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wittywallflower · 6 years ago

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@wolfshadow thaaaaank you. I called into work today and this is definitely a better way to spend my time :D

1) Family vacation that includes Schneider

Penelope really wants to take a family trip before Elena goes off to college because while she is so, so proud of Elena getting into Bryn Mawr, she is already feeling a little panicked about her daughter moving so far away.

But Lydia still hates flying, and Dr. B has been letting Penelope run the office more as he starts to consider retirement, so its hard to find enough time to take a trip before the end of summer

Schneider blasts through a dozen suggestions but especially wants to take them hiking in British Columbia. Not a single Alvarez is interested in that. Most of them grew up in LA, they aren’t exactly one with nature.

He’s kinda sarcastic when he suggests Disneyland because it hardly counts as a trip when its only an hour away, plus its such a cliche, right? Alex is too old to really experience any childlike wonder anymore and Elena never enjoys huge displays of blatant consumerism. She probably has 3 articles at ready discussing the environmental toll of theme parks.

But no one voices a single objection because Penelope’s eyes start shining at the idea of her family in Mickey Mouse ears and she starts imagining (hallucinating?) her kids when they were younger, back when she could barely afford to take them to a street fair let alone Disneyland. Sometimes her papi shows up in the imagined memories; sometimes Victor is there and they had never separated. Weirdly, Schneider is always present in these visions.

Schneider is pumped when Penelope agrees. Yeah, he might have been joking when he suggested it. But he’s totally been to Disneyland like 6 times. All the sights and sounds, the frenetic energy, the sugar overload from all the churros... its like an innocent natural high that doesn’t trigger his addictive personality.

Penelope starts fishing change out of the sofas and recycling cans for extra spending money but Schneider insists on paying. Penelope hates it when he spends money on them like this. Bringing over a load of groceries he is going to eat most of it is one thing, but Disneyland isn’t cheap and even though they are comfortable financially these days, it still feels like charity.

Schneider finds several clever ways around this. He insists he has to treat Elena, a combination farewell and birthday present. Schneider has never been able to shake the feeling that he still owes Alex after that ugly scene in the laundry room so obviously Penelope has to let Schneider do this for him. Dr B has an extra pass to the park he never uses, so Lydia only needs to be kept hydrated.

They’re a little worried about how Lydia will manage all the walking until Alex shows her a couple viral videos of older folks doing stunts on electric scooters set to rap music. She is willing to be convinced that a Rascal can be cool so she can join the fun. “And when you get tired, papito, you can ride with me.” Sometimes she forgets Alex isn’t a little boy anymore and wont exactly fit into the basket.

Once convinced, Penelope goes all out. She is hunting groupons and researching where to find the cheapest deals in the park. She has matching t-shirts and caps made for everyone, to make it easy to find each other if they get separated

The best part of the entire endeavor for Schneider is when Penelope hands him the cap embroidered with ALVAREZ, and the shirt with his name screen-printed across the shoulders like a jersey. Everyone has a matching one of their own. He’s never felt more included in their lives as when he is strutting around with the Alvarez family name written all over him.

Elena throws up. Twice. But she’s determined not to spoil the day for anyone. Eventually she figures out what part of the rides to close her eyes for, then she doesn’t feel nearly as dizzy after. Schneider stops buying her churros though.

Penelope goes on a few rides when the kids beg her to but mostly enjoys the mami moments of waving to Elena and Alex as the rides spin them closer and then away again.

When Lydia needs a break from the sun, Schneider keeps Penelope company as she watches. The childlike part of him is buzzing to run on to the next ride, the next cotton candy stand, but mostly he enjoys how the scene feels. Standing next to the best mom he knows, seeing the joy on the kids’ faces as they wave madly at him on their way past.

Schneider never expected to have the life others had with a happy home, a partner for mutual support, kids to watch grow up, taking family vacations together, sharing good times as well as bad. He knew his addiction would never let him build that kind of life. Yet somehow... here he was. With everything he never thought he deserved.

He is not getting choked up with standing less than 5 yards away from someone in a Donald Duck costume. He just isn’t.

As the fireworks fade from the sky at the end of the day, the exhausted family prepares to leave. Elena is bogged down with bags. It turns out blatant consumerism is easier to ignore once you find the lgbt pride merchandise section in the gift shops. Schneider bought her every single thing she stopped to coo over. Alex is regretting his shoe choice. Yeah, he looks fly, but there’s zero arch support in the trendy sneakers and his feet are sore.

Lydia managed to kill the battery in the electric scoot when papito convinced her to try stunts with it and they spent 20 minutes doing donuts outside the bathroom while Elena was puking. They almost hit like 3 people and it was the best thing for everyone that Penelope was inside helping her daughter clean up

Lydia’s cane was.... somewhere in their mess of merchandise. Possibly in the bag that contained authentic Disney mouse-ear caps with embroidered names. Rather than stop to dig it out, Schneider hefted the tiny woman up for a piggyback ride. She giggling like a teenager and the aroma of violets managed to overpower the theme park smells.

Instead of taking the tram to the parking lot they end up at one of the resort hotels and Penelope is too tired to scold Schneider for booking them a suite without asking. Instead she ignores how much it must have cost him and just thanks her lucky stars she didn’t have to make the drive home.

She barely manages to get Elena and Alex through a shower before they collapse, too tired to even complain about sharing a bed with each other

Lydia is fast asleep in the bed Penelope cant wait to crawl into herself.

First she wants to thank Schneider again for giving them this day. Its hard for her to accept a big gift like this, even when she knows the money doesn’t mean anything to him. But she takes his hand, trying to convey how much it means to her that he wants to give this kind of joy to her children just because he loves them.

They fall asleep on the sofa, hands still linked, heads pillowed on each other, both still wearing their matching ALVAREZ gear.

This got long, imma have to do another post for the other prompt. Thaaaaaank you again for giving me an excuse to rave about the Alvarez family for a bit.

