Sass Magazine Spring 2018

SPRING 2018

WILD WOMEN STRESS &

BURN OUT GARDEN DAY TRIPS

A U T O

C E N T E R S

Join fellow Sass readers at our

DIY Cocktail Sass Class!

SAVE THE DATE | MAY 16

at McClintock Distillery | Downtown Frederick For more information, Visit SassMagazine.com/SassClass

NOURISH YOUR GROWTH CLAIM YOUR HEALING A unique counseling experience engaging nature & horses to redefine balance in our modern lives EPONAHEART COUNSELING

awareness exploration boundary setting leadership skills compassion practice authentic living

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CONTENTS

ONLINE IVES!!

C EX LUS great For more to reads, go .com azine sassmag

FEATURES 14 Woman to Watch Leslie Riley aka Mama Biscuit 26

Women and the Environment

32

Women in the Wild

38

Fashion Athleisure Wear

46

38

32 DEPARTMENTS 8 Business Spotlight Mountain Memories at Thorpewood

46 Travel Botanic Gardens and Arboretums

10 Girl’s Guide to Hiking

51 Career Selling Emotions

20 Inspire/Empower Stories of Recovery 42 Beauty To Makeup or Not to Makeup 44 Hair Camping Hair, Don't Care

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56 Health Stress and Burnout 60 Recipe Mix-up Your Trail Snacks

14 C O V E R : Kayaker Christina Ocharzak, one of the Outdoors Women highlighted in our Woman of the Wild feature story. See full story on page 32. Cover photo

by Amos Adams.

COFFEE COMMUNITY CAFÉ We hand-roast every bean for the perfect flavor. We feature organic and fair-trade products, as well as special blends and flavored coffees.

1 7 8 0 N . M A R K E T S T R E E T, F R E D E R I C K , M D 2 1 7 0 1

dublinroasterscoffee.com

CATEGORY HEADER MAGAZINE

125 E. Patrick St., Ste. 3 Frederick, MD 21701 www.sassmagazine.com

SPRING!

Spring 2018 | Vol. 3, Issue 3 Kim Dow, Owner + Publisher kim@sassmagazine.com Chrissy Moore, Copy Editor copyeditor@sassmagazine.com Brittany Carpenter, Fashion Editor fashion@sassmagazine.com Alicia Schwartzbeck, Accounting accounting@sassmagazine.com

Laura Rennie, Digital Coordinator info@sassmagazine.com Ashley Bailey, Admin Coordinator ashley@sassmagazine.com CREATIVE TEAM Leigh Caulfield, Cecelia Lee, Andrea Neff www.sasscreativestudios.com CONTRIBUTORS Tiffany Arnold, Tammy Brandenburg, Brittany Carpenter, Rebecca Carrera, Charissa Hipp, Amy Knaby, Sarah Kurtanich, Erin McDowell, Shelby Newsome, Heather Tydings, Chris Vandergrift, Ashley Waters PHOTOGRAPHERS Amos Adams, Brad Barnwell, Jessica Patterson, Tamzin Smith, Sarah Kurtanich, Chris Vandergrift ADVERTISING Kim Dow advertising@sassmagazine.com ADDITIONAL SASS CREW Aja Moore-Young, Paula Arias PRINTING Graphcom | www.graphcom.com Sass Magazine is a free quarterly publication in the western Maryland region that is also available for a paid subscription.

Customer inquiries should be directed to Sass Magazine, LLC. All contents of this publication are protected by copyright and may not be reproduced in whole or in part for any reason without prior consent of the publisher.

Advertising Information: advertising@sassmagazine.com We thank our advertisers for their support!

Spring is in the air! After the long, cold months of winter, we’re happy to get moving and head outdoors! We're unofficially calling this our outdoors issue, with feature articles highlighting women who spend their time outdoors. First, we speak with local women who are empowered by their outdoor sports, but who are underrepresented by the outdoors market. We also speak with women who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty working to protect our local environment. Plus we explore snack recipes for hitting the trails, botanical garden day trips, camping hair care, and much more!

We’ve also covered topics to help you get moving — either indoors or out — with a focus on athleisure wear, how to prep for a hiking trip and makeup tips for your workout!

Spring also evokes a sense of rebirth and new beginnings. Please be sure to read our heartfelt retelling of three women who battled addiction and join us in celebrating their brave and triumphant roads to recovery. We are honored to share their stories and are inspired by their passion to shine light and give voice to addiction and recovery, a topic that is critical to women, yet rarely discussed.

But wait — there's more! Be sure to visit Sassmagazine.com for web exclusives and extended topics. We’ll be featuring behind-the-scenes footage, a story about the 100K Project, Girls Guide to Fishing, more hiking stories, ways you can protect the environment and much more!

In addition to the print magazine and website, we've been busy bringing you new ways to experience Sass! We’ve got lots of new and exciting events coming up this year. Be sure to mark your calendars for our quarterly Girls Night Out celebrations, our Sass Classes and our Girl Boss Roundtable! Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, and subscribe to our newsletter to get exclusive access to events and registration. We also launched our first product line — our Sass Fix gift box. Our gift boxes make unique gift ideas for your mom, sister, bestie or coworker — or order one for yourself, we'll never tell! Sass Fix gift boxes can be order online at SassMagazine.com/sass-fix and include all the essentials you need to "Get Sh!t Done!" And don't forget that you can also have Sass Magazine delivered directly to your mailbox with a Sass Magazine subscription!

As usual we'd like to thank all our advertisers for their support. Our advertisers allow us to continue producing Sass Magazine as a free resource! Make a note of the companies and organizations you'll find throughout these pages and be sure to support them (and tell them you learned about them in Sass!).

Lastly, we are excited to announce that Sass Studios, the team that brings you Sass Magazine, will also be publishing The Virginia Maryland Washington DC Dog magazine—a regional lifestyle publication for dog owners and enthusiasts! Be on the lookout for our first issue in April!

Happy spring and happy reading!

/sassfrederick /sassfrederick /sassmagazine

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Publisher & Owner

SASS MAGAZINE | SASSMAGAZINE.COM

P H O T O G R A P H Y: J E S S I C A PAT T E R S O N

Tim & Donna Moore, Distribution info@sassmagazine.com

IS IN THE AIR

Ladies don your hats and Gentlemen sport your bowties for the 143rd running of the Preakness

A Preakness Celebration

may 19, 2018 Maryland Fare and Libation from half past four until seven thirty in the evening.

tickets $85/Individual $150/Couple Visit www.mdtix.com/ heritage-frederick.html to purchase tickets.

Heritage Frederick (Heritage garden) | 24 East Church Street, Frederick MD For more information contact Mary Boswell at 301-663-1188 x 107 or visit frederickhistory.org Presented by Heritage Frederick | Catered by CanapĂŠs

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Business Spotlight:

MOUNTAIN MEMORIES AT THORPEWOOD

Mountain Memories at ThorpeWood is a hidden gem nestled 1,500 feet up the mountain in Thurmont, Maryland, offering top-notch wedding and event management and services. A place that you’ll fall in love with the minute you step on to the grounds!

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P H O T O G R A P H Y: C O U R T E S Y O F M O U N TA I N M E M O R I E S AT T H O R P E W O O D

Imagine a space located across 155 acres of pristine woods in the beautiful Catoctin Mountains. A space that can provide you a gorgeous lodge, rustic pavilions or barns, or even just open space with serene, natural beauty for any of your upcoming special events or retreats, including weddings, business meetings, private parties and much more. A space that also supports the community by providing free services to several local nonprofits. Sounds too good to be true, right?

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Give us a brief description of your business and what you do. Mountain Memories at ThorpeWood is a private event location for weddings, corporate retreats or any other special event. With over 20 years combined experience, our staff provides exceptional customer service and attention to detail. Owner/Director, Julie Castleman, or assistant director, Lexi Hartner, work directly with clients to assure top-notch customer service and personal attention.

What makes your business stand out? Most venues book more than one event per day and charge for day-of coordination — we don’t. We strive to provide excellent service, from our client’s first tour to the tearing down of their event. We are also passionate about giving back to our community and offer our lodge and grounds to non-profit organizations free of charge.

What is a typical day like at your business?

While we are busiest during the warmer months, we’re still busy year-round with other events, communicating with clients, writing contracts, meeting with clients, answering inquiries, and assisting with the care of our vast property.

Throughout the year we work one-on-one with every client to ensure their event is seamless and stress free. There are many weddings, but also corporate retreats, non-profit events, bridal and baby showers, memorial services and more.

What is it like to work for your business?

It’s a fun and enjoyable place to work — not to mention that we’re located in such a beautiful setting! We’ve started a legacy — NINE former clients are now part-time employees of Mountain Memories at ThorpeWood, including Assistant Director, Lexi Hartner! Brides and grooms alike — facility manager, cleaning staff, weekend events staff and our landscaper.

What is the best part about what you do?

Helping people create an event, a retreat or party and watch the event unfold! Holding their hand through every step!

Most challenging? Convincing a potential client that we have so much more to offer than other venues…getting them in the door can often turn into a booking.

