#to sleep on my friend’s couch for 5.5 hours

[junewild]

i have an EXIT ROW with an EMPTY SEAT. this is luxury. i am basically in first class

[genyawritesshizz]

A Hum of Time. Toshinori Yagi x Reader

Part 6

-Technically 5.5, shorter chapter

Summary: An innocent relationship between two workaholics could not possibly be that eventful. Just two individuals finding comfort within each other's company and the occasional cup of coffee. What happens when a secret that could ruin both of their careers brings the whole thing crashing down? In a heart wrenching decision, you must do what is best for all three of you and brave the future alone. Will you ever tell the truth? You might not have a choice. Amidst the fallout an opportunity arises, one that could perhaps benefit them all. A coup to send All Might into retirement once and for all flourishes amidst unsuspected old friends.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

If you want to check this out on AO3 lemme know, ill drop the link in the comments

3272: word count

With a deep sigh, Toshinori could remain silent no longer. Waiting for Chiyo to step out, for he knew the older woman would forbid him from transforming after such exertion, his guilt prevailed through stain.

 As the hours ticked by and the sun long casted down behind the hill at which the school rests atop, the moment of opportunity presented itself as she ventured into the hallways. Glancing to his prodigies bedside wary of objections, the young man slept soundly. With a puff of smoke and fatigued muscles straining All Might emerged. 

Approaching tightly drawn walls with a deep sigh, a labored stretch of his smile and clearing his throat as to announce his presence he prepared to face the emotionally vulnerable mother beyond. 

However, the moment thin fabric slid within his grasp his mind felt fuzzy.

“Sleep” 

Catching a peek through pulled barriers as his mind hazed, though the two figures within blurred the faint sight made his heart drop…

‘(Y/N)?’

Ending credits rolled and a quieted theme song jingled throughout the silenced room. Wrapped snugly within each other's embrace, sleep tugged at the edges of tired bodies. It had been months since time had allowed such a night, savoring every second spent together neither wished to depart.

“We should go to bed my love, it's getting late.” 

“You go ahead, I’ve got a couple emails I should check up on be-” 

“It can wait. Please Toshi.” Grabbing his hand and pulling him away from the couch he could not refuse.

 Led to your shared bedroom you sat him atop cooled sheets. 

Though dark, the seldom moonlight allowed gazes to meet, seemingly glowing cerulean swam with admiration looking up to the woman before him. Cherished and dear to his heart, he would never grow tired of such a sight. 

‘Beautiful’

A gentle thumb slid over the hollow of thinned cheekbones and down to his jawline. Wandering further, to massage the tense muscles of his neck and dip under the neckline of his shirt to brush over protruding bones of his vertebrae. A sensual shiver of ecstasy ran through Toshinori with each swipe of warm fingertips and an almost silent sigh had his head lulling back. A now familiar yearn grew hot within tightening trousers. His palms outstretched, holding your hips within their wide grasp, fingers squeezing into the supple flesh of your behind.  Lowering over the loose fabric of his collared shirt, you carefully undo each button as they pass. The wide expanse of his chest presented itself, mindful of his scar, your expedition continued. 

Both sets of hands grew hungry, though unrushed, as clothes drifted off, discarded to the floor for further exploration. Basking in the soft touches of the other, the need to be closer pulled you in.

Climbing on top, within the cover of darkness, without worry of work, without the weight of the world, love bloomed and bursted between them. Bodies conjoined, moving in sync, hushed praises arose as pleasure flared. Whispers of ‘I love you’s’ flew between moans of rapture. It had been far too long since they’d been allowed such a time together. 

As his peak reached deep within you the two collapsed. Rushed breaths mingled, heart rates thumping and arms never untangling. Resting within your shared bed, contentment settled. With eyes closed his arms tightened, pulling you closer.

“That was-” 

“The last time.” Thin eyebrows scrunched, your tone sounded distant. Catching his breath he hummed, confused by your statement. 

“What do you mean?” Finally opening his eyes to look down at the woman within his arms he's met with nothing but balled up knots of blankets. The euphoria evaporated within an instant. “(Y/n)?”

“ALL MIGHT!”

Bolting up from the bed, nude, he ran through the house. Tearing each door open in haste, howling your name till his throat ran raw. Your yells became animalistic, echoing off each emptied room, tauntingly calling his name.

“All Might Please! Save Me!”

“I’m trying! Where are you?!” Padding into the living room he collapsed, inches away, yet just out of his grasp your body laid. Hero suit torn, your once loved form battered, bloodied, and lifeless…  

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. Please…”

“Hey All Might!”

“Are you awake?”

“All Might?”

Back inside the far too small cot of the infirmary Yagi’s head swam, dazed, confused. Haunted by dreams of the past. 

“All Might? Are you.. Crying?”

Snapping back into reality, a trembling hand swiped across gloom stricken features. Wetness gathering against thinned palms, mind struggling to find solid ground, and breaths puffed in rapid succession.

“Are you okay?” 

‘What happened?’

Looking over to the once drawn curtains he’s met with a now emptied infirmary. The bed that once held his other student now striped and barren.

“Where did young Akeno and his mother go?”

“Oh, Recovery Girl sent them home a couple hours ago. She said we were also free to leave, but I didn’t want to wake you up. It looked like you were having a nice dream until… Are you okay? It looked like you-”

“I’m fine Midoriya. Nothing to worry about” 

‘It was a dream…But I…’ Sighing as he shoved the memories back from whence they came and turned to his student.

“Let's go home.”

‘It was only a dream.’

Healed over the weekend class resumed anew Monday morning. Though with the looming shock of the attack still fresh on their minds, the students of class 1A buzzed with exhilaration.

“You guys, did you watch the news last night!”

“We’re totally big deals! Those news channels love us were basically celebrities!” 

Amongst the chatter of premiering on television and All Might’s victory Midoriya’s mind swam with questions that had been burning to escape after his recent discovery. Finally spotting his blond haired classmate as he entered, he struggled to withhold his onslaught. The image he had uncovered seared into his mind. As much as he wanted to simply blurt it out, he knew such an important topic must be eased into. Instead opting for a more friendly approach, he greeted his classmate.

“Hey Akeno! How are you feeling?” Cerulean met Emerald and with a smile as Akeno took his seat, smiling wide as ever.

‘That smile.’

“Not back to one hundred percent yet, but I'm getting there!” His deepening voice still sounded scratchy, his throat raw and aching yet miles beyond the infirmary.

“I’m happy to hear that! Hey, so theres something I wanted to ask-”

“Attention homeroom, class is about to begin. Everyone, stop talking and take your seats!” Entering at top speed Iida stood before the podium, silencing the question. 

“We can talk during lunch.” With a shaky grin Midoriya agreed, though his questions boiled, just below the surface, threatening to overflow.

“Morning class.” Muffled through layers of bandages Mr. Aizawa stood within the doorway, much to everyone's shock. As chatter picked up regarding his well being, it was quickly squandered by their teachers' unwavering stoicism. “What’s more important is your fight isn't over yet. The UA sports festival is about to start.”

Overflowing with excitement the teens all congregated on their shared aspiration for their upcoming performances. The questions brewing were almost forgotten within his own enthusiasm, yet as the bell rang for lunch his bustling curiosity repopulated.

“You guys go on ahead, we’ll meet you there!” Dismissing Uraraka and Iida the hallways cleared around the two aspiring heroes.

“Midoriya, you said you had something you wanted to ask me?”

Now alone standing before his friend, the boy fidgeted with the strap of his backpack, unable to maintain eye contact. Though he was curious, a part of him knew this was a touchy subject. One that could potentially change his classmates' life.

“Hey, is everything okay? You look really nervous. You know you can talk to me right?” His blatantly nerve stricken friend seemingly shrunk beneath him, trembling within his presence, and unable to meet his gaze. “If this is about the villain's attack? Don't worry about it! You did everything you could!”

“No…it’s not that.” Steadying his breaths and gathering himself, Izuku attempted to relax his tense body. If he was going to ask the one profound question that had been weighing him down, he must first present and validate his evidence behind it.

“You said your mom used to be a hero right?” 

“Uh yeah, she used to be a sidekick.” 

“And you said that she was hurt when you were younger, in America?”

“Yeah?” Worried confusion grew within Akeno, now it was he who shrunk beneath the other. 

“How… how old were you when that happened?”

“Around four. Izuku, why are you asking me all this?” Fretted lines drew between furrowed brows and down turned lips. Each question sent the young man further into perplexity. “What does my mom have to do with anything?” 

Slinging his backpack around and fishing within a pocket, Izuku withdrew his phone.

“That’s just the thing…” Finally, emerald met cerulean. Both gazes ardent, swimming with steeled perception. “given what you said about her being a hero in the past-”

“She was just a sidekick!” 

“Even so, she used to be a hero here. Tracing back the history of female heroes that worked in Japan over the last thirty years with vocal quirks, filter out how many transferred to America in the last twenty and those who quit within the last decade… I-I found nothing b-”

“Then what was all this for!” 

“Wait! I’m not done!” Sighing, Akeno nodded, annoyed at the suspended anticipation gnawing at his twisted stomach. “I could not find any heroes matching that description…alive. But I did find one that had passed and-”

“Izuku, my mother is alive! You saw her yourself. She was just here last week.” 

“It’s just that… back when we were all in the infirmary and your mom came to visit, I think I recognized her.” Quivering fingers tapped at the now alighted screen, scrolling further into its archive. 

“You recognized her? That's impossible, mom hasn’t been back in Japan in years.” 

The world fell silent.

Revealed from a turned phone screen, a single photo sent Akeno’s world crumbling. 

“It’s hard to tell since she’s wearing a mask, but doesn’t she look a lot like this hero? Her name was S- 

“No.” 

“B-“

“No. That is not my mother Izuku. I don’t know what you think you’re onto but it’s not true.”

“But I-Wait, where are you going?” Thunderous footsteps blazed past the baffled boy, heading down the hallway to hopefully catch the last minutes of lunch. Refraining from following, Izuku feared he had made his friend uncomfortable. All he wanted to know was if it was possible. Perhaps his assumptions were wrong after all.

‘It can’t be true. That picture has to be fake. It has to be.’

Silenced for the remainder of the day, Akeno’s mind drowned within its thoughts. 

Far too scared to approach for fear of worsening the situation, Izuku allowed his classmate space. 

The final bell rang, signaling the end of the day. As students flooded the hallways ready to be home Izuku was once again pulled aside by his mentor. Exchanging pleasantries and pouring two cups of tea, Toshinori sat rigid before his pupil. Shaking hands curled into the excess fabric of his suit as words struggled to form.

“Young Midoriya, there’s something I must ask of you. Though I hope you don’t find it too weird.” 

“Of course All Might, what is it?” The boy's demeanor starkly contrasted the older man's gloom; his apprentice's charisma almost made him cringe. 

“I-I’ve been meaning to ask,” Sucking in air through gritted teeth he almost recanted his curiosity though burning desire for the truth propelled the notion. “What do you know about Akeno’s mother?”

Emerald hues widened.

“Actually that's something I wanted to talk to you about as well. Did you happen to see her while in the infirmary?” 

“No, I… I didn’t.” A sense of confusion clouded over once sharpened instincts.

‘I could’ve sworn I was going to try and talk to her…But then I… Fell asleep?’  

“I know you spoke to her, who was she? Have you seen her before?”  

“That’s the thing, she looked vaguely familiar to me. I thought I figured out where I’d seen her before but when I tried to talk to Akeno about it, he didn’t agree. Now looking back at it, I don't think my assumption was right either, it’s too far-fetched.” 

“What was your assumption?”

“It…It was nothing, I really don’t think it could be who I originally thought. It wouldn’t make sense.” Refraining from showing his mentor the photo or divulging in his theory after reading more about Siren and her untimely demise, If he was wrong about this theory then telling All Might could upset him, especially if they were close.

“But, Akeno has told me a lot about her so maybe you could figure it out?” 

Besides, surely if All Might actually knew this hero and if all the information he was about to give matched, he would tell him. Right? 

“What has he said?”

Recalling every scrap of information to his mentor, Toshinori's thin brows drew together, thick wrinkled lines of contemplation forming the further he recalled. 

“Does that remind you of anyone?”

“I… I don’t think so, sorry.” In reality the inner workings of Yagi’s mind went into overdrive, cogs grinding and turning with recollection. 

‘It can’t be. Rationalize. It’s surely all just a coincidence… All a coincidence…It has to be. She’s…she’s dead…’

His feeble attempts to sooth his rampaging mind were not boding well, buckling with each new piece of information. Pushing them back was becoming overpowering.

Sighing in defeat Izuku came to the conclusion that his theory had in fact been incorrect, a simple fairytale that his fanboy mind had concocted. 

‘It was just a theory.’

“Don’t worry about it, whoever she is, if it’s important I'm sure we’ll figure it out. Besides, you should be focusing on the sports festival!” Redirecting his pupils' attention as a way to forfeit his mind's own psychosis and dissipate the defeated look upon Midoriya’s face he pushed them back to the matter at hand. 

“That kid could be your clone ya know.” Midnight laughed, the two sat alone within the teachers lounge, wrapping up the day's paperwork. Typically Midnight would talk about her day or problems while Toshinori only nodded, occasionally adding very little to the conversation. However today's topic of discussion had landed on the sports festival and their predictions on how it would go. Going down the roster of both 1A and 1B this one off comment seized his full attention. 

The thoughts that had been plaguing him over the mystery that was Akeno and his origins resurfaced. It had been less than three weeks since his chat with Midoriya, ever since his mind had been spinning its wheels, desperate to find traction.

“Yeah no kidding, kid looks just like me” He attempted to play the comment off with a chuckle, however it struggled to come off genuine, the light quiver in his tone gave away his unease. In an effort to sooth rattled nerves a hand rubbed at the back of his sweat slicked neck. 

“All Might!?” Midnight’s voice had raised in pitch, both eyebrows up in suspicion under her mask. “Do you have a secret child?” She practically yelled this question, voice high in excitement. Steam could’ve piped out of his ears and a thick haggard cough of blood spurted from his mouth at her brazenness.

“NO! Not that I know of.” His hands flew up in defense.

“That you know of?! So it’s possible!” She laughed “How promiscuous of you Toshinori.”

“Nemuri please, there is no way that kid could be mine. I haven’t…” He trailed off thinking back to the last he’d been active. It was with you. After all these years he had not found it within himself to seek out a new lover. Not that it was not offered to him, as All Might women practically threw themselves at him. He simply had no desire to, no want for sexual or romantic intimacy with anyone ever again. Sure there were nights when he felt lonely and craved affection but the mere thought of receiving it from anyone else made his skin crawl. Besides, he had learned from you that bringing anyone into his life, his personal life, was dangerous. For both himself and them.

“It’s been…awhile”

“ Common All Might,  it can’t be that long. You’re a bit older but you’ve still got game! Tell me how long. I have to know now!”

He pondered her question. Then counted back the years in his head, sixteen… 

‘Wait, how old is this kid? He’s in young Midoriya’s class so he must be’ 

OH.

