Category Archives: Advice/How To

Advice/How To

Summer activities

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By Evie Beaumaster

Sundown near Westerland, Sylt, Germany (August 2002). By Magnus Manske via Wikimedia Commons

Summer is right around the corner and you might be starting to think of fun summer activities! Summer always promises fun and relaxation. With more time on their hands people often wonder what they can do with their time. Here are some activities that are free (and few you have to pay for) and available around the Highland area from the city of Saint Paul Parks and Rec department!

There are many free fitness classes that are available from the city of Saint Paul!

  • At parks around Highland there is Zumba every Saturday at 9:30 am, and there is also yoga Friday nights and Saturday mornings.
  • Hidden Falls has dance classes that are available on Saturday nights.
  • Mattocks Park has yoga Tuesdays at 6 pm and Wednesdays at 9 am.
  • Summit overlook has Monday night yoga as well as Tuesday night yoga.

For more info: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1b1JbB-BZ4OhccX0a5OBk6wX83rA6bCh3/view?usp=drivesdk

Saint Paul hosts movies in the parks free at several different parks. The movies this summer include: ‘Clueless’, ‘Men in Black’, ‘Toy Story’, ‘Cool Runnings’, ‘Jumanji’ and ‘Bad Boys’. There are food trucks available and these events are pet friendly! 

For more info: https://www.stpaul.gov/departments/parks-and-recreation/activities-events/summer-activities-events/movies-parks

There are also many fun activities that you can do around the Highland area for a bit of a cost. On July 18-20th the Minnesota Yacht Club Festival takes place and many musical artists will be there such as: Hozier, Fall Out Boy, Weezer, Green Day, Sublime and more!

For more info: https://www.minnesotayachtclubfestival.com/

The Saint Paul Saints games are a fun way to spend a summer night and their tickets cost anywhere from $5 to $35, making it a low cost activity.

For more info: https://www.milb.com/st-paul

Saint Paul also has aquatic centers that are open during the summer. For a pass over the summer it is $138. These are valid for the Highland pool, the Como pool and Great River water park. While this is a more costly option it is definitely worth the investment.

For more info: https://mnsaintpaulweb.myvscloud.com/webtrac/web/search.html?module=AR&type=Aquatics&_csrf_token=fJ6O1B6S1Q6X2I411Z3A2V4B505W4C6F1D715Z5958016Y5P5A4Z076T5859421I5R4Q6R571E5L4J536F005P5R4J556D5S615B52056Z4C6I67036W4L554B1D4S625B

The Highland Park area and the city of Saint Paul have many activities for the summer and there are so many opportunities to spend time doing fun activities with friends!

Advice/How To

Summer activities

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By: Chloe Rocha

Now that the weather is warming up, it’s hard to know what to do without spending loads of money. If you are in this situation then this article will help give you ideas on what to do without using money.

1. Go on a walk

There are a lot of beautiful trails in Saint Paul that you can explore and see the beautiful sights.

Some of my favorite places to go are the Summit overlook park, located on Summit Ave and Ramsey Street. Another one of my favorite spots is an overlook along the Mississippi River. This place is located at the World War I monument and there are many trails that you can follow.

2. Go to the beach

The beach can offer many different activities for you and your family or friends to do. You could go swimming in the water, or just lay and relax while enjoying the summer weather. A bonus to this is that you will also get a good tan, but make sure to apply sunscreen.

3. Have a picnic

You can find a nice park outside and pack up some of your favorite foods and a blanket. This is one that you can do with your friends, family, or even by yourself too!

4. Stargazing

Once the sun goes down, you can go outside and look at all the beautiful stars. To have a better experience you could drive further away from the city so all the lights don’t take away from the stars.

5. Gardening

There are so many beautiful flowers and plants that you could place in your backyard. Gardening is a great way to brighten up the exterior of your house

6. Backyard Camping

You don’t always need to go to a camping ground to go camping because you can do it in the comfort of your own home. Just get a tent and set it up in your backyard.

