#2024 please be the year i get over myself on this website

[loetise]

here is a thought not particularly stemmed by anything. i really love playing with plots where allie’s partner gets jealous/possessive about her because she really doesn’t know what to do abt it in general. and i love to poke her. but i always get really anxious about sending the themed memes when i see them bc it feels… like really weird/bad??? to send them when i know allie doesn’t get jealous (back) and to assume that they Would get jealous over her bc it’s not the vibe of the relationship because. she doesn’t. also more lighthearted thing about those memes is that none of the quotes usually fit her anyway. it’s just the reassurance ones usually. she’d really be more like ‘are you mad at me :(?’ because she just wouldn’t read it accurately

#i said thought and i meant vent moment oopies #2024 please be the year i get over myself on this website #tbt.

[wakewithgiggli]

Copied from: reddit/r/transgenderUK

I found this petition on the UK parliament website and it's only received 354 signatures as of 27th Feb 2024

As a post-op 52 year old transgender woman who's recently been referred to hospital by my GP on the two week wait cancer pathway (though the problem could equally be Crohn's disease, Coeliac, or a number of other conditions - I'm awaiting test results) the prospect of being forced into a male ward really worries me - to the extent that I'd probably refuse treatment if it involved a stay as an inpatient 😢 No matter how serious the diagnosis.

The humiliation and embarrassment would be unbearable 😭 I'd effectively be "outed" and then put into a room full of men. I'd literally rather die... I see there's now over 45,000 members here, and whilst a lot probably aren't active, perhaps there's enough of us to get a little momentum behind this petition? 🤷‍♀️ Maybe pass it on to family, friends and allies? Post it on other friendly sites? Perhaps? I don't really use social media myself - but there must be a lot more than about 354 people who think this awful governments plans are frightening, dangerous and very very wrong. Most of us are likely to require a stay in hospital at some point in our lives...

Only British people are counted in the petition, so don't answer if you aren't British. But please share it, so that those who can sign it see it.

#petition #trans

[bloggingboutburgers]

Do you have any advice for someone traveling to Europe from the US for the first time?

Hi!! I'm so so sorry for replying so late TwT This week's been messy!! I hope I'm not too late TwT

Seeing as I'm the European one in my long-distance relationship with my queerplatonic partner, and THEY've had to come to Europe from the US for the first time to visit me, I took the liberty of asking THEM for some advice, which I feel would be more accurate^^ They've given a lot of input, so everything's under the cut! (Many thanks to them <3)

Okay I'm just going to be transparent here. If you're traveling to Europe by yourself, then be mindful of any testing or documentation needed for that travel. ( Good starting point is here [https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/before-you-go/travelers-with-special-considerations/schengen.html]) It's always good to make sure you have them at the ready since the international airport of where you live, will most likely check that when confirming your check in. Currently from my understanding, people from the United States will need the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS) in order to come in to the EU. ( website over here [https://travel-europe.europa.eu/etias_en]) That starts January of 2024. However, once you have it, it's good for three years. They're not accepting applicants at the moment but it's important to have that at the ready if you are planning to visit in the next following year and onwards. Aight, so that's the whole technical aspect of it. Here's like genuinely wish someone told me when I traveled by myself to Europe.

[16:37]Bruh, I underestimated how long the flights are. Absolutely get a airline that provides food regularly because you'll definitely be needing it or bring some food with you. The hunger factor gets to you! Also water, please do get that! During those flights, I've had window seats and they've been serving me well! Like honestly if the section is going for the restroom, you follow the herd, just to make it easier. Also, gauge if ya can chat with your seat neighbors! They've been pretty cool from my experience! (My first ever flight to Europe, there was a couple with a service dog with them! They kindly allowed me to pet the dear but sadly had to move to a better seating for them. Which I respected! Though as a result I had a whole lane for myself! Boi the leg space was a god send! Gosh! Yeah! The leg space in economy is cramped! In all transparency, I'm petite! I fit fine but for my fellow average and up companions...yeah it's a bit uncomfortable. Just be sure to do stretches before and after the flight!) Let's see...I've brought my own head phones which was solid for the movies provided at the flight and if you want some music while you read! I finished vol 1-3 of "The Adventure Zone: Balance" when I first visited with some nice tunes! Then I read some long fanfics from AO3, which were super solid. Nonetheless, whichever is most comfiest for you to spend hours doing for entertainment with slight constant movement is more power to you! It's okay to give yourself options too! Hmmm...once you land, at least where I landed, there was small letterings in English that assist in directing your way through the airport. Though more often than not, there's veterans that just know their way and usually the crowd is heading the same way. So know where your going but usually if you follow the herd of peeps heading to customs, ya know ya have arrived. Gosh, okay, I'll stop right there! Thank you for reading my Ted talk!

That's for my partner's advice! And as for a bit of mine:

Definitely don't forget about the ETIAS document if that'll apply to you. It's a fairly quick process but it's crucial.

Don't expect a great level of English proficiency everywhere in Europe. It can vary from country to country. Typically countries that speak latin languages (like France, Italy or Spain) tend to be less fluent in English and you'll have more trouble Englishing your way there. Of course, that's all evolving with time, but yeah.

...Overall honestly that's the European in me talking but don't expect too much from Europe Europe is kinda mid /j /hj

#anon #europe #travel advice #sorry i'm late again TwT

[catkin-morgs-kookaburralover]

Writing Newsletter #1: March 2024

So! Lil author's note to explain this. I decided to start up a newsletter, monthly, but until I get around to figuring out website hosting &c., to post on here instead of emails. Once I get that sorted, I'll switch this to email, and there'll be a newsletter signup gift of two stories - Ever Changing, Ever Near (hosted on my website until recently) and A Fragile Solace. Together, in unedited form, they're around 3k. They're Inklings stories, both of which were highly commended in the separate competitions I wrote them for. Anyway, if you want to be on the taglist for this monthly newsletter, say the word and I'll add you.

