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softlass27 · 4 years

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I started thinking about Robert spending his birthday this year alone in a prison cell and it made me sad. So I decided to fix it with pure fluff and self-indulgence.

No prison, no bloody Posners, Seb back with his dads where he belongs :')

AO3 link here

If I should smile with sweet surprise

It was no secret to anyone who knew Aaron and Robert, that of the two of them, Robert was the romantic one. He was the type of person who got a thrill out of making grand gestures – surprise trips away, home-cooked dinners by candlelight, too-expensive gifts that he’d bought just because I saw it and thought of you.

It took Aaron a while to get used to being with someone like Robert, but now that they were married and solid, he’d come to love the gestures, he really had. It was just, well, he never knew how to make them in return. He’d never been the particularly romantic sort, never thought he’d want to be, either. Sure, he’d booked them the odd night away, and he always tried to make sure he got Robert thoughtful Christmas and anniversary presents. But showy, full-blown declarations of love? Apart from one cold night in February when Aaron had shown up on Robert’s doorstep, determined to get his husband back, it just wasn’t his thing.

The odd time he’d hesitantly brought it up with Robert over the years, feelings of insecurity and of not being enough rearing its ugly head, Robert just smiled and said he didn’t mind, he spoiled Aaron because he enjoyed doing it, not because he expected something in return.

“You enjoy showing off, more like,” Aaron had scoffed, though something warm settled in his chest at the reassurance.

Robert just shrugged a shoulder at him and said there were plenty of things Aaron did for him – things that no one else had ever done before. Like always making his tea exactly the way he liked it, like knowing to buy his favourite chocolate after a rubbish day, like letting Robert lay his head in his lap and stroking his hair when he’d given himself a headache by staring at the computer screen for too long.

Like listening to him talk about his favourite memories of his mum, asking him questions about the kinds of food she used to cook and what her favourite songs were. Like letting him rant about Jack and Andy and the misery of his teenage years, without telling him he was overreacting.

So that was the way it was. Robert did the cheesy, over-the-top gestures of love and Aaron accepted them with a kiss and an I love you.

Until today.

Today, it was Robert’s 34th birthday and Aaron was going to sweep his husband off his feet if it killed him.

He deserved it after everything they’d been through in the last twelve months. They’d thought nothing could be worse than what had happened to Victoria only days after Robert’s last birthday. Then just as Lee Posner had crawled back into whatever dark hole he’d come from and she’d begun to turn a corner, they were hit with another bombshell.

One day in early September, Aaron dropped Seb off in Liverpool to find Rebecca had nipped to the shops and Ross was acting strangely. Despite Ross’s protests, Aaron stuck around until Rebecca got back, making small talk with him and watching him carefully. By the time he got back in the car, he’d seen enough. He knew the signs, Ross was definitely on something. Maybe cocaine, maybe spice, maybe something else entirely. It didn’t make much difference to him either way; Ross was on drugs when he was meant to be responsible for Aaron’s stepson, and he was not having it.

Aaron had broken several speed limits on his way home and wasted no time telling Robert as soon as he walked through the door. They’d already been concerned that Rebecca couldn’t seem to keep a nanny around for longer than a few weeks at a time, and it wasn’t like her brain injury had just disappeared in the last year. If anything, she seemed to be deteriorating some days. And if Ross – the one who was meant to be keeping her right – was high on god knows what, then there was no way in hell Seb was staying with them.

Although they were both tempted to go charging through Ross and Rebecca’s door and grab Seb there and then, they held back. Rebecca had threatened them with legal action before, and if they tried anything, she’d wouldn't hesitate to do it again. They had to be smart about it.

A few days later, Robert popped round to their place unannounced, having supposedly been “in the neighbourhood”, so he could get a good look at Ross for himself. It didn't take more than a few minutes for him to agree with Aaron's suspicions. The next time they dropped Seb off, they made sure to do it while only Rebecca was home and they stuck around for a coffee. Robert distracted her while Aaron snuck upstairs and rooted through Ross’s stuff until he found a stash of white powder, snapping a photo with his phone.

Robert had Ross followed by a private investigator, who eventually confirmed that not only was Ross buying drugs, he was dealing them, too. The private investigator also told them – with more than a little concern – that on one occasion he’d seen Ross and Rebecca briefly leave Seb alone in the house.