7. Garage sale

Having a garage sale is a great way to declutter your house and also you can make some money by doing this as well.

8. Hammocking

You can set up your hammock almost anywhere. This could be done at home in your backyard or at a nice park in the shade.

9. Tour a museum

Many museums offer free admission days. On one of those days you could go and tour the museum and see all the different things they have inside.

10. Game night

For this one you only need a few friends or family members. Find some of your favorite games to play and make a night out of it.

If you have a very competitive family like I do, you could even create a tournament and see who wins!

All of these are options that you can do throughout the summer without having to spend too much money.

Advice/How To

The ultimate summer bucket list

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By: Kate Tabor

image created using ChatGPT

Summer is coming up, and everyone’s excited. The sun’s out, school is almost over, and everyone is getting excited about everything they’re gonna do this summer, but what are some actually fun things to do in summer? Well, here are some ideas I’ve collected.

Bikini boxes!

Need somewhere to put all your swimsuits? Well, pick up a little wooden crate and some paint, and there you have it. You can paint cute seashells, the sun, or anything your heart desires. This is a really fun arts and crafts project you can do alone or with a friend! A fun day out in the sun painting? Sign me up!

Water balloon fight!

Gather up all your friends, pick up some water balloons, and pick teams. A water balloon fight in the hot Minnesotan sun is the perfect way to spend a summer day. This one is super cost friendly, and super fun.

Bike ride at sunset!

I’m a firm believer that bikes are the best way to get around in summer, and what’s better than taking a bike ride at sunset? Nothing. This is something you can do alone, or with some friends. If you wanted to, you could probably do this everyday. What a great way to end the day!

Have a picnic!

Picnics don’t have to be a huge hassle, just grab a blanket and your favorite foods from the fridge, and bike on down to Lake Nokomis and set up. Super cute, and then you’re already at the lake, so when you get too hot you can jump right in!

Play a sport!

Whether it’s captains practice for a school sport, or beach volleyball with your friends, staying active is a great way to spend your summer! Sports are a great way to spend time outside in the summer, and get to spend time with your friends. 

Really, the best way to spend your summer is to do anything and everything you can think of. There’s no way to have a boring summer when you’re constantly moving!

Advice/How To, School Life

Easy ways to make your school morning better

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By: Alice Rapacz

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Do your mornings feel chaotic and like you’re in a rush? Well, today you will learn easy ways to make your morning better, so that your start to the day isn’t chaotic.

Having a morning routine helps you manage your time better so that you don’t end up forgetting things in the rush of the morning. It can help you stay calm and organized, helping you show up to school ready to learn. Sticking to the same routine helps build health habits that can also help you with many other things. One more big thing that having a morning routine adds is not having to waste time on small things, which allows you to use your time and energy for more important tasks.

Now, let’s get into what you can do to improve your mornings. A good morning starts with the night before. Doing as much as you can the night before sets you up to have less to do in the morning making it less busy.

Lay your clothes out:

The night before, pick your outfit out. This gives you time to make sure you like it and so that you don’t have to scrabble in the morning to find something from the dark depths of your drawer.

Pack your backpack:

Put all your homework, notebooks, books, and other necessities in your backpack and don’t forget to charge your iPad! Doing this helps to make sure that you don’t forget that important homework assignment that is due the next day or other important items.

Prep your meals:

Make your lunch if you take one the night before. This makes sure your not standing in front of the fridge in the morning unsure what to pack and not packing one because you need to catch the bus.

Breakfast is such an important meal of the day. It gives you energy to tackle your first classes before lunch. There are many meals that you can prepare ahead of time that you can quickly take out and eat in the morning. Some are overnight oats or yogurt parfaits that you can customize to your liking. Breakfast doesn’t need to be hard, it just needs to fuel you for the day. So quick breakfasts that you can make in the morning are: a piece of toast with peanut butter and banana, oatmeal with fruit, a hard boiled egg and a piece of toast, and so much more.