#odaat #alvarez headcanons #penelope alvarez #alvareider #bonus material: it was a FAMILY day at Disneyland and it was great #Schneider never stops feeling blessed for being included as part of the family #but he also knows what its like to be an outsider and want to be part of that close-knit unit #so SURPRISE he is treating everyone to a second day at the park #he brings in Syd so they can spend more time wiht Elena before she leaves #Dr. B arrives to squire Lydia around for day 2 #he even invited Victor and his wife because he knows the other man must miss the family he had #the same way schneider had ached for the family he never had before the Alvarez clan let him into their lives

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thetravelingaquarian · 6 years ago

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View from plane, landing in Honolulu

Aloha, as I’m writing this, my thoughts are drifting back into my vacation. I can feel the sun beaming down on me and a smile come to my face. Hawaii was a breathtaking vacation in paradise. The weather was perfect! Out of our 9 nights it rained only 1 day. The weather said 80 degrees each day, but it felt like 85. We left cold New Jersey weather of 30 degrees and went into summer weather filled with air conditioned homes and stores. After two plane rides, a four hour layover, we finally landed in Honolulu. We spent nearly a whole day traveling and with the 5 hour time difference we were exhausted. We left home at 4:30 am and arrived 7 pm in Honolulu. By that time we wanted to eat and go to bed. We were on our home time and it was really 12 am to us. It was hard adjusting to the time change. Even harder when we came back home.

I’m not a swimmer (something I plan on learning very soon) so I wasn’t going to go snorkeling or surfing. When I thought of Hawaii these are the first thoughts that came to me. I thought of the cost, the long flight, our hotel stay and other reasons that would prevent me from visiting anytime soon.

If you’re a nature person, love water activities, or just want to relax with beautiful clear water a destination to Hawaii should be on your list of places to visit. It’s so much to do for all ages. There are a list of places to visit from museums, aquariums, zoos, hiking, biking, surfing, so much that I can go on and on. I want to tell you what me and my family did during our stay. The deals I got on Groupon, places to visit for free and the reason why I’m going to plan another visit in the future.

My daughter is stationed in Hawaii with the United States Navy and recently had her first child. As a first time grandma, I had to go out and visit her and the new addition to the family. We were going in December during Christmas, so I knew the tickets and everything else would be expensive because of the holiday.

We purchased our plane tickets late in October and although there were many flights going to Honolulu, the prices had sky rocketed by an additional $400 from the prices earlier in the year. My daughter planned for us to stay at an hotel where all the military families stayed for a fraction of the cost. Again, we were too late and all the rooms were booked. We planned to stay with my daughter during our stay but wanted her siblings to get a real vacation feel and stay at a hotel as well. I went to Groupon and saw a few deals and booked a hotel for three days.

Best time to purchase a plane ticket to Hawaii is during April, May, September and early October. Be cautious of any holidays during these months which can cause a price change.Be cautious of any holidays during these months which can cause a price change.

Photo by Fancycrave.com on Pexels.com

Packing for your trip I tell myself each time I go away, “I’m not going to over pack. I even packed weeks before my trip, and I still OVER PACKED! We were staying for 10 days, so I planned on checking bags. (Check to see the price to check your bags with your airline) We had to two flights and I was traveling with two of my children. We brought bookbags to hold our electronics and other small items. (Sanitizer, aspirin, Dramamine, wipes, chargers, and my daughter teddy bear for comfort) Make a list of things you will need. I used the Roll Method when packing which created more space in our luggage. I didn’t purchase sunblock and some other items because I knew I wouldn’t need them coming back to New Jersey. Some items can be purchased before or you can wait until you reach your destination. There are plenty of Targets and Walmart’s in Hawaii. Don’t buy huge bottles of sun block or things you wont be able to use for months later. Bring trial size, toothpaste, deodorant. Most hotels supply shampoo and conditioner. Although your coming to Hawaii and it’s warm all year some nights get chilly and a light sweater is needed. Plan on hiking or going in water bring the proper comfortable shoes. The hiking trails are muddy and can be slippery and some beaches have rocks with sharp shells and water shoes will come in handy. One thing I wish we had was insect repellent, we went to a few gardens the mosquitoes ate us alive. Glasses and Contact wearers I had an emergency and broke my glasses and almost panicked. Thankfully, there was a Lens Crafters that saw me the same day and made me new glasses in 1 hour. If your wear glasses, bring an extra pair to have just in case. Contact wearers bring a pair of glasses or extra contacts to be on the safe side. If you take any prescriptions make sure they are packed.

View of our morning sunrise at the Ambassador Hotel Waikiki

I booked a room at the Ambassador Hotel Waikiki for three days and 2 nights. The deal was great. The amount I spent for 2 nights, some hotels charged the same amount per day. The hotel was clean, we were given reusable water bottles, the room was just like my Groupon voucher stated. There was an outdoor pool, gym and laundry room on premises. Our room had three twin size beds, with a microwave and refrigerator. Some rooms offered a full kitchen. We were on the third floor and had a balcony that had a beautiful view of the sunrise each morning. I’m sure the views were better on the higher levels. The hotel was on the Waikiki strip, close to restaurants, shopping stores, beach and places to go sightseeing. In the morning I went downstairs to Whalers General Store for coffee and breakfast.

Nou ka hale means “Welcome, my house is yours.”

Hotel Stay, things to Know I booked my hotel through Groupon, I called the hotel directly to make sure they had my reservations. I witnessed many times, people booking through third party companies and arriving to the hotel and not having there reservations. Call your hotel directly and confirm your reservations. Booking a room with a kitchen can save money on eating out every night. I spent almost $100 per day on eating lunch. We could of went food shopping and brought some groceries. You can cook breakfast in the morning and have lunch and dinner at a restaurant. (Traveling with a family will add up). Plan on sightseeing, see what is near the hotel, Check Most places have a website with the menu and prices, check so you’re not playing the guessing game of where do we eat tonight.Check admission fees, if there is a restroom on premises, check to see if there is parking, can you walk or if there is transportation.

Things to do near the Ambassador Hotel The were a few parks just walking distance from the hotel with beautiful plants, trees, flowers and birds I never saw before. The beach was a short distance that held Fireworks on Friday nights. Ala Moana Center Mall filled with all your popular stores and several restaurants. We went and took a photo with Santa Clause. Coming from New Jersey it was funny seeing Santa in a Hawaiian shirt and inside an air conditioned studio. Minutes away you will find Ala Moana Beach Park is a free public park on the island of Oahu with a quiet beach and free parking.

