How I get through the Christmas Season

My main advice is to remember that it is just a season and that before too long the season will be over and it will be January and a New Year. For my full advice watch my video below that is a replay from my Periscope account. Follow me on Periscope and Twitter @amandabeautytip. 

My favorite things about Christmas

I absolutely love the Christmas Season! As I was celebrating Christmas yesterday with my family I realized just how much Christmas as an adult is definitely about the people you are spending time with and less about the gifts you give and get. I am in that transitional phase of adulthood where I don't have children yet to make the holiday all about them, but I am also no longer a child excited for Christmas morning and getting everything I asked for on my list. This year was the first year I really didn't ask for anything because I just didn't need anything. I feel I ended up with a very nice Christmas and I hope that others out there did as well. If you don't celebrate Christmas, I still hope you are enjoying this time of year with your family no matter what holiday or holidays you are celebrating. 

Quick Video about How I feel about Christmas:

Quick Video about my favorite things about Christmas:

What are some of your favorite things about this time of year? Comment on this post to let me know!

Must See Christmas Light Displays in the RVA area

Some of my favorite displays in the Richmond, VA area:

-Lewis Ginter GardenFest

-Tacky Light Run Midlothian, VA

-Illuminate Light Show & Santa's Village in Doswell, VA (this one is still one I need to visit)

-Monument Ave and the Richmond Downtown Grand Illumination

Are you holiday ready?

I originally made this video in October 2015. I know it's a little late for this year as well, but I wanted to share. Are you holiday ready? With just two days left before Christmas it is time to decide are you ready for the holiday? What is on your to do list? What is left to do?

This year, I have to say I think I am ready. Gifts are bought, minimal wrapping to do (Gift Bags are awesome) and I am ready to spend the time with family and loved ones. I get out of the cooking too since I go to my parents and grandma's house. My parents don't really cook a big meal on the holiday usually because my mom usually cooks a big meal a couple days before for my dad's birthday on December 23. My grandma usually makes a ham and a few sides for lunch but still overall fairly minimal. 

Are YOU holiday ready? Share in the comments...what is on your to do list every year?

Christmas Traditions...

Christmas is right around the corner! I decided to share a couple of videos from last year as well as one from this year where I share some Holiday Traditions for my family. What are your traditions? Feel free to comment on this post...

Who has family ornaments?

The original Elf on the Shelf...

More Traditional Stories from Christmas' past...

Christmas Treats...

My mom and I make Peanut Butter balls almost every year in time for the Christmas Holiday. Yesterday, my mom and I made 145 to eat and share with friends and family. Who doesn't love chocolate and peanut butter and sugar? 

What are your favorite Christmas and holiday treats? 

Three Tips for Holiday Shopping

Three Tips to Make Holiday Shopping Easier:

1. Make a list of who you are shopping for...
2. Brainstorm/Ask what you want to get for your list.
3. Support small businesses while doing your holiday shopping.

Below is my video from Periscope Follow me there @amandabeautytip:

Make Your Grocery List Around Your Weekly Meal Plan

As I said in the video below that is a replay from Periscope, I keep my meal planning very simple. I usually plan it in my head and don't write it down. I think about what I plan to make for the week and then make my grocery list based around that plan. I also don't go grocery shopping without a list. When I go shopping I stick to the list as well. For more tips follow me on Periscope @amandabeautytip

30 Days of Thankful Day 30

On this final day of the challenge, I am thankful for the challenge! This month, trying to really think about things I am thankful for has made me appreciate life even more. Sometimes when things feel like they aren't going right, we just have to be thankful for what is going right! This challenge has helped me to appreciate the things I am grateful for in my life! 

30 Days of Thankful 2016 Day 29

Today I am thankful for music! Music can truly be powerful. It can be white noise on in the background while you do something else. It can change your mood. It can enhance your mood. It can truly be awesome! I'm not much of a singer, although I do enjoy singing along and I do enjoy the occasional Karaoke. I can also sing in the classroom and not care what the kids think. :-D This is on my mind currently because there are some motivational songs that I love to use to get me in a motivated mindset. I also am beginning to get into the holiday spirit for the December holiday season and Christmas carols is definitely a way to get into the mood. Here's to music! 

