 Welcome to the third post in the Createyou86 New Year, New You Blog Series. I know that we have been away for quite a while over the holidays. Both James, and myself have been very ill. We are still pretty sick, but i wanted to keep getting out posts for all of you! This will be the final post of this series, and we will keep them coming for February. Do you enjoy the new look of our site? There might be other changes as well, but we are looking for a different vibe for our site. Please feel free to let us know what you like, and what you don't. E-mail Us! I hope that everyone's holiday was great. I wanted to show a few of my favorite gifts that i received. 1. I needed (well....wanted!) a new planner for 2016, and i had never tried verticle planning so i asked for a MAMBI Happy Planner for Christmas. Mostly because Erin Condren is just too pricey for my liking, Michael's is right down the street so i don't need to wait for weeks of shipping, Michael's was having a 50% off sale, and i always have discount coupons.  2. Not only do i love planning, but i love video games as well. One of the most anticipated games this year was The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. I waited for months to be able to get this game, and I got the special edition from James for Christmas along with the game guide. (He just knows me!) We have an Xbox One system, and everything is amazing about this game in my opinion. Here is a bit about the game: Played in a third-person perspective, players control protagonist Geralt of Rivia, a monster hunter known as a witcher, who sets out on a long journey through the Northern Kingdoms. In the game, players battle against the world's many dangers using swords and magic, while interacting with non-player characters and completing side quests and main missions to progress through the story. The game was met with critical acclaim and was a financial success, selling over 6 million copies in six weeks. The game won over 200 Game of the Year awards from various gaming websites, critics, and game award shows, including the Golden Joystick Awards and The Game Awards. (Info from Wikipedia).  3. Lastly I had mentioned that enjoyed the adult coloring crazy to someone, and they happily obliged me for a Christmas present. I don't fully understand the paying $10.00-$20.oo for a coloring book, when the exact same result can be received from a normal child's coloring book (which you can buy from the dollar tree FOR $1.00!) There is research that states so. Nowhere does it say that there has to be crazy designs, it is just the relaxing act of coloring in general. (I have literally seem $15.00 & $20.00 coloring books which i scoffed at.) Here is the one that i received.  I hope you enjoyed this sneak peek of some of my favorite Christmas Presents, and that maybe you got some ideas for upcoming birthdays, or holidays! We also hope that you have enjoyed this January Blog Series, and that you are looking forward to February as well. We have a lot of great posts coming up (and we hope to start feeling better as well so that we can get back to posting regularly!) What was your favorite present from the holidays? Let us know in the comments below! 
4 Comments
 Welcome to the second post in the Createyou86 New Year, New You Blog Series. Recently i decided i wanted to read "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu. This book is very well known, and read for a wide array of reasons. Sun Tzu was a very well known Chinese Military General, and is best known for this book on military strategy "The Art of War". Many famous generals have deployed Tzu's principles including Napoleon Bonaparte. There are so many ways that this book, and strategy can be applied to everyday life. Here are some of the basics of the information behind "The Art of War." The Art of War says:
At this point you are probably thinking....that is all well, and good, but what the heck does it all mean???? Moral Law: A principle of harmony, causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler so that they will follow him regardless of their lives. Undismayed by any danger. (Keep constant practice.) Heaven: Signifies night and day, cold and heat, times and seasons. Earth: Comprises distances great and small, danger and security, open ground and narrow passes, the chances of life and death. The Commander: Stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage and strictness. Method & discipline: To be understood the marshaling of the army in its proper sub-divisions, the graduations of rank among the officers, maintenance of roads by which supplies may reach the army, and the control of military expenditure. These definitions are the basics of understanding "The Art of War", and they are also what Sun Tzu thought were the most important parts to creating the perfect war. He also based his strategy around The 5 Cardinal Chinese Virtues
Every time i sit down to write a blog post it feels like a war strategy session. Coming up with a blog post, or series that readers will enjoy, and keep readers coming back or even subscribing to our mailing list is a challenge. One of my personal goals everyday is to create content that is relatable, and of high quality. I have also tried to instill the five cardinal Chinese virtues when blogging, and writing articles which i would hope most bloggers do as well. Here are a few things that i have learned about blogging through my favorite quotes from "The Art of War." 16 & 17.) "In regards to plans: while the main laws of strategy can be stated clearly enough for the benefit of all sundry, you must be guided by the actions of the enemy in attempting to secure a favorable position in actual warfare." - Chang Yu I would NEVER think of another blogger as an enemy, but I do take from this quote that in blogging you need to be one step ahead of other bloggers when you plan your editorial calendar. This means doing research, and finding out what has already been done by other bloggers, or finding out which of your own posts have been the most popular, and building your editorial calendar around that type of post. "In war then, let your great object be victory not lengthy campaigns." We all want perfection as bloggers. We spend so much time researching, and writing posts that by the time we actually release our post or campaign we can lose major steam, but that shouldn't be our downfall. Don't take so long doing your research, or perfecting a post to the point that you NEVER get your post or series out to the public. Sometimes you need to take that chance, and make yourself vulnerable to something that might not seem absolutely perfect to you, but might seem perfect to your readers, or even someone just stopping by for the first time. "If you know neither the enemy or yourself you will succumb in every battle." As blogger we need to be in-touch with ourselves to be able to have a consistent voice in our writing, and we also need to know our specific audience as well. If a reader feels that you may not be being authentic it will most likely be a very big turn off for them, and they may never visit your site again. This being said try to know your topics as well as possible. Know about the products that you are testing/reviewing, or about the topics which you are posting about. If you aren't so sure about them take the extra time to research what you need to to educate yourself, and your readers. Your readers will most likely thank you for your due diligence. Sun-tzu, , and Samuel B. Griffith. The Art of War. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1964. Print. Thanks for taking some time out of your day to check out this blog series. We hope that you are enjoying these new posts! Have you ever read "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu? Would you consider reading it? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!  
