#best budget apps for couples

[freeskillshub]

💻Manage finances together effortlessly with budget apps like Honeydue, YNAB, and Goodbudget. Track expenses, set goals, and improve money communication.

📝For more info and details visit Free Skills Hub today!

[newsupgrade]

Master Your Finances in 2023 with an Online Budget Planner

Streamline Your Finances with an Online Budget Planner Effective financial management is essential for individuals and households to achieve their financial goals and maintain a stable financial future. One of the most powerful tools in this regard is an online budget planner. In this digital age, there are numerous free online budget planners available that can assist you in creating and…

[hardoreasyfinance]

Apps That Will Help You Save Money and Live a Better Life!

Managing your personal finances can be overwhelming and confusing, but luckily there are many apps and tools available to help you stay on top of your money. Here are some of the best apps and tools for managing your personal finances.

Money View:

The money view app reads all of your SMS messages and gives you a glimpse into how much cash you’re losing per day. It’s an exciting and innovative app.

Key features:

Check your bank account balances.

See the most recent banking transactions.

The Money View app automatically categorizes your payments and displays major areas of spending.

Goodbudget – Budget & Finance App

The envelope system is used by the Goodbudget money management app. It lets you organize your expenses in envelopes. This app helps you to take a proactive approach to your budget, bills, and finances. You can also have a chat with your friends.

Key Features:

Data is backed up automatically and securely to Goodbudget’s website.

Disaggregate expense transactions

Transactions that are scheduled and envelope fills

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[starlitmelanin]

ᡣ𐭩ྀི birthday blues; t.alexander-arnold

pairing - trent x varsity!fem!reader

word count - 2.9k

warnings - none

summary - you’re stressed out about trent’s birthday, because what on earth do you get a man who already has everything?

it's not like you can just roll up with a box of chocolates and call it a day. this man's used to the best of the best, and while he's never made you feel like you weren't enough or didn't fit into his world, the reality is you're still a varsity student, still trying to stretch your monthly budget to cover textbooks, takeout, and the occasional night out with your girls.

and trent? well, trent can have anything he wants, whenever he wants. you've watched him casually browse designer websites like he's scrolling through twitter, picking out shoes that cost more than your rent with a kind of nonchalance that makes your head spin.

so, no, a simple birthday card from the campus bookstore isn't going to cut it. this is your first birthday together as a couple — you've got to make it special.

but how?

like, you've been lying in bed for hours now, phone in hand, scrolling aimlessly through shopping websites, pinterest, and even resorting to typing "what to get your rich boyfriend for his birthday" into google. nothing is helping. in fact, everything's making it worse. because even though you've got a list of ideas in your notes app, none of them seem to match up to the weight of what you feel this gift should be.

"babe, you don't have to go all out," trent had said during a conversation you had with him earlier in the week, flashing you that pretty smile that somehow makes everything feel like it'll be fine. "whatever you get me, i'm gonna love it. i'm just happy to spend the day with you."

but that's the thing, though. you want to go all out. he deserves it. even if he's not asking for it, you know he would never say anything if you just showed up with something basic—but it would eat away at you. you'd remember it every year.

so, yeah, no pressure or anything. just your sanity slowly slipping away as the days inch closer to his birthday and you still have no clue what to do.

your friends have been no help either. a bunch of suggestions that are either way too expensive or feel way too impersonal. "just get him something sentimental," one of them had said, but you're not even sure what counts as sentimental when you've only been dating for a few months.

like, are you supposed to pull some dramatic pinterest diy project out of nowhere? is that your lane now? because you're not crafty. you're not about to break out the arts and crafts just to end up frustrated and glue-stained.

you're definitely overthinking this, and you know it, but you can't stop. you keep picturing the day itself. like, what if you get him something and he likes it but doesn't love it? what if he's too polite to say it but deep down, he's thinking, "wow, she really couldn't put more effort into this?"

it doesn't help that every time you bring up his birthday, trent just brushes it off like it's no big deal. "it's just another day," he says, shrugging, but you know it's more than that. his birthday is a big deal to you because he's a big deal to you.

you can't let this flop.

days are passing by faster than you'd like, and you still haven't made any progress. now it's the weekend before his birthday, and you're sitting on the floor of your apartment, surrounded by discarded ideas. you've gone from designer cologne (too basic) to a surprise trip (too expensive) to planning a cute dinner night in (too... ordinary?).

it's gotten to the point where you're spiralling. full-on stress mode. you're overthinking everything, imagining how disappointed he might be, how awkward the whole thing could feel, and for what? he hasn't said anything that makes you think he's expecting something grand, but it's like your brain is running on a loop, replaying worst-case scenarios.

you're deep in your thoughts when your phone buzzes. it's trent. a simple text.

trent: wanna come over?

you sigh, conflicted. on one hand, you'd love to see him and spend the day wrapped up in each other like you usually do, but on the other hand, you feel like you should be using every spare second to figure this gift thing out. but it's trent, and maybe seeing him will take your mind off the stress for a bit. so, you grab your keys and head out.

when you get to his place, trent's already waiting for you at the door, looking casual as ever in sweats and a hoodie. he greets you with a grin that immediately makes some of the tension in your shoulders ease up. you can't help but smile back, even though the stress is still simmering in the back of your mind.

he pulls you into a hug, kissing the top of your head as he mumbles, "missed you."

"you saw me yesterday," you laugh softly, burying your face in his chest, inhaling the scent of his cologne. it's the same cologne you thought about getting him for his birthday, but now that you're here with him, it feels too safe, too... expected.

"still missed you," he murmurs, pulling back slightly to look at you. "you okay?"

God, how does he always know?

"yeah," you lie, but it's not convincing. trent raises an eyebrow, clearly not buying it, but he doesn't press. instead, he just leads you inside, hand slipping into yours like it always does.

you spend the afternoon curled up on the couch, watching some random show neither of you are really paying attention to. trent's arm is draped over your shoulders, his fingers occasionally brushing against your arm, but your mind keeps drifting. keeps thinking about the damn gift.

it's not until he asks, "you sure you're alright?" that you realise you've been quiet for too long.

you glance up at him, debating whether or not to just tell him. you don't want to admit how stressed you've been about something that probably seems insignificant to him. but trent's looking at you with that soft, patient expression, and before you know it, the words are tumbling out.

"it's just... your birthday," you mumble, picking at the hem of your shirt, avoiding his gaze. "i wanna get you something special, but i don't know what to get you. you have everything already."

there's a pause, and for a moment, you worry you've said too much. but then you hear him laugh. not in a mean way, but in that gentle, amused way he does when you've overcomplicated something in your head.

"babe," he says softly, cupping your chin and turning your face so you're looking at him. "you don't have to stress over that. i don't need anything fancy or expensive. i just wanna spend time with you."

you feel your chest tighten a little because, logically, you know he's right. but still... it's his first birthday with you. it feels like it should be more.

"i know," you mumble, eyes flicking away from his. "but i just want it to be perfect."

"it will be," he promises, leaning down to steal a kiss. "because you'll be there."

and maybe that's all that matters, but still...

