#the learning about his powers feels like 7ish

[rayonfrozenwings]

your nyx headcanon was so good please continue with it and put more feysand and nyx using his magic

<3 <3 <3 Aww thanks. It's appreciated. 

So I started my Nyx Headcanons with this post here . 

And then I also write about Nyx’s nicknames for the IC here.

So now I’m up to Nyx as a small child…

He’s very adventurous. 

And hasn’t seemed to have developed fear - whether this is because his parents have protected him so well or because he has the “I’m a big strong illyrian” mentality is yet to be seen. 

Rhys and Feyre haven’t quelled this - they have instead fostered it when he appears to be pushing himself.

Pushing their buttons is a whole different thing and something he is also very good at.

The pushing of buttons is frustrating because he is clever - so They cannot stay mad at him for long.

One example of this was when he chose to fly from one of the top balconies in the main foyer into the chandelier. No one was around and he managed to make it to the large glass light. But once there he developed a sudden fear of falling - the ground below was tile, the stairs seemed too far and he didn’t want to get into trouble or have his wings fail on him - he was only starting to learn to glide. 

So he sat up there looking at the night stars on the ceiling above him and just let his feet dangle. It wasn’t until Rhys went looking for him in a panic that he called out to his father. 

When Rhys asked him what he thought he was doing, Nyx replied with “practising” and Rhys couldn’t really deny that practising was a good thing but perhaps next time they find somewhere less dangerous to do this. Nyx agreed and they walked off to get some dinner. 

Another example of Nyx learning about the world was when Feyre was doing some painting with him, she would often take Nyx to her studio and they would paint together. 

He was always painting on pottery or plates or models, just anything that wasn’t canvas. He once painted another child in the class, turning his blue skin black and adding teeth that stretched right along from ear to ear. Feyre sighed, and sent them to the bathroom to clean up.

After 20 minutes she went to look for them. 

The bathroom was covered in black paint, black handprints on the soap, on the door handle, little black footprints all along the tiled floor because Feyre didn't realise how far they had gone with their special effects makeup. 

Feyre directed them into the corner of the room above a drain and proceeded to pour water on them both from the Ceiling using her magic. She knew Nyx wasn’t nearly as covered in paint as the other Fae he had painted, but she decided a cold shower might encourage him to not do it again. 

The boys sat in a corner wrapped in towels giggling while the lesson continued.

Nyx is clever. Not just smart but clever about how the world works. 

He sees patterns and can sometimes predict the way an argument might go, or the way a stack of blocks will fall, or even which Aunt of Uncle is more of less likely to fall for his pranks. 

Noone is sure when the pranks started, but they continue to escalate. 

It started with sweets vanishing and clues left behind framing various aunts and uncles - Cassian was the Easiest to Frame, he had yet to succeed in Framing Azriel.

One of the most recent pranks involved leaving different family members belongings in other family members rooms. This would instantly have them talking about personal space and what was and wasn’t ok. While this happened Nyx was then able to explore the mansion as he pleased - it was always more fun when no one was with you.

He learned quickly that he needed to let the House of Wind know he wanted to explore alone, none of his pranks ever worked up there. Belongings would return to where they needed to be. Candy would vanish from the shelf in front of his eyes, and until he saw Nesta summon a pegasus from the house Nyx thought it was haunted. 

Nesta told him the secret of the house and that if he was a good biy and kind to the house that the house would be kind back.

Of course Nyx was always kind to the house and started getting presents immediately when he visited and even had secret doors open for him when he was trying to escape someone in his family. 

He loved his family, but alone time was sacred when you were so wanted.

The house was actually the start of him using his magic more. 

While with Mum and Dad he was always watched using his magic, which is fine - but as he became more aware that he might have a lot of power he started to explore it on his own.

He didn't want to hurt anyone, and was scared what it might do

So the House made him a special place.

Deep in the bowels of the house of wind, was a special room, lit with fae light and polished marble walls, light came into the room from a window near the top of the cavern. 

Nyx didn't ask questions but this room was where he started to play with his darkness.

To let it come to him from the shadows, to wrap around himself or the items of furniture. 

He did once obliterate a chair and wasn’t sure how that happened exactly, but the next time he came back the house had remade the room exactly as it was before the incident. 

By the age of 7 Nyx wasn’t sure if he had inherited his mothers magic, sometimes he wondered if it was even possible since she was “made”, but he had definitely inherited his dad’s powers of darkness.

He spoke to the house in his mind and wasn't sure if this was “house magic” or a beginning of some dematai powers, if he mentioned it to his dad then his dad would want to know why he was at the house of wind so much and he didn't really want to share.

He had been having lessons with Rhys since he was a small boy but everything was simple to Nyx, wrapping himself in a warm blanket of darkness was nice, but he needed to explore all sides of his magic.

His dad was also determined to teach him how to read and write as well as learning his numbers telling him that it was an important skill for anyone to learn. Nyx was getting very good at rolling his eyes during these lessons.

In the streets, There had been some weird encounters, whispering behind him or voices shouting out - but whenever he turned he couldn't see anyone looking at him 

he had decided that he would ask his dad how his powers started since he at least grew up with magic - not like mum. It was on his ever growing to-do list.

Next anon wanted some date-night Nyx and another wanted some teenage Nyx…. so prepare for some teenage Nyx Hc’s to come.

Inbox is still open, It just takes me time to get to them <3 <3 

I very much appreciate the love.

[bondsmagii]

I've pretty much never met a Christorian(dorky fucking name but i mean CWC enthusiasts who are primarily observers) who have thought her trolls were in the right, and a lot of the first timeline takes place before 4chan discovery, that happened around Sonichu issue 6 or 7ish. Before then, CWC was already a bad person, being a creep to college girls and especially poor Megan. But I don't think the internet should've been the arbiter of those infractions, with how shit it handles just about everything. Even so, I don't think the trolling got bad-BAD-mindbreaking (except for BlueSpike(fuck that guy)) until the Idea Guys. If they hadn't come around, CWC would not be in jail rn because that crime wouldn't've happened, full stop.

I'm not going to come out here and say that pre-trolling, Chris was an innocent little angel. but I think there's a marked difference between her actions then, when she was much younger and even more inexperienced in social etiquette, and later, when shit was going down bad. for the record, before I go into this and before anyone wastes their time jumping into my inbox to inform me that not all autistic people do this! plenty know how to not be a creep!! -- yes. I know. but some of them do. unless you're Chris Chan (hi), then this does not refer to you. if you still feel personally attacked, I don't want to hear it, because it's simply not what I'm saying and it's not relevant.

there's no way to excuse Chris's creepiness towards Megan, but I think it's important to remember that Chris was very poorly socialised, was being raised by absolutely insane parents, was quite clearly terrorised by her overbearing father and used as a therapist and a crutch for her mentally unstable mother, and on top of all this, she was severely autistic. even one of these things could make socialising something that's going to take effort to learn, rather than something most people learn in increments as they grow. instead, Chris had all these factors working against her, and naturally, as soon as somebody showed even the slightest bit of affection towards her, she latched on hard and it became inappropriate. it's not good, Megan did not deserve it, but it was hardly as though it came out of a place of malice. it was ignorance, and inexperience, and I'm going to admit right up front that I've met and been harassed by people with similar things going on to Chris, including the same kind of writing explicit fanfic/creating explicit art of me. while it's unpleasant and I certainly don't appreciate it, I can at least understand that they fucked up because of a lot of factors that were beyond their control. I don't have to put up with it. I don't have to like them or forgive them. I certainly don't think that they're blameless. but I'm capable of understanding that it was hardly an informed choice, and if they could have healthy and close relationships without all that nonsense, they'd probably choose to. they didn't set out to hurt me. it's not something done for power, or fun, or because they were sadistic abusers. they were creeps, but fucking hell, it was because they had never been taught to properly interact. it's the same with Chris, and that's on her parents and teachers, who let her down countless times, over and over, for her whole childhood and adolescence.

