My Tips for Taking AP Exams

This past week I took 2 AP exams: AP Environmental Science and AP United States History. I have taken a few in the last two years and I think they can be a great choice if you think you are up to the challenge. I do want to say that they are much more rigorous than a normal class in that subject area because they are college level classes. However, it is better to get an A in an honors class than to get a C in an AP class, so make sure you are going to be able to do well. But without further ado, here are my tips:

1) Start studying at the very beginning of the year.

AP exams cover all the material from the entire year in depth so it is very important to remember information from the beginning of the course. A lot of my history questions this year were on events before the Civil War. AP likes to challenge you and will test on subjects they think you may have forgotten about.

2) Take practice exams before taking the real test.

Timing is everything in AP. If you run out of time, it will be very difficult to get the score you want. If you have taking a full practice test you will get used to the timing of the test. Some tests, like the US History one, have a section were you have to split your time to write multiple essays. I know giving up a Saturday morning for a practice test doesn't sound fun but it could make a big difference in your score.

3) Sleep the night before. We all know that cramming until 3 am never works!

The test will drain your energy so you better start with a full tank. DO NOT STUDY THE NIGHT BEFORE! If you don't know it by then, you won't know it during the test!

4) Wear comfy clothes.
You will be sitting for more than 3 hours. No one gets to judge your clothing choices. Chances are they will be wearing the same type of thing.

5) Don't freak out if the essay questions seem difficult.
You WILL know something related to the topic if you have been paying attention in class. Also, sometimes the questions are written in a way that makes them seem more difficult than what they actually are. Figure out what it is asking and plan your answer. Freaking out will make things worse and hinder your performance. Just remember:

If you have any questions or extra tips comment them below! :)

XOXO Avery

My Top 5 Favorite Stores

These stores are the stores I shop at the most. Some I only order things online and some I only go to the actual store. They aren’t in any particular order; each have their ups and downs so without further ado, let’s get to the list!

 

Forever 21

Who doesn’t love Forever 21. They have things for 99 cents all the way up to over 100 dollars. Because I get really overwhelmed by the amount of things in the store, I only order things off of their website. About once a week I check for new items and if there are any good sales. I find it easier to add items to a wishlist and then wait for a good sale to come up. There are always free shipping deals or 30% off deals offered pretty frequently. My favorite item I have bought recently is this blue romper:

 

 Windsor

Every time I go to the mall, I have to look in Windsor. The clothing items are more on the expensive side but I love their formal dresses. I got my Homecoming dress there last year for $99 and am planning on getting both my Homecoming and Prom dress from Windsor this year. Here is a picture of my old Homecoming dress:

 

 

Target

I go to Target a lot more than I probably should. I tried ordering things from their website, but half of the things weren’t in the box and I had to wait an extra 2 months for them to be delivered. After that, I only got to the actual store.  I don’t buy that many things when I go, I just get little bits and bobs. I normally buy the strangest assortment of items. The last time I went I bought a phone charger adapter for the car and two pairs of tights. One pair was maroon with glitter polka dots and the other was gray with tiny silver bows.

 

T.J. Maxx

I go to T.J. Maxx the least out of all of these places and always end up buying things I don’t really need. I recently got I bunch of mason jar glasses with cute little lids and straws. They were only a dollar apiece so I got a bunch. T.J. Maxx is also great because they  have a rack of clothes that are slightly broken for a very discounted price. I got a dress that was originally $20 for $3. The zipper was broken but I took it to a tailor who replaced it for $2. All together it was $5 compared to the original $20.    

 

Bealls Outlet

I often buy shoes, purses, and other accessories from Bealls outlet. Because it is an outlet, the prices are discounted but you get roughly the same quality. My favorite item I have gotten from there recently is my light pink purse. It is a Nine West purse that originally was $80 but I got it for $30.

 

 

So those are my favorite and most visited stores that are within my immediate area. Maybe later on I could do a list of my other favorite stores that are more of a treat to go into because they are not in town.

What’s your favorite store that you think I should check out? I’m always up for shopping so let me know!

xoxo Avery

 

Another Public School Story- Another Strange Substitute

But are there any normal substitute teachers? I have yet to have one normal one.

Last week our sub made us watch a video that was not in English, it was in RUSSIAN. So we basically did nothing that day.

But, in my history class, we had a sub that might take first place in the crazy race.

