#sunburned and stepped into a sea urchin

[jelliedlimes]

Beach episode doodle as requested by @purpleenma

McCoy will spend approximately 99% of the day lying in the shade, Kirk has a third degree sunburn from volleyball and WILL step on a sea urchin, and Spock will spend her time cataloguing various species of sea slugs and analysing the components of the sand.

[sodaneko]

in the past 72h i

stepped on a sea urchin

sunburned my entire ass

had an allergic reaction to an insect bite

ran late for my flight because time zones are a mystery to me and because there was a cute cat at the airport

but i lived and i’m hooome

[imsosocold]

More ,, c!dream transfem poetic ideas....please...

Our purely putrid filthy, fusty, musty, stanky, rank fem-not-female daymare. She’s fraying clothes with seams ripping in the way envelopes and wrapping paper are in their desperation to be opened. She’s patches peeling off the way fruits are peeled with their skins being left out to rot in the sun. She’s the scab and sunburn you pick at until it prickles. She’s sweat from heat against the sweat of the cold. She’s the dust you forgot to sweep up that hangs sparkling in the air. She’s the floorboard that creeks with your breaths. She’s an old fridge whose very self, never mind its contents, is rotting. She’s the light that won’t stop flickering. She’s an old time styled radio that only garbles out guttural sounds and spits static. She’s shoes splitting at the soles that you still expect to shield your feet from the metal as you kick at your broken down rusted car. She’s the bandana you  wear when the sands and their winds get too high. She’s the odd smelling and shaped stains that won’t come out and won’t be questioned. She’s a mattress on TOP of a mountain of blankets that are sour smelling and matted with sweat.  She’s the grimy coins kids are excited to find. She’s the sketchbook scraps forced to be used as napkins. She’s waking up with wounds you don’t remember how you got and soon will forget having. She’s front yard fires, never strong enough for barbecue. She’s the constant pain that you have no clue where comes from but can’t afford to see a doctor over it. She’s toilet paper veils and toilet paper roll telescopes and napkin handkerchiefs and towel headscarves and Piñata pets. She’s a burning flag (L’Manburg or American) at a backyard concert and brunch. She’s licking at the salt lick in cold hoping it hasn’t frozen over. She’s playing music on the bottom of garbage cans and pans and on top of thighs. She’s a little kid carrying stuff in her hoodie and inside her shirt feeling so smart about it. She’s showing off what you found in the parking lot. She’s moths hitting against patio lights. She’s fireflies caught bare handed in the backyard which you at first are excited about before feeling grossed out. She’s the sea urchin you step on out of spite.  She’s the solid salt chunks caught in your mouth from swimming in the sea. She’s empty tortoise shells and even emptier, exposed tortoise spines. She’s animal blood being boiled; something you can’t scrape out. She is pure folk punk. She is everything. She’s made up of and makes up with popsicle stick people and macaroni art men and bottle cap boys and chalk chicks and tally girl tabs.  She feels like cicada husks and bed bug shells and dragonfly wings and rhino beetle horns. If you kissed her she would taste of raw meat and then blood because she bites on instinct. She could ride a bike with flat tires. She could make a heater out of an old fan. She somehow gets drunk from church wine and high from smoking straight up grass and chewing on loose exercise -machine tums. She holds an open potluck made up of leftovers as she does scratch off tickets and sniff stickers together. She hand washes clothes and dishes alike but if she had a washing machine she’d get lost in watching it spin until she felt like throwing up. She’s distance spitting seeds and tobacco alike. She collects sand and spices and stamps; all the little things you never know if/when you’ll need. She makes the sort of grits that always get stuck in your teeth and to the top of your mouth and to the bottom of your stomach but in a way that’s comforting. She lets bugs and insects and animals climb onto and all over her.

She lets mosquitos bite her and shows off the bumps that develop proudly because don’t they deserve to eat too?  She’s wanting to be lost. She bops herself on the head on an empty soda bottle when she’s not blowing into it and a paper bag.  She snacks on perlite like popcorn and chews on wood chips. She drinks the water from leaks and blisters. She sucks up the guts out of pumpkins and suckles on bark and gnaws on sap and loves moss even more than Kris. She’ll feed house and store and backyard and forest plants alike. She has a garden just for weeds. She makes her own manure. She grows mushrooms in the upstairs bathroom sink. She raises crayfish in a school Petri dish. She only wants to eat the green tomatoes and bananas and peaches. She wants to see how sticks and stones break bones. She has squirted lemon and tomato juice directly into her eyes just to see what it’s like.

