How to Make Your Homecoming Week Stress Free

Homecoming Week is an exciting time in any high school but it can also be stressful!  If you want to have a great Homecoming Week, here are a few tips to keep you stress free!

1. Plan ahead.  Take 5 minutes to write down all of the extra activities you plan to attend as well as any extra work that will be involved.  For example, do you need to find a dress?  Do you need to buy the supplies for the school float? 
2. Next prioritize which events are most important to you and also map out when you can find time to shop for your dress and any other things on your list.
3. Ooops.  Don’t forget about your homework.  You want to plan ahead for this too.  Some schools let you get your homework ahead of time.  You might want to consider this.  If that’s not an option, try to work ahead as best as you can and also schedule windows of time you know you won’t be tired or busy.
4. Have Fun!  Homecoming week is meant to be a time of celebration, unity, and hanging out with friends.
5. For more great tips, check out what our team says on Girls With Dreams TV.

Stevie Recommends Hair Products

I thought it would be a good idea to start giving you guys tips once a week on things I recommend on using, it will either be a product, advice, way to solve something, or just simply something I think every teen should know.

The first recommendation is a product. It’s called Pantene Beautiful Lengths. It’s such a great product for a couple reasons.

1.  It makes your hair smell great, even after you straighten it! How many products do that?

2. It’s supposed to make your hair grow, and I believe it does…Well it does for me.

3. It’s satisfaction garenteed, and if you don’t like it they give you your money back x2. You know it must really work!

4. A portion of the proceeds from every bottle are donated to a program that created wigs for women dealing with cancer.

For more information go to, www.beautifullengths.com

**DISCLAIMER: This is only what I recommend. Just because I think it works doesn’t mean it will for you, but I hope it does. I will post one about once a week, and I will do about ten. If you would like more than ten please comment letting me know and I will continue doing tips.

Find the Dress that Makes You Look Best

Finding that perfect fit can be a bit of a challenge. Remember you are buying a dress to compliment your body type, not to please others. Many girls buy dresses that look good on the model, without considering how it will compliment their figure. The perfect dress should highlight your best attributes while camouflaging any problem areas. I’ve compiled a brief list of body shapes and corresponding fits:

1. Thin and Tall: If you have longer legs with a smaller bust, look for flirty dresses with fuller skirts that come to your knees. Be careful when choosing dresses which are tight or cling to your figure. If you have a larger bust, try halter dresses with the same type of skirt.
2. Tall and Curvy: Look for empire waist dresses which are snug below the bust. The full skirt falls over your curves which creates a very slimming appearance.
3. Short and Curvy: Look for dresses that elongate your torso or legs. Dresses with circular necklines and voluminous skirts will flatter your shape.
4. Short and Thin: Try short and flirty! If you’re old enough and if your parents will allow it, grab a skirt length that’s mid-thigh. Work with different textures and colors to add dimension.
5. Hour-Glass: I’m in this category because I have wider hips and shoulders than my midsection. Pay extra attention to strapless gowns, look for ones with structured bodices or gathered fabric at the waist.

Quick tip for EVERYONE! Try some SPANX with any dress. They smooth out curves and help to give a more complete figure. They eliminate the dreaded pantie line and tuck in any unwanted curves.

Now go out and have a wonderful evening! The most important thing to remember is that you are buying a dress to make you look beautiful, not to make everyone else happy. Buy what you think looks best. Be confident in your dress choice. Buy the dress for YOU, not for everyone else.

For a few more quick tips, check out Girls With Dreams TV.

Advice for Freshman in High School: What You Need to Know About College

If you are a freshman or even a sophomore, college may seem really far away, but it’s important to start thinking about it as early as your freshman year.  We have a few ideas to get you started.

1. Talk to your guidance counselor about the right classes to take.  Map out your next 4 years together.
2. Talk to your parents about college.  What are their thoughts about it?  Can you plan visits to colleges youmight want to attend your sophomore or junior year?
3. Find out what the requirements are to get into the college of your dreams.
4. Never say No.  If a college seems a far reach financially or academically, push yourself to find out how you can make this happen.  Maybe you can get a scholarship or take a harder class load.
5. Don’t be afraid to ask questions about college to your teachers, guidance counselor, parents, and friends.
6. Live a balanced life.  Colleges like to see you were involved in different activites.  Find a club or sport that interests you and also look for ways to give back or volunteer in your community.
7. Check out more ideas on Girls With Dreams TV.

Dating Advice for Teens: Tips for a Great Long-Term Relationship

Our team loves sharing their dating advice.  The best part is, whether you are dating or single, it’s okay!  If you want to be in a long-term relationship or if you are in one already, you won’t want to miss these tips from Stevie on Girls With Dreams TV.