Visit Diamond Head Crater and take a hike and overlook the surfers, sailboats and the beautiful ocean. Parasailing in Hawaii was a great first time experience. I purchased through Groupon for $49. Called and made reservations the day before. We arrived 20 minutes before to check in and sign our waiver. The staff was amazing and made us laugh the whole time. Upon going up in the air I didn’t know what to expect. I’m not afraid of heights just being secure and safe which I was. My son enjoyed the experience as well and this is something I would love to do again.

My daughter had a list of places for us to visit during our trip. I went to Google to view images and reviews to see if some of the places were worth us visiting. I checked admission prices, military discounts and of course I went to Groupon to see if there were any deals. We had a blast and being a lover of nature I took over 1,000 photos during my trip. We were so exhausted one day that we had to stay in and recharge. (We are not the most in shape family) Our ten day visit simply wasn’t enough time to visit all the places on our list. This will be the most memorable trip with my children and we will always have photos to remind us of the great time we had in Hawaii. I listed the following places that we visited. Make a list of places you want to visit and do your research before going. Also during our trip we took fruit, sandwiches and brought water along with us. Bring sunblock and insect repellent is a big must as well. Enjoy your visit and if you have any questions from a person who was on a budget and simply enjoyed her time, be sure to reach out!

Dole Plantation Great educational tour, as we rode on the Pineapple Express train through the plantation. Walked through the Pineapple Maze and Garden. The grounds were beautiful filled with plants, flowers, different fruits and coffee. The best is when we enjoyed the pineapple whip ice cream and the roast nuts. There is a restaurant to eat and relax and gift shop to take some memories home with you.For more information on visit: https://www.doleplantation.com/

Dole Garden

Banana Tree

The Byodo-In Temple

Recreated Buddhist Temple nestled off the road near the cemetery. Entrance is $5 cash. When you enter the temple there is an amazing 6 feet, 7 ton Sacred Bell that you are allowed to ring. It is believed the unique tones of the bon-sho clears the mind of negativity, brings peace, happiness and blessings.I removed my shoes and entered the temple lighting an incense and saying a prayer. I released my negative energy and was filled with peace and a positive vibes. This is a place of serenity with beautiful architecture. There is a pond to feed the fish and booths with local artists selling paintings to take home. Bring insect repellent, the mosquitoes show no mercy.

There was so much to see and many more adventures to explore. This was a lot to take in. We tried to see everything in the 10 days we were in Hawaii, but that is impossible. We did so much walking that my feet had gotten swollen. We had a take a break for the day and relax indoors. We played some board games, UNO, and made cookies.

Continue reading Part 2 of our Hawaiian vacation!

Aloha, Welcome to Hawaii, Part 1 View from plane, landing in Honolulu Aloha, as I'm writing this, my thoughts are drifting back into my vacation.

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mariapelletierblog-blog · 8 years ago

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Traveling while Pregnant

I love traveling. Flying to different destinations was something we did several times a year growing up. With 30 years of experience under my belt, I consider myself a savvy traveler. However, with constant changes in security rules & regulations and now the added factor of pregnancy, I’ve really had to up my game. Packing and flying for our babymoon at 6 months pregnant brought on some new challenges. I’ve learned that being prepared and starting ahead of time can make all the difference. Here are some of my must have travel tips.

NOTE: As I wrote this, it became a mini novel so I’m breaking this post up into three parts. Part 1 is how I prep for a flight. Part 2 will be my Carry On & Travel Must Haves and Part 3 is some overall travel tips I’ve learned throughout the years.

How I prep for a flight:

Prepping for a trip is stressful. There’s a lot to keep in mind and get done in time for the flight. Add on that being pregnant and only having a few hours of energy a day and it’s even harder. So this trip I really tried to break up my to-do list so I was only tackling a few tasks per day.

A Few Weeks Out:

Travel Wardrobe. In the past, I’d go on a shopping spree purchasing some cute new outfits for an upcoming trip. But between my attempts at minimalism and trying to live more on a budget with a baby on the way it’s important to me to use what I have. Make sure you pick out the clothes you want a few weeks out (2-3 weeks I would say) so that if you do need to purchase any items you have enough time to find them in store or if your pregnant, order online.

I was surprised with how many sun dresses, athletic clothes and maxi dress I already had that still looked fit for maternity.

I did discover that I was going to need to go up a size in all my swimsuits. And thank goodness I 1) tried them on and 2) gave myself enough time to order from a few stores & have them come in a week later with free shipping, and then picked the few that worked best. If I had tried them on the night before our trip or not at all I would have been out of luck our first morning in Maui.

I ordered some suits from Athletica for the first time and am really happy with them (will share in an upcoming post). They were more sporty for Maui, I know we’ll want to do some easy hikes to waterfalls, possibly sailing and snorkeling as well. I also wanted a suit that gave me a little more coverage with high-quality material. These were cute while still fully covering all my growing bits.

I also ordered some new sandals, mine were years old and falling apart, a super cute sun hat and some swimsuit coverups. I bought all of those off amazon. Each item was $20 or under, came within 2 days with free prime shipping & free returns. Done & Done.

Research where you’re going: If you didn’t do this when you booked the trip, I reach out on social media asking if anyone has traveled to the place we are visiting and if they have any recommends. I’ll ask people to send me their full itinerary if they have it. The internet is a great tool, but for travel it can be overwhelming for me with all the options. Having a few friends recommends helps narrow down my options. I also use Yelp to help pick vendors.

My ultimate travel pet peeve is getting somewhere and wasting you day trying to figure out what to do that day. For this babymoon, we haven’t booked anything except the rental car & maternity photographer (!!!!) because I don’t know how I’ll feel. But we have a specific list of restaurants, luau options, waterfall & beach locations, sailing & snorkeling vendors, & spa menu that we can easily pick from each day.

A Few Days Before:

– Organic Gel Mani & Pedi, Wax, Brows. Maybe not a necessity for you, but definitely a necessity for me. It’s you’re babymoon, pamper yourself! And you can let your husband know it’s cheaper to get it done at your local hole in the wall then the hotel spa…

- Put mail on hold. You can easily put your mail on hold for free at USPS.com

- Laundry - Wash any clothes you plan on packing to get ahead of all that laundry. Less chance of forgetting something this way as well.

