Here Comes the Sun: 5 Sunscreen Savvy Tips

My article about sunscreen published yesterday on KSL (Utah) and KTAR (Arizona) yesterday. I learned a lot doing the interview - did you know "SPF" is measured in a lab, with artificial light? Or that soon the FDA will not allow companies to call it "sunblock," since they can't actually block the sun? (Sunscreen will be the preferred term - click on the link below to find out more.)

Read the full KSL article here or click here for KTAR. Here's quick tips for your summer fun in the sun:

5 Sunscreen Savvy Tips
• Look for zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide as active ingredients
• Avoid oxybenzone or retinyl palmitate (a type of vitamin A)
• Seek sunscreens that protect against UVA and UVB rays
• Use SPF 25 or higher but less than SPF 50
• Apply at least two coats for full SPF coverage

Another Gal Smooched My Husband at Disneyland

Well, that's if you count Minnie Mouse. (wink!)

Ryan kept bringing it up the rest of the day; he was pretty proud of his Minnie kiss. What would Mickey think about that? For me, I didn't feel too bad since I got plenty of smooches myself (see Splash Mountain picture below.)

When little girl in pink saw this picture, she said in a Southern accent, "Mama, look, they're smoochin' in the back!"

Although it already feels like a happy blur, we had a magical Disneyland day yesterday. It was one year (to the day!) since our epic Disneyland visit with our Kau and Pannell cousins, the true park pros. They taught us how to work the FastPass system. Thanks to their proven tips, yesterday we literally went on every big ride in both Disneyland and California Adventure - and never waited longer than 15 minutes for a ride! (I'll be sharing those tips in another post, if you're interested.)

Like the greeting sign says, we left today and "entered the world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy." Nothing like truly being kids again for 24 hours. We made a splash with Brer Rabbit, yo-ho yo-hoed with pirates, had a jolly holiday with Mary Poppins, and watched Captain EO save the planet. In a cute moment, we saw baby ducks follow their daddy into the "It's a Small World" ride water, and the workers saving them. Just like last year, we were blown away by the beauty and wonder of "World of Color." If you've not seen it yet, click here to see a video - it's my very favorite park attraction.

We were surrounded by families with babies and little kids at the park, and mentioned quite a few times how it was likely the only Disney trip we'll ever make with just the two of us, with the grand adventure of parenthood coming in the next couple years. We both decided that although strollers slow you down, it'll be a blast to share Disneyland with kiddos someday. As a duo we lived it up, wore ourselves out and literally loved every second. 

Only year of our lives to have annual passes! (Thanks, mom!) We finally used them the day before they expired.

2011 Trip

2012 Trip

Bless Walt Disney for building such a magical place!

The mama scolding her babies to get out of the water, but they followed the daddy, right in front of our boat.

Disney workers helped get the babies out. It was cute! I heard one of them say, "this happens every year!"

As a Construction Management major, Ryan couldn't help but ask the Cars Land crew questions about their project.

I dreamed of being a Disney animator as a kid -  no wonder I love drawing at the "Animation Academy" 

I still have the song in my head, "When Mary 'olds your 'and, you feel so grand..."

We couldn't believe we ran into the Glenns! We met them in Dominican Republic -  it IS a SMALL WORLD after all!

Best part of the day - the night show!

9 Ways You Know You're FRUGAL

Are you frugal too?

Granted, we're just starting out. But still. We don't buy the "instant gratification" consumer concept floating around society.  We don't need brand-new everything; nor should we pay top-dollar to have nice things, especially when we can find deals. Steering clear of unnecessary stress, we avoid consumer debt like the plague. In fact, a big attraction factor when we were dating was how frugal we both like to live. (As I've said before, we bargain-hunters were meant for each other.) We seek to be wise stewards of our money, and maybe you can relate to our living-on-the-cheap lifestyle:

1. Going through your wardrobe, you can recall how much you paid for each shirt - whether at a thrift store like D.I. or on sale. "Yeah, this GAP one was $2, this American Eagle was $4. That Ralph Lauren, oh, that was pricey - it was $8."

2. Whenever you go to a hotel, you keep mini bottles of lotion, shampoo, and conditioner. You now have a hefty supply useful for camping trips, keeping in your purse, or that dreaded day when you run out of conditioner mid-shower.

3. You never go out and just buy high-ticket items. For things like new road bikes, you do research online, and usually find the best deal on sites like KSL.com, craigslist, etc.

4. You know OfficeMax gives $2 for every empty ink cartridge you turn in, and you can buy them on eBay for 60 cents a piece. So, you rack up the points and get free office supplies.

5. You're proud of the fact that your entire living space is populated with hand-me-down or gifted furniture.

6. When you get presents, you keep all gift bags, ribbons, and even tissue paper to wrap future gifts. (No use in spending $4.95 on a bag. I mean, come on!)

7. You do yardwork and/or handyman projects at your apartment to lower your rent.

8. When banks offer a $100 or $125 bonus for opening an account, you jump on it. You keep money in there for the required six months, close it and walk away with more than the going interest rate. You  have already made $850 with this little trick.

 9. Last, but definitely not least: When the sample day rolls around at Costco, you think, "Mmm...FREE LUNCH!"


How are you frugal? Tell, tell. We wanna hear your ideas.

Eclipse Ecstasy

I'm proud of this shot! You can see the shadow of the real solar eclipse on our pack of "eclipse" gum.

Wow! The annular solar eclipse tonight - did you see it?

According to this official NASA site, "the path of the Moon's antumbral shadow begins in eastern Asia and crosses the North Pacific Ocean where it ends in the western United States. The Moon's penumbral shadow produces a partial eclipse visible from a much larger region covering East Asia, North Pacific, North America and Greenland." We saw it here in Ogden, Utah!

