#and i love the joe wicks workouts

[s-horne]

What about stony quarantined with a rambunctious toddler? Or teenage Peter?

(I went for toddler!Peter and essentially just wrote about my own lockdown life... including at-home workouts and far far far too many snacks)

(also, no mention of the bad thing causing this lockdown)

***

“What in…” Tony trailed off as he surveyed the living room. It looked like every flat surface was covered with some sort of artwork. If random scribbles and brightly-coloured sponge patterns could be called artwork. “Having fun?”

“Loads of fun, Daddy! Look at this!” Peter held up a piece of printer paper covered with splotches that vaguely resembled hearts. “D’ya like it?”

All Tony could really see was the mess in his living room. There was paint on his table and a pink splodge on the floor, steadily growing larger as a stream of blue dripped down the table leg to meet it. He swallowed down his sigh to smile at his son. “I love it, baby. Going up on the fridge, for sure.”

Peter beamed and eagerly grabbed another painting. “And this one! Look at this one!”

“That one, too? Wow.” Tony smiled at Peter, heart sinking when he noticed yet another patch of paint that had somehow reached the skirting board. It was a bright yellow that seemed to glow in the sunlight. “My little artist.”

“Papa did this one,” Peter said, setting his painting down on the table. Steve swept in and picked it up when Peter put it on top of another painting, carefully moving it away from his flailing arms. “Like it?”

Tony laughed. “I love them all, baby. You and Pops are pretty talented, huh?”

“The best,” Peter agreed, nodding his head as he handed Steve his painting. When his hands were free, he grimaced down at the mess on them, holding them up to show his parents.

Steve took the painting with a smile and shook his head at the mess Peter had gotten into. As he met Tony’s gaze over Peter’s head, Steve reached for a damp towel. “Work done?”

“For now. Need to go back to it in an hour or so to finish off the last few bits. But I think it’s snacky-snack time, yeah?”

Peter’s face lit up and he yanked his hands away from the towel that Steve was rubbing over his arms. When he’d scrambled off his chair, Peter bounced over to Tony. “Snack! You want cookies?”

Tony poked Peter on the nose. “Thank you, kid. We can share a packet of cookies. Once we help Pops to clean up this room.”

Eyes wide, Peter turned to look around him. He grimaced again and leant his head against Tony’s knee. “Whoops. Lotsa mess.”

“Oh, yeah,” Tony said, lifting his eyebrows at Steve. “Lots of mess.”

*

“What’s going on here?”

Steve had walked in on some strange scenes over the years, but seeing his husband and son bunny-hopping around the room was one of the cutest.

“Bunny!” Peter cried, toppling over when he jumped a bit too enthusiastically.

Tony sighed as he stopped bouncing, breaths a little laboured as he shot Steve a tired look. “Yeah, Pops. We’re bunnies. Obviously.”

Snorting, Steve crossed the living room to deposit his bags of shopping on the kitchen table. He stepped back into the lounge to watch them, arms folded across his chest as he leant on the doorframe. “I can see that. I think. Why are you being bunnies?”

“It’s a good workout, isn’t it, Pete? I found it online.”

Peter grinned over at them for a moment, hands held up at either side of his forehead to make rabbit ears, before he turned his attention back to the television and concentrated on the next move. It looked to be some kind of jumping set to replicate frogs and it took every ounce of Steve’s self-control to not laugh at the unimpressed stare on Tony’s face.

“Come give me a hand with the groceries?”

Tony sighed in relief at the offer and ran a hand through Peter’s hair before he headed into the kitchen. As soon as he was through the door he fell into a chair. “Oh my – have you done that? It’s extreme. Never mind a workout; it’s a torture method.”

Steve chuckled, grabbing a glass to fill with water. “Here, drink this. Looks like being a bunny really took it out of you.”

Drinking the water eagerly, Tony glared at Steve over the rim of his glass. “You don’t get to mock until you’ve done that. You try doing Pikachu jumps followed by a plank and reverse lunges. And then go straight into Fireman Sam climbers.”

The longer Tony talked, the wider Steve’s smile grew. “Those are not real.”

Tony’s glare worsened. “Oh, believe me. They are.”

“Well, I think they sound like a lot of fun. Can I join?”

Tony threw a hand over his face and sank further into his chair. “You can take over. Forever.”

*

Tony rather thought he might live on the couch forever. It was comfortable. And the cushion over his head worked wonders for blocking out sounds. Tony could play innocent with his head buried in the proverbial sand.

“What happened?”

Someone poked at his shoulder and Tony groaned loudly.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Steve said, but there was a sharp undertone to his voice. “What happened?”

“What?” Tony rolled over enough to peer up at Steve.

“I’m sorry, have you gone deaf? Am I the only one who can hear the gates of hell opening?”

“He’s in time out,” Tony said, wincing when a particularly loud cry reached them from Peter’s bedroom.

“How long has he been–,” he cut off with a grimace when Peter cried again. “What the hell did you say to him?”

“He’s a kid,” Tony snapped. Pushing himself to sit up, he rubbed at his forehead. He hated being the bad parent, the one to dish out the punishment. “They cry. He was naughty and now he’s being punished. This hasn’t had to happen in a while – he’s forgotten how much he hates it, is all.”

Steve was silent for a moment, frown lines deep in his forehead. There was a bang and a thud and Steve shook his head. “Oh, go and get him.”

Tony’s eyes narrowed. “Absolutely not. He needs to learn.”

His answer was a lifted eyebrow and Tony groaned when Peter wailed again. “Fine. Fine, fine, fine. But when he does the exact same thing tomorrow, I absolutely reserve the right to say ‘I told you so’.”

Steve rubbed his hand up and down Tony’s arm soothingly, as though it were Tony who was in tears. Leaning forward, he brushed a kiss to Tony’s temple. “Times are hard enough at the moment. Go and get him.”

With a long sigh, Tony pushed himself up. He stood still for a moment to collect himself before he headed to Peter’s room. Sometimes, he really hated being the adult.

“Hey, kid.” Tony perched on the end of Peter’s bed, eyes on the boy-shaped lump beneath the blankets. Though Peter’s sobs increased in volume with his presence, Tony knew the difference between actual cries with real tears and ones made for attention. Peter’s had definitely turned into the latter. “Come on, Petey, don’t cry.”

There was a beat of silence before a tiny voice was heard. “Mean.”

“I’m not mean,” Tony said with a sigh, resting his hand on his son’s back. It showed how Peter was feeling that he didn’t throw Tony’s touch off. An apology would be easy enough to work from him and Tony would be able to orchestrate a somewhat-sensible conversation.

“Are.” Peter sniffed. “Big meany.”

“Come here, silly boy.” Tony peeled away the blankets to reveal his son and brushed his thumb over the boy’s wet cheek to dry his leftover tears. “Don’t cry, kiddo. I’m not a big meany. You know you aren’t supposed to hit people.”

“I didn’t mean to,” Peter said, heavy breaths punctuating his words. “Didn’t do it on purpose.”

“I think you did,” Tony said as he hooked his hands under Peter’s armpits and heaved him onto his lap, “but now you know what happens when you’re naughty. What do you say after you do it?”

“Said sorry,” Peter mumbled, words a little slurred with his exhaustion. He burrowed closer into Tony’s arms and Tony graciously pretended not to notice where he wiped his nose. “I did.”

“I know.” Tony pressed a kiss to Peter’s hair and rubbed circles into his back. “Take a deep breath for me. You know you aren’t supposed to hit people. It’s not okay to do that, even if you’re really, really angry. It’s a difficult time at the moment, babe, so you need to be a bit more patient with us, okay? We can’t go outside so we have to be extra, extra nice to each other.”

“I’m nice. Miss. Danvers says I’m a good boy. I love you.”

“You are a good boy,” Tony chuckled, holding Peter closer and tickling his stomach softly. “Most of the time. And I love you, too.”

There was a long moment of quiet before Peter pulled his face away from Tony’s neck. “Snacky-snack?”

Tony gasped. “A snack? How can something as tiny as you possibly eat so much? You’re so small!” Tony stood up with Peter in his arms and lifted him high in the air. “Have you got hollow legs? Is that your secret?”

Steve laughed from across the doorway and stepped into Peter’s room. “I think he must have hollow legs. A little hollow boy.”

“No!” Peter squealed, right in Tony’s ear. “I’m not hollow!”

“You do eat a lot,” Tony said thoughtfully, dropping Peter down onto his hip. “You’ll eat us out of house and home, eventually.”

“Papa!” Peter reached out for Steve when Tony started to tickle him, desperately grabbing at the air as giggles fell from his lips, cheeks flushed with laughter instead of tears. “Tell him ‘m not hollow!”

“Yeah, Daddy,” Steve said, taking Peter with a laugh. “He’s not hollow. Now, what was this I heard about a snacky-snack?”

*

“No.”

Steve took a deep breath. “You can’t say no, babe. You have to do this.”

“Can’t.”

“You can.” Steve pushed the pencil back across the table to Peter. “And you can say more words than that, you silly billy. Don’t go shy on me now.”

“No.”

Peter’s glare was impressive. It was clear whose son he was, Steve mused. It caught him off guard quite often, but most of the time he loved when he noticed it. Not all times, though.

“Come on, kid. One more worksheet and we can get a snacky-snack with Daddy.”

“It’s hard.”

Sighing, Steve cursed his son’s stubborn streak. “It’s good that it’s hard, sweetheart. That’s what I’m here for – I can help you with it. And then when you go back to school, you can show your teachers how clever you are. Miss. Danvers will be so impressed that you’ve worked so hard over the little break.”

“‘m clever,” Peter said, rubbing at his eye. “Like Daddy.”

“I know you are, kid,” Steve said, reaching out to pull Peter’s hand away from his face. “You’re my clever boys. So let’s do these horrible math sheets and then we can go and show Daddy how smart you are!”

Peter sniffed. Loudly. “You gon’ help me?”

“Of course I am,” Steve said, voice soft. “That’s what Papas are for, aren’t they? Now, look at this first one.”

*

“Is it bedtime yet?”

Steve snorted, which Tony thought was rather rude. “It’s only eight. Pete’s only been down ten minutes.”