She wakes up the crickets and the chickens. Her green motif comes from  staining from chlorine and leaves painted brighter and more waxy than they could ever be in nature for advertising and the lack of green colored stars that exist. Science kits and first aid kits are the same to her. She brings astronaut food to the beach picnic. She gets bone shards stuck in her teeth along with her tonsil stones. She keeps taxidermy in coolers. She keeps bait in buckets and gives them out like gift bags. She recites rites for roadkill.   She made wind chimes out of fake dimes. She nicks nails from construction sites. She dances in dumpsters. She blacks out in the bakery bins behind the store fronts. She kicks her shoes onto the roof after making a contest of how far they could be thrown off when on the swing set. She writes messages out of spider webs. She braids grass to put into her hair and wears roots like rings. She knows the exact classifications that foods like tomatoes and pumpkins and strawberries and eggplants fall into. She has such strong opinions about oatmeal over corn meal, squash vs gourds, egg whites in comparison to yolks. She has grown with the grass and she finds perfume in skunks and every abandoned place is immediately familiar to her. In universe she invented the hawk tuah meme. She’s genuinely “not like most other girls” without even trying. She’s almost disgustingly  authentic and actually is very proud of it. It will take months, even maybe years, to sort out my thoughts on her and so many other pretty piling-up things but I will eventually write (and certainty think) about her forever lol. 

[spoks-illogical-art]

Your blorbos get sent on a nice vacation to a beach episode! Who's having fun at the beach? Who's best at diving and who at building sandcastles? Who prefers nightlife in fun clubs and pubs? Who visits landmarks and museums? Who bravely tries weird local food and who sticks to well known food chains? Who gets sunburned or steps on a sea urchin or nearly drowns? Who fakes drowning to get the attention of a hot lifeguard?

AYYYY I do actually have a Beach Episode AU :3c so this is really cool to think abt again : DDD

Who's having fun at the beach? Everyone! But I always mostly focus on the Beta5 Squad(V, Mattie, Lai, Drew, Chess, Nekro, Howard), Beta8 Squad(Tim, Ryland, April, Jackson, Cindy) and the Echo Arc Squad (Echo, Audrey, Oscar, Gabe, Cass)

Who's best at diving and who at building sandcastles?

The best at diving would be Oscar! I mean what isnt he best at lmao :" D and the best sand castles would be build by the unstoppable team of Laionel and Drew! but watch out if Ryland or Jackson join in, they are engineers xD

Who prefers nightlife in fun clubs and pubs?

hmmm Mattie would like both sunbathing and fun clubs, and maybe Audrey would be the one to prefer fun clubs at the end of the day

Who visits landmarks and museums?

Time for the epic old men sightseeing tour with Ryland and Tim!! now i wanna draw Tim in a dad outfit posing in front of some landmark for a photo lmao

Who bravely tries weird local food and who sticks to well known food chains?

Lai and Drew would love to try new stuff, Chester would stick to well known food chains, Cindy would make Jackson try something new too

Who gets sunburned or steps on a sea urchin or nearly drowns?

Vincent would get sunburned despite using the best sun protection there is lol, Nekor steps on the sea urchin whoopsie, and Gabe nearly drowns (aka hes almost drowned by Echo and Oscar for his crimes)

Who fakes drowning to get the attention of a hot lifeguard?

Oscar.

[egittae]

As a complement to our current mission board, some fun beach ask prompts! Or well, the fun factor is debatable. 

________

[castle] for our muses to build sand castles together. what entails “sand castle” is up to you.

[dig] for our muses to dig a hole in the sand together. for extra fun, roll the dice and check if it’ll collapse.

[are you with crab milord/milady] one of our muses is trying to just chill and read a book, but alas, is it just a prank or is there actually a crab...

[yeet] for my muse to throw a crab at yours

[rope] our muses have just returned from a refreshing swim, but there’s something wrapped around their ankles. is it algae? is it some discarded rope? perhaps a squid?

[jellyfish] our muses went swimming, and had an unfortunate encounter with a jellyfish. what to do?

[urchin] ouch! stepped on a sea urchin!

[buried] so, we’ve decided to bury someone in the sand. who’s going to become the sand guardian?

[volleyball] let’s play volleyball together!

[shark] our muses are swimming and have met something that kind of resembles a shark. is it…?

[vendor] our muses have come across anna a beach vendor selling all sorts of trinkets, from colorful shirts to overpriced drinks.

[surprise] you see a coconut! is there anything inside?