Day Before:

- Snacks – As a prego, I can go from fine to hangry in seconds. Also, airplane food & ordering everything out when traveling can get expensive. I usually stock up at Trader Joes the day before my flight on protein bars, dried fruit & nuts.

- Organic Spray Tan & Eyelash extensions. For me, a must have. Between the tan and lashes you roll out of bed feeling fabulous with no need to put on makeup. You can find a groupon or living social deal to help with cost. Just make sure to check the yelp reviews before booking to make sure it’s a reputable place!

Night Before:

- Charge all electronics (lap top, ipad, camera batteries & backups, go pro, etc)

- Back up your phone and photos - I’ve lost one too many cell phones while traveling… I’ll have to write another post on bags to pack so your phones don’t fall out so easily…. :/

- Lay out toiletries you’ll want to pack on the bathroom counter so you don’t forget anything. Pack up as soon as you’re finished using the day of your flight.

- Pack meds in a weekly travel container and put in carry on bag. Necessary for a prego who needs to be taking prenatals and any other meds during pregnancy. The travel container is much more space efficient than packing all your individual medicine bottles. Make sure to put in your carry on bag the night before so there’s no risk of forgetting your meds.

- Clean out the Fridge- Clean all dishes in sink, wipe down all counter tops (kitchen, bathroom), sweep/vacuum house. Nothing kills a relaxed vacation vibe like coming home to a house that is a disaster. I’m going to level with you, I didn’t accomplish as much cleaning as I would have liked this time around at 6mo pregnant. But the bed is made and there won’t be anything rotting in the kitchen when I get home so I’ll consider that a win.

Morning Of:

- Empty Kitchen Trash

- Don’t forget to grab those charging electronics!

- If you are renting a car, don’t forget to pack your car cell charger.

Ok, so do you think i’m totally neurotic yet? My ultimate dream is to have a laminated packing list for things like “beach day,” & “vacation” so we won’t forget anything when traveling with a little one. Ahhhh, #TravelGoals

#traveling while pregnant #babymoon #tips #ttcjourney #maui #6 months pregnant #organization #packing tips

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chinad · 7 years ago

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in thick dirt.

Jan 13, 2018

last night dirty spying eyes pestered me a lot. I saw lots of sexual scenarios, esp my familiar individuals around me, like dorm canteen operative woman, a staff of the canteen to whom my laundry outsourced. Its normal dusk when I went to canteen. When I felt good I asked some wine from the operative woman & handed over ￥5 as reward. I just want to be joyful & sharing my gratitude. Then sexual emotion likely aroused in the dorm canteen, esp in the 2 women. After dinner I went to joy as usual. On the road I saw lots of sexual scenes mindfully I once experienced when in doomed love which broke me up back to 2001 when I left Qiqihar to Nankai Univ, Tianjin, seeking my master degree. I know mostly women there love me, and I sometimes inspired by them. But I dislike unreal sex esp out of my loved one. I always pray for my peaceful soul partner, not indecent ones. That heaps of unblessed illusions reminded me this week an elder man I didn't know approached me in my dusk jog twice. He likely the husband of an elder woman who frequented me in my jog and some cases when I on way to visit my son 3 bus stop away. Every time she rode a bike. I at once thought in her elder what business can she have for such a busy route. Especially a time on my way to visit my son, she rested aside street and acquainted me. I just wonder how she made a living wilder around the street. I quit curiosity at once, as none of my business in that moment of probing mind. Now I'm almost sure that the insane elder woman in her show cheating me out her stalking me. Each time she talked to me, her husband, the old gay would appeared in my jog and trying talk to me, but I just reckoned him among QRRS workers once known me for I worked once in their factories soon after I employed, and never lingered more in my mind as unpleasant nod. Now I know the man's real ID. In this week after the insane woman acquaintance on her evasive riding away in my jog, the man stealthily pushed his way aside me arbitrarily, each time in dark area of my route. First time he claimed he noticed me watching my watch, which I never did. I mistaken him as passenger ask for time, so I search my pants pocket for watch to help me, the coward at once exiled, likely thought weapons in my pocket. After 2 days disappeared, he approached me again in front of QRRS square, claimed he noticed my usual route against normal people's there exercise, trying selling his research of me, or proof of his stalking. I just noticed aside a car turning around and the gay shamed then scattered again. I never looked him nor look back. The dirty illusive scenes all likely exerted by the sinful couples, they abused my well behavior. From my poor mother's grass root, I always resolved for poor diligent women, but didn't know the difference between normal elder woman's life, and those of out of shape. Last night I struggled to escape the fallen & dishonored, till I research my chromebook's replacement, new chromebook with android apps. I found amazon China selling this kind of products usually blocked within PRC. In the night I dreamt a lot purchasing the 2 notebooks for my son & my own notebook evolvement. I dreamt fought in sea with 2 battleship with same name derived from new chromebook I found at the e-commercial website. I saw fighting area on their functional dissected deck. When my son & I almost purchased the notebook, I woke up for the emptiness of wanting. God, dad, grant us sooner to have new set of chromebook for our workspace. Bring me sooner my Royal China, esp Asoh Yukiko, my Crown Queen from Japan. Grant us sanctum of love & privacy. Put self-esteem among people I concerned. In the lunar new year eve, grant us securer ownership over our adorable domains, ie renewal.

