"Alexa"

Hello everyone!

Happy New year to you all!

Now that the holidays are winding down, people are getting back into their routines, kids going back to school, and the start of the New Year is here. One of my resolutions that I have made to myself is to blog more and talk about interesting content. I was sitting here at my desk thinking, what do people want to read about? How will I keep other's attention?

Well....one thing that I think we can all agree on is that we love our tech toys and gadgets. A gift that my family received for Christmas was a wonderful Amazon Echo that many refer to as "Alexa." "Alexa" is awesome, she gives you a lot of useful information when asked. All you have to do is set her up to the Wi-Fi and then download the app to your phone or device and then program the settings based on your preferences. I personally have my location set up so that we can have up to the minute weather reporting, as well as any question that is geographically impacted can be answered as accurately as possible. Other settings include setting up your favorite music stations, whether it be through Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music, etc.

The possibilities are endless as to what you can ask of "Alexa." She will give you facts based on availability  (I asked how old the Queen of England is, 91 for her Royal Majesty!) Want to hear a joke, "Alexa, tell me a joke"....and she will deliver. Want to set a timer for cooking "Alexa, set cooking time for 15 minutes." Want a soft alarm clock, "Alexa wake me up at 6am to soft music." You can also link her to your Amazon Prime Account and ask her to order you something and receive updates as to the status of your order.

Need more suggestions, there is a "Skills" email you can subscribe to and you will receive a weekly email as to new suggestions you can try with "Alexa." Go ahead and discover the power and convenience behind this new gadget, you'll love it as much as we do. Click here to get yours today!

Thanks for reading, please go ahead and Subscribe your email so that you get automatic updates as to when I post next. I'm going to be adding great content on a weekly basis! Have a suggestion, please leave a comment, I'd love to hear your suggestions.

xo, Amanda

Stop Procrastinating--Higher Confidence!

Like many people, I am often the victim of a terrible P word--procrastination. We all say how we will just do something later. I've noticed something; went I put off a project for a long time, my confidence is lowered. I'm always thinking about how I need to get certain tasks done, but many times always find an excuse or something else to put the project off that I really need to get done.

Today I made a change.

I organized my room. I had been putting it off for a while. No, I do not mean basics, like leaving my bed unmade, or dirty clothes thrown on the floor (though there are days where the basics just don't happens, lets be honest.) I mean I went through clothes in my closet that I don't need anymore, old purses that I loved back in the day, but that can be loved in a new home soon. I have storage bins of out of season clothes, filing cabinets with old paperwork--you get the idea. Once I stopped procrastinating and actually did something, I felt SO much better. Like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders and accomplished a major project that was really weighing me down. Growing up, I wasn't the best at organization, my mom was always nagging at me to keep things tidy, and I just wasn't very good at it. Now that I'm a young professional, I actually notice how I feel so much better when I feel organized. A clear space is a clear mind and allows for creativity  and not feeling clutter.

Another way of procrastination isn't necessarily based on organization, it simply can be about learning something new. For example, I have been wanting to get my own blog started. The fact that I am writing this, shows that I am staying on board with my commitment to myself. Yes, I written blogs in the past, but I felt that I never was consistent with the content that I was posting. I'm making a change and will be updating on a regular basis.

I also am learning how to keep up-to-date with the latest technology. I live with my parents, who are retirement age. They didn't grow up with technology that we have today, so you can say that at times, I'm not always as up to speed with certain things as I could be, I self teach myself a lot. For example, for Christmas, we received a Kindle as a gift. Of course we were familiar with the product, but we just never got around to purchasing one, and finally Santa brought us one. Well, I've been meaning to get to learn how our Kindle works. Now, most of you will probably be saying, you've had the thing for 6 months, what's the hold up. Well, I've had A LOT of other things happen that required my attention. My mom suffered an injury, which took up a lot of my time, between medical appointments, and having another family member dealing with health issues as well, between the two, my time was committed to their health first.

Now that things are up and on the mend, I'm committing to myself to not procrastinate nearly as much, and when I want to learn something, do it as quickly as possible. Knowledge is power!