Tips for a Great School Year: Advice from Seniors

Whether your school year is off to a great start or a rocky one, you will want to hear this advice from a senior about how to make your school year the best!  Check it out on Girls With Dreams TV.

How To Measure Success

Guest blogger, Ria Sharon, the Practical Mommy shares her tips on How to Measure Success.

Success is an elusive idea. Throughout our lives, we are trained to look to some external measure of success, whether it be a glowing report card or a college/post-graduate degree, a great performance review, or a big fat end-of-the-year bonus. During my career, I felt relatively secure of my success based on ongoing feedback from my superiors. The mere fact that I had a job, that someone was willing to pay me x amount, provided me some objective measure of my value. Well, when I chose to stay home with the kids, I pretty much kissed all of that goodbye.

Now what? In the years I spent as a full-time stay-at-home-mom, I was swirling with doubt and confusion about whether or not I was any good at it. I mean, do they even have a job description for this thing that I do 24/7/365? When is my next raise and for the love of… when is my next vacation???

At the time, I felt like I was all alone (of course, that is never the truth!) As a confirmation that this feeling overwhelms many, many moms, I discovered this video featuring Michelle Scheumann as she discusses the Hot Mommas Project with its founder, Kathy Korman Frey. Michelle shares her frustration about the lack of appreciation and validation that comes with the territory of being the “home entrepreneur” or Chief Household Officer (as I was called). She also talks about how important it is to do something for herself, that utilizes her life experience and unique gifts.

Do you see a pattern here, my dear Mommies? Hmmm… do something for yourself… do something you love… find your personal calling! I can only speak for myself, of course… but without that crucial element of A Passion in your life, it will always seem unbalanced. People who have known me over the years have commented that since I’ve made a commitment to living with purpose, I am a different person. A good friend told me just recently, “You will be so much more successful now. Whatever success means to you.”

Or if you recall the song from Rent… c’mon, sing it with me! 525,600 minutes…. How do you measure a year? How about love? Measure in love.

As an aside, the Hot Mommas Project is a wonderful initiative, producing real life case studies of women balancing personal and professional lives to help model success for young girls. Read more about it on the website and thank you Kathy, for the nomination.

Friends and Arguments

Recently, I went through a really tough time with one of my friends.  Maybe you can relate?  Just so you know, I’ve changed all of the names in my recap.

Basically, my friend Kelsi sent me a message saying I was annoying as well as some other hurtful comments and she didn’t want to be my friend anymore.  I was completely shocked and totally devastated.

So, I called up one of my best friends, Jane, to tell her about it. I read her the message, sobbing the entire time. She was in shock. She told me she couldn’t stand to see me this torn up and upset. Jane said she was going to ask Kelsi what she was thinking when she said that horrible thing to me.

I didn’t believe that Kelsi didn’t think we had ever been friends! I knew she had been my friend for the last three years. Someone who was faking to be your friend doesn’t invite you to spend the night at her house on a school night and beg her mom to let you stay. A fake friend doesn’t hang out with you all day at Six Flags then ask if she can spend the night at your house over the weekend because she had that much fun with you.

I decided to talk to my parents and I realized this: Kelsi wasn’t a true friend. And, crying wouldn’t do anything to change that. I wasn’t going to change my entire self to win her back. I realized if this was Kelsi’s true self, then I didn’t want any thing to do with her. The best way to deal with something like this is to just move on. Sure, crying will help a little bit, but just moving on and having nothing to do with that person is the best way to handle this. I hope this doesn’t ever happen to you but if it does, you have the head start I needed to get move on with your life and not dwell on on someone like Kelsi.

Living, Loving, Learning

So as I’m walking through the hallways at my school, I see teens making out and hanging all over one another. I guess you could say I feel “left out” because it’s been forever and a day since I’ve had a decent boyfriend. But when I got to thinking about it, I realized there was a lesson to be learned there! It’s not about quantity it’s about quality! As corny as that sounds, it pretty much sums it up!

But along with that, I am a firm believer that everyone comes into your life for a reason, either for you to learn something from them, or to teach them something. You guys have probally heard that line from me before, but it holds true to most situations! So yes: learn the most you can, Live life with no regrets, and love as if it were your last day. Having no regrets is a true blessing. Of course all of us have secrets we’d rather the world not know about, but you know it’s not life or death. And at the end of the day you can only go on living. So my final word of advice for this blog would be to not sweat the small stuff! Because in the end does it really matter? Things are NEVER set in stone. Write your own Destiny! Live, Love, and most importantly Learn.

Dating Advice for Teens: How to Deal With Being Single

What’s your attitude when you’re single? Are you stressed out? Do you feel unworthy or are you okay with going solo?

I think it’s really hard being single when all your friends have boyfriends. Whatever your situation is, I think you’ll love Tori’s advice in this video on being single and how she’s dealt with it!

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