It had taken endless meetings with lawyers and social services, gathering evidence and providing character witnesses from everyone from Aaron’s therapist to Nicola (who was more than happy to throw her weight around as local councillor on their behalf). As the days and weeks passed, Robert was out of his mind with worry, not to mention guilt for having let Ross and Rebecca take Seb in the first place. He barely slept and only ate when Aaron forced him to, exhausting himself to the point of Aaron being terrified that he’d have another seizure.

The wait was agonising, but after what felt like an eternity of hardly daring to hope, Seb was released into their custody and back at the Mill by Christmas, with arrangements for Rebecca to see him under supervised visits in the new year. At first, Seb was a little withdrawn and confused by the disruption, but Aaron and Robert both showered him with as many cuddles and presents as they could, and he soon perked up. It was the best Christmas Aaron could remember having.

The first few months of 2020 had passed quickly and quietly, with most of their time spent making sure Seb settled in properly, and helping Victoria with her new baby boy, Harry. Not to mention catching up on all the work they’d both put on the back burner recently. But now, things were getting back to a new kind of normal. Seb was his happy self once again and getting into mischief at every opportunity, while Vic was regularly seeing a counsellor and taking motherhood in her stride. Things weren’t perfect, but they were getting there.

Now it was Robert’s birthday, and this year Aaron was going to treat him, dammit.

He entered their bedroom with a tray full of Robert’s favourite breakfast foods and set it down carefully before carding a hand through Robert’s sleep-mussed hair. “Hey, birthday boy.”

Robert’s mouth quirked in a half-smile before his eyes even opened. “Mornin’.”

Aaron leaned down and gave him light peck, but before he could sit up Robert slung his arms around his neck and yanked him down again, suddenly much more awake. “Oi, it’s my birthday, gimme a proper snog.”

Aaron rolled his eyes but didn’t resist, pressing his mouth to Robert’s and sliding his tongue past his lips, kissing him slowly and deeply until they were both gasping for breath. He eventually pulled away, laughing when Robert tried to chase his mouth with his own. “I made you breakfast, eat it before it gets cold.”

Robert gave a put-upon sigh but let him go, tucking into his plate of fresh fruit and pastries, occasionally letting Aaron steal a bite.

“Is Seb up yet?” He asked, sucking juice off his fingers.

“Nah, we’ve probably got a while. He’s dead excited to give you his card, though. He’s drawn what I can only guess is either a cow or a train, I’m not sure which but it’s very good.”

Robert laughed and relaxed back into the pillows, sipping his coffee. At least he was relaxed until he noticed Aaron fidgeting next to him, shifting on his side of the bed and tapping his hands against the duvet. “You alright over there?”

“Yeah, why?”

“You’re a bit… twitchy. Are you – ”

“Do you want your present now?” Aaron cut him off, unable to wait any longer.

Robert smirked and set his mug down. “Go on, then.”

Aaron reached over to his bedside table, pulling an envelope out of the drawer and passing it over. Robert waited for a moment to see if anything else would follow, but Aaron just shoved the drawer closed and turned back to him. Robert blinked at the card. “Did you… get me a voucher?”

“Did I – no I didn’t get you a voucher, you idiot. I’m not that bad of a husband.”

“Well I don’t know about – ow don’t hit me it’s my birthday – of course you’re not, you’re a brilliant husband. Amazing. Stupendous.”

“Would you just open your bloody present, please?”

Robert tore open the envelope and pulled the contents out, while Aaron pressed a fist to his mouth in order to hide the grin that was threatening to break across his face. He watched Robert’s face change as he took in the tickets and brochure, his jaw dropping as he looked at Aaron with wide eyes.

“No.”

“Yep.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“Seriously?!” Robert held up tickets for flights to Iceland, due to depart the next day.

May 2016

“Oh my God, Ibiza, really?” Robert groaned. “You’re such a lad.”

“And you’re such a snob, there’s nout wrong with Ibiza.”

It was after midnight and they were lounging in Aaron’s room at the pub, chatting about everything and nothing. It had only been a couple of weeks since they’d decided to give them a proper shot, and although they’d already been through hell and back together, it still felt pretty new. They might have the, well, physical side of things down, but they’d realised there was still a hell of a lot they didn’t know about each other.

So most nights, when everyone else was asleep, they talked. Which was how they’d come to this particular argument.

“Okay whatever, just don’t expect me to go there with you. Ever.”

“Pfft, I wouldn’t want you there anyway, you killjoy, “ said Aaron, though his smile took the sting out of it.

“Alright, where else would you want to go? Any dream destinations?”