“He’s also been up since five. It’s been a long day.”

From where he was burrowed against Steve’s chest, Tony felt more than heard Steve’s chuckle.

“That’s cause he’s your son, sweetheart. Bed is for the weak, according to you pair.”

Tony huffed. “It is. Most of the time. These are extenuating circumstances and I just want to sleep until it’s over.”

“Well,” Steve said, hand running through Tony’s hair, “I was going to open a bar from my secret chocolate box and finish off that bottle of wine we opened last night, but if you’d rather go to bed then…”

Groaning, Tony stretched his legs out on the couch and rolled until he could see Steve’s face, peeking through one eye at him. “What sort of candy have you got?”

“Whatever you want.”

“Ooh,” Tony moaned, grinning up at his husband sleepily, “the magic words. Talk dirty to me, baby.”

With a loud laugh, Steve bent down and brushed a kiss to Tony’s temple. “Red wine and Hershey’s. The Special Dark kind.”

Tony groaned theatrically and lifted his arms to twist them around Steve’s neck, holding him close. “That’s it, baby,” he murmured against Steve’s lips, “you know how I like it.”

[qqueenofhades]

if you’re taking prompts (and from that September list which is GREAT) maybe #4 for the lovely immortal husbands? love your magical AU for them btw!! and DVLA of course!

Once again, I must note that I am not actively TAKING prompts, lol, and I reblogged that list several months ago (though yes, it is great). But also... flattery will get you everywhere?

Joe is innocently minding his own business – sitting on the balcony of their rented flat in one of the endless grey tower blocks, gazing out over the hazy skyline of Kyiv with its spires and tangled wires and hills and trolley cars, sketching in his notebook – when the door opens behind him and someone steps outside. He doesn’t look up for several moments, concentrating on shading in the green domes of St. Andrew’s Church just right, until he is prompted by a delicate cough. “Well, my heart? What do you think?”

Joe glances up – then drops his pencil and nearly knocks over his coffee cup (which would be a waste, since it is hard to get most things in 1986 Ukraine). “Ya Allah, Nicolò,” he stammers in Arabic, every other language momentarily driven out of his head by the magnitude of the horror before him. “What on earth have you done to yourself?!”

Nicky smirks at him. “What? Don’t you like it?”

Joe’s mouth is still open, so he shuts it, and concentrates on studying his lover in increasingly aghast fascination. Yes, well, Nicky’s hair was getting long and rather shaggy, since personal hygiene hasn’t been high on their list of priorities while working backbreaking, filthy, days-long shifts to help in the continuing evacuation of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone and the clean-up and seal-off of Reactor Number Four. They’re taking a rest break in Kyiv right now, but they bus out to Pripyat again next week, and given the gauntlet of real horrors that they are elsewhere running, Joe would not have imagined that Nicky had the desire to inflict this monstrosity upon himself in their precious off hours. It’s a mullet, in other words. And it’s a very bad one. In Joe’s completely objective opinion, Nicky is the handsomest man alive, but even he can’t pull this off. The stringy bits on top, the badly shaved sides with a plastic razor – and that is not even to mention the mustache, often favored by gentlemen in explicit 1970s films. Joe keeps staring like a deer in headlights, in the crosshairs of a barreling fashion calamity. Finally he manages, “Nicolò, absolutely not.”

“Oh come on.” Nicky’s slightly wicked grin broadens. “You haven’t even seen the tighty-whitie shorts that go with it.”

This is admittedly an interesting bribe, though not enough to overlook the – everything else. “What?” Joe repeats faintly. “You want to look like Eurotrash out at the discotheque?”

“When in Rome…” Nicky remarks archly. “What? I said nothing when you had that Afro last decade, remember?”

“That,” Joe says with immense dignity, “is completely different. I am from Africa, so by any measure I have the right to wear an Afro. You are not a creepy extra in a Richard Simmons workout video. And we were working with the Black Panthers, so obviously – ”

“Exactly,” Nicky says. “Just fitting in to the local culture.”

Joe continues to sit there like a goldfish, still shaking his head in numb disbelief. “I can’t sleep next to you like that, Nicolò. It will give me nightmares.”

“Really?” Nicky crosses the balcony and perches on the arm of Joe’s chair, thus to let him appreciate it better at close range. “Isn’t every good relationship about making sacrifices?”

“Love has two faces,” Joe shoots back. “One of them is the face of devastation.”

“Mmm.” Nicky leans in. “Are you quoting Abu Nuwas again, my heart, or just being a drama king?”

Truly, this man knows him far too well. “You’re messing – ” Joe stares at him accusingly. “You are messing with me.”

“No,” Nicky pronounces, face completely straight. “No, not at all. I love it. I think I’ll keep it like this.”

Joe opens his mouth, about to say something else despairing, but stops. Yes, the mullet is an abomination of God’s earth (along with most hairstyles of the 1980s), but if Nicolò wants to wear this idiot look for a moment of levity in what they are otherwise faced with, what harm, truly, will it do? There were four horrible days after their first round of cleanup shifts, where even they were sick as dogs as the radiation worked its way out of their bodies, and the way Nicky looked then – Joe can still see it whenever he closes his eyes, so that mullet-related nightmares might be far preferable. Besides. He is very well aware that right now, there are other gay men losing their partners to a mysterious and unstoppable scourge, that in San Francisco and New York in America especially, the disease now called AIDS (but first known as GRID, Gay-Related Immune Deficiency) is ravaging entire communities while President Reagan sits idly by. Suddenly needing to make sure that any of that is very far away, Joe reaches out convulsively, catches Nicky’s head (stringy bits and all) and kisses him. “I don’t mind,” he says, just in case Nicolò thought he was actually serious. “I may have to wear a blindfold when we make love, but – ”

Nicky starts to answer, but is interrupted as the balcony door opens, Booker starts to come out, sees that the lovebirds are occupied out here, and beats a smart retreat. Even this, however, is not enough to stop him shouting, “Nicky, what the hell is that?”

“See.” Joe looks at his lover with wounded vindication. “I’m not the only one who has questions. Many questions.”

“Mmm,” Nicky says again, sliding into Joe’s lap. “Say that you love it.”

“No.”

“You do love it.”

“I love you, Nicolò. Not the mullet.”

“Shh.” Nicky leans in, and as they kiss, Joe can feel him smiling. “Just go with it.”

(Joe grumbles, but kisses him back, and doesn’t say anything else, and they go back inside as Andy returns from what can optimistically be called a shopping trip, and make dinner. Nicky entertains the entire team with jokes at his own expense as they eat, and Joe looks at him and understands exactly why Nicky did it, made a fool of himself to help them laugh, help them think about something else than radiation poisoning and piles of shot animals, and he loves this man so much that he can barely stand it. And so they go to bed that night after Nicky has removed the scissors and razor and sent the mullet and pornstache to their well-deserved grave, and love does indeed have two faces, and the other one, as always, is forever.)

[peppermintquartz]

minific, Playroom!verse

Finn, Joe, Drew, Roman

*

"I need a favor."

"No." Joe doesn't even look up from his tablet as he balances his books.

"I'll blow you at your desk if you say yes."

"I'd rather never get a blowjob from you ever again."

Finn flops into the crappy plastic chair on the other side of his desk and, as always, swings his feet up on top. And, as always, Joe slaps them off. "Come on, all I need you to do is put on a suit and look intimidating for our princess. You're already halfway there."

Sighing, Joe kneads the bridge of his nose. "What the fuck are you yammering about?"

"A scene for Tyler's birthday. Come on, it'll be fun."

"One, I am not dressing up for a role-play," says Joe, "and two, I'm going out of town next week with Mustafa to visit his sister."

"How long will you take?"

"As long as is humanly necessary to not do what you are proposing."

Finn sulks. "You're no fun."

Joe smirks. "The brat will get his birthday spankings if he asks for them. All the fancy shit is your deal."

"Fine. You're a wet blanket," Finn informs Joe primly, "and I hope you have no sex whatsoever while you're visiting with Mustafa."

"Fuck you." Joe throws a wadded up ball of paper at the Irishman and shoos him out of the office.

*

Drew frowns speculatively. "I'm... Not that I don't like Mr Breeze, but I don't think I'm the right person for this," he says, setting down his beer.

"Come on," says Finn. "You're big, beefy, dominant... Exactly Tyler's type."

"And he and I have never said anything to each other beyond hi and bye," the Scotsman points out. "I don't think having an acquaintance roleplaying at your birthday bash is the best way to get to know someone, you know?"

Finn sighs. He doesn't think it would be a good idea as well, more so because while Tyler admires Drew's mass and looks, there's no desire there. And Drew prefers women a lot more than he does guys.

*

"What's this I hear from Joe about you wanting to have a scene for Tyler's birthday?" Roman asks during their workout session at the gym.

Drinking deeply from his bottle, Finn dabs away his perspiration. "Yeah, I was thinking of giving Tyler his own Godfather scene. He is a movie buff, and I thought Joe could play mafia boss very well."

Roman pauses in the middle of swiping sweat from his neck. "I can do that."

"You?" The Irishman is dubious. "You're gonna have to stay in character as a ruthless sonuvabitch. You sure you want to try that?"

"Sure. I mean, a good suit, a decent office, a signet ring and a good watch," says Roman nonchalantly. Then he glances at Finn. "Wait. What's the scene about?"

"I'm thinking, he comes in to ask a favor, and you're not willing to offer aid... unless he begs you to help him." Finn cocks a wicked eyebrow, blue eyes glinting with anticipation. "I'd be your consigliere."

The younger man chews on his lower lip thoughtfully. It'll be interesting, to say the least, to be able to bully his boyfriend a little. And with Finn to help direct and guide him in pushing his own boundaries a little... "Yeah. Yeah, I'm in."

Finn grins, bright and delighted. He kisses Roman on the cheek and says, "The blue windowpane suit, with the gold tie and pocket square. I'll let you know when and where." He rubs his hands together happily. "Princess is gonna love it."

