The Blonde Diaries

Could it be any hotter?

The past few days in Houston have registered 100+ degrees outside. 100+ degrees! Can you believe it? I have been truly shocked as I don’t remember hitting 100 degrees all that often the past couple of years living here. Luckily, I have working auto air conditioning due to buying a new car last year but man I would swelter if I was still driving my 1996 Grand Am. There were a few hot summers back home in Louisiana where her air compressor blew out and had to be replaced. It was one thing to go through the winter months with no air conditioning but the summers were not so much fun.

Before the heat cranks up in your neck of the woods give your auto’s air conditioning a once over. If it doesn’t feel cool enough visit your mechanic for a check up or do it yourself by purchasing the needed parts from 1airconditioning.com where you can get a warranty on every part purchased from them as well as free shipping. The site is very user friendly and you can search easily by year, make, and model to ensure you get the right parts for your car.

Drive safely and be cool!

PSA Summer Safety: Boating 101

In light of the success my other Summer PSA had (the one about sunscreen) I thought it was time to talk about another summer safety issue: Boating. Boating is a very fun summer activity to participate in. I often want to rent a pontoon boat when I visit Destin each summer and go dock near the overpass with everyone else and just relax all day but normally I run out of time before I can do this. While you may or may not know this Boating Operating Under the Influence is illegal. It is the same as operating a car under the influence with similar consequences and is not something that should be taken lightly.

In Arizona last year, 50% of all fatal boating accidents were alcohol related in 2007 and 1/3 of all fatal boating accidents nationwide are alcohol related. Arizona has released 2 PSAs that I think everyone should watch before jumping onto a boat this summer so that you can be well informed and know what to look for if you are with others who are downing an extra beer or two than yourself.

The first video is a Boat Sober Commercial. It is very short at 30 seconds and is a 30 seconds that could save your life. Please take a few minutes to watch.

The second video PSA released focuses on Arizona Boating and shows all of the fun activities you can do in the water. While the focus is on Arizona the message is the same no matter what state you visit and take up water sports in.

For more information on safe boating activities or to take a class in person or online check out Boating Education Online. It is a very informative site and one that everyone should spend a few minutes reading.

Happy Boating!

Summer PSA: Sunscreen is your friend!

I have been wanting to write this post all week but had yet to figure out how to start it out. I realized there really is no fun or witty way other than:

Sunscreen is Your Friend!!!

So what is this post about? Well, we are only 1 week away from the official start of summer vacation (Memorial Day weekend) and many folks will be heading to the beach and doing more fun outdoor activities in the hot sun. Sunscreen is a very important part of the equation that many people forget and they should not. Not regularly wearing sunscreen can do many things to your skin: cause wrinkles, leave scaring from 2nd and 3rd degree burns, burn you and cause you to flake for 2 weeks, and lastly can result in skin cancer. I’m not sure about you but those potential side effects of the sun do not sound appealing to me.

How to prevent unflattering side effects: obviously wear sunscreen and wear something that will do the job every time you go outside even if its only for 30 minutes. SPF (skin protection factor) is a factor and you should go with one that you are comfortable with. Many dermatologists will tell you that after SPF 30 they are all the same. I tend to go with the highest number I can that also does not clog up my pores and reapply a thin layer of spray sunscreen every hour or two hours I am outdoors. I really love the Neutrogena line of sunblock and they have a fabulous feeling spray sunblock that cools you off. Also, look for waterproof sunscreen but realize it’s mainly waterproof against rain, drizzling showers, and short swims. Waterproof does not mean you can get in and out of the water and not reapply. You should reapply sunscreen each time you towel off from a swim.

If you do end up with a burn - aloe vera is soothing and healing. Aloe from the actual plant works the best I have found followed by green aloe at the store - not sure what is in the blue version but that tends to make my burns worse. Also sleep and some IB Profin help speed up the healing process.

Have a happy and safe summer in the sun!

It’s May and I’m Cold! Surviving Summer Air Conditioning

Summer months in Texas usually mean the temperature is very hot outside and very cold inside. Most of the time you can’t walk outside without immediately starting to drip of sweat. The challenge though has become how do I dress for both? I mean you can’t wear sweaters year round but with the office buildings keeping the air conditioning blasting it presents a problem once lunch time rolls around and you have finally cooled down from the morning walk between your parking lot/garage and your office.

So I’ve tried a few things over the past 2 years to figure out a happy medium: the cardigan and the long-sleeved or 3/4 sleeved shirt. Both have worked ok but I often find that the latter causes me to sweat in the morning and then I’m worried about smelling all day and the former usually doesn’t solve the problem. I always find my feet cold which in turn makes my entire body cold.

So I decided to look into space heaters. I know I know - they are frowned upon by fire marshalls. But I am cold and there has to be a safe one out there. Plus we finally got our audit room all fixed up with nice desks/cube-like set up and I have a way to hide it thanks to the extra office furniture we gained. I found something that seems promising while surfin at work (shhh!). Its called a foot heater mat - as shown below - and looks pretty safe to use and a non-fire hazard. Kind of like a heating pad for your feet. I think I might give it a whirl if the air conditioning keeps blasting me out in the afternoons because the coldness definitely lowers my productivity. Has anyone used one of these?