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feistypaants-archived · 4 years

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Between The Pipes [Chapter 33]

Rating: M Words: 2860 Pairing: Kristanna Summary: When a new owner takes over the Arendelle Ice Breakers, Kristoff isn’t sure about his future with the team. That is, until a PR nightmare throws the newest member of the media team, who also just so happens to be the daughter of the new owner, right into his arms. Kristoff and Anna can’t even stand the interviews they have to do together… how on earth are they going to fix this mess? Hockey!AU.

[Chapter Index]

Where To Read: [AO3]

Notes: 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

Enjoy!

It was about ten days before Kristoff felt all of his symptoms had fully subsided. He had started going for jogs a couple of days ago, but anything more than that tended to bring the headache roaring back. So he continued to take it easy, go for a short jog in the morning, and only watch an hour of tapes per day. Anything longer than that hurt his head, too.

Anna had… not so slowly started moving her things in. She didn’t have much, but he told her to put her stuff wherever she wanted, that she could make this place as much hers as she wanted. And he genuinely meant it. His house had just been a house. He hadn’t put much thought into it beyond the comfort of his couch and bed. Decor was minimal, and everything was very much brown.

Maybe she could help him make it a home.

Her just being there already made it closer.

—

After four weeks, they broke her lease and she had officially moved in. They figured it would help her save some more in the long run, help her skate by for just a little longer, even if he told her over and over that she didn’t need to worry about money.

But Anna hadn’t wanted to start things out that way. She had some savings, and she could pay for things here and there, and she didn’t want him to feel like she was taking advantage. Kristoff assured her that he could never think that she was. But still, she insisted, and he told her that that was something he absolutely loved about her.

He had been able to start doing more normal exercises again. Working with the trainers was annoying, but there weren’t any headaches returning when he pushed himself like he used to. They told him if he could do this for a week without any symptoms popping up, he could get back on the ice.

—

That week went by like a breeze, and Kristoff relished in the feel of crisp ice under his skates. There was no feeling better than being on the ice. He sighed with defeat as they told him they wanted to wait another week before they started firing pucks at him, but he grudgingly agreed. At least he was skating.

And then, even better, he got to come home and see Anna, her hair wrapped into a bun on top of her head as she sat with her knee to her chest, drawing in an almost full sketchbook, her tongue caught between her teeth. “Hi baby,” he smiled, his heart warming as she looked up at him and used the back of her hand to push hair from her eyes. He kissed her softly as he walked past, enjoying the pure domesticity of it all. “Have a good day?”

“Oh yes! I went to that cafe downtown that we like - you know, Oaken’s Mochas and Teas?”

He always laughed at the name. So on the nose.

“And well, I noticed that they didn’t have any sort of logo or anything so… I don’t know. I just…” she blushed and spun around on the chair, dangling her legs off the side. “They know me and I figured what was the harm in asking - so I’m designing something for them now!”

His eyes widened and he took three steps forward to clear the gap between them, placing an enthusiastic kiss on her lips. “Anna, that’s so great.”

“They’re paying me, too!” She was giggling against his mouth, and he couldn’t help but smile. “Remember how the last place wouldn’t pay? I took it because, you know, portfolio, but I offered for free, but they insisted.”

“I’m so proud of you, baby.”

Then her arms were around his neck and not letting go and she hummed low and slow, “how about you? Good day? Worn out?”

Oh. He was never too worn out for that.

He hoisted her up onto his hips, grinning like a madman as they moved backwards to his bedroom. Well, their bedroom. She never did sleep in the spare room.

—

He was growing slightly frustrated at the week-by-week status, but he knew this was his second head injury, and they wanted to be more careful this time around. But only progressing to the next step after a whole week was growing agonizing. At least he was doing non-contact now, grinning from ear to ear as he slapped each puck out of midair.

God it felt so fucking good to be back like this.

Anna had come with him today to spend some time with Honeymaren while they practiced, and he could hear her whooping from the stands. Every time he made a save, “that’s my baby!” Every time someone scored on him, “you’ll get it next time honey!”

It was the most endearing thing ever, as she jumped up and waved her hands in the air, as if it were an actual game. As if it weren’t just her in the stands, cheering him on during a practice.

God he loved her so much.

—

Finally they were letting him practice back in a regular jersey. No more no-contact. He was fortunate that goalies rarely got touched anyway, but now they guys weren’t holding back anymore. Slapshots and more risky wraparounds and pucks fired in a way that made him dive were becoming the norm again, and he felt so damn good with every puck he saved.

Shot by shot, the rust was shaking off, and Kristoff felt ready to get back in a game. It was almost April, and he needed to be playoff ready. They had promised him he’d be back in by March 20th, which gave him a little under three weeks of in-game play before the playoffs started. They were so close to a playoff spot, and he knew that he could help them win it.

But he wouldn’t rush, and he was going to trust the physicians on staff, and take it slow.

If for no other reason than Anna.

He knew she was worried about him getting back in. But they weren’t playing the Stallions yet - they had at least until the Eastern Conference, and by then he would undoubtedly be a one hundred percent. Plus, the guys had his back, and, he couldn’t help but laugh about it, Warren had been scratched for the rest of the season. Coach’s decision.

—

Right on the promised date, Kristoff was starting in net against Tampa, and the literal electricity in the arena had him amped up beyond belief. Their whole team was working together like a well oiled machine, and he hadn’t realized what a vital cog he was to the whole operation until he had been gone. Even if it had just been in practice, he already felt the connection, and he knew this game would be easily won.

Anna had threatened him with an indefinite withhold if he didn’t let her come on the roadie, so she was up in their box, undoubtedly screaming along to every play, and just knowing she was in the arena made his game that much better.

They won, 5-2, and dog-piled in the middle of the arena as they clinched their playoff spot.

Fuck. This was still the best feeling in the world.

—

The rest of the season went by in a flash, and before they knew it, the Ice Breakers were facing New York in round one. It felt so easy now as they swept the round, and had extra days for recovery.

The Stallions lost against Boston.

It had been a weird moment, celebrating someone else’s loss, but Anna had come home with two bottles of champagne and they popped bottles and got a little drunk and Anna had taken him to bed and all right, he might be okay with celebrating another’s loss if it meant he got this. Plus, it was the team that almost took him out for the end of the season.

Yeah, he was okay with celebrating.

Philadelphia was a harder won match. They liked to play dirty. It went to game seven before they finally secured the win, and they all felt the tiring ache of it. Kristoff hated going to game seven - it meant they only had two days to recuperate before the next match started.

But Anna had drawn him a hot bath, had snuck in to lay on his chest while he relaxed, and scratched her fingers against his chin as she waxed poetic about playoff beards and how maybe he should just keep it and then her hands sunk a little lower, and he was suddenly feeling a lot more prepared for the Conference finals.

He genuinely thought they might lose to Toronto. They lost the first two. Won the third. Lost the fourth, and if they didn’t win all three of the remaining games, they were out.

It was close. God it was so fucking close.

Game seven. They were 3-3. Sudden death overtime. It looked like it might head into double overtime, with only eighteen seconds on the clock, but then --

Pederson scores! Ice Breakers win!!!!

Thank fuck.

—

Anna was there for every game. Every win, every loss, she was there. And he knew he wasn’t being a good boyfriend right now, he knew that he was too focused on his career right now and this was what he had been so fucking concerned about from the beginning.

But after game two against Nashville, which they lost miserably, Kristoff was sulking on the couch watching tapes to figure out where they kept scoring on him, and Anna wrapped soft arms around his neck.

“Hey,” she hummed, not even reacting to his short, irritated reply. “I just want you to know… How proud I am of you.”

That got his attention.

“You had a really traumatic thing happen, and you bounced right back from it, and you’ve been playing so hard, and so well, and… There’s no fear, and that’s amazing.” He let one hand raise to her arm, stroking his thumb across her skin.

“I love you so much,” he muttered, tilting his head back to look up at her. “I’m sorry if I’ve been a bad boyfriend.”

“I know,” she smiled, placing one quick kiss against his lips. “And you haven’t. I can deal with your job being most important for two months of the year.”

“You love me still?”

“More every day.”

He felt more confident in game three. And four. And then they were up three to one, and only needed one more fucking win to win the whole damn thing.

—

They were in Nashville and Anna was lamenting the fact that they didn’t have the time to actually see the city this week, and Kristoff pulled her close and told her if they won tonight they could stay here as long as she wanted and see everything she could possibly think of. She blushed and kissed him and told him that he better bring his A game, because she was holding him to it and would be horribly disappointed if they had to fly back home tonight.

That was an extra motivation.

They arrived at the arena early, amazed at the crowd already forming and the insane energy just surrounding the building. Playoff hockey was a whole other world, and he was so ecstatic that Anna was getting to experience it by his side. He kissed her deeply before she had to head up to the box and him to the locker room, with a quick squeeze of her bottom and a laugh.

“Hey!”

“It’s for luck!!”