I actually had to finish a test and ended up coming in about 10 minutes after the class period started. I had a pass from my last class so I was supposed to be able to just come in, give the sub the pass, and sit down and do the assignment. That did not happen.

When I walked through the door, the sub was giving a speech about not speaking at all during class. I went up to give him my pass and when he saw it he asked what it was for. When I tried to answer him he said "NO! No talking!"

I was very confused at this point. How was I supposed to answer his question without talking? So I just went and sat down.

Let me take a moment to describe this fellow. He had on a suit with a cartoon print hoodie over it, which was at least 2 sizes too big. He had bright red glasses and was wearing a fedora. It was an odd ensemble.

About 15 minutes later he was finally done with roll and his "No talking" speech. He laid candy out on the front table and said that if everyone did their work, we could get some on the way out.

Now, I don't know about you, but everyone in my class respects and understands the power of candy, so no one talked.

Not even a peep. For once, the entire class finished the assigned work. It was amazing.

Finally, the bell rang and we left with our candy. At this point, I should add that in addition to the individually wrapped chocolates, there were Dixie cups with skittles in them "For kids that can't eat chocolate." No one took these, because who knew what was in them.

The next day, my history teacher was furious. She spent half the class talking about all the terrible things the sub did the previous day.

Kids had told her that he cussed out one student, told another kid "I don't care about your name, you're not important," and yelled at anyone who said anything. He went through her desk and moved everything around. He also wrote a letter to her about how stupid everyone was, how he couldn't believe the classes were AP and IB classes, and how everyone was on their phones the whole time. Even though the assignment was supposed to be turned in on Edmodo, which is done by phone and the teacher had told him earlier that we were supposed to be on our phones.

Let's just say that my teacher is doing everything in her power to make sure that he never subs for her again.

What's the worst substitute teacher story you have?

XOXO Avery

GALentine's Day!

This has to be one of my favorite holidays ever. Created by Parks and Recreation's Leslie Knope, Galentine's day is the day when you celebrated your best friends and leave the guys at home. Though it should be celebrated over breakfast food, my BFF and I exchanged gifts before our ballet class.

We are both so similar that we got each other the same gift, Amy Poehler's new book Yes Please. It is so funny and one of the best Galentine's gifts ever.

I wish you all a happy Galentine's day! So does Chris Traeger:

 

XOXO Avery

Exploring 2015 by -J

So...There is a new blog that I have been reading and it is really good.

I'm serious guys, really good.

The posts are short and easy to read and they are pretty funny.
My favorite has to be the post titled "Fashion Tips" but it's not what you think it is. Here's a hint:

 

 

Yeah, go find out what that's about. Don't pretend like you don't want to. You do.
Here's the link so you can read it for yourself.
Any other funny people I need to know about? Let me know in the comments!

XOXO Avery

Public School Story- The Strange Subsitute

So, the other day, my AP Environmental Science teacher was absent. Sadly, he was not sick and was just sent to a workshop. I know that sounds bad, that we wished he was out sick, but at my school, if a teacher is out for any reason besides a workshop, the school does not hire a substitute. Instead, we sit in the cafeteria for that class period. It's really fun if you have friends in that class with you and an absolute nightmare when you don't. Anyway, back to the sub.

We had a sub named Mr. Sub* filling in for Mr. A*. Mr. A had left a note for Mr. Sub that said : Type this movie title in YouTube and it will be the first one on the list of results.

Unfortunately, it was not the first one. Mr. Sub however, didn't realize that and for the entire 50 minute class period we watched a documentary entirely in Russian. 

That's right! RUSSIAN!

We were supposed to take notes and turn them in at the end of class, so all everyone did was write down the things they saw on the screen. My notes were things like old men talking, blue shipping containers, and man playing a banjo. It was a strange documentary made even stranger by the fact that it was not in English.

Now you may be thinking, how on earth did Mr. Sub not notice the movie was in Russian? or why did no one tell him that the movie was in Russian?

The answer is, Mr. Sub was really mean and if anyone tried to contradict him, he would send them out of class. So we just sat and took fake notes about a Russian documentary.

All in all, it was a pretty fun day.
*names changed.