Writing update

Lately, my main project has been Patience, Changing. It’s a story about autism, changes in routine and loving despite the inconvenience. There’s also a spice of mental health in there, because I’m me and that’s what I do. Also my protagonists are eleven and twelve years old. Very fun. Rhona is incredibly over-dramatic and while in some ways she’s justified, in other ways she’s just not—I’ve written a couple of scenes from her perspective that I intend to cut, just because I love her so much. (It’s meant to be all from Patience’s POV.) An interesting thing that I’ve noted in the last few days is the inclusion of a character I’d intended to be already gone before the story began, but on a whim I decided to change the timeline. If you’ve read The Patience of Hope, the character I’m referring to is Hannah—Patience’s aunt, who dies of anorexia complications long before. However, I’ve chosen to include her in Patience, Changing because as someone who suffers from anorexia myself, I felt it was important to include the possible outcomes. I’m not entirely sure what her role in this story is, but I’m discovering that she is very important to Patience, so we’ll see when she dies. I’ll have to edit The Patience of Hope to change that detail, but that’s okay.

This is the second time I’ve made myself cry over a character I originally wrote as dead before I wrote them before they died, but anyway.

In terms of word count, I’ve written 80k of assorted Patience content since I started writing the novella in mid-December, so I’m pretty happy with that.

Reading update

At the moment I’m reading Walking on Water by Madeleine L’Engle for Lent (well—Lent-ish), as well as Cry of the Raven by Morgan L. Busse. This is my first time reading both, and I’m tremendously excited to finish them both. The first Ravenwood book was one of my favourites for a long time and I only recently read Flight of the Raven for the first time. It lived up to my expectations.

I’ll have more to put in this section next newsletter when there’s been a definable sense of time since the last one, so. Yeah.

Ramble

Hi. This is just an area where I can ramble about whatever. Since I’m new to this whole newsletter thing, this one is pretty empty. I’m considering how I want to do this thing—considering whether I add in a Goals section or not, or whether I try and get back to posting on my blog, but anyway. Hopefully here on out will become more polished, or something. This was a pretty last-minute idea—I’ve been kicking around the idea of creating a writing newsletter for a While, but until now didn’t actually get round to it.

Anyway, please contact me and let me know what works best or what you’d most like to see! I need the advice.

Drabble

Under Pressure

“Patience!” he called.

She turned to him with relief, pressing her hands to her face in distress. “Oh, Nathan!” she said, leaning a little towards him. “Why can’t I just—be normal?”

“You’re normal—for you,” he said gently. “The public perception of ‘normal’ is so weirdly skewed it’s crazy. Don’t think any less of yourself just because you can’t handle that.” He gestured to the party they had both left behind. “You’re fine, Patience.”

“I’m autistic,” she said bitterly. “I’ll never cope with the world.”

“That’s not your fault.” He didn’t touch her, only smiled, and she was comforted.

Photo

#newsletter #author newsletter #indie newsletter #indie author

[sassykattery]

Blog Rules + Masterlists

Welcome Sinner.

This pinned post is an introduction to my blog and the Masterlist for my multi-chapter fanfic based on the characters from Obey Me! called "Love, Eternal," as well as containing Masterlists for my other content.

About sassykattery...

Call me Sassy! I'm 26, married, and use she/they pronouns. I am currently studying and working full-time to get into a professional school later in 2024.

I am simply one hell of a writer.

Blog Rules

I do not accept interactions from minors or ageless/blank blogs. I will immediately block those who follow me or interact with my content that I catch in my notifications. This is because I regularly consume NSFW content and repost it, on top of creating NSFW content myself. It's not hard to put in your bio that you're at least 18, that's literally all I need to see.

This is an LGBTQ+ friendly and gender-affirming blog. Homophobia, transphobia, and pedophilia aren't tolerated here, nor are any other hate-groups or illegal activities that exist in this world.

I'm a sex-positive and body-positive person, so I am open about sharing personal stories as well as promoting normalization of sex and the human body (i.e. menstruation, being fat/plus-size), you will see this influences my writing as well. This point is only directed at people who think sex or human body functions shouldn't be discussed on any platform (this is literally an NSFW blog, why are you here?), this is not pointed at the people who experience triggers or dysphoria around those topics.

To touch on the last bullet, this is a warning to those who experience dysphoria or have triggers related to certain topics, I regularly discuss certain topics such as: sex, menstruation, body image issues, mental health issues, medical issues. My content will always have tags and "CW," or Content Warnings," at the beginning of each body of work that I write except for "incorrect quotes"/crack one-shots.

The only fandom I write for is Obey Me!, and I don't really intend on branching out anytime soon, but I do consume content from Genshin and Twisted Wonderland.

Not really a rule: I affectionately call my readers "sinners." ♡

Twitter Instagram

One-Shot/Request Line Masterlist

Sassy's Kinktober 2022 Event List

Altaira Fics (Obey Me! OC)

Group Portrait ft. Members of the Occult (drawn by sassykattery)

Love's Web Masterlist (Obey Me! x Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse fic)

Dollface (Obey Me! Fic)

Diavolo's Birthday Celebration 2023

"Love, Eternal" Masterlist

Each chapter will have mutliple parts, in which there will be a sub-Masterlist for each chapter.

Synopsis: After returning for the second year in the Devildom, one human, MC, finds herself in the throes of the affairs of the heart, intertwined with two powerful demons who seek to have her to themselves. One demon seeks to redeem himself after ruining his first relationship in centuries. The other seeks to maintain balance between his duties, his love, and his own vested interests. Read as the three navigate one another's struggles and needs.

New Schedule: New parts will be posted on Saturdays and Wednesdays, North America time, that's Sundays and Thursdays for those in UTC and further east. I will be returning to university soon and need time to make sure I'm happy with my writing before publishing.

If you enjoy my writing - my requests are closed! Please head over to this post to see what I'm open to writing for anyone who's interested! I will update this segment when I close my request line!

New! If you would like to be tagged when I upload new parts to "Love, Eternal," please comment below on this post and I will add you to the taglist!

Rules for the fanfic before proceeding -

I will be posting this fanfic on Wattpad as well as here on Tumblr, because I understand some people like the reading experience better on other platforms. As of now, I will not be posting on AO3 purely because I hate how the website looks (don't ask). I will include links for the Wattpad posts in the corresponding chapter sub-Masterlists. That all said, do not repost onto other sites. This is my work, and I will not tolerate others reposting it. Should I find another website to post it on, I will update this post with that information as well.

