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#i love getting into new groups and going through old content and giffing silly moments that've probs been giffed before
sillyabtmusic · 7 months
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harin vs kanghyun's shenanigans
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mrsjjmaybank · 4 years
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NSFW Alphabet: JJ Maybank
JJ Maybank x reader
Hi! This is my first fic/ head cannon ever so go easy on me..🥺
I take requests for JJ and John B so send them in if you have an ideas!
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*gif not mine
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
A: Aftercare
Aftercare with JJ can sometimes be better than the actual sex. When you’ve both called down from your highs he’ll clean himself and you up with a warm towel before getting back in bed to cuddle you. He’d give you kisses and trace small shapes on your back while you both talk about nothing and how much you love each other. You love these moments with JJ because usually he’s hyperactive and always moving but in those moments he’s calm and still.
B: Body part
So as far as the boobs vs ass thing goes JJ is an ass man hands down. He love grabbing your ass while your making out or grinding on him.
As for the rest of you, JJ loves your eyes. He loves looking into them when he makes you cum. JJ can barely remember the faces of his hookups from before you so he loves to look in your eyes and commits your facial expressions to memory.
C: Cum
JJ isn’t the type of guy to want to get cum all over you or the bed. That being said he loves coming inside of you, with a condom of course. It makes him feel so close to and loved by you.
D: Dirty secret
JJ absolutely loves it when you pull on his hair. Wether it’s during a make out session, when he’s going down on you or during the actual deed he loves it. Some times when you’re both hanging out with the Pogues you’ll running your fingers through his hair and lightly pull to get him worked up.
E: Experience
JJ is experienced as far as having had sex many times but he doesn’t really remember them. He knows what he likes but he didn’t know much about making a girl cum so he gained that experience by being with you.
F: Favorite position
Missionary is his favorite hands down. As said before JJ loves looking into your eyes when you cum and this is the perfect position to do so.
G: Goofy
Sex with JJ can go one of three ways: silly and goofy, passionate and loving, or horny and lustful. When he’s in a goofy mood he likes to tease you a lot and make inappropriate jokes in the middle of the deed. Sometimes JJ will start tickling you as things get heated and other times he’s just giggling through the whole thing until you both cum.
H: Hair
So as stated JJ loves with you pull his hair. As for his downstairs hair he keeps it nice and trimmed so when you give him a blow job it’s not unpleasant for you.
JJ also enjoys playing with and lightly pulling your hair during.
I: Intimacy
Sex is always intimate with you and JJ wether it’s hot and heavy, loving or goofy. He almost always laces his fingers with yours as you’re both about to come and is constantly kissing you throughout the whole act and telling you how much he loves you.
J: Jacking off
JJ would make this a nightly routine before he met you. He quickly started replacing that with having sex with you. He prefers you to his own hand any day.
K: Kink
It’s been established that JJ has a hair pulling kink but he also has a praise kink. JJ’s father never complimented the boy so hearing you praise him when he’s the most vulnerable is one of his favorite things.
L: location
Your favorite location is the abandoned house on the edge of the beach. You a JJ found it before you got together and made it your special place. The night you lost your virginity to JJ he put up a mattress with sheets and candles and the mattress has stayed there so whenever you want to you can just go there for a night with him. You love the old house but you always fight with JJ about whose turn it is to bring new sheets
M: Motivation
To be honest all you have to do is be within 5 feet of JJ and he’s ready to go.
N: No
Absolutely no spanking, hitting, restraints, choking or anything of the sort. His dad beats him so it’s safe to say he would never want to risk hurting you and he doesn’t want to be reminded of his dad whiles he’s with you. Being with you is a time where JJ can forget about his abusive father and just be content and happy.
O: Oral
JJ could go down on you for hours at a time. One time he went down on you so long you nearly passed out before the main act. He absolutely loves going down on because of the way he make you squirm and he can prove how well he knows your body. He also uses this as a way to to show you he loves you by making sure you come before the main act.
JJ is also a huge fan of receiving. Most nights JJ puts all the focus on you but sometimes you catch him off guard and show him that it can be all about him too.
P: Pace
Depends on the day. If he’s horny then you can bet it’s fast and hard. If he just feels like showing you how much he loves you it’s slow and deep. And then sometimes it can start one way and end another. It all depends but it’s all enjoyable.
Q: Quickie
Your not opposed to quickies but you both definitely prefer having the whole night for each other.
R: Risks
JJ spends a lot of nights at John B’s house so sometimes he’ll sneak you in. You’re always afraid that John B will here you but so far you haven’t caught. Or so you and JJ think.
S: Stamina
JJ has the stamina of Captain America. The boy is an animal and you sometimes struggle to keep up.
T: Toys
Neither of you are interested
U: Unfair
JJ likes to get you all hot and bothered only to drag to you to hang out with the gang so you can suffer in public and not be able to do anything about it. As annoying as this can be those nights are the best.