BlueSpike was a fucking insane example of just how far people took it, and thankfully in that respect was somewhat an outlier -- but saying that the trolling wasn't bad before that isn't fair, I don't think. even if these incidents were "worse" as standalones, the constant pressure of being watched 24/7, having wikis and entire websites dedicated to your life and everything about you, and being ridiculed no matter what you do, even if it's perfectly normal? that's bad. that's like, jesus. Chris was basically living in an open panopticon situation where at any point, anyone could come in and find out absolutely anything about her, including her home address. that would be an intensely stressful situation to deal with, especially as Chris's trusting nature was exploited to get some of this information, which then in turn resulted in phone calls/appearances at the house, which then in turn pissed off Chris's parents, who blamed her for it, because technically she had given some of this information away. instead of doing literally anything to prevent this, like stepping in themselves, getting law enforcement involved, or monitoring or even restricting Chris's time online, they just... blamed her, and continued their abuse of her. Chris had no escape; not even her parents were on her side. they were just as complicit in her torment. they knew it was happening and did nothing.

agreed with the whole Idea Guys thing though. I'm still getting to grips with the full ins and outs of it, but it's already very clear to me that they caused the final and irreversible erosion of Chris's ability to tell fact from fiction. I have no idea of the ins and outs of the accusations against Chris, in terms of evidence for or against, but I wouldn't be surprised at any outcome. if she did it, god knows what thought processes had to happen to convince her that it was something she should do -- it could be anything, up to and including them both being reincarnations of fictional characters who used to be dating or something like that. if she didn't do it, I wouldn't be surprised if she had been manipulated into thinking she actually had. god knows her ability to tell what's real is completely gone; I think if you told her she did anything, she would wholeheartedly believe it at this point.

finally, it sickens me that this person is so obviously, brutally mentally ill, likely living in a hell of paranoia and fear and confusion, but because she acted badly people don't want to admit that mental health might be an issue here. people like that need to think long and hard about what supporting the mentally ill actually means to them, because if it only applies to people who don't act in shocking or unpleasant ways, it's not worth shit.

[anothertimdrakestan]

Stay With Me Tim Drake x Reader

Words: 2.6k

This story is kinda inspired by the 2003 Teen Titans episode between Kid Flash and Jinx because it’s my favorite episode and ship ever and I wanted the roles to be reversed with a super smart and powerful female and Tim ofc!

 In an AU where Damian had an older sister who escaped the Al-Ghul family when he was 6-7ish and is now older and has mad tech skills which she uses to steal from the rich and give to the poor as well as some side work for villains!

