#be ready for spouts of inactivity and activity
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csoisoi · 2 years ago
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i was typing down an analysis of wicked phases a while ago and i got distracted by a friend and then i remembered i have a lecture to write down and then i got distracted by my own daydreaming for my ocs and then i got distra
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bathroomstoragesolutionspa · 3 months ago
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Elevate Your Kitchen with Kohler Touchless Kitchen Faucets
At our kitchen and bathroom design showroom in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, we understand that homeowners seek to improve the functionality of their kitchen sinks. Kohler has the solution: innovative Response touchless technology—a game-changer for modern kitchens. Kohler touchless kitchen faucets enhance convenience, hygiene, and efficiency in your kitchen while adding a touch of sophistication.
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What is Kohler’s Response Touchless Technology?
Kohler’s Response touchless technology changes how you interact with your kitchen faucet. This technology employs a state-of-the-art sensor on the spout’s underside, allowing you to activate the faucet with a simple wave of your hand, dish, or utensil.
Here are some key features of Kohler touchless kitchen faucets:
Instantaneous Response: The sensor is designed to respond rapidly, activating water flow almost instantaneously within a few milliseconds of detecting motion.
Automatic Shutoff: The faucet automatically shuts off after 4 minutes of inactivity, helping conserve water and providing peace of mind.
LED Indicator: An LED light at the base tells you when the faucet is operational and ready for use.
Boost Spray Function: Boost Spray is another innovative Kohler technology that increases the flow rate by 30%, making tasks like rinsing dishes much faster and more efficient.
Kohler Faucet Collections Featuring Response Touchless Technology
Kohler’s Response touchless technology is more than just a standalone feature; Response is integrated into several of Kohler’s premium kitchen faucet collections, ensuring a design to match every style and preference. Below are the featured collections:
Tone Collection: Sleek and modern, perfect for contemporary kitchens.
Riff Collection: A versatile design that complements various kitchen styles.
Graze Collection: Elegant and sophisticated, adding a touch of luxury to your kitchen space.
The Benefits for Homeowners
Investing in Kohler touchless kitchen faucets has many benefits, from enhanced hygiene to increased convenience and water conservation. These benefits will reassure you that you have made the right choice for your kitchen.
Enhanced Hygiene: Using a touchless faucet can minimize the spread of germs and bacteria in your kitchen. Since you only have to wave your hand to turn the faucet on or off, you can help maintain a more hygienic kitchen environment. This can be especially beneficial for food preparation and cooking, reducing the likelihood of cross-contamination.
Increased Convenience: Because you can turn the water on and off by simply waving your hand, you can juggle various tasks without hassle. This innovative technology simplifies your kitchen experience while adding a touch of modern convenience to your daily routine.
Water Conservation: The automatic shutoff feature prevents unnecessary water waste, promoting efficient and mindful water use.
Streamlining Kitchen Tasks: The Boost Spray function is designed to provide a stronger and more forceful spray and is particularly useful for tasks that require a more thorough and powerful cleaning action.
To ensure your new faucet maintains flawless operation and pristine condition, you should clean the motion sensor regularly per Kohler’s instructions. This will keep the sensor functioning optimally for years to come.
Visit Weinstein Showroom in Collegeville for Kohler Kitchen Faucets
If you are ready to transform your kitchen with cutting-edge Kohler Response touchless technology, visit our design showroom in Collegeville. Our expert team is here to guide you through the various kitchen faucet options and help you choose the ideal faucet to meet your needs and complement your kitchen design. Take the opportunity to upgrade your kitchen with Kohler’s most advanced kitchen faucet technology. Enhance your kitchen’s functionality and aesthetics today!
Blog is originally published at: https://www.betterbath-kitchens.com/elevate-your-kitchen-with-kohler-touchless-kitchen-faucets/
It is republished with the permission from the author.
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starlightsearches · 5 years ago
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Office Romance: Ch. 9 Medbay
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General Hux and Kylo Ren have found themselves competing for the affection of a lieutenant aboard the Finalizer.
Series Warnings: Language, some violence, near-death experiences.
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AN: This chapter is so ANGSTY, and it took me forever to write because I didn't want any of them to be sad! Also, the reader deals with some trauma from the crash. Let me know what you guys think :D
You opened your eyes to the bright, white space of the medbay, trying to remember what had put you there. Your body ached, your skin rough and dry against the crisp white sheets, and you heard the gentle beep of a monitor somewhere close by, keeping track of your vitals. The air smelled aseptic and a little stale, and you moved your hands to your face, feeling the oxygen mask placed over your mouth and nose. You ripped it off, breathing deeply. The skin of your face was blistered and raw, and breathing was agony, but you couldn’t find it in yourself to care. The memories of the crash came back in pieces: the smoke-filled corridor, Ren’s mask sitting in the co-pilot seat, the weight of his lightsaber in your hands. You remembered the vision of him, dim through the smoke and the helmet, reaching for you. The feeling of the fresh air in your lungs and snow on your skin. He had saved your life.
A med droid rolled into the room, interrupting your thoughts. “You are conscious,” it spoke mechanically, plugging into the monitor at your bedside, “that is very good news.”
“What about the commander?” you asked with little hope that it would answer; med droids were terrible sources of information, but you wanted to know if Ren was alright. More images flashed across your vision: the wound on his side, the blood dripping down the pilot’s chair, the general’s face as he ran to you, your vision dark around the edges. You tried to focus on that moment, but you couldn’t remember seeing Ren on the ground, couldn’t remember seeing him outside of the ship at all. You sat up quickly, turning to the droid.
“Commander Ren, is he alive?” you asked more forcefully this time, the pain in your throat like a blade, but the droid didn’t answer, instead pushing you back down onto the mattress.
“Your pulse is elevated. Please lay down while I administer a sedative.” The droid again attached itself to the monitors, ready to force you back to sleep, but you pushed against it, determined, terrified by the thought blacking out again. You forced the droid out of your way, ripping the various monitors from your hands and arms, sliding to your feet. The ground was cold and so was the air on the bruised skin running up your arms and legs. Someone had changed you into a med gown, which offered little in the way of coverage, but you had no time to worry about where to find fresh clothes as you raced to the door. The med droid followed, spouting a speech about remaining in bed, but you moved faster than it could, running down the unfamiliar halls. This was an area of the medbay you had never been before, and you sped past empty chamber after empty chamber, looking for Ren. Or for his corpse, the thought hit you, unprompted, and you propelled yourself faster through the corridors.
He was in the last room at the end of the hallway, and you ran in as soon as you recognized him, forcing the door closed behind you. He sat up in the bed, startled but alive, bare from the waist up, the skin of his torso exposed. His body was flecked with scars, including the newly-healed gash on his side, the skin uneven and red, and the sight of it brought tears to your eyes.
“You’re alive,” he spoke first, his voice hoarse from disuse or smoke inhalation, and you felt you should go to him, but you were frozen in place, barely able to stay upright.
“Because of you,” you replied, “we’re both alive.” You could feel tears slipping down your cheeks, the sting of them of your burns. His eyes widened, with panic or pain you weren’t sure, and he looked around the room frantically, but whatever he was searching for remained unfound.
“The pears,” he said, his voice distraught, and you saw them again, the fruit he had brought at your request rolling out of the bag, scarlet against the white snow of Ilum where you had left them. He had almost died, and he was worried about the pears. A laugh ripped its way up your throat at the realization, echoing eerily off the sterile walls. You couldn’t stop it once it had started, the sound was pouring from you, unbridled, hysterical.