[jawnkeets]

hi frankie! i hope youre doing well <3 idk if youve answered sth to this effect already since we’ve had quarantine for months now hahaha but i wanted to ask if u have any study tips for when one may not simply go to a library or cafe 🥺 feel free to ignore this if youre too busy (u must be!) but i’ve always admired your enthusiasm and work ethic so i thought id shoot my shot <3 i hope you have a great week 🌱

hi anon, thank you for your kind words, and back at you! ❤️ 

ah this is a great question, and i don’t think i’ve been asked it before! though i can’t say i’m best placed to answer this as i don’t tend to study in libraries or cafes as much as i used to, even without the pandemic being a thing. that said, here are a few things that help me, written in a very stream-of-consciousness-y way - feel free to take them or leave them 😊

i’m at home atm instead of university, and i struggle to concentrate a little sometimes bc my dad often has teams meetings in his study right next to my room, and i can hear him through the wall. i’ve always loved to listen to white noise through my headphones when i need to bash out an essay or do a lot of reading, and this is especially true atm - this is my favourite, and it really helps me to focus and block everything else out. if you can’t get on with white noise, i find that classical or instrumental music can also help (this also reduces my anxiety about doing an academic task i really don’t want to do because it feels like ‘leisure’/ a distraction whilst also helping me focus, if that makes sense...?). it helps me get in the ‘zone’.

the most important thing for me personally atm is routine, but not a routine that pushes me to the limit; this is especially important during the pandemic, when many of us are feeling quite demotivated and a significant number are - wrongly, of course, but understandably - feeling guilty about feeling demotivated (i still often feel i should do more, but i try to be kind to myself about it). and working out a routine is a trial and error thing and will be different for every person, what time of the day they prefer to work, how much work they have to do, etc. to outline an example: for me personally sitting down to work at 9 is just not sustainable in the long term, and makes me dread the working week. so i wake up at 9, go on my phone for an hour until 10, do my joe wicks workout (!), eat breakfast and shower until 11:00-11:30 ish, and then aim for roughly an 8 hour day (though often i fall short of that, and that’s okay!), including lunch and tea, to finish at max 7:30 (this also includes regular breaks to look at birds outside my window, and maybe a dog walk). i then force myself to stop, and i watch tv and then maybe read a book/ edit photos/ scroll through social media, and go to bed about 12:30 (having time to relax in the evening is so important for me, as it then doesn’t feel like all day everyday is consumed by work). taking at least one or two days off a week, or doing light work/ non-academic tasks for a couple of days a week, is probably a good idea. but even if this doesn’t feel feasible, it is amazing how just doing a certain amount of work regularly, even if it’s only 1 or 2 hours a day if that’s all you feel up to, goes a long way, rather than what i’ve been doing for most of my life, which is nothing for most of the week and then a HUGE amount in two days which leaves me exhausted - and thus the cycle repeats.......

my biggest motivator is saying to myself, ‘i might as well do this and see how i get on, because otherwise i would only be online shopping/ on twitter/ staring out of my window, etc’, as often this takes the pressure off as i feel i’m ‘having a go’ at something, rather than forcing myself do it - this way, i often find that i enter a flow state without realising it. this is something that i fully appreciate might not work for everyone, though, and might be anxiety or guilt-inducing.

i LOVE being able to check things off or add things to lists - it makes me feel so productive. online book lists have actively made me read more, because i can’t wait to put them in, and i love seeing to-do lists on my phone notes dwindle lol. writing lists helps me remember things, and especially when one day can blur into the next, it helps keep me alert and organised, and to manage stress.

i hope this helps!! i never know how helpful i’m being when i give study tips haha as it is so personal, and what works for one person might be disastrous for another. but hopefully you can take something from this ☺️ best of luck with your studies!!!!

[tabloidtoc]

People, June 29

Cover: Tyler Perry -- We Must Never Give Up 

Page 1: Chatter -- Alicia Keys on the decade being the worst time ever for her, Lizzo responding to fat-shamers, Dax Shepard on isolating with wife Kristen Bell, Victoria Beckham on her quarantine style, Pete Davidson on Marisa Tomei playing his mother in his new movie, Jennifer Garner on her pet chickens keeping her family stocked 

Page 2: 5 Things We’re Talking About This Week -- did SpongeBob come out?, Lori Loughlin won’t appear on Housewives, Disney parks plan to reopen, Dave Chappelle releases a surprise set, Tan France becomes an American 

Page 4: Contents

Page 5: Editor’s Letter 

Page 6: Stars in the Sun -- Rob Lowe boogie boarding in Santa Barbara (full page)

Page 7: Josh Duhamel in Malibu, Alessandra Ambrosio in Malibu, DJ Khaled and his two sons Asahd and Aalam in the pool, Heather Graham in Malibu, Derek Hough went out for a jog 

Page 8: Queen Elizabeth celebrated her 94th birthday with the annual Trooping the Colour ceremony, Brandon Anthony and Tiffany Haddish and Megan Thee Stallion and Common teamed up at a Black Lives Matter protest, Shaun White debuted bleach blonde hair 

Page 9: Chris Hemsworth out for lunch in Byron Bay, Hailey Baldwin and Justin Bieber wore face masks during a bike ride, Dwayne Johnson hits the gym 

Page 10: Fun With Furry Friends -- Emilia Clarke walks her dog Ted in a London park, Jennifer Lopez and daughter Emme and fiance Alex Rodriguez surprised son Max with a puppy, Simone Biles’ workout was interrupted by her two dogs Lilo and Rambo, David Beckham with his family dogs Olive and Fig and Sage, Shia LaBeouf carries his pup, Please Adopt, Don’t Shop 

Page 13: Famous Families -- Arnold Schwarzenegger and son Joseph Baena on a bike ride, Tia Mowry with daughter Cairo and son Cree, Chrissy Teigen had a family tea party with husband John Legend and kids Luna and Miles, David Burtka and husband Neil Patrick Harris and their twins Harper and Gideon, Paris and Nicky Hilton in the Hamptons 

Page 15: The Scoop -- The Bachelor franchise -- demands for diversity onscreen 

Page 16: Meet the new Bachelor Matt James, Chris Pratt and Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt celebrate 1 year wedding anniversary 

Page 19: Heart Monitor -- Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson back on?, Winnie Harlow and Kyle Kuzma new couple, Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello happy anniversary 

Page 20: Inside the Vanderpump Rules cast shake-up -- Stassi Schroeder and Kristen Doute fired for racist behavior, This Week in People History -- 1997 -- Brad Pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow broke up 

Page 21: Open House -- Kyle Richards’ Bel Air mansion on sale for $5.95 million, why prosecutors want to talk to Prince Andrew 

Page 22: Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom count down to baby 

Page 24: Passages 

Page 27: Stories to Make You Smile -- a dad uses his toddler’s play restaurant to shine a loving light on black-owned businesses, Mayor Murfee a dog raises money and spreads cheer 

Page 29: People Picks -- Love, Victor, One to Watch -- Michael Cimino 

Page 30: Miss Juneteenth

Page 31: Artemis Fowl, The John Legend Concert: A Live Virtual Concert, Into the Dark: Good Boy 

Page 33: Books 

Page 36: Cover Story -- Tyler Perry on seeing hope -- amid a time of tumult Tyler shares his pain, his thoughts for his son and his dream for the nation’s future 

Page 40: 100 Reasons to Love America 

Page 42: American Optimism -- we have an opportunity to do better and be better by Gayle King 

Page 47: The Pace of Medicine -- the coronavirus pandemic has sparked innovations in medicine and vaccine development by Dr. Sanjay Gupta 

Page 55: The American Dream Job -- despite the current turmoil in our nation the space program reminds us what’s possible by Jessica Meir 

Page 66: George Floyd Laid to Rest -- feeling pain, finding purpose -- an emotional Houston funeral unites mourners pleading for change even as yet another black man is killed in Atlanta 

Page 74: Kelly Clarkson and Brandon Blackstock -- inside their shocking split -- after nearly seven years and two kids Kelly files for divorce from the man she has long called the one 

Page 78: Shattered Hopes, a Shocking Arrest -- deadly secrets -- after months of searching authorities finally find Lori Vallow’s missing children Joshua and Tyree buried in her husband Chad Daybell’s yard 

Page 82: Kevin Costner -- I Don’t Take Anything for Granted -- he opens up about his love for family, his path in Hollywood and his hopes for the future 

Page 86: Scott Turner Schofield -- Boldly Living His Truth -- the first transgender man nominated for a daytime Emmy opens up about his journey 

Page 88: Sixteen years ago when Terri Herrington’s husband died suddenly she donated one of his kidneys to Jeff Granger and when that kidney began failing last year she gave him one of her own and saved his life again 

Page 92: My Life as a Dad -- Ron Howard and Bryce Dallas Howard 

Page 94: Kenan Thompson, real-life hero dads 

Page 95: Patton Oswalt 

Page 97: The Royals’ Secret Weapon -- Sophie, Countess of Wessex -- the mom of 2 and confidant to the queen quietly steps up to fill the void left by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle 

Page 100: Gabriel Iglesias from salesman to comedy superstar -- the former quiet kid turned his knack for making people laugh into a booming career but his journey hasn’t always been easy 

Page 104: Country singer Chuck Wicks baby joy after male infertility -- the musician and wife Kasi open up about their struggle to have a child and reveal they’re now expecting 

Page 109: Summer TV Preview -- Matthew Rhys redefining an icon Perry Mason 

Page 110: Merle Dandridge -- a bittersweet farewell from Greenleaf

Page 111: Yvonne Strahovski from Handmaid’s Tale to Stateless

Page 112: Bryan and Sarah Baeumler of Renovation Island

Page 117: Style -- swimsuit season -- Nina Dobrev 

Page 119: Your beauty questions answered 

Page 121: The Crises of 2020 -- High Anxiety: Tips for Coping -- how to manage the challenges testing everyone’s mental health this year 

Page 131: Second Look -- Rob Gronkowski of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and James Corden take center court in L.A. Lakers gear for Game On! 