[water] the water is nice and cool but then you pass through a weirdly warm spot

[sunburns] ack-! you forgot the sunscreen!

[critter] our muses see a little critter swimming! do they try to grab it? fingers crossed that it isn’t venomous!

[seagull] your muse chose to bring food to the beach, and now you have entered combat.

[BBQ] beach BBQ time! set up that grill!

BEACH EPISODE PROMPTS 🏖

[ladyjaneasher-blog]

“That's a great colour shot. John, Cynthia, Maureen and I were on holiday in Tobago. I think that lady is getting the spines out of John's foot because he trod on a sea urchin -- who knew they were dangerous?”

–Ringo Starr from Photograph (2013)

[peterstanslizzie]

Re-watching Lizzie Mcguire: Episode 1.25 (Facts of Life)

We should give this trio a group name. I mean, Andi Mack has the ‘Good Hair Crew’, which comprises of Andi, Buffy and Cyrus. So, it’s only fitting that we give this group a name. Any ideas?

- Gordo has too many eggs in one basket; On top of having to finish three book reports and a science project, he decided to burden himself even more by joining glee club. This is so he can diversity his school resume with non-academic activities. 

- Side note: It’s cool that the writers acknowledged that Miranda had joined glee club back in episode 1.14 since it was kinda randomly thrown into that episode. 

- Mr. Escobar clearly isn’t impressed with his students’ singing chops and urges them to practice at home. After their glee club session, Lizzie suggests to her friends they should try out for the ‘Fact-athlon’. They don’t think it’s a great idea since Gordo is already under a lot of stress.

Getting a reward is always good motivation

- But when Lizzie brings up the fact that the winners will get a free trip to Miami, the tone suddenly shifts from nay to yay. Plus. this would be a nice addition to Gordo’s already packed resume. 

Bring it on ‘Fact-athlon’!

Preparation

- Lizzie and Miranda are busy studying and quizzing each other History facts in Lizzie’s living room. Gordo arrives and is supposed to bring donuts for his friends but he ate them on the way. That’s literally me lol. 

- Gordo mentions to them that they need to get a faculty advisor for their team. Lizzie suggests a teacher who has a huge head but apparently, Kate has already snatched him; So I guess Kate’s also competiting in the ‘Fact-athlon’. Luckily, Gordo says they have Mrs. Trimmer as their back-up. 

“What does a cannibal call a phonebook? A menu”. I don’t think jokes are Lizzie’s thing lmao.

- The next day in school, Gordo draws up a study plan that recommends 4 hours of studying each day in preparation for the upcoming competition. I have a lot of respect for those who are willing to put themselves through these kind of things, even if it’s all for a prize. 

- We come to find out that Mrs. Trimmer has left the country (for no stated reason...) and Mr. Dig will be replacing her as their advisor for the ‘Fact-athlon’. I think Mr. Dig is great and all but good luck to them lol. I will still give him the benefit of the doubt though. 

Team Lizzie vs Team Kate

- We come to find out later that ‘Team Kate’ comprises of her, Claire and Larry; Smart strategy to rope in Larry. Team Lizzie is about to start their study session with Mr. Dig and they brought in with them every math book they can get their hands on from the school library. 

- But with Mr. Dig, you can’t expect to have a conventional study session with him; The only study tool he’ll be using to teach math is a deck of cards. This doesn’t sit well with Gordo because he feels that they should be studying from books and not from playing blackjack. Gordo and I share the same sentiment on this. 

- But after getting teased by Miranda for being an “old man at 13″, Gordo decides to go along with Mr. Dig’s creative way of teaching Math, Science, English and History. And we then get to see a montage of him doing just that. 

No shade but Team Lizzie is just clowning around whilst Team Kate is actually doing the proper preparation for the ‘Fact-athlon’. Don’t get me wrong, Mr. Dig’s method of teaching by showing is definitely effective but when it comes to a trivia competition, cramming facts into your brain as much as you can in a short period of time is the best strategy. 

Day of the Fact-athlon

Team Kate is getting down to business but as you can see, 2 of the 3 members are a nervous-wreck

VS

Team Lizzie seems confident but maybe a little too confident

- The competition then kicks off with English History and Team Kate is owning Team Lizzie from the get-go. As expected, Team Lizzie doesn’t know all the black and white facts like the dates and names when it comes to historic events. 

- As Team Lizzie continues to get creamed in the ‘Fact-athlon’, Lizzie comes up with a plan to get out of the competition without forfeiting by telling Gordo to fake being sick and asking Miranda to trigger the water sprinklers. They follow the plan accordingly and manage to get themselves out of the embarrassing situation they were in. If I were them, I would be worried about getting punished for doing all of that lol.

