Category Archives: Advice/How To

Advice/How To, Entertainment

Advent calendar activities

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By: Priya Anderson & Ruby Anderson

For those who celebrate Christmas, participating in advent is a fun way to celebrate during the holiday season with friends and family. Here are five fun winter and Christmas activities to put on your advent calendar this year.

1. Decorating for Christmas

Some people might claim the best part of the Christmas season are the lights and decorations and most people who celebrate Christmas decorate anyway, so adding this to your advent calendar can make it more exciting. There are so many ways you can decorate for Christmas. For example, you can hang up stockings and wreaths as well as decorate a Christmas tree with ornaments, tinsel and lights. You can also decorate outside and spread the Christmas spirit to others around you. Decorating with your family or friends can be a fun way to spend time together while also making your home feel festive and cozy.

2. Ice skating and Sledding

Going outside during the winter months can be hard because of the cold weather but ice skating is a great way to spend some time outside and enjoy the winter months even if they aren’t your favorite. Especially if it’s on your advent calendar, it’s even more reason to do it! There are many ice rinks around the Twin Cities to visit which have skates to rent if you don’t own your own pair. Even if you don’t celebrate Christmas, going ice skating can create a fun and memorable day.

If ice skating isn’t for you, another great outdoor activity you can do is going sledding. Sledding can be an easier activity compared to ice skating and is still a lot of fun. As long as there’s snow, you can use almost any hill to go sledding which makes it a very accessible activity as well.

3. Watching Christmas movies

Watching Christmas movies can be a fun way to celebrate Christmas in the comfort of your own home. There are many great movies to watch during the Christmas season including favorites such as ‘Elf’, ‘Home Alone’, ‘The Polar Express’, ‘The Grinch’, ‘Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer‘, and many more. Making popcorn and hot chocolate is our favorite snack to have during a Christmas movie marathon and the perfect treat to have. Sitting down and turning on any of the Christmas movies we mentioned or any holiday movie is another easy way to get into the holiday mood.

4. Baking Christmas cookies

One of the most popular advent calendar activities is baking Christmas cookies. This is a tradition favored by many and is another fun way to bring the Christmas spirit into your home, as well as an excuse to eat delicious treats. There are many different cookies to choose from based on your preference from gingerbread to snickerdoodle. You can even decorate sugar cookies to look like Santa Claus, a Christmas tree, or a snowman! Invite friends and family to fill your home with the sweet smell of cookies and make sure you don’t miss out on this advent activity.

5. Building snowmen

A tradition many people look forward to during the winter is building snowmen. As kids we loved building snowmen and sometimes forget it’s another fun and simple way to enjoy going outside during winter. If it snows enough, bundle up and go take the chance to have some fun in the snow and use your creativity to build whatever you can imagine. Whether you can only build a simple snowman or if you can sculpt a masterpiece, don’t forget to put this classic activity on your advent calendar this year.

Advice/How To, Travel/Food

Benefits of eating your fruits

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By: Samson Belihu

Let’s talk about common fruits you’ve hopefully eaten before, but perhaps don’t know the benefits of.

First, you should eat your apples because they are rich in fiber, which can help reduce the risk of chronic diseases and improve the heart’s health. As they say, “An apple a day keeps the doctors” away.

A banana is high in potassium, vitamin B6, and vitamin C. Due to its carbohydrate content it also provides quick energy making them great for pre- or post-workout snacks. It contains dietary fiber, which helps in digestion, and it is said to contain tryptophan, which may help improve mood and reduce anxiety.

Oranges are rich in vitamin C, fibers and antioxidants like flavonoids. Vitamin C helps boost the immune system, which helps fight viruses. Antioxidants help fight free radicals, and reduce skin damage, so if you’re trying to find a natural remedy to heal your skin it is suggested that using oranges can help with the healing.

Now, pineapples are also rich in vitamin C just like orange, but it also has manganese, and bromelain. Manganese helps the body form connective tissue, bones, and blood clotting while bromelain may reduce swelling, bruising, healing time, and pain after surgery and physical injuries.

Watermelon, which is high in vitamin A and C, and contains citrulline, is also a good fruit to eat. Fun fact: The name citrulline comes from Citrullus vulgaris, the Latin term for watermelon. Watermelon is composed of 92% water, making it excellent for hydration.

In the end, you should at least try to incorporate some of these fruits into your diet, as they have numerous health benefits to offer. Personally, I try to eat some apples, bananas, and oranges at least 4 times a week, and I think you should too.