Jan 4, 2018

dreamt of Elon Musk, or Chinese version of Musk. he interviewed us from job applicant. then we take care of his family: his wife and his only son. an older staff also attending his family. his house in a lofty mountainous architecture, we have to clime in risk to reach it. when we returned to his house, the old staff throw Musk's boy onto a floating cushion, for no other shortcut to transport the kid bare hand in the harsh environment. even dangerous but the boy safely landed onto his house. Musk also challenged us with his famous product design. last night a bit relentless. after dinner in canteen, I first time felt hungry & dorm gate snack vendor out of service. so I bought myself a bread and ate it deliciously after dusk jog & watching TV in my dorm. then I reviewed recent talk to my 2nd elder sister. how she hated me & faked orthodox. I told her about world food crisis report online, she at once responded if I take pills recently. last time decade ago she forced me into asylum with plot with my other siblings, ignored dedicated cares healing. she is a coward, not only she married with a beast and suffered regret all life, also she currently trying push our niece into marriage with her nephew who likely a poor gay. she found her family doomed then tried her best to help attending my kid brother's first son, who turned out much less educated, and left her second son, also a cheap soul, followed my kid brother and successfully earning a life in southern China as my kid brother, and seized himself a tall girl as trophy wife from peasants labor flood there. she consumed my old family so many credit & merit to save her cheap family she once hopelessly sold herself into when she getting old & dependent to my eldest sister who committed suicide in her 30' partially caused by the kid sister who stayed awkwardly in my eldest sister's house after her senior middle school my parents hardly supported. she totally a betrayer & cowardice. then I reviewed all my brilliance lightened so many people in my living sphere, esp my home town villagers, my siblings, our relatives. my powerful influence was a gift of my era, my national atmosphere in which we believe in growth, scientific, and moral uprising under God's shine, ie. Christian, out of people's self-esteem. I saw society mindset and its efforts in molding reality for generations, and my development as the chosen. I review my failing siblings and praying forgiveness, exactly for their painful giving: hurt in guise. I reviewing love of my 3rd elder sister since childhood put me in peace so many decades. our road towards independence past and ahead. God dad, yesterday I almost first time felt panic of hunger. grant me anxious free upon food security. fed me with clean food & safe life. bring me sooner my Royal China and new family in which I likely bring one more child. God dad, bring me my Crown Queen, Asoh Yukiko from Japan, when it matters us. dad, grant us a peaceful and merry lunar new year.

Jan 1, 2018

first dreamt in school. the subject of experiment is to distill starch from stem, for final bean curd or jelly separated from paper tissue. then found I was studying my Doctor degree course. my old family members mostly proud of me. I likely in vacation and visiting my old family's relatives at hometown, Zhudajiu village or local municipal, Wuxue. then found my purse missing. I was very concerned. then my 2 elder sisters help me search in fields for it. we exam carefully every inch of earth, hoping find it back. I was so distressed that I woke up for it and found at once I didn't miss it, but now I can't figure out how my property safe in reality while when I just exit from dream, I know dreamy concern dissolved. This is first day of 2018. after 3 hours I will bring my son to dine out in Qiqihar downtown via groupon and aid financially by alipay credit. the holiday approached so quietly that I didn't prepare. I barely borrow ￥150 for usual weekend reuniting my son from QRRS Dorm canteen. after found my mistake, I search web carefully using the virtual credit to buy service online to make ends meet. in half day I setup alipay, Meituan on my raspberry pi and ordered 3 meals in cyberspace. yesterday we dined dico's franchise. on bus I prayed God allowing our coupon working and our holiday won't run short of cash. when we got there, there were not crowd. our groupon handled perfectly. we enjoy the meal so much. in fact, my deficit of meat healed quickly. I told my son Warren Buffett advises that youth should refrain from debt, and how Taiwan people inspire me, including dico's service. I urged him we are blessed to visit the franchise more frequent for it's just in its wane due to PRC economic hard problem, and eroded customer base among both richer Chinese and average Chinese family, for expenditure power just wears away in sinking PRC. I felt lucky to be served by the fast food chain in time when it's still graceful, and sale girls still so decent. I also told my son how I satisfied by my charity activity to offer a laid-off motorcycle worker begging for his hard life alongside street, on way my visiting my son, with ￥5: how its cost efficient & my emotional sanctified. after luncheon, we hangout in RT-Mart for my shampoo & toothpaste. my son definitely refused buying goods for him. so we only spend about 60 CNY there, among heavy carts and long queue of people at checkout. dad God, this week I will arrange installment with alipay credit. promise us smooth operation, grant us to complete paying back credit in time in coming year 2018. bring me sooner my Royal China, and my Crown Queen from Japan, Asoh Yukiko, for my lonely post mid age. grant us more offspring, esp Billing Zhu 's role in anticipated capable of billing, harmony with the Holy. God dad, in this pale morning, You ignite me with this post, let 2018 burning brighter & enlightened.

Dec 25, 2017

dreamt at my hometown village my passed mother sent me among other new enrolled undergraduates into college. my 2nd elder sister also prepared my package at home. there were near dozen of youth passed the entrance exam & enrolled. my nephew, ie. my 2nd elder brother's first son, also the lucky one. I query the richer family's kid, if he travel by airline. most kid will go to their campus via train, while I already had experience by air with my son recent years which let me proud, but I likely took train for poor economy. most of the village kids carried rice in bag. my family also prepared me rice in bag for dispatching, but I managed to persuade my relatives gave up for campus canteen does offer the food. it's touching moment for my elder brother's children never complete their senior education in reality. This is a cloudy morning. I at first felt gloomy, for last week I refrained from my son's anticipated joy of new SWAT suit, and a new pair of boots amid our cyber shopping. but my son likely didn't feel it, at least he didn't refute the spitting coward, the grandma's scorn of coat's qualifies being heavier from put on at once the new clothes' arrival, and also his new boots didn't put on right & sluggy for he didn't leave the high ankle standing, likely his mom & grandma refused guiding him. our only meal together in a week, in the downtown hotel restaurant, also disappointing for it cheatingly remove our once ordered dish with rich meat, replaced with poor quality & quantity meat, after some relentless exchange viewpoint upon our insisted tips for the gorgeous dining hall & cuisine in months. that reminded me time to shift away now that our tips left the hotel boss at a loss. but fortunately our salon buzzed in half hour ago, the shop owner settled our missing renewal in July & admit our membership extends nearly 5 months, values ￥200 after dispute arose last week. that affirms my faith in goodness, understandability of hearts. God, dad, even this month salary removed near ￥400 from usual standard, I still believe year end bonus will surprise me. now new year day of 2018 just a week away, and this wonderful christmas, dad God, reinforce us with plentiness and supportive, remove vain in our materialism seasonal heart. grant me treating my son in next weekend KFC or Mcdonald's or Dico's. shelter us from needy & wanting, instead warm us by powerful & functional of our new gears, esp from US & google. thx Dad.