He coughed, his mind ablaze with thoughts. A splatter of blood coated his hand, gasping for air, violent hacks surged through him. The seductive hero passed him a cup of water, with a few forced sips the fit subsided. 

“Twenty” he lied through his teeth, revealing too much could lead her to the same conclusion. Midnight’s mouth hung open her eyes wide.

“TWENTY? What a travesty! Absolutely appalling! How can you go on without the touch of another?” 

“Look, I'm not too comfortable discussing this. Can we please pick another topic?” Toshinori felt as if his whole world was spinning upside down. The train of thought he had tried so desperately to derail steamed down the tracks, now full speed ahead, barreling into a brick wall of realization.

The kid matched the age gap.

He was the spitting image of him.

He had your exact same quirk.

Given all the information Midoriya had told him earlier he was born in America, however his mother was originally from Japan.

‘That's where you moved after the break up.’

The boy's whole reason for being a hero was in his mothers honor who was attacked by a villain when he was young. 

‘Deducting the years from the time you were ‘killed’ would put him around 3-4, far too young to remember crucial details yet aware of the situation.’

Too many ‘coincidences’. Too many dots connected. Yet the one gaping hole in this whole theory revolved around one central point; 

‘His mother is alive, you are not.’ So he thought. 

He needed answers. 

Now.

Sneaking into the gyms locker room to most would be seen as nothing short of creepy and perverse, yet driven by the need for mediation All Might proceeded. Scrounging through every cubby until finally reaching the quarry. Unsurprisingly, as most teenage boys did, Akeno had not washed his pullover after their last training exercise. Pillaging the uniform he examined it carefully until his target was acquired, a singular piece of golden hair pinched between his finger tips. 

“Tsukauchi, I have a favor to ask. It's urgent.”

Two strands of blonde hair sealed safely into ziplock bags were handed off to the detective. 

As the hours ticked by awaiting results Yagi’s mind spiraled further, the facts at hand repeating themselves forwards and back until the jingle of his phone broke the cycle.

“Yagi, I have the results for the samples you gave me. It wasn’t easy convincing the lab to run it without prior authorization and on such short notice but since it’s for you, we managed to pull a few strings.” Toshinori’s heartbeat thundered into his ear, threatening to overshadow the man's words. 

“It’s a 50% match. They’re either parent and child or siblings.” 

‘Parent and child.’

“Yagi? You there-”

Hanging up, there was only one person he wanted to speak to right now. 

“David. Tell me the truth.” 

[imaginaryberries]

Went to my friend's for NYE, thought I wouldn't even make it past 10pm but we saw the bells!! Both kids conked out pretty early - Jacob in his pram, Leo on the couch - so we got to do some actual socialising and it was so nice. It was just us, my friend and his partner and some friends of theirs but it was just lovely, we played Jackbox and laughed soo much. We didn't leave til like 1.30!! Which is huge for me, especially as I couldn't sleep last night so ended up only getting like 5.5 hours.

Now it's January and I turn 30 this month wtf

[storiesbymads]

HOT SUMMER NIGHTS ( haydn fleury . )

Haydn and Y/N are childhood friends that take their families tradition of summers at their cabin into their own hands when their parents decide they aren’t going this year

warnings: sexual references, alcohol

wc: 4.1k

add yourself to my taglist!

Summer was your favorite time of the year. It’s been your favorite since you were six when your parents decided that you and the Fleurys were going to spend every summer from then on at a cabin they’d purchased together. It was situated on a small lake—that could really be considered a very large pond—and it had enough yard to let your golden retriever run five miles before it had to turn around and come back.

John had enlisted both sons to build some semblance of a fire pit when you turned fifteen. Haydn and Cale finally had a good and functioning pit… two summers later. That started the tradition of the three of you sitting down by the pit when both sets of parents had tucked in for the night and sharing stories into the early hours of the morning. And you may or may not have snuck into your dad’s supply of Natty Light while you did so.

Your days at that cabin were filled with probably the happiest memories you’d ever made. Haydn always forced you to go paddle boarding with him or canoeing during the day—you preferred the canoeing since he would just let you tan near the front while he did… whatever he did. Your parents pretty much left you to your own devices until dinner where all of you would gather around the enormous dining room table and spend an hour or two just talking. There was also the occasional game of Monopoly that totally didn’t end in Cale flipping the board that one time when Haydn gave you too much money as banker for six rounds in a row. You thought you were being really sneaky.

All of that being until your parents decided that they weren’t going up to the cabin this year. And neither were the Fleurys.

“Can you believe this,” you groaned into the phone. Haydn chuckled at your response to his phone call. You’d been on the call approximately 3 seconds at this point.

“I know but did you really expect us to go up there for the rest of our lives,” he replied.

“Uh, yeah,” you said. “We’re going to continue the tradition forever and before you know it we’ll be bringing our own kids up there. They’ll be best friends just like us.”

You really only included that last part to keep Haydn from knowing that you didn’t picture the tradition going on as it was right now. You did imagine the two of you going up to that cabin for the rest of your lives but you only pictured one family being involved in the whole ordeal.

“You know we could always just go by ourselves,” he said.

And the idea sparked joy into your heart. Until he picked you up from your house and you realized that you’d be spending all summer with him. Alone.

“You ready for this?” he asked as he helped you put your two duffel bags into the trunk of his car. His right hand found your thigh as he started up the engine. “Time for the summer of our lives.”

“Hell yeah,” you said as you hooked your phone up the aux in his car. That was one of your undisputed rules. On road trips, whoever wasn’t driving picked the music.

The ride down to the cabin felt shorter than usual. You liked to chalk it up to the fact that you were just older now and car rides didn’t feel as interminably long as they did when you were eight but it was probably due to Haydn making you laugh harder than you’ve laughed in six months the entire time. It seemed like you’d just pulled out of your driveway when you pulled into the gravel one of your cabin.

“Do you remember when Cale jumped over the bonfire and almost lit his ass on fire,” you giggled as you lugged your luggage up the wooden steps to the front door.

“Yeah, yeah I do,” Haydn said as he found the key under the welcome mat. He remembered exactly the moment you were talking about. The two of you were sixteen and testing out the unfinished fire pit and he was seconds away from spilling all the feelings he’d had for six years when his brother decided to test fate.

You inhaled deeply the second you stepped into the living room—out of habit of course. It was exactly like you remembered seeing as you’d been there just last year. It was odd not having your mom there to shove you the rest of the way through the door and forcing you to help put up the groceries before you got a chance to put your stuff in your room. Now that you thought about it, you could totally take your parents bedroom for your own and sleep in a California King for the next two months.

You hadn’t even noticed Haydn had gone back to the car until he lugged the yeti cooler in behind you and dropped it by the kitchen island. The two of you would definitely have to go to the grocery store in town for the rest of your food but you could push that off until tomorrow.

“You wanna head down to the dock?” you asked, readjusting the duffel bags on your shoulders. There was a side compartment in one of them full of nothing but bikinis and you were just itching to start using them.

“You’re ready to go down already? Don’t you usually ward off going outside for the first 24 hours of the trip?” he asked, grabbing his own bags and following you up the stairs that led to the small second level that housed three of the four bedrooms.

“Let me get changed and I’ll go down all by myself if I have to,” you scoffed, pushing open the door to your parents usual bedroom and dropping the duffels on the bed. It seemed that Haydn had the same idea as you had because he was currently dropping all his luggage onto his parents bed. You’d be lying if you said you didn’t sneak a peak at him taking his shirt off before reminding him his door was wide open for the world to see. Of course, all he said in response was that it was just you before shutting the door quietly and changing into his swim shorts.

You tried to shake the thought of Haydn seeing you in the same position. You tried to shake the thought of Haydn being the one taking your shirt off. It didn’t work.

You shut your own door before grabbing a red set out of your bikini compartment. It made your ass look great, not that that was your whole goal in wearing it, but it couldn’t hurt.

A soft knock at your door alerted you to the fact that Haydn was already done. You let him know he could come in while you pulled your hair up into a ponytail. You eyed him in the body length mirror that faced the door and, man, did you wish his mom still dressed him. The 5.5 inch inseam shorts did wonders for his thighs and he had on a canes snapback on that you were determined to steal from him later.

You weren’t doing Haydn any favors either. The thong bikini had to be his new favorite shade of red and you had your hair pulled up to reveal the small tattoo the two of you shared at the base of your shoulder blade.

“You ready?” he asked.

“Did you bring claws?” You walked past him to the hallway closet that held all of your bath and beach towels. You grabbed one for both of you, tossing him one, before making your way down the stairs.

“The mango ones,” he replied as he followed you, only about a step or two behind. You gasped in delight as you skipped the bottom step, rushing to the cooler and grabbing said mango white claw out of it. You grabbed Haydn one of his beers while you were in there, too. You weren’t heartless.

The dock was probably your favorite part of the cabin. Your mom had had it installed two summers ago and it was big enough to hold about six lawn chairs and a few beach towels across—which, by the way, was way too big for the lake but you did tan every single day while you were there.

The water was fully up to the dock when you got down there. You definitely could submerge like half your leg if you sat on the edge.

Haydn hooked up his phone to the speaker he’d mounted to the singular wall the dock had. He’d made sure the small roofed area kept the weather from dealing too much damage to it over the time you were gone.

“What music do you want?” he asked, squinting as he scrolled through his various playlists on spotify. A good ⅔ of them had been made by you and forced into his library but that didn’t matter to him. He listened to all of them.

“Do last year’s. I haven’t gotten around to making one for us this year yet,” you said as you laid out your towel. “Hey, do you think you could sunscreen my back for me?”

“Yeah, yeah, hold on,” he said before MKTO started flowing through the speakers. He grabbed the SPF out of your beach bag of sorts before sitting himself down on your thighs.

“Undo the strings, I don’t want lines,” you hummed, already enjoying the feel of the sun on your skin, and the feel of Hayden’s weight on top of you.

His breathing stuttered slightly, not enough for even you to notice, when he undid the thin tie that held up the cherry red bikini top. Squirting the lotion straight into your back, he rubbed it in. God, he could’ve spent the rest of his vacation right here.

“There you go,” he whispered once he was finished, pushing himself up from you and walking back over to where the rest of his stuff was. He grabbed his own towel, laying it out beside yours.

“Do you want sunscreen?” you asked him, opening your eyes slightly only to see him starting to lay down.

“No, I’m not staying here for long,” he replied. “The lake is calling to me.”

“You can still burn in the lake, Hay. You should know, we go over this every time.”

“This time’ll be different,” he said and he sounded so sure of himself.

If only it had worked out like that.

“Oh my god I can’t move,” he groaned into the leather of the living room couch. Your eyes were glued to the incredibly red skin of his back that you’d already lathered in aloe vera. You’d already commented on the fact that he matched your bathing suit. “The sun fucking hates me.”

“I’m sure he does.” You patted his calf twice before grabbing one of the seven remote controls on the coffee table in front of you and turned on the small box tv situated in the corner of the room. If the two of you kept this up, you’d need to do some serious renovations in the coming years.

It took two whole weeks for Haydn’s sunburn to heal enough for him to spend time outside without a shirt on. And seeing as he was your only company, the two of you had spent a hell of a lot of time inside. One thing Haydn’s lack of sun protection didn’t affect, though, was the nightly bonfire you had out back in the fire pit. You’d be surprised if you had enough firewood to last you through July with your evening antics as they were.

Haydn crumpled his Bud Light box and set it at the base of the fire pit before stacking the night’s supply of wood on top of it. He had the fire going strong in a solid ten minutes.

“I honestly don’t know how you do it. If i was stuck in the wild without you I’m pretty sure I’d just not survive,” you said when he took his spot in the fold out chair beside yours. He was close enough to you that you could smell his cologne and you could practically feel his body heat.

“Fire God,” he said, waving the extra long stick he always used as a poker. You were sure he’d had that stick for close to ten years at this point.

His eyes stayed glued to you as you told him about one of the bonfire’s you’d had when you were still back in high school. The two of you had gone to different schools then and it was probably why you’d looked forward to these trips so much.

About an hour later, the fire had diminished down to embers but neither of you cared. The two of you were so lost in conversation, you could care less about the dwindling flames. Or, at least, Haydn didn’t care.

“Oh, shit. I think it’s time to head inside,” you chuckled as you gestured to the pit. He nodded, getting up from his spot and pouring the rest of the water he’d switched to for the night before you guys came outside over the embers. He held out his free hand when he was done for you to take, helping you out of your chair. You were thankful for the lack of light or you’re sure Haydn would’ve seen the way your cheeks were burning red.

The next few days passed like clockwork. You woke up half past nine, Haydn at ten, and you made breakfast together. He was, surprisingly, not half bad at making an omelet or really anything that primarily involved eggs so you gave him most of the reigns in the kitchen. When the two of you finished eating, it was straight out to the dock until Haydn got bored and either forced you to swim with him or to get into the canoe tied off to your right.

“Y/N/N, I am begging you,” he whined. He was completely covered in sunscreen this time, you’d made sure of that, but at least he’d ditched the t-shirts. You’d chosen a white bikini today. They had full coverage bottoms and Haydn didn’t know whether to rejoice and silently hate the manufacturers.

“Hay, I just need five more minutes,” you sighed, turning your head so that you could face him from where you were laid out on your stomach. You’d already done your other side and you just wanted it to be even.

“Fine,” he said. You smiled at him in thanks, thinking that’d be the end of it and he’d make you paddle board with him when you were finished. Then, you felt his hands push underneath you and suddenly you were off the towel and pressed into his chest, bridal style.

“What the fuck!” you shrieked in the midst of the havoc. Haydn laughed briefly and before you knew it he’d jumped off the dock with you helplessly in tow.

The water was warmer than you expected but it still jolted you awake. The lake was just deep enough that you had to wade to stay afloat but not much deeper than that.

“I was almost done,” you whined, smacking him lightly on the chest when you resurfaced. You’d separated underwater but you were still incredibly close to him.

“I told you, I was bored,” he said, moving your wet hair with his fingers and tucking it behind your ear. Your breath caught in your throat at the contact. His eyes have never looked bluer than they have in that moment with the water reflecting in them.

Haydn’s fingers were still tingling, electrified with the skin to skin contact and he was desperate that you felt it too. His eyes flickered down to your lips. He wondered if he’d be able to taste the banana chapstick you’d applied before breakfast this morning.

Without even thinking about it, you‘d shifted closer to him. You contemplated wrapping your legs around his torso, seeing as it was growing more difficult to tread water with how close you were. Your body acted before you’d even made up your mind, but his hands found your thighs faster than your brain could function and your arms were already tucked behind his head.

The two of you were seemingly locked in a daze. No words passed between you but your whole world was screaming excitement. Every nerve ending in your body was shooting off as you held him close, allowing yourself to admire him in a way you’d previously held yourself back from.

Your fingers traced the deck of cards on his left arm. You knew the tattoo meant a lot to him, he’d told you what it meant when he’d forced you to come along with him when he’d gotten it done.

