#design build costa rica

[sorryclarence]

Image of a medium-sized kidney-shaped infinity pool in a Tuscan backyard

[moustachiostudios]

Deck - Roof Extensions Large, trendy deck image with an addition to the roof

[shunkoku]

Example of a mid-sized tuscan backyard kidney-shaped infinity pool design

An illustration of a medium-sized kidney-shaped infinity pool in a Tuscan backyard

[tylerhoechlinnews]

Mediterranean Pool

Mid-sized tuscan backyard kidney-shaped infinity pool photo

[intergalacticlibrary]

Example of a mid-sized tuscan backyard kidney-shaped infinity pool design An illustration of a medium-sized kidney-shaped infinity pool in a Tuscan backyard

[hiro6plus]

Mediterranean Home Bar - Home Bar Seated home bar - mid-sized mediterranean galley seated home bar idea with an undermount sink, recessed-panel cabinets, medium tone wood cabinets and granite countertops

[dinnerandasuit]

Home Bar - Contemporary Home Bar An undermount sink, flat-panel cabinets, dark wood cabinets, granite countertops, and black countertops are some ideas for a mid-sized contemporary galley home bar remodel.

[bloumiddel]

Contemporary Deck Deck - large contemporary deck idea with a roof extension

[ello-meno-p]

Image of a medium-sized kidney-shaped infinity pool in a Tuscan backyard

[salainen]

Deck - Roof Extensions

[raininginthenight]

Mediterranean Pool

[jinwoosbabyboo]

I want to ask why you chose Aaron Warner, Christian Harper, and Rhys Larsen as a good comparison to Sylus? I want an essay!! I LOVE Aaron Warner but honestly haven't yet read the twisted series. Also, I don't mind spoilers so... excited to see what you come up with!

You want an essay??? Please 🙄 ….. No problem lets get it 😘

bear with me I read the twisted series over a year ago

‼️SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS‼️

Aaron Warner [Shatter Me Series ~ Tahereh Mafi] - This 5'9" golden haired military assassin with a heart of STONE. Yea you thought I was gonna say heart of gold huh? Nah this boy was trained to be a killer from birth. However when it comes to Juliette/Ella she is quite literally the only thing he cares about and is also the only girl he's ever loved.

He will quite literally sacrifice the world if it means she will be okay. His memory was erased multiple times, but he fell in love with her every. single. time. If it's for Juliette/Ella he's a goner because she is his only weakness in the world. He wants to love her and be loved by her and only her unconditionally.

“The reason why he had to keep wiping their memories was because it didn’t matter how many times he reset the story or remade the introductions— Aaron always fell in love with her. Every time.”

Christian Harper [Twisted Lies ~ Ana Huang] - Now this man stalked his girl for I think 5 years before making himself known. He's a billionaire who runs a security/tech company and he can hack into anything. He's a modern day genius obsessed with this girl Stella. They finally met in person when she moved into one of his apartment buildings with her friend Jules. He really slipped into her life though when Jules moved out and she couldn't afford the rent. He made a deal with her by letting her stay for a lower price and these were high end apartments (At least like 80% off the listing price). He also happened to live just one floor above her. The deal was she would take care of his plants in exchange for the low cost. He claims he isn't a jealous man yet he's jealous of every person she smiles at, every laugh that he didn't cause, etc he's completely and utterly obsessed with her from page one.

He will do literally anything for her including pretending the be her man for her social media platforms oh yea she's an influencer/model. Stella also likes being tied up and Christian happily obliged to tying her up ON A YACHT and was a real pussy pleaser. He supported her in her fashion designer endeavor and married her ass and IMMEDIATELY put a baby in her.

Oh one more thing Stella got kidnapped while her and Christian were fighting (this man was SICK) he sent a Code Black Out to all his agents in the area to find her and code black out if for extreme emergencies. Let’s just say her kidnapper is having a nice nap. A permanent nap. (Reminds you of a certain someone who turned MCs kidnapper into fucking black and red mist huh?)

Rhys Larsen [Twisted Games ~ Ana Huang] - Forget Prince Charming give me Mr. Scarred Knight Rhys Larsen 😮‍💨. He's ex-military and works as a bodyguard now (He works for none other than Christian Harper & they're in a sense friends) This man and his girl Princess Bridget who is a literal Princess. He was her bodyguard and she was forced to step up and become Queen because her brother married a commoner so he couldn't become king and Eldorra (their country) needed a ruler.

She basically starts acting up and Rhys is like girl wtf is going on?! She ends up wanting to do everything on her bucket list before becoming Queen so Rhys takes her to Costa Rica to do it. They fall for each other but it's a forbidden love so they can't really be together because she's royalty and he's a commoner. He fell in love despite him telling her he doesn't get involved with his clients. Him and Bridget were blackmailed by someone close to her which caused him to be terminated as her bodyguard. This man never drank in his life, but the minute he had to let Bridget go he drank himself stupid.