Part 2

~~~

Having already had your fun in Star City with the Queen family and in Metropolis going after the Daily Planet CEO you had packed up your tech and headed for Gotham. Metropolis had been easy, whatever the DP paid their tech team was clearly not enough because the firewalls they had set up were the ones you practiced with. When you were 12. Star City had been more difficult because another online entity, SMOAK, was trying to follow your path. Sadly for them, they travelled down one of your many Alice In Wonderland traps, if they were actually as dumb as they coded they might still be in there you thought with a smirk.

Gotham was a whole other ball park. Rich CEO’s were constantly interacting in Gotham with nothing but a weak VPN covering their elephant sized accounts with a paper napkin’s worth protection. What was BatBrat and his fun-sized sidekick going to do to you? Unless one of his 5 Robins were an expert hacker you’d have no problem, and that’s assuming they even find out your plan, which is near impossible seeing as they’re vigilantes not billionaires. 

Setting up in a coffee shop was easy, you looked like every other student with a laptop, phone, and tablet and connecting to their server along with the 30 other people in the shop was perfect cover. Hiding in plain sight was something your mother had taught you years ago. Ra’s would find you when you hid but not when he believed you weren’t hiding, just busy somewhere else. 

Before beginning your heist you thought back to your baby brother, constantly beaten and bruised from battle before he could understand what he had done wrong. Leaving him was your only regret, but he was training for a better position than you and you hoped he’d toughen up. Regardless, you spent your years after escaping learning code, battle, or anything else anyone would teach you. Becoming a sponge for information paid off, using your skills now to steal money from the 1% and transfer it to orphanages, hospitals, or anywhere else kids needed help. You were a modern day Robin Hood. Knowing you were saving lives eased the guilt from losing your baby brother, but it pushed you towards greatness.

With the nasty sentimental moment over you began running program after program. Using thousands of perfected commands running across millions of servers you were a grain of sand at the bottom of the ocean, troubleshooting your servers in real time under the cover of a coffee house. You began with common, but low class CEO’s. Making sure your programs were perfect, you auto transferred the first load to Gotham’s Pediatric Hospital as an anonymous donor. Moving on it was time for your biggest feat yet, Bruce Wayne. 

That playboy billionaire did not need all he had, and you assumed he wouldn’t notice you skimming a couple million dollars off the top. He always says he’s big on charity right? Diving in you noticed three of your programs hit a wall, this was a record for you. Groaning you began typing frantically to patch your systems one at a time and made sure to set of lots of traps for anyone trying to follow you.

-- deep in the batcave -- 

“TIM GET DOWN HERE NOW”

Tim raced down, having just caught 4 hours of sleep he was feeling good, hoping for a good mission, but Bruce never called him that aggressively for missions. 

Coming down to see Bruce typing at the BatComputer was not an uncommon sight. Tim came to a halt when he saw about 20 frowning Robin’s as his defense system was falling apart. “Tim excuse my french but what the fuck is happening” Bruce stood up from his seat letting Tim settle in, as soon as he landed his fingers began flying across the screen. “B I’ve never seen a program like this, don’t worry they’re going after Wayne Enterprises not the BatCave but this program is so fast and secure I don’t know if I can figure this one out” Bruce did not get comfort in knowing the hacker was only going after his billions of dollars and not his secret identity. 

A light bulb struck, “B get Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak on the phone, didn’t they get hacked a couple weeks ago- oh! I found a path down let me follow this- go call them!” Tim began coding down a path, until he realized how it was just a little too easy. Knowing his own system had rabbit holes he began running his own program highlighting the thousands of pointless ventures he could get stuck down. Realizing the coding was too advanced for him to access remotely, he gave up defending Bruce's accounts, letting his opponent blaze through his defense systems and began going after the hacker’s physical location. It was a race for who could find the other first, the mystery hacker hunting for Bruce’s offshore accounts and Tim hunting for the hacker themself.

Turns out the Queen’s were no help, Smoak had tumbled down a rabbit hole and spent no time deciphering the whereabouts of the hacker. Damian realized his pet adoption fund was on the line and took to the streets with a reluctant Jason who believed “it’s about time Bruce stops relying on his endless supply of money” while Dick was trying to mother Tim, who did not look well. He was sweating, cursing, and cramping while Bruce spoke to other CEOs who had just lost millions. 

While Jason was questioning his favorite drug lords Damian decided to hit the streets as a jogger, trying to look for anything suspicious and be on the ground ready when Tim found the hacker’s location. While running he saw a familiar face he couldn’t put a name to. She looked focused, typing intently on a tablet then switching back to her laptop, pushing strands of hair out of her face. Damian felt drawn to her, abandoning his original mission to find out her name. 

Not being one for subtleties, Damian padded up to her and stuck out his hand. “Damian Wayne, I feel like I know you. Are you in association with my father?” Your heart skipped a beat looking into the same eyes you’d seen begging for help all those years ago. “Y/N” you replied, wondering if Damian remembered you. His eyes widened as he sat down in front of you. “How. Do. I. Know. You. Y/N” he said it desperately, but you couldn’t give him what he wanted. “My sister and I attend Gotham Academy, she’s in your grade I’m sure you’ve seen me around. It’s nice to meet you Damian but I am totally gonna fail this test tomorrow if I don’t keep studying - I’ve been studying all day!” you plastered a smile to your face hoping Damian was as shy now as he was at 6 years old and that he wouldn’t know everyone in his grade. Damian blinked, shaking off the fantasy playing in his head and nodded, without a word he turned and left. You let out the breath you’d held in the entire interaction and returned to patching, only to notice your opponent had stopped trying to defend Wayne Enterprises. In the few moments you’d been with Damian, your opponent had switched from defense to offense and had probably discovered your location.

“I’ve got him!” Tim cried, making Dick jump about 10 feet in the air. *Where* Damian and Jason asked over comms. “The bastard is on 72nd and Main, at that little coffee shop I always go to!” Tim raced from the chair to his suit, he needed to find this hacker and learn from them capture them.

Realizing your cover was blown you frantically closed your laptop and backed up your tablet and belongings heading out the door, not before you were stopped by three vigilantes. “Going somewhere?” Red Robin asked with a smirk. “Uh- class, I’m late!” you gestured to your backpack. “The smallest Robin spoke up “interesting because when I asked you a few minutes ago you were studying Y/N. That’s the hacker I can assure you” knowing your cover was blown you dropped your backpack and smashed the laptop and tablet, sliding your phone in your bra during the commotion. 

Before you knew it you were locked up,  staring face to face with Red Robin who you assumed was your opponent, the only person in the world to best you. The silence was comfortable. A mutual understanding of the other’s brilliance. Red Robin broke first “how’d you set up the traps, I’ve never seen a program hide it’s own steps like that” you lied using a response that made no sense, testing him.

The 4 other members of the bat family watched in awe as you and Tim spoke in what seemed like a different language. Jason thought it was hot, Dick was scared of you, and Damian was confused. Deciding he couldn’t deduce alone he broke the silence. “I believe Y/N is my sister” Every head spun to him as he explained the bits and pieces of what he could remember. “Why wouldn’t she change her name?” Dick asked. “My grandfather did not want to lock her up and mother simply wouldn’t go after her so we just let her fall into a sea of names” Damian replied staring at you. “Is she mine?” Bruce asked with fear. “I do not know father, but I know she is my blood” and with that Damian entered the cave, typed in the passcode and entered the room with you. 

Falling into his embrace you began tearing up “I did it for you little bro, all these years and you’re running with these dumbasses?” you felt Damian shake, almost as if he was crying, in your arms. “Y/N it’s been so long, why the hacking?” and the two of you began exchanging stories sitting peacefully in the corner of your cell. 

Tim watched every tape from the cell’s camera. He was infatuated with your genius. When Damian felt satisfied with his understanding and began visiting less your time was filled more and more with Tim. Talking in such a deep code no one really knew the relationship the two of you were forming. Fighting turned to teasing, shifting into understanding and developing quickly into flirting. Through just talking about JavaScript you knew more about Tim than anyone in his family and you had to admit, you had some feelings for the boy wonder. 

Tim was head over heels. He brought you food, worked on cases next to you, and begged Bruce to let you out. He was convinced you were good, and with no access to your laptop and tablet you weren’t dangerous. You’d been in their custody for about a month when Tim took his mask off in front of you. Drinking in his appearance you bonded more with him through the wall, slipping in mentions of your changed opinions and desire to cup his face in your hand. 

Absolutely smitten in two months, Tim thought of you as a partner. Damian often visited you and Tim began slipping into your cell to be closer, your relationship blossoming. After gaining the boys trust you began planning your escape. As much as you loved Damian and enjoyed Tim’s company you had a mission to fulfill, live brother or not. Being in the BatCave with your phone meant direct access, and since Tim spent all his time on his laptop next to you, you could discretely encrypt your own code into Tim’s original programming. 

You had a gig for Vandal Savage in a week and with a heavy heart you decided it was time to leave. Not without some flare first though. You convinced Tim to work an all-nighter in your cell that night, spending the night laughing, flirting, and eventually holding hands and playing with eachothers hair. Around 5am you began your plan. “Timmy let's go see the sunrise, I miss the sun please. We should stay in Wayne Manor but I just want to stretch my legs and look at the sunrise with you!” Nearly three months in, Tim was a sucker for you, and as planned, he finally caved. 

Hand in hand you ran out of the cell, skipping, jumping, smiling: freedom felt good. The two of you spent the morning together, you rested your head on his shoulder, fingers intertwined in pure heaven as you watched colors dance on the Gotham skyline. “Y/N I think I really like you” “Tim how? I’m bad, I’m supposed to be in that cell right now and I know you’re gonna make me go back in.” You frowned, trying to feign innocence. “Just a couple more days, Bruce is so close to letting you go! Maybe you can work for our team, I’ve always wanted a partner in non-crime!” Tim smiled from ear to ear, so hopeful and ernst it broke your heart. "You always say your like Robin Hood and I'm Red Robin so we fit perfectly together already!" his eyes gleamed with anticipation and emotion and it took all you had to not come clean with him.  “We’ll see Timmy” with a sigh the two of you fell back into silence before it was time for you to go back to your cage. 

Tim led you down the passage to the cave, you just had to get within 20 feet of the BatComputer to launch the program from your phone. You came down to see Bruce at the computer frowning. “Tim are you seeing this? I think Y/N is doing something - speaking of which how is she? I haven’t checked in a while seeing as you’re always with her. You slid into your cell as Tim sheepishly walked up to the computer. “B what are you talking about she smashed her laptop and tablet plus she’s in the cell, I think you’re being too harsh.” he began typing and saw one of his oldest codes he put on to stop Damian from sneaking out and saw changes to the code. “W-What is this?” you realized it was time to leave and began running your final program. With a click your cell opened and the BatComputer kicked Tim off his own program. “Sorry boys. I’m not ready to be a good guy just yet!” 

With a heavy heart you began your escape, overriding the system that was locking you in the BatCave and running programs to lock all other doors except the ones necessary for your escape so no other Bat Brats could interrupt you. Bruce and Tim began chasing you. As you heard their footsteps nearing you launched the electro-nets the Bats were usually using on villians. Falling to the ground Bruce and Tim looked up at you. Bruce looked disgusted but the look Tim gave you broke your heart. Knowing you were in the clear you moved back to Tim, using the cuffs originally on you to tie him up.

As Bruce writhed on the floor you looked in Tim’s eyes. “Timmy I need you to know all our moments were real. You need to tell Dami I love him. You know I could’ve left months ago but I stayed for you, Tim. I know you’re gonna try to follow me and I hope you do, because this can’t be the last I see of you love bird.” the best goodbye you could give Tim was cupping his face and bringing his lips to yours, this was not part of your plan, but for once you let your heart decide what was important. Feeling Tim kiss you back was all you needed to know this wouldn’t be the last you saw of him. Lingering in his presence you took a deep breath and took off, turning to see Tim fumbling with his cuffs. You broke into a run, not before leaving a message that would stick with Tim for months.

“See you soon Timmy”

~~~

Part Two Here

[marchusburchens]

unrelated fjord thoughts

Growing up in an orphanage means there’s a good chance he didn’t have a securely attached relationship in crucial developmental years (as per attachment theory), which plays a large role in how people form relationships in their adult life, i.e. if you don’t experience consistent unconditional love from at least one reliable figure that you bond with in early development (0-7ish), you don’t necessarily know that’s possible/don’t know how to go about forming that relationship w others later in life

The rest of the group has had that, however (Idk Yasha’s early context, but she seems to have had a home/parents) - where the rest of the group views their story as an inevitable path of getting closer and more supportive of each other (as relationships are supposed to), Fjord likely has no idea that they can/should, like he’s had no idea of what’s been happening already in relationship-building world

He respects/loves Vandran, viewed him as a father figure, but the relationship was characterised as “tough love” - how much did Fjord view that relationship as “Vandran cares about me bc I can pull my weight, follow his instructions, learn from him well” and “being loved/loving someone means you are being Good enough for them”

How much does Fjord believe this specifically of people he wants to emulate/learn from - Vandran and now Caleb, “this person is powerful and cool and I want to be like them and the only way they’ll share their methods is if I demonstrate usefulness”

How will Caleb ever prove him wrong if his primary method of bonding is the cat whom Fjord is allergic to

How much of the “we’re here for you” “we’re following your lead” “this is your mission” refrain from Fjord’s arc didn’t make him feel supported so much as indebted, where he can’t repay that if he’s powerless and in fact would only go further in debt

Which will win in Fjord’s Way of Loving the M9: desperately striving to find a way to keep being useful (e.g. multiclassing) or leaving because it’s better to leave than to be a millstone round their neck

[dallassbga963]

2 Powerful Tips to Help You Choose the Best Dog Food Brand

"My love and passion for animals - Can I tell you how it all began back in the 1980's?

A beloved Pomeranian young puppy was provided to me for my 30th birthday. I named him Tiamo. I desired him to know ""I enjoy you"" every time I said his name although it remained in Italian. He taught me how to love and love animals. Despite the fact that I had adopted 2 cats a few years earlier, Tiamo was the 7 pound marvel that opened my heart.

