Taylor Swift Advertising for Apple Music

     Recently Taylor Swift released her first commercial with Apple, and it became popular for one reason. Taylor face planted into a treadmill. I thought the commercial was genius because it had her running to music on Apple music's app and then her falling like any other person who has ran on treadmill has done once in their life while singing to a good song. It is even more funny because Taylor has a past with falling off exercise equipment, so it's kind of funny how she is making light of that. It was also genius because Taylor is now on the end of her album spotlight, so what better way to stay in the spotlight as long as possible by doing a commercial with Apple.

     I then started to think about how did Taylor become the face of Apple music? I remembered the feud between her and Apple after they announced Apple music. The reason she was so upset with them was because they were not going to pay the artists for the 90 day free trial, and for people who rely on sales for their income, it was a big problem. Eventually Taylor and Apple resolved the problem by paying the artists for the free trial period. After that though, it seemed like Taylor had been besties with Apple the whole time and I also feel like this was all done for promotion.

     Here is where the problem starts, a few months after the feud is resolved, Taylor announces that she will be releasing her 1989 documentary on Apple music, and the only people who will be able to watch it are the people who pay a monthly charge to have Apple music. Then she released her music video for "The New Romantics" on Apple music. Now she made this viral commercial for Apple, giving them a lot of promotion. Oh look at this video, Taylor Swift face plants into a treadmill while listening to Apple music. Now just two days ago, Taylor releases another Apple music commercial and this one is revolved around getting ready while listening to music. You see Taylor jamming out to "The Middle" by Jimmy Eat World. It makes you want to buy the app and jam out too.

Apple Commercial #2

     This is just a theory but after looking at the evidence that I have just laid out, something just doesn't seem right. I am not saying this is a bad thing at all, it is actually a brilliant move by both Apple and Taylor Swift. What better way to advertise your new music app then to start a fight with the queen of pop and then have her release all of her videos on the app. Those are just my thoughts, if anyone is reading this, go ahead and voice your own thoughts.

**images provided by Google
    

April Showers Bring May Flowers

     It feels like yesterday was the first day of April, but now that it is coming to an end, it is time to think of May flowers! The first day of May brings something special and fun, May baskets. When I was younger I had a blast making little cups full of candy and little art to give to my neighbors. I think the part I enjoyed the most was dinging their doorbells and ditching. It is a nicer version of ding dong ditch. Also in the month of May it is mothers day. In order to kill to birds with one stone, you can not only make amazing May day baskets, you can also make your mother an amazing gift all done by you.

     When doing May day baskets I like to get candy that mostly everyone likes, for example, M&M's, skittles, jolly ranchers, etc. Then I like to make nice little messages that will hopefully brighten whoevers day up. You just need a little slip of paper and markers. Then I like to make little paper flowers. The paper flowers will never die and your mom or neighbor will love it forever. Finally I'll either get red solo cups or I'll make some cute little baskets. I would recommend solo cups for the May day gifts and making a little basket gift for your mother. This is just a really easy way to brighten up not only your neighbors or friends but also your moms face.

Book Review: Looking For Alaska

     It was the beginning of sophomore year that I really became interested in the writer John Green. After watching the heart breaking movie The Fault in Our Stars, I decided to read the book and it was so well written because the imagination he has is outstanding. The next book I decided to read from John Green was Paper Towns, again the book was written so well in many ways. That was when I decided to just buy all of the books he had written, expect for Let it Snow. I then decided to read Looking For Alaska, I had already developed a love for that book but after reading all of his other books, that was when I realized that Looking For Alaska, is my favorite. It is just something about Miles story, made me realize that I was feeling the way and I also wanted a change like him, so instead of actually changing schools like Miles, I fulfilled my want by reading his journey in a new boarding school.