Aaron thought for a moment. “I’d like to go to Vegas one day.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, all the casinos, the shows, the fireworks. It looks amazin’. Maybe even see the Grand Canyon, too, that’d be mint.”

“Hmm, noted,” said Robert, looking at him with half-lidded eyes.

“What about you?” Aaron poked him. “Anything on the bucket list?”

Robert shrugged. “Dunno. I like city breaks, mostly. Paris, Rome, that sort of thing. Barcelona,” he said, raising his eyebrows playfully.

Aaron winced, still feeling guilty about bailing on their trip. He pressed a kiss to the side of Robert’s head. “Sorry again. We will go, promise.”

“S’fine, I told you not to worry about it. But yeah, apart from that I wouldn’t mind holing up in a villa somewhere warm with you. Doesn’t matter where. Sun, pool, sex, what’s not to like?”

“Sounds nice,” said Aaron.

They lay there in comfortable silence. Aaron was close to drifting off when –

“Northern Lights.”

Aaron’s eyes opened to see Robert looking at him with a sleepy smile. “Hmm?”

“I’ve always wanted to see the Northern Lights.”

“Yeah?”

“Ever since I was a kid. I saw this tv programme about them, used to think they were magic. I don’t now, obviously, but yeah. Would love to actually see them someday.”

His eyes fell shut, and Aaron's followed soon after.

“Vic’s gonna bring Harry here and help Liv look after Seb while we’re gone. Or he can have a sleepover at hers, or with Moira and Isaac, whichever he prefers. But starting tomorrow it’s just you and me, five days, and – hopefully – some magic lights in the sky.”

Robert stared at him for a moment before running his thumb over the printed words on the ticket. “I can’t believe you remembered.”

“I do listen, you know.”

“I know but I told you that years ago.”

“I mean, I can’t guarantee we’ll actually see the lights,” said Aaron. “But I checked the weather and it’s supposed to be clear skies for the next week, so fingers crossed.” He pulled the hotel brochure towards them. “And if not, we can still go in the hot springs and nice restaurants, and our room’s dead fancy, got a log fire and everythi – mmf!”

Robert pounced, pressing a hard kiss to Aaron’s lips, then when his grin caused him to break it he pressed more over as many parts of his face as he could reach. He bumped his forehead against Aaron’s, eyes sparkling.

“You got me the Northern Lights for my birthday,” he laughed like he couldn’t believe it.

“Told you I’m a good husband.”

“You are. The best husband I’ve ever had.”

Aaron’s reply was cut off by the deafening cry of “Daaaaaddy!” coming from down the hall. He shoved Robert back with a sigh and pushed himself out of the bed. “Better not keep his lordship waiting. There’s still presents to open and then we need to be at the Woolpack by noon, before Diane comes looking again.”

He was about to head out the door when Robert caught his hand and pulled him back until they were pressed tightly together. He cupped Aaron’s jaw and kissed him one more time.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Aaron pressed a thumb on the crinkles around Robert's left eye. “And I think 34 is gonna be your year.”

“Yeah?”

“Mm-hm. Just a feeling.”

“Well it’s looking that way so far,” said Robert, his smile suddenly turning slightly bashful. "No one’s ever done anything like this for me before. Thank you.”

God, Aaron was gone on him. “You deserve it, you daft sod.”

Three days later, Aaron watched Robert gaze up with delight at the bright streaks of light stretching across the dark sky. As they took in the brilliant colours, he grabbed Aaron’s hand tightly and whispered that they were even better than he’d imagined. He was so absorbed in what he was seeing, he didn’t notice Aaron grinning smugly to himself.

He was a romantic bastard.

#robert deserves all the happy birthdays #dammit ryan get back here #my writing #robron #robron fic

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gonebethebirds · 4 years

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March 2020 Travel Update!

Traveling is not really an option right now or for the foreseeable future, so why not look back on my trips taken in the last few years, since that’s been a theme of mine anyway.

2020 (2 Trips Taken, Many Trips Canceled or On Hold)

January (1): Home for my birthday. It was a really fun trip actually. Got to see LOTS of friends (Brian, Jimmy, Lauren, Nicole Leclaire, Jessie, Chris Tham) and go to HMB, the city, boat rides, Rickshaw, etc. It was really a “home-run” kind of weekend.

February (0): None!

March (1): Sequoia National Park with Jesse while Carina was on her Bachelorette trip to Napa. Ironically, this is the weekend that things started to get really crazy with COVID. Sequoia was gorgeous though, covered in snow once we got in far enough. For sure one of our most gorgeous NP trips/hikes.

