be your valentines series

SERIES: BE YOUR VALENTINE SERIES WEEK 2!

January 31, 2014


It's that time of the week again! Also, it's three weeks until Valentines Day! Are you ready? By, that I mean are you ready to love yourself? If you didn't know, I've been doing a series on my blog called the "be your valentine" challenge. Every week I challenge you to make a personal goal fro yourself, and to try something new. I also have a giveaway for a Freeman Clay Mud Mask and a Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain!

Here's a YouTube Video explaining it all!


WATCH UNTIL THE END! Comment your personal goal for the week and subscribe to win a FREE CLAY MUD MASK AND REVLON BALM STAIN!


My updates from last week:

I said to just go with my ideas and never say no to myself. So, I started this challenge and started going to events on campus that I normally would have. Try stepping out of your comfort zone and do something that scared you every day!

I also tried Zumba! I did it Monday- Wednesday these two weeks.


My personal goal this week is to basically start doing "me" and not let the opinion of others affect what I do, and what I think about myself. It's another step towards on loving yourself! 
Make a personal promise to yourself this week and comment below what it is!


This week I promise I will try talking to new people in public, and not being afraid to ask questions. For some reason, I'm always afraid to speak up for myself!


What are your personal goals and what will you try new? COMMENT BELOW! To enter in my giveaway comment below, subscribe on youtube and follow on twitter!

beauty

SERIES: BE YOUR VALENTINE SERIES/GIVEAWAY

January 24, 2014


Recently I was browsing other blogs and I came across a blog that does brand consulting, which is exactly what I'd like to do with PR, and has week-long e-classes. I'd love to take one when I get the money. However, I read a blog post with tons of sage advice for free. It was for those people with millions of ideas buzzing around in their head all the time, but actually wants to organize those thoughts and DO something. So, I created a "mind map."


It's not that pretty, but no mess is. I started with me in the middle. Then, I decided four categories that are important to me - Health, Writing, Experiences, and Relationships. Then, from these "sectors" of my life I picked out the details that were the most important to me.

Then, it discussed finding an overlap between your passions. I like health and nutrition/fitness, and I like to write and I'm decent at media production. But where does that intersect? The article said to either do something or just wait for inspiration. As for the professional part of my life, I decided to wait. I'm young, I have 3 and a half years left of my undergrad. However, I decided to make something new on my blog!




Here's where the challenge comes in! I'm so excited for this, I'm typing at the speed of light. I've always wanted to do something like a weekly series on my blog, this is my first try. Another one might arise soon, like beauty favorites or one to prepare for a perfect beach body.


Welcome to the "Be Your Valentine" weekly series! It's a great way to get into the valentines day spirit by loving the most important person in your life, yourself! Of course we all have our significant others, I have mine, but sometimes we have to show ourselves how much we really love and appreciate ourselves. This is INSPIRED by Karen and Katrina's "Love Your Body" series - but it's not copied! This challenge has to do with bettering yourselves and your mind, I'll leave the workouts to them. 

So, basically every week I want you to make two promises to yourself. One social promise, and one promise to try something new - simple as that. However you gotta stick to it all week and get back to me about it every week. I'll post every Friday. There are four more Fridays from now until V-day including V-day! There will be a chance to win a face mask, a revlon balm stain, and an inspirational card! Stay tuned for the result!

So, how do you join the challenge and giveaway? First connect with me. Follow this blog either on bloglovin or Google, follow me on twitter and instagram (n_vergak) and subscribe to my youtube. Also, you must comment only ONCE in the four weeks your personal goal and what you are going to try new, either on a blog post or on the youtube video!




This week, I pledged myself to stop waving off every idea in my head as another fleeting thought and actually do something. I never want to get stagnant in my life. Instead of just running every day and not having a set schedule for blogging, I decided to start doing more Zumba and the TIU challenge. And of course I decided to do this weekly series. I think this will be therapeutic, am I right?