Anna swatted at him but grinned as she followed Jelissa up the stairs to the visiting team’s box, laughing with the blonde about their stupid men and how on earth do we put up with them and Kristoff tuned out the rest before he heard something he didn’t want to. Then he turned his focus to the game.

“Men!” Sven hollered, his voice booming through the locker room. “This game is do or die. We’re ahead, but you better not let that cockiness mess with your game.”

Kristoff couldn’t help but smile. His best friend had perfectly honed his skill of making a speech lighthearted but also motivating. The team followed him into fire, and Kristoff had always admired him for it. When Sven wrapped it up and hopped down from his perch, Kristoff held out a hand, gripped his best friends’ and knocked their helmets together.

“Captain.”

“We win together or we die together, brother.”

Kristoff almost laughed at the drama of it all. “Calm down, Aragorn.”

Sven was silent for a moment. “When the fuck did you watch Lord of the Rings?”

“... Concussion recovery was rough.” He dropped Sven’s hand and smirked. “But it was actually pretty good.”

“Haven’t I been telling you for years that you would like it?” He smacked Kristoff upside the head and grinned. “Never listen to me, but the second you get a girlfriend…”

They heard the announcements starting, and moved out towards the runway. As always, they were last onto the ice, and as always, they fist bumped before they stepped out. He was as ready as he’d ever be. The timer counted down, they got into position.

Three.

Two.

One.

The puck hit the ice.

Period one had a rough start. 2-0 Nashville. But he was recalibrating, remembering what it was he kept missing. They got him on his glove side. They knew he was a little weaker, a little more hesitant with it after the injury.

But he could fix it.

Period two, nothing got by him, and the guys scored three times. 2-3 Ice Breakers. Thank god.

Period three, and the pressure is on. Nashville doesn’t want to lose, and the Ice Breakers don’t want to drag it out. They’ve played three long matches already.

Nashville scores.

Ice Breakers score.

3-4.

4-4.

5-4.

5-5.

And then.

Carruthers, the kid they just brought up from the minors to fill in a gap from another injury, fucking scores with three seconds on the clock. His third game. His first NHL goal.

The fucking Stanley Cup game winning goal.

The whole team runs to center ice. The whole team dog piles on top of the kid, still silent and slack-jawed with shock, still not believing what just happened.

“Fuck yeah!”

“God damn it Ruthy!”

“How the fuck, kid!”

The incoherent screaming from the team didn’t drown out the booing from the crowd, but nothing would bring them down right now. Nothing could.

After their celebration, both teams basically let the three seconds run. Nashville knew nothing could be done, and the Ice Breakers weren’t about to let anything past them anyway. The buzzer rang and they all cheered again, whooping and hollering as they received the cup, went through the motions in the arena that wasn’t welcoming them. Then they ran down the runway, back to the locker room to find their family and friends waiting with enough champagne for every person in that room to have their own bottle.

Captain Sven Pederson had the pleasure of carrying the cup back with him.

Music was blasting, everyone was screaming, champagne was already flying through the air and as the team started stripping some of their bulkier gear off, Mattias took to the stage.

“I’ve never been more fucking proud of you boys. You rallied together and in just a few years, we’ve already risen so far beyond what people expected of this new little team in the middle of nowhere. I’m not going to make some big long speech,” Kristoff could see the tears in his eyes as he sniffled, and he let out a booming laugh as he looked around the room. “But you’ve all just… you’ve made me feel like a proud father.” He waved his hands in front of his face and shrugged. “But fuck my speech, let’s celebrate!”

And celebrate they did.

Bottles popped, beers were distributed, everyone drank way more than they should as Sven emptied at least 8 bottles of champagne directly into the cup and lifted it to pour into every players’ mouth. The man of the hour, Scotty Carruthers, was herded to the middle of the pack and drenched in champagne and beer before he had even fully finished processing what was happening.

After far too long, Kristoff found Anna, and she leapt immediately into his arms, placing sloppy peppered kisses all over his face. “I’m” kiss “so” kiss “fucking” kiss kiss “proud of you.” And then a hearty one on the mouth, as her hands pressed firm to either side of his jaw.

Kristoff smiled with his fingers spread wide over her back as she threw her arms in the air to add more beer to the rain in the room. She laughed brightly, lowered her hands back to his shoulders, and gave him the best smile he had ever seen. “I love you so much.”

And then he thought that somehow that was worth more than the fucking Stanley Cup.

#btpfic #feistypantswrites #only an epilogue left ;u;

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star-villager · 4 years

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Ezra: Month 1 of Animal Crossing New Horizons!

Hello all! I’m here to tell my journey of the first month of New Horizons on Cillia Island!

There’ll be lots of pictures! I hope you enjoy! Future updates will probably be daily because this is... long at first... but I promise it slows down!

This post covers 32 days (skipping a few). It is indented to be a fun, long, read! I’ll say it’s a 10-15 minute read just to be on the longer side!

-Ezra; Island Resident Representative; Local Island Decorator; Mayor of Cillia (if it had a mayor hehe!)