—

the next couple of days are a blur.

classes, assignments, and late-night scrolling sessions trying to figure out the perfect present. you've moved past the point of practicality. now, you're grasping at straws. googling things like "unique gifts for the man who has everything" and getting absolutely nowhere. your notes app is full of crossed-out ideas, your stress level rising with each passing day.

by the time thursday rolls around, you're a full-on wreck. trent's birthday is next monday, and the thought of showing up with something underwhelming—or worse, empty-handed—has you on edge. you've always been the type to put pressure on yourself, to want everything to be just right, especially when it comes to people you care about. and trent? well, trent's at the top of that list now, no question.

it randomly hits you at 2:19 in the morning, that spark of inspiration you were so desperate for, the puzzle pieces of your chaotic brain finally starting to click into place. and as you brush your teeth before class a few hours later, you replay the idea in your mind.

you obviously still need to work out the details, but at least you have direction now. no more over-the-top ideas. nothing that screams, "i tried too hard." instead, you're going for something more personal, something that shows trent how much you've been paying attention to the small things.

because, really, that's what this relationship has been about for you—finding beauty in the details. sure, trent's life is loud and flashy, but what you've learned in the past few months is that it's the quiet moments, the ones where it's just the two of you, that really matter.

like the nights where you read him your biochem thesis because you want a second opinion (and, bless him, he never understands a thing). or the mornings where you wake up tangled in his sheets, 15 minutes late for whatever morning class you have. or the late-night talks where he opens up in ways you know he doesn't do with most people.

that's what you want to capture. that's what his birthday should reflect.

the rest of the week passes in a blur, a whirlwind of classes, your part-time job, and late-night planning sessions. every free moment you get, you're jotting down notes, sketching ideas, making phone calls, and somehow managing to keep all of this hidden from trent. it's not easy—he's nosy as hell, always asking what you're up to, but you've gotten good at playing it off, keeping him in the dark just enough to maintain the element of surprise.

you've already set everything in motion. well, mostly. there are still a few loose ends to tie up, but it's all coming together in a way that feels right.

on the morning of his birthday, you both settle on a time that works—right after your last class and after he's done with training. by the time he gets to your place that evening, you're all giddy, eyes beaming as you open the door for him.

and he's instantly on you, arms smoothly slipping around your waist, pulling you to him just as you close the door. he leans down, pressing his lips to your exposed shoulder — gentle, lingering kisses, his breath warm against your skin. "hi, baby."

"trent..." you murmur, trying to sound disapproving because you can almost guess where this is going, but failing miserably. it comes out softer than you intended, more like an invitation than a scolding.

he hums against your skin, his lips brushing the curve of your neck now, his hands tightening just a bit on your waist, pressing your back to his front. "hmm?"

his lips move to your jawline next, and you reach back with one hand, tangling your fingers in the soft curls at the nape of his neck, pulling him closer. he takes the hint, pressing more kisses along the side of your face now, trailing up to your temple, your cheek, the corner of your mouth.

"so pretty," trent turns you around slowly, his hands still on your waist, guiding you until you're facing him. his eyes are dark, a little playful, but there's something else there too—something softer, deeper.

you barely have time to register that look before his lips are on yours, soft and sweet. it's not hurried or frantic, but there's an urgency to it, and you kiss him back just as passionately, your hands clutching his shirt, your body leaning into his. it's instinctual now, the way your whole being responds to him.

when you finally pull back, both of you breathing a little heavier, trent rests his forehead against yours, his eyes fluttering closed for a moment. there's a lazy smile on his lips, the kind that makes your heart do a little flip in your chest.

"wait, you're distracting me," you laugh quietly, your fingers tracing the outline of his jaw. "i have a surprise for you."

he smiles, his lips brushing against your forehead now. "yeah?"

you nod, grinning as you lead him over to the living room, where you've set everything up. on the coffee table, there's a small collection of items: a few handwritten letters, a disposable camera, and a small, leather-bound journal.

trent raises an eyebrow, glancing between you and the table, clearly intrigued but not sure what to expect.

"so, i know you don't need anything," you start, your voice suddenly a little shaky as you sit down beside him. "and i didn't wanna get you something you could just buy yourself. so... i thought about what would mean the most to you. and, well... this is what i came up with."

you hand him the journal first, feeling a knot of nerves tighten in your stomach as he unties the string and carefully opens it.

the pages are filled with handwritten notes, photos, and little mementos from your time together so far. it's not just a scrapbook or a diary; it's a love letter. every page is a piece of your relationship — the silly inside jokes, the photos of the two of you at your favourite café, the pressed flowers from the first bouquet he ever gave you, the ticket stubs from the movie you saw on your second date. it's a collection of memories, a reminder of how far you've come in such a short time.

it's quiet for a while, the only sound being the soft rustle of paper as he turns the pages. you watch him carefully, trying to gauge his reaction, but his face is unreadable.

finally, he reaches the last page—a note you wrote, a few simple words; happy birthday, trent. thank you for being you. thank you for seeing me. i love you.

he's quiet for a moment, his eyes scanning the words, thumb tracing over the ink. when he finally looks up, there's this... softness in his eyes, a depth of emotion you don't always see from him.

"this is perfect," he sets the journal aside and pulls you into his arms, pressing a kiss to your temple. "thank you, baby."

you feel a wave of relief wash over you, but you're not done yet. next, you hand him the disposable camera.

"i know you're used to having a million pictures taken of you all the time, but... i thought it might be nice to have something just for us. we can take pictures whenever, wherever. and at the end of the roll, we'll get them developed and see what moments we've captured."

trent turns the camera over in his hands, a warm, appreciative smile gracing his lips. "this is... yeah, this is really thoughtful. i didn't expect this."

and finally, you hand him the letters. "these are from the people closest to you. i asked them to write you something personal, something that shows how much you mean to them."

he looks up at you, his eyes soft, a mix of gratitude and something deeper reflecting in them. "you really went all out for this, didn't you?"

you shrug, feeling a little shy now that everything's out in the open. "i just wanted you to feel appreciated. i didn't want to get you something that didn't mean anything."

trent's quiet for a moment, just looking at you, and then he sets everything aside and pulls you into his arms, holding you close.

"you're amazing," he says, his voice all soft and thick with emotion. "seriously. this is the best gift i've ever had."

you feel the tension drain from your body as you bury your face in his chest, a smile spreading across your lips because, yeah. all the stress, all the overthinking, it was worth it.

"i love you," trent pulls back slightly, his hand cupping your cheek as he looks down at you. "more than i even know how to say."

your heart stutters at that. you've both danced around the words for a while now, neither of you wanting to rush into saying them, but hearing him say it now, in this moment, feels right.

"i love you too," you whisper, your fingers tangling in the fabric of his shirt as you pull him closer, your lips meeting in a soft, lingering kiss.

when you finally pull away, he rests his forehead against yours again, his hand sliding down to rest on your hip. "best birthday i've had," he murmurs, his lips brushing against your cheek, and you laugh softly, your heart full.

"i'm glad," you say, smiling as you snuggle closer to him, his arms wrapping around you like a safety net. "but it's not over yet."

he raises an eyebrow, intrigued. "oh? what else do you have planned?"

you grin, leaning back just enough to meet his gaze. "i figured we'd spend the rest of the night doing... whatever you want."

trent chuckles, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "whatever i want, huh?"

"yep," you nod, biting your lip to keep from smiling too wide. "you're the birthday boy, after all."

"careful," he leans in, his lips brushing against your ear as he whispers, "i might hold you to that."

and he does hold you to it.

all night long.

[onlyangel4]

desperate times call for desperate measures. toto wolff.

sugar daddy! toto wolff x reader

you are a struggling artist trying to live instead of just spending every moment worrying about money. toto wolff is the lonliest rich man in the world, when you find each other you are exactly what the other needs.

warnings- 18+, cursing, discussions of financial struggles. sugar daddy relationship. age gap relationship ( reader is around twenty five) there will be a lot of smut in the following parts of this fic. toto in love with someone he hasn’t met. male masturbation. smut. for this toto has been divorced for three years.

part two

your life wasn’t at the point that you hoped it would be by now. art was your biggest passion in the entire world, it was something that you loved and you were incredibly good at, but it was also so difficult to make a break through in the art space. you painted whenever you were inspired but those paintings crowded a storage unit that was worth half your monthly rent. your financials were in the bin, and you were furiously budgeting just to make sure you could afford everything that you needed. this was not living. your friends were constantly going on nights out but you had to say no time and time again just because you knew you would not be able to afford it. you were missing out on so much fun and it was driving you fucking insane.

you were embarrassed by your financial situation, the only person who knew about how much you were struggling was your best friend, anna. anna was the least judgemental person on planet earth, you knew that you were safe to rant to her about everything going on in your life, she didn’t have much more money than you but she did get to go on the trips that you missed out on.