I've always wanted to try "K-Nourish" Oatmeal/hot cereal. So, I grabbed two boxes of it and I tried it this morning with fresh strawberries. I liked it! It was brown sugar-y, warm, and filling. I also started doing Zumba classes! I wanted to keep active however I didn't want to get bored of running. In Zumba I work muscles, work up a sweat, and have a great time!


That's it! I hope you guys join in on this, comment below your two challenges or tweet/instagram me! Make sure you follow up for every challenge, EVERY FRIDAY!!

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classes

LIFESTYLE: Tips For Semester Round 2

January 22, 2014

I know it may have seemed like winter break flew by and you were just here in the same classes, the same dining halls, the same dorm. And I know you're thinking "we have to do that all over again?"  Even if you're not a college student, the second half of the year in high school is very comparable to the second semester. Even thought it is longer.. by like a month (ha ha haaa).

Mocking aside, here are some tips to help you take a deep breath before you plunge head first into mid-terms, papers, exams, projects, and more. Stick to these and before you know it you'll be taking your last final and running straight to the beach!
picture from weheartit.com


1. Calm down, you've done this before
If anything will give you comfort about this semester, it's that you're not scrambling around trying to figure out where your desk fan, shower caddy, or printer will fit, or where your classes even are or if you'll have time to go to your introductory floor meeting before convocation. You know how to properly use slugbooks, you know which professors won't reprimand you for sleeping in class, and you know exactly how many steps it is from your science lab to the on campus dunkin donuts (or is that just me?) Take comfort in this and focus more on your classes. You've made some friends, now find a niche. You've joined some clubs, now consider a position of power for next semester! I already feel like it's second nature to me. This is your chance to take it to the next level.

2. A wise woman once told me...
It's proven in the warm weather that people are happier, more productive and eat better. My friend said, "I like the second part of the year because you're entering into the warm weather." Which is very true! You're not getting farther and farther away from it, like the first semester. It may seem a little bland after Christmas, but soon enough it'll be warm and bright and you can wear that bright sundress you bought in November promising you'd find a way to wear it. 

3.  Take the Nike Approach
There are two kinds of classes: ones that you know the content and "you got it!" and ones that are a little out of your comfort zone and deem to be challenging. For example, my COM 205 and 202, and my health classes seem more in my comfort zone this semester. I'm familiar with the material, and two of them are in my major. However, that doesn't give me an excuse to slack off or take it as a fluff class. That means I'm going to pay more attention to get the most out of them, and put my best effort in those classes and get the grades I know I can get in them! And for classes such as STATS.... which I'm deathly afraid of I'll take another approach. Since I don't know as much about that subject, wouldn't it make sense for me to actually pay more attention in that class? I need to know and process the information more, so I should actually try harder and maybe the work will come easier for me. You should take this point of view too, and just do it!

4. Stay Organized
If you were a little less organized this semester, clean it up a little. Being disorganized can really hurt you and leave you out of time. You can be late to class, lose important papers, or even having disorganized notes can lead to a bad study sesh or a paper that's not your best. Take the extra time to put things into place and the semester will fly by that much quicker.

5. "Round 2" does not mean have a "round 2"
I mean, have fun and all. I do every once in a while. Everyone does and needs to. But let's not make it a priority. I never participate in "Thirsty Thursday" because I have 8 ams on Friday. But that doesn't mean I don't take advantage of Friday and Saturday. Not even in that way, all the time. Some times it's fun to either just see a movie, go shopping, see a concert or have a girls or significant other night in. Let loose so you can be prepared for the weekdays. But make sure you get your homework done. I sound like your mother but you get my point. Stay in school, kids!


picture from weheartit.com

I hope these simple tips help you stay focused this semester. Think about it, you're one semester closer to being done with your boring "gen eds" and are closer to focusing on your major, yayy! You may even be already taking classes for it. But I hope this guide can help people who aren't in college, or may even be upperclassmen. Summer's right around the corner... well four months. However the first four months flew by too, right?

blog

Lifestyle: Stop Body Negativity, Spread Body Positivity!