Thursday, March 19th, 4pm -7GMT. The virus is present, but just starting. I have been home for not even 24 hours of my job that was supposed to keep me out of town all March. I make a phone call to a local Gamestop, asking if they’re still open, and how the midnight release of Animal Crossing is going to work. The worker tells me I can go pick it up right then, because they’re going to be closing early and had JUST gotten a phone call from corporate that they could give it out early - you can assume what I did /immediately/ after lol.

~~~

Starting was incredibly easy! I’ve had my dead name as my New Leaf Mayor forever, and I loved that city name so Ezra and Cillia it was! And we began! My starting villagers were Cherry and Roald with Cherry Trees (fitting!), and I said I wasn’t gonna restart no matter what... so here we go!

I picked a town that had a West Beach River Mouth as well as a South River Mouth - which matched my town in New Leaf! (The south exit, and the flow of the river - but the west exit would be where my original upper waterfall was so the shape was the same). Picked northern hemisphere (where I am). And placed my house right in a river bend (with the initial plan to section me off into my own island within an island!). Cherry and Roald’s homes were placed along the west-running river right at the top, with not much effort or forethought. Not that it was a bad thing! I knew they wouldn’t be permanent villagers, but wanted to give them some beautiful scenery while they were here.

I can definitely tell that I’m still acting and thinking like a mayor even thought I’m only an island rep. ... this doesn’t change bwahaha!

Day 1 March 19th, was all setup and prep for our REAL day 1! Blathers already was about to have a decent encyclopedia, and I was getting nook miles left and right - already expecting a house instead of a tent the next day. I wasn’t too surprised, I’ve done this song and dance before, and I’m just here to have a great time in my island paradise! Getting Blathers was definitely my highest priority!

Day 2 March 20th, was... difficult... giving 15 things to Blathers one at a time and finding 30 iron for the Nooklings was excruciating lol - but getting fossils and a pole vault to absolutely DECIMATE the weed ecosystem filled me with a glee that I’m sure you can understand. I managed to upgrade my house, get Blathers and Nooks Cranny all in one day *whew*. Now, time to have some fun!

I build my first QR code which was a cool outfit I called PRIDE Coat! It is a black coat with drawstrings and pockets on the front - a lil’ trans flag on the left arm, a bi flag on the right arm, and my (pretty decent!) attempt at a rainbow of paint (in the gay flag colors) falling down my back! And I made an Iwatobi Swim Club Beanie to match the one I wear every day!!

I then played with my Passport a bit to have my title be “Future Fish” which is Free! Eternal Summer (the second season’s) Ending Song!!!! Which I thought was SUPER cute and VERY me. (It’s my second fave anime. I plan on making a Reigisa outfit in the future!!).

Already by the end of Day 2 I had my hair customization options, the tool wheel, and the DIY that I needed to buy. Everything Nook was offering I managed to get my grubby little day 2 hands on! So you KNOW my hair went to pink pigtails IMMEDIATELY. And took /many/ photos. But since my outfits are all the same just imagine the ones you just saw but with pink instead of blonde!

With that it was time to get my 3 villagers that would accompany Cherry and Roald (This correlates to getting the iron for Nooklings!) I wanted to grab the first 3 villagers that I saw just to try some new friends this go around - as I had already planned on making my New Leaf family my permies! So my first three were Ketchup (nice!), Hornsby (Aww!!), and... GALA!?!?

Well how convenient! That was one permie immediately out of the way!! Welcome back, Gala!!! So excited to have you on the island!

Then I caught an Oarfish and saw *GASP* WISP!!!! To which, I immediately ran up to him and demanded he bring my girlfriend, Cece the Squirrel, to the island. He, instead, got spooked, had me collect his spirit, and offered me items. *sigh* Ok - can’t get Cece that way - so I decided to sleep!

How naive I was...

Day 3 March 21st, was both good and bad! I had access to Nooklings, but that was about it. Blathers was getting a crowded amount of critters outside his roped off building, but it would be all worth it, tomorrow. But!! I found my first spider island! Which I sold off to Nooklings and happily went to sleep!

Day 4 March 22nd, had SO MUCH to offer! Blathers, Daisy Mae, Harvy, WHEW. Pretty sure I had a visit from Gulliver either today or yesterday, too! Nothing could POSSIBLY ruin this day!!

Oh how wrong.

How so terribly wrong I was.

Animal Crossing New Horizons is an incredible game that lets you invite so many villagers to your island!

All of them. But 14.

14 Villagers from New Leaf are not available. The Sanrio Characters. And the Amiibo Characters.

No Felyne. No Ganon, Epona, Medli, or W. Link. No Viche or Inkwell. No Rilla, Chai, Morty, or Etoille.

No Toby.

No Chelsea.

...

No Cece.

...

To say that I was devastated would be an understatement. I was absolutely crushed. Not only were 3 of my permies out, but the one villager I couldn’t live without, wasn’t allowed in the game. She didn’t even get a poster.

So I did what any crushed lover would do, and made a memoir to her.

And it started raining. Poetic. (I was only cheered up slightly when I got to catch a Coelacanth!) I didn’t do this until much later (April 4th) but for the sake of not talking about her too much, I would open New Leaf and wrote her a goodbye love letter, which, honestly, makes me tear up whenever I read it.

And I went to sleep.

I have nothing for Day 5 other than scanning all my amiibo cards for the POSTERS which are UNDOUBTEDLY my FAVORITE new feature in the game!!

Day 6, March 24th, GALA MOVED IN! I was so excited, and it was definitely needed. My best friend also came over and we goofed off and we met each other’s villagers! Then I went to an island tour and got A PANSY HYBRID ISLAND!!!! OOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! I went crazy. Absolutely destroyed that ecosystem. I went full feral. MINE. ALL MINE!!!

And I caught my first Sturgeon!! Which was awesome because I only had the rare fish left in my March collection! Trying to get a Golden Trout, I made many many fish bait, and got the 200 clam achievement! Which was exciting because that unlocked “Mermaid” for titles!! I doubt I’ll change from Future Fish, but Mermaid would be a second pick!

For Day 7 I went to a good friend’s village and desperately tried to make Chiyuki Fujito’s blue dress from Runway de Waratte... it didn’t work... but I like the attempt! (Will send pics in messenger if you’re curious!).

Day 8, March 26th, was the day ISABELLE WAS HERE!!! Welcome to your island paradise, QUEEN. I definitely dressed for the part ;)

This, of course, opened up tunes and flag options! Flag was incredibly easy. It’s going to stay my picture of Cece until she’s added back into the game (which will probably be never, so...)

The tunes was much harder for me. But since I couldn’t think of anything else I made it “SO. NO. CHI. NO. SA. DA. ME.” from the first Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Opening (which is, ironically, what is playing as I type this... SO NO CHI NO SA DA ME <- was written in time with the music playing. Incredible.) It’s definitely not going to be that forever, but for now it makes me giggle!

Nothing for Day 9 except for a SICK tarantula island :) love those furry babes! I also built my campsite! Tomorrow was going to be big!! Who on Earth was going to move in!?

Day 10, March 28th, now, I have what I like to call “chaotic luck”. I’ll catch the bus, but my gosh did I almost miss it. I was absolutely positive I failed that test, and I did, but the question I messed up doesn’t count and I passed! Cece isn’t in the game but do you know who’s at my campsite??

OFFICE

HETEROCHROMIA

TSUNDERE

TRANS

CAT

EXTRAORDINAIRE

RAAAAAAAAAAAYMOND!!!!

Can you even imagine my face??? Can you IMAGINE the jaw drop?? I moved him next to me IMMEDIATELY.

Day 12, March 30th, I saw kicks for the first time!!! Love that funky newsie skunk!

Day 13, March 31st, I saw Flick for the first time!!! Went on a mad tarantula hunt and made BANK. Fun story, I thought both Flick and C.J. were girls, so when I learned Flick was a boy I was really upset because I thought a canon gay ship was now straight, but WHOOPS they’re BOTH boys! 😎 Nice.

I also saw Celeste for the first time!!! Gosh how I missed her!! I actually sat and got all 200 stars in one night, just because of how much I like wishing on falling stars!!!

Day 14, April 1st, The Nightmare Begins. Love him or Hate him, Zipper was here. I won’t go on about the eggs. Everyone talks about the eggs. They sucked, fishing was a nightmare, not a big fan. I would end up not getting all the sakura DIYs which was very upsetting (but I’ll just get them next year). In INCREDIBLE news I got a golden trout!!! Which was the last thing I needed in my March encyclopedia - and it was on to April hunting! Every night thing I could get, I did! So I decided to set up my last 4 houses, and focus on getting K.K. Slider finally to my island!

The first house sold naturally to Pecan! NICE! I love squirrels so much! She was very welcome!

Day 15, April 2nd, in the interest in getting new villagers, I went on a tour and there she was: MERENGUE! She’s, truthfully, not a favorite of mine. She’s SO cute, but not someone I wanted permanently. However, she’s my other best friend’s FAVORITE and she doesn’t have a switch. So, there was NO WAY I wasn’t taking Merengue onto my island. I haven’t sent my friend pics, yet, but I hope I can soon!! She’s gonna be so happy!

Today was the first day I met C.J. which... stunning. Absolutely jaw dropping. I’m SMITTEN with a TAKEN BEAVER. He calls me fashionista. Asks about my anglersona. Takes selfies of/with me. He’s truly the ideal. I’d invite him back any day!

Over the next 3 days, Freya and Bruce move in as my last 2 villagers giving us a grand starting total of: Cherry, Roald, Ketchup, Hornsby, Gala, Raymond, Pecan, Merengue, Freya, and Bruce! Not bad not bad!

Day 19, April 6th, THE BEST GIRL IS HEEERE. LABEL CAME TO MY TOWN FOR THE FIRST TIME. I might have cried, honestly. I cannot believe someone that incredible would want to come to my island. She asked for me to give her an official look. Are you kidding me? Easy breezy. For my perfect outfit she rewarded me a Label Hat. Oh? DESIGNER? I was awestruck. The design was IMPECCABLE. The flavor was IMMACULATE.

One of my villagers also happened to gift me a Pink SPRITE COSTUME??? I, honestly, have never been more in love with an outfit in my entire life??? A pink Peter Pan outfit??? LEGENDARY.