Page 132: One Last Thing -- John Lithgow

[dingletragedy]

You are such a ray of sunshine you always cheer me up when I’m feeling down. I have mental health issues and this pandemic is really affecting me (I have really bad health anxiety on top of the other stuff) and you always make me feel better even if it is for a little bit. Hope you have a great day and you’re staying safe!! X

oh anon, thank you so much for this message, you’re so sweet!!!! i’m sorry things are so shitty right now, and i really wish i could make everything better for you but we’ve just got to hang in there and things will be brighter soon!

here’s a few of the things keeping my spirits up at the moment which maybe you could try too: waking up to take part in joe wicks’ live workout at 9am, watching new series (i’m very late to the party but that’s currently sex education) on netflix, writing - whether that’s actual stories, poems, or just word vomit, my daily walk - try a sunset walk - they’re the best, self-care nights - grab some face masks, a glass of wine and light a candle, annnd using the time to read all the books that have been collecting dust on my shelves for years!

if there’s anything more i can do to help, whether you want to chat, or there’s certain posts you’d like to see me post more, please let me know!!!

i really hope things start to look up soon my love! hang in there and stay safe <33 xx

[elitetutorssussex]

Mental health for children during lock-down

Our emotional and psychological wellbeing is being tested by COVID 19 and it’s so important that we take time to focus on our mental health.  Talking to children about mental wellbeing is healthy and helpful and this piece is aimed at explaining some of the current strains as well as offering some advice and suggestions on how we can all look after each other during this challenging period.

 Further advice for parents is available via The Wither Slack Group who are running a series of webinars intending to ensure that parents, careers, and professions get the support they need whilst at home.

 How to look after your mental health during the lockdown

 – A guide for children and young people –

 These are very unusual times we’re in. If you’d told me a month ago that I wouldn’t be allowed to pop to the shop to buy myself a cheeky chocolate bar whenever I fancied one or that children wouldn’t be allowed to go to school, I would never have believed you. But here we are… spending a lot of time together at home!

 A lot of people are struggling with the new rules and the huge changes to their normal routines and sometimes being at home with your family can get a little challenging. During all of this, we must look after ourselves physically and mentally. Everyone has good days and bad days and your mind needs looking after just as much as your body. If you hurt your leg, you can feel the pain – sometimes you can see the pain. When you’re struggling with your mental health and you’re feeling low or worried, it’s not visible and sometimes it’s hard to describe. You might have experienced feelings of confusion or sadness yourself recently. You might also have seen or heard your parents struggling. They might be feeling stressed or anxious about what’s happening in the world – it’s not been easy recently! When you’re spending time indoors with your family, it might help to have some tips on how to look after each other emotionally. Below is a shortlist of things you might like to try to stay positive.

 Our tips for positive mental health during the lockdown.

 1. Create a timetable for your day

 Knowing what you’re doing each day and when you intend to do it will help keep the structure and routine in your life. Map out when you’re going to get your schoolwork done, when you’re going to stop for lunch or have a snack, when you’ll do your exercise, etc. This will allow your other family members to get their work done too! You can use this handy online template to build your schedule or design and handwrite your own.

 2. Get some exercise

 Get out for your daily exercise, make use of your garden (if you’re lucky enough to have one) or find an online workout to get your heart going. Joe Wick’s PE sessions are hugely popular with both adults and children, as are Cosmic Kids Yoga sessions.

 3. Talk about how you feel

 It’s ok to feel bored and, understandably, you might feel worried at times. Some days you might be feeling super chirpy. Talk to your family about how you’re feeling and make plans together to increase the positivity.

 4. Plan for the future

 Spend some time thinking about what you’d like to do when the lockdown is over. Perhaps dedicate a jar or box to your ideas – each time you think of something (go for a picnic, take a train to somewhere new), write it on a piece of paper and pop it in the box. When the lockdown is over, you and your family members can take turns to pull out a suggestion and make a plan for that day!

 5. Be kind to each other

 Remember that everyone is having good days and bad days and some encouragement from each other goes a long way. Compliment a member of your family or tell them something positive about your day. Give hugs, leave secret special notes for people to discover, ask someone how they’re feeling. All these things will help.

 6. Give each other space

 Living in such close confines can be challenging! Maybe your schedule for the day needs to include some solo downtime where you get a little break to be alone. Remember that the people around you might like some alone time too.

 7. Get creative with ways to unwind

 Your day should include downtime where you get to relax and have fun. Play games together, get arty, try finding a new hobby. Find a new book to grab your attention – the World Book Day’s extracts page might introduce you to something or someone new.

 8. Practice some mindfulness.

 Practicing mindfulness encourages you to focus on relaxing your body and mind. There are plenty of mindful activities you can try – some more active than others. From coloring to meditation; take a moment of calm. Headspace offers fantastic mindful sessions for children allowing moments of peace and stillness. Look out for our free meditation and mindfulness courses about to be released!

 9. Remember happy memories

 Take some time to reflect on the past and share some happy memories. Now is a great time to pull out the old photos, create a memory book, share your favorite moments.

 10. Offer to help out around the home

 Your parents LOVE a little help around the home and now more than ever you can make a big difference. Keeping your room tidy, offering to help out with the chores, looking after the pets, supporting your younger siblings with their routines and chores – these things will all be much appreciated!

  11. Reach out to family members you haven’t seen in a while

 It can be hard to keep in touch when you can’t see each other regularly. Make use of the wonders of modern digital technology and get in touch with the aunties, uncles, grandmas, grandpas, and cousins that you haven’t seen for a while. Why not try virtual game playing – set up the monopoly board in two households and enjoy some healthy competition across homes!

 12. Keep a journal.

 This is a time that you will never experience again. It’s a time in history that people will look back upon and learn greatly from. In the past, we have learned from people’s diaries and journals of their experiences. Write daily, write about your thoughts and feelings and the things that happen. All of this is important.

 13. Photo-journaling.

 This is another incredibly powerful way to record this moment of living history. If you have access to a device or a camera then take photos of your family, record what you see when you are out on your daily walk- so many things are strange and unusual that an excellent way to be a historian and record this is by taking photos.

 14. Join in or learn something new.

 Make use of free courses and classes. Elite Tutors Sussex are about to launch meditation courses, spelling course and an after school choir along with Dr. Seuss read along and a creative writing course too!

 Remember that things will get back to normal and you’ll be able to see your friends and extended family again, hopefully soon! Use these days to enjoy being together as a family – remember it for the fun you had and the kindness you showed towards each other.

by Emma Rickaby QTS- one of the best registered tutors at Elite Tutor Sussex Ltd.

 Read more: -   https://elitetutorssussex.com/mental-health-for-children-during-lockdown/

[lipsandtits]

Cheat day yay!

The world is crazy right now possibly as crazy as its ever been. Constant news updates whether it be riots, coronavirus or Trump it all reads fear, state of emergencies, conflicting accounts and therefore causes controversy, division and confrontation. No wonder people do not want to leave their homes. I will not go into my thoughts on these current once in a lifetime events just now but perhaps another day I will be confident enough in my ability to put forward my own personal theories.

I have found myself here in pursuit of some form of release. I am tired of my best writing being a short paragraph in the family group chat which is usually borderline inapproriate,mostly raunchy and in my own humble opinion fucking hilarious (although that could be the weed.) Theres just a wee bit more inside me than replying to kids birthday invitions and consolling the unlucky in love cousin who actually may find the quality of their love life improve if the stopped shagging dickhaeds. You see now? I doubt my honest frank opinions would be welcome there and dear God come on who wants banned from the family fucking groupchat.

I am going to spell things wrong and my grammers shite maybe my patters shite to. I dont care. I dont know if you get followers or fans here or likes or lovehearts. I dont even know how and more to the point if i should post a picture. But here I am. Real. I am ready to write.

I stopped watching the News on repeat weeks ago now. I think i felt I had gathered all the information required and it was beginning to make me feel really scared. It was a great decision I feel so much better and I would suggest others do the same. If anything was that important someone would call text or write to keep you up to date. 

I started to eat healthy for the first time in my entire life this week and trust me I am not proud of that. Rather than doing online workouts I currently look like I have ate Joe Wicks. I feel good. I feel a difference in energy levels ,motivation and attitude. Despite my name lipsandtits I dont give a shit how I look ,how anybody else percieves me I am making this change for purely health reasons mainly mental health reasons. I am so proud of myself for how i have managed however with several stones to lose I can totally appreciate the challenge I have ahead of me. 

Cheat day was well deserved.

[willridgard]

Run, Forrest, Run!

July 3, 2017: 21 mins 29 seconds. 

April 6, 2020: 25 mins 53 seconds. 

The above times are my ‘personal best’ and ‘personal worst’ for running 5k. The latter achieved a little over a week ago. Quite a staggering difference, hey?

But, why? Why and how has this happened? The coronavirus pandemic has given me a) some motivation to start running again and b) some useful, much-needed reflection time. So here goes...

Dilemma

It’s fair to say that as I’ve got older, the body has got slower - as my 5k times justify! And, in my opinion, it’s true that there is a massive difference in how your body feels from your mid 20s to nearly 30. Sometimes, I think about ordering a zimmer frame for the days that follow after playing football matches!

But it is frustrating. Frustrating to finish a run more than four minutes behind your ‘personal best’. Frustrating to hit your ‘pb time’ and still have another km to go. Frustrating to know that you are trying your hardest and feel like you’re going backwards. And frustrating to start a run knowing you’re never likely to hit previous heights. 

Hang on, I haven’t finished yet. It’s especially frustrating to see your friends (fit, lean bastards) still smashing sub 21 5ks - and people you think you’re fitter / quicker than comfortably beating your recent best efforts that you’ve bled, sweated, and cried for!  

Natural processes

Age and ale (you can never stop working...) are probably the two biggest factors that have affected my body with regards to the completely natural process of putting on weight. I like to call it ‘filling out’. That sounds much better. 

And when I think about it, it all adds up (if you’ll pardon the pun). In 2017, I was a slender, slight figure, which made it a lot easier to glide over the grass. Fast forward to 2020, and I’m now roughly 10 kilograms heavier. Quite a big difference. But one which I’m happy with as a) I was always too skinny growing up and b) I believe being bigger and stronger has helped me nail down my position on the football pitch.

