Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis must be doing a whole lot right as parents, because their daughter, Wyatt, 2, speaks three languages like a champ.

Kutcher told Jimmy Fallon, "It’s weird because girls advance apparently faster than boys... My daughter is, like, 2-1/2 and she speaks three languages. She’s got, like, Russian, Spanish and English. She actually understands and speaks them.”

The couple also has a son, Dimitri, who arrived in November 2016. Is Dimitri ready for a position as a foreign ambassador like his big sister? Err, not exactly.

More: No guessing needed: Mila Kunis is pregnant again

Kutcher explained the difference between his daughter's command of language and his son's current way of getting his point across. "The boy [Dimitri] is just like, ‘thuck.’ Just a chunky, like, ‘BAHHH,’” Kutcher said, imitating his son's howls. “He sounds like a pterodactyl, and he’s not coming around.”

More: Mila and Ashton welcome a baby boy

Kutcher is clearly relishing fatherhood. He raved, “I invented another human. I just keep inventing them. That’s the second one. That’s my second invention. It’s so cool." (Just wait and see how cool it is when they ask for the car keys someday, Kutcher.)

More: Celeb baby bump day! Check out the pics of our favorite bellies

How's the very vocal big sister enjoying her little brother? "Well, the love is a little intense," Kutcher said. "Wyatt occasionally tries to murder the young one. Not on purpose, but she just hugs him so hard that she almost suffocates him sometimes and doesn’t even realize that’s happening.”

Time to teach Wyatt, "Hey, you're crushing your brother," in Russian, Spanish and English, we're thinking.

A vacation to Paris is a dream come true for many people, but one Hollywood celebrity made it even dreamier this week. According to HuffPost, Emma Watson hid 100 copies of Margaret Atwood’s book, The Handmaid’s Tale, around the City of Lights on Wednesday.

More: The Magical Transformations of the Harry Potter Cast, From Then to Now

Watson, who is an avid reader herself, worked with the charity Book Fairies to pull of this delightful stunt. She embarked on an amazing scavenger hunt in Paris which she then reeled her fans in a really fun way. Watson left clues on Twitter all day for followers to find the hidden books. It’s an epic tale of a real-life book fairy.

It was fun to follow the tweets of lucky winners who discovered the books in Paris.

More: Emma Watson Continues Her Crusade for Girl Power

This isn't the first time Watson has participated in a book treasure hunt. Just a few months ago, she left copies of Maya Angelou's autobiography Mom & Me & Mom in the New York City subways after the election of Donald Trump. It would appear that it's her own form of protest and it's definitely inspired her to do more.

The best part about Watson’s efforts is that she’s been putting a lot of muscle behind promoting female authors by creating a feminist book club called "Our Shared Shelf." She’s been a huge part of inspiring women to tackle hot social and political issues through education.

More: Don't Ask Emma Watson About Her Boyfriend — She's Staying Mum on the Subject

“As part of my work with UN Women, I have started reading as many books and essays about equality as I can get my hands on. There is so much amazing stuff out there! Funny, inspiring, sad, thought-provoking, empowering!” she wrote on GoodReads. “I decided to start a Feminist book club, as I want to share what I’m learning and hear your thoughts too.”

Watson is proving to be an actress who is more than just talk, she’s taking action and sharing her knowledge. She’s truly the best book fairy of our times.

Boy, oh, boy, Luvvie Ajayi fans — do I have news for you.

Ajayi spoke at the #BlogHer17 Conference Friday in Orlando, Florida, and dropped some major spoilers about her upcoming show with Shondaland that will be based on her best-selling book, I'm Judging You.

"I personally developed the show with Shonda — with Shondaland. The only thing I can tell you right now is that the show is going to center around a character that is a composite of me. So basically, me on camera.”

More: Chelsea Clinton Has Major Feelings About the Senate's New Health Care Bill

Luckily, the host of the discussion, BlogHer co-founder and conference program chair, Elisa Camahort Page, was able to squeeze a few extra details out of our favorite entrepreneur.

“I will not be acting in it. That’s not my ministry. Somebody else will do the acting, but I am gonna be on the writing. I have an idea of who I want to play me. I already let Shonda know; we’re working on it.”

As much as I was hoping to see Ajayi star in her own show, I totally get it and trust that she will pick the absolute best actor for the role.

More: Gabi Gregg Talks Body Positivity & Getting the Fashion Industry's Attention

So when can we expect to see her new show? We're still not quite sure.

“Cross your fingers… because the optioning means that Shondaland is trying to make sure it ends up on television," Ajayi said. "It’s not guaranteed it’s gonna end up on television. If all goes well, it will end up on television, so hopefully this time next year, we’ll talking about a new TV show.”

More: Margaret Cho Encourages Masturbation Because It's the "Ultimate Revenge"

Here's hoping this new show gets up and running ASAP, because, honestly, if this show is even one-tenth as hilarious and well-done as her book, it will be a must-watch for all.

By Donna Begg:

Divorce is said to affect at least 50 percent of marriages in the United States. When parents divorce, it creates another source of stress on family and parenting relations that mostly impact the children involved.

According to world news headlines on divorce, 43 percent of children in the U.S. are being raised without their fathers, and 75 percent of children with divorced parents live with their mothers.

More: Why Unconditional Love Is Only for Kids (& Why That's a Good Thing)

Studies suggest that adults have to make their own adjustments to the emotional upheaval of divorce and kids also experience a kind of divorce when their parents separate.

For children, navigating this new dimension to the family situation can create feelings of anger, worry, frustration, uncertainty and fear. One can safely assume that conflicts will arise.

How well divorced parents treat their separation will have a direct effect on the social, psychological and emotional well-being of the children involved.

Communication between divorced parents is key to establishing ground rules to make the transition work effectively. Co-parenting requires empathy, compassion, patience and genuine concern for the children involved in order for communication to be successful.

Here are the five best parenting tips on how to co-parent kids of divorce.

1. Make your children the main focus

Every decision you make should have your kids as a first priority. Your main focus should be what is best for the children, and you should seek solutions that will make the transition as successful as possible.

Find the best possible solutions to foster the healthy development of your child’s emotional and psychological well-being. Try to minimize the disruption to the children’s routine as much as possible.

2. Commit to communicating with your ex

Aim for open communication as much as possible. If you have experienced a difficult relationship, communication after divorce can also have its challenges, especially if you and your ex have different parenting styles.

If you are a permissive parent and your ex is stern, it will affect how your children respond to discipline and established rules.

It is not necessary to be friends with your ex to communicate after divorce, so create ways to communicate with them (via email, letters, etc.). If face-to-face efforts are too stressful, seek to establish a business relationship to convey your messages to your ex.

Don’t communicate with your ex-spouse through your children. Aim to keep your children away from the center of the conflict. This will promote feelings of insecurity and helplessness in the children.

More: Why We Should Never Tell Our Kids "She's Just Mean Because She's Jealous"

3. Find mutual ground

Seek to build upon shared concerns regarding your children and search for solutions. Practice exchanging information about any changing needs and priorities as they occur. Negotiate choices and solutions as objectively as possible.

Operate on the premise that your ex also has the best interest of the children at heart.

Play to your ex's strengths, not manipulatively, but in ways that can help you make the best of their unique character traits that can help in situations. Try to strike a balance. You can show respect even if you may not agree with them.

4. Stick to the issues

Emotions and ego can establish barriers to effective communication. Make every effort to focus only on the issues at hand and not on your emotional needs or your ex's.

Try not to address the emotional reasons why a problem is occurring. Examine your attitudes and the emotional reasons that may impact your decisions. Practice speaking positively about your former spouse with your children

Emphasize their positive traits to help your children focus on the positive qualities in each parent. This will improve your children’s sense of well-being and diminish feelings of resentment, anger and frustration.