I learned what it suggested to be accountable for a Pet; the ""parental"" tasks it took to be a remarkable animal owner. The genuine love I experienced was invaluable. My heart grew bigger and larger for pet dogs, felines, all family pets!

I started to observe animals on lots of levels. I even started to follow a vegetarian diet plan, which cause a vegan diet ... all due to the fact that I couldn't consume animals because I connected with them in my heart. (** in current years I incorporated more animal protein into my diet).

Regrettably, I needed to help Tiamo hand down when he was just 13 years of ages. That is on the more youthful side for a little dog. He had a collagen disease which jeopardized his cartilage; this made him age quicker than typical. His body began to 'provide'. It inspired me to take notice of the health of mine and other individuals's pets. Particularly what remained in the food they ate. Animals need our pure attention. I discovered all of us require to educate ourselves the very best we can.

I still had my two cats and another pom (that we adopted from a Pomeranian rescue). Time moved forward and I discovered I became extremely included in the animal world. Pet dog sitting, pet dog walking, rescuing, assisting animals discover a house, learning about much better foods, how corn and other fillers were taken into pet food, and so on

. My caring and compassion is for all living things became more and more obvious.

I have actually been working massage and bodywork, considering that 1983. These (massage and animals) two enthusiasms seemed to weave in and out of each other. I saw that individuals began to count on me for ""responses"" or linking them and developing community for animals. The Holistic care of human beings and animals seemed to compliment one another.

Neighborhoods started to see me as an animal activist in the early 2000's. This amazed me but I happily opened up to it. I was just doing what was in my heart for these sweet animals that couldn't defend themselves. Teaching and operating in my massage and bodywork practice, I likewise began to personally establish a mindful touch for animals, specifically dogs and felines. I believed, if I can do it with human beings, why not the animals? Animals are actually less resistant and more open to the energy exchange.

Now in 2011, my partner and I have a Golden Retriever/Labrador mix who is 16 years of ages and a Chocolate Labrador who is 6 years old; both saves. We embraced Moki, the Golden, when she was 7ish. That is a story for another time. Kona, the Chocolate Laboratory was about 6 weeks old when we saved her from a family that couldn't keep her. We have actually offered both of them a really loving PERMANENTLY home. They belong to our family and consider them in all that we do.

In the past year I chose it was time for me to get out in the world more with Animals, their individuals and the animal world. In 2008, my partner and I relocated to Southern California and needed an assistance group for our pet dogs and us. Remaining in Earthquake area and not always being at house with them through out the day, we established an ANIMAL EMERGENCY SITUATION TEAM in our area, which has actually now expanded to the track of homes we live in Long Beach, Ca.

We are still building upon this principle and it is working well.

All of us have un-foreseen crisis that emerge and it is smart to have a plan. Do you have a strategy in order? I can not motivate you enough! We have a big plastic container with additional canine food, blankets, water, water bowls, deals with and meds.

Did you know that CORN can impact your animals skin and coat? Does your canine have allergies, skin or coat problems? Check the active ingredients. Attempt a NO-GRAIN food. It will most likely disappear. My veterinarian had my 1 years of age, Kona, on prescription antibiotics 3 various times in one year! I altered her food and the skin issue vanished and her requirement for medications. Check your food and know what active ingredients remain in the product.

Pet dogs and cats are extremely adverse corn and other grain filler in business foods. Many Animal foods bulk it up with starchy fillers. A protein filler can be chicken beaks, chicken wings, bones, and so on. Not the real meat of the animal specified in the food. Liver is ok ... as long as they are organic. If you see ""animal digest"" on the label as part of the ingredients, beware. This can suggest there are rendered ""unhealthy or dead"" animals therein. Dead obviously, but indicating that they might be pets that have actually been euthanized at the shelter.

My love for animals deepens every day. I assist individuals all over the nation to feel more connected to their animals, inform about Pets and even aid with finding permanently houses for them. A female all the method across the continent, in CT, composed and asked me what she might do about people dropping undesirable cats at the their barn. I provided her some suggestions that inspired her and, yes, she discovered them houses. That is a terrific feeling to be able to motivate, help individuals and discover options."

[mybravesong]

Week 4

DAY 24 Monday (30th July) We started the day with morning exercise. Here’s a picture of what it’s like in the morning.

Everyone’s half dead. We power walked with Leonie on the bridge under the bridge towards Optus stadium. During quiet time, I asked God for a word and I had the word 'tu' which means you in Spanish and the word dance. 

Jeremiah 31:13 NIV Then young women will dance and be glad, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.

I thanked God for who he is, He brought to mind the lady we walked past on the way to bbt on Sunday and another lady I saw sitting on a bench, downcast. I prayed for healing and for her to personally encounter breakthrough. We went into morning chores, this week for me that is checking fridge for expired food. We’ve started on the weekly topic which is, “Worship and Intercession”.

I had Lunch and lunch duties and straight into band practice! 

^ This is my band! Tavita, Joshua David, Iel, Leonie, Sam, Randi and Sarah!  We finally played the song once through. It was fantastic!! :D Then we had dinner and showered and went to bed. Also handed in my first book report.

 DAY 25 Tuesday (31th July) We started with a fun morning exercise which was Dance Dance Revolution! It was super fun cause we got to dance together and be wacky with one another. I had quiet time and I asked God what He thinks of me and he says kind and gentle. Are u always affirming? He said yes. He also gave me this verse.

Jeremiah 19:3 - about a stiff neck people that did not listen and put foreign gods and idols.

Isaiah 6:10 - about a seedling coming up from a stump.. I RMB praying about it before but I forgot who it was and God says I love you with an everlasting love. He pat my head and said have a good day today.

We went for Morning chores and I asked Kari to be my staff of the week (it’s part of the journal that you have to introduce yourself to a staff and find out their story. After that, we went into Intercession class. Tess was taking about the history and this is what she mentioned:

First wave - 15 century ships Europeans 2nd wave - main land 3rd wave - rise of airlines, unreached places 4th wave - more Christians growing in Asia going into other nations. Focus on ppl on all nations going to nations The theme was to pray for God to send people from nations.

We broke off into groups and I got this verse: Hebrews 12:26‭-‬29 NIV At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”  The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.  Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.” There were a couple of words about fire and about people coming from libra and going into america to preach the gospel. After that, we had lecture, lunch and lunch duties. After that, we had a class on  songwriting. These are the principles they explained.

Principles of song writing 1. Partnering discipline and inspiration together What's God talking about to us, to the nation or the school 2. Hear from God 3. Finish your songs 4. Use the Bible 5. Record your bits 6. Songs from encounters

I finished my 2nd book and went for dinner. Right after, I did my 2nd book report and finished it. Then at 7:30pm we had small group. Sam Hakes spoke on the goodness of God. Definition of goodness - goodness in its truest form is right. Goodness - beneficial, nourishing, a general quality recognised in others. After that we had to do application. 

Application 1. Where are you at with being good I honestly wouldn't say I'm good hahaha just cause we're all not good after the fall but it is through Jesus that we received that righteousness. In loving wise, I think I can be loving haha, providing wise, not as good as I would like.. I try to contribute to my family where I can. Faithful wise, I still have room to grow for that haha. 2. How can u grow more in this character God gave this to me which is to think good thoughts of people. 3. 1 application that u can actually do Write down the person's name and what qualities you love about them 

We did the 5 languages test as well and then went off to bed.

DAY 26 Wednesday (1st Aug) We had no exercise that day but I had quiet time and God was saying to me that I was taking too much time doing and not expounding on relationship. So I asked God to give me the godly grieve for things that break His heart, whether it's unforgivenness, pride, etc. God was talking to me about enjoying relationship rather than doing more things because I had finished my second book report already. I had pride in my heart - look what I have achieved and that's not the way of God. We had morning chores and then we had Missions Morning. It was really interesting cause we got to see what ministries YWAM ran. 