I have always enjoyed running. From a young age, I was always ‘up there’ in terms of cross country, bleep tests, etc. My friends and I have also regularly and  competitively participated at parkrun in summers gone by (mostly Kesgrave and Sizewell). One of which saw Dave King buy me a special, custom-made t-shirt after ‘finding a second wind’ and overtaking me on the Kesgrave straight to claim a famous victory! Rumour has it that a rematch is in order at some point... 

My interest in running goes through phases though. Similar to reading I guess - which is something I’ve been doing a lot of in the current pandemic and something that is also really good for you, and really enjoyable once you get into it.

Motive

My main motive for running is to get fit for the football season. Pre-season / pre pre season: every footballers favourite time of year!

Of course, nobody quite knows when the 2020/21 non-league season will commence, but with everything that’s going on, we have no excuse not to be fully prepared for kick off! 

When I think about the most successful seasons I’ve had - whether it be youth or adult football - they all have one thing in common: fitness. Being able to work hard and give 100% when fully fit makes a massive difference to your game!

The 4 Cs  

In 2007/08, aged 17 / 18, I was extremely proud to win two Manager of the Year awards (Leiston U18s / Sky FC U18s). I think I played 65 games in total that year. Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday matches. Consistent. Confident. Committed. Competitive. I absolutely loved it and felt brilliant. 

Unfortunately for me, and in my opinion, it wasn’t until the 2017 / 2018 season when I next had a decent, full season. Some 10 years on! Where the bloody hell did that time go?

Adult life. That’s where! The paths that prevented me from really ‘giving it a go’ include: University (three years), suffering a broken ankle - that took a long time to get over physically and mentally - after uni, reporting on non-league football (four seasons) and living & working in America (18 months). I wasn’t in a position to be / have the 4 aforementioned ‘Cs’ every footballer strives for!

I’ve got to say that working at and playing in an ‘indoor’ sports facility in the US really got my fitness and confidence levels up. And after returning home in December 2016, I came back with the aim of using both on home turf!

After helping the mighty Leiston Orient win the Sunday Shield (what a day!) in May 2017, and having reported on hundreds and hundreds of non-league games (which was effing brilliant), I vowed to hop on the other side of the fence and reignite the playing career! I felt ready to play properly again and I felt like I was missing out by not playing. After all, one of my old work colleagues always said to ‘play as long as you can’...

The comeback

Having watched various non-league teams over the years, I always had a soft spot for Woodbridge Town, who were then playing in the Thurlow Nunn First Division. I spoke to the Woodbridge management team and went along to pre-season. God it was tough! But really enjoyable too. Circuits. Hill sprints. Stair climbs. The works! Unsurprisingly, this was during the time I got my 5k PB - and I was running that distance about three times a week on top of two gruelling training sessions and a friendly match.

I played quite a bit for Woodbridge (who would later go on to win a league/cup double) that pre-season and really enjoyed it - particularly under the guidance of Glenn Snell, one of the best coaches in Suffolk non-league football. If I’d have stayed, I might have occasionally got in the matchday squad, but I wanted to play week-in, week-out - something I did when Richardo Battletelli came in at Leiston St Margarets in the SIL Senior Division.  

All teams considered, I think I made around 40 appearances in my first ‘proper season’ back, helping Saints perform the ‘Great Escape’. Looking back at it, I think I tried too hard to impress at times, leading to some erratic decision-making. It was a great learning curve though and I felt that I had a positive impact overall... One thing was for sure though, the fitness framework started at Woodbridge definitely reignited my hunger and passion to play. 

I felt like I took this into 2018/19 with my current team Benhall. I played virtually every minute for a very competitive Benhall side in 2018/19. We should have finished higher than we did (eighth) having been in the top 5 most of the season, but I really felt like this was a season where I was on top of my game. A mixed, regular routine of an Airborne Fit workout (effing hard), squash, and regular training certainly helped... I thoroughly enjoyed it and all of the 4 Cs were back...

Lessons learnt

*Sighs*. 2019/20 was frustrating. I picked up a troublesome groin injury in April that hampered pretty much all of pre-season. I couldn’t jump, turn, sprint, use my left foot or shake it off. But I still played. Unfit and injured. I shouldn’t have been playing, but the team were struggling. Slowly, when I finally decided to not play and focused on getting right, we started picking results up again. It wasn’t until Xmas that I started hitting some form of fitness and form before the season was lost to us all from coronavirus in March. 

Reflection time

Having this time off has allowed me to think. Do I still want it? How badly do I want it? Where do we go from here? 

The answers are yes, desperately - and onwards! Now is a great time to reflect, put a plan into action, and to move forward. I miss football. I miss watching it. I miss talking about it. I miss reading about it. I miss the social side. But I miss playing the most. 

Time doesn’t stand still. I’m bloody 30 next year! I need to make these next few years of football as memorable as possible. This coronavirus pandemic has given us motive and opportunity to do lots of things. For me, I’m going to try and use it to get my fitness levels as high as my body will allow me to. I know I’m unlikely to hit the dizzy heights of 2017 when it comes to running 5k, but I can try...

This reflection time has also made me appreciate those still playing in their 30s who are doing what’s necessary to keep in shape. You only get one body; Look after it!  

The records

OK, my current ‘best run’ for 2020 is actually 24 mins 32 seconds - set today! I’m still adapting to the tough terrain of the bumpy Saxmundham / Kelsale / Carlton course set by Morpho - one of those still going round like a train! 

I look forward to seeing plenty of people recording their runs on Strava, which must have record-breaking downloads at the minute! Look out for the heavy-footed runner with the strange running technique, not too dissimilar to Shefki Kuqi, bashing his way around with big elbows and big knees... 

For the record, here are my ‘season’s best’ 5k times: 

2017: 21 mins 29 secs

2018: 23 mins 10 secs

2019: 23 mins 55 secs

2020: 24 mins 32 secs

P.s. You should try the Joe Wicks workouts too! They’re brilliant. Hats off to Joe, and others running similar programmes, for keeping thousands of adults and children fit, healthy, busy and inspired!  Stay home. Stay safe. Use your time wisely. And enjoy your permitted daily exercise!

[newyorktheater]

Lin-Manuel Miranda and Leslie Odom Jr in Tick,Tick…Boom in 2014

Miranda in Mary Poppins Returns

A scene from the original

Daveed Diggs, Okieriete Onaodowan, Anthony Ramos, and Lin-Manuel Miranda

Lin-Manuel Miranda is making his film directorial debut in a movie version of “Tick,Tick…Boom!” an early, semi-autobiographical musical by ���Rent” composer Jonathan Larsen about a struggling musical theater writer. Miranda performed in a production of the show at City Center’s Encores! in 2014 (pictured above with his Hamilton co-star Leslie Odom, Jr.). But that’s not the only film news involving Miranda. We already know about his starring role in “Mary Poppins Returns,” which will be in movie theaters in December, and the plans to turn his musical “In The Heights” into a film, aiming for completion in 2020. Now there is a report in  the Wall Street Journal,that “Hamilton” may also be coming to the local cineplex.  ‘Hollywood studios are currently bidding for the big-screen rights to Lin-Manuel Mirandas hit musical..  But in an unusual twist, the “Hamilton” movie won’t be a filmed adaptation. Instead, it is a recording of the show made in 2016 with its original cast, including Mr. Miranda in the lead role.” Bidding could go as high as $50 million, which seems reasonable considering that the show reportedly has grossed nearly $400 million in New York alone since opening in 2015.   Meanwhile, the composer, director and actor prepares to take “Hamilton” to Puerto Rico, as he explains in this interview on the Today Show. https://youtu.be/zHv4G1xw3As Below more news about filmed theater, involving Bruce Springsteen and Jennifer Hudson, among others, as well news as about staged theater — the latest theater awards, the closing of an Andrew Lloyd Webber show, the new seasons at Lincoln Center, The Flea, The Bushwick Starr, a “critic’s corner” that features some (more) sad news and some controversy; and an unusual break for the over-40 theatergoer.

The Week in New York Theater Reviews

Stephen Payne, Josh Charles, Armie Hammer, and Paul Schneider in Straight White Men

Straight White Men “Straight White Men,” a thought-provoking play by Young Jean Lee with a terrifically entertaining cast of Broadway newcomers including Armie Hammer, Josh Charles and Paul Schneider as rowdy brothers, might to some theatergoers seem designed initially to mislead, and ultimately to befuddle. By its title alone, one could assume – incorrectly – that the play will be an acid satire. This impression is fortified by an unusual prologue….What follows, though, is more or less the same play that I saw at the Public Theater in 2014, a sympathetic and straightforward look at a family of four adult men, gathered together to celebrate Christmas. Each has adjusted to the world, and their privileged place in it, in different ways.

Jelani Remy, Shavey Brown, John Edwards, Dwayne Cooper, and Max Sangerman.

Smokey Joe’s Cafe Near the beginning of “Smokey Joe’s Cafe: The Songs of Leiber and Stoller,” the new Off-Broadway revival of the long-running Broadway musical revue, performer Jelani Remy does a double back flip while singing the Elvis hit, “Jailhouse Rock.” It is the most memorable example in the show of what we can call The Bergasse Workout, which I’m naming after the production’s inventive and obviously demanding director/choreographer Joshua Bergasse…Five men and four women deliver 40 musical numbers in 90 minutes – no time for idle chat…or any dialogue whatsoever.

Josh Lamon as Prince and Lesli Magherita as Princess

Emojiland “Emojiland,” an entry in the 2018 New York Musical Festival, is set inside a smart phone, with the resident emojis facing a “textistential” crisis —  the phone is due for a software update. That’s in the first act. In the second act, they face a virus. A dozen talented performers, including Broadway stalwarts Lesli Margherita and Josh Lamon portray Smiley Face 😀 and Angry Face😠 and Worried Face 😟 and Weary Face 😩 and a whole raft of icons I’ve never used before, nor knew they existed — 📻🙄💂‍♂️💀ℹ🤓😎👷‍♀️🤴👸👮‍♀️🤰🏽😘, including 💩 pile of poo. The result is a hilarious entertainment, mostly — though one is greatly tempted to call it two-dimensional. If Sand Were Stone Billie has Alzheimer’s. “If Sand Were Stone,” an entry at the 2018 New York Musical Festival, presents Billie’s deterioration over a span of two years, and its effect on her husband Marvin and daughter Margaux. The title of the musical comes from a quote by Jorge Luis Borges, reprinted in the program: “Nothing is built on stone; all is built on sand. But we must build as if the sand were stone.” I can’t recommend this musical. There’s too much that doesn’t work…Yet it’s hard to dismiss Fire in Dreamland

The Week in Awards

New York Innovative Theater Awards 2018 nominations for the best Off-Off Broadway Third Annual Samuel French Awards: The Secret Garden  (writing team Lucy Simon & Marsha Norman), Award for Sustained Excellence in American Theatre Doug Wright, Award for Impact & Activism in the Theatre Community for his work as president of the Dramatists Guild Antoinette Nwandu, the Next Step Award, support for a playwright, composer or lyricist working toward the next level of their career.