“I think we should head in for lunch,” Haydn said after a minute or two, mentally cursing himself for ruining the moment but he had a bigger problem at hand. Particularly the one below the belt.

He allowed you to climb the ladder to the dock before him, claiming it to be a ladies first ordeal, and watched as you made it halfway to the house before following you out himself. You were already inside making sandwiches when he shuffled inside and into the half-bath downstairs without so much as a word. He knew it was risky but you couldn’t potentially walk in the way you could if he took care of things in his bedroom. He had already contemplated just trekking upstairs to take another cold shower but he’d taken enough of those in the past week to last him a lifetime.

You hadn’t been able to get the moment from the lake out of your mind since it happened. You caught yourself wondering if Haydn had wanted to kiss you the way you’d wanted to kiss him more than a time or two.

June was drawing to a close but you felt like your summer with Haydn was just beginning.

You’d had two too many white claws—plus one of Haydn’s beers—for the evening and you were really starting to feel it when you struggled to sit upright near the fire pit. You’d been trying to finish off the box before your weekly grocery run in the morning but you were starting to regret your decision.

“We’ll get some more firewood in the morning, too,” Haydn said, throwing the last big piece of wood from the pile onto the top of the blazing fire.

You stared at him in your drunken haze when he sat back down next to you. The stories were coming out slower tonight but the silence was not completely unwelcome. It was hard to have an awkward silence between the two of you after all the years you’d spent being friends.

“Why didn’t you kiss me?” you whispered just loud enough for him to hear. His heart skipped a beat at the insinuation.

“What?” he asked. He’d heard you perfectly.

“That day in the lake. Why didn’t you kiss me?” you asked again, though a tad slurred. And in that moment he wished he could travel back in time and kiss you the way he’d dreamed about so many times. Maybe he’d be able to show you how in love with you he’d been since he was ten years old. Maybe you’d actually feel the same.

It was oddly reminiscent of when you were fourteen and you’d been in the same predicament with a boy named John. John had taken you out to the movies—or, at least, his mom had. He’d been the first boy to ever really ask you out and you thought if you prettied yourself up enough you might be able to finagle a first kiss out of it.

Of course, later that night you’d been in the same predicament on the phone with Haydn asking why this stupid freshman boy couldn’t man up and kiss you.

Had it been because of you? Had you misread both situations in your life. Had you seriously misjudged where you stood with both boys to the point that you thought you were getting a kiss only to be left high and dry and wondering why.

Maybe all of this was just the alcohol in your system talking. Or, maybe it was just because both boys had been scared.

“We should go inside,” he said as he repeated his fire ending ritual. It sizzled and sparked before erupting in a cloud of smoke. Then it was silent.

“Haydn,” you mumbled as he helped you up from your chair. You staggered when you fully reached your feet partially from the heartbreak of Haydn not responding to your question and partly from being drunk off your ass.

He helped you up the stairs and into your bedroom without another word. There were too many thoughts running through his brain right now for him to get a coherent sentence out, anyway.

The only problem was that you started stripping down to your underwear the second you stepped into the room.

“Woah, uhm,” Haydn said, wide eyed, before he clamped his hand over his eyes. He figured it shouldn’t matter that much, he saw you in a bikini just about every day, but this just felt so much dirtier.

“I’m decent,” you hummed as you threw yourself face first onto the duvet.

“Well, I’m just gonna-“

“Stay,” you said. “Please.”

“Alright,” he sighed before helping you both under the covers of the California King bed. You were asleep almost instantly and he just smiled fondly as he watched you curl up into his side. Maybe he’d be able to really explain everything in the morning. When you were sober.

The light pouring in from the open curtains caused a string of profanities to ungracefully fall from your lips as you smacked at your bedside table in an attempt to find your phone. You opened your eyes, barely, and squinted when you couldn’t find it in a few slaps only for your eyes to be met with a small glass of water and two gel caps of Advil with a note in Haydn’s scrawl.

I figured this would help the hangover. xx

You popped them in your mouth quickly, downing the water in about two gulps before grabbing the first piece of clothing you saw on your floor and heading into the en-suite to get somewhat presentable. You could hear the stove being used when you made your way down the stairs for breakfast.

“Thanks for the pills,” you said, making yourself somewhat comfortable at one of the island stools as Haydn hunched over the stove. You could smell the bacon but not much else. You eyed the clock over the fridge and noticed you’d slept way past your usual nine am wake up call.

“I went to the store already so we don’t have to worry about that,” Haydn chimed in when he saw you eyeing the new loaf of bread next to the fruit bowl.

“Do you remember what I asked you last night?” you asked, your heart dropping into the pit of your stomach as you vaguely recalled your own question.

“Yeah,” he said. He moved the pan of eggs to the eye that was shut off before turning to face where you were seated at the island.

“Why didn’t you say anything,” you continued.

“You were drunk-“

“Then, why didn’t you kiss me?” you asked again. It was already out there. You couldn’t take anything back you’d said last night so all you could do from here was push forward.

“I should’ve,” he said finally. “I should’ve kissed you.”

You got up from where you were sitting, moving around so that you were practically chest to chest with him again. You were right before. His eyes were definitely bluer in the water.

“Kiss me now,” you whispered. The dull aching your head was replaced with the intense feeling of his lips on yours. His lips were chapped, expectedly so, but they felt incredible against your own. He tasted like crest toothpaste and coffee and the combination was intoxicating.

His hands were on your hips in a second, lifting you to set you on the countertop so you were fully level. They were moving quickly, up your sides and back down again, digging into the flesh of your waist.

“Nice sweatshirt,” he said after pulling back slowly. You looked down to see you’d grabbed his from the night before rather than your own.

“I love you,” you whispered. And it was true. You’d loved him since you were fourteen when he comforted you after your first date with John. You’d loved him every day of the past ten years and you weren’t afraid of it anymore.

“I love you,” he said. “I’ve loved you since I was ten.”

tags @ptersparkers @annedub @corebore123 @damndunner @kiedhara @watermelon05 @sidscrosbyy

[writing-for-me-at-this-point]

Hurt S/o! | Shikamaru + Kiba + Shino | ANGST + Fluff | HC’s

Request: This is my first request so please forgive and correct me if I do something wrong. I was wondering if you could maybe do an angsty headcanons for Shikimaru, Kiba, and Shino from Naruto’s reaction to their S/O getting seriously injured protecting them. If the S/O recovers or dies and the enemy is all up to you, I’ve just noticed a real lack in content for them and I’m craving it hard. Please and thank you!

Word Count: 1953 words

Page Count: 5.5 pages

A/N: i got so caught up in writing this it became way too long lmao. im sorry i forgot about naruto :( but i hope you do enjoy the rest! i made sure to end everything well. i have a shit ton of angst requests so i thought id leave this on a happier note :)

Tags: @bipolartryingtosurvive

Shikamaru Nara

- I could see this being during the Hidan fight.

- Hes set the plan in motion at that point.

- And you’re to make sure Hidan is distracted for the time being .

- Hidan may be an ass, but he isn’t dumb.

- He notices how you are keeping him from Shikamaru.

- Fucking LIVID

- You notice how hes shifting your fight closer to Shikamaru until he gets to the point where he definitely can get a deep slash into the Nara.

- You knew he was trying to get to him.

- You were fast, one of the fastest in the village, but that was because you were fairly weak when it came to strength.

- You tried to zip around, gaining speed and momentum, and within seconds- right when Hidan was going to bring his scythe down on Shikamarus neck, you slammed your body to his side.

- Shikamaru flew away as Hidan managed to get a large and deep slash into your body; you felt it start from under the right side of your ribs, curving across your stomach, and finally finished above your left knee.

- You didn’t feel it until you fell to the ground- shock really is a bitch.

- And then you felt the dull sting grow and blood dripped from the wound.

- The stinging grew into a pulsing and unbearable ache, and you knew for a fact he cut through each muscle in the way of his scythe, but your organs were nipped ( at best ) in the process.

- You couldn’t hear what was going on.

- You heard your heart beat in your ears, it was deafening, but you focused on your breathing and trying to keep calm.

- You trained for this- having a close friend beat your ass near death so you could focus on remaining in a state where you could prolong the inevitable.

- Yeah you thought of the most wild scenarios, and managed to prepare for them- turns out it worked out well.

- Once Hidan is buried Shikamaru went straight to you, managing to help out with Ino and Choji, stopping some of the bleeding while getting you to the village.

- You’re passed out at that point, so Ino cauterizes the wounds ends, the part under your ribs and the entire thigh.

- Shikamaru starts freaking at this point, he almost passes out, and Choji has to get his ass back together.   

- Once you get back to the village Tsunade is ready to go, with Sakura by her side your ass isn’t ending up on that stone.

- It takes about four hours to get you all settled, and into a private room, out of critical.

- He’d stay by your bedside, your hand in his till you woke up.

- “Shika…?”

- “Oh my gods, [ Y/n ]!”

- “Hi”

- Your soft giggles helped ease this poor boys heart.

- “You look awful.”

- “Don’t look too hot yourself.”

- “Wow. Okay.”

- “Get up here, you need some sleep. And don’t even deny it.”

- He took off the bulky clothes, only in his pants and tank top, climbing in next to you as you settled your head on his chest.

- “Thank you for taking care of me,”

- “Thank you for not dying.”

Kiba Inuzuka

- Being in Anbu had its ups and downs.

- But mostly downs.

- Okay. Only downs.

- But you managed to find your light, in a childhood friend and now lover.

- Though- he managed to act more like a puppy than a boyfriend at times.

- You didn’t mind though, and you lived your life peacefully after having to leave Anbu due to an injury that limited your eyesight greatly and it hindered all sight starting at arms length.

- Though, when in Anbu, its always- ALWAYS expected to have an old rival or two come back for more, even when one is retired.

- And here you were, walking through the forest with Kiba and Akamaru, talking about his past mission with Hinata and Shino.

- He got so excited to tell you that he didn’t notice the shift in scents in the air, and you couldn’t see ahead or through your peripheral.

- It happened so fast.

- Too fast.

- One second you were smiling with his arms around your waist, his chin on your head as you both laughed with Akamaru yipping.

- The next you were slipping from his arms, and blood was pooled at his arms, the slash at your neck was gruesome.

- Your hands went to your neck as Kiba yelled, Akamaru going after the person who came from the shadows.

- “No. No. No. No. No. No. [ Y/n ], NO!” He was panicking, picking you up quickly as a hand wrapped around your throat, gripping it so tightly you almost couldn’t breathe.

- Almost.

- You learned to stay calm in situations like this, and with Kiba’s harsh grip you didn’t have to waste any energy to help with the bleeding, so you focused on breathing and not getting your heart to pump too fast.

- “Tsunade! Fuck- get a medical nin! Now!”

- He yelled, running into the village again, where many were coming to help you out.

- Akamaru had come back by then, his mouth bloodied as well, but nothing else- indicating he got a good bite on the fucker.

- You made it to the hospital before you lost consciousness, making Kiba worry even more, because THAT was never a good sign.

- He had to be the one to lay you down on the table and his grip never wavered, getting into a sterile room and waiting for some instruction.

- He was freaking out inside, he wanted to cry and let go, just hold you- but you would die if any of that were to happen.

- He had to stay calm for you.

- He wasn’t going to let you die.

- The tell him to let go quickly and all hands go to your neck, working quickly to stop the bleeding, while a nurse came to get Kiba cleaned up and situated.

- His mom even came to help the boy, who looked dead while staring at your room, not even wanting to go in.

- “Boy." 

- Oh did she go off, telling him to go to his girlfriend and be a man.

- He did want to go, but he couldn’t help but feel so… helpless.

- "Helpless? Helpless! Boy, you do understand you just saved your girls life? That if you weren’t there she’d be laying there dead?”

- Kinda rocked his shit, but thanks mom.

- He went into your room alone first, your neck was bandaged and you looked pale, with blood and other IV fluids being attached to your arms.

- He noticed the especially dark bruise on your neck.

- It could have been either from his hand or the surgery, but he still felt bad.

- His mom came in and sat with him on the other side of you.

- They both held your hands and visited you till you woke up.

- “I lived bitch.”

Shino Aburame

- I honestly can’t see his S/o getting hurt so bad.

- Because when you think about it his bug control is OP AF.

- Like he can essentially control you with a bug.

- I would go with someone would be after him, but since they can’t get to Shino- you would be the best option.

- Get hurt him physically so lets do it mentally and emotionally :)

- Poor boy

- I could see this being when your both adults, and teaching the younger generations, including your kids :)

- And you’re chilling on your house rooftop, that you’ve decorated with couches and tables and such, even hanging lights around.

- You had Shino build a retractable sliding glass on top in case it rains.

- If you’re having trouble imagining this- think Fast and Furious ending where everyone is eating dinner together.

- Yeah that’s ya’ll with the rest of the group :)

- You’re relaxing, reading a book and curled into the couch and drinking some tea or coffee or hot cocoa ( THEY’RE ALL VALID ) 

- You had gotten up a second to go to the large chest you had near one of the tables, to pick out a fluffy blanket.

- You never noticed how someone had mixed a poison into your drink, because they were gone before you could even decide on a blanket.

- Your kids would have been home soon, and they knew you liked to hang out up here, especially Shino since he kept the bees up here.

- You settled down and read some more, before taking sips of your drink.

- You noticed it tasted weird, and you had gotten up to check it out you felt your head get light, and your throat was stinging- making you cough horribly.

- You honestly felt like death was coming for you, and you knew something was wrong, but by the time you had gotten to the door you fell down and struggled to breathe.

- “Hey mom, Aponi kicked me-”

- “Shut up! Adonis don’t be- Mom!”

- “Mom?!”

- Your kids started freaking out, with your little girl noticing how strange you looked and saw the cup that was broken at your side.

- “Addy! Get dad! Mom drank something!”

- “Alright! Stay there- I’ll be back!”

- They managed to get their dad and Uncle Kiba, with Aponi looking to the cup- having some of her bugs recognize what was in it.

- “Dad! Its Saifu Ants! Someone poisoned mom with Saifu ants!”

- Shino had gotten some for himself and used their toxins to create an antidote.

- You were currently at the hospital, and declining rapidly, stressing out everyone around you.

- Even Naruto came and the dude is Hokage and is busy as hell.

- “You should all be prepared for the worst.”

- Everyone’s hearts dropped, and Shino couldn’t be there- he was helping making the antidote.

- It took about 20 more minutes until Shino came rushing in with it.

- Everyone made their way to your room and god.

- You were so pale, you honestly looked dead. Your kids only knew you were alive due to the heart monitor and your weak chalkra signature, your breathing was supported by a machine and even then your lungs sounded horrible.

- God Shino worked as hard as he could so fast.

- He felt like his heart stopped, that everything was moving too fast for him and he was going to pass out.

- Thank god his eyes were covered cause he had tears in them the entire time.

- He felt his soul ripping apart, what would he do if you left him so soon? The kids?

- You had gotten the antidote in time- but not before the poison had it’s time with you.

