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lesbianlotties · 3 years

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five times Deena and Sam met in secret (and one time they didn’t) - Chapter 2

Chapters: 2/6 Fandom: Fear Street Trilogy (TV) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Samantha "Sam" Fraser/Deena Johnson Characters: Deena Johnson, Samantha "Sam" Fraser (Fear Street) Additional Tags: Pre-Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Post-Canon, High School, Cheerleaders, Band, Teenagers, Teen Romance, First Meetings, First Love, First Kiss, Fluff and Humor, Fluff, Happy Ending

Secrets.

Deena and Sam met by accident. They fell in love in secret.

But how long can they last together like that?

Chapter 2:

Sam walked out of her classroom with full confidence, chin up, and a straight face. As she walked the empty hallways of the school though, her courage started to waver. Her shoulders tensed, her hands tightened into fists, and she was looking around nervously. All the doors were closed, all the students and teachers were in class. She just had to round one more corner. Why did she have a faint feeling of being observed? Followed? What if…

“Sam!”

The blonde let out a small shriek and jumped in place when someone called her name and wrapped a pair of arms around her. Her moment of panic was instantly over though. She knew that voice, those arms, that smell, and that tickle of a wild mane of hair.

“Deena! What the hell?! You scared me!” Sam whispered-yelled, clutching the arms still holding on to her.

“I’m sorry!” Deena defended herself, though she was still laughing. She rested her chin on Sam’s shoulder and added, “I couldn’t help it. You looked terrified, babe.”

The accidental term of endearment, not for the first time, left Sam speechless. That moment of silence was more than enough to make both girls keenly aware of their positions. Which, in turn, paralyzed them even more. It was just a few seconds, but it was more than enough for their minds to run. Images of the past few weeks flashing through. Passing looks in the hallways, staring at each other from across classrooms, secret smiles. Clandestine meetings under the bleachers, where they grew closer and closer, where they got to know each other. Separately, long nights in each of their beds, unable to sleep, unable to put together the clues, unwilling to think of anything but each other. If it was too late to turn back the moment their eyes met, now that they actually knew each other, it would be impossible to go back to the way things were, to the way they used to be. Because now Deena knew the exact soft texture of Sam’s sweaters. Sam knew the smell of the cologne Deena stole from her dad. Even worse, they just found out that Sam fitted perfectly in Deena’s arms.

“Sorry,” Deena blurted out nervously when both of them simultaneously snapped from their thoughts and hastily stepped away from each other. “I’m sorry,” she repeated, but felt compelled to add, “for scaring you.”

“It’s okay,” Sam replied. She tried to stand taller, even if she was blushing and nervously pushing her hair behind her ear. “So, um, where are we going?”

“You’ll see,” Deena answered, her expression lighting up with a smile that was just mischievous enough to make the other girl feel like she could faint.

Deena gathered all her courage and reached out to lightly grab Sam’s hand and lead her along the way. Before she had a chance to overthink her move, fear if her hands were sweaty, or even take more than two steps, her boldness backfired on her. As it often did, whenever Sam was involved. Because then it was Sam who fixed her grip on Deena’s hand so their fingers interlocked. Deena could only hope Sam didn’t hear the small gasp she let out upon realizing how perfectly their hands fit together.

Despite the underlying bravery of Sam’s actions, she hadn’t yet overcome some very important barriers. Her fear, at the time, still rose to the surface. “Deena! Where are we going? What if someone sees us?” She asked in whispers that were sounding exponentially more alarmed.

“Relax,” Deena chuckled, looking over her shoulder at Sam. “As if this wasn’t your idea in the first place.”

“Um, excuse me,” Sam hurried up so she could look the brunette in the eyes when she frowned at her. “I only said I… uh…”

“Missed me?”

“I said I wish we could see each other more,” Sam tried to speak with a nonchalant tone. “I didn’t mean we should skip class and risk getting detention and- Where did you get that?!”

“I have very resourceful friends,” Deena smirked.

She had pulled out from the back pocket of her pants a key to a janitor’s closet. The place may or may not have had a secret spot where a box filled with drugs was kept for a certain friend’s business. It wasn’t the most perfect location, but at least nobody would bother them there. Deena was just desperate for a moment of privacy with Sam. If she could have just one moment… She just needed to know… Anyway, with all the classrooms in use, and Sam’s fears too heavy to carry too far, they had few options. They still hadn’t even talked about meeting outside of school yet, and it wouldn’t be easy, they already knew. They had a still unofficial secret that was already too big to easily sneak into public places or either of their homes. So, a janitor’s closet it was. Not perfect. But perfectly worth it, if only for the way Sam instantly relaxed when they stepped inside and leaned her back against the locked door as if it was enough to keep any monsters out and away from them.

“You’re crazy,” Sam shook her head fondly at Deena. They couldn’t tear their eyes away from each other. Although there was a solitary lightbulb hanging above them, Sam’s slightly playful smile could have illuminated the small room perfectly fine. In fact, in Deena’s mind, that smile alone could light up all of Shadyside. “Alright, rockstar, you got me here. Now what?”

First, Deena rolled her eyes. She played drums, begrudgingly at most, but Sam had latched on to the nickname. And she looked so blissfully proud to tease Deena, that Deena had to keep pretending to be annoyed and hide how much she’d come to love that little detail. “Oh, I’m sorry,” Deena chuckled, carefully taking one step closer, “Do you want to leave?”

“No,” Sam slowly shook her head.

She was biting her bottom lip to hold back a smile, making the girl in front of her wonder if she could possibly suspect the effect that small action had on her. Sam could feel her entire body buzzing with energy, and nerves, but surprisingly, she wasn’t afraid in the slightest. She knew she should be afraid, but she was just eager to ride to the top of the rollercoaster and see what the view was like up there, regardless of how far she could fall down next. She liked that feeling, and she couldn’t ignore the fact that it happened only when she was alone with Deena.

“Then what do you want?”

When Deena asked that question, she took another step closer. Closer than they had ever stood with each other. She noticed Sam make a sharp intake of breath, and shift in place so she was standing straight, pressed against the door, seeing Deena eye to eye.

“I won’t say it,” Sam replied. Her words were barely a sigh. The ghost of a smirk was still hanging to her lips. But she couldn’t keep her eyes from glancing at Deena’s lips.

Upon noticing this, Deena licked her lips. In the back of her mind, she was faintly worried Sam could hear how hard her heart was beating. She could confidently say this was the most nerve-wracking moment of her life. But no matter how scared she could be, the feelings she had developed for Sam would always overshadow those fears. They might have been so close already, but then Deena raised her arm and rested her palm on the door beside Sam’s head. She leaned in closer.

“Say it,” Deena said, willing her voice to stay steady.

“I can’t,” Sam sighed.

An instant later, Sam was kissing Deena.

She had just instinctively pushed away from the door, crashed her lips against Deena’s, and changed both their lives forever. The kiss wasn’t perfect, but it was sweet. It carried as much desperation as it did trust. It was weeks of yearning. In every look, in every fleeting touch, in every thought. So much wondering. So much wanting. So much wishing. If they had waited any longer it would have suffocated them. But that aggression was swiftly vanished by the tenderness of it. Of course they were both nervous, but they trusted each other. Whatever the outcome of the kiss, regardless of how each of them felt afterward, that kiss became an official secret. And secrets can be weaponized. Not if you kiss the right person though. By kissing Deena, Sam was telling her ‘I don’t know what will happen next, but I trust you’ll never use this to hurt me’. It was an act of trust. The instant Deena started kissing her back, she was replying ‘This secret is now ours. We’re in this together.” The kiss, however, was barely long enough for Deena to reciprocate.

Sam pulled back hastily, knocking her back against the door, looking down and breathing heavily.

“Sam,” Deena gasped. She looked incredibly surprised for someone that had pretty much orchestrated every detail so this moment could happen. But living in Shadyside, and being who she was, Deena had learned to keep her dreams on a short leash, keep low expectations and the bar close to the ground to avoid disappointments. No matter how badly she’d wanted Sam, she knew she shouldn’t have expected anything to happen, really. Let alone Sam being the one to kiss her. Even if Sam couldn’t look at her now. “Sam?” Deena repeated, in a much softer tone, so cautious that not many people would’ve believed that was still Deena Johnson.

“I’m sorry,” Sam said.