The rest come down to nine trips that are either ticketed, scheduled, or were otherwise supposed to happen, but now we’ll just have to wait and see:

April (2): Big Bear [postponed to July], and New York for work [postponed or canceled].

May (2): Bay Area [for work actually, postponed or canceled] and Caymans in late May [TBD].

June (1): New York for Dan’s wedding [TBD].

July (1): Big Bear, rescheduled from April.

August (1): Bachelor party weekend, likely to San Diego, likely still happening unless things get much worse from here.

September: no travel plans, given our wedding!

October: none

November (1): Honeymoon - details, locations and all plans TBD.

December (1): Likely Massillon, but no plans at this time. Too early.

2019 (12 Trips)

January (1): Chicago with Carina for New Year’s! GOT ENGAGED!!

February (1): New York for work right after Grammys, stayed a couple extra days as Carina was supposed to join but couldn’t due to flight troubles.

March (0)

April (3): Atlanta for LMA, annual Big Bear trip for Jesse’s birthday, then Jesse’s bachelor party trip at the end of the month which was in Zion then Vegas.

May (2): Home at the beginning of the month to visit Dad, then Ensenada last weekend for Jesse and Katie’s wedding!

June (1): Home at the end of the month with Carina, saw lots of friends.

July (1): Singapore and Bali at the end of the month with Carina! First trip to Asia! Amazing!

August (1): Yellowstone at the end of the month with Dad and Carina! The first time for both of them!

September (1): went to the bay for the weekend for Carina’s launch party. Actually had a super nice time in the city and a full day of walking around and exploring. It was a gorgeous day and one for the books.

October( 0): None! But my dad came down to visit which was nice.

November (0): None! Had a lovely, rainy, cold (as it should be) Thanksgiving at home - literally our home, our first time hosting! Carina’s family made it special.

December (1): Massillon for Christmas. We canceled Park City as the ski prices and hotel prices got ridiculous.

2018 (20 Trips)

January (2): Home for New Year’s with Carina, and New York for Grammys (followed immediately by DC)! New York was basically just hours after Kinsley was born!

February (2): DC for work with Doug, and Zion with Jesse, Anu and Akshay!

March (1): Home/SF with Jesse, Katie and Carina for St. Patrick’s Day!

April (2): New Orleans for LMA with Carina! And annual Big Bear trip for Jesse’s birthday.

May (2): Colorado for a video shoot with Sashi and the Caymans with Carina and her family!

June (2): DC for work with Doug (Capitol Crypto) and Home! (Giants game, big barbecue, pride at the park).

July (0):

August (3): Zion round 7 with Jesse (Observation Point), home to help dad after surgery, home again for Nicole’s wedding.

September (1): Albuquerque with Mom just for fun!

October (1): Ohio!! OSU and Massillon with Carina (for Homecoming but also a couple days in Massillon to introduce her).

November (2): Zion round 8, with Jesse and Carina (first Angel’s Landing ascent of 2018 and first for Carina in general). And ICELAND!!! Plus home for a day after Iceland as an extended layover.

December (2): Home for Christmas then Massillon for Christmas! (We had light attendance this past year though).

2017 (22 Trips)

January (2): Home for New Year’s, and Washington, DC for my birthday with Carina!

February (1): Arizona road trip (through Page) with Carina.

March (2): Zion, Arches, and Bryce with Jesse, Katie, and Carina! And Vegas for LMA.

April (3): DC & New York for work, Big Bear round 2 for Jesse’s birthday, and the bay with Carina.

May (3): Vegas for Mother’s Day with Jenn, Brian, and Carina, NY & DC for work (again just a month later), and Denver/ The Rockies with Jesse, Katie, and Carina!

June (2): Pismo Beach with Carina and her friends, then Kings Canyon & Sequoia with Jesse (and we saw a bear).

July (2): Amsterdam & Bruges with Carina (what?!) and Santa Barbara with Jesse and Anu.

August (3): The bay for OSU buds, Jenn & Brian’s announcement, and Giana’s going away party. Then Cabo with Carina, Parthiv and his friends, then the bay again for Mom & Dad’s birthdays.

September (0): None!

October (2): Zion round 5 with Jesse, and upcoming: the bay with Dan & Chrystal.

November (1): Home for Thanksgiving.

December (1): Massillon for Christmas! (No trip home for Christmas? We might have lumped that into the Thanksgiving visit).

2016 (19 Trips)

January (3): Home for New Year’s, Portland with Tina, and Grand Canyon/ Utah with Jesse.

