Yahoo Article: What Men and Women Notice on Dates

I found this article and thought I would share it because I have some opinion on them. Check it out :) Click here for the full article.

1. Men say that having gorgeous hair trumps a curvy figure.

This is an interesting revelation for me. My question is, what kind of men were surveyed to get this result? That might make a difference, wouldn't it?

 

2. Guys find pink or red lips more alluring than the sexiest pair of stilettos.

I'm too scared to wear bold lipstick so I stick with the neutral looking kind. Right now I am in love with Revlon Lip Butter in Berry Smoothie. It is not absolutely neutral but it is also not as bold as a red lip.

 

3. Women looking for real relationships are more impressed by traditional love tokens than an expensive ride.

This is a given. Seriously, whoever thought expensive cars were so attractive? I mean, it is kind of attractive but it's not what determine the real attraction. Sometimes, I don't care if you have a common car (a clean one preferably) if you're nice and sweet, rather than an expensive car and you're pretentious and a jerk.

 

4. Men and women agree: being physically fit makes someone more attractive and relationship-worthy to them.

I feel like this is super shallow. This just makes me more self-conscious than I already am. This is why society tries to lose so much weight because they think that being fit means not weighing a lot. That sucks that there is that misconception. I would personally like to be fit. Trainers anyone?

 

5. Bad hygiene is a universal turn-off, regardless of what you're wearing.

Even if you're not going out on a date, would it hurt to take a stinking shower?!! (Ha-ha.) I get it that sometimes it is hard to smell yourself, but if you REALLY stink so bad, how can you not smell yourself? I'm always aware if I'm starting to smell and I feel self-conscious about it. Buy loads and loads of deodorant if you need to. It's called courtesy to those people around you. Have mercy on them, buy deodorant and take a long, steamy shower - or maybe a bath. I'm really opinionated on this. Take a shower once a day. If needed, take more than one! I don't want to smell you like that!

 

What do you notice on a date? How do you feel about showering and stinky people?

I don't notice anything because I don't go on dates =/

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Book & Beauty Haul + Gibber

I was tired and therefore quite crazy and fanatic in this video... I was able to be mellow and calm enough for the video so no need to worry :) Hope you enjoy!

Have you tried the Maybelline Dream Matte Finishing Powder?? Do you like it?

What about the lip scrub from LUSH?

Are you a nail fanatic? What's your favorite shade?

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A Quick Note: I'm Featured Over at Once Upon A Prologue!

I'm so excited to report that I am featured in the Once Upon a Blogger segment over at Once Upon A Prologue! Molli was so sweet and let me participate in the awesome feature! Click her button to be redirected to the post!

I answered questions about book blogging, random questions like being stranded on an island, etc!

After you check it out, don't forget to check out the rest of my posts. Today, I have one where I talk about the reasons why I don't do memes and yesterday I had a guest post from Jen about how to get more comments on your blog! Check them both out! Just click the links to go there :)

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Memes: Why I Don't Do Them

Memes are the kinds of posts that occur every single week on the same day that it was originally created. At least, that's how I understand its mechanics.

 

So, now maybe you're wondering, why don't I ever post any memes? They are supposed to generate more traffic onto my blog. Here are three reasons why:

• I feel like the posts are not original. You would expect for them to be posted on the same day every week. I think it loses the spontaneity of the blog. It might give me a regularity on the blog and I won't have to rack my brain on what I need to post for that day, but the predictability is what turns me off.
• Most of the book memes asks for a Top Ten list. This is so hard for me to do because it forces me to pick 10 of my favorite books or only 10 and nothing more kind of list. That's too hard of a decision for me to make being the indecisive person that I am.
• I feel obligated. I feel like participating in memes obligates me to do the post every week even though I probably don't want to do it that week or I already have something else scheduled for that day. I decided a while ago that I will only have one post per day and everything else will just have to go on a different day. That way I have the ability to have something posted every single day.

 

So tell me, why do you participate in memes? Or why not?

Also, if I decide to participate in memes, is it okay if I just do them when I feel like it?

Finally, how do you know what the topic is for that week?!

Leave me links to meme hosts and maybe I'll check them out!

UPDATE: I currently do something similar to In My Mailbox but I call mine Books I've Won and they are in a form of a video...

Photos courtesy of Google Images.

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Blogger Guest Post (Jen Ryland): How To Get More Comments

UPDATE: I am super lame. I forgot to mention that this post is provided by the most awesome Jen from Jen Ryland/YA Romantics .. Sorry about that! I knew there was something missing there...


Blog comments -- everyone wants them. But how do you get more of them?