Then she wasn’t just looking away, she closed her eyes tightly to hold back tears. Was that kiss the best thing she had ever experienced? Yes, without a doubt. But it also confirmed a long series of complicated feelings and realizations about herself that she had trouble accepting. Things that she knew would make her life very difficult as soon as she stepped out of that small room. However, she was still there, with Deena, and now Deena was very carefully placing her hand on her jaw. Deena’s fingers were barely grazing Sam’s skin with how delicate she was trying to be. But just the smallest push and Sam was looking up at her again. Unshed tears and unmeasurable fear shining in those pretty blue eyes. Deena’s heart ached and swelled. In one heavy hit, she had to accept her feelings for Sam were larger than she even imagined.

“Sam, it’s okay. I…” Deena whispered, but she felt at a loss for words. Her other hand also came up to gently cradle Sam’s face, her thumb soothingly caressing her rosy cheek. “Are you okay?”

A second before, Sam had felt on the edge of breaking down. But with Deena’s gentle hands holding her, wasn’t she unbreakable? Invincible? Didn’t she trust her wholeheartedly? Sam gave a shaky exhale, staring into loving brown eyes, and tentatively put her hands on Deena’s waist. Before speaking, she took one deep and encouraging breath.

“Deena,” Sam asked, “Can you kiss me again?”

It was nearly magical, the way all worries faded from Deena’s face as soon as she heard those words. She tilted her head and started smiling. That very smile that stole Sam’s heart from the very first day.

“Technically, Sam,” Deena started saying as she leaned in closer, “You were the one who kissed me.”

That earned a small laugh from Sam. Suddenly, the weight of the world was gone. The heaviness of their secret was put down for a moment. Everything turned light and lively like the feeling of butterflies fluttering in their stomachs. Sam started smiling brightly again, if only for one second, before Deena kissed her. Again, and again, and again.

#posting chapter 2 here bc im starving for attention as usual :)#fear street #fear street fanfic #deena x sam #sameena #my fic

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roslinadama-sinequanon · 4 years

Text

Saying Good-Bye to Yesterday-Chapter 11

So, yes it’s been forever and day. I haven’t dropped off the planet or quit writing for Shandy. It just got difficult for a while.

You can find the chapter here https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13004092/11/Saying-Good-Bye-to-Yesterday and here https://archiveofourown.org/works/15321687/chapters/53083987 and here

****

"Hey, hon." Andy paused in buttoning his shirt at the greeting, his lips curving into a smile when he took in Sharon's disheveled appearance as she entered their bedroom, fresh from a workout, spandex shorts clinging to her long toned thighs, loose tendrils of hair slipping out of her high ponytail.

"How was the Barre class?" He asked.

"It wasn't Barre. It was Spin." Over the past few months, Amy had convinced her to start taking spin classes with her, adding to her usual regimen of Body Barre, Pilates, and Yoga.

"Well, how was Spin?"

"Ugh." She pulled the sweaty racerback tank over her head. "Jelly legs."

"Gorgeous legs," he corrected.

"Yes, well, that takes work, darling." Though she ate healthily, for the most part, was supple, naturally active, and thanks to genetics and a great metabolism, didn't have to fight hard to maintain her slender figure, she exercised to keep toned and fit. In addition to the classes she attended when her schedule allowed, she swam laps almost every day, did some light weights at the PD gym, and also got out to Malibu to a riding stable as often as she could. When she first mentioned her horseback riding to Andy as a full-body workout, he gave her a typical Andy quip, "for the horse, right? " She'd ignored the comment until she could prove her point. One afternoon she'd taken him on what he referred to as a "ball crushing" ride, and he'd sheepishly eaten his words. Later still, when they'd become intimate and he'd felt those "thighs of steel" around his waist, he'd come to an even greater appreciation of that "full-body" exercise.

"Well, I'm pretty gross right now, so I'm going to hop in the shower." She pulled off her sports bra and wiped at the sweat under her breasts before dropping it in the hamper and disappearing into the bathroom. When she emerged 15 minutes later, she had one towel wrapped around her torso, the other turban-style around her head.

"Don't forget, I have book club tonight," she said.

"Yeah, I'm gonna hit a meeting."

She glanced up sharply from her dresser, a pair of rose-colored panties dangling from her fingertips. "Everything okay?"

Though her tone remained neutral, Andy picked up the tiny inflection of worry. It wasn't his usual meeting night. "Yeah, everything's fine," he assured her. "I had to skip last week because of our case, and I haven't gotten the chance to talk to Isaac."

"About us?"

"Yes."

Once in her fresh panties, Sharon shimmied on a pair of black leggings that she paired with a long, slouchy v-neck cashmere sweater in a soft shade of blush. To finish off the casual outfit, she slipped on a pair of two-tone quilted Chanel ballet flats, big silver hoop earrings, and a silver cuff bracelet. Andy continued to watch her dress. Watching her shed her professional persona for her personal one was kind of a ritual for him. At work, she was all fitted, classic, sleek lines. Understated and sophisticated. At home, her wardrobe was softer and a little more eclectic. Even her jewelry was different. At work, simple diamond studs in her ears and her watch, no bracelets, no necklaces, no dangling earrings. At home, she often wore pretty bracelets, hoops or dangling earrings, and a variety of necklaces, including the crucifix she never wore to work. Separation of church and state and all. He asked her once why she stopped wearing necklaces when she took over Major Crimes. After expressing surprise that he had actually noticed that, she told him that Brenda had warned her that wearing a necklace when interviewing suspects was dangerous because they could use it to try to strangle her. Given the violent animosity their former Chief seemed to bring out in suspects, he figured she was speaking from experience. Probably a good idea that he wore his sobriety necklace tucked in under his shirt. He was pretty sure there were hundreds of suspects over the years who would have loved nothing more than to strangle him.

A half-hour later, with her hair blown dry and her make up re-applied, Sharon came out of the bedroom to see Andy slipping on his jean jacket as he prepared to head out. Rusty was sitting on the couch on his laptop.

"You boys are on your own for supper tonight," she reminded the two.

"Okay. " Rusty glanced up. "What do you want to do, Andy?"

"I have a meeting, so I thought I could pick something up for us on my way home. Want a pizza from Palermo's?"

"Just make sure my half isn't loaded down with veggies."

Andy rolled his eyes. "No veggies. Got it."

Sharon smiled and started to reach for the Trader Joes bag she'd left on the table.

"I've got that, babe." Andy took the heavy bag and followed her out the door. Not so long ago, she might have bristled at the move and argued that she could carry the bag herself, but Andy knew that. It was simply a gentlemanly act of kindness, and she no longer looked for any sort of underlying misogynistic meaning to his kind gestures.

******

The strong smell of flowers hit Sharon just outside the storefront, and she glanced up at the pretty awning hanging over the doorway. "Lotions and Potions," her friend Summer's bath and body shop in Mar Vista. She opened the door, and the floral and spicy scents grew more pronounced. Taking a few steps in, she scanned the room, looking past the displays of soaps, bath salts, body creams, and lotions to see Summer with a customer over in the incense and essential oil section. The little bell that jangled at her entry drew Summer's attention, and when she glanced over and saw who it was, she gave Sharon a smile and a hand gesture indicating that she would be with her in a minute. Sharon nodded and began browsing, lifting and examining the vintage apothecary jars Summer used to carry her product. The old-fashioned jars and antique-looking sepia labels with their intricate designs and calligraphy lettering harkened back to another era as if she was stepping back in time.

Several years ago, this had been a New Age jewelry and clothing store where Summer worked as a clerk. Summer fit right in with today's millenials, often flitting from job to job, but for as long as Sharon had known her, she grew herbs and made homemade soaps and lotions in her house, selling her creations on the weekends at craft fairs and farmer's markets. Then Anabel, the storeowner, allowed her to put a few samples out for sale at the store, and they were a big hit. Soon she had a whole product line for sale. When Anabel decided to sell the store, the first person she approached was Summer, which had taken Summer completely by surprise. She was an artist, after all, not a businesswoman. I mean sure, she practically managed the store, but what did she know about running a business? At least that's what she said to Sharon when they were talking out the pros and cons. It was a moot point, anyway. Summer didn't have the kind of money needed to start a business.

But Sharon did. When her grandparents died, she was bequeathed quite a large inheritance. Some of the money was in a trust, but she had more than enough to lend Summer for the start-up costs. Summer hadn't seen it that way. It had been a battle royal for Sharon to get her best friend to agree to the loan. The very idea of it terrified Summer. What if she didn't succeed? What if she couldn't pay Sharon back? Sharon had gone through hell digging out of the mess Jack created for her financially, and she didn't want to see her have to deal with anything like that again. And most of all, she didn't want the money coming between them. Their friendship was too important. But Sharon prevailed. They worked it all out, with Sharon as an investor, and then they worked together to make Summer's vision become a reality.