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I think you should check them out and see what they have to offer.

Advice/How To, Events

Top 5 Christmas activities

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By: Isabel Strack

Image created with Pixabay:https://pixabay.com/illustrations/ai-generated-christmas-8400419/

Putting up Christmas decorations

Whether you decide to get a fake Christmas tree or a real one, making a perfect tree is a classic Christmas activity. Many people think that putting up Christmas decorations in November is too early, but studies show that people who put Christmas decorations up early are happier. A lot of people enjoy putting decorations up with their family, especially when you’re decorating your Christmas trees. Christmas trees are some of the most popular and traditional symbols of the Christmas season.

Building gingerbread houses

Many people enjoy building gingerbread houses during the Christmas season, but outside the holiday season it doesn’t get much recognition. You can make your own gingerbread house by scratch, or like many others you can buy a gingerbread kit from a store if you want things to be easier.

Exchange gifts/Secret Santa

During the holiday season it’s very popular for friend groups or family to do gift exchanges. If you aren’t aware of what a gift exchange or Secret Santa is; it’s basically where you and your group of family friends draw a name out of a hat and whatever name you get is the person you buy the gift for. There will usually be a budget you have to stay in for the gift.

Bake Christmas cookies

A classic Christmas tradition for families during the holiday season is to bake festive Christmas cookies together. Many people will use Christmas cookie cutters for the cookie dough to make it into holiday shapes like trees, bells, stars, wreaths, etc. Once your cookies are out of the oven you should let them cool down and then you can decorate the cookies with whatever color icing you like and any sprinkles you’d want to use.

Build a snowman

It’s like a tradition every Christmas season for kids to build a snowman right after it snows. Once you throw your jacket on and gloves to build your snowman you can use carrots for the nose, blueberries for the eyes, buttons, and mouth. If you have old hats and scarfs laying around your house you can add those to your snowman. This is a great activity to do in the winter when you’re bored and want to feel festive.

Advice/How To

Pros and cons of mutts

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By: Kara Fini

Mutts are dogs that are a mix of different types of breeds. Many people don’t know about all of the wonderful things that come with owning a mutt, so here’s some pros and cons of owning a mutt.

To start off, mutts are less likely to develop health problems. This is because purebreds have a history of genetic diseases that have developed. This makes mutts less likely to develop spinal disease, heart disease and cancer. Overall, they are stronger and healthier and have longer lifespans.

The next reason that can make a lot of difference for many people, is they are more affordable than purebreds. The initial cost of purebreds usually cost from $500 to $3000 dollars while mutts are generally only about $0 to $250 since most of the time they come from shelters and rescues.

If you want to help save a dog’s life then try adopting a mutt! Most mutts come from shelters or rescues. This means you are providing a home for these dogs in need. Around 75-90% of dogs in shelters are mutts.

The last pro for mutts, is they are not trained to perform certain tasks. Purebred dogs have been bred for years to create a nearly perfect dog for certain tasks, for example shepherd dogs are specifically designed for herding cattle and hounds are designed for hunting. While this is useful when performing these tasks it can become hard to handle in a household environment, especially with children. In mutts these instincts can still exist, but the severity of the traits are a lot lower.

Even though there are so many great things about mutts, here are some cons to consider.

The first is that because they are not a specific breed, if you adopt a mutt as a puppy there little chance you will know how big it will get. This can be difficult for families who need or want a specific sized dog to fit in their life. It can also be more difficult to guess the age of the dog if they didn’t come into a shelter or rescue, not as a young puppy.

The next con is that many mutts come from a background of trauma. This can make it difficult to train, especially if they are in this traumatic event around the age of 8-12 weeks, as this is the time they are most impressionable.

The last reason a mutt might not be for you is that they are most likely not hypoallergenic. Even if a mutt has poodle or other types of hypoallergenic breeds in it, it’s hard to know if they are 100% hypoallergenic.

Advice/How To

Quality of sleep

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By: Gabriella Bell

As you lie down in bed after a tiring day, maybe from being at school, sports, work, or fundraising, has it ever been more difficult to fall asleep than after a casual day where you’ve stayed home and simply just laid on the couch, watching your favorite television show? Maybe there’s a lot on your mind. Maybe your brain isn’t as tired as you’d like it to be yet. As you stay there, lying in bed and contemplating your day, you finally fall asleep.