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#Blogger #AsohYukiko #dream #God #life #love #benzillar #benzrad

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generouslymything-blog · 7 years ago

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Australia Vacations - Sydney Travel Tips

Liquid Tree CBD Review Any corporate apartments in Christchurch that happen to be worth their weight have been set as a home away from their own home. You can expect private laundry facilities, kitchen, lounge and Wi-Fi access. Place work in peace and quiet inside your own desk instead of at the table from a busy hotel restaurant. The greatest source of Omega 3 is fish specifically the oil of fatty perch. The supplements can includes both liquid and capsulized forms. Quality supplements are formulated from artificial fish oils; the only kind of oil can be fit for humans for you to. It has been purified within a process called molecular distillation. Hydrogenated Oils or Trans Fats: The fats to steer clear of are these, which are manmade coming from polyunsaturated relevance of. You will usually find them in store bought baked goods, as the oils been recently created remain solid at room temperature for more inviting foods. Combined with looking good they can be doing a lot of harm into a heart. It is interesting understand that lots of enthusiasts would say which it was the slowest Melbourne cup ever run ever however, the same horse also was declared winner on the cup one year afterwards. After which many horses from around the world followed his footsteps created themselves famous as highly. Body tune ups aren't the only thing taking place , these afternoons. New Orleans spring is here, albeit for many weeks, but this deal makes having the lawn updated a breeze. Groupon's deal of the day is from Big Easy Lawn for four weekly landscaping services for $80. However, this deal is exceedingly localized (Uptown, Broadmore, Garden District, CBD, & French Quarter). This deal expires in roughly 10 a number of hours. If you've managed to obtain a sunburn use peppermint and CBD Oil natural aromatherapy cleaning soap. It also brings relief for insect bites all too. If you want getting rid of your sunburn and a soap that's calming try lemon poppy seed with peppermint. It is a great appliance. Return to Watsons Bay for more photos looking west across the harbour making use of city skyline and bridge in the space. You may in order to enjoy a fish and chips meal on the jetty at Doyle's Fish Restaurant, before returning into the city located on the ferry.

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travelinfam · 7 years ago

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Two Weeks in Thailand: An Overview

Now that jet lag is a thing of the past, I’ve had a few people corner me to ask about our recent trip to Thailand. I’ve had everything from “how much did it cost,” to “what is there to do,” to “yeah, but is it really a family-friendly vacation?” So I’m gathering it all into one post (I’ll do posts on the specific cities, later) to be like an FAQ of sorts.

How much did it cost?

Thailand is a very affordable vacation destination. Before you roll your eyes and say “yeah, right,” let me clarify that statement. Compared to driving your family to the Grand Canyon, Thailand is very expensive. Compared to a Groupon for an all-inclusive, Thailand is a bit more pricey. Compared to going to Disney World or Hawaii, Thailand is very affordable. Compared to going on a cruise, Thailand is downright cheap.

The tl;dr answer is with airfare, hotels and train tickets, we came in around $4000. Adding activities, food and souvenirs into the mix, we came in somewhere around $5000. Let’s break that down:

The bulk of the cost is airfare. Getting to Thailand is not cheap. And if you live anywhere outside of Los Angeles, San Francisco or Seattle, it’s going to be even more expensive. Our round-trip air fare was $2500 for the three of us. That’s super cheap. If you’re a somewhat savvy flier, you recognize that as cheap. How did we get that? I’m glad you asked!

First, it’s important to know that I don’t ever book direct flights. Direct flights are super expensive. I always opt for multiple stops. In this case, we flew DEN to SFO, to NRT (Tokyo) to BKK (Bangkok). Along those lines, even if Chiang Mai or Phuket are your final destinations, it behooves you to fly to Bangkok first, but more on that later.

Second, we’ve made peace with layovers. I don’t go in for the crazy layovers (anything more than 5 hours enters “crazy” territory for me), but 4-ish hours doesn’t bother me. All in all, we had about 6 hours of layovers on this trip.

Third, we fly economy. More specifically, we fly the cheap seats. Yes, for taller folks (or those of us with giraffe legs), that means you’re going to be getting up a lot to stretch your legs. I’m good with it.

Fourth, and finally, know when and where to shop. Google Flights is basically the best thing ever invented for travelers. Not only does it search multiple airlines and multiple options, you can set up price alerts for destinations. Also, never shop for flights on the weekends or at lunch on the week days. Prices are statistically much higher. I received a price alert for our flights on a Tuesday night at 11pm. Sure, it’ll trigger your credit card fraud alert (I received a text, an email and a call. Nice job, Chase!), but it’s worth it to save $500-1000.

Where did you stay?

Once you’re in Thailand, hotels can be very cheap, too! Again, some disclaimers about us: 1) I don’t stay in chain hotels (Marriott, Hyatt, Ritz, etc.); 2) we don’t stay in all-inclusives; 3) we’re good with some “rustic” features.

Our hotel in Bangkok was $65/night. We were there a total of 4 nights. Our hotel in Chiang Mai was $75/night, we were there 3 nights. Our hotel in Krabi was $80/night, we were there 4 nights.

What does that get you? Our hotel in Bangkok was located within the old city, about a 10 minute walk from the Golden Palace. It was our favorite hotel, and I will return there in the future, without question. The hotel included breakfast, and for my fellow Americans, it’s not a fucking bagel and cereal bar with bad coffee. There was an egg station, and roti station, both of which were excellent. They had tons of fruit, yogurt, granola and juice, as well. This will save you lots of money. Along those lines, bottled drinking water was always available for free. The rooms were clean, had killer A/C, and good showers. For us, we had a room with a queen bed and a twin for our daughter. Loved it. They also had a washer and dryer for 50 baht each, more on that later.

In Chiang Mai, our hotel included a fantastic breakfast buffet, a pool, great A/C, the best shower at a hotel ever (the water pressure was just under what I imagine a fire hose feels like, meaning you were sure to scrub away all the sun screen and bug spray), and all the bottled water you would need. They also had a laundry service, which was 120 baht pet 5kg. More on that later.

In Krabi, our hotel had a nice patio, extensive included breakfast buffet, three swimming pools, direct beach access, three restaurants, the most prompt and attentive pool-side bar, and A/C. Our hotel was fairly far out of Ao Nang and Krabi proper, so they included a shuttle to both, and were very good about calling you a driver who would drop you off in Krabi, and wait for you. All for the whopping price of 500 baht. The only complaint about this hotel was laundry was stupid expensive, so I didn’t utilize their laundry services. (120 baht per pair of shorts. No.)