The quirky little store was a reflection of its quirky little owner, and it was a hit. Situated only a few miles from both Venice Beach and Santa Monica, it drew in both the unconventional crowd and the well-to-do. Summer paid Sharon back several years ago, but Sharon still took pride in all that she had helped her friend accomplish here.

Grabbing a bottle of her favorite vanilla/jasmine body cream, Sharon glanced back around to see that Summer was still engrossed in conversation with her customer, her light brown curls bouncing on her shoulders with every enthusiastic nod of her head. Rather than stand around waiting, she decided to make her way to Summer's office in the back of the store. She pushed aside the beads that hung in the doorway, in lieu of an actual door, giving a loud sigh at the chaos. As usual, Summer's desk was filled with clutter: folders, papers, coffee mugs, and a bunch of opened boxes. No way could she ever work surrounded by such a mess. In fact, she could already feel the prickles of anxiety at the very idea. She started to move things around to make a spot to set her bag down when an item in one of the boxes caught her eye. Reaching in, she pulled it out, eyes widening with both surprise and curiosity.

"Find anything you like?"

Sharon jumped, nearly dropping the glass object. "Dammit, Summer! "

Summer's wide grin grew even wider. "Gotcha. Either you're losing your cop instincts, or that object holds more than a little interest for you."

"What is it?"

"If I have to tell you, Andy has a real problem."

Sharon flushed. "I know what it is; I just mean why do you have boxes of this stuff?"

"That stuff, as you call it, is luxury personal care products. "

One elegant brow rose skeptically. "Luxury? They're…"

"Glass dildos."

"And again, you have boxes of these, why?"

"I had a distributor come in for a meeting today. She wants me to try selling her line here."

"You're going to sell sex toys? Here? At Lotions and Potions?" Sharon looked so appalled that Summer had to giggle.

"No, I am possibly going to sell luxury personal care items. I told her I would think about it. It's a big and pretty lucrative business right now. Look at them, Sharon, they're works of art."

Sharon looked again at the item in her hand, eyeing it critically. Blown glass with swirls of color, graceful lines. She had to admit, it really did look like a piece of art.

"Much more attractive than the real thing. Am I right?"

Sharon gave a little snort-laugh. "Oh my God, you're right. It is. Though we better not let the guys hear us say that."

"God, no. Men do love their penises, don't they?"

"Mmm…" Sharon hummed affirmatively.

"Almost as much as they love our boobs."

Sharon shook her head with amused affection and another little snort-laugh. She never quite knew what was going to come out of Summer's mouth. In that respect, and in so many more, they were as different as night and day. Oil and water. Chalk and cheese.

Summer was as outgoing and irreverent as Sharon was private and respectful. As unconventional and flighty as Sharon was traditional and responsible. As loud and boisterous, as Sharon was soft-spoken and reserved.

Summer was thrift store boho gauzy tops, flowing skirts, Birkenstocks, and arms covered in bangle bracelets. Sharon was Neiman Marcus pencil skirts, Armani suits, killer heels, and diamond earrings. Summer lifted her arms in worship to the winter solstice while Sharon knelt in reverent prayer at midnight mass. Summer was homeschooling and a childhood spent on a commune. Sharon was private Catholic schools and summers on Nantucket. Summer was Stevie Nicks to Sharon's Grace Kelly.

And yet, they clicked. For 26 years, they had been best friends. From the day that Sharon and Jack moved into their new home in Mar Vista and a bossy little child knocked on their door stating, "I'm five. Do you have any little girls my age I can play with?" With baby Ricky on her hip, Sharon smiled at the little ragamuffin with Popsicle lips and a mop of brown curls and then introduced her to a bashful four-year-old Emily. Within seconds, a harried woman in a tank top and an Indian wrap skirt straight out of the 1970s followed. Since she shared the same wild head of curls with the little moppet now dragging Emily along by the hand, Sharon assumed she was her mother. Indeed, the woman said she was looking for her daughter and, like Sharon, she too had a diapered little boy resting against her shoulder. Sharon introduced herself then invited the gypsy looking woman in for a cup of coffee. It was the beginning of three very important friendships: Sharon and Summer, Emily and Jade, and Ricky and Cody.

Despite their differences in background, personality, and temperament, the two young women easily found common ground. Their kids were the same age, they both loved the arts, and they were both in difficult marriages. Their bond was quick and strong. They spent their days off from work building sandcastles with their kids at the beach, pushing swings at the park, or attending children's reading circles at the library. They babysat for each other, swapped books, and on those rare occasions when they had time for themselves, browsed through art galleries, bookstores, and museums together. Most importantly, since neither had extended family in Los Angeles, they created a much-needed support system for each other. And that was something that became increasingly important, because, within a few years, they were both on their own. Single parents.

Summer came across as flaky, but she was everything Sharon needed in a friend: supportive, warm, honest, and a strong shoulder to cry on-one of a very select group of people whom Sharon allowed to see her vulnerability. They had journeyed together through all the difficulties and heartaches life threw at them, helping each other raise their children, bucking each other up when things seemed bleak, and sharing in each other's joy as they each found success in their professions and new love. From breast-feeding to hot flashes, they had seen each other through it all.

"So, " Summer continued. "Go ahead and take whatever you like. I know you're not a prude. Try one out and let me know what you think."

"I'm good." Sharon placed the item back in the box with a little quirk of her lips. "I've got the real thing now."

"Yeah, well what about these? Could be fun." Summer dangled a pair of handcuffs.

"Again, I've got the real thing."

"Pfff… Those things would hurt. These are love cuffs. Nice and soft. See." Sharon admired the plush cuffs Summer thrust in her face, faux fur with little tiny bows, definitely not standard LAPD gear, but shook her head negatively. "I'm all set." She glanced down at her watch. "Come on, Sum. We really have to get going or we're going to be late."

"Oh, no, we wouldn't want to be late."

Sharon rolled her eyes, ignoring the sarcasm. Fate had surrounded her with smart asses. "No, we wouldn't. So, let's go."

"Okay, okay, don't get your panties in a wad. Just promise me you'll think about it."

Sharon blew out a long-suffering sigh. "Fine, I'll think about it, now let's go."

*****

Sitting in the back corner of the bookstore, Sharon found herself center stage, surrounded by a group of women gushing with excitement over the diamond on her finger, grabbing her hand to look at it and pumping her for all the details of the proposal.

"It's so beautiful, Sharon. " Aggie's eyes went dreamy, her hands in a prayer triangle under her chin, lost in the fairytale of Sharon's proposal. "And how romantic. I can just picture it…A winter wonderland. A romantic sleigh ride through the woods and Andy down on one knee professing his undying love for you-" She broke off, swiftly coming back to reality when everyone burst into laughter. "What?" She defended herself. "I love romance."

"As if we didn't know," Marina scoffed. Whenever it was Aggie's turn to pick their monthly book, it was invariably a romance of some sort.

"Hey, I thought Russians were supposed to have romantic souls." Aggie's protest was made in the soft New Orleans drawl she hadn't lost despite having lived in LA for the past 20 years.

"I had one of those…Four husbands ago." Marina, a ballerina, had defected to the United States in the late seventies and had later opened a ballet studio in LA after retiring from the stage. Sharon met her when she signed Emily up for lessons at her studio after her young daughter had become more serious about studying dance and outgrown her instructor. It was Marina who had seen the talent and drive in Emily and helped her become the principal ballerina she was today. Marina was also cynical and pragmatic and went through men, mostly younger men, the way Andy used to go through younger women.

"Don't listen to her," Sharon said. "You're right, Aggie, Andy couldn't have picked a more romantic way to propose. Hard to believe I found a man whose sense of occasion can actually rival mine. It's certainly a night I will never forget."

"I still can't believe Andy took Gavin to help pick out your ring and not me," Summer sulked. The room went silent, all the women turning to her with wide eyes before erupting in giggles. "What?" She held her hand's open palms up and shrugged in a "what the hell" gesture.

Rachel, a pretty blonde, responded. "Come on, Sum, when it comes to style, there is nobody, other than maybe Roz here, who is more opposite from Sharon than you."

"I'd take exception to that if it weren't 100% true," was Roz's good-natured response. A writer for a comedy sitcom, Roz was notoriously sloppy in her dress, preferring the sweatpants, t-shirts and Converse sneakers she was wearing right now to any other attire. When she was forced to wear something nice, she chose boxy male suits and would never be caught dead in a "girlie" skirt or dress.

"I don't think we're that opposite." Summer's protest drew more peals of laughter.

"Summer…" Rachel lifted her friend's skirt, smirking when she exposed plastic clogs. "You are wearing Crocs. Need I say more?"

"There's nothing wrong with Crocs. They're comfortable." Summer pushed her skirt back over her shoes.

