LilSugar

10 Ways to Curb Car Sickness

LilSugar — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 06:00:38 PST

The Boy Scouts said it best when they told us to "be prepared." Mamas of wee ones who get sick in the car tend to have an arsenal of supplies to help combat the queasiness. Rather than give into their lil one's weak stomachs, mothers have several tricks up their sleeves to ensure a smooth ride to their destination. We've gathered up the 10 best tricks we've heard to fend off car sickness, but feel free to add your own!

You Know You're a Mother When: Sitting One Out

babysugar — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:30:05 PDT

As a mom, I have learned that one can expect the unexpected at any time. This past Saturday started out with high hopes and promises. To get our day started, I took my tots to a jumpy house birthday soiree that was blessed with clear blue skies and red velvet cupcakes. After some time, we packed up and headed back home for naps, the Blue Angels air show and a pumpkin carving party. My kiddos, however, had something else in mind. To see what happened,

read more. Just minutes shy of getting home, my eldest child got carsick and threw up all over herself and her car seat. I quickly handed her the burpcloth from my diaper bag, rolled all the windows down, and got home as quick as possible. Instead of naps, it was baths. Mama's downtime was spent spraying down the clothes and car seat in the bone chilling cold and tossing laundry all afternoon. As my pants got drenched and I canceled the rest of our plans, I couldn't help but think of all the years past where I had spent the same October day on roof decks watching planes buzz by with a beer in hand. The silver lining to the putrid predicament was that my lass was back to her old self and we made it home safely from the party. Sadly, it will be too soon if I ever see another red velvet anything.

Road Trippin' Blues: Car Sickness

FitSugar — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 06:00:41 PDT

If your July entails squeezing in one last road trip, you might want to read up on motion sickness. It is actually quite common; about one third of the population experiences symptoms in relatively mild circumstances, like being on a boat in calm water. In fact, the word nausea means seasick in Greek. Motion sickness is basically a disagreement between your eyes and your inner ear. The inner ear recognizes motion, but the eyes don't, or vice versa, jumbling the brain, and nausea ensues. It is no fun for any passenger to endure.

For some tips for fending off car sickness,

Mommy's Lil Helper: YakPack

babysugar — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 05:00:45 PST

Last week you told us stories about your child getting sick or excreting on you - one of motherhood's right of passage. No mum is always prepared when she leaves the house.

If you have a child prone to car sickness, or if you are experiencing a rough case of morning sickness, you might want to add the YakPack ($8) to your grab and go pile. The kits include a motion sickness bag and lap pad to protect surfaces, an odor neutralizer and scoop for cleaning up, hand wipes, disposal bags and non-latex gloves for clean up.

Road Trip Health: Fending Off Car Sickness

FitSugar — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 08:00:00 PDT

If you're planning to squeeze one last road trip out of Summer, you might want to read up on car sickness. Motion sickness is actually quite common; about one third of the population experiences symptoms in relatively mild circumstances, like being on a boat in calm water. In fact, the word nausea means seasick in Greek. Motion sickness is basically a disagreement between your eyes and your inner ear. The inner ear recognizes motion, but the eyes don't, or vice versa, jumbling the brain and nausea ensues. No fun for any passenger to endure.

For some tips for fending off car sickness,

Lil Tip: When Kids Get Sick in the Car

LilSugar — Fri, 09 May 2008 12:00:23 PDT

Once when my aunt was queasy in the car and they couldn't pull over, my grandmother passed her hat back for the child to throw up in.

While I've never tried that trick, in a pinch I've caught vomit in my hands, my skirt, a blanket, a box, and a shopping bag.

Unless your tot gets carsick, you probably won't have too many of these situations.

To see what happened to me recently,

read more. But after the episode we had yesterday morning, when I sprung from the car and made an emergency dash into Starbucks to ask for a handle bag and some napkins (thanks to the barista who gave me an entire roll of paper towels) for my daughter who had just fallen ill, I am keeping one of these in our vehicle. The nylon TrashStash Car Litter Bag ($13) attaches to the back of the seat or stands alone. Normally used for trash, the waterproof three gallon bag could also come to the rescue when a wee one isn't feeling well.

Geoffrey Zakarian on Winning The Next Iron Chef: Super Chefs

Susannah Chen — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 16:50:31 PST

Those of you who've tuned into the Food Network at all in recent days might have heard that the last season of The Next Iron Chef: Super Chefs has just wrapped, and a new champion has emerged victorious out of the star-studded (and highly competitive) lineup.

That would be Geoffrey Zakarian, guest judge of Food Network's Chopped and chef and owner of The National and The Lambs Club in New York City and Tudor House in Miami.

