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ashley-incharge · 4 years

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It’s a.... | Ashroo

Ashley and Roo find out the sex of the baby. [Dated: May 21st]

@littlemister-roo

ASHLEY:

Ashley could hardly believe what they'd told her. "It's a boy!" The nurse said as she did her ultrasound, pointing on the screen to show what she was seeing and Ashley had...admittedly...been shocked. A boy? Ashley didn't know what to do with a boy! Boys weren't as cute or easy and fun to dress.

After some theatrics and yelling long enough to insist they double check for sure, Ashley learned she had to accept her fate there. She was having a boy. They were having a boy. What a disappointment. Ashley wandered out of the doctor's office, not really paying much attention to Roo as she did it, a hand over her stomach as she grumbled to herself.

"A boy? Seriously? What good's a boy! You were supposed to be a girl. I know what to do with girls."

ROO:

Roo had surprised, to say the least. A boy? Really? For a split second he'd felt a surge of excitement and pride. It was going to be a boy! He was going to be a father to a son!

But then Ashley had started with the dramatic stuff and the magic of the moment vanished. They got through the rest of the appointment with little fanfare, and as Ashley stalked from the clinic, muttering at her stomach, he followed, bemused.

"It's not so bad, princess," he commented dryly. "Think of it as an opportunity to expand your horizons. You get a mini-me all to yourself and an excuse to become an expert in little boy fashion trends." He smirked. "Sounds like a double win to me."

ASHLEY:

The disappointment was tremendous for Ashley, if only because she had imagined up until this point that of course it would be a girl. Why wouldn't it be a girl? But then the nurse said what she said and now here they were.

Ashley practically stomped away from the office in the direction of the park. She was grumpy and Roo was definitely not helping things in the slightest.

"Not so bad? Really? I don't think a mini Romeo is at all what I would have wanted. I don't want my child to be an idiot!" Oh god, her child might be doomed to be as ridiculous as his father. "Why me?!" She wailed, and admittedly she was feeling it a little more intensely than she might have otherwise, but it was just...it just...the baby was a boy! ROO:

Roo's eyebrows flicked up at her dramatic outburst. He knew it wouldn't help anything but he couldn't resist rolling his eyes because, of course she couldn't not insult him every chance she got.

"You are being awfully dramatic, don't you think?" he asked, crossing his arms. "The kid is a boy, the sooner you accept it, the better for all of us." Usually he had no problem ignoring the jabs at his intelligence. That had always been part of whatever the spark between them was. But having the same jab directed at their kid really rubbed him the wrong way.

"Our kid is not going to be an idiot." He grinned, a bit smug. "He'll be creative and funny and oh so charming." And hopefully a lot nicer than his mother, Roo added silently. ASHLEY:

Oh why was he being so horrible? Ashley was experiencing a major crisis!

Tears flooded her vision, and while it would ordinarily embarrass her at how easy it was for her to cry these days...well. She was pregnant so she had an excuse, and they were out in public, so if nothing else should someone notice she could talk about how horrible Roo was being.

"You mean the better for you! You and your plans to corrupt our baby and make him a...a...geek!" She sobbed, rubbing her eyes furiously and shaking her head. "Ohhhh this is tragic. I had a billion girls names in mind!" ROO:

For a brief moment, Roo felt bad for Ashley. He didn't like to see her cry. It felt off—like they were in some weird alternate universe where Ashley Armbruster would cry over anything.

But then she started with the insults—again—and he snorted. It was on the tip of his tongue to shoot out a snarky retort, but he stopped himself and just sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. And she called him ridiculous?

"I don't think encouraging a kid to enjoy their interests, whatever they may be, really qualifies as 'corruption'," he said reasonably. "But seriously, calm down, Ashley. You're throwing a fit over something you have no control over and what good is it doing you?"

ASHLEY:

"Calm down? Calm down!?" She shrieked. The baby was a boy! How could the baby be a boy? It just didn't make sense. And she didn't care how ridiculous she sounded, she deserved to be upset for a while!

"Seriously what good's a boy? Boys are stupid. And loud and they're not as trustworthy as girls." Ashley sniffled, wiping at her eyes as she tried to take a few deep breaths. "I didn't want it to be a boy."

ROO:

Roo felt a surprising surge of anger at her outburst. It was almost—protective. At first he'd been almost amused that she would throw a temper tantrum over the gender of their baby. Something that was without a doubt outside their control.

But then it started getting personal. Not the fact that he was a boy and she was in essence implying that he was stupid and untrustworthy, no. She was talking about his son!

"Do you even hear yourself, Ashley?" he snapped, glaring. "You are talking about our baby, not me. Not some random kid on the street. Our son." He wanted to feel a little bad for her, seeing as she was crying, but anger and irritation overshadowed it. "If you hate boys that much, maybe you should rethink this whole full time parenting thing, because it won't do any of us any favors if you plan to go around telling our kid how stupid loud and untrustworthy he is."