This fanfic is for those ages 18 and up. Once I begin posting, I will be checking notifications and those who are caught ageless or underage in their bios, will be blocked. Those who interact with this masterlist and do not have an age listed or they're a minor will be blocked.

I will not tolerate criticism for the storyline I have chosen. Please respect what I have chosen for the plot (no backseat writing).

I will not tolerate people creating spin-offs of my fanfic, so please don't do it. You obviously can think of whatever you want, but I kindly ask that you do not make posts based off of my AU.

This fanfic will include scenes of smut, blood, and violence. There are some things I will not write about, however, this is meant to be a romance fanfic, so if you are uncomfortable with graphic sex being written about from a romantic standpoint, please consider this your warning. There will also be scenes including emotional and physical distress, as well as emotional manipulation/emotional abuse within the confines of a relationship. If that is triggering, please do not read.

To follow up with rule #5, each part will contain content warnings, themes, and characters at the beginning of the chapter so that if you aren't interested in those concepts, you are forewarned.

This fanfic is written in the point of view of a main character who is named MC in the fic, who is AFAB, has AFAB body parts, and uses she/her pronouns. Now, within the fic, the perspective is from the main character and pronouns are typically written with "you." It is when MC is referenced by other characters that she/her is used.

Because I'm a smut writer, please heed the following message in regard to characters put into smut scenes: here.

In my fic, I've implemented the asterisk system (*) to indicate a smut scene for those who may want to skip it or read it again

Now that's done, please enjoy.

Wattpad: Diavolo's Date, Pt. 1

Submasterlist: Prologue + Season 1

☆☆☆☆ Season 2 ☆☆☆☆

Chapter 6: The Royal Standard (Complete)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7

Chapter 7: The Queen's Torment (Complete)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Chapter 8: A Lover's Holiday (Complete)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7

Chapter 9: Celebrations of the Heart (Complete)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9

Chapter 10: Rites and Rituals (complete)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

☆☆☆☆ Season 3 ☆☆☆☆

Chapter 11: Losses and Gains (complete)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

Chapter 12: No Rest for the Wicked (ongoing)

Part 1 Part 2

#love-eternal #sassystories #sassywrites

[plasmablasts]

An Independent & Low Activity Alex Summers of Marvel Comics. Written by DJ / Rules under the cut. Established in 2014 // Rebooted 2024

First and foremost, the mun is named DJ, I use they/them pronouns and I’m 28 years old. I have been roleplaying on this website for over a decade now and I have seen pretty much every drama known to man on here. I will NOT be getting involved in whatever drama is unfolding in the RPC these days. I’m here to write my muse and enjoy myself. Because of this you will never see me reblog a call out. I don’t want to see them, though I will block if the person in question is truly dreadful, but I will not involve myself. In turn, I will also unfollow if you continuously spread call outs, I personally am not here to get involved in petty drama. ( None of this applies if said person is like a dangerous predator, by all means spread the word if that's happening. )

...

I am very familiar with the X-Men comics, I have been an avid reader since I was a child and while I initially attached myself to Jean Grey and Ororo Munroe, I'm also well versed in X-Men history in general. I have written Alex on and off for years now, the last time being around 2019.

While I am 616 based I'll also happily write in an MCU setting, you'll just need to accept that mutants exist in the MCU at the moment. I WILL NOT ROLEPLAY WITH MCU WANDA AND PIETRO.

…

As I am very much over the age of eighteen, I will not be following blogs that are written by anyone below the age of 20. It’s just a personal preference and I apologize in advance for it. That being said, this blog will be NSFW at times. Marvel comics are not very child-friendly, especially plots Alex is involved in and neither will my blog be, mentions of gore, violence and sexual themes will be present here. As far as writing smut, I will write it, though please plot with me beforehand. Memes are another story, but actual descriptive sexual threads will need some talking about beforehand.

…

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not the best at plotting. I have ideas here and there, but I’m actually way more better at continuing prompts or winging it. Please keep this in mind when you ask to plot.

I am open to shipping, I like writing romance, and I have a soft spot for for plenty of ships for Alex, I write Alex as a openly bisexual.

...

My discord is open for plotting and chatting but I will not write on there.

#indie marvel rp #marvel rp #dc rp #indie dc rp #mcu rp #indie mcu rp #616 rp #indie 616 rp #x-men rp #indie x-men rp

[tea-ddie]

BALLYHOO — BOOK ONE

I am beyond delighted to share my queer-noir graphic novel, Ballyhoo: Book One. Ballyhoo will be released on February 8th, 2024. You can now pre-order it on my website. Ballyhoo is the result of over two years of work and one year of inking like crazy. It is the first third of a story I am so excited to get into the world. It has queer bars, it has theater gays, and it even has a dramatic circus backstory. This 140~ish page volume is the first three chapters of the comic, all offset printed by yours truly. Summary and sample pages below the cut.

Summary:

While traveling to a new city to see the opening of her new play, The Bally Girl, writer Oretta Adams stumbles back into communication with two old friends. Marjorie Miller, previously an unruly and gay circus performer, has now settled into her role as a classic mid-century American housewife,  much to Oretta’s surprise. Evelyn Gold, on the other hand, has transformed her entertainment skills from the trio’s carnie days into a successful career in Portapolis’ lesbian bar scene.  Evelyn and Marjorie, once lovers, no longer have contact with each other. Oretta finds herself tiptoeing across the city, trying to keep Marjorie and Evelyn apart while hiding her own secrets about what really brought her to Portapolis in the first place. 

Everything is bound to come out, especially when opening night of The Bally Girl gets closer everyday. Good intentions, unfortunately, can only go so far.

Sample pages:

If you're interested in reading, please consider pre-ordering! It really helps a small, self-published artist like myself out. Because all books are handmade by myself, there are a limited number of available copies. Reblogs and sharing is also highly appreciated.

