#like if your breakfast is at 7am.. and your lunch is at 11:30am.. and your dinner is at 4:30pm….. what happens if we push ALL OF THAT back

[fingertipsmp3]

Non-exhaustive list of things I’ve called my dog today:

-Mabel (her name)

-Mabes

-Mabesie

-Pup-pup

-Baby

-Babygirl

-Stinky

-Girlie

-Maybelline

-A crackhead

[justkeepdancing-nemo]

Day 27 – 9 to 5: What does your character’s work/school day look like?

24/7: A day in Nemo’s life, after his injury

tw: eating disorder (eating anxiety) 

7am: Alarm. Hit snooze once. Don’t move for as long as you can. 

7:15am: Alarm. Hit snooze a second time. 

7:20am: Alarm. Turn it off. It’s time to sit up. Breathe deeply, it’ll hurt. Brace yourself, bite your tongue, go slow. You’re up. Breathe again. In and out. Wipe the sleep, and the tears, from your eyes. 

7:30am: Stretching. It’ll hurt. It’ll hurt worse if you don’t though, so coax all your muscles back to life, gently and kindly as you can. 

7:55am: Shower. Stand perfectly still under the hot water. Close your eyes and look up, let the water trickle over your eyes and nose and into your mouth.

8:45am: You’re late. You were in the shower too long. Grab the same sweats you’ve worn for a week since you’ve not done laundry, but nothing else is comfortable enough. Where’s a clean shirt? Shit, where’s a clean shirt? Would your roommate realize you’ve nicked one? 

9:10am: Skip breakfast. Get to class, late. Sorry, sorry, take your seat. Books out. 

9:20am: Your back’s hurting.

9:30am: Your back’s hurting 

9:40am: Your back is really really hurting. You can’t sit anymore. Stand up. Pretend you’ve got to use the bathroom. Sorry, sorry, you’ll be right back. So so sorry.

9:42am: The bathroom tiles are hard and cold as ice but at least you’re lying down.

10:05am: Stay behind to talk to the professor. Where’s your paper? Great question. Sending it tonight. Promise. Swear. Smile. Sorry, sorry.

10:15am: Class again. Not late!  Hungry though. 

10:25am: Back’s hurting.

10:39am: Back’s hurting

10:55am: Back’s burning, fuck, why does sitting hurt so much?. You can make it though. Five minutes. So hungry. 

11:20am: Swing by the hall for lunch– grab a banana, an apple, a blueberry muffin. Put the blueberry muffin back. Pick up the blueberry muffin. Put the blueberry muffin back. Fuck it, take the muffin.

11:30am: Back in your room. Lay down, finally finally. Read, eat, rest, all at the same time. Don’t fall asleep again. Don’t fall asleep! 

11:55am: Shit, dozed off. 

12:30pm: Almost time for dance. Stretch again, lightly. Wake up. Be a person. You can do it! 

1pm: Ballet. Go to the barre and get into position. Ignore the way your back twinges. You can’t dance, but you can do this. First position, second position, third position, fourth position, fifth position. Your back twinges, but your body knows. You won’t lose everything you’ve worked for. Again, and again. When your back twinges, just hold onto the barre tighter. 

2pm: Contemporary. Sit and watch, until your back hurts. Then, lay down. Listen to the soft landings, the toes scuffing against the hardwood. Every little bounce into the air. Count the rhythm of the music. Try not to cry. You should be dancing. You want to be dancing. 

3pm: Back to the dorm. Change again. Sweats. Sweater. Grab your coat, time to head out. 

3:30pm: Work! Say hullo to the dogs. Give them scratches and let them lick your face. You miss them, miss playing with them, but you can’t get down on the floor the way you used to. Not yet! Soon, you promise them. 

3:33pm: Desk Duty. Say hullo to Greg. Smile. Small talk about class. Yeah, it’s all fine. Yeah, you’re feeling better, a little, day by day! 

3:45pm: Back’s hurting

3:58pm: Get up. Rearrange the new toys. Switch around some of the cat food. Don’t look like you’re in pain. You need to work. You can’t have Greg thinking you can’t work 

4:10pm: Phone rings! Grab it. Sit down. Make the appointment. Take a book out. Read for class. 

4:15pm: Back’s hurting.

4:31pm: Back’s hurting. Keep reading. 

5:15pm: Time to close up shoppe! Okay, it’s too soon. Get up anyway though. Sweep. Tidy. Sweep a second time, then get ready to bring the animals in 

5:40pm: Feed the animals. Fresh kibble. New cans of delicious, wet tuna. New bowls of water. Going back and forth to fill the sink hurts your back. Everything hurts you back. Gently pet the head of the old beagle who is gray all around the eyes, whose breath is sour with age. “My back hurts,” you confess, because she gets it. She kisses you. Oh, that’s the bell. Someone’s here.

5:55pm: Help check out all the dogs going home. Bye! Have a good night! 

6:05pm: Time to close up, for real. Say goodbye to Greg. Shit, don’t forget your book, you need that. 

6:40pm: Work, but this time, for school. Go to the library. You’ll fall asleep in your room. All the way up at the top floor, it’s quiet, and no one will be around in case you have to lay down on the carpet. Go to the back, back, back corner anyway, just in case. Right, you’ve got a paper to finish. You got this. You can get it done.

6:50pm: Back’s hurting.

7:08pm: Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe you should have finished in your room. 

7:15pm: Maybe the quiet is too much. That’s the problem. You need more noise. It’s so quiet you can’t concentrate on anything but your back, hurting.

7:29pm: Set up again on the second floor of the library. Okay, paper, take two!

7:41pm: Hungry now. But you ate earlier. Can’t eat again, you’re barely exercising these days. You’ll get fat. Concentrate. Focus. Stop making excuses. 

8:05pm: Maybe a snack would help? 

8:28pm: Okay, quick snack, then you’re going to go right back to the library and finish your paper. You’re almost done (you haven’t started). Rice, beans, vegetables! 

8:45pm: Your boyfriend’s calling! Right, hi! Yeah, everything’s good. How’s work? What’s up with you? Tell me everything! 

10:09pm: It’s so late. You shouldn’t have talked that long. You shouldn’t have eaten so much. You need to go back to the library. You can’t get yourself to go to the library. Maybe what you need to do is sleep and wake up early, and then, then, you can write your paper. Your back will feel better tomorrow anyway. Yeah, maybe you should go to bed. 

10:30pm: Back at the dorms. Hi Jeremy. What’s up? Yeah, I’m fine. How are you?

11:59pm: It’s so late.. Lights out. Good night.

12:48am: Back’s hurting. 

7am: Alarm. Hit snooze once. Don’t move for as long as you can. 

[taryntothistaylor]

Social Distancing: Swiftie Edition

7am: wake up and it’s like “damn, it’s 7am” and go back to sleep

8am: wake up properly and have breakfast, read some of the many insightful interviews Taylor has done in the last year

8:30am: Yeehaw to Debut

9:30am: Jump head first into Fearless (platinum edition)

11:00am: Be enchanted and listen to Speak Now (extended version

1:00pm: Lunch and continue to read some of the many amazing articles

1:30pm: Watch the 1989 World Tour on Apple Music

3:30pm: Cry to RED (deluxe version)

5:00pm: Dance your heart out to 1989 (deluxe edition)

6:00pm: Put on reputation and have a religious experience

7:00pm: Have Dinner and Watch the reputation stadium tour on Netflix and complete your religious experience

9:00pm: Watch Miss Americana on Netflix

11:00pm: Listen to Lover

[rovalent]

The end of the year is a busy time for everyone, but just a little bit more for Luxe.

To start things off, Euijin will go by herself, on November 6th, to record her parts in ‘Like A Cat’ and ‘Cherry Pop’. With the songs finally ready to be released, all the girls will go onto their final comeback preparations. Their first stop will be on their usual hair salon to make needed changes, or just to make sure their hair is in good condition. They’ll all be going together on November 8th.

Cheri — Red ( reference )

Ella — Black ( reference )

Euijin — Dark Brown ( reference )

Yena — Brown ( reference )

Zoe — Ash Brown ( reference )

Members who changed their hairstyles are told not to reveal them to the public.

On November 11th, the girls will head out to an indoor set in the Gangnam district for a photoshoot of their release. You may look at these images as references: 1 , 2 , 3 , 4. Soon after, on November 12th, they’ll go out to record their music video for the title song ‘Like A Cat’. The recording schedule of the MVs is as seen below:

DAY ONE — NOVEMBER 12TH

5AM: Get hair and makeup done

6AM: Go to filming location

7AM: Change into outfits

7:30AM: Recording of wall shots ( 1:21; 1:32 [Hyejeong: Yena]; 5:06 )

8:30AM: Greet and thank actor William for participating in recording

9AM: Filming of room scenes ( 1:51; 1:58; 2:08; 2:18 [Hyejeong: Yena] ) 

10AM: Filming of first beauty shots ( 0:37; 1:22; 2:15 )

11AM: Recording of hallway scenes ( 0:35; 0:41; 0:46; 0:55; [Choa: Cheri]; 3:14 [Jimin: Euijin] )

12PM: Filming of second beauty shots ( 0:49; 0:54; 0:57 ) 

1PM: Lunch break

1:30PM: Recording all vault scenes ( 0:00-0:27 [Seolhyun: Ella]; 2:36; 2:49 [Yuna: Euijin]; 3:28 [Seolhyun: Ella; Choa: Cheri]; 4:12; 4:36; 4:44; 4:47 )

4PM: Thank William for his participation & Filming of third beauty shots ( 1:03; 1:06; 1:14; 1:41; 4:11; 4:16 ) 

5PM: Filming of third beauty shots ( 1:03; 1:06; 1:14; 1:41; 4:11; 4:16 ) 

6PM: Filming of first dance scene ( 0:38; 0:51; 1:27; 1:37; 1:54; 2:05; 3:04; 4:21; 4:33 )

8PM: Recording of vents and hacking scenes ( 1:04; 1:07; 1:11; 1:40; 1:43; 2:17 [Chanmi: Zoe]; 2:26; 2:55; 3:01; 3:12 [Mina: Zoe])

9:30PM: Thank staff for hard work

10PM: Head back to dorm; eat, shower, rest

*Due to Zoe being the only one who needs to stay late per the schedule above, the other members may leave early if they wish to

DAY TWO — NOVEMBER 13TH

6AM: Get hair and makeup done

7AM: Go to filming location

8AM: Change into outfits

8:30AM: Recording of beauty shots in red ( outfits as in 0:28 [cut from the final MV] )

9:30AM: Filming of second dance scene ( 0:28; 0:44; 0:59; 1:10; 1:18; 1:46; 2:20; 2:44; 4:30; 4:46 )

11AM: Outfit change 

11:30AM: Filming of third dance scene ( outfits as in 4:31 [cut from the final MV] ) 

1PM: Lunch break

1:30PM: Recording of final beauty scenes (  2:03; 2:25; 2:35; 3:00; 3:08; 4:24; 4:31; 4:40 )

2:30PM: Thank staff for hard work

3PM: Prepare for next schedule

Their comeback date will be on November 27th.

On November 16th, Zoe will receive some news from their manager. As one of the dancers of Luxe, Zoe will take part in a dance video in a popular dance studio. She’ll meet the choreographer on November 17th to chat and start learning the choreography as seen on this video. The day after, November 18th, she’ll return to the studio to record it.

Meanwhile, a producing team enters in contact with Royal Entertainment to offer audition opportunities to a new drama of theirs. Ella is the one who is offered this opportunity. The role she’s auditioning for wasn’t specified, nor was the drama they’ll be producing described. She is to choose any scene of her liking to act for an audition on November 25th. The results will come out the following month.

To help with promotions, the five girls will head out a recording of the variety show ‘Knowing Bros’ on November 13th based on episode 27 featuring TWICE. You can find clips of it here. This episode will air on November 30th. On November 20th, Yena, Ella, and Cheri will go together to a recording of ‘The Return of Superman’ as based on this episode. This episode will air on December 1st. All of this may and should be changed to fit Luxe’s story, discography, and each of the members’ personalities.

Their comeback showcase starts at 7PM on the day of release. The MC of the night will be Kim Boyeon and she’ll start the show by calling the members one by one onto the stage. Once they’re in line, the MC will introduce their newest song before ‘Like A Cat’ starts to play. After they’re done, the group will make their official greeting and personal introductions. The MC will ask them questions about an explanation of their concept, album and title song, as well as their personal lives and latest member addition. They’ll perform ‘Cherry Pop’ next before another short break for playing simple games together. Before the end they’ll perform ‘Mini Skirt’ and as a planned encore, ‘Boy’, from their previous album. Once they leave the stage, their showcase will be over. Their outfits will be as seen below:

Cheri — Mina

Ella — Seolhyun

Euijin — Jimin

Yena — Choa

Zoe — Hyejeong

As shared by their company, end-of-the-year shows season is coming around, and LUXE will be attending a number of them. Due to this, they’ll have to practice their previous promoted songs in other to put a good stage and try to earn new fans through this big event as well as, maybe, earn some awards of their own.

The first award in line is the Asian Artist Awards on November 26th. Since the event will take place in Vietnam, the group will fly over to the other country a day before and stay in a hotel before returning to Seoul right after the show is over to prepare for their comeback showcase. Their roommates were separated as Cheri&Zoe; Ella&Eujin&Yena. Since this will take place before their comeback, the group will perform ‘Every Night’ and ‘Mini Skirt’. This will be their first public group performance with Euijin on the team.

After their new album is released, the group will have their first comeback stage on November 30th, during the Melon Music Awards which will take place at the Gocheok Sky Dome. ‘Like a Cat’ will be the only track they’ll perform. They’ll enter the stage while an intro audio plays before breaking into the song.

The following is the music show promotion schedule for LUXE’s ‘Like A Cat’ activities:

12/01, 12/08, 12/15, 12/22: SBS Inkigayo

12/03, 12/10, 12/17, 12/24: MTV The Show

12/04, 12/11, 12/18: MBC Show Champion

12/05, 12/12, 12/19, 12/26: Mnet M!Countdown

12/06, 12/13, 12/20: KBS Music Bank

12/06, 12/13: Arirang Simply K-Pop

12/07, 12/14, 12/21, 12/28: MBC Music Core

During the first week of promotions, LUXE will use ‘Cherry Pop’ as their sibling song and performing its short version alongside the title track. For any day that you do not have to perform or have any other schedules, you may have a break at the dorms unless said otherwise.

Music show promotions will last for a total of four weeks this time. Programs will begin pre-recording early in the morning and groups are expected to stay at the broadcasting station until the live broadcast takes place later in the day. Although music shows in real life follow varied recording schedules, for IC writing purposes, the schedule for every music show will follow this consistent pattern:

06:20AM: at broadcasting station: basic first rehearsal on stage; no makeup, casual clothes.

06:45AM: head to salon: get makeup and hair done.

07:45AM: return to broadcasting station: eat breakfast, nap in dressing room/space.

09:00AM: dress rehearsal on stage; stage outfits, makeup on.

09:20AM: return to dressing room/space: rest, eat, nap.

11:00AM: final camera rehearsal on stage; stage outfits, makeup on.

11:15AM: greet senior artist groups at their respective dressing room/spaces, accompanied by a manager. you may not sleep during this time, up until the live broadcast.

07:00PM: live broadcast; when not performing, must stay in dressing room/space until the ending stage of the show.

08:00PM: line up in waiting room area to formally greet producers, director, and senior staff.

09:00PM: meeting time with fans who attended the recordings.

10:00PM: return to dressing rooms to clean up, change back into casual clothes.

11:00PM: arrive back at dorms.

On applicable Fridays, members leave the KBS building for recording Arirang Simply K-Pop which airs 1PM ~ 2PM.

On December 2nd, all the members of LUXE will go together to Super K-pop Radio at 4PM where they’ll answer to questions as well as sing their own songs.

December 4th is the date of the Mnet Asian Music Awards. Since the event will take place in Japan, they’ll fly over there on the day before and return soon after the end of the event. Their roommates were separated as Cheri&Zoe; Ella&Eujin&Yena. Their stage will be slightly based on this video. Cheri and Ella will start by performing an acoustic version of ‘Mini Skirt’ with Cheri playing the piano (the piano audio will be pre-recorded). Ella, Euijin, and Zoe will take over with their version of ‘Like A Cat’. Unlike seen in the video, their performance of ‘Like A Cat’ will continue normally after Euijin’s rap part. A line distribution for this special performance can be seen here.

You will gain +5 POINTS TO DISTRIBUTE AS YOU WISH, +3 DEBUT POINTS and +2 ACHIEVEMENTS for completing the written requirements explained on the idol tier page. As this is a song promotion month, one of your chosen achievements must be relevant to the above schedule and all required content should be written about activities listed on the above schedule for the month of November. There is a capped maximum of five solos, sets of starters and/or partnered threads you may write to collect this month’s points.

To clarify, the only form that needs to be submitted at the end of the month is a verification form for your debut points and achievements. Any SP points earned can be collected as soon as you finish the requirement for them. At the end of the month, as you did with your previous evaluation forms, you will submit the following form to the Points Verification blog:

IDOL’S NAME - ROYAL ENT - NOVEMBER SCHEDULE (for the December 4 verification form)

PROOF OF ACTIVITY: [ x ]

POINTS: +00 SP [ distribute these however you like ]

TOTAL POINTS EARNED: +00 SP +00 DBT

+1 WK ACHIEVEMENT #1 [ NUMBER OF TIMES TAKEN + CURRENT LEVEL ]

+1 WK ACHIEVEMENT #2 [ NUMBER OF TIMES TAKEN + CURRENT LEVEL ]

DEBUT POINTS SPENT ON THE IDOL SHOP THIS MONTH:

NEW DEBUT POINTS TOTAL:

* Rookie and trainee characters are allowed to attend pre-recordings and fan meetings to interact with idol muses if they choose to do so. Just be realistic about the scheduling; trainees who skip too many lessons to support idol muses will be noticed by their company staff!