He was down bad for her (and so was she). They went through hell trying to get a centuries old law overturned so he could marry her. He didn't care about the fame or the royal title he just wanted to be with her. This man broke every single one of his rules that he'd set for himself for her. He never really opened up about his scars to anyone, but her (and I think Christian).

He's rough around the edges and can be a dom daddy made her stir down to her heels and said "Crawl to me" (SCREAMING WHINING AND RUNNING AROUND THE ROOM) He's also VERY possessive I quote...

"From this point on you're mine. No other man touches you. If they do I know seventy-nine ways to kill a man and I can make seventy of the look like and accident. Understand?"

I hope after reading all that you can see the similarities that I see. He's not dark romance he's just romance sunshine x grumpy basically.

I say all that to say this....

Sylus is morally gray like these characters above and he has a soft spot for MC (& the twins) he'll do anything for her and protect her at all costs. He's been through hell and may be a high functioning sociopath due to that trauma, but he still has a heart and is selective with who he's vulnerable with. He's not out here murdering people because they looked at MC. He knows his girl fine as hell, but he gets to touch while they hopelessly gaze.

[drsonnet]

Malak Mattar, "No Words," oil on primed linen, 218 x 485 cm, 2024 (courtesy of the artist).

Gaza-born artist Malak Mattar’s painting No Words illustrates (The Sociological Review Foundation ) TSR War issue.

It portrays the devastation inflicted on Gaza's human lives, animals, archaeological sites and buildings, and the forced displacement of generations of Palestinians.

Malak is currently completing an MA Fine Art at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London. She began painting at the age of 14, during the 51-day military assault on Gaza in 2014, using school art supplies.

See more of Malak Mattar’s work on Instagram: https://buff.ly/4atif93

Source: Facebook

War – Online Edition: April 2024 - The Sociological Review

Malak Mattar (ملك مطر), a Palestinian painter and author from Gaza, is currently completing an MA Fine Art at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London. She began painting at the age of 14, during the 51-day military assault on Gaza in 2014, using school art supplies. Her work, which includes expressionist faces, figures and semi-abstract designs, has been exhibited in Costa Rica, the UK, France, India, Palestine, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Turkey and the US. She is author and illustrator of Sitti’s Bird: A Gaza Story, a children’s book based on her life story. Instagram: @malakmattarart

Copyright for illustrations © 2024 Malak Mattar. This work is licensed under The Sociological Review Free Access Licence.

Source: The Markaz Review

[fitgothgirl]

I've been scheduling more sporadically with my therapist since she changed practices and the new place doesn't take my insurance - I'd been seeing her since February 2023 so a few months ago when this happened she offered to keep seeing me on the side wherever she could fit me in, and was having me Venmo her just whatever my copay was ($40). I haven't seen her in over two months now and a couple weeks ago we had scheduled for 7/17, but the time came and went and she didn't text me the zoom link. I'm thinking I just slipped off the radar since I'm not *official* haha. My feelings would be hurt a small amount (and only that much because I know she doesn't mean anything by it and she seems to actually enjoy our time together - don't think she'd see me on the side if not lol), but I was meaning to get more prepared for the appointment and hadn't done so yet, so it kind of worked out for the best. We have better sessions when I'm ready like that (not surprising of course). So I'm going to organize some thoughts here!...

Things are not bad but not good. I'm in an odd happy-sad place lately. On the one hand, everyday, multiple times a day, I'm so overwhelmed with gratitude for how my life is right now. I have to remind myself that nothing is permanent because I do so badly wish things could be like this forever. I love my partner, I love our home, I love our families, I love our amazing circle of super supportive friends, I love our cat, I love the lake house, I love the weather of the Bay Area, I love the stuff to do/cool places in the Bay & California, I love the relative wealth of human rights in my country, I love my health and my mundane physical abilities, etc... I don't have kids and I work from home for a unstressful job and so I have an amazing work-life-balance; literally everyday I get to be like "hmmm what do I wanna to do today?" I've also witnessed very little death & illness in terms of important people in my life. I'm so privileged in so many ways and I'm constantly cognizant of all these things and overflowing with gratitude and reveling in the moment as much as I can.

