DAY 1: MOVING BACKWARD IS NOT AN OPTION, AND STANDING STILL IS NOT ENOUGH The first day of TED Talks featured Stacey Abrams, the first black woman in the history of the U.S. to be nominated for governor by a major party. Although Abrams lost the race, her TED Talk showed me that her loss didn’t kill her drive or spirit. Her reasoning for wanting to become governor of Georgia was delivered through an anecdote, which I don’t want to spoil in case you decide to watch! She revealed that she lost the race for governor and was sad for a while, but she decided to keep pushing forward. When she said “moving backward is not an option and standing still is not enough, I knew that was going to be what I took away from her talk. But how do you move forward after a loss? Abrams explained it was to ask yourself “what do I want, why do I want it, and how do I get it?” They are simple questions. Going back to the why will fuel you to push for your how. DAY 2: THE WORLD NEEDS TO EXPAND ITS RADIUS, BUT THAT IS MUCH EASIER SAID THAN DONEToday's speaker was meteorologist J. Marshall Shepherd. He talks about the different biases that can effect the way we see the world. Not unsurprisingly, Shepherd decided to focus most of his talk on the bias many people have on issues such as climate change. He explained that there are three types of biases that you may engage in when you come across dealing with an issue you have an inherent bias toward: confirmation bias (only finding evidence to support your existing belief), Dunning Kruger (believing you know more than you do about a topic), and cognitive dissonance (new info that contradicts our beliefs). I for one believe that our climate is changing for the worse. However, there are plenty who believe differently. While I agree with Shepherd's premise, I found his speech wanting because he identified a serious problem without presenting a solution. In actuality, overcoming our biases, at least in America, will be next to impossible because we let it get so far before addressing the real problem. Shepherd did say we should expand our radius, or knowledge, about science and other things. I also found this hard to digest because several things we used to observe as fact (like the age of the universe, medicines, and carbon dating) have since changed. We all need to think critically. That was my main take-away. DAY 3: PROCRASTINATION EXISTS BEYOND DUE DATESThe speaker for this day is Tim Urban, a writer and illustrator for the website WaitButWhy.com. Urban spent a lot of his time on the TED stage talking about his personal experience as a master procrastinator, reminiscing anecdotally on completing his 90-page thesis in 72 hours. He explained how the mind of the procrastinator works, saying that both the procrastinator and the non-procrastinator have decision makers, but the procrastinator has an "instant gratification monkey" who is all about fun and joy. But Urban eventually got to a point where he talked about the dangers of procrastinating on things without deadlines. Things like relationships, pursing education, health, and others. We may seem like we have all the time in the world to meet these deadlines, but we don't, and they can catch up with us and ruin our lives. I loved how Urban took a rather serious topic and put a funny spin on it! DAY 4: LYING IS A COOPERATIVE ACTPamela Meyer, author of Liespotting, was today's speaker. Her book details a few was to spot a liar and teaches you how to protect yourself from that liar. What I learned in this TED Talk was that lying is much more common than I thought, but we are much more to blame than I thought, as well. The signs of a liar are so telling that we are complicient in the lie. The fact that we can let someone get away with a lie is crazy! I really did learn a lot about spotting lies and hope to change my position in the lie from a cooperative of it to a spotter of it. I think I might actually add Meyer's book to my Audible Wish List! DAY 5: DON'T LET PAST REJECTION DICTATE FUTURE ASPIRATIONSThe speaker for today was Jia Jiang. He was a marketing executive for a Fortune 500 company and he started his own business when he was 30. He explains that he was long controlled by rejection he experienced as a child when no one in his class complemented him during a confidence-building exercise. He said that his childhood experience kept him from pursuing his dreams for fear of rejection.
Jiang decided to do a 100 days of rejection challenge where he decided to ask strangers for things that they would likely reject him for. His talk really taught me that the past is in the past and being rejected once doesn't mean I will always be rejected!
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Merry Christmas everyone! Hopefully you all had a relaxing and fun Christmas Day! I wanted to share with you what we are doing this Christmas. I'd love to hear from you as well, so please drop a comment below and let me know what you did for Christmas! Here are our plans! WAKE UP AND ENJOY SOME FOOD!
HEAD TO JONATHAN'S GRANDPARENT'S HOUSE!
HOPEFULLY SEEING MY GRANDPA!
PRESENTS WITH MY FAMILY!
CHRISTMAS DINNER
I'm always down to save money when I have the chance. That's why I've started to do some things that help to save without majorly interrupting my life. I wanted to share these with my readers in hopes that they help you! DON'T THROW OUT THAT COFFEE
However, if you just pour unused coffee down the sink, you're just wasting money! Instead, I've started to pour my excess coffee into a pitcher and refrigerate it. When I get home, I have cold coffee waiting. I can simply add in my cream, sugar, and some ice for iced coffee that will help me get through my writing assignments and blog posts! SIGN UP FOR SAVINGS PROGRAMS WITH YOUR BANK
PICK UP YOUR GROCERIES
This service was first introduced to me by my mom. It is great for moms with children who may not be easy to handle in the store, for people with busy lives, and for disabled people. All you do is order online, reserve a pickup time, and arrive. The employees will load your cart up for you. Sometimes, they may not have exactly what you asked for, but they always give you fair substitutions. This service is free and is a great way to stick to your list without making impulse buys! FOLLOW MY WATER RULE
I also don't drink my morning coffee until I've had at least one 26 fl oz glass of water. This helps me to save money because I'm not drinking a ton of coffee or soda. It also helps keep my hydrated and focused throughout the day! DONATE TO A THRIFT STORE
HAVE A FREE DATE NIGHT
CONCLUSIONThere are so many other things you can do to save money and to live your best life, but these are ones that I've tried and will probably continue to do unless I become a millionaire! Do you have any money-saving tips? Let me know below!