Who are your customers? We offer events for all stages of life, so our clients can be just about anyone! From our 3 to 5 year-old Head Start children to someone celebrating their 90th birthday! We have engaged couples looking for a wedding venue, those who've lost loved ones looking to hold a memorial service, expectant mothers looking for a shower location, and lots of non-profits! Some of the organizations that use our space include The National Christian Choir, Frederick Marriage Resource Center, Maryland Student Legislature, Johns Hopkins, Frederick County Public Schools, Immersion Active, Flying Dog Brewery, Department of Social Services…you name it! We enjoy working with all types of businesses, organizations and individuals!

What is the single most critical talent you possess in your business role? Julie loves people and has a knack for working with anyone. She loves teaching and giving back. She appreciates a great challenge and meets it head on! Both she and Lexi are very patient and can quickly take the stress from a client who is worried about the weather, decorations, food, or any other aspect of their event.

When you’re not running your business, what are you doing? In June 2017, Julie helped her daughter, Hannah, and son-in-law, Dylan, plan their beautiful wedding at Mountain Memories at ThorpeWood and enjoyed being the Mother of the Bride! A fun memory, among many, is that two days following Julie’s daughter’s wedding, Lexi, who was the lead staff for the wedding, gave birth to her fourth child! So, Lexi is now the mother of four and loves spending time with family and friends. Her husband is a Frederick County Firefighter. Julie volunteers for ThorpeWood, LLC’s Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) program. She and her husband, Sam, who is the Program Director for ThorpeWood LLC, love to camp, travel, take road trips, kayak, ride their horses and spend time with friends, their children and grandchildren.

What matters most to you in your business?

We want to make sure that every single person who steps through our door, or on our property, feels welcomed, important, and as if they are the only customer we have! Plus, we want them to share their experience with others.

Mountain Memories at Thorpewood 12805A Mink Farm Road | Thurmont, MD 21788 www.mountainmemoriestw.com Julie Castleman, Director, jcastleman@thorpewood.org | 301-524-2256 Lexi Hartner, Assistant Director, lhartner@thorpewood.org | 443-277-4763

GIRL'S GUIDE

HIKING 10 SASS MAGAZINE | SASSMAGAZINE.COM

By Erin McDowell

P H O T O G R A P H Y: N E E D P H O T O G R A P H E R

GIRL'S GUIDE TO

GIRL'S GUIDE

3 STEPS TO A SUCCESSFUL TREK Hiking is one of the few physical outdoor activities you can be good at without ever having done before; it’s just walking, but in really cool outdoor locations! Don’t be intimidated by any preconceived notion that all hikers have to be ridiculously strong mountain men with beards, because we aren’t. As a female hiker and backpacker who frequently goes on solo trips, there is absolutely nothing more empowering than standing on the peak of a mountain looking back at how far my legs have brought me. With that being said, here are a few things to keep in mind to prepare for a fun and successful day of freedom walking.

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GIRL'S GUIDE

WEB E C X E LUSIV

n g stories o More hikin zine.com sassmaga

Going on a hike is the perfect opportunity to take, quite literally, a breath of fresh air.

1. Preparation is Key

3. Breathe

Write a packing list the night before so you aren’t stressed out in the morning trying to think of everything you might need. I am a chronic over-packer, so I enjoy having extra time to evaluate what I really need vs. what I can leave behind. My basic packing list looks something like this:

Despite the minor detail that breathing is an essential life function, we often forget to take the time to just breathe and do nothing else. Going on a hike is the perfect opportunity to take, quite literally, a breath of fresh air. Don’t think about all the work or drama in your life, just be present in the moment and enjoy your time away from all of that chaos.

• • • •

Hiking boots Extra jacket Map Sunglasses

• First aid kit • Water bottle • Snacks

Choose appropriate footwear. Sneakers will work for a light walk but you’ll want some sturdy hiking boots for a more intense trek (we don’t want any broken ankles here).

Mentally prepare for the day as well! Psych yourself up for an invigorating climb up a mountain or a peaceful stroll through the forest. Either way, you’ll become more and more excited to get out there. Invite some friends and take some epic new profile pictures or turn your phone off for a technology detox.

2. Know the Area Having a general idea of where you are going is typically a good idea. Grab a map in the park office or print out a trail guide and choose the trail that speaks to you. If you are in a time crunch, looking at the map ahead of time allows you to pick a shorter trail and get back to your car quickly.

Treat yourself! Find a cool coffee shop, ice cream place, or brewery in the area to celebrate your hike afterwards.

12 SASS MAGAZINE | SASSMAGAZINE.COM

Hiking is really all about having a good time outdoors.

There are so many incredible places to explore that can only be reached by foot and all it takes is a little leg action to get there. If you need some more inspiration, make a mission out of it! I’m a big fan of geocaching, photo scavenger hunts, or rock/gem hunting, all of which involve some hiking. So choose your own adventure and go for it!

Erin McDowell Erin was a wilderness trip guide and avid backpacker for many years before she embarked on her 5-month long thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. Upon successfully hiking from Maine to Georgia, she traveled up to Alaska to continue exploring the great outdoors. She can now be found guiding sea kayaking trips in Alaska, summiting snow-capped mountain tops, or enjoying a cup of coffee at the nearest coffee shop.

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14 SASS MAGAZINE | SASSMAGAZINE.COM

P H O T O G R A P H Y: TA M Z I N S M I T H P H O T O G R A P H Y

WOMAN TO WATCH

WOMAN TO WATCH

WOMAN

WATCH

By Shelby Newsome

LESLIE Mama Biscuit RILEY aka

The food business is risky. With all the Starbucks, Campbells, and Nabisco’s of the world, it can be hard for one person, one small company, to carve out a spot for themselves. For instance, look at the foodie contestants on Shark Tank. It doesn’t take long for the investors to tell them how unoriginal their products are or that they would get crushed by bigger players.

But every once in a while, you’ll come across someone who finds success in this cutthroat industry. Someone whose product is original and super tasty. A foodie with an infectious personality and a fierce determination. Enter Lesley Riley aka “Mama Biscuit”, the mama of Mama Biscuit’s Gourmet Biscuits.

Mama Biscuit’s is a gourmet biscuit company located in Frederick, MD. With products placed throughout the DMV, they specialize in unexpected, delectable biscuit flavor combinations — like bananas foster with salted caramel pecan-praline or kahlua stuffed brie. The spiced mango actually has a tequila lime glaze. The name “Mama Biscuit” drew a large fan base when Riley was auditioning for MasterChef. Riley only made it through a couple rounds, but from the exposure she gained a social media following that would soon catapult her food career.

Riley said her friends would “ream” her for having the name “Mama Biscuit” when she hadn’t actually perfected the biscuit. “So, I went back in the kitchen and was like, okay, here you go! Try this. Try this. Try this. By the end of the year they had tried over 50 different flavors.” Alas, the gourmet biscuit company was born.

The moniker is fitting, like that of a superhero. As “Mama Biscuit”, Riley carves out a niche in the food industry, creating her gourmet biscuits. But as her daytime alter ego, Lesley Riley, she is a full-time IT project manager, which creates a more than full-time schedule.

Riley wakes up each morning at 5:30 a.m. and jumps on social media for Mama Biscuit’s answering customer questions, promoting the latest business news, and, of course, tempting followers with the latest flavors and products. By 7:30(ish) she arrives at the bakery — looking things over, making sure all orders went out, and checking that everything is running smoothly. If she has to bake in the mornings, she’ll arrive even earlier, working for a few hours. Then it’s off to her day job — often with flour as an added accessory!

She then works her full-time IT position from 9-5:30ish. After work, it’s back to the bakery, usually not finishing her day until around 11 p.m.

Focus, hard work and determination have landed Mama Biscuit’s in the Frederick Wegmans and the Common Market.

Later this year, the brand will be available in over 90 Sam’s Clubs in 10 states and will soon land on Walmart’s shelves.

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CATEGORY WOMAN TO HEADER WATCH

a large support unit has been a tremendous help. I have an amazing team. My tribe is tight. We are very spiritual, so they pray with me. They believe in my mission. The fact that I have that support is golden — a lot of people don’t have that.

How do you reward yourself after a hard days/weeks/months work?

(Laughs) I don’t. I wish I did. If I’m able to sleep in, that’s a reward for me. If I’m home and I’m able to kick my feet up and watch a good movie, that’s a reward to me.

What are three pieces of advice that you could give to readers about juggling a busy career and life? Try to find that balance. I think that’s important.

A lot of people will try to do too much. Because I am an IT project manager, I already had the skillset to manage it a little bit better. But I would say definitely find a good balance. Set

16 SASS MAGAZINE | SASSMAGAZINE.COM

limits. From there, be ready to switch gears because you are going to switch at the drop of a dime. Even when I’m at my day job, if a call comes through for Mama Biscuit’s, I’m not always able to answer. I call my people back during my lunch break. It’s not always easy to balance and juggle that other full-time job.

What is one piece of advice about following passions and dreams? Stay the course. I’ll be the first to tell you, I have cried, kicked, screamed, and wanted to give up. Stay the course. Nothing is easy. Nothing is given to you. You have to work for it. I see a lot of junior entrepreneurs go out there with a great idea and they think that people are going to jump on it right away. That doesn’t happen. I think people expect instant gratification or instant fame and fortune, it doesn’t happen like that. You’ve got to go through the growing pains. You’re gonna have ups, you’re gonna have downs. Allow yourself to have those as an entrepreneur. But you have to stay the course. It doesn’t matter how bad it gets. It doesn’t matter how bad it looks. It’s easy to give up. Stay the course.