V: Volume
JJ usually makes small grunts and softly moans in your ear. You on the other hand frequently tell out his names and moan loudly. This makes those nights at John B’s more difficult.
W: Wild card
Sometimes JJ like to fuck you hard while you’re still wearing a bra so he can see them bounce in their lacey cups.
X: X-ray
Let’s talk a look under the board shorts. Your boy is definitely, surprisingly, above average.
Y: Yearning
You and JJ want each other 24/7. Sometimes your friends have kicked you out of hangouts so you and JJ can get it rather than annoying the group with the constant looks and obvious touches.
Z: ZZZ
You and JJ usually stay up for a little while after. You tend to fall asleep first after 20 minutes of JJ playing with you hair and tracing shapes on your back. JJ quickly follows.
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ecoamerica · 23 days
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youtube
Watch the American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 now: https://youtu.be/bWiW4Rp8vF0?feature=shared
The American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 broadcast recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by active climate leaders. Watch to find out which finalist received the $50,000 grand prize! Hosted by Vanessa Hauc and featuring Bill McKibben and Katharine Hayhoe!
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alexdmorgan30 · 5 years
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11 Ways to Heal a Broken Heart in Recovery
Heartbreak. At 14 or 54, we’ve all been there, but today we push through the pain, one-day-at-a-time, cold brew sober. And here’s what’s helping me now, because, despite what still feels like an endless volley of water balloons hitting concrete beneath my breastbone, the fibrillation is in my mind, not my chest cavity, and that scrappy muscle thumps on, still propping me upright each morning to face my new reality.1. Find that God of Your Understanding and Glom OnWhen I reached Step 3 with my sponsor, I got an assignment: flesh out your concept of a higher power, in writing. Lisa M. wanted detail, a God I could see and talk to, and grab by the elbow. And because I’m neither original nor progressive, I came up with a male God in human form — a cross between Santa Claus and Mr. T. to be exact. With a twinkle in his eye and a glint off his gold tooth, my HP is jolly and generous, strong and sexy, and funny as hell.And at this moment, when I’m finding myself on the sucky side of one-sided love, it’s not bad to have a real hunk who loves me for an HP. After an especially vicious salvo, when the heartbreak balloons start to leak out the eye sockets, I can HALT, remember the in-breath, and picture HP (and yes, predictably, I’m looking heavenward). Funny, his response is always the same: with bronzed torso and silver beard, forearms flexed and crossed over a white undershirt, the big man in the sky stares down at me, then starts nodding reassuringly. Suddenly, he flashes that easy smile and I know I’m good.2. Slam the SlogansH.A.L.T., Easy Does It, Turn It Over, Just for Today, Live and Let Live, This Too Shall Pass, When One Door Shuts Another Opens, Fear Is the Absence of Faith, The Elevator Is Broken - You’ll Have to Use the Steps. I’ve become something of a short-order chef when it comes to using a few well-chosen words to support my sobriety. Day and night, I sling slogans, flip affirmations, and call out quotes from famous dead people. I’ve scotched them to the inside of my kitchen cabinets, along with the 3rd, 6th, 7th and 11th step prayers. They are the comfort food my soul craves now. “Success is moving from failure to failure with no lack of enthusiasm.” - Winston Churchill. “If you want to be loved, love and do loving things.” - Ben Franklin. Words that nourish, as I’m waiting for the kettle to boil. Having well-chosen words highly visible in the kitchen (or as a screensaver) can be a real lifesaver!3. Phone TherapyAnd here’s a slogan I’m slamming hard today: “We drank alone, but we don’t stay sober alone.” The old timers carried quarters, and I make sure I leave home with my phone fully-charged. I listen to a morning meditation walking to the train, text three newcomers on the platform, compose a longer text to my sponsor in transit, then dial my best sober gal pal as I push through the turnstile on the final leg to work. I send silly GIFs to lift spirits, including mine, and add a trail of emoji butterflies, praying hands, and peace signs. By 8:00 a.m., the lonely in me already feels not so alone.4. Explore PodcastsRecovery Radio Network, Joe and Charlie, and the Alcoholics Anonymous Radio Show are three in my queue. On my lunch hour or driving upstate, I take 30-60 minutes to laugh, cry, and identify…5. Make a Gratitude ListMy first sober Christmas, going through a divorce with two kids still believing in Santa, the above-mentioned sober gal pal suggested I find ten things for which I was