If you receive information about your ex from your children, try to remain neutral and refrain from making negative comments about the situation. Don't finger-point, accuse or discuss any issues with them.

5. Be consistent

Raising children can be challenging whether you're married or separated. When divorce occurs, new rules will need to be established to accommodate visiting schedules and relations with extended family members.

Be aware of pitfalls that may arise. Children will observe the changes in the situation and may seek to manipulate one parent over another to their advantage.

Negotiate and agree on the role the extended family will play and how much access will be granted when the children are in their charge.

You and your spouse will need to find ways to ensure that the children continue to operate in a structured environment whether they are with you, the other parent or extended family.

Establish appropriate boundaries early and aim to have a united front with your spouse on issues. Relaxing established rules with children to "punish" your ex can backfire and have serious implications for how well the children transition between both parents.

More: 3 Toxic Parenting Styles That Turn Kids Into Narcissists

A united front will help to maintain respect, structure and discipline. Seek to maintain regular schedules whether they are with you or your former spouse, and insist that they continue to follow set rules for the following:

• Bedtime
• Mealtime
• Recreation, television, etc.
• Schooling and homework
• Chores

Divorce can be very stressful. It affects both parents and any children involved. The emotional upheaval and how the transition is handled will impact the social, emotional and psychological well-being of everyone involved, but especially the children.

Originally published on YourTango.

There are certain elements of the holiday season that I'll never get tired of: mall Santas, eggnog everything and Oreo candy canes — wait, what?

In the latest mish-mash of traditional food favorites, Oreo is launching Cookies & Creme Candy Canes. Yes, a marriage of cream-filled chocolate cookie and a timeless peppermint treat. Will they taste like Oreos? Or more like candy canes? THERE’S JUST SO MUCH TO THINK ABOUT.

More: Lime Skittles Are Back, & the Happy Tears Won't Stop

I know, I know. I'll give you a second to catch your breath.

As a rule, Oreo anything is going to be some level of delicious, and the concept of getting a few to nibble off our tree all season long? We’re into it. Though based on the picture, the candy canes appear to be the same texture as usual, just with black stripes instead of red. It's not like it's a candy cane-shaped Oreo cookie we're getting.

More: Nooo! Nestle Candy Bars Could Disappear From Stores Soon

Don’t get too excited yet: These won’t be available until the winter of 2017. But still, aren’t we used to counting the days until the holidays, anyway?

If you’ve ever visited Hollywood, you know that a trip to the Walk of Fame is a stop you must make. The stars along Hollywood Boulevard represent various categories of the entertainment industry, like film, television, radio and live theater, and exist on that sidewalk because of all of the towering achievements of the people whose names are given on those stars. On Friday, we learned that the 2018 Hollywood Walk of Fame class has 34 members, and they're one incredibly diverse group.

More: Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds Officially Have the Cutest Family Ever

Honorees for next year run the gamut of age, race, gender and entertainment specialty; they include Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jennifer Lawrence, Mark Hamill, Shonda Rhimes and RuPaul. While it seems like it would be easy to get a star once you have a successful career, there are a few rules for the entire process.

Anyone can nominate a celebrity for a star, but the celeb will have to be relatively rich. The honoree or their sponsor is responsible for the $40,000 cost to maintain and repair the star, as well as the ceremony, which is produced by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.

More: Bill Cosby's Walk of Fame Star Stirs Up a Huge Debate

The honoree must also agree to accept the nomination and attend the official ceremony, which they have two years to schedule. “We call it the ‘Springsteen policy,’” Hollywood Walk of Fame producer Ana Martinez told the New York Daily News. It was adopted after Bruce Springsteen declined the honor, and the Chamber rescinded its offer of a star in 1989.

Now, most celebs know they have been nominated, but it’s the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce Committee who makes the final decisions. That’s why we saw a lot of excited tweets from the stars about their honor on Thursday.

More: Mariska Hargitay's Walk of Fame Star Placed Next to Mom's

While we don't have the complete schedule of the ceremonies for the class of 2018 yet, it's a good bet that Miranda will be receiving his star somewhere around the August 11 opening of Hamilton at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles. Not only is the Pantages located on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Nederlander Organization, which owns the theatre, is paying for Miranda's star.

Now that's what we call a good business deal.

On June 25, Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman will celebrate 11 years of marriage. That's no small feat, especially in Hollywood, and I don't mean to diminish the significance of staying married (and by all appearances, happily married) for over a decade.

More: We Dare You to Hate This Video of Nicole Kidman & Keith Urban

That said, I think we'd be remiss if we didn't celebrate another milestone — one that goes back a hell of a lot further than 11 years. Guys, Keith Urban has had the exact same flat-ironed, highlighted, soccer-mom haircut for at least 30 years.

He has committed to this hair, and while it's not unusual for a man to just stick to one hairstyle for his whole life, it's rarely this hairstyle. You see, Keith Urban hasn't committed to a shaved head or a basic brush cut. He's committed to a sultry, provocative, some might say slightly feminine hairstyle, and he's done so for decades. Decades!

And while I'll readily admit to feeling bewildered by the style itself, I love that he's embraced it so wholeheartedly. I love the fact that Keith Urban has decided that this is him. His best self. I'll be honest with you; I don't know if I'll ever feel the confidence that Keith Urban feels while strutting around with sassy suburban mom hair. That's something worth celebrating. How? Why by cataloging the evolution of the hair, of course.

Behold, exhibit A:

Yes, friends. That's a fresh young 16-year-old Keith Urban crooning away on an Australian TV show.

And look at it. It's beyond debate. That is the exact same hairstyle Keith Urban rocks to this day.

Don't believe me? Here. Exhibit B:

Keith Urban in 2005 still singing, still rocking his signature hairstyle. He's lost the bangs and gone for some highlights, but otherwise, the look remains unchanged.

Oh, what's this? Exhibit C:

Keith Urban, a week before he and Kidman got married. The mullet is less obvious. It's now more of a slow taper from front to back, but still. Still. Kidman knows she's found a keeper because dude has stayed faithful to a goddamned haircut for, like, 15 years already. She knows he ain't the cheating kind.

More: Keith Urban & Nicole Kidman Steam Up With Sexts

Oh, what? Hi, exhibit D!

Urban and Kidman are married now, and Urban has done away with the highlights, choosing instead a deep chocolaty brown, and I have to say, he looks really happy about the change. But despite the color, the definitive Keith Urban hair shape remains. Face-framing layers in the front, fluttery mullet-esque feathers in the back.

Exhibit E:

It's 2008. Stock markets are crashing. The world is panicking. But not our boy Keith Urban. I'm going to presume that Urban has discovered the round brush, and thus, he's begun to style the front parts of his hair into smooth brackets bordering his face. This serves to emphasize the graceful flipping up of the back area of his hair, also courtesy of the round brush. It's a whole new world.

Now exhibit F:

Here we see Urban with his daughter Sunday Rose. And you know, they say that fatherhood changes a man but one thing it doesn't change is a man's haircut. Well, not this man at least. Here, Urban lacks the flair of highlights or round-brush styling, but damn, when you're a parent of a young child, who has the time, am I right?

On to exhibit G:

Here we are in 2010, 7 years ago. And there's the hair. Virtually unchanged. He's abandoned the round brush for an edgy, flat-ironed look and updated things with some jazzy new highlights, sure. But the essence of the hair — the middle-parted, house-shaped, mullet-but-not-quite-mullet essence lives on.

Exhibit H:

Here, Urban poses with Tiger Woods and John Mayer. (Weird, right? It was some casino event or something, apparently.)

Look how demurely Keith Urban is smiling. He's trying to play it cool because he doesn't want us to know that he knows that he has the best hair in this picture. But he knows. Oh, he knows.