Welcome to the first Createyou86 product review of 2016! Who doesn't love snacks, and healthy ones at that? This product was a great change from the norm. I was provided these products by Brandbacker to test, and review. Here is a little bit about the Chomp Sticks Products. "Each and every one of Chomps’ products are filled with 9g of protein, more than most typical jerky sticks. They’re also made with no added sugars and no gluten, making them perfect paleo snacks. Our snack sticks have no MSG or nitrates, no fillers, no binders, and no added preservatives. Because we use celery juice to make our jerky stay fresh, you needn’t worry about synthetic preservation ingredients that could put your health at risk. Additionally, our jerky sticks have less salt than most of those made by other commercial manufacturers." (Chomps Sticks Website)
I personally love junk food, and not because i can't make a healthy snack, or don't know how to cook or that my parents fed me junk food as a kid. On the contrary, we had dinner at the table every night growing up, and we had relatively healthy lunches for school. Once in a while we indulged in snacks. I can specifically remember loving a Slim Jim (or 3 LOL) you know the old commercials "Snap into a Slim Jim". I couldn't just eat one! These products are processed meat products which are, vacuum sealed for "freshness". Enter 2016. I am going to be focusing a bit more on fitness, and products that are better for my body, instead of the same old products that we grab because we are used to them. TryingChomps Snack Sticks products gave me a whole new outlook on what a meat stick SHOULD taste like. Unfortunately i ate both of the original flavored sticks before taking the photos for this post (they were that good that i ate them almost immediately!) However, I still wanted to supply you with the essential information about the Original Chomps Stick product:
Crankin' Cran:
The last product i received from Chomps Snack Sticks was the Hoppin' Jalapeno stick. I enjoy spicy stuff so this product was also right up my alley! There wasn't so much spice that i needed to run for the milk, but it was just enough so that i knew that i was eating a product that had Jalapeno in it. Here are the product essentials.
Hoppin' Jalapeno
Have you tried Chompsw Snack Sticks before? Is one of your New Year's Resolutions to eat healthier in the new year? Let us know in the comments below! 
 Welcome to 2016 everyone! It is New Years Day 2016, and we hope that you had a very happy new year! This is the last post in the Createyou86 Whimsical Holiday Blog Series. We couldn't have had more fun sharing our whimsical holiday with all of you. We hope that you have enjoyed all of the little sneak peeks into our holiday life of 2015 here at Createyou86. We thought that to conclude there could be nothing better than a COMPLETE flip-through of our Personal Blogging Planner (that i won in an Instagram contest at the end of 2014) from Personal-Planner. Below is the YouTube flip-through i did a few nights ago. Let us know what you think! Should we change the way we plan our blogging? Do we look relatively organized? How do you think that we could be more organized in 2016? Thank you for sticking with us through this blog series, and if it is your first time visiting us here at Createyou86 Welcome! We can't wait for you to see what we have planned for 2016! Are you changing anything about your Blogging Planning in 2016? Let us know in the comments below!  |
Archives
August 2020
 |
RSS Feed
Photos used under Creative Commons from jeffdjevdet, spinster cardigan, One Way Stock, regan76, M. Dolly, Thomas Rousing Photography, Post-Software, kevin dooley, Alan Stanton, Photoshoparama - Dan, campbelj45ca