If you aren't a blogger and you're curious to know what life is like as "one of us," I hope you find this entertaining. If you are a blogger, I'm sure you can relate to at least one of these things! If you like this, I hope you'll give it a share so we can all have a good laugh! 1. TRYING TO FIND A SQUARE-INCH OF CLEAN SPACE ON A COUNTER TOP OR DESK IN YOUR HOUSE TO TAKE A PHOTO FOR YOUR LATEST BLOG POST 2. THAT FEELING WHEN YOU'VE FINISHED WITH BLOGTOBER OR BLOGMAS 3. THAT MOMENT WHEN YOU RUSH TO YOUR COMPUTER WHEN YOU GET IN FROM WORK OR A DAY OUT SO YOU CAN WRITE ON THAT BLOG POST TOPIC THAT INSPIRED YOU 4. WHEN YOU FINALLY GET TAGGED FOR A BLOGGER PEER AWARD 5. WHEN YOU DECIDE TO WRITE ABOUT A NEW SUBJECT THAT YOU'RE TOTALLY UNEDUCATED ON 6. WHEN YOU TRY OUT A RECIPE FROM PINTEREST FOR YOUR BLOG BUT IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE THE PICTURE 7. WHEN YOU NEED TO GO TO THE CRAFT STORE FOR THINGS FOR YOUR BLOG, BUT YOUR SIGNIFICANT OTHER SAYS NO 8. WHEN SOMEONE YOU KNOW IRL SAYS: EW, YOU HAVE A BLOG? 9. AND WHEN YOU GO ON TWITTER TO RANT ABOUT SAID RUDE PERSON AND YOUR FOLLOWERS NEED TO KNOW EVERY DETAIL 10. WHEN SOMEONE LEAVES A WELL-THOUGHT-OUT COMMENT ON YOUR BLOG POST 11. LAUGHING AT YOUR OWN BLOG POST TITLES BECAUSE THEY'RE SO PUNNY 12. WHEN YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO FOR YOUR NEXT BLOG POST, BUT THAT FRIEND OR FAMILY MEMBER WHO READS RELIGIOUSLY SENDS YOU IDEAS 13. WHEN YOUR PETS, KIDS, OR SIGNIFICANT OTHER TRYS TO INTERRUPT YOUR BLOGGING TIME 14. YOUR WALLET AFTER PAYING FOR SUPPLIES FOR YOUR BLOG POSTS 15. CONSTANTLY CHECKING YOUR GOOGLE ADS ACCOUNT TO SEE IF YOU'VE EARNED ANY MORE MONEY FROM AD CLICKS 16. GETTING WORRIED THAT YOUR CONTENT ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH WHEN YOU SEE YOU HAVEN'T EARNED ANY MONEY 17. GETTING REASSURANCE FROM FELLOW BLOGGERS THAT YOU DON'T SUCK AND YOUR READERSHIP WILL CONTINUE TO GROW IF YOU STAY CONSISTENT 18. AND FINALLY...HOW YOU FEEL KNOWING THAT YOU'VE WRITTEN AND SCHEDULED YOUR BLOGS FOR THE WEEK! CONCLUSIONI hope you enjoyed this fun post, and I hope it was relatable enough to my fellow bloggers! Did I miss anything? Tell me what else we struggle with in the comments below!