P H O T O G R A P H Y: TA M Z I N S M I T H P H O T O G R A P H Y

What do you think has helped you the most with your success? Having such

WOMAN TO WATCH What advice would you give about being in your career? The food industry is a

How did you get to where you are today? I’ve learned a lot about life and myself and that’s

hard business. Do your research before you go into it. We’re going into our third year of business. Most people don’t even make it past their first year in the food industry. It’s very competitive. If you know that you have a great product, then you have to stand behind it — no matter what. You’re going to have your negative comments. You’re going to have competitors doing what you’re doing and it’s okay. You have to be the best at what you do, and you have to believe in your product.

why I am where I am today. I believe you learn something from each job that you’ve have (good or bad) and you take away something from every job. Then you take all those pieces and you combine them to become the best you. This sets the foundation for the rest of what you want to do in regards to business.

How do you give back to your community? We have an initiative called Feeding

Mama Biscuit’s Gourmet Biscuits www.mamabiscuit.com | (202) 350-0448

Faith. We give hundreds of biscuits away every month, but we don’t do it for recognition. We don’t tell anybody we do it. The agencies know who gets them, and that is our way of giving back to the community.

Who is your female hero and who do you look up to and admire?

My mom. She’s always allowed us to pursue whatever we chose. I can look back and remember her nurturing everything that I ever wanted to do. I remember her going to the library with me, getting a book — a cookbook — when I was in Girl Scouts. That was the foundation for when I really started to cook.

Shelby Newsome Shelby is a freelance writer and voracious reader. She enjoys an intellectual challenge, exploring on a sunny day, and lazy mornings with her cat, Butter. She is a Frederick native with a wanderlust heart. www.shelbynewsome.com.

SPRING 18 17

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20 SASS MAGAZINE | SASSMAGAZINE.COM P H O T O G R A P H Y: J E S S I C A PAT T E R S O N

Stories of

P H O T O G R A P H Y: N E E D P H O T O G R A P H E R

CATEGORY INSPIRE EMPOWER HEADER

CATEGORY INSPIRE EMPOWER HEADER

In March 2017, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency due to the growing opioid epidemic. Maryland suffered 2,089 drug-and alcohol-related intoxication deaths in 2016. That number climbed by 37 percent in just the first three months of 2017. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, every three minutes a woman goes to the ER for painkiller misuse or abuse. Given these staggering numbers, the overdose rates and fatalities often occupy headlines and stories of addiction and relapse define the conversation. Yet, a brave, determined 10 percent of those who battle addiction recover. Theirs are stories of grit, self-discovery, resilience, and paying it forward. Recovery is growth and change. Recovery is identifying and reaching one’s full potential. Recovery is ultimately hope.

These are the stories of three recovery transformations.

By Ashley Waters

SPRING 18 21

CATEGORY INSPIRE EMPOWER HEADER

Try compassion.

Don’t look at them like they are broken.

Stigma kills.

Pamela: Overcoming the Stigma Pamela Knight's battle with pain pills began with an injury. After being prescribed Vicodin in her 30’s for back pain, she felt something new: warm, fuzzy, and full of energy. But soon after those feelings, the aches, diarrhea and anxiety began when she took even a small break from the pills. Pamela “doctor shopped” and found herself to be quite manipulative. “I was using just to be normal. The first thing I did in the morning was to pop a pill.

At $125 a pop, it was a lot of money when I was buying off the streets.” Pamela’s family began to notice she was withdrawing from relationships and would sometimes ‘zone out.’ However, it wasn't until Pamela's daughter came to check on her while she was extremely sick and in bed that she finally said the words, "I'm addicted to pain pills." Her family acted immediately and she was on a plane to a treatment center within hours.

“I remember feeling like this huge weight had been lifted off my heart. But I also cried and cried.” Next came the medical detox, testing for liver damage and examinations to look for sores and evidence of self harm/cutting. Detox was followed

by Narcotics Anonymous meetings and treatment center therapy sessions. “I couldn’t wrap my head around that this was my life. About twenty days in my therapist bluntly suggested to me to be real or [this] wasn’t going to work. I then started to dig in.” After 45 days at the treatment center, 90 NA meetings within 90 days, and months spent in a halfway house, Pamela returned home to Maryland ready to form new relationships 22 SASS MAGAZINE | SASSMAGAZINE.COM

and to make amends. Her return opened more doors than she could have imagined.

After Pamela confided in her boss regarding her recent leave, he dropped his pen and within moments became her biggest fan and support. They found ways to share Pamela’s story in hopes of helping other people. “There is magic between a suffering addict and a recovering addict. I was getting phone calls to help others but it was helping me, too.” After giving a presentation to work colleagues, Pamela came home to twelve new emails. She had opened up the lines of communication and inspired others to talk.

Pamela has made this her life’s work and is now a certified drug interventionist and advocate for those battling with addiction. She speaks in high schools to both parents and students.

“There is such a stigma around drug addiction. It doesn’t discriminate. It is a mental illness and it can be cured. If I had cancer, they would send me flowers, make me dinner. There isn’t much compassion for suffering drug addicts.”

Pamela drops everything when she gets a call from a family in need, knowing the whole house is suffering. “There is work that needs to be done. This is a state of emergency. We need treatment on demand regardless of insurance. We have a 14 day wait for beds. We need beds to help detox.”

Pamela’s most recent project is a YouTube video showing nine faces of recovery from Frederick County. “We don’t talk about recovery. But we recover. We become strong individuals who have compassion. Try compassion. Don’t look at them like they are broken. Stigma kills.”

P H O T O G R A P H Y: J E S S I C A PAT T E R S O N

Pamela

CATEGORY INSPIRE EMPOWER HEADER

I think back to how paralyzed I was. If it didn't get better, I wouldn't be here.

It gets better.

Gayle

Gayle: Freedom from Fear Beginning in her early teens, Gayle Petersen used alcohol to numb herself. Her mom, who also struggled with alcohol, was her “drinking partner”; her dad left when she was 16.

Gayle would visit liquor stores, buy what she desired, and drink until she passed out numerous nights each week. Inside she battled panic attacks and anxiety. “I felt that there was no invisible line for me to cross...I was well on the other side of the line. I was living in a big black hole but also thought all of my friends were doing it.” At age 17, Gayle’s mom, who had been working towards her own sobriety, took Gayle to a twelve-step program meeting. After receiving a pamphlet with more information, it became clear to Gayle that she had a problem with alcohol. Still, Gayle didn’t believe that alcohol could kill her. “I remember mentors and sponsors always adding the word ‘yet’ to my phrases. I hadn’t done X while drunk...yet. I just couldn’t take responsibility.” That was until she found herself in a no-win situation after leaving a halfway house. “I was in a scary environment, 75 miles away from anywhere I knew, watching a drug deal go down with a shot and beer sitting in front of me on the bar. In that moment I felt like I had fully lost control. I got on my knees in a bathroom filled with urine and asked God to get me back up. I called my sponsor and she came. Her first question was, ‘What are you willing to do to get sober?’”

On February 25, 1981 (a date she enthusiastically shared as her sobriety date), Gayle, almost 20 at the time, knew she was

ready to fight. Her sponsor opened her home to Gayle for six months and she started down a difficult, but positive path. At nine months sober, she began working through a 12-step program. Eventually, the day came when she wanted to stay sober more than she wanted to drink. Gayle learned to label emotions like anger, guilt, and fear — and through greater self-awareness found self-respect and grit. “I think back to how paralyzed I was. If it didn’t get better, I wouldn’t be here. It gets better. The opportunities I’ve had are because I didn’t pick up a drink one day at a time.”

Gayle is forever grateful to those who opened their hearts and home to provide her the foundation for her journey to recovery. “There’s hope. You can’t see it [before you do the work].

There has to be something, the ‘wanna-wanna’ I call it, and trust that someone knows more than you do. You don’t have to live addicted and defeated. There is freedom from fear.”

Sarah: Finding her Voice Growing up, Sarah Gregory says she had everything she wanted; a wonderful family and life in Alabama. When she was 18, she moved to DC to attend college, where she found herself first exposed to clubs, bars, drugs and soon addiction. Over a 10 year period, she would move back and forth from Maryland to Alabama burning bridges with family along the way. She also became a wife and mother of two children. However, Sarah’s world was forever altered in 2013 when the Department of SPRING 18 23

INSPIRE EMPOWER CATEGORY HEADER

I have goals and dreams now.

I have to work hard for those

but I have confidence that

I can achieve them.

Sarah

Dr. Ashley Waters is a wife, mom, higher education administrator, event planner, community volunteer and an avid organizer.

She loves being busy with a purpose and making an impact with her work and within the Frederick community. Ashley aims to help others fit their passions into their lives and continues to work on achieving just the right work-life balance for her many roles. www.ashley-waters.com.

24 SASS MAGAZINE | SASSMAGAZINE.COM

Sarah’s sobriety date is September 3, 2013. She has had no urge to drink or use a drug since then. Sarah now works at Gale House, supporting the place that helped her recover. She and her husband speak with foster parents and birth parents through DSS. Sarah also speaks at treatment centers.