Sleep is one of, if not the most, important bodily function, and it plays a major role in the overall health and well-being of the human body. With an excessive lack of sleep it can have several severe negative impacts on one’s physical and mental health.

Depending on the quality of sleep you receive, it can also have effects on cognitive performance, this commonly includes difficulties in concentration, making decisions (regardless if they’re important or not), reaction times, and your memory retention throughout the day. While sleep is important to improving and keeping up your physical health and cognitive performance, these things can also be heavily dependent on other aspects such as a proper and balanced nutritional intake, hydration, and physical activity.

Throughout your day, you may experience difficulties in concentration and organization of important information. While being asleep, your brain arranges and rearranges this information accordingly, which helps memorization and clear thinking. Without proper sleep, this could prove to be more difficult, and may have certain damaging effects. If you’re a student, or in a line of work where constant learning and improvement is especially important, this could most likely severely impact your productivity throughout the day, therefore leading to the possibility of not passing classes or losing that occupation in life.

Through looking into the effects on a person’s physical health and the overall impacts sleep has on it, a necessary part it plays is through hormonal regulations. This primarily relates to hormones that are produced that are designed in order to control the metabolism along with appetite. These hormones send the message of the body being hungry or full, which could lead to over or under eating. Several of these studies have further shown that poor quality of sleep can often be linked back to the development, and later diagnosis, of diabetes or obesity.

Another important thing that could be affected are the regenerative processes proceeding throughout the body, such as tissue and muscle reparation, which can help to explain how cuts, scratches, or bruises progressively heal over time. Along with this, without proper sleep, it can also prove to have negative impacts on the immune system over time, as your body may not have enough energy as it used to in order to properly distribute it and upkeep these bodily functions. Which can ultimately lead to contracting illnesses more often, or developing infections more easily.

Lack of sleep can also reflect upon the stress levels and hormones, which can interact with the emotional stability of a person while helping to reduce that stress along with regulations of mood changes. Many sleep disorders that lead to chronic sleep deprivation are commonly linked back to mental health issues such as depression and anxiety. This can also be reversed, though as some people with depression and/or anxiety often experience changes regarding their quality of sleep, which can lead to the development of insomnia or other sleeping disorders. This disruption in sleep can affect the production of the hormone, melatonin. With that in mind, cases also tend to differ between people, as some with depression experience a surplus in their melatonin production, leading to oversleeping, while others may experience a decline in their melatonin levels, resulting in lack of sleeping. 

Along with all of this, without proper sleep it can create a generally irritable or exhausted mood that can result in long term impacts on your mental health and relationships within day-to-day lives (including friends, romantic partners, parents, siblings, coworkers, etc.) 

Sleep is a very fundamental human function that controls and contributes to so many aspects of our bodies and impacts us so much throughout our days. Regardless, if we recognize the beneficial impacts provided to us through sleep, by going on to recognize the importance of healthy sleeping habits and routines, this can further improve the overall quality of our lives.

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Advice/How To, Books/Art, Fashion/Make-Up

HOW TO MAKE A FASHION BOOK/TEMPLATE

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By: Charlotte Bistodeau

Many people want to get into fashion designing but don’t know where to start. You might think you need fabric, special notebooks, special pencils (which is all true eventually but not in the beginning). Here I’ll take you through some of the simple things that will make getting into fashion design easier overall.

The first thing you’ll want is a fashion book. Any notebook can be a fashion book, but there are many things I’ll suggest here that will make things simple.

  1. I suggest a notebook that has blank pages (think sketch books). Having lines on your paper may distract you from the final product.
  2. When choosing your sketch book you want to think about what art supplies you’re going to use most. Example, If you are going to be using a lot of watercolor then choose a sketchbook with watercolor paper.
  3. Your sketchbook does not have to be fancy, in fact you can purchase one at Five Below and you’ll be fine.
  4. Small sketchbooks are a great starting point especially if you have no clue what to do or design. Less space means less stress on the line and makes it seem like you’ve done more.
  5. A bigger sketchbook might feel like a nice idea (not filling it up as fast, having more room) but it can make you feel threatened by how little you seem to have drawn or how much you still have to draw.
  6. Don’t pick out your sketchbook for ascetic purposes. Just because it looks nice doesn’t mean you’ll like the feel of it. You should check to see if you like the feel of the grain and if it works with the main art supplies you choose to use. If you really are worried about it looking nice, you can always decorate the cover yourself with paint, paper, stickers, etc. and make it your own.