February (0): None!

March (2): Joshua Tree with Jesse, and home.

April (3): Austin for LMA, Big Bear for Jesse’s birthday, and home with Jesse, Katie, and Lexie!

May (1): New York City for work right after Jenn’s wedding!

June (2): Borrego Springs with Carina and Seattle with Carina!

July (2): Scottsdale for the 4th and Yellowstone with Jesse!

August (1): Home with Carina.

September (2): Banff (!!!) with Carina and Homecoming at OSU.

October (1): Home to hang with Dad & Mom post-surgery and injury.

November (1): Zion round 3 with Jesse.

December (1): Massillon! [We did our Christmas in Riverside].

2015 (18 Trips)

I had set out to travel at least once per calendar month.

January (2): Home for New Year’s, and Chicago with Giana, Janelly, & Lauren.

February (1): Colorado with Jesse.

March (1): Bay Area with Lina.

April (1): Arizona (Sedona & GC NP) with Jesse.

May (1): Seattle with Jesse and Dan.

June (1): Zion [Round 1!] with Jesse.

July (2): Rancho Mirage, then Home for a week after M&R/ before MSK.

August (2): Zion Round 2 with Jesse, then the bay for Elyse’s wedding.

September (1): Tennessee with Jesse.

October (2): Homecoming at OSU, then New York City for MSK.

November (2): Boston! And Cabo!

December (2): Home for Christmas and Massillon for Christmas.

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lostmapcase · 5 years

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No, we are not in Northern Europe. We are celebrating September Spring in Auckland, New Zealand. This post is about our trip through the Baltic Countries in July and August 2013. I posted a couple of ideas (idea 1 and idea 2), but I never really documented our journey. This refreshes my memories and helps a little bit to pinpoint what we saw when and where. With so many travel experiences, it gets more complicated to keep them separate.

That summer of 2013, our daughter participated in a month long summer institute at Jesus College in Cambridge University in England. During her stay there, Wife and I went exploring in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, along with a quick jaunt over to Finland. Here is another assortment of photos. In sorting through the files, I noticed we took many more selfies back then, partly as we were posting on Facebook. Second, it seems very slowly over six years, my photo taking has actually improved a little bit.

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Jesus College, Cambridge private tour

Jesus College Cambridge, Private Tour

From Cambridge, stopped in St. Pancras station to see what poet John Betjeman was seeing.

Montmarte Paris, St Denis carrying his head up to Sacre Couer after execution

Le Boulevard

Overview of Riga Market area

Art Nouveau in the street

Day trip to Medievel Town of Segulda

From the Segulda Fortress

Riga Art in Exile exhibition

Vilnius, Latvia Literatu Street, books in the wall

This Angel was also spotted in the University

Brick Church in Vilnius

Ulupiz, Country within

Day trip to Trakai, fulfilling a number of dreams

Inside the Trakai Castle

Daugavpils City Museum, Wonderful Samovars

Modern art Tapestries upstairs at City Museum

Mark Rothko Museum, Just opened in Daugavpils.

Heading back to Riga by bus, nervous about the route.

Stop in Parnu, Estonia, famous for its beach resorts

Birthday in Tallinn, best pancakes at the Kompressor

Nevsky Church

Park in University Town of Tartu

Tartu University Student Detention Room with 200 year old graffiti

Opne air historical museum outside of Tallinn

Weekend trip up to Helsinki and a walk through the harbor market

Helsinki Esplanade

Back to Riga and Central Market

Breakfast in Riga

An afternoon to enjoy a meal in Paris

An afternoon to enjoy a dessert in Paris

Waiting for Daughter to finish the Paper at the MIJE

Heading home from Paris to Minnesota over Greenland

For the record, here is the path we followed:

Minneapolis to London Heathrow on Iceland Air with transit in Iceland.

Heathrow to Cambridge with reserved taxi (Almost same price as three long distance bus tickets and it took us with our luggage straight from the airport to the door of the hotel).

Cambridge to Paris by train, catching the Eurostar through the channel tunnel from St. Pancras station.

Paris to Riga, Latvia on Baltic Air.

Buses from Riga to Vilnius, Lithuania to Daugavpils, Latvia to Riga to Parnu, Estonia to Tallinn, Estonia, then back to Riga.

Side trips by bus included: Riga to Sigulda, Vilnius to Trakai, Tallinn to Tartu.

From Tallinn we took a ferry round trip to Helsinki.