Day 20, April 7th, I don’t quite remember what day K.K. Slider visited the island when I hit my 3 star rating - so we’ll say it was today lol. That meant ISLAND EDITING, but I didn’t know what to do, yet, so I didn’t worry too much about it!

Label’s hat came in MORE COLORS in the store today. YOU BET I bought all of them. The talent. But this meant that I had a pink hat to match my pink sprite costume and you bet I was LIVING my best life. I had also finished the Anklyosaurus which is my FAVORITE dinosaur so I was LIVING it up.

Later, Ketchup would approach me and ask to move. I was happy for her to explore new lands and bid her farewell, and gave her a sweet goodbye. With that, it was hunting time, and I found the perfect villager that would set everything in motion.

Day 22, April 9th, Label VISITS AGAIN!!!!!! Unfortunately, she asked for a sporty look, which I couldn’t pull off perfectly :/ So no new item from her... but my OUTFIT WAS FIRE AND WE WERE MAD CUTE TOGETHER.

Day 23, April 10th, the villager has moved in, the cryptid gyroid herself, COCO!!!

And her moving in gave me a BRILLIANT idea. I’d like to keep it under wraps for now, but I’m so, so, SO happy she’s here!

Day 24, April 11th, The Fishing Tourney. The Summer tourney will be significantly easier for me, now that I know you can double your points by fishing with someone else, but it took me HOURS to collect all the clams and get to 300 points. It wasn’t really worth it, but I love fish so much so I wasn’t going to miss a SINGLE thing. I got that gold trophy and I’m SO proud of myself.

Also my fishing outfit could slay for MILES

Straight Fire.

Day 25, April 12th, With a golden trophy in hand and the last day of eggies, I was feeling really confident. I had the means and the idea to change cliffs + water for a couple days and just... made what my brain came up with! I’ll keep this vague for now, because I’m really excited about the final results! Just know that everyday I edit a little bit more and come up with more ideas!

Day 26, April 13th, Happy Homestuck, Neil Bangs out the Tunes, and Thomas Sanders goes to the Wedding Day!! And it did NOT disappoint. Label for A 3RD TIME!!! She must like me as much as I like her >w<!! Today she gave out her cap!!! It’s, honestly, not my thing, I’d rather stick with the brim hats, but I do think they’re cute!! So I would buy them all the next day! The Able Sister’s haul on Day 27 was oh my gosh amazing!!! They had the cap, of course, but they also had THE OTHER SPRITE COSTUMES!! Which I bought all of them. And now I wear, near exclusively, this outfit in 5 different colors bwahaha!

Day 30, April 17th, I got my first golden item!!! The slingshot! Nice! Over the past few days, I’ve just been designing, moving houses, and building ramps! Learning new myth debunks, stuff like that!

I was also blessed with 3 encounters :OOOO I didn’t know this was even POSSIBLE!?

Day 31, April 18th, Disaster Strikes. I’ve been moving so many homes that I didn’t consider that a villager couldn’t move in because you were already doing a home thing for the day. So when I went to invite camper Gonzo to my town he declined!? I was devastated. He was SO cute and I thought he could move into Bruce’s house to keep the peace of personalities! I think he’s someone in the future who I’ll ask for a poster of or ask for an amiibo card of! I know I’m going to check the campsite first before moving any buildings from here on out! D’:

And that brings us to today,

Day 32, April 19th, one month from the day I started. I’ve been having the TIME of my life! There’s definitely been some ups and downs, but I have a goal in mind and it’s keeping me so focused! I organized an entire flower field today!! Due to a turnip mishap, I happen to be 2 days ahead of everyone, but I have been good about time traveling other than that. This means that I am fortunate enough to get my Nooklings upgrade 2 days early and they’ll be open tomorrow!!! I’m... I’m so excited!!! I NEED more flower seeds!!!!!!!

The future looks incredibly bright on Cillia island, and I cannot wait to hear about everyone else’s month!!

Thank you for your time. Please enjoy these random favorite photos of mine!

#Animal Crossing #ACNH #My Post #Cillia #Town of Cillia #Ezra #Island Rep Ezra #Mayor Ezra #Star-Villager #LONG #LONG POST #Animal Crossing New Horizons #Pictures #Photos #New Horizons

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junker-town · 3 years

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NBA playoff predictions: 1 big question about each Eastern Conference series

The SB Nation communities preview every first round series in the East.

The Eastern Conference playoffs feature three heavy favorites and five other teams looking to make a Cinderella run to the NBA Finals. The Philadelphia 76ers have the homecourt advantage throughout the conference playoffs by finishing with the No. 1 seed, but the Brooklyn Nets are looming as the betting favorite to win it all. The Milwaukee Bucks are also lurking as they enter the postseason with an improved roster following last year’s early exit in the bubble.

The Eastern Conference playoffs get underway on May 22 and will lead up to the start of the NBA Finals on July 8. As the first round kicks off, the conference features four exciting series with storylines galore from every perspective.

Now that the playoffs are finally here, we asked the SB Nation NBA communities to preview their team’s matchup by asking one big question about each series. The communities also gave their predictions on who will win the series, as did staffers Sabreena Merchant, Sydney Umeri, and Ricky O’Donnell.

No. 1 76ers vs. No. 8 Wizards: Predictions and preview

76ers 49-23 vs. Wizards 34-38

Offensive efficiency: 76ers 112.5 (13th) | Wizards 110.7 (17th)

Defensive efficiency: 76ers 107 (2nd) | Wizards 112.3 (20th)

Net rating: 76ers +5.5 (5th) | Wizards -1.6 (22nd)

Season series: 76ers 3-0. Philadelphia swept the season series.

The Sixers swept the season series 3-0, but all of those games took place before the Wizards saved their season starting in April. Given Washington’s current hot streak and mid-season additions (led by Daniel Gafford), do you think the Wizards can make this series competitive?

Steve Lipman of Liberty Ballers: The Philadelphia in me deeply wants to hedge my bets here just in case, but short of significant injury, I really don’t see a path for Washington to make this series competitive. Throughout the season, the Sixers have done a really good job of punishing teams that cannot match them, physically, and Washington is a much smaller team than Philly. Embiid, Simmons and Harris should be able to hunt mismatches on the court all throughout the series, and by doing so create enough advantages either at the rim or beyond the arc to rack up points on the shoddy Wizards defense.

I guess there’s a universe where Simmons, Thybulle and company simply cannot keep up with Beal and Westbrook’s offensive output, thus stealing a couple of games for the Wiz, but I think it’s unlikely. Davis Bertans is basically guaranteed to shoot 75% from 3 against the Sixers in round one after struggling mightily in the play-in games, you can write that in stone. But Davis can’t do it on his own. Ultimately, I just think the Sixers’ defense is too good to get victimized by this Washington team in a really meaningful way, and the Sixers’ personnel is tailor-made to take advantage of the Wizards’ poor defense. — @SteveJLipman

Albert Lee of Bullets Forever:

Ahead of the series, our Wizards community wrote:

The Wizards are not favorites in this series, and that’s fine, given how wild this season has been. So at the end of the day, the players should be very happy to make it to this far. While I expect Washington to lose this best-of-seven series, I also would like to see them win one game, And anything more would be a bonus.

Liberty Ballers: 76ers in 5.

Sydney Umeri: 76ers in 6.

Ricky O’Donnell: 76ers in 5.

Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images

No. 2 Nets vs. No. 7 Celtics: Predictions and preview

Nets 48-24 vs. Celtics 36-36

Offensive efficiency: Nets 117.3 (1st) | Celtics 113.1 (10th)

Defensive efficiency: Nets 113.1 (22nd) | Celtics 111.8 (13th)

Net rating: Nets +4.2 (7th) | Celtics +1.2 (13th)

Season series: Nets 3-0. Brooklyn swept the season series.

Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving played just eight games together. Can the Celtics put a scare into the Nets if it takes them time to gel?

Jeff Clark from Celtics Blog: Predicting what the Boston Celtics will do from game to game or even quarter by quarter is a fool’s errand. However, given that I am a foolish fan, I’ll give it a shot anyway. If this series is to play out in a similar way to how the season has gone, we’ll see the Celtics come out flat and lose the first three games and the entire fanbase will start wearing black and sharpening pitchforks. They will then go on an absolute tear, winning three straight games and getting up the hopes of every optimist fan. That will of course be followed up by a game 7 loss in which the team tries really hard but can’t hit a shot to save their lives and Brooklyn’s 9th man goes off for 27 points.

Seriously though, the variability of this team really is maddening. Blame injuries, COVID, the schedule, or inexperience if you like. The bottom line is that they haven’t been consistent all season long and missing Jaylen Brown isn’t going to help that at all. Perhaps Jayson Tatum can carry the team to a win or two but ultimately there’s too much talent on Brooklyn’s side. I’ll be optimistic and say Nets in 6. — @CelticsBlog

Chris Milholen of Nets Daily: The Nets ‘Big Three’ of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden played only eight games together and as we all know, what separates great teams from championship teams is common history and elite chemistry in the postseason.

All three players have stressed to us over the course of the final weeks of the season that the lack of common history isn’t a problem nor a concern since their talent will make up for it. Although the ‘Big Three’ played even less games with key role players on the team, I believe their talent will make up for that lack of common history in the first round.

I believe Brooklyn will prevail over Boston in five games (4-1). The Nets are approaching the postseason as “a new season” and due to finishing second in the East, Brooklyn has had an extended period of rest mixed in with practices that have been focused on solidifying chemistry in different groups and lineups of players. Like Brad Steven’s said on Tuesday, it’s hard to see this team losing, so I’ll be going with Nets in five games. — @CMilholenSB

Nets Daily: Nets in 5.

Celtics Blog: Nets in 6.

Sabreena Merchant: Nets in 4.

Ricky O’Donnell: Nets in 5.

Sydney Umeri: Nets in 6.

Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

No. 3 Bucks vs. No. 6 Heat: Predictions and preview

Bucks 46-26 vs. Heat 40-32

Offensive efficiency: Bucks 116.5 (5th) | Heat 110.6 (18th)

