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Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States, but it's also the easiest to prevent with the proper protection.

Titanium dioxide and zinc oxide are minerals that physically block ultraviolet (UV) rays from reaching your skin, as opposed to other sunscreens that use chemicals to absorb UV rays. Minerals are considered the best protection against sunburn because they block both UVB rays (which cause sunburns) and UVA rays (which cause skin aging and cancer). Chemical sunscreens, on the other hand, don't always protect against UVA.

SPF is an FDA-regulated rating system that represents how long it will take for exposed skin to burn with the sunscreen applied. For example, if your unprotected skin usually burns in 10 minutes, a sunscreen with an SPF 15 would prevent a sunburn for 15 times that length of time, or 150 minutes. However, SPF only rates UVB rays, not skin damaging UVA rays. For that reason, never rely entirely on a sunscreen's SPF, and look for products that advertise "broad-spectrum protection," which means it protects against both types of rays.

The primary drawback to sunscreens with titanium dioxide or zinc oxide is that they can leave a white tint on your skin. To make the lotions transparent, manufacturers shrink titanium dioxide or zinc oxide particles down to nano-sized particles. Because smaller particles can act differently than larger particles when they enter the body, these nano-sized particles have been cause for concern: Research indicates that nanoparticles of titanium dioxide are small enough to bypass your body's "blood-brain barrier" (a natural defense against foreign substances in the bloodstream) and enter the brain where they can damage brain cells. Larger particles, however, are blocked by that barrier and don't pose this problem. Fortunately, a 2006 Australian government literature review on the topic found that neither titanium dioxide nor zinc oxide penetrate the skin deep enough to actually enter the bloodstream, and most scientific evidence supports the fact that nano-sized particles of these ingredients are often trapped in the outer layer of the skin and not absorbed (they should always be avoided when used in powders that may be inhaled). However, if you'd rather err on the side of safety, opt for sunscreens that use micronized ingredients (particles larger than 100 nm), which are mostly transparent but may still offer a slight tint.

Posted in: go green, sunscreen on Tuesday, June 10, 2008 at at 7:27 PM 15 comments    

It's been a while since I did a photography post, so I thought now was as good a time as any! So far in this series I've covered; Photography terms defined, shooting modes, understanding white balance, and window-light portraiture. Today's photography lesson will be a more in-depth discussion about aperture.

The aperture is the hole through which the light passes through to reach the sensor or film. You can actually control the diameter of this hole on your camera. On old style cameras, there is an aperture ring that goes around the outside of the lens. Moving it around changes the diameter of the aperture.

You most likely will not have an aperture ring on your modern lenses, however, your lens still has the diaphragm inside that allows it to open and close, and you’ll have controls on on your camera that will allow you to control that diaphragm.

The numbers are called f-stops, moving up or down a stop halves or doubles the light let into the camera (the reason that the numbers look strange is down to some tricky math). Even though your camera doesn’t have an aperture ring, you’ll find that you can still adjust the aperture of your camera to these same values (although, depending on your lens, you might only be able to go as low as f4 or 5.6)

One thing that is really important to realize about the f numbers is that the smaller the number is, the larger the aperture is. This can be a bit tricky to grasp at first! If you increase the aperture by one stop (thus doubling the amount of light entering the camera), you’ll need to put the shutter speed down by one stop (and thus halving the amount of light entering the camera).

Posted in: aperture, f-stop, photography, photography basics on Monday, June 9, 2008 at at 7:31 PM 1 comments    

What's in Season?

While many fruits and vegetables are available year-round, most are at their peak during specific seasons. You'll find the tastiest nectarines in the summer for example, while fiddlehead ferns are generally sold during the spring. With so much delicious produce to choose from, it's hard to figure out what to eat when. Luckily, this helpful produce guide lists the season's best options, so you'll never be unsure again!

Spring Fruit and Veggies

• Apricots
• Artichoke
• Asparagus
• Avacados
• Carrots
• Chives
• Collard greens
• Fennel
• Fiddlehead Ferns
• Mango
• Mustard greens
• New potatoes
• Pineapple
• Rhubarb
• Spinach
• Spring Baby Lettuce Mixes
• Strawberries
• Sugar Snap and Snow Peas
• Vidalia Onions
• Water Crest

Summer Fruits and Veggies

• Beets
• Blackberries
• Blueberries
• Broccoli
• Chinese Cabbage
• Corn
• Cucumbers
• Eggplant
• Nectarines
• Green Beans
• Peaches
• Plums
• Raspberries
• Summer Squash
• Tomatoes
• Watermelon
• Zucchini

Now head on over to your nearest Farmer's Market and stock up on some delicious, fresh fruits and vegetables!