#ballyhoo #queer noir #lgbtq #lgbtq comics #lesbian #lesbian comics #mystery #gay mystery #be gay do crime

[daffodi1]

So... we're about midway through December. I suppose I should stop delaying in posting this.

TL:DR, on January 1st, 2024, I will be archiving my account and logging out for the last time. If you want to stay in touch with me for any reason, please reach out to me and I will gladly provide my discord or any other contact info.

Read my explanation below.

The more I think about my life, the more I realize the damage that social media has been doing to me as a person. It has contributed a lot to my anger issues and my moodiness. I don't think anybody realizes how much being exposed to other people's opinions and bad news on a daily basis can wear you down. Plus, all of this time I've spent on tumblr and facebook and all of these other social media sites has taken time out of my life where I could have been focusing on making art, engaging in my other hobbies or trying to better myself by furthering my education. I could have been improving myself, and instead I'm just scrolling and doing nothing. Taking time away from my loved ones and my well being and getting angry over nothing.

So; at the end of the year, I'm going to be archiving this account, moving it to a throwaway email and losing the password so I can never log in again. If you want to stay in touch, please feel free to ask for my discord. I'm not gonna just leave it out in the open, for two reasons. 1) I don't want trolls to bombard my DMs and 2) I kinda want to find out who my real friends are. If you don't want to stay in touch, I still don't think any less of you as a person and I genuinely wish you well. If we already keep in touch outside of this website, congrats! You don't have to do anything more. And if you try and keep in touch but find out that we're not compatible as friends or that talking to me is boring and you would rather ghost, that's fine too. I don't have any expectations and don't want to make anyone feel like they have to be my friend.

But I want to stop focusing so much of my life on things I hate and start focusing on things I love. And in order to grow, I think it's time to bid this site adieu, at least for a few years or so. Maybe I'll return when I'm better equipped to handle social media without letting it run my life entirely. Maybe I'll find out I'm better off without it in my life at all. I'll never know if I don't try living without it.

With all of that being said; thank you guys for following me. Thank you to my mutuals for putting up with my shit for so long-- for reading all of my batshit insane opinions and watching me grow and change. Thank you to those of you I met and befriended through this site. Thank you to all of the artists whose works have inspired me. Even if I'm leaving and we never talk again, I will never forget you.

#emil chatter #long post #pinned post

[duhragonball]

Nanwum Schemin'

I finished my August writing challenge tonight, and I'm pleased to say that I managed to hit 20,000 words and that's actually enough to cover this year's Christmas special. I tried this last year, but I only wrote 15k in September, and Red Christmas ended up being 32k long, so I wound up writing more than half of it in December anyway. This time, I took that into account, which is why I used August instead. I figured if Blue Christmas ran long, I'd be able to use September to finish it off, but it looks like I managed to fit the entire plot in 20k, so that's satisfying. I need a little more to finish the ending, and there's some stuff I'll want to add and take out, but overall, I have a working first draft that I can have ready for AO3 without much trouble.

I still have to figure out what the hell Yellow Christmas will be about. I saved that one for last, since yellow is the Luffa color, but I think I've used up all the good fanfic AU tropes by now, so I'm gonna have to get creative. But that's a problem for 2024, and I'm here to talk about the fall of 2023.

Concerning the Apocrypha Liveblog, I plan on wrapping up some loose ends in September. Super Dragon Ball Heroes episode 50 came out last week, so I can write about how the Aeos arc (we won!). I also want to knock out the DBS movies, and I think the DBS Manga will probably be done with their Super Hero adaptation, so I'm penciling that in as well. Whatever's left over I can deal with in October or later.

November is NanoWriMo season, and this will be my 7th entry in the event. I don't count my ill-fated attempt in 2003, since I never logged it with the website, and I had no idea what I was doing and flamed out by the second or third day. But I've been doing these since 2017 and I've been racking up wins ever since. I'm feeling confident at the moment, so I'm going to try to set some goals for myself, which I'll put under the cut.

Looking back at my past runs, I've had some good years and some difficult ones where I didn't reach the 50k goal until Day 29 or 30. I always find it more satisfying to finish early if I can. My preference is to have things wrapped up by Day 20, so I can write more stuff in the overrun, or start editing and posting, or just slack off for the next ten days. It's always enjoyable, so I think I need to make this a priority.

For a number of years, my objective was to boost word count and reach certain milestones in the Luffa storyline, but I passed one million words last year, and this year I've nearly finished the Xenoverse 1 adaptation, so things are a little different. I think I can afford to think about how to improve productivity, rather than how to hit certain plot points. So we'll aim for that.

Currently, my earliest win date is Day 17, which I pulled off back in 2021. So I'm going to try to hit 50k on or before Day 16. Here's how.

This month, I learned I can get more done by breaking up my large word goals in to 500 word chunks. To finish by Day 16, I'll need to average about 3000 words a day, which is something I've always struggled to do consistently, but now, I think I can make that work. The idea is to devote six hours across a day, where I write 500 words in each of those hours. It really seemed to help me out this month, so it's time to see if that technique can push me further.

One other thing I want to try is to break my personal record for one-day writing totals. Currently, that stands at 7023 words. So I've chosen three days where I can attempt to do that. I'd like to do more than jut hit 7024, though. 9001 would be pretty sweet for the meme value, but it sounds really daunting.

The important thing here is that I give myself permission to fail. If I can't maintain 3k per day, that's fine, because even falling short of that goal still makes good progress. If I can't make it to 7k or beyond, that's fine too, because wherever I land, it's still a lot of progress. And if I'm not done by Day 16 it's fine, because I'll have two weeks left.

But I think I can do this. The rewards would be sweet. AEW Full Gear is on the 18th, and it'd be pretty great to just have a lazy Saturday where I watch that instead of writing. NJPW will probably run their World Tag League shows between November 15 and December 15, so I'd have the whole second half of November freed up. And mostly, I like the precedent it would set if I could consistently land 3k in six hours or less. I feel like that's something I need to prove to myself.

If this is going to work, I need to do some solid plotting in October so I'm ready. I do reasonably well with "they fight" as a prompt, but if I have a list of spots and story beats to work with, that would cut down on the indecision that usually holds me back.