- Your lungs were destroyed and your heart was weak, your muscle was torn down.

- But you made it back to them.

- Everyone held a sigh of relief.

- You were a little off at first- still sleepy and slurring.

- After a few month you were able to leave- with everyone visiting you in the meantime with what had been going on in the village.

- Once you made it home you collapsed on your bed with Shino, easing his heart just a bit.

- Your kids jumped in too, snuggling up to both of you, with Aponi on your chest and Adonis on your stomach.

- “You scared us. Please, don’t do that again.”

- “It’s okay. I told you. You can’t get rid of me that easy.”

- “Like I’d want to.”

[gvflvr]

Tag Game!

I was tagged by @obetrol-and-cocktails

Rules: answer 21 questions and then tag 21 people who you want to get to know better

Nickname: halez

Zodiac: pisces

Height: 5.5

Last movie I saw: Isn’t It Romantic on valentine’s day (liam hemsworth looks like a beautiful greek god in this movie btw)

Last thing I googled: lmaoo “lil dicky jewish” I was drunk last night and my roommate didn’t believe me that he was jewish

Favorite musicians: ac/dc, black sabbath, queen, greta van fleet, harry styles, eminem, beastie boys childish gambino, jonas brothers, one direction, 5sos, the list goes on forever honestly

Song stuck in my head: the jurassic park theme song (WHHYYYYYY THOOOOO????)

Other blogs: my main is @iridescent-by-nature , so if you get likes/replies from that, it me. random queen side blog that I barely use @qwenbb ..I also have one for future interior design inspo and I used to have a one direction blog in high school

Do I get asks: not on this blog, I only started it a month ago. But please send me messages bc I love friends!!!

Blogs following: 74

Amount of sleep: sometimes 3 hours, sometimes 13 hours ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Lucky number: 14 I guess

What I’m wearing: amine concert tee and my boyfriends sweats that I stole

Dream job: something in the music industry, or maybe event planning

Dream trip: France, England

Favorite food: pizza sounds good rn

Play any instruments: I used to do percussion, but I stopped and I wish I continued bc that would be sick

Languages: English & I took four years of french in high school

Favorite songs: yikes.. here’s a couple that get me PUMPED : war pigs-black sabbath, all right now-free, run to the hills-iron maiden, high voltage-ac/dc, regulate-warren g, red velvet-r5, girls @-joey purp, love me-the 1975

Random fact: I studied abroad last in italy last spring and there was a rock festival in florence. I wanted to go so bad bc ozzy was headlining, but I didn’t have anyone to go with, so I took a chance and went. I didn’t speak any italian and it was 90degrees and I was alone with a bunch of old men but damn it was one of the best expereiences of my life. I actually cried most of the time and it was beautiful. so now I prefer to go to concerts alone.

Describe yourself as aesthetic things: watching sunsets on in the beach, warm fuzzy blankets, belly laughs, oversized sweaters, citrus scented candles, snuggles on the couch, playing your fave song on full volume

tagging: uhh I think everyone has been tagged, sorry I’m new to the gvf tumblr game, but if anyone wants to do it for funsies, tag me so I can learn more about you!!

[miphastudies]

17 Questions for 17 People

Thanks @its-bianca​ for tagging me in this! Sorry it’s taken so long, we’re in a third lockdown and I’m pretty sure my body thinks that time no longer exists.

Nicknames: Kim, Kimbo, Kimberlim, Kimothy, Kimberley Dibberley (For some reason my family thought that a nickname based off Cat’s other personality from Red Dwarf, Dwayne Dibberley, was funny and it’s stuck with me my whole life), as well as KIIII (shouted by my sister when she was about 2 and couldn’t pronounce my name, my best friend now yells it when she wants my attention) and Kim-Kim by my Dad who refuses to believe I’ve grown up (beats Kimberley Dibberley any day) 

Height: 5'9 - towering over most men is fun, I suggest it to all of you, I’d rather round it up to six foot, but I probs stopped growing at 20.

Hogwarts House: Well I got Gryffindor when I first went on that site, but being my goth self I had to take the test again until I got Slytherin - as far as I remember I had unicorn hair (or horn?) or something of the like in my wand but I’m not gonna fuel JK’s anti-trans pockets by visiting Pottermore ever again. 

Last thing I googled: The soundtrack for Futurama’s Luck of the Fryrish episode, I knew Simple Minds were on it but I could’ve sworn Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty was on it, but apparently not. I spent a good half hour trying to sing it into google with their new song-analysis thing to no avail, so I ended up siphoning through all the songs Lisa Simpson has ever played on her Sax to find out what it was (I should be doing my dissertation proposal but my tutors haven’t got back to me yet so what can ye do).

Song stuck in my head: yknow wha I’m just gonna list the songs that have been stuck in my head so far today because it’s too many to be just one as I keep cycling through them (also gonna link them so you can see how garbo weird my music taste is)

Run - Joji Alive - Pearl Jam Clinging On For Life - The Hoosiers Tension - Avenged Sevenfold  Boots of Spanish Leather - Bob Dylan Nutshell - Alice in Chains Jaded - Aerosmith  The Sea of Tragic Beasts - Fit For an Autopsy 

I’ll add my current favourite at the bottom too for good measure (Honestly I spend way too much time listening to music and I regret nothing)

Number of followers: Currently 85. I’ve got about 2k on my main blog but I’ve not touched that since July 2017.

Amount of sleep: Good lord, so I aim for 8 hours, sometimes I only get 5.5 or something along those lines, other times I depression nap during the day and can’t sleep at all, sometimes (like this morning) I’ll go to get up at a normal person time such as 9am when my body naturally wakes me up, but it’s so dark and gloomy outside and cold in my room that I just stay in bed and end up accidentally falling back asleep. 12pm gang rise up xo 

Lucky number: 7

Dream Job: Hopefully I get somewhat successful in monetising my hobbies, I’m working on it all atm (I don’t know why but I really hate telling people about my plans because I’m deathly afraid they’ll mock me or do whatever they can to ensure it doesn’t happen, I’ve got this list of things I need to do for my own mental health sellotaped to my laptop stand that had things like when to clean the house, do my laundry, shower, exercise etc, and my old flatmate/friend saw it the other week and mocked me, so I haven’t followed it since and need to find some sort of other way of organising my life instead). But yeah, hopefully hobby based, I don’t want to be stuck in an office job all my life, and I want to leave the UK (although I don’t want to leave my family) so hopefully I’ll be successful enough to bring em all with me.

Wearing: Well I was gonna wear jeans and my Unus Annus longsleeve but I decided to go full kitchen witch and wear this black milkmaid looking dress with long sleeves that I’d bought for work when I got my thigh tattoo started (all the old men appreciated the legs but I didn’t make any more tips, oops)

Favourite song: My favourite song of all time would be The Verve’s Bittersweet Symphony , the band formed at my college, has great meaning and has resonated with me since I first saw the music video after it was played at my Stepdad’s funeral in 2002. Weirdly enough on my last day of college, right after my last exam, I went to get the bus home - put my Spotify on shuffle (bearing in mind I’ve got 805 songs on this playlist) and this came on straight away. That’s probably not important to most people, but being pagan, I like to think that small things like these are signs from loved ones that have since passed. Not too happy that it’s used as the England Rugby theme because it gives me anxiety every time as though I feel like everyone hearing it doesn’t have the same emotional connection with the song as I do, but idk. I saw Richard Ashcroft live and he played this and I legit bawled my eyes out in public, safe to say I’ll try and hold it in next time. I suggest you all have a listen to the song or even watch the music video for it, it’s the most simple but most meaningful music video to me. 

Favourite Instrument: I’m left handed and I had this Yamaha acoustic guitar that my stepdad gave me - and taught me to play when I was about 5, a few months before he died (it’s still weird to me that I had no idea he had cancer at that point and instead spent his last few months teaching me his favourite hobbies) all he had was right handed guitars, so he taught me to play Metallica’s Nothing Else Matters upside down on this 20 odd year old right handed acoustic. He hadn’t played upside down himself before but did it so I could see what he was doing. I remember sitting in our green living room on the couch with him moving my hands to the right position (I don’t know where my mum was in this scenario, probably in the kitchen). He’d brought this guitar with him the first day I met him, it was probably like 11pm but I was 4 and thought it was 3am or something, but I heard voices coming from the living room and had gone to investigate - there sat my mum and my stepdad having Chinese on the living room floor, laughing together, my stepdad saw me and had brought sweets for me and my brother for when we woke up, but he beckoned me over, gave me a lollipop, stuck a two litre bottle of tizer in front of me and told me to dip the lollipop in the drink and lick it (not a good idea as I would’ve been bouncing off the walls, but I think I must’ve had a sugar crash and fallen asleep). My mum had no idea he was coming as he’d sneakily been texting her, asking what her favourite drink was, her favourite food and flowers etc, after they met in a pub when my mum was at a hostel with my brother after my Dad had taken me. My mum told him that the council had given her a place and he decided to show up and surprise her with all her favourite things and play guitar for her after my brother and I had gone to bed, I don’t remember much time passing before we’d moved into his house (where my mum and her new husband live to this day), but they got married a few months later and I still can’t play that Metallica song (I did try to teach myself more of it though). I also had this black left handed Ibanez prestige that my Dad got me for Christmas about 9 years ago, I could play quite a lot on it but eventually just stopped. Very good at piano though. 

Aesthetic: I’m not sure what this entails but I’m a sucker for neon/RGB/cityscapes and that type of malarkey. Also space. Love da space.  Also whatever Cornwall would be considered as. Cottagecore? I think that’s only an animal crossing related aesthetic but I’m claiming it nonetheless. 

Favourite Author: I’m a big goth so it has to be Stephen King by default. I’ve got copious first editions of his books from the 70′s and 80′s that my Mum bought when she was a teen. At my flat I’ve got Carrie, Christine, Salem’s Lot, Misery and The Shining first editions and the others are in my room at my Mum’s house. I don’t tend to read for joy like I used to, or write for fun either but I’m hoping I do more in 2021. Currently reading The Outsider by King, it sounds eerily familiar to a novel I wrote for coursework in college in 2014 and I’m half pressed to think he’s stole my brain ideas. I’m watching you Stephen. Always watching. Always. 

Favourite animal sounds: I don’t have favourite sounds, but my husky Nanook is my favourite animal because he’s dumb and I love him. Also Kookaburra sounds are terrifying and you all should go listen to what a koala sounds like. When I go to Adelaide (hopefully this year, if not next) I am NOT stepping foot in a nature reserve unless I’ve got an anti-kookaburra noise suit on. They obviously don’t exist so I’m gonna have to make one.

Random: I’m part of a viking reenactment group where they use actual swords and fight each other, and we have to basically sign our lives away when we join, to say that if we die, it’s not the groups fault. I don’t actually do the fighting though, I’m part of the villager group, so I do all the crafting and food making and most of the teaching when we do shows. I’ve not yet been to a show as I’ve had uni to go to, but my parents, sister and brother do - They stayed within Whitby Abbey last year during the Viking festival where everyone did the show and the adults got drunk round campfires in the castle grounds. Zacky Vengeance once complimented my shirt if that’s something. I’m also colourblind, got glared at by Liam Gallagher in the Liverpool Echo Arena parking lot and have too accurate a sense of smell.

Sorry this was so long, obviously I felt like word-dumping and my brain has a lot to say as I find too much meaning in these things.  Thanks again for tagging me! I’ve not got 17 people to tag as I don’t interact with anyone at the moment but I’ll come back to this and add people as the week progresses :) 

[cupidkihyun]

Bad Decisions pt 2 [Jaehyun]

Genre: Angst        

Scenario: Your long term friend Jaehyun is in love with your best friend. You want nothing but the best for them but silently dealing with your break up from BTS singer Jeon Jungkook has been weighing on you. One drunken night and one bad decision leads to risks taken and mistakes made.

Characters: Jaehyun; Reader (You); Your Friend (Y/F/N); Mark; small mention of other members

Word Count: 2007

Notes: Thank you so much for your feedback with part 1, reading your nice comments really made my day! Here’s part 2 I hope you guys enjoy it as well.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5.5

        “Alright.”

           He gave you a slow nod, his eyes telling you ‘its what’s for the best Y/N’, and he released his grip on your knee. You couldn’t necessarily poke any holes in his logic. It’s true that he and Y/F/N weren’t dating but they might as well have been. She was so in love with him and up until now you would have said he felt the exact same way about her.

As you sat with your thoughts he collected his discarded shirt off the floor and rolled it up into a ball in his fist. You watched him tug the wrinkled black material onto his body. He popped his head through the hole and shook his dark hair. You walked over to your bag, checking your phone one more time before slinging the strap across your shoulder.

“It’s almost 4am, you should just spend the night.” Jaehyun called after you.

 “No I’m just gonna go.”

“Looking like that?” He gestured to your body. The deep marks his mouth left on your skin starting to turn a dull purple, “Just stay over Y/N. You can sleep in my room. It wouldn’t be the first time.”

 “It’s different now. We can’t do that kind of thing anymore.”

“I didn’t want things to be different.”

“Well they are!”

Mark’s awkward cough caught your attention and you both turned to look at him, “You can sleep in my bed, Y/N. I can sleep on the floor.”

“Mark how long were you standing there.”

 “I just came back; you guys are being hella loud. I’m surprised Haechan hasn’t scrambled out here at the first sign of drama.”

*

The next day you woke up to a sleeping Mark softly snoring on the floor beside you. You were lax for a moment seemingly in a limbo, until you remembered what you had done last night. Y/F/N had told you she liked Jaehyun many times over, always telling you about the little conversations they had and the compliments he would send her way. Guilty was not a strong enough word of how you felt.

You got up out of bed twisting your stiff limbs until you heard them crack and roll back into place. You quietly shuffled out of the room, entering the small kitchen and living area to find Haechan already awake munching on a muffin.

“Noona, are you alright? You have marks on your neck,” he said worried trying to get a better look at your neck.

“Uh yeah Haechan I’m fine”, you said hurriedly covering your neck with your hand and moving past him to get out the door and down to your car, waving half-heartedly at him as you left.

You had texted Y/F/N last night saying you had got carried away with the Uno game and didn’t realize the time had flown by. You hoped that didn’t sound too fake over text, usually you were more careful about sleeping over, being an idol you couldn’t ruin your image with something as little as staying over at a boy’s dorm.

She had texted you back not one second later telling you it was okay and that you had dance practice tomorrow and to be back early to get a shower, change, and eat before you both left.

You couldn’t help but let a few tears slip as you sat in your car looking at your messages. She was always so kind to you, especially after your break up with Jungkook. She won’t even yell at you for staying over, which she should, instead she’ll have breakfast ready and nothing  but a smile on her face.

You drove back to your dorm, it was about 20 minutes away, giving you time to compose yourself before you met your members.

You walked into the dorm to find it empty, there was no music on, no one starting a food fight in the kitchen. You placed your bag down on the couch, going into the room you shared with Y/F/N and walked straight into her.

“Oh, hey there you are. I didn’t hear you come in”, she said as you backed up a little, your head hitting the back of the door.