January 15, 2014


It's been drilled into our minds since we could read and understand language that we must be this pristine, skinny, virginal princesses with flowing dead-end free hair, non-oily skin, minimal pores, the perfect sculpted-puppy-saving boyfriend, a great career but also have time to do all the chores and the cooking. Oh, don't forget to find time to work out so you can have the perfect bod, too. No wonder all we hear from girls these days is "fat talk." Even on some of my favorite TV shows, mostly reality ones, I'm shocked by the self-defaming words that come from the already skinny girls.


We blame these notions from the "media." However, the generation that grew up with this, is either college-age, graduating from high school, or are just starting off in the work force. Therefore, we ARE the media. Not only if you work on TV or the press, but just with social media at its peak, we are all journalists in a sense. If we see a tweet from a girl saying how guilty she feels about that cinnamon bun #fatty4life, or a girl in a tight dress in instagram with a caption complaining about how fat she feels, we are taking in those thoughts and thinking about ourselves compared to them. If you think about it that way, we're the only ones to blame for body negativity in the "media", not the latest Gucci ad in InStyle.
Not to get all Karma crazy, but if you put out good vibes, good vibes will come back to you. Write down five things you love about yourself and post it on twitter, instagram, tumblr, or pinterest. They may even be bad, quirky qualities but they make you, you! 

So, when we want to act on what's bothering about us in our bodies, we should be doing them for the right reasons. Make our New Years resolutions for the RIGHT reasons, like I mentioned in my resolution post. Don't work out to be a Victorias Secret Model. Even Victorias Secret Models don't looks like VS Models. Work out because you LOVE your body, not because you hate it! Think of a part of your body you love. Maybe your booty. Do some squats to loovee it even more1 Maybe you hate your arms. Do some push-ups or bicep curls so you can learn to love them. Every time we take the time to exercise a muscle we are giving it love. When we're sweating and in the zone, we're not worrying about deadlines or drama. We're not near the phone or the computer. Bring yourself to that happy place.

Just like Jennifer Lawrence believes, wouldn't you want to look up to someone who's fit than someone who's flat?
picture from Women's Rights News

I love her and everything she stands for. Shes funny, beautiful, outspoken, and looks great. There's nothing wrong with enjoying some non-clean foods now and again. Yes, we want to best for our bodies but sometimes we must feed our soul. Say things with a positive light in the media you put out there. You are in total control of what you say, not a big wig behind a computer with six-figure salary.
I LOVE what special K is putting out there "stop fat talk." Yes I'm a fan of Special K's oatmeals and cereals. I never joined their "eating plans" because I like to do my own thing. But their latest ad campaign just feels right.



Follow my blog with Bloglovin 93% of women do this. More like 100%. Including myself, we've all been guilty of this at times. Some people are skeptical about Kellog's angle with this - however I'm hoping that they mean eat our low-fat/sugar/calorie foods to love and nourish yourself, and love your body. Instead of fat talk, we should be talking positively. Think of that next time you fat tweet.

buyer

Style: iMerchandise App Revolutionizes the Social Fashion Scene

January 09, 2014

Every day the sea of young and creative minds creating their own businesses thanks to social media is growing. There are countless online boutiques out there, only some such as Jac Vanek and Bethany Mota have made it into stores. On instagram, one of my favorites is Lauren Alexandra and Andrea Russett's shop "FLAWD" clothing. Scrolling through a social media website can be as easy as shopping now. What if there was an app that made the line between these designers and retail even thinner?

But there is! A brand new, revolutionary app on the market for fashion wholesale buyers out there is called iMerchandise. It is designed for fashion buyers, to make their lives a lot easier. If you're a fashion buyer or am looking to get into this, market, I strongly guarantee giving this little blurb a proper read-through.




This app helps fashion buyers make the experience of buying for wholesale stress free. You can share you favorites on social media, and even organize looks by category! Organizing makes everything easier! The website states that, "This app also allows the user to combine fashion week photos and line sheets from multiple showrooms and turn them all into polished looks. iMerchandise can be used todevelop and send orders to vendors and coordinate deliveries, all within your time constraints."