Tiger Woods is grinning like a fool, but that's only because he has no idea how hard he's being schooled in the hair department. And Mayer? Pshhh. Mayer's heartbroken because he thought he'd steal the show with his lackluster mop stuffed under a weird beach hat, but he underestimated the combined power of the hair, the highlights and the flip. Better luck next time, John.

Are we done? Not even close. Look at exhibits I and J:

It's 2012. Urban and Kidman have been married six years. "How's my hair, babe?" he whispers. "Fuck your hair, Keith," she hisses back in her lovely Australian accent.

More: Nicole Kidman & Keith Urban Showed So Much PDA at the SAG Awards

On to 2013. I've always appreciated that Urban is confident enough not to let the height difference between himself and Kidman bother him — she always wears heels and never has to do any weird, Katie Holmes-esque slouching beside him. But in saying that, let's also admit that Keith will never let Nicole have nicer hair. Look at his face. So petty. So pretty. So satisfied.

But wait. What's this?

Keith! What the hell! Where is the flip?! Who did this to you?! It's clear that 2014 will be the worst year of Keith Urban's life. He has cut off his mullet, the source of his power. Look at his face. He knows he's made a terrible, terrible mistake. Let's not ever discuss 2014 Keith Urban ever again.

Back to business. Exhibit K:

Here we see a humbled Keith Urban. A Keith Urban brought to his knees by the hair mistake of 2014. A Keith Urban determined to add as much hair to his head as humanly possible. Hence the mustache.

And finally, that brings us to present-day, exhibits L and M:

It's 2016, and Trump's been elected president, but Urban doesn't skip a beat. He just hits that straight iron and hits it hard.

It's 2017.

"Nicole?" Keith whispers.
"Yes, Keith?"
"I have three earrings now. Also, my hair is still better than yours"
"I know, darling. Sshh. I know."

We've always been huge fans of tennis superstar and all-around badass Serena Williams, but we fell even more in love with her today at #BlogHer17. During a keynote discussion with SheKnows President Samantha Skey, Williams talked about her new partnership to fight domestic violence, explained why "pressure is a privilege" and encouraged women to go after every win — no matter how big or small.

Ahead, 10 of the most fascinating things we learned about Williams today.

She’s the new spokesperson for the Purple Purse campaign

Williams announced this week that she's partnering with Purple Purse, a program aimed at ending domestic violence through financial empowerment.

Doing that starts with understanding the concept of financial abuse. Simply put, it's when a victim of domestic violence is financially dependent on their abuser, leading to a cycle that can be almost impossible to escape.

"My whole life has been really dedicated to getting involved with helping people and helping women and just human rights" in general, Williams said. "The Purple Purse Foundation deals with financial abuse. Domestic violence really spoke to me because the statistics are so high, and over 99 percent of domestic abuse victims are actually financially abused. Who knew that number even existed? It's really something that I think people kind of overlook. It's an invisible form of abuse that people don't really know about."

She added that abuse victims "really have no other option if they don’t have any financial ways to save themselves. They end up staying, and it keeps repeating itself, so it’s really important for us to bring some awareness."

Williams also shared this heartbreaking video produced by Purple Purse to help spread the foundation's message. Watch it below, and then be like Serena and get involved. The stakes are way too high to sit by.

She started a foundation to help families in Compton

Williams' sister Yetunde Price, aka Tunde, was killed in 2003 after she was hit by a bullet while driving her car through Compton, just a mile away from where Venus and Serena learned to play tennis. That unimaginable loss led Venus, Serena and their loved ones to take action.

"Tunde was the oldest, and she was that voice and that leader for our family. She kind of took care of us and she was a great person. Unfortunately, she passed [due to] violence, so we wanted to bring awareness. We are from Compton," Williams explained. "We opened the Yetunde Price Resource Center. You go there and you get resources and help for things you need. For us — we had wonderful resources... There are three children my sister left behind. [With] those resources we were able to help and they were able to continue their lives as best as they could... [But] not everyone has that safe support system."

If she wasn't pregnant, she'd totally be competing at Wimbledon

If Williams could be in London next month for Wimbledon, it's pretty obvious she would. While on stage at BlogHer, Serena had a slight Freudian slip in response to a question about fearless women.

"Yeah, we all are winning. We're winning Wimbledon,” she said, quickly correcting herself: "Winning women." After some laughs, she clarified, “I had a flashback... But [Wimbledon] is around the corner, it’s like next week, so I'm having a little withdrawal right now."

Hopefully, we'll see post-baby Serena back on the courts next year.

She wants women to want to win

"Women don’t always have to fit into this mold. I never fit into it. I was different. I'm strong and I'm proud of it. Winning is something to be proud of," she said.

And just because you're not an athlete, that doesn't mean you shouldn't have the drive to win.

"It can be at Wimbledon or it can be in your office, you know? It can be winning that position to go higher or keeping taking those steps to get higher in your company. We shouldn't be afraid to want to be better, we should want to be the best."

More: Why Democrats Lost & Will Continue to Lose, According to Ana Navarro & Joy Reid

She lives without regrets

"The one thing I never want to live with is regrets, so everything I do, I try to do hard. I try to do it as intently as I can in that moment. I also spread that word [to others] to do the same,” Williams said.

By the way, ICYMI, she’s not only set that bar high for women, she’s set it high in general. She's won 23 more grand slams — that's not just more than any other woman in history, it's more than any other human in history. Talk about groundbreaking.

She recently joined the board at SurveyMonkey

"Silicon Valley really, really, really is not open yet to having a lot of women, having anyone of color now... Those two areas alone are really things we have to break down, and the fastest growing part of the world is technology."

That's why, at the beginning of 2017, Williams gave herself a goal to take herself, her entrepreneurship and her philanthropy to the next level by becoming a board member at a major company. That’s when Sheryl Sandberg — whose late husband, Dave Goldberg, was CEO of SurveyMonkey — came calling. After an interview, Williams was offered (and accepted) her own spot on the company's board of directors. (Sandberg also currently has a seat.) It was pretty consistent with the way Williams lives her life: She sets a goal, and then she brings it to life faster than most people ever could.

"That was really important for me, and not only just to sit there and keep the seat warm, but to really be a voice and be a conduit and try to make a change and make a difference" in Silicon Valley, she said.

More: Chelsea Clinton Has Strong Feelings About the Senate's New Health Care Bill

She believes pressure (and failure) is a privilege

If anyone feels pressure to perform, it's Williams. But she doesn't necessarily view that as a negative thing, which is a motto she picked up from tennis great Billie Jean King.

"Every time I play, I have all this pressure on me to win, which is not easy. It's really not easy to go out there every day when it's a much bigger story to lose than to win. And everyone's like, 'Oh, she's going to win anyway and blah, blah, blah.' That's a lot," Williams said. "It’s like [when] you have a company and you’re expected to perform... I realize that’s a privilege. I would love to have a company one day [where] if I’m performing a little bit lower than I would want, everyone would be shocked. That's a good thing, and that’s a privilege to be in my situation. And it’s also a way to take a lot of pressure off of yourself and build yourself to be even greater."

Pregnancy has made her appreciate her parents in a different way

"My mom has always been so strong for me. She's been the woman that is just literally unbreakable. It’s something I've always looked up to and I think all my sisters look up to. So, in the midst of having a child, all of a sudden you start to think of lessons your parents taught you, especially my mom... I feel like all those lessons that she taught me of being so strong, of being proud of who I am, of being able to look anyone in the face and have confidence and speak with so much confidence is something I really have been able to embrace, and I would love to teach my kid that.”

She also noted that her dad was no slouch, either.