I love how Gordo committed to his fake heart-attack though 

- After the whole fainting and water-sprinklers fiasco, Team Lizzie are sitting on the stairwell suffering from their epic defeat. Team Kate rubs in their faces that they’ve lost so badly that Mr. Dig is quitting as a teacher. Yikes! Now things are getting serious.

- The find Mr. Dig packing his things from the classroom and they plead with him not to quit. They tell him that they’ve learned a lot from him and he has shown them that learning can be fun and how seemingly boring subjects like World History can be interesting. Now that’s the ultimate goal of a teacher; To inspire his/her students.

- Also, it turns out that going to Miami wasn’t the best prize for Team Kate:

Kate got bit by sand fleas, Claire stepped on a sea urchin and Larry got extreme sunburn. Wow, they were really unlucky over there.

B-Plot: Matt and Lanny are Starting A Band

- In the kitchen, Matt asks his parents if they have any musical instruments lying around the house that they can borrow. Sam suggests his old guitar he had used when he was in his own band with his cousin and his friend called “Midnight Sam and the Love Patrol”. Matt, Lanny and even Jo don’t seem impressed with this and they even laughed at the idea that he was in a band. 

The song they were playing in this video was actually pretty good. I wonder if it’s an actual song in real life?

- Before I continue, I have always wondered why isn’t Matt in school for majority of these episodes whilst Lizzie is? I know this is a fictional show but it’s a funny pattern I’ve been noticing for quite some time now. 

- Anyways, they are holding auditions to find a third band member in the backyard and Matt’s parents seem to be okay with the idea; They are such chill parents, I can’t. After viewing a bunch of ‘meh’ performances (well I thought that the oboe player was pretty good), they finally get a good audition...from a grown man by the name of Rick Marotta.

This is an adult who wants to be in a band with a couple of kids....I have questions

- I looked up Rick Marotta and he’s legit a big-time drummer in real life! His credits include playing with Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, Steely Dan, John Lennon (as mentioned in the show) plus Carly Simon, Stevie Nicks and Randy Newman. Woah, impressive! But anyways, he is the best one so far and he gets the gig! Later, they start playing together for the first time and let’s just say, they don’t sound too good.

- It then escalates to the point where Sam and Jo can’t even stand the sound of them playing anymore. It’s cute how they don’t want to disappoint Matt by telling what he can or can’t do but if I were them, I would definitely put my foot down and ask them to stop the ruckus. Like please.

- We fast forward two days later on Sunday and Matt’s band is holding their first ever live performance and I must say; They look stylin’:

And they gave an incredible performance. Bravo! Of course it’s unrealistic for them to get so good after a short period of time but hey, I can definitely let this slide. 

- In the end, however, Matt and Lanny want to move on to another hobby instead of continuing on with their band *facepalms

Overall Thoughts

- I really enjoyed re-watching this episode. They did a great job making an episode that centers around a ‘Fact-athlon’ quite entertaining. Plus, the writing and the dialog used in this episode was really witty. Kudos to Douglas Tuber & Tim Maile for writing this episode. 

- I also like how they showcased the contrast between traditional ways of studying versus interactive/non-conventional ways of studying. Obviously, the former is more effective when it comes to trivia contests/quizzes but the latter makes students enjoy and really soak up what they’re learning. I also have to give props to Arvie Lowe Jr. for doing a great job as Mr. Dig in this particular episode. I loved seeing the bond between him and Lizzie, Gordo and Miranda. Teachers like him are absolutely gold.

- As for Matt and Lanny’s storyline, it was pretty good. I obviously don’t care about it as much as I do with the A-storyline but I definitely have to give them credit for their performance towards the end of the episode; It was great and I also like how Matt/Lanny didn’t annoy me as much as usual lol. 

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Azula Week Day 3: Summer

Modern AU; TyLee’s parents own a resort on the Cook Islands so TyLee takes Azula on a tropical holiday.

The best summer she ever spent, was the one she had with TyLee. The girl’s parents owned a resort chain one seemed to pop up on every island. And she had given Azula her pick of them. She had narrowed it down to a few, though there were many different islands that had drawn her attention. In the end, with some healthy input form TyLee she and picked Aitutaki Island. She wasn’t one for water but the turquoise hue she’d seen in the pictures had enchanted her. She had wondered if the water would be that pristine in person.

It was another week before TyLee was free from her summer classes. A week spent texting by the poolside and longing for the next one.