On the other hand... I just feel like since Costa Rica in late January/early February, I've been faltering in all the progress I've made over the last 2 years. I haven't been able to get my weed smoking back under control. It's been a while since I've been able to make more fitness progress despite trying a few times to reset (I will give it up for myself that working out is just part of my identity now and I still go to the gym, which is a huge win overall, but I'm struggling to do the minimum maintain right now). I'm back to spending way too much money (outside of the tattoo that was saved for) and putting things on my credit card that's creeping towards its limit. I haven't been able to get myself to keep up with my bujo anymore (which has its own repercussions) despite trying to go back to super simple/basic spreads of just black ink and no designs. Reading has stopped again. I feel like my executive function has deteriorated. I'm eating too much and feeling less in control in that area. I'm also drinking too much and it's becoming problematic; I don't get drunk all the time, but having at least a couple drinks each night is becoming a difficult thing to talk myself out of once evening hits. And I do get drunk sometimes - maybe twice a week. Not like I'm hammered, but nonetheless. Alcohol is quite a different beast from weed so I'm uneasy and need to deal with it.

There was a big build up to Costa Rica because it was a deadline I was being held to, where if I was unsuccessful in tapering down my smoking, I was going to be extremely uncomfortable both physically and mentally for the entirely of the trip (a trip of a lifetime no less); the alternative being not going on the trip, which would be ridiculous to do over weed lol. Withdrawal fucking sucks for me since I'm such a heavy user so I knew it was crucial to cut back. And around this time I was also at the peak of my consistency with the gym/fitness progress - not only because it felt great but knowing that getting as fit as (healthfully) possible by CR would only help me during travel and the activities there, as well as helping my confidence while in swimsuits & in many pictures. But in retrospect, tapering down my weed was a bigger mental boost than I really realized, and was helping out every area of my life in indirect ways. Even before starting to incorporate weedless days, when I was just relegating daily smoking to nighttime, I was in a much stronger place mentally. It's not like I didn't know it was going to be beneficial to cut back, but it was so gradual I didn't really fully grasp the progress until looking at things in hindsight.

But then after the big build up to CR and coming home, things fell apart in the decompression... I didn't have that assured, impending deadline where I'd be suffering if I failed my goal (I feel like the positive punishment aspect was a big factor). Without that fire under my ass, I just haven't been able to stay consistent with sticking to a schedule and using my kSafe to lock up my weed. And I feel like knowing I need to restart the tapering process (i.e. locking it up for just 2 hours a day for a couple weeks and then progressing to 4 hours, 8 hours, etc., as well eliminating smoking in the AM), is actually a bit of a detriment, because it's easy to think it's not a big deal to miss a day since it's "just 2 hours" and I can even inadvertently do that just by being busy. And knowing I had done so much more in the past makes just a couple hours seem so trivial. But the main point of starting off like that was to just get in the habit of using the kSafe in the first place, and to turn up the hours like boiling a frog. I know I can't just jump to "no smoking until 9pm" or something, even though at first I felt like I could just since I had the confidence from it doing before, but my therapist says trying to cut to that is not a good idea (which I did try to do unbeknownst to her but she was proven right lol).

So yeah I'm basically blaming the multiple aspects of this rut/depression on the excessive smoking its ripple effects... Not a surprise though lol. Local Girl Realizes Being Huge Stoner Not Healthy.... (I'd known this long ago lol just joshin)

I miss me. Before, my progress was me getting to physical and mental states I had never been at before. Now that I know what I'm capable of, there's a me to "get back to." In a way it's comforting to know from experience that I can successfully work on myself and I can just follow my own example again. But in another way it makes me sad any backtracking was done. I actually kinda thought I had passed some threshold of mental progress or something (silly in hindsight ig), and am so frustrated with how easily things fell apart just by removing the CR deadline; it made me feel really weak. But my therapist would tell me to not focus on mistakes or setbacks and to not feel guilty, so I'm trying to keep that in mind as I write this. I know I'm looking through the rose-colored glasses of memory too; I know I had struggles in November/basically when DST ended and through the winter until CR, plus other little setbacks. And the fact that I was indeed successful in cutting back smoking enough to not feel like shit on the trip is something to be proud of.

"This thing we call 'failure' is not the falling down, but the staying down" (Mary Pickford)

(Again another good quote that I learned from Parks and Rec lol)

[aita-blorbos]

AITA for taking my colleague on a work trip to a dangerous island?

I (30s M) work as a paleontologist. I do a lot of archeological digs, in particular with my colleague E (24F). In the past I’ve worked with a bioengineering company and have some contact with its founder J (60s-70s? M).

So I’m doing this dig in Montana and a couple of things happen really quickly. I get a visit from this guy who asks some questions about J and his company (mostly him telling me things that J and his company have been doing and then asking “why are they doing that?”). I answer those questions (mostly with “I don’t know, ask them”) and he leaves. Then E gets a call from some science lab in Costa Rica. Apparently there were some animal attacks there and the scientists want us to take a look at the remains of one of these animals. Right after this, J calls and says he wants E and I to visit this “biological preserve” his company has established on an island near Costa Rica. He also offered me enough money to fund several years’ worth of digs, so I agree, and E and I leave for this island.