So that’s what went into the price, overall. Other costs are discussed below.

How was the train?

In a word, amazing. After spending a few days in Bangkok, we took the overnight train to Chiang Mai. Train tickets for a first class sleeper cabin were $40/each. So for the three of us it was $120-ish. I sprang for the $20 to have them physically mail the tickets to us, because I was a little nervous about leaving them at the hotel, but next time, I will have them leave them at the hotel without worry.

First thing you should know about the sleeper trains: they are clean. I don’t mean “They’re clean for a train,” I mean, they’re clean. No caveats or further explanation needed. The shared bathrooms are clean, the bedding and seats were clean, these are nice trains.

The first class cabins have an upper and a lower bed. The beds are single-size, so unless you’re both super skinny, you’re going to want a bed to yourself. We lucked out, and not only did our cabins connect, no one was in the fourth bed, so we kept the doors opened between them and my husband, daughter and I had quite a bit of space for the three of us.

The cabins have A/C, and a pretty nice window. There is also a tiny sink from which you cannot drink the water, but you can wash your face, brush your teeth, and generally tidy yourself up. They include a tiny bar of soap.

The train leaves at 6pm and arrives in Chiang Mai at 7am. Around 8pm, someone comes through to set up the beds, and at 6am they take them apart and turn them into seats again. The ride is very rhythmic, and not jerky or as rocky as some trains. Other than the rocking, you wouldn’t know you were moving.

My daughter thought it was magical. She read her book, she explored the entire train (the second class cabins and bathrooms) and generally spent the entire trip that she was awake, utterly enchanted. She also slept like a rock.

Two words of advice: They will bring you bottled water in the morning and in the night, but otherwise, you’re on your own for food and water. They have some sodas and sandwiches, but they don’t look like anything to write home about. I recommend bringing water and snacks, as we did.

Second, I did not envy the people trying to manipulate the train with huge suitcases or roller bags. As we did not check bags and carried backpacks the entire trip (yes, more on this later), we were good. There isn’t a lot of space for bags!

The final note about the train, at night, once you get out of Bangkok, you can’t see much out the window. It’s not until dawn that you can really appreciate the countryside, and it is very nice to look at.

Wait, you didn’t check bags?!

Nope. I don’t check bags. Why? A couple of reasons. For one, I’m somewhat paranoid, and am always terrified my bags won’t make it. Especially considering we fly different airlines throughout our trip. But the biggest reason is that when I get off the plane, I want to take my stuff and just go. I don’t want to wait around for baggage check, I don’t want to lug suitcases through customs, I just want to go. I’m terribly impatient, and in my head, this is saving me lots of time. It probably isn’t, but it’s a mental thing.

Some things to know about us, in terms of packing:

1. We’re not “fancy” people. We don’t go clubbing, or out to 5-star restaurants. We don’t pack dresses, dress shirts, sport coats, ties or other “nice” clothes. We’re shorts and t-shirts people.

2. We are utilitarian people. We bring two pairs of shoes, period. For Thailand, we brought Birkenstocks/Tevas, and a pair of flip flops. Two pairs of shoes per person. Period.

3. I don’t mind doing laundry on vacation. Remember when I talked about the hotels including laundry? There’s a reason I know the pricing.

4. We don’t bring a lot of electronics/electric devices. If I feel the need to dry my hair, I’ll use the hotel’s hair dryer. We each get a tablet and that’s it.

So how did we do it? I am an evangelist for eBags’ Mother Lode bag. They’re about the size of a small roller bag, and they can be carried as a backpack, as a messenger, as a briefcase, or just lugged by any of their handles. Goddamn this bag is amazing.

We had one in eggplant, and one in black. For each of us I packed a swim suit, six pairs of underwear, five pairs of shorts, six t-shirts, shampoo, face wash, bug spray, sun screen, toothbrushes, toothpaste, charging cables, deodorant, brushes, sunglasses, headphones and a few other minor personal items.

My husband and I are larger people, and utilizing the roll method, we fit all of our clothes in, with a substantial amount of room for trinkets and stuff that we picked up in Thailand.

My daughter carried on a school-size LL Bean backpack that was mostly empty. It had our tablets, a water bottle and a smaller day bag for her. On the way home, we loaded her backpack with souvenirs.

Our bags were heavy, but nothing my husband and I couldn’t manage. My 9-year old would have been unable to carry one of the Mother Lode bags. But for us, standing in customs for and hour, and then security/customs for almost two hours was just fine. If we can do it, you can do it. Also, in hindsight, we would have packed even lighter!

So what did you do in Bangkok?

This question always has an implied second question that I’ll address first: Bangkok still has a reputation for being a somewhat seedy, dangerous place. When some people ask us this question, they’re really wondering how we avoided seeing sex workers, “lady boys,” and the non-family-friendly elements.

We primarily stuck to the old city for our vacation, and I can say in 4 days we didn’t see a single prostitute, sex club, sex worker, or anything else on the “seedy” scale. Not. One.

We did see lots of transgender people, but they were “normal” people, working normal jobs; that is, they weren’t selling themselves as transgender sex workers. One of the nicest transgender ladies we encountered was selling delicious khao soi in a night market in Chiang Mai.

But I digress: We stuck to more touristy things, and we never once felt unsafe or as though we were someplace we didn’t want to be.

With that out of the way, we shopped and ate. A LOT. Bangkok is renowned for its markets and its food vendors. There are food carts on every street selling everything from fresh fruit to fresh seafood to fresh grasshoppers.

The food vendors are somewhat magical for kids. There are lots of fresh fruit vendors who slice and dice fruit right on the spot in fancy ways, and make fresh fruit “smoothies” (it’s ice and fresh fruit, period), and our daughter loved it. Thai people really like sweet food, so dessert or snacks were never hard to come by for her. Also, kids are generally well-received in Thailand, and everyone we encountered got a kick out of my daughter saying hello, please, thank you, and how much in Thai.