30 Days of Thankful Day 28

I am thankful for days that I feel went successfully. As a teacher, I am always thankful when I feel like the day went smoothly and that the children learned what I wanted them to learn. Honestly, sometimes you can feel like you are on a battlefield when it comes to cooperation and being able to get through what was planned for the day. That is the reality of working with children. I think any teacher can agree that any time you can leave at the end of the day and say that you got through what was planned was a success! 

30 Days of Thankful Day 27

Today I am thankful for relaxation time. We really do not get enough of it! And not just relaxation time, but time to choose how I want to spend it. The weekends always fly by and before you know it you are back in the grind of things and working and then you get another weekend and it flies by and it all starts over again. It truly can be never ending sometimes. However, it's a necessity of life because too much depends on having a means of income and a job and being able to provide for yourself and your family. 

30 Days of Thankful...Days 25 and 26

I am thankful for time spent with friends and family! My Thanksgiving dinner went nicely and yesterday I had a good day catching up with my best friend and spending time with my family. These moments are to be cherished and it's important to honor and remember them. Watching Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life on Netflix yesterday and today made me even more thankful for my time spent with my own friends and family. There will truly never be another show like Gilmore Girls and right now I don't plan to write any spoilers, but maybe in a few weeks I will give my personal opinion on the revival. All I will say is that I thoroughly enjoyed having the Gilmore's back in my life even if it was just for a weekend! 

Happy Thanksgiving! 30 Days of Thankful 2016 Day 24

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Wow! A year certainly does fly by in no time! This year I am thankful for family traditions. Remembering the traditions of the past and transitioning into making traditions of my own. The older you get the more you start to have your own traditions as you start to build your own family. The past several years have been the start to this transition away from doing what my family does to doing something on my own. In 2014, that was the first year I woke up not at my parents house on Thanksgiving. In 2015, I spent the morning with my family and the actual Thanksgiving dinner with my boyfriend's family. This year, I will be spending the afternoon and dinner with my boyfriend's family and will spend part of Black Friday with my own family. Who knows what next year will bring? I will just have to wait and find out. 

Growing up, my dad and brother would go deer hunting and my mom and I would stay at home and watch the Macy's parade while she cooked and as I got older I would sometimes help her cook. My mom and I would eat lunch with her family and then all of us would meet up with my dad's family for Thanksgiving dinner. A couple of years my mom hosted and we had her family over for dinner. Family traditions are important to have and change as your family changes.

Here is a video I did this morning through Periscope explaining about my family traditions and talking about how traditions change as you get older:

30 Days of Thankful 2016 Day 23

I am thankful for libraries and I hope they never go away! I remember going to the library as a child. It was so fun to be able to go for story time and to get new books each time I went. I also remember doing the summer reading challenges. I feel like libraries are a dying thing and that is truly a shame. I enjoy going to the library to get new books each month for my students. Some students have never even been to the library. It's definitely the only affordable way to provide a world of books for you and your family! Here's to saving the libraries of the world! 

30 Days of Thankful Day 22

I am thankful for adult coloring pages! This is truly a fad that has taken the world by storm! It is definitely relaxing and enjoyable and has become a new obsession of mine. I haven't spent but so much time doing it, but there is a world of books out there almost everywhere that you go! This image is my latest adult coloring books haul from the local Dollar Tree! I couldn't beat $1.00 for everything. Gets me every time! lol. 

30 Days of Thankful 2016 Day 21

Today I am thankful for my students. As frustrating as children can be from time to time, my students are truly what my job as a teacher is all about. I have positive memories from all of my teaching experiences and I know that I have made a difference in the lives of my students. Some of these kids may not realize it as I have taught one and two year olds, but I can tell that I truly made a difference in their lives. When you walk into the classroom in the morning and a one year old walks over to you and hugs your leg or gives a wave or says, "Hi!" It's just so heartwarming! And this has happened in all of my classes. The older students may have just said, "Good morning!" or something equivalent but it still is heartwarming and you can tell that you make a difference in that child's life. I have had some of my older students tell me as such and parents of my younger students tell me as such. These are the things that make me want to continue teaching. You can be at rock bottom, ready to quit and a child will do something that makes you think, "This is why I went into teaching!" That will quickly turn your mood around and rejuvenate you in your teaching career! 