Full disclosure -- I'm hardly the Queen of Comments. But here's how I was able to get more of them on my blog:

1. Make it easy for people to comment on your blog.

That seems obvious, right? Well, I'm constantly surprised by the fact that people make me jump through endless hoops just to leave a comment. 

Has this happened to you? You read a blog post and want to leave a comment. You carefully type up your heartfelt thoughts. Your comment is witty and intelligent. You hit "submit" and you get this:

Or maybe you get this:

I bet that at least half of people who are faced with the above just give up.

If you'd like more comments, my first suggestion would be to turn off word verification -- also known as "captcha."

You can do this in Blogger by going to settings, then comments, then scrolling down to word verification and turning it off.

In Blogger, having word verification on is the default. I found this out the hard way!

If you use Wordpress, go to Settings, then Discussion.

My second suggestion would be to allow anonymous comments. That sounds scary, but all it means is that you aren't forcing commenters to register with Blogger or Wordpress or enter their name and email just to leave a comment. Most people will give their name or nickname, they just don't want another internet account.

If you're worried about anonymous hate mail, I wouldn't be -- unless you have a lot of enemies. Or your reviews are REALLY snarky.  As the blog administrator, you can always delete comments and/or change your settings back if a problem develops. I've only had a few anonymous comments, and none of them were mean.

My third suggestion? Make your comment box easy to find. Again, that seems incredibly obvious. It belongs at the bottom of the post. It should be large. (Arianne's Note: I totally agree! Have it EMBEDDED! I don't like comments that go to a new page or pop-up.)

2. Ask a question at the end of your post.

Picture this. You read a blog post, like a review. You get to the end. You consider leaving a comment, but can't really think of much to say except "Great review" or "Thanks for the review."

Make your question interesting, even provocative. It doesn't always work, but it can't hurt. 

3. Participate in memes.

If you don't know what a meme is, it's stuff like "Waiting on Wednesday" and "Feature and Follow Friday." I think memes can be overdone. But they are also a great way to draw new people to your blog -- people who want comments and are willing to comment on your blog in return.

4. Ask for comments

In Blogger, there's a box where you can customize a message asking people to leave you comments . Go to Settings, then Comments, then Comment Form Message. Type your message in the box and hit save.

4. Respond to comments.

You can't respond to every comment. But in my opinion, if you never respond to comments, you're sending the message that

a) you don't care about comments;

b) you don't read them; and

c) you're too busy/important to deal with them.

Some bloggers say that responding to comments on their own blog is a waste of time, because most commenters don't check back to see if you responded and don't subscribe to comments . True. However....

When I get to the bottom of a post and see that a blogger has responded to comments, I am more likely to leave one. Why? Because subconsciously, I think that this blogger is going to read and respond to mine too -- that my comment matters to them.

If a person leaves a particularly interesting comment, I'll sometimes tweet them. Or write a response on their blog. I don't always have time to do this, but I try.

So, now I'll follow my own advice. 

Leave a comment and tell me...  do you comment on other people's blogs?  Why or why not? If you're a blogger, how do you respond to comments that people leave on your blog? What's worse, captcha or spam messages?

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Random Video: Pink, Fried Chicken, Running, Ducks, Pink

I was sitting on my bed trying to think of what to post today... Then I realized, I should film a super random video, just like Elle and Blair sometimes do. They sit in front of a camera and just talk about whatever. It was fun to just ramble :) Check out this quick picture I take and then watch the video! Let me know in the comments below if you want me to film more videos like this :)

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Current Facebook Addiction: Solitaire Blitz

 

I was bored one day and then I saw a list of games that my friends have been playing. One of them was Solitaire Blitz. One thing you all should know about me is that I enjoy playing solitaire. So naturally, I went ahead and played the game. What I discovered?

• It's more like Speed than Solitaire Blitz. Solitaire goes in order - descending. Speed goes either way as long as the number you have is before or after the current card.
• The graphics are amazing!
• It is a very simple idea. You play it like Speed, clear your rows of cards before the time runs out and you win :)
• After finishing the game, whether you win or lose, you get Treasures. The Treasures are transformed into Silver to buy Boosts. I personally only use two Boosts: Extra Time and Starrrrr-ggghh :)
• The music is also great. I could just leave it in the background and listen to the music alone!
• Last but not least, your playing time is limited. You have Energy that you use up every time you play. If you have 5 Energies, that means you get to play 5 times. After that, you have to wait a few minutes until it can reset and award you some more energies. You can request them from your friends who are playing the game as well or pay using real money, but who would want to do that? :)

Isn't this the most adorable worm?!

Let me know in the comments if you also play Solitaire Blitz or if you plan to try it out after reading this post! :)

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