"One thing that stands out for me today is just the discipline" her dad taught her, she said. "Right now, kids, grown-ups, teenagers, anyone really needs a lot of discipline. [If] you're starting your own company, you need to have the discipline to do it every day, day in and day out. [People] absolutely need the discipline to go to work every single day. And I feel, just as a person, being a good person — giving back to the community — supporting girls, supporting women, whatever you choose to do — it takes a lot of discipline. I feel like my dad was able give me so much discipline and structure in my life that it’s something I never really thought about until a couple days ago, really. I just love that I'm still appreciating all the things my parents have given me.”

Her advice to her seventh-grade self isn't what you'd expect

One of our favorite questions to ask successful people is what advice they would give their seventh-grade selves. You know, that wide-eyed 12-year-old version of yourself, teetering on the precipice between childhood and adulthood; curious, eager and maybe a little scared. But when we pitched the question to Williams, she had a take that surprised us in the best way: She wouldn't give her younger self any tips.

"I feel like everything I went through — bad, good, great — made me who I am today, and I wouldn't be sitting here if I had my little cheat sheet of what to do. I just really feel like people have to make mistakes," she explained. "People have to fall, because like I always say, the greater you isn't how you fall, but it's how you get up and how you can become stronger. Do you just lie down and stay there, or do you get up and dust yourself off and become better? I think it's really important to go through life's experiences, as hard as they are."

Except for one thing: "I would say invest all your money in Facebook. But other than that, I wouldn't say anything."

She knows what the world needs more of

"I travel internationally and I've sat with the heads of so many [companies] and there's usually not a single woman or person of color in there, so I think that's something that can be addressed on a global scale," Williams said.

"Also, sticking up for one another, and particularly women. I feel like women do stick up for one another and don't get enough credit for it. I play with only women, and I go in the locker room and I see a lot of camaraderie and we all hang out. It's like one big family. So I feel like spreading it to the next generation — that it's OK to love and OK to be really friendly and be competitive at the same time, [that's] something I'd like to see a little more of."

More: Margaret Cho Encourages Masturbation Because It's the "Ultimate Revenge"

We couldn't have said it better!

For many women, having the audacity to share their own story is a radical act. Over the past several years, we've had the privilege of getting to know Janet Mock — an activist and New York Times best-selling author — as she spreads knowledge and acceptance through her many projects, including Girls Like Us.

As a transgender woman of color, Mock knows the power of a personal narrative, which made her the ideal host of the #BlogHer17 Voices of the Year Community Keynote.

More: Why Weight Is an Unspoken Problem in the Trans Community

“Like so many of you, I am a storyteller creating content and stories and narratives that shift, evolve and challenge conversations about feminism, about race, about gender and about what it means to bring our full selves into the spaces that we enter and occupy," Mock told the audience.

She went on to explain that she has been "really busy over the past few weeks" with the launch of her new podcast, Never Before, which is a conversation series starring amazing women like "Queen Mother" Tina Knowles-Lawson, and "Auntie Maxine" — better known as Congresswoman Maxine Waters, as well as and Lena Dunham, who Mock described as "a dear friend.” 

More: Chelsea Clinton Has Major Feelings About the Senate's Health Care Bill

Mock also discussed the latest iteration of her storytelling — her new book Surpassing Certainty, which she referred to as "a memoir that explores the years of my life when I was searching for a purpose, a place and my own voice."

Voices of the Year honorees ranged from Leslie Mac and Marissa Jenae Johnson, founders of Safety Pin Box, to Katia Bishops of I Am The Milk Blog, who spoke about her experiences as an Israeli immigrant.

“You know what an accent is?" Bishops asked the audience. "A sign of bravery.”

More: Gabi Gregg Talks Body Positivity & Getting the Fashion Industry's Attention

The work of all of this year's honorees is available to read or watch on the BlogHer website.

"I hope sharing this experience together reenergizes each and every one of you as we go out into our communities and we plot and plan our next great works," Mock said.

This morning, I looked for the gray hairs. That’s the stage they’re at — sometimes I have to look for them, but other times, if the light is right and I’m particularly intent on seeing them, I can spot them right away at my hairline.

The mother of a friend of mine has spectacular shiny, long silver hair. She’ll never dye it, my friend told me, and at the time, I thought that sounded great and powerful. Of course she should never dye it just because that’s what we’re told to do — groom ourselves within an inch of our lives — pluck, shave, burn — so we never appear old or hairy or bumpy or like a human. I didn’t vow never to dye my hair in that moment, but I hoped that I would never want to.

More: 10 Things Your Hair Tells You About Your Health

I was in my 20s then, and now I’m 38, and here are the grays. There aren’t a lot, like I said, but there are enough to notice and to make me wonder if other people notice them and to feel anxious about that. I don’t feel this way about the hair on my legs, which I quit shaving more than 10 years ago because I was tired of accidentally cutting myself, of fulfilling the expectation that men had that I would be hairless and smooth, of feeling like I couldn’t wear shorts or skirts unless I shaved. I no longer think about whether or not people notice my leg hair, but my gray hair is different.

I know what it’s about — I’m not ready to be read as old. I don’t feel old, whatever that means. I don’t think I’m old, but I’m not ready for the signs that point to aging. That feels uncomplicated and genuine, the resistance to aging, and when I think about getting rid of my gray hairs, the ones I have and the ones that are waiting to sprout, I realize that dyeing is just a disguise, I’ll know they’re there. I can’t reverse time. I can just make people think I have.

More: How Much Hair Loss Is Normal?

To be clear: I don’t think it’s a choice between either dyeing my hair or being a feminist. I don’t believe that abstaining from shaving or bleaching or wearing makeup makes a person a feminist. I wear lipstick every day, and not wearing it makes me feel washed out, sparse and blank. (This I blame on my mother and grandmother, who constantly said to me and to one another, “You’re not leaving the house without lipstick, are you?”) But as a feminist, I know that we don’t make decisions in a clean, pure space. There is no such thing. Dyeing my hair means I’m doing something that will make my life easier because of the way we treat and perceive women who do not look young. I’d be making a choice to opt out of that as much as would be possible.

Dyeing my hair means I’m confronting getting older in a different way. I’m not sharing my reality with other people. I’m keeping it under something, literally. It means that other women with gray hairs, whether many or few, can’t find me. We can’t connect over it unless we speak, and even then unless we decide to talk about it.

Sometimes on the subway, I’ll look for women with gray hair like mine the way I used to look for wedding rings on people when I first moved to New York more than a decade ago. I couldn’t believe I was old enough to know people who were married, so I’d search for fingers with diamonds or bands and try to imagine that we could have anything in common. This is a different search. This is hoping that in the five minutes or 20 minutes we have together in this moving box in which we don’t talk or even look at one another, this person with the gray hair will help me figure out what to do about mine.

More: What Causes Gray Hair & What Happens When I Pluck Them?

A small part of me thought I’d know what to do about my hair at the end of this essay, that I’d surprise myself by summoning an answer from somewhere inside. I still know what I knew at the beginning, which is that decision is complicated, and I want it to stay complicated instead of pretending that changing the way I look, altering myself so I can feel like the self I am right now, the one who can’t imagine herself not young, isn’t loaded with personal, and therefore political, implications.

I could dye it, let it grow back, dye it again, feel ancient, feel free, feel like my mother who never dyed her hair, let it be salt-and-pepper elegant. I could pretend it’s a simple decision although it is not, at least for me, even if I end up following the instructions on the box correctly.

By Chanel Dubofsky

Originally published on HelloFlo.

Breastfeeding your baby can come with some really awkward moments — like feeding in ridiculous places and hearing outrageous comments from strangers. And in all likelihood, it also means pulling out the dreaded (but sometimes necessary) breast pump. A breast pump is the closest thing to ever feeling like a cow being milked on the farm. And that weeeee-wooooo noise will reverberate through your brain for many years to come.