“I have goals and dreams now. I have to work hard for those but I have confidence that I can achieve them. It doesn’t matter how long you used. It matters what you can do to get yourself to a better place. I try to give back every day to help those who show that first little effort. My heart may get broken in this line of work, but when you get to see the light come on in someone, there are no words to describe it.”

These women battled addiction and won. They openly share their lowest points and feelings of self doubt, and exude the hard work, emergence of self-awareness, and the determination to keep going one day at a time to inspire and galvanize others. Sass urges anyone fighting an addiction to seek the support of family, friends, and medical professionals. There is hope, help, and recovery. You too can have a story of transformation.

Frederick County Crisis Hotline: 301-662-2255 (Crisis intervention, information, referrals, support) Maryland Crisis Hotline SUD (Substance Use Disorder) Services: 800-422-0009 Frederick County Behavioral Health Services: 301-600-1755 (for adult and adolescent treatment services) Country-wide mental health hotline: 2-1-1 (like 911, will connect caller to nearest call center based on location) Wells House, Inc. Frederick: 301.622.7003 | Hagerstown: 301.739.7748

P H O T O G R A P H Y: J E S S I C A PAT T E R S O N

Social Services (DSS) came to her door. “I had overdosed two times in front of my daughter, so DSS took my children away.

My husband went to jail and I was left all alone. I had no job, no socialization with anyone. No anything.”

Sarah knew she had to make a choice. She checked herself into a hospital and after 10 days was transferred to a treatment center. “On my third day, I looked in the mirror and was disgusted. I weighed 90 pounds, had sunken eyes and the body shakes and I realized I had done this to myself and my children.” It was in this moment that Sarah promised she would never do this again. She would fight every day.

Sarah began to listen, take notes, find a sponsor and attend meetings. She came to Gale House in Frederick to continue her recovery. “Until I found friends, I had no voice. I had no opinions. I wasn’t as stupid as I thought I was. I started fighting to learn who I was and to appreciate my voice.”

After her husband was released from jail and gained his own sobriety, they worked with DSS to have their children come home. “It took us two and a half years to bring the children home. We did whatever they asked. They were our absolute world. We knew we could change for our children.”

CATEGORY HEADER FEATURE

WOMEN & THE

Environme

26 SASS MAGAZINE | SASSMAGAZINE.COM

P H O T O G R A P H Y: JNEESESDI CPAH OPAT T O TGERRASPOHNE R

By Tiffany Arnold

CATEGORYFEATURE HEADER

nt

Though their numbers are few, women are planting meadows, protecting forests and trying to make good on childhood vows to save the planet. They are community leaders, city managers, the chainsaw-wielding women laboring on the ground to ensure the land is doing what Mother Nature designed it to do.

WEB E C EX LUSIV

s on l resource Additiona zine.com a g a sassm

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FEATURE

Reviving Waterford Park Waterford Park is south of Rosemont Avenue, just west of U.S. 15. Brace recalled that back in 2004, before the Friends of Waterford Park existed, city workers were putting in a new sewer line and piles of dirt were everywhere. This got Brace and her neighbor Lynn Leatherly (who would become a co-founder of Friends of Waterford Park) thinking, what if they, as residents, could do more with the park, like putting wildflowers and shrubs along the park path.

28 SASS MAGAZINE | SASSMAGAZINE.COM

That unassuming “what if” led to a site plan that unearthed a major problem — invasives. And Friends of Waterford Park was born. The group was able to secure grants to eradicate the invasives — bush honeysuckle being the most prevalent.

Today, Brace said you’d be hard pressed to find a bush honeysuckle at the park, but you will find hundreds of trees.

It’s a continuing effort that has gained the support of the entire community. Last year alone, Brace said, volunteers logged more than 700 hours of work.

Envisioning Frederick’s Green Future Waterford Park is on the city’s radar, as well. In June, the city of Frederick plans to break ground on a stream restoration project that would restore 1,250 linear feet of Rock Creek, which flows through Waterford Park. It’s part of the city’s bigger strategy to operate in a more sustainable way.

A woman is also leading that effort. Jenny Willoughby was hired as the city of Frederick’s first-ever sustainability manager in 2014. She drafted the extensive sustainability plan adopted by the city in 2016. Additionally, she said as much as 14 percent of the city’s drinking water comes from the 7,000 acres of watersheds her department helps manage.

This spring, the city also plans to test out a new program called Tree Frederick, an initiative meant to simplify the process of choosing and planting trees for homeowners. The city is trying to increase its tree canopy, from 20 percent tree cover to 40 percent.

Before becoming Frederick’s first sustainability manager, Willoughby worked for Alaska’s Department of Natural Resources. Prior to that, she was with the senior communications specialist for Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin. She said there was a point in her life when she thought she’d be living on a boat in the middle of the ocean researching sharks — she did spend part of her childhood living on a boat. As a kid, when her mind wasn’t on the ocean, she was thinking of bugs and lizards.

P H O T O G R A P H Y: J E S S I C A PAT T E R S O N

You could say the big awakening of Waterford Park happened more than a decade ago, when the results of a report found that bandit plants were overtaking the woods and threatening to usurp native trees — a key defense against flooding. So began the work of the emerging group Friends of Waterford Park — and, like a growing number of green movements, a woman was at the forefront: longtime environmental educator and advocate Ginny Brace.

“We have literally planted more than 1,000 trees and shrubs,” said Brace, a co-founder of Friends of Waterford Park. “We have made a substantive difference on these 18-and-half acres.”

Katelyn Walters is a field technician at Sustainable Solutions, a natural resources management firm in Shepherdstown. Her profession, landscape management, requires scientific knowledge and lots of physical work, like operating heavy machinery, hauling wood and using chainsaws to chop down trees — work that federal labor data suggests men typically perform. “A lot of my job is brute strength. I’m not going to lie there. It’s physical, hard labor.”

According to the latest data from the Department of Labor, women are more likely to be teachers, secretaries, nurses and customer service representatives. A report by the Institute of Women’s Policy Research found that women only held three out of every 10 green jobs, even though they make up half the workforce.

“I definitely took turns that I guess most women don’t take.

As for why, I don’t really know. There’s nothing in this field that a woman cannot do,” Walters said.

The women interviewed for this article said they’re starting to see more women enter the green workforce.

“I think a lot of people don’t even see it as a career growing up, but I think that’s changing. I think it’s becoming more normalized for women to be in these fields,” said Sabrina Hartley, a certified arborist who grew up in Shepherdstown. She said she was “one of few” females in her horticulture program at Colorado State University.

KATELYN WALTERS

GINNY BRACE

JENNY WILLOUGHBY

CATEGORYFEATURE HEADER

SABRINA HARTLEY

SPRING 18 29

CATEGORY HEADER FEATURE

“How do we make the land usable for people for years to come? How do we support people who are affected the most by pollution? It’s my life’s mission.”

“I had a bug collection when I was in seventh grade.

She later obtained a I was that kid,” she said. “Nobody stopped me. Nobody said, master’s degree in outdoor no you can’t play with bugs, you can’t get dirty, you can’t education from Northern do anything.”

Illinois University and taught outdoor education in MaryPlanting the Seed Early land for a while. Even so, she “When I was a kid I was always outside,” said Alicia Halverspent 20 years teaching English son, an aspiring landscape architect. Her family visited many and also worked as a bookkeeper national and state parks. As a young adult, she spent years and paralegal. working on farms and attended the Stone Soup Institute “This park opportunity rekindled all of my interest and pasin Maine. sion for the outdoors,” she said. Which is one reason she says “There’s always in the back of my mind, that social justice her work with Waterford Park probably won’t end anytime aspect,” Halverson said. “How do we make the land usable soon. “I have been really lucky to find something that I really for people for years to come? How do we support people who care about doing, that is making a difference,” Brace said. are affected the most by pollution? It’s my life’s mission.”

Halverson, Hartley and Walters are colleagues at Sustainable Solutions. Walters also frequented national parks as a kid. “I actually became very obsessed with becoming a park ranger,” she recalled. She loved math and science as a child and went on to earn a master’s degree in biology. At the moment, she’s trying to revive her great-grandfather’s farm in Tiffany Arnold Shepherdstown.

Tiffany Arnold is a digital producer and freelance writer based in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. In Brace, 70, grew up in northeastern Pennsylvania and her spare time, she enjoys, reading, running, dancing worked as an outdoor educator throughout her youth. She and sewing dresses on her grandmother’s vintage pursued other interests in college, earning an English degree sewing machine. from Western Maryland College but continued as a counselor at an outdoor school in Harpers Ferry.

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P H O T O G R A P H Y: J E S S I C A PAT T E R S O N

ALICIA HALVERSON

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CATEGORY HEADER FEATURE

By Chris Vandergrift

As many moments of enlightenment begin, I was scrolling through my Facebook feed when I noticed an interesting article from arguably the largest outdoor apparel retailer in the U.S. Instead of indulging in their usual hobbyist articles, like How to Survive a Bear Attack While Hanging from a Cliff, I was staring into the twelve point font of a no-nonsense mea culpa. A prominent brand at the heart of the outdoor industry was apologizing for its disregard of women as consumers, participants, and leaders in the area of outdoor recreation.