Defensive efficiency: Bucks 110.7 (9th) | Heat 110.7 (9th)

Net rating: Bucks +5.8 (4th) | Heat -0.1 (17th)

Season series: Bucks 2-1. The teams split a back-to-back on Dec. 29-30, and the Bucks won on May 15 in a game at the very end of the regular season.

The Heat shocked the NBA by upsetting the Bucks in the bubble in last year’s playoffs. Is Milwaukee better prepared for a matchup with Miami this year?

Kyle Carr of BrewHoop: Milwaukee’s offseason moves were a response to their dismal bubble performance and the need to convince Giannis Antetokounmpo to sign the supermax and stay in Milwaukee. Trading Eric Bledsoe, who had another disappointing playoffs, was the biggest priority and Milwaukee found an upgrade in Jrue Holiday, who has brought the Bucks a two-way performance that’s been needed. The Bucks also added Bobby Portis and Bryn Forbes to provide some offensive firepower and PJ Tucker midseason to help with their defense.

The Bucks have spent most of this season tweaking their tactics, namely adding a player to the “dunker spot” on offense and switching on defense. All of these changes, plus an improved performance from Giannis, should put Milwaukee in a better position to be prepared for Miami this year. There will be some nervy moments, but with the previously mentioned adjustments, complete focus on basketball (which they did not have last year in the bubble with COVID-19 and the shooting of Jacob Blake) and playing in front of fans in an increased capacity Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee will look to show that last year was just a mixture of poor performances and bad luck. — @KyleCoche

Diego Quezada from Hot Hot Hoops:

Here’s what our Heat community wrote ahead on the series:

The Miami Heat’s upset over the Milwaukee Bucks last year stands as perhaps the team’s biggest upset playoff victory — knocking off the No. 1 overall seed in just five games. And yes, Jimmy Butler was amazing. But aside from Butler’s greatness, Miami also pulled off the upset thanks to varied contributions from other players.

....

Jae Crowder and Kelly Olynyk are both no longer with Miami. Dragic has regressed, and it seems ambitious to expect he’ll deliver another superb playoff performance this year. How can the Heat recapture that same balanced attack? The Heat will need Butler and Bam Adebayo to play like All-NBA and All-Defensive Team players in this first-round playoff series. But to pull off another upset and embarrass the Bucks yet again, the other players need to contribute.

Brew Hoop: Bucks in 6.

Ricky O’Donnell: Bucks in 7.

Sabreena Merchant: Bucks in 6.

Sydney Umeri: Bucks in 5.

Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

No. 4 Knicks vs. No. 5 Hawks: Predictions and preview

Knicks 41-31 vs. Hawks 41-31

Offensive efficiency: Knicks 110.2 (22nd) | Hawks 112.1 (18th)

Defensive efficiency: Knicks 107.8 (4th) | Hawks 101.5 (11th)

Net rating: Knicks +2.4 (9th) | Hawks +2.2 (11th)

Season series: Knicks 3-0. New York swept the season series, including winning a classic overtime battle in late April.

Both of these teams blew past preseason expectations this year. Whose success feels more sustainable for playoff basketball?

Zach Hood of Peachtree Hoops: I think both teams are legitimately good as currently constructed. However, New York enjoyed extremely hot three-point shooting late in the season, and had a few guys post career or near career marks from deep. The Hawks battled injuries all season and finished with the same 41-31 record as the Knicks. It feels like Atlanta at its peak would be the better team if they could get everyone on the floor at the same time, something they really haven’t done for an extended period this season. De’Andre Hunter appears to be ready to go for the series, so they may be as close to full strength as they have been all season when the series tips off Sunday evening. If Atlanta can stay healthy, I think they are the team with the higher ceiling.

I’m going Hawks in 7. New York is certainly going to battle and nothing will be easy. It’s also tough to pick against them in their building in a Game 7, but that’s what I’m doing here. Ultimately, a great deal of respect is due to New York for the season they have put together, but if the Hawks can keep the three-point line under control defensively, I think they will take this series. — @ZHood_

Joe Flynn from Posting and Toasting: I would disagree with the idea that the Hawks blew past preseason expectations. I think most experts had them contending for a playoff spot in the East after all their offseason improvements, albeit at a lower seed. The Knicks, on the other hand, finished damn near 20 wins higher than their preseason Vegas line in a 72-game season. That’s almost unprecedented.

The Hawks are the more talented team across the board, and that usually wins out in the postseason. The Knicks are carrying around the millstone that is Elfrid Payton - the league’s worst starting PG - despite the fact that Tom Thibodeau has 3-4 superior guards on the bench. That didn’t hurt them too often in the regular season, but it’ll catch up with them now. — @ChinaJoeFlynn

Posting and Toasting: Hawks in 6.

Peachtree Hoops: Hawks in 7.

Sabreena Merchant: Knicks in 7.

Ricky O’Donnell: Knicks in 7.

Sydney Umeri: Hawks in 7.

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alliance-recruitment-agency-blog · 5 years

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Headhunter Qatar - How To Get Your Career Best Job In Qatar

The 2009 Wimbledon Tennis Grand Slam starts on June 22. This is just one of the greatest tennis matches to timepiece. I always like to predict who'll win the Wimbledon Tennis Championship. Not too long ago I was wrong, while predicted that Federer would win, after all he had beaten Rafael Nadal in 2006 and 2007.

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Qatar Headhunters - 14 Facts About Qatar That'll Make Your Hair Stand on End

This result followed full week of declines brought on by bearish speculation of one damaging supply glut. Currently, Nymex gas March 26 on NYMEX at $2.61 on the April contract and the May contract at $2.40. March portends the close of the heating season and the beginning of supply build-up. Typically, one would expect price declines at such times. Prices, however, are increasing.But at exceptionally minimal rates.

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Headhunters In Qatar - 10 Tips About Qatar You Can't Afford To Miss

Nadal is questionable to almost non-existent for that repeating of his Wimbledon title. All you have to be a genuine disappointment for viewers for the 2009 Wimbledon Tennis Finals. Everyone who viewed the 2008 Wimbledon, will agree that ended up being one for the most exciting, if not the most exciting Wimbledon matches I had every looked at. This should leave rivalry was announced wide open for Federer or another champion. Federer has won 5 associated with the last 6 Wimbledon Grand Slams. The man to watch this year will be Andy Murray. It is actually going to exciting if he could win associated with own property. Sleepy little Britain always be cheering fully.

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Head Hunters Qatar - 15 Ways You Can Grow Your Creativity Using Qatar

Looking at today's newly found "ocean of gas", it appears that North America must get in search of either new markets for this ocean, or simply curtail formation. New markets do exist, and consist primarily of foreign markets paying well over U.S. prices for liquefied natural gas (LNG). But this demands the firms that imported propane in the "sunset years" to retool and reverse their terminals in order to export as as an alternative to import.

Hire Headhunters For Qatar - The Untold Secret To Mastering Qatar In Just 3 Days

Taking centre stage this time around around, Wolfgang will rock Middle East touring Dubai, UAE on 7 March and Doha, qatar on 8 03. Emirates Golf Club has been confirmed for the venue to host the Dubai position. Set against the stunning backdrop of Dubai Marina, the concert planned in Dubai will feature an after party where fans will be entertained through DJ playing the latest in dance music.

1) Roger Federer (Rank - 2) - Roger has won 5 of the last 6 Wimbledon tennis matches. The 2008 Wimbledon was a normal between Rafael Headhunters Qatar Nadal and Roger Federer. After Roger was trailing by 2 sets, he won another 2 sets only shed in your fifth set 7-9. He undoubtedly cool player that doesn't let his emotions take control his playing for a chronic period of time.

With a four-wheel drive Durango I traversed the entire state twice in one week, and spent the other in video conferences. During that time my Headhunters In Qatar Sciatica got progressively worse, and I started taking Motrin. Night sweats started, nonetheless thought has been a cold bug as well. I was wrong.

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Brooke Miller is an athletic badass. And an eloquent one at when. The 2008 US National Criterium champion, US team member, worlds competitor, and cyclist for the talent-stacked Team TIBCO, what food was in the Amgen Tour of California to guard her 2008 title. Can perform watch Brooke in action on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Santa Rosa, where could tear inside the streets for this Women's Criterium. But first, she took a some time to talk to me about cycling, slugs, Qatar, exactly what its like to be a thigh goddess.

2) Rafael Nadal (Rank - 1)- He should probably win this year, but his early exit in in france they Open because of a knee injury, leaves his defense of his Wimbledon Championship accessing. Rafael Nadal has had his knees engrossed in several Tourneys. It is interesting to find out if he can pull off another Wimbledon championship. Discover him fall out of early within the French Open is disconcerning, considering he has dominated the french Open for years, raises some concerning his health and wellness.

Let's begin with economics. The only thing are usually number one at generally at google . our investing value. Currently have the most profitable market in the world to cash. We have the fourth largest stock of money behind the ecu Union, Japan, and Offshore. We have the 20Th lowest inflation rate behind countries like qatar, China, Japan, Spain, and Sweden. We unfortunately have the 47Th highest public money trouble. We have the fourth largest labourforce and have the one hundred and tenth lowest unemployment rate(really bad).

There are many other smaller restaurants on Salwa road close into the Plaza where Caravan can be obtained. The ones we tried enjoying were Syrian and Lebanese restaurants selling Falafel, Hummus, Foul (beans), eggplant along with traditional Arabic breakfast food.

Reward personal self. As you replace old habits with new habits and get milestones presenting to you closer to your prize, treat yourself along approach. It is your personal incentive program to carry on.