“I don’t care about the fucking pears,” your voice was barely a whisper, and without warning, your knees gave out. You were on the ground, the weight of the crash finally overwhelming you, and your laughter turning to wild sobs, loud and ugly.
You hardly noticed the rustle of sheets and Ren’s soft footsteps as he approached you, reticent, like you would a wild animal, but he kneeled down next to you and rested a gentle hand on your shoulder. The gesture of comfort was tenuous and obviously foreign to Ren, but it grounded you, keeping you centered in the medbay instead of the smoke-filled corridor of the ship. You threw yourself into his arms, too frightened to be concerned with established boundaries, sobbing into his neck, in desperate need of something to hold. He didn’t respond at first, sitting so still you thought for a moment that his heart might have stopped, but you only clung to him tighter, and you felt his arms encircle you firmly; felt him nudge his face into your hair, his breathing labored and erratic.
He held you in the safety of his arms for what could have been hours, and slowly, the pain and the fear started to fade, swallowed up in the shelter he provided. Eventually your breathing slowed, and the tears stopped rolling down your cheeks, the skin of his neck moist against your face. A moment of clarity struck you, and you knew that you could never find the words to express your gratitude for what he had done.
“You don’t have to say it,” he spoke quietly, barely loud enough for you to hear, “I know.” You sunk into him, relieved. He had felt your gratitude in your thoughts, more powerful than words could possibly be. Exhaustion took over, and for a moment you thought you might fall asleep right there, curled up in him, sitting on the floor of the med bay.
“There you are!” the two of you were startled apart by the exclamation, apparently you had missed the sound of the door as it opened. An agitated looking medbay attendant had walked in, and he lifted you from the ground unceremoniously, holding you by the arm.
“What are you doing out of bed?” he said, turning a stern eye on Ren, who stood up off the floor. Ren was much taller than the attendant, and obviously not intimidated by his anger, but he climbed back onto the bed anyways, sitting on the edge with his feet dangling. He refused to look at you as he chewed on his lip, embarrassed—by the affection of the moment or by the interruption, you weren’t sure. The attendant nodded, appeased now that Ren was back on the bed. “The doctor will be in soon to check that wound, but for now, you need to lie down.” He turned to you, giving you a disapproving shake. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you, you know,” he said, his voice rich with dislike, “you can’t just run off like that. When the general saw that you were gone, he almost had a fit. Threatened to blast a perfectly good med droid until the captain stepped in.”
“The general?” He had come to see you? Images of him before the crash came to mind once again, the grip of his hand on your arm as you tried to run towards the ship, the pain in his eyes as the medics took you away. What had happened to him while you were unconscious?
“Yes, the general!” the attendant cried, pulling you towards the door and into the hallway, “he’s with Captain Phasma, and they’re waiting.”
General Hux had not slept in three days. His focus had been shot to hell. Since the crash, he had pretended to be fine: had sat through his meetings, and worked on the bridge, filled his nights with menial tasks, but none of it had been enough to distract him from his worst and most dangerous thoughts. And now that he knew you were alive he thought he would be free of it, but the anxiety still plagued him as he stood in your room in the medbay.
“At least we know she’s not dead,” Phasma said. She was sitting in a chair, seemingly undisturbed by your disappearance, and just the sight of her looking so unbothered made Hux want to throw a punch at the wall.
“Alive and god knows where,” he muttered under his breath. Phasma didn’t deign to respond, but Hux wanted so badly to pick a fight with someone—anyone.
“Do you think these droids are programmed to understand threats?” He asked instead, walking over to the med droid, the one that had let you escape. It stood inactive in the corner, no patient to attend to, and Hux itched for a cigarette, but they had taken his pack when he had first arrived. They had taken his blaster, as well, after he had learned that you were missing.
“Leave the droid alone, general,” Phasma responded, but she wasn’t looking at him. Her eyes were on the door. Hux turned to it as well, and to his surprise, it opened. He watched as a med bay attendant dragged you through the entrance like a disobedient child, forced you into the bed and then hooked you back up to the monitor, which began beeping methodically in time with your heart.
“You have ten minutes,” he turned to Hux and Phasma, a warning look on his face, “and then the lieutenant needs to rest.” He moved to the door, and the med droid activated and followed behind, leaving the three of you alone.
Ribbons of pain shot up through Hux as he looked at you, but he forced himself to take it, his anger only growing. Your skin was raw and blistered in patches, which stretched over your cheeks and down your neck, along with a thick purple bruise around your throat. The clothing you had been wearing during the accident had protected most of you from the fire, but your arms and legs were mottled purple in places, and he could see your discomfort as you adjusted yourself on the mattress. Your eyes were swollen, but not from the burns; there were tear tracks on your face, glistening in the light.
“Good to see you, Lieutenant,” Phasma spoke first, her voice quiet to hide the emotion that the modulator could not disguise.
“Thank you, Captain,” you were hoarse, speaking barely above a whisper. You reached for her hand, and she gave it to you, grasping it tightly in your own.
“Where were you?” Hux asked, and he could hear his own frustration. He knew it was selfish, still, he wanted to be the one that you reached for, wanted to offer you the protection and comfort that you obviously needed. But he was so angry. He thought that seeing you would take away the blaze burning inside of him, but instead it only increased. He could have prevented this, if only he had held on.
“I woke up. The med droid wouldn’t tell me where Ren was, and,” tears formed in the corners of your eyes as you spoke, “I thought he was dead.” Ren. Everything in Hux went quiet for a moment at the mention of his name, and then rage filled him, seeking to spill out.
“You went to see Ren,” his voice was a dangerous whisper, but it slowly grew louder, unrestrained, the loathing clear in every word, “when he’s the one who put you here?” You shrank back for a moment at the sound of his accusation, and then sat up, indignant.
“He saved my life! I put me here,” your voice was still weak, breaking, but Hux felt your anger loudly, “If the commander hadn’t been there, if anyone else had been the one to crash that ship, I would be dead.” You were crying again, the gentle flow of tears so at odds with your rage.
“How can you be so blind?” Hux was yelling now, too loud but unable to stop himself, ignoring Phasma as she placed a warning hand on his chest, “If that bastard hadn’t crashed his ship, you wouldn’t be here! And if you had listened to me, this never would have happened!” He could feel himself deteriorating, the days of lost sleep catching him all at once. The strain of his worry, the weakness he had for you hit him head on and it was ruining him, turning him into something ugly and vile.
“You’re treating me like I’m an idiot, General! I knew the risks when I ran onto that ship. I was willing to give my life for a member of the Order. If anyone else had done what I did, they’d be getting a damn medal, and you’re here reprimanding me?” Your breathing was labored as you finished, but nothing about you appeared weak as you glared at him fiercely, and the look in your eyes . . .
Hux deflated at that look, his anger gone, the shame of his actions slamming into him. He stuttered incoherently, unable to respond, and you stared him down. He wanted to apologize but didn’t know how, your righteous anger creating a barrier between the two of you, his own guilt magnifying it, but you weren't finished.
"You're so full of shit. A damn fine soldier, huh? Did you even believe it?" You were sobbing as you spoke, the only other sound coming from the monitor as it alarmed loudly and rapidly, ignorant of the scene that was unfolding.