**** For their promotional days, the group receives 24 EXP. The members' appearances on programs and radio shows gives them 3 EXP. Zoe’s collab with the dance studio gives 1 EXP, and their performances in 3 end-of-the-year awards gives 3 EXP, making it a total of 31 EXP. For more information regarding GROUP EXP, refer to the idol tier page.

[sunflowerstache]

Not So Bad In L.A

A/N: It’s finally posted y’all! I’m so sorry it’s been so long since I last updated, life has kind of just been a bit busy and I was definitely in a writing jam/had some major writer’s block! But I got past it and I hope this was worth the wait! Love you all, and as always, if you have any questions/concerns/suggestions/want to get tagged/all of the above, please let me know! I love hearing from you beautiful people!

Chapter 5: The Light Is Coming

           February 3, 2017

Word Count: 3.9k

Masterlist      Fic Masterlist

Previous Chapter        

“Excuse me, you’re doing what with who?!”

You and the girls were all sitting together in your living room, nursing a bottle of Moscato. It was the afternoon after Harry’s birthday party, and Nick had texted you early this morning, undoubtedly dragging his hungover feet on the way to the breakfast Harry had mentioned. Not only did he want to make sure you got home alright the night before, but being the nosy man that he is, felt the need to ask what went on with you and Harry while he was ‘knocking back countless tequila shots’.

“Don’t make it a bigger deal than it is, Sav. It’s lunch with a new friend.”

“Sure... lunch with a new friend who happens to be Harry fucking Styles.” Bri laughed, going to answer the door as the doorbell just sounded through your apartment.

Bella chuckled, picking up the now empty bottle of wine and frowning, “How are we out already?” she got up and walked into the kitchen, yelling; “Have you told Morgan about your new friend yet?”

“Not yet, no. She wants to take the USMLE soon so I don’t wanna bother her.” The USMLE is a 3-step test a hopeful doctor has to take in order to be eligible to get their medical license. She was trying to take it as early as possible, and you had to constantly remind her that she was definitely going to ace it since she was the smartest girl you’d ever met.

“Better tell her now before she sees you on some twitter account or some shit.” Sav laughed, “Also, I don’t want to be like a downer, but you know Harry might ask about your family, right? Are you – are you like, prepared for all that?”

The room got quiet and all eyes fell on you. You fiddled with the blanket resting on your lap and felt your chest grow a bit tighter. Bri and Bella had both re-entered the living room; Bri resting against the door frame and Bella taking her place back next to you on the couch.

“I um, I haven’t really thought about it.” You shrugged. You absolutely adored your family. When you lived at home, you valued nothing more than spending time with the people you love. And deciding to leave them was the hardest thing you ever done. But like most families, there were some things you just didn’t talk about. Some things you just didn’t want to even think about.

“Alright, how about we don’t be debby downers right now, and instead, we talk about this package that just came for Y/N.” Bri smiled, walking over to sit on the hardwood floor in front of you, handing you your package

“Ooooh, did your new boyfran send you something already?”

“Honestly, it was probably Ronnie. You know Y/N’s mom loves sending mail.”

“It’s from Youtube.” You smiled, opening the large box, “It’s um – it’s my plaque for reaching 100,000 subscribers.” YouTube was something that you never really talked about. It was something you did on the side after each one of your trips and people seemed to enjoy it. You loved creating a video where people could really capture the feel of a location before getting the chance to go, or even just watch the video for fun. You had somehow conned 100,000 very dedicated people into watching your videos and you couldn’t be more thankful for them.  

“YES BITCH!”

“I know I’m speaking for all of us when I say you really deserve this. Seriously, you work your ass off for the magazine and then come home and work on your videos and I’m just really proud of you.” Bella smiled, raising her glass. Having your best girlfriends around you and supporting you during a journey that you didn’t know you would ever embark on was more important than any sort of award you could receive.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry texted you early the next morning. You were sitting at your kitchen island, basking in the early morning sunlight that was shining through your windows and enjoying a bowl of Cheerios, when your phone dinged. You knew it wasn’t Nick, as he was still passed out on your couch. And it wasn’t any of the girls, as they were all getting ready for work. The five of you had a riveting night of watching The Office (Nick of course butting in and making comments about the original UK version) while playing a drinking game: take a shot whenever anyone makes eye contact with the camera. It was a quick way to ensure getting drunk, albeit not a great idea for the 3 of 5 of you who had work that morning. Nick was leaving to go home later tonight, after spending nearly a week showing you his favorite spots around LA, encouraging you all to drink more in those 3 weeks than you had since moving, and spending some days just cuddled on the couch watching movies. It was nice having him there. Granted, he had spent a day or two with other LA based friends of his, but waking up to him in your living room was nice, because you knew you most likely wouldn’t be seeing him again for some time. Glancing down at your phone, you smiled at the incoming message.

“Still willing to have lunch with me? Around 11?”

Part of you had thought he’d forgotten about his proposition. That maybe he was more drunk than he lead on that night and had just forgotten about you. Before his party, the two of you had been texting for almost three days straight, so it was odd when you didn’t hear from him the last day and half. You shook your head and thought the same thing you had been telling yourself; “He’s a superstar Y/N, he’s busy.”

“I think the real question is do you still want to have lunch with me?”

You sat and continued your chat with Harry for quite some time, deciding what kind of food you were in the mood for and a central location for you both (which according to Harry wasn’t a necessity on his end). But to your surprise, he continued the conversation. You felt like you had known him forever, but after thinking about it, you really didn’t know much about him… Other than what you learned by being a fan, and so you decided if you were going to be friends with the infamous Harry Styles, you were going to get to know the real Harry Styles.

“What the fuck are you smiling at, at 7am. There’s literally nothing to be happy about this early.”

“Nick, you wake up at like 4am for work, this should be nothing for you.” You chuckled, finishing your cereal and reaching to place your bowl in the sink across from your seat at the island.

“I’m generally not this hungover when going to work.” You opened your mouth to argue that statement, but he beat you too it and held up a finger, “I said generally.”

Not bothering to stifle a yawn, he reached into the cabinet to grab a mug and made himself busy making his morning coffee. Having him in the house was nice. Living with three other girls could get a bit hectic sometimes. There was usually lots of whining and yelling to be heard echoing through the house at all hours of the day, heels left all over the living room after long days of work, and you don’t remember the last time you were able to wake up and not find someone digging through your closet. It had been so long since you lived with a guy and it was nice being reminded of how simple it was.

“Alright look.” Nick mumbled as he turned around and leaned on the opposite counter to face you, “I’m leaving tonight, so you know I have to part with some brotherly advice.”

You sighed.

“Sorry.” he rubbed his eyes, “Anyways, I’m aware you’re talking to Harold and-“

“Grimmy no! I’m stopping you right there. We are not talking. We literally just met and are friends. I don’t even know if you can call us friends.” You knew this would be coming at some point before his departure. Nick always had a way to sneak in some weird form of protectiveness over you anytime he was around.

“You’re texting and meeting up. Call it what you will, but listen to me. Just be careful alright? I love the lad like he’s family, but when you’re with Harry, you’re not just with Harry. There’re always people watching and always something to be said about it. I just don’t want you surprised by anything.”

The ding of another incoming text message made you both look at your phone, smiling softly at Harry’s unknown perfect timing.

“Thanks Grim, I appreciate it. But I’m a big girl.”

“Look, I’m just trying to make sure your ass doesn’t get posted all over social media. If anyone’s gonna do it, it’s going to be me.”

“No one’s posting my ass anywhere. I’d have to have one in order for that to even happen.” The two of you broke out into a fit of giggles, eventually shushing each other in fear of waking up the rest of the house.

“Thanks for letting me crash with you these last couple days.” He smiled as you got up off your stool to make your way to stand in front of him.

“Thank you for coming to see me. I missed you.” You replied and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek, “Now, I’m gonna go take a shower and get ready for my lunch plans with Harry and evidently the rest of the world.”

It was approaching 7:30am when you made your way into your room, watching Bri as she left your closet, holding a pair of black booties and uttering a sleepy “Morning.” You had about three hours before you had to meet up with Harry, realistically only two with getting ready and LA traffic. Your only dilemma was what to wear. You’ve seen how Harry dresses and can only assume what his standards are. Only problem was you didn’t own anything quite so designer. Shaking your head, you walked into your closet. After all, it was only lunch with a new friend.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Upon arriving, you immediately knew that you and Harry had very different ideas of a causal lunch. Soft music and the murmur of conversations being held filled the air and you could faintly hear the sound of water in the distance.

“Hello. How may I help you today?”

You turned to see a young girl, most likely no older than 18, standing behind the podium and looking at you expectantly.

“I um, I think I have a reservation?” you then realized that you never talked to Harry about how this was going to work. Did you give the girl his name? What if someone heard and freaked out? Did he put it under an alias, and if so what was it? You probably looked like a crazy person standing there just starring at her blankly, “I’m meeting a friend, but I don’t know what the reservation is under.”

The young man standing next to her turned and interjected, “Mr. Einstein at table W12. I can escort her.” He made his way around the podium and pointed towards the back doors that led outside, “If you’ll follow me.” The restaurant was filled with predominantly middle-aged couples, which made sense considering it was a Friday at 11am. As the hostess in front of you opened the back doors, a small breeze blew through and your flowy white pants swayed with it. You had decided on pairing those pants with a green camisole top and a pair of small nude heels, figuring that if you were to somewhat dress up for any lunch, it would be this one. It crossed your mind for a brief moment that whoever this man was leading you to could in fact, not be Harry, but someone else waiting for someone to arrive, however, you then caught sight of his curls. Harry was seated in the far corner, head down looking at his phone, while one hand scratched the back of his neck. You could see his knee bobbing up and down and he was steadily chewing on his bottom lip, like whatever he was doing on his phone was causing him duress. But as soon as he heard your footsteps approaching, his head popped up and looked directly at you.

“Y/N. Hi.” He smiled as he stood up, opening his arms for a quick hug before the hostess led you right to an open chair at the tabl, ”Thank you Danny.” He nodded to the young boy.

“It’s good to see you again! Sorry I didn’t text you earlier, I was doing work stuff and Grimmy was over most of the day yesterday and you know how he gets.” He laughed

“No, don’t worry about it! Thanks for the invite…… Mr. Einstein.”

“I try not to give my real name when going out. Kind of causes a big thing that I just want to avoid, you know? Thought Einstein would be a good enough give away, considering you did call yourself that you when we met.” He chuckled

The two of you chatted for a bit, not really about much, mostly you telling him about a new piece you were working on for the magazine. He was very intent on just listening to you talk, which was something you hadn’t really experienced before. Growing up, you were always fighting for attention between your friends and family members, since there are so many of you. Not that how you grew up was a bad thing, just having someone who was genuinely interested in what you had to say was a nice change of pace. But you had made a promise to yourself this morning, you were going to get to know Harry, so you finally decided to take the topic off of yourself.

“Alright well, if we’re going to be friends, I can’t be the only one who talks. I happen think you quiet enjoy talking about yourself.” You surprised yourself being so up front with him, but like you’d been thinking since you first met, you felt very comfortable around Harry.

“Oh, do you now? What else do you think you know about me?” he smirked, leaning forward and folding his hands on the table.

And that’s how it started. Instead of playing the typical 20 questions game to learn about each other, you just spewed out different assumptions you had about the other. It ranged anything from where you’re from to your favorite animal to what your favorite kind of cake was.

“Okay, okay. You’re a One Direction fan.” he guessed. At this, you could feel your ears perking up and warmth in your cheeks. Averting your eyes, you glanced to your side at the water.

“What lead you to that assumption?”

“I may have made a few inquiries before lunch today.” he shrugged, “Am I correct?”

“Hmmm yeah, I guess you could say that. I um – my best friends - Bella, Sav and I have been fans since you guys finished X Factor. And it just kind of snowballed from there. We had been to like five shows. Were looking forward to hearing album number five live, but there was a hiatus announced before that could happen.”

“Yeah, well I hear they wanted to try the whole ‘Solo’ thing.”

“Yet, only one has released music.” you pondered, jokingly.

He smiled, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms, “I happen to have it on good authority that the devishly handsome one is working on his music.”

“Devishly handsome? Niall really does have something special about him, huh.” You joked, sipping your water and staring at him over the glass, “Joking. I look forward to hearing it one day.”

The two of you quickly fell back into your game of information and bouncing assumptions off one another, laughing when someone got one correct and correcting them when it was wrong. He raised his eyebrows when you corrected him on your favorite song – his guess being Waste a Night by Kings of Leon “simply based on your reaction to it at the concert.”

“It’s actually Girl Crush by Little Big Town.” You nodded,l to yourself, waiting for a laugh or even an unenthused ‘really?” but it never came.

“Great song.” He nodded, like he was making a mental note of the song

“I’m confident in this one.” You smiled smugly, “Your favorite band is Fleetwood Mac.”

“One of them, definitely. Huge influence growing up and getting into music. Good thing we aren’t keeping score, ‘cause I’d be out for the count.”

“All those years being a fan are finally paying off. But, because I’m off the record winning and feeling very generous, I’ll give you give three extra assumptions – uninterrupted. Go.”

“You can’t put me on the spot like that! Okay, um your favorite food is rice?”

You looked at him quizzically, “How-“

“You ordered extra rice with dinner. Educated guess.” He shrugged before moving onto his next one, scrunching up his nose like he knew this one would be wrong “You have a dog?”

“Wrong. No dogs allowed in the apartment. Bri’s allergic. Leaning towards getting a kitten soon tho!” you grinned, excited by the thought of having a sweet lil bub prancing around your apartment.

“A cat person, duly noted.” Smiling, he tucked some hair, that had been blown into his face by the increasing wind, back behind his ear, ““Alright.” he sat quiet for a moment, thinking of his next comment, “You’re an only child.”

There it was. The question that you dreaded but always gets asked. You should have known it was coming at some point soon, considering you had been talking to each other about your personal lives, including families, for almost an hour. It was normal; the person you were making friends with wanting to know about your family. But it made the knot in your stomach zoom up into your throat. You could go one of two ways, give Harry the full truth like you know he would want, or the less painful way and tell a white lie. He wouldn’t even know if it was a lie, right? I mean, it’s not like he would dig into your family history. Mentally you sighed, deciding that telling the truth was the only option. It wasn’t something you wanted to hide. It didn’t seem fair.

“False. I um, I have a brother and a sister.”

“Really? What are they like?”

“Well, my sister Morgan is 20 and she goes to school at The Medical University of South Carolina. She wants to be a pediatrician.” you grinned, thinking about her in the Winnie the Pooh scrubs she showed you last night.

“And your brother?” Your smile slowly faded and suddenly the body of water next to you was the most interesting thing you’ve ever seen. Did you want to do this? Share this with someone you really barely knew? Hell, you didn’t even like talking about this with Grimmy or the girls. Licking your lips and taking a deep breath, you decided what to do.

“Brandon’s my older brother. He’s honestly the best person I’ve ever known. He went to The School of Visual Arts in New York. He wanted to be a videographer. He was amazing.” you paused, glancing over at Harry, who was intently waiting for you to finish talking. The gleam in his eyes was present when he noticed your use of the past tense, silently understanding what that meant. “He was the kind of guy you just wanted to be friends with, ya know?” you continued, “Like he could talk about sports with you for hours, but you wanted to talk about music? He knew that too. Art? Cars? He was your guy. He just got along with everyone.”

“Well, he sounds fantastic.” Harry nodded, reaching across the table to grab your hands

“He is - was.” you gently shook your head, “He um, he passed away almost 3 years ago. I think everything just got to be too much for him? I’m still not entirely sure.”

The waves softly crashed to your left and you could hear the hustle and faint bustle of the street to your right, but the two of you sat in a comfortable silence for a moment. “I’m sorry. This isn’t a very fun conversation to be having on a lunch date.” you let out a small fake laugh but he shook his head

“No, it’s alright. I’m glad you felt comfortable enough to tell me. Means a lot.” he smiled, rubbing his thumb over the back of your hand.

The two of you sat quietly for a moment, enjoying each other’s company, and you noticed Harry’s hand still resting on yours. It was big enough to almost engulf yours entirely, and it gave off a nice wave of heat. Just enough to make you forget about the chilling wind that blew past the two of you. Your waitress had come to drop of your bill and much to your protest, Harry had insisted that he pay. Something you knew he would try to do from the moment he asked you to lunch. So, you didn’t let him push you. Before he handed his card to the waiter, you slipped your card into the small black folder and insisted that the bill be split in two. He gave you a pointed glance and shook his head, but you knew he wasn’t too upset. After all, his hand never faltered.

“Thank you for coming today. I know you were probably pretty weirded out being asked to lunch with some guy you barely knew. But I really enjoyed it.”

“Oh, it was super weird. Considering the guy in question was someone I’ve looked up to for like 7 years.” you giggled, slightly embarrassed, “But I’m glad you did. It was fun. Plus, now Nick can stop making fun of me for not having any friends in LA.”

He shook his head, pushing his chair out so he could stand, “God, Nick, ever the passionate one.” He moved behind you quickly so that he could pull your chair out.

“Did I tell you he tried to give me a speech about you this morning? How you’re famous and always have people watching.”