ASHLEY:

Ashley's face flushed, and her upset turned to anger right along with him. How dare he suggest that she not be a parent to their child? She had the right to be shocked and upset! It didn't mean she wouldn't look out for their kid! In her opinion it was more her kid than his anyway. Her body disrupted? Her kid. Roo could suck it.

"Do you hear yourself? Can I not have a second to be upset? Huh? I'm carrying this kid inside me so really he's like...70 percent my child and 30 percent yours." Ashley glowered at him. "Besides, I have a right to process through it. I would never treat my child like that. I have a brother too. You don't hear me being a bitch to him."

ROO:

There was a time when he would have backed down from Ashley and tried to placate her—but not anymore. There was a lot more than popularity on the line now and somehow Roo no longer cared what she thought of him.

He glared in frustration, his fists clenched at his sides. "Do I hear myself?! I'm not the one over here throwing a tantrum. Sure you can be upset—take all the time that you need to process, but Jesus Christ, Ashley! What does having a brother have to do with how you will treat our kid? Because from where I'm standing, it sure sounds like you won't love our son as much as you would if he was a daughter and if you ask me, that's pretty fucked up."

ASHLEY:

Her anger went from a simmer to a boil. How dare he tell Ashley that SHE was fucked up? How dare he? He didn't know anything! Not to mention he had no clue about everything that Ashley had ever done for her little brother.

"Fuck you. Fuck you Romeo DeRosa. You clearly don't know a damn thing. I practically raised my brother and miraculously he hasn't turned out to be the worst human being on the planet. Unlike you. How dare you suggest I won't love my son!"

ROO:

"Then ACT LIKE IT!" he shouted back, not terribly concerned that they were walking down Main Street and half the town could probably hear their argument now. "You can cry about it all you want, storm and rage, whatever! But for the love of god, stop acting like our kid is cursed just because he's a boy!" He paused just long enough to huff a breath, grinding his teeth in anger. This was so like her. Never wrong about anything, even when she was clearly acting like a lunatic.

"You're only mad at me because I touched a nerve, didn't I? Well, just because you don't like what I said doesn't make it any less true. I'm not the bad guy here, Princess, try to remember that for half a second."

ASHLEY:

How dare Romeo DeRosa yell at her? He wasn't fit to polish her boots! She hated that he thought he was better than her for being upset for a moment. She hated that he thought he'd be a better parent than her. How dare he sit high and mighty when he was the one who'd put her in this mess!

So Ashley started thinking. There was no way he'd let him make her look like the bad person forever. Oh no. She was going to bring the shame down on him. She burst into tears, loud wailing tears that the whole town could probably hear. She wanted to be an actress once. This was definitely within her ballpark. And then all she had to do was wait for it and then...

"Wow what the bloody hell is going on over here?" Wilbur called out, making his way over to the two of them with eyebrows furrowed. Ashley sniffled, wiping at her eyes and pointing at Roo. "He...he...he won't stop yelling at me!"

ROO:

Roo snorted, rolling his eyes at her dramatics. Like seriously? She was going to play the victim here. Like, sure. He got that she was miserable and was generally content to deal with her moods. She had a right be grumpy and emotional here. But today she had just pushed it too far and refused to see reason.

"Right, Princess," he scoffed, crossing his arms. "You left out a few key details. Like the part that you threw a hissy fit about our baby being a boy and when I pointed out—quite reasonably, I might add—that it wasn't the end of the world, you started going off about how awful and stupid our son was going to be!"

He turned to the guy, recognizing him as Wilbur Robinson from school. He was one of those guys who liked to hang around the Ashleys for popularity points. Whatever. "Well? What do you think?" he asked pointedly. "Guy to guy—don't you think its pretty ridiculous to lose your shit because you find out your expecting a son even though you've already decided you hate boys?"

ASHLEY:

The fury only built up in her, fury that he would dare to share those details with anyone. Let alone Wilbur Robinson. Her cheeks flushed, but she made sure to keep her face that of one that was sad and hurt and not absolutely fuming. She had to keep Wilbur on her side after all.

Wilbur put a hand on Ashley A's shoulder, a sympathetic grimace on his face before he glanced over at Roo with a raised eyebrow. "Don't you think it's pretty ridiculous to lose your shit on a pregnant girl? I mean yeah it's kinda bad but her emotions have to be wild." Not that Wilbur knew much about pregnancy. Only that it didn't take with his mum.

Ashley sniffled, wiping at her eyes sadly. "I was just...I understand girls better. Is that so wrong? I just...I..." she started to sob again, leaning against Wilbur to play up the theatrics. Wilbur to his credit didn't draw away or side with Roo and that amde him one of her favorite people in that moment.

ROO:

"You clearly don't know Ashley very well, at all," Roo couldn't help but point out. "If you did, you would know her emotions are always wild." What? It was true. She'd been no less mean and manipulative before all of this.

"But sure, whatever." It was pretty clear to him that Ashley was—well not faking it exactly. He believed she was an emotional wreck, just—she was totally milking it to gain a sympathy vote from her audience. "Are we done here? Or did you want to scream about how stupid and idiotic and untrustworthy boys are some more?"