"No offense, I love you to pieces, but they're fugly and Sharon wouldn't be caught dead out in public in them." With her sleek dark blonde bob and stylish clothes, Rachel Garner had far more in common when shopping with Sharon than Summer. Like Andrea, Rachel was a lawyer, now an advisor to Mayor Garcetti. She and Sharon had become friends back when Sharon was promoted to the LAPD's Women's Coordinator position and they had worked together on numerous cases.

"What I don't understand is why you want to get married in the first place. I mean you just got out of a bad marriage, why jump right back in?" The room went silent, this time with tension, not humor. Roz sat back, arms crossed over her chest, seemingly unconcerned by the group's collective disapproval.

"What the hell are you talking about?" It was Summer who quickly jumped to Sharon's defense. "Just out of a bad marriage? She's been done with that ungrateful, immature, disloyal prick for 23 freaking years! Just because she only formally divorced him a couple of years ago doesn't mean-"

"Summer," Sharon tugged on her friend's arm. "It's okay, calm down."

"It's not okay; she has no right to say that. You," she pointed a finger at Roz, "have no idea what she went through. You've known her for what? Four years? You have no right to question her choices. And just because you hate men doesn't mean she has to feel the same."

"Okay, okay, whoa. I didn't mean to start World War III." Roz held her hands up in defeat. "And for the record, I don't hate men. Well, all men anyway. I'm just saying, she doesn't need a man…a husband."

"Roz is right." Sharon agreed, taking a sip of her wine.

"What?" Summer turned to her with confusion.

"She's right. I don't need a man. But I can want one without needing him. And you know what? That makes this the purest relationship I have ever been in, ever. I don't need Andy's money, I don't need his security, I don't need his protection, I don't need him to provide shelter for me, I'm not looking for a father for my children. I am with Andy for one reason only. I love him. It's as easy and as simple as that. I love him and I want to spend the rest of my life with him. And yes, I want the formal commitment of marriage. I know I don't need it, but I want it. And that's my choice." She tapped her fingers on her chest, stressing the point. "I am at a place in my life right now where I can do what I want to do, not what I need to do, and you have no idea how much freedom there is in that for me."

"And we're thrilled for you." Summer's narrowed eyes shot daggers at Roz, causing Sharon to suppress a smile. Summer was about as laid back a person as she knew, however, one thing they did have in common was that you didn't mess with the people they love.

"Yes, we are." Patrice set a gentle hand on Sharon's knee. "Andy is a great guy, and he loves you to the moon and back." As Andy's caregiver while he was recovering from his surgery, Patrice had gotten to know the man and the way he felt about Sharon better than any of them.

Andrea nodded in agreement. "You all know how I feel about marriage, but hell, if I had a guy who looked at me the way Flynn looks at Sharon, who knows?"

Aggie, who had gone off to pilfer through the shelves, returned and flopped down in an oversized chair. She opened the small book she'd been looking for and began reading. "To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable."

"That's C.S Lewis, isn't it? " Sharon recognized the passage from having read a lot of Lewis's work.

Aggie nodded. "From The Four Loves."

"Well, he sums it up rather nicely, doesn't he? " Sharon poured a little more wine in her glass, then sat back. "Loving someone is a risk, no doubt about it, but I will always believe that it is a risk worth taking." She was well aware of how easy it would have been to encase her heart in one of those caskets after Jack, to allow herself to become unreachable. But that just wasn't in her DNA. Barriers, yes, she had certainly erected some of those, but closed off completely? No. She simply had too much love inside her to shut down like that. She knew people often thought she was cold, aloof, unemotional. They never knew it was all a façade, a shield meant to hide the fact that she actually felt things very deeply. She'd had to learn how to contain those emotions, to hide her feelings, but they were there, they were always there. And, had she entombed her heart, she never would have been able to let Rusty in, nor been able to embrace the man who had become the love of her life. Vulnerable? Yes, love made you vulnerable, but the rewards far outweighed any risk.

"I agree, we all need to remain open to love. Now, who's hungry?" Helen, the owner of the bookstore, set to restore order to their opinionated little group. "We'll eat, then dive into the book."

Sharon shot the older woman a grateful look. They might all be friends, but she had never really been comfortable with people dissecting her life.

The food was potluck. Each member of the club took a turn hosting the meeting, but it was always potluck so no one was stuck having to feed the whole group. At the end of each meeting, they drew out of a hat to see if they would be bringing the beverages, an appetizer, or an entrée to the next meeting. Though it wasn't a rule, they often tried to base whatever food they brought on the setting of their book. The only part of the meal they did not draw for was dessert. Mary Agnes Boudreaux McCormack, Aggie, always brought dessert. Twenty years ago, Aggie had moved to Los Angeles after Craig McCormack walked into her bakery in New Orleans and swept the 37-year-old widow off her feet, taking her home with him to California. Aggie opened a pretty little bed and breakfast near Venice Beach and brought with her the French and Creole delicacies of her former home, including the to-die-for beignets she brought to each meeting, regardless of the setting. No one was willing to forgo those beignets.

This month's book was set in Mexico, so there were cheesy nachos with garlic guacamole, sweet potato and black bean taquitos, a creamy taco soup, Mexican chicken and rice, and fish tacos. Sharon had drawn beverages at their last meeting, so, along with a case of seltzer water, she'd brought a few bottles of a Baja Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend along with the makings for Mojitos.

"And these," she drew out two large bottles of champagne. "Because we can't celebrate 10 years without a little bubbly. I still can't believe we've been doing this for 10 years." She poured the champagne and passed the glasses around to the ten incredible women sprawled over the sitting area. Ranging in age from their late forties to early sixties, with most in their fifties like Sharon, black, white, and mixed heritage, native Californians and transplants, gay and straight, single and married, they were a diverse group who had come together to bond over a shared love of books. And somewhere along the way, they had become friends. Friends that had seen each other through infidelity, divorce, infertility, empty nests, cancer, adoptions, menopause, job losses, promotions, and new loves gained and lost.

The book club had come about rather organically not long after Helen and her business partner, Jenny, opened "The Book Nook", a combination bookstore/café a little over 10 years ago. Helen's husband, Christopher, had accepted the position of visiting professor at USC, and the British couple fell in love with the climate and laid back lifestyle of Southern California. So, when a permanent position became available, they decided to leave the gray skies and rain of England behind and settle in the land of sunshine and surfers. At the time, Jenny was a stay at home mom whose marriage had fallen apart after her battle with breast cancer. Divorced, her children in college, and cancer-free, she was ready to embrace a new life when Helen became a patron of the coffeehouse where she was working as a barista. Soon they were discussing a joint venture. A few years later, their bookstore/cafe became reality, and Sharon, Summer, and Rachel became some of their first customers. Recommendations of authors and long chats over coffee regarding the books they read or were interested in reading had Jenny suggesting the idea of starting a book club.

For Sharon, it was perfect timing. Ricky had just gone off to Stanford, and with Emily across the country at NYU, she was reeling from the effects of her empty nest. For 21 years, her life had revolved around her children and their needs, car-pooling, cooking, laundry, helping with homework, getting them to practices, cheering them on at games and recitals, and most recently visiting college campuses in preparation for their futures. And then suddenly they were just…gone. The house was too quiet, too empty, too filled with memories. And, with her children gone, the fact that she did not have a love life only became more pronounced, her bed suddenly emptier, colder to the touch. And it didn't help that she was starting to feel like she was in a rut at the PSB. Melancholy enveloped her in its insidious web, eating away at her, telling her that her best days were now in the past.

Later, she would find that she actually enjoyed the peace and solitude of being on her own, the freedom of not having to organize anyone but herself. But in the beginning, the loneliness was crushing. Both Rachel and Summer commiserated with her because they were going through the same thing. It was Marina who encouraged her to use that time to focus on herself and do some of the things she'd wanted to do but hadn't had time for in the past.

For many years, Sharon had helped out a few nights a month at St. Joseph's soup kitchen, bringing Emily and Ricky along with her, which was how she'd gotten to know Aggie. Now, she began volunteering at the church's domestic violence shelter, counseling the women on their rights, teaching them how to defend themselves, and helping them to find jobs. She coached them through the interview process and helped them select outfits from donated clothes-including her own-that would help them look professional. Eventually, she ended up on the board of directors. She also became the LAPD's liaison with "The Sunshine Kids Foundation" helping kids with cancer, worked with Rachel to raise money for "Emily's List", sold her house and bought the condo, and then she joined the book club.

