Willa Skincare Review & Giveaway (CLOSED)

It's that time again - the time for another great Willa skincare review!  Except this time there is going to be a giveaway involved.... sounds cool, right?  Well, be prepared to have fun learning about your skin, then, get the chance to WIN your skin over with great Willa products.

What Willa Skincare is about:

  

Willa, a natural skincare company made specially for tween/teen girls, has grown year after to year to produce great skincare for young skin.  I especially love Willa's slogan:  Start Young.  Stay Young.  What a good way to put it, because that is what Willa is all about.  As Willa says, "You need to love the way you feel." 

How Willa Started:

  

Willa's mom, Christy Prunier, noticed it was time to start buying her then 8-year-old daughter her own natural skincare products after seeing how Willa didn't like using her younger sister's childish products.

That made Christy think back to her own skin; how she had her first facial skin cancer.  Of course she didn't want that to happen to her daughters, so she went to work at finding natural skincare for them. Unfortunately, she couldn't find anything that didn't involve nasty ingredients, so Willa skincare was born.

Natural Ingredients:

I especially love all the natural ingredients in Willa skincare.  This is one way on how they stand out from the rest.

Here are a few ingredients that can be found in Willa:

green tea extract
lavender water & extract
aloe leaf juice
grape seed oil
jojoba seed oil




Willa Products:





One of my most favorite products is the Start Fresh Foaming Face Wash ($17.00).  It is so gentle, and it removes dirt and oil to reveal great clear skin.





This Smile Shimmer ($9.50) feels so great on your lips, no matter what flavor you get!  Choose from watermelon, mint, and mandarin flavors.  Helps with chapped and sore lips and has a fashionable clip, so you can take it on the go!





On the Go Face Towelettes ($4.50, 10 count) work perfect for an on-the-go clean and for when you can't reach your foaming face wash.




This amazing Fresh Face Cucumber Face Mask ($4.00 each) works great for acne, and helps reveal a more radiant you.  Also works perfect for sleepovers.


Giveaway:

Finally - giveaway time!  First, I would like to say I was beyond excited about having the opportunity to review and give away Willa skincare.  I love it so much, if you haven't noticed already. :)

You could win a Willa Smile Shimmer, Willa face mask, and Willa towelettes(10 ct) ($18.00 value)!  

1.  There will be one winner for this giveaway. 

2.  Any girl ages 6-30 can enter, even if you won a contest/giveaway in the month of January, you can enter this one.  Because this is one of the biggest contests we have had.  

3.  Only ONE entry per person.   

4.  Contest begins January 31, 2014 at 9 AM EST and ends February 10, 2014 at 9 AM EST.  

5.  Winners will be chosen on or around February 10, 2014 at random.  

Good luck!

I know your going to love Willa as much as I do! :)  And I heard that they are going to start something called a "Willa Ambassadors" program where girls can sell their own Willa skincare and learn about what it takes to have a business.  Seems really cool, if you ask me!  Enjoy (your skin!)

And as Willa says,  xo.  

You can follow Willa on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.  

Thanks Willa skincare for allowing me to have this opportunity! :)  And thanks Amanda for the Willa banner!  It looks awesome!

Please fill out the form below.  If there is more than one person in your household entering, please be sure to use a different e-mail address for each person.  If you enter more than once, School and Sun Tans has all rights to remove you from this giveaway.

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Snow Days & Snow Cones

I LOVE those days - you know, when it snows and you get to take a break from school.  So fun! Especially if it hasn't snowed in one entire year and your super tired of it being cold and you can do nothing fun.  But then it snows, and everything changes.

Yesterday it started snowing and I as beyond excited!  It snowed all through the night and then snowed this morning.... then no snow came from the sky.  The thick white clouds moved away and the bright blue sky appeared.  The snow is starting to freeze over, which makes it perfect for sledding.

I wanted to share a few pictures I took yesterday of the snow.  Enjoy 'em! :)

Frozen pond

   

A heart I made in the snow.  

Snow Cone Fun!