     Before reading the book I asked a couple of my friends what they thought of the book, and they said it was a mediocre book, so my expectations were not as high as they were for the Fault in our Stars and Paper Towns. The first couple of chapters that I read really intrigued me because as I mentioned above, Miles current life was kind of like mine at the time, and I was interested to read about his life would be like in a whole new state and school. It was good on John Greens part to try and incorporate what his current readers might be feeling. I also feel like the whole story line of someone living at a boarding school is always interesting read about or watch because you get to see how the person transitions from instead of living at home to now living with a stranger(s). Kind of like Zoey 101.

     John Green also made the book even more interesting to read about when the main character Miles tries smoking. Miles is the person who didn't really have a life and didn't have friends who would have ever made him try things. It is kind of like Miles is starting from scratch. He is going to a new school, new friends, and these new friends are going to give him new experiences. I really liked just watching how much he grew as he became more comfortable with the people around him.

     Knowing how John Green works as a writer, I kind of knew some sort of bad thing or tragedy would happen. I mean come on, the Fault in our Stars, one of the main characters died due to cancer and then in Paper Towns another one of the main characters just disappears and never returns after Quentin went on that LONG journey to find her! Pretty much in Looking for Alaska, the title is not what it sounds like. Yes there is the spunky, witty character Alaska, but the title has a different meaning then actually looking for Alaska. That is another reason why I love this book so much, you go on journey with Miles, and near the end of the journey he goes through love and heartbreak, then some soul searching.

John Green

     Not only did this book take her through someone's journey of starting from scratch, you went through his journey of love and loss. I feel like all of John Greens books are based around the mains characters journey trying to get reach something or them trying to find their eternal happiness. So if you are a sappy person like me, John Green is your man and I do encourage using all of your money and spare time to read his books.
    
**all images provided by Google

Spring Sports

     It is that time of the year again when spring/summer sports are starting up. The sports at my school for the spring are baseball/softball, tennis, track and field, soccer, and probably more. Personally for me, the spring is when I am most involved in school activities because my freshman year I did softball and my sophomore year and current junior year, I am doing tennis.

     I like spring sports better than fall and winter because once these sports start up it kind of signals the end of the school year, and most of the sports do go into the summer time, but not all. Also by doing a spring sport that means school won't interfere as much because half of the season is in the summer rather than having like swimming season during the middle of the school year, and have to balance both. Also I'd rather have the weather be kind of cold in the beginning of the season instead of warm in the beginning and then super cold by the end. I like this because you are just getting into the grove of things, so it doesn't really matter if it cold but for football, it starts off really hot and then by the end of the season it is freezing! Who wants to go to the last games of the season when it is freezing.

**image provided by Google

Spring Time Flowers

     This time last year I was doing a project for my AP Psychology class and we had to pick a service project to do. I decided to plant two flowers everyday for my mom before she came home from work to surprise her, and give her something to look forward to everyday. After we were done with the service project, I realized how fun it was to do that every day and so this year I decided I want to do that again, but have a little fun with flowers inside my house and outside. I am go to share with you how I am going to be decorating my room and the outside of my house with flowers from local garden centers and florists. The pictures below are my end results from my service project.

      Outside of my house, I have a medium to large size garden pot, and usually my mom and I plant flowers in it every year on Mothers Day, but after last year my mom decided to give me free range of it. This year I am going to go to my local garden center and pick out 5-6 different types of flowers to plant in the pot. I want to mix and match different types because it gives your flower pot that extra color and uniqueness to it. If you don't have a garden pot, that is totally fine, all you have to do is find a little area of dirt and designate that as where you will put your flowers. Typically to keep the flowers that you will be planting in the ground, alive, you will need to buy some type of flower food. My mom and I use miracle grow and you only have to use it once to keep your flowers alive all spring and summer.