Then we had lecture, lunch, lunch dishes. Then I had a one on one with Abigail and the question I had to think about was - why am I having pride? And how to overcome it? God said to think good thoughts of others and write them down. She also got me to think about strategies to resist temptation. We had dinner and then song and dress rehearsal - Never getting back together and He’s got the power in his hands. I went back to shower and got sick. Started shivering badly, had a fever. My fever broke and I woke up at 1ish. Went to toliets and came back to sleep.

DAY 27 Thursday (2nd Aug) Woke up at 6.30am. Feeling really groggy. Kate gave me cereal and Katie gave me almond milk to go with my cereal for breakfast. Really thankful for them! I had morning chores after. We then had class. We broke into our small groups and talked about where we were for outreach, financially. The verse I got from God was Luke 6:38 give and it shall be given to you. I had the impression to sow into someone’s outreach fees and also an amount for the wireless mic (faith project). We had lectures and after our lunch duties we went to class. We were introduced to Destiny who was teaching us how to prep for our Mexican food fundraiser. After that we went for dinner. After dinner, Matt and I worked on collecting data and finalising the order list while a couple of them were playing jackinthebox(which is really fun btw! everyone should try). I asked Matt to walk me home, went to shower and went to sleep. I woke up at 4am, went to the toliets and sneezed (mucus came out - right side) and I went back to bed again. DAY 28 Friday (3rd Aug) Woke up at 6am and felt like God wanted me to go to base at 6.30 for quiet time. During quiet time, God said I am righteous and holy. But I don't feel that way. I asked if I should give towards someone’s outreach fees that He had laid in my heart the day before and.. he gave the verse Zachariah 6:3 - Then he called to me, “Look, those going toward the north country have given my Spirit rest in the land of the north.” That was a confirmation for me as the person is going North. On top of that, I also asked Him to heal me! And I coughed up thick flam. Took a photo of it in the toliets. Praise God! 

After that we had Music DTS worship, lecture, lunch. During lunch, Cristine approached me about doing a testimony about what we’ve been learning throughout the DTS and I said YES o-o! Had lunch duties and I went to accounts to submit my funds into the person’s outreach fees and faith project. I had wanted to go during lunch duties but Alex rebuked me (thank you Alex). I had to come to terms with my reaction and I asked God to forgive me and rebuked the spirit of pride. I decided to send in my funds via bank transfer instead and got them sent out. 

After that, they spread out a map across the auditorium and got us to intercede in prayer over the whole earth.

After that, Matt and I started prepping for the Deliveroo with Destiny (Mexican food) and Karen (a girl I had met previously in the school of arts gave me a sneakers bar (so sweeet!) We had the burrito run. 

It went well, I think we managed to raise a good amount. But right after that, we had service and I felt like I didn’t quite prepare well for it. But lol God gave me the courage and I spoke. It seemed like a lot of people found it funny haha Praise God for that. Went back to the dorm after and started doing my weekly journal! My bunk mate, Sarah encouraged me about genuineness and boldness of authority in prayer that I’ve been having! God is so good!

DAY 29 Saturday (4th Aug) Leonie, Iel and I spent the morning on our journals. We finished them and went for lunch. After lunch, my baby sisters came to pick me up for a sister outing. We went to the pharmacy to get me some meds and then we hung out at yagan square and had a long chat! <3 It was fun!

We then went to Cristine’s place for the pizza party. 

It was a lot of fun but I was so tired! xD After that, we went back to 228, showered and the girls had a movie night thing. We watched 10 things I hate about it. Brings back so many memories!

DAY 30 Sunday (5th Aug) I woke up at 1.57am cause God was speaking to me and I wanted to write it down. 

God reminded me that His love covers a multitude of sin. I had a picture of Leonie holding tea and stating a different view. Someone who had a very different opinion and then everyone still gathered  round them I think I got the bible verse Isaiah 53 something... I’m not quite sure I couldn’t rmb it. He also gave me a revelation. His love is enough. God celebrates our differences. God loves therefore we must love too. Prayed for unity.

I went to sleep and woke up at 7ish to visit Riverview Church. Low and behold. The pastor was preaching about having the right posture or heart and He was talking about James 4:8 (which so happens to be the jumper I was wearing today! And at the end, he mentioned that He is enough! And it was totally crazy cause that was what God was speaking to me about this morning! I loved that confirmation! Praise God for that. Draw near, less talking, more doing. His presence is enough, God is enough!

I came back after and just chilled on my bed for a bit. Feeling extremely tired today! Ate lunch and just worked on getting this journal up! :D

[justineabrugena]

Dear 2017, Thank you but screw you!

It’s that time of the year again when people start to reflect everything that happened in the past year. You, my dear 2017, have been marvelous and yet dreadful at the same time. With you, I took one step forward however the world seemed to take two steps back. Perhaps, all the ugliness you have showed me was not meant to extinguish my spirit and idealism, rather to emphasize the beauty and hope in the smallest of things. I’ll look at it this way, otherwise I’ll go insane.

Despite all the progress that our modern world has made, we have witnessed a return to dark, medieval, and barbaric values and principles with you. Your predecessors have managed to build foundations and structures that positively support climate change, human rights, anti corruption & good governance, democracy, justice, and peace. Yet, my dear 2017, you have managed to put these foundations into shambles. We saw the most ignorant of world leaders make stupid decisions: from backing out of a climate change instrument to adding fuel to the fire of the Israel-Paestine conflict. We saw populist and extremist leaders elected all over the world, most particularly in a region that was priding itself as the vanguard of democracy and diversity.We saw the shift of public opinion and sentiment from pro-migration to anti-refugee, from open arms to closed and securitized borders. Xenophobia is gaining traction and rooting itself in the deepest of masses of people. There’s been no change in Aung San Suu Kyi’s hypocrisy and silence on the plight of the Rohingya people. The war in Syria shows no signs of stopping. Millions of people are displaced forcibly, or worse, killed. Oh don’t get me started on the events in Libya where migrants are being sold as slaves (Really? Slaves in this modern day and age. The world is really returning to barbaric times!).

In my own country, a war is being waged against the poor and vulnerable under the guise of “war on drugs” by the leader who campaigned and promised to protect the Filipino people make the country great. Our legal victory, the victory of the integrity of our republic, about the disputed territories against China was thrown out of the window. Instead, I see a country led by an administration deeply indebted to the China. I feel like we sold ourselves to the devil. Even the peace talks with the leftist rebels of my country crumbled to dust when you came in, my dear 2017. We were so hopeful in the beginning, we thought: “Finally! someone from Mindanao, who understands what is at stake for the country, for the people, he will help us cement the peace and end decades of rebellion.” That was until our perceived supreme savior showed his true colors. Perhaps, he did want to change the system, but as far as we are concerned, the system did not change for us, but for him, his family, and his friends. It was just basically a transfer of power from the ruling capital-based oligarchs and political families, to another political family from the south of the country. During my time with you, I saw innocent children and young adults die, not just in my country, but all over the world. 

Although to be fair, you weren’t all that bad. Good things also happened during our time with you: scientific advancements; people standing up against oppressive regime; LGBT+ rights recognition (in some countries); Angela Merkel’s re-election and her stepping up as the leader of the Free World (sorry US of A but the crown now belongs to Germany);  the election of Katrin Jakobsdottir, Iceland’s new PM who’s an anti-war feminist and environmentalist; ordinary people doing good deeds for vulnerable people; Prince Harry and Meghan Markle getting engaged (I’m a fan of both of them so I consider it a really good thing) and many more.

With you, my dear 2017, I managed to cross several things off my bucket list, traveling and studying in Europe. I was one of the lucky ones, I guess. I managed to go outside of my comfort zone, experience new place, new life, alone. I learned to stand on my own two feet.  You’ve helped me grow professionally and personally. It’s during this time that I met a bunch of wonderful people that have inspired me to strive to be better.

Meeting my peers from all over the world was amazing and it wouldn’t have happened without you, my dear 2017. It is through them that I come to a realization that fools running a government and a country are not just unique to mine. That each and everyone of us were experiencing darkness in our own ways. Still, darkness does not make us afraid. If anything, it makes us more determined to persevere. I met a diverse group of people who wants to make a world a better place, people who are full of light in a world filled with darkness. They give me hope for the future. The adults leading today might be making all the wrong decisions, but we — the next generation of young adults — are just bidding our time, observing, taking notes, recording, learning, and strategizing on what we can do for a better tomorrow.