30 Days of Thankful 2016 Day 20 and Daily Gratitude

Today I am thankful for J.K. Rowling! I watched Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them today with my mom and it definitely brought back the LOVE of Harry Potter for me. Seriously, there will never be another series that is so easy to get into as Harry Potter for me. I am excited to see where the sequel movies go with this new direction of the Harry Potter prequel! Such a wonderful idea to extend the series! 

Daily Practices for fostering Gratitude:

30 Days of Thankful 2016 Day 19...Nature and Earth Day 7 months late :-p

Today I am thankful for nature! Nature can truly be beautiful! We must take care of our environment! Back in April, the PeriGirls celebrated Earth Day with topics for each day during the week that Earth Day fell. During that initiative, I learned so much about composting, gardening, ideas for upcycling, and of course reminders of reduce, reuse, recycle! Pinterest has a lot of fabulous ideas for upcycling as well! I have been to three beautiful gardens in my lifetime. Maymont park and Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens are both in Richmond, VA. The Elizabethan Gardens are in Manteo, North Carolina by the Lost Colony. I enjoy taking pictures of flowers and also watching them grow. When I ever get a house, I will be sure to maintain a garden with as many hardy plants as possible since I do not do but so well with indoor plants in apartments...lol. 

Here is the playlist of videos from April that I did for the Earth Day celebration:

30 Days of Thankful Day 18/Day 5 of Global Entrepreneurship Week

I am thankful for business resources! There are so many different resources out there for people to use in their lives and businesses! Some of these resources are offered for free and others are offered for a small cost. Thank you to everyone that has created and offered these resources!

Global Entrepreneurship Week Day 5, Business Tools that I use:

30 Days of Thankful Day 17/Global Entrepreneurship Week 2016 Day 4

Today I am thankful for additional streams of income. In today's world we really cannot rely on one stream of income. In a right to work state, anyone can fire you just because they don't like you. There does not have to be any reasonable cause for getting rid of someone in a JOB. When you have additional streams of income rather it be offering services or selling products, you have other options for making an income so you can pay the bills and make it in life day to day. EVERYTHING costs money and the only way to get money is to work for it by offering your services or selling products. That is what entrepreneurship is all about!

Here is a quick video on how I generate revenue in direct sales:

30 Days of Thankful Day 16/Global Entrepreneurship Week Day 3

Today I am thankful for positive attitudes! I think it is super important to keep a positive attitude in order to live a fulfilling and happy life. Sometimes it can definitely be difficult to hold a positive attitude, but you just have to do what you can to turn your mood around. Learn to deal with the things you cannot change and to change the things that you can. 

Day 3 of Global Entrepreneurship Week--How to Keep a Positive Attitude while being an entrepreneur:

30 Days of Thankful Day 15/Day 2 of Global Entrepreneurship Week

I know the other day I said I was thankful for educators of all sorts. Today I am thankful for coaches! Coaches are a special brand of educators! Not only do they teach but they mentor others and coach them to success! Today I am thankful for the leaders and coaches that are part of my life! A huge part of direct sales leadership is being able to be a coach and teach others what you do and mentor them through their journey. For me this is where a lot of that coaching comes from but I know for others it comes from other areas of life. There are sports coaches for example. In my teaching experience when I have been paired with mentor teachers this is another form of coaching. The teachers that are veteran teachers are your mentor to coach the new teacher through learning to be a teacher. I am thankful for everyone that has coached me either personally or by coaching several others at the same time and being a leader and mentor in their industry!

Day 2 of Global Entrepreneurship Week and the celebration in the PeriGirls group for Periscope and Live Streaming focuses on your Business Teachers. Here is a shout out to some of mine!: 

30 Days of Thankful Day 14/Global Entrepreneurship Week

Today I am thankful for obscure lesser known "holidays". I think it is super fun to find out when a certain day you had NO Idea was a holiday or special day turns out to be something special. For example, this week is Global Entrepreneurship Week which celebrates entrepreneurs from all over the world! I think it is fabulous that we have such a week to celebrate those that have taken the leap into Entrepreneurship! I know I have met many people that are entrepreneurs through Social Media. I myself am a part-time entrepreneur and I know a few other people that are in that same boat as well. Looking forward to celebrating this week with fellow entrepreneurs! 