More: Breast pumping tips from a mom who's been there

But there's always comfort in knowing other moms have endured the indignities of the breast pump too. And thankfully, these parents are willing to share the not-so-private and inconvenient places they've had to pull out the pump.

The car

"I got pulled over while pumping on Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn. I got pulled over because in order to pump, I had to put my seatbelt under my arm, so he gave me a ticket for illegal use of a seatbelt!! I did some serious fast "disconnecting" as I pulled over so he wouldn't know I was pumping. I wasn't sure if it was legal!"

— Jill B.

"I had to pump on a road trip to Pittsburgh with my in-laws in the car. That was fun."

— Angie G.

"I've pumped in the car going through the drive-thru at Starbucks with the kids in the back! Of course, I had a cover on. Starbucks had no idea. The things we do for coffee."

— Jessica D.

"I pumped in the backseat of my mom's car in a parking garage because we were out shopping and while trying on strapless bras, my boobs decided it was go-time. Milk was literally pouring out of me."

— Michelle B.

"In my car on the way to pick up my kids and a coach bus rolled up at a red light so all the tourists could gawk."

— Allison T.

"I pumped while driving everywhere for several months. It was the best use of multitasking as I could use the drive-time to do something productive besides just get to places. The hands-free bra and car adapter were fantastic."

— Cheryl A.

More: The craziest things bottle-feeding moms have heard

Airplanes

"I pumped on a plane under a blanket on a night flight, and hopefully the passenger next to me didn't notice that signature 'coughing dog' sound but I'm sure she did."

— Kristin S.

"I pumped in the airplane bathroom before takeoff. Gross."

— Isabel K.

"I pumped in an airplane bathroom on a transatlantic flight for a work trip to Belgium. I felt gross and exposed, but it was a long flight and there were lots of bathrooms, so [people weren't waiting for me to come out]. But I felt self-conscious about the weird pumping sound."

— Liz M.

At work

"I pumped in my boss' office on the 14th floor of our building. It had giant windows and a beautiful view of downtown, which I enjoyed so much until the window washers appeared. Since I was completely alone, I had my shirt completely unbuttoned and open. I think we were both startled."

— Vikki R.

"An open office cube with a (female) co-worker yelling, 'Mooooo.'"

— Nancy K.

"When I came back to work from having baby No. 2, the lock on my office door was broken and HR didn't want to replace it. Something about a fire hazard and a pumping room being a floor away. So I had to get clever. When I pumped, I put a sign on the door that said, 'Do not disturb. You'll be sorry you did.' I had a lock the next day. Apparently, the fear of seeing me topless and pumping outweighed any fire safety."

— Sarah M.

"I pumped in an elementary school library office with a large window behind the checkout counter. I hid behind a book cart with hopes no child would open the door and come back there".

— Megan O.

"I'm not a mama, but a woman my wife worked with had an office on the 7th floor with no lock on the door. She used to turn her chair and face the windows behind her desk. From the street, the glass building was reflective, so she thought it was mirrored glass. A month and a half later, when the hotel next door called and said guests were complaining, she figured out it wasn't!"

— Matt P.

Public restroom

"A stall in the LSU football stadium. With a hand pump because I couldn't bring in something as big as my electric pump. It took a good 20 minutes. It was awful."

— Audrey H.

"I was having a girls' weekend at a fancy spa only four weeks after giving birth. I hiked up my lovely evening dress and basically expressed directly into the toilet bowl — so glam."

— Nicole M.

"I pumped in a stall at Obama's acceptance speech in Denver! I was really hoping the Secret Service would question me on the way in, but they didn't."

— Diana M.

More: Top 20 baby necessities for new moms

Anywhere & everywhere

"I pumped and dumped in a janitor's closet at a wedding."

— Laura F.

"You name it, I've pump there… Ubers, taxis, pretty much every airport in America, buses, boats, limos, Epcot, concert bathrooms, work offices, while driving, weddings. I really don't think there is a place I have not pumped!"

— Lisa S.

"I pumped and dumped all over Las Vegas. My 40th birthday, four months after giving birth."

— Jennifer F.

"During a conference, I pumped at the Jacob Javits Center in front of the giant bank of windows."

— Catherine H.

"I go on an annual camping trip with a girlfriend of mine. One year, we went to Bryce Canyon, and while hiking, I took pumping breaks behind cacti and hoodoos (the rock formations for which the canyon is known)... The hikers' reactions were priceless. "Wee-woo, wee-woo," went the pump as I tried hiding in what was more or less plain sight."

— Monika B.

Grilling season is finally here, and that means one thing: It's time to step up your game. Even if you think you've got a handle on the whole grill thing, there's a trick or two you might not have heard before, which is why we reached out to chefs around the country to ask for their best grilling hacks.

Check out the tips below and get ready to serve up the tastiest, juiciest and most flavor-packed barbecue of your life.

1. Avoid dry chicken like the plague

The secret to juicy grilled chicken is twofold. First, brine it — more on that in a second — and second, grill it over high heat to sear before finishing cooking on the cooler side of the grill or in the oven. Skip the boring brines in favor of this flavorful mix created by Jay Zubov, executive sous chef for Sea Salt in Nashville, Tennessee. Combine candied ginger, rosemary, salt, sugar, oranges, lemons and limes, then brine the chicken in the mixture for 24 hours before cooking. Grill the chicken over high heat to get some nice grill marks and finish cooking in a 400-degree F oven until the chicken reaches a 160-degree F internal temperature.

More: 20 grilled vegetarian recipes that go beyond boring kebabs

2. Get smokin'

Smoking your meats (and even veggies) may seem like a task best left to the professionals, but it's not that hard to do yourself. Choose a hardwood, then set a chunk of it on top of the hot coals in your grill. Once the wood is burned until it's releasing smoke but no longer actively flaming, your food will be ready to go on the grill.

From there, you can experiment. Scott Simpson, executive chef of The Depot in Auburn, Alabama, suggests getting creative. "Try your own custom blend of whole spices and fresh herbs," he says. These can be thrown onto the wood, mingling with its smoke to create a unique flavor. His best tip for smoking with unusual ingredients? "Use pistachio shells to add a nutty, rich flavor when grilling fish." Uh, yum!

3. Choose the right fish

Grilling fish can strike fear into even a veteran cook's heart, but it doesn't have to be quite so scary. If you're making fish tacos, Chef Jose Mejida of Pacific Beach Fish Shop recommends a firm white fish like mahi-mahi or Hawaiian ono. "The firmer the fish, the less likely it is to break on the grill," he says.

For a standalone entrée, Chef Juan Munoz of Pacific Beach Fish Shop says that two of the best fish to grill are swordfish and ahi, seared. "These come out looking like juicy steaks," he says. Much better than a flaky white fish that ends up falling through your grill grate when you try to flip it.

4. Skip the sweet marinade

You might be tempted to marinate your meats in barbecue sauce before throwing them on the grill, but think again. Historian and BBQ master Chef Aaron Robins of Boneyard Bistro in Sherman Oaks, California, says, "When grilling at high temperatures, you should never use sugar in your marinade because sugar burns no matter if it's honey, agave or standard granulated sugar. Reserve all sugar to season your sauce and wait to apply once the meat is off the grill.” Pork may love sugar, but only after it's done cooking at high heat.

More: How to Cook Chicken on the Grill so It's Perfect Every Time

5. Avoid cross-contamination

Steven Raichlen, the grill master of Busch's BBQ Bootcamp, has some tips for avoiding cross-contamination. The first? "Wrap your platter with plastic wrap before taking raw meat out to the grill. After the meat is on the grill, you can remove and discard the plastic wrap. That way, you can use the same platter for serving the cooked meat."