Harry gaped at you, “You taking the piss? He sat me down in the kitchen yesterday. Told me I had to remember you ‘aren’t used to the limelight, so be careful’. Like I was planning on taking you to a red carpet or something.” He chuckled, “I had to remind him it was just lunch.”

“He just tries to go all brotherly on me since – “ you paused, talking a deep breath, “Since Brandon’s not around to do it. At least that’s his reasoning. He may be a pain sometimes, but he means well.”

Coming to the front doors of the restaurant, a sad feeling radiated over your body. You lunch with Harry was coming to a close, and he had said he was going back to London next week, so you didn’t know if this was the last time you’d be seeing him for some time. And you quiet enjoyed your time together today. He cleared his throat and chuckled beside you before opening the front door,

“So… a lunch date huh?”

Tag List: @emotionally-imbruised @theasstour @swayingnoodlelove @movingalong3 @staceystoleyourheart @north1692 and the lovely @isitstraightvodka @isitjamiemoriarty @meet-me-in-the-kitchen @meetyourmouths for always being so wonderful and supportive and just great pals💛

[carleencl]

Carleen Goes to Taiwan: Day 1 (Taichung)

Taiwan – the first country to explore this 2019! It is the country known for tourist spots’ such as the 91-floor Taipei 101, different memorial halls and parks, shopping districts, night markets, and more. It is also the origin of everyone’s favorite drink - Milk Tea!

My travel experience in Taiwan will be divided per day with our itinerary and expenses. At the end of each post will be my vlog. My blog and vlog will go hand in hand since some information and visuals will be on my blog but not on my vlog and vice versa. So I recommend for you to read my blog and watch my vlog to know my adventures in Taiwan.

Our flight to Taipei, Taiwan was last May 22, 2019 via Cebu Pacific and was originally scheduled at 10:35pm. It was delayed by an hour and we boarded at around 11:30pm. We arrived at Taipei at around 01:30 in the morning.

After landing, we went to the immigration, grab our luggage and claimed our sim card. We bought our sim card via Klook which costs PHP 377 each. (Tip: Double check if the claiming counters are open 24 hours especially if you have an early morning flight. Some options in Klook have counters open from 7am – 11pm only).

Since we arrived in early morning, we rode a taxi going to our hotel in Ximen named, Diary of Ximen Hotel. The taxi fare was NT$ 1,100 (PHP 1,870) good for 4 people with 4 luggage. It was an hour travel time from Taoyuan International Airport to our hotel and we arrived at around 03:30am.

Diary of Ximen Hotel is situated near Exit 6 of MRT Ximen Station which was a very good location. Also, the hotel is located in a building with other hotels too. We really did like the hotel since it was very near the Ximending night market, staff were very accommodation and nice, and bottled waters were given daily. There was also free flowing juice, tea, and coffee on the hotel’s reception. We booked our hotel via Agoda and no breakfast was included. If you would like to avail their breakfast buffet, it will be NT$ 100 (PHP 170) per person.

DAY 1 MAY 23, 2019

First day in Taiwan and we were greeted by the drizzling rain.

1st day’s itinerary was to go to the province of Taichung, Taiwan. We went there by riding the MRT first from Ximen Station to Taipei Main Station then transferred from MRT Taipei Main Station to HSR Taichung Station.

We preferred to ride their High Speed Rail (HSR) since it will only take 45 minutes to 1 hour from Taipei to Taichung. Other cheaper options were the bus  with 3-4 hours travel time, and the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) with 1-2 hours travel time. However, during that time, Klook has a promo of Buy One, Get One for HSR going from Taipei to other locations that costs PHP 945 (PHP 472.50/each). For our way back, we also chose the HSR but got the original price of PHP 886 each via Klook also.

Riding the HSR was actually comfortable. There were toilets, and vending machines in the train. WiFi was also available and each seat has a fold able tables similar to airplanes.

Upon arriving at HSR Taichung Station, we decided to grab a taxi going to Rainbow Village. Our taxi driver was very nice and friendly and suggested if we would want to avail his service to drive us around Taichung for NT$ 3500 (PHP 5,950) for 8 hours. At first we were hesitant but we compared prices in Uber and it was indeed cheaper to avail his service. We compared and saw that one way going to Rainbow Village is almost NT$900, which we computed with the other destination we would be paying either the same price or higher.

RAINBOW VILLAGE

Seeing Rainbow Village was literally colorful like the rainbow. There was no charge upon entering the site.

Rainbow Village is located at 408, Nantun District, Taichung City, Taiwan is open daily from 8am - 6pm.

The village was originally for demolition however, Rainbow Grandpa painted the houses and saved it from being demolished. The village was originally the place soldiers stayed at before. Neighboring houses were sold but Rainbow Grandpa remained.

At the end of the village is a room about its history and some information about Rainbow Grandpa.

I actually felt happy being in Rainbow Village. The colorful artworks brings so much joy.

ZHONGSHE FLOWER MARKET

Zhongshe Flower Market was next on our itinerary. This is widely popular because of the beautiful flowers you will be surrounded at.

It is located at No. 333, Section 5, Sanfeng Road, Houli District, Taichung City, Taiwan.

The Flower Market is open daily from 8am to 6pm and there is an entrance fee of NT$120 (PHP 204) for adults and NT$60 (PHP 102) for children.

Even though it as muddy during that day, we actually enjoyed having photos with the lovely flowers. Below were the photos from the flower market:

LUNCH AT WEST DISTRICT

We asked our driver to bring us to Chun Shui Tang since it is a well known milk tea place in Taichung. We were dropped at the West District if I’m not mistaken.

Before trying the milk tea, we looked for a place first where we could have lunch.

We saw a small restaurant and tried it. Name of the restaurant is in Chinese and that explains why I didn’t include the name here. 😅

The staff only speaks Chinese thus, we had a little difficulty ordering. However, there was a very nice customer of theirs that knows how to speak English. I think she noticed we had trouble ordering and helped us. The customer was the one translating, for us to order. We didn’t got her name, but to the lady who was in this restaurant last May 23, 2019 around 1-2pm, thank you for helping for us! 🤗

It was passed lunch time and the only choices they have were Chicken Curry Rice and Pork Noodle Soup. I’m not a fan of curry, so I ordered their Pork Noodle Soup which costs NT$ 100 (PHP 170).

CHUN SHUI TANG

Our first milk tea in Taiwan!

Serving was so large that one glass is good for 1-2 people. The glass is bigger than my hand and same size as my face! 😂

Both the original pearl milk tea and oreo milk tea tastes good! However, when the milk tea is compared here in Manila, our is way way sweeter even at 50% sugar. It seems that milk tea from Taiwan is not that sweet.

A medium Pearl Milk Tea costs NT$130 (PHP 221), and medium Oreo Milk Tea costs NT$ 120 (PHP 204).

FENGJIA NIGHT MARKET

I wasn’t able to have photo from the night  market in Taichung. However, I had some videos of it on my vlog. 😊

Fengjia Night Market is similar with Ximending Night Market. Both has shops for clothes and skin care. They also have street foods left and right.

I was able to try the Fried Chicken from Angel’s that costs NT$ 70 (PHP 119). I really do like the fried chicken since it was not dry and very tasty!

Afterwards, we actually went home already since our 8-hour trip with our driver is almost ending. We bought extra food before heading back to out hotel at Ximending Night Market

So that’s day 1 of our Taiwan trip. Next Taiwan posts, soon!

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To see more of what we saw in Taichung, you may watch my vlog below:

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Below was our itinerary and expenses. Hope this will help you to be able to plan your travels to Taiwan.

ITINERARY

DAY 1 Part 1: May 22-23, 2019 (Wed/Thurs) 07:00 pm - Meet-up at NAIA Terminal 3 10:35 pm - ETD from Manila 12:55 am - ETA to Taipei (Taoyuan International Airport, Terminal 1) 01:00 am - Immigration, Get Luggage & Sim Card 02:00 am - Go to the hotel 03:00 am - Check-in at Diary of Ximen Hotel

DAY 1 Part 2: May 23, 2019 (Thursday) 07:00 am - Wake-Up 08:00 am - BREAKFAST 09:00 am - Leave for Taichung 09:15 am - ETD:  MRT Ximen Station to Taipei Main Station 09:20 am - ETA:  MRT Taipei Main Station 09:30 am - Taipei to Taichung via High Speed Rail 10:30 am - Arrival Taichung Station 10:45 am - To Rainbow Village 11:15 pm - ETA:  Rainbow Village (Caihongjuan Village) 12:15 pm - Leave for Zhongshe Flower Market 12:30 pm - Zhongshe Flower Market 02:00 pm - LUNCH 04:00 pm - Fengjia Night Market 06:00 pm - Go back to Taipei Main Station 07:30 pm - Ximending Night Market 08:30 pm - Back to hotel

EXPENSES

SIM Card (Klook) - PHP 377 Taxi (Airport to Hotel) - NT$1, 100 (PHP 1, 870; PHP467.50/ea) Breakfast at 7/11

Chicken Teriyaki Rice Meal - NT$89 (PHP 151.30)

HSR Taipei to Taichung (Klook) - PHP 945 (Buy one get one; PHP 472.50/ea) HSR Taichung to Taipei (Klook) - PHP 886/ea Taxi in Taichung (8 hours) - NT$3, 500 (PHP 5, 950; PHP1, 487.50/ea) Rainbow Village: Free Flower Market: - NT$120 (PHP 204) LUNCH

Pork Noodle Soup - NT$100 (PHP 170)

Milk Tea at Chun Shui Tang (PHP106.25/ea)

Original Pearl Milk Tea (Medium) - NT$130 (PHP221)

Oreo Milk Tea (Medium) - NT$120 (PHP204)

Fengjia Night Market: Chicken - NT$70 (PHP119) Ximending Night Market

Fried Chicken - NT$120 (PHP204; PHP51/ea)

Family Mart (Bulgogi) - NT$65 (PHP 110.50)

Family Mart (Milk tea) - NT$28 (PHP47.60)

Total: PHP4, 650.15

*Items from Klook were paid in advanced

*Conversion of NT$ to PHP are rounded and used NT$ 1 = PHP 1.70

Other blog post related to Taiwan below: 🔗 TAIWAN DAY 2 BLOG POST

[2019dclmed]

Departure Day

Departure Day -Thursday, May 23, 2019

With my 16 year old cat, Kealy, having gotten sick many times throughout the day prior (even though she was already on antibiotics), I had another night of lacking sleep due to worry. 

I went to sleep around 11:30pm, couldn’t get to sleep, took something at 12:30am, and set my alarm for 6am - in case I needed to see the vet at 7am. Of course I awoke on my own promptly at 5:30am. Miraculously all seemed fine with Kealy (after checking the recordings on my Blink camera from overnight). So I set a new alarm for 7:15am. 

I was slow to get up & get in the shower since I didn’t need to leave until 10:30am. So I cleaned up the living room & kitchen, did the final prep & pack of the backpack.

I also made a couple of last minute swaps due to the (sad) decline in forecasted temps.

Grabbed some snuggles in my recliner with the kitty (watching the Rapunzel animated series to get in the mood), & pulled out by 10:35am. I stopped at a grocery near Kara’s to grab last minute gas, Wheat Thins, & caffeine pills in Indy. 

Our themed-luggage tags. We tend to make these for “big” trips!

This is Kara. I slept well, as I often do, and having finished nearly all packing the night before had a quiet, easy morning. I had even finished emptying my work inbox the night before so other than a few last small to do items, I got to just tidy up around the house, say goodbye to my plants and wait for Gayle.

We left by 12:05pm for lunch at Panera. Our flight was scheduled for 3:30pm. 

First it was delayed about ten minutes. Then delayed more. Then the news came: Ground Stop. Due to East Coast storms impacting Philadelphia, everything was stopped from even heading in that direction. 

We started talking about rebooking, as it seemed we’d miss our connection in PHL. However, the plane started boarding and figured we’d deal with it at PHL - at least we’d be closer to Barcelona and at an American Airlines hub. 

I ended up sobbing all the way to PHL. 

Huge Sidenote: Most people, including myself, would read all this and figure, “What’s the big deal? So you take a different flight? Maybe your luggage is late?” For me, this was 14 months of planning falling apart and we hadn’t even left our home airport yet. It was hours of work and planning for this flight, to find an option that would allow me to sleep (as I’m a terrible international/eastbound flier) and in a budget I could afford. 

That’s right folks, I mention that almighty dollar, as for some a trip like this can be a stretch. I have a great professional job, but I also chose a profession and position that can be lacking financial rewards. A “big trip” like this is something I need to plan years in advance, which I didn’t have this time, and wasn’t strong enough to tell Kara no. And putting it off just one year woudn’t work since I have to lead a study abroad next May. So this had been a YEAR of scrimping and saving, living somewhat like a “poor college student”, only to completely lose our business class seats. (Yes, I realize as I type this many are rolling their eyes, but in this moment my reality was crushed.)

We landed at PHL at 7:12pm; our connecting flight left at 7:10pm! We were sent to stand in line at a nearby customer service gate, while having learned from the past, I simultaneously called AA. I put in for a call-back as we waited in the line. The Customer Service desk tells us since we’re international, we have to “go over there” to get help - from C31 to A17! 

During the trek I didn't hear or feel my phone go off - twice! - of AA calling me back. We initially couldn’t find the international help desk tucked in a set-back cove past A17, but finally got ourselves into that line. I finally noticed the 3rd call-back attempt and after many minutes was told there were ZERO options for anything arriving before… SUNDAY! (Our cruise was leaving Saturday!) Another meltdown, now from anger, had set-in. The phone agent told us to stay in the line we were standing in, that the in-person agent might have more options. What? How?

Finally at the front of the line at 8:30pm we were offered two Economy (not our booked business) seats leaving in 30 minutes to…Paris with a 5 hour layover to Barcelona (BCN). (Trying to rebook us was so challenging, this flight would be via Air France, which is the SkyTeam-Delta, not OneWorld-American network.) It’s a testament to how desperate we were that we jumped at that option, with virtually no questions asked. 

When we arrived at the gate to get our seats, they were already boarding! To get any seats together, we were in the very last row- 35 G&H (which gave me deja vu for the very first time I went to Europe). I was able to shoot off a quick email to Barcelona Chocolate Tours, letting them know we couldn’t make our noon tour, as we wouldn’t be landing until nearly 6pm and respectfully requested a refund. We had a suitable Economy dinner and took ALL the drugs we packed to try to get even a little sleep. I think I maybe slept through 2.5-2.75 Harry Potter 1 movies.

This is Kara. Gayle did a good job recapping this crazy set of events.  I’ll add in here that we posted a photo to Facebook to commemorate the crazy turn of events as a last notification to our friends and family of what our status was. This specific photo is very important later in the story.

Breakfast on the plane was yogurt & figs - gross. So I had my packed protein bar. Deplaning we certainly asked for help knowing where to go next. As we suspected, there was no luggage when we got to Paris (CDG). Went to Baggage Service and was told to wait until we got to BCN to put in a luggage inquiry. What?! This makes no sense, especially for how long all this might take. Kara called AA and was again told to wait until BCN.

The small bit of “raging idealist” in me thought our luggage should be waiting for us in BCN. That AA knew we were going to BCN via our original ticket and the Air France ticket showed the same. So throw them on whatever the next BCN flight is. Period. 

After enduring the long layover at CDG (in a new beautiful Air France, but packed terminal), I put my headphones on to BCN because 1) Chatty Kathy was next to me, 2) Kara and I were 2 rows apart, 3) the aisle dude commandeered the armrest, and 4) Kara & I were both in middle seats.

Arrive at BCN - no luggage. We wait in line at the American luggage desk only to be told to go to the next bay to stand in line for Air France, as apparently it’s the final airlines responsibility to deal with the luggage. So yes, there I am again having a meltdown. Why? We’re told to put in an incident report, which requested our entire cruise port itinerary and that our bags haven’t left PHL! At this time I also got email offering us a chocolate tour for Sunday, but at this late time no refund would be given. Talk about adding insult to injury.

Meltdown Sidenote: Again, many might question the freak out. Here was a much bigger issue. They were now giving us indication they had no idea when or if we might get our bags and we were about to embark on a 7 night cruise with nothing but the literal clothes on our back and whatever snacks & tech we had in our small carry-ons! We knew our same PHL-BCN flight was leaving that night at 7:10pm with an arrival at 9am Saturday morning and basically begged to get our bags on that flight! As it was currently only about noon PHL time, we knew they had plenty of time, but all we were told was they would put in the inquiry (via tele-text?!) and PHL would have to act on it in time. If our bags didn’t arrive on that flight, we’d have only a couple of hours to try to go to unfamiliar stores and buy everything we’d need for PJs, toiletries, dinner clothes, port adventures clothes, and much more. 

From Kara - this is where that photo we posted on Facebook came into play.  Some might call my family intense. Nearly all the time I call them loving and incredibly supportive. We use an app called GroupMe and we also use Google Location Services to keep track of one another.  Gayle and I had difficulty getting on wi-fi at CDG so while my family knew we’d made it there okay because my phone had connected and updated my location, I didn’t really share an update.  When we got to BCN and were dealing with the aforementioned request being sent by tele-text, I noticed in the GroupMe app that my aunt mentioned that she’d let a cousin in Phoenix who works for American Airlines know about our plight.  My cousin found our record using the photo we’d posted with our boarding pass and, thankfully, our luggage was on the same record as we had actually booked this as one reservation which is not our norm.  

Before leaving BCN we somehow had the wherewithal to request the luggage be held at BCN if it arrived, as we didn’t trust and couldn’t take a risk of passing it or a delay in delivery to the hotel &/or ship. We’d determined no matter what we’d return to the airport seeking our luggage Saturday morning, as it was the only real strategy we could take control of. 