Here is a quick video about how I got started as an entrepreneur:

30 Days of Thankful 2016 Day 13

I am thankful for educators! Educators of all forms...authors, livestreamers, etc. I truly enjoy learning from others and when others are willing to educate the world, it is an amazing experience for all involved! I think my love for learning comes from the fact that I am an educator myself. I teach students full time and I enjoy sharing my knowledge with others through Blogging, videos, etc. in my free time. Be sure to thank the educators in your life! 

30 Days of Thankful Day 12

Today I am thankful for my Avon Customers. These people have supported me over the past five years and will continue to support me over the years to come. I appreciate each and every one of you that has bought Avon from me over the years. Truly our businesses are for the customers and thanks to the customers. That is one of the beauties of direct sales! Wishing everyone a beautiful holiday season! 

30 Days of Thankful Day 11

Today I am thankful for Veterans. With today being Veterans Day, I felt I wanted to say a thank you to all current, past, and future service men and women. I hope others remembered Veterans today and every day. Thank you for protecting our country. 

Day 10 of 30 Days of Thankful

Today I am thankful for my businesses. I absolutely love doing things for my direct sales businesses! It is nice getting myself out there and also doing things for myself on my own schedule. I enjoy getting out there and sharing with others about these direct sales businesses. I know that being in direct sales has allowed me to grow as a person. I am at a point where I am not sure what I would do without having these extra outlets in my life. 

What do you do for fun? 

30 Days of Thankful Day 9

It is already Day 9 of the 30 Days of Thankful challenge that I have decided to undertake this month! Today, I am thankful for my access to food. Never have I had to know what it was like to go hungry and I am thankful that I have been fortunate enough that is the case. There are far too many people out there that do not have this same fortune many of them in America and many of them children! This time of year many food drives are going on in the Thanksgiving spirit. We should show this spirit year round and help the hungry whenever we can!

How do you plan to help the hungry? Feel free to comment and let me know. 

30 Days of Thankful Day 8

Today, I am thankful for my right to choose. My right to choose how I spend my life, who to spend my life with, and what to do with my time. Choices are imperative to living a happy life. I am thankful that I live somewhere where I can choose all of these things and they shape the path my life is taking each day. 

Day 7 of 30 Days of Thankful

Today, I am thankful for my job. Having a steady income is vital to living and I am thankful that I have that with my job. Yes, sometimes things can be frustrating and yes, Mondays especially are not always easy, but it is important for me to have a job so I am thankful that I do and that it helps lessen my financial worries knowing I have a steady income.

30 Days of Thankful Day 6

Today I am thankful for my home! Life truly is about the little things. Having a home is definitely not little. We live in a world where there are many less fortunate than us that do not have a roof over their heads. Reality is having a house or apartment, renting and owning can get expensive. I am thankful that I have a home to come home to and a place to stay warm and safe. 

What are you thankful for this Sunday?

30 Days of Thankful Day 5

Today is Day 5 of the 30 Days of Thankful challenge for 2016. I am thankful for the PeriGirls! What are the PeriGirls? The PeriGirls is a group of women supporting women on Periscope and SO MUCH MORE! This group started as a support group for women on Periscope and it has grown into a support group that supports you on so many other levels. From supporting you in your business and personal growth to supporting you in the ups and downs in your real life. This group is ABSOLUTELY fabulous! If you are on Periscope and if you do livestreaming and you are a woman then you DEFINITELY need to look into joining this group of women. Go to www.PeriGirls.com to join our Facebook group. 

What groups are you a part of? What do you like about them?