How to make homemade snow cones:

Go outside and get some snow from your yard - enough to make a snow cone for you.  (Be sure it isn't touching anything like the ground or trees... ew!)  OR, get some ice cubes.

Vanilla flavoring or juice

NOTE:  You don't have to use a cone, you can use a cup or bowl instead.  Also, you can eat with a spoon if desired.  

Directions:  

1.  Get your snow and put it into a cup.  (If your using ice cubes, blend them in a blender until well crushed like snow.  Be sure to blend with a little water to help smooth the ice.)

2.  After you poor your ice shavings into a cup, add enough vanilla flavoring to where you can taste it.  Or, if your using juice, poor the juice into your cup until it leaks through the ice.

3.  EAT IT!!!




So while ya'll are working on fixing up a yummy and delicious snow cone, I'm going to go back outside and play in the freezing cold.  ;)

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It's Raining, It's Snowing

It's raining, it's SNOWING, the old man is snoring.... so maybe that isn't exactly how it goes, but seeing how it is snowing where I live... well, yeah.

If you asked me a few hours ago if it was snowing, my answer would have been "No." But now, if you ask me, I would answer "Yes."

It is coming down really fast right now, and the snow is starting to stick and cover the ground.  I have a right mind to go play in it when I'm finished writing this post.  Hee hee :)

There is enough snow on the ground to make TINY snowballs if you can find enough snow.  I was, of course, planning on a snow day today, but I didn't expect as much snow as we're getting now.  All the kids in the schools where I live got to have half the day off.  Woohoo!

Either this week or next week, I'll post a pic (or two.... or three) of the snow.  

What is the weather like where you live?  Is it raining?  Is it sunny?  Is it snowing?


This is what the snow looks like now.

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January Guest Blogger 2014: Amanda

I would like you all to meet a very good friend of mine that I met online.  Her name is Amanda and she not only has her own blog, but has her very own newsletter!  I was excited that she was interested in being this month's guest blogger!  Read below to learn a little about Amanda and read her great post on writing.  

Meet Amanda:

Hi, my name is Amanda and I am 14 years old.  I tend to be very shy, but once I get to know you, beware: I can talk your ear off!  I love to read, write, and eat peanut butter or ice-cream!  My favorite subject in school is — surprise — algebra!  I also really enjoy Health.  However, I cannot stand Science.  It leaves a sour taste in my mouth.  Yuck!  I enjoy creating graphics in Adobe Illustrator, and playing around with actions and textures in Photoshop is especially fun.  Like my mom, I love taking pictures, especially when they actually turn out good!  But one of my most favorite pastimes is writing.  There is just something that thrills me about being able to create a world of fantasy and share it with other people.  When I grow up, I am going to be a published author and a graphics designer, as well as the owner of a large Christian newsletter for young girls. :)  


Be the best writer you can be:  

Hi guys!  My name is Amanda, and I am here today to talk to you about – Yay! – writing.

Without a doubt, writing is a wonderful thing to do.  I love writing.  It is my one love.  And I am sure that my love for it will never grow dim, even when I am an old woman.

Writing, I think, can be classified as an art.  Anyone, and I mean anyone, can write because we all have thoughts and opinions.  As long as you have a computer, a pen, a pencil, paper, or even a sharp rock or piece of bark, you can write.  As long as you have a brain, words to put out there, etc. it is possible.

The kinds of books that I like writing is, by far, fiction.  But the choice is up to you.

In fiction, you can alter all laws of time, space, energy, and leftover pasta that gets eaten by a pet without a mom finding out.  Amazing!  Anything is possible.  You don’t have to follow the rules.

In nonfiction, you have to make sure that all your facts are accurate, and that everything you implore is true. Most of the time, the author doesn't share how she feels about what she is writing about.  She leaves that choice up to you.

Let’s talk about . . . Point-of-view.

Point-of-view in a story is so important!  If you write your story in the wrong perspective, then readers may not get something, or even walk away from your story without another thought.

