As turmoil has grown in Syria, many of us have felt useless in efforts to help; with the recent chemical warfare attacks that have again struck the country, it is time to act. While you may not have the necessary credentials or career needed to help the medical, humanitarian or housing needs in Syria, you can help the organizations who do. Medecins Sans Frontieres Internationl (MSF) www.msf.org MSF’s work is based on humanitarian principles; they are committed to bringing quality medical care to people caught in crisis, regardless of race, religion or political affiliation. Operating independently, MSF conducts their own evaluations on the ground to determine people’s needs; more than 90% of…
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5 Reasons You Should Travel With Children
2016 has been a hell of a year to travel for our family. We have been to Orlando, Florida twice and will be there again at the end of the year. My husband and I have each been to San Francisco separately. We flew to Eugene, Oregon for a wedding last weekend. As a family, we have camped in Joshua Tree. Road-tripped to San Luis Obispo for another wedding. My husband took a camping trip in Yosemite with his best friend. I am flying to Indonesia in three weeks with my best friend. And these are just the big trips! This doesn’t include the off-roading in snowy San Bernardino or…
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Living the California Dream (part one)
In 2010, I made a trip out to Southern California with my family and my best friend, Nicole. I had been out here several times since my grandma and aunts both lived there, but this was Nicole’s first time. For ten days we frolicked around Trabuco Canyon, played on the beaches in Dana Point and explored Laguna. Watched the Padres beat the Dodgers, ran around the OC Fair eating funnel cakes and riding carnival rides; we even borrowed my aunt’s car to go mingle at Huntington Beach with other teenagers (we actually drove to LA and went to a fraternity party and had a blast). After re-piercing my navel (which…
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How Yoga Changed My Life
I started doing yoga when I was 19; my friends and I would go to LA Fitness, do what we thought was “working out”, take a Latin heat Zumba class and then stay for the 7pm yoga class. We used the sticky mats that they had in the activity room, we kept our socks on and we giggled the whole time. We did not get the point. And in our defense, neither did LA Fitness. The room was always cold (which is not ideal for yoga) and was constantly filled with noise from the serious lifters on the other side of the wall, that were grunting and dropping weights. As…