“What is going on here?” The same exasperated medbay attendant entered, moving to the monitor. He didn’t wait for an answer, and instead fiddled with the controls, dosing you with a sedative. Almost immediately your features relaxed, and you fell into the bed, unconscious.
Phasma grabbed Hux by the arm, pulling him from the room before the attendant could turn on them. He could feel her anger, but she said nothing, even as she forced him against the wall of the corridor. Hux breathed heavily, looking into her mask, his wild eyes reflecting back at him. He could feel himself unraveling, a lost, powerless feeling that he normally only felt around his father.
“You need to get your shit together,” Phasma spoke with barely-controlled rage, shoving him into the wall harshly before stalking off. He was alone, shaking, the weight of his actions too heavy, the look in your eyes before you fell unconscious seared into his brain. Hux took a steadying breath. He never lost control like that, and it would cost him dearly. He needed to fix it, needed to get his shit together, as Phasma had said. But there was something he wanted to do first.
Lying down on the medbay mattress, Ren tried very hard not to think of you. When you had left, dragged out of the room by the med bay attendant, he focused on committing the event to memory, but had been interrupted when the doctor came in. They had checked his wound and insisted that he remain overnight for further observation, leaving him alone again, hooked up to the monitor and his thoughts had drifted back to you.
Before today, thinking about touching you had been walking blind. He had no way to comprehend what it would be like to do so many of the things that he wanted to do: rest his hand against your cheek, or brush his fingers over the skin of your arm. And other things as well, thoughts that filled his chest with a white-hot thrill, but those were even more nebulous, almost painful to think about without a frame of reference.
And then you had thrown yourself into him and it was like he had developed another sense. The brush of your face against his neck, the strength of your arms pulling him closer, the firm press of your chest against him, it was all so new, so different. Just the thought of it had sent his heart into a frenzy, and the damned monitor had alerted the med droid, who came to his room to see if Ren needed to be sedated. Embarrassment had flooded him, and he had decided to avoid thinking about it anymore, nervous that another episode would send an attendant or doctor running into his room, speculating about what could be causing his hammering pulse.
But he couldn’t think of anything else. Every time he tried, he remembered something new about the experience; now, it was the skin of your legs, bruised but smooth over the corded muscles of your thighs, visible beneath the hem of your med gown. The heart monitor began to sound off more quickly, and Ren schooled his thoughts.
He sensed General Hux’s approach then, reaching out to see if any staff had been alerted by the monitor. The general was a little unhinged, and Ren could feel his anger from down the hallway. He wished he had his mask with him; Ren felt it gave him the upper hand in confrontations, not that he really needed it this time. Hux was obviously on the edge of some kind of breakdown, and Ren liked the idea of giving him a little push.
General Hux entered the room, looking like death. His face was gaunt, more so than usual, and the bags under his eyes were deep purple like a bruise, but he still managed to look down on Ren, even in his sorry state.
“You look like shit,” Ren said, hoping that starting with an insult would give him the high ground. The sooner this was over, the sooner Hux would leave him alone, and he could figure out what to do about the monitor. Hux rolled his eyes in response, an annoying habit that he normally kept under control.
“I’m not the one stuck in the med bay,” he paused for a moment, thinking, and then continued, “what happened?”
“I got shot.”
“No shit. Why did you get shot?”
“Doesn’t matter. Why are you here?” Ren was tired of this conversation already. Hux hesitated, but Ren knew the answer to his own question, “You’ve come to harass me about the lieutenant?” He saw the general’s jaw tighten in annoyance.
“I’ve actually come to strike a bargain. I think it would be in the lieutenant’s best interest if you stayed away from her.” Hux tried to appear nonchalant, but the act was not convincing.
“What could you possibly offer me, general?” Ren sneered at the suggestion, and Hux smiled, the look disconcerting on his haggard face.
“I’ll bring your Knights back.”
Ren paused, blindsided. He had never expected Hux to make that offer and for a moment he wasn’t sure what to do. The Knights of Ren had been gone for months now, on a secret assignment from the general for the benefit of the First Order. Or, at least, that was what Hux had told the Supreme Leader, not that he cared, but Ren knew the real reason Hux had sent them away. It was to punish him, to hold their return over his head as a bribe.
“I’m prepared to send for them today, if you agree to keep your distance from the lieutenant,” Hux continued, and Ren could feel the self-satisfaction rolling off of him. Anger swelled inside Ren, and he tried to hold it back, but it was no use. He latched onto the general’s mind, searching for something he could use against him. Hux’s thoughts of you appeared before Ren, and he rifled through them greedily. So many to choose from.
“I don’t think I’ll be taking that bargain, General. From what I can tell, you don’t have to concern yourself with the lieutenant anymore; she hates you. It’s right here.“ He lingered on the memory, forcing Hux to relive it as well. Your face twisted in anger, tears running freely as you screamed. Satisfied, Ren released Hux, and the general stumbled, his eyes shut tightly against the lights. “Soon, I’ll have my Knights back, and the lieutenant by my side, and you will have nothing.” The general stood up straighter, eyes opened, full of loathing, but no trace of defeat.
“You should have taken the offer, Ren. I’m no longer willing to bargain, so now I’ll have to resort to an ultimatum. If you don’t leave her alone, I’ll be forced to tell her the truth about you, about your threats against me . . . and others.”
Damnit. He knew about Mitaka. It had been a moment of weakness for Ren, a moment that felt so long ago now. After he had left your quarters, alerting you to his absence from the ship for his mission from Snoke, he had been trying to decipher the nature of your meeting with the general that night, trying to find a solution that didn’t make his blood boil. Mitaka had been there, out in the hallway, headed to see you and . . .
“You saw how she reacted when I tried to protect her, and that was to save her life. How do you think she would respond if she knew that you were threatening her closest friend?” Hux spoke disinterestedly, still so sure of himself. The sight of him so proud made Ren want to lash out, and he searched for a way to hurt him.
“Whatever you accuse me of, I could just as easily make similar claims,” Ren drove his point home, forcing the general to recall some of his more provocative daydreams, disgusted by all the ways Hux had thought about putting his hands on you. Ren could feel as Hux’s heart started to race, the images forcing a crack into the general’s cold exterior. He reeled against Ren’s power, trying to stop him.
“I’m well aware of my own thoughts, Ren,” Hux spat, “and . . . it would not be ideal if the lieutenant knew about them.” He was panting heavily, the shame of his desires and his fear at the idea of your involvement overcoming him. The two men stared at each other, full of hatred, but unsure what to do.
“Where does that leave us, then?” Ren asked. His fatigue was overpowering, the exertion of using the force against Hux and recovery from the crash had taken away all of his energy. The freshly healed wound on his side was aching, and he thought about your hands, the idea of them ghosting over the skin of his abdomen, your gentle touch alleviating some of his pain.
“I believe we’ve arrived at a stalemate,” Hux spoke with distaste, but it was dampened by his obvious exhaustion. Ren took little satisfaction in how pathetic the general looked, knowing that he was probably in worse shape.
“Fine,” Ren tried to put some venom behind his words, but they came out weak, almost defeated, so he continued, hoping to cause Hux at least a little more pain, “but I’ve seen her mind. She’ll choose me.”