grateful, save them to my phone, and recite them like a mantra through the Twelve Days of Christmas. I did:1. My sobriety 2. My sons 3. AA program of recovery 4. AA fellowship 5. Food in my stomach 6. Roof over my head 7. Colombian coffee 8. My dog 9. My extended family 10. God (HP has since moved up to the #1 slot)It worked. I said no to nog that first Yuletide, and made merry for my sons instead. And counting off my blessings still works today, when I’m a shallow-breathing shell just going through the motions.6. Make an Extended Gratitude ListWhen the restless, irritable and discontent in me keeps spilling the glass half-full and this positive punch list isn’t getting me over the hump, I pour out ten more things to celebrate, like: my pre-war bathtub, which holds upwards of 60 gallons of bubble bath and the fact that I live within easy walking distance of two subway lines so I can always get into the city on weekends.7. Make Meetings“Meeting Makers Make It,” “Get Sober Feet,” “Carry the Body, the Mind Will Follow.” These three slogans in particular encouraged me as a newcomer, and I’m calling upon them now, in cardiac arrest, when my heart needs serious heartening. So I’m hitting my home group, and getting hugs from retirees with double-digit sobriety who pass fresh Kleenex and envelop in equanimous smiles. I’m also checking out other meetings across town, then going out for...8. Fellowship AfterwardsI’ve started tucking my Boggle into my handbag when I head out to my Friday night meeting. At the secretary’s report, I pull out the box, shake it, and invite anyone interested to a nearby diner for passable pie a la mode and a few rounds of a three-minute word game. Sometimes it’s Yahtzee. We roll the dice and down bottomless cups of bad coffee. Last week someone brought cards, and I lost badly at hearts (ha!). It’s good, wholesome fun, and by the time I hit my pillow, I’ve significantly pared down the number of waking hours I could have spent obsessing over-ahem-HIM.9. Self-CareSelf-care is somewhat self-defined. These days, after I’ve covered the basics—eat, sleep, bathe—I’m noodling what more I can do to support my mental, physical, and spiritual self. Prone to self-pity and self-indulgence just now, self-care is really urgent-care. So I ask: am I under-meditating and over-caffeinating? Am I speeding up at speed bumps? Am I four months behind in balancing my bank statement? Am I using money to buy what money can’t buy and damn the consequences? Am I treating every Monday like Cyber Monday and abusing the free delivery feature of Amazon Prime? Have I forgotten yoga and found red velvet cake in Costco’s freezer? Are my spot checks spotty lately because I just don’t want to cop to this alcoholic acting out, and instead keep blunting the full force of feeling??? Yes to all of the above. And this leads me back to Step 2: turn to top management for a takeover.Working Steps 2 and 3 is probably the most caring thing I’m doing for myself today: seeing the unmanageable, then seeing the way out. And also forgiving myself for these self-indulgent splurges. So what that I’ve added three pounds to my midline and three pairs of silver sandals to my shoe rack? The rent is paid, and my latchkey kids still let themselves in after school and seem content to eat my crockpot soup and call this home.10. Get on your Hobby HorseWhen was the last time you read “Chapter 6: Getting Active” in Living Sober, that handy paperback that’s not just for newcomers? This month I’ve been making good use of subsection 6B: “Activity not related to A.A.”The anonymous authors suggest “trying a new hobby” or “revisiting an old pastime, except you-know-what” (Yea, Amstel Light). Fat chance I’ll pick up cabinetmaking, leathercraft or macramé, but I am baking granola and simmering bone broths.I’m also revisiting my adolescence with amateur YouTube ballet routines by hammy-thighed figure skaters and dancing to Heavy D. music videos late into a Saturday night. I’m choosing happy music over sad, and tuning in to The Messiah, not Blue Christmas.I’m even considering “Starting on long neglected chores” like editing my nearly obsolete recipe binder, now that I’ve found Pinterest. And while I can’t claim to be going out of my way “Volunteering to do some useful service,” I am trying to be more useful on my job. And just as helping a newcomer find a meeting helps me, helping a kid graph algebraic equations makes me feel purposeful (when otherwise I feel like a mess).11. Become a card-carrying member of the “No Matter What Club”For God’s sake, whatever skillful or unskillful actions you end up taking during this time of triage, please don’t drink over him or her. They are not worth it. (And I’d put money down—money that I don’t have—on a bet that they’d agree with me.)Voila! My top eleven tips to help you over the hump of heartbreak! Take what you like and leave the rest.Have you had your heart broken in recovery? How did you heal? Let us know in the comments.