Keep it consistent:

Setting an alarm in the morning and sticking to it. Getting the routine of not snoozing the alarm makes it easier to wake up after a while. Keep the alarm at the same time, the more you wake up at one time, the more you adjust.

When going to bed, wind down by reading a book before bed or doing something off a screen. I know it can be hard to put down the phone or turn off the TV, but it makes it easier to fall asleep. Go to bed at the same time each night. Having a consistent bedtime makes sticking to the routine easier in the morning.

These are a few easy ways to make your morning better so that you can have a good start to the day instead of a chaotic one. Remember, keep it consistent with everything you do. Make it a long term effort, doing it for one day won’t help. Now get out there and have a great morning.

Advice/How To

Birthday freebies

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By: Alice Rapacz

What are birthday freebies, and how do I get them?

Birthday freebies are free items or food that you can get on your birthday. There are many different stores that do this, but you can’t just walk into every store on your birthday and get something special. Depending on the store, there are different requirements to be able to get your freebies. Some stores have apps that you can get, some you have to be a part of their rewards program, and some you need to be a part of their club.

Some stores here in Minnesota that you can get your birthday freebie from are the following:

American Eagle and Aerie- $5 at the stores; you must be a RealRewards member.

Auntie Anne’s- Free pretzel; to receive the pretzel, you must be a part of their rewards program and spend $10 a year.

Bath & Body Works- You need to sign up for My Bath & Body Works Rewards. You can pick out an item up to $9.95 with any purchase.

Ben & Jerry’s- One free scoop; you need to be a member of their Flavor Fanatics email list.

Breadsmith- A free load of bread; you need to sign up for Breadsmith Rewards where you will receive an email with a notification that tells you a free loaf of bread was added to your account.

Build-A-Bear-Workshop- $10 off a $30 purchase; you must be a member of the Build-A-Bear Bonus Club.

Caribou Coffee- One free beverage; you need to be a Caribou Perks member.

Cinnabon- 1 Free iced coffee; you need to be signed up for Cinnabon Rewards. When you sign up for the rewards, you can receive a 4 piece BonBites that expires two weeks after you sign up.

Cold Stone- Free ice cream; you need to be a member of the My Stone Cold Club.

Culver’s- Free frozen custard; you need to be a member of MyCulver’s.

Green Mill- Free deep dish pizza; you need to be a member of the Green Mill Rewards Club, it is valid for 10 days from when an email is sent out.

Jamba Juice- Free small smoothie; you need to be a member of the My Jamba Rewards program, and you need to spend $10 over the 12 months before your birthday.

Jimmy John’s- Free sandwich; you need to be signed up for Freaky Fast Rewards.

McDonald’s- A choice of a free 6 piece Chicken McNuggets, cheeseburger, hash browns, large iced coffee, McChicken, medium fries, or a sausage burrito. You need to be a part of the MyMcDonald’s Rewards app.

Sephora- A mini free gift from a chosen selection; you need to be a Beauty Insider member.

Starbucks- Free beverage or food item; you need to be a Starbucks Rewards member.

Ulta Beauty- A free gift from a chosen selection; you need to be a Beauty Rewards member.

Whether it’s a sweet treat from Ben & Jerry’s, a discount from Build-A-Bear-Workshop, or a free gift from Sephora, birthday freebies are a fun way to celebrate your birthday.

Make sure that you do everything needed so that on your special day you can treat yourself.

Advice/How To

The importance of hygiene

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By: Jooney Freddieson & Aalovely Lor

Generated by Canva AI 

Introduction 

Good hygiene is essential for both your physical and mental wellbeing. It holds multiple practices, starting from handwashing to brushing your teeth. 

Hygiene helps prevent spreading harmful bacteria, infections, and viruses. That makes it the best and easiest disease prevention technique.

Without proper hygiene, people become susceptible to widespread health issues. This could be the common cold or more serious illnesses like the flu. 

Dental Hygiene

Dental hygiene is one of the key factors to keeping good hygiene. 