“I wouldn’t count on it,” Hux said apathetically, heading to the door. He brought a memory to the front of his mind, and Ren grabbed it in spite of himself. He saw you, from the general’s perspective, in the ballroom of the Supremacy. You were radiant, descending from the top of the stairs like a goddess and you turned to smile at the general, looking at him like he was the one who placed all the stars in the sky.
Hux left the room, and the image of you went with him, the lights of the medbay dim in comparison. The memory of you that the general had shared left Ren a little demoralized, and he laid down, feeling weak and shameful, but the thought of you in his arms appeared to him, unprompted. He could almost feel you against him, the warmth of your skin taking the place of so much pain. You would choose him, he was sure of it. Ren surrendered to his drowsiness, his final thoughts only of you.
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olympianpandback · 4 years ago
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May 10
We headed to Crater Lake fairly early because it is a 3 hour drive. It is always a scenic drive On the Volcano Scenic Byway.  We parked behind an RV from Alaska and the lady who was in that RV came up to talk to us about our RV. She has friends who are looking for a leisure travel Van. We head a nice long chat and went over to look at Crater Lake.  It's impossible to really describe and I am sure the pictures won't do justice for the sights we saw. There is still up to 8' of snow around the buildings.   We found a campground along a river that was nice and quiet until after we went to bed.  We had no idea about any train tracks somewhere near us, at least 4 trains rumbled through that were not very loud, except for the train whistle. We met our neighbors who are from Beaverton. He is a retired financial guy and his wife Faye finally retired from part time work at the church so they could travel. He was in the army from 59 through 61 and extended for a year because of the Berlin wall and the Cuban missile crisis. He was supposed to go to Germany but got a fever 3 days before the unit shipped out and the shipped unit out without him and 2 of his buddies. He never worked in his MOS (military occupation specialty), in artillery again. He spent 2 years in the active reserves and  2 years in the inactive reserves and got called back to active duty again. What a “lucky” guy. His wife worked as a ground crew member for American Airlines for 10 years then took a leave of absence for 5 years so she got credit for 15. They flew a lot to Europe mostly to France and travelled as much as they could on her D1 pass. The campground owner Steve has Scottish Highland cattle on his 140 acres because they eat the BlackBerry bushes and all the other brambles that no normal cattle will eat. He doesn't even have to feed them during the wintertime because they just disappear into the BlackBerry bushes and stay healthy during the weather. If he gets a male cow, they eat it. On the way to this campground South of Roseburg Oregon. we saw a great deal of devastation from recent for fires. It actually looks like it happened in the last year not later than 2 years. There is a lot of cleanup and trying to salvage usable lumber. We rounded one curve and there was the stump of a tree lying across the guardrail that was at least 2' in diameter that had just been cut out of the road not long ago from the looks of the cut. I can't imagine how long the delay had been before they got a crew out with the right equipment to move that log off the highway. Just another trip of discovery for us seeing such beautiful scenery and meeting so many nice people it's hard to describe in words or pictures.
May 11
We left mid-morning after another good conversation with Rich and Kay. We headed for the coast and got here midafternoon after stopping to get some to die for Apple walnut fritters at a local bakery. On the way here, we saw a spot that is called the Dean Creek Elk viewing area. Supposedly up to a 140 elk use this area as grazing ground. We didn't see any when we stopped on the way to the next campground. The campground is nice, but the bathrooms are closed and it's only private campgrounds that are having their bathrooms closed according to the host. We found out later that was probably a cop out to keep from cleaning them. This is an RV resort that people stay at year-round a lot of time. After dinner we went back to the elk viewing area Around 7:15 and saw about 40 or more cows grazing in the field. We hung around for about 20 more minutes hoping to see a bull, but none showed up. At least we can say we have seen elks and cross that off our list of wild animals. Tomorrow we head north a couple of hours to depot Bay. We hope to see some whales from the shore and will definitely take the 1 and 1/2 hour whale watching Tour, if we can book one.
May 12
On our way out of town we decided to go by the viewing place one more time period There were 40 or 50 cows out there but again no male elk. We headed North to Depoe Bay to try to do a whale watching cruise. We had checked with a campground just North of there who said their bathrooms were open. It was one of campgrounds in our group for big discounts. We drove there and found out that they had no cell phone signal. Even though I don't keep up with the blog as much as I would like to, we still need cell phone signal. We came back to town to another campground. Their bathrooms are open and it was a nice campground. They didn't offer a discount for veterans and I started to leave but Elizabeth wanted to stay there so we signed in. Marilyn gave us a 10% discount because I was such a nice man. Her words not mine. She also suggested a whale watching tour with a marine biologist area We were going to book a 12 o'clock tour, but we would have been on the boat for an hour and a 1/2 without anything to eat so we pushed it forward to the 10 o'clock tour. We got a text later saying that the 10 o'clock tour had been pushed up to 9:30 because they expected heavy seas that afternoon.
May 13 Whale watching trip
We were worried about a place to park the RV so we got there very early and parked in front of the jump off point. The leader was a very nice marine biologist who was passionate about her work we got a 15 minute lecture on whales before we went down to get on the boats . We got on the big boat which is a navy seal assault boat that had been retired. They asked who wanted to sit up front and we volunteered. It was a raw day and going to be cold and windy no matter where you were sitting. There are a group of whales come North from Mexico and hang around Depoe Bay while others continue on to the Alaskan water for feeding in the summer.ie Carry the biologist had named all the whales who stay around the area.  It was foggy and around 46 degrees when we left. Sees were chopping but not too bad at first.  We went buoy that had some sea lions on it. Then we meandered around following the other boat and listening for spotters looking for spouts. Carrie had also trained a dog that she rescued to smell the whale spouts which smell like the worst fart you've ever smelled and the dog Coda had been trained to detect those smells from an early age. Coda ran all around the boat from side to side and front to back sniffing the air, but we never saw a whale. We saw a lot of kelp and birds. The marine biologist says if we come back in August-September, the whales will be swimming up next to shore and we heard the same from locals later. So much for good timing. The Internet said whales should be here now!  We will head north trying to find some more whales because they only move at 4 miles per hour and we can overtake them. As we came back into the dock area we saw a mama seal and her baby seal who just been born that morning. On the way back to ,the dock Carrie asked if we were ready for some bumpy rides. We had no choice but to say yes and she opened up that seal boat with its twin 200 (I guessed at the size) HP Evinrude engines. We were hitting the bottom of some waves and riding over the top of many of them. It was a very fun ride for me and Elizabeth enjoyed it somewhat. We decided to eat in town and got to a restaurant just dead opened so we didn't have to wait area I had a seriously good clam chowder Elizabeth had a beer-based Tillamook cheese soup. It was in a brewery so we had craft pilsner for lunch. Everything was very good and I took a nap we got back to the camp after setting the RV up.  I spoke to our neighbor to our South who is a retired Air Force avionics technician, meeting his children here for the weekend into two other RVs.  We had a nice chat about the military, his travels around Europe and working on F-15s and 16s. He also gave me some insights into the Olympia peninsula where he and his wife had lived for many years. Our neighbor to the North is a retired civil servant, mechanical engineer who helped build the submarine base in San Diego and worked there most of his career. We briefly discussed COVID and his wife who is a nurse says they were waiting to get the Johnson and Johnson shot because it doesn't use MRNA to send signals to your body to protect yourself from the virus but actually uses a strain of the virus to make you immune to it like a flu shot. He said it wasn't really worried because it only affects a minor percentage of the population who have comorbidity issues most of the time. He and his wife have been full timers for several years in their 5th wheel. Again, you meet some of the most interesting people just by casual conversations. You know how shy I am so it's hard to meet strangers.