from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8241841 http://bit.ly/2U3i5gZ
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pitz182 · 5 years
Text
11 Ways to Heal a Broken Heart in Recovery
Heartbreak. At 14 or 54, we’ve all been there, but today we push through the pain, one-day-at-a-time, cold brew sober. And here’s what’s helping me now, because, despite what still feels like an endless volley of water balloons hitting concrete beneath my breastbone, the fibrillation is in my mind, not my chest cavity, and that scrappy muscle thumps on, still propping me upright each morning to face my new reality.1. Find that God of Your Understanding and Glom OnWhen I reached Step 3 with my sponsor, I got an assignment: flesh out your concept of a higher power, in writing. Lisa M. wanted detail, a God I could see and talk to, and grab by the elbow. And because I’m neither original nor progressive, I came up with a male God in human form — a cross between Santa Claus and Mr. T. to be exact. With a twinkle in his eye and a glint off his gold tooth, my HP is jolly and generous, strong and sexy, and funny as hell.And at this moment, when I’m finding myself on the sucky side of one-sided love, it’s not bad to have a real hunk who loves me for an HP. After an especially vicious salvo, when the heartbreak balloons start to leak out the eye sockets, I can HALT, remember the in-breath, and picture HP (and yes, predictably, I’m looking heavenward). Funny, his response is always the same: with bronzed torso and silver beard, forearms flexed and crossed over a white undershirt, the big man in the sky stares down at me, then starts nodding reassuringly. Suddenly, he flashes that easy smile and I know I’m good.2. Slam the SlogansH.A.L.T., Easy Does It, Turn It Over, Just for Today, Live and Let Live, This Too Shall Pass, When One Door Shuts Another Opens, Fear Is the Absence of Faith, The Elevator Is Broken - You’ll Have to Use the Steps. I’ve become something of a short-order chef when it comes to using a few well-chosen words to support my sobriety. Day and night, I sling slogans, flip affirmations, and call out quotes from famous dead people. I’ve scotched them to the inside of my kitchen cabinets, along with the 3rd, 6th, 7th and 11th step prayers. They are the comfort food my soul craves now. “Success is moving from failure to failure with no lack of enthusiasm.” - Winston Churchill. “If you want to be loved, love and do loving things.” - Ben Franklin. Words that nourish, as I’m waiting for the kettle to boil. Having well-chosen words highly visible in the kitchen (or as a screensaver) can be a real lifesaver!3. Phone TherapyAnd here’s a slogan I’m slamming hard today: “We drank alone, but we don’t stay sober alone.” The old timers carried quarters, and I make sure I leave home with my phone fully-charged. I listen to a morning meditation walking to the train, text three newcomers on the platform, compose a longer text to my sponsor in transit, then dial my best sober gal pal as I push through the turnstile on the final leg to work. I send silly GIFs to lift spirits, including mine, and add a trail of emoji butterflies, praying hands, and peace signs. By 8:00 a.m., the lonely in me already feels not so alone.4. Explore PodcastsRecovery Radio Network, Joe and Charlie, and the Alcoholics Anonymous Radio Show are three in my queue. On my lunch hour or driving upstate, I take 30-60 minutes to laugh, cry, and identify…5. Make a Gratitude ListMy first sober Christmas, going through a divorce with two kids still believing in Santa, the above-mentioned sober gal pal suggested I find ten things for which I was grateful, save them to my phone, and recite them like a mantra through the Twelve Days of Christmas. I did:1. My sobriety 2. My sons 3. AA program of recovery 4. AA fellowship 5. Food in my stomach 6. Roof over my head 7. Colombian coffee 8. My dog 9. My extended family 10. God (HP has since moved up to the #1 slot)It worked. I said no to nog that first Yuletide, and made merry for my sons instead. And counting off my blessings still works today, when I’m a shallow-breathing shell just going through the motions.6. Make an Extended Gratitude ListWhen the restless, irritable and discontent in me keeps spilling the glass half-full and this positive punch list isn’t getting me over the hump, I pour out ten more things to celebrate, like: my pre-war bathtub, which holds upwards of 60 gallons of bubble bath and the fact that I live within easy walking distance of two subway lines so I can always get into the city on weekends.7. Make Meetings“Meeting Makers Make It,” “Get Sober Feet,” “Carry the Body, the Mind Will Follow.” These three slogans in particular encouraged me as a newcomer, and I’m calling upon them now, in cardiac arrest, when my heart needs serious heartening. So I’m hitting my home group, and getting hugs from retirees with double-digit sobriety who pass fresh Kleenex and envelop in equanimous smiles. I’m also checking out other meetings across town, then going out for...8. Fellowship AfterwardsI’ve started tucking my Boggle into my handbag when I head out to my Friday night meeting. At the secretary’s report, I pull out the box, shake it, and invite anyone interested to a nearby diner for passable pie a la mode and a few rounds of a three-minute word game. Sometimes it’s Yahtzee. We roll the dice and down bottomless cups of bad coffee. Last week someone brought cards, and I lost badly at hearts (ha!). It’s good, wholesome fun, and by the time I hit my pillow, I’ve significantly pared down the number of waking hours I could have spent obsessing over-ahem-HIM.9. Self-CareSelf-care is somewhat self-defined. These days, after I’ve covered the