XOXO Avery



Target Fragrances vs. Bath and Body Works Fragrances

Just about everyone owns a Bath and Body Works fragrance mist. I have had many over the years but my current favorite is Pink Chiffon. It is very light and floral smelling. I ran out recently and because the nearest Bath and Body Works is about 30 minutes away, I went to Target to get a perfume to have until I could drive to the mall.
To my surprise, the Target mists were just as good as the Bath and Body Works ones. They had many choices and my favorite was Moroccan Sunset. Both are great but I think I will be buying my perfumes from Target now. Here are the pros for both:

Target bodycology® pros

·         Strong, lasting smell

·         Same amount as Bath and Body Works mists- 8oz

·         Cheaper- $3.99

Bath and Body Works pros

·         Greater selection of fragrances

·         Good sales

·         Nice packaging

Both are great but the only reason I will be buying the Target bodycology® from now on is that fact that it is so much cheaper for the same amount of perfume. Let me know what you think, or if there is a store that also has really great fragrance mists that I should try out.

Xoxo Avery

Back to School- School Supplies Haul!

I did a little shopping. Okay, more than a little, but it was all for school. Today was my first day back to school. I know, kind of a bummer. I personally would rather be doing anything but being at school, but I still have to go. Luckily, I only have two more years to put up with my fellow high-schoolers.

The only thing I like about going back to school is the back-to-school shopping. So without further ado, here is what I bought:


First I got my school bag. This year, I won't have to have as many supplies as I have needed in the past, so I opted for more of a purse than a backpack.

 

I got my bag from a really cute store, Charming Charlie, in Orlando. Here is a link to their website: http://www.charmingcharlie.com/handbags.html 

 

 

 

There are two short handles and one long strap to convert the bag into a messenger bag. There is also a smaller bag that can be clipped inside of the bag that I put all of my smaller items in so they don't get lost.

 

 

 

I got the rest of my supplies from Target, with the exception of my lunchbox. (I really like Target!) In the photo above, I have my planner, which I can't live without, my pencil case, a stapler, and my calculator. All of which are very pink.

Next is my lunch box, which is more like a lunch bag. I got it from Bells Outlet for six dollars. What a bargain. It came with a small sandwich pouch that seemed really cool(pun intended) at first, but turned out pretty worthless.

I got three spiral notebooks from Target as well. I added washi tape to the two solid color notebooks to add a little pizzazz.  I also added washi tape to the inside of my binders below.

 

 

I bought two plain white 1-inch binders and used scrapbook paper to decorate them and, of course, add pizzazz. And pink. 

 

So, that is all of my supplies. If you made it this far you get a gold star! (Not really but congrats)

 

                                                                                                                    Bye- Bye

                                                                                                                    XOXO Avery



The Old Spanish Sugar Mill -- DeLeon Springs, FL

From the title of this post, it may seem like I am going to bore you with historical facts about an old Spanish sugar mill. Well, you are only slightly mistaken. Yes, it is located in a state park and the sugar mill was once a sugar mill, but a sugar mill it is no longer. It is now a restaurant. And not just for sugar, although there is plenty of that coming.

The restaurant serves lunch options and is open until 4 o'clock, but the only thing people really order is their pancakes. If you want to have a chance to actually eat in the restaurant, you have to get their early. By nine o'clock there is already a waiting list and you can expect to be waiting for some time. However, if you are a pancake lover, it is worth the wait.

I went with my family on a Thursday morning to get breakfast. We got to the park around 8:15 and were in the restaurant by 8:30. Thankfully we got there as they were just opening up. Normally they open around nine but in the summer, they open earlier because of all the summer camp groups that come to swim in the spring.

Anyway, when you walk into this restaurant, you will immediately realize that something is different. Look at the picture below and see if you can spot it:

Can you see it?

There are griddles in the middle of each table! Did you guess it? Yes! Good job! No! Let's pretend like you did!

The griddle-on-the-table experience is what most people love about this place. However, this restaurant is not the best for small children as the griddles heat up to high temperatures. We had to watch my little sister very closely. She did fine and she is four years old, so if you know your child can sit still and follow directions they should be fine.

You may be asking yourself, "Do they cook your food in front of you like those cool Japanese restaurants?"

The answer is no. What happens is, you sit, you look at the menu, your order what pancake batter you want and what toppings you would like and then the server will bring you a pitcher of the batter and your toppings in small bowls. You cook your own pancakes. So if you are a terrible pancake chef, this restaurant is not for you! I repeat, not for you! None of the other patrons want to smell your burnt pancake disaster.

Though it may seem odd at first, once you have gotten used to the idea this restaurant is one of the best breakfast places in the area. It has a lot of charm and the state park that it is located in is beautiful and has a lot of other things to offer.