“you know what you need?”, anna mused sat on the bed of your tiny apartment her frame threatening fall off at any moment, “you need a sugar daddy, lou has one and he buys her all sort of shit”, anna spoke and you just rolled your eyes at such an out there suggestion.

“come on anna, those things are just scams”, you spoke and anna was quick to shake her head.

“no, they are legit, lou showed me the app she uses. seeking arrangements, it is all legit. i swear if I wasn’t with tom i would have downloaded it already”, she was actually being serious.

you were going to come back with some snarky comeback for your best friend but you quickly noticed that the phone in her hands was yours and not hers.

“what are you doing with my phone?”

“i am doing you a favour y/n, this could really help you out”

you pondered her words for a moment, the last time you had seen lou she was decked out in all knew jewellery and she was wearing one of the nicest dresses you had ever laid eyes on. maybe this whole thing had worked out well for her. It could be worth a try.

“okay, but make sure you pick my best pictures”

the rest of that night was spent drinking wine and setting up your seeking arrangements profile together. there were was a good mix of photos on the profile starting with one of you on the beach from two years ago, the last time you could afford a holiday, you were dressed in a striking red one piece and anna swore that you looked like someone out of baywatch. one of you and your beloved black cat, liquorice. one with you next to the last painting you had sold, three months ago, the last time you had been truly proud of yourself. then there were a couple of filler pictures of you and your friends because anna decided that any sugar daddies needed to know that you had people that loved you, just in case they were planning on harming you, a comment that made your eyes roll. once the profile was set up you and anna both fell asleep, anna in your bed and you on the floor in a sleeping bag, because your couch was from a charity shop and probably the most uncomfortable thing to sleep on.

the following week your profile had gotten a little bit of attention from different people but never anyone that properly took your interest. all the first messages were either mentioning how good your tits looked in that one piece or they were guys proper showing off how much money they had something that did not interest you at all.  however, eight days into your profile being up you had gotten one message much more interesting than all the others, “that painting in your third picture looks familiar is that ares del maestrat?” now that message had taken you by surprise. one, because so far in all of the messages you had received no one had actually mentioned your art. and two, he was right, it was ares del maestrat, a place in spain that you happened to stumble upon on your last visit to the country, an area that you had found so stunning you knew you needed to paint it as soon as you got home.

“you are right! It is a gorgeous area, i found it by accident a couple years back, i wish i could visit it again”, you text him back.

“it is beautiful, i visit spain every year, i try to make time in my schedule to go every single year”, oh so this man was RICH rich.

you continued to text the man behind the kind messages about your work for the entire following week. you were quick to learn that his name was toto, his profile was under peter but that was only because he wanted to keep it somewhat private that he had a profile on the app because his career was in the public eye. Once he felt comfortable with you he began telling you what his job entailed, he was a team principle for an f1 team. you told him that you did not really know what that meant because you had never even seen a race. he explained to you his role and you couldn’t help but find the fact that he was so high up in such a career incredibly attractive, you were enjoying talking to him.

toto had downloaded the app due to a mix of loneliness and pure curiosity. He had been single for a few years now and he was getting fed up of both falling asleep and then waking up alone. he had heard about seeking arrangements and after doing a little bit of research on the app he had decided that maybe he did want to be a sugar daddy. he just wanted someone to spoil, someone that he could spend time with. and the idea of helping someone that was struggling with money was also something that interested him, it seemed like a pretty good exchange to him.

one issue though, toto found out that he was incredibly picky when it came to finding someone on the app. he was forever picking holes in all the profiles that he saw, some people had “don’t message me unless you will drop a hundred grand on me”, in their profiles which he just found tacky and others just did not seem like they had much substance behind them. but then he found you. each one of your photos was embellished by a genuine smile on your lips. and he couldn’t help but be taken aback by a picture of you with a painting of his favourite place in spain, now that had to be a sign. that is how you ended up being the first person that toto messaged on the entire app.

he had not been expecting to get on with you as much as he did. he educated you on all things to do with f1 while you sent him multiple voice messages about painting and your creative process. he was so interested you and listening to you go on about how passionate you were about art was something that toto could do forever. you were special and he was going to treat you as such.

after the first week of talking you sent him your number, citing that it was much easier to use that rather than text on the app. And after a couple days of having your number toto called you out of the blue. he spoke to you like you were long lost friends, there was no awkwardness at all. just the two of you talking about your days. you called every day always at the same time and after a week those calls turned into facetimes and toto was sure that he would never get bored of seeing your face flash up on his screen. you became the favourite part of his day. he actually began secretly purchasing your paintings, going through art dealers. making sure that his identity was hidden. every time you sold a painting you sent him a picture of you with the painting and he was so happy to see your smiling face, knowing that he was the reason for it made his heart swell with pride.

you were actually the first one to bring up meeting but you were too much of a pussy to do it over the phone, “so mister f1, when would you be free to meet in person, i like talking to you :)”, you had text him and as soon as toto saw that message his heart started hammering in his chest.

“well we have summer break starting next week, i can fly to London and we can meet there”, he had text back, making you smile brightly.

“i’ll see you then”

“darling, send me your address, i will send a car to pick you up”, you did as you were told, this man way only want you to provide company for him but you felt a need to oblige him. from your messages and times spent calling him you had learnt that he had a very dominant presence, one that never failed to make you go weak at the knees.

your message could not have come at a better time, you were driving toto mad with all your cute pictures and messages but toto had realised that he really needed to see you the moment he found himself with his fist around his cock, one hand looking through the pictures that were on your profile coupled with a few pictures that you had sent him privately when he asked to see more pictures that you had. he was rubbing his cock thinking about a girl that he had never met, a girl that just wanted a sugar daddy but he could not help it, something about you just made him moan your name as his chest heaved up and down, head tilting back slightly. And as he came onto his bed sheets he made a promise to himself. he was going to treat you so good you would not be able to find a reason to leave. and that was the night that you text him about meeting, it was like you could read his mind.

[danieyells]

You've come to help out at Jabberwock again. Haru always appreciates the backup considering the nature of his fellows is, at best, unpredictable, and he would never refuse your company(even if 'company' in this case was more often 'being within the boundaries of the same dorm.')

You rarely see Haru unless you're working directly with him as he spends most of the day zipping to and fro, only stopping to work with one animal or another. Now and then he appears, virtually soundless thanks to the way gravity doesn't affect his body with his stigma active, popping in out of breath to thank you again for your help, to ask you to work with another animal next, to give you some pointers on what you're doing. And then he's gone again, disturbing barely any dust as he zooms off to his next task.

While distributing feed for some of the friendly herbivores, you felt something warm press against your cheek for a split second. Touching your face revealed nothing. You looked around for a while for any clues before you chalked it up to some anomaly flying around and resumed your work, shooting Haru a quick message to ask if there were any small, flying anomalies around that you might need to worry about.

Next you dropped by the caves to check on the amphibians. Finding them well(and fortunately fed), you chatted with Towa and Zenji for a little while when it happened again. You asked Towa if he had been blowing bubbles recently, touching your cheek. Perhaps one had simply popped against you, although that wouldn't explain the warmth. Towa tilted his head and made an inquisitive noise, before he seemed to realize something and smiled fondly, giggling. Zenji was just as confused as you, begging Towa to let you both in on the joke, but Towa simply cheered something you couldn't understand, pulled out a bubble wand(fortunately not his artifact,) and began to blow glimmering bubbles in many fantastic shapes. Zenji gasped in understanding and declared his inspiration. You decided to take your leave as he pulled out his biwa.