A week spent convincing her father that letting her travel so far abroad on such short notice was a good idea. She was almost certain that he was going to say no, especially since she had no good grades to charm him with. Instead, she compiled a list displaying where she’d be staying and for how long, some activities they planned to do, and her outline of predicted expenses. If she could give him a more solid picture, he would be more inclined to let her take her vacation. That sort of trick usually worked.

And it continued to do so.

She was unpacking her suitcase as a balmy breeze fluttered through the bungalow rustling the curtains. The wind carried the scent of mango and banana with what might have been a tinge of coconut.

She watched TyLee flop onto the bed.

“You already unpacked?” Azula asked.

“I packed less than you.” She shrugged. It was a fair point, Azula had a habit of over-packing--God forbid she forget something she needed. “Hurry up and finish! I have so much I want to do.”

“We have the whole week.” Azula pointed out. Even so, the other girl was ridiculously eager. Before she could even find a suitable pair of sunglasses, TyLee had her around the wrist and was dragging her onto the patio. This resort in particular offered over the water bungalows, the pair could jump off of the patio and be in decently deep water. Already Azula could see a turtle swimming by amid clusters of coral and anemone. All in all, they had a pretty decent view of the reef. TyLee was correct in noting that Aitutaki was a sound location for snorkeling.

“Come on!” TyLee gave a cheerful smile and with it she was already in the water, picking her way carefully around the coral. She hadn’t even shed her sundress.

Azula took the care to drape hers over the railing before dipping into the water. The water was cooler than she preferred, it would take some getting used to especially after allowing the sun to seep into her bare skin. She ought to go fetch some sunscreen, but TyLee’s eager face coaxed her further from the bungalow. She could already foresee a sunburn to match all sunburns on her skin. Still she met TyLee a few feet away.

“Look at this.” TyLee pointed. Azula was expecting another turtle, but instead she found herself face to face with a stingray. Before she could protest, TyLee began stroking it. “Come over and pet him, he’s friendly.”

Azula hesitated, she was a little wary of the ocean and marine life. She had been since her father had taken the family to Cancun some summers back when she was eleven years old. She and ZuZu had gotten a little brave--too brave--and she had a scar to show for it. They both did; the pair had gone cliff diving (her choice of activity, of course) and had landed right on the reef. Zuko had nearly lost his eye and she had jagged and deep scratches on her right thigh and up her ribcage.

Even so, she wasn’t about to let TyLee put on a display of more courage than she. As long as she kept her distance from the coral and urchins, she should be fine. The stingray was a good distance from the sea plants anyhow. Taking the care to avoid its tail, Azula carefully stroked its pectoral fins. They had an almost slimy feel that she shivered at, at first.

“Cute isn’t it?” TyLee remarked

Azula hummed to herself for a moment, “I guess so.” It was a rather majestic creature, she decided as she watched it flap away.

No longer having the stingray to occupy her, TyLee made her way closer to the reef. Azula had never been prone to fearing for another person, but the closer TyLee got to the reef, the more she squirmed on the inside. Absently her fingers fell to her scarred thigh. “TyLee, get over here.”

The girl looked back. “But the seashells and clams are over here.” She argued.

“I’m sure there are plenty of seashells on the shore.” Azula countered.

“Are there clams on the shore?”

“Probably not.” Azula grumbled.

As if that settled things, TyLee continued on her course until she came to the edge of the reef. It left Azula divided between wanting to maintain her distance from the reef and wanting to swim over and physically drag the daring girl away from it. “Do you think this one has a pearl in it?” TyLee inquired.

“I don’t know.” Repeating her prior statement she added, “probably not.” She couldn’t imagine that pearls were easy to come by.

“You need to be more optimistic.” TyLee declared.

“And you need to get away from that reef.” Azula snapped back. Finally she braved it out and moved closer.

Undeterred, TyLee carelessly surrounded her arm up to the elbow with jagged blade-sharp coral as she attempted to snatch the clam. Again, Azula was cringing and this time the cringe reached her face. The girl was going to shred her arm at this rate. “Here, let me get it.” She offered before she realized just what she was proposing.

Having struggled with it for a good three or so minutes TyLee surrendered and huffed a quick, “okay.”