The different points of views are as follows: 1^st, 3^rd, and omniscient point of view.  In 1^st person point of view, you use the words I, me, myself, etc.  The narrator, who is now classified as a character, is going through the story at that time.  If you want to focus on just one character, then this is the right one for you! In this perspective, feel free to use thoughts, what your character is observing in her head, in your writing. Use the word I.

Example: I ran to school, sweat dripping down my forehead. I pounded the pavement with my sneakers and untied shoelaces, an accident waiting to happen. I can’t let Stacy get to school before me, or else the whole world would be in danger.

In 3^rd person point of view, you pretend that you are hovering in a helicopter, watching every character’s move and writing it down for others to see.  Refer to the characters as he, she, it, or they.  And do not use thoughts or what they are feeling, or else you will be getting into our next concept.

Example: Clara ran to school, sweat dripping down her forehead. She pounded the pavement with her sneakers and untied shoelaces, an accident waiting to happen. She couldn't let Stacy get to school before her, or else the whole world would be in danger.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
Omniscient point of view is very interesting.  In omniscient point of view, you are still in that helicopter, recording your characters’ movements, except this time you know a lot more.  You know their thoughts and feelings of all, not one, character.

Example: Clara ran to school, sweat dripping down her forehead. She pounded the pavement with her sneakers and untied shoelaces, an accident waiting to happen. Her heart was filled with fear, anger, and sadness.

Stacy! Stacy, you were my friend. Why did things occur so wrong? She thought.

She couldn’t let Stacy get to school before her, or else the whole world would be in danger.

Let’s talk about . . . the idea.

The idea is this little spark of an idea that flickers to you, inspiring you to write a story.  Don’t ever let that spark be extinguished or go unnoticed.  Take that little spark and make a big bonfire with it.

You could be playing soccer, and all of a sudden you get the idea to write a series about a bunch of girls on a soccer team (which I actually did, by the way).

Or you could see a poster of a beautiful fairy, and you suddenly find yourself giving her a name and filling in all her biographical information.

You may be a person who has tons and tons of ideas for stories (like me), or you may be a person who has some occasionally.  Either way is fine.  If you need ideas, you can always go to a book that I got from the library called “Writing Magic.”  This book was written by Gail Carson Levine, the brains behind the awesome story “Ella Enchanted” and one of my personal favorite books “The Two Princesses of Bamarre.”  Gail talks about a writing technique in every chapter and then “assigns” you different things to write.  For example, at the end of Chapter 21 she assigns you to write just dialogue on either these two subjects:

·        A brother and sister have been left on a street corner in a part of town they don’t know.  Write down their conversation about what to do. 

·        A spaceship from earth approaches a planet that has been little explored by humans.  The ship is crewed by two space explorers.  They talk about how to make contact with the natives who are known to be intelligent.  Write down their discussion.

She gives a lot of assignments that you could use as ideas.

One other thing she suggests is rewriting a fairytale.  We all know the story of Snow White, but the way that the author wrote the original version doesn’t use good adjectives; as Gail says, they tell but don’t show.  Find a fairytale that you have always wanted a better understanding of and rewrite it.  The reason we can rewrite them is because most of the copyright laws on those old fairytales have been lifted.

Let’s talk about . . . proofreading.

Ah, the dreaded proofreading!  Yuck.  I know how it is . . . you write a story and fall in love with it and don’t ever want to proofread it. 

Not only proofread for errors, but for badly developed characters or dialogue that has nothing to do with the story or somewhere you should’ve described a bit more.  I know that proofreading hurts, and I have to say that most of my stories I write, I then never look at again.  But you have to proofread, because no matter how good of an author you are, you will always have mistakes in your story.  Gail Carson Levine says that every story has a problem, just because no one can agree.  Maybe some people will say that a character was developed poorly, or a critic will say that someone in the story said something stupid.  We have to face the fact that no book is perfect.  But, hey, we might as well try, right?

So, are you ready to get out there and start writing?  I just have one huge, major tip for you:

Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever publish your story on the internet.  At least, not if you are planning on having it published.  You know why?  Because if your story ever does get published, people will be able to find it online and read it for free, so why would they ever pay for a hard copy of your book?

