’s no real rules about what exactly makes a sunscreen “reef-safe”, manufacturers can put a reef-friendly label on sunscreen that still contains ingredients that are damaging. Our most important advice is to READ THE LABEL and decide if something is reef-safe for yourself!

The most dangerous chemicals are oxybenzone and octinoxate. Both these chemicals are great in sunscreen because they absorb UV rays. The bad news? They can also cause coral bleaching. Oxybenzone will trigger coral bleaching at temperatures even lower than normal, which leads to more frequent bleaching. It’s easily the most common and perhaps the most damaging of all the chemicals. Other harmful chemicals to try to avoid in your sunscreen are butylparaben (a preservative) octocrylene, PABA (aminobenzoic acid), Enzacamene, Octisalate, Homosalate, and Avobenzone. Some of these are chemicals that simply aid in the effectiveness of chemical sunscreen, but still can cause damage to marine life. You should also try to avoid parabens, pthalates, triclosan and microbeads, which are usually plastic.

But What About Instagram?

The one drawback to using zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, which is the ingredient that scientists recommend you should be using, is that it’s a mineral. Mineral sunscreens work by forming a physical barrier on the skin, so instead of absorbing the rays, like chemical sunscreen, mineral sunscreen simply blocks and scatters the rays. This means that usually, mineral sunscreens are known for leaving a white film over your skin. To solve this problems, sunscreens have used nano-sized particles to try to eliminate the white, chalky look you used to get. The bad news is that nano-sized particles can be absorbed by marine life and still cause damage to the reef. Most companies producing reef-safe sunscreen use non-nano particles, but it’s important to check out the labels and research the company. The good news is, as technology develops, some companies, like Badger Balm, have found ways to introduce non-nano zinc that is clear!

How to Choose a Reef-Safe Sunscreen

Thankfully, with a rise in understanding about the damage these chemicals are doing to the environment, there has also been in a rise in studies and potential solutions for this environmental problem. First and foremost, scientists suggest that instead of using sunscreen, people wear clothing that shields them from the sun’s harmful rays. Even a t-shirt, or a rash guard that isn’t specifically designed to offer UV protection can help! This will drastically reduce the amount of sunscreen people have to use, and as a result, limit how much sunscreen is washed off into the ocean. Hats can also offer protection and reduce the amount of sunscreen you need.

If you aren’t into covering up, there are some things you can look for specifically to make sure that your sunscreen is environmentally friendly.

  • Skip the oxybenzone! Try to find sunscreens that don’t contain this ingredient. Mineral sunscreens typically don’t contain oxybenzone and are safer to use.
  • Go For Waterproof or Water Resistant! If a sunscreen is waterproof or water resistant, there’s a good chance that less of it will wash off into the water.
  • Read the Ingredients Carefully! Don’t be fooled by a label on the front! Take the time to read through all the ingredients on the back of the bottle.
  • Non-Nano! Nano sized particles of zinc oxide and titanium dioxide can be absorbed by marine life and can disrupt the reef growing process as well. If the bottle doesn’t say “non-nano” take the time to do a little investigating of your own.
  • When in Doubt, Google! If you aren’t sure about your sunscreen selection, simply Google the brand, OR visit the companies website. You’ll be able to get some more information from both places and hopefully be a more informed consumer.

We linked all the sunscreen below! If you click the name of the sunscreen, it will take you directly to the company website. We’ve also given you a link directly to an Amazon listing so you can click and shop! Each sunscreen we listed has at least a four-star rating on Amazon.