ASHLEY:

"You're still insulting her? She's carrying your kid. Talk about a shitty thing to do," Wilbur remarked, patting Ashley's back gently as she continued to sob at his side. Honestly it was a little gross to have a wall of water basically on his shirt but whatever. At least Ashley A. seemed to trust him.

Ashley sniffed, lifting her head and glaring at Roo. "G-Get out of here. I'll...I'll tell you when the next appointment comes up." Or maybe she wouldn't. He really infuriated her.

ROO:

Ugh. What was wrong with people? Letting her wrap them around her little finger like that, it was so annoying. Roo, of course, chose to ignore the fact that had been him just a few months before. That was so not the point!

He rolled his eyes. "Right Wilbur, because you totally know anything about this or what its like to try and have a reasonable conversation with her. But sure, take her side. Whatever." He shifted to address Ashley. "Fine. See you around, princess." Turning on his heel, he stalked off, glad to be getting away from the dramatics. Somehow he had a feeling that parenting itself wouldn't be nearly as dificult as dealing with his son's mother.

#littlemister-roo #p: it's a...#r: ashroo #ft. wilbur #lol #this was a mess

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atmanryu · 5 years

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Puffy Roo in Underoos

Sequence requested from http://www.furaffinity.net/user/draco-rex for http://www.furaffinity.net/user/kellerkangaroo, as the titular roo expands his horizons.

#furry art #art commissions #artists on tumblr #artists on twitter #atmanryu #pics

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lifewithroo121 · 4 years

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Hello everyone,

It's been awhile. What have you been up to?

2020 is coming to a end(finally🙄), and I have realized that even though its 2020 and we have a pandemic, have I even lived? I think as devastating as this pandemic has been for the masses, it has also been eye opening. Reflecting on where I was back in 2019, excited for 2020, to start new plans, new careers and most importantly, get out of my safety net and expand my horizon(hahaha, clearly that did not happen), none of those plans to live a full year, happened. Instead, I chose to shelter myself, be a little panicked and seclude myself. Though not planned, that was okay. We were faced with unprecedented times and no one knew what or how to act.

I was watching Harry Potter the other night, and as crazy as this sounds and not to compare our pandemic with the end the of wizarding world and taking on a cult-leading serial killer, despite that, Harry, Ron and Hermione, still graduated from Hogwarts and pursued their dreams. They still chose to live their lives despite the circumstances presented to them. I know I know “Roo, that’s a fictional story”, but you can also say it’s the same for those of us, who have experienced something that consumes you, panics you, leaves you numb, but choose to live and explore this life we have been given.

“Roo, okay, so what’s next?” How about a challenge for 2021? I challenge you all in 2021 to accept what is and not set 2021 resolutions but to choose to live again, in the reality that you reside in. What that means for you, is different for everyone. I challenge you all to find something that brings you joy, can help find you light at the end of this darastically long tunnel. This year has taught us that we can survive. We can sit in our self wallow and pitty ourselves, or we can choose to live and take on what is given to us.

I’m excited to hear your thoughts, and how you choose to live again in 2021

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year everyone❤️

#harry potter #2020/21 #challenge #new years resolutions #reality

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discovercreate · 5 years

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Ask The Editor: Cabinets, Birthday Parties, Spontaneous Entertaining Preparations, #Beigeprison, And More!

Welcome to our first edition of Ask The Editor! Last Sunday we opened up our digital mailbox for write-ins, requests and advice opportunities — and you guys rose to the occasion! It was hard to narrow down which questions to dive into, so at the bottom of this article, you'll notice we're going to take some of the questions and make full-on articles with them. Stay tuned with our Home 101 series, some of your questions just might show up there! So here it goes!

From @jennaecurran: "Simple two year old boy birthday party"

We LOVE a good birthday party. At such a young age, a birthday party is not only a celebration of a milestone for your little one, but it's also an opportunity to celebrate the village it takes to raise him! We're talking grandparents, aunts and uncles, neighbors... the whole gambit. So with that in mind, you can really have fun with the birthday party and expand your horizons to include nuggets of entertainment for the adults as well. Here are a couple of ideas! 1. A characteristic thing from their second year: Did your kid show particular excitement over something random this year? Is he ALL about bears? Or trains? This birthday party can be a celebration of what your son is passionate about in this season of his life! It will make him so excited to see his favorite things all around on his special day, and it's a great way to document his passions in this stage when you look back on the photos and remember "gosh that kid was a Ross Geller in training, he couldn't get enough dinosaurs!" 2. Two is a particularly fun year for birthdays because there are a lot of pun options: - Two The Moon, space party - Two-Two (your kid) is Two! train party - Twotally Awesome - Mr. Tworrific - Two infinity and beyond, Toy Story party - Two legit to quit - Taco Twosday, crowd-pleaser for everybody, honestly - "Oh-Twoodles," Mickey Mouse Party There are a lot of fun options for this age! We want to see what you end up doing, so share your image and use #smpparties so we can see how it goes!