Overall, I would give The Old Spanish Sugar Mill a 3 out of 5. The only reason for the lower score is because of the wait times and the fact that you have to pay a fee to get into the park in addition to paying for your food.

                                                                                                                          Bye-Bye
                                                                                                                          XOXO Avery

It's a rainy day so....

It's a rainy day so.... by avery-tyler featuring a purple long sleeve shirt

VILA purple long sleeve shirt
$28 - vila.com

Topshop black pants
$34 - topshop.com

Wet Seal cognac boots
wetseal.com

Black purse
$230 - oliverbonas.com

Topshop purple jewelry
topshop.com

Club Manhattan collar necklace
$34 - welikefashion.com

Ray-ban glasses
revolveclothing.com

4th of July 2014

Fireworks! Boom!

 

Yes I know that as I am writing this it is actually the 6th of July but I do have an excuse. I was busy the 5th of July. Okay, yes, that was a very lame excuse but I still had one.

 

 

I do not live in St. Augustine but my grandparents have a house by the beach and we visit very often. Every year my family and I stay with them for the fourth. As beautiful as St. Augustine is, when a holiday like this comes around a lot of weirdos show up. Not total weirdos, but still very weird. The type of weird they were, was "'Murica" weird. They didn't seem like the people that just enjoy this holiday to be with family and have some fun in the summer weather. These people go all out. I saw many guys without shirts and girls who weren't wearing normal shirts. One girl was wearing a red bandana as a shirt. Let me just say this: Bandanas are not shirts!

 



View down St. George street

 

We went shopping down St. George street before the fireworks display. There are so many cute stores and I really wanted to buy everything. My brothers also really like the copious amounts of pirate stores down there as well. Out of all the shopping, though, there is one place that takes the cake, or should I say ice-cream. Kilwin's ice-cream is the best there is. I could eat there every day.

Sunset from the Bridge of Lions

 

After shopping and walking around downtown St. Augustine, we found a spot on the Bridge of Lions for the fireworks display. Since the best view was from the bridge, that was were everyone was. This was the time when I was around the previously mentioned weirdos. However, out of all the weirdos, there were two that rose above the others. Two guys were running the length of the bridge back and forth wearing American flags as capes and letters painted on their chests. One guys had a U and the other had an S. There was no A, so sadly it was just them, or as they would say, just us. Get it. Us. US. The two letters. Pretty good right. Maybe not. Okay I'll stop now. 

I took all 4 of these photos

               

                                                                                                                  Bye-Bye

                                                                                                                          XOXO Avery

Polyvore Outfit #1

Summer  featuring a pink bracelet

Pink tee
ruum.com

Converse sneaker
$77 - office.co.uk

Pink bracelet
$15 - ginatricot.com

Floral headband
$12 - ark.co.uk

Hydrating lipstick
$6.77 - eyeslipsface.co.uk

So I really like the app Polyvore and I make at least one dream outfit a day. I'm going to post some of my favorite creations and hopefully you will like them as much as I do. The great thing about Polyvore is that each of the clothing items links to the website where the item can be found. I really wish most of the outfits I make didn't cost so much but at least I can pretend like I'm wearing them. So... yeah... I'll post one outfit/look a week that I put together and hopefully you'll enjoy!

                                                                                                                                  Bye-Bye

                                                                                                                                  XOXO Avery

I Don't Know What I Think About This...

So....... I have this mascara that I've been using every day for about a month and I can't decide if I love it or if it's just meh. This is it:

It is the Maybelline Great Lash mascara and the color is Brownish- Black.

Now first of all, I know I love the color if the tube. Pink is my favorite color and that's what made me buy it in the first place.

The other good thing about the mascara is the actual applicator brush. It is just the right size (for my eyes at least) and I haven't had a problem with it at all.

There really is only one drawback about this but it's a big one. Once I put the actual mascara on my eyelashes I can't close my eyes or open them all the way until the liquid dries. If I don't keep my eyelids halfway open then I get black lines of masacara on my face that are very hard to scrub off. My mom says that I really shouldn't be complaining that my eyelashes are so long that they touch my face when my eyes are open but it is a real problem for those afflicted. A first world problem, but still a problem none the less.

