My One Year Blog Anniversary

(http://spongebob.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:Nicko756/One_Year_Wikiaversary)

Hey guys,

Wow! I can't believe it is my one year blog anniversary already.  It feels like I just decided to start this blog after thinking of a way to vent due to some personal reasons.  I just want to say thanks to everyone who read my posts.  You guys are the ones who made me achieve one year because not only do I write posts for me, but I also write posts for you guys as well.  Thank you guys so much!

Here are 5 of my favorite blog posts from the previous year:

• Bullying Needs To End!
• We Are Our Biggest Critic
• A Letter To A Teacher Who Left Us Too Soon(BEDM Day 23)
• Candy, Snacks and Miscellaneous Sayings for Gifts
• Draw My Life

I can't wait to see where this next year will take me!

<3 Amanda 

Q and A Part Three (Final Part)

(http://www.aiche.org/chenected/2014/09/qa-meet-2014-candidates-part-2)

Hey guys,

Here is the conclusion of my first Q and A series. 

Q:Who has been your biggest support?
A: Beside myself, I would have to say my readers because although I do love to write, I love being able to provide a blog post for my readers each day.  All of the comments that they leave are so nice and they make me feel happy and I want to spread the happiness with my readers by giving them something that will make them feel happy, smile or have them see that if they are going through something then I might have been in their situation in the past and read how I overcame it and got through it.

Q; What do you like to write about?
A: I write about an assortment of things. I write about cancers, disease and other important things, especially bullying because I think there should definitely be more attention towards those. I also write reviews on different products. I have a list of blog topics I want to write about. 

Q: Where do you see your blog going in the future?
A: My goal for my blog is to continue to have a friendly atmosphere for my readers. I want to, one day, create like an "Ask Friday" where my readers ask me for advice, however I'm not a certificated counselor. I just want my readers especially if they are teens or young ladies because I feel like I have been through a lot and could help them get through what they are going through..

Q: Are there any "subscriptions" you recommend  (newsletters,service-subscriptions to actual people or service providers)?
A: This is something that I need to get better at. I don't think I'm subscribed to anything. I have liked fellow bloggers' Facebook pages and followed them on Twitter. 

Q:Have you seen growth- why or why not?
A: Since I have started blogging, I have most definitely seen a growth. At the beginning, you might have a small audience but as you continue your audience grows. 

Q: What is your best moment and worst moment? What did you learn?
A: Hmmm.. I would say that my best moments has been getting an article accepted for a debuting online magazine and interacting with other bloggers.  My worst moment would be writing up a quick post and not getting that many views on it. I learned that the overall product is better when you work on it longer than just a few minutes.  It's okay to take a break from publishing a post if you are taking a few days to make a post great. 

Q: What communities or bloggers do you follow and why?
A: I would consider each of my blogging Facebook groups as "communities" and I'm involved in a few. Everyone is so helpful when I ask a question.  The list of bloggers I follow is a long list. Like I said I follow fellow bloggers on Twitter and also Like bloggers' Facebook pages. Each blogger is different so it's interesting to read what everyone publishes. 


If you have any questions for me for future Q and A's, make sure to leave them down below or on my Facebook page, here.


<3 Amanda 

Q and A Part Two

(http://www.aiche.org/chenected/2014/09/qa-meet-2014-candidates-part-2)

Hey guys,

Here's my part two for my Q and A. Enjoy!  :) 


Q: If there is any place in the world that you could visit, where would you go, for how long and why?
A: Hmm.. I would say either Oregon because I have family and friends who lives there or California because I also have friends (from college) who I have never met in person yet.  I would probably stay a week or so in both states. 

Q: I'm curious about your Myer Briggs.
A: I know that this isn't a question but I was interested to see if my results has changed since I took the test earlier this year for a class.  I was very surprised that my results were exactly the same; ISFJ. The percentages were different tho. 

Q: What's your inspiration?
A: I would say my inspiration is the ability to be able to spread awareness about important things,being able to help others and making my readers smile.

Q: What have you learned from blogging?
A: I have learned that just like in real life some people just don't like you and in the blogging world, there are some people who doesn't like your blog and that's perfectly okay.

Q: Who are 5 bloggers you admire?
A: I admire more than 5 bloggers since I still consider myself a newbie but here are 5:

1. Cindy  @ 3 kids, 2 dogs, and 1 old house. She is a mother and a wife and still makes time to publish great posts.
2. Savanna  @ Tate Party of 8 and HayesTough. I admire how strong of a person she is.
3. Desteny @ A Frugal Desteny. She is also a mother and a wife who makes time to publish great posts.
4. Jenna @ The Urben Life. Her husband and her makes a cute couple  :)
5. Kristyn  @ Everyone's Sleeing But Mom. Her and her husband are expecting their second child later this year!