And if you're worried about having to wash your tongs after putting raw meat on the grill, fear not — according to Raichlen, the heat from the grill will sterilize the tips of the tongs.

6. Use hot & cold zones

Who knows better than Guy Fieri, who recently partnered with Planet Hollywood in Orlando on a new section of their menu, how to perfectly sear food on a charcoal grill?

"To do a quick sear, keep your coals hot and piled in the center; after searing your food on the grill directly over the hot coals, push it off to the cooler sides of the grill. Moving food to where the coals aren’t piled high and the heat is indirect allows it to cook through to the middle without burning the outside," says Fieri.

More: 12 appetizers you can make on the grill

7. Use fresh herbs for fresh flavors

Fresh herbs don't have to be relegated to garnish status. Instead, Clint Cantwell, the editor of Grillocracy, recommends this: "If you want to make kebabs but don’t have skewers on hand or simply want to add some additional flavor to the meat and vegetables, use rosemary, lemongrass or sugarcane to hold everything together."

But that's not all. Instead of buying a basting brush, "simply take a few sprigs of fresh herbs like rosemary, sage, oregano or thyme, and tie them to the handle end of a large wooden or metal spoon with butcher’s twine to create a flavorful mop." Easy!

Now that you've heard from the pros, it's time to grab the tongs and get grillin'.

If you missed the #WinningWomen panel at #BlogHer17, you really missed something special (but don't worry, I'm here to catch you up). Five incredibly talented, successful and fierce athletes discussed the hurdles and barriers women face in the male dominated world of sports.

Donna Orender – former president of the WNBA and herself a former pro basketball player – moderated the conversation with 17-year-old Olympic Gold gymnast Laurie Hernandez; world-renowned pro volleyball player (not to mention TV personality, author, model, wife and mother) Gabrielle Reece; founder and commissioner of the National Women’s Hockey League, Dani Rylan; and Jessi Miley-Dyer, a pro surfer-turned-women’s commissioner for the World Surf League.

Their attitudes were powerful, their energies contagious and they left us all with a call to action to find our team, do better, be better, and support one another through it all. Because as Serena Williams said, when one woman wins, we all win.

More: 10 Things We Learned About Serena Williams at #BlogHer17

Here are the best quotes from the panel that will empower you to try, fail, and pick yourself up until you win this crazy game of life: 

On Empowering Yourself

Dani Rylan: "Be bold and be confident... Pump yourself up. There's sometimes doubt when you know that you're breaking so many barriers and that you’re accomplishing so much. It kind of feels like there’s always a constant uphill battle... [Take it] one step at a time. Take things off the checklist and get it done because at the end of the day you believe in it and you know that it’s meant to be here.”

Gabrielle Reece: "There is so much strength and power in being loving because there is nothing stronger than that, and so I want to remind women, when they’re in business, don’t act like men. Just be really strong, badass women. Because the love part – I think we feel like we have to act like a guy. You don’t.”

Donna Orender: "Women: When we team up we are incredibly powerful. Find someone to team up with... Our voices collectively really do make a difference, and change and perspective is worth fighting for."

On the Power of Sports

Laurie Hernandez: "There are probably so many little girls out there who would be incredible athletes for the future and maybe they didn’t have the opportunity to do it because they didn’t know it existed. So I think that it's really important to show a lot of love to sports because sports have really shaped who I am today, and it can shape so many girls out there, and give them life lessons they might not have known they needed."

Jessi Miley-Dyer: "Sports really taught me, more than anything, to really vocalize my ambition and to be ambitious and to set goals and to want to be the best at what i want to do…. For me, competition is really about being the best version of myself that I can be."

Dani Rylan: "Being able to be a part of a team is something that translates to the business world, as well as communication and team work, and understanding the importance of empowering people around you and bringing them up and really working together."

Gabrielle Reece: "It teaches us to communicate in sometimes a very matter of fact way, which you need in business. Women like to talk about it, right? We have to get work done and then we freak out and we finally tell you how we feel versus saying I’m sorry that doesn’t work for me and really voicing that... I think that's another really powerful thing about sports, which is just communicating with no emotion and just being matter of fact and not apologizing for that.”

More: Margaret Cho Encourages Masturbation Because It's the 'Ultimate Revenge'

On Changing Stereotypes

Gabrielle Reece: "Obviously there's a lot of things we all need to continue to work on. Not just for women but for humans. I would hope that we take it on with a proactive voice, and I don't mean a victimized voice... As women if we could say, 'This doesn't feel good, I'm going to do something about it,' I think that can be a very proactive and powerful thing. All of you have that voice and that ability.”

Dani Rylan: ”It wasn’t until recently that little girls were able to look up at the TV every four years and see ice hockey and say, 'Wow, I want to do that.' And so I think that's a huge part of what we need to commit to – providing more opportunities and exposure… [Allowing] little girls to dream as big as their brothers and [give them that] see it, dream it, be it mentality."

Donna Orender: "The visibility of strong women that choose to do things that matter, that they’re passionate about, allows other young women to see what’s possible for them.”

On Celebrating Greatness Regardless of Gender

Gabrielle Reece: "It isn't about the men. It's about celebrating greatness. Because the men are big, strong and fast and they're awesome. Women are [too], if they’re working hard and they’re great at their game. So I think the narrative isn't when we get like men, no... The men are awesome, let's celebrate them. We want to celebrate excellence."

Donna Orender: "I heard this a lot. I heard 'You are not the NBA,' and I would say, 'That's exactly our point!' They are who they are, in all their greatness. But we are who we are, in all of our greatness. And the problem is, the message is so imbalanced about 'what is greatness?' that we are all collectively brainwashed. We become our own worst enemies."

Dani Rylan: “I think one of the struggles of being a female entrepreneur and sometimes a female athlete with a brand new sports league is combatting the narrative that female sports can’t succeed… Change that mindset. Women don’t have to fail, we can be successful – yes, maybe [it takes] baby steps to get to the same level as the men, but it’s about taking those steps. And [doing] anything to help elevate and raise the water together."

More: Chelsea Clinton Has Strong Feelings About the Senate's New Health Bill

If you only glean one lesson from these inspiring superwomen, it should be this: Perseverance fuels passion and there is a lesson to be learned in every failure.

Keep fighting for what you want, and support one another. And someday soon, we will change the world together. It's already begun.

Changing the world sounds like a daunting task. That’s why Yasmeen Hassan, the Global Executive Director of Equality Now and actor, activist and filmmaker Maria Bello suggest starting at home.

“Huge changes have happened and they’ve happened because women have gotten together and activated in ways big and small,” Hassan told an audience of approximately 2,500 women at BlogHer17. “There’s no way that’s too small or insignificant that can't make a difference in this world.”

More: Janet Mock on Changing the World with Storytelling

Prior to their conversation, the audience watched a trailer of Bello’s latest project: a virtual reality movie she produced called Sun Ladies, the story of the all-female militia fighting ISIS. She also discussed her upcoming action film starring Viola Davis and other women of color.

When Bello had previously told Hassan that she was getting out of activism, Hassan reminded her that creating meaningful films was her form of activism.

More: Chelsea Clinton Has Major Feelings About the Senate's Health Care Bill

“Share your story,” Hassan told her. “Share stories of women that you meet who inspire you and that’s how we will change the world.”

Their other strategy is being mindful of how their raise their children, which for Hassan, is two boys.

“There’s a lot of talk about raising daughters to be strong women and that’s great, but you also need woke boys and men,” Hassan explained. “I think it’s such an honor and a privilege to have these two young men who will grow up to be different. To me, that’s one of the biggest forms of activism.”