May 14
We drove north to the Washington border and found refuge at a National Guard base with an electric only hook-up for one night $15.  It’s clean, quiet and near the “latrine”.  Elizabeth prefers bathhouse/restrooms.
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slytherinsinspace-blog · 7 years ago
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Fuck Mondays
Class 1-A had combat training on Monday mornings before school- and Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday after language class. Which would have been fine except that Katsuki fucking hated mornings- and Mondays, and he was sure he wasn’t the only one because everyone grumbled actively about having to arrive at school four hours before all the other classes- but the solidarity didn’t make it any better.
Because Mondays fucking sucked.
The likelihood that he was going to be up and ready; and caffeinated by the time he needed to be in class was about 0.003% and that was being generous.
This Monday was no exception- and he was in no mood to deal with the stupid nerds he had to attend class with- because he had neither slept enough or had enough coffee to put up with Ochaco and her insistently positive attitude- or Mineata and his- everything.
He just didn’t have the time for it- he tried to focus on the class ahead of them- though his eye lids were heavy, and his frown was deep.
And of course, they had to be doing something related to aiming.
“Listen up! Today’s objective is to throw this ball between you and your partner for as long as possible while dodging any and all obstacles that may occur. Your class mates may try to get you to drop the ball only if they are still in possession of theirs. One team mate may only hold on to the ball for 30 seconds before it is declared inactive and the ball will explode- no it will not hurt you, no that doesn’t mean you should put it in your pants.” He added looking Mineata directly in the face.
He took a large breath and continued spouting off rules “No knocking your classmates unconscious or killing them but everything else is pretty much fair game up to my discression.” All Might announced from his spot at the head of the class.
Everyone nodded along, “the winning team will get a special perk- “he added drawing Katsuki’s attention back to him. “they will no longer have to attend Monday morning training sessions but will instead train solo with me on Saturday evenings.”
Everyone oooh’d and Ahh’d at this revelation- it was cool enough that they wouldn’t have to wake up at some ungodly hour every Monday- but it was even cooler that they would be able to train 2-1 with all might for the rest of the year.
“as is customary- I have chosen teams.”
Katsuki growled- when All Might picked teams he was always with fucking Deku- because they had things they needed to work out- problems they needed to address.
Which they didn’t.
There were no problems that needed addressing other than the fact that Deku’s fucking pants were way too tight for a fitness class and he really needed someone to tell him that it was verging on obscene.
Other than that- there was really nothing he needed to say to the stupid nerd.
In fact, he needed him to stay far- far away from him.
Miles.
Countries.
Light years.
Because he was really- distracting; and Katsuki needed to win this.
“Bakugou you’re with Midoriya.” All Might bellowed.
He knew it- but that didn’t make it any better.
“you better not fuck this up for me.” He snarled in Izuku’s direction causing him to sort of yelp in response. Why the fuck was that so hot?
Deku nodded at him and he shouldn’t find it so easy to get lost in those stupid eyes, but they are so- green. Like meadow full of tall grass, you just wanted to lay in for hours- emeralds submerged in a shallow pool- sparkling and bright and fucking shit- ouch.
The ball collided with his head and he snapped out of his daze-
“fucking warning next time!” he yelled at Izuku, before whipping the ball back at him.
Izuku raised his eyebrow at him and he was very aware of the fact that it was his fault that they almost lost ten damn seconds into the game- but he was literally never going to admit that- ever- so the dork could drop the attitude.
Izuku dodged an acid splash from Ashido and threw the ball back to Katsuki- It made a low beep registering a different owner’s hands on it.
Bakugou’s eyes never left Deku as he streaked across the open field running farther away as Shouto chased him- ice in hand.
Fuck-
They were running out of seconds- and then suddenly Deku was flipping himself in the air launched off a rock and landing right in front of him- grabbing the ball from his hands with a smirk.
Who gave him the right to smirk like that?
It was not okay to make Katsuki have boners this early in the morning- but for some reason Izuku Midoriya thought it would be a fiiiine idea- just swoop in and smirk at him with his stupid little cherub face and his dumb freckles and his fucking body and-
He really needed to stop thinking about all of this because he had just gotten himself tackled by another dumbass student.
“watch where you’re going- rock for brains!” he yelled at Kirishima; who in his defense had only dove into him to save his own ball from hitting the ground- but that didn’t make it any better and he scowled at him.
“heads up!” Deku yelled and their ball flew back towards him- he caught it this time no problem. He ventured a glance around them at the other pairs- quite a few people had managed to already knock themselves out of the running.
Tsu and Mineata managed to stay in much to his surprise- Kirishima and Todoroki- Iida and Ochaco, and Ashido and Sero as well- everyone else’s ball had either been dropped- stolen- or exploded in their hands.
The competition was getting serious and it was time for him to put on his game face. He made eye contact with Deku before tossing him the ball- he had 30 seconds to get grape juice out of this game.
He thought for a second- staring down at the kid before shrugging and picking him up by the back of the shirt.
“hey! Let me down!” he yelled squirming wildly- hands waving about making it nearly impossible for his teammate to get his attention and toss him the ball.
He laughed as the ball blew up in Tsu’s hands.
One pair down.
He settled his attention back on Deku who was staring Kirishima straight in the eye. Pinned back against the wall of the building- he looked so- helpless.
Fuck- it would be difficult to get past him, but he didn’t really have a choice.
He wasn’t going to let him lay a hand on Deku- it was one thing for him to tease him- but if anyone else did it. Well that just wasn’t okay.
“shitty hair, ill fucking kill you!” he yelled rushing at him- hand sparking like mad- but the kid just turned his whole body to rock and swung a punch that landed right in Katsuki’s temple.
Before he even knew what was going on he was laid out on his back and everything was spinning.
His whole life was foggy- vision swimming in and out like an old picture with too much vignette. His brain hurt- and his teeth felt- wrong and he couldn’t fucking see straight.
“Kacchan!” Midoriya yelled out dropping the ball and rushing over to him- he was hazy- but still fucking gorgeous and there were two of him- and he would be lying if he said he hadn’t had that wet dream before.
“Kacchan are you okay?” they yelled- he yelled, Katsuki didn’t know anymore- the Midoriyas were too close to his face- and they were pretty, and they smelled good and one of them kept leaning into the other in a way that just should not be possible- and fuck his head hurt.
“I can’t see straight.” He replied- not sure if his words were coming out the way he wanted to- but he laughed- “I can’t do anything straight” and he added an over the top wink in Midoriya’s direction-
That was a terrible- truly terrible. he wished it had stayed in his head, but nothing was staying in his head right now- and he really needed the Midoriyas either go far away or get much closer to him.
“we need to get you to Recovery Girl- “Izuku replied hesitant- sure the things he had just heard he was not meant to hear. “I’ve got it everyone else can go back to what they were doing- there’s nothing to see here.”
“are you trying to get me alone-?” Katsuki joked- his world was still spinning and twisted, and nothing made sense. Especially that Midoriya was carrying him because he knew the kid was strong, but he never really thought about it in terms of regular life.
Always in terms of kicking villain ass.
“you’re going to hate me when you get better.” Midoriya said shaking his head- but his cheeks were tinged pink and Katsuki was pretty sure he was never going to hate him.