Q: What apps and programs do you use/ones you like/wish you could use/ones you hate?
A: I'm not really positive by what she means by "apps and programs", so I'm going to answer the question basing my answer off of social medias.  I use Facebook, Twitter, Google + and recently got into Bloglovin'. I haven't been into Pinterest  (for blog related) or Instagram because I don't feel like they fit my blog/personality and I feel content with the social medias I use. A great thing about blogging is that not all social medias are going to work for everyone.


<3 Amanda 

Follow My Blog With Bloglovin

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Q and A Part One

(http://www.aiche.org/chenected/2014/09/qa-meet-2014-candidates-part-2)

Hey guys,

This Sunday will be my one year blog anniversary.  I decided to do a Q and A for my one year.  I have too many questions for one post so I have decided to split the questions either into two or three parts. I hope after reading my answers that you learn more about me. Hope you enjoy learning more about me.

Q: What has been your biggest achievement so far?
A: I would definitely say that my biggest achievement so far is getting featured in an upcoming new online magazine called "Digital Miss". It is debuting on May 5th and I will definitely post a link so you guys can check it out. Check out my exciting announcement, here.

Q:What do you like the most about blogging and what do you not like about blogging?
A: The thing that I like the most about blogging is having a voice. I love having a voice to help spread awareness to many diseases, cancers, bullying and much much more important things that needs more attention towards them.  

The thing that I like the least about blogging is (hmmm..let me think) sometimes not being able to come up with a good topic for a post.  There are going to be times when you have to write a more simpler post and that's okay.


Q: What have you learned since you began blogging that you wish you'd known when you started?
A: I would have to say how to promote my blog better. Now, I promote my blog through Twitter, Facebook Page (and groups)  and Google Plus. 

Q: What are your top 5 posts? 
A: My top 5 posts are: 

1. National Sibling Day
2. Bullying Needs To End!
3. April Fools Day Is No Joking Matter
4. Blogger Interview: Candy's Farm House Pantry
5. Spring Break Staycation Ideas

Q:Since you're posting college tips, where are (or did) you going to school? What is (was) your degree path?

A: I currently go to an online college, called Kaplan University. I'm finishing up my bachelor's year, and my major is Early Childhood Development.  You can check out my tips, here.

Stay tuned for Q and A Part 2

<3 Amanda 

Questions I Ask Myself

(http://www.clipartkid.com/cute-question-mark-cliparts/)

Hey guys,

I thought this topic would be a good topic to post about because everyone has their own questions that they would ask themselves.  The questions I would ask myself are:

1. Will I ever find the one and get married?
2. Will I have the privilege of having children and how many?
3. Will I be a good mother?
4. What type of career will I have with my degree?
5. Will I ever learn how to drive and get my license? 
6. Will my blog turn into something more?
7. Will I find a career that has to do with writing?

Have you guys ever sat down and thought of some questions that you would ask yourself? Have you been able to answer them? I hope to be able to answer all of my questions one day and who knows, maybe I'll write posts about each of the answers.

<3 Amanda 

Favorite Recent Songs

Hey guys,

If you're anything like me, you love listening to music. One of the best things is when you can find a song that describes how you're feeling at that particular time.   Sometimes, you also find songs that reminds you of people who have sadly passed and it's a good and bad feeling when you listen to the songs. It's a bad feeling because it makes you sad and sometimes cry,but also a good feeling because you know that they are looking down on you at all times and are always with you. Here are my 5 recent favorite songs:


Road Less Traveled- Lauren Alaina 
What I got out of this song is that it's okay to be yourself and doing what you love to do even if others might disagree.Being yourself is always the important thing rather than following what others do.

Footloose- Blake Shelton
I know that this isn't his song but I like his version. I like how upbeat it is.I have told myself that I want this song played at my wedding (whenever that will be, I have no clue) but I think I'd just end up making a fool of myself because I cannot dance!

Lost Boy- Ruth B.
This is a very recent song that I came upon on and I really like it, It's actually kind of addicting and it's a catchy song.  I may or may not have sung along before. 

Jealous Of The Angels- Jean Bostic
This is one of the songs that reminds me of someone who have sadly passed away, and that would be a former teacher of mine. I know whenever I think of this song or when it comes on in my YouTube playlist that it is playing for a reason. That reason is that she wants me to know that she is looking down on me and am proud of me. 