This begins with brushing your teeth at least twice a day, both morning and night. Along with brushing comes flossing and mouthwash to help remove plaque and prevent gum infections. 

Poor dental hygiene leads to cavities, gum infections, and in serious cases heart conditions. 

Having regular checkups and cleanings with dentists play a crucial role in your dental hygiene because even if you can’t feel it, you never truly know what’s going on in your mouth. 

Body Hygiene 

Body hygiene is keeping the body clean. 

The most important aspect of body hygiene is bathing or showering regularly. This helps remove the dirt, excess oils, and sweat you’ve built up over the previous days. 

Showering and changing into clean clothes daily help reduce the risk of skin infections, including acne or fungal infections.

Proper body hygiene also builds confidence and comfort in your wellbeing. Feeling fresh and clean positively impacts your interactions with others. 

Hand hygiene 

Hand hygiene is one of the most effective methods to prevent the spread of diseases and illnesses. 

Washing your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds already helps remove disease, dirt, and viruses that could cause illness. 

Using this method is really important after using the bathroom, handling food, or being in public areas. 

Throughout the day you touch many infected surfaces such as your phone, toilets, doorknobs, and tables. These surfaces have harmful bacteria that could be washed off with soap and water. 

Nail Hygiene 

Nail Hygiene is very important but it is an overlooked part of personal hygiene. 

It involves keeping your fingernails and toenails trimmed, clean, and strong. Nails should be free from bacteria and dirt.

Nails can easily trap germs that you pick up from everyday activities if they’re not cleaned regularly. These germs can enter your body through eating/drinking or when touching your face. They can also enter through cuts and wounds. 

Poor nail hygiene can lead to infections like, stomach aches, paronychia, and buildups of bacteria. 

Cleaning and trimming your nails regularly helps prevent issues like infections or stomach aches, and also helps your nails grow strong and healthy. 

Clothing Hygiene

Clothing hygiene means wearing, cleaning, and changing clothes regularly. After sweating from physical activities our clothes absorb our sweat and oil from our skin including dirt and dust throughout the day. 

If you continue to wear unwashed clothes regularly, not only will it give you a bad odor it will also lead to skin irritations and or bacterial infections. 

Clean clothes help prevent health problems but they also help with boosting self esteem and presenting a positive image to others. 

Ear Hygiene 

Ear hygiene focuses on cleaning, managing earwax build ups, and cleaning the outer part of our ears. 

Wiping the outside of our ears with a damp cloth or paper towel helps remove dirt and excess wax. Doing this regularly prevents itchy buildups and helps keep our ears clean. 

Inserting cotton swabs/q-tips or fingers into our ears can push the wax in further leading to an uncomfortable buildup and ear infections. It can also damage our hearing if pushed further. 

It is recommended by doctors to use an earwax remover tool to remove ear wax build ups. The tool is in the shape of a tiny spoon which helps safely remove earwax and not push the wax forward. 

Maintaining good ear hygiene prevents discomfort, infections, and hearing problems. 

Overall, good hygiene is essential for preventing the spread of illness, staying healthy, and keeping a better image. Making these habits a regular part of your daily life and routine will improve your physical and mental wellbeing. 

Advice/How To

How to care for hedgehogs

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By: Maya Song

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Hedgehogs are considered to be exotic pets, thus the care for them needs to be understood before purchasing one. A pet hedgehog’s life span is usually 4-6 years but they can live up to over 8 years. Most hedgehogs are nocturnal so when you’re awake they’ll most likely be sleeping but there are a few species of hedgehogs that are diurnal.

Can hedgehogs even be house pets? While most of the United States thinks that is completely fine, the few states and areas that disagree are: Georgia, Hawaii, California, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., and the five boroughs of New York City. Even though hedgehogs are not native to North America they have been becoming more popular as pets.

If you keep a pet hedgehog you need to make sure they have plenty of things to do to occupy themselves such as toys; items like balls, stuffed animals, and small cars are very common. Hedgehogs are naturally very curious animals and love to explore, so things like tunnels and tubes would also be a good idea. It must also be kept in mind that hedgehogs need exercise so a pet exercise wheel is highly recommended.