From Riga, we flew Baltic Air back to Paris to rendevous with Daughter after her program and fly back to Minneapolis via Iceland Air.

Here are some memories from our Summer of 2013 No, we are not in Northern Europe. We are celebrating September Spring in Auckland, New Zealand. This post is about our trip through the Baltic Countries in July and August 2013.

#cambridge #cdg #daugavpils #heathrow #helsinki #london #paris #parnu #reykjavik #riga #segulda #tallinn #tartu #trakai #vilnius

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kkoehn17 · 6 years

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So I’ve decided to use this week as a kind of “wrap up” for 2017. Monday was the last episode (in 2017) of All the Good Things, and today we take a final look at my 2017 goals. Let’s see how I did:

1) See Star Wars

COMPLETED

That’s right folks, I can finally unlock a new level of society because I have officially seen all the Star Wars films. Well, at least all of them except the new one. But to be fair, that one wasn’t on the list because I didn’t know it was coming out. So as of now I’m counting myself among the I’ve-been-too-busy-with-the-holidays-to-see-the-new-one-yet breed, which is exactly where I want to be.

2) See 5 WLRA’s

COMPLETED

WRLA (pronounced wool-rah) is my nickname for the World’s Largest Roadside Attractions, which I became addicted to sometime last year. It is among my life goals to see them all, and so I’m chipping them off slowly. This year I shot for five, and ended up seeing the fifth one just under the wire. My sister and I drove out to see the World’s Largest Donut on New Year’s Eve Eve. The other four I saw this year were the World’s Largest Paper Cup, Fishing Fly, Thermometer and Monk.

3) Try this jean rug DIY

COMPLETED

I did most of the prep for this project back in September, but didn’t actually sew it together until this past weekend. On one hand I could say I’m glad I was ahead of the game (at one point) because when I finally sat down to sew it together, all the pieces were already cut. But on other hand, I wish I would have just taken the time to sew it together back then, it might have been a tinge less stressful. Regardless, I’m very proud of the end result. It’s nowhere near perfect, but it’s something I actually sewed with my own two hands and, like, HOW COOL IS THAT?!

The original

Mine

4) Run 1,000 miles

COMPLETED

It’s almost unfathomable that I can write “complete” on this goal, but it is, in fact, COMPLETE! I, Kimberlee K, ran 1000 miles in 2017. EEEK. You can read all about this ridiculously crazy feat here.

5) Complete The Ultimate Fit Bit Week

COMPLETED

At the beginning of the year I decided to make my own Fitbit achievement known as “The Ultimate Fit Bit Week.” Essentially I wanted to see if I could meet every goal (i.e. steps taken, calories burned, active minutes, etc.) every single day for an entire week. Let me tell you, it was not easy, but it’s one of those things that I can now say that I did, which is cool. You can read about it here. Also, if you’re reading this, Fitbit, make sure you name this challenge after me if you ever make it, you know, a thing.

6) Volunteer (at least) 5 times

COMPLETED

As I’ve said in previous check-ins, this was one of my favorite goals of the year, which made it a no brainer to add it to my list of goals for 2018. I’d highly encourage anyone and everyone to volunteer if they get a chance. It’s truly one of the most rewarding experiences!

These were my five for this year:

Food Forward (5/21/17)

Children’s Hunger Fund (6/24/17)

My Stuff Bags (8/10/17)

Food Forward (8/26/17)

Children’s Hunger Fund (10/7/17)

You can find opportunities to volunteer here.

7) Go to a sporting event of “every” kind (i.e. baseball, football, hockey, basketball, & soccer)

60% COMPLETED

When the year started, the NFL, NBA and NHL were all in the tail end of their regular seasons and moving into the playoffs, thus making tickets to the games way out of my price range. So, since I knew baseball would be an easy one to check off (because I’m a huge Dodger fan), and soccer season was just about to start, I decided to channel my energy into those and put the other three checkpoints on hold until the end of the year (a.k.a the beginning of a new season). In the end, while I was lucky enough to be invited to a hockey game (in a suite!! Thanks, Sam!) I never found my way to a basketball or football game this year. But don’t fret! At the end of the day, not going to a basketball or football game doesn’t make my year a “failure” or this goal a wash. And it would be a waste to get caught up in the parameters of the goal and obsess over the failures rather than celebrate the successes. For among the casual weeknight Dodger games I got to attend this year, I also got to see Game 6 of the World Series, and got my family out to see an LA Galaxy soccer game, which we probably never would have done otherwise. When I think about it like that, I’d say it’s a pretty successful goal.