From @rschapiro: "How to choose a vibrant kitchen cabinet color with an open living concept"

The key here is balance and a touch of unity! When you go big and bold with cabinet colors, balance it out by making your base furniture neutral in your living room. Choosing a neutral colored couch and set of accent chairs helps add that balance, but then add in some color coordination with throw pillows that compliment your kitchen color! So for example, if you're going cobalt blue with your kitchen, opt for cream or grey furniture and then top them off with throw pillows that have cobalt blue florals as part of their design! It's aaaalll about balance.

From: Annonymous (in case their nieces and nephews are following along as well :) "When to stop buying presents for your niece and nephew"

It's appropriate to acknowledge gift-giving situations (holidays, graduations, birthdays) in some manner. So if it's not presents, opt for a letter! But the transition from presents to a letter really depends heavily on the type of relationship you have with your niece and nephew. Here's a good rule of thumb: if you have the kind of relationship where you can intuitively think of a good present — anything from a sweater you walked by that you know they'll like, to a Starbucks gift card because you know they like their daily sugar-free vanilla latte with an extra shot of espresso — then it's still appropriate for you to get them this gift. If you're scrambling to find SOMETHING that they might like without much knowledge of what they're "into" these days, it's an appropriate time to move on to a nice letter. But when in doubt, a nice gift card is always appreciated.

From @shamani_d: "How to approach an attic conversion"

This is going to be fun! An attic conversion means adding workable square footage to your home and that's always a win. To start off, take inventory of what you ~wish~ you had room for in your current square footage. Do you find yourself wanting room for a guestroom? A playroom for your kids? A workout room? As your working through that wish list, take note of what kind of space your working with! If you're working with a pitched roof, that provides some obvious limitations, but a cozy office is enhanced by natural features like that. Finally, bring in the professionals to find out what you actually can do in your attic. If you can't bring water up without it costing an arm and a leg, a guest bath might not be possible. Start with identifying what you want, then find out what's possible. Once those decisions are discovered, the rest starts to become clearer.

From @melanieelefante: "How you maintain order and organize a home"

This question could not only be its own post, but its own series! Keeping your home organized is a balancing act everyone struggles to maintain, but there are a few common denominators that those who have a neat home tend to inherently follow: 1. Perpetual tidying: We wish we could tell you there's a quick fix, but ultimately the quickest of fixes is building good habits of general "tidying." Picking up this habit can look like making a lap around the house before bed, gathering bits and bobbles at the foot of the stairs every morning or an "all hands on deck" post-dinner dish round-up. Maintaining order is an ongoing process. 2. A place for everything and everything in its place: There's a rule of thumb tidy and organized people tend to follow and it's to not put something down where it doesn't belong. For example, if you use scissors, once you're done using them don't set them down where you just completed your project, take the extra steps to return them to the drawer in which you got them. This sounds like a no-brainer, but you'd be surprised at how quickly this habit can change the state of your home! 3. Pretty Organization: Stay tuned, we have a whole baskets feature coming. We've said this before and we'll say it again, but a confined mess is a WHOLE lot easier to tackle then spread out mess. If you utilize baskets well, it gives those "random" items a pretty holding place while you attend to other matters, and when you're ready you can address the basket. But, in the meantime, at least it looks good :) Again, this could be a whole series on its own, but these three steps should help get you started!

From @quewendy: How do you decorate/style above the kitchen cabinets? Is that even a thing anymore?

Many of the homes that were built in the previous decade contain a gap from the top of the cabinets to the ceiling, and that big empty space is just begging for some attention! If you've got the budget for it, the biggest and most impactful thing you can do is turn that gap into extra storage by framing it out and adding doors. But, that is a heavy, long-term investment. If you're looking for a quick-fix, you can fill the space like you would any open shelf. Pepper in things like serving bowls, basket storage, a little bit of greenery or wood cutting boards. Adding these items in that above-cabinet gap will feel a lot more filled out and intentional. At the end of the day, you can always benefit from extra storage so adding some natural weave baskets is a great practical, and decorative, option! Just remeber that most things above the cabinets will be "out of sight out of mind," so choose only the items that aren't used frequently.

From @katewalthall: How to stock a house for spontaneous entertaining since spring and summer are coming

Another great question that could be its own series! But, to summarize, here are just a few tips and tricks to help out! 1. Have an emergency "smells really good" candle: It's ok to splurge on this candle a little bit because it's going to work hard to help with your home's first impression! Keep it on the entry table and only light it when people are headed your direction. Make sure it's a light, crisp scent and it will be a preeeettty handy little tool to have in your back pocket for those spontaneous drop-ins. 2. Freeze some cookie dough now: Do yourself a favor and make a batch of cookies, scoop them into their "pop on the tray" state and put them in the freezer! Take a cue from Monica and work to find the ~best cookie recipe ever~ to have on hand, in the freezer, ready for when guests pop by. With them already pre-made like that, you can have warm, goey, freshly made cookies in about 10 minutes, and there's no warmer welcome than that! 3. Determine a beverage to always have on hand: One of the most adorable, key characteristics in the south is their affinity for sweet tea. Popping in to someone's home is almost always met with a sweet tea offering (well, according to Reese Witherspoon) and the token of the offering is a major gesture of hospitality. Take notes from this and refine it to reflect your own home! Do you want to always have coffee on hand? Maybe you want to offer a lovely camomille? Maybe a sweet + sour lemonade is just the ticket! The idea is to make sure that you have something to offer your guests and being prepared on the front end helps a ton! For more tips on how to make your home guest-ready quick, read this article!