The Week in New York Theater News

School of Rock will end on Broadway on January 20, 2019, having played 1,307 regular performances, just over three years.

Bruce Springsteen reminiscing at the Tony Awards about his hometown while accompanying himself on the piano, before singing “My Hometown.”

Springsteen On Broadway will be shown on Netflix Dec 15, which is also the final night of its 236-show Broadway run at the Walter Kerr. CATS is being made into a film. Jennifer Hudson, Taylor Swift, James Corden, and Ian McKellen will star. Lisa Brescia, six-time Broadway vet (Elphaba in Wicked, Donna in Mamma Mia) takes over from Rachel Bay Jones as Heidi Hansen in Dear Evan Hansen starting August 7   Here’s a twist. During previews, Gettin The Band Back Together will offer 40 tickets per performance for $40 each for people 40 years of age and older. “because we know 40-year-olds have responsibilities and bad backs that may prohibit them from sleeping on sidewalks.” Use code BT40440. The musical opens on August 13th.

New Seasons Off and Off-Off Broadway

At Lincoln Center: 1. A new play by Tom Stoppard “The Hard Problem,” about a young psychology student facing difficult questions. eg. Is altruism possible without self-interest? Directed by Jack O’Brian. Opens Nov 19 2. “Plot Points in Our Sexual Development” a contemporary queer love story Oct 6-Nov 18. Written by Miranda Rose Hall, direccted by Margot Bordelon

The new Flea theater

2018-2019 Season @TheFleaTheater on the theme of “Color Brave”

Scraps, about a police shooting, Aug 15-Sept 24 Emma & Max, about city’s well-off and worn-down, Oct 1-28 Hype Man, Nov 10 – Dec 1 Also, plays by @KristianaSpeaks & #ThomasBradshaw https://t.co/GG5qpg56uV pic.twitter.com/NKdmxRz23V — New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) July 18, 2018

The Bushwick Starr’s Tenth Anniversary Season Ugly by Raja Feather Kelly Sept 5-8 The Things That Were There by David Greenspan  Oct 10-Nov 4 The Infinite Love Party by Diana Oh January 11 – February 2 Suicide Forest by Kristine Haruna Lee February 27 – March 16, 2019 The 9th Annual Big Green Theater Festival April 26 – 28, 2019 CABIN by Sean Donovan May 22- June 8 Details

Critics Corner

1. Another Theater Critic – and Newspaper — Erased

Well, 17.5 years later, the Daily News and I have parted ways. It was a great ride that included 12 seasons of reviewing Broadway and off; writing 100s features, news stories and more. Head high, heart heavy, eyes forward! Any leads – I’m up!

— Joe Dziemianowicz (@TheJoeDShow) July 23, 2018

Joe is one of many at the Daily News who’ve been laid off. The Daily News will cut half of its newsroom staff…The paper was sold to @tronc Inc. last year for $1, with the owner of @ChicagoTribune assuming liabilities and debt.

A year before @tronc laid off half its staff at @NYDailyNews, it paid $15 million to its chairman, Michael Ferro, resigning just ahead of sexual harassment allegations against him.@AlbertBurneko asks angrily: Shouldn’t something like this be illegal?https://t.co/uAEku791li

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) July 24, 2018

2.

Theater criticism must be supported, says @thestage editor @smithalistair, for these six reasons: pic.twitter.com/6fRPFNHQ4n

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) July 22, 2018

3. Fat Shaming Review? In Laura Collins-Hughes’ review of Smokey Joe Café: “Ms. Umphress, by the way, is bigger than the other women onstage, and the costume designer, Alejo Vietti, doesn’t seem to have known how to work with that, dressing her in an unnecessarily unflattering way.” https://

A thought. @collinshughes @nytimes @hellerNYT #bodypositivity pic.twitter.com/JGbDzboo05

— Alysha Umphress (@Cristalzheat) July 23, 2018

It is in no way shameful to be big, let alone bigger than the other women onstage. My remark about the costuming reflects on the designer. This is not the first time I’ve noticed a designer seemingly at a loss about how to dress a larger woman well.

— Laura Collins-Hughes (@collinshughes) July 23, 2018

RIP Gary Beach, 70, nine-time Broadway veteran, a Tony winner for his role as flamboyant theater director Roger De Bris in The Producers

“This administration gains its power by fomenting a sense of hopelessness. We defy it with a spirit of celebration, of abundance, and of connection.” – theater director & educator @LPortes67 at opening of #LTCCarnaval18 (celebrating Latinx theater artists/@CafeOnda) at @DePaulU pic.twitter.com/QyIvW871mZ

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) July 20, 2018

Lin-Manuel Miranda Goes Hollywood and to Puerto Rico. Hamilton Too? The Week in NY Theater Lin-Manuel Miranda is making his film directorial debut in a movie version of "Tick,Tick...Boom!" an early, semi-autobiographical musical by "Rent" composer Jonathan Larsen about a struggling musical theater writer.

[nicartph]

PE Journey During Pandemic

Physical Education (PhysEd) class and sports activities have been immensely affected by the pandemic. In as much as we wanted to do things face to face in the physical setup, constraints hold us back from being active and carry on with sports activities in our syllabus, and I hate it. Lockdown, Work From Home, Remote Teaching whatever is appropriate to call it has made us go slow and face all the underlying challenges and transform into something innovative.

Last November 2020, I tore my ligament in my left knee in an accident from playing volleyball with my friends that cause me to underwent reconstruction surgery that will take 6 months or more for its full recovery. Putting the above mentioned in the context, presently I am not able to teach nor demonstrate movement skills and exercise and even making instructional videos and it's ironically FRUSTRATING. I began to lose myself and be on the dark side of the spectrum until somebody influential to me once said " Hey Nick you aren't useless, you're injured! Cheer up! " and I had a light bulb moment at that very moment.

BOTTLENECK...

Pretty much that both students and teachers are skeptical as to how PhysEd class is to be conducted on the onset of remote teaching. It was chaotic and most of us were lost and not fully acquainted with the new system, usage of digital platforms, and its transitions itself while going from one class to another was a tangible challenge.

In PhysEd, the resources have been the major deal-breaker pertaining to space facility and implement to be used. It is safe to say that a large majority of the students are living in flat type housing where the space for movements and skills are inadequate with a chunk of sharp pointed objects and breakable furniture everywhere- NOT SAFE. Talking about the manipulative implement, I do always offset whether all the students have access to a ball, a racket, or even a simple beanbag that is required to deliver qualify PhysEd lesson. The NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND resonates in my mind every time I plan the activity; it's important to be mindful of every child's means to access during this time of the pandemic. QUITE A TASK.

After months of doing Zumba and fitness workouts, I feel the decline of motivation among students and become despondent in class. They started to not participate in the warm-up activity and become selective of the kind of game they only wanted to do. Manifestation continues as they turn off their camera and disconnect to the audio deliberately saying its connection issue. The classic 'MAMA RULE' and ' I AM NOT FEELING WELL' excuse cards have been played several times.

PROACTIVE...

The energy that is overflowing in PhysEd class was felt from within and it was not a good vibe. As a teacher, I felt the need to do something win-win, where we all can synergize and I have to start at some point. First thing first, I introspect the inner essence of the subject and reflect on the available resources we have and then create and innovate. I even conducted a short survey about their general feels with regard to well-being and safety coming to my class and also care to ask about the kind of activity they would love to have in the class so I have a baseline to work upon. I SEEK TO UNDERSTAND. Finally, I was able to figure out what best interests my students. The one size fits all approach is not working. MASLOW FIRST BEFORE BLOOM. It's time to innovate.

The highest regard of teaching PhysEd is to be able to touch the lives you teach not only in their physical development as well as the mental being, social and personal skills, emotional health, and overall well being are being honed. We made PhysEd class a space where students can loosen up, meditate, socialize, and have fun while learning the necessary fundamental movement skills. We maximized the use of breakout rooms and made it even more purposeful and tailor-fit with the best interest of the students not to mention, self-paced, challenged-based, fitness driven, and fun. As we go on, students become masters in navigating digital platforms and in using a variety of google suites used in class. As soon as they understood, it becomes meaningful to them and even started to make life's connection. The energy becomes synergistic in class that promotes happy and positive PhysEd culture.

Being a PhysEd teacher is both an honor and a responsibility to help students achieve their best potentials in class that transforms into their practical life. If you can relate to this and still seeking more wisdom, I hereby have 3 words for you:

1.HUSTLE: The most crucial time where we need to be on our toes and at our best is now. Do not let Joe Wicks take away the job that we love. GRIND more. SKILL UP. and INNOVATE.

2. CONNECT: The vast available digital platforms beckons us to dive in. Be proactive in establishing connections in social media, read threads and forums, and attend webinars with the people who share the same passion and story as you. There are lots of wisdom to take in once we reach out. See the bigger picture. SHARE.

3. COMPASSION: In today's time where uncertainty prevails and school children are lock-up at home, it is expected for us adults to exhibit emphatic listening skills and be extra considerate. If anybody is not able to catch up with the pace of the instruction, no means to access resources, or not able to comply with the submission due dates of the task - BE KIND. We can always RE INSTRUCT, GO SLOW AND TAKE BABY STEPS, MAKE FLEXIBLE DUE DATES, and other possible matters applicable. We are not in a race, we are in a marathon. Learn to be in the moment. MINDFULNESS. SHOW COMPASSION.