“Are you okay? You look tired….”, she said as she peered at your face. It must still be puffy from you crying this morning.

“Uh, yeah. Fine, fine. Um why is no one else awake?”, you said diverting the question.

“They have the day off, because we’re practicing with Mark and Jae today for our sub-group. Are you sure you’re okay? You didn’t drink anything did you?”

“Yeah, yeah I am. I just didn’t get a lot of sleep last night, sorry. I’m gonna go take a shower before we have to leave”

“Alright, I’ll make breakfast. Bacon and eggs sound good?”, she said as she made her way out of the bedroom.

“Uh yeah that’s fine”, you said as you grabbed a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt from your closet and rushed to the bathroom. Keeping this from her was harder than you expected.

Once you were done with your shower you did minimal make-up, being an idol you never got a day off to be “normal”. You stared at yourself in the mirror. The hickeys Jaehyun gave you still shone on your skin a deep plum color, making your thoughts drift back to last night. His lips on your skin felt so… right. But you couldn’t deny the amount of guilt you felt over it, it was slowly suffocating you like a flower wilting in the sun.

You covered up the marks he left on you as best you could, and made your way to the kitchen. The savory smell of bacon hit your nose as you rounded the corner, seeing Y/F/N bent over the stove cooking.

“Hey, I’m almost done, give me a minute”, she said smiling softly at you.

You took a seat at the breakfast bar, waiting patiently as she finished. Your phone vibrated on the counter, startling you. It was Jaehyun.

Jaehyun: “Remember what we agreed to last night. We can’t tell her”

Y/N: “The guilt is eating me alive Jae, I don’t know if I can be this fake to her and her not notice something is off with me. It’s only a matter of time”

Jaehyun: “Y/N you know we can’t tell. We’re just gonna have to forget about it”

Y/N: “Easier said than done”

“Here, I hope you like it!”, Y/F/N said as she placed a heaping plate of food in front of you.

“I always like it, you’re the best”

“Haha thanks. I’m looking forward to today, I think it’s going to be really fun and our song is really good! I hope the fans like it, there’s been a lot of hype around it. And I think Jaehyun likes me Y/N, like likes me likes me. He’s really cute, right? Do you think he’ll ask me out? I hope he does”

You swallowed thickly, “I mean he’s alright…and yeah I’m 100 percent sure he likes you”, You said trying to keep up with the conversation as best you could without sounding too “off”.

“Are you sure you’re okay? You’re acting… strange this morning”

“Y/F/N I SAID I WAS FINE” you snapped as you eyed the girl beside you.

She looked taken aback, her hair falling in perfect waves down her face, framing it in a soft halo. Her eyes told you she knew something was up, but you were unwilling to tell.

“Y/N, I was just trying to help. Something is obviously eating away at you”, she said as she stood up, her chair scraping along the floor as she did. She washed her plate, and put it in the dishwasher then turned back to you.

“We leave in 10 minutes, I’ll drive”, she said as she left the kitchen with a solemn expression.

Now you really fucked up. She knew something was up, why you thought you could hide it was beyond you.

You both sat in the car, not talking. “Singing in the Rain” by JinSoul was softly playing in the background, as rain drops started to lightly hit the roof of the car. You guys were usually singing and dancing to whatever song was playing and you had been vlogging your trips in the car, but Y/F/N turned off the camera as soon as you got in the car telling fans you would be back later and shut off the V-live. The camera turned itself on automatically when the car started, giving fans an inside look at what happened when you guys drove.

“Great,” you heard Y/F/N mutter as she put on the wipers as the rain started to pick up, thunder booming in the distance.

She pulled into the underground garage at your company and into the space closest to the elevator and shut off the engine.

“Hey I’m sorry about this morning, you don’t need to tell me everything and I’m sorry for prying into your business” she said as she broke the silence.

“It’s okay. I was being a bitch about it,” you muttered as you glanced at her.

“I mean kind of….” she said a smile on her face, “Okay we good? Let’s go!”, she said as she hopped out of the car.

You couldn’t help but admire how she handled situations, you guessed it came with being the leader of a popular K-pop group and the constant pressure.

You followed her to the elevator, pushing the button for the 6th floor. You almost forgot about what transpired the other night until the doors opened to reveal Mark and Jaehyun waiting outside the practice room.

“Oh guys I’m sorry, I forgot it was locked,” Y/F/N said as she came in front of them to unlock the doors. “No one is usually here this early”.

As Y/F/N was occupied with the doors and Mark’s comments about how “Noona’s shouldn’t forget such meaningful things” Jaehyun gave you a pointed look that clearly said “Don’t say anything” and slipped inside the practice room.

After about 4 hours of getting the dance moves wrong and “Noona that’s too sexy for my eyes” you guys had finally taken a break. You made your way over to where your bag was and fished out your water bottle you knew Y/F/N had packed for you.

“Hey”, you heard a deep voice say right behind you.

“Fuck Jaehyun, you scared me. And I don’t want to talk to you right now,” you said as you tried to get back to Y/F/N and Mark, who were currently playing “rock, paper, scissors” for who had to buy the food for lunch.

“You haven’t said anything to her right?”

“No, I haven’t,” you scowled at him.

“Okay, well I just asked her if I could take her out after practice and she agreed”

“Great, now move”, you said.

Suddenly you hear Mark’s voice boom through the practice room. “Yo I wouldn’t leave those two together for too long after what happened last night” he hollered and you immediately knew you were going to kill Mark.

“What happened last night?” Y/F/N asked as she counted out money for lunch absentmindedly on the floor.

“Nothing” you and Jaehyun said at the same time.

“You guys didn’t tell her?”

“Mark shut the fuck up”, you snarled.

“Oh just that they were all on each other last night.” Mark laughed/

Y/F/N turned to look at the both of you, raising an eyebrow in suspicion. “Jaehyun what is he talking about?”

“Y/F/N it wasn’t like that.” Jaehyun blurted out quickly.

Mark rolled his eyes, “Oh please, I could hear you guys with my door shut. And the way you guys were clinging to each other, oh my god, it was like you two were ‘bout to merge souls or something. I’m actually gonna have night terrors for the rest of my life.”

You couldn’t be more horrified. The look on her face was of utter disbelief, which turned to anger, then sadness all in a mere second.

-admin unnie & punpun

[soupoctave1-blog]

Family Road Trip - Amarillo, Durango, & Telluride

Hello there!  Remember me?!  I'm the girl who used to blog semi-regularly.  Now we're lucky if I even remember my password to get on this thing! Ha!  All that to be said, I've taken a break from both of my blogs to truly enjoy the summer with my family.  I wanted this summer to be all about family and that it has.  #noragrets

We just got home from a two week vacation in Colorado.  I received several messages regarding our trip....where did we stay?  what did we do?  where did we eat?  SO...I thought it would be easiest just to update our travels here and dust the old cobwebs off this site.  Today's post will highlight some of our favorites in Amarillo, TX, and Durango & Telluride, CO.  Tomorrow will be all about my most favorite place in the world...Breckenridge!!!

We started out early on a Sunday morning and headed west for the first leg of our trip.  We originally planned on spending two weeks in Breckenridge, but at the last minute we changed up our plans and decided we wanted to see a few things we've never seen before.  We drove a total of 14 hours the first day and ended up in a little hotel right outside of Albequerque, New Mexico.  We received lots of dinner recommendations for our short stay, but because we arrived so late, we grabbed some Subway and called it a night.

I love road trips, so the 14 hours we spent driving seemed to fly by.  Truly.   Between pit stops and random pullovers to check out sights we'd never seen before...plus an EXCELLENT playlist (if I do say so myself ;)...14 hours flew by in a flash.  And even though I'm sure I'll receive some sort of "you don't deserve to raise your children" type messages for this, our McDonald's stop was pretty on point.  We only get it a couple of times a year and you better believe I went all out.  All the large fries, pink slime (aka: nuggets...amazing)...and Coke I could handle.  #feelfreetojudge 

Before getting to Albequerque, we stopped off the highway in Amarillo to check out Cadillac Ranch.  We really didn't know much about what to expect other than what we heard from friends so we didn't come prepared.  I should've read up on it, but I didn't.  Just seemed like a cool thing we'd see and then leave.  Anyway, Cadillac Ranch is a large piece of land with about 10 Cadillacs buried in the ground nose down.  One of those crazy Texas landmarks, lol.  It's definitely a cool sight to see & part of the allure is getting to spray paint the cars.  The kids were in awe.  We should've come prepared with spray paint bottles...which we didn't...but there was a family there with extras who saw us aimlessly wandering about and gifted the boys their half-used cans.  Super nice.  And just enough to give the boys a taste for tagging :)

This was the perfect pit stop to get out, stretch our legs, and see something we've never seen before.  The boys REALLY enjoyed this stop so we didn't rush through it.  We stayed for about 30-45 minutes, but probably could've stayed a lot less.  I think we were all a little happy to be out of the car. 

  If you've never seen it before and it's a stop along your way, you definitely want to pull over and check it out for yourself.  It's right off of HWY 40 so you don't have to travel far off of your route to get there.  We'll probably stop again next summer when we head that way again. Just make sure to bring your own cans of spray paint before you go!

Day 2 found us on our last leg of our first destination.  It was about a 5.5 hour drive from Albequerque to Durango, CO and we arrived just in time for lunch.  Before getting to Durango, we had to pull over for a photo op.  The boys wanted to say they walked to Colorado, LOL!!!

Luckily another family pulled in right behind us and we were able to get a family pic together.  Cheesy, but had to be done.  Onward and upward to Durango we went.

A friend of mine who is from that area suggested we eat at Steamworks Brewery for lunch.  GREAT recommendation!  We sat on the patio, enjoyed the cool breeze, and the food was 12 kinds of delicious.  We both enjoyed the special...beef brisket tacos...and they were amazing.  I also had a side of chicken tortilla soup and it was sensational.  Let me just warn you right here that much of this vacation consisted of me stuffing my face full of #allthefood. Not sad about it at all.

After lunch, we walked around the historic downtown area and took in the sights.  We walked into a few little shops, grabbed some cinnamon rolls for the boys, and then headed to Telluride.  We had a ton of people telling us to make sure we rode the train from Durango to Silverton, check out the cave dwellings in Mesa Verde National Park, and go rafting.  We would've done ALL of those things, but we didn't plan for it so we were strapped for time.  We wanted to get to Telluride before dark.  No part of driving through the mountains in the dark is fun for either of us and with Telluride being our ultimate destination, we decided to cut our time in Durango really short to give us plenty of time to make it to Telluride before sunset.  Next year Durango will be a one or two night pit stop, God willing!  We'd LOVE to check out some of those recommendations. The downtown area was so charming!

Telluride was only a couple of hours drive from Durango and we couldn't wait to arrive.  The drive was gorgeous...and really scary.  We're not used to ascending into the highest heights of the mountains on a regular basis.  Couple that with insane rain, hail, and a 40 degree drop in temperatures through some of the highest points and you can bet that we were white knuckle driving and on edge for the last hour or so of our drive.  YIKES.  I envy the locals who can drive through the mountains in those conditions without so much as blinking an eye.

Once we made it through the scary parts of our journey, we found ourselves in Telluride and y'all...I was taken aback.  I mean, completely speechless.  The views in Telluride are truly BREATHTAKING.  Everywhere we turned we were surrounded by mountains & peaks.  In every single direction.  And not in the distance.  I felt like the mountains were hugging the town.  Heaven on Earth.

Since we added this stop to our trip at the last minute our choices of places to stay were a little limited.  Or so we thought.  Neither of us knew a thing about the town, so knowing where to stay (Mountain Village?? or in town???) threw us for a loop.  We read and read and read about it, but still came out unsure of what to do.  We eventually decided it would be best to stay in town because from what we read we thought Mountain Village would be dead in the summer.  We ended up finding a pretty inexpensive lodge to call home for a couple of nights that was in walking distance of Colorado Ave. & close to the trailhead of the hike up Bear Creek Falls Trail we planned on taking.

We stayed at Manitou Lodge in a loft style room.  Y'all...it was the cutest thing.  The entire unit was made up of 11 different rooms.  Our loft-style room upstairs included both lower and upper balconies. This was truly the perfect accommodation for our little family of four.  Adam and I slept upstairs and the boys slept downstairs on the couch.  We couldn't get over how perfect it was!  Comfy and quaint...our kind of place.

This was the view outside our balcony doors...

The San Miguel river ran right alongside our lodge. We kept our windows and balcony doors open at night so that we could listen to the rushing water as we trailed off to sleep.  Pure heaven.

This is where the boys liked to play every time we walked outside...

It felt like we were semi-nestled in the woods and that was the most amazing feeling.  The only downside...if I had to pick one...was that the bathroom was really, really tiny.  NOT a big deal at all.  We dont' need a lot of space.  But if you're someone who likes a bigger bathroom, this wouldn't be your jam.  However, for us, it was the perfect spot.  This will be our go-to lodging when we visit Telluride again, for sure!!!

We settled into our lodge, changed into warmer clothes, and walked to Colorado Ave. (which is the main drag) for dinner.  I felt like our lodge was centrally located to everything we wanted to do and once we parked the car we didn't drive it again until leaving town.   Everyone we met and several people on IG recommended we eat at Brown Dog Pizza.  We're never one to turn down pizza, so that's where we headed for our first meal in town.  Everyone clearly knew what they were talking about because that was one of the best meals we've had in a long time!!!

It's a cozy place with lots of TVs for the sports fanatics, and the kids had the option of making their own pizzas at the table and sending them back to bake.  I thought that was such a cool touch!  Of course, they both opted to create their own and here they are making their meals...

The end product....

They ate every last bite!  As did we (we opted for the supreme pizza...highly recommed!).  Ha!  Great first meal!  I would HIGHLY recommend stopping here if you find yourself in Telluride.

We headed to bed a little early so we could wake up and hit the trails for some hiking the next morning.  We are a family who loves to hike, so I researched some of our options before getting into town.  I wanted an easy to moderate trail because we aren't experts & I figured we'd still be acclimating to the altitude. Plus, hiking with kids for this semi-overprotective mom sometimes has me on edge.  Both boys are great hikers.  They LOVE it.  But they're also a little over-confident so I didn't want anything extraordinarily difficult or treacherous.  After lots of research, we decided on the Bear Creek Falls Trail and it was a bonus that the trailhead was about a 5 minute walk from our lodge.

We read that the bugs can be pretty annoying through certain parts of the hike, so we came prepared with bug spray....and LOTS of trail mix, granola bars, and water.  It's a 4.5 mile round trip hike so all of those extras came in handy.  The hike was AMAZING.  Wide open trails to walk up until hitting the top before the waterfall.  Some parts of the trail were a little more challenging to hike than others (steep, rocky, etc.), but it wasn't "hard" by any means.  This little area was a great resting point going up and coming back down...

I guess hikers stop here and stack rocks one on top of the other and leave them for the next group of hikers to ogle.  My youngest absolutely LOVED this area.  He quickly went to work making his own little stacks and he was so very proud of his handiwork.  See?! LOL.