More: Gabi Gregg Talks Body Positivity & Getting the Fashion Industry's Attention

Bello agreed, saying that being a role model – whether or not you have kids of your own – has a positive impact on the next generation.

“When women come together, powerful things happen,” Hassan noted. “When women’s stories are told around the world, change happens.”

Celebrity chefs and entrepreneurs Cat Cora and Carla Hall took the BlogHer17 main stage to discuss career, personal triumphs and setbacks, and advice for budding entrepreneurs—and there couldn't be a more fitting duo to spark the conversation. Cora was the first woman to be named Iron Chef American and has opened 18 restaurants throughout her career. Hall rose to prominence as a contestant on Top Chef and has since authored two books and become a co-host on ABC's The Chew. Ahead, five more things we learned about the two at Blogher17.

They're proud of their Southern roots
Hall was born and raised in Nashville and Cora grew up in Jackson, Miss. Although Cora loves the South, she knew she needed to leave to find the opportunities she was looking for. "I grew up with two parents who were beautifully liberal and educated and wanted me to see the world," Cora said. "That's what led me on my journey to first going to college and getting a degree and then to getting into the culinary world and landing in France."

They're constantly inspired by advice they got from their mothers
"My grandmother and mom told me 'It is your job to be happy, not to be rich,' Hall shared, "so I was constantly looking for that joy." Cora's mom also had some common (but nonetheless sound) advice for her daughter. "My mom said don't ever depend on a man," Cora said. "That was back before she knew I was gay! So I'll only be depending on myself."

Hall had two entirely different careers before becoming a chef
"I was an accountant and thank the baby Jesus I don't do that anymore," Hall said. She discovered her passion for cooking while in yet another field—modeling in Paris.

Learning to accept vulnerability has helped them grow
"My biggest fear was the fear of success," Hall said. "I was afraid of success because I was afraid of failure." Once she got past that, she was able to embrace setbacks (like when he had to close her restaurant last year) and look at them as learning experiences. Cora found herself wanting to leave the TV and culinary industries at one point, due in part to the public scrutiny surrounding her divorce. "There are hard times, but those are the times that make you," she said.

Despite their success, they continue to face sexism
"When you're doing an event of dinner with all men, they always want to give you the dessert," Cora shared, noting that there's still an assumption that female chefs are only skilled at baking. "I say 'I’m not doing the dessert—I’m doing the entree.' That's my philosophy, I'm going always do the entree. Daniel Boulud can do the dessert."

Hall recalled being met with skepticism when she decided to stop dying her hair. "Why is it that women look 'old' with grey hair and men look 'distinguished?'" she asked. A male producer on The Chew doubted that she'd be able to embrace her gray hair. Two years later, she's still proving him wrong.

Remember that scene in Crazy Stupid Love where Ryan Gosling's character is coaching Steve Carell's character about how to dress and getting women?

More: Steve Carell & 11 Other Stars Surprisingly Rejected From SNL

Yeah, well, real-life Carell is the one who could teach Gosling a thing or two. No, I'm not joking.

In case you forgot, here's the Carell we all know and love circa Anchorman:

Carell stepped out in London on Wednesday while promoting Despicable Me 3, and he was lookin' mighty fine dressed in a navy sweater over a blue button-down shirt and light khakis. What really sells the whole getup, though, is Carell's smile and confident swagger. Not to mention that gray hair he's pulling off like a pro. Man, he looks good with gray hair!

Oh, hello.

More: Our Favorite Moments From Tina Fey & Amy Poehler

Needless to say, the internet is showing Carell some serious love.

More: Emma Watson Crushes on Steve Carell for Supporting #HeForShe at the Oscars

Of course, Carell will just have to continue to live in our fantasies. He has been married since 1995, and he and his wife seem to be nothing but happy.

What a lucky lady.

Look, to be honest, even if Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart are just milking their friendship for the publicity, I don't even care a little bit. I still love these two together. It doesn't really matter what they're doing. Put them in a room with one another, and it'll make headlines.

More: Martha Stewart Doesn't Sound Like an OITNB Fan at All

But then Snoop goes and gets all affectionate about Stewart on us, and my heart swells even further.

"She loves to get me drunk!" Snoop revealed to Us Weekly when asked about his favorite part of working with Stewart.

And while drinking may be allowed on the set of Snoop and Stewart's show Martha & Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party, smoking is decidedly not, which is surprising given Snoop's, uh, reputation. *cough* *cough*

More: Martha Stewart’s Reddit AMA: "What's a Dildo?"

"We only smoked the meat!" Snoop swore. "I didn’t mix business with pleasure. I had a trailer with pleasures. It was always outside. On the set, I’m a businessman. Besides, I wanted to smell the beautiful perfume Martha had on every day."

What a gentleman.

But here's my question: Isn't his trailer right outside the doors to the set? So, all Snoop really had to do to mix business with pleasure was walk a few feet, right? Like, maybe he didn't actually smoke on set, but he did partake right next to it? Now that sounds like the Snoop I'd expect, I'm just sayin'.

More: Martha Stewart & Snoop Dogg Are Too Chill for $100,000 Pyramid

Whatever the truth behind Snoop's puffing preferences, he and Stewart are gearing up for Season 2 of Martha & Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party, which premieres Oct. 16 on VH1.

Are you planning on tuning in for Season 2?

As someone who has had notoriously sweaty underarms since childhood (R.I.P. old dance costumes and all who stood near me), I’m incredibly familiar with the plight known as sweating and the disappointing array of products designed to stop it. But even if you don’t deal with excessive sweating like I do, it doesn’t mean you’re not totally dreading the sweat-inducing heat of summer, especially if your sweat extends to your hands, feet and, well, everywhere else.

More: Meet Retinol Oil: The Coolest Antiaging Product That Actually Works

So instead of giving you a list of anti-sweat products with bullshit lofty claims, I went to dermatologist Vivian Bucay (who was actually speaking at a conference on sweating just moments before we chatted) to find out every possible option that exists to help you stop sweating, including a new cutting-edge option that could seriously change lives. So keep reading to find out exactly how to stop your sweating fast so you can hang out in the blazing sun without worrying about soaking through your clothes. Dreams, right?

The fix: Aluminum-based deodorants

The cost: $5 – $15

OK, this one sounds intense, but don’t freak — you’re probably using an aluminum-based deodorant already. Most non-natural deodorants on the market have some percentage of aluminum (either aluminum chloride, the strongest stuff, or aluminum zirconium tetrachlorohydrex gly, the weaker yet more tolerable stuff) since it’s the best-known ingredient to temporarily inhibit sweat production. “If you deal with excessive sweating, you’ll want to try deodorants with high percentages of aluminum-based ingredients,” says Bucay. “Though they’re best for your underarms, they’re also relatively effective on the hands and feet to help curb sweating.”

Certain Dri, for example, is considered the top-shelf pick for sweating, containing the highest amount of aluminum chloride (12 percent) you can get without a prescription. The downside? It can be hella irritating, and you need to follow the instructions perfectly, or you’re pretty much guaranteed to have issues. Or you can try Secret Clinical Strength deodorants, which have the highest percentage of aluminum zirconium tetrachlorohydrex gly (20 percent) on the market without the harsh effects. “Whichever type you choose,” says Bucay, “make sure to apply it every single night before bed for the best results. You should start noticing a reduction in sweat after just one or two days.”

The fix: Botox

The cost: $600 – $1,200 per treatment (unless covered by insurance)

If deodorants just aren’t cutting it, you might want to try Botox, which is approved for underarm sweating, but is often used off-label for the hands, feet and scalp. “Botox injections basically disconnect the communication between your nerve endings and your sweat glands so your glands won’t produce sweat,” says Bucay. “It’s very effective, but it can be somewhat painful depending on where it’s injected, and it only lasts for four to six months, so some patients may find it somewhat expensive to maintain.” Plus, notes Bucay, Botox can cause something called compensatory sweating, which is where your body overcompensates for the dry areas by producing extra sweat in random places. “For most patients, though, Botox can provide incredible relief from sweating with just a quick office visit and a few injections,” she says.