It was the perfect hobby and helped her to expand her group of friends. Other than Gavin, Summer, and Rachel, she didn't really have any close friends, confidantes. It wasn't that she was anti-social, she had many friendly acquaintances: Marina, Aggie, a few women and men at work. But, the truth was, she had never had the time to cultivate deep friendships. As a single mom, she was usually either working or taking care of her kids. And where most people made friends on the job, her work within the PSB made that impossible. Barriers were essential in her position, and that had not been easy, especially in the beginning. Even though she'd always been a bit reserved, she was not a naturally unfriendly person, so having to close off that side of her had taken time and effort. But she'd become good at it. Maybe too good. Once her walls were built, it was hard to let people back in.

The book club started out small, and though it had not been intentional, they were all women: Helen, Sharon, Summer, Rachel, Jenny, Marina, and Aggie. Roz, Patrice, and Andrea were later additions. Once the only women thing was established, they decided to keep it that way, which pleased Sharon. She was surrounded by men all day long, worked in a profession dominated by men, and she didn't have a problem with that. For the most part, she liked working with men, liked their direct ways, and had always felt that the best teams had a combination of women and men. On the other hand, it was nice to spend time with her women friends and immerse herself in the female perspective. It was also easier to be herself and let her hair down without the male/female dynamic, without feeling like she had to prove that she was tough enough, strong enough, smart enough, the way she did at work, every… single… day. Around these women, she could express her emotions, and frankly, her sexuality, without being embarrassed or viewed as weak.

"To ten years!" Helen raised her glass of champagne.

"To ten years!" The group chorused.

TBC

#shandy #sharon raydor #andy flynn #Major Crimes #shandy fanfic

22 notes · View notes

theoneryderlynn · 4 years

Photo

Self Para || Two Pieces

Location: New York, NY.

Date: June 7th, 2020

Notes: While Ryder tries to think of the best idea of how to propose to Marley, his mind goes back to the past to remember how he felt when they started seeing each other. Just a little bit of college!Ryder.

"Marley Rose, will you…"

Ryder frowned, his eyes focused on the small box he was holding in his hands. He sighed quietly, hearing the raindrops hitting the window in their bedroom, and stretched his legs a little bit, his back leaning against the bed's frame as he made himself more comfortable on the floor.

"No, this sucks." While Marley was out for a bit, Ryder decided to make the most of this time, and think of the potential proposal plan. Even though he had a brief idea, he felt like something was missing, something special. He knew it'd be a romantic picnic, possibly on a rented rooftop, with some casual food from one of the best New York's spots. It seemed like a decent plan, but he had to come up with an addition that would bring back how they'd been feeling about each other ever since the beginning. His mind was definitely playing tricks on him, his thoughts going back to the past.

[Years earlier, Ohio]

Ryder adjusted his sunglasses, before wiping the sweat off his forehead. "He's so gonna miss." He mumbled and ran towards Nathan, one of his best friends with whom he played basketball every week. It was their tradition, which is why it made him sad that this game might've been the last one.

The brunette caught the ball right after his friend missed and dribbled, moving to the other side of the court. He wasn't the best at some fancy tricks, luckily for him, the next one worked out so well that Ryder found himself scoring seconds after. He grinned; it was one of the few times when he'd actually won. Damn right.

"He shoots. He scores. HE WINS." Ryder screamed happily when he was jogging towards Nathan, and gave him a high five as he finally approached the other one, "Awesome game, bro." The brunette patted the other's back and followed his friend outside the court where they found their bags.

"First win in weeks, dude. That was fuckin' intense." Nathan commented. Both of them sat down on the ground and found bottles of water. The day was sunny, it was really perfect basketball weather, something that did not happen very often in Ohio.

"It's so insane that you're gonna play for the NFL, man. Like literally...so amazing." Ryder said with a huge grin, he felt like he'd been smiling all the time this week, which was rare for him. Freshman year of college had been tough, it felt like things had started to work out for a change.

"I know. Movin' out next week, so this was our last game."

"Wait, you’re kidding, right? That sucks, but you'll be doing great things, so I forgive you."

"Maybe you'll make it as well."

A smile remained on Ryder's face as they spoke, and he shook his head, "Nah. I don't think football's what I'm meant to do. Don't get me wrong, it's fun. I love it. I don't think I'm a pro football material. Not sure what's my calling, but this major...business stuff is cool. My grades have been pretty decent this year, so who knows what I'll end up doing." Ryder replied with a small shrug, it was crazy that his Freshman year of college was basically done.

Nathan raised his eyebrows at Ryder's comment, "You're different today."

"Me?"

"Yeah." The other man responded, "You smile all the time, it's so unlike you. You don't really do that very often. I mean, yeah, you get excited about things, but I haven't seen you smile all day for a year."

Ryder remained silent. He leaned against his backpack and closed his eyes just enjoying the sun. He wasn't planning on telling his friend that he was basically having the best week of his life.

He heard Nathan clear his throat, "So, I was planning this farewell party. You know, games, pizza, maybe D&D. A good time with the team and my best friends. You're invited, of course. It's actually tonight."

Hearing that Ryder turned his head, and took off his sunglasses, 'Tonight?" He repeated, sighing quietly, feeling suddenly nervous, "I can't. Can you postpone it? You can't just tell me about a farewell party now. Come on, dude. Unfair." He tried to look offended, but he couldn't be mad at this guy for too long, "I already have plans."

"Plans? You have nothing else to do, it is known."

"I have a date," Ryder sputtered and shuffled a little bit on the ground. He noticed that Nathan had just punched the air.

"I fucking knew it." His friend grinned, "Oh, and the party's on Friday." He added casually as they spoke, genuinely proud of himself.

Ryder pouted, lifting his body a little and taking a seat on the ground. He took a small sip of his water, "You're insufferable." He nudged his friend playfully as they spoke, he couldn't quite believe that he got tricked that easily. The other man had played too many games with him, it explained why he could see the change right through him.

"It was easy to tell. You're not exactly yourself today, it's bizarre. So not used to this version of you. Don't get me wrong, it's a very cool version, just...a little bit different. First date, huh?"

"Second."

Nathan chuckled, "I bet the whole campus will be relieved that you finally asked her out."

Ryder started stretching his arms a little bit, shaking his head in disbelief. He really didn't feel like talking about his love life with his friend; however, the smile remained on his face. He felt his muscles loosen up a little bit, a refreshing change.

"You've never been too excited about any of your dates, come on. Everyone knows she likes you too, you know?"

The brunette rubbed the back of his neck for a moment and looked over at his friend shyly.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh come on, dude. You've been in love with Marley Rose for ages. I'm glad you have finally left the "friendzone" area and have made the first step. I want you to be happy." Nathan patted Ryder's back playfully.

Ryder couldn't help but grin again. "Wow. Does everyone really talk about my dating life?" He asked genuinely, putting his sunglasses back on, "I'm not really a fan of attention. But uh...yeah, I asked her out." He added timidly, was it really that obvious that he was utterly, completely in love right now? He thought he wasn’t that easy to see through.

"Did you get to kiss her? How was it? Tell me everything." Nathan shuffled slightly closer to him, causing Ryder to laugh quietly. Not a chance.

"It was pretty great." He admitted with a smile at the memories, leaving all the details to himself, "She's great. Everything just...feels right. Like, I'm alive again. Super cheesy, I know." Ryder added trying to find the right words to describe his emotions, his cheeks were probably as red as the tank top he was wearing, and it wasn't because of the weather.

"Shit, and those eyes." His bro teased with a nudge.

Ryder blinked, still beaming. While knew Nathan was just playing with him, he couldn’t deny that. He punched the other on the arm playfully, "I'd freakin' lie if I said I wasn't into them." The brunette pointed at his friend, "I don't know...I feel like I'm ready for something serious. I know it's college, but maybe it's the right time for a normal relationship. Even though haven’t been very lucky for the past months, this is different. It feels natural." He stated honestly, happy that things were better, probably for the first time in years.

[PRESENT DAY]

He was snapped out of his own thoughts hearing Marley's voice coming from the kitchen. Ryder almost jumped and hastily put the small box in his pocket, just in case Marley would come into their bedroom, "I'm comin', babe! Be there in a moment!" He shouted, trying to keep it calm, his head turning five times in a row to check if she wasn’t trying to check on him.

He put the box with the ring inside into his drawer. Furthermore, he tried to cover it with some of his documents and book, so Marley wouldn't be able to find it. The brunette didn't expect her to look for it, he and his girlfriend had their own spots where they kept their personal things, even if they lived together, they respected each other's privacy.

Once that was done, Ryder started walking towards the bedroom's door but stopped for a second. He knew he was doing the right thing by asking her to marry him. It was quite obvious that she’d always made him feel special, right from the start. He was planning on making their most important evening together just as wonderful.