#nanwum vii #never too early to be thinking about it

[yolacricket]

[alllinesarebeautiful]

Day 372 Art Meditation, February 28, 2024

Today the art piece is me and Mother Nature’s Scotch’s Broom, which links me back to my beloved years growing up in Northern Germany. When I see these gorgeous yellow bushes everywhere here in Northern California, my soul instantly connects to my Northern German family, and includes my American Dad who loves Germany and the nature in Germany as much as my family does. 

My life is a work-in-progress, but my new powers of awareness are only 10 years old, it still feels bumpy. Cutting myself some slack with this eternal feeling that I’m not doing it right …  

I got a little derailed recently by walking into negativity, and it somehow makes sense that my body decided to have a fever and stomach ache. It’s good material for my future art memoir however. Writing and making art seem to be a good way I land into my peaceful heart-space.

On a Happy note #1: I have my first paying Member on my website! Gratitude.

My member space is a mutually safe space, a good intention. And now I need to level up, while at the same time working through that I don’t have to prove my worth - that I just AM worthy.

I’m grateful to have created the exercise to open up more and SPEAK - not just writing and editing until it’s perfect. So for my 1 member - I’m sending out a new personal video. 🙂 I know I’m still hiding some, but I’m still growing. 

There is a key point here too about women’s rights: my mother has 1,000 talents and never was paid for a single one of them. It would be so much easier for me to slip into that role, and not bring my entrepreneurial role to fruition. But considering where we are as women today, with more and more rights being taken away, it only makes sense for me to step into my power. My heart space, and hope more of us do.

Happy note #2: I sold my first 2 dresses, which I am over-the-MOON excited about, and I’m trying to figure out how to get us all together for a photoshoot. 

It’s a new kind of love for me. I asked my friends how they think they support my vision and my art. This is not something I can ask my family. I’m trying to step out of the traditional people-pleasing-Pastor’s kid-girl role of being supportive, nurturing and nice - and ignore the fact that it isn’t mutual. I still am those nice things, I’m just trying to integrate and align, even if it’s bumpy…

I am so ridiculously pleased about this All-lines-are-beauitful interactions, because this is something I dreamed of, asked for, beat myself up for = bad idea, but I didn’t delete it, and then when I get the “yes’s”, I think ‘this is what love and belonging feels like’.

And creating a whole new space … Because the more we all are in our Heart-spaces, the more new beautiful stuff comes out … 

Wholeheartedly, 

Anne

◉◎⦿◎◉

#entrepreneur #aligned #mutual #fulfilling #alllinesarebeautiful #bethechange #artsoulfully #design #heartliving #heartartbundles #heartartbundle #heartart #art #love #artexpandshearts #light #bethelight #authentic #expandlove #soulfulliving #soul #soulart #art soulfully #lifeisart #beauty #brand bundle #artmeditation #brand

[adamgant]

151: Gut health with Hannah Aylward

151: Gut health with Hannah Aylward https://ift.tt/vNqLnu4 So excited to have Hannah on the podcast and we’re chatting about gut health. Here’s what we discuss: – Tips for optimal gut health – Food sensitvities – Eating for optimal digestion and more!  151: Gut health with Hannah Aylward Here’s a bit more about Hannah and her background: Hannah Aylward is a Certified Holistic Health Coach, gut health specialist, and the founder of HAN, her functional nutrition practice taking a root cause approach to repairing the gut for real. After struggling with her own chronic digestive issues for years, Hannah dove headfirst into the latest in gut health research, seeking answers to her bloating, food sensitivities, and pain. With her science-backed formula, Hannah has overcome her own digestive issues and helped hundreds of other women around the world do the same. Today Hannah leads her all-women team of functional practitioners who have served over 500 clients globally. HAN’s mission is to help clients transform their gut health and overcome their never-ending digestive issues with functional nutrition, targeted supplementation, and advanced lab work. Now referred by doctors across the U.S., HAN’s signature and highly sought-after Healin’ Guts + Shakin’ Butts Program has brought her clients life-changing results such as getting off of thyroid medication and antidepressants, reversing lifelong food sensitivities, healing leaky gut and brain fog, weight loss, and much more! Connect with her on Instagram and check out her website. More resources from this episode: Join us for Fit Team! This is my online fitness community and you can try it free for 7 days. I love love love the meals from Sakara Life! Use this link and the code XOGINAH for 20% off their meal delivery and clean boutique items. This is something I do once a month as a lil treat to myself and the meals are always showstoppers. If any of my fellow health professional friends are looking for another way to help their clients, I highly recommend IHP. You can also use this information to heal yourself and then go one to heal others, which I think is a beautiful mission. You can absolutely join if you don’t currently work in the health or fitness industry; many IHPs don’t begin on this path. They’re friends who are passionate to learn more about health and wellness, and want to share this information with those they love. You can do this as a passion, or start an entirely new career. You can use my referral link here and the code FITNESSISTA for up to $250 off the Integrative Health Practitioner program. I highly recommend it! You can check out my review IHP Level 1 here and my review of Level 2 here. I’m still obsessed with my sauna blanket. This is one of my favorite ways to relax and sweat it out. I find that it energizes me, helps with aches and pains, I sleep better on the days I use this, and it makes my skin glow. Link to check it out here. You can also use my discount FITNESSISTA15 for the PEMF Go Mat, which I use every day, and the red light face mask, which is a staple in my weekly skincare routine. Get 20% off Organifi with the code FITNESSISTA. I drink the green juice, red juice, gold, and Harmony! (Each day I might have something different, or have two different things. Everything I’ve tried is amazing.) I’m currently obsessed with the shilajit gummies! Thank you so much for listening and for all of your support with the podcast! Please be sure to subscribe, and leave a rating or review if you enjoyed this episode. If you leave a rating, head to this page and you’ll get a little “thank you” gift from me to you.  Home The post 151: Gut health with Hannah Aylward appeared first on The Fitnessista. via The Fitnessista https://ift.tt/vkSoRYl February 01, 2024 at 06:30AM

#The Fitnessista

[anitabyars]

New Release from Sawyer Bennett

Boone (Pittsburgh Titans, Book #11)

Sawyer has FIVE signed paperbacks of Boone up for grabs on her website!