Your full day of work ending, you washed your hands, changed into your clean clothes, and located Haru within the dorm kitchen as he consulted the book of weaning recipes he'd bought and poured over the food scraps you'd previously brought him from Highway to Home.

"Oh! Hey! Thanks again for your help today." Haru beamed at you despite how obvious it was he was starting to wear down. "I might even get a couple more minutes of sleep tonight with everything you managed to take care of! Gyahaha!"

Although it was worded sarcastically, you understood that he was being sincere. You told him you were happy to help and offered more of your time before you headed back to the Cathedral. Maybe while you made food for and fed Peekaboo he could get a meal of his own going? Or you could cook for him? He considered this and started to decline before his stomach growled audibly and he laughed at himself in defeat.

You spent the next half an hour or so circling each other in the kitchen, chatting about food apps and the conveniences of the world outside Darkwick. Aside from lacking the budget for it, Haru didn't order from Sho's food truck and simply have him deliver it for fear that the sound of his motorcycle would upset the animals. It was more economical to cook at the dorm--the problem being the lack of time. Sometimes Towa cooked for him, but the flower-heavy vegetarian dishes didn't keep Haru fed for long when he ran around like he did.

But thanks to your help, Haru was able to have a decent light dinner, one you shared. Haru felt no shame about feeding you with your hands occupied feeding Peekaboo. Admittedly you weren't the most romantic pair in the world with how busy Haru was, but you valued the little moments like this that you could get. When dinner was over, Haru asked you to put Peekaboo in his pen while he cleaned up, thanked you again, and wished you good night as he had some late work to take care of with the nocturnal anomalies before he could go to bed.

You were nearly at the gate when you heard Haru call your name. "I almost forgot!!!" You heard him cry out from behind. When you turned you couldn't see him--and the contact against your cheek happened again. You turned in that direction, before another met your opposite cheek.

When you spun in that direction, you heard Haru laugh, felt him throw his arms around you, and tilt you back to kiss you on the lips.

"Forgot your goodnight kiss!" He chimed before cackling, giving you a squeeze. Realization dawned on you--Haru moved so quickly and unburned by the effects of gravity that he'd just been kissing you and running back to work so quickly that you wouldn't have had any hope of seeing him. He grinned down at you as you caught on, then gave you one more quick peck on the nose. He righted you, and then he was gone again, stopping a ways away to call out,

"I love you!!! Nighty-night!"

[narafeedee]

What’s your go to fast food meal?

this is a fun question, thank you!! i always order the same things at places once i find something i like, so this turned into an absurdly detailed response very quickly

i think my most-eaten meal lately is two double cheeseburgers and a large diet coke because the burgers are BOGO for 29c. if i’m feeling particularly frisky and fat-walleted i’ll get the bakers dozen cookie tote.

in an alternate timeline where budgets don’t exist, i’d be getting a large DQPC meal mayo and pickles only, with a large diet coke, two mcchickens add mustard no lettuce, and either a cookie tote or two of whatever the specialty pies are

i eat McDonalds every day so naturally that’s where my mind went, my go-to orders elsewhere (in order from most to least frequent visits) are:

Tim Horton’s: XL coffee 3 creams, 2 sugars, 1 caramel and a sausage egg and cheese sandwich on a biscuit, every day with very few exceptions. once every couple months i’ll do McDonalds instead and get whatever breakfast sandwich deal they have - usually $2 sausage egg and cheese mcgriddle - and a large vanilla iced coffee

i eat at one of the places listed below maybe once every couple weeks:

BK: 3 to 6 rodeo burgers add mayo add fresh onion, large diet coke, sometimes a hershey pie

Wendy’s: $5 Biggie Bag - which is a double stack, 4 nuggets, small fry, small diet coke; if i wanna splurge i’ll get a large Dave’s Double combo no lettuce no ketchup, large diet coke, medium frosty

Taco Bell: i checked the app to be able to use the actual names of the things i usually order from Taco Hell but i just learned the chicken things i used to get every time are no longer on the fucking menu so i don’t know what i like at Taco Bell anymore and i’m a little salty rn. first they took away my grilled shredded chicken burritos with extra avocado ranch away from me, now this? what the fuck

KFC: two famous bowls and at least 8 hot sauce packets for each bowl, then stop at McDonalds for a large diet coke

Popeyes: blackened chicken tenders (whatever the best meal promo is), red beans and rice, blackened ranch for dipping, something sweet but i change it up every time, large sweet tea from Popeyes or a large diet coke from McDonalds

Checker’s: two large orders of mozzarella sticks, big buford no lettuce, large diet coke, large fries, funnel cake fries or brookie

everything else i eat in a day is normally freezer food - pizza rolls, waffles, uncrustables - or ubereats delivery. i also order the exact same things from the same 3 places on rotation when i order delivery. i don’t have an adequate kitchen to cook how i want to where i live right now but it gives me something to look forward to having someday 🤷🏻‍♀️

[blysse-and-blunder]

in lieu of a quiet sunday night

sunday, 11pm, September 22, 2024 ~ cider close to hand, both alcoholic and non; hozier playing in the background; evidently it's the first day of fall

reading since i skipped doing one of these last week, both of my reading picks tonight are actually from a little while ago. both were so, so compelling, but for different reasons. one an award-winning piece of twentieth-century canadian literature set in 1970s india, the other a scandalous semi-autobiographical account of drinking, dating, and divorce in roaring twenties new york.

i think that drew me into both of these first was their dialogue-- both authors are so good at writing distinctly unique, distinctly not-what-i-usually-hear character dialogue, without it sounding at all affected. i got the feeling that both authors were working from life, describing societies they knew inside and out, and had observed intimately. so much detail about the, like, material and sensory details of these two different settings-- what everyone wore out to dinner in the twenties, and what they were eating and drinking; what shopping for a chicken or going to the doctor was like in mid-seventies bombay, what school was like, how people were discussing the government... beyond that, these two feel so dissimilar that comparing them is going to do a disservice to both. though i guess both have, at different points in their histories, been the subject of some scandal. listening shout out to my 'for you' playlist last week, which was one hit after another-- but opened with this, and introduced me to rachel chinouriri! whose sound i really like. that first slow build up to the guitar bursting in? got my attention immediately. the lyrics to this one are, admittedly, wild to be singing while trying to write job apps, but it's melancholy in enough of an upbeat way that it almost feels calming?

No point in trying to prove yourself to them Why question who you are from deep within? No matter what, your youth is gonna end My god it’s sinking in There’s no point in anything

the whole album goes down so smooth, and is rewarding repeat listens. i love her voice. i love how late i am to discovering her, since she's opening for sabrina carpenter now apparently.

watching no shogun time this week, but the gang and i sat down to experience the first episode of a new series, which i cannot stop thinking about. imagine like. australian broadchurch, but only one of the main characters and all the victims are actually in a bleak crime drama, and every other character is doing like parks & rec. also it's extremely gay. and rude. and funny. favorite characters are dulcie, and sven the guy who keeps asking who he can delegate stuff to. also dulcie's wife, who i'm so worried about the world crushing somehow, she seems too optimistic to survive undamaged!

playing did i mention finishing act ii of pentiment? now that @blue--period is playing it, i realized i wanted to get further and be able to discuss. i was devastated by the end of act i, but the end of act ii feels... bleak in a way i wasn't expecting, at all. i'm already planning a second play-through using my other save file, since i failed a bunch of checks in act ii (a few i think based on the background i had chosen, aggravating since it was helpful in other ways) and no spoilers, but in other ways, i failed by succeeding. saving act iii for now, since i have a busy next couple of weeks. much love to caspar, my best boy.

making fallow week. check back soon for experiments with medieval ink making, though!! i have sourced ingredients, and parchment scraps, from kind friends and colleagues who won't ask me to pay for them, and will shortly be (i hope) benefiting from someone else's paper-making budget. stay tuned.

working on prepping for my students' quiz on thursday, and the following assignment due in early oct, by brainstorming what i want to ask them to do and then not actually writing the rubric or instructions. alternating with staring at the descriptions of various job openings and trying to pick up lots of detail about the hiring departments. wrote up a 2-page dissertation summary, which sucked. feeling more chill about the process than i thought, which is also because it doesn't feel like it's happening to me, exactly. writing sample and finalized cover letter this week?