Consequently, writing is a great way to express yourself.  With writing, you can get what you believe in out there.  I challenge you to write, write, write!!!

Write on,

Amanda

Thanks Amanda for writing this awesome post on writing and for being this months January guest blogger! :)  View Amanda's site HERE and be sure to subscribe to her newsletter (it is awesome!!).

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Let It Go - Maddie and Zoe

When I came across this, I just HAD to share it.  It made me crack up while it was playing, but it is also kinda cute.  And NO, before you ask, I am NOT the Maddie on the video - the girl on the video is a completely different Maddie.  But you probably would have already guessed that. :D

Let me know if you think this is funny or cute.  

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Back from Winter Break

Winter break is over - aw man!  And now I am back to doing - what else? - school.  Right now I am learning tons of new things, and today I have a math quiz going over algebra.  Just so you can get to know me a little better, I want to show you what I am currently doing in school. :-)


English



I just finished Dragonwings by Laurence Yep.  Dragonwings is about a young Chinese boy, Moon Shadow, who helps his father achieve his dream of flying.  It is a pretty good book overall, but it does lack of excitement and you might get a little bored of it.  It did, however, keep my interest level fairly high, so I would stay up night after night reading chapter after chapter.  And the chapters are pretty long.  I did great on the quiz for the book, so I am proud of that.  I think this is a great book for both boys and girls ages 10 & up.  Whether you want to read it for fun, or whether you are going to read it for school.   (BTW, English is my favorite subject!)


Math



While this may look hard for some of you, and while many of you think it is easy, I find myself enjoying going over this stuff.  It is pretty simple, actually.  Last semester was harder, though.  We were going over equations and stuff like that.  When I was younger, I was freaked out by the way a subject like math, which involves mainly numbers, would have LETTERS involved.  But I learned that each letter represents something, and that it wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it was!


Science



In science I am going over plant reproduction.  The process is simple and easy, so science is one of my best classes.  In science, we get to do lots of experiments and TONS of portfolios (which sometimes drives me crazy, but many of the portfolios turn out to be fun).  I just finished a science portfolio last week, which was by far the most fun science portfolio I have done yet.  We had to actually plant three seeds in separate places and grow them and measure them each day.  One seed grew in sunlight, another seed grew with very little sunlight, and then the final seed grew with no sunlight.  So at the end of this experiment, the seed with the most sunlight grew the most.  Plants need to sunlight to receive nutrients.  If you think about it, plants are just like humans.  They are living things and need food, oxygen, and other things to survive - just like people!


Social Studies/History



In SS (social studies) we are going over geography and right now we are learning about China and places that surround China.  While SS may be my worst class, that doesn't mean I'm terrible at it and it also doesn't mean I hate it.  I actually love SS and can't wait to get started on my SS portfolio today!  In the portfolio, we have to do something sort-of like a newspaper article.  It is really cool.


Extra Curricula 

Physical Education - As good as PE gets.  Workouts.  Eat healthy.  You know the stuff.  At the end of every two months we turn in an activity tracker, which tells what workouts we did each day.  We must workout at least 150 minutes per week.

Technology - In technology, we have short lessons which are easy to complete.  We have about one portfolio per month.  Tech is my best extra-curricula class, because it is easy.

Art - I love art!  Art would be favorite class, but it is such a hassle.  We have so many lessons and so many portfolios, I can't keep track of everything!

Basketball - Yes, I do basketball.  So far, my team has won 2/5 games, which is pretty good, I guess.  We have two more games to play.  I am number 4.

Cheer - I don't do cheer yet, but I plan on starting cheer/tumbling in the Summer.  I can already do a right leg split, a backbend (I can go into one by standing on my feet and bending backwards), cartwheel, round-off, scorpion, front walkover, and I almost have my back walk over.

Acting - I love acting!  It is so much fun to become a whole new person and try new experiences!  I have been in two major plays and have auditioned for a popular movie.

I used to do soccer, dance, ballet, archery, and play the recorder.


So what are you going over in school right now?  What are your favorite classes?  What kind of extra curricula do you do?

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