basics—eat, sleep, bathe—I’m noodling what more I can do to support my mental, physical, and spiritual self. Prone to self-pity and self-indulgence just now, self-care is really urgent-care. So I ask: am I under-meditating and over-caffeinating? Am I speeding up at speed bumps? Am I four months behind in balancing my bank statement? Am I using money to buy what money can’t buy and damn the consequences? Am I treating every Monday like Cyber Monday and abusing the free delivery feature of Amazon Prime? Have I forgotten yoga and found red velvet cake in Costco’s freezer? Are my spot checks spotty lately because I just don’t want to cop to this alcoholic acting out, and instead keep blunting the full force of feeling??? Yes to all of the above. And this leads me back to Step 2: turn to top management for a takeover.Working Steps 2 and 3 is probably the most caring thing I’m doing for myself today: seeing the unmanageable, then seeing the way out. And also forgiving myself for these self-indulgent splurges. So what that I’ve added three pounds to my midline and three pairs of silver sandals to my shoe rack? The rent is paid, and my latchkey kids still let themselves in after school and seem content to eat my crockpot soup and call this home.10. Get on your Hobby HorseWhen was the last time you read “Chapter 6: Getting Active” in Living Sober, that handy paperback that’s not just for newcomers? This month I’ve been making good use of subsection 6B: “Activity not related to A.A.”The anonymous authors suggest “trying a new hobby” or “revisiting an old pastime, except you-know-what” (Yea, Amstel Light). Fat chance I’ll pick up cabinetmaking, leathercraft or macramé, but I am baking granola and simmering bone broths.I’m also revisiting my adolescence with amateur YouTube ballet routines by hammy-thighed figure skaters and dancing to Heavy D. music videos late into a Saturday night. I’m choosing happy music over sad, and tuning in to The Messiah, not Blue Christmas.I’m even considering “Starting on long neglected chores” like editing my nearly obsolete recipe binder, now that I’ve found Pinterest. And while I can’t claim to be going out of my way “Volunteering to do some useful service,” I am trying to be more useful on my job. And just as helping a newcomer find a meeting helps me, helping a kid graph algebraic equations makes me feel purposeful (when otherwise I feel like a mess).11. Become a card-carrying member of the “No Matter What Club”For God’s sake, whatever skillful or unskillful actions you end up taking during this time of triage, please don’t drink over him or her. They are not worth it. (And I’d put money down—money that I don’t have—on a bet that they’d agree with me.)Voila! My top eleven tips to help you over the hump of heartbreak! Take what you like and leave the rest.Have you had your heart broken in recovery? How did you heal? Let us know in the comments.
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emlydunstan · 5 years
Text
11 Ways to Heal a Broken Heart in Recovery
Heartbreak. At 14 or 54, we’ve all been there, but today we push through the pain, one-day-at-a-time, cold brew sober. And here’s what’s helping me now, because, despite what still feels like an endless volley of water balloons hitting concrete beneath my breastbone, the fibrillation is in my mind, not my chest cavity, and that scrappy muscle thumps on, still propping me upright each morning to face my new reality.1. Find that God of Your Understanding and Glom OnWhen I reached Step 3 with my sponsor, I got an assignment: flesh out your concept of a higher power, in writing. Lisa M. wanted detail, a God I could see and talk to, and grab by the elbow. And because I’m neither original nor progressive, I came up with a male God in human form — a cross between Santa Claus and Mr. T. to be exact. With a twinkle in his eye and a glint off his gold tooth, my HP is jolly and generous, strong and sexy, and funny as hell.And at this moment, when I’m finding myself on the sucky side of one-sided love, it’s not bad to have a real hunk who loves me for an HP. After an especially vicious salvo, when the heartbreak balloons start to leak out the eye sockets, I can HALT, remember the in-breath, and picture HP (and yes, predictably, I’m looking heavenward). Funny, his response is always the same: with bronzed torso and silver beard, forearms flexed and crossed over a white undershirt, the big man in the sky stares down at me, then starts nodding reassuringly. Suddenly, he flashes that easy smile and I know I’m good.2. Slam the SlogansH.A.L.T., Easy Does It, Turn It Over, Just for Today, Live and Let Live, This Too Shall Pass, When One Door Shuts Another Opens, Fear Is the Absence of Faith, The Elevator Is Broken - You’ll Have to Use the Steps. I’ve become something of a short-order chef when it comes to using a few well-chosen words to support my sobriety. Day and night, I sling slogans, flip affirmations, and call out quotes from famous dead people. I’ve scotched them to the inside of my kitchen cabinets, along with the 3rd, 6th, 7th and 11th step prayers. They are the comfort food my soul craves now. “Success is moving from failure to failure with no lack of enthusiasm.” - Winston Churchill. “If you want to be loved, love and do loving things.” - Ben Franklin. Words that nourish, as I’m waiting for the kettle to boil. Having well-chosen words highly visible in the kitchen (or as a screensaver) can be a real lifesaver!3. Phone TherapyAnd here’s a slogan I’m slamming hard today: “We drank alone, but we don’t stay sober alone.” The old timers carried quarters, and I make sure I leave home with my phone fully-charged. I listen to a morning meditation walking to the train, text three