If you'd like your chance at a copy, visit: https://sawyerbennett.com/giveaways/boone/

(ends 1/23/2024)

Synopsis

Boone Rivers uses his fame and fortune as a professional hockey player to his advantage, but not in the way most people would think. Volunteering as often as his busy schedule will allow, Boone meets one brave young boy who turns his world upside down.

As a first-line right winger for the Pittsburgh Titans, I thrive on the thrill of the game. I live for the smell of the ice, the cheer of the crowd and the way my heart pounds whenever I step into the arena. But once I’m out of my skates, my focus is on giving back to the city of Pittsburgh.

It’s funny how life puts people in your path. I meet Aiden while visiting the children’s hospital and I’m struck by the strength and resilience of this 12-year-old kid fighting for his life. As my visits continue, we bond over video games and hockey until one day Aiden’s older sister walks into his room and I realize there might be a bigger purpose here.

Lilly Hoffman has the weight of the world resting on her slight shoulders. Aiden’s illness isn’t getting better, she’s at risk of losing her job and their father is looking for the answers to his prayers at the bottom of a liquor bottle. I find myself wanting to lessen Lilly’s burden and what starts as a simple act of friendship turns into so much more. As we grow closer, I can’t help but fall for this fiercely protective and independent woman with a tender heart and bruised but not yet broken spirit.

As we face a future of never-ending uncertainty, I vow to be Lilly’s source of strength and comfort. Lilly and Aiden have reaffirmed to me the importance of giving and receiving love unconditionally, even in the darkest of times. And no matter what happens next, no one can take that from us.

Boone contains subject matter that may be sensitive to some readers. If you would like additional details, please visit https://bit.ly/TW_Boone

Grab your copy of Boone directly from Sawyer by shopping the Sawyer Bennett Bookstore!

➜ E-Book and Audio (audio narrated by Jeremy York and Stella Hunter): https://bit.ly/STORE_Boone

➜ Signed paperback (available to US mailing addresses): https://bit.ly/Boone_PB

You can also get Boone at the following retailers:

➜ Amazon: https://bit.ly/42oOdP8

➜ Nook: https://bit.ly/3PSM1vX

➜ Apple: https://apple.co/42piMnC

➜ Google: https://bit.ly/43GQeHl

➜ Kobo: https://bit.ly/3MQJkZe

Not sure if you're ready to commit to Boone? Sawyer's got you covered!

➜ READ the first three chapters: https://bit.ly/Boone_Chapters

➜ HEAR the first chapter: https://bit.ly/Boone_Audio

About the Author:

New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author Sawyer Bennett uses real life experience to create relatable stories that appeal to a wide array of readers. From contemporary romance, fantasy romance, and both women’s and general fiction, Sawyer writes something for just about everyone.

A former trial lawyer from North Carolina, when she is not bringing fiction to life, Sawyer is a chauffeur, stylist, chef, maid, and personal assistant to her very adorable daughter, as well as full-time servant to her wonderfully naughty dogs.

If you’d like to receive a notification when Sawyer releases a new book, sign up for her newsletter (sawyerbennett.com/signup).

Connect with Sawyer:

✦ Facebook: http://bit.ly/Sawyer_FB

✦ Reader group: http://bit.ly/Sawyer_NEP

✦ TikTok: https://bit.ly/Sawyer_TOK

✦ Instagram: http://bit.ly/Sawyer_IG

✦ Website: www.sawyerbennett.com

✦ BookBub: https://bit.ly/Sawyer_BB

✦ Goodreads: http://bit.ly/Sawyer_GR

✦ Newsletter: http://sawyerbennett.com/signup

My Review

5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a phenomenal story that was emotional, wholesome, and full of integrity, friendship, and unconditional love that is reaffirmingly important to have and give in all of our lives. Although this may contain subject matter that might be sensitive to some, I feel that it is done in a way that is real, raw and uplifting. Cathartic! And although it made me cry…it was incredibly comforting to see all the love that was shown in this story. It brought all the feels! A truly inspiring story!

This is Boone Rivers and Lilly Hoffman’s story. A story that is about how different people come into your life for a purpose and what we can learn from them. How we can help build a better place for ourselves and others as we travel through our journey of life and learn to love unconditionally even in the darkest of times, and the best of times! Love wins in the game of life!

#newrelease #sawyerbennett #boone #emotional #hockeyromance

[chorusfm]

Liner Notes (January 13th, 2024)