He nuzzled his head into Deku’s chest – he was sleepy all the sudden. He yawned.
“no! don’t go to sleep- not yet, stay awake for me now.” Deku admonished.
And he really didn’t want to- he just wanted to sleep, but he struggled to keep his eyes open anyway because Deku had asked.
“I’m tired.” he slurred.
“we’re almost there- “he assured him pushing through doors and settling him onto a bed.
Everything was calming down a little apart from the pounding in his head that was getting much; much worse.
And suddenly- everything was dark, and he was gone.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When he woke up the pounding in his head had subsided a little- but the confusion was still there- it was dark the only light in the room was streaming in from the corner where a curtain opened to a murky pinkish sky.
He was still tired- and groggy and had very little memory of how he got there and also why.
His brow furrowed in confusion- but ouch that was a really bad idea, so he let his face relax and tried not to think so hard- instead he let himself look around the room attempting to takt it in.
It was mostly submerged in shadow- but it was clear he had managed somehow to land himself in the infirmary- though why the normally lit room was so dark was beyond him- the blankets were pulled tight against his chest and his hand-
Someone was- holding it?
He turned his head to his bedside admonishing himself mentally for being unaware that someone was there until now- surely it wasn’t his mom she wouldn’t.
He looked done making out a distinct mop of green hair resting on the edge of his bed- body curled over where the railing would be, so his arms could stretch out and his hands could wrap themselves around Katsuki’s.
What the fuck had he done?
He remembered- waking up.
It was a Monday- Mondays suck, he went to class, they were supposed to throw some sort of- ball around, and then fucking shitty hair had punched him!
He remembered now- but after that things were a little hazy.
He could recall- being brought here. By- by Deku, he was carried? Yeah, he was carried like a fucking bride on her wedding night- and, god damnit what had he said.
“Kacchan?” Midoriya’s voice called out- soft and hesitant like he wasn’t really sure if he should be saying anything at all.
“what?” he replied- voice raspy and half gone.
Deku shot up, grin plastering itself onto his face – he almost glowed against the dimly lit room.
“you’re awake!” he yelled excitedly- never releasing his hand Katsuki noticed.
“keep your voice down nerd.” He admonished- the last thing he needed right now was an angry Recovery Girl telling him off for waking up the other injured students.
“uh- right” Deku nodded lowering his voice to a more acceptable range. “how’s your head?” he asked and Katsuki’s attention was drawn back to the dull pounding in his skull.
“its been better,” he replied.
Deku nodded- “do you need- anything?” he asked.
That was a loaded question- he needed a lot of fucking things; a multitude of them he was sure Deku would be as unwilling to give as he was unwilling to ask for.
Though- he thought shifting his gaze to their twined fingers- maybe he was wrong.
Deku blushed scrambling to tear his fingers away but Katsuki instinctually grabbed tighter.
“sorry I- “Deku started.
“I- “Kacchan started- “I don’t hate it.” He admitted honestly, maybe his life could do with a little more honesty- or maybe tomorrow would come and he would blame it on the concussion and the endorphins and whatever else people blamed things on when they weren’t being honest with themselves.
But for right now-
He liked it.
And he was going to let himself.
“its dark out- “he observed, and Deku nodded.
“sun just went down- “he replied- and fuck he had been out much longer than he thought he had- wad Deku here the whole time? Holding onto his hand like a concerned- boyfriend? The thought made his heart race- and his palms sweat.
“shitty hair packs a hell of a punch.” He replied- trying to shrug it all off but he just couldn’t. there was something in the mixture of having Deku so close- and so far, away while was so infuriating that he couldn’t focus on anything else- nothing but the sound of his own heartbeat- and the pounding question that kept slinging itself around in his brain.
What had he said?
How had things gone from the way they were before to the way they were now? Why wasn’t Midoriya slinking away- half scared from him—why was he doting on him at his bedside- what the fuck had he told him?
He hated concussed him- because clearly whatever it was; it was something he hadn’t intended to tell Izuku- ever. Probably had to do with all the stupid feelings that plagued his every waking moment. Which was bad enough, but it was worse that he couldn’t even remember what the fuck it was.
He felt the heat rising in his face. “so- did I?”
Deku didn’t respond for a moment but sighed.
“you uh- you told the entire class that you’re not straight, - then you mentioned uh- “he tapered off, nervously extracting his hands from Katsuki’s so he could fiddle with them anxiously. “mentioned that you dream about me sometime- that’s all.”
And it all came crashing over him- Midoriya wasn’t quite wrong but he definitely was putting on the training wheels here because he had said so much worse than that.
Fuck.
Fucking fuck.
He buried his head in his hands.
“I’m not sure how much of that part anyone else heard!” he supplied quickly hoping to make it better.
It didn’t.
He didn’t really care that the class knew he wasn’t straight- it wasn’t like it was a secret, just not something he really went out of his way to tell anyone either. It wasn’t any of their business.
But he didn’t really need anyone knowing how much he was pining over Izuku- especially not Izuku and it appeared that concussed Katsuki had not taken any of that into account and had gone running his mouth about wet dreams- and tight pants- and fucking hell he wanted to disappear right now.
He took a few steadying breaths before he pulled his hands down and looked over at Izuku.
His face was soft in the moonlight that had begun filtering into the room- and it was quiet and something about this scene made him realize that if he was ever going to say anything about the way he felt- it would be right then- there would never be a better opportunity.
And if it went horribly he could always just blame it on being delirious-
“I’m kind of obsessed with you.” He managed- and it was as close to the truth as he was willing to get right now- because the words I love you burned in the back of his throat but there was no way he was okay with letting that slip out right now- he wasn’t sure he was okay with letting it slip out ever.
Midoriya stared at him- didn’t say anything and If that wasn’t the worst thing he could have possibly done-
maybe he hadn’t thought this through well enough because there wasn’t really anywhere to run- if he could even figure out how to get himself untangled from all these wires and blankets-
“thank you?” Deku finally replied- and Katsuki took a chance to really look at him and realized something- that maybe he felt just as awkward as Katsuki did.
“really? Thank you?” he laughed. “fucking nerd.”
Deku blushed and it made Katsuki smile-
They sat there for a minute silence offering a welcome reprieve from the tense confession it followed.
“Kacchan- “Izuku finally spoke, “I’m kind of obsessed with you too.”
The weight pressing down on his chest dissipated and it felt so good it almost hurt- there wasn’t really a reaction strong enough to describe what was happening right now- so he just smiled.
And Deku smiled with him- and he didn’t know what they were doing but it didn’t feel bad and he didn’t want to stop.
He shifted over slightly- reaching out to pull Deku into the bed with him- because there was no way he wasn’t going to hug this nerd right fucking now.
He wrapped his arms around him- arm draping over his stomach and nose buried in the back of his neck. Deku’s hand reached up to twine their fingers together and he couldn’t stop smiling if his life depended on it. It was perfect really- this was perfect, and he was going to have to fucking thank shitty hair for literally knocking some sense into him; because god knows he wouldn’t have done this if it hadn’t been his only option.
But they were here- and it was fucking perfect.
He let his eyelids flutter closed; relaxed and content for once.
His thoughts drifted off as he started to fall asleep- and he couldn’t help but thinking that he really fucking hated Mondays – they were stupid and nothing good ever happened on them; but- after all this he thought maybe he didn’t hate them so much anymore.