When we get there it’s very apparent that there’s dinosaurs there. Living dinosaurs. Actual living dinosaurs. The island is designed as a theme park, but with live dinosaurs. I’ll spare you the exact details of how they managed to bring back dinosaurs, but long story short: they used ancient dinosaur DNA from blood inside insects that were preserved in amber, and any gaps in the genetic code were filled with DNA from reptiles, birds, or amphibians. The dinosaurs are also apparently bioengineered to be female so they can’t breed.

Anyway, J is like “okay so you and E need to tour the park and say it’s good so the investors aren’t scared.” J has also brought a mathematician and a lawyer for the investors. Both of them think the park is a stupid idea and that it will fail miserably. (They basically said that but nicer and in more words.) The park’s staff include the engineer, a PR manager, a game warden, a veterinarian, and some sort of scientist guy. J has apparently also invited HIS FUCKING GRANDCHILDREN because their parents are divorcing and I guess hanging out at a fucking dinosaur amusement park will maybe make them feel better. The grandchildren are T (idk like 10 or something?, M) and L (eight-ish, F).

So everyone (minus the staff) is doing the tour, and I end up finding an eggshell. Which in any other context isn’t a big deal, but because we’re on Dinosaur Island where all the dinos are incubated in a lab, this means that they’re breeding.

Then the power goes out, and all the systems are down, which means the dinosaurs can just roam around the island unchecked. We become aware of this fact when we are attacked by a T. rex. I’m mostly okay, and I end up finding T & L, and escaping with them into the jungle.

The kids and I make it back to the control building by rafting down a river, we’re almost killed by dinosaurs a couple times, the details aren’t important. Point is, we make it back, I turn the main generators on, and T reactivates the park’s systems. At some point the velociraptors got out of their enclosure and killed the engineer and the scientist guy. I meet up with E, she’s mostly fine, no major injuries or anything like that.

I end up figuring out that the frog DNA made some dinosaurs able to change from female to male in certain environments. This island was one of those certain environments and that’s how we got the dinos breeding. The computer system that tallied up the animals was designed to make sure no animals had disappeared or died, so only counted the number of animals they were supposed to have on the island, failing to include organically conceived dinosaurs.

E, the game warden, the lawyer, and I find the wild raptor nests and we come to the conclusion that the velociraptors are trying to migrate off the island. Before we can really do anything about this, we’re evacuated from the island by the Costa Rican Air Force. I think they ended up doing something to kill off the dinosaurs or destroy the island but I’m not sure. Afterwards we’re staying at a hotel because there’s some sort of international something going on and we can’t return to the US yet. Some American doctor who’s working in Costa Rica visits me and says “hey so there’s this pack of animals that are migrating through the jungle, just fyi.” I go “huh okay I don’t want to unpack that right now though. goodbye.”

E and I return to the US sometime later and resume the archeological dig like nothing happened. I should have just said no, I recognize that now. I at least shouldn’t have brought E with me. From what I can tell she almost got attacked by velociraptors. I know she wanted to go, but I did say yes on her behalf. I didn’t know that the island had actual fucking dinosaurs on it, but still, I feel bad that she had to go through all that. Idk. So, AITA for taking my coworker on a work trip with me to an island that turned out to have literal dinosaurs on it?

[hegrowth]

@herbalwarlock liked for a sims build [always accepting !]

okay but I really enjoyed this build ! I wanted to stay true to Raf's Filipino identity so I actually looked into pre-colonial architecture ad design, as well as maintain nods in the decoration itself.

my idea was a cafe / apothecary built on a spot of power, maybe an old temple dedicated to the Diwatas his clan gained their power from. in the back there's an altar kind of setup as well as growing plots. I took the lotus symbol and tried to carry it through to represent the magic; it's on the shop sign, there's a statue in the cafe, statues on the altar, and lotus candles in a few places.

I was also kinda riffing off the idea that maybe Raf does keep working as a lawyer but back in his mother's village the family has a small cafe / mercado kinda vibe ? (gotta pay the bills somehow, right ?) that his mother does work as a herbal witch out of. it's meant to a social, safe place. tbh I've always loved the lore and dynamic of the village witch / shaman, and it's found in so many cultures. but maybe when Raf is having a tough time or just needs a break he comes back to help out with the cafe.

I will admit that I got kinda, eh, tired near the end so some of the decorations aren't as thoughtful as I'd like. but I tried to maintain a bright color pattern that I was seeing in a lot of pictures, and tried to emulate Filipino culture in decor. I'll also say this was in part inspired by a lot of the shops I saw when I took a trip to Costa Rica; I know that isn't the same as the Philippines but I just. really appreciated that everything looked worn, not in a broken way but a well loved sort of way, and things were reused. when you have limited resource you have to make do with what you have, that kind of vibe.

anyway, I really did have a fun time with this build, definitely not an aesthetic I use often ! I hope you like it <3