All photos below are from Amazon.com

  • All Good Sunscreen: Another brand with a lot of different options (the sport type is linked here!) that will meet your family’s needs. It meets all the “reef-safe” criteria and is non-nano! ($12.98 on Amazon)
  • Goddess Garden: Contains organic shea butter and coconut oil so it helps take care of your skin while you’re using it!They have kids and baby versions, as well as a spray on type! ($14.99 on Amazon)
  • Blue Lizard: The sunscreen that inspired this post! Blue Lizard was created in Australia, and might be the most well-known brand. It’s mineral and has been around for 20+ years. They also offer kid and sport versions. The coolest part? The container turns blue when it’s time to re-apply! ($14.98 on Amazon)
  • Thinksport: One of the most popular brands, Thinksport offers their regular sunscreen, as well as kids, baby, and sport versions. ($12.69 on Amazon)
  • Badger Balm: The big selling point for Badger Balm is their new clear zinc mineral sunscreens. This means that they start out white and then eventually go clear. (Clicking the link for Badger Balm will take you to their actual website, where they are currently running a promo for free shipping on orders over $25 and a free lip balm with everyone order!) Badger Balm is an entire skin care line and they make a ton of different products. If you want to check them out on Amazon, click here: ($22.08 on Amazon for sunscreen and a sunscreen face stick)
  • Kokuka Sun Care: Definitely the most expensive of the bunch, but racks up a 4.5 star rating on Amazon, so it’s worth it! It had 23 antioxidant ingredients in addition to the sun protection you’ll get. This is another sunscreen that’s a product of Hawaii. ($29.99 on Amazon)
  • Suntegrity: Another site that has A LOT of skin care products that will help you stay safe all summer and are reef-safe and non-nano! ($24.00 on Amazon)
  • Mama Kuleana: Handmade in Maui, this sunscreen is reef-safe AND the container biodegrades in two months time! Currently, it’s out of stock on Amazon, but should be back in stock by June 12. ($22.00 on Amazon)
  • Manda Organic Sun Paste: This sunscreen uses Thanaka, as an ingredient. According to the Amazon listing, “From the wood of a tree native to Myanmar, Thanaka has been used for over 2000 years as a natural sun protectant that preserves and beautifies the skin. ” This one is a little bit more expensive, but it’s packaged in bamboo and tin, so the container is recyclable! ($18.00 on Amazon, plus $4.59 shipping)
  • Sun Bum: Consistently ranked pretty highly on multiple lists for reef-safe sunscreen. Their products are vegan plus paraben, sulfate, and gluten free. Plus, the website says it smells like summer! ($15.95 on Amazon)ย†

Know Better, Do Better

Sunscreen is an essential part of summer because we know how important it is to protect our skin. While we’ve had access to sunscreen for years, it’s only recently that we’ve learned how damaging traditional sunscreen chemicals can be. Thankfully, there is a growing number of people who are concerned about our safety AND the safety of the environment. The best thing you can do is to use the new knowledge we have to be proactive! Take the time to read the ingredients and research what makes sunscreen (and other beauty products) dangerous to you and the environment. And remember, sunscreen isn’t the only beauty product that can cause trouble when it washes off into rivers, streams and oceans. Consider looking at the labels on all your skin care products to find places you can make small changes that make a big difference!

If you want to read a lot more about this topic, check out The Environmental Working Group.

If you have any reef-friendly sunscreens you’ve used, let us know how they work! AND we’re ALWAYS interested in beauty products that have less chemicals. Share with us your most favorite! Stay safe and ENJOY THE SUNSHINE!

Posted in Podcast Notes

Meeting Notes: Episode 12

Posted on by theladiesauxiliary301

Three months of podcasting! We have been having a great time sharing our thoughts with you and we hope you’ve been enjoying them too! Meeting 12 includes an update on news stories from last week, an important conversation about preservation of historical sites and the history that surrounds them, a recommendation to be more environmentally conscious, and a Bachelorette update! Listen below and check out our meeting notes!

News Updates: The Trash War, Hawaii, and Everest

After we recorded last week’s episode, we started seeing updates on the stories we shared with you EVERYWHERE. We read some pretty interesting things, so we had to update you this week. First up, the trash war. It turns out that the Philippines is not the only country that takes trash from other larger countries. We know it makes them a profit, but it is still strange to us that these tiny countries would be taking trash. Plenty of drama unfolded in the last week when this strange system came to light and Carrie gave us a great update. What we also learned is that sometimes even the things you put in your recycling bin DON’T get recycled. Check out this article on USA Today for more information!

Amanda Eller released, of all things, a Facebook video last week discussing her ordeal and her rescue. Afterwards, she had to issue some statements apologizing, or clarifying what she said. If you don’t have an hour to watch the video and catch up on the articles, just listen in to our summary. What do YOU think of Amanda Eller? Do you agree with us that she was incredibly irresponsible? Do you find her as hard to believe as we do? We find her story extra frustrating in light of the news that Noah Mina, the other Hawaii hiker that was missing, was found dead a few days after Amanda was rescued (and only 18 miles from her rescue spot.) Or are we completely misinterpreting her story? Let us know what you think!

Hiking at Everest is still a hot topic. Mandy Moore recently completed a small hike up to one of the checkpoints, and we did not realize there were so many! Listen to hear a short update about that, and why we think we don’t appreciate the greatness that is the Everest hike.