Full disclosure — I quickly dismissed the apology as a company’s thinly-veiled attempt to gain some market share from female consumers. That is until I read the comments below the post. Women shared account after account of frustration when unable to find gear tailored to the female physique.

They expressed disappointment at the lack [or total absence] 32 SASS MAGAZINE | SASSMAGAZINE.COM

of female representation in content highlighting outdoor achievements. They were incensed over the disproportionately greater coverage given to men’s outdoor sports. They were discouraged by the scantily clad outdoor models seemingly pulled from a Hollywood casting call. Their voices rallied around a common theme: while the outdoors itself is indiscriminate of gender, aspects of its community often are not.

In an effort to better understand the issue, I did some cursory research. Did you know women represent 46 percent of all participants in outdoor recreation in the U.S.?¹ You better believe women are contributing in big ways to the $887 billion-per-year outdoor recreation economy. But despite the numbers, I looked over the social media platforms of major outdoor brands, flipped through the pages of well-known outdoor publications, perused the online catalogs of gear and

P H O T O G R A P H Y: A NM E EODS PAHDOATMOSG R &ACPHHRE IRS VA N D E R G R I F T

Let’s go ahead and point out the elephant in the room: I am a guy. More specifically, I am a guy writing a feature for a women’s lifestyle publication entitled Women in the Wild. I know this appears somewhat ill-fated, but I assure you my earnest interest in the topic doesn’t stem from any delusions of expertise but rather a hope to generate dialogue about gender and the outdoors. It’s certainly a discussion worth having; I just didn’t know it at first.

CATEGORYFEATURE HEADER

WEB EXCLUSIVE More Outdoors storie s at sassmagazine.com

SPRING 18 33

apparel companies, and came to an immutable personal realization — women are severely underrepresented in the outdoor industry.

In 2017, the National Study on Women and the Outdoors was commissioned to better understand women’s relationship to and attitudes towards the outdoors.² Of 2,000 women surveyed, 6 in 10 believe men’s interests in outdoor activities are taken more seriously than women’s. 63 percent could not think of a single female outdoor role model. And the rest of the data painted an equally discouraging picture for a community historically lauded for equity and inclusion.

To bring better context to the statistics, I wanted to hear directly from women in the greater Frederick community to simply talk about the outdoors, listen to their experiences, and see firsthand how they connect with the natural world around them.

MEET CHRISTINA – Whitewater Kayaking

“If I have a trip planned, I let everyone know and tell them to get prepared — I’m going somewhere.” As soon as she slides her kayak into the river, adjusts her helmet, and takes that first cut into the water with her paddle, it is abundantly clear Christina Ocharzak is “going somewhere.” She simultaneously exudes focus and relaxation while effortlessly moving along the Shenandoah River. And why wouldn’t she? This time on the water is Christina’s way of detaching from her busy professional life as a mortgage lender. “It’s a very busy lifestyle, and I work all the time. On the weekends, I really enjoy getting outside, whatever it is [I'm doing]."

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Although she’s also an avid horseback rider and snowboarder, Christina says kayaking offers the unique advantage of, “getting to see everything from a different point of view.”

Unlike more curated nature paths, Christina’s only limitation in experiencing the world around her is the direction of the current. Her adventures throughout the Mid-Atlantic region have afforded her unobstructed views of sprawling mountains, lush riverbanks, and dense old-growth forests. “So many places we go are so secluded,” Christina mused, “and it’s very peaceful… there’s hardly anybody around anywhere you go.”

But for all of its peace and solitude, whitewater kayaking is serious business. Jagged rocks, hidden debris, and strong currents are all important considerations on the river. “I never truly knew the power of water until I got into this. It’s given me a whole new perspective on that,” Christina explained. Despite the challenging work/life balance, she places a strong emphasis on creating time to practice her kayaking skills in order to avoid getting dumped from the kayak. “You don’t want to swim in a lot places,” she says. Which is sound advice from someone who readily charges through raging rapids.

Christina points out the sport has noticeably more men than women; however, as a member of a local kayaking club, she has found the community to be more than welcoming.

“Every guy that I’ve talked to, every instructor I’ve had, says that women are actually better at kayaking,” referencing many of the technical elements, including hip snaps and rolls. She’s confident women are equally-capable kayakers and has experienced firsthand the bond built among those brave souls.

“The outdoors can grow relationships between people. I’ve

P H O T O G R A P H Y: A M O S A D A M S & C H R I S VA N D E R G R I F T

CATEGORY HEADER FEATURE

FEATURE met so many wonderful people that I never would’ve known if it wasn’t for kayaking.” To those women with any trepidation about the sport, Christina says, “Put your time in, and you’ll really enjoy it.” Like so many things in life, she adds, “If you work hard at it, you’ll reap the benefits.”

Meet Erin - Rock Climbing/ Bouldering

With little outdoor recreation experience, she had two choices: attend the indoor college orientation group for teambuilding exercises or take to the outdoors for a more unique approach to freshmen bonding. Despite fearing she might hate it, Erin Frey chose the latter and ultimately found herself part of a tight-knit community of outdoor enthusiasts.

Erin took to climbing very quickly despite feeling as though her forearms were “dying” at first. She became a manager of the indoor climbing wall at her college as well as a leader responsible for guiding co-eds on multi-day climbing tips. It was in these environments where Erin first observed the vastly different experiences of male and female climbers.

Regardless of skill level or body type, climbers would routinely seek out the largest male guide for instruction even when the climber was female or of a frame more comparable to Erin’s own. “I’m definitely the person they should have been asking if they needed help climbing a route, obviously because I would climb a route very differently” than her male counterpart. She’s right — they should’ve been consulting

her. As Erin climbed during our morning together, she miraculously created handholds and footholds out of the most inconspicuous cracks in the rock face.

Erin also found male climbers would often lend unsolicited route instructions, or “beta,” to female climbers. The technical aspects of routes “are called ‘problems’ for a reason,” Erin explained, “When I’m climbing, I want to figure it out for myself — that’s half the fun.” She endearingly says her “climbing bros” eventually recognized her as a dedicated climber once her skills and motivation met the burden of proof, but there were certain initial perceptions to overcome.

While she finds the climbing community to be largely conscientious of gender equality, Erin laments the difficulty of retaining women for climbing events. “These women are going out there, they’re going outside, [yet] something is deterring them from doing it again.” Instead of speculating why, Erin makes it a point to create a culture where women feel comfortable to “get up on the wall, make mistakes, and fall, and look like an idiot,” which she reassuringly says comes with the territory. “Come to the rock wall however you are, but I want you to stay because you like climbing.”

Erin believes outdoor sports give women a reliance on their body “for what it can do, rather than what it looks like,” and in that she finds empowerment and a transformed view of self. “Knowing what my body is capable of has made me want to respect it much more,” she says.

WOMEN REPRESENT

46% OF ALL

PARTICIPANTS IN OUTDOOR RECREATION IN THE U.S.

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CATEGORY HEADER FEATURE Meet Liz - Hiker/ Backpacker

“It’s bigger than me, it’s bigger than my problems, it’s bigger than my 270 commute, it’s bigger than anything.” If you hadn’t picked up on the fact Liz Tinker thinks pretty highly of the outdoors, her words are far from hyperbole. Whether hiking, backpacking, or camping, Liz goes outside for far more than recreation. It’s more of a personal sanctuary. “It gives me a sense of strength, a sense of wonder, a time for question and answer.” She meaningfully uses each step to “contemplate about the world” around her in a time when such thoughtfulness seems particularly necessary.

Like many others, Liz was introduced to the outdoors at a young age. Her equipment was typically hand-me-downs from her brothers or father, since gear wasn’t manufactured for women at the time. “Twenty years ago it was the old metal backpacks that didn’t fit any woman in the world. And you might see one woman on the trail in a three-day hike,” Liz recalled. She felt outdoor recreation just wasn’t a consideration for women, noting, “I don’t think that the industry catered to that or tried to encourage that.”

But this did not deter Liz from developing a deep affection for the wild. In fact, what makes Liz’s story unique is how her passion for ad-

venture ultimately led her to a career in the outdoor industry — the very same which failed to offer her a suitable backpack twenty years prior.

When considering her tenure in the outdoor industry, Liz reflects on the evolution of her work environment. “It has come a long way not only with just females, but with diversity in race as well.” As in many industries at the time, the majority of management positions were held by white males.

It remained this way for several years; however, Liz notes there has been a significant change in the past seven years.

“Women have stepped up, have gotten advanced degrees, and have showed an interest. I think the industry has accepted that, and now we’re honing in on it.” While admitting there is still progress to be made, Liz believes there is a correlation between women seeing advancement in the workplace and the growing sense of empowerment to throw on a pack and hit the trail.

Given her positive attitude and beaming personality, it was no surprise Liz brought a hiking partner with her on the day we met. When asked how she encourages other women to join her outdoor exploits, Liz speaks to a universally shared experience: struggle. “The trail is too rocky, it’s too hard, it’s too long.” She continues, “You have gone through something in your life, I guarantee, that is harder than that trail, that is harder than setting up this tent, that is harder than setting up a hammock.” And by comparison, Liz believes those struggles begin to dissolve into the realization that, “You will never regret those moments you’ve taken to go out there and explore who you are — not only as an outdoor recreation enthusiast, but who you are as a woman.”