8) Try every class at the gym

VETOED

The lack of progress on this one began with a lack of facilities, due to water damage at my local gym. It was back up and running in April, but then April turned into May and then June and then July, leading me to believe that procrastination had taken over. While that was definitely part of it, the truth was, I was scared. By July I had hit the 500-mile mark of my running goal, making the finish line something I could actually picture, and I was scared to do anything that might prevent me from reaching it. So around October, I more or less forfeited—or rather vetoed—this goal for 2017 and decided to add it as a bonus goal for this coming year. I still want to get a taste of what my gym membership is getting me and I figure it will be a good way to stay in shape.

9) Do The Princess Diaries painting

COMPLETED

You remember this iconic scene from classic RomCom The Princess Diaries, right?

I mean I think it’s safe to say we were all jealous of that mother/daughter arts and crafts session. Lucky for me, I have an amazing group of friends and family that dove headfirst into this project for my 27th birthday.

You can read about that day here.

Also, I recently got a chance to hang the end results up on my wall and it makes me smile every time I pass by.

10) Find and try the “Best of” restaurants in LA

COMPLETED

This was another goal that I was super excited about and it did not disappoint. I’ve always wanted to take more advantage of my access to downtown Los Angeles, and I feel like this search for the “best of” restaurants in my five favorite food groups (i.e. pizza, burgers, ice cream, donuts and sandwiches) helped me scratch the surface.

Here are my five finds:

Pizza: Pizzeria Mozza

Burgers: Battle of the Burgers

Ice Cream: Salt & Straw

Donuts: Randy’s Donuts

Sandwiches: Mendocino Farms

11) Watch every film that has ever won Best Picture

98.88% COMPLETED

As of my last check-in, I had 60 movies to watch before the end of the year. When the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve, I only had one. Before you “awww”, know that this was intentional, as I realized (too late) that the last movie on the list was the final film in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and I haven’t seen the first two…

…DON’T GIVE ME THAT LOOK. I realize this is another cardinal sin of cinema and I’m going to make right, okay? I’m adding this trilogy as another bonus goal for 2018.

12) Learn to Longboard

VETOED

Similar to goal #8, I more or less quit on this goal after I became knee deep in my running. It just seemed too likely that I’d fall off my longboard and tweak an ankle (or worse) and I wasn’t willing to give up the progress I’d made. So, again, this was postponed. Hopefully I’ll find the courage to *shred* in 2k18.

13) Learn to do a headband braid

COMPLETED (I GUESS)

Have you ever adopted a new hobby and put in a bunch of time to get better at it, only to realize that your skill level is and always will be pretty basic. Yeah, well that’s how I feel about the headband braid. After spending the year watching a bunch of different tutorial videos and knotting my hair a bunch of different ways, I more or less accepted that I’m just not good at headband braids. I get the basic concept, but my end result always looks like I let a little kid play hair salon. SO, I’m forfeiting my pursuit of the perfect braid. The way I see it, at least I can say I tried, and at least I have a handful of friends that are willing to do my hair.

14) Reach the 100,000-mile mark on my car

COMPLETED

This was another highlight of my year. After hitting the 100,000 mile mark, my family and I loaded up into Jeffrey—wearing sparkly hats and homemade glasses no less—and took a ridiculous amount of pictures and Boomerangs to commemorate the occasion.

You can read all about Jeffrey’s (my car) big milestone here.

15) Do a bar/pub crawl

COMPLETED

As if it were destined for my attendance, when I Googled “bar crawls” in October, I found 12 Bars of Charity, which divides its attendees into “teams” and gives them t-shirts to showcase the charity they choose to support. My friends and I were on the “black team” which supported the Boys & Girls club. And while we only made it to three of the twelve bars—because we spent too much time talking at each one —we still had a great time, and talked about going again next year to go to the bars we missed. (Though at this rate it will take us 4 years to see them all)

If you’re interested, 12 Bars of Charity has events all over the country. Check here to see if there’s one near you.

16) Sing Karaoke

COMPLETED

Much to the surprise of my pre-2017 self, karaoke became somewhat of a staple for my year. My friends and I found a favorite place and made many an appearance on a Saturday night. I found that it is one of the best ways to blow off steam and I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone.

17) Complete Project Lightbulb

COMPLETED

Project Lightbulb is the nickname I gave my family’s dream vacation to Iceland. And while it became clear that this goal would be impossible to complete this year, I decided that as long as we made steps towards planning and booking it—a.k.a inching it to a reality—I’d call it a win. That being said, this year we did take steps in the right direction by officially opening a savings account so we can slowly save up enough money to make this thing happen! Iceland here we come!