[themculibrary]

Pepper And Tony (Pepperony) Masterlist 3

Links Last Checked: May 20th, 2024

part one, part two

absolved by the sky (ao3) - sandyk M, 3k

Summary: Pepper says, "Fine and good isn't just 'I'm no longer bleeding from twenty places,' fine and good is that you're not bleeding at all."

Access Granted (fanfiction.net) - Elorapid T, 23k

Summary: A series of "firsts" for Pepper and Tony. Movieverse. Pepperony, eventually. Please note rating change. Complete.

A List of Times Tony and Pepper Saved Each Other (ao3) - crumpled_up

Summary:

Pepper: I got you. Tony: I got you first.

Who really had whom first?

A Long and Winding Road (ao3) - LadyDeBrief M, 4k

Summary: It was, much like he'd told Bruce, a terrible privilege, this power Pepper had over him. That she was aware of that and gave it the due seriousness was one of the reasons he so easily trusted her with it.

babel, babel, look at me now (ao3) - jumpfall T, 6k

Summary: [IM3 Spoilers.] Fixing Extremis doesn't mean removing it. Tony Stark may in fact be dating a superhero. (There's a line in the budget for it.)

Blow the Man Down (ao3) - sabinelagrande E, 11k

Summary: Tony Stark. A boat full of women. What could possibly go wrong?

Close Quarters (ao3) - outtabreath M, 3k

Summary: For this kinkmeme prompt: "tony and pepper somehow end up in a small storage room in one of the conference rooms at SI. Then suddenly there's a meeting going on outside, so they're going to have to try their best to be quiet."

So...closet sex with app abuse, banter and a broom.

common pleasure (ao3) - preromantics E, 5k

Summary: In which Tony has bruises and Pepper takes care of him, and maybe wants some bruises of her own, too. Tony aches getting out of the suit, can feel three hours worth of being hit in his bones as each piece of it is screwed off his body.

Five Times Tony Stark Proposed and One He Didn't (ao3) - Jaina M, 12k

Summary: The first time that Tony Stark proposed to Pepper Potts, it was...unexpected.

Four Times Pepper Potts Didn't Let Tony Stark See Her Cry (And One Time She Totally Did) (ao3) - FrodaB T, 2k

Summary: He doesn’t ask how she is, nor does he say he’s sorry.

Goatee (ao3) - londowney (fateandcircumstance) E, 518

Summary: Pepper loved that goatee.

know your devils and your deeds (ao3) - irnan T, 3k

Summary: fifteen simple rules for dating Pepper Potts.

Lost and Found (ao3) - VR_Trakowski M, 17k

Summary: Pepper goes looking for answers.

My Heart in Your Hands (ao3) - secondalto E, 10k

Summary: Pepper won't ever let Tony see her mark, until she does.

Palmer's Kiss (ao3) - VR_Trakowski M, 82k

Summary: Tony takes advantage of serendipity. Written after Iron Man and now AU.

scenes from our mansion, after the war (ao3) - avocadomoon T, 3k

Summary: "Apologies, madam," says JARVIS, "but both you and Mr. Stark made me promise to prevent you from being one of 'those couples.'"

Snowed In (ao3) - tiny_spy T, 9k

Summary: “You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Pepper whispered.

Tony and Pepper end up sharing a room in an overbooked hotel during a snow storm. Takes place in the middle of Iron Man 2.

Speaking in static (ao3) - isevsianne M, 3k

Summary: She leaves while she is still convinced it is the right thing to do.

Or: Pepper & Tony, torn apart, still together. It's complicated.

Winging It (ao3) - VR_Trakowski T, 5k

Summary: Pepper deals with the aftermath. Set directly after Iron Man 2.

yet turning stay (ao3) - irnan T, 4k

Summary: "Tony - you're all I've got too, you know."

[freeskillshub]

Budget Apps for Couples: Strengthening Financial Bonds.

Managing finances as a couple can be both challenging and rewarding. Fortunately, with budgeting apps, couples now have powerful tools to navigate their financial journey together. These apps streamline money management, foster better communication, and promote goal-setting between partners.

📱Why Use Budget Apps for Couples?

1. Shared Expense Tracking:

   Budget apps track shared expenses in real-time, making it easier to manage household finances and split bills evenly.

2. Financial Goal Setting:

   Set mutual objectives like saving for a vacation or paying off debt. Budget apps provide goal-tracking features to monitor progress and celebrate milestones together.

3. Improved Money Communication:

   Budget apps facilitate open and transparent communication about finances, helping couples discuss spending habits and work towards shared goals.

🔝Top Budget Apps for Couples

1. Honeydue:

   Link bank accounts, track expenses, and set spending limits collaboratively. Features bill reminders and real-time alerts for added convenience.

2. YNAB (You Need A Budget):

   Promotes proactive budgeting by allocating funds to specific categories. Emphasis on zero-based budgeting encourages accountability and shared responsibility.

3. Goodbudget:

   Follows the envelope budgeting method, allowing couples to allocate money to virtual envelopes for different spending categories. Simple and easy to use, ideal for beginners.

  🚀 Getting Started

Explore the features of budget apps mentioned above. Discuss your financial goals together and choose the app that best aligns with your needs and preferences. Start your journey to financial harmony now! For more information and details, visit Free Skills Hub today!

[beardycarrot]

How did you get into shape? I know nothing about fitness and I don’t really know how to get started.

Honestly, it's pretty simple and boring. Literally just diet and exercise! That said, I can go into more detail of the what, how, and why. First of all, for anyone stumbling upon this, here's a picture of me from 2019, and one I took just now for this post, wearing the same outfit:

...aaaand here's one from last week (technically a video still), wearing clothing that actually fits me:

I never really cared about my weight, or how I looked. Being overweight didn't prevent me from doing anything that I wanted to do, and I was pretty sure that if I wanted to, I could lose weight pretty easily... but again, I didn't really care. In July 2021, I went on vacation to Minnesota with my fiancée, and ended up sampling too many sodas on the trip. I just didn't want sweet drinks at all for a while after that.

When I finally had some sweet tea a couple weeks after returning home, I was curious how many calories I'd consumed that day. I looked up calorie counting apps, and ended up choosing one that I liked the icon of, since I've got a touch of the OCD and ADHD, and make custom icons for all of the apps on my phone in the same style. The app I chose is called Lose It, and... I'll go into how that works in a bit.

All I wanted to do was plug in everything I'd eaten and see how many calories it was, but before you can do that, the app wants you to input your stats, your goals, set up a weight loss plan, etc... I got through all that, and was surprised to see that it claimed I would be able to lose one hundred pounds in one year, so long as I ate within the daily calorie budget it provided. What's more, the budget was surprisingly lenient. I had my doubts, but I was willing to try it for a couple days. Especially since I hadn't actually weighed or measured any of the food I'd eaten that day, so the calorie count I'd originally been looking for ended up being an incredibly loose estimate.

It took a while to fine-tune things, but it was surprisingly easy to stick to the budget provided, especially considering that exercise you log counts as negative calories for your totals. I started measuring everything I ate, and made a rule of "if it doesn't go in the app, it doesn't go in the mouth". I already walked my dog for about an hour every day, but I also added swimming with an interval timer app. Four minutes of swimming, followed by two minutes of water-walking, totaling up to a twenty-eight minute daily exercise. No real basis for this, that's just kinda... what I arrived at.