#self para #ryder lynn rp #eventwhatif #self para: two pieces #// it's self para week and i got inspired i apologise #wanna dig into the college days tho

3 notes · View notes

dentalinfotoday · 5 years

Link

Disclosure:

Ask the Dentist is supported by readers. If you use one of the links below and buy something, Ask the Dentist makes a little bit of money at no additional cost to you. I rigorously research, test, and use thousands of products every year, but recommend only a small fraction of these. I only promote products that I truly feel will be valuable to you in improving your oral health.

Whether it’s the work commute, driving back and forth to see a loved one in the hospital, or just a vacation drive, finding healthy snacks on the go can be a challenge. A few weeks of cavity-causing snacks could result in a lot of havoc for your teeth—including newly sensitive teeth.

Fortunately, there are more tooth-friendly options for on-the-go snacking than you might think. And if a new snacking habit has resulted in some tooth sensitivity, this article can help you locate the possible culprit.

Let’s look at the best way to keep your teeth strong and cavity-free, even on the road. But first, I’d like to share with you the moment I realized how important this was in my own life.

Krista’s Story

During many dental visits in the past, my dentist kindly warned me I was eating too much sugar and foods that weren’t good for my dental and overall health. (Basically, I was wrecking my oral microbiome…more on why that matters here.)

It wasn’t until 2009 when the doctor explained to me what was going on that I began to take my health seriously.

“Krista, you have maybe three months to live—the cancer is growing rapidly and if you don’t do something, you may be out of time.”

In that moment, I knew I needed to put up a fight and make some serious changes. I began seeing a nutritionist to expand my knowledge on plant-based nutrition and how to change my diet and support my fight against cancer.

But with a life full of hospital trips, I struggled to find healthy snacks on the go readily available. Many times, I found myself circling gas stations and convenience stores and walking out empty handed. Besides a bottle of water or an over-salted pack of almonds, I would go hungry instead of opting for something unhealthy.

The lack of access to healthy foods began to eat at me. As someone fighting a life-threatening disease at the time, it seemed impossible to stay healthy while on the go. I was forced to pack food with me, and many months I found my pantry bare because of the overwhelming hospital bills eating at my savings account.

Suffice it to say that this was an impossible situation to be in while fighting for my life.

I couldn’t help but think of all of the other people in the U.S. struggling with the same problem.

After winning my battle with cancer, I decided to do something about it. I launched a company called ESSTAR and “Krista’s Healthy On The Go” kiosks that sell healthy snack foods. I now focus on making food available in gas stations, convenience stores, hospitals, colleges and cafeterias across the U.S—some of the places where good nutrition is most needed and most ignored. (Read more about this “food desert” dilemma here and my cancer recovery story here.)

Fighting cancer or not, most of us are on-the-go all the time. But you don’t have to sacrifice healthy teeth for being busy! From cancer recovery to entrepreneurship, I’ve been busy the last several years. These experiences have led me to these four tips for preventing cavities—and staying healthy in general.

4 Tips for Healthy Snacks on the Go

Snacking on the road is problematic when it comes to dental health because teeth need a chance to remineralize. If you’re munching on sweets, sipping soda, and foregoing good brushing habits (because who hasn’t done that on vacation?), cavities can quickly form.

Find yourself struggling to find healthy snacks on the go? Here are some tips:

1. Plan Ahead

Take a few minutes to prepare before you leave the house. When you’ve got baggies full of healthy snacks, you can cut down on the temptation to satiate your hunger with processed, sugar-rich foods.

When thinking of snacks on the road, consider things that won’t get mushy or that need to stay fresh or refrigerated.

Some of my favorite healthy snacks to pack that are great for your teeth include:

Fresh fruit: Try blueberries, strawberries, bananas, and raspberries. The water in fresh fruit makes them a tooth-friendly choice. But watch out for dried fruit—sugars in dry fruit are really concentrated and can stick to teeth just like candy.

Veggie slices: Some of the best are carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, or cherry tomatoes. Many grocery stores offer pre-sliced veggies or packs of cherry tomatoes or sugar snap peas that are simple and portable.

Nuts: My favorites are almonds, cashews, or pecans. Nuts make a great buffer for sugar sticking to your teeth, so if you’re going to splurge a little with a candy bar, for instance, make sure to eat nuts, too.

Healthy trail mix: Avoid the dried fruit; it’s full of sugar!

Homemade kale chips: These are one of my favorite healthy snacks on the go. They’ve got everything you need for great nutrition—a super food, healthy fat, and portability!

Pro tip: To make a really great trail mix that your teeth will love, use the following ingredients:

Almonds

Cashews

Chocolate chips (I love this brand because they don’t use processed sugar to sweeten)

Pumpkin seeds

Dried coconut

If you’ve never tried this trail mix, you should. It’ll make you forget you’re eating healthy!

2. Check Yelp

The Yelp app has saved the day for me many times while looking for healthy snacks on the go. While traveling, I use it to locate a local juice or smoothie bar, health food store, or similar establishment. It’s fascinating to discover the creations of local artisans, and I’m often pleasantly surprised with the healthy options available in even smaller towns.

Here’s an easy way to find great, tooth-friendly food nearby. Just open the Yelp app and search for “healthy food” and then click the “Open Now” option. Voila! You’ll be able to see open restaurants advertised as healthy fare.

3. Hack Convenience Store Eating

Look for the cooler! This is where you’ll find things like:

Yogurt (watch for the sugar count here, but many yogurts are good probiotic foods)

Salads

Hard-boiled eggs (bonus points for vitamin K2-rich, grass-fed eggs)

String cheese

Fruit cups

Vegetable trays

Seaweed packs (yes, this sounds weird, but they’re actually delicious!)

Not everything in the coolers will be healthy, but many of the healthy options are found there.

If you’re fortunate enough to be in a gas station with a “healthy” section, that can be a great place to check out, too. Some of the better gas station snacks outside the cooler are:

Beef jerky (without soy and added sugar)

Protein bars low in sugar content

Sugar-free gum (the xylitol here is actually great for remineralizing teeth)

4. Choose Better Drinks

Instead of soda or sugar-packed juices or sweet teas, try to find something less acidic and sugar-filled. I generally advise avoiding diet drinks, although these are technically sugar-free.

Some of my favorite healthy drinks from gas stations include:

Bottled water

Unsweetened tea

Sparkling/mineral water (like La Croix, Deer Park Sparkling Water, and Topo Chico)

Kombucha (I like GT’s, which has the lowest sugar content per serving)

Sugar-free or low sugar drinks sweetened with honey, monk fruit, or stevia

Ingredients to Avoid in Snack Food

Many snack foods available today are high in refined carbohydrates and sugar, which are not only bad for teeth but can make you feel sluggish, unsatisfied, and hungrier faster. Between extending the time you’re exposing your teeth to these cavity-causing ingredients and increasing your craving for more of those foods, bad snacking can create a fast spiral.

Flavor enhancers, preservatives, sweeteners, synthetic colors, and man-made fats and chemicals often hide out in the processed foods we eat. Many of these ingredients are inflammatory and interfere with your body’s pH balance (more on how that works here).

Don’t forget—tooth decay and gum disease are both diseases. It’s easy to think of them as different than an illness elsewhere in the body, but they fall into the same category.

By eating inflammatory, acidic ingredients in food, you’re setting the stage for a body that’s less able to fight disease (in your mouth or anywhere else).

But which ingredients are actually harmful? What should you look for on a snack label on your next road trip?

The Food Babe has a great list of additives in processed foods that I (mostly) agree are great to avoid. Check out her full list here.

Best High-Protein Foods On-the-Go

The key is to make sure your healthy snacks on the go are nutritious and contain protein. Protein promotes fullness because it signals the release of appetite-suppressing hormones, slows digestion, and stabilizes blood sugar levels.

Plus, many high-protein snacks are low in ingredients that bad oral bacteria love to feed on.

Here are some high-protein snacks that are healthy and portable:

Beef jerky

Trail mix

Nut mixes

Greek yogurt

Nut butters

Hard-boiled eggs

Tuna

Protein bars

Protein shakes

When You Have a “Flex” Day on the Road

It’s unrealistic for most of us to eat “perfectly” 100% of the time—not just because there are so many different versions of “perfect” when it comes to food.

To protect your teeth from decay, here are a few ways you can offset the impact of sugary or processed sweets on your next trip:

Drink a lot of water. Water creates a buffer between your teeth and bacteria-friendly foods, so make the extra bathroom stops and opt for more water.