     Another way that I will be putting flowers around the outside of my house is, I am going to buy a couple of hanging baskets. Hanging baskets are basically one type of flower all put into a basket and the flowers tend to hang over the basket. You can hang that basket from the outside of your house on a hook, or anywhere you can find where it will hang. I always like putting hanging baskets up because it is so easy to take care of, all you have to do is water it once in the morning and once at night. Hanging baskets usually lasts for two months if you water them properly, I like to leave mine up till the end of July even if they do wilt, it is still nice to have them hanging there.

     Now for around the house, this is where I will either go to my local florist, or anywhere that is selling flowers by the pod. When I think about indoor flowers, I automatically think of tulips for the spring because they are beautifully when they haven't opened and even more gorgeous after they have opened. The next flower I like to get are sunflowers and the sunflowers are usually either yellow or red. I like to get a variety of lengths for the sunflowers, typically I'll put the taller sunflowers in a tall vase in front of a window. Then the shorter sunflowers can go in a small clear jar, and those can be scattered around the room. Finally for indoor flowers, I like to go and pick up random flowers and when I get home, I'll lay them out and pair which flower goes best with and then put them in whatever glass, jar or vase I can find.

     After last year, I have really wanted to try and really get the inside and outside of my house looking ready for spring and just bright. If you have been reading for blog for awhile, you know I really like decorating and drinking things that are in season, and I would say flowers is probably the easiest way I have found to decorate for spring. If you are not one for putting flowers out, you should really try it because it makes your house smell amazing, the bright colors will lift your mood, and it just makes your house look that much better. If you want more flower inspiration I would go check out Poppy Deyes latest blog post http://www.poppydeyes.com/making-the-most-of-your-bunch/, this is where I got my inspiration to write this post. Also the pictures look amazing and gave me a lot of ideas on how I am going to organize my flowers.


From Poppy's recent blog post

Burt's Bees Product Review Part 2

     In my previous post on my review for Burt's Bees I only reviewed their chap stick, but after using them for a few months and reading even more good reviews about Burt's Bees over all products I decided to sort of branch out. I always thought that this brand just made chap stick, but after I watched a YouTube video by Niomi Smart, she reviewed her top 15 favorite natural products (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqRe9VonxI0), and she reviewed Burt's Bees lotion, that made me think maybe I should look more into what they have.

Niomi with her Burt's Bees lotion

    I work in a grocery store, and after I started to look more carefully at our shelves, I realized we had Burt's Bees shampoo, body wash, chap stick, lotion, conditioner, and I thought to myself "how did I not know this before!" The first product I bought was the Burt's Bees lotion with cocoa & cupuacu butters. Honestly it is the best smelling lotion I have ever bought and even though it is cocoa butter, it is the perfect subtle vanilla scent that I have been look for, for so long. Another bonus is that it made for dry skin, so I definitely recommend this for the winter. I generally put this on my hands before I leave the house every day and then on my arms and legs after I shower. Something else that attracted me to this lotion is that it is 98.9% natural, it is very close to all natural and it is probably the closest natural lotion that I have found to really like.

Burt's Bees Cocoa and Cupuacu Butter lotion

     The last product that I have from Burt's Bees are two chap sticks, I didn't venture that far out, but I really am in love with their chap sticks. I originally tried their chap sticks because my friend had the pink grapefruit chap stick, and she said she could only find it online so that is how I bought my four pack from last review. After look around target in their beauty section, I found that there are MANY chap sticks there, including the pink grapefruit. I decided to get the vanilla bean and the rejuvenating lip balm with acai berry. The acai berry replenishing lip balm is probably my favorite out of the six different kinds of lip balms that I have, only because it really does replenish my lips. I am not kidding when I say that immediately after putting the lip balm on my pervious severely chapped lips, they are so smooth and feel so much better. The vanilla bean lip balm also has the perfect subtle vanilla smell and I love it.