New York, 9/11, & Historical Significance

Over the weekend, Sam went to New York City and got a chance to spend some time at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. She got the unique experience of going for the first time herself, with other people who were old enough to remember the day, and her younger brother, who wasn’t even born when the tragedy happened. These contrasting perspectives, as well as the perspectives of others who were visiting the memorial and monument, made her ask some difficult questions. As a culture, do we treat monuments and memorials differently if we are too far removed from the event? Is that okay? Do we have a different perspective because we live in an area that was basically surrounded on all sides by the scary events of that day? How can we be sure to help the younger generations respect and appreciate the sacrifices and devastation of 9/11? Is there a way to find that sense of national togetherness without another tragic event? We don’t think we have answers to all these questions, but the discussion is powerful and important. We’d love to hear your thoughts too!

Cruise Boats on the Grand Canal?

New York City and the 9/11 Memorial wasn’t the only thing related to historical significance that we talked about this week! In the news recently was the most recent episode with a cruise boat and the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. While a cruise boat crashing into a river ferry is definitely newsworthy, the unique geography and history of Venice makes this story even more frightening. We aren’t the only ones who are concerned about Venice either. UNESCO already has Venice classified as a World Heritage site, but has threatened to put it on the endangered sites list, which will require more of Venice in terms of plans for tourist management and the upkeep of it’s historical integrity. You can see a video taken from the most recent event here. Have you been to Venice? What are your thoughts on tourism and history? Let us know!

The Bachelorette Recap

We don’t even know if we WANT to do a recap because ABC has left us with a “To Be Continued” episode…HOW MANY TIMES can we, as Bachelor Nation, complain about this before they listen to us? Nothing is more annoying than this type of episode. Nothing. Not even Luke P.

This week was basically entirely focused on Luke vs. Luke (with a little Mike in there, as backup for his buddy Luke S.) and by the third time these guys had the same argument, we were kind of over it. In our opinion, Hannah should have kicked them both out on the spot. BUT, we know she’s got a lust thing going on for Luke P. and Carrie thinks that she’s mad at herself for having feelings for Luke P., so she’s taking it out on Luke S. and trying to twist the situation to make it reasonable for her to keep P instead of S. I mean, we’ve all been there right? Finding some way to manipulate what is happening so we can convince ourselves that the bad guy really isn’t THAT bad? Hannah, we can relate, but it doesn’t make it any less painful to watch.

We saw the ambulance edit happen the same way it has on every other season ever. We are led to believe Luke P. does damage to another contestant in his uncontrolled rage and turns out Kevin just messed up his shoulder tackling the other guys. (This is an entirely different conversation: Why do boys like to tackle each other for fun?)

Jed had a great one-on-one date. Hannah was the one who really shined during their date. She is funny, quirky, and not afraid to be herself around Jed, which is super refreshing. They seem to have a great time together. Big points for Jed, and for Carrie who was the only one to put him on her list. The only thing that made us feel a little weird about it was that Jed openly admitted he originally signed up because he’s a musician who needed a platform. We were shocked that he said that, but maybe it made Hannah feel like he was an honest guy!

We got to see Garrett a little bit more this episode, which was kind of fun. He opened up to Hannah and I think he might have a personality that we can appreciate, even with his lack of airtime. JPJ’s shining moment was reading the date card and that one really long rugby run he had. Other than that, all the guys pretty much maintained whatever status they had last week, with no one making too many gains in the group except Peter. OH, and Tyler C…

Let’s discuss Tyler C. Did he have a breakout performance here? We think so! Hannah was really in her own head at the beginning of her date, and although sometimes Tyler’s words made it feel like he was playing to win, he did seem to really get her out of her funk. Mostly, we appreciate how honest Hannah was with him, telling him her real first impression of him, and actually listening to his road to The Bachelorette. Nicole is slightly more convinced that he’s smarter than she originally thought, but is so distracted by the weird tone and cadence of his voice that she still isn’t 100% convinced he should be in the running for Hannah’s husband.

We have no idea what’s going to happen at the rose ceremony, so we’ll have to catch that next week to see if we lose anyone else from our original picks. Our last thoughts on this season are this: Hannah is the BEST bachelorette ABC has had in a really, really, really long time. We are absolutely obsessed with her and hope she is SUPER successful in finding love. We subscribe to Hannah!

The Ladies Recommend: Reef-Safe Sunscreen

Bermuda

Chemicals in sunscreen are really dangerous for the ocean ecosystems. So much so that Hawaii has banned the sale of sunscreen with damaging chemicals. We talk about some of the negative effects and what to look out for in this week’s episode. We also give you some reef-safe sunscreens you will want to check out. STAY TUNED!! On Friday, we’ll have an entire post dedicated to WHY you need reef-safe sunscreen AND give you some great options to check out!

THANK YOU for listening and checking in with us again this week. Come back Friday morning to get the scoop on sunscreen before you head out for the weekend!