30 Days of Thankful Day 4

Wow! Four days into this challenge already! Today, I am thankful for my friends! My friends mean the world to me. Some of them have been my friends literally forever. I have two really close girlfriends. One I have known since I was in first grade and six years old and now we are 27 and 26. The other I have known since I was in high school and we have known each other about 10 years. There is a third friend that is also really close that I see less of and we have known each other for about 10 years as well. My how time flies! These ladies have made my life worth living and through a lot of ups and downs they have always been there. That's what true friendship is about. I am thankful that I have these long lasting friendships because I have also had several shorter friendships that were important at the time but then we lost touch or really don't talk much outside of social media. I pride myself in these long lasting friendships because I know they will come in handy the older we get. True friends are truly forever. 

Do you have any close friendships? How long have you been friends with this person or these people? 

30 Days of Thankful Day 3

Today, I am thankful for my family. At this point I do consider my boyfriend in here as well since we have been together for so long and he is my family at this point. I also of course am thankful for my parents and little brother as well as my grandmother. I am thankful for those family members that have passed away as well. I am also thankful for my extended family that I do not always get to see. No matter what, through thick and thin, family is family and as much as they might annoy you or alienate themselves they are still your family even through the tough times. I truly do not say this with a light heart as there are family members on both sides of my family from both parents that it is very unfortunate what has become of some personal circumstances. This is definitely a time of year, as is every day, to be thankful for those blood relatives as well as your expanded families once you make the steps to begin a family of your own. 

What are you thankful for on this Day 3? Feel free to comment below! 

30 Days of Thankful 2016 Day 2

Today I am thankful for my health. Overall, I am in good health and that is important. It is difficult to lead a happy life if you are unhealthy. I admit I could do better about exercising and eating healthier, but overall I have always been in fairly good health. I realize I am lucky that this is the case as I know people who have been through tough times with their health including close family members and friends. 

What are you thankful for today? Share in the comments to this Blog! 

30 Days of Thankful 2016

How is it November already? This month I am participating in a challenge I have done before called 30 Days of Thankful! Basically, each day you discuss something else that you are thankful for having in your life! We should do this more often than around Thanksgiving, but this month is definitely the perfect month to take advantage and be thankful! 

To start the challenge off, I am thankful for my life! If I wasn't here living, I wouldn't be anything. I am thankful to be here and able to LIVE! I am thankful I can share myself with you guys, my readers, and my followers! I do appreciate ALL of you! We truly have to be thankful for the little things in life and this is a fundamental part of life, just LIVING! 

Feel free to join me in this challenge! Thanks for reading! 

Bats, Cats, Spiders, and Owls Family Fun Ideas for Halloween Season

Ideas for Teaching about Bats, Cats, Spiders, and Owls to young children:

• Teach 1 year olds vocabulary recognition with pictures
• Teach 2 year olds basic ideas like a spider has 8 legs and owls and bats are awake at night
• Teach older children 3+ about the habitats and what the animals eat
• Teach all children old enough to understand how these animals can help us and appreciation for nature
• Have the children tell you what they know about these animals and go from there
• Find cute crafts on Pinterest and other sources with a simple internet search
• The older the child the more in depth you can go with your lessons
• I currently teach Kindergarten and we were able to talk about habitats and what the animals ate as well as the idea that bats and owls are nocturnal meaning they are awake at night and sleep during the day. We also talked about how bats are similar to humans and how they help humans. We discussed how Spiders are in their own bug family, the arachnids and are not insects. We learned the Spanish words for Owl, Spider, and Cat
• The fun thing about these lessons is to make it your own for the child or children you are working with. Doing a simple internet search will give you lots of resources and ideas! 

Video:

Fall Family Fun Activities

Acorns

• Talk about how acorns are seeds, food for animals
• Cut into an acorn and let the child (children) see what is inside
• Talk about how acorns come from Oak Trees
• Make cute acorn crafts

Leaves

• Compare leaves from various trees (size, shape, colors)
• Leaf identification to identify leaves from different trees
• Talk about why leaves change colors (lots of information on the internet about this one)
• Cute leaf crafts
• Leaf rubbings (put a leaf under a piece of paper and color over the paper to make a rubbing)
• Leaf Prints (Paint a leaf or put ink on it and press down to paper to make a print)
• Look at leaves through a magnifying glass