REFERENCES ¹ 2017 Outdoor Recreation Participation report by The Outdoor Foundation ² 2017 National Study on Women and the Outdoors

36 SASS MAGAZINE | SASSMAGAZINE.COM

Chris Vandergrift is the Co-Owner of Adventure Well, LLC — a creative consulting agency with a penchant for all things outdoors. When he's not wandering through the woods or dreaming up the next great adventure, Chris enjoys spending time with his wife and curlyheaded toddler, shamelessly binging on spicy foods, and filling his brain with completely useless trivia. Follow along with the Adventure Well on Instagram @adventurewellcreative or on Tumblr www.adventurewellcreative.com

P H O T O G R A P H Y: A NM E EODS PAHDOATMOSG R &ACPHHRE IRS VA N D E R G R I F T

Chris Vandergrift

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CATEGORYFEATURE FASHION HEADER

CATEGORY FASHION FEATURE HEADER

WORKOUT

By Brittany Carpenter

W EAR Athleisure is a trend I never thought I would be into. If you talked to me three years ago, you’d know I wouldn’t be caught dead leaving the house in leggings — unless I was going to the gym. Now, leggings are my day off style!

I’ll casually pair them with the cutest dress or sneakers.

While I don’t know if the Brittany from three years ago is mad at me or not, I couldn't care less. I have suffered for years in pointy toed flats and high heels, my feet deserve a break.

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CATEGORYFEATURE FASHION HEADER

you don’ t want to look like

(OR SMELL LIKE) you just came from the gym.

My outlook on working out has changed a lot in the last three years as well. The only time I ran then was, ironically, while wearing heels. Now I am living a healthier lifestyle — counting calories and daily steps on my fitbit. Since changing my lifestyle, I needed to take the obvious next step and update my work out wardrobe. This clearly inspired my new love for athleisure wear. It is honestly inspiring to figure out how to make leggings and sneakers appropriate for other parts of life! No matter your lifestyle, athleisure can seamlessly work its way into anyone’s wardrobe.

While comfort is the main principle behind the athleisure trend, you don’t want to look like (or smell like) you just came from the gym. To me, athleisure is the ultimate street style. It’s about taking your gym favs (leggings, sneakers, bright colors and sports bras) and making them fit into your real life.

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WHO SAYS

DRESSES

CAN’T SCREAM

ATHLEISURE?

Mix a stretchy rouched dress with leggings and a bomber coat with a fun print to make a statement on the street.

Add a heeled sneaker for a level of comfort that still gives you height!

Who says you can show off your style at work? Add a pop with a brightly colored equestrian style pant that can be toned down with a crisp button up top. Trade your heels for sneakers and throw on a windbreaker — you're ready to leave the office and head out for drinks!

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P H O T O G R A P H Y: B NR E EADD PBHA O R TNOWGERLALP H E R

CATEGORY FASHION FEATURE HEADER

S A R B S T R O P S & BRALETTES are a fun staple of athleisure wear.

Don’t be afraid to show them off and let them make your outfit. Go for bright colors that will POP from your neutral outfits.

leigh

Special Thanks! All styles and accessories available care of Chic to Chic Boutique, while supplies last. chictochic.com SPRING 18 41

BEAUTY

To Makeup or Not to Makeup?

By Rebecca Carrera

Think about it this way. If you’re sweating and ridding your body of toxins while working out, then why would you want added toxins sitting on the surface of your skin? Here’s a step by step guide to a simple skincare routine pre and post workout.

1. Stay hydrated! Hydrate before, during and after working out. Preferably water. Pleeeeease, stay away from sports drinks. They’re filled with sugar, food dyes and all sorts of chemicals your body doesn’t need. If you’re not a fan of water, try infusing it with sliced lemons and/or cucumbers, both of which are detoxifying.

While relaxing after a trip to the gym in your favorite Lululemon leggings and Athleta French terry hoodie, one must wonder if they are properly caring for their skin when working out. What I mean is, to wear makeup or not to wear makeup — that is the question.

2. Cleanse your skin to remove makeup before working out. Now I’m not talking your full-on nighttime routine — use a cleansing wipe to remove most of it and a facial mist for a bit of extra hydration if needed. I like Kaia Naturals Cleansing Cloths and Biodara Immortal Mist. The cloths come individually wrapped, perfect for a gym bag or purse, and the mist smells and feels amazing!

3. If you’re not feeling the naked face for sweating it out, then absolutely use non-toxic, healthy beauty products. Coola BB Cream has an SPF

for you outdoorsy gals and it’s the perfect amount of skin tone evening coverage. It’s also super healthy, so it won’t interfere as your body rids itself of toxins. If you need a little bit more face, you can add a natural mascara and a cream lip and cheek color. RMS Beauty and Vapour Organics both have gorgeous clean color options.

4. After you’ve shown the barre who’s boss, cleanse and moisturize again.

Everything you’ve just sweat out of your system is now sitting on the surface of your skin. If you’re showering at the gym or home that’s easy, but if you’re heading out with friends for mocktails (why would you waste your workout on cocktails?) or dinner then use another cleansing cloth with your face mist and follow up with makeup.

Rebecca Carrera

P H O T O G R A P H Y: N E E D P H O T O G R A P H E R

Staying consistent with these healthy practices will help you maintain clear, glowing, gorgeous skin!

Wife, mother, brow guru, green beauty obsessed, clean eater, design lover, and the owner of Maven Beauty Bar in downtown Frederick, Maryland. www.mavenbeautybar.com

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HAIR

CAMPING HAIR DON’T CARE

By Tammy Brandenburg

As someone who enjoys the great outdoors, the last thing I want is look like I’ve been stranded for days. So here are some of my favorite things to help you survive your next camping trip, all while still looking good for those Snapchats and Insta stories!

1. Dry Shampoo Always style your hair the best before leaving for any trip. That way by day two and three all you’ll need is a little dry shampoo at the scalp and a little brushing. Voilá — you are ready to go!

2. Tinted Moisturizer with SPF

for a flat iron or curling iron, throw that hat on girl!!! If you are not a hat person, a good headband or ponytail holder will do just fine. Headbands are always a great option for shorter hair, while a ponytail holder is good for the longer. Easily pull your hair back into a quick pony or a braid that will last and look great all day!

While in the great outdoors you definitely don’t want your skin to suffer. By applying a thin layer of moisturizer, you’ll not only get protection from those harmful rays but you’ll also even out skin tones, giving you that fresh morning (mountain!) glow.

So get out there girls and enjoy all the adventures this world has to offer without letting your looks getting in the way. Packing these few essentials along with your other necessities will set you up for some awesome selfies!

3. Lip Balm or Gloss with SPF When sleeping and traveling outside, lips Be sure to share your outdoor selfies with me can become dry and chapped. A sheer and the Sass crew! look on a natural lip or adding a slight tint to the lip will always make you feel a little more put together, while keeping those lips moisturized.

4. Facial Cleansing Wipes

5. Hair Accessory Though I am usually the first to say No! to hats on that great head of hair — they do have a purpose. If you're having a bad hair day with no electrical support

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Tammy Brandenburg Stylist, educator, mom and an everyday woman.

Senior stylist at New York, New York Salon & Spa and always learning. Mom of two and constantly moving! @hairbytammybrand

P H O T O G R A P H Y: N E E D P H O T O G R A P H E R

Sometimes you’ll be faced without running water on your outdoor adventure, so having a good cleansing wipe is a must have! You definitely need to clean that face after a good days exploration and before you hit the hay. You can also use a wipe in the morning before applying your moisturizer for a refreshing look and feel.

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SPRING IN

CATEGORY HEADER TRAVEL

CATEGORY HEADER TRAVEL

By Charissa Hipp

There’s nothing quite as uplifting and invigorating as springtime in full bloom, especially at the end of a long, bleak winter. Mother Nature paints a beautiful landscape with trees and plants blooming in vibrant colors. To appreciate this season to the fullest extent, plan a day trip to one of the magnificent botanical gardens or arboretums in our region.

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TRAVEL Botanical gardens and arboretums have existed for hundreds of years. They are planned and executed so beautifully we often appreciate them for their aesthetic appeal, but these living plant museums exist to do far more than look pretty. Their goal is to teach us the importance and value of plants to our well-being and to earth’s ecosystem. Plants are not optional; in fact they are the basis of our food supply and the air we breathe. Simply stated, we would not exist without them.

Washington, D.C.’s United States Botanic Garden is one of the oldest botanic gardens in North America. More than 200 years ago George Washington envisioned a capital city for the United States that included a botanic garden to demonstrate the importance of plants to the young nation. The U.S. Botanic Garden, which is free of charge, has three exhibit areas. The Conservatory houses many different plants and environments in its permanent exhibit and gardens, from orchids to rare and endangered species and even Jurassic plants. The National Garden, the newest outdoor garden, is not to be missed.