The fix: Oral medication

The cost: Varies depending on your insurance coverage

Yes, there really is a pill for everything, including excessive sweating. “Robinul, also known as glycopyrrolate, is designed to relieve stomach ulcers, but it’s often used off label to suppress sweat glands in the body,” says Bucay. “I have less than a handful of patients on them because not everyone feels comfortable taking a daily pill for sweating, especially since it can have annoying side effects like dry eyes and dry mouth. Still, they can be very helpful for overall excess sweating.”

The fix: MiraDry

The cost: Around $2,000

This one is pretty cool because it’s actually one of the newest and most promising innovations in the fight against underarm sweating. Though MiraDry has been in existence for a few years, Miramar Labs recently redeveloped the technology to make it way more effective and way less painful. The FDA-approved procedure is done in office with local anesthetic (“just one tiny needle prick, and you won’t feel anything else,” says Bucay) and involves an ultrasound-looking handpiece that uses microwave energy to target sweat glands. “The microwaves essentially heat the sweat glands until they painlessly shrivel up and die, making the effect immediate and permanent,” she says, noting that the one-time treatment reduces 82 percent of sweating and only takes about 20 minutes per underarm area.

And because MiraDry doesn’t affect your nerve endings, you won’t develop any compensatory sweating like you often do with Botox. Sure, the price is definitely a hard swallow, but “I tell my patients that $2,000 doesn’t seem too bad when you consider the fact that the average person spends about $13,000 a year on dry-cleaning to remove sweat stains and odors,” says Bucay. All right. Fair.

The fix: ETS surgery

The cost: Significantly varies based on insurance coverage, though definitely not cheap

This is, of course, the very last option that should be considered for sweat reduction, though still a totally feasible option if your sweating — especially in your hands and feet — is interfering with your life. “Endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy surgery is reserved for only very severe cases because it involves a neurosurgeon collapsing a lung to disconnect certain nerves in your spinal column, which can cause serious and irreversible compensatory sweating, as well as other life-threatening side effects,” says Bucay. Basically, this shit is intense and not frequently recommended by physicians.

Originally posted on StyleCaster.

By Miko Technogeisha:

There are many of you who like me are trying to raise children in a society that often is not particularly accepting.

Society, books and movies haven’t exactly paved the way to widespread acceptance of the notion of ethical non-monogamy.

In the case of my own relationship, we may have opened up our marriage late in the game, but we’d always been open-minded about sexuality and gender roles, and we've been trying to keep the standard, narrative-driven drivel to a minimum since the birth of our first child.

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It was easier in the early years, and then the real challenge began in preschool.

The other little girls had been fed a nonstop diet of “Someday my prince will come,” which our daughter decided to embrace wholeheartedly. Then a couple of years later, a similar thing happened to our son.

Once they entered school, gender roles were assigned and adhered to. So was the notion of dyadic relationships with the inevitable, “First comes love, then comes marriage, the comes the Baby in the Baby carriage.” 

I didn't feel it would be enough to tell them this wasn’t the only option in life. I needed backup. I needed to come up with resources that go against the standard narrative and offer positive views on nontraditional families and relationships. It was difficult, but I did find a few solid alternatives.

Trying to find books, TV shows or even movies with nontraditional families was not as easy as I had hoped.

Most are geared toward LGBT families — not polyamorous families and certainly not families with parents who swing. They are still a good way to start as a way to introduce the concept of nontraditional families and to celebrate our unique differences.

Books like The Family Book and It's Okay to be Different by Todd Parr offer basic examples, as does ABC: A Family Alphabet Book and 123: A Family Counting Book by Bobbie Combs.

And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, Mini Mia and her Darling Uncle by Pija Lindenbaum, Daddy’s Roommate and Daddy’s Wedding by Michael Willhoite, along with Heather Has Two Mommies and Mommy, Mama and Me by Leslea Newman are all great books specifically about life with gay and lesbian parents.

One book that lightly touches on polyamory is Else-Marie and Her Seven Little Daddies by Gabrielle Charbonnet and Pija Lindenbaum. It is the story of a little girl who is worried that the other kids in her playgroup might not be accepting of her seven little Daddies — and I mean "little" as in nearly doll-sized. In the end, she finds out she had nothing to worry about.

Another poly-friendly book is Six-Dinner Sid by Inga Moore in which Sid the cat belongs to six different families who don’t mind sharing him. And a book that was recommended to me but that I haven't read yet is The Little House That Ran Away from Home by Claude Ponti. The little house marries two other houses and shows them living in a happy cartoon triad.

More: Why Unconditional Love Is Only for Kids (& Why That's a Good Thing)

The books The Missing Piece and The Missing Piece Meets the Big O by Shel Silverstein are simple prose poems about shapes looking for their missing pieces. It’s about self-fulfillment, self-acceptance and, some suggest, non-monogamy. Might be a bit of a stretch to link non-monogamy to these books, but I can sort of see where they get that. In the end, the searching shapes find happiness in just being themselves rather than in pairing off. You can take from that what you will.

I also like the book I Love You the Purplest by Barbara M. Joosse. The mother in the story describes how each of her kids is good in their own way and she loves them equally. It’s mostly about sibling rivalry, but I like how it shows you don’t have to favor or love one person more than another.

It would be nice to find a children’s book that actually has a real open family in it, but apparently, that has yet to be written.

Teen readers get a few real characters, but not many.

Most YA fiction deals with a romanticized view of love and relationships in which the characters are perpetually undecided between two loves.

I only found Love You Two by Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli. The story is about a girl who finds out her mother is polyamorous.

You can also turn to Robert Heinlein. His books Stranger in a Strange Land, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress and Time Enough For Love all touch on issues dealing with religion, individualism and sexuality. These books are geared toward older readers, so I’m not sure if everyone will find these appropriate for teens. They are often recommended for college age or older.

Movies and TV programs were even harder to find.

No one wants to take the chance of having the family values police come down on them for straying from standard themes, so movies and TV typically offer shows with stereotypical parents or, at best, single-parent or blended families.

The only recommendations I found that weren’t movies for grown-ups were The King and I and Paint Your Wagon. The former isn't exactly the best example of open relationships, as it’s a polygamist family not shown in a particularly positive light. The latter features a woman with two husbands, but by the end of the movie, she pairs off with only one of them. Neither paints a great or realistic portrait of modern non-monogamy.

I always thought the cartoon series The Fairly OddParents leans toward poly, as it shows two sets of parents taking care of a child.

Yes, I know, I’m grasping at straws by thinking the addition of fairy godparents qualifies as a quad, but it’s all I've got.

Interestingly, it seems that science-fiction movies and shows are the only ones routinely offering unique families and different attitudes toward relationships.

Everything from Star Trek to Doctor Who has at some point presented a take on society or a character that breaks from standard definitions. They are usually aliens or people visiting from the distant future, but at least they offer a view that challenges stereotypes and asks people to think differently about how people relate to one another.

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I’m hoping that some of this, with additional input from us, will help our kids grow up to be more open and accepting as adults.

They may choose an entirely different path than we have and we’d be happy with that.

We can only hope our kids will make decisions based on a positive perception of themselves and others, consider all possibilities and not just mindlessly follow the herd.

Listen now: Love and science finally hook up. The results? Sexy. On this episode of Multiamory, we're covering all the things that will make your relationships better backed by scientific studies. We cover communication, fighting, sex, in-jokes and more!

Originally published on YourTango.