The hedgehog’s diet is very large so you need to be making sure everything you give your hedgehog is safe and healthy for them. A few examples of food for your hedgehog would be things like: cat food, dog food, meats, mice, insects, caterpillars, mealworms, earthworms, eggs, bananas, cherries, watermelon, fruit, berry, peaches, kiwi, vegetables, apple, broccoli, leafy greens, pears, and papaya. These foods are examples of what to feed your hedgehog on a daily basis. It is recommended that hedgehogs eat at least once a day with 3-4 teaspoons per serving.

If you choose to own a hedgehog you must be prepared in order to be successful. Making sure that the hedgehog has items to occupy itself with, food to eat, and making sure that it’s legal to own it should be considered. That being said, they are adorable, and worth the effort.

Advice/How To

Different kinds of hobbies

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By: Fletcher Pike

Photo by Em Hopper on Pexels.com

To many, hobbies can be a fun way to express yourself by learning a new skill that gives you joy. However, you might not know where to start if you want to learn a new hobby. In this article, I will give you multiple examples of hobbies that you can try.

Art

Art is a popular kind of hobby that allows you to express your creative side. This can include things such as painting, sculpting, and drawing. Art can be a relaxing activity for anyone to try. Art comes in so many different forms, you can experiment with the different kinds of art that you can create. Art doesn’t always have to involve paint, ink, or lead. It also includes activities such as knitting, crocheting, or making jewelry. These are also great options if you don’t like the messier side of creating art.

Personally, I think that art is one of my favorite hobbies, and I love doing different kinds of artwork. I highly recommend this kind of hobby to anyone looking to explore their creative side.

Games

Though this hobby is a broad term, it can refer to both board games and video games. Learning a new type of game can be a fun hobby to do as it can help build strategic skills, or you can play completely for fun. Some board games include: chess, Battleship, checkers, or card games. I personally enjoy learning a lot of card games, as it can be fun to learn the different rules of the games. Video games have a nearly endless amount of different categories.

I recommend this kind of hobby to anyone wanting to incorporate their thinking and mental skills into their hobby more.

Sports

Sports is a very popular hobby, and is essentially available to everyone who wants to play. There are many different types of sports to choose from, but popular ones include: soccer, basketball, football, and baseball. Sports is a great hobby to try as there are many different kinds of sports to play, and it can help you stay physically active as well as being able to build communication skills with your teammates.

Music

Music is a great hobby to try, as learning to create or learn music can help improve several different skills. You can learn to play a new instrument, learn to sing, or even compose your own songs. Music is pretty similar to art in my opinion, as creating music itself can be interpreted as a form of art by combining creativity and emotion into the music.

Music is a fun hobby to try if you like listening to music or if you have ever wanted to sing or learn a new instrument. 

Cooking / Baking

Creating food is a hobby that I highly recommend if you want to learn more about exploring the many different kinds of food. There are millions of recipes online and in books that you can find, and you can even experiment with creating your own recipes. Creating a meal is an important part of life, and I believe that it’s important to know how to cook in order to provide for yourself or your family. 

I hope that this article informed you about some of the different kinds of hobbies, and inspired you to try one out. I think it is a good idea to try out different types of hobbies, as you might find something that you really enjoy doing.

Advice/How To

The importance of journaling

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By: Sylvia Yannsdottir

It’s really easy to get caught up in the constant changes of life, and one way to help navigate through that is by journaling. Journaling is a productive way to sort your thoughts, and emotions, and can help you grow as a person. By taking just a few minutes of your day to write down anything that you’re thinking of, it can really help you find peace and clarity within your life.

One way that journaling has personally benefited me is by forcing me to reflect on my experiences and lessons I’ve learned. Oftentimes when I journal it leads me to re-analyze the things that I’ve experienced from a different perspective, and that leads me to look for improvement and growth within my actions.