We were in Bangkok on a Saturday, so we hit Chatuchak Weekend Market, which is one of the largest in Southeast Asia. It’s impossible to convey the size of this place. We got lost in it. Twice. Do not come here if you have some place to be. We didn’t, so it was perfect.

What do they sell? Everything. Electronics, appliances, clothes galore, shoes, jewelry, knick-knacks, art, trinkets, touristy crap, food ... everything. And they love to haggle. You can practically play Super Market Sweep here. My daughter loved finding things, haggling for things, and just seeing how other people shop.

We also hit Asiatique, which is a more touristy Night Market that has a huge ferris wheel. Did we ride the ferris wheel? Of course we did. Was I terrified the whole time? YOU BETCHA.

On the last day, we did a food tour, which was excellent, as well. It covered a lot of ground, culinarily, for all the different “types” of Thai food, and influences. Our daughter loved trying stuff we may not have ordered otherwise, and we found new items to love and search out. So much fun.

Before we get to the other cities, a question about food: How would picky eaters handle Thailand?

I admit, I’m lucky, here. I don’t have picky eaters. The daughter might not love everything, but she did TRY everything. Which is great. For eaters who won’t even try things, you’re in luck!

The Thai love chicken. LOVE chicken. They also apparently really like Italian food. This means that nearly every restaurant we encountered had fried or steamed chicken with rice -- this is literally as bland and easy-to-please as it sounds -- or spaghetti. I’m not exaggerating, every place had fried chicken or spaghetti on their menu. Pizza was really common, too. Granted it’s not Ragu style sauce, but it was close enough for my little one on most occasions.

There are also lots of meats on sticks, generally grilled or in sausage form. No matter where we went, my daughter could get a sausage skewer and be happy as a clam.

As as far as spice goes, most restaurants we ate in would ask us if we wanted it mild spicy (several called it American Spicy. Thanks, jerks.), or Thai spicy. My husband tried to order Thai spicy at one place, and they literally laughed at us. They brought it out pretty damn spicy (they said not quite Thai spicy) and it was just at his spice threshold.

So where is Chiang Mai, and what did you do there?

Chiang Mai is to the north, near(ish) to the Myanmar border. It’s a large city set within some of the densest jungle I’ve ever seen. We stayed at a hotel in the Old City, near Wat Prah Singh, which made it the easiest hotel to navigate in and out of.

We did a food tour because the food of Chiang Mai is decidedly different than Bangkok; there is a heavier Myanmar influence on the food. The tour we used took us all through the city, which was really fun.

We visited all kinds of night markets, day markets and little stands. We didn’t shop as heavily here, because we had sort of shopped ourselves out in Bangkok, but we picked up several wood pieces and some cheap earrings. We also had our feet massaged a few times at a series of massage parlors that rehabilitate female prisoners. It sounds sketchy, but it was really nice.

The big draw of Chiang Mai is the elephant parks. We went to Elephant Nature Park, which is my biggest recommendation for an elephant park. If you read up about elephants, and specifically the parks in Chiang Mai, a lot of them are questionable at best, and terrible at worst. Elephants aren’t like dogs, in that they aren’t naturally trainable. The work that goes into the making elephants do silly tricks and let you ride them is pretty awful. I won’t go too far on my soap box, but ENP does a good job about educating tourists and giving a retirement home to elephants who have had a rough go of things. </soapbox>

We also tourned a lot of temples. There are Buddhist temples everywhere, but Chiang Mai felt like it had the densest number, or maybe we just happened to be in an area that was covered with them. Each one is beautiful, and really nice to see. For kids, it’s a good opportunity to teach them to be respectful and understanding of other cultures’ beliefs and practices.

What did you do in Krabi?

We, personally, didn’t do a whole lot. After trekking, shopping and being on the move for a week, we decided to take some time to just lounge at the pool and explore the beach.

The towns of Ao Nang and Krabi itself are great at night, there are tons of markets and things to see. We shopped and ate our way through Krabi, and checked out the Ao Nang beach.

The real draw to Krabi is that you can take chartered boats to the Phi Phi Islands, and the “James Bond” island. If you’ve ever seen Danny Boyle’s fever dream The Beach, that’s set on the Phi Phi Islands. If you’ve ever seen pictures of beaches with giant, forest-covered rocks jutting out of the ocean, that’s this area. It’s beautiful.

The best thing the daughter and I did was visit Thai Charm Cooking School. I can’t recommend it enough for any foodies. The hosts are so incredibly nice, and they really demystify Thai cooking, which is just great. Also, my nine-year old was able to cook by herself which was just magical to her. Yes, she used a giant cleaver. Yes, she cooked over a wok by herself. The instructor was so accommodating to her, and really made her feel special. <3 these folks forever!

Who did you fly, and how was it?

Whooboy. We flew United from DEN > SFO, and from SFO > NRT. The two-and-a-half hour flight to SFO wasn’t terrible. Technically the ten-and-a-half hour flight from SFO to NRT wasn’t terrible either, except we flew on a 747, which means we had zero entertainment options, other than the old school central TV screen that shows a set movie and some light entertainment. JFC that sucked. Once the nine-year old was able to fall asleep, she handled it with flying colors, but we did have a little breakdown about 5 hours in, because she was tired and a little stir crazy.

From NRT > BKK we flew ANA, All Nippon Airways and boy do I want to fly them again. The planes were nice, every seat had a screen with free TV, including recent movies and TV shows. The flight was six hours and it went by in a flash.

When we flew from Chiang Mai to Krabi we flew AirAsia, and the best comparison I can make is Frontier Airlines. They’re cheap, basic, no frills, no fuss, and were just fine for an hour-and-a-half flight from Chiang Mai to Krabi, and then an hour flight from Krabi to Bangkok.

We then flew ANA back to NRT, and United back to SFO, and United again back to DEN.

All in all, my daughter handled it beautifully. We did have a couple miniature breakdowns after the Pacific flights. It’s a long time for a kid to be cooped up on a plane. But she wants to go back to Thailand, so clearly it wasn’t so bad.

And that is our two-week vacation in a nut shell. OK, it’s kind of long, so maybe it’s like a really large walnut shell, but still. I’ll put up individual posts about the hotels we stayed in later, but for now, that’s as close to tl;dr as I can make it!

#familytravel #travel #thailand #chiangmai #bangkok #krabithailand

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