Features:
  • Create a wish list for every event and show you attend
  • Set up boards to organize the pictures you took, so they don't get lost in the shuffle
  • Organize all of this information by "events"
  • Find specific details about every product
  • Organize photos
  • Organize orders effectively
  • Organize suppliers
Check out this video for more information.

Definitely check out this website and the app to make your job fun and stress free!




blogging

Lifestyle: A MODEST PROPOSAL FOR NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS

January 05, 2014



   pictures from weheartit.com

Happy New years my lovelies! I hope you all had a great night to end the old year and ring in the new years. I hope you all surrounded yourselves with people you love and that make you happy. That’s what we all should be doing this year, maybe we can all make that a resolution to ourselves of some sorts.
Let’s talk about resolutions and why they get bad reps. Everyone always promises a new “self” for themselves in the new year. Everyone suddenly has a new lease on life. Sure, new years is a great time for renewal. It’s that way in the calendar year as well as the church. Perhaps we’re making these resolutions to ourselves for the wrong reasons, and that’s why so many people fail. Maybe that’s why you have fight for a treadmill on Jan 1, but by Jan 30 it’s a ghost town at the gym. People make these “resolutions” so that they can be as pretty as Kendall Jenner, so that they can get the guy they’ve been fawning over, so that they can like what they see in the mirror. All of those things can be achieved with a simple change of mind, except for the Kendall Jenner part, that’s basically saying you want to be as pretty as photoshop. 
picture from instagram.com/jacvanek

I say we resolve these resolutions a little bit. I want to make two modifications to our New years tradition. It’s almost like “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift, except no children will be harmed. First, those who promise themselves to shed some weight to look at it differently. You can lose weight by getting a haircut. You can only change the way your body looks by changing your lifestyle and mindset. You can set goals to drop pounds, however you can improve the results of how you look by focusing on certain body parts. Instead of saying, “I want to get rid of my fat legs,” say I want to have lean, long, and toned legs for days. Then, do workouts for your quads, calves, and inner thighs. Instead of saying “I want to loose my belly pooch,” say you want to strive for a strong core. Pilates is great for the core, your abs will be showing off in no time. Also, instead of complaining about your “fat ass” start squatting to lift that booty up! What I’m proposing is don’t become a cardio bunny - those people that stay on the elliptical for hours at the gym and don’t work any muscle groups. Yes, that gets your heart pumping and sweating is always great, but take days to focus on tightening those muscles so you can actually have the tone and fit body you want.
Another part to that proposal is to switch your mindset. We should make these new years resolutions for ourselves. You are the only person you need to impress. Yes, it feels great for friends, family, coworkers, and significant others to notice your success, however feeling proud of yourself and your success must be the best feeling out there. Saying “I DID IT!,” must warm your heart. Strive for that feeling. Once you feel that, the boy, the promotion, and the Kendall Jenner-ness will come soon after.
One final proposal is to change the name of this. “Resolution” is a fine word, however there is so much pressure attached to it. It sounds like there is no wiggle room, no room for cheat days. Our SOUL needs to be fed, too, that’s why there are cheat days. I say instead of resolutions we refer to them as promises to ourselves. “I promise to finally be happy with my body and feel fit, and therefore feel happy,” we should say instead of, “My resolution is to lose 50 pounds.” Promising yourself a better you (even though you are already amazing) is the first step to body and mind positivity and the first step to success. Resolving to yourself to lose a random amount of weight for someone who might not even notice is the first step to failure.
And now, I’ll end with my own promises and goals. It’s always important to set some goals, whether it be professionally, emotionally, creatively, socially, or spiritually as well. My promises to myself is to stop being such a living, breathing doormat and to stand up for myself more. To make myself heard and to know what I want. Basically stop teeter tottering and get my act straight. I also don’t want to plateau and keep aiming towards a fit figure.

My goals are to make deans list again for the two semesters that are in 2014 and to start making a greater profit from my blog. I want to actually see where all this blogging is taking me and if I can handle my own business someday. Let’s make things happen!

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