From @katiemelesurgo: "How can I make a room light and bright without many windows?"

The most useful answer on this topic is this — reflective surfaces! Mirrors are magic when it comes to extending just a little bit of natural light, but the same effect can result when using picture frames with a glass layer. The key is to strategically use the small amount of light that you do have, and help it bounce around. Also, take care in what fabrics you use. Heavy fabrics, especially in low-lit places, can take up all of the light you do have and make it all but disappear. Using lighter fabrics in both color and make (think sheer curtains) can help extend your light! Lastly, be careful with cream! Low-light situations can take something that, in natural light, looks completely white, crisp and clean and turn it into a putrid yellow that you didn't know existed. Sticking with lighter colored blues helps a lot. Even going so far as choosing your light-bulb color can completely shift the appearance — pick the bluer hue of lightbulb!

From @katharinepfeiffer: "How do I bring in traditional pieces to a very modern and new home"

Firstly, congrats on the new home! Bringing in traditional items can seem really daunting, but you can use it to your favor! A lot of modern and new build homes have a tendency to come across as stark and actually NEED some older pieces, so you're in luck! Again, the key here is balance. If you're working with an old armoire, consider adding a sleek vase full of textural stems on top to modernize it a little bit. If you're working with traditional side tables, add a more modern lamp on top! The best designs are composed of a balanced blending of styles, so you're off to a good start! Coordinating elements and intentionality will bring it all together.

From @tiffany2979: "How to style a rental apartment you can't pain and you don't own the furniture? #beigeprison"

This is a tricky one! First, let's talk about why your landlord #wentbeige, understanding that will help liberate you to take your apartment into your own hands. The thing with beige is that it's considered a neutral, it hides stains fairly well and it's a mass-produced color so coordinating with it is, supposedly, doable. So, with this in mind use it as a launching pad to GO BOLD. We're talking cobalt blues! Deep, velvety purples! Millennial pink! If you can't change the color of the walls or furniture, add some jewelry to your space. This can be in the form of throw pillows, rugs, curtains, bedding, throw blankets, vases, picture frames, kitchenware, knick-knacks and figurines. Obviously this can be a heavy investment, so start with the biggest impact first — textiles. Adding some color to your textiles can completely transform the space. Once your color palette is set there, then pepper in the other items. A word of caution — avoid trying to make this apartment white. For whatever reason, when you take beige and try to clean it up with white, everything looks yellow. Best bet is to use this time to experimentally go big and bold with color, and have fun with it! Here's an article on 5 inexpensive ways to customize your rental for more information!

STAY TUNED FOR

@Meganblowmqvust — a "how to style your coffee table" Home 101 article is coming soon! @mwagansmooney — next week our Home 101 is all about how to style bookshelves, and we're not going to lie to you we're pretty jazzed about this article. We thought we'd answer about 5 or less questions in this blog, but as they kept rolling in we couldn't narrow down that far! So, obviously we expanded...and we also saved a few questions from this week to add to next week's lineup :) so if yours wasn't answered this week it might be answered next Friday! Thank you all for participating, and we'll be back next week with more questions and answers! Continue reading on Style Me Pretty from Style Me Pretty https://ift.tt/37Vfi0g

#weddings #stylemepretty

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abcnewspr · 6 years

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Renowned Data Journalism Organization FiveThirtyEight Joins ABC News

Nate Silver and team move from ESPN to ABC

Today ABC News announced it has reached an agreement in principle to acquire the renowned data journalism organization FiveThirtyEight from ESPN. With the heightened interest in political news, FiveThirtyEight’s distinctive style of data-literate reporting will fortify ABC News’ political coverage, adding comprehensive statistical analysis and data visualization. FiveThirtyEight will also continue to provide data-driven sports coverage in conjunction with ABC News and ESPN. ABC News and ESPN, Inc., are both divisions of The Walt Disney Company.

“In a time when politics has never been more fascinating, FiveThirtyEight brings clarity and insight to what’s really going on,” said James Goldston, president, ABC News. “With political news front and center every day and the 2018 midterms on the horizon, Nate Silver and his brilliant team truly enhance what we can offer our audience.”

From their website to their daily newsletters and popular podcasts, Editor-in-Chief Silver, Director of Strategy Stephanie Roos and Deputy Editor Micah Cohen and the rest of the FiveThirtyEight team have built an impressive portfolio of products, applying statistical analysis, data visualization and data-literate reporting to a wide range of topics including politics, science and sports. Silver and the FiveThirtyEight staff will become a part of the news division, and Silver and other FiveThirtyEight reporters will appear regularly across ABC News.