As for food, I didn't really eat anything specific, or avoid anything either. I started having protein shakes (protein powder with twice the amount of water the directions call for) as my daily breakfast, and trying to get a decent number of my daily calories from protein sources, but that aside, no real food restrictions. I just basically ate whatever I wanted, so long as they were in reasonable quantities and fit within my calorie budget. I also made sure that I was eating within the budget that was generated for me at the start of the day, and ignoring the fact that the I could technically eat more if I wanted with the calories subtracted by logging my workouts. Measuring calories burned is a lot less accurate than measuring the calories in food.

Weight started to come off VERY quickly, leading me to do research on the actual bodily processes involved. This may not be 100% accurate, but it's to the best of my understanding.

Your body requires a certain number of calories per day to continue operating as normal, and if you don't get them from the food you eat, you have to get them from somewhere, right? When you first start eating at a calorie deficit, you'll begin burning glycogen, which is basically sugar stored in your muscles to be used as a quick fuel source. Normally, you'll just use it bit by bit as your physical activity exceeds the amount of usable glucose your body has on hand, but when losing weight your body taps the glycogen stores HARD. When glycogen is broken down into glucose, you're left with water as a byproduct, which your body will dispose of through the usual channels.

This is where the rapid weight loss comes into play. Water weighs a lot, and as you're burning glycogen, you'll likely experience a few days during which your body is shedding several pounds of water. This process is actually the foundation of the entire weight loss industry... You start a new diet, cleanse, treatment, exercise plan, whatever, you see immediate results, you rave about how great the product or program is, and then... your body switches from burning glycogen to burning fat. Suddenly what you were doing isn't working as well, and you assume that you must be doing something wrong. The people who sold you the plan already have your money, so they don't care if you move onto something else. Not all companies do this, of course, but the industry as a whole seems pretty predatory.

Water retention can have a surprisingly big impact on your weight. For example, if you eat salty foods, your body needs more water than usual to deal with the sodium, so you'll be holding onto extra water weight for a while. If you start a new exercise or otherwise use muscles you normally don't, those muscles will form micro-tears... which sounds scary, but is actually perfectly normal. However, to heal them, your body needs... again, extra water. Even something like where you are in your menstrual cycle will affect how much water you're currently retaining, so your weight can really fluctuate in confusing ways.

Anyway! Fat is about six times more calorie-dense than glycogen, so once your body switches to burning fat, weight loss will noticeably slow. I was lucky, in that, again... I didn't really care about losing weight all that much. At that point, I was just doing it for fun. I like to use services like The Backloggery, MyAnimeList, and Goodreads to document the media I consume, and I basically took the same approach to counting calories; I was mainly logging my meals and exercise just for the joy of having logged it.

As winter approached, I knew that I wouldn't be able to continue swimming, so picked up a copy of Ring Fit Advenure, a game for the Nintendo Switch that uses a modified pilates hoop that can hold a controller. It's basically... an on-rails shooter JRPG fitness game?

You jog through levels, doing simple stretches and exercises, and every so often run into enemies that you have to defeat through reps of arm, leg, and core exercises. It took me about five months to beat the game, and another five to get through NewGame+ and NewGame++. After that, with no new content to explore, I bought a new exercise game call Fitness Boxing 2. It's not nearly as fun or comprehensive, but it's a good way to get me moving.

I hit my one hundred pound weight loss goal a little under eight months after downloading the app, and after that point, just set small goals to aim for. A little over a year after starting, I hit 150 lost, and have just kinda been maintaining ever since. I've recently decided to buckle down and aim for a new goal, which if I reach it will put me at half of my starting weight. It's not much more of a push, but is enough to be a challenge, so I'm going to do my best to get there by the two year anniversary of downloading Lose It.

If you have any other questions (or something is confusing because I'm not proofreading this before posting it), feel free to ask!

[hardoreasyfinance]

Budgeting Apps For College Students

The best budgeting apps provide tools to help you plan for future spending and to reach financial goals by helping you understand your income and spending. Some of the most popular free best budgeting apps for college students and for people who are interested in budgeting.

Budgeting is the process of creating a plan for spending your money. Having this spending plan allows you to determine in advance whether you will have enough money to do the things you need or would like to do.

A budget allows you to manage your money so that you can cover both your immediate and future expenses. Having a budget is essential for financial stability because otherwise,

[llclown-kittyll]

Lovesick- Yandere Dr.Iplier/you

Tw's-Needles, drugs, doctors, you are sick(allergies), reader is selfish and ignorant in this one a bit because they go to work and out in public even though they're sick

 You sneezed. Again and again and again. You coughed. Again and again and again. You've been like this for a couple of days now. Sneezing and coughing non-stop. You put off going to the doctors office for far too long. You knew this, but would never admit it. When your best friend offered to take you and even pay the co-pays of whatever medicine could get you better, you declined. You were always the type to put yourself last. This time was no different. You were a master at budgeting and planning- but nowhere in your 6-month financial forecast were you prepared to handle being sick. But going to the doctors office and paying for a prescription? You were scared how much it would cost you. You couldn't risk it. Finally, you were ordered to go to the doctors office. By your boss....She saw you hacking behind your desk. When she asked you,

"Are you okay?"

You involuntarily responded with 4 sneezes in a row. She demanded you go to the doctors and said she wouldn't schedule you until she saw a note stating you were in the clear. And begrudged, you did.

So here you were, with a pile of tissues in the trashcan and a handful of clean ones in your hand.

"(Y/N)!"

The nurse called out. You got up from your chair and followed her to a a private room. She smiled as you took a seat on the bed. Sitting in a rolley chair, she got started on the computer.

"So..."Click,click,click. 

She typed. Wow, that's annoying as hell.

"How long have you been like this?"

You sneezed,"Uhhh....A couple of days."

"Do you remember the exact day?" She asked.

"Ummm....Since Monday." You responded. It was Friday.

The nurse nodded.

"And is it just sneezing and coughing? Is there anything else?"

You shook your head, "Yeah, just sneezing and coughing...."

"Okay....I'll call Dr.Iplier in to take a look at you..."

With that, she left. A creature of habit, you opened Candy Crush. You were on level 135. You were about to beat the level when the door swung open. Not even looking up, you closed the app and shoved your phone in your pocket. You wanted to get out and get back home asap.

"Hello,(y/n)!" Dr.Iplier smiled at you, shutting the door. He took a seat in the rolley chair and looked over his clipboard. He hummed as he read over the papers.

"Hi..."You wheezed out.

"Five days of coughing and sneezing until you came here?" He asked without looking up. You nodded, laughing, "Yeah." 

Another coughing fit. He clicked his tongue in disapproval.

Well, sorry...

"Alright....Well, I believe I'll have to check your throat, ears, and eyes. Just in case there is some sort of infection going on...Wow!"

He looked up at you finally, "You missed your last 2 checkups. What happened? You didn't wanna see me?" He joked. Maybe it was whatever you caught messing with your senses, but it seemed like he doubled down on the entirety of your facial expressions when you replied.

"No...I just have bills. And checkups are expensive...."

"I understand. Truly, I do. I have a good feeling that the cost of adequate medical treatment won't be an issue for you anymore though," a smile played on his lips. You went to ask why, but he just winked- and moved on to checking your eyes.

This part was always the awkwardest for you. Eye-contact was a struggle as it was. But mix that with a suave confident man for a minute? Absolute death.

"Say-"

You already opened your mouth, just wanting to get the appointment over as quickly as possible. And the eye-staring contest. He peered down your throat, telling you there was no redness or anything else alarming. He then checked your ears. A soft giggle left your lips, this part always tickled you. He smiled, then checking your other ear. You could feel his body heat. He put his hand on your shoulder, 'to get a better look' as he explained. You didn't care, as long as it didn't slow the appointment down. Before you were kicked off your parents insurance, you visited him regularly. At-least 6 times a year, usually coming in when a cold or something lasted longer than a couple days. His hand was warm, you noticed, and just as quickly as it was placed on your shoulder, it was gone. Then he checked your eyes.