Better Man-Little Big Town
Since I have been in relationships before that weren't the greatest, I feel like this song would fit those situations. I thought the guys were better then they were but they ended up either cheating on me, ditching me, abusing me or breaking up with me over a text or through Facebook. I know my guy is out there somewhere and he would never cheat on me or abuse me. 

Have you ever heard any of these songs? What are some of your favorite songs (they don't have to be recent favorites)?

<3 Amanda 

Draw My Life

Hey guys,

I have seen this going around YouTube a lot before so I wanted to do one as well but I wanted to do a Blogger version. I'm not a good drawer so please bear with me. This was a fun post to create. I hope you enjoy it!

I was born on December 28th, 1990 making me 26 years old.  I was my parents' third child with 2 older brothers "D" and "B".

In elementary school, I was the quiet student. I was actually diagnosed with Selective Mutism. My teachers were understanding and didn't force me to talk if I didn't want to. You can check out my post about overcoming Selective Mutism here.

When I was 7, my mom had my younger brother, "J".

The summer before my sophomore year of high school, my mom was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. She was only 45 years old. Since then she has had Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery (D.B.S). You can check out how it is to have a parent with Parkinson's Disease, here.

I was in my first relationship at age 21. We broke up before 2 months. You can read why we broke up here.

In 2013, my parents got divorced. My older brothers and I knew that it was coming. We actually thought it would happened earlier.

My second boyfriend was in 2012-2014. We were actually engaged but he broke off the engagement with the reasoning that his feelings changed. It turned out in the end that he was cheating on me.

Since then, I have been in 5 other relationships which you can read in the picture of how they all ended.  I have been cheated on, abused and ditched. 

In 2013 after being graduated for some time, I decided to enroll in an online college for Early Childhood Development. In 2015, I completed my Associate Degree. During those years, I developed some great friendships with "A", "K" and "S". 

I decided to continue my schooling and currently in the process of finishing my Bachelor year. I only have 4 more classes left! Here are some online college tips.

One of the main reasons that I started my blog is to bring awareness to bullying. Throughout elementary,middle and high schools, I have been bullied. I want to help put an end to it. Check out my post about ending bullying here.

Due to some personal circumstances in my life at the time, I needed a way to vent and that's when I decided to start a blog. First blog post, here. Stay tuned for an updated post about where I am now.

Even though I have some hard times which everyone does. I know that there are plenty of more good times ahead.

<3 Amanda 

Exciting Announcement!

Hey guys, 

I have a very exciting announcement to share with you all. Earlier this month, I submitted an article for an online magazine. I didn't think I would get accepted because I didn't think that I was that great of a writer, but last night I received the e-mail that said I was one of 35 bloggers to be featured in the magazine. I had to read the e-mail a few times and to be completely honest, I did have tears in my eyes because this was definitely a confidence booster for me. Now, I know that others think I'm a good writer and so many more people will have the opportunity to read my writing.

When the magazine is all set to go for May, I'll be sure to keep you guys updated and provide a link so you could go check it out! I am very happy and excited right now!


<3 Amanda

No Man Should Ever Hit A Woman

(https://www.pinterest.com/pin/482448178804088637/)

Hey guys,

I was debating on writing a blog post about this just because I didn't want to provide any information about where I'm located (for safety/privacy reasons) but this just made me really mad and sad. I told myself that I needed to write a blog post about this to bring awareness. There will be missing information from this story as I don't want to give location/names for others privacy. 

Here's the story:

I have seen on Facebook that a family friend since we were little was assaulted by a "man". It's hard to call him a man because if he was a man, he wouldn't have hit her. She now sadly has two black eyes, a concussion, and a fractured eye. Their school allowed him (even though they said he was suspended for 10 days) to go back to school to finish some important testing, which I think is stupid. Yes, testing is important but also my friend's safety is way more important.  What is also stupid is that she and her family have been told that if she posted on Social Media about what happened, that she could get suspended.  

NO GUY SHOULD EVER LAY THEIR HANDS ON A WOMAN. I have been abused myself but not that badly and it makes me sad that she had to go through that. An ex tried to force me to have sex with him,  I have been pushed up against a wall not letting me move which felt like forever and was yelled at which emotionally abused me. I have also been pushed and fallen onto a computer chair and got a pretty bad bruised foot by having it slammed into a door, which physically abused me. 

Something else that makes me mad is that she was just sticking up for her best friend who he was bullying and he then decided to go after her later in the day. This again just makes me mad because it is telling other girls that if they stick up for their friends who are getting bullied, that they will be the one who gets attacked.  Bullying needs to end!