Try dry brushing. Toothpaste isn’t actually as big a deal as you might think. You can disorganize your biofilm just as efficiently by dry brushing—just using a toothbrush without paste. It’s a great idea to keep a travel brush in your glove box or purse for times when you need an extra brush away from your sink.

Eat “flex” foods in small spurts. The amount of time sugar and other acidic ingredients are exposed to your teeth is an important element in cavity formation. If you’re going to treat yourself with a less healthy snack option, don’t snack for hours; eat or drink your treat quickly and then buffer with water.

Plan when to “flex” and stick to your plan. Just because the occasional sugary snack probably won’t kill you isn’t a reason to toss your healthy diet altogether. Plan ahead when you’ll have a “flex” snack or meal, and stick to what you decide.

Key Takeaways: Tooth-Friendly, Healthy Snacks On the Go

It’s easy to go for the convenient, less-healthy option when you’re looking for snacks on the go. However, there are options for eating healthy snacks on the go that won’t contribute to cavities.

My top tips for eating healthy while traveling are:

Plan ahead

Check Yelp for healthy options in the area

Hack convenience store eating

Choose better drinks

After my experience with the inaccessibility of healthy food on the go, I set out to make a change. That’s why I created ESSTAR, which supplies convenience stores with kiosks called “Krista’s Healthy On-the-Go.” I carefully choose products for those shelves that have recognizable, limited ingredient lists and that promote better health for your teeth and body.

Want to know if a gas station on your route has a Krista’s Healthy-on-the-Go station? Go to esstar.us, where you can find our locations with organic, gluten-free, vegan, paleo and allergen-free snacks.

If you would like to see healthy snack options in a store near you, please feel free to go to ESSTAR’s website and suggest a location.

read next: Vitamin K2 Foods: Top Choices for Healthy Teeth

The post Tooth-Friendly, Healthy Snacks on the Go (4 Tips) appeared first on Ask the Dentist.

from Ask the Dentist https://askthedentist.com/healthy-snacks-on-the-go/

#Dentistry #Blog

0 notes

kristinsimmons · 5 years

Text

Tooth-Friendly, Healthy Snacks on the Go (4 Tips)

Disclosure:

Let’s look at the best way to keep your teeth strong and cavity-free, even on the road. But first, I’d like to share with you the moment I realized how important this was in my own life.

Krista’s Story

It wasn’t until 2009 when the doctor explained to me what was going on that I began to take my health seriously.

“Krista, you have maybe three months to live—the cancer is growing rapidly and if you don’t do something, you may be out of time.”

Suffice it to say that this was an impossible situation to be in while fighting for my life.

I couldn’t help but think of all of the other people in the U.S. struggling with the same problem.

4 Tips for Healthy Snacks on the Go

Find yourself struggling to find healthy snacks on the go? Here are some tips:

1. Plan Ahead

Take a few minutes to prepare before you leave the house. When you’ve got baggies full of healthy snacks, you can cut down on the temptation to satiate your hunger with processed, sugar-rich foods.

When thinking of snacks on the road, consider things that won’t get mushy or that need to stay fresh or refrigerated.

Some of my favorite healthy snacks to pack that are great for your teeth include:

Healthy trail mix: Avoid the dried fruit; it’s full of sugar!

Homemade kale chips: These are one of my favorite healthy snacks on the go. They’ve got everything you need for great nutrition—a super food, healthy fat, and portability!

Pro tip: To make a really great trail mix that your teeth will love, use the following ingredients:

Almonds

Cashews

Chocolate chips (I love this brand because they don’t use processed sugar to sweeten)

Pumpkin seeds

Dried coconut

If you’ve never tried this trail mix, you should. It’ll make you forget you’re eating healthy!

2. Check Yelp

3. Hack Convenience Store Eating

Look for the cooler! This is where you’ll find things like:

Yogurt (watch for the sugar count here, but many yogurts are good probiotic foods)

Salads

Hard-boiled eggs (bonus points for vitamin K2-rich, grass-fed eggs)

String cheese

Fruit cups

Vegetable trays

Seaweed packs (yes, this sounds weird, but they’re actually delicious!)

Not everything in the coolers will be healthy, but many of the healthy options are found there.

If you’re fortunate enough to be in a gas station with a “healthy” section, that can be a great place to check out, too. Some of the better gas station snacks outside the cooler are:

Beef jerky (without soy and added sugar)

Protein bars low in sugar content

Sugar-free gum (the xylitol here is actually great for remineralizing teeth)

4. Choose Better Drinks

Instead of soda or sugar-packed juices or sweet teas, try to find something less acidic and sugar-filled. I generally advise avoiding diet drinks, although these are technically sugar-free.

Some of my favorite healthy drinks from gas stations include:

Bottled water

Unsweetened tea

Sparkling/mineral water (like La Croix, Deer Park Sparkling Water, and Topo Chico)

Kombucha (I like GT’s, which has the lowest sugar content per serving)

Sugar-free or low sugar drinks sweetened with honey, monk fruit, or stevia

Ingredients to Avoid in Snack Food

Don’t forget—tooth decay and gum disease are both diseases. It’s easy to think of them as different than an illness elsewhere in the body, but they fall into the same category.

By eating inflammatory, acidic ingredients in food, you’re setting the stage for a body that’s less able to fight disease (in your mouth or anywhere else).

But which ingredients are actually harmful? What should you look for on a snack label on your next road trip?

The Food Babe has a great list of additives in processed foods that I (mostly) agree are great to avoid. Check out her full list here.

Best High-Protein Foods On-the-Go

Plus, many high-protein snacks are low in ingredients that bad oral bacteria love to feed on.

Here are some high-protein snacks that are healthy and portable:

Beef jerky

Trail mix

Nut mixes

Greek yogurt

Nut butters

Hard-boiled eggs

Tuna

Protein bars

Protein shakes

When You Have a “Flex” Day on the Road

It’s unrealistic for most of us to eat “perfectly” 100% of the time—not just because there are so many different versions of “perfect” when it comes to food.

To protect your teeth from decay, here are a few ways you can offset the impact of sugary or processed sweets on your next trip:

Drink a lot of water. Water creates a buffer between your teeth and bacteria-friendly foods, so make the extra bathroom stops and opt for more water.

Key Takeaways: Tooth-Friendly, Healthy Snacks On the Go

My top tips for eating healthy while traveling are:

Plan ahead

Check Yelp for healthy options in the area

Hack convenience store eating

Choose better drinks

If you would like to see healthy snack options in a store near you, please feel free to go to ESSTAR’s website and suggest a location.

read next: Vitamin K2 Foods: Top Choices for Healthy Teeth

The post Tooth-Friendly, Healthy Snacks on the Go (4 Tips) appeared first on Ask the Dentist.

Tooth-Friendly, Healthy Snacks on the Go (4 Tips) published first on https://wittooth.tumblr.com/

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swipestream · 5 years

Text

Sensor Sweep: PulpRev, Solomon Kane, Crypts, Fritz Leiber

Fiction (Pulp Rev): A couple of weeks ago over dinner, Troy Tang and I discussed some of the fundamental problems facing PulpRev. PulpRev makes for a fine umbrella term for writers to rally around, but every writer has different ideas about the direction of their own writing. This makes it hard for people to define what, exactly, is PulpRev, and this affects the brand’s long-term visibility.

Fiction (Jeffro’s Space Gaming Blog): These are the first sentences describing Solomon Kane and check it out: just one brief aside about the way he walks and you catch the fact that he’s basically The Terminator. Unhurried yet unswerving. This guy has a mission and he will not be distracted from it even for a moment!

This is a note Howard will touch on yet again before the first section break.

RPG (Hack & Slash): The top ten styles of crypts for your adventurer to rob. Make it like a Turduken, and put different crypt types within each other like Matrioskha dolls.

A corpse is totes inconvenient. I mean, it’s not a person, it has no use, and yet it is pretty important right? What do you do with all those corpses?

10 Cairn. Well, I guess if we drag it over there and cover it with rocks that will be good. Plus when you carry the rocks, you can get rid of all the feelings, because you’re carrying heavy rocks. But you know, you deserve to be exhausted. After all, you’re still alive.

Cinema (Kairos): We already knew that The Last Jedi was a con. Now proof has surfaced that the reviled Star Wars movie’s ridiculously high Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score is likewise a sham.

Geeks and Gamers reports on leaked audio from Fanboys director Kyle Newman, who admitted that Rian Johnson’s abomination was just as poorly received in Hollywood as everywhere else. Kyle goes on to confirm that film critics felt pressured to give the movie positive reviews on pain of losing their access to future Disney projects. Skip to 2:52 to hear Kyle’s audio.