"Wow...."He murmured, sounding stunned, "Such vibrant color in the irises... I doubt you'd ever need to see a ophthalmologist."

"Now..."He said aloud, putting on a stethoscope, turning to you, "let's check your heartbeat. Make sure everything's good in there."

Dr.Iplier placed the stethoscope on your chest, closing his eyes. He placed his hand next to your right thigh on the bed.  His chest was close to yours and his sleeved arm brushed against your thigh. He told you to take deep breaths, moving the stethoscope, again, and again, giving small smiles each time. He then put the oval shaped metal on your back. You couldn't see his face now, after half a minute, he faced you.

"It looks like you just have some seasonal allergies with a minor cold strain," He informed you, "I can give you an allergy shot and start you on some antibiotics. You should feel better after a couple days."

You sighed,"How..ummm..much would that cost?"

"I understand,(y/n),"He smiled,"I think we had an extra one come in the shipment, no-one will know if it's gone...I'll give you that dose if you promise me one thing!"

You began to sniffle, it was so kind that he was willing to help you out. "Yeah?"

"You'll make your health one of your top priorities again?"

"Deal."

"Alright...I'll go get that needle and vial now. Also, one question before I give you the dose, are you sexually active?"

You shook your head, "No,no. I don't even have a boyfriend."

How strange.

He left the room, smiling ear to ear, seeming happier. Sure, it was an odd question. But you didn't even have the slightest education in this stuff. You turned on candy crush again, finally beating the level with only 1 turn left. You put your phone in your bag once you heard the door swing open again. Dr.Iplier set the needle and vial down on the counter, put on gloves ,and got a disinfecting wipe. You rolled up your sleeve so he could disinfect the area on your upper arm. He got the needle ready, asking softly,

"Do you want me to count you down?" His umber eyes were honest.

You shook your head, "No, thanks. Just get it over with, please."

He shrugged," Alright..."

You hissed as the needle entered your arm. The slow, steady flow of the allergy medicine entered your blood stream. You held your breath and then realized he was holding your hand, giving it squeezes. It was distracting you. But what distracted you the most was the way his hand felt. Warm, and almost clammy. What was he nervous about? You were the one getting the shot. The needle left your arm. But his hand held yours a bit longer, but then left. You started to get ready to leave, but he placed a hand on your shoulder.

Stop moving and listen.

"You might be dizzy and unsteady for a few minutes, my dear..."Dr.Iplier informed you.

"Oh, sorry..."You sheepishly laughed.

"It's alright, just stay here for a couple minutes until the effects kick in..."He told you. He left, telling you he was getting the paperwork. You turned to your phone to play the addictive sweet game again, but you decided against it. It'd probably only take a few minutes for him to return. You checked the clock, one minute had passed. Then two minutes. Then 3...And with each passing minute you felt dizzier. 

So dizzy...Was it supposed to be like this?

You laughed quietly, it was just the side effects. It had to be. You glanced at the clock. 5 minutes. By now, you couldn't even stand up. You called out his name softly, not being able to say it any louder than a whisper. You called it again, but quieter this time. After about 10 minutes, he came back, closing the door. Your eyes said it all. Watering, begging him to end the confusion and give a reason why your body was so slow.

"Dr.Iplier?" You whispered shakily. Dr.Iplier pushed you gently down on the bed, looking at your concerned face. He smiled, lifting up a hand to run your side.

"Sweet Y/N, I'm taking you home today. Last names are too formal for this special occasion. Please, call me Edward," He requested. 

You were confused, having a strong urge to run.

Escape

"I've been sick too..."He continued. You stayed quiet, trying to stay aware of your surroundings.

"I've been lovesick, Darling." He trailed off, planting his hands on both sides of you, his chest just above yours. His eyes were filled with pure admiration staring into yours. Your eyes began to close and you let out a whine.

"None of that, Sweetheart... You're the safest you have ever been before and ever will be..." He checked the clock on the wall.

"I'll make sure you never ever get sick again, my dear...."He promised you, turning back to look at your tired face, "Even if I have to bathe you every day, even if I have to give you a shot everyday, even if I have to make sure-"

He trailed a hand over inner arm, where your veins lied,

"-you take your vitamins and medicine everyday."

Obsessive

He kissed your cheek as you drifted off into unconsciousness, his breath feeling like acid on your face,

"And I'll make sure to love you....everyday."

[modernmonkeymind]

We all want to be entertained, distracted from our lives. There's nothing wrong with a Netflix or YouTube binge, but perhaps its not so great that its become the default for us, or at least for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some TV, but watching the crew of the Discovery getting themselves into trouble, or the Click (wholesome though he is) making jokes about goofy memes doesn’t actually accomplish anything, and it takes time that could be used in more fulfilling ways.

Social media can be a great resource, and a serious distraction. I decided to back away from social media almost entirely once I realized I was letting people I didn't know piss me off, especially when I wasn't going to change their mind (hello Dunning-Krueger, didn't see you over there).

To challenge myself and get my head on straight, I'm embracing Cal Newport's Digital Detox for March, eliminating social media and all streaming video. I'm letting myself have access to a limited number of sites, primarily 84000, Suttacentral, and the Storygraph. I'm also planning to post to Mastadon twice a day (a poem and 3 good things), and Tumblr. I'm not restricting podcasts, audio books or music. I'll be using Basecamp, Meetup, and Zoom for personal development and to keep commitments I've made. I'm planning to revert my phone to something akin to what Steve Jobs originally intended, a sort of smart dumb phone that can make calls, texts, access messaging apps, maps, the app for my smart scale, One Bus Away, Streaks, audio, YNAB & my bank, and thats about it. In other words I'm making my phone a tool again. The question of course, becomes what to do without access to technological pacifiers. The answer really is most anything that doesn’t require a computer or smartphone, but some of my favorites these days include:

Meditation: I've been practicing based on the teachings of the Nalandabodhi, and Shambhala lineages recently and plan to meditate for seven minutes in the morning and/or evening, in addition to short sessions sporadically throughout the day. I'll also be single tasking for the most part, using activities like reading, walking, reading/composing poetry, and painting, as meditative practices.

Yoga: I got into yoga asana because I was stiff and not very grounded, and I decided to train to teach for similar reasons, since yoga is so pigeon holed as something only bendy acrobats can do. I've not gotten on the mat in a few years at this point, but want to get back to it, inspired by my teacher starting to teach again earlier this week after an extended health crisis. I'm planning to just do a couple minutes to start, probably just Sun Salutations/playing around.

Walk: A great form of exercise most anyone can do, and it doesn’t have to cost a thing as long as you have a decent pair of shoes and appropriate clothes for the weather. I've been taking daily walks more regularly recently, but most of the time this is a bookstore circuit that leads to lots of temptation. Going forward I'm planning to walk more in nature and go to libraries instead. I'm setting a 12k goal in Streaks, and shooting for 20k. I've already been hitting in this range most days which has helped with some serious weight loss.

Read: I’ve always got a couple books going. At the moment the list includes a commentary on the 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva, and Donut Economics by Kate Raworth. Books are magical things. You can learn most anything you might be interested in (I highly recommend Raworth's book), you can learn about another person’s experience of life in their own words (Montaigne basically invented the personal blog before the internet or computers were a thing when he thought up the essay format). You can also exercise your imagination and relax with a good novel (the human imagination has one solid advantage over TV & movies in that it isn’t restricted by a budget!) The plan is to dial back and do my best to only read one or two books at a time instead of the four or five I've usually got going. I'm also planning to read more poetry after my interest was reignited by Sister Jina's wonderful collection, which leads to the next item.