Apples

• Apple picking
• Apple tasting
• Apple recipes
• Talk about apple colors
• Talk about apple parts
• Paint with apples to make apple prints

Pumpkins

• Pumpkin Patch
• Cut into pumpkins and gourds to explore
• Pumpkin recipes
• Pumpkin life cycle and pumpkin parts
• Pumpkin seeds (count, roast, plant)
• Halloween fun

More Fall Fun

• Nature Walk
• Corn Mazes
• Talk about fruits and vegetables that can be harvested in the fall and harvest those that you planted to be harvested in the fall
• View the video below for more descriptions and things I have done with my students from Ages 2 and up

Super excited about my latest Skin Care Regimen--Avon Elements Skin Revitalize Products

Avon Elements Skin Revitalize Products

So I am totally in love with this skin care regimen. When I started it I had some redness to my skin and after just a few weeks! Since switching to the Avon Elements products my skin has totally cleared up and changed. It could partially be due to getting older but I have definitely noticed a difference since regularly using skin care products beyond the Avon Clearskin line that I was also satisfied with and used regularly. The other great thing about the Avon Elements products is the price point with the regular prices being $8.99-$12.99! You cannot beat those prices!

I started with the Day Cream and that is the product I have used most consistently over the past couple months.

Avon Elements Skin Revitalize Instant Radiance Lotion (Day Cream) $10.99

This is the product I started with because I needed to have a Day Cream and I wanted one that had SPF in it. This product has SPF 20. I love the built in sun protection because it takes out a step of having to add sunscreen in addition to your skin care regimen. I was super excited when after just a couple of weeks I noticed a difference in the brightness of my skin. I also like how lightly the lotion goes on and that it includes a slight neutral tint so no need for extra foundation or powder. This product uses an Aronia Berry Complex. Full ingredients are listed on your Avon Representative's website.

Avon Elements Skin Revitalize 2-in-1 Brightening Eye Roller $12.99

The Eye Roller really impressed me. I saw an immediate result after applying the eye roller and with consistent use I saw better results. I will be honest I still have not used it both day and night myself but I was happy with my results so I can't imagine the difference it would have made had I used it day and night! This is a perfect compliment to this skin care regimen. If you are looking for another full eye cream and not just an under eye cream Avon has many eye cream options to purchase depending on your concerns! This product uses the Aronia Berry Complex as well as Optics Pearl Technology. For full ingredients check out your representative's website!

Avon Elements Skin Revitalize Night Radiance Cream $10.99

I'll admit I haven't used the night cream as much but I have noticed an added improvement when I used it consistently over a week. The night cream is meant to have you have a healthy glow when you wake up. The night cream is a moisturizer and if you are allergic to SPF it could be used as a day cream as well. The night cream also uses the Aronia Berry Complex. Personally, I enjoyed the moisture that was put into my face and how soft my face felt when I woke up in the morning. The full ingredient list is available on our representative websites.

Read the full article on my beauty blog and be sure to check out my Beauty Blog for Product Reviews, Featured Products, New Product Updates, and Beauty Tips by CLICKING HERE

Interested in AVON and don't have a representative or possibly interested in learning how you can make money with AVON yourself? Then check out my official representative website at www.youravon.com/adavis0493 

It's time for #Scopetober 2016! Wow! Look how much my stats have grown in just 1 year!

Last year during the month of October I went from 13, 589 hearts to 37, 245 hearts and gained 42 followers during the Periscope PeriGirls Scopetober Challenge! In one year I have gained over 1.5 million hearts and am now up to 771 followers. Wow!

My goal for this month October 2016 is to gain at least 50 followers and 50,000 hearts. I say at least because I would LOVE to surpass that goal! My Periscope is @amandabeautytip. I scope on a variety of topics to make a difference in the lives of others by teaching you what I know and sharing with you what I love. Cannot wait to see what this month brings! 