I had a chance to catch up with the chef over the phone, where he revealed his thoughts on why he won, how he hopes to set himself apart from the others on Iron Chef America, and what he always makes for the holidays.

YumSugar: You had a very serious expression on your face when the final outcome was revealed. What was your first thought when they announced you as the winner?
Geoffrey Zakarian: Well, they actually didn't call my name, which was sort of confusing, because whenever anyone got kicked off, they would actually say, "You will not be the next Iron Chef." But I was stunned, shocked, and relieved; there was a real sense of accomplishment.

Zakarian on his toughest Next Iron Chef moments, and his upcoming Kitchen Stadium challenges, after the jump.

13 Things That Are Causing Your Bills to Skyrocket

Emily Co — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 13:48:40 PST

To err is human; to make budgeting mistakes, totally human as well. Most people are not aware of the little budget traps we get caught in, because life is so busy that it's hard to keep track of the smaller money details. But being careless can rack up higher bills. Pretty soon, you might be wondering where your money is going - you don't spend that much every month but your bank seems to be emptying itself on its own. Here are things you need to watch out for:

Buying things that are not on sale: Most items generally go on sale if you wait for it. Whenever I buy greatly discounted items at a big annual sale like Black Friday, an outlet mall, or on some flash sales site, I wonder why I ever bought items at full-price.

Not preserving your groceries: Even if you're good about saving on your groceries and avoiding the items that are greatly marked up in the supermarket, those savings will be worth less if you don't know how to properly preserve your groceries. If you're throwing away food, you're wasting money. Do things like only cutting fruits and vegetables when you need them, putting your bread in the fridge or the freezer, and making perishable items more visible in your fridge. For more tips on lengthening the life of your groceries, read this.

Never checking your bills for mistakes: Monitor your receipts, bills, and statements to see if there are any mistakes being made. Get into a habit of giving your receipts a quick once-over as soon as you receive them. This may save you money and it'll definitely save you the time and effort of having to go back to the store or calling them to deduct the mistaken charges. Now that big banks are trying to slip in more fees to the unsuspecting customer, you have more reason to monitor your statements. Be a responsible consumer - the sooner you catch on to suspicious fees, the more chances you'll have of getting your money back.

Leaving your electronics plugged in: It's easy to be lazy and leave your electronics plugged in because you figure you'll be using them soon. Electronic items still suck power even when they aren't turned on. In fact, they draw five percent of the energy in American homes, according to a study by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The amount of energy wasted is equivalent to the output of 18 power stations!

Read on for more budget drains.

Grey's Anatomy Rundown, "Dark Was the Night"

Diana Nguyen — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 23:50:22 PST

It's a critical time for our favorite doctors this week on Grey's Anatomy, as more than one cast member faces a life-threatening situation. In the last episode we left Henry coughing up blood, and this week his fate is in the hands of Seattle Grace's finest, but you may be surprised to find out who performs Henry's surgery. Meanwhile, Callie and Jackson's careers are on the line, as Teddy tries to save their patient after post-surgery complications.

After several weeks of waiting, Meredith and Derek finally get word about Zola, and sadly, it looks like the results are not in their favor. However, this story line is completely overshadowed by all the heartbreaking events that lead to more than one surprising death. It's a tear-jerking, emotional roller coaster of an episode that left me at the edge of my seat. Were you along for the ride? Let's break it down!

Ryan Gosling, Who's "Sick of Myself," Washes Windows With a Smile!

Allie Merriam — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 07:24:04 PDT

Ryan Gosling ran into a friend at an LA gas station yesterday. The pal was in for a treat, as Ryan hopped out of his own car and decided to wash the windows of his buddy's vehicle! Ryan wrapped up the soapy session and headed over to Jay Leno's The Tonight Show studios. Ryan sat down to talk about Drive and revealed that he's getting a little sick of himself with all the press he has to do to promote the many movies he has hitting theaters. Ryan said, "It's a bit overkill. It's a little much. I'm sick of myself. I can't imagine how everyone else feels!" He went on to talk about some strange advice he got about his late-night appearances. Ryan commented, "I ran into my friend Lisa Shields last night. She works for my agent now, and one of her jobs is to record all my late-night appearances. She told me this last night: she said I'm trying too hard on talk shows. She said you're trying too hard to be cool. . . . I said I'm going on Jay Leno tomorrow, what should I do? She said, 'I don't know, just don't talk. Sit there and don't talk.' And I was like, 'It's a talk show, how do you not?' And then she said, 'Do something weird like sit behind his desk and get him to sit in a chair."