Azula bit the inside of her cheek. Just lovely, now she was going to have to risk her own arm. She was already scarred from her thigh to her ribcage, she might as well get a matching set for her arm. Reluctantly, she reached for that stupid clam, thinking that it was anything but worth the struggle. She could already see a fine trickle of blood running down her arm and attracting sharks.  She had the clam in her hand and detached from the reef. She might have gotten away unscathed had it not been for the crab. The critter itself hadn’t done her much damage. It’s pinch however caused an reflexive jerk that sent her arm into the nearest coral. She hissed, almost dropping the clam altogether, but she clung to it; she hadn’t just gashed her elbow for nothing. It was a struggle to keep her composure as she was very nearly catapulted back to the day she’d almost died on the reef. TyLee’s expression was the picture of terror, terror and guilt. Azula took a few shaky steps towards her and pressed the clam into her hand. She couldn’t tell how deep the slash dug, but the blood flow was much too steady.

“Oh, this is all my fault.” TyLee mumbled. “I should have just left the clam alone.” To that Azula couldn’t argue. She made her way back onto the patio. “Can I see your hand. Oh gosh, you’re shaking.” The girl looked like she was going to cry.

“I am not.” Azula insisted and held out her arm.

With diligent hands, TyLee tied her hair scrunchies above and below the cut. With even more care she dabbed at it with a clean towel. “I don’t think it’s as deep as it looks.” There was an abundant sparkle of relief in her eyes.

Azula released a still semi-shaky breath. “No, it isn’t.” She removed the scrunchies and watched TyLee retreat into the bungalow to fetch a some gauze. With the initial shock out of the equation, her breathing began to level. It was just a scratch, a large one, but still just a scratch.

“I’m so sorry.” TyLee babbled. “I should have just stayed away from the reef like you said…”

Azula sighed, any animosity the situation had put between the pair was fading fast. She wasn’t about to let the reef ruin another perfectly good vacation. “Forget it. Let’s just finish dressing the cut and find something to do. I think I saw a tiki bar worth checking out.”

“I could go for a pina colada.” TyLee agreed. After fully wrapping Azula’s elbow she patted her hand affectionately. “There, all set.”

Sharp pangs were still shooting up and down her arm but she would ignore them. A drink or two would probably take the edge off anyways.

.oOo.

It was sundown by the time they reached the line of bungalows again. As they walked the deck connecting all of the bungalows, Azula listened to TyLee prattle on and on about pointless things. “That Chan guy was kind of cute.” She commented.

Azula rolled her eyes, “I suppose if you’re into tan, muscular, and dull in the head.”

TyLee cocked her head, she very nearly came to a hault, trying to figure out Azula’s type was like prying that clam for its spot. “Then what are you into.”

Azula shrugged.

Whether she realized it or not, wide-eyed and happy-go-lucky might be two such traits.

Island sunsets were infinitely better than any other, Azula decided to herself as she sat cross-legged on the bungalow deck. TyLee was undoing her braid and squeezing the water out. In the background shades of pink, orange, and purple were rippling in the water--a liquid mirror of the display in the sky. With chirpy and excited remarks from TyLee, Azula came to spy families of turtles coming and going. “I’d love to be a turtle.” TyLee piped up.

“You would.” Azula replied. She removed her sandals and set them aside before dipping her feet into the water. Every now and then a turtle shell would brush against her toes. Though she had to admit it might be a serene life to just follow the crowd and ride the current.

The sky was displaying shades of navy now, the last figments of daylight were falling away. In the distance Azula could hear the sound of traditional drums and a few cheers and claps. But she had no interest in the more touristy of the attractions. She liked the peaceful quiet. The sound of waves lapping against the posts holding the bungalow up.

A cloud of stingray drifted by, all too quickly, disappearing under the deck. Now there’s a creature she’d like to be, if she had to be any animal anyhow. They were graceful things, fluid, but with a dangerous edge to them. It was almost ethereal to see them pass by under a surface that reflected so many glimmering stars.

Azula yawned, such silent calmness always seemed to lull her into a more sleepy mood.

“Are you already ready for bed?” TyLee asked. “You promised me that we’d be going to one of those candle light dinners.”

She did say as much. It would be a few hours later, but she still fancied sitting under a beach canopy with white curtains and the petals of tropical flora scattered about the sand. “Yes, and we will. Just let me lay down for a few minutes.”

.oOo.

TyLee dropped an armful of seashells onto the deck. Azula couldn’t fathom why the girl needed so many. After a whole day of searching them out, they all started to look the same to her. And TyLee had been picking them up for five or so days. One thing she wouldn’t miss when going home was the unlimited supply of sea shells.

“I’m really happy you decided to come with me this week.” TyLee said as she dangled her legs off of the deck.