We finally got to our hotel, AC Hotel Marriott Diagonal D’Illa,  around 7:30-8pm and just like in all telling TV shows & films - yes, it was raining. It was fatefully connected to a mall. We ended up with basic chicken sandwiches (and by this I mean crustless white bread with shredded chicken) and water for dinner. I did pick up a piece of chocolate cake, more out of habit than want. 

That I couldn’t even bring myself to visit the Disney Store tells you how despondent I was. 

Our hotel room was like a “camp version” of a hotel room - just the bare basics. We showered (using every amenity kit we could from the hotel), put our same clothes back on, and borrowed electrical adapters to charge our phones. 

By absolute fate we had initially posted a photo of ourselves with our boarding passes on Facebook. I thought I’d covered our confirmation number, but apparently not. Via the “Monroe Family Network” (Kara’s family), her Aunt Idris sent our confirmation number to a distant cousin who happens to work for… American Airlines Customer Service! Through Idris we were told Cousin Kimberley spoke with a supervisor at PHL who had located our bags and would “do their best” to put them on our requested evening flight to arrive at 9am Saturday morning. Another follow-up re-affirmed. 

Friday night we also logged onto the Air France baggage site as instructed. The only thing it showed was “luggage found - awaiting confirmation”. At some point I decided trying to apply my social media knowledge (as I’m also a known blogger for a popular TV series). I sent the AA Twitter account a Direct Message with our confirmation number begging them to put our bags on the PHL-BCN 7:10pm-9am flight. Around 10:30pm we got a positive response that yes this would happen! 

Between this & Kara’s cousin’s messages, there were more hesitant and slight tears (of relief?), as we feared getting our hopes up.

Continuing to pile on, there was loud party music raging outside our room from somewhere we couldn’t see. So Kara looked for some brainless TV. With my experience in Europe I assured her if she looked long enough she’s probably find NCIS &/or Big Bang Theory. Sure enough Gibbs & the team gave us a slight calm in the midst of our storm. We tried to go to sleep by 11pm (which was only 5pm back home).  

I woke up just past 2am. On the AA app it showed our confirmation number to check-in for our PHL-BCN flight - yay! But for a Saturday departure/Sunday arrival - NO! I figured this was our bags and was again defeated. I freaked-out internally while Kara slept. But the AA website showed our bags were loaded onto the requested flight at 3:20pm? Huh? So I took more drugs to get back to sleep.

This is Kara. There isn’t much I can add to this day other than a little more about my, as my niece Ashley said in a Facebook post commenting later on in the week, “creepy” family. Yes, sometimes we are remarkably creepy in how we keep up with each other.  But, when push comes to shove, having a team of people in your immediate circle who are always in your corner is reassuring. I’d been checking in with them each time we got a network connection and giving them updates. I got to “meet” my cousin’s wife Kimberley for the first time through this situation and look forward to meeting her in person someday. The family was also watching my Google Location icon pop up all over the world all through the trip.  It truly is a good thing to know you’ve got people and they’ve got you too.

Disclaimer: Gayle is a travel agent with Authorized Disney Travel Planner agency - Off to Neverland Travel. Contact me today for a no-obligation quote!

Next up: Embarkation Day! Would the luggage actually arrive?

[travelonlinetips-blog]

New Post has been published on https://travelonlinetips.com/13-of-the-best-sunshine-coast-kid-friendly-cafes-and-restaurants-4/

13 of the best Sunshine Coast kid-friendly cafes and restaurants

From aqua parks to wildlife experiences of the up-close-and-personal kind, the Sunshine Coast is a playground for family goodness. But the fun doesn’t stop there.

Soak up the Sunshine Coast’s atmosphere ­­– and take the fam’s taste buds on an adventure too – with this go-to list of kid-friendly cafes and restaurants. Consider the hunt for new eating experiences with menus for everyone, caffeinated drinks for grown-ups and distraction zones for kids sorted.

The Velo Project, Mooloolaba

This back-street community café in Mooloolaba looks after hungry kids and adults alike with a menu that supports local farmers and producers.

Kids will love ‘The Little Harry’s Club’ unicorn chino, grilled toasties with avocado and cheese or Nutella and cream crepes. Mums and dads can avoid FOMO with buckwheat crepes filled with crunchy peanut butter or smoked salmon, or a toasted tortilla wrap filled with slow-braised ginger and soy pork belly.

Velo’s coffee game is strong (they even serve it up in bowls!), but for an alternate pick-me-up, try their healing organic teas. You’ll find a shaded kids’ area out the back with enough toys and cubbies to keep them busy while you sip.

Where: 19 Careela St, Mooloolaba. Open: Breakfast and lunch daily 7am-3pm. Hot tip: Add the Fraser Island spanner crab side for a next-level breakfast.

Guru Life, Rosemount

Head west from Maroochydore and swap the beach for lush gardens, a pond and ducks at Guru Life. The setting is perfect for little explorers and the menu is full of colourful, healthy options.

Start your day under the umbrellas with a wet coconut brekkie bowl (fruit salad with coconut yoghurt for kiddies) or if you’re visiting for lunch, follow the hypnotic smell of their vegan burger with eggplant parmi, cashew cheese, pickled veggies and relish; while the kids can make tracks for crispy calamari or battered fish with chips.

Where: 522 Petrie Creek Road, Rosemount. Open: Breakfast and lunch daily 6am-3pm. Hot tip: This is a good spot for bird-chasing kids to play a feathery version of Where’s Wally so you can finish your coffee while it’s still hot.

CK Coffee Bar, Mooloolaba

It’ll be hard to get your kids to leave the cute indoor play area with books, toys and a play kitchen that entertains while the food and drinks are prepared.

The CK Coffee Bar team have also crafted a kid-friendly menu (based on learnings from their own fussy eaters) with short stack banana pancakes with coconut ice-cream for breakfast or mini Angus beef burger with sweet potato fries for lunch.

Parents, get ready to make the tough choice between a sweet or savoury breakfast with banana and cinnamon waffles with coconut yoghurt or truffle scrambled eggs with herb roasted mushrooms and marinated feta.

Where: 17 Brisbane Road, Mooloolaba. Open: Breakfast and lunch daily 7am-2pm. Hot tip: Lactose-free milk is up for grabs for those with sensitive tums.

Cafe Doonan, Doonan

An adorable rustic café set amongst the trees on a country road outside of Noosa, you’ll spot toys and books indoors or you can head down to the big garden area complete with sandpit and toy boxes.

Breakfast options start with the classics: muesli and zesty smashed avocado. But you can also get adventurous with Café Doonan’s quinoa apple waffles, or halloumi stack loaded with grilled vegetables and topped with a poached free-range egg and housemade pesto.

From the drinks menu, kids can choose from the milkshake range or stick with a babyccino to go with their beans on toast or toasted wraps.

Where: 777 Eumundi-Noosa Road, Doonan. Open: Breakfast and lunch Monday to Thursday 6:30am-4pm; breakfast, lunch and dinner Friday and Saturday 6:30am-8:30pm; and breakfast Sunday 6:30am-12pm. Hot tip: Friday and Saturday dinners have an ever-changing blackboard menu. Go à la carte or put your trust in the chef’s three-course set menu, which is usually themed (and always delish).

Izba Espresso, Birtinya

Breakfast doesn’t come handier than a brekky wrap – and the Izba interpretation is top notch (bacon, egg, cheese and Spanish onion drizzled with homemade tomato relish on a wholemeal wrap). Go for the fig and walnut loaf if you’re looking for something lighter or, if you’re up for a serious challenge, take the triple stack pancakes for a run.

Kids can also pick pancakes (just two, though), Humpty Dumpty eggs or the kids’ mini breakfast (two free-range boiled eggs with thick buttery toast) from the all-day brekky menu.

The lunch menu is crammed with burgers and wraps for adults and cheeseburgers and toasties for the little ones. Whatever meal you choose, enjoy some ‘me’ time while they make good use of the playground area suitable for kids aged four and up.

Where: Corner of Lake Kawana Blvd and Birtinya Blvd, Birtinya. Open: Breakfast and lunch Monday to Friday 6:30am-5pm, Saturday and Sunday 7am-5pm. Hot tip: Check out the jaffle bar at one of Izba Espresso’s other Sunshine Coast branches at Bells Reach.

Boathouse at Mooloolaba Surf Life Saving Club, Mooloolaba

Surf Clubs are the go-to venue for many a family get-together and this one is no exception. Located in the hub of Mooloolaba, it’s the spot to refuel after a morning at the beach.

Boathouse’s all-day dining menu begins with breakfast staples like bacon and eggs and toasted muesli; while seafood a-plenty and a roast station is sure to fill bellies later on.

On the ‘Nippers Only’ menu you’ll find old faithfuls like fish and chips, penne Napoli, cheeseburger and chips or chicken schnitzel. The best part (for them) is the free ice-cream cone included. Once it’s demolished, they can escape to the kids corner for arcade games.

Where: The Esplanade, Mooloolaba. Open: Breakfast daily 8am-10am, lunch and dinner daily from 11:30am-late. Hot tip: On the first Sunday of each month, your kids can meet and pat pooches as part of the Surf Club’s support of Smart Pups, a local charity that provides Assistance Dogs for children with special needs.

Kelly’s of Peregian, Peregian

Just across the road from one of the locals’ fave beaches you’ll find Kelly’s of Peregian, where you can grab a bite to eat after a morning of sandcastle constructing or an afternoon of salty splashing.

The Kelly’s chefs often get high fives for their halloumi and zucchini fritters, which make an appearance on both the breakfast and lunch menus. They do a baby benedict for your little ones, or they can satisfy their hunger pains by chowing down on a kid-friendly portion of steak and chips.

They can then run amok outside on the village green, perfect their sand-building skills in the sandpit or make the most of the fully enclosed indoor play area with toys and cubby.

Where: 2/6 Kingfisher Drive, Peregian Beach. Open: Breakfast daily 7am-12pm, lunch Monday to Thursday 12pm-3pm, lunch Friday and Saturday 12pm-5pm. Hot tip: If you’re looking for a hearty iron injection to round out the week, head to Kelly’s on Friday or Saturday for their $20 steak night special.

Nouveau Restaurant, Novotel Twin Waters, Twin Waters

If your crew likes to feast on an array of food, try the family-friendly themed dinner buffet at  Nouveau Restaurant.

Sit outside and watch Marco Polo action unfold in the hotel pool or stay close to the foodie action inside where the whole fam will be going back for seconds of tasty Mexican, Asian delights, roast goodness or seafood delicacies depending on what day of the week you drop by.

Where: 270 Ocean Drive, Twin Waters. Open: Dinner daily 6pm-9pm. Hot tip: They also put on a delicious daily breakfast buffet with hot and cold options.

View Restaurant, Peppers Noosa Resort & Villas, Noosa

View Restaurant is the foodie heart of Peppers Noosa Resort & Villas but is open to anyone (not just the lucky resort guests).

Their lunch menu will get your mouth watering with dishes like slow-roasted lamb shoulder with grilled Mediterranean veggies, smoked olives and pesto or spaghettini with barramundi, tomato, capers, garlic and parsley. And you won’t need to bribe the kids to get through their dinner as they’ve got seven meal options that all come with a drink, dessert and Peppers kids pack.

Where: Little Hastings Street, Noosa Heads. Open: Breakfast daily 7am-11am, lunch daily 12pm-2:30pm, dinner daily 5:30pm-late. Hot tip: Kids eat dinner for free if you’re a Mantra+ member, which you can sign up for while dining.

Noosa Boathouse, Noosaville

Wander along the jetty from Noosaville’s main drag where sitting pretty on the Noosa River is Noosa Boathouse with three-levels of foodie fun. 

Boathouse’s seafood is pretty special. Parents can share baked scallops, freshly shucked oysters and chilled Mooloolaba king prawns, or go all in with the seafood experience for two which has everything a seafood lover needs from calamari and bugs to crab and fish.

Little foodies can pick battered dory and chips, bangers and mash, or pasta from their own menu.

Where: 194 Gympie Terrace, Noosaville. Open: Lunch daily from 11:30am, dinner daily from 5pm. Hot tip: For the ultimate picnic, grab a family pack from the fish and chips takeaway window and find a spot on the sandy bank of the river.

Coffee Cat on Kings, Caloundra

Place your order inside and snag a table outside with views of Kings Beach at Caloundra.

Go for healthy AM options like the Cocowhip breakfast bowl and quinoa Nasi Goreng, or dial up the heftiness with the Beach Jaffle filled with savoury mince and cheese. Juniors can choose between a bunch of toast-related options with hash brown, salmon or halloumi extras.

Lunches are all about burgers, wraps and salads, with the usual suspects like mini grilled chicken burger and Hawaiian pizza for kids combo options.

Where: Shop 4, 8 Levuka Avenue, Kings Beach, Caloundra. Open: Breakfast daily 6am-11:15am, lunch daily 11:30am-2:30pm. Hot tip: Stick around for the live music and fun vibes on Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons.

The Ginger Cafe, Ginger Factory, Yandina

Your taste buds can celebrate all things ginger at this café inside at thee Ginger Factory.

Sweet treats like ginger scones and ginger ice-cream are served up, while the savoury dishes are just as unique – think beef burger with ginger onion jam or Vietnamese ginger chicken salad.

When you’ve had your fill of gingery goodness, let the kids loose in the fenced playground.

Where: 50 Pioneer Road, Yandina. Open: Breakfast and lunch daily 9am-2:30pm. Hot tip: Make a day of it and check out the tours and fun at the rest of the Ginger Factory.

The Pub at Aussie World, Palmview

Don’t be disturbed by the screams as you chomp through your chow at this family-friendly spot. It’s not your kids refusing to eat their veggies; it’s just people having a blast on the rides at Aussie World right behind you!

The Pub dishes up classic grub like chicken schnitzel, steak sandwich and pizza through to crispy skinned barramundi and lemon myrtle calamari. Kids under 12 can take their pick of the battered fish, cheeseburger or crumbed chicken tenderloins – all served with chips or vegetables plus ice-cream.

While you’re in the area, work off the food with a few rides and slides next door.

Where: 73 Frizzo Road, Palmview. Open: Lunch and dinner Sunday to Thursday 11:30am-7:30pm, Friday and Saturday 11:30am-8pm. Hot tip: Adults score entry into Aussie World at kids prices.

WHAT’S YOUR GO TO KID-FRIENDLY RESTAURANT OR CAFE ON THE SUNSHINE COAST? SHARE YOUR FAVES WITH US IN THE COMMENTS BELOW.

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[suckitsurveys]

1. What’s the last thing you ate? Overnight oats with peanut butter and banana.

2. What’s your favourite cheese? Goat and cheddar.

3. What’s your favourite fish? Catfish, if crab doesn’t count as a fish.

4. What’s your favourite fruit? Pomegranates, watermelon, pineapple, bananas.

5. When, if ever, did you start liking olives? I don’t remember? I never liked the Kalamamamamama olives they have in greek salads, but I love black olives and green olives with pimento. That was always on my dad’s go-to tray of appetizers when we’d have Christmas at our house. 3 kinds of olives, some cheese, and salami or whatever. I always ate the green and black olives from there. I also like green olives stuffed with other things too, like bleu cheese or garlic.

6. When, if ever, did you start liking beer? I only like some beers really. I think I’ve been conditioned to like it at baseball games because my dad does, haha.

7. When, if ever, did you start liking shellfish? My whole life dude. When my parents would go out to dinner with us when we were little, they always just gave us stuff from there plates to eat. So if someone had lobster or crab legs or shrimp I would too.

8. What was the best thing your mom/dad/guardian used to make? My dad makes KILLER bleu cheese dressing. I could eat that shit with a spoon it’s SO GOOD. He also makes amazing spaghetti sauce and is pretty good at getting popcorn perfect everytime. My mom used to make really good beef stew, and her famous potatoes and eggs fr dinner. She also made the BEST potato salad, and that recipe has been handed down to me. Everyone claims it’s amazing, but I still think she made it better.

9. What’s the native specialty of your hometown? Deep dish pizza, hot dogs, beef sandwiches, caramel and cheese popcorn.

10. What’s your comfort food? Everything.

11. What’s your favourite type of chocolate? Milk chocolate. With caramel. 12. How do you like your steak? Medium rare.

13. How do you like your burger? Medium rare.

14. How do you like your eggs? In omelet form.

15. How do you like your potatoes? I ain’t got no type.

16. How do you take your coffee? I don‘t, really.

17. How do you take your tea? Green.

18. What’s your favourite mug? The one I use most often is just a plain red one that I got from Home Goods because it came with a tea infuser.

19. What’s your biscuit or cookie of choice? Sugar cookies. My favorite ones are actually those Pillsbury pre-made-dough ones you break off and bake. I also love Oreos.

20. What’s your ideal breakfast? Lox and bagels.

21. What’s your ideal sandwich? ^. Or tuna on any bread.

22. What’s your ideal pizza: Very saucy, lightly cheesy, with pepperoni and black olives.

23. What’s your ideal pie (sweet or savoury)? Cheesecake. <– Same, and it’s been waaaay too long since I last had a good piece of cheesecake. <----CHEESECAKE IS NOT PIE YOU HEATHENS, IT’S CAKE. Anyway, pumpkin pie has been my go to since I was a baby.

24. What’s your ideal salad? I don’t really have an “ideal” salad, but I like spinach salads with various toppings.

25. What food do you always like to have in the fridge? Hmm. Eggs, soy milk, condiments and marinades, sriracha, pickles, olives, cheese, water.