The second thing you might want to do is create a stencil to make it easier to draw your design. So, here are the steps to make a stencil.

First, you’ll want to sketch out a picture of a model template. After you finish your drawing and are happy with it, you should take a photo for a later step.

Second, you’ll want to glue your drawing down on a piece of cardstock or thin flat cardboard. Example, I used a side from a box of ice cream (taken out of recycling).

Third, you’ll want to use an exacto knife or box cutter to cut out the drawing from your template; make sure if you have extra pieces (example, for me it was the gaps between the body and arm) that you find a way to keep them connected to the rest of the stencil. Also make sure to have an extra piece of cardboard, cutting mat, etc, to make sure you don’t scrape whatever surface you’re cutting on.

Now you can take a pencil and trace it. Notice I drew on a lined sheet of paper; I did this as an example and if I am actually going to use the template I’ll draw it on a blank sheet. Going back to the first step, look at the photo you took of the original drawing and add anything you may have missed with just the basic stencil (Red is what I added to make it look better).

Now you have your fashion book and stencil and can start your fashion drawing experience!

Advice/How To

Why are dogs a good pet to have?

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By: Isabel Strack

There are many benefits to owning a dog. Here are some of the health benefits that a person may get from having a dog as a pet.

Dogs are good pets to have because they can help you feel less alone. Dogs can help a lot with your mental and physical health and they can help you even when other people can’t. Owning a dog can lower your chance of feeling socially isolated, which can reduce the risks of heart attacks. When someone is socially isolated it can affect your mental health.

Dogs encourage you to move and get out of the house. Owners spend almost 300 minutes every week walking their dog. That is 200 more minutes of walking than for people who aren’t pet owners. When walking your dog, it can make you look more approachable and give someone a good conversation starter. Researchers found that about 40% of dog owners have a easier time meeting new people and making new friends. Dog owners can interact with more people like other dog owners they encounter on their daily walks.

Dogs can help lower your stress level. Many studies have shown that dogs can help relieve stress and anxiety. Just petting a dog that you may know can help lower your blood pressure, slow your breathing, and help relax tense muscles. Research has shown that a bond between humans and dogs can lower your stress levels, which is a big cause of cardiovascular problems.

Dogs help you increase your activities. They give you reasons to go outside and get physical activity everyday. Dogs force you to get up and move. A research study has found that people who own dogs are more likely to do regular physical activities, then for people that don’t own any dogs. They require daily exercise. Over time this exercise can help strengthen your muscles, bones and joints. You might notice that your usual walk or run with your dog will start to feel easier.

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Advice/How To

Benefits of owning an aquatic animal

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By: Bailey Glime

Photo by MART PRODUCTION on Pexels.com

Aquatic pets are very popular for lots of families but did you know all the benefits it holds as well? Aquatic animals can be very therapeutic for lots of people. This helps regulate mood and stress even if just a little. Examples of all the ways an aquatic animal can be therapeutic are listed below:

  • Improving mood: By owning an aquatic animal our mood is overall happier.
  • Relaxation: Relaxation is another big factor fish contribute to humans. By watching your aquatic animal it brings you to a relaxed state.
  • Productivity: In some cases your aquatic animal might make you feel like you should be more productive and do more activities.
  • Blood Pressure: Aquatic animals can help reduce blood pressure just by watching them.
  • Mental health: Overall all these help to contribute to your mental health and having a good mental health is important to have every day.

Other benefits of aquatic animals are that they don’t need to be as tended to as mammals; this would give some people the feeling of having more time and still having a pet.

Aquatic animals are not a necessary pet to have in your home but they do provide benefits of relaxation and positive mental health.

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Advice/How To, Travel/Food

Why eggs are the most nutritional breakfast option

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By: Max Cahoon

According to the ‘Keck Medicine of USC’s’ Kurt Mong, eggs are a great source of high protein and also have very low calories. Eggs also contain a ton of vitamins and nutrients that your body needs.

Many people eat eggs to maintain or lose weight as well. Research shows that people that eat eggs may lose up to 65% more weight than people that eat their eggs with a bagel, according to ‘Sauder’s Eggs’

People think that what they eat in the morning doesn’t affect your body throughout the day, but it actually does both physically and mentally. Breakfast options like cereal or donuts may slow you down, but eggs improve your physical and mental health for the entire day. This is because of the nutrients/vitamins that are in eggs. Eggs have vitamin B12, vitamin D, and iron, which are all huge benefits to your bones and brain.