     I decided to do a part two because I feel like people only really know the lip balms by Burt's Bees but really they have so much out there. When I went to target and found all of those different lip balm kinds, I saw that they even have makeup wipes, face wash, and anything really to do with beauty. Another thing attracts to me this brand is that most of their products that they make are close to 100% or completely natural. I believe it is very important that we are not putting harmful chemicals into our bodies and we should know what every ingredient in the product we are buying. Also I noticed that Burt's Bees is made in America, so anyone who believes America should be making our own stuff instead of buying from China or other countries, here you go.

**Pictures provided by Google
   

Spring Break Blues

     Now that it is April and spring break is over for everyone, it is that time where you realize maybe I should start studying for those AP tests, or maybe I should start studying for the ACT's or SAT's. Yeah spring break is amazing and all but after it is when all of the pressure starts. After spring break it feels like there is a ton of pressure and it is kind of hard to get motivated to do anything after you have just had a whole week of no school pressure.

     After being in high school for a number of years I still not have found a way to over come spring break blues and every year it gets even tougher going back to school for those last two months. Also that is when 'senioritis' starts to kick off not just for seniors but for everyone. Hopefully you don't suffer from these blues like me but if you do, you are not the only one!

Tealicious

     Over the years I have been trying to develop a taste for coffee because I really need energy in the mornings but sadly coffee is too gross. I have now turned my attention to tea for two reasons. First, I heard it is a good substitute for coffee and second, I love English people so I obviously have to drink to tea to really help my obsession. Tea was kind of like coffee for me, I had to try and develop a taste for it, but since there is more a variety of teas, it was much easier. Now I drink tea like I re decorate my room for seasons. I have a tea collection for each season, so when a new season starts, I switch what tea I am drinking. I also got the inspiration to write this post from Poppy Deyes recent blog post of her favorite teas to drink with her different moods. http://www.poppydeyes.com/which-tea-which-mood/


From Poppy's Blog

     Summer time makes me think of light and fruity, so I generally like to drink the more herbal fruity teas. I have three tea's that I switch out for summer and they are Fruit Salad by the Bluebird Tea Co. in Brighton, England. The next tea is the Passion Herbal tea by Tazo. The last tea that I switch out is the Organic Peach Green tea also by Tazo. I discovered the Bluebird Tea Co. from my Youtuber, Zoe Sugg, she lives in Brighton and is always raving about this place so I thought I would give it a go. Thankfully Bluebird has worldwide shipping so, wherever you are in the world, you definitely need try their tea.

     During fall, I would describe it as kind of chilly but not too cold, so I always like to try spicy teas. I only have one drink that I like to drink during the fall and it is a spiced chai latte drink. It is from Trader Joe's and it comes in a powder, so all you have to do is boil your water and put in a tablespoon of the powder. It is the perfect drink to have in the morning to warm your body up and it is also nice to drink on those cold days and the leaves are falling, makes you feel cozy.

     In the winter time, I switch between two and they are both based on Christmas time. The two teas are both from the Bluebird Tea Co. and they are Christmas Cake and Peppermint Cream. The main thing that made me want to buy Christmas Cake is that in the description it said that after you have let the tea leaves soak, the top of the tea will look like glittery snow, not only does it glitter it also tastes amazing. I like the peppermint cream one because peppermint always gets me in the mood for Christmas and it is always the first thing I think of when someone says Christmas. (Christmas Cake on left and Peppermint Cream on right)



  
      I like to change my tea flavors for the seasons because it always gets me in the mood for that seasons and it also gives me something to look forward to when the season changes. Also I always like finding new teas to swap in and out to make things interesting, I need to harder for fall though, that season is pretty lacking. I definitely recommend trying Tazo tea as well because not only do they have amazing flavors that are very widespread, the tea is healthy and brings some good important nutrients into your body. Bluebird Tea Co. is a must to try, and when I ordered from them over Christmas, they send you a receipt of what you bought and on the receipt, they drew a little teacup and wrote a nice message, so I think they really enjoy it when other countries order from them.