26. What food do you always like to have in the freezer? Ice. :P And frozen dinners for Mark. We don’t buy a ton of frozen stuff.

27. What food do you always like to have in the cupboard? Oatmeal, Ramen and other soups, pasta, rice, flour, breadcrumbs, olive oil and other oils, tea.

28. What spices can you not live without? Celery salt, red pepper, and cilantro. And of course salt and pepper.

29. What sauces can you not live without? Sriracha.

30. Where do you buy most of your food? Jewel-Osco. We might start shopping at Aldi for boxed and bagged goods. I don’t trust meat and produce from there though.

31. How often do you go food shopping? Twice a week. Once on Sunday to get lunch things and snacks for the week and dinners for that night, Monday, and Tuesday, and then Wednesday just for dinner things for that night, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

33. What’s the most expensive piece of kitchen equipment you own? I mean, probably the fridge or stove? We don’t really own those though? Sooooo the food processor?

34. What’s the last piece of equipment you bought for your kitchen? It’s been a while since we’ve actuall bought something for the kitchen. A lot of our stuff is hand-me-downs or wedding gifts. So probably something from when we first moved in and needed basic things like plates and silverware.

35. What piece of kitchen equipment could you not live without? Probably most of them? Like we need the fridge and stove for obvious reasons, so I guess next to that, the microwave?

36. How many times a week/month do you cook from raw ingredients? We try to almost every night.

37. What’s the last thing you cooked from raw ingredients? Chicken and spinach last night, unless overnight oats count, which I made shortly after that to eat this morning.

38. What meats have you eaten besides cow, pig and poultry? I’ve had lamb, duck, goat, alligator, buffalo, and ostrich. Well I guess duck and ostrich are poultry?? Oh and a shit ton of seafood too since that wasn’t listed in the question. Way too much to name.

39. What’s the last time you ate something that had fallen on the floor? Yesterday. I ate a chip that fell in sand oops. Haha.

40. What’s the last time you ate something you’d picked in the wild? Uh, I mean, we have a veggie and herb garden in our yard. I packed some cucumbers and tomatoes from there for lunch today.

41. Arrange the following in order of preference: Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Indian, Thai, Sushi – Sushi, Thai, and Mexican are tied for first. Then Italian, Indian, Chinese.

42. Arrange the following in order of preference: Vodka, Whiskey, Brandy, Rum – Rum, Vodka, Whiskey, Brandy.

43. Arrange the following in order of preference: Garlic, Basil, Caramel, Lime, Mint, Ginger, Aniseed – I have no idea what aniseed is, but the rest are all tied.

44. Arrange the following in order of preference: Pineapple, Orange, Apple, Strawberry, Cherry, Watermelon, Banana. – Watermelon, pineapple, banana, strawberry, orange, apple, cherry.

45. Bread and spread: Um. My favorite bread is garlic bread, if that’s what you’re asking.

46. What’s your fast food restaurant of choice, and what do you usually order? Popeye’s. I get chicken strips and Cajun fries. If they are having some promotional thing with the strips I’ll probably get that.

47. Pick a city. What are the best dining experiences you’ve had in that city? Any city and any restaurant that has crab legs is a good dinning experience in my mind.

48. What’s your choice of tipple at the end of a long day? What the hell is a tipple?

49. What’s the next thing you’ll eat? Lunch. I made tuna and have cucumbers and tomatoes to eat with it. I brought bread too but I probably wont end up eating that.

50. Are you hungry now? I’m a little hungry.

51. Do you eat your breakfast everyday? Yes. I have oatmeal or cereal every day.

52. At what time do you have breakfast? When I work, it’s sometime after 7am. On weekends, it’s whenever I get up.

53. At what time do you have lunch? 11:30am on weekdays, whenever on weekened.

54. What do you have for lunch? I mentioned this above.

55. At what time do you have dinner? around 7.

56. What do you have for dinner? Obviously different things every night? Tonight’s dinner is up in the air because my cousin is coming in from Hawaii and we are staying with my dad so my he will most likely order takeout.

57. Do you light candles during dinner? No.

58. How many chairs are there in your dining room and who sits in the main chair? We don’t have a dining room in our apartment. We have a kick ass coffee table that pulls up to dining-table height and we eat on the couch at that.

59. Do you eat and drink using your right hand or the left one? I eat with my right and I don’t have a hand preference with my drinks.

61. Mention the veggies that you like most: Spinach, asparagus, zucchini, butternut squash.

62. What fruit and vegetable do you like the least? Apparently fennel is a vegetable, so that. And water chestnuts if that’s a veggie too. My least favorite fruit is blackberries and raspberries.

63. You like your fruit salad to have more: Watermelon.

64. You prefer your vegetable salad to contain more: Uh. Cucumbers, I guess? Is a vegetable salad just raw veggies thrown together?

65. What’s your favourite sandwich spread? Peanut butter, I guess?

66. What’s your favourite chocolate bar? Butterfingers.

67. What’s your favourite dessert? Brownies or cheesecake.

68. What’s your favourite drink? Root beer. Preferably Barq’s.

69. What’s your favourite snack? Chips and guac or salsa, popcorn, Goldfish crackers, Cheez-its, Chex mix.

70. What’s your favourite bubble gum flavour? WATERMELON BUBBLICIOUS. I haven’t had that in a hot minute.

71. What’s your favourite ice cream flavour? Salted Caramel Butter Pecan. Only one brand makes it. I haven’t seen it in a while though.

72. What’s your favourite potato chip flavour? Sour cream and cheddar.

73. What’s your favourite soup? Potato. Egg lemon. Lobster bisque.

74. What’s your favourite pizza? Deep dish from Lou’s, thin crust from Marie’s, and 8-corner pan pizza from Jet’s.

75. What’s your favourite type of dish? Seafood dishes.

76. What food do you hate? I’ve kinda mentioned these throughout this survey. There’s not much I dislike.

77. What’s your favourite restaurant? Any place with crab legs.

78. Do you eat homemade food, food delivered from outside? Both.

80. Who cooks at home? Mark usually.

81. What kind of diet (e.g. low-fat, high-fiber, high-carbohydrate, balanced diet etc.) do you have? I try to balance it.

82. How do you keep yourself fit? I work out every day. I’m by no means “fit” yet, but I am getting there.

[djbcadventures]

Networking in the Capital City - May/June Calendar

As the days get longer, there will be more opportunities to go out there and either grow your business, or to look for new opportunities.  And right out the gate, Columbus YP Week kicks off the month of May with events across the city.  Also kicking off the first week of May is the inaugural SciFest at COSI with science-themed events for people of all ages (which is also linked in the DJBC Adventures Summer Calendar).

MAY

April 29-May 4 - Columbus YP Week (Click here to view the week-long schedule)

May 1-4 - COSI Sci-Fest (Click here to view the week-long schedule)

April 29 - Columbus YP Week Kickoff Party (5:30PM; Columbus Idea Foundry: 421 W. State St., Franklinton; https://www.columbusypweek.com) (Closest Bus - # 3, 6, 9, 10, or 12) 

April 30 - The Diversity and Inclusion Panel (7:30AM; Crimson Cup Innovation Lab: 700 Alum Creek Drive, Near East Side; http://www.cypclub.com) (Bus - # 2 or 11) - Speed Networking with the Better Business Bureau of Central Ohio (7:30AM; Rev1 Ventures: 1275 Kinnear Rd., 5th by Northwest; http://www.cypclub.com) (Bus - # 31 Hudson) - Easton Job Fair (12PM; Columbus Marriott - Airport: 1375 N. Cassady Ave., Northeast Columbus; http://www.jfscolumbus.org or http://www.eastontowncenter.com) (Bus - # 7 Mount Vernon to Easton) - LINC Headshot Happy Hour (5:30PM; Seventh Son Brewing: 1101 N. 4th St., Italian Village; http://www.columbusypweek.com) (Bus - # 4 or 12)

May 1 - Waffles, Women, and Work: Navigating Careers in Public Work Like Leslie Knope (8AM; Leadership Education Center - Room 130, Page Hall at The Ohio State University: 1810 College Road North, University District; http://www.columbusypweek.com) (Closest Bus - # 1, 2, or 31) - Whitehall Networking Lunch: A Safer Whitehall (11:30AM; Victory Ministries: 3964 E. Main St., Whitehall; http://www.whitehallareachamber.org) (Bus - # 2 East Main/North High) - Margarita Mixes and Website Fixes (3PM; Buckeye Interactive: 8000 Walton Parkway, New Albany; http://www.gahannaareachamber.com)  - The Path to Homeownership (5:30PM; BrewDog Franklinton: 463 W. Town St., Franklinton; http://www.cypclub.com) (Bus - # 3, 6, or 9)  - From this Moment On: Navigating Purpose to Your Process (6PM; Blockfort: 162 N. 6th St., Discovery District; http://www.femergy.org or http://www.columbusypweek.com) (Bus - # 7 or 11)

May 2 - The Executive Luncheon (11:30AM; J.Liu: 6880 N. High St., Worthington; http://www.cypclub.com) (Bus - # 2L North High/Polaris Parkway) - AMA Happy Hour (5:30PM; Cosecha Cocina: 987 N. 4th St., Italian Village; http://columbusama.org) (Bus - 4 or 12) - Columbus YP Week CYP Cares Volunteer Expo (5:30PM; Dave & Buster’s: 3665 Park Mill Run Drive, Hilliard; https://www.columbusypweek.com or http://www.cypclub.com) (Bus - # 32 North Broadway/Hilliard)  - Everyone Starts Somewhere (6PM; Jeffrey Mansion: 165 N. Parkview Ave., Bexley; http://www.bexleyareachamber.org)  - Taste of Westerville (6PM; The Lakes Golf and Country Club: 6740 Worthington Rd., Westerville; http://www.westervillechamber.com) (Note - Event May Be Sold Out)

May 3 - CYP Cares Networking for a Cause Panel (7:30AM; Rev1 Ventures: 1275 Kinnear Rd., Northwest Columbus; http://www.cypclub.com) (Bus - # 31 Hudson)�� 

May 7 - Tri-Village Morning Perk with Eryn Gilson of 614 Mom (8AM; Haven Collective: 2025 Riverside Drive, Upper Arlington; http://chamberpartnership.org)  - DANG Meetup (6PM; The Dublin Entrepreneurial Center: 565 Metro Place South, Dublin; http://www.chrisborja.com) (Bus - # 33 Henderson to Dublin/Metro) - Stories of Food Start-Ups (7PM; Bexley Public Library: 2411 E. Main St., Bexley; http://www.bexleylibrary.org or http://www.bexleyareachamber.org) (Bus - # 2 East Main/North High)

May 8 - Business First Small Business Expo (3PM; Nationwide Hotel and Conference Center: 100 Green Meadows Drive South, Lewis Center; http://www.columbusbusinessfirst.com) - Diversity Columbus (6PM; AWOL: 49 Parsons Ave. & 684 Oak St., Olde Towne East; http://www.diversitycolumbus.org) (Closest Bus - # 10 or 11)

May 9 - Tri-Village Luncheon (11:30AM; 1400 Food Lab: 1400 Dublin Rd., Marble Cliff; http://chamberpartnership.org) (Note: Seating is Limited to 50 People) - GETDOT (5:30PM; Yabo’s Tacos: 3051 Northwest Blvd., Upper Arlington; http://www.getdotnetworking.org) (Bus - # 32 North Broadway/Kingsdale or # 3)

May 11 - Free Press Second Saturday Salon (6:30PM; The Columbus Free Press: 1021 E. Broad St., Olde Towne East; http://www.columbusfreepress.com) (Bus - # 10)

May 14 - New Albany YP - Mastering Adulting (11:30AM; Mount Carmel New Albany: 7277 Smith’s Mill Rd., New Albany; http://www.newalbanychamber.com)  - Entrepreneurs and Innovators: Zipline Logistics (6PM; North High Brewing: 1288 N. High St., Weinland Park; http://www.cypclub.com) (Bus - # 1 or 2)

May 15 - Grove City W.E. LEAD Business Forum featuring Dominique Brooks of E.E. Ward Moving and Storage (11:15AM; Aladdin Shrine: 1801 Gateway Circle, Grove City; http://www.gcchamber.org)  - Dublin Women in Business Luncheon (11:30AM; TBD; http://www.dublinchamber.org)  - Hilliard Women in Business Luncheon (11:30AM; The Reception House at Raymond Memorial by Schmidt’s: 3860 Trabue Rd., West Columbus; http://www.hilliardchamber.org) (Bus - # 5 West Fifth-Trabue/Refugee to Hollywood Casino or Renner Road) - Tri-Village Chamber Service Connections (Noon; Goodwill Columbus: 1331 Edgehill Rd., 5th by Northwest; http://chamberpartnership.org) (Bus - # 3, 5, or 22) - Bexley Area Networking Luncheon (12:30PM; aab India: 2400 E. Main St., Bexley; http://www.bexleyareachamber.org)  (Bus - # 2)

May 16 - Gahanna Women in Business Breakfast (7:30AM; Mount Carmel East - Siegel Center, Building # 3: 5975 E. Broad St., Far East Side; http://www.gahannaareachamber.com) (Bus - # 10 or 25) - Westerville Business After Hours (5:30PM; Parkside Village Senior Living Community: 730 N. Spring Rd., Westerville; http://www.westervillechamber.com) 

May 17 - Breakfast with Business First (7AM; CoHatch The Pub/Polaris, Polaris; http://www.columbusbusinessfirst.com) (Closest Bus - # 102 Polaris Parkway/North High) - Creative Mornings: Preserve (8:30AM; Columbus Museum of Art: 480 E. Broad St., Discovery District; http://www.creativemornings.com/cities/clb) (Bus - # 10) - Hilliard Chamber Luncheon (11:30AM; Heritage Golf Club: 3525 Heritage Club Drive, Hilliard; http://www.hilliardchamber.org) (Bus - # 32 North Broadway/Hilliard)

May 21 - CYP Conversations & Coffee: Getting Involved In Columbus (7:30AM; Crimson Cup Innovation Lab: 700 Alum Creek Drive, Near East Side; http://www.cypclub.com) (Bus - # 2 or 11)  - Dublin Business After Hours (5:30PM; BMI Federal Credit Union: 6165 Emerald Parkway, Dublin; http://www.dublinchamber.org) 

May 23 - Worthington Business After Hours (5:30PM; Learning Rx: 6465 Reflections Drive, Dublin; http://www.worthingtonchamber.org) (Bus - # 33) - CYP Club Networking Night (6PM; The Charles at Riggins Run: 5252 Riggins Run, Hublin; http://www.cypclub.com) 

May 28 - Network Dublin! Breakfast (7:30AM; The Golf Room: 6807 Dublin Center Drive, Dublin; http://www.dublinchamber.org) (Bus - # 33 Henderson/Sawmill) - AMA Job Transition Group:  A Career Coach's Tools for an Effective Job Search (6:30PM; Improving Easton: 1 Easton Oval, Suite # 175, Easton; http://www.columbusama.org) (Closest Bus - # 7, 23, or 32)  May 30 - Grove City Career and Job Fair (10AM; Aladdin Shrine Center: 1801 Gateway Circle, Grove City; http://www.gcchamber.org) 

JUNE

June 1 - Sip and See (6:30PM; ITM/Oyo Dance Company: 1004 Parsons Ave., South Side) (Bus - # 8 Karl/Parsons, 4, or 5)

June 4 - DANG Networking Meetup (6PM; The Dublin Entrepreneurial Center: 565 Metro Place South, Dublin; http://www.chrisborja.com) (Bus - # 33 to Dublin Metro)

June 5 - Whitehall Networking Lunch - Elevator Pitch (11:30AM; MCL Cafeteria: 5240 E. Main St., Whitehall; http://www.whitehallareachamber.org) (Bus - # 2 to Reynoldsburg)

June 8 - Starting Your Own Small Business Bootcamp (10AM; St. John Learning Center: 640 S. Ohio Ave., Old Oaks; https://stjohnlearning.wordpress.com/) (Bus - # 1 or 22) - Free Press Second Saturday Salon (6:30PM; The Columbus Free Press: 1021 E. Broad St., Olde Towne East; http://www.columbusfreepress.com) (Bus - # 10)

June 11 - Network Dublin! (7:30AM; Covetrous: 400 Metro Place North, Suite 100, Dublin; http://www.dublinchamber.org)  (Bus - # 33 to Dublin Metro) - Westerville Quarterly Luncheon: Medical Marijuana (11:15AM; The Golf Club at Little Turtle: 5400 Little Turtle Way, Westerville; http://www.westervillechamber.com)  - Northland Business Lunch (11:30AM; Ashland University Columbus: 1900 E. Dublin-Granville Rd., Northland; http://www.nabacolumbus.org) (Bus - # 35 Dublin-Granville) 

June 12 - Diversity Columbus: Out With Our Elected Officials (6PM; Sheraton Columbus at Capitol Square: 75 E. State St., Downtown Columbus; http://www.diversitycolumbus.org)  (Closest Bus - # 3, 6, 8, or 9) - Entrepreneurs and Innovators (6PM; North High Brewing: 1288 N. High St., University District; http://www.cypclub.com)  - Small Business Workshop: How To Configure and Manage Your Business (7PM; St. John Learning Center: 640 S. Ohio Ave., Old Oaks; https://stjohnlearning.wordpress.com/) (Bus - # 1 or 22)