Ringing in 2024 with a new newsletter. We have some thoughts on music out this week and some early thoughts on music coming in the first part of the year. Can it live up to 2023? We’re about to find out. If you’d like this newsletter delivered to your inbox each week (it’s free and available to everyone), you can sign up here. A Few Things * And we’re back! At the end of every year, I always find myself struggling with what to write about on a week-to-week basis. When the entire music industry goes into hibernation, and no new music is being released, I also tend to hunker down. I spend a lot of time reviewing albums I listened to during the year to prepare for building my favorite albums of the year list, and I like to look for things I’ve missed or spent less time with throughout the year. Oh, and listen to a lot of holiday music. And when I don’t have a lot of new things to write about, it’s more challenging to carve out the space to sit down and write knowing I don’t have a lot of content to mine from. So, it was nice to take a little break. November and December are two of my favorite months of the year, and this year was no exception. Now we’re into January, and I’m feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the new year. * We published our annual favorite albums of the year list this week. My personal list of albums, movies, TV shows, and other stuff can be found here. I listened to more music in 2023 than in any previous year, and the difficulty I had in choosing my favorite albums of the year showed the year’s strength. So many bands that I loved for years came out with albums that I feel sit proudly in their storied discographies. And so many new artists I discovered that I’ll be following for years to come. * A few quick hits to get caught up on things from the past few months: I’m exploring how I want to move this newsletter from Substack. I originally started using the platform for the backend because it was easy to set up quickly and would let me take my audience with me if I wanted to. And now I want to. Idiots run the company, and the latest Nazi defending is the final straw. No one subscribed will need to do anything; it will be a seamless transition. Once I move the newsletter backend over, I’ll start linking directly to the website’s archive for these posts, and that will be the place where new subscribers can sign up. And that’s a better way to do this anyway: keep everything in-house. I’ll have to build a new email template, so it’ll probably be a few weeks until I’m ready to move fully, but it is happening. (If you use the Substack RSS feed, please replace it with the official one.) * Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve (finally) been going through the archive of the Chris Demakes a Podcast to check out episodes from some of my favorite bands/songs. It’s quite good. I love how they break down songs, and I’ve heard stories from Blink-182, Sum 41, Simple Plan, Yellowcard, MxPx, and New Found Glory that I’d never heard told before about the making of some of their most iconic songs. It’s become my default “while making/eating lunch” podcast. * I finally moved from Deliveries to Parcel as my package tracking app of choice. The built-in Amazon integration is nice, and it actually works with all the major shipping platforms. It gets my recommendation. In Case You Missed It * Chorus. fm’s Top 30 Albums of 2023 * Jason Tate’s Top Albums of 2023 * Yellowcard Announce New Collaboration Album * Third Eye Blind and Yellowcard Announce Tour * Craig Manning’s Top Albums of 2023 * Adam Grundy’s Top Albums of 2023 * SCP Merchandising Closes Down * Garrett Lemons’ Top Albums of 2023 * Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties Announces New Album * Albums in Stores – Jan 12th, 2024 Music Thoughts * A lot of my music listening through December was holiday music. Of course all the staples, and all the pop-punk staples, but also just throwing on instrumental or piano versions of classic songs to have on in the… https://chorus.fm/features/articles/liner-notes-january-13th-2024/

[natesafety]

Welcome to colder times in the Northeast. It’s not for everyone but if you’re going to live in the north, get out the snowboard, ice axes and crampons! The busyness of the summer has trickled over into autumn, and I find myself busy with tower stacks, rigging plans, new hires and the NWSA Open Practical Test Site, here at East Coast Communications.

The policies of the major carriers and vertical real estate owners, for good reason, implore us to stay current with training and certifications in our ever-evolving industry.

Recently, I was speaking with a local wireless contractor with regard to his company’s renewal with NATE. One of the ideas that he shared with me was the option of having an online training portal through the NATE website. 

Thankfully, NATE has a robust online course catalogue in the NATE EXCHANGE. The NATE EXCHANGE is a convenient, consumer-driven, “one-stop-shop” platform for tower construction and maintenance companies and individual tower technicians to gain access to the most sophisticated and up-to-date training courses in the tower industry. Additionally, if you are a NATE member company, you will qualify for discounted rates on designated training courses offered on this exchange portal. 

NATE also makes all of the OSHA Harwood Courses available to NATE members, with four years of courses available to member companies. This is a great way for crew members to stay current on their technical training skills. Be sure to spend a few minutes on the NATE website to ensure you’re not missing out on these valuable member resources.

During the Summer Conference in Denver, Jeff Little of Above Wireless Tower Services LLC, shared his thoughts that training opportunities are potentially a great incentive to being a member of NATE. The NATE EXCHANGE portal is a great way to help us reach our goal of 1,400 new members by 2024. 

This portal is beneficial in allowing industry technicians to stay current with topics such as; fiber optics, testing, PIM mitigation, lighting, and grounding. For example, it is vital to stay up on fiber optics because of its fragile nature. The more experience a technician has with fiber optics, the better their mobility on the tower, which results in a cleaner (no pun intended) network. 

In addition to the direct training, this aids members in finding links to other NATE member companies who provide product specific training programs. Which keeps with the WIN mission statement to “facilitate communication and collaboration” with all of those in the wireless industry. You could think of this as a WIN in technical training skills! 

Please make sure you are voicing your opinion as a small member company. There are so many good people I’ve heard say, “You only get, what you give”, and if you’re doing what’s right, doing it your best and showing people you care its easy to see why becoming a NATE member company is an easy choice for many other reasons beyond the potential for great technical training being available. 

In closing, I would like to welcome Chelle Eischens as the new NATE WIN Committee Chair and Todd Washam as the Director of Government Relations and Wireless Industry Network. I look forward to seeing the positive impact you make on the organization.

Justin Pitts is WIN Regional Ambassador – Northeast Region and the Safety Director at East Coast Communications in Gorham, Maine. He can be reached at 207- 839-3488 or jpitts@ eastcoastcommunications.net.

[whereintheworldisfreckles]

Back to the Travel Grind

Day 1, September 15 – Sofia, Bulgaria (8 hours in the city)

Dear reader, I’ve outlined 5 things that you must know before skipping to the juicy travel part:

I was asked to be a Texas Exes Tour Host for the “Grand Danube Cruise” with the Flying Longhorns and AHI (Group Travel Group established in 1962).

There were 28 Flying Longhorns (not including myself and guest). I was tasked with hanging out with them and making sure that they had a great time on their trip.

The official trip was from September 18 – October 3.

Travelers arrived in Sofia on September 19 and stayed at the Hotel Balkan. We then boarded the river cruise ship on September 21. After disembarkation, the group and tour directors stayed in a beautiful Art Deco style hotel named the Imperial Hotel in Prague for 3 days and 3 nights.

The trip started in Sofia, Bulgaria. We took a cruise ship from Vidin, Bulgaria and traversed the Danube River through 6 other countries: Romania, Serbia, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, and Germany. After Germany, we were shuttled to Prague. In total, the Flying Longhorns trip took us through 8 countries!

For those who want to know how the Flying Longhorns trips work, I get 1 day to catch up on sleep. I returned to the office to get readjusted to the real world starting October 5.

I did not research much on Bulgaria before arrival. During the first two weeks of September, the Texas Exes Chapters & Networks team was very busy with our annual chapter and network leadership conference! We had about 100 volunteer leaders for our different chapters and networks converge on the Alumni Center for a day of learning, conversation, and fun!

My guest on the trip was Tyler Draker, professional boyfriend and photographer.

Tyler and I made the decision to arrive in Sofia 4 days before the travelers to go explore Istanbul for 3 days.