Write: Mostly when I say write I'm thinking of journaling and composing poetry by hand. I'm shooting for spending some time every day writing, but not worrying about getting a polished poem at the end. Just fifteen minutes of concentrated work.

Paint: I've taken a couple classes on watercolor and messed around a bit with acrylics. I'd like to spend some time each day painting, actually focused on having something to show for it each time, though that could be childish goofing around. I'd like to take a shot at using acrylics to recreate ukiyoe, get inspired by Zen/Chan watercolors, and take a shot at Sumie, though I definitely want to take a class in the latter at some point sooner than later!

PLAYING WITH MY CAT: Do I need to explain?

NOTHING: Seriously, we've become so obsessed with "productivity" and "getting things done" that as a culture its as if we've forgotten what it is to be alive as a human being. I'm going to try to do this more often, whether standing in line, walking somewhere, or just having nothing in particular to do.

I'm not expecting March to be easy, but thats kind of the point. I'm getting rid of some things I enjoy , but the fact that something isn't easy just means its more worth doing. I'll be journaling about it, and plan to post here once a week.

[wytfut]

“Have you read the news today? Oh boy!” ... Beatles

I know I’m set in my ways ... and this makes me appear as an old curmudgeon.

But by golly, I enjoy a good news paper (actual paper), sitting down with breakfast or coffee and catching up on the world. 

WWW it appears has ruined all of this. Lots of folks believe everything they read... and www is most likely the worst place to do this. 

Unreliable sources... that mimmick “old school” news. I think I found a source on www, .... ABC.news .... not sure. It wasn’t really ABC. Because they added the “.”, they got away from the copyright issues. And that news was horrible at best.  Something to the tune of the rags they used to sell at the grocery store cash registers, ie, National Enquirer. It wasn’t ABC, it was some other company who loop holed the copy right by adding a “.”???  Well it wasn’t ABC. 

Paper newspaper got too expensive for us..... $68/month. And we went “e”. The journal start “e” is now jumping to almost $30/month. Several pages of this is from the day before reprinted. WHAT?? Why at $30/month do I want to reread part of yesterday’s news? Most of the time, its rewrite, of some article that doesn’t pertain to nothing,.... more of a self help article...    

With no sources of news being completely reliable, it makes a guy gun shy about coughing up any money. From where I sit, does anyone back up what they are reporting anymore? 

long side story:

I was a paper boy. I hand delivered papers daily on my sting ray schwinn. Foul weather and all. In the beginning it was $1.10/month (not sunday). From there it went to $2.20 including sunday. And about the time I done with my career, it had jumped to $4.40. Folks thought that was outrageous. 

Sunday and Wednesday papers were ass kickers .... sometimes 2 loads to deliver, as I couldn’t get them all in my “paper bags”.  Sunday was delivered in the morning before sun up. And the rest before 5:30 pm. I subbed before all of this the Lincoln Star (before journal star became one), which was a morning paper, for about a year. . (humor sidenote, both printed same building, just different names, representing different time delivered). . 

I remember some of my customers being total jerks about paying for the paper... and would go months without paying. Those days the paperboy would have to go to their home to collect the monthly payments. One customer owed me 4 months (getting close to $10...). Pop decided to help out, and tagged along in Uniform. 

They leaped out of their comfy chair and immediately paid. I still chuckle with that memory. 

I’d pick up my papers at the S W corner of Cotner and Adams. One sunday morning before sun up, a car come flying down Cotner, and couldn’t make the curve (too fast). The Cekja house was right there at the apex of the curve. The car lost it, and rolled a couple of times and crashed into a huge old Elm tree on the Cekja property. 

Me being pretty young was totally terrified.... grabbed my bundle of papers and hi tailed it home. Scared shitless no less.

I heard as soon as the car had quit moving, the driver try and start it back up. Got it started, and moved on down Cotner.  

About the same time I got into the house, I saw the car coming down 68th. I was positive the driver was looking for me (get rid of the witnesses). So I turned off all the lites in the house, and hid on the floor. Sure as shit the car came around to our side of the “ditch” heading right for our home. 

Car was running horribly, flat tire or 2, steel grinding some wheres..... and putted on by our house, and stopped at the neighbors. 

Turned out, it was the neighbor. All drunked up, missed the turn on Adams. But got his car home and stumbled into the house. ... 

We are going to give up on the journal star.... and I’m looking around for a good news source that is within my budget....

Cuz Jorika suggests NPR and/or Nebraska Public Media “app”. Alexa has failed me miserably, as well as Amazon. 

I listen to a lot of podcasts.... mostly when I’m pedaling “no where”. Really like “democracy now” but no local news. 

Thanx Jo.... I’ll give your idea a go. 

[nixgle]

Tecno Camon 20 Pro 5G: Price in Bangladesh, Specifications, and Features

The Tecno Camon 20 Pro 5G has made its mark in the market with its impressive features and affordable price tag. Packed with a powerful chipset, stunning display, versatile camera setup, and long-lasting battery, this smartphone offers a lot for tech enthusiasts. In this article, we will delve into the details of the Tecno Camon 20 Pro 5G, covering its display and camera, performance and battery, connectivity and features, price in Bangladesh, and more. Additionally, we will explore the pros and cons of this device and provide our verdict on whether it's worth considering. So, let's dive in!

Display and Camera: The Tecno Camon 20 Pro 5G boasts a 6.67-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels. This ensures vibrant colors, sharp visuals, and an immersive viewing experience. The display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass, safeguarding it against scratches and minor drops.

On the camera front, the Camon 20 Pro 5G features a triple-camera setup on the back, comprising a 64MP primary camera, a 2MP depth sensor, and a 2MP macro lens. These lenses work together to capture stunning photos with excellent detail and depth. For selfie enthusiasts, there's a 32MP front-facing camera housed within a punch-hole cutout on the display. Whether it's breathtaking landscapes or stunning portraits, this smartphone has you covered.

Performance and Battery: Under the hood, the Tecno Camon 20 Pro 5G is powered by the Mediatek Dimensity 8050 (6 nm) chipset, ensuring smooth multitasking, lag-free app launches, and seamless gaming performance. Coupled with 8GB of RAM, this device can handle resource-intensive tasks and heavy multitasking with ease.

In terms of storage, the Camon 20 Pro 5G offers a generous 256GB of internal storage, allowing you to store a vast collection of photos, videos, apps, and games. Furthermore, it supports expandable storage via microSDXC, using a shared SIM slot.

To keep you powered throughout the day, the Camon 20 Pro 5G is equipped with a massive 5000mAh battery. Additionally, it supports 33W fast charging, enabling you to quickly recharge your device and get back to your activities without any interruptions.

Connectivity and Features: The Tecno Camon 20 Pro 5G supports 5G connectivity, providing faster download and upload speeds, reduced latency, and a seamless browsing experience. Alongside 5G, it also supports 2G, 3G, and 4G networks, ensuring compatibility with various carriers.

In terms of connectivity options, this smartphone offers Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a USB port for seamless data transfer and connectivity with other devices. It also features a side-mounted fingerprint sensor for secure and convenient unlocking.

Price in Bangladesh: The Tecno Camon 20 Pro 5G is competitively priced at BDT 35,000 in Bangladesh. With its impressive specifications and features, this smartphone offers great value for its price range.

Pros and Cons: Pros:

Best features under a budget.

Powerful 5000mAh battery.

Vibrant AMOLED display with high resolution.

Smooth performance.

Versatile camera setup.

Cons:

Lack of 5G support.

Verdict: In conclusion, the Tecno Camon 20 Pro 5G emerges as an excellent choice for budget-conscious consumers seeking a feature-packed smartphone. With its powerful processor, stunning display, versatile camera setup, and long-lasting battery, it offers great value for its price. The only downside is the absence of 5G support. If you're in search of a reliable and budget-friendly smartphone that ticks most boxes, the Tecno Camon 20 Pro 5G is definitely worth considering.