newcomers on the platform, compose a longer text to my sponsor in transit, then dial my best sober gal pal as I push through the turnstile on the final leg to work. I send silly GIFs to lift spirits, including mine, and add a trail of emoji butterflies, praying hands, and peace signs. By 8:00 a.m., the lonely in me already feels not so alone.4. Explore PodcastsRecovery Radio Network, Joe and Charlie, and the Alcoholics Anonymous Radio Show are three in my queue. On my lunch hour or driving upstate, I take 30-60 minutes to laugh, cry, and identify…5. Make a Gratitude ListMy first sober Christmas, going through a divorce with two kids still believing in Santa, the above-mentioned sober gal pal suggested I find ten things for which I was grateful, save them to my phone, and recite them like a mantra through the Twelve Days of Christmas. I did:1. My sobriety 2. My sons 3. AA program of recovery 4. AA fellowship 5. Food in my stomach 6. Roof over my head 7. Colombian coffee 8. My dog 9. My extended family 10. God (HP has since moved up to the #1 slot)It worked. I said no to nog that first Yuletide, and made merry for my sons instead. And counting off my blessings still works today, when I’m a shallow-breathing shell just going through the motions.6. Make an Extended Gratitude ListWhen the restless, irritable and discontent in me keeps spilling the glass half-full and this positive punch list isn’t getting me over the hump, I pour out ten more things to celebrate, like: my pre-war bathtub, which holds upwards of 60 gallons of bubble bath and the fact that I live within easy walking distance of two subway lines so I can always get into the city on weekends.7. Make Meetings“Meeting Makers Make It,” “Get Sober Feet,” “Carry the Body, the Mind Will Follow.” These three slogans in particular encouraged me as a newcomer, and I’m calling upon them now, in cardiac arrest, when my heart needs serious heartening. So I’m hitting my home group, and getting hugs from retirees with double-digit sobriety who pass fresh Kleenex and envelop in equanimous smiles. I’m also checking out other meetings across town, then going out for...8. Fellowship AfterwardsI’ve started tucking my Boggle into my handbag when I head out to my Friday night meeting. At the secretary’s report, I pull out the box, shake it, and invite anyone interested to a nearby diner for passable pie a la mode and a few rounds of a three-minute word game. Sometimes it’s Yahtzee. We roll the dice and down bottomless cups of bad coffee. Last week someone brought cards, and I lost badly at hearts (ha!). It’s good, wholesome fun, and by the time I hit my pillow, I’ve significantly pared down the number of waking hours I could have spent obsessing over-ahem-HIM.9. Self-CareSelf-care is somewhat self-defined. These days, after I’ve covered the basics—eat, sleep, bathe—I’m noodling what more I can do to support my mental, physical, and spiritual self. Prone to self-pity and self-indulgence just now, self-care is really urgent-care. So I ask: am I under-meditating and over-caffeinating? Am I speeding up at speed bumps? Am I four months behind in balancing my bank statement? Am I using money to buy what money can’t buy and damn the consequences? Am I treating every Monday like Cyber Monday and abusing the free delivery feature of Amazon Prime? Have I forgotten yoga and found red velvet cake in Costco’s freezer? Are my spot checks spotty lately because I just don’t want to cop to this alcoholic acting out, and instead keep blunting the full force of feeling??? Yes to all of the above. And this leads me back to Step 2: turn to top management for a takeover.Working Steps 2 and 3 is probably the most caring thing I’m doing for myself today: seeing the unmanageable, then seeing the way out. And also forgiving myself for these self-indulgent splurges. So what that I’ve added three pounds to my midline and three pairs of silver sandals to my shoe rack? The rent is paid, and my latchkey kids still let themselves in after school and seem content to eat my crockpot soup and call this home.10. Get on your Hobby HorseWhen was the last time you read “Chapter 6: Getting Active” in Living Sober, that handy paperback that’s not just for newcomers? This month I’ve been making good use of subsection 6B: “Activity not related to A.A.”The anonymous authors suggest “trying a new hobby” or “revisiting an old pastime, except you-know-what” (Yea, Amstel Light). Fat chance I’ll pick up cabinetmaking, leathercraft or macramé, but I am baking granola and simmering bone broths.I’m also revisiting my adolescence with amateur YouTube ballet routines by hammy-thighed figure skaters and dancing to Heavy D. music videos late into a Saturday night. I’m choosing happy music over sad, and tuning in to The Messiah, not Blue Christmas.I’m even considering “Starting on long neglected chores” like editing my nearly obsolete recipe binder, now that I’ve found Pinterest. And while I can’t claim to be going out of my way “Volunteering to do some useful service,” I am trying to be more useful on my job. And just as helping a newcomer find a meeting helps me, helping a kid graph algebraic equations makes me feel purposeful (when otherwise I feel like a mess).11. Become a card-carrying member of the “No Matter What Club”For God’s sake, whatever skillful or unskillful actions you end up taking during this time of triage, please don’t drink over him or her. They are not worth it. (And I’d put money down—money that I don’t have—on a bet that they’d agree with me.)Voila! My top eleven tips to help you over the hump of heartbreak! Take what you like and leave the rest.Have you had your heart broken in recovery? How did you heal? Let us know in the comments.