Bluebird Tea Co. in Brighton

**Pictures provided by:
http://www.tazo.com/Product/Detail/14
     http://bluebirdteaco.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=christmas+cake

Book Review: The Help

     I read 'The Help' by Kathryn Stockett, in seventh grade because I heard there was a movie that was coming out that was based off of the book and I generally like to read the book first before the movie. Now since I was in seventh grade when I read it, I did not know much about racism but I did know some knowledge about it. It really opened my eyes up to what it was like to be a black woman in the deep south (Jackson, Mississippi), it helped me with my understanding that yes there were people in the deep south who wanted to help the African American community.

     This book is amazing in so many ways and the first reason why I think it is amazing is because it is about a woman writing a book about how 'the help' are treated by the white women who hire them. This book that was written by a white woman, Skeeter, she went behind her own friends backs and befriended her friends 'help' that they hired, to interview them about what their lives are like and how they are treated by these white women. It was very hard in the beginning to find African American women who would risk their job and families to talk to Skeeter, to be able to spread the word to the country about what is really happening down there.


     Another thing that amazes me is that Skeeter, she grew up very privileged, because her family owned a very successful cotton farm, it was bound that Skeeter would grow up just like her mom and hire 'help'. The thing about being privileged though is that Skeeter grew up with many African American women who worked on the farm, but one in particular, Constantine was hired to raise Skeeter. Skeeter grew up and in her mind Constantine was more of a mother to her than her own mother was, so that is what really fueled Skeeter to write her book. Also she saw how poorly here white friends treated their help and knew that something had to change, it did not matter that she would be going behind their backs and getting the terrible details about what these women did.

Skeeter from the movie

     The book started by this woman Aibileen, and she was hired under one of Skeeter's good friends. Aibileen knew Skeeter was not like the white women who abuse their help, and that is one of the reasons why Aibileen was the first person to with some persuasion, be interviewed. Once Aibileen knew she could trust Skeeter, she got her close friend, Minny, to talk to Skeeter but Minny had a family of five children and her husband was very abusive, so it took a lot more persuasion because she did not want to risk losing her job and not being able feed her kids and then having to deal with her husband who would physically abuse her. After the two had agreed though, it became very hard to get their friends to talk to Skeeter, but after a terrible thing happened to their friend, that is when all of the women felt it was their duty to tell Skeeter of all of their stories.

Minny (left) Aibileen (right) from the movie

Kathryn Stockett

     In the end, the book was published by anonymous and it became a national best seller, meaning the whole country had read and heard about what awful things these white women did. Kathryn Stockett truly wrote an amazing book that opened your eyes to, not only do the men slave owners abuse the men slaves, but the women abuse their help as well. I recommend this book to any age and everyone because it really helped me understand what was going on back then, rather than learning about it in a class room.

**pictures provided by Google

Half Priced Books

     Half Price Books is a store that is in my town, and is probably one of the biggest life savers. Now that people are starting to turn to electronics to read, the price of buying an actual paper book is going up and even though I do have a job, my love for books is going to make me broke. I use to not like Half Price Books because I like the look of a new book and making it my own, but actually they have really good books there that are priced at really low prices compared to go going to Barnes and Noble.

     Another great thing about Half Price Books, is that they have an amazing cd collection there. Instead of looking for recently released cd's, they have cd's from awhile ago and it is cool to walk in there and look at all the music I used to listen too. Personally for me, I gave away a lot of my cd's to my younger cousins, so sometimes when I am in there, I'll buy some cd's that I gave away and it will be so much cheaper. Half Price Books is also a good place to buy old school movies as well. Just like the cd section, they have all of the throwback movies that I use to watch when I was younger, and also movies that my parents liked to watch when they were my age.

     When I go to Half Price books I also look for textbooks there because they are usually in good condition and textbooks are just overall overpriced. If you do have a Half Price Books near where you live, definitely give the store a look because it has a lot of things you haven't thought of buying before.