We stopped and snacked.  Drank some water.  Stacked some rocks.  And then headed to the top.

It was sweet heaven when we finally made it.  I mean, just LOOK AT THIS VIEW!!!!!!

We sat down our gear and the boys headed into the water to jump across the rocks and explore.  I watched our things and sat down to catch my breath while taking in the beauty of God's creation. 

The sheer magnitude of those views is so hard to articulate.

We realized we hadn't exactly made it to the top when the boys finally came back from exploring.  We came to see the waterfall so we needed to climb a little bit more to get to our final destination.  The path going up was a bit trickier.  Definitely narrow and steep-ish in parts...wet and rocky...a little slippery...but the boys powered through and the climb to the top was worth every breath lost. It was BEAUTIFUL.

We stayed at the falls long enough to snap a few pics and marvel at the view.  My oldest was ready to get down.  He's not a fan of heights...just like his momma....and this part of the hike had him feeling a little nervous.  And if I'm being honest, it had me a little nervous, too.

If you're in Telluride with kids, I definitely recommend this hike.  Yes...it's long.  4.5 miles round trip isn't exactly a short walk in the park.  But it's definitely worth it.  My boys did so much better than I expected.  They were great!  My youngest lives life at a much slower pace than my oldest.  He takes his sweet time doing everything (hello 45 minutes to eat a hot dog!!!!).  So he definitely took his time on this trail.  Dad walked with our oldest and I walked with our youngest.  We lagged behind the other two the majority of the hike, but the conversations we had were worth the distance between us.  The only time the boys complained was on our way down when we had about a mile left to walk.  My youngest said, "are we close yet?  My legs are getting tired."  And that was it.  Not too bad!

Walking back to our lodge after the hike....just right down the street.

We headed back to the lodge, changed clothes, and walked back to Colorado Ave. for lunch.  We were STARVING!!!  We went up and down the street trying to figure out what to eat.  Everyone wanted something different.  We were all a little irritable and HANGRY.  My oldest could live on grilled cheese and when we found this cart we knew he found his lunch...

We grabbed him a sandwich that he could eat on the go while the rest of us tried to agree on something.  IMPOSSIBLE.  Like I said, irritable and hangry.  After walking in and out of several different places, we finally settled on Smuggler's Brew Pub which was right around the corner from our lodge.  We sat on the patio, ordered our food, and after what seemed like forever, we finally chowed down.  And then came the rain.  OF COURSE!!!  Irritable moods were made even worse.  Lord help us.  Let me say this though...the food was EXCELLENT.  Great menu and the atmosphere was one of my favorites.  The only thing that dampened our experience was the rain ( no pun intended).  I would definitely recommend stopping in for a meal here.  I ordered the meatball slider sandwhich (amazing!) and my youngest ordered the nutella on toast (which he took two bites of and then abandoned.  not cool).  No idea what the spouse was eating because I was hyperfocused on my own meal and all the food my son wasn't eating.  Definitely would go back again!

We headed back to the lodge for a nap because we ALL needed one.  And it was the best nap ever.  We slept with the windows and doors open as the rain came down.  Perfection.  When we woke up a few hours later, we got dressed and headed to the gondola to ride up to Mountain Village and see what it was all about.

Like I said earlier, I have a fear of heights, so I was NOT looking forward to the ride up.  It's a pretty steep climb, but everyone was telling us it was a MUST DO and I certainly didn't want the kids to see my fears get the best of me.  So up we went and I'm SO glad we did!  Yes, I had butterflies in my stomach almost the whole way up, but WOW.  The views were unparalleled.  Just stunning!!!!

Mountain Village was DARLING and I could absolutley see how it would be even more amazing during ski season.  By the time we got there, all the little shops were starting to shut down and it was pretty quiet.  However, I think we would've loved staying here this time of year.  There were a ton of things for the kids to do...panning for gold, trampoline bungee, obstacle course, park, etc....but they were all closed for the night. .  However, we were able to find a little park with a rock climbing wall and the boys enjoying *trying* to scale it until they gave up.  Ha.

  The restaurants were all still open as was an open area with yard checkers and other little games for the kids to play.  We just got up there at the wrong time.  Going during the day would've been our best bet.  I would probably suggest staying in Mountain Village during the summer if you have kids.  You could always take the gondola down into Telluride if you plan on hiking or just walking around town.  The vibe in Mountain Village just seemed a bit more family friendly.  But dang...that Manitou Lodge in town was the best!!!!

After the boys finished playing, we headed to a little pub to grab a local beer and then gondola back down to town.  We walked to The Floradora Saloon for a late dinner.  I was OBSESSED with this place!!!!  I'm all about the cozy little places with lots of history and The Floradora Saloon has been around Telluride since the early 70's.  Much of the decor from those days is still intact which adds to the charm of the atmosphere.  The food was WONDERFUL, too. So flavorful and completely unexpected. I had the baked mac & cheese and ohmiword....to-die-for.  Adam got the Pork Green Chili and said it was the best chili he's ever had.  Great dining experience!!  HIGHLY recommend.

The next morning we were up bright and early to clean-up, pack up, and hit the road to our ultimate destination...Breckenridge!  We loaded up the car and walked to Baked in Telluride for breakfast.  It was just one block up from our lodge and we were dying to check it out after walking past it several different times.  Just look at all these baked goods!!!!  Of course, the boys opted for donuts as big as their heads...

Dad had a croissant and I had an apple turnover.  Both excellent selections, but I'm thinking anything from this place would've been amazing.

After breakfast,we took the gondola back up to Mountain Village to grab a souvenir Tervis we saw window shopping the night before, and then back down to head out.  I LOVE Breckenridge and couldn't wait to get there, but I did NOT want to leave Telluride at all.  Two nights wasn't enough.  We decided we need more time to explore next time we're out that way.  We'll tack this on to our trip and make our stay last a few extra nights.  There are a couple of other hiking trails we'd love to try and sights we'd love to see like Bridal Veil Falls.

If you're thinking about a trip to Telluride, GO!  NOW.  Hahah.  But seriously.  You definitely want to see it for yourself. It's impossible to describe until you experience it in person.  We will definitely be back and we'd even love to ski here one ski season if possible!  I say "if possible" because the tiny airport isn't anything I'm brave enough to conquer.  Big planes, big airports...I can barely even do those.  Driving in the summer is way easier for my chicken self to conquer.

Many people asked why we didn't fly and this is exactly why.  There's SO much to see and we wanted to see it all.  Driving is the best way to do it!  And since we both have time during the summer to road trip, we figured we'd make the most of it and drive.  I personally LOVE road trips.  Not just because I don't like flying, but road trips afford you the opportunity to see things you wouldn't otherwise.  It helps that our kids are a little older (8 & 10), are easily entertained, and don't need diaper changes or bottles.  We've been on 18 hour road trips to Indiana when they were babies and I know that's hard!  But even so, road trips, in my opinion, are always the best way to travel!!!

Let's talk Breck tomorrow!

Source: http://pearls-handcuffs-happyhour.blogspot.com/2017/07/family-road-trip-amarillo-durango.html

[5hfanfiction]

Too Close To Home - Chapter 5.5

LAUREN’S POV

I march aggressive to my car, still fuming from our blowup moments before. This is probably the most heated fight I’ve had in a very long time. The fight I had with Lucy just hours ago were mostly emotional. There wasn’t any screaming and shouting, there were only tears and broken speeches. It wasn’t based on irrationality and grudges like what I had with Camila.

I know I was the one in the wrong, but I couldn’t help it. Her constant interruptions and accusations were just too much. I’m an expressive person and I don’t like to get disturbed when I’m talking. That’s probably why she did it. Camila knew how to push my buttons.

It was long overdue though. I can tell that she has kept it for so long. She was never one to express feelings. I know she doesn’t go to the girls. If they knew about how we broke up, I don’t think they would’ve talked to me. I didn’t say anything to them either. But I had Lucy, who did she have?

I didn’t plan on screaming at her. I just don’t understand how she expects me to justify myself when she doesn’t even let me talk for more than two sentences. She spits more and more hateful words that I couldn’t handle but fight back.

And how dare she question my love for her. I thought she knew me better than that. I guess not.

I hugged her because I missed her. I saw the way she looked at me when Lucy and I walked on the aisle inside the stadium. I saw hurt and all I wanted was to hug her. So I did. Jut not in front of Lucy.

I think back about our petty argument, recalling every word I said.

“Fuck!” I screamed, kicking my car’s tire, only to regret moments later when it collided. My foot is throbbing from the aftermath.

The fuck did I just do? I was pissed of her constantly accusing that caused me to blindly say things I clearly don’t mean. Anger blocked logic and reasoning, so I couldn’t help but feel the need to hurt her back.

I wanted to be friends, not cause more disputes. I wanted to bring her here because this was the place we used to go to, it could remind her of our friendship. We also never fought here, not like most places.

But I guess I can’t say that now.

I wanted her help to find Lucy because then, Lucy could see that nothing is going on between us. It made sense in my head, hang with Camila and prove Lucy wrong. I thought it was full proof.

Lucy and I fought because of what she witnessed when Camila performed on the AMAs. She saw that Camila was staring at me. She also saw me staring at her. What ticked her off though was the fact that she could see that neither of us has moved on, or at least that’s what she said.

I couldn’t disagree more. I’m engaged to her for gods sakes. What screams moving on than being engaged to another girl? And besides, I don’t think Camila would want me anymore after what I did to her.

I know we got engaged pretty early. We started dating back in April last year and got engaged in January this year. But I didn’t care, I’ve known her since we were kids. We cut the part where we get to know each other, I know I can trust her.

The fight we had was intense, but it wasn’t as intense as what I had with Camila. We argued like old adults, sitting on a couch and talking with a right mind, not clouded by irrationality.

After we talked about what she saw for an hour or two, we knew that we were getting nowhere because she was determined in believing at what she saw, we then decided to sleep it off first.

But by 12am, I didn’t feel the usual warmth and it caused me to wake up on an empty bed. The first thing that came through my mind was to call Camila, she could help me.

That clearly didn’t go well.

So now, I thought of what to do next, contemplating whether I should go search for Lucy or go back to Camila.

I decided to go back to Camila, knowing that even if I search for Lucy, the possibility of me actually finding her is few to none.

But the hope of making amends with Camila was crushed when I saw her crying. Her whimpers and sobs piercing through my ear, the sound making my heart physically constrict in pain.

I caused that. And this is only one of the many fights we’ve had, imagine her crying like this every time we fought.

When we fought years back, I was always the one who leaves first. I can only think about what she did alone after I left her.

I just look at her, my feet glued to the floor, legs unwilling to cooperate. I’m quite far so she couldn’t really see me. Besides, she has her head down on her knees.

She looks so vulnerable. She has cried in front of me, but never when we fight. The amount of energy Camila has to hold to not cry must’ve been hard, I’m amazed. People say crying makes you look weak, but all I can see is how strong she is right now.

She had once said that pain is a monster fed by fear. What I didn’t get is that if she had told people to not hold back when in pain, why has she kept her emotions hidden? Why did she feed it and let it grow legs?

God, why the hell did I say I regretted it? I didn’t. Well, maybe a little, but only because of how costly it was. She was my best friend. I used to talk to her about everything. And relationship ruined it. But I never regretted kissing her. I never regretted falling for her. I never regretted anything I did with her.

So here I am, with tears falling down silently, looking at my ex crying. I couldn’t move, it feels like my heart wants this. It wants to be broken.

—

“Lauren, why do you have to go to Lucy every time we get a break?” she says as she comes into the dressing room.

We just finished our rehearsal for our performance soon. I was changing because I was too tired and got excused. The other girls were still outside.

“What do you mean?” I ask, knowing that this would lead to yet another disagreement.

“Like, we had a break a few days ago, you hung out with Lucy instead of me. It’s like you don’t hang with me anymore. You always go to Lucy.”

“Are you kidding me right now?! She’s my best friend.” My voice weren’t loud but it was full of hostility.

“I understand that part. But what I don’t understand is the excessive visitation and the late night calls. It feels like you’d rather hang with her than with me.”

“SHES MY FUCKING BESTFRIEND, CAMILA!!!” Okay yeah, so much for trying to keep my voice low.

“YEAH, AND IM YOUR GIRLFRIEND. I DONT MIND YOU BEING WITH HER, I JUST FEEL LIKE IM NOT YOUR PERSON ANYMORE!” She shouts now, her face red. It just made me more enraged. I knew what to say that could hurt her.

“Well, maybe because it’s true.” I smirk, my voice low but I know how those words could cut her. She’s being unreasonable right now.

She stares at me, her anger depleting, making me regret for saying it. Her expression changes from pissed to sadness.

“It is?” her voice broke when she said it, looking down on the floor. She doesn’t usually get sad when we fight. But even if she’s sad, she doesn’t cry, she just looks broken.

“No, Camz.” My pride broke, my voice was now soft. I walk to her, my hand on her cheeks when we were at arms length. I tilt her head up so that she can see how truly sorry I am. After all, eyes are the windows to the soul. “I’m sorry, I was just pissed that you’re saying that I couldn’t hang with Lucy.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“In a way you did. I don’t wanna be controlled, you know that. I don’t want to be stuck, being unable to express myself. She’s my bestfriend, you’re my girlfriend. You’re still my person. But I need to hang with her too, we see each other everyday Camz, Lucy and I barely have time to hang. That’s why we do it whenever we have time. I’m not choosing her instead of you. I just can’t lose her.”

Camila smiles weakly, she looked like she wanted to say more. But she dismissed it by shaking her head.

I didn’t want to fight anymore so I didn’t ask.

This is actually one of the most short fights we’ve had. And we even resolved it on the spot. But I couldn’t say the same for the ones after this.

—

I look at her for a few minutes more. But I know that I couldn’t stay here, I don’t want her to know that I’ve seen her cry. She would hide it more.

I decided to wait in the car. Even if I can’t see her, I need to know that she’s okay.

When the sun begin to rise, I see her walking to the parking lot. She had her phone on her ear. Who is she calling at this hour?

A car came and she went in, still calling that person on the other end of the receiver.

…

Wattpad

[pleasecallthepizzaplaceform-blog]

I don’t like writing, and I definitely don’t like reading what I’ve written. So this might be some sort of testament to how much my mind is lashing out. 

I don’t really know what the hell is going on or what’s gonna happen. 

Well, I can tell you a few things.

First off, there will be no revisions. I’m just writing some idiot ramblings here, yall.

Secondly, this is not an adventure blog. Have you ever read those? All these damn people writing about teaching English abroad with their cute ass word play names, half of em finding some new way to use the word adventure and the other half using the word living. Well, being halfway to dead with no knack for artistic arrangements and a fondness for sleeping and practically no energy as well as a very low tolerance for positivity/peppiness/inspirational pictures I can guarantee you won’t be getting any of that here. 