Frankly Azula felt like there would have been countless more productive ways to spend an entire week. Even so she found herself nodding and replying, “I am too.” Save for her second mishap with the reefs, the holiday had treated her well. “We never opened that clam.” She noted. Somehow it felt right to be opening it as their last day on the island came to a close. She pushed it towards TyLee.

“You want me to open it?”

Azula rolled her eyes, “it’s a clam, Ty, nothing to special.”

“Sure it is.” TyLee disagreed as she pulled the clam open. Azula didn’t think that the girl could grin any wider. Yet her smile widened as she withdrew the teeniest pearl Azula had ever seen. “I told you there’d be one!”

“I suppose you did.”

“Here.” She set the pearl in Azula’s hand. “You got cut on the coral so I think you earned it.”

If she were being honest, it was that TyLee was the one giving it to her that had more value than the pearl itself. “Thanks, Ty.”

She was supposed to be a summer fling but Azula had a feeling that putting TyLee out of her head wasn’t going to be that easy. In fact, she felt that she was lucky to have found TyLee. As lucky as finding a pearl in a clam.

[glowingstill]

What Vacationing as a Family Taught Me about Marriage

Marriage, like a good vacation, requires a lot of work

This past week my family and I had some amazing adventures on the Carnival Dream – Carnival Cruise line. It was a super-fast week that we filled up with memories and adventures – and yes, a few sunburns as well. We visited Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel for our port stops, and we had three sea days as well. Here are some of the lessons that I discovered while on vacation

Getting ready to board the Carnival Dream on Vacation

Vacation and work are opposites in most mindsets. Both require a lot of pre-planning, and that is where most people drop the connection. However, on this vacation, Stephen and I had to do a lot of work to keep the vacation going smoothly. We had to communicate – a lot!

Communication

One of the ways that we did this was through (wait for it!) a whiteboard. This simple whiteboard with colorful markers helped us share with each other where one was. Yes, in the digital age, we could have texted or signed up for chat plan on board, but we wanted to save money, so simple notes on the whiteboard let us tell each other where we were going. On the last day, I awoke to a note from Stephen saying he was reading somewhere in the shade!

We all got way too much sun on this vacation, and there aren’t too many shady public locations on the ship, so I quickly found him on deck 11 reading and enjoying the quietness!

By communicating clearly, we diminished the number of arguments and frustrations because we both knew what was going on.

Focusing on Memories, not Adventures

On Saturday night, I told the family that YES they had to be at dinner that night. I didn’t book an extra special restaurant or pay for a better meal; I simply insisted that we spend the time together. We laughed and joked, enjoyed watching our children’s faces as they interacted with the wait staff, hilariously observed our second son taste a mango ginger soup (he didn’t like it at all, and was unprepared for the spiciness of it!) and shared a nice meal together.

Click to view slideshow.

I have found that it is in the simple times of life that make the strongest memories together.  While I will miss a week off of cooking and cleaning, I will definitely remember the memories of the time that we spent together.

Alone Times are Ok

On Wednesday morning, we landed in Jamaica and set off for the Sunscape Resort. Ok, ya’ll this resort was so family friendly I could not believe it. Whenever I think of all-inclusive resorts, I typically think of just a couple’s resorts. And while these are important for vacations, having a family-friendly resort is important for people like me – with four children!

When we got there, we had a quick introduction and a mini-tour, in which they announced an included snorkeling tour. I was so excited!!!

I love to snorkel.

The next time you plan a vacation, remember to make it memorable and special - just like your marriage Click To Tweet

I’m just a newbie at snorkeling, but the few times that I have done it on my own have been so much fun. However, I’m not brave enough to go out very far on my own (not drowning is pretty high on my bucket list of life), but since this was a group excursion, I felt very comfortable in attempting my first group excursion.

The crew there were nice in helping me get the right size of mask and fins, offered life jackets for swimmers who needed it (I declined, since I know I can swim pretty good). And off we went. For thirty minutes, we bobbled and snorkeled through the Caribbean sea. Our guide dove down and got a female urchin for us to hold, and showed us various places that had the best colorful fish (and even the hidden flounder on the bottom of the sea!) I had such a great time doing this.

But remember? My husband and my four kids? None of them like to snorkel. Nope. Nada – and yes, I’ve tried to convince them. Maybe one day they will, but for now, they’ll have to practice in the shallows.

A family vacation means that sometimes you can do things that are not always together. My husband was so kind as to watch the kids and let me do something that meant a lot to me. He understood that while he couldn’t snorkel with me, he wanted me to have that adventure.