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Review

I'll be honest when I first saw this book was coming out, I wasn't too sure I wanted to purchase it. Then, it came up that it would be the Book Club selection for the Periscope PeriGirls group. I wanted to be on the panel for the Book Club discussion so I did go out and purchase the book. I read it in THREE days. Yes THREE days. It could have been quicker if I had just sat and read but I had other stuff going on that weekend. lol. I LOVED it! As a die hard Harry Potter fan I truly did appreciate the characters coming back and seeing the next generation. Now of course everyone will have their differing opinions but for whatever my opinion counts, I LOVED it! I don't want to post any spoilers so without giving much detail it was definitely an interesting story and definitely pulls you in like the main series did. You can get past the script format fairly easily. I am a theatre person so maybe it didn't bother me as much as it may bother others but I was able to get past it very quickly! 

The book picks up from where the final Harry Potter book left off and goes from there. In the book you meet the core groups children and some interesting relationships are formed. Definitely an awesome read. Without spoilers, you'll just have to trust me. 

PGHonor: Olympic Best Challenge August 2016

For the month of August, the Periscope PeriGirls challenged us to be our Olympic Best in honor of the Summer 2016 Olympics in Rio. During this challenge we talked about the Olympics themselves and what we enjoy about them, an Olympic event we would like to see, how to be our own Olympic Best, and Two Year goals. 

The specific topics were as follows:

• Do You Watch the Olympics?
• Olympic Events and What Event Would You Create
• What does being your Olympic Best Mean to You?
• How do you stay your Olympic Best Mentally?
• Best Gold Medal Event
• Who would you give a Gold Medal to?
• Two Year Goals

Here is a playlist on my YouTube channel of the videos I did for this challenge with all of my answers. Thanks for watching and subscribing! 

Follow me on Periscope @amandabeautytip. Our next PGHonor initiative starts tomorrow, September 6, 2016 and will concern Childhood Obesity. Join PeriGirls at www.PeriGirls.com (Must be a woman and on Periscope). 

Day 31 of the #SWMBlogChallenge September 2016 Goals

We started this month with some goals and now we are ending the challenge with some goals for the new month. I feel pretty good about the goals I set out for at the beginning of August. I enjoyed doing some informative Periscopes through weekly short scope series. I completed the Savvy Sexy Social Vlog Everyday in August challenge for 2016 on my Amanda D. business page using Facebook Live. I completed this blogging challenge created by Amanda Smith of Spark Within Me Blog and did so by doing mostly daily posts and on time, only having to catch up a couple times. 

For September, my goal is to continue to try to post to this blog at least a couple of times a week. I also would like to do some more Facebook Live content. I will continue to do short scope series on Periscope to inform my viewers. I have to catch up by adding some of my replay videos to YouTube and then re-purposing them for my blog posts. Looking forward to a new month and the start to the fall season. 

On another note, I would like to mention that September will mean a new job for me as well. I hinted at this in a post recently and I decided since I am announcing it that I would go ahead and announce it here as well. I will now be a Private Kindergarten teacher in a new facility than the one I was working in as an early childhood educator. I am excited to begin this new journey!

This challenge was created by Amanda Smith of Spark Within Me--https://sparkwithinme.wordpress.com/  Thanks Amanda for creating the challenge! I have enjoyed participating!

August Favorites Day 30 of the #SWMBlogChallenge

So my take on this topic is to share some of my favorite things about August. I feel that August is a transition month. The transition from the summer into the fall and new beginnings. Each season you can start anew and begin again. Something that was my favorite part of this August has actually been this Blog Challenge because it has allowed me to stay consistent on my Blog and I have actually stuck to posting almost daily this month which has been amazing! I will try to be better about holding myself accountable as we go into the Fall. Thanks to Amanda Smith for creating this challenge for us! I have enjoyed getting to know some of the other participants better and I hope they have enjoyed getting to know me better as well! 

This challenge was created by Amanda Smith of Spark Within Me--https://sparkwithinme.wordpress.com/

High and Low Moments of August 2016 #SWMBlogChallenge Day 29

This month has actually been a fairly normal month for me. I haven't really had any low moments to be honest so I can't really elaborate on that. I have had a couple of great things happening though! I am not ready to share the news, but stay tuned as I hope to share it soon but I will give you a hint that it has to do with my career! I have also spent some quality time with friends and family this month. One low is that the end of August means the end of the Summer and I truly cannot believe that summer is almost complete. I feel like the summer flew by without me getting some things done that I hoped to get done. 