According into the U.S. Energy Information Administration's January "Short Term Energy Outlook", justification can certain you're seen why sustained supplies will be priced into the market. Based on the text the EIA, production volumes coming from U.S. Shale formations this season increased by 4.5 Bcf/day year over year. Specialists are encouraging a variety. Further, EIA expects production to raise in 2012 by 3.4 Bcf/day, and in 2013 merely by.70. Inventories are also at all-time highs. In the end of 2011, working natural gas inventories penciled in at 3,472 Bcf, a record for these times of school year. To account for supply increases versus the minimum demand heating season, EIA reports that storage experienced a draw of only 95 Bcf for week ended January 6, 2012 versus a five year average draw of 128 Bcf.

Still, I, like many western expats am spoilt. Thesiger the desert explorer maintained that "the harder the life the finer the people". If this true, us rich western expats must be very poor people indeed.

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gobigorgohome2016 · 7 years

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Training Cycle Recap

I made it!

Truthfully, I think everyone’s “A” goal for any race should be to make it through the training cycle - and to the starting line - healthy, happy, and emotionally prepared to race. We put so much emphasis on time goals that we rarely see the big picture: just getting to the starting line is a feat within itself.

Without a doubt, this training cycle has been my best since when I hit my OTQ. When I look at the big picture, that is. In October, I didn’t really have the US half champs on my radar as being my *big* race. I thought it was going to be cross country, and I put the 15k and half champs on schedule figuring if I had a good race at xc and subsequently ran at worlds, I would cross those two off my list.

But, if I look back I see now how Houston, xc champs, and the 15k were all key components in making this entire training cycle something really special for me. I have learned so much about myself, my needs, my strengths, and my weaknesses that I would be content to say this has been my most successful cycle yet.

Mileage Consistent, high mileage is kind of my jam. But, consistent high mileage without quality does not a great runner make. I topped out this training cycle with a few 95/96 mile weeks while balancing high-quality track work. My highest mileage week ever is 115, so it was a little on the “low” end for me, but I think it was important for helping me develop consistent leg speed in the 4:40 - 5:10 speed range.

I looked at the last 6 months (this training cycle started at the end of October), and I have run just over 2,000 miles. Even though I thought this was a period of “low” mileage, it’s only ~70 fewer miles total than during the 6 months leading up to the Houston half in 2016, where I ran my PR. A big difference between that cycle and this cycle is that I now incorporate strength work, core, and track work, whereas before I was exclusively doing marathon pace and 10k effort.

Since the end of November I have been above 75 mpw, and with only a few exceptions, I have completed a 20 mile long run every weekend since December 11th. This cycle has definitely balanced my strengths (high mileage, 20 mile long runs) with my weaknesses (being comfortable at top-end speed) quite well.

Best/Worst Workouts It seems like cheating to say that a tempo was one of my best workouts of the cycle, since tempos are my bread and butter, but I would definitely say that my 5 mile tempo the Thursday after the 15k champs was one of my best of the cycle. I was TIRED but I still cranked out 5:27 pace for 5 miles on crushed gravel, on a moderately windy day, to run 27:14.

My best non-tempo workout was probably my final 400 m or mile repeat workout. A few weeks ago I did 6 x mile on crushed gravel in 5:12, 5:09, 5:12, 5:09, 5:09, 5:07. That was definitely out of my comfort zone. I also did 10 x 400 m in 72, 72, 72,72, 72, 72, 72, 72, 71, 70 on a stupidly windy day. Actually, all of my track work has been in 12 - 20 mph wind, and I’m kind of ready to never do a track workout in wind again.

My “worst” workout was 5 x mile on the track on a windy day. I couldn’t get under 5:25 to save my life, and i think my slowest repeat was 5:35. It definitely made me question whether some of my other workouts had been a fluke, but later that week I ran a great fartlek so I got over it.

Lessons So many.

I’m still learning how to balance my life in the best way possible. A lot of people wonder why I just don’t get a “real” job now, take some time away from high level training, and come back full speed right before the trials.

For me, this period in between qualification windows is the “off-season.” I am nowhere near as good as I want to be, but I know that the only way to get there is to train as if I already am. I might lose this opportunity tomorrow. Everyday I hear about friends who are diagnosed with terrible diseases, who one day wake up and decide they no longer want to run, or for who life just simply got in the way. Of course there have been times where I have questioned what I am doing, and why, but ultimately this training cycle was a good one for reminding me that I have been given an incredible opportunity and I don’t want to waste a single day.

I also learned an important lesson that I never in a million years thought would have applied to me: I don’t eat enough to sustain my training.

I think my low point, in terms of energy and recovery, came right around the xc champs. I didn’t feel great at that race, but i think it’s safe to say that no one did. I recovered terribly. I had to take two weeks of no workouts because my legs just couldn’t handle it. I didn’t get my period that month.

Also during that time I went into post-big race mode and Dave and I ate out quite a bit. Every time I ate more than normal, I would have a great run the next day. I started putting the pieces together that I needed to reevaluate my needs. I began tracking my calories and macro/micro nutrients and realized I was severely under-fueling. This was by no means purposeful, but when you’re working out 2 - 3 times per day and have dietary restrictions it’s just going to be tough.

With a few adjustments I started feeling better than ever before. Initially I gained weight, which, truth be told, freaked me out a little bit. However, I value performance far more than a number on a scale, and the best workouts of my life came at my highest weights. My period also got back on a 28 day cycle.

Another lesson is that I drink too much caffeine. As much as I want coffee to be part of my pre-race routine, it simply cannot be. I perform MUCH better when I drink green tea. I have found that when I drink coffee, I can’t get my heart rate up. I think this is actually perfect for long runs, but not so good for when I’m trying to run an all-out effort.

About 3 weeks ago I was struggling again with inflammation. The scale was creeping up every day, and I had gained ~4 lbs in a week and my body/legs felt lousy. I couldn’t figure out what I was doing differently. Then, I thought about my daily routine: no water, just black tea, green tea, or coffee ALL DAY. In a typical day, I have 4 cups of coffee or ~8 - 10 cups of tea. I stop drinking caffeine around 7 or 8 PM. I decided to see what would happen if I drank just one cup of caffeine in the morning, and then only drank water the rest of the day. Within 3 days I was back to my normal weight and feeling a lot better. I later read that there are compounds in coffee and black tea (catechins, I think?) that, while healthy, still require ~1 gallon of water to flush entirely from your liver and kidneys. I kind of wonder if I was overdoing it with the tea/coffee to the point I was dehydrating myself. Fortunately, I didn’t have any caffeine withdrawals, and honestly don’t feel like I *need* caffeine to get my day going.

I tried to nap more during April, but realized that napping just doesn’t work for me anymore. If I nap during the day, I can’t fall asleep at night and wind up going to bed after midnight and waking up at 9 or 10. If I don’t nap, I fall soundly asleep at 10:30 and am up at 7:30, which I much prefer. I used to nap a lot before I took my food sensitivity test, but the changes in my diet have either caused me to be less tired (fatigue is a sign of food sensitivities), or the timing just correlated with me being better able to handle my training/work load.

Races I race quite a bit, and this training cycle definitely was a reflection of that.

November - Turkey Trot 10k, 35:35, 1st place, 5:43 pace I was bummed because the year prior I had run 35:20, but that’s kind of a dumb thing to worry about, in retrospect. It was a good rust buster.

December - Resolution Run 5k, 17:19, 1st place, 3rd OA, 5:34 pace I really wanted to break 17:00 but it wasn’t in the cards on a super cold/windy day.

January - Houston Half, 1:16:43, 18th place, 5:51 pace I was irrationally bummed that on a day with 96% humidity and strong winds I didn’t run faster. Again, hindsight is 20/20.

February - XC Championships, 38:06, 20th place, 6:07 pace I was disappointed. Lots of travel for what felt like a missed opportunity. Had I run ~12 seconds faster I would have qualified for a championship race in FL. But, this race sparked a turning point for my season.

March - 15k Championships, 52:49, 17th place, 5:39 pace I went into this race with a different plan: go out hard and hold on. I went through 5k in a PR (16:58), and 10k in a PR (34:42), and held on the final 5k.

April - Spring Into Fitness 10k, 34:26, 1st place OA, 5:33 pace This was my final tempo of the training cycle. Very happy with this, especially considering the huge hills (my 5th mile was 5:55 due to one climb!)

I noted that I thought xc was a turning point for me. After this race, I met with my coach and we talked training. He helped me identify a few adjustments that needed to be made:

-no less than 4 hours between runs (I was especially bad about this when daylight was scarce) -more top-end speed work -more balance in my training plan

I also identified a few areas of my own that needed adjustment, particularly a sense of guilt I had been feeling towards my training. I had fallen into a rut of doing things that left me feeling guilty at the end of the day. For instance, deciding not to do my 2nd run of the day, eating half a tray of peanut butter bars that I knew for a fact were made with soy, not getting enough sleep, etc. I would justify these things as, “if this ONE instance derails my training, then I’m doing something wrong” but, to be honest, all of those “one” instances were starting to add up. One week of 5 less miles isn’t going to make or break me. But, when I was doing it 3 weeks in a row and suddenly I’ve lost 15 miles of training, that does matter over time. The peanut butter bars aren’t a big deal, except when I can’t finish my run because my stomach cramps are too bad and I know there isn’t a bathroom nearby, because Indy has no public restrooms (a topic for another day). Happens once? whatever. But it was becoming a habit that I needed to break.