Months before the trip, I discovered that there is an overnight express train from Sofia to Istanbul. The website said it would take about 10 hours to get to Istanbul. There wasn’t much information from what I could find… maybe the key words I used weren’t the most helpful. Regardless, I found YouTube Vlogs of people taking the train and giving a very quick tour of the small sleeper cabin on the overnight express. Travelers made sure to emphasize that there would be no food served on the train. I also read blogs and used the Girls Who Travel Facebook Group to determine that the overnight train stops in Halkali Station (a suburb) and then there’s a shuttle bus that takes passengers to the central station, free of charge.

We touched down in Sofia, Bulgaria about 1:30 pm on Saturday. The first hour and a half was spent getting our bags, changing into things that didn’t smell like other people’s (ok… admittedly ours too…) pungent body odor, orienting ourselves to the metro and how to get to the central train station, and discerning how many Bulgarian Lev equal the American Dollar. For those interested, on September 15, it was 1.68 Lev to 1 Dollar. Five days later, we learned from our local tour guide, Boris (aka Bobby), that Bulgaria has until 2024 to switch to the Euro. As of now, Bobby says the country will most likely transition around 2021. When Bulgaria entered the European Union in 2004, they agreed that the country would transition to the Euro within 20 years.

Now back to the story: our first mission was to get to the Central Train Station to buy our tickets to Istanbul. There was no online purchase portal which is pretty normal. We took the metro at the airport to the train station. Here’s Sofia’s metro map. (Please note that Bulgarians use the Syrillic alphabet, but forturnately English is right below it! And with the August and September I had, I didn’t have too much time to take a Bulgarian language course). 

We arrived at the train station about 30 minutes after leaving the airport. The first thing I noticed was that the station is big. There are 3 above ground and 2 underground levels. According to Wikipedia, an average 10,910 people pass through the station daily, as well as an average 166 trains (84 arriving and 82 departing). The station has 30 ticket offices and 5 electronic timetable displays. This Wikipedia article details more about the station.

When we arrived at the station, the first thing that captured my attention was the large statue that spanned the length of the 5 stories. It looked like something that was built during the Cold War. I tried to find as much information on the statue after the trip on the internet, and didn’t find much. So I’ll discuss what I felt - similar to a tall, gothic cathedral, it made you feel small. Was it built during the Cold War? Not sure.

Tyler and I dropped our bags at storage on the basement floor of the train station. There was a very kind woman working behind the counter. She held our bags for 4 hours for 2 lev each. Behind the counter, we saw her daughter and then her daughter’s daughter who wore a t-shirt and fairy wings. We then walked 2 kilometers (about 1.2 miles) where we crossed the Lion’s Bridge and proceeded to a 2 story market to get some dinner. 

We ate a smorgasbord in the plaza square across the street from the market. We dined on a flank of fish, cucumber and tomato salad, and some heavily sautéed and soggy root veggies. At the edge of the plaza, we saw the Regional History Museum (check this 360 View of it!) and an active mosque named Banya Bashi that was built in the 16th Century during the Ottoman Empire. People walked around the square while enjoying the mid-September cool air.  We walked around the area aimlessly, knowing we had to be back at the train station at 8:15 pm to buy the 2 person sleeper car to Istanbul.

We putzed around the train station between 8:15 and 9:13 pm. Around 9:05 pm, Tyler said that he was surprised that the express train was not at the platform. So he walked back about 200 yards to the departure monitors to look over the schedule again. Turns out... we had gone to the wrong platform. Stub 4 is not the same as Platform 4. About 9:09, I saw him walking back very quickly. I knew to grab my 70 liter backpack and get ready to walk quickly. With heavy bags in tow, we ran down a flight of stairs and then up a flight to the right platform and hopped on the train around 9:13.

Once we got our bearings on the train, we were pleasantly surprised. There were nice Turkish cabin attendants (all men) who brought us clean sheets, juice boxes, two packs of crackers, and some soap. The sleeper room had two single beds (one that was behind the couch and one that you pulled from the ceiling), sink, fridge, and a big window. The most defining feature was the track toilet. I can’t say that I have had this experience before, but let’s just say that I got a good, little quad workout. ;-)

The old train started firing up and moving down the tracks promptly at 9:16 pm. I knew that we would go through a passport check at the Bulgarian/Turkish border so I didn’t sleep too soundly between then and 2 am because I wanted to make sure I was coherent enough for the check. Around 2 am, Bulgarian border agents came onto the train to conduct their passport check. They took our passports, and then we waited about 30 minutes on the train. They then came back to our cabins to return the passports. Phase 2 of the border crossing was a passport check/face check in Kapikule, Turkey. This time, all passengers got off of the train to walk into a customs office about 2:45 am. 

Per the suggestion of the Bulgarian Ticket Representative, we bought a one way ticket to Istanbul because buying a one way from Istanbul is slightly cheaper than buying a round trip from Sofia. The Turkish border agent reviewed our tickets, asked Tyler and me to take off our glasses, and then asked Tyler if he was going to stay in Istanbul (for an indeterminate amount of time). Tyler said “Yes.” The agent repeated himself. Tyler did too. That’s when I started to piece together that the agent was asking if Tyler was going to stay past the 90 day tourist period. I then said “No.” And then explained to Tyler that he was asking if we were going to be there for more than a month and a half. Talk about lost in translation. The entire border crossing took about 1.5 hours

We arrived at Halkali Train Station around 8 am and took a shuttle with two Turkish young men and all of the Turkish train attendants (the other shuttle was full) and arrived in the center of Istanbul an hour later. It was fun to listen to the Turkish chatter rather than listen to the silence of the tourists on the other, larger bus. 

Don’t hold me to it, but I think I would take the overnight express again. A one way train ride to Istanbul cost approximately $40. We got a place to sleep, some tasty crackers, and a really nice view. 8.5/10 would do it again. 

We departed from Austin Bergstrom International Airport at 10:50 am on Friday morning. After traveling a total of 39 hours, we arrived at Istanbul’s Central Train Station at 9:15 on Sunday morning. 

#girlswhotravel #sofia #bulgaria #istanbul #turkey #train #travel #travelblog