It features Mid-Atlantic native plants, the Rose Garden, the Butterfly Garden and the First Ladies Water Garden. However, Bartholdi Park is often considered the secret garden of Washingtonians. It is located across Independence Avenue from the Conservatory and has theme gardens that surround the historic Bartholdi Fountain.

Much like the U.S. Botanic Garden, Meadowlark Botanical Gardens is located in a bustling metropolitan city, yet its

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95 acres provide a rare escape to a more peaceful, serene part of Vienna, Va. Meadowlark’s ornamental display gardens and unique native plant collections are situated among lakes, forests and walking trails with stunning views of the Piedmont hills. The largest collection at Meadowlark is the Potomac Valley Collection which includes beautiful spring blooms. Daffodils, tulips, magnolias, flowering cherries and lenten roses can be enjoyed in March and April. If you don’t want to battle the large crowds to see the cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C., go to Meadowlark! Azaleas, rhododendron, dogwoods, lilacs, siberian irises, native wildflowers, peonies, alliums and a butterfly garden follow with blooms in May. A small wetland, Lake Lena, is situated at Meadowlark’s lowest elevation, where plant horticulture and habitat conservation combine to create a naturalized wetland. Not only will you find wetland shrubs and wildflowers as well as aquatic native plants but several species of aquatic animals and birds like turtles, herons and fish can be found here.

Longwood Gardens, in Kennett Square, Pa., is perhaps the most well-known botanical garden in the region, popular for its meticulous gardens, fountains and architecture. Garden design, horticulture education and the performing arts work in unison to inspire and enlighten guests. Longwood celebrates five seasons throughout the year: Orchid Extravaganza, Spring Blooms, Festival of Fountains, Autumn’s Colors and A Longwood Christmas. Each seasonal display spotlights unusual as

P H O T O G R A P H Y: L E F T: C O U R T E S Y L O N G W O O D G A R D E N S ; R I G H T & T O P : U . S . B O TA N I C G A R D E N

CATEGORY HEADER TRAVEL

well as ordinary plants. Spring Blooms can be viewed at Longwood March 31 to May 6 and includes dogwoods, magnolias, wisterias, azaleas, foam-flowers and more than 240,000 tulips.

With more than 1,077 acres of gardens, woodlands, meadows, fountains and a 4.5-acre conservatory, a visit to Longwood Gardens should be a minimum of three hours. Timed tickets are required for admission and allow for a better viewing experience. Once at the gardens, be sure to utilize the Longwood Gardens interactive map and guide on your smartphone.

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond, Va. also ranks among the top botanical gardens in the United States. The historic property offers more than 50 acres of spectacular, serene gardens with bridges and winding paths as well as a 63-foot classical domed Conservatory– the only one of its kind in the mid-Atlantic. At Lewis Ginter you can explore 15 themed gardens including a Children’s Garden, Rose Garden, Healing Garden, Fountain Garden and Asian Valley. There’s even a fully accessible tree house and a free audio tour of the garden you can access through your smartphone. A Million Blooms is the Garden’s celebration of spring with daffodils, tulips, peonies, roses and more — blooms as far as the eye can see! Spring also ushers in Butterflies LIVE!, an indoor exhibit in the Conservatory’s North Wing that allows you to get up close and personal with hundreds of tropical butterflies.

A visit to any of these gardens is a wonderful way to appreciate spring in all its glory. Remember to wear comfortable walking shoes and take a phone or camera to capture photographs. If you enjoy gardening you may even want to jot down some notes along the way. What better way to learn about living sustainably through plants and get inspired by beauty in nature!

United States Botanic Garden www.usbg.gov Meadowlark Botanical Gardens www.novaparks.com/parks/meadowlark-botanical-gardens Longwood Gardens www.longwoodgardens.org Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden www.lewisginter.org

Charissa Hipp Charissa is a wife and mom of three with 20 years of public relations/marketing experience in the travel & tourism industry. A lifelong Marylander and Terp alumna, she spends her spare time hiking with family and women’s hiking groups. Follow her adventures on Instagram @hipphikergal.

SPRING 18 49

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Behind Every Business is a Story Sharon and Charles Riser built The Temple: A Paul Mitchell Partner School with the vision of creating a place for students to learn the latest techniques and skills.

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CATEGORY HEADER CAREER

SELLING

EMOTION

By Amy Knaby

What is most crucial when making a sale or gaining a client? Knowing your product?

Spending hours, days, and even weeks examining your product inside and out? Researching the competition? Knowing you’re ready to explain, rebuff, or rebuke every comment or question that comes your way? These things are good to know, but the key to landing that new client or making that career shifting sale isn’t what you think.

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER…OR IS IT? Sure, knowing your product is important; arming yourself with as much knowledge as possible about your product is powerful. It builds confidence and effectiveness. However, knowing and sharing knowledge is a delicate balance. You are likely

compelled to impress your potential client with your expertise, but that could easily have the opposite effect. Too much information can end up overwhelming and frustrating. Or you might end up providing “unpaid consulting,” which eliminates their need for you.

SPRING 18 51

CATEGORY HEADER CAREER Address your prospect like you would a friend. Use your initial and sometimes short amount of time to build a small friendship.

IT'S ALL ABOUT EMOTIONS

YOU ARE THE SOLUTION

People buy emotionally and make decisions intellectually.

Therefore, you must appeal to them emotionally. Potential clients must see the “purchase” as helping them go from where they are now to where they want to be. For example, a client may purchase a new air conditioning unit because they want to stay cool in the summer, or support a specific organization because they want to be involved in the community. Regardless of what transaction they are making, the prospect is not happy with their current situation and YOU can bridge the gap from where they are, to where they want to be.

It is just as important to know your consumer as it is to know your product. Know who you’re talking to, what approach you should initially take to open rapport, and what strategy will be best to seal the deal. Knowing what your customer is feeling or thinking will give you insight into how to keep the conversation going. Most salespeople sell products when they need to be selling solutions. It is quite hard to sell anything to anyone without knowing “the why” and “the what.” Why are they talking to you to begin with?

What solution does your product, service or organization solve for them?

Address your prospect like you would a friend. Use your initial and sometimes short amount of time to build a relationship. Invest in their emotions, learn what makes them tick and relate to them. People are more likely to work with people they like and trust. Be that trusted advisor for your prospect and they’ll trust you have a solution to whatever their need might be.

What if your prospect has no questions? What’s your plan when they cross their arms, roll their eyes, and stare up at the ceiling? Ask questions. Maybe this prospect is not a qualified prospect, or perhaps your questions will lead them to a reason they hadn’t considered as to why they need your solution.

How do you sell something to someone who has no desire to hear what it is you’re selling? It’s simple. You sell yourself.

That’s it! Sounds easy, right? What could be easier to sell?! No one knows more about you than YOU. Making a sale is NOT always about selling a product. In reality you are selling yourself, your emotions, and your personality. I am not discounting product knowledge — of course you want to be the expert and answer questions. However, regardless of what product or service you are selling, or donation you are seeking, the first thing the consumer needs to buy is you. Every sale has its own unique set of circumstances. Be confident. Know your product so that when the time comes to make your pitch, it’s just a matter of sealing the deal. Sell yourself, create a bond, and the product will sell itself.

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Amy Knaby Amy Knaby is a skilled sales trainer and consultant professional. Utilizing the Sandler Sales System, combined with her personal experience in the nonprofit and business development world, she maximizes clients’ potential.

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This year the fundraiser will benefit the Kline Hospice House, a place where terminally ill people can live out their final days in comfort, peace and dignity. Food, cash bar and great songs from past decades for dancing! Come dressed in costume from your favorite decade and help raise money for a great cause!

Tickets available through: www.eventbrite.com search “hospice retro” Charity Recipient: Hospice of Frederick County’s Kline Hospice House

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CATEGORY HEALTH / WELLNESS HEADER

BURN OUT

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P H O T O G R A P H Y: N E E D P H O T O G R A P H E R

By Heather Tydings

HEALTH CATEGORY / WELLNESS HEADER Burn·out: 'bern,out/ noun: physical or mental collapse caused by overwork or stress.

As a psychotherapist who primarily works with women, I receive a plethora of emails and phone calls asking for help with “burn out.” Often, what women are referring to is the feeling of physical and/or emotional fatigue after a particularly difficult time in their lives.

Some are coping with a special needs child, going through a major life transition or working a high demand, low satisfaction job. Others chronically swim in a pool of anxiety, fear, guilt, low self-esteem, or pain/illness and have very little reserves left.

What I hear is “I am worn out. Things have been hard. I am craving a mental break and a supportive hand to help me collect the scattered, messy parts of myself and put them back into an integrated whole.”

In the 20th century, women went from CEO of the home, to CEO of the company and the home. As a result we abdicated being CEO of our gorgeous bodies and inimitable spirits. In the 21st century, some believe we should have beautiful, well-appointed homes with manicured lawns, be super fit with zero laugh lines and have dinner ready for the family each night, while endlessly proving ourselves at work. We are expected to bat our perfectly applied long faux eyelashes and tirelessly juggle everything without chipping a nail. Damn those reality TV shows; that’s not real life.

Our days are task oriented and pressured. Walk the dog! Clean the house! Sign the permission slip! Get that report to the boss! We live life in exclamation points and it all feels capital “I” Imperative and capital “C” Crucial.