June 13 - Gahanna Networking Luncheon (11:30AM; La Navona: 154 N. Hamilton Rd., Gahanna; http://www.gahannaareachamber.com) (Bus - # 24) - Tri-Village Networking Luncheon (11:30AM; Hofbrauhaus Columbus: 800 Goodale Blvd., Grandview Heights; http://chamberpartnership.org) (Bus - # 3, 22, or 31)

June 19 - Women of Inspiration Summit and Expo (9AM; Renaissance Columbus - Westerville/Polaris - 409 Altair Parkway, Westerville; http://www.cypclub.com) (Bus - # 102 or CMAX) - Bexley Networking Lunch (12:30PM; Christopher Keels Photography: 2476 E. Main St., Bexley; http://www.bexleyareachamber.org)  (Bus - # 2) - Small Business Workshop: Loans and Grants (7PM; St. John Learning Center: 640 S. Ohio Ave., Old Oaks; https://stjohnlearning.wordpress.com/) (Bus - # 1 or 22)

June 20 - Franklinton Networking Luncheon (11:30AM; West Park UMC: 89 West Park Ave., Franklinton; http://www.franklintonboardoftrade.org) (due 6/18) (Bus - # 10) - Dublin Business After Hours & Corporate Challenge Kick-Off (5:30PM; The Crowne Plaza Dublin: 600 Metro Place North, Dublin; http://www.dublinchamber.org) (Bus - # 33 to Dublin Metro) - Westerville Business After Hours (5:30PM; Wesley Woods at New Albany: 4588 Wesley Woods Blvd., New Albany; http://www.westervillechamber.com)

June 21 - Breakfast with Business First (7AM; Bishop Griffin Student Center at Ohio Dominican University: 1191 Sunbury Rd., Northeast Side; http://www.columbusbusinessfirst.com)  - Creative Mornings: Wonder (8:30AM; COSI: 333 W. Broad St., Franklinton; http://www.creativemornings.com/cities/clb) (Bus - # 10 or 12) - The Dublin Corporate Challenge Kickoff: Battle of the Businesses (9AM; Dublin Jerome High School: 8300 Hyland-Croy Rd., Dublin; http://www.dublinchamber.org) 

June 25 - Westerville YP Breakfast with a Leader (7:30AM; Roush Honda: 100 W. Schrock Rd., Westerville; http://www.westervillechamber.com)  - Northland Business Breakfast (7:30AM; YMCA: 1640 Sandalwood Place, Northland; http://www.nabacolumbus.org) (Bus - # 8) - AMA Job Transition Group (6:30PM; Improving Easton: 1 Easton Oval, Suite # 175, Easton; http://www.columbusama.org) (Closest Bus - # 7, 23, or 32)

June 26 - Small Business Workshop: Tax Issues (7PM; St. John Learning Center: 640 S. Ohio Ave., Old Oaks; https://stjohnlearning.wordpress.com/) (Bus - # 1 or 22) 

June 27 - Clintonville Networking Lunch (11:30AM; Clintonville Woman’s Club: 3951 N. High St., Clintonville; http://www.clintonvillechamber.com) (Bus - # 2 or 102) - CYP Networking Night (5:30PM; Berkley House: 5300 Riverside Drive, Upper Arlington; http://www.cypclub.com) - AAF AdFun (5:30PM; Horizons: 4000 Horizons Drive, Upper Arlington; http://www.aafcolumbus.org)  June 30 - Easton 20th Birthday Volunteer Fair (June 30; Easton Town Center, Easton; http://www.eastontowncenter.com) (Bus - # 7, 9, 23, 31, 32, or 34)

July 2 - Dublin Area Networking Group (DANG) (6PM; Dublin Entrepreneurial Center: 565 Metro Place South, Dublin; http://www.chrisborja.com) (Bus - # 33 to Dublin Metro)

[rovalent]

The five members of LUXE worked hard for their first comeback and proved they were not impacted by their old members' departures. However, as the second week of promotion starts without sight of a first win, Royal quickly starts their second round of plans. As good as their sales were, it could always be better.

On March 4th, exactly a week and a day after LUXE’s first comeback, they’re notified by their manager that there’s been a change of plans to their schedules. The news is delivered during lunch break after their 11AM camera rehearsal, and soon after they’re done, the members return to the Royal building. Once they arrive, Yoo Jaekyung is there to greet them.

“Hello.” She waits for the girls to get themselves comfortable on the practice room sofa before she continues to speak. “Your comeback results have been better than expected after all that drama, but we’d like to capitalize more on it. We’ve been working on this album for long now, after all, and we wouldn’t want it to go to waste. That’s why we’ll be using one of your B-sides as a follow-up song. This means you’ll keep promoting the same album, but with a new title song. Of course, you’ll conclude your ‘Confused’ promotions as planned, and then we’ll jump into the next promotions soon after.”

From this point on, LUXE will promote their current title song while preparing for their next at the same time. With the help of Jaekyung, the members will learn the choreography for ‘Every Night’, one of the B-sides of their mini-album ‘Fantasy’, so that it may be properly promoted on music shows. For this to happen, their updated schedule will look like this:

06:20AM: at broadcasting station: basic first rehearsal on stage; no makeup, casual clothes.

06:45AM: get basic makeup and hair done.

07:45AM: eat breakfast, nap in dressing room/space.

09:00AM: dress rehearsal on stage; stage outfits, makeup on.

09:20AM: return to dressing room/space: rest, eat, nap, practice.

11:00AM: final camera rehearsal on stage; stage outfits, makeup on.

11:15AM: lunch break

12:00PM: return to royal building: practicing for every night

04:00PM: head to salon: get makeup and hair done.

05:00PM: return to broadcast station: preparations to go on stage; outfits, warming up

07:00PM: live broadcast; when not performing, must stay in dressing room/space until the ending stage of the show.

08:00PM: line up in waiting room area to formally greet producers, director, and senior staff.

09:00PM: meeting time with fans who attended the recordings.

10:00PM: return to dressing rooms to clean up, change back into casual clothes.

11:00PM: arrive back at dorms.

On March 11th, their supposed free day, the members of LUXE will actually head towards a special photoshoot and interview. The girls will arrive at an indoor set with only a solid background, but what’s truly important is who’ll be their companions for this shoot. LUXE will promote a dog shelter campaign to help with adoptions, and to do so, each girl will pose with a different dog brought from the partnered shelter. The interview will involve personal questions about pets and dogs, but also about their career. The girls are advised to say they are preparing for a follow-up song since the article will only go out a couple of weeks later along with the finalized photographs.

With their last ‘Confused’ stage being on the 16th, and the girl’s intense hard work, Jaekyung promises to take them out for dinner with her usual serious expression — but only if they get their first win. It should serve as motivation, and having a feast before their music video filming probably wouldn’t be too great of an idea.

To promote their new title song properly, the girls of LUXE will start filming for their ‘Every Night’ music video on the 18th of March, following the schedule seen below. For reference: Cheri will play Solji; Zoe will play Jeonghwa; Ella will play Hyerin; Yena will play Hani; Xayah will play LE.

DAY ZERO — MARCH 17TH

9AM: Wardrobe fittings at the Royal building.

DAY ONE — MARCH 18TH

6AM: Head to salon and get hair and makeup done. Hairstyles: Cheri (1); Zoe (1); Ella (1); Yena (3); Xayah (4)

7AM: Go to fist filming location

8AM: Visit and thank actor Kim Jongsoo on his private room for participating in the MV

8:10AM: Change into outfits

8:30AM: Filming for the final storyline scene ( 2:28-3:38 )

11:30AM: Lunch break

12:30PM: Filming for the set dance scenes ( 0:07; 0:18; 3:42; 3:58 )

2:30PM: Thank actor Kim Jongsoo for his hard work; prepare to leave

2:45PM: Arrive in second location; makeup and hair re-touch

3PM: Filming of beauty shots ( 0:45; 0:47; 0:56; 1:17; 1:25 )

4PM: Recording on the first set for storyline scenes ( 0:00; 0:14; 0:21; 0:41; 0:51; 1:02; 1:39; 2:09; 2:18 )

7:30PM: Thank staff and prepare to leave

9PM: Arrive at dorms; eat, shower, rest.

DAY TWO — MARCH 19TH

8AM: Head to salon and get hair and makeup done. Hairstyles: Cheri (1; 2); Zoe (1); Ella (1); Yena (1); Xayah (1; 2)

9AM: Go to third filming location

10AM: Change into outfits

10:30AM: Filming beauty shots ( 0:25; 2:13 )

11:30AM: Lunch break

12:30PM: Makeup and hair retouch

1PM: Filming dance scenes ( 0:24; 0:26; 0:52; 0:59; 1:08; 1:30; 1:48; 2:05; 2:12; 2:14; 2:25; 2:46; 3:39; 3:55 )

4:30PM: Thank staff and prepare for leaving.

5:30PM: Arrive at dorms; rest.

All throughout the filming process, staff members will be recording the girls backstage. They are free to interact with it however they’d like while the staff may also ask them some questions to help the girls ease up with the camera. These scenes will be later compiled and edited to be uploaded to a sub-channel under Royal named after LUXE with each episode carrying the name of ‘LUXE TV’. These will be inspired by TWICE TV, which you can watch here, and will continue to be recorded throughout their promotion periods or for special events.

The LUXE girls will have the rest of the 19th to rest but are expected to follow their regular training on the next day. The members will go to a photoshoot location on March 21st to get their teaser pictures taken. This will be faster than a photoshoot for their album, which means the rest of their day will be used, once again, for practicing.

On March 24th, the girls will go to their usual hair salon to touch up on colors and length, except for Xayah who will change her hair color to red. She will not be allowed to post on social media or go out with her hair visible, so the first time the public will get to see it will be on their first follow-up stage. The music video will come out on March 28th, and the first stage will be on the 29th for Music Bank.

Before their stage, all of the members of LUXE will take part in a short interview for Music Bank with the member Cheri acting as a special MC (video reference here) along with Dowon from the boy group ME8 (an IC stand-in for Rowoon from SF9). Xayah will prepare a poem using the syllables of ‘LUXE’, and Yena will be in charge of introducing their newest title track, ‘Every Night’. In the end, Cheri, Ella, and Zoe will ask for the audience to look forward to their performance, in order.

The following is the music show promotion schedule for Luxe’s ‘Every Night’ activities:

3/29, 4/05, 4/12: KBS Music Bank

3/30, 4/06, 4/13: MBC Music Core

3/31, 4/07, 4/14: SBS Inkigayo

4/01, 4/08: Arirang Simply K-pop

4/02, 4/09, 4/16: MTV The Show

4/03, 4/10, 4/17: MBC Show Champion

4/04, 4/11, 4/18: Mnet M!Countdown

You will gain +5 POINTS TO DISTRIBUTE AS YOU WISH, +3 DEBUT POINTS and +2 ACHIEVEMENTS for completing the written requirements explained on the idol tier page. As this is a song promotion month, one of your chosen achievements must be relevant to the above schedule and all required content should be written about activities listed on the above schedule for the month of March. Posting about April activities will not account for March points (more information for their April promotions will come on their April schedule). There is a capped maximum of five solos, sets of starters and/or partnered threads you may write to collect this month’s points.

To clarify, the only form that needs to be submitted at the end of the month is a verification form for your debut points and achievements. Any SP points earned can be collected as soon as you finish the requirement for them. At the end of the month, as you did with your previous evaluation forms, you will submit the following form to the Points Verification blog:

IDOL’S NAME - ROYAL ENT - MARCH SCHEDULE (for the April 3 verification form)

PROOF OF ACTIVITY: [ x ]

POINTS: +00 SP [ distribute these however you like ]

TOTAL POINTS EARNED: +00 SP +00 DBT

+1 WK ACHIEVEMENT #1 [ NUMBER OF TIMES TAKEN + CURRENT LEVEL ]

+1 WK ACHIEVEMENT #2 [ NUMBER OF TIMES TAKEN + CURRENT LEVEL ]

NEW DEBUT POINTS TOTAL:

**** For participating in total of 20 music show performances during this promotion period, Luxe will earned 20 EXP for their overall group experience. Cheri’s solo activity as a special MC will award them 1 EXP and their group interview will give them an extra 1 EXP, making it a total of 22 EXP. For more information regarding GROUP EXP, refer to the idol tier page!

* Rookie and trainee characters are allowed to attend pre-recordings and fan meetings to interact with idol muses if they choose to do so. Just be realistic about the scheduling; trainees who skip too many lessons to support idol muses will be noticed by their company staff!

[mjsmum]

Bluffing it: a day in the life of a disorganised parent

When you become a parent, naturally you look to others for guidance on how to raise your tiny person. For me, this has meant following an extraordinary amount of mummy (and daddy) ‘influencers’ on social media – some of which have proven more helpful than others.

There is one particular blogger whose content I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with; mainly because I’m jealous that she gets to make a living posing in front of brightly coloured walls, and can afford to eat avocado on toast six times a week. But as our babies were born one day apart, I do keep an eye on her account to see if there are any parenting hacks I am missing.

This blogger recently uploaded a post about her baby’s routine, and it’s safe to say that a child’s temperament is not driven by their zodiac sign. Matilda might be one day older than her son but they couldn’t be further apart in their behaviour! To the point where I found myself laughing out loud at the difference.

So in the interest of parenting diversity, here is my take on a typical day. Although in the world of Matilda Groome, there’s no such thing…  

Sometime between 3am and 5am – Matilda randomly cries out. We make a sharp intake of breath and grab the video monitor, by which time she’s already gone back to sleep. I remain wide awake for at least another half an hour.

7am-8am – Matilda stirs. Sometimes she’ll be bright and breezy at 7, other times she just can’t be arsed with the day and wants to lie in until 7:45ish*. We have to leave the house at 7:40 on Tuesdays and Fridays for nursery, which means she pretty much always chooses to sleep longer on those days. As a result, we end up throwing a bottle of milk down her and pulling her clothes on as we run out of the door.

*Except for solo parenting days. Jim and I take turns to chill at the weekends; on his days she’ll laze in her cot until 8:30, but on my mornings she’ll be yelling by 6:20. Obviously.

8am – breakfast! The only meal of the day she’ll consistently eat, probably because daddy feeds it to her. We’re currently rotating between porridge, Weetabix, cornflakes and – new addition for this week – rice krispies. Sometimes with half a banana or a satsuma for good measure. We’re still doing a post-breakfast bottle but it’s very hit and miss as to whether she drinks it.

8:30-11:30am – on days when Matilda’s not at nursery or with her grandparents, I attempt to find a stream of activities that will wear her out and stop her destroying the house. Soft play and swimming are our usual saviours, and sticking Peter Rabbit on CBeebies buys me 10 minutes’ peace to drink a cup of coffee (Peppa and I are on a break at the moment). At some point in this window I will attempt to give Matilda a healthy snack, which she will grind into the carpet before demolishing half a box of breadsticks instead.

11:30am(ish) – Matilda and I start playing the ‘sleep or lunch?’ game. She’s in a weird transition phase where she doesn’t need two naps but needs more than one, so by this point she’s either lying flat on her face on the floor with her thumb in her mouth, or she’s gone into stroppy bitey mode. Either way I usually delay lunch and stick her in her cot with the hope she’ll sleep blissfully for a couple of hours. I usually get 45 minutes.

12:30pm – lunch! I lay out a nutritious home cooked meal on Matilda’s plate, which she throws on the floor piece by piece. Any attempts to spoon feed her are refused, and she no longer likes the foods that she wolfed down happily a couple of days ago. Eventually I give up and hand her a sandwich, or some more breadsticks. She attempts to stand up in the high chair several times until I offer her some pudding, which she happily eats off the spoon. I lift her down and get the brush to sweep up the debris. Matilda starts eating the original lunch off the floor.

1-4pm – more play time, which usually consists of me building wooden block towers, reading Where’s Spot? 764 times, or letting her eat my car keys. If it all gets a bit too much we go for a coffee (mummy’s treat) and a couple of milky bar buttons (Matilda’s treat).

4pm – Matilda shows all the signs of being worn out, so I put her back in her cot. She stands at the bars and shouts to herself for fifteen minutes until I go and collect her.

4:30-5:45pm – the square nanny looks after Matilda (Peppa and I reconcile at this point) while I rack my brain for ways to entertain ourselves until daddy gets home from work. I feel guilty about Peppa doing all the legwork so we turn the TV off, sing some songs, read Where’s Spot? again and play with the plastic farm.

5:50pm – tea! I contemplate throwing another nutritious home cooked meal on the floor myself to save time but then pass it to Matilda, who does the honours for me. After consuming approximately half a babybel, four sweetcorn kernels and ANOTHER breadstick, the pudding/floor food routine from lunch repeats

6:15pm – daddy gets home from work and takes over parenting duties while I hide in the kitchen eating peanut butter with a spoon. They watch In the Night Garden together while she chatters to him, clearly sharing how long and boring her day with mummy has been.

6:50pm – daddy does bath time, which actually takes place in a plastic box in our shower as we don’t have a bath. I put the tea on, wander next door and get caught up in last night’s episode of Ghost Whisperer until I smell burning.

7:10pm – daddy puts Matilda in her pyjamas and calls me up to say goodnight. He gives her 7oz of cows’ milk (which she sometimes drinks, sometimes doesn’t) while I empty the bath and put the towels away.

7:20pm – Matilda goes down to sleep. I go downstairs, mentally compile a list of all the things I said I’d do this evening, then sack them off to finish watching Ghost Whisperer with a massive plate of dinner. All while ignoring the trail of toys strewn across the living room floor, hoping that the tidy-up fairy will come and sort them out. She is yet to pay us a visit.

[yvonnezoe]

Woohoo! New post! Sorry for the wait again!