Now I want to know what you think. I probably should stick with this one until it runs out, but I'm probably going to get different ones when I go back to the store. Should I review the new ones I buy? Let me know!
                                                                                                                  Bye-Bye
                                                                                                                  XOXO Avery
                                              

Being a Camp Leader

So as a high schooler who doesn't have a job, I'm  stuck with the task of being a camp leader for a myriad of many different camps. Well... really only two types of camps but the same two multiple times.

Last week, I helped the owner of my dance studio with her 3-4 year-old dance camp. This involves dancing with small children, playing with small children, and cleaning up water spilled by... you guessed it... small children. I have to clean up at least three spilled drinks during a 15 minutes snack time. Although, by the end of the week, I know which child will spill their drink, because it is always the same ones who spill their drink every day. By Friday, I just stand behind them with a roll of paper towels ready to swoop in when the inevitable happens.

This week I'm a "crew leader" at my church's VBS camp. I don't have to deal with 3-4 year-olds though so that's a plus. I'm a leader of 1st and 2nd graders and they are pretty fun. I talked about Minecraft with one kid, sang "Let It Go" with another kid, and had a water fight with... you guessed it... some more kids. They say the funniest things also. For example, we were going into drama time and we were told that the bible story being covered was about when Jesus heeled the lepers. One of the kids didn't hear the story correctly and whispered in my ear:"Jesus killed the leopards?!"

I have many more dance camps that I'm helping with this summer and I'll probably get roped into helping with others. Even though it probably doesn't seem like I don't like kids, I do. I've been around small kids my whole life and since I want to become an elementary school teacher I'll be around them for even longer.
                                                                                                            Bye-Bye
                                                                                                            XOXO Avery

One of My Favorites

My favorite website of all time has got to be Pinterest and I think I may have a problem. I go on every day and right now have 1,280 pins, 854 likes, and 18 different boards. Sure there may be people that have more pins or likes or boards than I do but I  still have a lot. At least I think I have a lot.

My best friend is also sort of  addicted to Pinterest. That's one of the signs of true friendship. We both waste our time on websites instead of doing something productive. However, being on Pinterest is doing something productive. How else would I know that a crayon will burn for 30 minutes or that putting teabags in shoes will take away their stink.

Without Pinterest how would I have found these amazing tidbits:

If you want to check out my Pinterest page here you go:
http://www.pinterest.com/adhrt/
         
                                                                                                             Bye-Bye
                                                                                                             XOXO Avery

Last Day of School!!!!!

I'm so excited! Today was the last day of school, although the last real day was Monday. Since Monday we have just been watching movies and playing Scrabble. For some reason teachers really like Scrabble. That's because it is the most educational board game that they could get their hands on. It's also the most boring game they could get their hands on.

It's so disappointing when your teacher says: "We are playing board games today! Your choices are Checkers and Scrabble." Of course people always get Checkers before I can so I'm stuck playing Scrabble. However Scrabble is better than classwork.

As excited as I am for summer, I don't get to enjoy it quite yet. My mom signed me up to take the ACT tomorrow! TOMORROW! The day after school got out! I was so sad when I found out. But enough of my issues, I want to know what you have to say. What is your favorite thing about summer? Comment below and have a great beginning of summer!
                                                                                                                           Bye-Bye
                                                                                                                          XOXO Avery

What is this...

Well, to be honest, I'm not entirely sure what this will be. I got the idea to start writing this blog when I was driving to Walmart with my mom. Yes, Walmart. We were talking about an outfit for me to wear to a friend's brother's wedding. When she asked me what "look" I was going for I didn't really have an answer. All I said was: "I want to look classy, not tacky." And that just kind of stuck with me over the next few months. I mean, I made a little rhyme-y saying that was silly and made sense and was good advice. Not to toot my own horn, but TOOT! <---my friend says that all the time so I thought I'd throw it in there.

So basically this blog will be about my personal opinion about things from people being tacky to people being classy, from beauty product reviews to me ranting about something that happened at school, or even silly events that happen to me to something random I found online. You'll never know what I'll write about next. I don't even what I'll write about next.

But I do know there will be grammar and spelling mistakes because I am the world's worst speller. I do know that not everyone will care about what I chose to write about each time I do post. I do know that I will try and be a little bit humorous but don't hold me to that. And I do know that I like to write and I don't get to do that very often other than this blog. So if anyone got this far, thank you and well done. I give you a gold star. Not literally, but it's the thought that counts, right? Well I've been ending this for way to long so...

                                                                                                                        Bye-Bye,
                                                                                                                        XOXO Avery