I decided no more guilt. I'm not going to lie and say “no more guilt” meant that I broke free of mental constrains and blah blah blah. But no, no more guilt meant I woman’d up and just stopped behaviors that I knew were detrimental. I feel like many people will want to read something like, “I worked out less, ate more sweets, and saw the best results ever” but that wasn’t my reality.

Injuries/Illnesses Part of what made this training cycle so successful was a relative lack of setbacks. Since October, I have taken 9 total days off: 2 because I was sick, 2 for travel to/from Oregon, 2 for an Achilles issue in December, 2 for a plantar issue in March, and the other was when my mileage was low and I didn’t need the extra training day.

My achilles issue was promptly taken care of by my massage therapist.

My foot issue was a little more stubborn. I was actually pretty concerned I had a neuroma or a stress reaction, but again my massage therapist saved the day and it turned out to be some tightness in my plantar that was causing pain near my 2nd metatarsal. This issue affected me for about 2 weeks before and after the 15k championships. My foot actually went numb with about 2 miles left in that race, which had me convinced I had a nerve issue. Ultimately, I think I wore a pair of running shoes about a week too long.

In contrast, my last training cycle probably went a week too long. I stood on the starting line at the 10 miler with a really bad back, and that course beat me up. Prior to that was the trials, where I was in massive denial about the things my body was experiencing, particularly in my entire right leg. I’m even healthier than I was before the Twin Cities marathon, when I had a slight hamstring and IT band issue.

Taper My taper for this race has been going really well. In high school we didn’t call it taper, we called it “peaking,” which I much prefer. I don’t drastically cut my mileage. I ran 96 miles two weeks ago, last week I ran a total of 79, and this week will be ~60 with the race and nothing on Sunday. The majority of my “taper” comes from less volume on workout and long run days. Otherwise, I still run the same, just maybe a mile or two less.

Goals My goal is to PR on Saturday (sub-74:03). I am ready. When things get tough in the race I want to remind myself to be a gritty bitch and to run as if I’ve already achieved my ultimate goal, which is to break 2:30:00 in the marathon.

What’s Next? Remember how I’m actually a marathoner? Well, I will be making a return to the marathon in December! CIM is hosting the US Marathon Championships, so that will be my first 26.2 since the trials. I also plan to race the 20k and 10 mile championships in the fall, and will do the Monumental half as my tune up. I am not-so-secretly hoping to dip under 73 minutes at Monumental so that I can just knock my trials qualifier out of the way. My goal at CIM will be to go under the (yet unannounced) A standard.

In the immediate future, I’m looking forward to a bit of a break. I have been grinding since last May without more than a week off from training, which I took in October after the 10 miler. I will take two weeks completely off, and so far we have the following things planned:

-short vacation post-race on Saturday/Sunday. Dave and I are trying to make a memory in each of Indiana’s 92 counties, so we are going to knock off 5 this weekend with casino visits, lunches/dinners at new restaurants, and a trip to Clify Falls. Other things include: -bike ride to Graeter’s for ice cream -Fogo de Chao for lunch -coffee festival -no nutrient tracking, going to bed early, limiting caffeine, or eating kale -deep clean our house (this only happens during breaks) -eat all the pastries at the farmer’s market -drink all the beer that has been in my fridge for months -go to Burger Haus -eat the JB burger at Big Woods -start my container garden -binge watch Golden Girls

My vacation starts today and I am excited. I am nervous, in that way you get nervous when you know you’re about to do something hard but you also know once it is over you will feel the most amazing sense of satisfaction. I am excited to see what my body is capable of. I am excited to be faced with that opportunity during a race to either give in or push, and see what all of the training I have done outside of my comfort zone allows me to do. I know that I am on the brink of a breakthrough, and while there are no guarantees that the breakthroughs happen on the day that you want, I know that I have trained to the point that even a bad day will be better than a previous bad day. I am going to stand on the starting line on Saturday with no watch, no real race plan, and no expectations, other than knowing that my legs and my competitive fire will not let me down.

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investmart007 · 6 years

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LOS ANGELES | Slugfest! Kershaw wins, Dodgers bang 6 HRs, beat Pirates 8-3

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LOS ANGELES | Slugfest! Kershaw wins, Dodgers bang 6 HRs, beat Pirates 8-3

LOS ANGELES — Clayton Kershaw pitched his way to freedom while earning his first win in 2 ½ months.

The three-time NL Cy Young Award winner won’t be facing any further restrictions in his next start after a solid outing in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 8-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night.

Five Dodgers homered including Max Muncy with a pair, and the team’s six homers were the most they’ve hit at home since also launching six on Sept. 9, 2013, against Arizona.

“You want to get guys back in the dugout as fast as possible the way they’re swinging the bats,” said Kershaw, who was limited by a pitch count in his last three outings.

Ivan Nova (4-6) became the first pitcher in Pirates history to give up five homers in a game. Pittsburgh has been outscored 25-4 in the first two games of the series.

“They’re horses over there. It’s a stacked team,” Pirates third baseman David Freese said. “They’ve just got really good approaches right now and they’re on time, all of them are on time.”

The Dodgers have 11 homers three days into July and 122 so far this season after slugging a major league-leading and franchise-record 55 in June.

“It’s pretty remarkable what we’re doing,” manager Dave Roberts said. “When I look at what we’ve accomplished offensively, we’re in some uncharted territory.”

Kershaw (2-4) allowed two runs and four hits in six innings of his third start since coming off the disabled list. The left-handed ace’s two strikeouts were against Nova and Kershaw didn’t walk anyone to earn his first victory since April 15 at Arizona. He had two losses and four straight no-decisions since.

“His velo is down a little bit but he’s still got that cutter and he works it. He’s just a guy that locates,” Freese said. “You can sense when he’s out there that he trusts every pitch he’s about to throw. That’s that makes him really good.”

Kershaw had not gone as late as July 3 with just one win since his rookie year in 2008 when he didn’t earn his second victory until Aug. 7.

“It’s kind of what we wanted,” Roberts said of Kershaw. “The fifth and sixth innings were probably the best for me. The ball came out well. We can feel confident going forward the reins are off.”

Joc Pederson and Muncy homered back-to-back for the second straight game.

Pederson sent Nova’s first pitch of the game over the right-field wall and Muncy followed with a shot to center field for a 2-0 lead.

“They have a really good lineup but we’ve got to be able to do a better job than that,” Nova said.

Muncy led off the third with his team-high 20th homer for a 3-1 lead. He reached 20 homers in 183 at-bats, making him the fastest Dodger to reach the mark, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Cody Bellinger set the record at 189 at-bats last year.

“I never thought I could hit this many home runs in such a short amount of time,” said Muncy, who has played in just 63 games this season.

Freese provided the lone bright spot for the Pirates, going 3 for 3 with a pair of RBI singles that twice cut the Dodgers’ lead to one run, and a solo homer off reliever Yimi Garcia.

Chris Taylor kept the slugfest going in the fourth with a two-run shot that made it 5-2. He went 3 for 4 with a strikeout and finished a single shy of hitting for the cycle.

“It seems to be contagious up and down the lineup, which makes it fun in the dugout,” Taylor said.

Yasmani Grandal led off the sixth with a homer and Taylor doubled to deep center field to chase Nova.

Nova gave up a season-high seven earned runs and nine hits, struck out three and walked two in five innings.

“It’s not fun to give up that many homers,” Nova said. “Sometimes you give up that many runs and you don’t feel that bad, but giving up five homers is too much.”

Nova’s replacement didn’t fare any better. Enrique Hernandez blasted a two-run homer on the first pitch from Dovydas Neverauskas, extending the Dodgers’ lead to 8-2.

Dodgers slugger Matt Kemp’s run of eight hits in eight consecutive at-bats ended when he struck out to end the first. One night after tying a career high with five hits, including a three-run homer, Kemp was hitless in four at-bats with two other strikeouts.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Pirates: RHP Joe Musgrove (right index finger infection) went on the DL retroactive to June 30. He was scheduled to start Wednesday’s series finale.

Dodgers: RHP Walker Buehler was moved to the DL retroactive to June 29. He began a rehab assignment for Single-A Rancho Cucamonga.

UP NEXT

RHP Clay Holmes (0-0, 2.25 ERA) will replace Musgrove in the series finale on Wednesday. Dodgers LHP Rich Hill (1-3, 4.68) took a no-hitter into extra innings in Pittsburgh last August before allowing a walk-off solo homer in the 10th.

By BETH HARRIS, AP Sports Writer,By Associated Press

#6 HRs #beat Pirates #Dodgers bang #Kershaw wins #Los Angeles #Max Muncy #Slugfest #TodayNews

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kidsviral-blog · 6 years

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The Dark Side Of America's Redneck Reality TV Obsession

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The Dark Side Of America's Redneck Reality TV Obsession

Television networks like TLC and MTV can’t keep mining poor rural Americans for show ideas and then act surprised when their stars implode.

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Honey Boo Boo and Mama June. AP John Bazemore

When TLC’s Here Comes Honey Boo Boo — a spin-off featuring the family of Alana Thompson, one of the breakout stars of Toddlers & Tiaras — premiered in 2012, critics called it repellent and disturbing, which was not a completely unfair assessment: The family’s favorite meal is a mix of butter and ketchup that Honey Boo Boo’s mother, who is known as Mama June, microwaves into a red slime and pours on to spaghetti for the girls. They call it “sketti.”