So this is the day you had a good night sleep after one whole afternoon of indulging in Penang’s great food and lots of walking under the hot sun. Not forgetting the partying after the Broadway show.

Here’s a recap of what happened in Day 2: Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas Full Review with Tips! Part 3/5: Day 2

Day 1 is here: Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas Full Review with Tips! Part 2/5: Day 1

If you are unsure what to pack or expect at all, check this out: Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas Full Review with Tips! Part 1/5: Getting Ready

Then, when you sense a shimmer shining through the curtain and you open your eyes, you feel the world (the ship) is swaying. But just wake up la. Enjoy the sunrise from your window if your room window is facing the East. Otherwise, go to the viewing deck. You may check the sunrise time on the first page of the Cruise Compass.

Ahoy! We are leaving Malacca Straits. The waves are rougher now…

That’s where we were.

7:00 am Breakfast at Windjammer

The day should start early as we were scheduled to arrive at Phuket, Thailand at 9am. We were all excited about going ashore. However, the breakfast area at Windjammer was so crowded when we arrived around 7am. There wasn’t a lot of seats available. My mom didn’t feel very well as she got sea sick so we didn’t take a lot of food.

We found the utensils were not very clean as you could see many obvious stains of oil and food residues on them. The napkins had a greasy smell too. So, it is advisable to bring your own wet tissue to clean the utensils if you mind!

Upon sighting such uncleanliness plus the waves of the sea, we all started to feel nauseous. My mom couldn’t contain it anymore and we had to rush to find the nearest washroom. To our surprise, the washroom was full of people throwing up! Luckily there was an empty cubicle for mom to relieve just in time.

I guess the seasick got worse after food.  So if you have symptoms of seasick, know your way to the nearest washroom before starting your meal and eat light. You may pack some bread for later.

8:30 am Get Ready and Adjust your Clock

As Thailand is one hour later than Singapore, make sure you adjust your watches and clocks accordingly, i.e. 8am SGT is 7am Thailand time. (You get to sleep one hour more!)

Time to get changed and prepare to go ashore using tender boats. You will need to get a complimentary tender ticket for each person on that day at Royal Promenade, Deck 5.  Your ticket will state the meeting time and location. If you have booked a Royal Caribbean Shore Excursion, there is no need to get the tender ticket and you will board the boat first. The meeting time and location are stated in your tour ticket.

What to pack in your bag:

Sunblock, even if you are not going to the beach

Thai Baht – it is advisable to change it before even going up the cruise. The rate on board is usually not very good. When you first landed in Phuket, you have to already spend $$ and they may charge you more if you are holding foreign currency.

Water – No need to bring a lot as you can easily get mineral water (or even coconut) as long as you are going to the rural area.

Some food – just in case you are hungry when you are on the road.

Towel (if you are going to the beach) – just get from your hotel room or it can be borrowed with your SeaPass card, just note that there is a $25 replacement fee for all unreturned towels.

Masking tape if you are going shopping… I will tell you why later.

SeaPass card – this act as your passport.

Umbrella – be it rain or shine, this comes in handy.

9:00 am Arrival at Phuket

Although the ship arrived at 9:00am at the port, the ship’s clearance was done only at about 9:30am. There were announcements made in the Public Areas to call out the tendering sequence and stating the tender loading area.

Collection of the complimentary tender tickets can be done at the Royal Promenade starting at 9am. You may collect for others. Bring along the SeaPass cards of your group. You need not to queue or rush to get the ticket. It will be distributed throughout the day. Get it only when you need it. Watch out for the announcement and refer to your Cruise Compass.

After collecting the tickets, we headed back to the room for a little rest after the seasick this morning. As people were crowding at the public areas to wait for their turn to get on tender boats, it was really not necessary to rush if you are not on the Shore Excursion tour. However, based on the experience at Phuket which I will share in details later, I strongly recommend you to book a shore excursion for Phuket. You may do so online before going on the cruise. Otherwise, you may go to the Shore Excursions Desk at Deck 5 to inquire.

10:30 am Going Ashore

As the announcement of the ticket number was made at the public area and we were in our room, the sound can be quite soft. We would open the door to listen more clearly and at last just left the door open slightly.

It wasn’t too long till our turn. We proceeded to the gangway and went past the security check counter where we were to display our SeaPass card. The sky was quite gloomy when we board the tender boat. As the ship had docked, it didn’t sway much so boarding the tender boat was not very scary. The boat could probably take around 50 pax.

The boat ride was only about 20 mins. From the boat, you can have a nice view and shots of the Voyager of the Seas.

The Tender Boat

The gangway

Arriving at the port (Phuket Marine Customs Pier) was a huge disappointment… This was never pre-empted by the tour agency. They didn’t even mention the name of the port. Telling you it’s Phuket would only make you imagine the beautiful beach there which you could immediately get into your swimwear right after going ashore right?

It is so different from what I have researched. All my planned “walking” itinerary from the Patong beach to shopping mall was useless because we were at the different part of Phuket altogether! 😦 I even use Google Street view to research what to expect at Phuket and how to walk around… I happily told my mom and sis about the excitement of Phuket. Urgh.

11:00 am Welcome to … Phuket?

Yes, welcome to the eastern part of Phuket where the sea is calmer and suitable for the cruise ship to dock. But going to the western part where all the nice beach and fun is, it’s taking at least 1 hour by car ride… or more by tuk-tuk. 😦

We had a shock when we arrived. It was our first time to Phuket. Groups of locals are touting at us, selling their local day tours at 3000-10,000 Baht per pax. Seriously? That’s probably all Baht I had! Their local tours include visiting temples, Elephant or Tiger “sanctuary” (please, don’t go there! You must have seen how the elephants and tigers were mistreated and drugged in order to look calm for tourists to pet), Cabaret show, massage, some shopping… The price does not include tips and your own food.

Some tourists already know where they wanted to go and were comfortable in negotiating the taxi and tuk-tuk fare.

Some tips here:

Research where you want to go and how much is the standard taxi fare.

If you would like to go for a massage, either you can research which massage place or shopping centre you want to drop by. Alternatively, you have to feel comfortable by their recommendations (which is always bias towards those that pay them a commission).

Pick your tour, get other tourists to go together. Negotiate for a group price instead of per pax.

Share a taxi or tuk-tuk with another group if going to the same locations.

Pretend to go away and engage another driver if the previous one is reluctant to decrease their price. The further inland you go, the cheaper the price would be.

Be reasonable. This is their living hood. Once you negotiate to a price which you are comfortable, just go with it and don’t squeeze them dry.

We almost wanted to go back to the ship after strolling around the little street market for 10 mins. Most of the stall owners were Muslims.

Some drivers were still touting at us. So we thought since we were already here, may as well just give it a try. We didn’t want to go too far as the travelling time is easily 1 hour. So I told the driver we just want to go to a shopping mall, preferably Big C (because I want to buy the Big C seaweed!!). I don’t remember how much we paid exactly but it was less than $50 for a back-seat tuk-tuk.

It started to rain heavily half-way and the driver had to stop by the road to help us “wind down” the window screen made of plastic sheets. Hahaha. It’s a one-of-a-kind experience! Just make sure you hold on to the window rail when the vehicle is moving as there is no door to keep you safe.

The driver had to do a detour to a tourist attraction as part of his “company policy”. So he brought us to Siam Multi Gems and Pearl. We walked one round and came out. Sorry, we didn’t bring enough cash to buy anything there. The driver was kind and say it’s ok to not buy anything as he just needed to show them he did try to bring tourists there.

We proceeded to Big C. We set a meeting time and location with the driver and off we go exploring the 3 levels shopping mall.

We had our lunch first at a food court in the mall. Nothing fantastic. We shopped for some snacks and souvenirs. But if you shop a lot, do consider picking up an empty box near the cashier counter or ask the cashier for one. It’s usually free. Then you can pack your stuff in the box and yes, now you get to use the masking tape! Otherwise, they have the tape sold at 100Baht also la. :p

You can also find tour recommendation in The Cruise Compass. The one recommended is Phang Nga Bay – where the James Bond island is. I’m not so sure how long it takes for the motorboat to reach there though. Probably it’s one of the shore excursions offered by Royal Caribbean.

3:00 pm Back to the ship

The tender boats run approximately every 20 minutes throughout the day and the last tender back to the ship leaves the dock at 8:30 pm.

We were back just in time for tea time. We feel so relieved to come back early. The ship is rather empty so we could have more peace and fun for ourselves. We helped ourselves with the food at Windjammer and it was good – much better than our lunch for sure. There was also free flow soft-serve!

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After the afternoon snacks, we proceeded to explore the ship and try out things we had not done before such as the FlowRider!

Walking around the ship – finding treasures…

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2. Go to the library. You may also do books exchange here – where you leave a used book and take another one to read in your room or bring home.

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3. FlowRider!! The FlowRider simulates a real surfing and body boarding experience. Riders must be at least 1.47 meter tall to surf and 1.32 meter to Boogie Board. Check the operating times for the FlowRider on Deck 13 in Open Hours. 

Here’s a video of someone with body boarding experience. Looks fun eh?

4. Play golf!

6:00 pm Fine Dining at Sapphire Dining Room

The food was good as usual. Here’s a sneak peek to the menu and what I had.

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7:30 pm Rest or Movie

After dinner, we went back to our room to find another cute animal (elephant?) made of a towel. There was an outdoor movie at 7:30pm so we went up to Deck 11 for a quick peek. It was The Legend of Tarzan.

9:30 pm Headliner Showtime Starring “Aussie Boys”

We headed to La Scala Theatre at around 9:15pm to secure the front seats. Trust me, it’s really worth to go a bit earlier to get good seats! By Day 3, others would have figured that out and everyone tried to be earlier.

This was a very nice and charming show by three handsome young singers from Australia. They could also sing some Chinese and Cantonese song such as 朋友 by the 周華健！The crowd went so high and they started to strip off their shirts, leaving just black singlets. Hahaha! Enjoy some photos!

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The ship started to move again during the show as you could hear the engine startup sound for a while.

At the end of the show, there was a distribution of lottery tickets at Royal Promenade which I didn’t know what we could win. We just went there for supper and go to sleep.

Time to sail back to Singapore!

Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas Full Review with Tips! Part 4/5: Day 3 Woohoo! New post! Sorry for the wait again! So this is the day you had a good night sleep after one whole afternoon of indulging in Penang's great food and lots of walking under the hot sun.

[misschelseabun]

Bluffing it: a day in the life of a disorganised parent

When you become a parent, naturally you look to others for guidance on how to raise your tiny person. For me, this has meant following an extraordinary amount of mummy (and daddy) ‘influencers’ on social media – some of which have proven more helpful than others.

There is one particular blogger whose content I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with; mainly because I’m jealous that she gets to make a living posing in front of brightly coloured walls, and can afford to eat avocado on toast six times a week. But as our babies were born one day apart, I do keep an eye on her account to see if there are any parenting hacks I am missing.

This blogger recently uploaded a post about her baby’s routine, and it’s safe to say that a child’s temperament is not driven by their zodiac sign. Matilda might be one day older than her son but they couldn’t be further apart in their behaviour! To the point where I found myself laughing out loud at the difference. 

So in the interest of parenting diversity, here is my take on a typical day. Although in the world of Matilda Groome, there’s no such thing...  

Sometime between 3am and 5am – Matilda randomly cries out. We make a sharp intake of breath and grab the video monitor, by which time she’s already gone back to sleep. I remain wide awake for at least another half an hour.

7am-8am – Matilda stirs. Sometimes she’ll be bright and breezy at 7, other times she just can’t be arsed with the day and wants to lie in until 7:45ish*. We have to leave the house at 7:40 on Tuesdays and Fridays for nursery, which means she pretty much always chooses to sleep longer on those days. As a result, we end up throwing a bottle of milk down her and pulling her clothes on as we run out of the door.

*Except for solo parenting days. Jim and I take turns to chill at the weekends; on his days she’ll laze in her cot until 8:30, but on my mornings she’ll be yelling by 6:20. Obviously.

8am – breakfast! The only meal of the day she’ll consistently eat, probably because daddy feeds it to her. We’re currently rotating between porridge, Weetabix, cornflakes and – new addition for this week – rice krispies. Sometimes with half a banana or a satsuma for good measure. We’re still doing a post-breakfast bottle but it’s very hit and miss as to whether she drinks it.

8:30-11:30am – on days when Matilda’s not at nursery or with her grandparents, I attempt to find a stream of activities that will wear her out and stop her destroying the house. Soft play and swimming are our usual saviours, and sticking Peter Rabbit on CBeebies buys me 10 minutes’ peace to drink a cup of coffee (Peppa and I are on a break at the moment). At some point in this window I will attempt to give Matilda a healthy snack, which she will grind into the carpet before demolishing half a box of breadsticks instead.

11:30ish – Matilda and I start playing the ‘sleep or lunch?’ game. She’s in a weird transition phase where she doesn’t need two naps but needs more than one, so by this point she’s either lying flat on her face on the floor with her thumb in her mouth, or she’s gone into stroppy bitey mode. Either way I usually delay lunch and stick her in her cot with the hope she’ll sleep blissfully for a couple of hours. I usually get 45 minutes.

12:30 – lunch! I lay out a nutritious home cooked meal on Matilda’s plate, which she throws on the floor piece by piece. Any attempts to spoon feed her are refused, and she no longer likes the foods that she wolfed down happily a couple of days ago. Eventually I give up and hand her a sandwich, or some more breadsticks. She attempts to stand up in the high chair several times until I offer her some pudding, which she happily eats off the spoon. I lift her down and get the brush to sweep up the debris. Matilda starts eating the original lunch off the floor.

1:00-4:00 – more play time, which usually consists of me building wooden block towers, reading Where’s Spot? 764 times, or letting her eat my car keys. If it all gets a bit too much we go for a coffee (mummy’s treat) and a couple of milky bar buttons (Matilda’s treat).

4:00 – Matilda shows all the signs of being worn out, so I put her back in her cot. She stands at the bars and shouts to herself for fifteen minutes until I go and collect her.

4:30-5:45 – the square nanny looks after Matilda (Peppa and I reconcile at this point) while I rack my brain for ways to entertain ourselves until daddy gets home from work. I feel guilty about Peppa doing all the legwork so we turn the TV off, sing some songs, read Where’s Spot? again and play with the plastic farm.

5:50 – tea! I contemplate throwing another nutritious home cooked meal on the floor myself to save time but then pass it to Matilda, who does the honours for me. After consuming approximately half a babybel, four sweetcorn kernels and ANOTHER breadstick, the pudding/floor food routine from lunch repeats

6:15 – daddy gets home from work and takes over parenting duties while I hide in the kitchen eating peanut butter with a spoon. They watch In the Night Garden together while she chatters to him, clearly sharing how long and boring her day with mummy has been.

6:50 – daddy does bath time, which actually takes place in a plastic box in our shower as we don’t have a bath. I put the tea on, wander next door and get caught up in last night’s episode of Ghost Whisperer until I smell burning. 

7:10 – daddy puts Matilda in her pyjamas and calls me up to say goodnight. He gives her 7oz of cows’ milk (which she sometimes drinks, sometimes doesn’t) while I empty the bath and put the towels away.

7:20 – Matilda goes down to sleep. I go downstairs, mentally compile a list of all the things I said I’d do this evening, then sack them off to finish watching Ghost Whisperer with a massive plate of dinner. All while ignoring the trail of toys strewn across the living room floor, hoping that the tidy-up fairy will come and sort them out. She is yet to pay us a visit.

[travelonlinetips-blog]

New Post has been published on https://travelonlinetips.com/where-to-eat-with-kids-2/

Where to eat with kids

Families flock to the Gold Coast for theme park action, beach chills, hinterland mini-hikes and sunny good times. But you’ll need to step up your energy levels to extreme perkiness so that you (and your little people) can keep up with this holiday to-do list.

From Main Beach to Surfers and down to Currumbin, we’ve found the best family-friendly cafes and restaurants to refuel the crew, complete with climbing spots, play areas for all ages, frothy babycinos and piping-hot flat whites for the tour guides (aka you!). 

BSKT Cafe, Mermaid Beach

You’ll find BSKT right in the heart of Mermaid Beach, less than 40 metres behind the sand. The dedicated kids area on the beach side of the restaurant (with bonus activity packs) isn’t the only drawcard for families – all kids meals come with a free juice and little ones eat free here every Friday night.

While they’re known for their locally-sourced, organic, paleo and gluten-free menu, BSKT is a hit with kids thanks to the berrylicious pancakes, tacka tacos, flatbread ham and cheese toastie, and kiddies ham and eggs. Little (and big) kids can top it all off with a CocoWhip, a healthy soft serve that’s vegan and dairy-free.

Where: 4 Lavarack Road, Mermaid Beach. Open: Breakfast and lunch Monday to Thursday 7am-4pm, Friday and Saturday 7am-10pm, Sunday 7am-5pm. Hot tip: Nom nom downstairs and then ommm upstairs at BSKT Activ where they offer strength and recovery-focused yoga classes.

Paradox Coffee Roasters, Surfers Paradise

This modern coffee-lovers haven has created a great gated space for kids featuring a chalk wall, toys, teddies and games to keep them distracted while you enjoy a coffee hit, eat with two hands and maybe even have a grown-up conversation.

The all-day breakfast and all-day lunch menu is packed full of deliciousness like haloumi and avocado burger and housemade cranberry and chia fruit toast for parents, but the real treat comes in kiddie form with the Paradox Kids’ High Chocolate. Prepare for the sugar high.

Where: 10 Beach Road, Surfers Paradise. Open: Breakfast and lunch daily from 7am-3pm. Hot tip: For something a bit special, their high coffee experience is like a regular high tea, but with caffeine goodness.