Yes, you have given me, given us, a learning experience. You’ve taught and shown us many things we’ll never forget and will be placed in history books. I’d like to say thank you for the many memories and wisdom but also, I can’t wait to get rid of you. I’m excited to meet your successors, 2018, 2019… We’re ready to fight back, to forge a new path little by little, year by year, so that we can build back the progress that was broken this year and more.

With love,

-J

P.S. Here are some snapshots and highlights from my 2017

(European Master in Migration and Intercultural Relations) EMMIR Cohort 7 class after first semester final presentation

The last Navigating EMMIR Session for the first semester

Some EMMIR girls enjoying the elevator at building A4. LOL

Our research group enjoying the Christmas Market at Bremen after doing fiel work (Yung totoo, ito yung dahilan bakit ako sumama, hindi dahil sa field work. Char!)

Our research group with Dr. Aki Harima from the University of Bremen telling us successful entrepreneurship stories of refugees

EMMIR students listening to a lecture in Czech republic

EMMIR Cohort 7 students  leaving a mark at Prague’s Lenon Wall

EMMIR Cohot 7 students at the subway in Prague.

EMMIR Cohort 7 students’ first meal of the day at (7ish PM), after being stranded and trying to find a train back to Germany from Prague

Snaps from EMMIR Cohort 7 Bremerhaven Trip

Snaps from EMMIR Cohort 7 Bremerhaven Trip

EMMIR Cohort 7 Class (incomplete?)

Snaps from EMMIR Cohort 7 Bremerhaven Trip

Celebrating the end of the Intensive Phase with our working group supervisors

Snaps from EMMIR Cohort 7 in Cesky Krumlov (UNESCO World Heritage Site)

We’re cool, so what?! LOL (Actually, may di kanais nais na amoy, kasi nasa labas kami ng abandoned na pabrika)

Snaps from EMMIR Cohort 7 Prague Trip

First EMMIR Cohort 7 get-together/ Cohort 5 graduation party? 

EMMIR tours Oldenburg with Arrival Cities activity

On Wednesdays, we wear stripes.

I’m one of the recipients of Erasmus Mundus Scholarships!

My family celebrates with me before I leave PH

Ateneo friends celebrating with me before I leave

HS friends celebrating with me before I leave

One of the first things I did after arriving, group video call with this crazy bunch who helped we survive Ateneo and do Adulting101

With little sister before they dropped me off at the airport

Fam dropping me off at the airport

Ateneo friends celebrating with me before I leave

2017 wouldn’t be complete without my Green Bulb PR Team!

2017 wouldn’t be complete without my Green Bulb PR Team!

Of course, 2017 is not complete without meeting Atom Araullo in person

2017 wouldn’t be complete without my Green Bulb PR Team!

Our memorable trip at Montemaria and encounter with Boss Joel and family

Photos from my last day at Green Bulb PR.

[incursionofthedamnedrpg]

Charlie Fell Accepted! You know the drill, Macs!

Name: macs

Age: 18

Timezone: est

State an account where we can message you: this one!

How active you’re going to be: 7ish

How did you find out about this roleplay? i’m in it!!

Why do you want to play this character? i’ve been fiddling with the idea of charlie for a really long time now, and since molly’s dead it’s the perfect time to pick her up B)

Anything else you would like to tell us? love me pls

IC:

Preferred Ships: chemistry pls

Sample para: RFP.

Name: Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Fell Birthday: 22 (September 24) Species: Untriggered Werewolf Lookalike: Troian Bellisario Availability: Taken

Personality

Like most who carry the werewolf gene, Charlie is certainly prone to an angry outburst when she’s adequately provoked. She works hard to keep that side of herself in check, but she has been known to snap at people or even throw a punch or two when she’s particularly stressed out. Growing up with high expectations from her parents and a golden child for an older sibling turned Charlie into quite the perfectionist, and she spent most of her educational career trying to live up to her older sister. She’s a textbook cynic, and though she doesn’t feel the need to impress her views onto the optimists in her life, there’s not much anyone can do to change her pessimistic point of view: she’s far too stubborn. Despite this, she doesn’t like burdening others with her problems. She can complain with the best of them, but when it comes to real issues, she tends to play those much closer to the vest, and you’ll be hard-pressed to change that behavior.

Past

Mystic Falls is a town full of secrets, and Charlie should know: she was conceived of quite a few of them, and raised into even more. She was born the kid sister of Meredith Fell, who’d been born almost a decade before her. Unbeknownst to them, they didn’t share the same father, as their mother had conducted an affair with a business associate that resulted in Charlie’s conception. Allison Fell told her husband, Patrick, about what she had done, but the two of them kept the truth from their daughters in hopes it would make their childhoods easier. Hailing (at least seemingly) from one of Mystic Falls’ founding families came with a fair number of perks, but those were joined by even more responsibilities. Both Fell sisters found that out very early on in life, but only one of them seemed to be able to maneuver it easily. While Meredith handled the Fell name with dignity and ease, Charlie had a bit more trouble. Charlie had no problems with socializing, but keeping the perfect grades, the perfect social life, and doing it all with the perfect smile took a toll on her from an early age. She was a bright student and truly enjoyed learning, but the constant pressure slowly began to suck all the joy out of her education.

Watching her sister navigate it all without a hitch certainly didn’t help, and as a result, Charlie developed a rather cynical attitude towards life. If anything, that cynicism made managing her anger an even more difficult task. She was never good at keeping it in check, and as a result, ended up in several fights at school. It was always Charlie’s assumption that her anger was a result of the pressures that came with fitting in, but after a particularly bloody fight her sophomore year, the truth was revealed to her by her parents. The world of the supernatural was real, and a lot closer to home than Charlie had been expecting: her biological father possessed the werewolf gene, which meant that Charlie did as well. Her anger issues were a result of that, and more importantly, if she couldn’t keep them in check, she would turn into a monster. The very idea terrified her, so she secretly began to see a therapist in order to better deal with the anger that had the power to change her life.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t seem to apply the therapy to the rest of her life, and soon there wasn’t even a temporary relief in success: it only seemed to lead to a whole other slew of tasks that she would have to complete because Meredith had done so well before her. As her plate of responsibilities began to overflow, she turned to prescription pills. They were never a permanent solution, but they managed to ease the weight of the world off her shoulders, if only for a few hours. The behavior continued all the way into college, and things finally came to a head right before her graduation, when a night of booze and pills led Charlie to take a harrowing tumble off a third floor balcony of one of Whitmore College’s fraternity houses. She didn’t fall alone, though: in her panic, she grabbed another partygoer’s wrist, and the two ended up in the hospital. The doctors promised Charlie a full recovery, but the girl she had dragged along with her had a longer fight ahead of her. Things were touch and go for a while, and it was weeks before Charlie stopped expecting her werewolf curse to take effect, but by some miracle both girls made a full recovery.

Present

After her graduation, Charlie swore off drugs and alcohol for good, checked herself into a rehab facility in Pennsylvania, and spent almost an entire month there while she detoxed and recovered. In order to keep from their name being tarnished the Fells buried the incident at Whitmore, and led the rest of the town to believe she was simply continuing her initial plan of backpacking through Europe: they even went so far as to forge postcards and pin them to their fridge. This caused considerable friction between Charlie and her parents once she was released, as she was intent on atoning for her actions. She did follow the rehab facility’s advice and take a gap year, deciding to search for a job instead of starting law school, but besides that, she stayed true to her parents’ wishes. When she finally returned to Mystic Falls, she would pretend all was right with the world, just like the secret-keeping founding family member she had been raised to be.

Connections

Meredith Fell

Older half-sister. Charlie loves Meredith, but can’t help feeling jealous of her sister’s seemingly perfect life.

James Reid

Charlie was one of James’ patients while she was in high school. She doesn’t know that he carries the werewolf gene as well, but she still considers him trustworthy. He is one of the few in town that knows what she struggles with.

Henrik Mikaelson

One-night stand. The two hooked up on her first night back in town, but she doesn’t know much of anything about him or who his family is.