Posted in: farmer's market, fruits, vegetables, veggies on Friday, June 6, 2008 at at 12:39 PM 20 comments    

Caramel Cream Cheese Apple Pie

This pie is absolutely to die for, even better with ice cream!


INGREDIENTS

• 2 pastry crusts (I used one frozen pie crust for the bottom (the ones already in the tin) and one Pillsbury pastry for the top.)
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1.5 cups cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 or more thinly sliced apples
• 1 (2.5 ounce) package caramel apple circle (like what you'd use to bake on caramel apples.)
• 1 tablespoon sugar

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, blend cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and flour. Mix well. Add apples to cream cheese mixture and stir until apples are evenly coated. Add brown sugar mixture to apple mixture gradually, stirring after each addition.
4. Pour half of apple mixture into pastry-lined pie plate. Place caramel circle over top, then pour in remaining apple mixture. Cover with second pastry. Seal edges and cut steam vent in top. Sprinkle with coarse sugar and cinnamon. Place pie on baking sheet covered with aluminum foil.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes. Cover edges with foil after 15 minutes.

- I used granny smith apples - not usually my pie favorite but they turned out fantastic.
- I cut 5 vents in a diamond pattern on the top and had no boil out/over.

After you cook the pie, let it sit for an hour, then put in the fridge for an hour. If you cut it while its warm, it will collapse, the inside is liquid and needs to firm up. But you want to serve it warm, so cut a piece and warm it in toaster oven or 15 secs in microwave

Posted in: apple pie, easy, recipes on Thursday, June 5, 2008 at at 8:36 PM 12 comments    

We left for our yearly family vacation to Surfside Beach, SC on August 17, 2007. However, right from the start we hit a road bump. The night before, as I was dropping the dogs off to the kennel, packing for myself, packing for 3 kids, and trying to get laundry and dishes done before we left, Sean offers to pick up a friend at the airport, at 10pm. I asked him not to do it, we were leaving the next day and he still needed to pack for himself and pack the car. But nope, he said he’d go pick up his buddy and come right home. Whatever, I finished as much as I could and went to bed around 11pm. Around 4am Sean comes in the bedroom and says, “Turn on the light, wake up. It’s important.” Groggily I look at the clock and turn on the light. He’s standing at the foot of the bed and tells me, “I wrecked the car. I was arrested for DUI, reckless driving, driving an uninsured vehicle, and open container. They put me in hand cuffs, I’ve spent the last 2 hours at the hospital. I’m sorry.”

Shocked I went to sleep. I don’t think I realized what he really had said until the morning. That morning was spent with Sean on the phone to his boss and his mom and the State Police and the tow place, etc. We got off to a late start and the whole drive down was miserable. Sean on the phone to his mom all day, 10 hours in a car w/3 kids. We spent the night in Richmond, VA. The next morning we got up early and got to the beach around 3pm. Sean took the kids to the beach and the pool while I went to Wal-mart to get groceries. We enjoyed the beach and the pool together when I got back. We made some dinner and relaxed in the condo. Around 9pm our best friends from Georgia arrived and the kids played for a while as us grown ups caught up (we hadn’t seen them since they moved in May). We all were in bed by midnight or so.

The next morning we got up early and fed all 5 kids and headed out to the beach. We swapped watching the kids between the pool and the beach and getting things ready for lunch, dinner, etc. A great day was had by all! We took a walk on the beach after dinner down to the pier. We got the kids some ice cream and hung out. We went back to the condo and the kids played and we had some beers. The next day our friends hung out for the morning and headed back to Georgia in the early afternoon.

We spent the rest of the day at the beach and pool, etc. I took Rachel and Grace for a walk while the boys slept. We headed about a mile down the road to where Sean’s Aunt and Uncle own a beach house. They were there with their 2 married adult children and their 4 grandchildren. We don’t see this side of his family much because they live in OH and SC. His Aunt asked us to come back tomorrow afternoon to hang out and eat dinner. We stayed for a while so Rachel could visit with her cousin and the others could meet Gracie. We got back to the condo and ate dinner and relaxed.

Read the next installment here.

Posted in: disaster, vacation on Wednesday, June 4, 2008 at at 8:05 PM 12 comments