Powering to the top: Powerhouse Self-Defense

-by Lindsey Riley

Photo courtesy of Jennifer Riis-Poulsen.

A class full of women, ages 12 to 45, listened intently as Jennifer Riis-Poulsen explained the importance of awareness. She asked for two volunteers. Two young girls stood up, and told to close their eyes and walk forward. She grabbed one of the girls quickly, surprising and startling the girl and everyone in the class.

“Ladies, if you aren’t aware and not paying attention to your surroundings, you might as well be walking with your eyes closed,” Riis-Poulsen explained. Full story.

A quick look at the Island of Maui

by Morgan Pumpa, contributing writer

Photo by Rachel Aubrey

Maui isn’t the most frequented island in Hawai‘i, but with a short connecting flight from the more frequented O‘ahu, it is a must see island. There are many things to do in Maui, and with less traffic and cheaper hostels than O’ahu, you can’t go wrong settling into this small town. A great hostel to go to if you’re hoping to stay somewhere cheap and inviting is the North Shore Hostel. It even has shuttles to pick you up from the airport to help you settle-in, plan ahead as they only pick-up at certain times a day. Full story.

Tips for the lonely traveler

by Morgan Pumpa, contributing writer

Image taken from http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Solo-Vacations-Women-Traveling-Alone_1

For some, traveling alone can be a daunting experience and often viewed as dangerous. What some don’t realize is how easy it is to travel alone. Yes it’s true you may not have someone there to keep you company, but along the way you meet people who keep you entertained. Here are some observations for the solo traveler: Full story

Zumba, the Great Equalizer.

Special to Black Sunglasses Media

-by L. Monique, guest writer

Photo taken from 29tolife.wordpress.com

I’ve been itching to write this post since my first Zumba class two weeks ago.

Now that I’ve been going twice a week for two weeks now, I feel like I have the right to speak on this now.

I’m still a newbie, however, I didn’t give up, and now it is a part of my scheduled week, so I can say something with authority. Yesterday, I didn’t feel like going, but I did anyway and when you do that, you can officially say you are doing something and can make comments.

I get the Zumba craze. I really do. Full story.

Are you Pin-terested?!

-by Rachel Aubrey

Image courtesy of copyblogger.com

Pinterest has taken the Internet by surprise. It’s a site that is patterned after a corkboard that you would hang on a wall in your house, a place to ‘pin’ things you want to keep and remember. Except it’s all done online.

Instead of the instant message interactions or the ’likes’ and ‘unlikes’ of other popular social media sites, users of Pinterest ‘pin’ everything and take ideas, concepts, and images and pin them to virtual ‘boards’ for others to ‘follow’ and ‘repin’. From favorite recipes, art, home décor ideas, photography, brands and more, pinners are able to keep up with friends and family and share ideas about things like, where to go on family vacation, how to plan a bridal or baby shower, what to cook for mom and dad’s 20^th wedding anniversary. It is interactive, meaning, you can follow people’s pins and they can follow yours. According to Beth Hayden of Copy Blogger, Pinterest drove greater traffic to websites than LinkedIn, Google Plus, Reddit, and Youtube — combined in January of 2012. Full story.

Is Gluten Free For You?

by Lindsey Riley, contributing writer

Is the gluten free diet right for you?

Chances are you have probably heard the phrase “gluten-free diet” recently. While this type of diet is difficult to follow and considered by many to be a fad, others believe a gluten-free diet can be very beneficial and promote a healthy lifestyle. For many, this type of diet is crucial and necessary to control the symptoms of celiac disease or a general gluten intolerance/allergy.

What does gluten-free mean?

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, barley, and other carbohydrates, that means gluten can be found in many of the common foods we eat. Gluten is not inherently bad for you, but it can become a problem for those who may have conditions that cause intolerance to gluten. Taking on the task of committing to a gluten-free diet can be frustrating and seem nearly impossible. Full story.

Poppin fun with Paul’s Poppers

by Rachel Aubrey

A plate of delicious poppers. Photo by Jessica Atoa.

Paul’s Poppers is set to celebrate its one-year anniversary of making mouth-watering poppers. Owner Paul Park has taken a regular appetizer and turned it into something “won”derful. It’s called a Popper, a won-ton wrapper filled with an array of delicious ingredients and lightly fried to a golden perfection.

Park was fortunate enough to learn how to make traditional Chinese won-tons, however, he decided to take the traditional won-ton a step further. After working various jobs in the food industry and taking culinary and entrepreneurial classes at Kapi‘olani Community College, Park set out on his business journey in 2010. Full story.