[corneliussteinbeck]

GGS Spotlight: Marcie Sislow

Name:   Marcie Sislow Age: 39 Location: Seattle, WA

What does being a Girl Gone Strong mean to you? It means being unafraid to live in your own skin! Discovering my own strength increased my self-confidence and has helped me to be a better role model for my daughter. I believe being self-sufficient is empowering, being confident in your imperfections is freeing, and being able to move with a healthy body is a privilege. My mantra is mindful, attainable strength. It’s something that I strongly strive to achieve every time I train myself or others. It’s a state of mind, and it’s a movement! In today’s busy life we need to be ever more present in our daily activities, and that includes training. Being mindful,present, and truly showing up connected with your body is as important as your fitness journey.

Attainable strength is something that we can all strive to achieve. It takes dedication, consistency and most importantly a support system. Girls Gone Strong has been my support system!

How long have you been strength training, and how did you get started? I’ve been consistently strength training for the past five years. It all started after the birth of my son who is turning six this year. My turning point came in the fitting room of one of my favorite clothing stores. I was about eight months postpartum. After I had a full on meltdown and cried in the fitting room while nursing this new baby, I decided to take control of the situation and do something about it. I went home that night and did an internet search for at-home fitness. One of the first things that caught my eye was an ad for a kettlebell DVD. I had no idea what a kettlebell was, and I wanted to learn more. My search led me to Neghar Fonooni. After contacting her, I started online coaching and quickly fell in love with kettlebells and strength training.

What are your areas of expertise in health and fitness? I’ve always been a sporty kid. I played soccer, ran cross country in high school, and ran a half marathon back in the day. For a little over three years, I worked as a paramedic in Chicago while I finished my degree in exercise science. After graduation, I decided I wanted to add some more skills, and went on to become certified in massage therapy through the Cortiva Institute of Massage in Chicago. Today, I am a proud SFG-1 Instructor, RKC Instructor, Onnit Foundations coach, and lover of all the tools in the toolbox! I tend to gravitate towards unconventional training because it’s fun!

What does your typical workout look like? It depends on what I’m working toward at the time, but on a typical day I start with some mobility work, and I usually start my sessions with a couple sets of Turkish get-ups and light swings. Currently I’ve been doing three or four total-body, strength-focused days with some kind of metabolic finisher during the last five to ten minutes of my session. Variations of the deadlift, squats, chin-up practice, military press, and swings are some of my favorite things to train. As far as a finisher, my favorite right now is a Tabata of 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest for eight rounds. I’ll throw in whatever I’m in the mood for that day.

Sometimes I stick to the plan, and sometimes I don’t I think it’s important and just listen to what my body is in the mood for that day.

Favorite Lift: Two of my favorites moves are the deadlift, because of the booty gains and the KB Turkish get-up. The get-up is one of those moves that engages your whole body, and it almost feels like a beautiful piece of choreography. It’s like a dance with your kettlebell. It’s graceful and powerful all at the same time!

Most memorable PR: Crushing my snatch test for the SFG and RKC! I completed my test by snatching 100 reps in five minutes with a 16kg kettlebell. The last two minutes of the test took absolutely everything I had, but I wanted to finish what I started so badly that I was nearly in tears at the end! Besides being physically challenging, it was such an emotional journey for me because I had been training for this and trying to get to that finish line for quite sometime. It felt amazing to finally accomplish something I had been working toward for so long.

Top 5 songs on your training playlist:

So What’Cha Want/Beastie Boys

W.O/Ministry

Strobe/deadMau5

My Own Summer(Shove it)/Deftones

Gasolina-DJ Buddah Remix/Daddy Yankee,Lil John,Pitbull

Top 3 things you must have with you at the gym or in your gym bag:

Sling Shot Hip Circle I use it to activate my glutes as well as in my dynamic warm up

Bose wireless headphones

EO Everyone Baby Wipes for those post-training wipe downs

Do you prefer to train alone or with others? Why? Alone. Training is a chance to shut off the world and get in my own head. It’s my zen! With two kids, my home life is far from quiet. I crave that alone time where I can blast my angry music, smash some weights, and not think about anything other than the lift.

Best compliment you’ve received lately: I was at my favorite coffee shop(El Diablo in Seattle) recently when a very fabulous man came up to me and asked me if I was wearing fake lashes. I said no, just wearing mascara. He then waved his hand in the air and said “YAS Queen…SLAY girl….you are blessed!” The thing about that morning was that I wasn’t feeling very fabulous, and I was battling some negative voices in my head. That one minute interaction with this stranger totally changed the way I was feeling. In that moment my attitude totally changed, and I went on with my day with a better attitude. When in doubt……slay, girl!

Most recent compliment you gave someone else: The most recent compliment I gave was to my daughter. I told her that her curly hair was looking extra fabulous. It totally made her morning!

Favorite meal: Does dessert count as a meal? Hmmm….Pizza, pancakes, and pie…oh my!

Favorite way to treat yourself: A cup of chamomile tea at night in my favorite robe, with my lavender heating pad wrapped around my neck… total #grandmastatus happening at my house. I also love getting regular massage and a mani-pedi.

Favorite quote: “Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light!” — Dylan Thomas

Favorite book: I haven’t really read for pleasure in quite sometime, which is something I’d like to change. The last book I enjoyed was Born Survivors by Wendy Holden.

What inspires and motivates you? My kids, Sophia and Trent. They are fearless and care-free little humans. They inspire me to charge into the world fearlessly and confidently. As we grow up, we tend to lose that care-free attitude toward life. We stop questioning, and we stop wandering. We are raising our kids to question everything and to never be afraid to wander and get lost in the world. How are you supposed to find yourself if you never truly lose yourself in the first place?

What do you do? I’m a kettlebell coach, mom, wife, and personal trainer. At one point in my life I considered myself to be a professional booty cleaner but thank goodness those days are no more!

What else do you do? I love trying new things, I’ve only been in Seattle for the past three years, so there is still so much to explore! I enjoy taking long walks, paddle boarding, eating all the things, and am pretty darn good at making pottery. I also love making potions and lotions! In another life I must have been a healer or a medicine woman, since I have a strong connection with plants, herbs, and homeopathic medicines. I love making healing tinctures and syrups, herbal soaps, soothing salves for those callused hands, and loads of other medicinal concoctions.

Describe a typical day in your life: Depending on the day…

5:15 — Wake up. 6:15–7:15 — Teach my kettlebell class. 7:15–9:20 — Head back home and drink my coffee in silence before getting the kids up and starting our morning. Breakfast is made, backpacks are packed, then I walk my kids to school. 10ish — Head back to the gym get my own training session in, and depending on if I’m teaching another class, I hang out till after. If not, I head back home. 12ish — Lunch, laundry, house stuff 1:30–3ish —  Work on business development, write programs for clients, catch up on emails, etc. 3:30 — Pick up kids from school. 4–6 — After-school activities, homework with the munchies. 6–7ish — Dinner and clean-up 7–8ish — Hang out, family time 8ish — Put the kiddos to bed. 9–10ish — Relax! Watch my trash TV, with my cup of tea and my lavender heating pad, then bedtime!

Your next training goal: What’s next for me is getting jacked before I hit 40 this year! I’m going big, and I’ve started the Bigness Project from my friend and fellow GGS Kourtney Thomas and GGS Advisory Board Member Jen Sinkler. I’m really loving the change of pace and the change in training tools, and I’m excited to see what the end of the journey will bring!

What are you most grateful for? I am most grateful for my health! A few months ago I had a severe vertigo attack that landed me in the ER. It was so violent that I thought I was having a heart attack! Fast-forward through many trips to the doctor, meds, and finally seeing my naturopath. I was diagnosed with Benign Paroxysmal Vertigo. It completely floored me for months. I was bedridden and just the simple task of walking my kids to school became the most difficult challenge of the day. Training and teaching were out of the question, when I couldn’t look up or look down without getting severely dizzy. This humbling experience taught me to slow down and really listen to my body. I had been juggling too much for so long that my body had finally said enough!I’m starting from scratch with my training, but I can finally do deadlifts and Turkish get-ups without feeling queasy. My strength is slowly coming back but I’m just grateful to be able to do what I love again!

Which three words that best describe you? Outgoing. Bubbly. Annoyingly happy.