Said Silver, “This is an exciting move for FiveThirtyEight and our staff. With ABC we’ll be able to expand our political coverage at a crucial time, while maintaining a relationship with ESPN for our sports coverage. James has a real vision for how FiveThirtyEight can contribute to ABC’s news and election coverage, and we’re looking forward to building upon what we’ve created with ESPN. We’re looking forward to getting to work immediately as we prepare for the 2018 midterms.”

Added Connor Schell, executive vice president of content at ESPN, “FiveThirtyEight has been a tremendous asset to ESPN since Nate and the team joined us in 2013 and we are thrilled about their new home at ABC News. I am incredibly proud of the work we’ve done together and pleased FiveThirtyEight will remain a part of The Walt Disney Company. As storytelling around data and analytics remain an important way that ESPN serves sports fans every day, our team will continue to utilize Nate and the FiveThirtyEight experts to allow fans to benefit from their sports content.”

Under ESPN’s ownership, FiveThirtyEight grew from a political blog to a multimedia platform that attracts millions of dedicated readers per month, and which is known for in-depth reporting, insightful podcasts and exceptional data visualization across a number of verticals. Its reporting has been recognized on a number of occasions, including winning several awards for ambitious multi-part projects like Gun Deaths in America and its 2016 Election forecast, which was the most trafficked piece of content on the internet in 2016. FiveThirtyEight was recognized as the Data Journalism Site of the Year in 2016 and is currently on the short list for eight awards in the 2018 competition.

– ABC –

For more information follow ABC News PR on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

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2traveldads-blog · 7 years

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When the opportunity arose to be a part of a yoga retreat, I just had to jump at the chance. With 2018 well underway and us really making an active effort to be healthy in every aspect of our lives, dedicated time for self-care and practicing yoga in a beautiful place just seemed like the right thing to do.

In partnership with Yoga Multimedia and the awesome instructors, I was able to participate in their Birds of Paradise yoga retreat on Isla Holbox, Quintana Roo, Mexico. Of course I’d heard of Holbox from friends visiting and it being a Condé Nast destination in 2017, but it hadn’t dawned on me as a prime destination to refresh and renew. But thanks to getting connected with the awesome team leading this yoga retreat, I’m forever going to think of Holbox as a place of personal care and growth. (see below for info about Holbox)

Why do a yoga retreat?

At home we do a lot of yoga, and when we travel we try to take take to practice for a few minutes either in the hotel fitness center or even just a hotel room. So, imagine getting to travel to someplace new and beautiful and have dedicated time for yoga. Having set times where you’re guaranteed space, quiet and an instructor makes it so easy to really focus and relax.

Another benefit to being a part of a yoga retreat is that you’re already on vacation, right? So you’re already in a more calm, open state of mind. This really lends itself to learning new poses, theories, and information around practicing yoga. You’re able to comfortably and safely push your boundaries and comfort level. It’s a wonderful atmosphere to expand your yoga horizons.

Note: participating in a yoga retreat is strangely fun. From the get-go you make new friends and since it’s typically like-minded individuals participating, the participants are typically at ease right away.

Yoga Retreat on Isla Holbox

I really didn’t know what to expect upon arriving at Villa Flamingos for the retreat. I was there to spend a week with a bunch of complete strangers being bendy and vulnerable. Before we dug into the meat and purpose of the retreat, we had a group dinner where we got to meet each other and get a feel for what was ahead. The people were incredible and so human.

Included with this particular yoga retreat through Yoga Multimedia were five (5) nights’ hotel accommodations, airport transfers, daily breakfasts and several group dinners, daily yoga and wellness sessions, group excursions into town, Three Islands boat tour, late night bioluminescence experience, and therapeutic massage at Villa Flamingos. Cost: starting at $1465 pp double occupancy.

Go Follow the instructors and their businesses to see what all they do in the yoga world and with traveling.

Yoga Multimedia – follow on Facebook for opportunities to do your own yoga adventures

Yoga in Paradise: Yoga and Wellness Retreats – follow on Facebook for yoga in beautiful destinations (and Ayurvedic info)

And if you’d like to follow the yoga retreat instructors on Instagram you can find them here:

Joanne Matson – White Salmon, Washington

Victor Varana – Tulum, Mexico and other locations around the world

About the Yoga Retreat Locale: Hotel Villa Flamingos

Located just off the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, Isla Holbox is a tiny stretch of land that not many people know about, hence it’s the perfect spot to hold a yoga retreat. To get there, you fly into Cancun (CUN) and then hop on one of the shuttles up to Chiquila, a small town on the northern tip of the Yucatan. Here you’ll catch the passenger ferry to Isla Holbox.

Tip: book your transportation to Chiquila in advance so that you don’t get mixed up or shuffled around at the airport, and then you can also be sure to make it to the ferry on time.

Once across the bay, about a 30 minute boat ride, we were picked up from the dock on Isla Holbox by a golf cart taxi (there aren’t cars on Holbox) who took us to Hotel Villa Flamingos. The property is set among palm trees and iguana dens. After a quick check in I got settled in my room. So cool. My room was on the second floor of one of the villas with a nice, big balcony equipped with deck chairs and a hammock. A sitting area, a desk for work and a huge shower rounded out the room. The lighting was exceptionally cool with the ceiling and bed being lit from below.