from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8241841 https://www.thefix.com/11-ways-heal-broken-heart-recovery
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strivesy · 6 years
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5 Ideas for Fantastic Professional Development
Dyane Smokorowski on episode 195 of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast
From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis
Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter
Dyane Smokorowski, “Mrs. Smoke” talks about what makes excellent professional development. We talked at NNSTOY about training that inspires and helps teachers change.
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Below is an enhanced transcript, modified for your reading pleasure. All comments in the shaded green box are my own. For guests and hyperlinks to resources, scroll down.
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Enhanced Transcript
5 Ideas for Fantastic Professional Development
Vicki: So I’m at the NNSTOY Conference nnstoy.org
We’ve recorded quite a few episodes here at the conference.
Today we’re talking with Dyane Smokorowski @Mrs_Smoke, Kansas State Teacher of the Year 2013. She has lots of passions. She does Skype and Global Collaboration.
But we really wanted to talk about teachers for a minute.
We want to talk about exciting professional development for teachers.
Oh my goodness. I bet people all over the world are yelling and screaming and clapping in their cars.
How can we have exciting PD for teachers?
How on earth can we have exciting PD for teachers?
Dyane: It’s a great question! Right?
How often do we sit in professional learning that is Unexciting?
Vicki: (Telling us not to be boring!)
Dyane: Oh my…
Vicki: And they’re boring us! They’re reading to us. Or whatever!
Dyane: Could they tell us EXACTLY not to do things, and yet they perform the acts that we would never be allowed to do in the classroom.
Vicki: RIGHT! Totally!
Dyane: So, my passion really is to see how we can create professional learning that engages teachers. NO SIT & GET. Let’s get up and learn… and dialogue and actually make magic happen for teachers!
Vicki: How?
Idea #1: Take Teachers on “field trips”
Dyane: First off, I believe in teacher field trips.
Vicki: Wow…
Dyane: Teachers should have the opportunity on a professional learning day, either to go visit another school to observe and dialogue with another teacher, go partner with a museum or a zoo (and go work with some of those employees), have an opportunity to hang out at a National Park for a day…
These things don’t cost money. They just give teachers an opportunity to connect in places that they are passionate about!
They’ll find out about things that are partnerships that they can use in their schools. They can see new ways to take content area and make it more real-world connections. They’ll come back more energized and ready to put those things in the classroom.
Vicki: And with better relationships with their colleagues, because don’t we all need that?
Dyane: Yes Ma’am.
Vicki: What else can we do?
#2 Connect with other teachers in your subject area in other schools
Dyane: Secondly, I think we need to have opportunities where you could actually have professional learning, Skyping, peer-to-peer…
For example, let’s say I’m a high school art teacher.
What if I were to connect with another high school art teacher — in France? In Canada? In California?
And we actually do a PLC across two different communities.
“What are you doing in your school? What am I doing in mine? What can we do to — ahhh — collaborate together?”
That could be another magical moment.
Vicki: Well, there’s no reason to be an island anymore, for goodness sakes.
Dyane: Right! We do it on Twitter. Why not do it in Skype and have a deeper conversation? And maybe bounce some ideas back and forth?
Vicki: I love it! What else can we do?
Idea #3: Include active learning in teacher professional development
Dyane: Number three. We could definitely create opportunities where professional learning is “Get up and talk with…”
You know, for example, we do the Think-Pair-Share too many times over. “Here’s an article. Let’s talk about it. Here’s something… hmmmmm.”
Why don’t we just get up and do some of those strategies that we do with active learning for kids? But do those IN the professional learning experiences in the building?
So if you’re asking teachers to create opportunities where kids may have to do four corners… I mean, some of these have been done over and over again. But one of my favorite ones that I do right now is that I pull up and animated GIF on the screen.
And it might be — there’s a great one with Sean Penn — and he’s Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. And he’s in this GIF saying, “Dude! That’s really awesome!”
What if we gave something like the traverse lines, where you have two rows of teachers standing up for those kinds of speed-dating moments? One minute and then shift to another partner, and so forth?
But the first conversation you have to talk about is Spicoli.
Vicki: (laughs)
Dyane: And then maybe we throw something else up there, that is kind of off-beat and silly, but you’ll giggle. You’ll build community. And yet you’ll still have great conversations that goes along with it. It keeps that energy going while the conversations begin.
Vicki: And sometimes I think we need to take ourselves a little less seriously. Because honestly, when kids see a frowning teacher, they think, “What am I going to learn from them?”