The 3 words - HUSTLE, CONNECT & COMPASSION is what makes the PE in Credence High fly High.

[dingletragedy]

he made a really delicious pasta sauce from scratch to go with meatballs, and then he made bread—we have a pretty decent supply of it bc I normally bake a lot, but i think i'm rescinding my title because the bread was SO GOOD 😂it didn't feel easterly at all but i've eaten so much chocolate, i'm not complaining. i honestly don't know how i'm going to spend the week—i might resort to digging out jigsaw puzzles to try and cure my boredom! hope you manage to find something to do 🐝xx

(oh i forgot to say in my last message—i took your 'which ee character are you quiz' and got callum! have you taken it for yourself yet? 🐝xx)

oh wow, he sounds like he’s great in the kitchen!!! pasta sauce from scratch fresh bread? damn, i want to come and eat at your house! the most my brother can do is shove a pizza in the oven, but i think laziness is largely to blame for that - he is a teenager after all! i really want to make some bread soon, the last time i did so was inside a windmill (we took the kids of a school trip there!), but i’ve had no luck in my hunt for flour and yeast!!! 

i was in the exact same position this morning, i must’ve spent an hour just staring at the wall deciding what to do! in the end a neighbour contented me and asked if i’d do some food shopping for them which took up a couple of hours, and a nice long walk. mow, i’ve just done two joe wicks workouts back-to-back and i can’t feel my legs - he about killed me off today!!!!!

ahhh you got callum!!! that’s amazing!! and from what i can tell, very accurate indeedd! you’re definitely a ray of sunshine in my life

[deepstheeskimo]

What’s a ‘gym’?

What a day. 

Went back to the gym for the first time since Locky-D and even got a lie in because its not 24 hour any more. Deeps and his bucket full of underlying health conditions seems to have just about navigated the pandemic so far without ending up on a respirator or a hospital floor like those videos from Spain, one of which would have probably been the case due to my shadow of an immune system. 

Trying to take on COVID would be its version of when Moe dresses up all smart but ends up marching across the whole stage into the ‘rejects’ section.

Anyway, mask and antibac at the ready I turned up at opening time (to see less people and to ensure at least semi-clean equipment), joining the 15 or so others in the queue. Can only describe it as being like Chinese seaweed - a strange and unexpected success. 

Obvious changes have been made but I didn’t foresee the banning of spotting, that, ahem, ‘PTs’ would constantly clean equipment or that there would be ample antibac and disinfectant. Sadly there were security tags attached to these bottles at which I’m going to stoically let out a long slow sigh rather than react to by showing a middle finger to everyone I meet. What kind of horrible little mob of people (no way we deserve the word ‘society’) have we become that this would be necessary? Shame.

The decision to close whole walls of lockers instead of binning off multiple spaced columns of these to provide a social distance also seemed questionable but whatever. I trust the science all right, just got no faith in how its enacted as policy. The way that this most recent lockdown has been handled within hours of Eid al-Adha shows that yet again. Ah shocker, Plato right again and I’ve ended up back discussing how blinkered and unthinking this country has become. Must stop that.

Other news: no bugger else used the showers post-workout but I was more than happy to make the place reek like refresher shower gel. Used one of my microfibre towels for the first time since March and I’m happy to report it seemed to not have put on any lockdown lard. Hope it hasn’t been doing favours for Joe Wicks on the side...

Also saw some of the old characters: lil duracell bunny girl running on the same treadmill as ever, wide eyed guy who always looks like you’ve just caught him up to something he shouldn’t be and of course, the guy that looks like he’s out a video game. This guy is amazing. About 6′3, stupid stacked and more ripped than a yellow pages on an episode of Guinness World Records. Always fully colour coordinated clothing with brilliant skin, amazing trim (shaved apart from the top - dyed blonde), great teeth and covered in tattoos. No wonder he strips to his tiny white Y-fronts in the changing rooms to look at himself in the mirror for a good twenty minutes after each session. He also hairdryers his entire body but never showers. Perhaps taking more performance enhancing drugs than a Soviet deadlifter impacts more than your muscle definition.

I wonder what they and the new guy (I’m calling him ‘very serious fella wearing a shirt that reads KOREA ARMY’) all thought of ‘wheezy kid that only ever wears Adidas’ today as I took on my cable machine? I don’t care really because I loved it. Every second. Such a buzz to be back because as much as I’ve exercised every day, kept up the running and made the best of it, I frankly don’t have a cable machine or a squat rack in this one bedroom flat. My mental health took many an elbow to the temple during the heavier lockdown period and losing the gym hit me. It’s been the way I begin my daily routine every single weekday for about three years*. Who cares about some Citroen Saxo lad’s fortnightly Nando’s in comparison to that?

It’s also meant less ability to release the pent up frustrations of days of Zoom, electronic head-pecking and mindless spreadsheets that are finished off by a nice dose of Krishnan on Da News showing the latest inatalment of What A Selfish, Backward Bunch Of Bucktoothed Yokels We Are. 

Argh, ok that’s the third time I’ve discussed it. Enough.

*and I’ve gone for years longer than that too, but I’m not properly counting them because I used to finish those sessions off with a stroll to get a Costa Creamy Cooler or 4 pack of Greggs sausage rolls. Oof.

[crazyflyingspip]

At home with The Bodycoach – inspired by Joe Wicks' house during isolation

From the grey living room to the contemporary white kitchen, we’re enjoying the daily snoop around Joe Wicks’ house.

He’s become somewhat of a national hero during lockdown, as he inspires a nation to do PE with Joe. Kids and parents alike are tuning in every morning to watch Joe and his family do a workout on his YouTube channel.

While we’re there for the fitness, Ideal Home is of course just as interested in the decor as the exercise (ok more so the decor, you got us!).

Related: Once Meg Ryan’s house, this stunning property’s on the market for $19.95million

Feeling inspired by Joe Wicks’ house?

View this post on Instagram

Mood: Before, During and After exercise #FancyDressFriday #pewithjoe

A post shared by Joe Wicks (@thebodycoach) on Apr 10, 2020 at 1:57am PDT

The ground floor is a glorious open-plan space, a seamless transition from living room to kitchen and dining area.

Dressed as a frog for his fun-filled Friday fancy dress classes, Joe gives us a real hit of kitchen inspiration. With on-trend white metro tiles and a polished cement-style floor.

View this post on Instagram

Have you been thinking about signing up to the 90 Day Plan? Well now is the perfect time to start your journey for just £50 (usually £97) With the 90 Day Plan you'll train with me at home in real-time, eat amazing home-cooked food and transform how you look and feel It's the lowest price it's ever been and it's an amazing time to get started and feel fitter, stronger, healthier and happier Get started at www.thebodycoach.com (LINK IN BIO) #90dayplan #thebodycoach #fitness #food #workout

A post shared by Joe Wicks (@thebodycoach) on Apr 13, 2020 at 5:52am PDT

The work out living room’s a well co-ordinated space. With pale grey walls matching a plush light marl carpet. Either side of the fireplace are shelves, painted in the way colour, for treasured family photos.

View this post on Instagram

I’m super happy to announce that as a global community training together with #pewithjoe we have raised an incredible £91,256.38 for the @nhscharitiestogether fund This is every penny so far raised from the 20 workouts we have done together. Thank you so much for taking part and helping raise all this money for a cause which I feel we can all be proud of. The great news is we can grow this number even bigger each week by coming back and tuning in again. Will I see you tomorrow at 9am? To all the NHS staff we LOVE and appreciate you #PEWithJoe

A post shared by Joe Wicks (@thebodycoach) on Apr 20, 2020 at 2:00am PDT

Joe shares his amazing contribution to his NHS fund, from his PE classes, and gives us a glimpse indoors. The decorative tiled floor adds real personality to the space.

View this post on Instagram

Banger of a lunch today Lamb Koftas with tahini yogurt dip and crushed potatoes. Chased down with Greek yogurt, blueberries, granola and honey

A post shared by Joe Wicks (@thebodycoach) on Apr 21, 2020 at 7:01am PDT

Here are the glorious floor tiles once again. We love the cobalt reactive glazed pottery the family eat from too. They help to add another flash of the accent blue, that runs throughout the open-plan kitchen.

View this post on Instagram

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, Big Issue vendors are no longer able to sell on the streets, so to ensure The @bigissueuk survival and to support their vendors, they’ve launched new ways for you to buy the mag and support them and vendors. You can now subscribe to the magazine! Go to bigissue.com or download their new app on the App Store

A post shared by Joe Wicks (@thebodycoach) on Apr 16, 2020 at 2:14am PDT

Outdoors Joe has a substantial BBQ to cook all the delicious meals he shares too.

Related: Best BBQs 2020 – the greatest grills for all your outdoor cooking needs 

View this post on Instagram

This is a photo from this morning after my workout. The reason I stay in shape like this all year round is because I am consistent I’ve formed daily habits and I keep up the momentum even during the winter months. 5 days a week I’m pushing myself and using the energy I’m consuming. I’m definitely more relaxed with food over Xmas and eat way more than usual but I keep exercising and I train even harder on those days. I’m also highly motivated by the way exercise makes me feel. I love feeling energised after a workout and I always feel happier in myself and this feeling is what really motivates me to get up and repeat the process. Now I’ve got two babies under 2 I need to work harder to fit workouts in but whether that’s at 6am or 11pm at night I will find time to exercise when they are sleeping. I have to make opportunities and not excuses on the days i’m tired and demotivated. What’s holding you back or what do you find hard when it comes to staying fit and active?

A post shared by Joe Wicks (@thebodycoach) on Dec 22, 2019 at 1:23pm PST

Shared purely for the paint colour, promise. Doesn’t the grey bathroom look good. You can see beyond into the bedroom, which boasts an on-trend brooding dark colour.