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729renegades · 5 years ago
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BEING HEALTHY ON THE INSIDE AND OUT – PART 1
Here at Renegades we are constantly trying to show more and more business owners that there is more to life than the daily grind of self-employment. We are working hard behind the scenes to develop a stepped process that will allow business owners, regardless of where they are on their journey a system that if followed will lead to success in their business and personal lives.
Over the next 2 months I want to share a section of that process and here’s the first part for you.
Health and Wellbeing and being healthy on the inside and the outside is a huge part of being able to meet the demands of entrepreneurship when its coupled with a family or private life.
It doesn’t matter how you look at this.
You can have the best business in the world, plenty of money in the bank but if you don’t have your health and you’re not happy then quite frankly it’s all wasted on you.
Your physical and mental health is priceless and a great friend of mine always quotes, “health is wealth”, and he’s spot on.
Likewise, your general state of wellness and happiness has a huge bearing on your quality of life. You can’t or shouldn’t spend the rest of your life doing a job or running a business that fills your wallet but empties your soul.
What does being healthy on the inside and the outside mean to me?
Feeling good
Feeling motivated
Clarity of thought
Happiness
A spring in the step
A smile on my face
Energetic
Readiness to face all challenges and seize any opportunities
How do I make sure I tick all of those boxes? Let me explain what works for me.
One of the secrets that I know has had great results with me regarding my health and wellbeing has been the instilling and following of good, positive routines which allows me to be healthy on the inside and out.
When my life is good, and I am at my best. I’m in a certain groove and following a good, positive routine.
When life is bad, when I feel overwhelmed or down, when I lack energy and clarity you can guarantee I’m not in that grove and something has slipped, or I’m in a bad daily routine.
Routines make things work and keep people alive!!
Do what works for you – There is no right or wrong
For those who don’t know, I spent nearly 8 years in the Armed Forces in the UK, and this is why the Armed Forces and the Royal Navy in my case run everything by routine. People laugh at me when I say my time in the Forces was like being in prison but without the loss of liberty. That’s because everything, even minutia is run by routine. Obviously, this is so that everyone knows, where everyone should be and what they should be doing and who they should be doing it with at every point during any given day. You know when to eat, when to exercise, when to work, when to play, you know everything, every day. Same as prison, when to sleep, when to wake, when to wash, when to eat, when to exercise, when to get yard time, when to go back in, when to return to your cell and so it goes on. It avoids chaos reigning.
One of my old Charge Chief’s on HMS Gloucester used to spout, “fit in body, fit in mind” all the time and he was renowned for his health and especially his fitness. He had run the Field Gun in the Royal Tournament the maximum allowed 3 times. This is an event where a team of men are responsible for getting a cannon, which weighs in excess of 1.2 tonnes, across a course by taking it apart and putting it back together at the other side of an imaginary ravine and firing it, before doing it all again in reverse to the finish line!
Trust me, it’s as crazy as it sounds.
He sometimes trained 3 times a day and was one of the fittest guys I have ever met.
He had lost the index finger of his left hand, it was an ugly, gnarly stump that was left and I asked him about it. When he was running the gun, he was a wheel man. This meant that he was responsible for taking the huge wheel on the cannon off, carrying it and then putting it back on when required through the race.
The wheel is held in place by a metal split pin which you pull out or shove in dependant on what you are trying to do.
On his first ever tournament, in front of the Queen they were mid run and he lost the pin, he dropped it in the sand that covers the floor. Without the pin, the wheel would fall off and his team would lose, and it would be on him.
So, he put his finger in the hole and kept going.
The gun and wheel took his finger clean off but that wasn’t the end of it.
He had to carry on to the finish line by taking his own finger in and out of that hole another twice before they crossed the line. That was the type of team player he was. I urge you to google “Royal Navy Field Gun Race” and check out one of the YouTube clips. When you see them flying across with those wheels, picture him carrying his finger as well!!
What his fitness brought him was a boundless energy and a clarity of thought and action that made him a joy to be around and a great leader to boot. In difficult times when sleep was deprived in certain dangerous circumstances, he was the one that would see us through with his energy and actions.
You have to be really conscious and intentional because in my experience, it’s much, much easier to fall into bad routines than it is to follow good ones.
It’s funny how the brain works that way.
I want to put a disclaimer in here before I go on. First, I am not advocating that you follow what I do, I am simply telling you what works for me. If it works for you too, that’s superb. If not, find something that works for you.
Take some time and think about what you were doing when you felt on top form.
When are you at your best?
When you’ve established those answers and you can recall being at the peak of your performance and copy that.
Second, I am no fitness guru either. I am 18 stones, horizontally challenged and under tall for my weight. I should be about 8 foot 6. Putting it in lay man terms, I am a fat bloke that likes to keep relatively active and fit.
I find nothing worse than people harping on about what you should and shouldn’t eat or drink. I was once in a community of entrepreneurs where the leader or self-appointed guru used to ridicule and belittle people for enjoying alcohol, eating meat, or having any sugar in their diet!! My thought was. . . get a life! I didn’t stay long in that group.
Eat what works for you and be happy with your choices. If you eat like a pig and are as fat as a pig be happy with your choices, accept the consequences, don’t moan because you are carrying a few pounds. Likewise, if you eat a diet of lettuce and dust, have the body/fat composition of a beanpole, be happy with your choices, don’t preach at others and complain that you can’t put on weight and muscle. Each to their own and celebrate we are all different.
You won’t get any diet or exercise advice from me, unless you ask for it.
Again, I will outline what works for me.
I am no dietician, I’m not an Olympic athlete or a Personal Trainer.
I love a glass of wine and a take away and occasionally I have athletes’ foot!!, I guess that makes me normal then.
Lastly, I was totally not a morning person and I will talk more on this later.
I was always missing the school bus; I was last up in the ten to eight club my Navy days and I was always last up in the house.
I changed my routine because I knew that it wasn’t serving me, and I wanted to make the change.
Now if you want to stay in bed until 10am and work until 3am every day, that’s cool by me. Likewise, if you are up at 4am and in bed by 9pm, good on you also. Be happy with your choices and to repeat – DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU – THERE IS NO RIGHT OR WRONG.
One of the most sure-fire ways to not be healthy on the inside and the out is to start comparing yourself to others. You should compare yourself to who you were yesterday not to who someone else is today.
When I started looking at myself and making a conscious effort to be healthy on the inside and the outside, I quickly became more self-aware and was able to understand what worked for me.
One of the first things I stopped doing was watching, listening or reading the News. As a household we had breakfast news on from 6.30am, lunch was taken with the 1pm news and then evening meal was around the 6pm news swiftly followed by the 10pm news. Overload on negativity or what!!!
The amount of places I go and see that they have 24 hour news channels on in reception and all around the offices – that’s a big no no for me.
There is a reason why the last 1 minute of the news starts with, “and finally” and is a light hearted story otherwise we would all be leaving feeling pretty low about our lives and the world we live in.
I can promise you, if it’s important and it affects you, the news you need will find you quickly enough.
It’s toxic, do yourself a favour and don’t let it in!
It was then I realised that everything stems around exercise for me. It was that simple.