The third thing I can tell you is that I am terrified. I’ve got enough anxiety to fuel a goddamn rocket to the moon. I’m not brave. I’m not some extrovert that loves talking with new people and walking for long hours during the night. I don’t like getting lost, and I don’t enjoy lugging around a bunch of crap and living out of a backpack. I simultaneous want to lay my roots down and see something new and beautiful. Some days it’s more one than the other, but a lot of the time I’m really not sure.

I’m not exactly the picture perfect definition of a “Traveler” - whatever the fuck that means. I want to do couch surfing, but it’s scary. I want to sleep on a beach, but I worry about bugs. I want to talk to other people, but my first instinct is to runaway as soon as possible. I’m not tan or athletic or blonde. I don’t speak multiple languages, and I still don’t like eating seafood. 

I can’t even call the fucking pizza place when I want to eat. It is a horrendous experience that leaves me feeling sick to my stomach. Please god just do it for me?

So how the fuck did I end up here? Some subhuman who’s thinking of going to Thailand and trying to find some temporary employment? How in god’s name do I think I’m gonna pull that one off? I dunno. But I think if I don’t try I’m gonna be pissed at myself. 

I kinda fucked myself over / got fucked over on getting a job straight after KC. I genuinely thought I had one in the bag and EPIK would be a safety. But neither worked out this intake, so I’ve got my choices. Spend the next 5.5 months sleeping on couches / bumming around different parts of the world / living that life I read about but am firmly convinced, down to my very bones, is reserved for other people / maybe loosing more money than I can afford / maybe have a terrible, frustrating time, or go back to Denton / mooch off of beloved friends and their bedding / maybe substitute, maybe get my old job back at target / and have a relatively smooth time. 

Maybe most people would know exactly what they’d want to do either way. But me? I’m still trying to figure that out. 

[towerrange15-blog]

Family Road Trip - Amarillo, Durango, & Telluride

Hello there!  Remember me?!  I'm the girl who used to blog semi-regularly.  Now we're lucky if I even remember my password to get on this thing! Ha!  All that to be said, I've taken a break from both of my blogs to truly enjoy the summer with my family.  I wanted this summer to be all about family and that it has.  #noragrets

We just got home from a two week vacation in Colorado.  I received several messages regarding our trip....where did we stay?  what did we do?  where did we eat?  SO...I thought it would be easiest just to update our travels here and dust the old cobwebs off this site.  Today's post will highlight some of our favorites in Amarillo, TX, and Durango & Telluride, CO.  Tomorrow will be all about my most favorite place in the world...Breckenridge!!!

We started out early on a Sunday morning and headed west for the first leg of our trip.  We originally planned on spending two weeks in Breckenridge, but at the last minute we changed up our plans and decided we wanted to see a few things we've never seen before.  We drove a total of 14 hours the first day and ended up in a little hotel right outside of Albequerque, New Mexico.  We received lots of dinner recommendations for our short stay, but because we arrived so late, we grabbed some Subway and called it a night.

I love road trips, so the 14 hours we spent driving seemed to fly by.  Truly.   Between pit stops and random pullovers to check out sights we'd never seen before...plus an EXCELLENT playlist (if I do say so myself ;)...14 hours flew by in a flash.  And even though I'm sure I'll receive some sort of "you don't deserve to raise your children" type messages for this, our McDonald's stop was pretty on point.  We only get it a couple of times a year and you better believe I went all out.  All the large fries, pink slime (aka: nuggets...amazing)...and Coke I could handle.  #feelfreetojudge 

Before getting to Albequerque, we stopped off the highway in Amarillo to check out Cadillac Ranch.  We really didn't know much about what to expect other than what we heard from friends so we didn't come prepared.  I should've read up on it, but I didn't.  Just seemed like a cool thing we'd see and then leave.  Anyway, Cadillac Ranch is a large piece of land with about 10 Cadillacs buried in the ground nose down.  One of those crazy Texas landmarks, lol.  It's definitely a cool sight to see & part of the allure is getting to spray paint the cars.  The kids were in awe.  We should've come prepared with spray paint bottles...which we didn't...but there was a family there with extras who saw us aimlessly wandering about and gifted the boys their half-used cans.  Super nice.  And just enough to give the boys a taste for tagging :)

This was the perfect pit stop to get out, stretch our legs, and see something we've never seen before.  The boys REALLY enjoyed this stop so we didn't rush through it.  We stayed for about 30-45 minutes, but probably could've stayed a lot less.  I think we were all a little happy to be out of the car. 

  If you've never seen it before and it's a stop along your way, you definitely want to pull over and check it out for yourself.  It's right off of HWY 40 so you don't have to travel far off of your route to get there.  We'll probably stop again next summer when we head that way again. Just make sure to bring your own cans of spray paint before you go!

Day 2 found us on our last leg of our first destination.  It was about a 5.5 hour drive from Albequerque to Durango, CO and we arrived just in time for lunch.  Before getting to Durango, we had to pull over for a photo op.  The boys wanted to say they walked to Colorado, LOL!!!

Luckily another family pulled in right behind us and we were able to get a family pic together.  Cheesy, but had to be done.  Onward and upward to Durango we went.

A friend of mine who is from that area suggested we eat at Steamworks Brewery for lunch.  GREAT recommendation!  We sat on the patio, enjoyed the cool breeze, and the food was 12 kinds of delicious.  We both enjoyed the special...beef brisket tacos...and they were amazing.  I also had a side of chicken tortilla soup and it was sensational.  Let me just warn you right here that much of this vacation consisted of me stuffing my face full of #allthefood. Not sad about it at all.

After lunch, we walked around the historic downtown area and took in the sights.  We walked into a few little shops, grabbed some cinnamon rolls for the boys, and then headed to Telluride.  We had a ton of people telling us to make sure we rode the train from Durango to Silverton, check out the cave dwellings in Mesa Verde National Park, and go rafting.  We would've done ALL of those things, but we didn't plan for it so we were strapped for time.  We wanted to get to Telluride before dark.  No part of driving through the mountains in the dark is fun for either of us and with Telluride being our ultimate destination, we decided to cut our time in Durango really short to give us plenty of time to make it to Telluride before sunset.  Next year Durango will be a one or two night pit stop, God willing!  We'd LOVE to check out some of those recommendations. The downtown area was so charming!

Telluride was only a couple of hours drive from Durango and we couldn't wait to arrive.  The drive was gorgeous...and really scary.  We're not used to ascending into the highest heights of the mountains on a regular basis.  Couple that with insane rain, hail, and a 40 degree drop in temperatures through some of the highest points and you can bet that we were white knuckle driving and on edge for the last hour or so of our drive.  YIKES.  I envy the locals who can drive through the mountains in those conditions without so much as blinking an eye.

Once we made it through the scary parts of our journey, we found ourselves in Telluride and y'all...I was taken aback.  I mean, completely speechless.  The views in Telluride are truly BREATHTAKING.  Everywhere we turned we were surrounded by mountains & peaks.  In every single direction.  And not in the distance.  I felt like the mountains were hugging the town.  Heaven on Earth.

Since we added this stop to our trip at the last minute our choices of places to stay were a little limited.  Or so we thought.  Neither of us knew a thing about the town, so knowing where to stay (Mountain Village?? or in town???) threw us for a loop.  We read and read and read about it, but still came out unsure of what to do.  We eventually decided it would be best to stay in town because from what we read we thought Mountain Village would be dead in the summer.  We ended up finding a pretty inexpensive lodge to call home for a couple of nights that was in walking distance of Colorado Ave. & close to the trailhead of the hike up Bear Creek Falls Trail we planned on taking.

We stayed at Manitou Lodge in a loft style room.  Y'all...it was the cutest thing.  The entire unit was made up of 11 different rooms.  Our loft-style room upstairs included both lower and upper balconies. This was truly the perfect accommodation for our little family of four.  Adam and I slept upstairs and the boys slept downstairs on the couch.  We couldn't get over how perfect it was!  Comfy and quaint...our kind of place.

This was the view outside our balcony doors...

The San Miguel river ran right alongside our lodge. We kept our windows and balcony doors open at night so that we could listen to the rushing water as we trailed off to sleep.  Pure heaven.

This is where the boys liked to play every time we walked outside...

It felt like we were semi-nestled in the woods and that was the most amazing feeling.  The only downside...if I had to pick one...was that the bathroom was really, really tiny.  NOT a big deal at all.  We dont' need a lot of space.  But if you're someone who likes a bigger bathroom, this wouldn't be your jam.  However, for us, it was the perfect spot.  This will be our go-to lodging when we visit Telluride again, for sure!!!

We settled into our lodge, changed into warmer clothes, and walked to Colorado Ave. (which is the main drag) for dinner.  I felt like our lodge was centrally located to everything we wanted to do and once we parked the car we didn't drive it again until leaving town.   Everyone we met and several people on IG recommended we eat at Brown Dog Pizza.  We're never one to turn down pizza, so that's where we headed for our first meal in town.  Everyone clearly knew what they were talking about because that was one of the best meals we've had in a long time!!!

It's a cozy place with lots of TVs for the sports fanatics, and the kids had the option of making their own pizzas at the table and sending them back to bake.  I thought that was such a cool touch!  Of course, they both opted to create their own and here they are making their meals...

The end product....

They ate every last bite!  As did we (we opted for the supreme pizza...highly recommed!).  Ha!  Great first meal!  I would HIGHLY recommend stopping here if you find yourself in Telluride.

We headed to bed a little early so we could wake up and hit the trails for some hiking the next morning.  We are a family who loves to hike, so I researched some of our options before getting into town.  I wanted an easy to moderate trail because we aren't experts & I figured we'd still be acclimating to the altitude. Plus, hiking with kids for this semi-overprotective mom sometimes has me on edge.  Both boys are great hikers.  They LOVE it.  But they're also a little over-confident so I didn't want anything extraordinarily difficult or treacherous.  After lots of research, we decided on the Bear Creek Falls Trail and it was a bonus that the trailhead was about a 5 minute walk from our lodge.

We read that the bugs can be pretty annoying through certain parts of the hike, so we came prepared with bug spray....and LOTS of trail mix, granola bars, and water.  It's a 4.5 mile round trip hike so all of those extras came in handy.  The hike was AMAZING.  Wide open trails to walk up until hitting the top before the waterfall.  Some parts of the trail were a little more challenging to hike than others (steep, rocky, etc.), but it wasn't "hard" by any means.  This little area was a great resting point going up and coming back down...

I guess hikers stop here and stack rocks one on top of the other and leave them for the next group of hikers to ogle.  My youngest absolutely LOVED this area.  He quickly went to work making his own little stacks and he was so very proud of his handiwork.  See?! LOL.

We stopped and snacked.  Drank some water.  Stacked some rocks.  And then headed to the top.

It was sweet heaven when we finally made it.  I mean, just LOOK AT THIS VIEW!!!!!!

We sat down our gear and the boys headed into the water to jump across the rocks and explore.  I watched our things and sat down to catch my breath while taking in the beauty of God's creation. 

The sheer magnitude of those views is so hard to articulate.

We realized we hadn't exactly made it to the top when the boys finally came back from exploring.  We came to see the waterfall so we needed to climb a little bit more to get to our final destination.  The path going up was a bit trickier.  Definitely narrow and steep-ish in parts...wet and rocky...a little slippery...but the boys powered through and the climb to the top was worth every breath lost. It was BEAUTIFUL.

We stayed at the falls long enough to snap a few pics and marvel at the view.  My oldest was ready to get down.  He's not a fan of heights...just like his momma....and this part of the hike had him feeling a little nervous.  And if I'm being honest, it had me a little nervous, too.

If you're in Telluride with kids, I definitely recommend this hike.  Yes...it's long.  4.5 miles round trip isn't exactly a short walk in the park.  But it's definitely worth it.  My boys did so much better than I expected.  They were great!  My youngest lives life at a much slower pace than my oldest.  He takes his sweet time doing everything (hello 45 minutes to eat a hot dog!!!!).  So he definitely took his time on this trail.  Dad walked with our oldest and I walked with our youngest.  We lagged behind the other two the majority of the hike, but the conversations we had were worth the distance between us.  The only time the boys complained was on our way down when we had about a mile left to walk.  My youngest said, "are we close yet?  My legs are getting tired."  And that was it.  Not too bad!

Walking back to our lodge after the hike....just right down the street.

We headed back to the lodge, changed clothes, and walked back to Colorado Ave. for lunch.  We were STARVING!!!  We went up and down the street trying to figure out what to eat.  Everyone wanted something different.  We were all a little irritable and HANGRY.  My oldest could live on grilled cheese and when we found this cart we knew he found his lunch...

We grabbed him a sandwich that he could eat on the go while the rest of us tried to agree on something.  IMPOSSIBLE.  Like I said, irritable and hangry.  After walking in and out of several different places, we finally settled on Smuggler's Brew Pub which was right around the corner from our lodge.  We sat on the patio, ordered our food, and after what seemed like forever, we finally chowed down.  And then came the rain.  OF COURSE!!!  Irritable moods were made even worse.  Lord help us.  Let me say this though...the food was EXCELLENT.  Great menu and the atmosphere was one of my favorites.  The only thing that dampened our experience was the rain ( no pun intended).  I would definitely recommend stopping in for a meal here.  I ordered the meatball slider sandwhich (amazing!) and my youngest ordered the nutella on toast (which he took two bites of and then abandoned.  not cool).  No idea what the spouse was eating because I was hyperfocused on my own meal and all the food my son wasn't eating.  Definitely would go back again!

We headed back to the lodge for a nap because we ALL needed one.  And it was the best nap ever.  We slept with the windows and doors open as the rain came down.  Perfection.  When we woke up a few hours later, we got dressed and headed to the gondola to ride up to Mountain Village and see what it was all about.

Like I said earlier, I have a fear of heights, so I was NOT looking forward to the ride up.  It's a pretty steep climb, but everyone was telling us it was a MUST DO and I certainly didn't want the kids to see my fears get the best of me.  So up we went and I'm SO glad we did!  Yes, I had butterflies in my stomach almost the whole way up, but WOW.  The views were unparalleled.  Just stunning!!!!

Mountain Village was DARLING and I could absolutley see how it would be even more amazing during ski season.  By the time we got there, all the little shops were starting to shut down and it was pretty quiet.  However, I think we would've loved staying here this time of year.  There were a ton of things for the kids to do...panning for gold, trampoline bungee, obstacle course, park, etc....but they were all closed for the night. .  However, we were able to find a little park with a rock climbing wall and the boys enjoying *trying* to scale it until they gave up.  Ha.

  The restaurants were all still open as was an open area with yard checkers and other little games for the kids to play.  We just got up there at the wrong time.  Going during the day would've been our best bet.  I would probably suggest staying in Mountain Village during the summer if you have kids.  You could always take the gondola down into Telluride if you plan on hiking or just walking around town.  The vibe in Mountain Village just seemed a bit more family friendly.  But dang...that Manitou Lodge in town was the best!!!!