Eggs are also a protein powerhouse. Eggs are a very good option for people that workout/go to the gym because of the protein. Kirkland brand eggs have 6 grams of protein per egg, meaning if you eat 5 eggs every morning you will already have half of your needed grams of protein for the day, and protein builds muscle.

According to the ‘KRQE’ eggs are America’s favorite breakfast food and around 65% of people throughout the United States eat eggs every morning for breakfast. Eggs are also a very good food to combine other foods with, for example a lot of people will make eggs with sausage or bacon or fruit which makes it into more of a meal.

Another appealing factor about eggs is that there are so many different types of eggs to make, some people even go as far as to say that there are over 100 ways to cook eggs. A couple examples would be scrambled, hard boiled, sunny side up, and omelet, but those are just the popular ones, there’s a ton more that I didn’t mention.

Advice/How To, School Life

10 things freshmen should know

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By: Priya Anderson & Ruby Anderson

Priya’s Iphone, September 12, 2024. Two freshmen walking to class.

1. Go to orientation!

One of the first most important things for a freshman to do (especially rising freshmen) is to go to orientation. If you are already a freshman in school, skip this one, but those who are coming up, keep reading.

This is not only where you learn the school, you learn your schedule, who will be in your advisory, who you will be peers with for the rest of high school. The schedule you receive is usually paper, which is helpful for those with iPad issues (common among freshies). And at orientation, you see the teachers and office staff; obviously an important factor to becoming acquainted with your school. By attending orientation, the transitional process is much smoother and easy to cope with. It can be nerve racking, but is worth the 2 hours.

2. Get involved in school activities

School activities get you connected with more than students, but with opportunities for your sophomore, junior and senior years. You can make friends that last, and will always find someone on your team/in your club in your classes. Almost everyone is involved with a school activity, so participating in your community is a great way to allow yourself to become a part of your high school.

3. Make connections with upperclassmen

As I said in my last point, try to befriend or connect with upperclassmen! Try to find someone you can trust to get info about the school and about classes. This can be helpful when learning about the school and getting tips on big assignments. Upperclassmen can also help get you connected to more people. Of course, have boundaries with these kids, and make sure they are trustworthy friends.

4. Don’t procrastinate

Procrastinating is the number one way to fail. You should try to complete your work as soon as possible because it will help a lot with getting good grades. A good way to not procrastinate is to make a planner. Making a planner will help a lot with keeping track of what assignments you have to do and when they are due.

5. Sign up for drivers ed

Once you turn 15, you can get your permit. Even though driver’s ed is very tedious (30 hours), it is worth the time to learn to drive. You could even get your license as a sophomore! It is 3 hours for two weeks, and that is awhile, but what’s better? Freedom or having to hitch a ride every day?

6. Find a favorite teacher/class

Having a teacher that you like or a class that you enjoy will get you through the day a lot faster, especially if you can look forward to that class. It’s also good to have a teacher you trust so that you can go to them if you have a problem. Having a class that you like can also motivate you to do your work.

7. Do not skip class or be late

Skipping class or being late is a great way to get on a teacher’s bad side. As a matter of fact, too many absences and tardies will get you on a list and a call home. Coming to class at the correct time and always showing up will define you as a trustworthy student. It will also set a routine for you and habits will form out of those routines. Being late in the workforce is a BIG no, so starting early, come to class. For freshmen, this is very important to get used to.

8. Ask for help

Can’t find a class? Don’t have an iPad? Don’t know your bus, etc, etc? Ask for help. As a freshman, no one expects you to know what to do right away. There are always students and teachers there to help, and the counselors office is a great resource for freshmen. Not only can you get help with the issues above, but you can change electives and if necessary, move core classes around. Don’t be afraid to reach out to your friends and peers. Your teachers also expect you to ask for help, so please don’t hesitate.

9. Bring snacks/drinks

School days can get long and tiring and sometimes lunch is not enough. Especially if you have lunch really late or really early in the day you are going to get hungry pretty fast. You should make sure to bring a few snacks to school everyday as long as your teachers are okay with it. Bringing water is also important during hot days.

10. Relax

Don’t get too stressed out over school. If your only focus is school work you’re going to get stressed and burnt out. School is important but relaxing and enjoying time to yourself and spending time with friends and family is just as important. You also need to make sure you’re getting enough sleep every night so don’t stay up too late.