What’s the coolest “side effect” you’ve noticed from strength training? One of the best side effects of strength training is being able to lift my kids however and whenever I want. They’re getting big, and I can still keep up. Also, I love my friends call me when they need help lifting anything heavy.

How has lifting weights changed your life? It’s definitely made me more confident and has opened the doors to be able to teach others what I’ve learned along the way. I feel so lucky to be able to do what I love each and every day.

What do you want to say to other women who might be nervous or hesitant about strength training? In today’s busy society, we make ourselves the very last priority, when in fact, we should put ourselves at the top of our list. Do it! We only get this one life, this one body, to truly discover our inner and outer strength. We are given these amazing vessels.

What a shame to go through life without ever really knowing what you’re capable of!

All professional photos by Paolo Sanchez. Location FUELhouse, Seattle, WA

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The post GGS Spotlight: Marcie Sislow appeared first on Girls Gone Strong.

from Blogger http://corneliussteinbeck.blogspot.com/2017/04/ggs-spotlight-marcie-sislow.html

[thesixweekseeker]

Road to Hana

(1/26-1/27/17)

 The “Road to Hana” is on every must-do list for Maui, so I was not about to have some major FOMO and miss out on this trip. My best bud and his dad love it up there so they happily obliged and became my unofficial tour guides.  Since it’s about a 3-hour drive from where we are, we woke up at 5am to get a head start on the “tourists” and the sunrise. Since I was with these two experienced locals, I earned the shotgun spot, and just sat back and was prepared to soak it all in.  

For starters, the drive itself is like an amusement park ride (which is totally my jam).  As you drive along a road made for one car (not two), with tons of opportunities to meet another car head on around every curve, and also throw in the chance landslide encounter (one had just occurred a day or so before we arrived)… it becomes a windy little thrill ride.  Hands in the air like you just don’t care.

Luckily we made it unscathed to the first stop on our tour: Wai'anapanapa Beach, aka Pa'iloa Beach, aka Black Sand Beach.  A quick walk down the path takes you to a beautiful beach with (you guessed it) black sand.  The black sand was created by a lava flow several hundred years ago and the proper name of Wai'anapanapa translates into “glistening water” which is very evident from the pictures below.  It wasn’t really swimmable so we took a path above and alongside the beach to get some stellar views over the cliffs.  We weren’t sure how far the path went, but we walked about 0.5 miles in and got some of these views below.  Maybe next time we will go on a little Lewis and Clark expedition for the full mile and see what we find.

 En route to our next highlight, we made a quick pit stop at Hana Farms.  Although there is no shortage of fruit and coffee stands on the Road to Hana, this one may be the winner.  The women behind the stand were super friendly and answering all of our annoying “what’s in this” questions with an extreme amount of patience as we were trying to decipher what was Six Week approved. Unfortunately their Macadamia Nut Banana Bread “voted best in Hana for years” was not on the approval list so I can’t weigh in on that ruling.  We did get the green light on their Macadamia Nut Pesto Hummus and that did not disappoint (includes everything the name says plus some basil and olive oil).  They also have a ton of homemade goodies including dried exotic fruits and jams, holistic healing goodies and a very legit coffee bar.

 Moving on to our next beautiful beach: Kaihalulu Beach (known as Red Sand Beach).  If I wasn’t with my local tour guides, I would not have been able to find this beach … and that’s the way they like it.  It was a slightly intimidating walk down to the beach and we almost saw a guy bite it over the cliff, so make sure to wear something besides flip flops and get off your phone and focus.  

When you get to that first lookout over the beach, it’s absolutely stunning. Picture huge red cliffs, beautiful red (ish) sand, clear teal water, naked people… wait, say what?

So yes, it’s a clothing optional beach (which I fully support) and I’ve experienced my fair share living in SF.  My only issue is it seems like it’s always the LAST person you want to see naked… and I’m just wondering when do I get the Kelly Slater look-a-like who wants to throw his board shorts to the wind and sit next to me versus “this guy”?  

Anyway, I had to do a quick conference call there, so I tried to go around to a little side pocket so I could avoid the distractions.  However, my new friend just decided to pull up his laptop next to me in his birthday suit and jump on his conference call to discuss philosophy and politics.  Go ahead and also cue two dogs stopping right in front of me to fully (and I mean fully) get it on, with the owner (topless chic) running towards me to try and stop it.  My conference call obviously went well.

Pepper is clearly vibin’ with this beach.

After an exhausting day of sitting at beautiful beaches in perfect weather, we decided to go set up shop at our campsite. We went to Haleakala National Park on the Kīpahulu side (one of two drive-up camping options in the park) and got the best spot (IMO) in the very back away from everyone, but still close enough to get a great view of the water.  The campsite was small with no frills but it was completely surrounded by wonderful scenery.  If you have a Wrangler, Golden Retriever, hammock and a pop up tent – go chill here for three days.  (Three days is the max number of nights they allow at once and I guess you don’t need a Wrangler and a Golden – I just assume everyone wants the same things that I do.) 

 While at the campsite, I learned how to make a version of Huli Huli (turn turn) Chicken – which was delish.  I also became very campfire savvy and learned that you can wrap sweet potatoes up in foil and put them right in the coals and you can also put a whole can of green beans on the grill and cook them straight up.  (You didn’t know that either.)  We walked off our din by taking a little stroll to see the sunset and I knocked out “The Power of Habit” by Charles Duhigg - GREAT book and very applicable for The Six Week. 

 I had some conference calls that next morning and I was able to walk down and take one right as the sun was rising – and it was hands down one of the best I’ve seen.  It was a moment where I realized that I was “in my office” working watching all of this unfold, and it made me beyond grateful for the choices that led to that present moment.  (Side note: you will learn that I geek out over the following: sunrise, sunset, waterfalls.)  

We decided after sunset that we would get a jump start on the Pipiwai Trail to go see some waterfalls.  Go early (7ish) as it starts to get crowded by 9/10am.  The hike is roughly 5 miles round trip but it doesn’t even feel close to that.  Your hiking highlights include:

A massive banyon tree..

A view of Makahiku Falls ...

A trek through an enchanted bamboo forest ....

And the grand prize… Waimoku Falls.  

 My friend’s dad was talking to us about the vortex right above the waterfall.  He said there were only two in the world (here and in Africa) and it was meant to have vast spiritual powers and healing energy.  I did some quick research and it says this area is the Global Fire Vortex. This is said to govern liberty and they recommend coming to this space to meditate (during the Aries new or full moon) on fire, liberty and purpose.  I’m not sure what all I buy into, but there is definitely something very special in that space.  I instantly felt a complete calm rush over me and it was very therapeutic in a way.  

I could have and would have stayed there all day … but somebody had to go find her pot of gold.

 After we got back from the hike, we decided it was tear down camp time, and we were going to venture the rest of the way around the island – Venus Pools would have to wait until the next Hana trip.  My bud made us stop at the Coconut Zen Cave on our way back, and if if you met the owner and saw his space, you would too.  I learned how to crack open a coconut and use a machete for the first time and somehow all appendages are still intact.  Also, putting some Tahitian lime juice (his recommendation) in the coconut water IS amazing and it makes a huge difference.

 The ride back home from Hana was one of the highlights of the trip.  I was surprised to learn that most people don’t go around the backside of Haleakala, they just head back the same way they came.  “They say” the backside is more dangerous to drive on and less visually appealing, but I thought both claims were false.  I mean, there were definitely a few “we might die here” spots during the ride back, but alas, I live another day to write another blog.  

 You need to make sure to save some room for lunch on your drive back so you can hit up Ulupalakua Ranch Store.  Since they were fresh out of elk (the go-to choice) we had lamb and venison burgers, but don’t worry, we had those wrapped in lettuce wraps so TSW approved.  After lunch, I convinced the crew to drive around the West Maui Mountains instead of the normal way home through town. It adds an extra 45 minutes but well worth the drive as the views are gorgeous – reminds me of some of the North Shore in Kauai.  

 We made the complete figure eight loop of Maui within 48-hours and that final day I was able to watch an epic sunrise in Hana, hike to a stunning 400-foot waterfall in Haleakala Park and get home just in time to end with a beautiful sunset in Kahana.  Like I mentioned above, geek out central with those things, so all three in a row = my favorite day in Maui so far.