After the boys finished playing, we headed to a little pub to grab a local beer and then gondola back down to town.  We walked to The Floradora Saloon for a late dinner.  I was OBSESSED with this place!!!!  I'm all about the cozy little places with lots of history and The Floradora Saloon has been around Telluride since the early 70's.  Much of the decor from those days is still intact which adds to the charm of the atmosphere.  The food was WONDERFUL, too. So flavorful and completely unexpected. I had the baked mac & cheese and ohmiword....to-die-for.  Adam got the Pork Green Chili and said it was the best chili he's ever had.  Great dining experience!!  HIGHLY recommend.

The next morning we were up bright and early to clean-up, pack up, and hit the road to our ultimate destination...Breckenridge!  We loaded up the car and walked to Baked in Telluride for breakfast.  It was just one block up from our lodge and we were dying to check it out after walking past it several different times.  Just look at all these baked goods!!!!  Of course, the boys opted for donuts as big as their heads...

Dad had a croissant and I had an apple turnover.  Both excellent selections, but I'm thinking anything from this place would've been amazing.

After breakfast,we took the gondola back up to Mountain Village to grab a souvenir Tervis we saw window shopping the night before, and then back down to head out.  I LOVE Breckenridge and couldn't wait to get there, but I did NOT want to leave Telluride at all.  Two nights wasn't enough.  We decided we need more time to explore next time we're out that way.  We'll tack this on to our trip and make our stay last a few extra nights.  There are a couple of other hiking trails we'd love to try and sights we'd love to see like Bridal Veil Falls.

If you're thinking about a trip to Telluride, GO!  NOW.  Hahah.  But seriously.  You definitely want to see it for yourself. It's impossible to describe until you experience it in person.  We will definitely be back and we'd even love to ski here one ski season if possible!  I say "if possible" because the tiny airport isn't anything I'm brave enough to conquer.  Big planes, big airports...I can barely even do those.  Driving in the summer is way easier for my chicken self to conquer.

Many people asked why we didn't fly and this is exactly why.  There's SO much to see and we wanted to see it all.  Driving is the best way to do it!  And since we both have time during the summer to road trip, we figured we'd make the most of it and drive.  I personally LOVE road trips.  Not just because I don't like flying, but road trips afford you the opportunity to see things you wouldn't otherwise.  It helps that our kids are a little older (8 & 10), are easily entertained, and don't need diaper changes or bottles.  We've been on 18 hour road trips to Indiana when they were babies and I know that's hard!  But even so, road trips, in my opinion, are always the best way to travel!!!

Let's talk Breck tomorrow!

Source: http://pearls-handcuffs-happyhour.blogspot.com/2017/07/family-road-trip-amarillo-durango.html

[wellnessroutines]

Running Tips for Beginners

If you informed my 20-year-old self I would someday become a jogger, I would not have actually thought you. I was the polar reverse of sports when I was expanding up, and while I have actually constantly been on the slim side, I have actually always done the bare minimum when it comes to fitness and workout, which means I've never ever been in specifically excellent shape.

But motherhood has a way of altering individuals, and also after putting my occupation on hold to remain home as well as elevate my child, I started to discover modifications in my individuality. I was less patient, much more cranky, and commonly felt worried and also distressed about the silliest points. I do not recognize if I had an instance of the infant blues, or full on postpartum anxiety, however I do recognize that I was unwell as well as tired of being an Unfavorable Nancy regularly, and also after a specifically rough day with sleep training and also colic, I decided it was time to do something concerning it.

So I walked over to our regional fitness center, acquired myself a membership, dug out some old workout clothes, and also at 5 am the adhering to morning I dragged myself from our cozy, comfortable bed to attempt my hand at running. I would certainly once heard a buddy define exactly how addicting the infamous 'joggers high' can be, and with my favored songs filled on my iPod, I was determined to see what it really felt like.

Thirty minutes later on I returned house with a victorious smile on my face. I had actually competed 20 straight minutes without quiting that early morning, as well as though my heart was competing, my legs were drinking, and I really felt like I was going to collapse, I understood I had actually located my brand-new enthusiasm: I was going to come to be a runner.

I have actually been running 4-6 times a week since, took part in my initial 8-kilometer race in October, already have 3 races lined up for this coming summer, and have actually exceeded many objectives I never ever thought I would have the ability to achieve.

None of this came quickly to me, and it took a bunch of effort and also resolution, yet if I could show myself the best ways to become a long-distance runner, ANYONE could show themselves how you can come to be a long-distance runner!

Check out 7 of my best running tips for newbies here and also make your desires of becoming a runner a reality!

1. START SLOW

While I had the ability to run 20 straight mins the initial time I struck the treadmill, I wasn't as fortunate in my subsequent check outs to the fitness center. It took time to accumulate my endurance, and also while I found it extremely discouraging when I needed to decrease after only 5 mins of running, I maintained reminding myself that my effort and also resolution would eventually pay off, as well as began to set realistic objectives for myself.

In the start, I discovered a run/walk schedule worked best, and daily I would increase my run time without adjusting my stroll time. Each of my sessions on the treadmill would certainly last for roughly 30 minutes, and the first week looked something such as this:

DAY 1: run for 3 mins, stroll for 2 minutes DAY 2: run for 4 minutes, walk for 2 minutes DAY 3: run for 5 mins, walk for 2 minutes DAY 4: run for 6 mins, walk for 2 minutes DAY 5: run for 7 minutes, walk for 2 minutes

As my endurance boosted with time, I decreased my walk time to one minute for a few days before replacing my walking with a light jog, as well as before I understood it, I was running for HALF AN HOUR without taking any kind of breaks!

2. PACE YOURSELF

Once I was able to run continually, I started to boost my speed. If my memory offers me appropriately, I started running at a rate of 5.0 on the treadmill, as well as soon as I was comfortable at that level, I made use of a comparable technique as the one described above making improvements:

DAY 1: 5.0 for 3 minutes, 5.5 for 2 minutes DAY 2: 5.2 for 3 minutes, 5.7 for 2 minutes DAY 3: 5.4 for 3 mins, 5.9 for 2 minutes DAY 4: 5.6 for 3 mins, 6.1 for 2 minutes DAY 5: 5.8 for 3 mins, 6.3 for 2 minutes

My preliminary objective was to be able to go for a rate of 6.0 for 30 minutes straight, and also once I got to that degree, I kept adjusting my rate till I got to each brand-new goal I set for myself.

The secret is to press on your own, however to do so progressively to keep points manageable.

3. JUST ONE MORE MINUTE

Even though I had a precise strategy in location to get to each objective I establish for myself, there were days when I merely really did not think I could do it. Often I felt as well worn out, and various other times my body merely really felt also aching, but instead of surrender, I would shout, 'JUST ANOTHER MINUTE!' over as well as over in my head.

Why?

Because ANOTHER min appears far more possible compared to TWENTY even more minutes, as well as by focusing on a (much) smaller objective, I was usually able to electrical power via the whole run.

4. ALLOW YOUR BODY TO REST

One of the largest mistakes I made when I first began to run was to hit the treadmill as well often. I became so addicted to my post-run bliss that I became obsessed with making it to the fitness center each and every day. This had extremely favorable outcomes on my mood, however by rejecting my body the remainder it was entitled to, I actually used myself down.

And guess what?

Once I started to offer myself a 1-2 day break in between my runs, I found I was able to press myself a lot more. For a very long time, I was just able to withstand a 30-minute, 5-kilometer run on the treadmill, now I'm running 10 kilometers in under a hr a couple of times a week, and it's all since I'm allowing my body the moment it should recover.

5. KEEP IT FRESH

Whether you get burnt out on the treadmill, or locate you have actually gotten to a plateau in your performance and also fat burning, make certain to mix points up. There are a number of different ways to do this - add a slope, do sprints, challenge yourself to a long-distance run - however the secret is to ensure you aren't doing the exact same thing every time you place your operating shoes on. The more range and strength you contribute to your running program, the much better the results.

Oh! As well as remember to include some great songs to your running mix. Right here are 40 of my favorite exercise tracks to maintain you motivated!

6. SET A GOAL

Once I achieved my first running objective (to run 30 minutes without seeming like I was visiting pass out), I ended up being kind of lazy. I really did not pay any attention to the range I was running, and also was much more concerned with entering Thirty Minutes of run time, despite the rate or slope at which I was doing it. Then a good friend of mine convinced me to run an 8K race with her this past October, and also I recognized I required to do some major work.

As it turns out, I had not been pushing myself virtually sufficient, and also if I had not taken the time to educate for that race, I likely would not have been able to make it to the coating line ... also though I considered myself a long-distance runner!

By providing myself a lasting goal, I was forced to challenge myself with each run I completed, and I finished up completing that 8K race in 42 minutes and 30 seconds!

I currently try to set a couple of short-term goals, as well as one long-lasting goal, to make sure I continue to test myself. For instance, my goal at the start of this month was to run 10K, which I was able to do in under 55 mins last week. I have given that finished 3 more 10K runs in the very same timeframe, so my temporary objectives over the next month are to press myself to run 12.5 K, and also at some point 15K. I am making use of those difficulties to assist with my long-lasting objective, which is to run my first 10K race in June in under 45 minutes.

Do you think I can do it??!

7. PUSH YOURSELF

Even though I have achieved some very amazing goals with my operating, I have days when I simply do not feel like striking the treadmill. When that takes place, I could pick a spin course, raise some weights, or electrical power with a session on the staircase master rather, however other times I think of my favorite Nike Slogan:

That quote constantly offers me the inspiration I should maintain going, as well as I constantly feel much better when I placed my excuses aside and set my mind to attaining my goals.

( Here are more of my favored health and fitness inspiration estimates!)

Remember: if these running pointers assisted transform me from a wine-drinking couch potato right into a long-distance jogger, they can do the very same for you. All it takes is a little drive and also determination. quit procrastinating, put on your joggers, and also allow's do this already!

If you discovered these running ideas for newbies valuable, please share them on Pinterest!

And if you're looking for more health-related tips and techniques, please follow our Health as well as Physical fitness board where we discuss all kinds of inspiration!

[sey2017-blog]

July 21st - August 12th: Korea

I have been here for almost a month. For the most part, time seems to be going by pretty slow.

I’ve been noticing a lot of things that are cultural differences. Toilet paper can not go in the toilet. Loitering is not okay ever. When you shop people come and follow u around asking if you need anything. Clothes are EXPENSIVE. Shoes? EXPENSIVE. Bags? EXPENSIVE. A lot of the restaurants are delicious and they are everywhere. Koreans… eat out a lot. Food is generally cleaner. Koreans compost. The subway during rush hour? Hell. Bus rides from Seoul at night? HELL. People rarely maintain eye contact. People think I’m a foreigner. Like chinese. but its chill. Clothes here are too cutesy. Ruffles and lace cutesy. Its extremely hot and humid. My fam is sensitive to smells of meat and eggs. Koreans have to walk a lot. Most of the dresses I brought here are too short or too revealing. And I thought I was on the conservative side. Drivers here be wildin’. There are lots of people everywhere… its crowded. Pollution is a problem, I can’t walk in the rain cuz it’s polluted water. Everything is close though. A bakery and a cafe within one minute of walking. Comments on appearance. Public trashcans are rare. Many smokers. Gender roles. They put foam on car doors so it doesnt scratch the other cars when they open it. People are overall impatient. Lots of differences. Now that I see it written out, it’s mostly negative.

What I’ve done here so far?

I saw my fam. They really like me. Its funny because based on my dad they assumed i would be different. They probably thought i was raised wrong. Even when I asked one of my aunts how she expected me to be like, she said she thought I would not talk this nicely. Whatever that means. But everyone here thinks im polite and soo amazing just cuz i know how to cook. Its nice and they all take care of me and worry about me. Its nice and not at the same time. I’ll take it though. Ive told my aunts and gma how I really feel about some thinga and my hopes and dreams. They are impressed and say I dream really big.

I saw old friends. Kids I havent seen since I was 11. Kids that used to be 8 and 6 are now all grown and hanging with me. And I saw my paris friends from last year. And their parents. It was nice to see them because it was like old times, kind of. I hung out and explored seoul with them, which was fun. I also saw and am keeping in touch with Jenny Kim, a friend from Oregon who now lives here. You spend a lot of money here everytime you go out, however. Staying at home = saving money. 

I can’t tell if I’m happy here. My mom left this week and I cried. I got very homesick and missed everyone. and everything. I miss tacos tbh. I know I will get back in the grove of things and find my own life here. I just never realized how attached I was to the life I had back home. In Eugene, in Beaverton. Seeing my friends when I want in such close proximity. 

One thing that is contributing to my lack of happiness is the lack of privacy. I didn’t consider myself that much of a private person until now. I guess I kind of am an introvert in some ways because I love spending time with myself. Here, I haven’t had much time to journal or even listen to music. I just paid for spotify premium so I’m gonna turn on music. Much better! I have so much to do. Planning for my trips next year, cleaning out my computer, setting goals, it just isn’t easy to do when I live in a household with 4 aunts, aunt’s husband, cousin and uncle and grandma. that’s 8 people excluding me in a 3 bedroom house. It’s not ideal for privacy. Of course it’s not always that full, people come and go. I just need my own space. Yesterday I went to a cafe to be productive and it was one of the happiest times I’ve spent here. being productive and being alone was nice. 

I am moving out in two or three weeks. My mom’s friend offered I live with his mom after he goes back to LA. it’s gonna be 200$ a month which is super cheap, but it’s the smallest house I’ve ever been in. It upsets me a little because I wanted to live alone for 300-400 but nobody trusts me to live on my own because its dangerous. I definitely do not want to stay there the whole time but im okay for now and can handle it. I did want a space with a desk but I can just go to a cafe and study there. The house.. is super small. only one room, and the room only fits a single bed and then has one foot of space. The old lady said she will sleep in the living room (which doesnt have a couch and is smaller than my room at skybox). I wish my mom had listened to me  while she was here and had visited places for me to live alone with me but she didnt even listen or consider it as an option. But I’m not gonna complain anymore because I will be upgrading from being an hour and 30 minute commute away to only being a 30 minute commute away, and also from having no privacy to having a lot of privacy. I can always move out if I need to. But the lady is super nice and welcoming and it’s sweet that she is willing to sleep on the floor so i can stay. And omg as im writing this my grandma is talking to me and telling me to wash  my hair. literally don’t even have time to think here and reflect alone.

Usually my happiness level tends to be above a 7.5, but now my happiness seems to be at a 5.5 or a 6 at some moments. But the good thing is that I know the conditions behind what will make me happy: productivity, privacy, and alone time. Haha. 

I have a few people that I could meet up with and be friends with, but i’ve also been feeling anti social because it’s an hour and a half commute there and back to meet them and people in korea go hard. it’s not a eat food and good bye kind of deal, it’s eat food, go to a cafe, go shopping, go karaoke, go play pool, they go HARD. me, a homebody, am not cut out for that type of thing. But I will have to do. 

I have exactly a week left before I have to go to work. For two weeks, I have to arrive to work by 8AM and it’s an hour and a half commute away. wtf is this bs? TERRIBLE. life here ain’t easy. that’s all im gonna say.