I mean… what’s wrong with us? We do need to smile and laugh, don’t we?
Dyane: I don’t know very many classrooms where kids are engaged where the energy is not moving at a level where you FEEL like you want to be there!
Vicki: Yeah.
Dyane: So let’s make professional learning energetic as well!
Vicki: Ohhh. Such great advice. And teachers are going, “Oh, I want this!”
What else can we do?
Idea #4: Go Outside with teachers: make a walking PLC
Dyane: Let’s go outside.
You know, one of my greatest experiences happening for brainstorming…
Because often professional learning says, “Take an idea, and how would you use it in the classroom?”
Or, “Tell me something that you’re using in your class.”
Teachers look at each other with that awkward pause…
And it’s, you know, “Who’s going to be the first person to throw an idea out? And they’re all saying, ‘Not me! Not me!’…”
What if we went for a walkabout outside?
We get some fresh air. You are partnered up with someone. Let’s lap the building. Just take a walk around the building, and say, “You know what? You’re going to share one idea, and you’re going to share with another.”
You get the walking. You get the talking. And you’ll get creativity happening just because they’re thinking and moving.
That’s brain research!
Vicki: And there are a million reasons that a walking PLC is a fantastic idea.
I mean, I know that there have been sometimes when I have been asked to walk.
I’m not sure why we as teachers feel like we have to ask permission to be able to take a walk.
Dyane: (agrees)
Vicki: You know, but I think a lot of us feel that way!
Dyane: Well, and then… you look forward to it, right???
Vicki: Yeah.
Dyane: Let’s brainstorm. Let’s get those wheels moving. I’d do the same thing with students. Let’s get out and have some fun with these teachers!
Vicki: I love it. What else can we do?
Idea #5: Create teacher scavenger hunts
Dyane: My last idea would be Scavenger Hunts!
SO, we’ve seen classrooms where they’ll say, “Students, I want you to spend this time taking photographs of right angles.” Some sort of a math piece.
But what if you put in challenges?
As in, “I would like to have this small group of teachers take a photo of teamwork in the library. And you also must demonstrate collaboration.”
Let’s throw something — a little bit higher end– to those teachers have to interpret that and then take a photograph of that, showing them together. So now they have a conversation of, “What is teamwork? What does it look like? What does collaboration look like?”
Let’s capture that. We can put it into some sort of tool — like you use it in Flipgrid, you could use it in Goosechase, whatever you choose. And see if we can run some conversations of, “Wow, Team 1? You got a photo of great collaboration. But the other one? You don’t look like folks are ‘all in’… in this photograph. How can we move that to be more collaborative?”
Vicki: I love that. What does it look like? There are so many questions that we can ask ourselves about, you know, what do certain things look like?
Now, what do you think the biggest mistake is that people make with teacher PD?
Dyane: I think the biggest mistake is where the one person stands in front of the room and reads 100 PowerPoint slides. And nobody cares.
We turn professional learning opportunities into glorified faculty meetings.
I think that’s the biggest mistake.
Send those things that we know are just check-off lists through an email, and let’s build opportunities — where teachers can feel like they are energized, where they cannot wait to go back and do something.
Not a “sit & git” and not a “talk to me” but a Talk WITH Me.
Vicki: And if you’re teaching something, model it and have them teach with it!
I mean, if it works, I can use it to teach you. Because kids do what we do, not what we say. Teachers do the same thing, don’t they?
Dyane: Exactly!
You know what I think’s really interesting… ?
The same truths for 6-year-olds are the same truths for 36-year-olds.
We want to be engaged.
We want to be up and moving.
And we don’t want to sit any longer than about 10 minutes on atopic before we move again.
Use those same things that we know work great for students, and put it in the BIG, adult kids, as well.
Vicki: Well, teachers, I think this is something we need to share with our administrators and lots of those doing PD. Because here’s the thing…
Our professional development money is scarce.
We have to use it well. We cannot afford to waste our PD.
Great PD can make us a better teacher. It makes me a better teacher. It makes all of us better teachers. We have to be lifelong learners just like we want our students to be.
So let’s have great PD!
Go follow Ms. Smoke. She has lots of cool things she does, and I want her to come and do PD at my school!
Dyane: (laughs) Let’s play!
Vicki: (laughs)
Transcribed by Kymberli Mulford [email protected]
Dyane Smokorowski – Bio as submitted
Smokorowski is the 2013 Kansas Teacher of the Year and is currently serving as an Instructional Technology Coach in the Andover Public schools. Mrs. Smoke, as she’s known to her students, believes in a project-based, student-centered classroom that helps students build skills in communication, planning, research and project implementation. She wants her students to develop a love for literature, communication, and technology, but also to understand how to use that love and passion to advance their own future, as well as that of their community.
Twitter: @Mrs_Smoke
Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored podcast episode.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.) This company has no impact on the editorial content of the show.
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