While doing the Imperative and Crucial, we are also staring at our iPhones ordering on Amazon Prime to get everything STAT. So, what is plain old stress and what is true blue burnout?

Stress: Stress has an energizing effect. We may feel anxious and on high alert. Emotions tend to be heightened.

Sleep may be impaired and we often crave sugary, processed food to give us an instant boost. We are typically overactive and overly committed. One feels pressured but with a sense that once it passes, we’ll have things under control again.

Burnout: Burnout can be a result of unrelenting stress, habitual negative thoughts about oneself, or the result of a life trauma.

Burnout has a deflated, drained feeling. Emotions tend to be flat.

We are more detached and apathetic. Our energy is very low. Our immune system gets compromised easily. Headaches happen.

Being around other humans, even those we love, feels exhausting.

Self doubt or an overall sense of failure may be in the driver’s seat.

Chronic stress can affect our adrenal glands. Our adrenals sit atop our kidneys and are the source of our stress hormones. One

purpose of these hormones is to put us into fight or flight mode — to give us the energy to cope with an immediate need or crisis.

However, when high stress living is relentless and we are moving at the speed of light, we end up living in a continual state of fight or flight. Cortisol is released and our adrenals become fatigued.

Addressing Stress and Burnout: Assess what you ingest.

Senses: If you are close to burnout, or sitting in its ashes, be vigilant of what is taken in through the five senses. For instance, if your eyes are constantly on a screen or downtime is spent watching jarring, jolting, fearful or mind numbing TV that doesn’t add value to your life and leaves you feeling empty, then it’s time to set clear technology boundaries. If the majority of your reading comes from lifestyle or fashion magazines that highlight your imperfections and induce feelings of unworthiness, eliminate them from your coffee table. Taking control of these things will positively impact your state of being.

Food: Your body and spirit simply cannot thrive on pre-packaged, non-nutrient dense foods. Excessive stress combined with lack-luster nutrition exhausts the adrenals. Be aware of book ending your life with stimulants; caffeine all morning + sugar by afternoon + ending with alcohol in the evening. These all give us a quick boost of energy, but eventually weaken the adrenal system. If you are not sure how to begin, seek out a naturopath, integrative or functional medicine doctor who will often look deeper into the human body and spirit to find ways to bathe your body in supplements, remedies, and foods that heal at a core level.

Environment: Replace toxic chemicals in your home and in your beauty products with non-toxic varieties. We are all exposed to chemicals in our water, food and air, but we have the last word regarding what we bring into our sacred spaces, and put in/on our bodies. Eating food that has been heated in plastic containers may have added substances called bisphenol-A (BPA) and plastic phthalates. They make plastic soft and flexible, however, these substances are believed to be endocrine disruptors. They mimic human hormones, and not for the good. A reputable site SPRING 18 57

CATEGORY HEALTH / WELLNESS HEADER

to use if you want to check on the health of your products is www.ewg.org.

Other Humans: If you regularly hang out with Chronic Complaining Caroline or Negative Nelly, you may need to do some people purging. There are physical and emotional ramifications if you are in a toxic relationship and are not setting boundaries or using your virtuous voice. Crucial, open conversations are uncomfortable, but not as uncomfortable as constant tension in your body.

Tend to your emotional body Move stuck energy: emotions (energy in motion) are messengers that pass through our bodies on a regular basis to give us intel on what needs to be addressed. When we don’t allow ourselves to feel our emotions or they get stuck due to trauma or negative thought patterns, it affects our entire circuitry. It literally causes dis-ease.

There are many ways to move energy (at no cost). One is to feel emotions and observe them, so they flow through you. We tend to resist what feels painful. When we allow a difficult emotion to be fully felt without judgment, it can then move along its merry way and be released from the body. Try it next time you are in the grips of guilt, worry or fear. If you want to read more about befriending emotions, check out David Hawkins book “Letting Go” or Karla McLaren’s book “The Language of Emotions”.

Tapping or Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT): this technique is the cat’s meow, the bee’s knees, and the glitter bomb of glory. All you need is your fingertips and an open mind.

Google it. YouTube it. Practice it regularly, at first in the privacy of your own home because you will definitely feel ridiculous in the beginning. Reiki, craniosacral therapy or somatic experiencing techniques also target stuck energy and get it moving.

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Earthing: Take your worn out body and sit on the earth.

Swim in natural waters. Read under trees. Go out where there are living things; flowers, waterfalls and birds singing. Grounding, or earthing, allegedly heals or reduces the inflammation and stress hormones in our bodies caused by the electromagnetic frequencies (EMF’s) that blast from modern technology.

In essence, your body always keeps score and it speaks fluent YOU. That heart has been in your sweet body (nearly) since conception. It’ll always try to get your attention, whether it is through your waning spirit or a chronic pain in your left breast.

It makes noise so we hear it. If we listen to it and befriend our bodies, it will guide us to adjust ourselves to wholeness again.

In this beautiful, wild, life, choose to make the needed changes to thrive. Repeat after me, from author Louise Hay: “In the infinity of life where I am, all is perfect, whole and complete. I recognize my body as a good friend. Each cell in my body has Divine Intelligence. I listen to what it tells me, and know that its advice is valid. I am always safe, and Divinely protected and guided. I choose to be healthy and free. All is well in my world1.”

REFERENCE ¹ “You Can Heal Your Life” by Louise Hay

Heather Michelle Tydings is the owner of Own Your Evolution, where she offers psychotherapy and life coaching. www.ownyourevolution.com

Riverside Midwifery, LLC Riverside Midwifery LLC provides homebirth and well woman care to the MD/VA/WV area within approximately 1 hour or 40 miles of Frederick, MD. Nannette Jenkins CNM, Chris Bontrager CNM, and Shawna DeWitt CPM offer high quality midwifery care, attending your birth in the comfort and privacy of your home!

Services include waterbirth, VBAC, childbirth classes, lactation support, and more. Free monthly meet and greet and Q&A held the ďŹ rst Monday at 6pm.

www.riversidemidwifery.com Visit us on Facebook

240-341-4974 riversidemidwifery@gmail.com

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CATEGORY HEADER RECIPE

By Sarah Kurtanich

4 - 6 H E A R T Y, W H O L E W H E AT R O L L S PESTO PROSCIUTTO S H AV E D PA R M E S A N ROASTED RED BELL PEPPERS, DICED

Cut a circle out of the top of each roll to create a sort of lid. Pick out most of the roll filling area creating a roll shell. Mix together the diced peppers and olives. Spread pesto on the inside of each roll and the bottom of each lid. Layer prosciutto on the bottom and a bit up the sides of each roll shell. Next layer red pepper and olive, Parmesan shavings, more red pepper/olive mix and finish with another layer of prosciutto. Wrap in plastic wrap or a bandanna to take with you.

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P H O T O G R A P H Y: S NA E ERDA HP HK O U TROTA GN R IACPHH E R

BLACK OLIVES, DICED

CATEGORY HEADER RECIPE As a kid, trail mix was often the inspiration I needed to get outside and go on a hike. It’s not that I didn’t like playing outside, but Power Rangers and Barbie dolls had a strong pull on my imagination. It’s a lot easier to get me to go hiking these days. I still love a good handful of trail mix, but longer hikes often call for something a bit more substantial. Enter my Mediterranean Hand Sandwiches. Easy to pack and easy to eat, they hold a ton of flavor and provide a good mix of protein and carbs to help keep you going. And my Raw Cookie Dough Power Balls can satisfy any trail mix craving in a handy, slightly less messy package. They’re also easily customized with whatever mix-ins you’d like.

WEB E EXCLUSIV pes on More reci e.com n zi a sassmag

2 / 3 C U P R AW C A S H E W S 1 / 3 C U P R O L L E D O AT S 1 SCOOP OF YOUR FAV O R I T E VA N I L L A PROTEIN POWDER 1 T E A S P O O N VA N I L L A 3 TA B L E S P O O N S A G AV E N E C TA R O R H O N E Y 1/4 CUP MINI C H O C O L AT E C H I P S

Combine all ingredients except for the chocolate chips in a food processor until well blended. Gently mix in the chocolate chips. Scoop out about 2 tablespoons at a time and roll into balls. Try not to eat all of them at once.

Sarah Kurtanich Sarah is the Chief Eating Officer of Taste Frederick Food Tours, co-host of The Mustache Mesa podcast, and the content creator behind BySarahRae.com (by day she works as a Director of Marketing). She and her family love to travel, but are always happy to return to their home in Frederick, MD. SPRING 18 61

I treat 200 cancer patients each year.

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her compassionate approach to patient care and Frederick Regional Health System’s affiliation with MD Anderson Cancer Network®, a program of MD Anderson Cancer Center, Dr. Bahl and the oncology team are one step closer to reaching their goal: ending cancer.

2 Trusted Leaders 1 Mission #endcancer 301-418-6465 • fmh.org/cancercare Center for Breast Care • 7211 Bank Court, Suite 110, Frederick, MD 21703

What Exactly Is “Must Love Shoes”?

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There’s no exclusive clique here. You’re welcome because you’re a woman… you’re one of us!

Join the Must Love Shoes community by signing up for our newsletter at mustloveshoes.com You can also visit our Facebook page for news, events and other fun stuff

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