I noticed that if I did something like hitting the gym, walking, running, biking, swimming, then everything else aligned. I firstly felt better. I had more energy. I looked better, my complexion and skin were good, and I had a healthy glow about me. I was sharper in work and could sustain my concentration for longer periods. I ate better so that I watched what I ate and didn’t want to sabotage my efforts by eating crap. If I did go out for a meal or get a family take away, again I didn’t stress, I had earned it. Family life was better, I had more energy after work to devote to the family. I didn’t drink and because of that I slept better and deeper when I did get to my bed.
What was quickly apparent was the reverse of that when I had sustained periods of inactivity. When I don’t hit the gym, I feel lethargic, I struggle to get up in the morning. I think, who cares, let’s have a fry up or junk food because it’s the way I’m feeling – lazy. As soon as I’m home, I’m crashing on the sofa, watching sport or Netflix and getting stuck into a bottle of red wine and reach for the Diary Milk. That gives me heart burn and it means I don’t sleep well, and the cycle repeats itself. During these times my energy in work is poor, I am unable to concentrate for sustained periods and I generally feel crap. That horrible, “I can’t be bothered” attitude creeps into everything and everywhere. From work to home. Family life would suffer, I was impatient and short with the kids and would be sensitive and bicker with my wife. Does any of this resonate with you??
It’s funny though how sliding into the negative routine was so much easier and far more appealing than the positive routine!
Why is that?
Why are bad habits so easy to form and good one’s so hard?
Inevitably it’s because bad ones are simple and require very little thought or discipline and more than that most of the population are doing them on autopilot which makes it even harder to break years of conditioning and swimming against the tide of humanity.
When you look around you and analyse yourself, think of all your friends and family that follow a negative routine. Most follow it but have no idea or no thoughts of a different routine. There’s a total lack of self-awareness that it can change. Many of those around us are on auto pilot and live the negative routine I have just described.
My sister, Lisa, had issues with mental health and she will be the first to admit that she got into a cycle of negativity.
She spent her evenings watching things like the News and the UK Soaps like Eastenders and Coronation Street that are filled with negativity and depressing subjects. It fed a cycle of downward emotional energy that led to inactivity and poor diet which then surfaced in her mental health.
How did she break that cycle?
Firstly, through self-awareness and working out what wasn’t serving her.
She quickly realised that she had a great life and outside influences were forcing her to believe she had a bad one.
She quit the soaps and the news
She hit the gym
She took a personal trainer and as a worker in the NHS in the UK, she’s hardly on a king’s ransom as a salary!!
She decided to spend money on the right things and not the wrong things
Almost immediately she saw a difference.
Her mindset and mental health shifted.
She had more energy and her old smile came back.
Things that used to affect her or make her down could now be brushed off.
She was in control again.
Last year we ran the Cardiff Half Marathon together and she ran for the UK Charity MIND which is helping people with mental health issues and I was so proud to be there with her.
Next month I’ll continue with this article based on being healthy on the inside and out. I’ll tell you what works for me and about my routine. I’ll talk into some of the advice my father gave me and how I keep motivated with crazy challenges. I talk about that “To Do” list and how it isn’t helping you.
  To be continued. . .
  from Blog | 729renegades http://bit.ly/2WIP3sS
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totescavalier-blog · 7 years ago
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Unlimited Price range, Finest Espresso Machine?
So you wish to buy an espresso machine? In the event you're in search of an automated model espresso machine for beneath $200, then the Nespresso Essenza matches that description. The machine uses espresso "capsules" so you don't have to worry about un-ground beans making their approach into your espresso. The Essenza contains a excessive-pressure pump to create the creamy, frothy texture you like in your espresso.
Heats rapidly. Cleans effortlessly. Krups offering is constructed with simplicity in mind, providing a simple-serving setup for novice expresso-ers to take pleasure in tasty, frothy lattes. You may uncover the ginormous 50-ounce detachable water tank, which offers sufficient leverage to brew espresso for a number of days with out the need of refilling it. Then we've got the stainless steel frame that provides aptitude to any countertop.
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The Gaggia Brera was some of the best  espresso machines under $300 we examined and at a list value of $450 gained our Best Purchase award. It carried out effectively in all of our exams; by no means a pacesetter, but at all times better than common. Not like the Breville Barista Express, the Brera routinely grinds, tamps, and extracts espresso pictures. This leaves a lot much less control in the consumer's palms, which is sweet for individuals who just need a decent shot of espresso. Our testers were impressed with the standard of its espresso, but some complained that it tasted a bit watery. This was much less noticeable in lattes and cappuccinos, and solely disappoined testers with refined espresso palates. The Brera's steam wand carried out nicely and is a good feature for a machine at this price. General, this machine supplies a full array of options at a reasonable value.
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Automatic machines go one step additional than their semi-computerized brothers. Not only do they control both the water temperature and the stress, additionally they management the quantity of water that passes via the coffee. Edit: don't skimp out on a water remedy system either. A great water provide means a cheerful machine. I haven't got a specific desire re 1 or 2 group machine - I feel 1 but when a 2 group machine means a better high quality espresso then 2 group.
For this metric we more carefully evaluated the standard each machine's technique for getting ready milk, rather than just assessing how it tasted when added to a shot of espresso. We did this as a result of we all know some customers will be extra concerned with the milk quality than the rest. This could specifically be those who care as a lot or extra about matching the feel of espresso store latte than they do in regards to the taste notes of the espresso.
However a more in-depth appears to be like reveals that whereas both are incredible high quality machines, the Silvia does symbolize a big step up. The costlier machines are in a position to keep extra constant and predictable water temperatures and pressures. Espresso preparation is vastly sensitive to variations in water temperature and strain. And the slightest unpredictable variation can damage your shot.
Gaggia has come back with a bang with this prime bean-to-cup machine. Though it is comparatively cheap, it produces excellent espresso and I solely wanted to regulate it barely to get the very best style. With a guide steam wand, you possibly can froth milk in a jug and make wonderful milk-primarily based drinks, reminiscent of latte or cappucino. At this price, it is exhausting to beat, and you have to spend a chunk more cash earlier than you start getting really better results.
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Nespresso eliminates the effort of grinding your individual espresso with a coffee capsule machine that seamlessly whips up your much-wanted morning picker-higher. Place a mug underneath the spout and let the highly effective 19-bar pressure system draw out the savoring flavors of a latteccino. When not in use, the machine activates an energy saving mode that mechanically turns off the machine, conversing power after nine minutes of inactivity.
Relating to style, the Nespresso C100 actually stands out from the gang. Consumer Reports ranks this machine highest in its class, while the C100's many followers say it produces an unusually balanced, robust espresso. Although it is moderately priced for a pump-type mannequin, you do have to spend money on the Nespresso coffee capsules. The good news is that there are tons of flavors and the capsules hold mess to a minimum.
When searching for a machine, think about carefully your espresso habits, in addition to these of the individuals round you. $500 espresso machines that require capsules can become expensive if you happen to drink more than a shot or two a day. Your Gaggia Espresso machine has an power-environment friendly integrated heating factor to offer pre-warmed espresso cups. Pre-warming a cup will guarantee your Espresso stays scorching for longer.
OK so now you know slightly about the several types of espresso machines and you know the minimal sum of money you may must spend. If you're nonetheless with me, lets have a look at the most effective espresso machines for every kind: manual, semi-automated, automated and tremendous-computerized. Semi-automated machines are by far the most popular of all of the espresso machines. These machines have automated water temperature control and automated stress control. But you determine how a lot water flows through the espresso by turning the pump on and off.
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