Hotel Villa Flamingos is really ideal for relaxing. I mean, it’s on the beach, right? It has three pools too and loads of hammocks and swinging lounge beds in the shade. Oh, and hammocks in the water. And how could I forget that one morning I was watching the sea and a flock of flamingos flew by?!

The Birds of Paradise yoga retreat was here at the Villa Flamingos. We had the large upstairs space of the main villa building looking out across the palms and the Caribbean. It couldn’t have been a better setting for the week to follow. We were there for five days, doing several yoga sessions each day. We enjoyed several group meals together, had time to connect and get to know each other, including our awesome instructors, and also plenty of time exploring and relaxing on our own.

Opening of Yoga sessions with Victor Varana

I’d never met our first instructor, Victor Varana, prior to our arrival dinner. What a cool man. In addition to the yoga he was to lead us through, he opened the retreat with a ceremony talking about both yoga and Mayan culture, clearly correlating the two and setting the tone for a week of pushing our limits and being more comfortable while caring for our own health. It was fascinating to hear about the different types of energy in the human body and how they relate to the world around us.

And then there was yoga. Ah, yoga: my favorite. Our first yoga session really set the tone for the whole Birds of Paradise yoga retreat. Beginning us with a combination of breathing exercises, powerful poses and calming moments, it was masterfully and very warmly executed. I could tell that Victor’s classes were going to be really enriching and push my yoga boundaries a bit.

Introduction to Ayurveda with Joanne Matson

I had heard nothing but wonderful things about Joanne Matson before arriving at the yoga retreat. I immediately knew that she was everything I’d heard and more. Joanne’s first session with us was actually an introduction to Ayurveda, an ancient science all about balance in the body for maximum health. It was intriguing.

I wasn’t particularly sure how Ayurveda fit into the yoga retreat since I didn’t have much prior knowledge, but she clearly explained the connection of balancing our bodies and minds through a marriage of yoga, herbs, and understanding and listening to what our bodies tell us in the smallest ways. She was very articulate and as the retreat progressed she was very good about tying the yoga practice back to balance and ayurveda.

Note: in no way did I become an expert from this one talk, but listening to Joanne share life application examples of balancing internal fire with calming foods and actions, I could see rather quickly how I live out of balance and what I could easily change almost immediately.

Note to self: I need to study up more on the physical side of Ayurveda so I can work on being more comfortable happy in my daily life. I’m well aware that between my high energy and internal issues something is up and I feel confident that I can get into the proper swing of things.

Yoga sessions with Joanne Matson

If you’re not into yoga or if you don’t do any sort of self reflection this might sound strange, but just go with it.

The way Jo led our yoga sessions was really intuitive. I don’t know if everybody else was in the same place of awareness as me, but from the poses, exercises and stretches to the guided thought processes I felt like each class was directed at me. What does that mean?

It means that each series of movement we’d do would fall right into what my body needed at that moment. It means that when I needed to be pushed a little farther physically, Jo knew when to have us hold a pose or revisit another one. It was the way she would talk about releasing stresses and stories that our bodies or minds were holding onto and then feeling those tensions or sensations physically leave my joints.

I know that may sound very strange to a non-yoga person, but it really was incredible. The right balance of encouragement and reality check made me feel confident and safe as I moved through each class. I both enjoyed and appreciated Jo’s classes and wish I could continue to practice yoga with her… everyday.

Yoga sessions with Victor Varana

Firstly, you have to know that this man has an incredibly dynamic personality, and I think that’s what really made his sessions have such an impact on me. He is calm and a bit mystical, and yet he’s hilarious and energetic all at the same time.

Power yoga with Victor was really fun and truly a challenge. It reminded me of the classes that I would seek out when I was introduced to yoga a long time ago. Victor was great at leading through a series of poses that would push me physically but then would move seamlessly into recovery so I could keep moving.

The most interesting yoga session of Victor’s, I thought, was centered around breathing. We learned about how the body stores energy and releases toxins and what stimulates the different lymphatic and endocrine systems, all through breathing, compression and stretching. We practiced different breathes, some with sounds (long held vowel sounds) and some with controlled force. It was very challenging and yet energizing all at once.

Note: this is one of those activities that might seem very strange to those who don’t practice a lot of yoga or who do more athletic classes. Breathing and making sounds can feel awkward if you let it, but these activities are part of what helps to move beyond your comfort level.

And then there was the funnest yoga class I’ve ever done. Victor paired Tai Chi, yoga and a bit of martial arts to create a very active session. Starting with the Tai Chi our focus was immediately challenged as we moved through fluid poses… and it was difficult, for sure. But then we also started mimicking animals and moving our limbs in controlled kicks and punches. We were all laughing and sweating and having a yogatastic time. Totally unexpected.

My big take-aways from the Yoga Retreat

As a standard in life, I’ve not subscribed to anything supernatural or cosmic and whatnot, and I still don’t, but I do very much believe in or feel the energy that gives the world life. Practicing yoga consistently for several days and learning about where the body stores toxins and how energy moves or can be moved through the body, I am very excited to change the way I approach several aspects of my life.