It was also a show, however, about a family that enjoyed spending time together and, despite their issues, seemed to genuinely love each other. The majority of the episodes are shockingly mundane — as the show goes on Alana doesn’t even do beauty pageants very often. It seems like the only really outrageous thing about Here Comes Honey Boo Boo was that TLC had the gall to a let poor family from Georgia show the rest of the country how they lived. American audiences gawked along at a family that hung out in garbage dumps and ate roadkill. Its first season was one of TLC’s highest-rated shows ever.

But gawking at the real lives of rednecks is only entertaining if it’s not too real. The news that Mama June is dating convicted sex offender Mark McDaniel was a bridge too far; TLC canceled the show last week, shelving an entire completed new season of episodes. TMZ also learned that TLC is offering to pay for counselors and tutors for the children. The day after the show was canceled, Alana’s sister Anna — now 20 — claims she was allegedly sexually assaulted by McDaniel when she was 8 years old. She told People magazine that McDaniel “would try and touch me and all that stuff.”

It’s an extreme case, but this isn’t even the first legal issue for Mama June; in 2008, she was charged with theft of child support payments. None of this legal murkiness is that unusual in the pantheon of hillbilly reality television, which takes as its starting point the premise that it’s OK to watch poor (usually white) people from the American heartland struggle to cope with the realities of modern life.

The phenomenon hit its stride in 2012, when Duck Dynasty, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding, and Buckwild all came out within months of each other, and followed on the heels of the success of shows like 16 and Pregnant, Teen Mom, and Toddlers and Tiaras. All of these shows raise the same question: With 45 million Americans living below the poverty line, are we supposed to laugh at these people, pity them, or relate to them? Why — when several of these shows have imploded under the weight of their subjects’ own struggles — do they keep getting made? Is the pressure of being the “right kind of redneck” too much to bear?

Universal Studios

CBS

America has long been comfortable laughing at hillbillies. The hugely popular Ma and Pa Kettle films of the late ’40s and ’50s were spun out from a 1946 film adaptation of a rural slice-of-life novel called The Egg and I. In their first movie, the Kettles and their 15 children move to a modern home and struggle to learn how to live with all the expensive gadgets Pa Kettle wins in a tobacco slogan-writing contest.

There ended up being 10 Kettle films in total, and at the height of their popularity, Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride — the actors who played the titular Ma and Pa Kettle — were the biggest stars in the country.

The Beverly Hillbillies were no different. Paul Henning created the show for CBS in 1962, based on his experiences living in the Ozarks. The show was panned by critics, but became one of the most popular TV shows ever made. Henning went on to make two spin-offs for CBS, Petticoat Junction and Green Acres.

CBS then doubled down on hillbilly/rural America-based programming so heavily — including the shows Hee-Haw, The Jackie Gleason Show, Mayberry R.F.D. — that by the late ’60s, the network had earned the nickname “The Country Broadcasting Network.” The oversaturation led to backlash, and CBS began its “rural purge,” canceling 15 shows between 1970-1971. Not even Lassie was spared.

But the famous pop culture hillbillies of 20th century were actors reading from scripts. Their versions of poverty and ignorance ended when the episode was over. It was safe. Today, the real Pa Kettles and Jed Clampetts of the world are speaking directly to people like them. But when you take real Americans who’ve been living under the poverty line and pull them into the pop culture spotlight, the dark reality of what it means to be poor in America comes with them.

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Brenna Gaskin, a contestant on Toddlers and Tiaras. TLC

In his book Hillbilly: A Cultural History of an American Icon (Oxford University Press, 2005), author Anthony Harkins argues that American pop culture becomes obsessed with rural hillbilly culture during moments of economic tension, and mass media rednecks help the American middle class blow off some steam and feel a little more secure: “Well, at least I don’t have it as bad as those people.” Harkins’ theory corresponds roughly with the rise of the “hicksploitative” reality TV phenomenon of the last five years, although it might downplay the transformative effect of having a marginalized group be represented on TV, and it’s a bit of an oversimplification to write off the popularity of something like Here Comes Honey Boo Boo or Duck Dynasty as merely an exploitative guilty pleasure for the middle class.

TLC premiered Toddlers and Tiaras and MTV premiered 16 and Pregnant in 2009, at the height of the Great Recession. Both shows are unnervingly similar — even down to the format. Take two or three young women, who are usually from lower-middle-class towns in the American South or Midwest, and then follow them around as they either have a baby or compete in a toddler beauty pageant.

They were huge hits and spun off into their own reality franchises, with dozens of imitators on a diverse array of cable networks. It’s not surprising: The shows are cheap to produce and give a viewer an addictive mix of schadenfreude, existential horror, anthropological fascination — a feeling of “I might have it bad right now, but at least I’m not a pregnant teenager crying in a Burger King parking lot in Georgia or a pageant mom hot-gluing rhinestones on my 4-year-old in the lobby of an Alabama Hotel Marriott.”

MTV’s short-lived Buckwild is a good watershed moment in the new era of hillbilly reality shows. It followed nine young people from Charleston, West Virginia. It was marketed as a “redneck Jersey Shore.” It caused national outrage. In one episode the stars shoot a potato gun at each other; in another they fill the bed of a dump truck with water and jump into it from the second-story window of a house. Most episodes end with the cast getting blackout drunk at a house party and fighting each other until the police have to intervene.

The outrage wasn’t surprising. The Buckwild cast took the American redneck lifestyle to its logical endpoint: mouth-gaped yokels literally sitting naked in the mud, drunk on moonshine, and having sex with each other. But living that way isn’t sustainable.

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The cast of Buckwild. MTV

In February 2013, Buckwild cast member Salwa Amin was arrested by police during a drug raid and charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. Amin pled guilty and was sentenced to one to five years in prison in January 2014. A few days after Amin’s arrest, cast member Michael “Bluefoot” Burford was arrested for an aggravated DUI.

Buckwild wasn’t canceled, however, until the death of 21-year-old breakout star Shain Gandee, who was fired from his job as a sanitation worker several months before filming. In April 2013, Gandee’s body was discovered, along with the bodies of his uncle David Gandee, and friend Donald Robert Myers, in their truck. An autopsy ruled that Gandee, his uncle, and Myers died of carbon monoxide poisoning after their truck got stuck in the mud while the three were off-roading.

That same year, though, other networks were having issues with their authentic hillbilly stars being a little too authentic.

Phil Robertson, family patriarch of A&E’s Duck Dynasty, was given an indefinite suspension by A&E after calling “homosexual behavior” sinful in a GQ interview in December. A&E had to release a statement saying that Robertson’s views were personal ones and didn’t reflect the company’s views on homosexuality. Robertson was reinstated by A&E nine days later. A few months after, in July, Joann Wells, star of My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding spin-off Gypsy Sisters, was arrested for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars from Target. TLC refused to comment on the incident. In August, Will Hayden, a cast member on the Discovery Channel’s Sons of Guns, was arrested and charged with repeatedly raping a child. Discovery canceled the show after Hayden’s arrest.

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Phil Robertson speaks during the 2014 Republican Leadership Conference on May 29, 2014. Getty Images Justin Sullivan

The legal troubles of reality stars are not exclusive to rednecks, obviously. Stars from the Real Housewives franchises, Mob Wives, and Jersey Shore have seen their fair share of controversy. But those shows, unlike their hillbilly counterparts, are far more interested in excess and cartoonish party culture.

And the appeal of this new wave of redneck reality TV is more complicated than just middle-class viewers gawking at the poor. There are just as many — if not more — viewers tuning in to see families that actually look like them depicted on television. A lot of people genuinely love Duck Dynasty — it’s a ratings powerhouse and launched a book that sold more than a million copies on Amazon. The show has 8 million Facebook fans. People are not watching Duck Dynasty out of a mean, snarky irony. It’s also safe to assume a lot of their fans share the same religious values as the fundamentalist Christian cast.

The problems arise when these authentic hillbilly “real-life characters” start acting in a way offscreen that doesn’t comport with the relatively safe, contained version we see of them on-screen. You’re going to have a problem if you’re trying to re-create The Beverly Hillbillies with real people — people who are currently fighting a serious meth problem, don’t believe in evolution, and are mired in poverty. Their issues don’t vanish under a spotlight — they usually get worse.

The reality-TV hillbilly isn’t going away any time soon. This week MTV is premiering a new show called Slednecks, which has been described as “Buckwild in Alaska.” In the trailer there are scenes of naked skiing, backwoods keggers, and drunk guys in diapers chopping wood. Hopefully there won’t be another Shain Gandee or Jenelle Evans or Mama June — but it also doesn’t seem too unlikely.

Read more: http://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanhatesthis/how-hillbilly-reality-tv-got-way-too-real

#16 and Pregnant #american south #buckwild #Duck Dynasty #hillbillies #honey boo boo #ozarks #poverty #rednecks #Shain Gandee #teen mom #tlc #white trash

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