Aside from that, journaling can strengthen many things, like memory, creativity, critical thinking, focus, and problem solving skills. There are truly no downsides to journaling, so why not start sooner rather than later?

In the past few years, it has become more popularized by society, especially social media, to establish healthy habits in your life, and one of those healthy habits is journaling. Oftentimes you’ll see more people sharing different kinds of interesting prompts, or ideas for what you can write about.

While writing isn’t for everyone, that doesn’t take away from the fact that it can be really beneficial to start journaling. Although it can be hard to maintain habits, there are plenty of ways to start small, like establishing a routine and over time gradually improving it.

I strongly believe that I’ve gained a lot in my life since I started journaling consistently, and I strongly urge others to try it out. Whether you’re a writer or not it’s something that is at least worth trying, and could really be helpful throughout your life.

Advice/How To

Some things to know before getting a cat 

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By: Jooney Freddieson & Aalovely Lor

Planning on getting a cat? Here are some important things you should know before adopting.

Before owning a cat there are several things you should consider like: financial cost, health care, environment, and whether you want to keep it indoors or outdoors.

Initial Cost

First you should consider adopting from a local shelter or a rescue organization instead of choosing a breeder which costs a lot more money.

When adopting from a shelter there are options for vaccinations, microchips, and spaying/neutering.

The average cost of vaccinations for cats usually falls under 10$-50$ per shot depending on what type of vaccines.

Microchips are a small device that’s injected into a cat’s skin that links to their owners. This helps you identify where your cat might be if they get lost or run away from home. These usually cost 20$.

Spaying/Neutering is a surgical procedure that removes a female cat’s uterus and a male cat’s testicles to prevent them from reproducing. When I (Jooney) got my male cat neutered the cost came to about 115$. It depends on what clinic/vet you go to but the average cost falls between 100$-200$.

This is useful if you don’t plan on having more cats or to prevent your male cats from aggression and female cats from mammary cancer.

Initial Needs

Cats require essential needs like food, water, litter box, toys, and scratching posts. This is an ongoing cost and a financial investment that is required when owning a cat.

Since cats are independent they often require lots of space. They need room for their food/water bowls, litter box, and vertical space for them to climb.

According to Cats.org.uk, it’s important for cats to have something to scratch. Scratching is natural behavior, so they’ll consistently need a place to go to when they need to get their claws into something. This could be a scratch post or allowing them to go outside and cling onto trees.

You should be committed, having time dedicated out of your day to tend to them. Despite their independence, they still require interaction and attention daily.

Another thing to take into consideration about commitment is that healthy cats live up to 12-18 years, some even go up to 20. If you’re only willing to dedicate 3 years or less to that cat you should rethink your decision. 

Indoor Cat vs Outdoor Cat

Indoor cats and outdoor cats each have their own pros and cons.

Indoor cats have a longer lifespan than outdoor cats. Their lifespan is around 12-18 years while outdoor cats fall between 5-10 years, which is a huge difference.

Another thing to consider with indoor cats, according to Sfspca.org, they could suffer from boredom which leads to stress and behavioral problems. Cats need to be able to roam around and consistently have things to do or focus on.

Although outdoor cats have their freedom, this allows them to be at a higher risk for diseases, injuries, and getting lost.

Vaccinations play an important role in your cat’s life, whether they’re an indoor or outdoor cat. If your cat is actively outside, you’ll want to go into the vet for regular deworming and checkups.

If you’re planning on allowing your cat to be an outdoor cat, it’s important to consider installing a fence in which they can’t escape your area and other cats can’t roam in.

If you’re planning on keeping an indoors cat, offer them plenty of enrichment and play time. It’s important to make sure your cat stays healthy by keeping them stimulated and going.

In the end, your cat could be an indoor cat who loves going outside. It’s up to you to decide whether or not it’s what you want.

Final decision

After reading this article and you feel positive about your decision, go for it! There are many cats looking for a place to call home and that could be yours.

If you’re having doubts, take more time to think about it. Not everything listed should affect your decision, but they’re important things to consider.