This challenge was created by Amanda Smith of Spark Within Me--https://sparkwithinme.wordpress.com/

Day 28 of the #SWMBlogChallenge Summer Recap 2016

This summer has truly flown by! I have spent most of it working and trying to relax on the weekends. I have gone to the Outer Banks for the weekend three times and will be going one more time before the season closes. I only made it to my apartment pool once. I attended a baby shower and a wedding. I navigated living in a new area that I moved to in April, but now I feel comfortable living here and it is truly becoming my home. Overall, a nice relaxing summer that has gone by way too fast! 

This challenge was created by Amanda Smith of Spark Within Me--https://sparkwithinme.wordpress.com/

Day 27 of the #SWMBlogChallenge Favorite Time of Year

My favorite time of year is all year. There is something about each season that I enjoy. Winter I enjoy a nice snow day and staying cuddled up in front of the fireplace or just wrapped in a blanket with a cup of hot chocolate and a good book or movie. During the spring, I love all of the flowers blooming and how pretty the season is and also how seasonable it is outside not too cold and not too hot. During the summer, I enjoy going to the beach and spending some time on vacation. And for the fall I enjoy the more seasonable weather not too hot and not too cold as well as the fall scents and fall leaves. I cannot pick just ONE time of year because like I said there is something I enjoy about each of the seasons. 

This challenge was created by Amanda Smith of Spark Within Me--https://sparkwithinme.wordpress.com/

Five Places I wish to Visit Day 26 of the #SWMBlogChallenge

1) Boston, Massachusetts (The history is amazing and I hear this is a wonderful place on the historical list to visit.)

2) Hawaii (beaches, enough said)

3) Europe basically everywhere (France, Italy, England, Scotland, Spain, etc.)

4) California

5) Universal Studios Florida for the Harry Potter Land because I MUST make it there before it closes

This challenge was created by Amanda Smith of Spark Within Me--https://sparkwithinme.wordpress.com/

Day 25 #SWMBlogChallenge Fall Television...

So to be honest, I haven't even really looked into what new shows are coming out. The past couple years I tried to stay away from getting into new television shows since I watch too many already and some already conflict with each other. I will say I am looking forward to the return of my favorites though. My favorites are Supernatural, Vampire Diaries, The Originals, Bones, and Grey's Anatomy. I'm not sure when it is returning but I am ready for Shadowhunters to return as well. I used to watch a whole lot more shows but I think that is most of them at this time. I do watch MasterChef and MasterChef Jr and I assume a junior version will premiere at some point this fall. That's pretty much it for me in the television world at this time. What television shows are you looking forward to?

This challenge was created by Amanda Smith of Spark Within Me--https://sparkwithinme.wordpress.com/

Day 24 of the #SWMBlogChallenge My Daily Routine

6:00am--Alarm goes off and I get up

6:05-6:30ish am--Eat breakfast, drink coffee, check Social Media and the PeriGirls Heart Tribes 2.0 Slack group, check in with my PeriGirls Heart Tribes 2.0 Tribe

6:30-7:00 am--Finish getting ready for work.

7:00 am-7:15am--Leave for work

8:00 am--Arrive at work

8:00 am-2:00pm--Changing lives by teaching the next generation

2:00 pm-3:00pm--"Lunch" break and I usually use this time to check into Slack again and check Social Media as well as run errands

3:00 pm-5:00pm--Changing more lives by teaching the next generation

5:00 pm--Leave work to go home

6:00 pm--Arrive home

6:00 pm-7:00pm--Depending on the day, I try to get dinner done during this time, sometimes watch television, and also will check into Social Media yet again

7:00pm--I try to get my Periscope Live Streams done around this time as well as my daily Blog Posts for this challenge 

8:00 pm - 10:00 pm--Get ready for bed, get more things done including watching Periscope, watching television, reading, etc. Whatever I still need to get done for the day

10:00 pm--Bed time 

This challenge was created by Amanda Smith of Spark Within Me--https://sparkwithinme.wordpress.com/