Gaming (Table Top Gaming News): Fantasy Flight is squeaking out some new releases just before the holidays. If you’re looking for a last-minute gift, you can head down to your LGS and pick up two new kits for Star Wars: Legion, including Chewbacca and some of his Wookie friends, get the Mother of Dragons expansion for the A Game of Thrones Board Game, or a new playmat for Arkham Horror.

Fiction (DMR Books): Fritz Leiber was born on the twenty-fourth of December. As it so happens, I first read his fiction on the twenty-fifth of December, albeit many decades later. My mom, who had previously bought me books on Vikings, Native Americans and other topics I was interested in, had purchased the Ace box set of Fritz Leiber when I told her I wanted “something by Fritz Leiber.” My mom set me up sweet. That was a pretty cool Christmas.

Fiction (Paperback Warrior): “The Trail to Peach Meadow Canyon” is a short Louis L’Amour novel (about 73 modern pages) that originally appeared in the October 1949 issue of “Giant Western” magazine. Since then, it has been reprinted several times in various L’Amour compilations. It’s also available as a Kindle eBook for three bucks.

The setup for this story is awesome. Mike Bastian is an orphan who was raised by enigmatic rancher Ben Curry as his own son. However, in addition to book smarts, Curry taught young Mike a unique set of skills including pistol marksmanship, quick draw, knife throwing, lock-picking, and safecracking. As Mike reaches adulthood at age 22, he learns the truth: his adopted father is an old-west crime lord who has personally engineered Mike to be the ultimate criminal mastermind who can take over as the new Godfather of the West.

Fiction (Glorious Trash): The City Outside The World, by Lin Carter October, 1977 Berkley Medallion

Part of the Mysteries Of Mars “sequence” by Lin Carter, The City Outside The World is yet another tribute to the work of Leigh Brackett; such a “tribute” that the astute Brackett reader can easily spot the novellas which Carter has borrowed from. The top three I detected would be “The Last Days Of Shandakor” and Sea-Kings Of Mars, with a couple elements from The Nemesis From Terra thrown in for good measure. There are probably more besides.

Fiction (Mens Adventure Magazines): Jon Whitlatch is an author whose name pops up regularly within men’s adventure series genre circles. Between 1969 and 1976, Whitlatch wrote eleven action novels, the first ten of which were published with a series of stunning covers. Lurid and garish, featuring outlaw bikers, big breasted babe in jeopardy, and tough heroes out for revenge, the covers of Whitlatch’s novels could just as easily have graced the covers of any of the titillating Men’s Adventure Magazines of the day.

In actuality, the stunning covers of Whitlatch’s books first ten books were painted by top Men’s Adventure Magazine artists Norm Eastman (Gannon’s Vendetta, Lafitte’s Legacy, Tanner’s Lemming, Frank T’s Plan, The Judas Goat), and Mel Crair (Morgan’s Rebellion, Morgan’s Assassin, Stunt Man’s Holiday, Cory’s Losers. Men’s Adventure Magazine top model Steve Holland—The Face That Launched A Thousand Paperbacks—appears on several of the covers, adding to their collectability.

Fiction (Spectre Library): A while ago, I wrote up a story by Frederick C. Davis reprinted in England by the 1930’s publisher Sharman Ellis Ltd. (If interested, click on the publisher’s name in the TAGS section). The cover art is simply signed as “S.E.C.” and I haven’t a clue who that would be, but the cover art closely adheres to a scene in the story (except the maid does not actually see the murder take place, as depicted here).

The Devil’s Dozen is the 8th title in the “Mystery Thrillers” series, and spans exactly 64 pages. The story features Davis’s recurring character, Lieutenant “Show-Me” McGee, as a policeman that disbelieves all evidence set before him until he solves the crime to his own satisfaction.

Sensor Sweep: PulpRev, Solomon Kane, Crypts, Fritz Leiber published first on https://medium.com/@ReloadedPCGames

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kristinsimmons · 5 years

Text

Tooth-Friendly, Healthy Snacks on the Go (4 Tips)

Disclosure:

Let’s look at the best way to keep your teeth strong and cavity-free, even on the road. But first, I’d like to share with you the moment I realized how important this was in my own life.

Krista’s Story

It wasn’t until 2009 when the doctor explained to me what was going on that I began to take my health seriously.

“Krista, you have maybe three months to live—the cancer is growing rapidly and if you don’t do something, you may be out of time.”

Suffice it to say that this was an impossible situation to be in while fighting for my life.

I couldn’t help but think of all of the other people in the U.S. struggling with the same problem.

4 Tips for Healthy Snacks on the Go

Find yourself struggling to find healthy snacks on the go? Here are some tips:

1. Plan Ahead

Take a few minutes to prepare before you leave the house. When you’ve got baggies full of healthy snacks, you can cut down on the temptation to satiate your hunger with processed, sugar-rich foods.

When thinking of snacks on the road, consider things that won’t get mushy or that need to stay fresh or refrigerated.

Some of my favorite healthy snacks to pack that are great for your teeth include:

Healthy trail mix: Avoid the dried fruit; it’s full of sugar!

Homemade kale chips: These are one of my favorite healthy snacks on the go. They’ve got everything you need for great nutrition—a super food, healthy fat, and portability!

Pro tip: To make a really great trail mix that your teeth will love, use the following ingredients:

Almonds

Cashews

Chocolate chips (I love this brand because they don’t use processed sugar to sweeten)

Pumpkin seeds

Dried coconut

If you’ve never tried this trail mix, you should. It’ll make you forget you’re eating healthy!

2. Check Yelp

3. Hack Convenience Store Eating

Look for the cooler! This is where you’ll find things like:

Yogurt (watch for the sugar count here, but many yogurts are good probiotic foods)

Salads

Hard-boiled eggs (bonus points for vitamin K2-rich, grass-fed eggs)

String cheese

Fruit cups

Vegetable trays

Seaweed packs (yes, this sounds weird, but they’re actually delicious!)

Not everything in the coolers will be healthy, but many of the healthy options are found there.

If you’re fortunate enough to be in a gas station with a “healthy” section, that can be a great place to check out, too. Some of the better gas station snacks outside the cooler are:

Beef jerky (without soy and added sugar)

Protein bars low in sugar content

Sugar-free gum (the xylitol here is actually great for remineralizing teeth)

4. Choose Better Drinks

Instead of soda or sugar-packed juices or sweet teas, try to find something less acidic and sugar-filled. I generally advise avoiding diet drinks, although these are technically sugar-free.

Some of my favorite healthy drinks from gas stations include:

Bottled water

Unsweetened tea

Sparkling/mineral water (like La Croix, Deer Park Sparkling Water, and Topo Chico)

Kombucha (I like GT’s, which has the lowest sugar content per serving)

Sugar-free or low sugar drinks sweetened with honey, monk fruit, or stevia

Ingredients to Avoid in Snack Food

Don’t forget—tooth decay and gum disease are both diseases. It’s easy to think of them as different than an illness elsewhere in the body, but they fall into the same category.

By eating inflammatory, acidic ingredients in food, you’re setting the stage for a body that’s less able to fight disease (in your mouth or anywhere else).

But which ingredients are actually harmful? What should you look for on a snack label on your next road trip?

The Food Babe has a great list of additives in processed foods that I (mostly) agree are great to avoid. Check out her full list here.

Best High-Protein Foods On-the-Go

Plus, many high-protein snacks are low in ingredients that bad oral bacteria love to feed on.

Here are some high-protein snacks that are healthy and portable:

Beef jerky

Trail mix

Nut mixes

Greek yogurt

Nut butters

Hard-boiled eggs

Tuna

Protein bars

Protein shakes

When You Have a “Flex” Day on the Road

It’s unrealistic for most of us to eat “perfectly” 100% of the time—not just because there are so many different versions of “perfect” when it comes to food.

To protect your teeth from decay, here are a few ways you can offset the impact of sugary or processed sweets on your next trip:

Drink a lot of water. Water creates a buffer between your teeth and bacteria-friendly foods, so make the extra bathroom stops and opt for more water.

Key Takeaways: Tooth-Friendly, Healthy Snacks On the Go

My top tips for eating healthy while traveling are:

Plan ahead

Check Yelp for healthy options in the area

Hack convenience store eating

Choose better drinks

If you would like to see healthy snack options in a store near you, please feel free to go to ESSTAR’s website and suggest a location.

read next: Vitamin K2 Foods: Top Choices for Healthy Teeth

The post Tooth-Friendly, Healthy Snacks on the Go (4 Tips) appeared first on Ask the Dentist.

Tooth-Friendly, Healthy Snacks on the Go (4 Tips) published first on https://wittooth.tumblr.com/

0 notes