I've been keeping a keen eye on my Twitter feed, and I saw a blogger, Amanda Burnett, who was asking if anyone was interested in doing an Autumn questions tag on their blog! It has been a while since I've been tagged. Since everything was so micro-planned for Blogtober, I decided to wait until this month to share my answers. I hope you'll enjoy my answers and you will participate if I've tagged you! So, thank you to Amanda for tagging me. Visit her blog here: www.itsamandaburnett.wordpress.com. Keep reading for the rules, the questions, and my answers! AUTUMN QUESTIONS TAG RULES1) List these rules in your post, so that everyone is clear on what to do! 2) Include the creator’s link (www.laurenannbeauty.com) and also whoever nominated you! If you're reading this now and are going to participate in the tag, you would mention me, Gabrielle Allison from www.TheOpinionatedOne.com. 3) Answer the questions and tag at least 3 other people (include their links to help with their DA?) THE QUESTIONS1) What’s your favorite thing about Autumn? 2) Did you take part in Blogtober? 3) Favorite Autumnal Drink? 4) Favorite Autumn Candle? 5) Favorite item of clothing for Autumn? 6) Do you decorate your house/room for Halloween/Autumn? 7) What did you do on Halloween? MY ANSWERSMy Answers: 1) My favorite thing about Autumn is that it is a lot cooler than the summer. I live in North Carolina, which is in the Southern U.S. It gets hot in the summer, but worse, it gets humid. That means that a day that's only about 80 degrees Fahrenheit can feel like it is hotter than 100 degrees! The cool weather is my jam! 2) I did take part in blogtober! I think I have found a healthy balance for my time. I had time to write and plan, which is important. I am happy that it wasn't too overwhelming! 3) My favorite Autumn drink would be Starbucks' Caramel Macchiato with Almond Milk and Cinnamon. I like it iced! If I am making my own drink, I would choose regular coffee with hazelnut creamer and a spoon full of sugar. 4) My current favorite Autumn candle is Hazelnuet Cream. It is a knock-off brand candle that I got at my local Walmart! I also really like cinnamon and apple scents for this time of year! 5) My favorite fall clothing item are sweaters. They are cozy! 6) I decorated my home for Halloween, and I think the hubby and I will probably be putting up Christmas decorations pretty soon. We do this because we are about three hours away from our family, so we always travel to see them on Thanksgiving and Christmas, so we like to have some time to enjoy our decorations! 7) For Halloween, we went out to eat and got some amazing ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery. If you have one near by and haven't tried it yet, I recommend the Birthday Cake Remix! We were going to hand out candy, but we just don't get a lot of trick-or-treaters where we live, so we decided against it this year. WHO I'M TAGGING1. Brianna - Briana Marie Lifestyle
2. Tori - Inspired by Tor 3. Lauren - My Favorite Job Title Is Mom 4. ANYONE READING THIS! Take part in this tag (which I've modified to work after Halloween) and let us know all about your Autumn and your plans this fall! Ahhhh fall. There's nothing like lighting a candle, cuddling up on the couch, and enjoying a hot cup of coffee (or cocoa) after work! One of my favorite things about candles are their associations with the seasons. There are so many amazing candle scents that you need to put into your life this fall. Here they are: SANDALWOOD
APPLE CINNAMON
HAZELNUT CREAM
PUMPKIN SPICE
"LEAF" SCENTS
CONCLUSIONThere are so many great fall scents for candles, I think that these are my favorites. I also really like scents like marshmallow, but I don't know if the smell is strong enough to really permeate your home or apartment enough to give you the sense of all when you smell them. Do you have any suggestions for candles I should try this fall? If so, please leave them below! LEGAL: All photos are my own or taken from Pixabay, a creative commons website that requires no attribution for photo use.
I've always been a fan of Aretha Franklin and her voice. Not only could she sing like an angel, she was also bigger than many of the singers of her time, making her a great role model for women who can sing, but aren't a size 2!  I found out about her death during a very busy work day, and I haven't really had a chance to reflect on her life. But, I knew when I had the chance, I didn't want to do what everyone else would do. Instead, I thought it would be great to highlight some of the messages Aretha left behind in her music! In this blog, I will post a video with a recording of the song (from YouTube) and analyze it's meaning! But first, I wanted to explain who Aretha is and a little bit about her death as a tribute. THE LIFE OF ARETHA FRANKLIN
her home and Detroit, where she was surrounded by family and friends. She passed away on August 16 from pancreatic cancer, which was seemingly kept away from the public eye. RESPECTRespect is probably one of the most famous Aretha Franklin songs to date. But, what does it really mean, and what is the story behind it? She recorded the song on Valentine's Day in 1967, but that wasn't the first time the song had hit the airwaves. Otis Redding, famous for the song "Dock of the Bay," sang a similar version of the song and it caught Aretha's attention.
I SAY A LITTLE PRAYER FOR YOUThe song has been featured in several films, including Sister Act with Whoopi Goldberg. The song isn't originally Franklin's it was sung by Dionne Warwick in 1967. A year later, it is said that Franklin was having fun with the song during rehearsals, but it caught the attention of many and she re-recorded her own rendition of the song.
(YOU MAKE ME FEEL LIKE A) NATURAL WOMANLove is one of the most popular song topics among artists of all generations, and Natural Woman is no different. The song describes how a woman felt before and after her love came into her life. She says "I felt so uninspired" but "you make me feel like a natural woman." The song has become an anthem of sorts for women everywhere, as it showcases the power of love and its ability to draw out the true power of womanhood! CHAIN OF FOOLSWhile some songs are about love, others are about the opposite: the realization of being fooled into loving someone. Chain of Fools is a powerful and soulful song all about being a link in the chain of fools. The song is seemingly about a woman who is being cheated by a man she thought she loved. As it turns out, she is only one of several women who have been fooled by the man. This forms the chain of fools.
CONCLUSIONThese are only a few of Aretha's chart-topping hits. I encourage anyone who hasn't heard songs by Aretha to look them up on YouTube and enjoy a day of easy listening! What's your favorite Aretha Franklin song? Let me know in the comments below! LEGAL: All photos are from Pixabay.com, a creative commons website that requires no attribution for photos. Video sharing is copyright friendly via YouTube, as the owner will receive all credit via views and ad revenues.
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