I understand that my personality and moods are tied to my body being out of balance or totally in the zone. I get that treating my body well and listening to it is a life-changing, or to quote the amazing Joanne Matson, it’s a profound way of being. Our bodies know what they need and taking the time to learn how to read your bodies signals and respond is a simple and highly beneficial way to improve quality of life.

And the yoga retreat reinforced how much I love practicing yoga and love the people of the yoga community.

The whole experience, from the life-changing yoga retreat with Joanne Matson and Victor Varana, to the time exploring and relaxing on Isla Holbox on my own, it was unforgettable. As I returned home, I really felt like I have a much better understanding of what to be aware of within my own life and body I found so much value is the dedicated time for self-care by being a part of this yoga retreat..

Bonus: exploring Isla Holbox and making new friends

Flying to Mexico alone, I was a little nervous about spending nearly a week with complete strangers. After a day of yoga and sunshine together, we were all fast friends and had a great time venturing beyond Villa Flamingos, on our own and as part of the organized yoga retreat.

Holbox Three Islands Tour

Part of the yoga retreat itinerary and included in the cost was a tour of the Yum Balam Nature Preserve. A boat picked us up just off shore from our hotel and took us out from the island. We almost immediately were greeted by a family of bottlenose dolphins that were in a playful mood. After observing them for a while (including a baby dolphin!) we moved on around Isla Holbox.

Our next stop was at Cenote Yum Balam. A part of the larger Yum Balam Nature Preserve, this cenote is in the middle of a mangrove forest just onto the edge of the Yucatan Peninsula, and it is actually on the mainland, not an island. There was a forest lookout to climb, a cenote to jump into, and just a bunch of fun with the yoga crew. We were like kids splashing and jumping and loving it all.

From the cenote we headed to the bird refuge at Yum Balam. Here, we couldn’t go ashore, but there was a dock and two observation towers in the water for our use. Incredible. Great egrets, tri-colored egrets, pelicans, fluffy white egrets, vultures, osprey… It was amazing how active they all were and it was just really beautiful.

Our last stop was at the far western end of Isla Holbox. What were we doing? Looking for flamingos! We saw only four, but they were pretty cool. We took time to get into the water and walk around the tiny piece of land and sandbar, but we couldn’t get very close to the flamingos.

Note for next trip: we’ll for sure be visiting Los Colorados and Rio Lagartos where there are typically hundreds, if not thousands, of flamingos.

Experiencing Bioluminescense

When we were in Puerto Rico was go to kayak through the mangroves to a lagoon in Fajardo and experience bioluminescence in the water. Isla Holbox has the same phenomena. Also an organized outing with the yoga retreat crew, we all loaded onto our golf cart taxis for a journey to the far western reach of the Yum Balam Nature Preserve. We all got out… turned off our lights and phones… and walked into the water. Almost in complete unison everyone gasped and let out a quiet “Wooooowww.” And then we all started splashing and kicking around the water watching the glow swirl around our legs.

Note: unless you have very specific photography equipment you cannot typically capture the light from bioluminescence. It’s very faint and only can be seen once your eyes adjust to the darkness of night… hence the fun pictures below from our adventures in the town before heading to the lagoon for bioluminescence.

The town of Holbox

I’ve read and heard some accounts of the village of Holbox, painting it as a little piece of paradise on a Mexican Isla. It’s a cool, small Mexican town for sure, and it still is relatively untouristy in comparison to Cancun or Cabo San Lucas, but it’s not a jaw-droppingly untouched slice of the Caribbean. At no time did I need to use any Spanish. At all.

It’s cute, for sure, and the endless narrow streets full of murals and restaurants are fun to explore, but it’s not a perfect paradise. Just like any destination in Mexico it has trinket shops and business that exist solely for the cheesy tourist population and the poverty of the area is visible just beyond the main tourist areas. It’s still totally worth a visit and someplace we’ll be returning to (yoga retreat or not) with the family.

The restaurants of Holbox were really good, blending modern international cuisines with Mexican food. My favorite was El Champlin, just off the town square. The menu changes daily based on what’s fresh and available, and they only ever have maybe four or five choices. And awesome craft cocktails leveraging the local favorite: mezcal.

From having time to practice yoga and learn a lot about wellness and how to adjust my approach to life, to making new friends that were really awesome to hang out with, and then also experiencing a whole new part of Mexico, my yoga retreat time on Isla Holbox was unforgettable. I left both recharged and with new tools for my daily life. Even if I’m not working with Yoga Multimedia again, I look forward to my next yoga retreat (and maybe Chris will come on that one!)

Want to pin this for you own travel planning or to consider doing a yoga retreat yourself? Go For it!!!

Travel for Yoga: Isla Holbox Yoga Retreat for self care and a new perspective When the opportunity arose to be a part of a yoga retreat, I just had to jump at the chance.

#flamingos #health #Holbox Island #Isla Holbox #Joanne Matson #retreat #Victor Varana #Villa Flamingos #wellness #yoga #Yoga Multimedia #Yucatan

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