View this post on Instagram

I’ve just had the most incredible dining experience ever at my home with @nishascookingagain I met her at the socceraid Gala dinner and she told me she set up a new business doing private dining at people’s homes so I booked her to come and it’s been such a wonderful evening. Nisha and her team come along and cook and prepare a menu designed especially for you. We had 10 courses of modern Indian plates. Every single one has just been unreal. Give her a follow @nishascookingagain and get in touch if you want her to come and cook for you. You won’t be disappointed. She does dinners for a max of 12 guests

A post shared by Joe Wicks (@thebodycoach) on Aug 3, 2019 at 2:22pm PDT

From the outside you can appreciate the open-plan aspect fully. Sliding glass doors open allow the space to continue out into the garden dining space.

View this post on Instagram

Wow just made this incredible Indian inspired veggie burger with mango chutney and cucumber mint raita. Double tap if you want me to share the video recipe for it tonight #VeggieLeanin15 #Veggie #vegetarian #Burger #recipe #thebodycoach

A post shared by Joe Wicks (@thebodycoach) on Aug 1, 2019 at 7:00am PDT

  As hard as it may be, look past the burger to appreciate the exposed brick walls. This feature adds a rustic edge to the open-plan dining area.

Inside another famous house: At home with Rylan – see his show-stopping kitchen makeover

Image credit: PA Images/Matt Crossick/EMPICS Entertainment

All of us here want to say thanks to Joe for all his hard work, keeping the nation motivated.

The post At home with The Bodycoach – inspired by Joe Wicks' house during isolation appeared first on Ideal Home.

from Ideal Home https://ift.tt/3bcfVEc

[informationpalace]

Joe Wicks Says He Will Be Back for PE Class on Monday

The 33-year-old Body Coach celebrity - Joe Wicks - whose workout sessions on his YouTube channel have become a phenomenon of lockdown with children has been encouraging fans while in hospital with his improvement. He stated the operation was over, and paid tribute to the NHS. "The wires have been taken out ... it was infected," he said on Instagram Stories in a clip. "I'm staying in tonight to have... antibiotics and a bit more paracetamol then I will be home tomorrow morning, back to my family. "So see you Monday morning, PE with Joe." Wicks, who donates the money earned from his online PE lessons to the NHS, previously posted a video of himself "gowned up" with "the socks on" waiting for his procedure. He stated the pain from the "infection" in his hand was "throbbing and pulsating like liquid hot magma". Joe Wicks unfolded he was "super grateful for the health system we've got" and "the NHS people who are out here still grafting". Wicks also stated his wife, on Monday, would help out. "I've just asked my lovely wife Rosie to help me on Monday morning and she's kindly agreed," he said. "It's well out of her comfort zone but she's my best friend and she knows how much this means to me. "I don't want to let anyone down but I don't think I'm going to be able to demo many exercises so I'll be having Rosie on camera with me." "I'll still lead the session and coach you through it,” Wicks added. "I'll just have Rosie demonstrating the moves." Wicks, after falling off a bike, fractured his hand at the end of March. He admitted himself into hospital on Friday. Do not forget leaving your valuable comment on this piece of writing and sharing with your near and dear ones. To keep yourself up-to-date with Information Palace, put your email in the space given below and Subscribe. Furthermore, if you yearn to know about the how Den of Thieves 2 is progressing, view our construct, ‘Den of Thieves 2? What is Happening with the Sequel’. Read the full article

[tracyfance]

New Post has been published on Tracy Fance

New Post has been published on https://tracyfance.com/gratitude-coronavirus/

Gratitude & Coronavirus

Gratitude & Coronavirus

  The UK is about 5 weeks into the pandemic, 2020 is not going as I thought it would, I’m sure you feel the same way too? For many people life as they know it is on hold, however for some not a lot has changed. I fall into the 2nd category, although work is very different, I can work via phone, Skype, email etc, my events and training however are a different issue.

So how are you spending your time during this hiatus? Many people are using the time wisely; cleaning their houses and cars, ploughing through that list of jobs that you promised you would do one day but have just been to busy to do for years and the like. Some have become experts on games and are furiously posting on social media every minute of their lives to kill the boredom. I have to be honest and say life is not really drastically different for us, here’s why:

We both work from home anyway so we are both at home most of the time, the only difference is that my partner is not popping in and out on errands and seeing clients and I don’t have a stream of clients coming to see me nor are we out at the events we usually do, this is not the end of the world for me as I have felt changes coming for some time now, this may be the transition.

When it comes to food, the panic buying did not really touch us, my partner is one of those who will use every bit of a chicken, including boiling the carcass to make soup, stock or both. He’d be great on Ready, Steady, Cook as he can make a meal out of most random items and it will be tasty and nutritious.

I spent the first week of lockdown on the phone to various government offices and financial establishments DWP/HMRC/my bank/mortgage company etc to find out what assistance was there for us then I spent another week on technical issues so that left the 3rd week where I feel like I am finally getting to work on the projects that I have had on my to-do list for years!

I’m glad we were allowed to exercise so I have left the house but in my normal working week that is quite often the only time I leave the house so that has not really changed either!

I love what I do and I love seeing my clients, however not having the manic diary that I usually have has given me space, that space has allowed me to think about where I want my business to go, how I want to grow. I’ve enjoyed being quieter, I’ve enjoyed doing stuff for me instead of always being there for others, I sort of miss it all too though, but having a break does make us appreciate things we take for granted, even the annoying person in the office might start to be a welcome return to normality!!

We are being more creative financially because times are challenging, but we seem to be living like kings, one of our local fishing businesses is supplying the public as a result of their catering trade having gone due to this lockdown, it is fresh, local and very reasonably priced so we are supporting them, we love fish but we rarely have skate, salmon, lobster, crab etc as much as we are doing right now.

We are shopping differently, we’ve never done a big shop, instead we tend to go when we fancy something for dinner so we go most days, my partner is not keen to go that frequently right now so we are going once a week.

We are buying our meat from the local butcher and veg from the local fruitier which we do sporadically usually, many of our friends are doing the same, let’s hope this is the future for local businesses and that they don’t go back to using the supermarkets quite as much.

I really love the creativity that I am seeing in people right now, they are coming up with old ways of doing things as well as new to get them exercise and to stop them getting bored.

I love the fact people like Joe Wicks who nobody took notice of is now a viral sensation and millions of people are watching his workouts, oddly TV companies around the globe want him now! Glad that some people are benefiting from this but in a good way. Sadly, the criminals and unsavoury people are equally creative in finding new ways to rip people off or to profiteer from the situation.

It is sad to see how many people have become hard, selfish and antisocial during this Coronavirus pandemic, panic buying with no thought to others, ignoring social distancing, judging people with no knowledge of the true situation, however this has been outweighed by those who’ve discovered their ‘war spirit’ and have gone above and beyond to help those worse off, manning food banks, cooking for the vulnerable, working even though this puts them at risk, caring for those who are ill with a range of illnesses as well as Coronavirus.

Most of us are guilty for taking things for granted, I know I take my partner for granted, he always does the cooking, I rarely get in the kitchen but I know he enjoys it and I do offer to cook. We take it for granted that we have freedom to move around, many countries had a full lockdown, with no room to escape the house AT ALL, with the police given powers to arrest people not adhering to the laws.

We take our health for granted until someone we love gets ill or worse we get ill, it is true when they say ‘youth is wasted on the young’ it is, it is only when you are older or have poor health that you wish you’d taken better care of yourself when you were younger. Even fit people can be struck down suddenly.

I’m sure there are many people and businesses that took their trade for granted, who expected pubs and restaurants to be closed? Even the takeaway that we take for granted is not so readily available.

Many people do not like their jobs but at least they have a job and the income from it, many people now are realising that they moaned about their job but would give almost anything to have it back now!

Look around your friends and family, see how much you miss being with them, for many people this social isolation is their normal day, imagine 5/10/20 years of this as a disabled person or as an elderly person, single or not. I hope that this situation will allow for more compassion and understanding of those who live in isolation on a daily basis.

I love the way neighbours have created groups on Facebook and WhatsApp and other similar apps so they can all talk and see who needs what, if anything. For many this is the only contact they have had with neighbours since moving into that property, that may be due to shyness, working shifts, long hours, just different working patterns etc, we need community and this has proved how much better we are as a community.

Finally, we are valuing our key works like nurses, doctors, pharmacies, firemen and police, it’s great we come out and clap for them to show our support but I’m sure being better paid would be more appropriate when this is all over.

It is great to see people have ideas on how to help the community, on how to fulfil a need or to create a new service or product etc to help at this time. So instead of being busy doing nothing, use the time wisely to allow inspiration and new ways of being come to you.

Now is the time to get used to living in the moment, rather than being flat out 24/7 and unable to enjoy who we have in our life, the things we have in our life, it is the right time to think about the kind of life we want when this is over, I don’t doubt that for many people going back to how it was is not an option.

So in amongst all my usual day to day tasks, I am also building in more me time, I’m not sure if my run is ‘me time’ or not, I do it because I need to get some exercise instead of being chained to my desk, I also need to lose weight. I’ve picked up my flute for the first time in months and I am ploughing through learning a new language, by the time this is over I should be able to speak 4 languages including English!

I’ve given myself time to sit in the garden and sunbathe, I’ve allowed myself to change my sleeping pattern as well as changing my diet a bit. I don’t have lunch most days right now because I am not getting enough exercise so a few less calories is no bad thing, it also means less shopping trips!

We are missing friends and family but so far, we have been lucky and they are all well, that has been our main goal, we’d hate to be responsible for someone we love getting sick or dying.

I love the way so many people are living the #bekind ethos, we have no idea what a person is going through in their life or what their status is so be kind to all, they may be a key worker or they may have mental health issues and need that kindness. Smile at people, do something nice for someone and ask them to pay it forwards.

This pandemic is the perfect mechanism for many to accomplish their soul contracts and soul purposes, out of adversity comes something positive, it gives humanity a chance to be humane and compassionate, so although this is a terrible situation there are many positives to be found in it. It is only all negative if we allow ourselves to see it from that position.

Weird as it may sound, I am actually grateful for this pandemic, the planet needs it as does humanity, this might just save the lives of the planet and everyone on it!

So make a list of all you are grateful for right now, however temporary, focus on what you have and not what you do not have. Stay safe!

#gratitude #bekind #coronavirus #payitforward #inspiration #attitudeofgratitude #positivementalattitude #soulcontracts #soulpurpose #humanity #compassion