And that, as they say, is that! I completed 14 of my 17 goals, which is an accomplishment in itself, and what I didn’t finish, I plan on carrying over into this new year.

But the ultimate win here is the I CAN that comes alongside the setting and completing of goals, no matter what those goals may be. This list of 17 goals inspired me to get completely out of my comfort zone, which led me on new adventures I never would have experienced otherwise. I can only hope that the goals I set for 2018 can do the same.

If you are someone who is looking for some inspiration in your life, I highly encourage you to set goals. Whether big or small, artistic, athletic or otherwise, write them down, put them out into the universe, and then go for them! You might surprise yourself how much you can accomplish.

Happy New Year!

2017 Goals Final Check-In So I’ve decided to use this week as a kind of “wrap up” for 2017. Monday was the…

#goals #blogging #fun #goals for 2017 #goals for 2018 #inspiration #journal #life #motivation #new years goals #personal

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roseymary · 6 years

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2017 in Review

It’s that time of year again where I do my annual end-of-the-year survey thing that I always do. I wasn’t gonna do it this year, but then it felt wrong, so here we are.

1. What did you do in 2017 that you’d never done before?

Worked as a nurse, went on a date where both people knew it was a date, went to London and Paris

2. Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I passed the NCLEX and got a job as a nurse, so that was successful. Was also hoping to accept myself more but didn’t set any parameters on that so here we are See post from earlier today for 18 things i wanna do in 2018

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

My mom’s coworker had a miracle baby this year which was very cool

One of my best friends is expecting a baby in like three weeks so yay babies!

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Not that I can think of

5. What countries did you visit?

USA, UK, France, (Iceland airport)

6. What would you like to have in 2018 that you lacked in 2017?

A consistent schedule

7. What date(s) from 2016 will remain etched upon your memory?

March 27, September 6

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Passing the NCLEX

9. What was your biggest failure?

Not getting the job I really wanted

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

I was pretty healthy this year actually

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Plane tickets

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Everybody that made it through

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

People who have abused/are currently abusing their power

14. Where did most of your money go?

Rent, food, plane tickets

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Going to Katie’s

#winningLondon2k17

#passporttoparis

16. What song(s)/album(s) will always remind you of 2017?

Kesha’s new album

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

1. Happier or sadder?

Sadder

2. Thinner or fatter?

Idk honestly

3. Richer or poorer?

Richer

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Cleaning

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Whining

20. How will you be spending/did you spend Christmas?

Went to grandma’s in San Diego for the first Christmas there since 2000: opened presents with the fam, ate good food, cried about having to leave the next morning

21. Who did you spend the most time on the phone with?

Mom

22. Did you fall in love in 2017?

Ughhhh i don’t know... I fell in love with the potential of falling in love

23. How many one night stands in this last year?

I should probs just eliminate this question lol

24. What was your favorite TV program?

Call the Midwife, One Tree Hill, Project Runway, I also had an epic Gilmore girls rewatch that was most excellent and I just started watching The Crown and that is proving to be worth the hype

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

Nah

26. What was the best book(s) you read?

Hunger by Roxane Gay

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?

I don’t know that I really discovered anything new musically, but I went through a major Kesha phase this summer (but who didn’t lbr)

28. What did you want and get?

I get to put RN after my name

I got to spend a long weekend with Cottey sisters

29. What did you want and not get?

Good on the job nursing training; a job I love

30. What were your favorite films of this year?

Victoria and Abdul

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

Turned 25; went to breakfast with Sarah and Quinn, went to chapel, took a nap? I don’t actually remember. That weekend I went to one of those pottery painting places with friendsss

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

A consistent schedule

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2017?

Ceil blue scrubs all day erry day

34. What kept you sane?

Friends, God

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Basically anyone who’s trying to make the world a better place

36. What political issue stirred you the most?

oh boy oh boy what a year

rampant sexual abuse in the workplace

healthcare

systemic racism

hurricane relief

37. Who did you miss?

Cottey sisters, the fam

38. Who was the best new person you met?

idk maybe one of the nurses i work with

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2017.

Just because it seems like it’s for you doesn’t mean that it’s for you.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year?

“So when the winds are howling strong and you think you can’t go on, hold tight sweetheart”

#new year #2017 #lets do this fam #personal #i'm getting old

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