NASA recommended cutting a hole in a piece of paper to see the crescent-shaped shadow caused by the solar eclipse. Check. They also recommended looking at the shadow of plants and trees to see the "mini eclipses." Double check. 

Now I think we need some gum...

This paper has a circle cut into it - yet the eclipse made it show up as a crescent. How'd it DO that?

What a good-looking shadow!

Look for it..

See them?

Max: A Shark Bit My Head Off

Meet Max.

Our four-year-old cousin's cuteness can only be matched by his imagination.Conversation recorded on his dad's Facebook:

Max: "Dad, have you ever seen a sock?"
Dad: "Yea, I've got some on my feet right now."
Max: "No, a sark. Have you ever seen a sark?"
Dad: "What's a sark?"
Max: "You know...a sark sims in the ocean."
Dad: "You mean a shark? No, I've don't think I've ever seen one. How about you?"
Max: "I was simming once and sark bit my head off."
Dad: "Get out of here. Then what happened."
Max: "I went to a sark doctor and he sewed a new head on me and gave me new blood."

We visited Max and the Clegg clan a few days after the "biting incident," and you can see his head was still fully intact. (Apparently, his doctor did good work.)

We scheduled a 24-hour layover to visit our Clegg cousins in New Jersey prior to our Dominican Republic trip. They opened up heart and home, giving us the "honeymoon suite" of their gorgeous Victorian mansion. Although we only got to spend four meals with them, we felt a special, welcoming feeling in their home - laughter, love, games, and random quotes from hilarious little kids. Neither of us wanted to leave.

Max and Caleb fell for Ryan fast - between his backflips on the trampoline and playing "monsters," they couldn't get enough of him. Max would come find Ryan, out of the blue, and say in his adorable way (without the "r") "I wuv you, Wyan." Insert heart, officially melted.

Led by brainy parents, they're an incredibly intelligent family. Soon to graduate high school, their second daughter was studying for not one, two, but FIVE AP tests, and has recently been accepted into top-tier universities, including M.I.T. and BYU. The smarts start young at their place. Their seven-year-old wowed us with his Monopoly skills and astute reaction to his dad's purchase of Mediterranean, "You paid $600 for a FLEABAG property!?"

Check out their home. This Victorian beauty is more than 100 years old, filled with charming quaintness. For example, Carly showed me the numbers on their bedroom doors, remnants of a previous owner's attempts at a boarding house. Uncle Carl told us it has 56 (or 57?) windows, and nobody even builds with 12-inch sturdy rock walls like theirs anymore. I was particularly a fan of Aunt Delite's dinner bell, used to summon kiddos at suppertime. The Cleggs live in an ideal little town a couple blocks from a nice lake and lovely historic neighborhood for family strolls.

As East Coasters, the Cleggs live near national monuments, tourist attractions, and historic wonders - a couple years ago my mom and I spent a lovely day visiting the Statue of Liberty with them. On this visit, they took Ryan and me to see George Washington's headquarters at Morristown. We ate a picnic lunch. Then while DeLite nursed baby Benji, we played tag with the other kids at Jockey's Hollow.  I remember hiding with Rebecca behind an old tree stump. We were traipsing on fields where hundreds of troops were stationed for dreary winters during the American Revolution.We explored an old barn and meandered through a reminiscent garden, featuring olden-day herbs that were once used as a homegrown pharmacy. It was a happy day; we couldn't have enjoyed ourselves more.

Just yesterday Ryan told me, "I love them all. I can't wait to go back and visit again."

Ditto.

Dear Dominican Republic

A glimpse of Lifestyle Tropical Beach Resort

Dear Dominican Republic, 

¡Muchas gracias! After last week, we're missing ya already.

Thanks for sharing one of your resorts; we made good use of beach hammocks, the giant chess set, and days to do whatever we wished. (Fun reading, thoughtful conversation, playing more card games than we had in a year, and making new friends to play with us.) Your tropical setting hit the spot for island morning runs, and Ryan's yoga on the beach.

Your people and culture gave us sights we'd never seen before: people carrying large baskets on their talented heads, presidential nominee posters plastered everywhere, and piles of pineapples for sale. (We ate near our weight in sweet, fresh pineapples.) Crystalee enjoyed practicing español. 

Let's be honest. We both know you're a third world country. On your 50-mile stretch from the Puerto Plata resort to the Santiago airport we learned drivers don't really need traffic lanes or turn signals. (But we sure used our seatbelts!) Also, our leaky roof, pushy sales staff urging us to take tours, and archaic dinner reservation system just made things more interesting...

Skipping souvenirs, we brought home some wicked sunburns. You gave us new passport stamps, and we'll remember you fondly.

Thinking of you as our sunburns peel, 

The Becks

P.S. Muchas gracias to flight attendant friend Rachel, who found the screaming deal and told us about it. She introduced us to this travel site - what a great price for a week's vacation!

Ahh...blissful beach hammocks...

We ate snacks here a few times, the Blue Lagoon restaurant.

One of the restaurants, and our preferred place for lunch.

Unsuspecting, happy couple. Sunburns, coming up!

After the rain, getting my camera "flower mode" going...

Since neither of us know how to play chess, we used the pieces to play giant checkers. Ryan: 3 Crystalee: 0. Ouch!

Wish I could sneak a bundle of these pineapples with me - so juicy sweet.

We made this our own personal gazebo to play card games.

Extreme neck strength? The graceful balance of royalty? How do they DO that?

I have this obsession with license plate pictures.

The political signs dominated the DR driving landscape! 

More fruit sellers - they approach your car at stops.