If you see someone getting bullied, please tell a teacher or school official. These stories makes me sad and mad to read and hear about.


<3 Amanda 

New Recently Found YouTube Channels

 Hey guys,

If you're anything like me, you like finding new YouTube channels to watch.  I like locating new families YouTubers to watch because you get to see what goes on in their daily/weekly lives.  I like doing these types of posts because I like to help promote YouTubers as well as bloggers, and help get them more subscribers and views on their videos. 


iJustine( YouTube Channel):  I learned about her channel through another YouTuber, Rosanna Pansino. She is a very funny person.  She posts videos like vlogs, cooking videos, challenges and much much more.  Her social medias are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and blog. She also wrote a book, which you can order here.

Still Family (YouTube Channel): This family includes parents Sam and Nicole, and children Valor, Aurora and Juliette.  They are a YouTube family that I think should have more subscribers than they have. They post daily vlogs so you should definitely check out their cute family. Their social medias are Instagram, Facebook and Blog.

The LeRoy's (YouTube Channel): This family includes Cory, Shanna, Kesley, Rhett,Reese,  Perri .and the dog of the family Lucy.   Cory and Shanna also have another son, Logan, in Heaven. He sadly passed away at the age of 8 month in December of 2006. He had heart disease. This family is a very strong family. They post videos like Q and A's, Routines, Challenges, Vlogs and more. Their social medias are Instagram (Shanna), Instagram (Kesley) and Twitter.

The Gruvey Life (YouTube Channel): This family consists of parents Keith and Summer. Their  daughters are Peyton,  Presley,  Harper and soon baby girl,Hanna. They are a really adorable family. They are a daily vloggers.  Their social medias are Instagram(Summer), Instagram (Keith), Twitter (Summer), Twitter (Keith) and Facebook.

The Ohana Adventure (YouTube Channel): Another family YouTube channel includes parents:Rachel and Jase. Their children are Klai ,Rykel ,Shae ,Wyatt , Evelin  and Cora. They post videos like Q and A's, pranks, challenges, routines and much more. Klai and Rykel have their own channel called RyKlai Their social medias are Instagram and Twitter.


All of these YouTubers/ families are all amazing. I definitely recommend them all to you to watch. You won't regret checking their channels out!

<3 Amanda 

Popular Easter Candy 2017

(http://happyeasterholiday.com/happy-easter-sunday-2017-quotes-images-bunny-pictures.html)

Hey guys,

If you're like me, you like candy ( although, I'm trying to be better at eating less candy). It is fun to see what type of candy flavors they can come up with for the different holidays.  My favorite type of candies are all chocolate (Hershey bars, Hershey's Kisses , Reese's', Junior Mint and Peppermint Patties).

According to RetailMeNot, the tops 5 Easter candies were (Matthews, L., 2017):

1. Reese's Mini Peanut Butter Chocolate Eggs - A fan!
2. Chocolate bunnies - Not really a fan
3. Jelly beans -Not my favorite but if I had to eat them, I would choose either lemon, lime or orange. What's your favorite jelly bean flavor?
4. Hershey's Eggs - A fan!
5. Peeps-  One word: Ew!  What's your opinion of Peeps? 

What's your favorite Easter candy?

Reference:

Matthews, L. (2017). This Is The Most Popular Easter Candy Of The Year. Retrieved April 17, 2017, from http://www.cosmopolitan.com/food-cocktails/a9215646/popular-easter-candy-2017/

<3 Amanda 

Favorite TV Shows Back Then (1990-2009)

(https://www.pinterest.com/pin/569705421587133294/)

Hey guys,

I thought it would be interesting to do a little comparison on what my favorite shows growing up were versus what my favorite TV shows are now. This post will be about the shows that I liked growing up.


90's TV Shows

• Boy Meets World (1993-2000)-  I liked this show because it showed a regular family. My favorite characters were Amy (the mom) and Topanga.   I have watched the spin off (Girl Meets World) before it was canceled.
• Rugrats (1990-2006)
• Saved By The Bell- Every morning in middle school before we left for the bus, one of my brothers and I would watch SBTB, it's a good memory. Looking at the years it was on TV, it says 1989-1992, so I guess they were just playing repeats
• Full House (1987-1995)- This was one of my favorite shows growing up. My favorite episode was (*spoiler alert) when Michelle fell off of the horse and had amnesia. She said "So you're my dad (to Danny), where's my mom?"  That was a sad episode.  Yes, I have watched Fuller House and loved that as well.
• The Amanda's Show (1999-2002)- I wasn't really allowed to watch this show but I would sneak in and watch it anyways. It was a funny show and it had my name in the title   :) 
• Sabrina The Teenage Witch (1996-2003)