In marriage, being there to help each other out and allow the other person to have a special blessing (or perk!) is so crucial for a quality relationship. A marriage is a union of two people into one, but that doesn’t mean that that the individual personalities are gone.

The Vacation Dab

This little bit of ‘freedom’ and enjoyment alone, helped me to want to spend more time with the others.

Loving Another Person Sometimes Means Doing Things You Don’t Want

While I love snorkeling, going down waterslides is not one of my favorite tasks. There is just something about going down a tight, winding slide into a face (and nose-full) amount of water that is not appealing to me. Now, if I’m on an inner tube or raft, I tend to like waterslides more because the splashes are not so in-your-face.

My daughters love waterslides. A lot.

Read Also: Tips for Vacationing With Kids

They want to race down waterslides. Over and over again. Five stories tall? Even better in their opinion. My husband shares their opinion and also likes to do the toilet-bowl ones. These are the slides that have a steep slide/drop-off and place you into a round bowl where you speed around in a circle. Which means, you are getting dizzy AFTER being in a scary-tight (and dark) waterslide.

And so I did it. No, it was not my preferred activity for that afternoon, but it was something my family wanted to do together. And afterward, I am glad that I did it.  I did manage to remember to hold my nose and not get my sinuses rinsed out with pool water, and I successfully did the toilet-bowl slide without getting too dizzy. All in all, I call that a successful day!

Summing it all up:

A good family vacation, like a good marriage, requires planning to create special memories.  Being alone and doing activities that one person likes is ok for a short amount of time, but being together and doing waterslides (if that is what your family likes) is equally important.

So the next time you’re planning a vacation, step back and plan to make some great memories and adventures. It’s not the location of the vacation that will make memories, it is what you do on a moment-to-moment basis that will make the right difference.

Have you had an amazing vacation? Tell me about it and what made it so special!

  The post What Vacationing as a Family Taught Me about Marriage appeared first on Glowing Still Johanna Galyen.

from WordPress http://glowingstill.com/vacationing-family-taught-marriage/ via IFTTT

[hosman53]

Several Important Tips For Bermuda Snorkeling

By Christine Gray

A number of underwater activities require minimal gear as well as training. As a matter of fact, qualifications do not matter. In most instances, individuals engage in such activities in tropical areas to discover exciting underwater creatures. Choosing gears is not difficult. Travelers often do not prefer to carry gear with them, so they rent upon arrival. For the said activity, you only need the basic ones including snorkel, fins and mask. Do not forget to wear lightweight rash guards especially in warm areas when doing Bermuda snorkeling for you to avoid injuries or even sunburn. On the other hand, wet suits are perfect in cold climates. There are those who prefer to just wear a rash guard since it is a protective clothing in itself. It can be worn under a wetsuit as well since it thin which will help prevent rubbing. A simple bathing suit would work fine too. It cannot be denied that the mask is the most important gear. It should fit properly. Otherwise, their experience will be very unpleasant. Checking its fit is very easy. This can be done by simply pulling the strap out of the way. The next step is to place the mask over the face. The reason behind this is to cover the nose and eyes. People should pick another mask especially if the one they have on does not fit comfortably. You must create a vacuum through your nose and eventually pull your hand away. The fit is not right if it does not stay on your face. It might be necessary for you to try on a couple of masks before you can find the perfect one. If you have visual issues, then you need to spend a little bit more for a prescription mask. The side part of the mask is where the snorkel is typically connected to. It would be best for individuals to purchase one that does not keep excess water. If it does, then they need to check how fit the mouthpiece is. They have to keep in mind that learning how to utilize it will take some time. Practicing in shallow areas would be better, then they can eventually go into deeper areas. The correct use of such can be taught by a salesperson located in Bermuda, UK. One other vital part of the gear is the fin. It has to be flexible but lightweight. There are 2 basic designs available. One slips over the foot, while the other one is equipped with a strap. Those equipped with straps are widely used. This is due to the fact that they can be placed outside the booties in order to protect the feet from any sharp coral as well as sea creatures just like urchins. Prior to undertaking the activity, bear in mind the weather warnings along with the caution coming from the life guards. Have enough presence of mind to recall where the shore or the boat is in case anything happens. You will be allowed to bring an underwater camera in case you wish to record or document the amazing things you will discover. You can capture them and even go through the pictures if you wish to reminisce such experience.

About the Author:

Get a summary of important things to keep in mind when picking a Bermuda snorkeling instructor and more information about an experienced instructor at http://ift.tt/2ovblxi now.

Several Important Tips For Bermuda Snorkeling via Travel Planet http://ift.tt/2peTxVO