Waterfront Restaurant at Southport Yacht Club, Main Beach

Want your kids to learn sailing skills while you sip your latte? Then head to the Southport Yacht Club on weekends from 9am to 10:30am so your 7 to 15 year-olds can take off on a FunSail adventure.

Once they’re back from a morning on the water, they’ll need something palatable from the “cadets” lunch menu, which includes all the staples from steak and chicken nuggets to pasta bolognaise and fish and chips. Seafood-loving parents, on the other hand, will be drooling over the macadamia crusted barramundi or salmon linguine.

In between sailing and eating, the kids will be sorted for fun at the playground on the western lawn of the clubhouse.

Where: 1 Macarthur Parade, Main Beach. Open: Breakfast Saturday and Sunday 7:30am-10am, lunch Monday to Saturday 12pm-2:30pm and Sunday 12pm-5:30pm, dinner Monday to Sunday 5:30pm-8:30pm. Hot tip: Kids can chow down on lunch or dinner for a bargain $5 on Mondays and Tuesdays with any adult main meal purchase.

Bumbles Café, Surfers Paradise

It might only be a five-minute walk from the heart of Surfers Paradise, but Bumbles Cafe on Budds Beach – facing the Nerang River – feels miles away from the high-energy centre of the GC.

Find a spot outside under a big shady umbrella at one of the best under-the-radar kid-friendly cafes and place an order for a prawn or lime chicken finger sandwich (for you) and bacon and egg slider or waffles with vanilla ice-cream and Lindt chocolate sauce (for them).

Where: 19 River Drive, Budds Beach, Surfers Paradise. Open: Breakfast and lunch Monday to Thursday 7am-4pm, Friday to Sunday 7am-4pm. Hot tip: Go posh and book in for Bumbles’ high tea featuring housemade sausage rolls, quiche Lorraine and lemon curd tartlets.

Bazaar, QT Gold Coast, Surfers Paradise

One word: Buffet. A crowd-pleaser for all ages, this Sunday brunch buffet is found inside one of the coolest hotels in the hood, QT Gold Coast, smack bang in the middle of Surfers Paradise.

Their epic spread includes a live crepe station, gourmet brekky bowls, fondue station, breakfast pizzas and fried chicken with waffles – all of which can be enjoyed by the kids too. Buffet-style dining at its yummiest.

Where: QT Gold Coast, 7 Staghorn Avenue, Surfers Paradise. Open: Breakfast daily 6:30am-10:30am and dinner 5:30pm-late, Sunday brunch 11:30am-3pm. Hot tip: Treat yo’self to bottomless mimosas for an extra $25. Worth it.

Miami Marketta, Miami

If you’ve got kids that can’t agree on cuisines, head to outdoor street-food market Miami Marketta for 25 vendor options that’ll suit all tastebuds.

Despite the delish savoury selections available – from teppanyaki noodles and gnocchi to gozleme and brisket – the kids may make a run straight for the Dessert Hall which holds an abundance of gelato, cakes and donuts.

Live music from local blues, jazz and roots artists (with a dancefloor to boot) rounds off this fun family night out.

Where: 23 Hillcrest Parade, Miami. Open: Dinner Wednesday 5pm-10pm, Friday 5pm-11pm, Saturday 4pm-11pm. Hot tip: Got a group? Book out the Cocktail Garden, which opens up the private bar to you and your guests.

Paddock Bakery, Miami

For kids (both the two- and four-legged kind), this busy bakery and café inside an old Queenslander home is a great spot to enjoy breakfast, brunch or lunch (or an anytime treat).

Head beyond the picket fence to explore the veggie patch, citrus trees and lavender garden, armed with one of the ample crunchy cronuts, gooey tarts and other treats that are pumped out each day.

Want something more substantial? The dippy eggs (served with buttered sourdough soldiers, bacon bits and labna) and iced Milo are high on the order rotation for the kids, while mums and dads have tough decisions to make with the all-day brekky and lunch options.

Where: 20 Hibiscus Haven, Miami. Open: Breakfast and lunch daily from 6:30am-3pm. Hot tip: Need to cater a morning tea? You can order tarts, sourdoughs, cakes, sausage rolls and other treats from Paddock Bakery online.

Plantation House Cafe, West Burleigh

Right on Tallebudgera Creek and less than 10 minutes’ walk from David Fleay Wildlife Park, you’ll find Plantation House Cafe. With plenty of off-street parking, this easy-access cafe pulls in the locals with their all-day organic and free-range breakfast treats like Boston baked beans or corn and zucchini fritters, both served with spinach and poached eggs on sourdough.

Acai bowls are ready for the fruity fans while kids can’t say no to Plantation House’s burgers, pancakes and shakes. There’s a kids’ play area with chalkboard, rocking horse and loads of toys, too.

Where: 1/43 Tallebudgera Creek Road, West Burleigh. Open: Breakfast and lunch Monday to Saturday  6:30am-2:30pm, Sunday 7am-2pm. Hot tip: Grab some breakfast sustenance after an early morning swim in Tallebudgera Creek or play at Marin Sheils Park across the road.

Dune Café, Palm Beach

Dune Cafe’s location in the middle of pumping Palm Beach (and overlooking Currumbin Lagoon) gives them a five-star family badge.

Scallywags who love simple breakfast cuisine will dig their hotcakes or bacon and egg slider; while lunch options include tasty nacho boats and Southern-style chicken tenders and chips. The big people menu doesn’t disappoint with rustic potato and quinoa hash for brekky, or barramundi in crispy gluten-free batter for later on.

Where: Palm Beach Parklands, 945 Gold Coast Highway, Palm Beach. Open: Breakfast and lunch daily 6:30am-3pm. Hot tip: Grab a table or BYO picnic blanket and take in the live music on the last Saturday of every month.

Passiontree Velvet, Robina

If your mini-me brings their mandatory plus-one (of the stuffed kind) to all occasions, book in for the Teddy Bear’s Picnic kids high tea at Passiontree Velvet.

With all the fanciness of a grown-up high tea, but with a kid price-point (and no tea in sight), this cake shop turns it on with ham finger sandwiches, strawberries, macarons and a choice of babycino or juice. Mum (or dad!) is sorted with classic English scones, finger sandwiches and loose leaf tea too.

Where: Robina Town Centre (in front of David Jones), 19-33 Robina Town Centre Drive, Robina. Open: Monday to Wednesday 9am-5:30pm, Thursday 9am-9pm, Saturday 9am-5pm, Sunday 10am-5pm. Hot tip: Order a custom cake or macaron tower for a next-level addition to any birthday party.

Neighbourhood Espresso, Currumbin Waters

As the name suggests, there’s a strong community vibe at Neighbourhood Espresso with a casual backyard feel.

Let the kids loose in the vintage caravan cubby and grassed play area with tables and chairs and toys aplenty. Then, load up on the spiced pumpkin waffles with banana curd or chunky avocado topped with seeded dukkah, lemon and cumin oil. Kids can take a break from play with bacon and fried egg or avocado on sourdough.

Where: 4/9 Station Street, Currumbin Waters. Open: Breakfast and lunch Monday to Friday 5:30am-2pm, Saturday and Sunday 5:30am-1:30pm. Hot tip: Expect a good coffee from Neighbourhood Espresso. Their beans are brewed from Yatala’s own Supreme Roasters.

Currumbin Beach Vikings Surf Life Saving Club, Currumbin

Whether your crew is signed up for the local nippers or not, Surf Life Saving Clubs are a pretty sure bet for good-value kid-friendly food options. Currumbin Beach Vikings have breakfast, lunch and dinner by the beach sorted with loads of specials across the week.

The Nippers breakfast menu covers simple delights like sausage, egg and hash brown or pancakes with maple syrup and ice-cream. Family faves like chicken nuggets, cheeseburger and chips and old faithful, Hawaiian pizza, are on the Nippers lunch and dinner menu.

Where: 741 Pacific Parade, Currumbin. Open: Breakfast Monday to Friday 7am-10:30am and Saturday and Sunday 7am-11am, lunch Monday to Friday 11:30am-2:30pm and Saturday and Sunday 12pm-3pm, dinner Sunday to Thursday 5pm-8pm and Friday and Saturday 5pm-8:30pm. Hot tip: Leave your car at home, and call ahead to arrange the courtesy bus pick-up and drop-off.

The Bearded Dragon Hotel, Mount Tamborine

If your family is beached out, head to the hills of Mount Tamborine and dine on quality pub-fare at the Bearded Dragon Hotel. Set on 110 acres, this country pub paddock with a huge beer garden has a bit of everything for the fam from live music and crocodile shows to playgrounds and alpaca feeding.

The Bearded Dragon team are serious about their hefty steaks and burgers but also mix in a sticky plum and maple glazed pork belly and Big Boy brisket Yorkshire pudding for good measure. Kids can take their pick of cheesy bolognaise, steak and vegetables or battered fish and chips.

Where: Corner Tamborine Mountain Road and Beaudesert-Beenleigh Road, Tamborine Village. Open: Monday to Friday 10am-8pm, Saturday and Sunday 8am-8pm. Hot tip: Make a weekend of it and stay overnight in a family room onsite at Bearded Dragon Hotel.

Need more foodie inspiration for your little people? Here are some more Gold Coast kid-friendly cafes:

The Yard Cafe, 17 Lavarack Road, Mermaid Beach

Zest Coffee, 5/496 Golden Four Drive, Tugun

Cafe Tahbella, 11/3 Cottonwood Place, Oxenford

BMD Northcliffe Surf Club, 51 Garfield Tce, Surfers Paradise

Elk Espresso, Oasis Mall, Broadbeach

Mermaid Beach Surf Club, Hedges Avenue, Mermaid Beach

Pancake Diner, The Strand, 72 Marine Parade, Coolangatta

What’s your favourite kid-friendly cafe on the Gold Coast? Share your spots with us (and other mums and dads) in the comments below.

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[chocolate-brownies]

It seems like only yesterday you were basking under a hot summer sun after jumping in a lake on the countryside. Or sipping a mocktail at the newest hotspot downtown on a warm August night. Time slowed down. You felt relaxed.

Now, here you are. The temperature has dropped several degrees. Your bikini is stored in the back of your drawer. Booties are covering your non-pedicured toes. You’ve switched your order from a half-sweet pumpkin spice latte with almond milk to a peppermint mocha with whipped cream while wearing your coziest bulky sweater, and you’re feeling festive. You’ve booked flights to arrive just in time to surprise family on Thanksgiving—not to mention that you’re feeling ahead of the game with a holiday list already made. You even mustered the courage to step into the holiday shopping jungle.

Suddenly it hits you. Perhaps while sipping that peppermint mocha and overhearing the ladies next to you complain about all that they have left to do before year-end.

2018 is almost over. 2019 is right around the corner.

That sweater doesn’t feel as comfy anymore. Despite it being ten sizes too big, you feel everything around and within you tighten. That latte you were enjoying moments earlier is now cold and you start feeling guilty for spending $6 on a beverage as the thought of holiday expenses overwhelms you. You quickly respond to this feeling by channeling your “I’m gonna get sh*t done” attitude, and decide that you need to make your 2019 plan. Stat.

Not only do I have what you need to make said plan, but I also have what you need to feel loose in that sweater and give the best gift of all this holiday season: Your beautiful presence. Read on for how to savor it all.

Photo by Doran Erickson

Slow down. Set a date.

Before you start trying to figure out what you’ll have accomplished by this time next year during the five minute break you have between meetings, relax. Slow down. You wouldn’t want your mechanic putting your winter tires on while he’s feeling rushed, stressed, and doing 10 other things at once; you make an appointment knowing that he’ll be taking his time and focusing on nothing else but your car. One tire at a time. It’s intentional and efficient. It’s safe and decreases the likelihood that you’ll slide off your path into a ditch.

Be like your car mechanic. Start by making an appointment when you’ll be creating your initial 2019 plan. You’ll need anywhere from one to three hours to a full day depending on which of the following elements you want to include.

Show up.

Don’t blow yourself off, keeping that anxious mind of yours partying like you did at your first college party. Instead, get dressed up for the occasion. If you want 2019 to be your best year yet, you must treat this date with the kind of love and respect that you expect 2019 to show you in return. Show up early—even if you’re doing this at home on a Sunday afternoon. Be punctual.

Have what you need prepared and ready: Pen, paper, smooth jazz, a pot of chai tea, and your calendar.

You may even get in the mood by creating your own version of Wanderlust 108: run, yoga, meditate. You’ll feel invigorated after hitting the pavement. Open after you’ve flowed. Clear minded after sitting on your cushion.

Take a step back before getting ahead.

You’re excited to put down on paper a long list of goals that make you feel good now but burnt out by mid-February. So we’re not going to do it as you normally would in 2019, ok?

Before you look ahead, root your feet firmly into the floor, sit up straight, and acknowledge where you are right now. You are not behind by any means. You’re where you are and that’s the only place you can start from—don’t waste time wishing you were somewhere else on your life path. From there, take a few steps back. A lot has happened in 2018. Take time to celebrate what was in order to create what will be.

Complete this short and powerful review to see what truly mattered. Answer these questions to guide you:

What are you most proud of having experienced, learned, contributed, accomplished, started, or stopped in 2018?

What have been your most memorable moments this year? Note at least 3–7.

Who has made the biggest impact on your life and why? Cap this to 3–5 people.

What would your best friend celebrate about who you have been and what you have done in 2018?

Resist the urge to rush through this exercise. Slow down even more. Review your answers. Let them sink in. Smile. Laugh. And if tears come, let them. Chances are they are simply a sea of gratitude. Surf them.

Lean into the future.

With your heart full and your soul calm it’s time to lean into the future. To do this, imagine yourself one year from now or at the end of 2019. Ask yourself:

What will you be most proud of having experienced, learned, contributed, accomplished, started, or stopped in 2019?

What memorable moments will you have created?

Who will be part of your soul tribe?

What will you be celebrating about who you have become?

Capture anything and everything that comes up. Make a list of all the ideas, goals, and projects that you want to focus on. I often have clients write down their Top 25 list. Write yours. Then do this next muy importante step: choose your top three items. Not five, not 10, three. Max.

Create Your “Absolutely Do NOT Touch List.”

The three items selected become your core priorities. What remains becomes your “Absolutely Do NOT Touch List.” Give yourself permission to devote yourself fully to your top priorities. Play full out for these to become a reality and bench the others till it’s their turn to play. If FOMO tries to creep in, kick it out in order to experience the magic that comes from channeling your time, energy, and love on what matters most.

Here’s the secret: When you focus on core priorities and let go of the rest, you actually end up accomplishing more than if you were to try to do it all at once. If you don’t believe me, I dare you to try it and prove me wrong.

Reverse engineer.

Now that you’ve chosen your top priorities, it’s time to reverse engineer. Start with the end in mind and work backwards till you arrive at today.

Get crystal clear about what you want.

Put all the details down on paper.

Identify key milestones along the way. Break these down into actionable steps.

Break these down even further until you identify core habits that you will practice daily, weekly, monthly in order to become the person who realizes their goals in a graceful manner. Remember, the little things become the big things in life.

Add to your calendar dates when these will be completed. Block off time for celebration.

Set the date for when you’ll review and tune this plan. I recommend a monthly check-in and at the very least a seasonal review. You can even match your review dates with appointments you’ve set with your mechanic. If you’re tuning your car more than yourself, alignment will be off.

Start today. In fact, if your priorities don’t create an immediate shift within you, then these aren’t goals of the soul. Immediate shifts are like sparks that light up the highest version of ourselves. If you feel both excited and terrified right now, you’re in a good spot.

Be present.

Now that you have your simplified and actionable plan, you begin. No matter how small the action, take it. Don’t wait for 2019 to come around to start creating the life you dream of. Because this is the dream. Let 2018 flow into the new year as smoothly as that peppermint mixes into that mocha.

Plan a sample of your ideal day.

We all have to work—and it’s true that not everyday can be full of only the activities that light your soul on fire. But that doesn’t have to be a roadblock. Instead, plan out your ideal weekend day, and then adapt it to days in which you may have ore rigid time constraints. I invite you to adapt this sample to represent what your ideal weekend day in 2019 would look like. Doing it now is an opportunity to put it into practice and train yourself to BE who you want to be. DO what you want to do. Focus on what’s important to you. Most of all, enjoy the process. Because at the end of the day, the journey is the destination.

6am: Wake up. Don’t snooze. 6:30am–7am: Meditate. 7am–8am: Hydrate with water, enjoy a cup of java and a light breakfast. 8:30am–9:30am: Time in nature. A brisk walk in the park or in your favorite hood. 10am–11:30am: Yoga class from home or at your favorite studio 12pm–1pm: Healthy lunch made with love. Eaten slowly. Enjoyed thoroughly. 1pm–4pm: Time to work through these action steps. 4pm–4:20pm: Power nap to integrate and restore. 4:20pm–5pm: Review what you’ve created. Identify your FIRST step. Take it. Celebrate it. 5pm–7pm: Date with someone you love and who supports you to share with them what you’ve created. Green juice or vino, is up to you.

For additional tools to support your journey, listen to the Inspired & Empowered Podcast where I interview rad humans and offer lifestyle design and coaching tools along the way. I may be biased, but it’s truly awesome!

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Melissa Colleret is a life coach, speaker, and yoga instructor based in Montreal. Sharing her mission to make you come alive and live your best life keeps this passionate entrepreneur on her toes. From 1:1 sessions, online workshops, cleanse programs, and yoga classes, Melissa wakes up every day wanting to inspire and empower.

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