Tuesday, January 31, 2017

5 Encouraging Bible Verses for Young Women

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- Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.” 
Proverbs 31:25-29

- The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down. Whoever walks in uprightness fears the Lord, but he who is devious in his ways despises him. 
Proverbs 14:1-2

- Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 
1 Timothy 4:12

- You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you. 
Song of Solomon  4:7

- Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. 
Romans 5:1-5

Monday, January 30, 2017

Movie Review: A Dog's Purpose

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   When the heart-wrenching trailer first came out, people were thrilled to go see this movie. But then people became outraged after TMZ leaked a video of a german shepherd dog struggling against a trainer that was forcing him to jump into the water on set for a scene. Yes, the video made it look terrible. Yes, that trainer should've stopped forcing the dog into the water. A short while after the TMZ article was published, the Hollywood Reporter published an article with producer Gavin Polone explaining the situation in its entirety. I'm not going to sit here and tell you what to believe, but instead, I have linked the articles at the end on this post so you can read them and make a decision on your own. I have also linked the trailer in case you haven't seen it as well as the Snopes.com article. Snopes.com is a website that will verify major issues with factual information.

   But anyways, let's get into the movie review!

   I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THE MOVIE! If you enjoy movies that are emotional roller coasters then this one is for you. This movie will have you laughing and smiling one minute and crying your eyes out the next. Obviously, I'm a dog lover and I felt like this movie documented the purpose of a dog very well. I thought the choices of breeds and lives the dogs lived were very appropriate because they were diverse. The first story was short; it was a puppy who had just been born then got caught by the dog catchers. The second story about Bailey, the retriever who became a young boy's best friend and helped him through many of his early stages of life. The third story was about a police dog. The fourth story was my favorite because it was about a corgi. The fifth story was about a stray mutt who had a sad life but ended up with a happy ending (which I refuse to spoil).
   In each story, the dog helped the person with something and each ending was happy. It truly showed me how important dogs really are to us. They are always there to love and comfort us no matter what we are going through. I felt like this movie really depicted what a dog's purpose really is.
This is a must-see movie!

Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jLOOCADTGs
TMZ article: 
http://www.tmz.com/2017/01/18/a-dogs-purpose-german-shepherd-abuse-video/
Follow up article:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/gavin-polone-a-dogs-purpose-outcry-what-happened-whos-blame-967160
Snopes:
http://www.snopes.com/2017/01/18/animal-abuse-alleged-set-dogs-purpose/

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Saturday, January 28, 2017

Owning a Corgi

Douglas the Floppy-ear Corgi!

   When people see Douglas they tend to ask, "Is he a beagle?" or "He must be a mix of a corgi and something else!". The answer is neither, instead, he is a purebred papered corgi whose ears didn't stand up. Everything else about him is corgi; the body, the short stumpy legs, the crazy personality, everything! Douglas loves going on walks and eating food but mostly eating food. He also enjoys his spa days at Happy Paws Dog Grooming in Monrovia because he gets all the attention and cookies. 

   In the recent years, corgis have become one of the most popular dogs on the internet. It seems as though everyone wants a corgi now. Every time I take Douglas in public someone stops me to pet him and take a picture then ask me where they can get a corgi. Although many people don't understand the effort it takes to own a corgi. So today's blog post will be a short summary of what people need to know before getting a corgi. 

#1 Corgis SHED. They are considered HEAVY shedders which mean they constantly shed all year long. It will never stop. Some people say shave it! Don't do that. Shaving a corgi will potentially ruin their coat permanently. Because corgis have undercoat, shaving them won't stop the shedding, instead, it will cause them to shed little hairs that will easily splinter you. Dogs with undercoat need their double layer coat to keep them warm in the cold and cool in the heat. It acts as a thermometer to balance their body temperature. One solution to help the shedding is to brush them daily and bathe them monthly with a de-shedding shampoo and conditioner then blow drying them dry.

#2 They LOVE to EAT! Corgis are prone to excessive weight gain to the point of obesity. Make sure you exercise your corgi daily and keep them on a healthy diet to ensure they stay fit. A fat corgi is not a happy corgi.

#3 Bark! Bark! Bark! Corgis tend to be a little loud compared to other dog breeds. Work on training early on to control excessive barking issues. 

#4 Back and joint problems. Corgis are prone to back and joint problems. This goes back to #2 a little bit in which you must keep your corgi at a healthy weight and active to reduce the chances of dealing with these problems. Also, joint supplements can be used (if directed by a vet) to help support their joints.

#5 Socialization. This goes for any breed of dog actually. Make sure you start socialization with your corgi early on to both people and other animals so that when the get older they don't become mean and anti-social.

#6 They OWN you. Corgis LOVE their human. LOVE them! Douglas basically thinks that I am his and he's not going to share with anyone else. No ifs, ands, or buts. 



I hope this was informative. Please comment other points you think are important for future corgi owners!
Thank you!
Lexi
 

Thursday, January 26, 2017

5 Tips for Selling on Mercari (Online Selling App)



Tip #1: Free Shipping
One of the first ways to attract more buyers is to use free shipping which essentially means that you (the seller) pay for the shipping. The key to this is to know the prices for shipping according to the approximate weight on Mercari. These are the prices as of (1/26/17):

  • 0-.5 lbs $4 USPS (prints a First Class label that covers 8 oz)
  • .5 - 3 LBS $6 USPS (prints a Priority label that covers 5LBS)
  • 3 - 10 LBS $9 USPS (prints a Priority label that covers 12 LBS)
  • 10 - 20 LBS $15 USPS (prints a Priority label that covers 22 

The way I do free shipping is that I take the price of the item and add the shipping to it so I am able to display free shipping without losing out on the money. Occasionally I will price the item a couple dollars cheaper with free shipping to quicken sales. 

Tip #2: "Discounting"
For some of my higher quality items, I will price them $5 to $10 higher than what I intend on selling them for. Buyers will see and "like" the item to watch it, after a few likes I will lower the price to the price I intending on selling it at and it will send a notification to all the "likers" that I discounted the item by X%. This will cause the buyer to think they are getting the item on sale and will increase the chances of a quicker sale.

Tip #3: Reposting items
Let's say you've had an item up for awhile and no one has "liked" it or commented on it. You then should delete that original post and repost it so it bumps up in the latest items that have been posted to get the attention of potential buyers. When an item gets a decent amount of likes, comments, or both they will stay high in the feeds when people search for that item.

Tip #4: Posting times
The timing of posting is key because there are high traffic times and low traffic times. In my experience, I have found that after dinner, weekends (especially evenings), and late nights (11 pm to 2 am) are the best posting times. If you post during these times you will increase the chances of selling.

Tip #5: Quality items
No one wants to buy low-quality items with defects. Save the extra worn out items for Goodwill or a yard sale. Mercari is a place for people to sell gently used or new items for others to buy and enjoy. Try to pick out items that still look decent and can be used/worn for a while longer. 

I hope this post helps you become a quality Mercari seller. 
Comment on this post if you have any other tips you want to inform people about!
Happy selling!
Lexi