2000's TV Shows

• Zoey 101 (2005-2008)
• As Told By Ginger (2000-, pretty sure it's off now)
• In A Heartbeat (2000-2001)- This was a good show. It was sad when it didn't return.
• Even Stevens (2000-2003)
• Gilmore Girls (2000-2007)-  My favorite character was, of course,  Lorelai (Lauren Graham),  I have seen "A Year in the Life " and want to see what happens after that ending.
• Lizzie McGuire (2001-2004)
• That's So Raven (2003-2007)
• strong medicine (2000-2006)-  I would watch this show every night that it was on. If anyone was in the living room, I would asked them to be quiet because I wanted to be able to hear/watch everything that happened. My favorite characters were Dana,Lu, and Robert.

Have you seen any of these shows? If so, which ones did you like? What were your favorite 90's and 2000's  (up to 2009) shows?

<3 Amanda 

Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Week

(https://www.pinterest.com/pin/472737292107523473/)

*This post is dedicated to a friend of mine who has CF. She is a very strong person*

Hey guys,

This week (April 10-16) is a week to spread awareness for Cystic Fibrosis. I, myself, wasn't too familiar with it until a few years ago. I knew that Cystic Fibrosis was a disease but I didn't know a lot about it before.  When I knew that this week was coming up, I wanted to write a post and spread more awareness to this disease.  

If you are not aware of it is, Cystic fibrosis is a progressive, genetic disease that causes persistent lung infections and limits the ability to breathe over time. It is a genetic disease. People with CF have inherited two copies of the defective CF gene -- one copy from each parent. Both parents must have at least one copy of the defective gene (Cystic Fibrosis Foundation., n.d.).

Some statistics about CF are  (Cystic Fibrosis Foundation., n.d.).:

• More than 30,000 people are living with cystic fibrosis (more than 70,000 worldwide).
• Approximately 1,000 new cases of CF are diagnosed each year.
• More than 75 percent of people with CF are diagnosed by age 2.
• More than half of the CF population is age 18 or older. 

Reference:
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2017, from https://www.cff.org/What-is-CF/About-Cystic-Fibrosis/

<3 Amanda 

Easter Cookies For Basically Anyone

Hey guys,

So I did have this whole post planned out in my head but life gives you downs and you have to get through them,which I think I'm doing okay with the situation I was put into recently. I was going to show you step by step but on the day that I made these cookies my mind was all over the place.

Thank You For Being An "Egg-cellent" (Blank) Easter Cookies

Ingredients:

I actually used the rolled kind but forgot to take a picture.

Smarties (You can use any candy you want)

Neon Food Coloring ( I chose Neon because they looked more like spring colors to me).

Pam Spray

Sprinkles

Easter Plates

Vanilla Frosting 

I baked the cookies,then let them cooled. While they were cooling, I got 4 different bowls out and use each color of the food coloring (purple, green,blue and pink).  I frosted the cookies and either left them plain, decorated with sprinkles or smarties. I chose to write on a little tag that said "Thank you for being an "egg-cellent" neighbor".

One of the plates

Do you guys have any Easter baking recipes? 

<3 Amanda 

National Sibling Day

(http://www.dekhnews.com/national-siblings-day-quotes-sayings-images-whatsapp-fb-dp-status-2015/)

Today is National Sibling Day and I want to write a little something to each of my siblings.  I have 3 siblings, which are all brothers.  I wish I had at least one sister but I'm thankful for my brothers.

D- Thanks for helping me with homework back in school; especially math (ugh!).  You always (well, "sometimes") let me play your video games,especially Animal Crossings. Remember when you, B and I would play Mario Party. You won the majority of the mini games. Great job on going for your goals and having a great career.

B- You're the brother that I'm the closest with as we are not even 2 years apart (April 1989-December 1990). Some of my favorite memories are Dogs, watching SNL and especially Castle (even though Dad said we talked too much through it. We had to say our guesses on who was the killer). Thanks for taking me to the Martina McBride/Trace Adkins/ Sarah Buxton concert. Can't wait to talk to you about the ending of PLL soon. Thanks for always being there for me through hard tough times. I really appreciate it.

J-  You came when I was 7 so there's an age gap between us.  You have always been stubborn but you still try to achieve your goals. One thing that you're better at/ have more knowledge about is sports. I know a little about sports but not quite as much as you.


Love you brothers!

Leave a comment below letting me know how many siblings you have.


<3 Amanda